CHAPTER 7
Riley did not know how much time she had spent in this lost, frozen world. Every day, she practiced telepathy, and she could now communicate exclusively with Toom without using her voice. Today’s lesson would be the toughest so far.
“You have mastered reading and transmitting thoughts to another person’s open mind, child. But most people have shields that they put up so that those of us with telepathic power cannot see into their minds. You must remember that telepathy is a power that should be used only for good. You should not invade another person’s mind just out of mere curiosity. You should obtain permission first if you can. However, in extreme cases, you could break a mental shield if you needed to.”
“How can I do that?” Riley spoke directly into Toom’s mind. She was sitting cross-legged on the frozen lake, eyes closed, concentrating hard. Her silky hair blowing in the bitter wind, still dressed in her heavy parka. Her face was thinner, she had lost weight, since there was nothing to eat but stew. She had not had a bite of chocolate for weeks. Also, Toom had her running 6 miles every day. She subscribed to a “strong body, strong mind” philosophy. At first, Riley had protested, but Toom gave her no choice.
“The destiny of Avalyss rests on your shoulders, child, you need to be ready to face that destiny.” She admonished, the first time Riley had slept in and not shown up to run. Since then, she had not missed a day.
“In order to keep a mental shield up, one has to dedicate a certain amount of life energy to that task. The shield holds even if a person is asleep or unconscious. Breaking through someone’s shield is very difficult. You can shatter the shield completely, but then the person you are trying to read will be aware of what you are doing and will immediately put up a new shield. But if you do not want the person to be aware of what you are doing, you need to slip inside the mental shield. You can do this by cracking the shield instead of shattering it. That way you can slip unnoticed through the crack. This requires a great deal of skill and stealth. In order to create a very faint crack in someone’s mental shield some of the person’s life energy that is currently keeping the shield in place needs to be diverted, the energy must be directed elsewhere. This can be done in moments of great pain or great pleasure. You need to stay alert for or create such moments, then slip in quickly.”
“Are you saying that I need to either torture someone or seduce him in order to crack his mental shield?”
Toom chuckled. “No need to sound so indignant, child, remember extreme situations call for extreme measures. Also, bear in mind that if the person becomes aware of what you are doing, they can close the crack, thus trapping some of your energy. If this happens, you will be even more vulnerable to attack since all of your life energy is not available to you.”
“What should I do if that happens?”
“Since the person is now aware of what you were trying to do, discontinue all attempts at subtlety and shatter his shield immediately. When a person is in mortal peril, all of his life energy will be focused on fighting for his life. His shield is most vulnerable at this point. You can shatter it simply by focusing on the outcome intently.”
“All this is making me dizzy. Up until a few short weeks ago, my head was filled with financial statements, forecasts, and budget proposals, now my head is consumed with teleportation, telepathy, and epic battles!”
“Enough for today, you need to…..what are you doing?” Toom’s voice was sharp.
Not aware that she was doing anything, Riley opened her eyes, and looked around. She was still sitting cross- legged but she was now floating a couple of feet above the frozen lake. Shocked, she hovered in mid-air for a second or two before crashing down to the icy surface. Toom was at her side in a flash. For the first time since she had met her, Toom smiled. “Well, child, looks like you also have the power of levitation.”
Riley lay in her bed roll wide awake, listening to Toom snoring softly from the other side of the cave. She still did not know how she was able to levitate. She had done it quite unconsciously. Toom had assured her that all she had to do was picture herself floating above the ground, and she would. Riley had tried but had not moved an inch. Toom said that she was thinking about it too much that she just had to have a clear image of herself floating above the ground, then surrender. Riley had no idea what that meant. Surrender to what? She did not know exactly how levitation would help her in the upcoming epic battle. So much had happened since Max had brought her to Avalyss. The whole thing still felt surreal, like if she was having a very vivid dream. She was just Riley, not some Princess of Light, savior of Avalyss. She wished she was back home instead of in this frozen land, trying to master powers that she did not understand and did not want. Powers, which according to Toom, were her birthright.
Suddenly, she became aware of a shadow in the crevice opening. Before she could move, the shadow was right beside her, amber eyes gleaming in the darkness. Pretending to be asleep, she opened her mind and called for Toom telepathically. Bright light flooded the entire cave and Toom was standing over her, snarling and growling at a huge lion. He was an impressive specimen, luxurious golden mane surrounded a massive head atop a sleek, muscled frame. If it came to a fight between Toom and the lion, Riley did not know which one would fare better.
Physically, they appeared to be equally matched. The lion regarded Toom impassively, backed away, and sat back on its haunches. Unsure as to if the lion was friend or foe, she gazed from Toom to the lion. Total silence screamed within the cave. No one spoke, no one moved, it was as if a cocoon of silence had wrapped itself around the cave.
Unable to stand it anymore, Riley asked “What is going on here? Toom do you know this lion?”
The lion turned to her, amber eyes lingered on her face. “She does. As do you, Princess,” the lion replied in Cole’s whisky voice.
Stunned, Riley could only stare as the lion leaped to its feet and transformed itself to Cole. Grinning, he tossed back his honey locks, and bowed low. “Feel free to applaud.”
“Cole, by coming here, you are endangering the Princess. No one can find out that she is here. You must leave immediately.” Toom declared.
“Not without her. She must come with me.”
“No!” Riley shrieked.
Ignoring her, Cole faced Toom, “You must let me take her, it is the only way.”
“She has been entrusted to my care. You will have to go through me first to get her.” Toom replied.
Cole stared at Toom for a long moment, then nodded “So be it.”
“No.” Riley sprang between Cole and Toom. “I will not be fought over like a piece of meat. Cole, I will not go willingly, you will have to take me by force.”
Cole’s grin turned devilish “With pleasure, Princess,” he purred.
“She is not ready.” Toom growled.
“She must come with me. You know that.”
Sighing, Toom turned to Riley. “I am sorry, child, someday you will understand why I have to do this.” Toom’s green eyes held Riley transfixed, she could not tear her eyes away. A wave of dizziness hit her, and she fell into those green depths, deeper and deeper till she lost consciousness.
Riley awoke to the soothing sound of the ocean. She lay in a hammock. Sitting up, she looked around at what appeared to be some sort of tropical paradise, gentle aquamarine waves gently kissed a powder white beach. Inhaling deeply, the salty ocean air filled her lungs. Springing out of the hammock, she buried her toes in the smooth sand. Unable to resist the ocean’s siren song, she plunged in head-first, the water cool and silky against her skin. After swimming for a while, she floated on her back, trying to spot shapes in the white fluffy clouds that hovered motionless in the electric blue sky. A favourite childhood game. A feeling of utter peace and calm descended over her, she felt ready to face anything.
She back-stroked to the shore, and made her way back to the hammock. Immediately, her mind fil
led with questions. Where was she? How did she get here? Was she alone in this place? Where was Cole? Could she teleport to Toom’s cave? Closing her eyes and focusing hard, she pictured Toom and the cave in her mind’s eye while reaching for the core of power inside her. She felt nothing. The power was not there. She had felt it within her, growing stronger ever since Max had brought her to Avalyss. It was like tapping into electricity. But now it felt like the electricity had been turned off. The power was no longer there. Opening her eyes, Riley stared at the ocean in despair. What was she going to do now?
“Penny for your thoughts, Princess?” Cole drawled.
Gasping in surprise, she would have tumbled out of the hammock if Cole had not grabbed on to it.
“I was just thinking that you always turn up like a bad penny.” Riley quipped, pretending a calm she did not feel. Dressed only in swimming trunks, his body was hard and muscled. With his honey hair framing his leonine face, he exuded sex and danger.
He chuckled, a soft, seductive sound that made her tingle all the way to her toes. His amber eyes darkened as they raked her body. Her wet clothes clung to her curves.
Unable to resist, he reached down and gently cupped one full breast, strong fingers gently kneading the soft flesh. His mouth crushed hers, his tongue plundering the sweetness within. Riley’s entire body melted into his, senses spinning as a wave of heat and passion swept her under. Riley knew she should stop but his mouth, hot and wet against her heated flesh, made her want more. Branded, she thought, as she pulled him into the hammock. As his body covered hers, his hungry mouth feasted on her breasts. Lost in the frenzied dance of their mutual passion, they were unaware of the hammock tilting dangerously to the left, until it swung too far, tumbling them both onto the sand. His head thudding hard against the sand brought Cole back his senses. He rolled to his feet, his expression unreadable as he gazed at Riley, her mouth bruised and swollen from his kisses, cheeks flushed and eyes filled with desire.
“Let’s get you out of those wet clothes”. His voice sounded hoarse and cracked. Waving his hand, her wet tunic and leggings turned into jeans and a white T-shirt.
Shocked by her wanton behavior and his rejection, she snapped, “I am not your dress up doll, Cole.”
Breathing hard, still fighting for some semblance of control, Cole put some more distance between them. “I am sorry, Princess. I should never have mauled you like that.”
Stung by his cool demeanor, and cursing herself for a fool, she said with as much venom as she could muster. “What do you want? Did you bring me here to be some sort of sex toy?”
His eyes turned cold. “I already apologized.” Turning on his heel, he stalked away.
“Not so fast, buddy.” Riley raced after him.
Cole stopped and waited for her to catch up. Breathless, she asked “Why am I here?”
Shrugging, he looked out at the turquoise ocean. “Have you ever wondered if we could refuse the path that destiny has chosen for us? Can we choose a different path?”
“You want us to find a way to thwart our destiny? To not have to battle each other?”
He turned towards her, amber eyes full of some emotion she could not identify. “It is worth a shot, don’t you think?”
Pacing back and forth, hands thrust in the pocket of her jeans, she thought about his words. It was certainly an interesting idea. Smiling, she said, “You and me against the world right?”
“Neither one of us chose this path. We are mere symbols of the ongoing battle between Good and Evil. Why should one of us be sacrificed?”
“What can we do? Hide away on this island paradise and let the battle rage on without us?”
“No. Maybe we can find a way to stop the battle before it even begins.”
She stopped pacing and turned towards him. Framed by the afternoon sun, he seemed to be surrounded by a halo of light and his strange amber eyes sparked.
Her breath caught in her throat. Damn, the man, and his physical effect on her. She held out a hand. “I am willing to try if you are.”
Grinning, he ignored her hand, and embraced her, pressed his lips to her hair. Riley’s body melted into his. In his arms I am home, the words rushed into her mind and heart.
He stepped back. “I will call the Others.”
“What others?” She asked looking around.
“The Others are a renegade group who wants to stop the battle. Tonight we will meet on the beach. Get some rest, Princess, it will be a long night.” His expression unreadable, he slowly faded from view.