thanks to lostxxmemories for the cover shown above - it fits the book so well! 

since i started awake during nano in july, i've gotta finish it this time ;) we'll see how it goes - expect updates every three days!

I was early to his office this time.

Isobel's words had been more than just meaningless chatter. He wanted me here at ten a.m., and by this stage, I'd learnt I was in no position to object. Especially not when the terrors of yesterday - the knowledge of what he was capable of - was still so fresh in my memory.

Overnight, a portion of my fear had transfigured to anger. He'd brought them into this, and though I didn't quite know by what means, I was sure they were in serious danger. There was a good chance that a horrific fate awaited us all, and I needed to do something. I couldn't just wait around for him to strengthen his control over me.

I couldn't wait around for them to die.

I didn't bother knocking on his door this time, or acknowledging the debilitating fear swirling within me, begging me to fall prey to its terror. It would be so easy to run. But instead, I twisted the handle and pushed it open without hesitation.

He wasn't waiting.

The office was empty, save for the ticking of the clock on the wall an empty coffee cup sitting on the edge of the bare desk top. I looked around warily, noticing nothing out of the ordinary. It looked as it had the first time I had entered it days ago. The wall of books was intact, and not a drop of blood was left upon the carpet. There was a blackboard hanging behind the seat Blackwood usually occupied, and now that I had the opportunity to observe the room, I noticed a small tally written in white chalk in the corner.

I paced forward to look at it, to see how many strikes were etched into the canvas. Seven.

I wrapped my arms around themselves. It seemed colder in the room than it had outside, which was saying something considering the air had been threatening snow.

Though my sleep had still been tainted with the crippling stress of knowing that my best friends, who were sleeping peacefully on the other side of the paper thin walls, were puppets to someone dangerous, it had still been more restful than the previous nights. It left me with a new hope, or at least the realisation that I couldn't cower away. It wasn't just my life at stake here.

A shiver passed down my spine, and suddenly my senses were overcome with the feeling that someone was watching me. It was paranoia, I was sure. Making the most of the vacant room, I walked over to the desk, moving behind it so I could see the screen of his computer and test the drawers. They were locked, unsurprisingly. If only I could know the secrets he was hiding, the key that would prove this was all some messed up nightmare...

The door opened with a creek. He was unsuspecting, his expression hinting surprised as his eyes flitted up to meet mine. "Aspen. You're early."

I dug my fingers into my elbows, channelling my fear into a physical outlet rather than showing it in my expression. I didn't say a word.

He was all charm, smiling broadly. I side stepped, so he wouldn't have to push past me to reach his desk, and sat gingerly into the seat I had resumed the last few occasions I'd been here. This was becoming all too familiar.

"How are you this morning?" he asked, as if I were a student genuinely here for his consultation hour. I wondered if anybody ever attended them, or if it were only the one's who'd woken up that found their way here. 

"I'm not here to talk about how I am," I said, numb. My lips were freezing. "I'm here to negotiate."

He laughed. 

"That is great to hear, because so am I." His eyes twinkled.

My vision blurred and twisted, and I blinked it away, taking a deep breath. I tried to regain control. "You need to stop."

"Stop what?" he asked, taking his seat at his desk chair with a sigh. His tone was still light and amused, a contrast to mine, which was chattering with nerves no matter how hard I tried to keep it strong.

"All of it," I said. I narrowed my eyes, feigning a confidence I could never have dreamed of possessing. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes for you to leave me and my friends alone. Preferably everyone alone."

I prepared myself for what was to come. Maybe he'd kill me then and there. Or - now that he knew how determined I was to protect them - put them in more danger than ever.

But, instead, the corner of his lips flickered upwards in a smile.

He stood up again, returning to his feet and pulling out a small chalk box from his pocket. He withdrew a piece and turned away, scratching a single word onto the blackboard above the tally.

ALLY

"Professor..." I said, my voice trailing off as he underlined the word.

"Conrad," he corrected. "Call me Conrad."

My mind was running laps around itself, struggling to manage to stay one step ahead when it came to calculating ways to play this safe. I was already miles behind.

I could still hear the faint grinding of knife against bone ringing in my ears.

"We can be allies, Aspen," he said. His face was softened, a look I could only describe as handsome and enticing. Was that a part of his trick too? Creating a charisma that lured people to him, like an angler fish attracting its prey?

"I need you to tell me what all of this is," I said, ignoring his statement. My words were fast, spilling out before I could give myself time to bite them back in fear.

He raised a brow, returning to his seat, folding his hands together and propping them beneath his chin. I didn't drop his gaze as it penetrated mine intensely. Instead, I held it carefully, keeping my guard up as high as I could allow.

"What you're capable of?" he asked, deciphering my question with curiosity. "Or what I am capable of?"

"Both," I said without hesitation.

"Information is valuable," he said, tilting his head to the side. "Quite possibly the most valuable currency."

I stared.

"So know that everything I tell you comes at a cost," he continued. "And it sounds like you're already demanding a lot, Aspen."

I swallowed. "All I want is them safe."

He paused again, his brows furrowing in thought. "How about I give you some free information, and then we can negotiate on what will keep you... cooperative."

My shoulders slackened. Negotiation. That was what could save them.

"I have to say, this sudden bravery is a contrast from yesterday," he noted. "If I had known all it would take was to have a word with your roommates to knock you from a scared little girl to a reasonable person..."

I tightened my fists around the arm of my chair. The fact he was capable of manipulating me with much more than just his words of persuasion had me weak. It was dangerous.

"We are both gifted, Aspen." He was watching closely for my reaction, and I was careful to keep my expression neutral. "For what reason I am not sure. To what degree, I am also not sure."

"But every gift has a curse, right?" I recited, my voice cracking with the hollowness in my throat.

"Correct."

"Is that why you..." What was it that he was doing? Torturing people? Performing sadistic shows to horrify me?

"You're a science student, right?" he asked, tossing the stick of chalk in the air. It flipped and landed back in his palm. 

I nodded.

He tossed the chalk again. "It comes down to one of the fundamental laws you learn about every day. Conservation."

Conservation?

"Conservation of mass, conservation of momentum," he listed, continuing to toy with the chalk. "They all boil down to one overriding principle: the conservation of energy."

"Energy cannot be created nor destroyed," I said feebly, hoping he would get to the point. My small show of courage was starting to wear off. The grinding was getting louder. Where was Evan now?

"Correct. We cannot exert energy unless we take it from somewhere first," he explained. "Now, Aspen, not all people can use this quite like us."

Goosebumps flooded my skin, and my nails bit into the leather.

"Our persuasion isn't about body language or wording. It's not about the tone we might use, or intimidation." His voice was growing quieter, a passion enveloping his words that made me feel uneasy. "It's about using our energy to manipulate another."

"But energy cannot be created," I finished. 

"No, Aspen, it cannot."

I blinked quickly, my eyes darting for the door. Just in case I needed to run. 

"Our own energy is not enough to sustain much power. It faults us. It means we lose other functions, like memory and alertness. Like our sanity."

All functions I had lost recently. Gaping holes in my mind, where time had been lost, and thoughts so fuzzy that I wasn't sure whether to scream in pain or laugh in madness. Was he lying? Was he the one doing that? Or was it more - was it the energy that had allowed me to stop Evan, the same one that had made me become aware?

"The only way to sustain our power is to take energy from another," he said.

My heart plummeted as I processed the meaning of his words.

"Take another's life, Aspen." His voice was a whisper now, as if he were remorseful. "Be responsible for death. Death is the price we pay."

The way he said we had bile rising to my mouth. 

Without killing people, I would be weak.

Then something clicked.

"You don't kill people," I stated. My words hung in the air heavily.

"No, I do not," he said, watching me carefully. "I have never killed anybody. My hands are clean."

Segments clicked together in my mind, horrifying theories folding before my eyes at lightning speed. The control he had over the classroom. 

The blood coating Gia's skin - the way her teeth had shimmered with red when she smiled.

"You have to understand that our sanity has a price, Aspen," he said quickly. "There is a delicate balance, one you will never control. One that can't be controlled. It's about survival. It's about power over your own thoughts - not just others."

"You're insane," I whispered, and then my voice became louder - hysterics bubbling within me. "You already are crazy! You've already lost it - this is crazy. It's completely fucked up - you're sadistic! Insane!"

I was on my feet, pointing a finger at him. But even so, he was deathly calm.

"You'll understand," he said. "You'll understand that the most important thing we have is not happiness, or power, or fortune, or love. It is our mind."

"How about their minds?" I asked, my hands flying to tug manically at the roots at my hair, like I was truly mad. Then my voice snapped - my throat burning. "What did you make her do?"

"Who?"

I swallowed, my heart breaking. That was the only way I could describe it - my heart was splitting in two, crumbling to the ground. I had already failed at saving them. We were all in too deep. My voice was a whisper. "What did you do to her?"

In realisation, Conrad's lips pricked into a sad smile. He must have known who I was talking about. His gaze dropped mine, as if he were somewhat sorry. "Gianna is a nice girl. Very smart. Very valuable."

Hearing him speak about her made me want to lunge across the desk and grab his throat, to suffocate him with my own two hands, my thumbs pressed into his windpipes until he couldn't find enough air to feed his screams. The violent thought shook me, and it only made my nails clench tighter into my palm, so tight that I felt liquid pool around them.

"What did you do to her?" I repeated. "What did you make her do?"

For once, he looked serious, as if he were genuinely worried for my reaction. As if he had some kind of care for my feelings.

"I asked her to stab the next person she was alone with in the neck."

AN: so more is revealed, what do you think of everything? what questions do you still have?