Balancer's Soul (42 page)

“Were you reading our minds
in here telepathically?”
Sarah sounded
annoyed in her mental voice.

“No, but you’re forgetting
my hearing. I think it has been improved as well.”

“Great… You know that I
love you right?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I don’t want you doing anything unnecessary
either.”

“I will be careful. I love
you.”
He mentally broke
contact.

“Mother, I understand now. Connor just
filled me in.” She looked up at Sarah with a weak smile.

“It is convenient isn’t it?” Sarah
nodded and her mother then grew a perverted grin. “It’s very
intimate. People can have phone sex these days, but can you have
telepathic sex.”

“MOTHER!!!” Sarah yelled in
embarrassment. Through the wall she heard Connor start a deep belly
laugh. And she felt Connor’s mind entering hers for a moment. His
thoughts had a playful feel. “
Hey it never
hurts to try…”
Then his mental voice
disappeared again, but she caught a glimpse of what he was
planning. “Thanks for giving him the idea, Mother.” Sarah said
dryly.

“Woops. I forgot how good his hearing
was.” She started laughing as she left the room. The mental picture
she glimpsed from him made her face flare. Sarah put on her clothes
and walked back into the living room feeling much more comfortable
now that she didn’t seem nearly naked.

Connor sat on the floor with his legs
crossed, in the same position when they did her tests. His
sleeveless shirt was back on and Jack mirrored Connor sitting
arrangement on the floor. They sat only two or three feet apart and
stared at each other with blank expressions. Sarah walked next to
her mother, who stood behind her mate. “What are you doing? What
are they doing?”

Connor broke eye contact to say
“Sarah, first Jack is going to force his way into my mind. And if
he can or can’t I will teach him how to mentally block for
himself.” He pointed behind his back. “Just incase anything
happens, I might need you to give any support where you see fit.
Jillian, you do the same for Jack.” She nodded in understanding.
“If the two of us become too competitive; stop us before we take it
too far, ok?” Jillian seriously nodded again.

Without a word Sarah worked her way
around to stand behind Connor. She leaned down to whisper in his
ear “Be careful. I love you.”

“I love you too
Princess.”
He said mentally and bumps rose
across her body.

***

Facing Jack like a larger mirror image
of himself, he calmed his nerves. Connor closed his eyes to focus
his mind and pictured his new and ethereally beautiful mate. Fair
and soft skin that heated his blood. Long and thick cascading brown
hair that framed her curvy form. perfect rosy red lips that begged
attention always. And her emerald green eyes that makes him feel
like there’s nothing in this world except the two of them. The
truth is, nothing really else came close. She’s the center of his
world and nothing came before her. It doesn’t matter the
circumstances because that is the only place that he felt he truly
belonged.

“Are you ready?” Connor opened his
eyes with Sarah’s perfect image fixated in his mind’s eye. Jack
nodded and slowly tried to bypass Connor’s new fortified defenses.
First it felt like a velvety soft feather brushing his forehead and
over the course of twenty minutes the feeling became like driving
down the highway at sixty miles per hour, on a motorcycle and not
wearing a helmet. It was difficult, but bearable.

As Jack’s breathing started to be
laboring Connor said “Jack, that’s enough. How much force did you
put into pushing your way in?” The feeling of him trying to enter
his mind ceased.

“I…” Jack took a deep breath. “I used
everything I had. I didn’t see or hear anything in your mind, only
a buzzing sound… like white noise.”

“That was my experience yesterday when
I attempted to breach into Sarah’s mind too.” Connor said in all
truthfulness.

“Did you feel anything?” He nodded and
explained how it felt. Jack shook his head. “It’s unbelievable how
strong and disciplined your mind has become. What I just did, was
double what I used last week and you went unconscious.”

“Really?” Connor wanted to go on with
this for his plan to work. “Ok, Jillian, could you and Sarah
fortify Jack for me please?”

“I think we can handle that.” Sarah
said, leaning down and kissed his cheek.

Connor cautioned to both of them “Not
too much. You might need your strength.” Sarah looked at him as she
held her father’s left hand. She heard the double meaning. Sarah
and Jillian’s hands didn’t glow, but from the way Jack started to
breathe better Connor knew they were gradually passing their
strength to him. “Are you ready for me?” he stared at his
father-in-law until he nodded. Their women let go and resumed their
original positions.

“Ok Jack, here’s how I do
it.” Pointing to his temple he said “You need to create a powerful,
personal image in your mind and lock it there. Don’t allow outside
factors shatter that concentration. I’m used to it because I’ve had
to hold back my true strength for years now and it seems to help.
Words, movement and stray thoughts will only hinder you so remove
all doubt and focus on
that
image. Before you do that, I would like to ask if
you felt me touch your mind earlier.”

“I didn’t. Would you please
enter my mind and allow me to try and see if I can feel your
intrusion? Maybe you can tell me what I should sense.” He said
warily and Connor said “I can handle that.” They smiled at one
another and looked directly into each other’s eyes. Pushing with
his mind, Connor heard Jack’s thoughts immediately.
“…nnor? Are you listening to me yet?”

“Yes, I’m here. Can you
feel the touch of my mind?”

“I honestly haven’t a clue
as to what I’m looking for.”
His azure
eyes spoke only the truth.

“Jack, concentrate on the
center point of your forehead.”

“Ok now what?”

“Now I’m going to push
gently. Feel for the pressure building on that point.”
He pushed deeper into Jack’s consciousness as
slowly and easily as he possibly could.

“Wait… yes I felt something… I never
noticed that before. It’s faint, but it really is there.” He said
aloud.

“Ok now that you felt the touch of my
mind, I can tell you that each person’s mind has a certain feel to
it. Like how I was able to distinguish between the ways each of
your minds felt as you tried touching my mind as a human. A
person’s mind is as unique as a person’s voice. Some can be
similar, but never identical. Now it is time to try and block me
from trying to get in.”

Jack closed his eyes for a minute and
when he opened them he nodded. Connor pushed with his mind and saw
a weak image in his mind and bypassed it easily. “That was
pathetic, Jack. I told you to pick a powerful image, not a weak
one. Use something that means the most to you.”

He didn’t like getting scolded like a
child, but it worked. As Jack nodded this time Connor pushed easily
and hit a firm wall. Jack’s image was of himself, Jillian and three
little girls in dresses. He sat in a chair with Jillian sitting on
his lap while the three little girls were playing with each other
on the ground. One little girl had reddish brown hair, another had
a pale brown hair and Connor knew the last was Sarah from her
chocolate brown hair and green eyes. Jack’s image was of his family
as he best could picture it. This was his hope that he’d never get
to see. After the loss of Pearl he made up this image to always
remember his children.

“I understand now, Jack.” Jack nodded,
understanding the heartfelt meaning behind such an image. “I really
don’t know how to regulate my flow perfectly yet. Tell me when you
feel anything uncomfortable and I’ll stop.”

Connor used his mind to push deeper.
He increased the flow of power from his mind as gently as possible
for a beginner telepath. Jack’s expression started to furrow in
pain the further the test progressed. “That’s enough, Connor.” Jack
stated, breathless. Connor stopped pushing and Jack put his head in
his hands, trying to relax himself from the ordeal. Jillian leaned
down and sat next to Jack with a hand rubbing his back.

Something was seriously
different.

“Connor what s wrong? I
felt that you seemed confused.”
Sarah
said, crawling up to sit beside him. She looked at her father, but
addressed Connor.

He took her gentle hand
into his to stop the nervousness in his hands from shaking. She
finally looked at him, waiting for a response.
“I’m just a little worried about how strong I’ve
become.”

“What do you mean?”
Comforting was something she excelled at and it
helped ease his inner worry.

“It’s that when your father
said that he used everything at his disposal to get in my mind, it
made me first feel proud that I am strong enough to resist him or
anyone getting into my mind, without permission. But
now…”

“Connor, just get it off your chest.”

“Sarah, I felt in
here”
He said while touching his
chest.
“that I barely used twenty to
thirty percent of my power to break into your father’s
mind.”
Sarah had an idea floating in her
head as she let him in.

She proposed a plan
saying
“How about you try and force your
mind into me and see if I am stronger than they are as
well.”

“I don’t know. What if I
unintentionally hurt you?”

“You’re my protector. You
will never hurt me. Plus if Mother’s theory is correct, I should be
as strong as you anyway. At least in theory that is…”

“Ok, but I will only go up
to fifty percent of my strength or whatever it feels like inside
me.”
Sarah scuttled to sit in front of
him. Their knees were touching when Jillian asked. “Just what are
you two doing?”

Sarah said to her parent sitting
behind her “Just testing your theory, Mother.”

She didn’t need time to prepare
because she nodded. Connor began pushing at about thirty percent
strength and Sarah’s image didn’t waver and neither did her
expression. They reached the limit he placed on himself five
minutes later and nothing changed inside or outside of Sarah. “Ok,
that’s the limit.”

She turned to her parents with more
news, but she pushed herself up and back to sit on his lap. From
the feel from her bond, she enjoyed the sitting arrangement. Her
parents watched them with curious and cautious eyes. Sarah said
“Connor, she was right, I do have your strength.”

“Sarah, could you please explain to us
what you tested?” Jack asked curiously. His head was finally able
to be raised now that his mental anguish and strain
ceased.

“Father, let’s put it this way, if
what Connor says is true, you can no longer mentally dominate him.
I believe him.”

“Sarah, dumb it down for me to understand.”
Jillian asked.

“Mother, last week Father could have
put Connor into a coma, but the way we are now…if Connor used half
his strength on either of you…” She paused dramatically “He
wouldn’t just place you in a coma, it would outright kill you.” And
Jillian took in a shocked breath.

Jillian looked at Connor with concern.
“Is she speaking the truth?” He couldn’t answer, but his worried
expression didn’t get missed from under her golden gaze. “Connor,
what’s the problem?”

“Will I become any stronger?” He
looked up, unsure of what to do next.

She answered evenly. “Possibly you
both will. If what you say is true I have one more
theory.”

“I’m all ears.” He told her wanting to
know her thoughts.

“Since the two of you can use all five
elements, your bodies must develop to the point where they won’t
drain you as quickly as they did today. You might even be able to
exceed us all as Balancers.” She shook her head in wonder. “Who
would have thought that our daughter could find someone
so…remarkable.” She held Jack’s hand in her lap.

“If were such oddities, I
need to ask the two of you for another favor.” Sarah stirred her
bottom in his lap in a way that she shouldn’t have. She noticed the
lower physical reaction because she turned her head to look at him
with a raised eyebrow.
“I’ll take care
of
that
later.”
She said mentally with a wry
smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“What do you need?” Jack asked pulling
Connor’s mind back to his surroundings.

“Just your time and experience.”

“Would you care to elaborate?” He
rubbed the back of his tense neck.

“We or should I say
I
need help not only
focusing my abilities, but since you were a soldier once upon a
time… I was wondering if you could give me some battle and
elemental control experience. I can feel that it will be the
quickest way for me to learn about my strengths and
weaknesses.”

“Please!” Jillian sounded offended as
she said “We want to see just what you two are capable of. Of
course we will help.”