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unleashed all my demon power, turning my fingers into flames and lashing at the four-legged vermin. I kicked, pushed, and kept going, intermittently hearing the gut-wrenching cries of a wounded animal. I felt my skin ripping under the assault of claws slashing through the outer layers of my skin right to my bones. I kept going and going….

 
     
     

     
     
    I heard them talking about me, but I couldn’t talk back. Hell, I couldn’t even open my eyes; my lids felt as though they’d been taped down. Something was in my mouth, something that went all the way down my throat. I felt like gagging, but couldn’t even do that. I just lay there, unable to move a muscle. What had happened? Where was I? The voices got louder. Were they around me or in my head? I tried to focus on them.
    “Her pulse is steady,” someone said.
    Was it? I couldn’t even feel my heart beating.
    “Has anyone retrieved the data from the surveillance cameras yet?” I recognized that voice. Jagger.
    Another unfamiliar voice said, “Yeah. Frau Schmelder is going through it now.”
    “Well, how long is she going to take? We need to know who did this.” Jagger sounded impatient.
    “Didn’t you see anything at all when you found her?” Quinn asked.
    I wanted to tell them what had happened, but I couldn’t even move my mouth. And I needed to know where Faustine had gone. Was she okay? Did the shifters get her? Kill her? Shit. I was a total screw-up as a mentor. I might as well be dead. Faustine’s dad was going to kill me anyway.
    “Oh, did you see that?” a female voice asked.
    I had no idea who she was, but she wasn’t Faustine.
    “She twitched,” the same voice said.
    I did?
    “She did?” Jagger asked. “Cordelia, can you hear me?”
    Yes, I can , I thought.
    “Quinn, could you get some of her favorite music from her room? Maybe that’ll help spur a reaction.”
    “Yeah, good idea. I’ll be right back.”
    Moments later, Jagger dismissed the others from the room. He used some vague excuse about letting me rest until Quinn returned.
    Hello! What exactly did he think I was doing if not resting? He offered to stay and stand watch. Whatever.
    “Cordelia, I think you can hear me. Your body responded before when I asked if you could hear me. Can you?” Jagger’s voice was soft, but firm.
    Yes! I can!
    “Okay, your body responded again, so I’ll assume you can hear me. I knew something was wrong when your wall came down, so I went to find you. By the time I found you in the corridor, your heart had stopped, so I’m beating it for you at the moment. I need you to start healing yourself, and you’re going to have to beat your own heart for that. I’m going to disengage my pulse from yours. You’re going to need to take over to survive. Now.”
    Panic washed over me. What if I couldn’t get my heart to beat? I would die. No! I cried. Jagger, no !
    “Baby, I can feel your fear. But we have to try this. I won’t let you die, but I’m going to make you take back your own life.”
    I felt my heart rate slowing. Terror rushed through my body, surging adrenalin into my system. I knew what to expect–our biology classes had covered it all–but it still made my brain swirl. My muscles tensed to the point I thought they would burst through my skin and take on a life of their own. My palpitations increased so much that I could probably power a small town. I began to convulse, my fear turning to desperation when my brain felt as though it had been struck by lightning.
    A scream welled in my throat, but I couldn’t get it out.
    “It’s okay, Cordelia. You’re doing great. I’ve disengaged, and you’re going at it all on your own,” Jagger said. “And you’re moving and shaking, a bit like that funny Donna. Remember her? It’s all good.”
    All good? I was in the middle of a complete meltdown, and he was deeming it all good ? I was going to kill him!
    “Okay, babe, time to calm down a bit. Your blood pressure is through the