Part 3 (1/2)
”Yes, she did.” He stood, studied me intently again as though something about me bothered or fascinated him, but then he said, ”Rest. I will see you tomorrow.”
I waited until he left the room, then walked to the window seat and stared outside, everything he'd told me running through my head. Singing and laughter filled my head, but this time, I could filter it like a person tuning a radio. I listened, dimmed some, and made others clearer. Below, I actually saw people. They kept appearing and disappearing in the courtyard, although I couldn't tell what they were doing.
One particular guy stood by the gazebo and stared up at the castle. Not the castle. He seemed to be staring at my window. I felt a slight pressure inside my head then a soft voice said, Lil.
A chill shot up my spine. There was something very familiar about the voice. I angled my head to catch more words from him, but all I got was the knock on my door.
”Come in.”
The door opened and Lady Nemea walked in with two men and a girl around my age. They avoided looking at me, just pressed hand to chest and bowed, then grabbed the table, chairs, and tray before teleporting, leaving me with Lady Nemea.
She joined me at the window and glanced outside. The guy by the gazebo was gone. ”They are getting the castle ready for the celebrations. Your father wants it to be spectacular.”
Lord Valafar looked like the type who always got his way. ”Is he always so curt and distant?”
”What do you mean?” Lady Nemea asked.
Something in her voice had me evading her question. ”It's hard to explain. He just seemed, uh, preoccupied.”
”He's a busy man. Our people here and around the world depend on him to guide them. If he seemed distant, it's because he's still worried about you. When was he curt with you? What were you discussing?”
I shrugged, not wanting to discuss my father anymore. ”How do you teleport? Lord, uh, Father was supposed to explain but he forgot.” Lady Nemea threw me a brief look of pity. I learned another thing about myself in that instant. I hated to be pitied. ”Forget it.”
”No, it's okay. You keep a mental picture of where you want to go and will yourself there,” she explained. ”You dematerialize and become energy, then rematerialize when you reach your destination. Most people can't stay in the energized state for too long, so the sooner you reappear the better. Otherwise, you might reappear too soon and crash land or get stuck inside a solid object.” She reached out and stroked my hair, which was still wet. ”Teleporting is one of those things you never forget once you learn it. It's like riding a bike.”
I moved, forcing her hand to fall from my hair. ”So, is teleporting a special ability?”
Lady Nemea chuckled. ”Oh, no. All Hermonites can teleport and use telepathy. Even the minions with their weak psi energy and lack of abilities do it.”
From her words, we were Hermonites. Did that mean I was to unite Guardians and Hermonites? Two factions of the same race. The idea was mind-boggling.
”How does telepathy work?” I asked.
She shook her head and stepped away from the window. ”I'm sure your tutor will explain all these abilities better than I can ever do.”
”I just wanted to see if I can do it, but I guess I can wait.”
Once again, she sighed. ”Telepathy is no different from talking to a person, dear. When you want to talk to someone, you either call out or whisper to get their attention, depending on the distance. When you want to do it, you send your thoughts to them.”
”But won't others hear you?”
She nodded. ”Yes, but there's a way around that. You know how you reach out and touch someone when you want to get their attention? We send a burst of energy when we desire a connection. They can either let you connect with them or ignore you. Once you are connected, thoughts flow back and forth.”
I felt and then her voice. Did you feel that?
Grinning, I nodded. I'd felt the same tag earlier before a voice said Lil. Should I ask her if anyone called me Lil? Or had I intercepted a communication between two other people?
”That was a ping, followed by my thoughts,” Lady Nemea said. ”When your powers are back, you'll be able to connect with anyone. Prime Psis can send ma.s.s pings and block people from pinging them or even noticing their presence.” She smiled. ”Your father said you might want to explore the castle.”
I nodded. ”Do we have a library?” Once again, it was weird how I remembered basic things like libraries, but I had no memories of ever being inside one.
”We have two. I can escort you in a day or two. You need to rest now.”
I've been resting for nearly seven months, I wanted to protest. ”What floor are they on?”
Lady Nemea frowned. ”One is on the second floor and another on the first sublevel.”
”Sublevel? How big is this place?”
She chuckled. ”It's huge, with a city underground. We have more levels below and inside the mountain than above it. The library caters to all of us. We have all kinds of books. From history books about our people to contemporary human books-”
”Human books?”
”Yes, popular fiction they read for entertainment, as well as newspapers and magazines. We have them here and at the Academy for students to learn and understand human behavior.”
I frowned. ”Why do we need to understand their behavior?”
She chuckled. ”As their future leaders, we must learn about their desires, weaknesses, and strengths. Right now, only a few hundred of our people live among them. In a few years, we'll be living with them”-she made a face as though disgusted by the idea-”heading most of their organizations. At least, that is your father's vision. The island may be our home now, but not for long. The majority of us, even your father, own businesses and homes in major cities around the world. He lived among them for many years after he became an adult, and he got to know their world very well.”
No wonder he wanted to save it. Maybe I should read a few human books too and learn about them. ”I'll check out some books later.” I was getting tired again. ”I'd like to rest now.”
”Of course, dear. I'll make sure you're not disturbed.”
When I woke up, the sun was setting. My stomach growled. For a moment, I stood at my window and watched the colorful sky. Something about the sunset over the mountains was familiar, yet I couldn't put my finger on it. As shadows appeared in my room, the crystals under the sconces on the walls turned on. The silence was spooky.
Where were Lady Nemea and Solange?
Facing the room, I waved my hand and the door opened to reveal the room where I'd seen Lord Valafar talk to those two people. It was a large room with sofas and tables. I left my bedroom to explore. It looked like a living room or an entertainment room. There was a big-screen TV on one wall and a bar of some kind across the room.
”Princess?”
I smothered a scream when I realized the room wasn't empty. It was also bigger than I'd thought. Two guards were bowing near the couch at the far end of the room. When they lifted their heads, one of them moved closer. She had short hair and gray eyes, and wore everything black-pants, a tunic, a sash, cloak, and soft boots. There was a red logo on the breast of her s.h.i.+rt.
I waved halfheartedly. ”Hi. I'm, uh, just looking around.”
”If you need anything, we'll be at our station,” she said.
”Okay. Thanks.” I watched her walk back to the other end of the room and join her partner. Their eyes followed me. I could either let them bother me and go back to my room or ignore them and continue to explore. My curiosity won.
I opened a fridge and studied the contents-bottled water and soft drinks. I grabbed a bottle of water, twisted the lid open, and guzzled. Two doors opened when I stood in the middle of the room and waved. Soft music came from one of the rooms. The tune was beautiful, soothing. Once again, I ignored the guards and went to investigate.
It was another bedroom, a little like mine, except it had a huge round bed and the decor was gold and black. A pile of female clothes was on the bed. The scent in the air said the room was my sister's.
”Solange?”
No response. Where was the music coming from? Curious, I entered the room. The door started to close, but I raised my hand. Stop.
It stopped. Nice. I followed the sound to the bedside table. The music came from an iPod on a docking station. I grinned. An iPod, another thing I remembered.
I studied the a.s.sortment of makeup boxes on the dresser. From the pictures hovering about her crystals, this was definitely Solange's room. Most of them showed her with two other girls, a blonde and a brunette. They were all stunning and, going by the number of different guys with them in some of the pictures, popular. Having modern and angelic magical objects side by side was weird.