“They’ve got enough human in them to pick up language,” the corral master said, “but she won’t learn to respond until the machines do some work on her brain.”
The Matriarch nodded and turned back to me. “You’ve impressed me, Nemesis. I ask you now: Do you wish to leave here? Do you wish to have a precious thing of your own to love and protect, and a home with comforts beyond your dreams?”
Love? Comfort? Those were strange words. I didn’t know their meaning, but her tone was coaxing, full of promise. It wove through my mind like a melody, drowning out the whimpers of the terrified man.
I could not look away from the Matriarch’s sharp eyes.
“If you wish to be something more than an animal in this dank pen,” she said, “then prove yourself worthy of serving the Impyrean family. Show you can obey when it matters. Kill this man.”
Love. Comfort. I didn’t know what those were, but I wanted them. I would have them. I closed the distance and snapped the man’s neck.
As the third corpse dropped to the floor at my feet, the Matriarch smiled.
Later, the keepers brought me to the laboratory, where a young girl waited. I was restrained for her safety, my arms and legs encased in thick iron with an outer ring of glowing electricity. I couldn’t stop staring at this odd little creature, small and trembling, with dark hair and skin and a nose that had never been broken.
I knew what this creature was. This was a real girl.
I knew, because I’d killed one before.
She drew a step too close to me and I snarled at her. She flinched back.
“She hates me,” she said, her lower lip trembling.
“Nemesis doesn’t hate you,” the doctor assured her as he double-checked my restraints. “This is how Diabolics behave at this stage of development. They look like us, but they aren’t truly human beings like you and me. They’re predators. They can’t feel empathy or kindness. They simply don’t have the capacity for it. That’s why, when they’re old enough, we have to civilize them. Come closer, Sidonia.”
He crooked a finger. Sidonia followed him to a nearby computer screen. “See that?” he asked.
I could see the image too, but I didn’t find it interesting. I’d broken open enough skulls to recognize a human brain.
“That’s called a frontal cortex.” He fell silent a moment, and there was a flicker of fear in the look he darted at the girl. “I haven’t researched that for myself, of course, but in my line of work, you simply learn things from watching the machines.”
Sidonia’s brow flickered downward, as though his words had puzzled her.
Flustered, he went on in a rapid tone, “As far as I understand it, these machines are going to make this part of her brain bigger. Much bigger. They’ll make Nemesis smarter. She’ll learn how to speak to you and how to reason. The machines will also begin the bonding process.”
“Then she’ll like me?”
“After today, she’ll be your best friend.”
“So she won’t be so angry anymore?” Sidonia’s voice sounded small.
“Well, that aggression is simply how Diabolics are engineered. But Nemesis won’t direct that toward you. In all the universe, you’ll be the only person she will ever love. Anyone who tries to hurt you, though—they better watch out.”
Sidonia gave a tremulous smile.
“Now, honey, I need you to go stand where she can see you. Eye contact is critical for the bonding process.”
The doctor positioned Sidonia before me, carefully out of reach. He avoided my biting mouth and applied stimulating nodes to my skull. After a moment, they buzzed and hummed.
A tingle through my brain, stars prickling before my eyes.
My hatred, my need to smash and shred and destroy—it began to calm. Began to fade.
Another fizzling of a current, then another.
I gazed at the small girl before me, and something new stirred inside me, a sensation I’d never felt before.
A constant roar within my skull now, changing me, shifting me.
I wanted to help this girl. I wanted to protect her.
The roaring went on and on, and then it faded away as though nothing else existed in the universe but her.
For several hours as my brain was modified, the doctor ran tests. He let Sidonia move closer to me, and then closer still. He watched me as I watched Sidonia.
Finally it was time.
The doctor withdrew to a distance, leaving Sidonia alone before me. She rose to her feet, shaking all over. The doctor aimed an electricity gun as a precaution and then flipped open my restraints.
I straightened up and extricated myself from the bonds. The little girl drew a sharp breath, her collarbone standing out below her scrawny neck. It would have snapped so easily. I knew that. Yet though I could have hurt her, though I’d been released upon her just like all the others I’d slain, the very idea of injuring this delicate creature made me recoil.
I stepped closer so I could look at this girl in full, this being of infinite value whose survival now meant more to me than my own. How small she was. I wondered at the feeling inside me, which glowed like warm embers in my chest. This marvelous glow came from looking at her.
When I touched the soft skin of Sidonia’s cheek, she flinched. I examined her dark hair, such a contrast to my pale, white-blond shade. I leaned close to examine the irises of her large eyes. Fear flooded their depths, and I wanted that fear gone. She still trembled, so I placed my palms on her frail arms and stood very still, hoping my steadiness would calm her.
Sidonia stopped trembling. The fear faded. Her lips tipped up at the corners.
I imitated the gesture, forcing my lips to curl. It felt unnatural and strange, but I did it for her. It was the first time in my life I’d acted on behalf of someone other than myself.
“Hello, Nemesis,” Sidonia whispered. She swallowed loudly. “My name is Sidonia.” A line appeared between her brows, and then she pressed her palm over her chest. “Si-doe-nya.”
I imitated her, patting my own chest. “Sidonia.”
Sidonia laughed. “No.” She took my hand and pulled it over her chest. I could feel the frantic thump of her heartbeat. “I’m Sidonia. But you can call me Donia.”
“Donia,” I repeated, patting her collarbone, understanding her.
Donia broke into a smile that made me feel . . . warm, pleased, proud. She looked back at the doctor. “You’re right! She doesn’t hate me.”
The doctor nodded. “Nemesis is bonded to you now. She’ll live and breathe for you all the days of your life.”