Determinant -Guardians of Vesturon [3] (28 page)

“Now try to use it January.” Jurek’s voice had become so soft, I had to strain to hear it. It was soothing to me and I didn’t want to move. He had to coax me again.

“January, use whatever your mind has conjured up to try to move the pillow. Reach across the room and retrieve it for me. Go ahead, the pillow cannot run away from you.”

I put my little gripping device to work but it wouldn’t cooperate with me. I tried to use my arms but they would stretch out and contact with the pillow, but my hands wouldn’t close around it. I kept repeating these actions, but nothing worked.

“Ugh, this is
too
hard. I’ll never get it.”

“You have to practice every day. Just as you have practiced blocking your thoughts. Keep trying this every day.”

“Is that it? Is that all we’re gonna do today?”

“January, in case you have not noticed, I have a business to run and a station to see to. I have duties and obligations. I must go.”

“Let me go with you! Please! I need a break from this room! Please Jurek, pretty please!”

He snorted and said, “Let me see what I can do. No promises though. My employees do not see you as I do. They only see a prisoner January. At least when you are in here, I know you are safe.”

“Humph,” I grumbled under my breath.

“Perhaps I can talk Tak into coming in here to teach you how to spar.”

“Tak! Ugh! Why can’t
you
?”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Tak is better than I and would be better equipped to knock you around.”

“No doubt,” I said sarcastically.

There was a crackle, then a spark and he disappeared.

True to my word, every day I practiced trying to learn Telekinesis. After days of major concentration, I had a breakthrough. I moved the pillow a hair. Literally, it shifted. That’s it. Nothing more. I was disgusted with my lack of progress.

I started ranting and raving out loud, not recognizing how loud I was.

The electrical charge surged through the room and I knew Jurek had popped by. I was disappointed to see it wasn’t him, but Tak instead.

“I have been sent to fight you,” his voice haughty.

“Don’t you mean ‘teach me’?”

“I was told to come here to fight you,” he spat.

“Obviously, there won’t be a fight. Look at me Tak. I am half your size. I barely weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet.” I laughed at him. Come on, like I’d think he’d seriously fight me.

I never saw it coming. I felt a whoosh of air and I found myself sprawled on the floor on my backside, attempting to get some badly needed air into my lungs. He had knocked the wind out of me and my diaphragm was spasming, putting me in a dead panic.

My throat convulsed as I struggled to breathe and my heart turned into a jackhammer, so high was my anxiety.

After a million years or so, the ability to breathe returned and I sucked in as much air as I could hold. Inhale, exhale, and repeat. I slowly returned to normal.

The blood rushed to my head and I could hear it pounding in my ears as the anger diffused throughout my body.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I bellowed, my lip curled in disgust as I flew to my feet.

“I am fighting you,” he replied nonchalantly.

I was now beyond furious. A red haze descended over my eyes. Before I knew what happened, Tak was plastered to the wall. My arm was extended and I was panting with the effort, but I had pinned him to the wall with my telekinesis.

Through gritted teeth I shouted, “Jurek, if you can hear me, you’d better get in here fast. I mean it!”

I heard the electricity crackle, followed by the biggest, brawniest howl I had ever heard.

My anger had just kicked up a notch and I could feel the muscle twitching in my jaw. “Get him out of here now,” I ground out through my still clenched teeth.

Jurek was beside himself with hysterics. He continued to slap his knee and wouldn’t stop with the guffaws. I’d had quite enough when before I could even ponder my actions, my arm flung itself out and Jurek was now pressed against the ceiling.

“Well done January. Release us now.”

“No!”

“Oh January, you know you have not the power to restrain us. We can convert to our energy forms and go where we want.”

“Ugh, you two are the most inconsiderate, horrible, cruel, and...and, well,
mean
people I’ve ever known. How could you? And
you,
” I said moving toward Tak, “you’re nothing but a giant bully. Throwing me around like that! You
hurt
me!”

The flash lit up the room and Jurek was standing next to me with Tak on the other side.

“It worked January. I told Tak to come in here and do that, just to see if anger could propel you to unleash your Power of Telekinesis and it worked. We now know you have the ability, you simply have to find and harness it.”

“Yeah, well, easy for you to say. You weren’t the one
he
beat up, knocking the breath out of you. Of all the...”

Tak vanished and Jurek continued, “Isn’t this what you wanted? To learn how to do this? I’ve been listening to you try every day knowing it would take something to push you over the edge. And I am not sorry I had Tak do this January. Now work on controlling the Power we know you were gifted with!”

With a pop, he was gone.

I practiced daily on this newfound gift I had unleashed. It took a while, but I finally understood the method I needed to use to pull it forth. Like my blanket, it was there but instead of pulling it up and encasing me within it, I had to push it outward, expanding it
away
from me. It was the complete opposite of blocking.

Jurek had warned me about trying to move large things, as he said it could be very dangerous. I could lose control and could hurt others or myself if I wasn’t careful. He was right. One day I tried to lift the dining room chair. I did it with ease. So, being the idiot I was, I stupidly assumed the table would be just as easy. I had it in the air when something outside the window distracted me and the table went hurtling across the room, banging into the wall. It almost nailed me in the process. I was flattened on the floor when Jurek appeared.

“What’s going on here?”

I sat up, shaking my head, rubbing my cheek where it had hit the floor.

“You were right, as usual,” I explained begrudgingly. “I tried to move the table and I think I would have been okay if that thing outside the window hadn’t made me lose my concentration.”

“Are you injured?”

“No. Not physically. Only my pride.” I chuckled.

He gave me a look that spoke volumes. “January, the irony is not lost on me. I could and would still kill you if it becomes necessary. I would not like it though but that does not mean I want you to walk around with an injury.”

He headed toward the window asking, “What thing outside the window?”

“I dunno. I thought maybe it was a space ship or something.” I massaged my face as it still throbbed from the impact with the floor.

He took a look around and then tapped the window. The beautiful woman’s image appeared and he ordered, “Make sure all our shields and blocks are secure. I think we have just been probed by a space scanner.”

“Yes, sir, I will see to it.”

“What’s a space scanner?”

“The Vesturions use them to see if there is life on undiscovered planets. They are robotic devices that travel the universe and report back to the Command Center on Vesturon,” he elaborated.

“Would it be bad if they knew where this is?”

“Very.” He looked at me and sighed. “There is a great deal about us you do not know and I must keep it that way. The same goes for the rest of the universe. We do not want this location disclosed.”

“Can this place, whatever it is, be moved?”

“Yes. And we do it often.”

It made me wonder how much danger he was in every day.

“More than you care to know or experience January. Have a care with your practice and please, do not try to move such large objects. Let me take a look at you.” He took my chin in his hand and gently inspected my face with his fingers before declaring I would survive.

I was alone again. Dragging a chair to the window, I unceremoniously deposited myself in it and began to star gaze. I chuckled when I thought about this whole thing. Only a few months ago I thought stargazing was looking through a telescope or laying on your back on a blanket looking at them. Here I was, deep in space, a gazillion miles away from Earth no doubt, really and truly stargazing.

It was amazing!

As usual, my thoughts turned to Rykerian. I hoped he was doing okay, amidst all this turmoil. I sure did wish they would hurry up and complete this mission so I could go home to him. Funny thing...a couple of weeks ago I never would have thought about him this way.

*****

A few more long, miserable boring days dragged on, second by second. I was stepping out of the shower and wrapping myself in a robe when I felt the room take on what was now that familiar charge.

“This better be good as I’m nearly naked having just finished my shower,” I said sourly.

“Get dressed. We are going.”

“Going?”

“Yes, now hurry!” he said impatiently.

“And just where is it we’re going?” exasperation pouring out of my mouth.

“I am taking you home. Now
hurry
!” he commanded.

“Home as in Earth?” I screeched, jumping to attention.

“Yes! Now hurry January!”

“Well, if you’d pop out for a second, I might be able to get dressed.”

“Do not worry about that. I have no desire to see you naked,” he said with distaste as he turned his back.

“I don’t care, go! Out!” I yelled. His eyes darkened as he popped back out.

It took me all of, oh maybe three seconds to throw my clothes on. I quickly tore a brush through my hair, thinking how great these showers were that dried you too. He was back.

“Shall we?” he asked, extending his hand toward me.

“I’m scared,” I said in a small voice.

“What are you afraid of?”

“What if he doesn’t want me anymore?”

He angled his head in that odd way if his and then shook it. “Are you insane? You occupy his every thought. He thinks of you every waking moment. His soul is wrapped up within yours. You are his, whether you want to admit it or not. Come, we are wasting time.” His voice was urgent.

“Wait. What was the outcome?”

“He would not say. I could have forced it from him, but I decided against it.”

“Why?”

His eyes softened as he said, “Because of you, my friend. Now let us go!”

“Wait, one more thing! If for whatever reason he doesn’t like me anymore, can I come back here with you? Wherever it is you go? I mean,” I twisted my hands as I spoke, “I don’t have anyone that gives a damn about me and you’re the closest thing to family I’ve ever had!” I looked up at him and his eyes were that wondrous soft lavender. I smiled and he smiled back. It lit up his whole face.

“Yes, I will keep you with me for as long as you wish. However, if he doesn’t want you anymore, I will also kill him,” he said seriously, but then he gave me a big wink and stuck his tongue between his teeth and grinned.

“Do you think he’ll still want me?”

“Stop! Your lack of self-confidence is beginning to annoy me January.”

“Will you still kill me if you have to?”

“Well, I might kill you anyway, simply because you are annoying me so much! But to answer you, yes, if it comes to that, then I would kill you,” he said, but then the corners of his mouth turned up, ever so slightly.

“Oh you,” I said, elbowing him in the side. “You never were really going to kill me were you?”

“Of course I was. You were my perfect pawn.”

I stuck my tongue out at him, and raised my hand to him, giving him a perfectly obscene human gesture.

“Are you quite finished or are you going to stand here all day and ask more irritating questions?”

“We can go,” I whispered. He took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Then everything turned black.

Rykerian

She was gone. I watched in numb horror as Jurek Herdekian disappeared and took January with him. The numbness lasted only a minute and was replaced with a blinding panic, and then outrage. My eyes darted around the terrace, hoping to see her reappear at any second. Bile rose in my throat and adrenaline surged through my veins. My hands fisted in my hair, nearly pulling it out by its roots.

I screamed her name over and over but only vaguely remember that now. Maddie and Rayn were quick to approach me but I pushed them away. I was frenetic in my movements, not knowing where to go or what to do. For a moment, my sanity slipped away from me, leaving in its wake a raving maniac.

It was Rayn who finally broke through my pattern of hysteria.

I focused on his face as he screamed my name. My chest heaved as I pulled air into my lungs and my hands clenched into fists, my nails tearing through the flesh of my palms, as I tried to regain control. My bones felt like they were exploding within my flesh, ripping me to pieces.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the pain to disappear. It didn’t, nor would it. I knew I would feel this way until I had January safely back. My nostrils flared with the intensity of the breaths I drew and my mind, ever so slowly, returned to me.

“Rykerian, stay with me! Focus on my eyes!” Rayn was pulling me into himself, passing Tranquility into me. His hands were like steel grips on my shoulders. I stared into his eyes and felt the panic and fury easing away.

“That’s it, brother. Breathe deeply. Slowly. Yes, that’s it.”

Reason began drifting back but so did the abject grief.

My eyes drilled into Rayn’s, seeking comfort. I wanted to hear him say that it was all a mistake and that January was still here.