Her face looked doubtful, eyes crinkled in confusion, lips turned downwards at the corners. I couldn’t go on without her and there was no way around it, she would have to jump.
“Are you sure it’s safe?” she called down, tugging again on the thick rope I had braided like a mother tenderly tying her child’s tangled tendrils. Was I? No. I’m never sure anything’s safe in this forest but the rope, it was safe for sure. I nodded. I placed my hand against the trunk of the great tree where it grew down through the rock wall. The air was tangible and full of the faded antique lilac blossoms. I closed my eyes for a moment, pressing my forehead against the cool surface. The hum of energy beneath my fingers was audible and then gone. Such a shame she was immune to my ability. I could have imbibed her with the strength to take the leap before she had registered her initial fear.
When I opened my eyes her face had straightened resolutely and I tugged on my end, taking in a grand breath of air as she leapt and swung down. I imagined a brick wall, placing the sturdiness into myself like so many stones and then she swung into my chest, both of us crumpling to the ground. The air slithered out of my chest and I felt her heart beating like music tattooed inside my skin, a steady pulsing drumbeat.
She stood and brushed the leaves from her locks and the dirt from her jeans. A futile attempt to maintain cleanliness I thought to myself, and raised a hand momentarily to touch my dreadlocks knowing that long ago my skin had become earthy and smudged with dirt, a perfect camouflage.
“Will we have to do that again?” she asked, her voice trembling. Her self-doubt rang loudly in my ears like symbols clanging together and the thin wavering pink began worming its way around the outside of my vision. I didn’t have to burrow into her mind to hear her unhappiness and see her fear. I momentarily evaluated the option of lying. Gritting my teeth I considered the possibility that after all her upset today she may not even make it through the grueling night terrors. I screwed up my will and decided on honesty. Katya would not be dying on my watch.
“Yes… The whole path here is full of these tree’s and we won’t get past them quick enough without swinging down the walls.” I wanted to comfort her now but we didn’t have time for this. If we didn’t get to the den by nine the ropes would be the least of our problems. I took her hand and felt her hesitation, felt her pull and look back but I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t tap into her mind and unleash her strength which I knew was begging to be unleashed so I did the only thing I could. Hung my head and begged her to understand.
“You can’t look back. The Graysuits will be able to smell your hesitation from a mile away. Your emotion are your weakness. It will summon them like flies to rotting flesh and then they will need to do nothing but feed from afar. I can’t help you through this like I can with Boris and Sasha. They can feel and I can put their feelings in boxes that only they have the key too… But your emotions are too slippery for me to protect and your mind is too complex for me to decrypt. It will be harder for the Graysuits to begin feeding too but damage is simpler to inflict than deflect.” When she nodded her affirmation of understanding we moved on silently, her feet loud on the ground and mind as silent as the twilight that was creeping into the woods.
With her lack of abilities and strong spirit, she was like a death sentence to all of us. None of us could let her fall though- even if it meant cushioning her demise with our own lives. Closing my eyes and sniffing the air I could detect both our path and our window of time closing.
When we reached the den only moments before nine the relief on her now dirty face was evident. She was tugged into the cave and I examined my surroundings in the descending night. Never before has any of the Light Ones been immune to my abilities. It doesn’t make sense. Her fear was so tangible, pink and pulsating like an exposed heartbeat. It still hung around in the air and bile filled my throat before I could stop it. Retching and stumbling away from the warmth of the den I realized that I had developed a weakness that could be the end for all of us.
Sitting down on a rock I breathed slowly and carefully, preparing myself to do my nightsweep before going inside. A bundle of colors, like tangled yarn, was above their hideout and with my minds fingers I detangled and separated them into warm and cold colors and then began to weave my darkness around them.
When I finished the darkness had become complete, and inky black that didn’t simply cover the light it extinguished it. See if the Graysuits can unravel that, I thought triumphantly. Even Katya’s stubborn emotions were tangled in the others, trying unsuccessfully to worm through my protector waves like an infectious disease. When I go inside I’m aware of a heavy silence falling over the room as I remove my shoes at the door and relieve myself of my bow. The silence makes me uneasy, it’s a respect given to soldiers going into deadly combat or elderly’s close to making the Passing. Not to young Guards to have almost blown their cover.
“Are we too late for supper?” I asked jokingly, my mind working to prioritize the warmer emotions, spinning them to the surface like a funnel but my fingers are far from deft enough to fool the group of people who know my abilities as well as their own. Some still haven’t noticed before Mayforr growls at me, his teeth bared in warning.
“You use your words Clover, not those snaky fingers of yours.” His fist dropped onto the table and the room, even the gentle buzzing of thoughts, fell into immediate silence. Mayforr’s effect on a room was inconsistent. He was terrifying at times, but also had the ability to be a calm and collected mentor. He was in the highest position of respect as the Head Guard, and he got a wide berth of understanding wherever his journeys took him. One only rose to such a rank and position through watching a great many good friends and companions make the Passing before their time. Only Mayforr knew and understood everyone’s abilities, sometimes better then the able themselves.
