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The spark flares up and runs up and down the braid leading to Mitri.

“You. Little. Bitch. You bound us all together? Are you fucking insane???”

“Ona pulna yarosti. Mne etonravitsya”

“Whoever you are, shut the fuck up!”

“Enough,”Mitri’s cold tones wipe the other voices out. It’s confusing because I’m staring at Ben and hearing Mitri.

“Bees,” Ben demands my attention again. “What is scaring you?”

“Madam? Does that complete your order?” a tinny voice comes through the speaker behind him, and Ben snarls.

A car horn honks at us, and I roll my eyes to watch Mal open his door and stomp to the vehicle. Ben tilts myhead back before I can witness the rage meltdown happening, but I hear the tires squeal as whoever dared to honk leaves.

I firmly grip my fear, push it back to a manageable level, and swallow hard. “I think the spark fucked up.”

My voice is so shaky that I don’t know if he can understand me.

“Ok,” he grumbles, stroking my cheekbones with his thumbs. “It never does anything to hurt you.”

“It’s dumb as a brick, though,” I wail out and begin crying uncontrollably.

Peacemaker:“It’s going to be ok. Stop fighting it and it will stop hurting. Just let it go.”

Mitri’s voice comes hushed in that strange language.“My zvyazany. Vse my.”

I crawl into Ben’s lap and tuck my head under his chin. It’s the only safe place I have when I feel weak. I’m so damn tired of being weak!

Peacemaker:“Let.It.Go!”

I feel the car moving and Ben’s leg shifting underneath me as he presses the gas and the brake. I don’t untangle myself as he hands money to the confused cashier and grabs the food. I guess he gives the bags to Mitri because he puts one hand on my back and the other on the wheel and peels away from the restaurant.

We drive for an undetermined length of time as I try to relax into the invasive feeling of having everything I’m thinking and feeling on display. It’s like being back in the labs where anyone can see through the plexiglass to gawk at me.The seesaw tilts.

No, I’m not thinking about that shit now.

I shove those thoughts away and focus on my breathing. It feels like my heart is being held under a blowtorch. Fuck, if it’s this bad for me, how does it feel to Mitri? Or Ben? Why can’t I hear Ben?

I unthinkingly fumble around until I reach Mitri’s hand and grip it tightly.

“I’m so sorry,” I say in a shaky, choked voice.

Mitri has his own bullshit to deal with. The last thing he needs is my crazy. I need to figure out how to close this off.

“Nyet,”Mitri’s voice snaps angrily, making me wince.“Do not close it. Simply make it background noise.”

I get a mental picture of the braid being packed with cotton on his side, and the guns quickly follow suit, adding a blanket and mist. Once they’re finished, the invasive feeling disappears. The spark isnothappy about it at all.

Peacemaker:“You should be able to hear us but not feel us now.”

“Yeah. The pain has begun to numb out, too.”Maybe it’s done now?

The spark runs up the braid and snags in the mist, trying to find a way around it.

“Don’t you dare, Sparky.”I warn it.

“Settle,”Mitri says in a cold and firm voice. The spark rears back and stays in place, looking like it’s listening to him.