Kai woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Another nightmare had plagued his dreams. He wasn't quite sure what it was about, but he tried to shake it off by taking a few deep breaths.

He sat up and put his hands on his forehead, then noticed that Thorn was actually asleep. Kai, even though he had only been there for a few days, had never seen the man sleep.

Curious, he stood up as quietly as he could and examined Thorn. He didn't look peaceful, yet he didn't look unsettled. Kai wondered for a moment what Thorn dreamed about.

Probably torturing little kids, Kai thought a moment after, turning away. There was no way he was going back to sleep with that thought lingering in his head.

Very carefully, Kai opened the door and slipped out, leaving Thorn behind him. He didn't want to find out what Thorn dreamt about or if he was grumpy when he woke, like Kai was.

There were a few people awake in their cells, and they spotted him. They didn't say anything to him, but they eyed him with unwelcoming glares. They obviously didn't like him, but why? He was just a prisoner, like the rest of them.

"No," someone said behind Kai. He jumped and turned around to find a young woman, about twenty, in a cell behind him. She was sitting crisscross and wearing a formal T-Shirt and skinny jeans. Her eyes were an icy blue, and her hair was a lighter purple with dark blue tips. She looked like a calm, sarcastic person. "You're not like us. You may have once been, but you're one of them now."

Kai stared at her. "But..."

"Make the connection," she said to him, not rudely, but bluntly. "You're a Dark now. Thorn made you that way. When he told you to make a blade, that was Dark magic. You're one of his minions now. He's planning on making you a champion."

"Was I talking out loud?" he asked her suddenly. He didn't remember saying anything, yet she had answered him perfectly, as though he had really been talking. Was she just skilled?

"Yes, I'm skilled," she replied, looking him in the eyes. "Before you freak out, I can read minds and get into people's heads. I'm a telepath. And mind you, mind reading and telepathy are two different things." She held up her index finger to make her point. "Reading minds is when you can hear other people's thoughts, but that's all you can do. Telepathy is when you can read thoughts, reply to them in the person's head, and push your mind into someone else's. It gets very stressful, especially when you hear mostly everyone's thoughts."

Kai felt his jaw drop. Telepaths existed? He'd read some stories with his father about telepaths, but they were all fiction. "How..." He found no words.

"I wasn't born this way," she said, her voice falling. "I was made to be like this." She shook her head briefly then looked up. "What's a kid like you doing up this late?"

Wow, subject change, Kai thought, then tried to shield his thoughts somehow. "Um. I woke up from a nightmare. Couldn't fall back asleep."

"Oh, that was you?" she said, confusing him very much. She saw his confusion and shook her head again. "Never mind. You should go back to sleep. If Thorn wakes up and finds you gone, he's not going to be happy." She uncrossed her legs and stood up. She walked over to the back of her cell and leaned against the wall. "Nice to meet you, Kai."

~

Kai had ended up going back to bed, but didn't get much sleep. The next morning, he woke up laying on his back. His eyes felt heavy and he didn't want to open them, but he knew he had to get up. Otherwise Thorn would probably slap him again. So, he forced his eyes open and sat up. His muscles were sore, and he felt the effects of the training had worn out his strength.

"Good, you're awake," said Thorn's voice beside him. "I let you sleep this time." He was sitting on his bed with his legs dangling down, narrowly avoiding kicking Kai. His red eyes were joyful today, but had some smugness and hatred were swirling in there too. His hands were clasped on his lap. "Come, get up! I have something to show you."

"What is it?" Kai slurred, rubbing his tired eyes. "Is it something I can do, now that I'm one of you?" He yawned and got to his feet sluggishly.

"Wow," Thorn said, looking genuinely shocked. "You have a sharp mind." He jumped off the bed gleefully. "Come, come!" He took Kai's hand and led him out of the room. "It's really fun, I must say. Usually I don't find things fun, mind you."

He and Kai stopped in the center of the arena, Thorn smiling joyfully the whole time. He let go of Kai and raised his right hand. "Follow my instructions, Pet, alright?"

Kai sighed. "Okay." He raised his right hand as well. "What do you need me to do?"

Thorn smiled delightedly. "Today we're going to teleport. What you need to do, mainly, is picture somewhere that you want to go. If you don't have a certain picture of where it is, then think of what the place is called and you will get there with a snap of your fingers. That's all there is to it." He mimicked snapping his fingers, then he disappeared and reappeared across the arena. "Think of the room we were just in. When you arrive, come right back out."

Kai took a deep breath and imagined the glass pedestal, the pile of blankets he slept on, the shelf with the book on it, Thorn's bed, and the gem inside the pedestal. He imagined hard enough, then snapped his fingers, thinking that it would do nothing.

But he blinked and found himself in the room, standing beside the glass container holding the gem. He jumped right after, nearly knocking the glass down. It had worked! Maybe being a Dark would come in handy.

Kai dashed to the door and opened it, waving at Thorn. He ran to meet him and smiled. "I did it!"

"Good job," Thorn praised, then ruffled Kai's hair. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't soft. Kai for once found himself okay with Thorn doing that. Being praised was a good feeling, especially in this place. "That's all for now, then. Combat training will come later. I have someplace to be."

Kai nodded and touched his left shoulder briefly. It still throbbed with pain, and he winced when he touched it. He looked away and saw that woman from the night before. She was sitting crisscross at her bars again, watching him too.

Kai looked away again, catching Thorn snapping his fingers and disappearing. Apparently he did need to be somewhere, and he'd left Kai unattended. That meant Kai could go see Abby and her family. Hopefully Chase was better by then.

Kai turned around and headed for the room, swiping his hair out of his eyes. He had to go see Abby now. Had Thorn hurt her too?

Kai pushed the door open and found Shintaro leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and eyes closed. He looked to be asleep, and didn't respond when the door creaked.

Abby did, however. She had been sitting next to Chase, but before Kai could see if he was awake, she had jumped up and hugged him.

"Kai!" she said. "I can't believe Thorn let you come in here again." She squeezed him one last time, then pulled away.

"Actually, he didn't," Kai replied. "I can here on my own." He smiled at her. "Is Chase alright?"

"I'm fine!" said Chase's voice. Abby moved out of Kai's way and he saw that Chase was sitting up, holding his stomach with one hand. "Everyone keeps stressing over me! I am FINE!" He narrowed his eyes at Kai, who looked over to Shintaro. But the father didn't react.

Kai stepped over to him and knelt down. "That was a serious wound. Did your dad help you?"

"The best he could," Chase replied, wincing as he twisted position. "He doesn't have much strength because he's in the Dark palace. It weakens him because of how much Darkness there is here."

Kai looked again over to Shintaro, who was scowling in his sleep. Kai took a moment to wonder what Shintaro dreamed about. "Alright. Well, if you need anything, like food or water, I can get you some. It's probably the most that I can do."

Chase gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Kai." He breathed in sharply through gritted teeth as he shifted again.

Kai shifted as well, and sat crisscross next to his friends. "Remember, we're going to get out of here."

~

Next chapter!!

Man, I'm updating this a lot!!

This is most likely going to stay! I already have a whole plan worked out!!!

Enjoy!!

Peace!!~~