Page 4 of Dark Gambit: The Play

She nodded, hoping it would work but suspecting it wouldn't.

"Tell me the name of the compeller who did this to you."

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out, and when she tried to force the words out, she was assailed by an excruciating headache. "I can't." She rubbed her temples.

"Write your compeller's name."

Marcel pulled a pen out of his pocket and lifted one of the cardboard boxes off the floor. "You can write his name here."

She took the pen, clicked it open, and that was as far as she got. Her hand refused to write the letters comprising Igor's name.

Maybe she could write it like an anagram? Like Gori? They could figure it out.

That didn't work either. As long as she consciously knew what she was trying to communicate, the compulsion prevented her from doing it. For some reason, making up stories was easier. Perhaps because she had to concentrate on making the analogies, or maybe because they could apply to many different things and not just what she needed to say.

"Type his name," Kalugal ordered.

"It's no use. I can't."

"What if I guessed his name? Could you nod?"

"I think so. But it would be useless. There are many people who have the same name, and I won't be able to tell you anything about him."

She could probably find a book that had a protagonist named Igor, but that would be just as useless for them.

Kalugal let out a breath. "I did my best. You will need someone stronger than me. Good luck, Sofia."

Her heart sank. Igor was probably the most powerful compeller on the planet, and no one could free her mind from his compulsion.

"Thank you." She forced a smile.

When Marcel ended the call, she sighed. "What if there is no one stronger? There is a reason that he…" She couldn't say more.

"Try to tell a story," Marcel suggested.

"My head hurts too much to come up with one." She rubbed her temples. "Do you have something you can give me for the headache?"

"I'll look in the kitchen, and if there is nothing there, I'll ask Eleanor to get the medication from the nurse."

"Thank you."

3

MARCEL

Marcel left the room without locking it. The truth was that confining Sofia inside the bedroom made little sense. To enter or leave the hidden basement dwelling under the cottage, one needed to know the code to the door at the top of the stairs, and she wasn't a mind reader.

When he found no medication in the kitchen nor in the other bathrooms, he called Eleanor.

"Did you talk to Kalugal?" she asked.

"We did, and it didn't work. The compulsion was too strong even for him, and when Sofia tried to break through it, she got a headache. Can you get some painkillers from the clinic and bring them to her?"

He was too ashamed to admit that he wasn't familiar with the name of common drugs used by humans for aches and pains.

"Of course. I'll get her Motrin. Other than the headache, how is she doing?"

So that was the name of the medication. He should memorize it for future reference. What for, though? Yesterday, he would have thought that he needed it if he were to have a relationship with Sofia, but that was a foolish thought given what he now knew about her.