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I yanked and strained against the manacles, but they didn't budge.

I can't do it. Not again.

The scientist reached out and plucked a small key from the table next to us.

Gods. There must be a way. There's always a way!

My sluggish mind strained for anything that could help, but it felt like trudging through mud.

Damnit!I bit my cheek until I drew blood, the pain briefly clearing my mind.

I barely noticed the man pressing the key to my collar, but suddenly, the suffocating piece of metal fell from my neck to my lap and I could feel …everything …

Bile rose in my throat as what hid in the shadows before me suddenly became clear in the Korra Realm.

The lights flickered on, illuminating what I already suspected.

The monster was a horrifying, corrupted mass of leathery skin, stretched over massive bones. Lumps and bulges pulsed across its body — like the creature was some sort of massive, misshapen organ. Patches of scraggly hair peppered its ancient skin, but that was the only hint at its origin.

Corruption twisted through the monster's korra like blood pumping through veins.

It hadn't turned to a wraith yet. But it was only a hair's breadth away.

The scientist kneeled in front of me, eyes narrowed,the light catching on a dark red brand scrolling along his cheek and forehead.

My skin crawled as I looked down at his neck, and I gasped.

He wore no collar, but his entire neck was covered in scars similar to those on Mage Korym …

Just what kind of mage is he?

"Relax, Miss Maderoth." His voice was raspy and soft as he pressed his hands atop mine, giving me a comforting smile. "You don't need to do anything. I will use my magic to guide you through this."

"What?" I stammered. "I —"

A cold and twisted sensation flooded my mind, my magic pulsing to life, completely out of my control.

Chapter 6

Kaiya

Panic flooded me.

A mind mage?!

"Just relax, Kaiya," the man said, squeezing my hands.

I tried to jerk away, but his grip was too tight.

"It won't work," he said, his strange magic boring into my skull like mielpaeds burrowing into the ground.

I glared at the man while my korra strained against his magic.

He sighed. "Every day I tell you fighting just makes it more painful. And every day, you ignore me. I don'twantto hurt you, Kaiya, but this incessant fighting doesn't leave me much choice. Perhaps I could even help you open up those locked memories of yours …"

Locked memories? Wha —

Pain and pressure crushed my senses, pushing out all thoughts as he dug deeper, then deeper still.