Chapter 127Of Push and Pull

Faith was right. The real treasure wasn't the trinkets we found in the Abbey, despite my honest and deep interest in the locked manuscript, but the dark girl in front of us. Dark in skin and past. Almost ironic. Not that my lighter skin had any advantage in that matter. I may not have been a slave, but especially the death of Kryss was something that was against my will. And of course the strange behavior of Isabel, where she often left me with the nagging feeling, in the back of my mind, we were just her puppets.

"What's troubling you Amy?" Faith looked in my eyes.

"Slavery." I took a deep breath. "You know, it kind of bugs me that she called him, the one who kept her, a slave as well."

Faith shrugged. "You know, it might even have been worse for him."

She honestly surprised me. "What?! Worse for him than for her?"

"Shh. You'll wake her." Faith smiled. "She was drugged, unaware for most of the time and probably forced into it. The man looked as if he had to make a choice he never wanted to make. People don't easily kill themselves. Especially not someone who has a slave with that much power." She took a breath. "And it was no simple impulse. He actually planned being away, planned the fire. Perhaps he stood much more to loose than his own life. And... Despite his methodical behavior and planning, he did show some love for her. Even if it was only a single moment."

She was right. Was I so shortsighted I didn't think further than the scene in front of my eyes? I sighed. I still had much to learn. One could only bless themselves for having the luck of such excellent teachers around her. It was amazing, the amount of things I learned with Afentis and Faith around. I couldn't wait to tell Khuna.

"Amy?" Faith interrupted my mind with that gently spoken word.

I smiled. "Yes?"

"How did you change the fall of that rock?" Her voice was soft.

"I..." How did I do it? It was just like... "I don't know. Just kind of like flying. But I wanted the rock to fly, it didn't work very well. But it was enough to push it a little away."

Faith frowned. "There's definitely something odd about you, Amy. No one is supposed to learn things this fast." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Can I try an experiment with you?"

I smiled. "I guess."

"Not here, let's go to the living room." Faith led the way out, opening the door quietly.

The corridor felt a little colder, but that was no more than a little nervousness. Nuru's blood still flowed through me hotly. It felt different than normal though. There was a dark, feral, wild tone that I couldn't quite place. Also, my eyes were behaving a bit oddly. When I was looking at Faith I saw faint outlines just outside her body that traced and preempted her moves. Like a shadow of a future second, she moved where the outline went. But it was so vague I had trouble actually believing it, yet it was still noticed.

Faith walked to the living room and sat down. "Take the opposite seat this time."

Moving in silence, I merely nodded to acknowledge her words and sat down quietly in expectation.

"I want to test something, to see if you can move things on purpose, when there is no pressure." She opened the backpack and pulled the crystal ball out to put it on the table in between us. It took her a moment to make sure it was completely inert. But the table was nice and level, so it hardly took any time. She took a deep breath.

"Okay, try and push this, not moving otherwise."

I nodded and started to focus on the ball. Somehow I felt out of reach. Like you stretch your hand and fingertips, but you just can't reach it. "It's too far away."

Faith smiled. "You can stretch your hand, but don't touch it."

A little at first, nothing happened. Then I came closer and closer with my hand to the ball. But as long as I sat down I could never reach it. If only that ball was a little closer, I'm sure I could push it with my mind. I could almost feel it's presence. So annoying! Closer, I can do it! Closer!

The ball moved... toward me. Faith looked very surprised as the ball rolled toward me, about to fall off the table. She wanted to ask me. "Don't let..." But she didn't need to. I bend forward and caught it before it hit the floor. It was safe. Slowly I put it on the table again, where Faith picked it up and put it back into the backpack.

"That was... unusual." Faith looked at me intensely.

"What was?"

"You seemed to push for a moment, but then suddenly a pull. Eh... " She fumbled with her dress. "Can I ask something weird?"

I smiled in surprise. "Sure, I guess."

"Can I look in your mind?" She looked at me in honesty, she meant it.

I nodded. "Okay."

"It won't hurt." Faith stood up and sat down next to me.

She looked me in the eyes and grabbed my hand, squeezing it a little bit in friendliness. She moved toward me almost as if she wanted to kiss me, but merely touched my forehead. She was like a warm entity within my feelings. I could feel her spreading out inside of me until I found her teasing my memories.

Everything came at once, all the intense memories flashed by in an instant; Kryss, burning. Isabel, running. My mother, taken. Khuna, wounded. Valerie, dancing. Kai, jumping. Children, riding. Blood, flowing. Glass, reflecting.

All the images, accompanied shards of sounds. It was too much, like my whole mind was suddenly in a vortex and compressed together. I didn't mind them, it was simply too much. Imagine being in a room where each wall is made up of hundreds of screens. Likewise, the floor and the ceiling. All the screens show different movies, full volume. None of them alike. And yet, somehow, you can almost distinguish each and every one of them. My mind overflowed.

No!

It was an instinct. I lashed out. But my body hadn't moved.

When I opened my eyes, Faith was on the floor, bleeding from her nose. But the absence of redness on her cheeks, that would indicate being hit, was nagging at me instantly. My hands didn't sting either.

What had I done?