The Power of Five Oblivion

You’ve got what you want. You’ve got me.” His voice was cold. At the same time, he seemed to be completely relaxed. Jonas felt a sense of unease. It was he who had made the boy like this but what exactly had he created? “Now if you want to go, let’s go. But stop talking to me like I’m a child.”
    “I think you’re forgetting yourself.” Jonas had decided he’d had enough. It was time to reassert himself. “How dare you speak to me in this way!”
    “I’ll speak to you how I like.” The hatred was pouring out of him. It was in his dark eyes, in his voice. The American boy was consumed by it. “I think you’re the one who’s forgetting, Jonas. You serve the Old Ones. We both serve the Old Ones. But there’s a difference between us. You are a human being who has been indulged and been given a little power in return for his service. But I am one of the Five. I was there at the very beginning when the Old Ones were defeated and they’ve always been a little bit afraid of me. I have power – and the strange thing is that since I have accepted what I am, since I joined you, I’ve become stronger than ever. I can’t tell you how I feel. It’s extraordinary. But do you want to see my power, Jonas? Do you want a taste?”
    “Let’s just leave…” Jonas muttered.
    But it was too late.
    “I can see right into your mind,” Scott went on. He had folded his arms across his chest and although he was a few inches shorter than Jonas, he seemed to tower over him, staring straight into his eyes. “I have read every dirty secret of your life. I know what you think when you get up and I know what you dream when you go to bed. But more than that, I can control you. I was always able to do that, to push people and make them do what I wanted. I killed my foster father when I was twelve years old. I made him climb up a ladder and hang himself. I could do the same to you now.”
    “That’s enough, Scott.”
    “I don’t think it is enough, Jonas. I think it’s time you learnt who I am and what I can do. I know you like breaking fingers. That’s what happened to Pedro. So why don’t you find out what it feels like? Why don’t you break one of your own?”
    “What…?”
    “You heard me.”
    “You’re not serious.”
    “I am.”
    Scott stared and it was as if Jonas had been electrocuted. His whole body shook, his arms jerking as he fought to keep them still. “Scott…” he managed to whisper.
    “I don’t care what you do to me,” Scott said. “But you leave my friends alone!”
    “He wasn’t your friend!” Jonas gasped out the sentence, his eyes bulging, his face contorted. His entire body was fighting against itself and as he stood there he looked as if he was about to topple over. Scott was still gazing at him, and without wanting to, Jonas took hold of the little finger of his left hand. All the muscles in his arms and shoulders were shuddering. “Please…” he whimpered. There were beads of sweat on his forehead. His whole face was twisted in anticipation of the pain to come and tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes. He was clutching the finger in his right hand, bending it away from the others. “Scott…” he tried one last time.
    “Break it!”
    Jonas couldn’t stop himself. He had no control. He screamed as the finger broke and at once it was as if he had been released. He pitched forward, falling to his knees. His whole body was shaking. Huge tears rolled down his cheeks.
    “Don’t even think about punishing me,” Scott said. “The Old Ones don’t care about you but they have a great deal of interest in me. I am the master here, Jonas, not you. That’s what you have to remember.” He smiled. “So when does the plane leave?”
    “What have you done to me? What have you done to me?”
    “When does the plane leave?”
    “The car’s outside.” Jonas hissed the words. He was cradling his injured hand, unable to believe what had just happened.
    “Good. I’ll get my things.” Scott began to walk towards the door, then stopped. “By the way, there was only one person who could have given me the message to meet in the square and that was the little servant boy, Giovanni.”
    “Why are you telling me…?”
    “Why shouldn’t I?” Scott smiled. “We’re both on the same side.”
    Giovanni was throwing a few possessions into a small suitcase: some clothes, letters and photographs. He had almost nothing to take with him but Pedro understood the