The Sentinel (9 page)

I blushed, furiously, as I closed my eyes.

In my mind I reached for him. My best friend for the last thirteen years. Surely knowing him so well, would make it easier to pull him to me. The bond between us was so strong. I imagined what that bond would look like if it was a tangible thing you could hold. I visualized this bond in my head, it was a thick golden rope, so thick I could barely hold it in both hands. I grabbed hold of it and pulled with all my might.

Suddenly my head was filled with a thousand images, thoughts and feelings. Images of me when I was little, flashed through my head like a film played on fast forward, images of me on my first day of school, falling over in the playground, covered in mud, me playing in the paint and the sand, me playing on the climbing frame and falling off and then I realised these weren’t my memories, these were Seth’s. I watched me get older through his eyes, the times we had played up here at the ruins, him teaching me to ride his motorbike, the images just flashed through me so quickly I barely had time to register each one, before it was replaced with another. And as the images of me got older, there was a feeling of love there too, I loved this little girl in the images, but I knew it was Seth’s love for me that I was feeling. As the years flashed by in a matter of seconds, the love grew as I grew, a love that was so strong, so overpowering it nearly knocked the breath out of me.

‘Eve, stop!’ Seth’s voice, quiet and so close, interrupted me. I tried to open my eyes but the images kept coming and I couldn’t turn them off. I felt his hand in my hand, squeezing it gently. ‘Please Eve, stop.’ At his touch, the images sped up, my head felt like it was going to explode, like it was literally sucking these memories from Seth, like my brain was having to grow to accommodate these new memories and feelings.

‘Seth, I can’t.’ My voice trembled.

‘Persia?’ Seth’s voice was anxious. ‘Do something.’

The images started to change, some of them were clearly not memories but dreams. I was invading Seth’s innermost thoughts and feelings, even his dreams weren’t safe from me. This wasn’t right. As the image of me kissing Seth, passionately, filled my head, I made myself think of a bubble surrounding Seth, a bubble to protect him from me and as the bubble strengthened, the images slowed and then suddenly winked out. I staggered back as the connection was cut, strong arms were around me and I forced my eyes open. Seth was staring at me in shock and horror, I realised it was Quinn that was holding me up. My head throbbed, painfully.

I righted myself. ‘Seth I’m sorry,’ I whispered aghast. ‘I don’t know how I did that, I’m so sorry.’

Persia looked worried. ‘I couldn’t break it Seth, the connection was so strong I couldn’t sever it.’

Seth looked at her. ‘No she did.’ He looked back at me. ‘She shielded me, she’s still shielding me now, I can’t feel her anymore.’

I closed my eyes, and in my mind I could still see Seth surrounded by the bubble. I tentatively lifted the bubble, but held it there over him, in case I needed it again. But no images came, the connection, or whatever it was, was gone. I released the bubble completely.

Seth breathed a small sigh of relief. I opened my eyes again and looked at him. There really was no words to say for what I had just seen, or felt. He always said he loved me, but I had no idea how deep the feelings he had for me ran, they didn’t just run deep, they consumed him. ‘Seth…’

Seth shook his head, as he stepped away from me. ‘I’m erm… I’m going to go. Eli, you’ll make sure she gets home safely?’

Eli nodded.

‘Seth please don’t,’ I pleaded, quietly.

Seth paused without looking at me, then walked out the church.

I turned back to face Persia. ‘What happened?’

Persia pulled a face. ‘You read his mind.’

‘Well I did a whole lot more than that, I downloaded all of his memories, his dreams, his feelings. How did I do that?’

‘I don’t know. I’ve never seen it done before. All Donum can communicate telepathically and some can read minds. But to have access to everything… is unheard of. I imagine it’s to do with your bond with him and your strength, you pulled in everything, every thought, feeling, memory, dream he ever had.’

‘I couldn’t stop, I couldn’t let him go. Oh god, I’m a horrible person, Seth is going to hate me.’ I pushed my hands through my hair.

‘Hey, don’t be hard on yourself,’ Quinn said. ‘You’re just learning. You’re doing so well, it’s not just going to all run smoothly. You have to learn to control your powers, it’s going to take time.’ He put his arm around me, hugging me tight. ‘Besides I don’t think it’s possible for Seth to hate you.’ I could hear the smile in his voice.

I looked up at him horrified. ‘Did you see what I saw?’

‘No, love but it’s not hard to guess, it’s quite obvious to all of us how he feels about you.’

‘I wish it had been obvious to me,’ I mumbled.

‘Eve, I don’t understand something,’ Persia asked, her brow creasing into a frown. ‘When I realised what was happening, I tried to sever your contact with him, but it was like cutting through a thick rope, a rope as thick as a tree trunk. I could see it in my mind, this golden rope between the two of you, and I might as well have been trying to cut it with a pair of tiny scissors, with the amount of difference I made to it.’

I looked at Persia in bewilderment. ‘You saw the golden rope? I visualized that as a tangible representation of the bond between me and Seth.’

‘Mmmm. Visualization, that’s a really good way to control your powers, where you imagine your powers as a solid thing you can manipulate. Is that what you did when you shielded him?’ Persia asked.

‘Yeah I visualized a bubble around him.’

‘Interesting. Oh I’ve just thought of something else you can try, it’s really easy and no one can get harmed.’

This sounded much better. Although we had thought that about pulling Seth to me and he had just left, feeling humiliated.

‘You can control the weather too. You can’t do the impossible, like make it snow in the middle of the summer, but as we’re firmly in the middle of winter, you could probably make it snow now. Your skill for visualization will probably come in handy here. Close your eyes and imagine yourself floating up into the clouds.’

I did what I was told and imagined myself getting lighter and lighter. In my mind I floated out of the church and up into the sky. ‘Ok I’m in the clouds.’ I said.

‘Ok now I want you to think about the coldest places, the North Pole for example, or the top of a mountain, I want you to feel how cold it is in those places.’

I thought about my trip to Prague when I was younger. It had been November and they were experiencing a rather bitter cold spell. I remembered, the biting winds, whipping my face viciously. I remembered, buying jumpers, coats, hats and scarves and I still couldn’t get any relief from the painful cold. I remembered thinking that I was going to die from it. I remembered thinking I would never be warm again. I shivered now as I recalled those memories.

‘Ok, good.’ I could hear the smile in Persia’s voice. ‘Now imagine that cold all round you, covering the clouds in a blanket of cold.’

I imagined that the clouds were not just covered with a layer of cold, but I imagined cold to be a solid thing, and that the clouds were actually made from it. I shivered violently as the cold surrounded me. It wasn’t just a memory anymore; I could feel the biting cold on my face. My headache was even worse now, my brain felt like it was banging against my skull.

‘Imagine that cold falling from the clouds.’

I did as I was told and opened my eyes, looking up at the suddenly heavy sky.

Persia looked up too smiling. She took my hand and held it palm upwards to the sky. ‘Wait for it.’

I smiled at her in confusion. Wait for what exactly. I had possibly made it colder, but it wasn’t snowing. And then I saw it. Slowly, swirling and twisting in the wind a tiny flake gently drifted down onto my hand. I stared at it in wonder as it slowly melted. Then I frowned with disappointment. All that for one flake.

Persia laughed at my face. ‘Eve look up.’

I looked back up to the sky and gasped as slowly, thick snowflakes filled the air, drifting, dancing and twirling in the gentle breeze. I laughed incredulously. Within minutes a thin blanket covered the floor of the church and the snow continued to come, thick and fast.

I closed my eyes and felt the snow gently peppering my face. It was an amazing feeling. I had finally done something well with my powers and no one had got hurt. I opened my eyes and looked at the floor that was now easily an inch deep in snow, my snow. I quickly bent down and scooped a ball of snow into my hands. I squeezed it tight and threw it at Persia. She laughed at me as she stopped the snowball in mid-air and then threw it back at me, without even moving her hands.

I quickly ducked. ‘Hey that’s not fair.’

‘No this wouldn’t be fair.’ She laughed, quickly scooping her arm through the air as I was suddenly deluged with a small explosion of snow.

I cast around for someone else who could be my victim, someone who couldn’t defend themselves like Persia could. I looked at Lucas, who was staring up at the sky in wonder. I quickly scooped up another ball of snow and threw it at him. It splatted against his head with a satisfying wet thud. He blinked once, looking stunned at the sudden attack. Even Eli grinned at his face. I loaded my hands with another snow bullet and threw it at Eli. But then something happened, with a flick of Persia’s hand I felt myself gliding across the church. In less than a second, me and Eli had switched places and I was hit, hard in the face with my own snowball. Eli laughed loudly at this, and then caught himself laughing as if he wasn’t used to that sound coming out of his own mouth.

I laughed myself, but then I was hit with two more snowballs, one from Quinn and one from Izri. I cleared the snow out of my eyes, giggling and then saw Persia, juggling three snow balls in the air, above me. She stopped juggling and the balls landed on me with a splat.

‘Help!’ I giggled. ‘I thought the Guardians were supposed to protect me.’

‘I sense no immediate danger to your life.’ Eli smirked. Lucas, however, had a different answer. When I turned to him imploringly, I was met with a face full of snowball.

‘Right, let’s see if you can shield yourself in the same way that you shielded Seth. Visualize the bubble again.’ Persia grinned, somewhat evilly I thought.

Suddenly I was pelted with snowball after snowball. There was no reprieve from the attack. No sooner had one snowball hit me, then another took its place, then another. I didn’t even have time to think about the bubble, as I was continually struck all over my body. I shrieked with laughter as I tried to protect myself with my hands. I couldn’t see anything apart from the snowballs. I slipped under the deluge and fell onto my back. Pain surged through my ankle, where I had slipped awkwardly but the attack didn’t relent. I suddenly decided enough was enough. I closed my eyes and imagined the bubble surrounding me and no sooner had I visualized it the attack stopped. I could still hear the soft thudding of the snowballs and I opened my eyes to see the balls disintegrating about a centimetre from my face. It was like another skin, thick and impenetrable. I couldn’t see the bubble, but I knew it was there. I slowly stood up, wincing as I put weight on my ankle. The bubble remained intact. Persia beamed at me. Quinn and Lucas came over to examine the bubble, pressing against it gently with their fingers.

‘It feels like jelly,’ Quinn muttered.

Lucas pressed harder against it but it didn’t shift. ‘Wow, I think the Guardians will be redundant after this.’

My head was pounding painfully now, this was by far, the worst headache I’d ever had. But just as I thought my headache couldn’t get any worse, it quickly intensified, within seconds there was a severe burning tearing through my head. The pain crippled me and I sagged to my knees. I was vaguely aware of the snowballs stopping. I tried to visualize the bubble so I could lift it off me, but the white hot pain, searing through my head, my body, my skin was all I could see. I could hear someone screaming, a sickening, torturous scream ripping through my ears. I fell on my back, writhing in pain. And then it all went black.

9. Constant Vigilance

When I opened my eyes I was in bed. It was dark outside. My digital clock told me it was nearly midnight. Two figures were silhouetted against the limited light from the window. The snow outside was making it lighter than it should have been at this time of night, but still it was very dark. Or maybe it was just the tiredness that made it seem dark. My eyes closed again, against my will, but the hushed voices in the room, piqued my interest.

‘Is she ok?’ That was Seth. I was sure of it.

‘Yes, I think so. Jasmine looked her over, she said she was just tired from using all her powers for the first time. Seth I’ve never been so scared of losing her before. You should have heard her scream, it was horrific and there was nothing I could do to stop it, to help her.’ That was Quinn.

Seth. I had to talk to him, to apologise, to say something to make the events of this afternoon ok. I had no right to go traipsing about in his head, digging through his personal feelings, thoughts and dreams. How do you apologise for such a huge invasion of privacy. I wondered, dryly, if Clintons might do a line in such a card. I pictured the card alongside the usual birthday, anniversary, congratulations cards, the ‘I’m sorry I looked at all your thoughts’ card. It couldn’t even come close to covering what I had done.

‘Seth,’ I muttered, trying to force myself up into a sitting position.

‘Yeah I’m here honey.’ I saw him approach the edge of the bed.

I saw the shadow of Quinn leave the room, to give us some privacy no doubt.

‘Seth come here.’ I reached for him feebly, finding it very difficult to even lift my head, from the pillow. But even without my powers I knew he would come. He slid on to the bed next to me and I wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me tightly. He was so warm that as soon as my head was lying on his chest, sleep threatened to consume me again. I fought against it.