Chapter 58

Hiding near a bluff, Wren overhears Kallister and Hawkins discussing a plan to perfect and scale mind corruption, targeting stronger minds and eventually thousands of Primes, even children. Kallister promises access now that the Authority is gone, while Hawkins derides Adrienne’s restraint and frames mass corruption as necessary for a new order.

Disturbed, Wren tails Hawkins up the ridge and confronts him. Hawkins openly admits his role as a corrupter and justifies it by equating it with Adrienne’s past corruption of Vinessa Redden. When Wren challenges him, Hawkins draws a gun, intent on silencing her to keep his secret.

Wren tries to incite Hawkins but is met with painful mental resistance, revealing he can repel her. She telepathically summons Mako. On arrival, Mako attempts to intervene, but Hawkins shifts his aim and begins inciting Mako, freezing him in place while still threatening Wren with the gun.

Hawkins deepens his control, forcing Mako to walk past Wren toward the cliff edge. Wren cannot break Hawkins’s hold or incite through it. As Mako reaches the brink, Hawkins orders him to jump. Wren dives to grab him, brushing his shirt, but Mako topples over the edge as Hawkins’s command prevails.