Free Catalyst by Shelly Crane

Kay.
                  “No, not yet. I did something you may not agree with , but we were leaving and she was freaking out. I didn’t want to leave her here so messed up over her mom and Sherry and me leaving so...I used compulsion to make her not worry.”
                  “Danny, ” I breathed angrily, “I can’t believe you did that. Just because we gave Marissa permission that once wasn’t a license for everyone to start compelling everyone they cross ed paths with.”
                  “I didn’t. Merrick, you didn’t see her. She was out of her mind, c ompletely in hysterics. I couldn’t get her to go to sleep at all that night. She cried and begged me not to go with you, begged me not to let you kill Margo. I had to do it so she would be ok while I was gone and could get a grip before she hurt herself.”
                  “I understand, ok? I see why you did it, but Celeste isn’t going to like that you did that to her. And the others aren’t going to like that you used your gift on her without her knowledge or consent.”
                  “I know. I’ll take the consequences.”
                  “The consequences are to leave the bunker, Danny. That was the punishment we set to detour people from doing this to each other .” I sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Ok, we’ll deal with that later. For now, take off the compulsion. We’ve got to deal with Margo. She’ll only get worse and it’s cruel to let her suffer like that.”
                  With the mark, the patch, the Lighters control you with a compulsion as well. The patch just makes you their eyes but the compulsion does the deed they want done. Once the deed is done, the compulsion is still there because of the patch and can’t be reversed or removed wit hout death to the subject. B ecause the compulsion is still there t o finish a task, but there’s no task to be done anymore, it drives the subject crazy. Margo has been slowly degrading in t hat back room and it’s only right to end her suffering, though it me ans her death. Technically, she was dead already, but it would be hard for Celeste to understand that.
                  He nodded and walked to Celeste. He framed her face with his hands. She smiled up at him.
                  “I’m sorry. I did what I thought was best for you,” he said softly and then closed his eyes, his mind reaching out to hers.
                  Her smile changed and so did her eyes. If I hadn’t been so wrapped up in Sherry, I might have seen the compulsion in her eyes making them glassy and blank. She understood everything immediately. With D anny’s kind of compulsion, that was how it worked . Since he had to tell her to stop, it made her aware that something had happened. Therefore, he didn’t have to explain anything to her. Her mind was already aware.
                  “Danny,” she squeaked. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
                  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, baby.”
                  “I could’ve spent the day with her while you were gone. I could’ve gotten a few more hours with her! And now, they’re going to kill her!”
                  “She’s not herself, Celeste. She’s not your mom right now.”
                  “Yes she is! It’s not fair. I should get to say if she lives or dies!” She looked around at us all, all the Keepers standing around, to her looking very much like executioners.
                  Right then, I felt like one.
                  “Baby, listen, ” Danny tried again, “ you know she wouldn’t want this. She wouldn’t want to be stuck in some Lighter compulsion making her do things that she doesn’t want to do.”
                  He tried to hold her, grabbing her upper arms , but she wrenched