Read Traitor, Book 1 of The Turner Chronicles Page 44
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Aaron and Sarah tested her after Aybarra left. Aaron hid the ashtray while Sarah guarded Miss Hawks in another room. Miss Hawks always knew where the ashtray was. Always. Without looking, without leaving the room, proving that she had a Talent for finding. She might even have had the Talent to shield, but there was no particular way to prove that since shields generally did not work if there was no perceived threat. When asked, she admitted that early tests had shown the Shielding Talent in her just as they had shown her Finding Talent. Those Talents had always been with her, but she had never had the strength to use them.
Sarah's Talent proved to be singular and very strong. She had gained a great deal of speed. She could move faster, react quicker, than anyone Aaron had ever seen.
Their abilities hummed strong and neither of them knew why. They had no Talent Stones. In fact, Miss Hawks had never seen one, had never even wondered where she could get one to increase her strength. Although most people had Talents, few of them were strong enough to operate without a Talent Stone. Those Talents that were usable without a Stone were almost universally weak and unreliable.
Under questioning, Miss Hawks admitted that she had always been a superior tracker. Sarah confessed to always being just slightly faster than most of the people she trained with, although she recalled half a dozen who were faster than she.
Aaron tried a few different things to see if he had changed. In the end he proved to be very average, just as he had expected. He knew what his Talents were. As best he could tell, he was no different than before. After thinking about it, he decided he liked it better this way. His life was already strange enough. He did not need anything that would make it stranger.
The lights flickered off and then on.
"This is absolutely fantastic," Sarah exclaimed. "Light on demand. What else can you show us?"
"That box on the wall will adjust the temperature," Aaron said. "Do you feel hot or cold?"
"I feel okay," Sarah said just as Miss Hawks burst out of the bathroom.
"Mister Turner, I finished my business in the outhouse like you said. How do we get a chambermaid to change the water?"
Smiling, Aaron walked into the bathroom and showed them how to flush. The fact that the bowl refilled fascinated them, so he showed them how to adjust the volume and temperature of the water at the sink. That impressed them more.
Miss Hawks eyed the tub speculatively. "This looks like it might be a place to bathe, and it has one of those faucet things, too."
"The drain can be stopped if you want a soak," Aaron said, "or you can pull that lever and stand under the shower. It's like standing in rain only the water can be any temperature you want."
Miss Hawks smiled and started removing her clothes. "Now that sounds like fun."
Totally naked, she stepped into the tub and reached for the knobs. "Is this how it's done?" She twisted the knobs and water flowed out of the faucet, cool and then hot. Yelping, she turned the knobs more. "This takes a little practice. How do I get the water to fall from high up?"
She turned her defiant gaze to Aaron but did not quite meet his eyes. Frowning slightly, Aaron studied her, looking for the remaining signs of her ordeal. Her body was bright pink from her face to her belly, but he doubted that had anything to do with her injuries. However, her previously lacerated breast, stomach, and thighs now looked firm, showing only faint, soon to be gone lines where she had been cut. The new skin on her repaired breast was taut and shiny. From personal experience, Aaron knew that within two days the artificial graft would become a perfect color match.
Flushing because Miss Hawks really looked damn good, Aaron silently went over to the tub and pulled the knob out on the spout. When water poured down from the shower he quickly drew the curtain shut to keep the floor and himself dry. "Something like that," he said. Gods, it was warm.
"Wow!" Miss Hawks exclaimed from behind the curtain. "This feels wonderful. Miss Townsend, you have to try it."
"I will." Sarah kicked off her shoes and started unfastening her buttons. With only two undone, she paused. "Aaron, be a dear and close the door behind you."