Awakening (16 page)

They laughed. “It’s happened before to some of our kind.”

“I don’t know if this is a personal question or not, but what are your capabilities?”

Caleb was the first to answer. “Not personal at all. Most of us love to brag.”

It was not lost on Caitlyn when Michael stated quietly to the laughter of the group in front of him. “Some more than others, Caleb.”

Caleb just shrugged. “So what? I brag. Well, I am sure as you have been told, most of us have the same capabilities with just a variance in how strong we are. I can levitate and manipulate matter. Dad is the same.”

Andrea then answered. “I can do both of those as well, however, I am not as strong as they are. My specialty is healing.”

Caitlyn’s eyes opened wider. “You can heal?” She had been interested in healers since Garrett had first told of them to her, but she was the first official healer she had met. “How does it work?”

Andrea took a sip of her wine. “It’s not what you think. I am not a miracle worker. For example, when someone gets cut, or hurt, I can put my hands on them and they heal at a faster rate. I can slow down a disease, but cannot prevent or cure it entirely. So of course, I chose to be a nurse. It allows me access to those that are injured, but does not put me in the spotlight in case someone begins to wonder why these patients are just healing a little faster or living just a little longer than they should.”

Caitlyn was in shock as Garrett had not been able to teach her barely anything. “That is amazing. How many of you can do that?”

Michael was the one to reply. “Not enough. There are only five hundred that are in the Trust, and most have decided to take the career path that Andrea has. I wish we all had the capability. It would make this a better world.”

Caitlyn turned her attention to Declan’s father. “And what is it that you can do, Councilman McPherson?”

Caitlyn thought she saw him redden. “I am just a telepath.”

Declan interjected with pride. “Just a telepath? Father is the strongest telepath I’ve ever seen. He is extremely too modest. My dad can talk to multiple people with his mind at the same time. It’s as if he can compartmentalize his brain into different sections and have all these various conversations. It is truly amazing and a tremendous asset. We believe him to be unique. The Cine Tofa would love to get their hands on him.”

Caitlyn couldn’t believe that. She was still trying to get a grasp on her own telepathy and was having difficulty just talking to one person, never mind several at once. “So you can talk to me while talking to others.”

“Yes.”

“Wow.” She replied softly. The table laughed gently.

Mr. McPherson pointed at his son. “And then there is Declan.”

Caitlyn’s attention turned to her new mentor. “Yes, I think he is quite amazing.” She became flushed once she realized how that comment came out. She meant it to be a compliment only, but once it was stated out loud, it sounded quite different.

Caleb took mercy on her and did not make the obvious joke. “Has he told you everything he can do?”

Declan shook his head. “Come on now.”

Mr. McPherson laughed further. “Declan, now you are really the modest one. Caitlyn, what has he told you?”

Caitlyn blushed under everyone’s stares. “Well…” she stated looking Declan in his eyes briefly. “He has told me that he can levitate and manipulate matter rather well, although I haven’t seen it myself yet. I also know that he uses telepathy but that is about it. I’ve actually never seen him in action, although the way people talk about him…”

Caleb’s jaw was wide open. “That’s all he told you? Rather well? Seriously? Declan, that is all you have told her? I mean, I know that you are still getting to know your new mentor and all, but Caitlyn, Declan has more control over his capabilities than I’ve ever seen of any Actual. He is extremely strong, which is why they wanted you to switch mentors. Levitate a rock? If Declan concentrated hard enough, he could levitate Alcatraz I bet. Now that is a rock. Manipulating matter? Declan can manage matter very intricately. It’s insane. And he would rather pretend that he cannot do it. I would kill to have an ounce of the control he has.”

“Caleb.” Declan responded with a warning tone, obviously embarrassed.

This time, Andrea joined in. “Declan is what you call a prodigy, just like you are. There are only a handful of people that could teach him what he can do. The person next to you is one of them.” Caitlyn looked over at Lionel. He obviously must have the power and strength that Declan had, or close to it. He stayed quiet, his mirth gone from his eyes, studying Declan. She guessed that was the teacher in him, always evaluating. Andrea continued. “Declan, show her how you can manipulate the elements.”

Declan did not move, instead opting to glare at her.

Andrea nudged him. “Go on!”

Sighing, Declan stated to Caitlyn. “I normally don’t show off. Forgive me if this seems like showboating.” She thought she saw the gleam in his eye return though.

“I won’t. I want to see.”

Declan stared at the table in front of him. He lifted up his left hand casually towards a burning candle on the table. Caitlyn was amazed as she saw Declan pull a string of fire from the flame only coming to rest in a ball about a half inch above his hand. The ball of fire, jumped and glowed, but stayed in a perfect sphere.

Declan then raised his right hand, where a pitcher of water stood. Again, the water flowed easily out of the pitcher in a ball of equal size on floating above his other hand.

Caleb grinned.
“Now here comes the impressive part.”

Caitlyn thought back.
“The impressive part? What else is he going to do?”
Garrett had never even hinted at the idea of manipulating the elements in his training. Caitlyn had always wondered if it was a possibility and now she knew it was. It made sense.

Declan then melded the two elements, weaving them together slowly to form one ball. One could not tell where the fire ended and the water began they were wound so tightly together. But it was apparent that neither element touched the other. Her new mentor revolved the sphere, turning it three hundred and sixty degrees before he expanded the sphere outwards, doubling the size of the sphere. Caitlyn was ready to clap in delight as he quickly shrunk the ball to a quarter of the size it was.

The sphere then unraveled itself quickly, with Declan returning the water to the pitcher and the fire to the flame on the candle.

She did not care that she was the only one clapping at the tale. “I think that had to have been the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. You need to teach me how to do that.”

Caleb laughed before he nudged her. “That’s what all the ladies say. But trust me, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

“You can do more?”

Declan blushed slightly. “Maybe. But now is not the time.”

Lionel tsked at Declan. “Come, come, Declan. Now is not the time to be modest. I know that you want to teach her everything you know. Show her.”

Declan glared his mentor slightly before sighing. He looked Caitlyn in the eye. “I swear I am not a show off.”

Caleb laughed. “Yes you are. But only to us. Now show her.”

Jonathan leaned on the table. “Caitlyn, what we are going to have him show you can only be done by four Actuals in the Trust. We don’t know how many in the Cine Tofa have this capability, if any.”

Caitlyn was beyond intrigue. “What is it?”

Even Michael looked giddy and was earnestly awaiting her reaction to what they were about to tell her. “Declan can Teleport. Show her Declan.”

Now she was positive her mouth really was gaping open. “No way! There is no way!”

Andrea nudged Declan again. “Well, are you going to pick at your dessert all night or show her?”

Declan stood. “Are you ready?”

She nodded. Within the blink of an eye, Declan was gone, only to reappear in the corner of the garden. While Caitlyn was speechless, Caleb was not. “The corner of the garden, Declan? You could have gone to Fiji or Rome or Australia! And you choose the corner of our garden. Truly disappointing.”

He teleported back to the bench. “Caleb, how would she have known I teleported to Fiji?”

“Well, I am impressed! Can you teach me?” Caitlyn would have started right then if he let her.

“I’ll try. But there are not a lot that are able to do it. It took me weeks of practicing to teleport.”

Nothing had taken Caitlyn weeks yet. She could do it.

As the evening wound to its conclusion, the others slowly excused themselves and left to go attend to other matters. Caitlyn stood in the middle of the garden with Declan, watching some fireflies flutter about the plants. She couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities that were now in front of her; she felt as if she was limitless in what her body could do.

She was in the middle of contemplating it all, when Declan asked her what she was thinking.

She looked down at the drink in her hands. “You are amazing. What I just witnessed tonight, I mean, I did not think anyone was capable of that. I am going to need to work so hard to impress you.”

“Caitlyn, you’ve already made an impression on me. Why do you think I wanted to mentor you so much?”

“But what if…”

Declan cut her off. “No. No what ifs. No ‘I cannots.’ The very first time I spoke to you, I knew you were different. I knew you would not let anything hold you back. Do not doubt yourself now. I believe in you. Believe in yourself.”

C
aitlyn was nervous. Caitlyn was never nervous. Well, almost never. A conversation with Garrett early that morning had not gone over well. He did not understand why she accepted a new mentor so readily when she was progressing so quickly. She explained to him as best she could; she knew she needed this; she needed to try to do more. It wasn’t really as if she had a choice in the matter, but Garrett was maintaining that she should have refused, that the Council would have eventually relented.

She took a morning run to clear her head. She knew the frustration that Garrett had with her was only temporary. Caitlyn had no reason to believe they would not be alright. But right now, the young woman needed to focus on the day ahead of her. She was not about to disappoint her new mentor because of distractions in her personal life.

After the dinner with his family, Declan had asked Caitlyn if she wanted to start training a couple of days early. She had readily agreed to meet him at one of the older buildings on the outskirts of the compound. When Caitlyn walked through the door that morning, it was quickly apparent that no one had been in this particular building for some time. Her feet echoed eerily down the hall as she made her way to the room where Declan had asked her to meet him. She shivered slightly from the chill, as this building was not heated. Garrett had always either trained with Caitlyn outside on the nicer days or inside the comfort of the new facilities. He always insisted that she be comfortable while training.

When she entered the room, it was apparent that Declan viewed things differently. The room was cold and stark, a deep contrast to the Trust’s main headquarters. It was painted a dull gray and the only light came from a window that was in desperate need of a good washing. Caitlyn noted that there were two chairs facing each other in the middle of the room but that was it for furnishings. Sighing, she took a seat and waited for her new mentor to come. Several minutes later, she heard a small popping sound and Declan walked towards her to the middle of the room. He wore a light gray sweater, with dark gray slacks. She smirked as she thought how it made him almost blend into the room.

Declan took the other seat available, twirling it around so he could rest his arms and chin on the back. He looked at her for a moment, cocking his head in thought, before smiling. “Good Morning.”

Caitlyn couldn’t help but be a little arrogant. She crossed her arms playfully. “Good Morning? Where the hell are we and why are we here?”

Declan chuckled. “Well, aren’t you a bright ray of sunshine? We are in the old training facilities that have not been used in thirty years. Why is because I don’t want us disturbed. There is not anything here to distract you from what you need to focus on. There is no nature, no comforts of home, or no certain
people
to take away your concentration.”

She came to realize quickly that his training methods would be very different from Garrett’s. She grudgingly admitted that it sounded like it might be conducive to training, albeit boring. “Okay, then. So what are you going to teach me?”

Declan stood up. He looked pleased that she was direct with her lines of questioning. “We are starting with mind blocking.”

Caitlyn couldn’t suppress her self-assured tone. “Hate to bust your bubble, but I already know how to do that. We need to move on.”

Declan grinned in response. “So confident, aren’t we? No, you know the basics of mind blocking. What I am going to make you understand is that the mind of an Actual is like an onion. There are many, many layers to uncover. There are many different ways to block one’s mind, just as there are many different ways of breaking into one’s mind. You know how to block the most direct way of someone invading your thoughts; it’s the way most Actuals know how to figure out what someone is thinking and how to do telepathy. You would have no idea how to block my father, Lionel, and me from entering your thoughts, along with many others who are especially skilled at telepathy. There are many crevices in the brain and we can sneak around and find the cracks that are lying there ready to be manipulated. If you get someone who has particular skill, serious damage can be done. We are starting with the basics that Garrett taught you and building upon them.”

Caitlyn mused on this. “If that was true, why didn’t Garrett teach me that? He is able to perform projectile telepathy; surely he has the ability to get past a basic block if what you state is true.”

Declan shrugged. “He does. Being a projectile telepathist makes him particularly adept at breaking through a block. With that said though, most people don’t think it is worth the effort and he probably was saving it for the end of his training. I disagree, I think once someone grasps the basic concept of mind blocking, they should be taught the advanced techniques. If the Cine Tofa ever got a team together that was capable of that infiltrating the Trust; our numbers would be significantly dwindled and we would be at a severe disadvantage. There are certain criteria that every mentor has to cover before you can attempt the Threshold that is approved by the Council. Only the basics are covered in the Threshold test. I’ve been fighting the council for years on more rigorous criteria. They have not been willing to listen till recently.”