chapter FIFTEEN
It was after noon when I woke the next day. Feeling hung-over, I stumbled to the bathroom, and checked my body for cuts and bruises. I knew nothing had physically harmed me last night, but I hurt so badly I had to check. I was injury free, except for bruises on my arms from Sarah dragging me into the bathroom.
I turned on the shower, and stood under the hot water. I didn’t allow myself to cry; I’d done enough of that the night before. Crying was no way to get my life back under control. While I washed, I examined my emotions as objectively as possible.
With Vittorio nowhere near, I felt very little lust for him. It was there, just under the surface, but it was manageable. Did my feelings go deeper than mere lust? I hoped not, but feared otherwise.
Thinking of Vittorio’s obvious concern for me, his tenderness, the rapture on his face during our birdwatching outing made me smile. I had to be honest with myself. I was falling for him, but how much of that was because of our powers?
I hoped once I learned to control this power - whatever it was - I’d be able to better discern which of my feelings were real, and which influenced by magic.
I shivered at the thought of that word. Magic. Seems my mind wasn’t as open as I thought it was.
I managed to find the kitchen, and was pleased to see breakfast waiting for me. My stomach growled at the scent of bacon.
“I heard the shower, so asked Sarah to fix some food for you,” Samuel explained.
“Thanks. I’m starving.” I dove into the hot scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and warm buttery toast. “Will you tell me how you discovered your power?” I asked between mouthfuls.
“I was five years old when my power manifested,” Samuel said, sipping coffee while he told me his story. “Some kids at the playground were making fun of me. One of them pushed me down. I became angry and pushed him in return, only I didn’t touch him. I pushed him from ten feet away, hard enough that he flew backwards. I was lucky enough that my mother had power as well, so she knew how to train me. I’ve met others who didn’t have that luxury, who had to figure out what the hell was going on and how to control it all by themselves.”
“Guess I’m lucky to have you and Vittorio, then,” I said with my mouth full of scrambled eggs.
“Yes, though Vittorio seems to be a mixed blessing at the moment. The most important thing is going to be for you to develop mental shields. You will learn to build these shields around you, to keep your power in, and others’ power out. Once you learn that, we can explore other areas of your power.”
“Like making light out of nothing?”
One side of Samuel’s mouth turned up into a grin. “Yes. That is minor compared to much of what we can do.” He went to refill his coffee mug.
“Like what?” I held my mug out for more, as well.
“Patience, Elena. Shields first, then we’ll move on.”
Samuel led me to a sitting room somewhere in the depths of Vittorio’s mansion. I felt lost in the huge structure. I knew it was his home, but I couldn’t bring myself to call it a house.
The room looked as though it was never used. It contained a nice, but boring couch, and two equally boring arm chairs to match. A huge painting of mountains and a sunset hung on one wall. Otherwise, this was the most sterile room I had ever seen in someone’s home.
“You probably guessed Vittorio doesn’t use this room often. That’s why I chose it.”
“Why would that matter?” I asked.
“Power can be unpredictable in beginners, so if it gets out of control, Vittorio will not care if anything in this room is destroyed.” Samuel shrugged to illustrated the unimportance of the objects.
“Destroyed?” What was I getting into?
“I told you I pushed the boy down without touching him. Some people can manipulate objects.”
“I see.” My heart raced.
“First, we need to find out if, and how, your power reacts to mine. Depending on that, we may need to enlist the help of someone else,” Samuel said.
“Who?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet. We’ll figure that out if we reach that point. I’m going to very gently push at you with my power. Nothing nearly as intense as what you experienced last night. Let me know if you feel anything.”
I stood a few feet away from him. I saw no visible signs that he was doing anything, but my body began to tingle. I felt as if he was trying to invade my soul. Where last night my power was trying to tear its way out of my body, it now felt like Samuel’s was trying to tear into mine. I worried he would be able to read my worst secrets. “Stop, please.”
“You feel it?” His face was neutral as he watched my reaction.
“Yes. I don’t like it.”
“Good. That will give you more incentive to block me out.”
“But last night, Vittorio didn’t feel like an invasion. It was…” I trailed off, not wanting to describe my lust to Samuel.
“I know. Everyone’s power is different, and reacts differently to that of others. Your power responds to Vittorio’s sexually. Mine responds to him combatively. It’s always different, but the methods with which you can control it, or block it out, are the same. Now, what is the strongest barrier you can picture?”
“A huge, stone wall. Like the walls of a medieval castle.”
“I want you to imagine a stone wall all around your body. This wall will block any power you do not wish to feel. It will keep yours in and away from other people, and will keep others’ power away from you. Close your eyes and imagine the wall. I’m going to push at you again.” He rested his hands on my shoulders for a moment, steadying me, then stepped back.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing. I pictured a thick, stone wall surrounding me. As I did this, I felt something push at it, as if a strong wind blew against the wall. It worked!
I opened my eyes, surprised at my success, and immediately the wall was gone, and Samuel’s power threatened to overwhelm me. My power did not like his, and pushed back at him angrily, a wave of heat emanating from my body. I tried to build the wall around me again, but could not concentrate. I tried to mentally pull my power back to me, but didn’t know what I was doing, so failed. Samuel was pushed to the ground. My power seemed happy with that, and receded into my body. I felt no more heat.
He stood up and brushed himself off. “Good. You did very well before you lost focus. What did you feel?”
I told him of the wind pushing against my invisible wall.
“Excellent! That is exactly what you should feel. You are a natural at this, Elena. I think you will be an easy student to train. But you must work on your concentration. You will not always be able to stand calmly with your eyes closed. Of course we’ll start off slowly, but you will need to build your shields up to a point where the slightest thought will put them into place. Do you meditate?”
“No.” I sat down to catch my breath.
“I want you to meditate at least once a day for ten minutes. More will be even better. Sit quietly with your eyes half shut - not all the way shut so you won’t fall asleep. Count your breaths, and try to think of nothing. Simply focus on your breath. When thoughts arise, just bring your mind back to your breathing. That will help you build focus. Now, let’s try again.”
We worked this way for several hours. By the time Samuel announced we had made significant progress and were done for the day, I was exhausted. “Can Sarah take me back home?” I could have asked Samuel, but didn’t want to spend more time with him than was necessary. I was grateful for his help, but did not see us becoming friends anytime soon.
“Why the rush? Is someone waiting for you?”
My power flared at Samuel’s inquisitiveness, heat rushing out of my body.
I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on my wall. “No, I’m just exhausted and would like the comfort of my own home.”
“I’m sorry, Elena, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Again, my power flared. I shushed him so I could concentrate. I opened my eyes a minute later, after I felt in control of my power.
“Very good! You were able to control it even under stress.” He smiled.
“You did that on purpose?”
“Yes. I’m very proud of you, Elena. Vittorio will be happy to hear this.”
I hadn’t thought of Vittorio all day. “When can I see him?”
“I think we should wait until you have a few more training sessions, though I’m sure he’d be more than happy to hear your voice tonight. And yes, Sarah will take you home.”