“If I offered the kind of money Marrow was asking for, who would jump?” she asked.

“You have something in mind?” another boy from the group asked. He had freckles across his face, and his brown hair was styled.

She didn’t. Instead of answering, she asked, “Yes or no?”

“I might,” he said.

A taller boy asked, “Are you looking to get into that alliance thing?”

She shook her head. She started to reply, and her hand sparked. People jumped, some stumbling or reaching for weapons.

Her power crackled again, as she stood bent over with one hand on her knee.

No.

No, no, no.

This was how it went wrong. This was how it all started spiraling down. One little failure, entirely out of her control, and she lost everything she was working toward.

She needed this.

She couldn’t bring herself to talk at first, as she found her balance and straightened. As she raised her head so they could see her face again, she put a smile on, teeth bared. “Not the alliance.”

She moved her fingers slowly, and her power crackled audibly around her hand.

Her heart was pounding. Her jaw hurt because she’d been clenching it so much, and her stomach was a knot. She hadn’t eaten since… yesterday, was it? Now she felt it catching up with her.

A feeling like falling.

“Join me now,” she said. “You’ll be in a good position when I rise to the top.”

“Stiff competition,” the boy with the freckles said. The taller boy off to the side that had been more interested in joining was staring her down now. She couldn’t read him.

“I’ll show you,” she said.

☽

“How are you managing that?”

“I can never follow your trains of thought,” Ashley said. “Try harder to make sense.”

“You get snippy when you’re insecure. I’m asking about the apartment. You’re making some money? From talking about what you remember?”

Ah. Now Ashley understood the train of thought. She opened her eyes and saw only darkness.

“Yes,” Ashley said. “They think it’s relevant.”

“You mentioned those talks last week. It’s good if they’re paying attention.”

“Mm,” Ashley made a sound. She sat up, and plastic crinkled. “Mask off.”

“We’ve still got more work to do. These hands aren’t going to be as intricate for using the power, but they’ll be consistent.”

“Consistent is good. Take my mask off,” Ashley said. “And something to drink. My mouth is dry.”

The sleep mask was lifted up to her forehead. Long strands of hair still fell down around the front of her face.

A thin plastic sheet was draped across her lap now, with blood settling into the creases. Her arms were short, ending in stumps with raw flesh at the ends. Instead of bones of the forearm, there were metal tubes extending a few inches past the flesh.