Dawn by S. J. West Read Free Book Online Page B

don’t believe you would have regained your humanity. I take the blame for that and now I want to make it right. Skye,” I could hear a plea in her voice, “can you honestly say being a Harvester was all that bad?  The power you wielded when you were by my side had to be somewhat pleasurable for you. Having people fear you and doing anything you want because of that fear can be addictive.”
    “Having people love you and doing everything within their power to make you happy is more addictive,” I countered.
    “That’s just your humanity talking,” the queen said as if it were an excuse for my words. “What I offer you is everlasting. Love is fleeting.”
    “You love me,” I said, hoping to reach that small part of her that she tried to keep hidden. “Is that fleeting?”
    All I received back was silence.
    Finally, the queen said, “You have a choice to make, Skye. You can either save Jace or save Simon, but you can’t save them both. One of them will have to die.”
    I realized the queen wasn’t actually giving me a choice at all. Either death would break me. And that’s what she wanted. She wanted me broken.
    “How is that supposed to make me into the Harvester you want?” I asked. “All I’ll feel is sorrow.”
    “That’s not all.”
    It was only then I realized what she truly wanted me to feel.
    “You want my hate.”
    “Exactly,” the queen said with a smile in her voice. “If I can make you hate me beyond measure, I believe that will be enough to cause you to go back to the way you should be. So hate me as much as you want, daughter. It’s what I’m counting on.”
    I heard the flow of water and watched as a stream of it flowed down the glass tube splashing Simon and causing him to cry even harder while flailing his little arms and legs.
    “You have a choice,” the queen told me. “If you press the red button on the control panel in front of you, the flow of water into the box will stop and what's there will  drain out, but when you do that, the electrodes buried beneath Jace’s skin will send in random bursts of electric shocks. Some will be low voltage, some high. One setting will kill him instantly, but there’s no way of knowing if or when that will happen. So choose:  let Simon drown and save Jace or electrocute Jace to save Simon. The choice is yours.”
    “That is no choice!”
    “You can try to keep them both alive, but eventually you’ll kill Jace. His body won’t be able to withstand the torture forever. And if you happen to hit the random kill switch… well, he’ll be dead instantly.”
    “Skye,” Jace said weakly, looking at me through the glass, “let me die.”
    I shook my head. “No. I need you.”
    “Simon’s more important.”
    “You’re both important,” I said to him, placing my right hand above the red button on the control panel. “Remember that I love you and remember what you told me about the future.” I looked over at Simon and saw that the water was about to cover his face. “I’m sorry.”
    I took a deep breath, tightening my hold on Rose and pushed the red button.
    Jace screamed out in pain, and I kept my eyes on the water level in Simon’s box. As soon as it was almost empty of water, I released the red button giving Jace a moment to recover. When the water level became dangerously high again, I pushed the red button again. Jace’s body flailed against the chair, and I knew it was a higher voltage of electricity this time. I waited until the water was half way down before releasing Jace from his torture.
    I’m not sure how long I stood there trying to keep the two of them alive and trying to judge by Jace’s screams when he was receiving a high voltage and when he was receiving a low one. If it was low, I knew I could keep the red button pressed down long enough for the water in Simon’s box to almost evacuate. When the voltage was high, I only pressed it down long enough to lower the water to a non-life threatening level.
    It was an