I searched again, with renewed vitality. Now that I knew what I was looking for, I began to find more and more of them. They felt like little rips in my magic, almost like getting a small splinter caught in smooth silk. The more I searched for them, the clearer they became, but whenever I went back to one Amory had already covered it.
I realized I must give up thinking and let my magic take control. I blanketed his mind with my magic, allowing it to completely envelope. This took more energy than I thought it would and I found myself out of breath.
From what I could sense, there were three separate, small openings, but if I hesitated they would be gone. All at once I let my magic infiltrate them, forcing my way into his mind and revealing all of his thoughts. As quickly as I could, I searched for the one thought I wanted to know most: what my mother and father looked like. I flicked through his mind like a flip-file, searching through all of his past memories.
Being in someone else’s mind was almost overwhelming; it was like I had become him. His thoughts and my thoughts were one and the same. I kept my mind protected, but his was completely revealed. I found myself embarrassed as I not only thought his thoughts but felt his emotions. I refused to stop however, until I found what I was looking for.
I searched and searched, realizing that although I had surpassed his force-field, he was still capable of hiding things from me. Suddenly I saw a small glimmer of what I wanted, a long dark haired woman. The image was ripped away from me before I could make it out clearly and my searching became a game of tag.
The minute I found the image I was looking for, another menial image was thrown up in its place. I got tired of fishing trips and old books; I was almost hungry for the image of my mother. I flipped through his memories quicker and quicker, as if I was watching his entire life on fast forward. I felt him growing weaker.
And as he grew weaker, so did I, until I nearly collapsed. A deep longing sensation welled up within me and I couldn’t tell if it was from Amory or if it was from me. I remembered who I was searching for and began again with new vigor.
Suddenly they were before me: my mother and my father. Although nothing had been said out loud, the very fibers of my being told me who they were. My mother was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was strongly built, but had a tiny frame. Her eyes were the same eyes that I had, deep coals that were almost too big for her perfect, porcelain face. Plump, bright red lips were turned into a smile as she looked at my father with overwhelming affection. Her dark hair fell in long waves down to her waist and covered her pale figure, making the memory appear to be in black and white.
I tore my thoughts away from my mother to look at my father who was looking back at her with such a loving expression that I began to cry. He was tall and strong; his very being defined the word “Immortal.” He too had dark hair, but it was much curlier and cropped close to his head. His skin was darker than my mother’s; it had the same olive tone that Talbott had. His lips were pronounced on his face, but stretched in the form of a smile. A long, angular nose sat underneath the greenest eyes I had ever seen. As he gazed at my mother they glimmered like emeralds.
I examined the scene they were in; they stood gazing at each other in the middle of a crowded room. My mother was placed next to a man at first I assumed to be Kiran; the same dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. But on longer examination I realized that he was older, taller and meaner looking. The man wore an embellished gold crown upon his head and draped his arm around my mother protectively. My father stood on the other side of him, tense as if ready to attack at any moment. Although the blonde man was speaking, my mother and father stared intently at each other as if he did not exist at all.
Suddenly I was ripped away from them. I reached out with my hands as if I could grab on to that memory and hold it close to me. After it was gone I felt lost; I fell to my bed sobbing. The strength I used to enter Amory’s mind was gone and I felt weak and somehow exposed.
“Very good, Eden,” Amory whispered in a hoarse voice. I heard the emotion in his voice, and I wanted to apologize, but all I could do was sob.
The parents I never knew I had, the parents I never thought about were suddenly in front of me. Every molecule I was made of hurt from the exertion of so much power; every emotion in my soul completely exhausted. I unexpectedly felt such a longing for something I had never known, I did not know if I would ever recover.
“It’s normal to feel this way. You accomplished something just now that only the most skilled of us all could hope to do.” I looked up at him, tears streaming down my face, in confusion. “What you did just now is called Complete-Mind-Manipulation. I did not ask you to do that. I asked you to read my thoughts. That is much simpler and requires not near the effort. Reading peoples thoughts is more like reading a newspaper headline, you literally read their thoughts with your magic; there are no images involved. I will not ask you to try it right now, but tomorrow at school I think you should practice on some of your classmates. Reading thoughts does not make the other person aware of what you are doing, most people are sending out their thoughts in one way or another, you are simply catching them. What you did was entering my mind and becoming united with it. You were able to not only know what I was thinking, but what I have ever thought. You saw everything I have ever seen and felt every emotion I have ever felt. This is a very invasive process and rarely accomplished without the permission of the other person. Everything that you feel now, is multiplied by a hundred in me. Most Immortals find it difficult to recover from the process; but thankfully for us tonight I have undergone this process before,” his voice cracked and I realized how weak he suddenly was. Amory was slumped over in his chair, resting his head in his hands, staring down at the floor.
“I am so sorry,” I blurted out, bursting into more tears.
“It’s not your fault; I should have explained more of what you were looking for. I just never assumed you had that kind of power,” he shook his head, and stood up unsteadily. “I will leave you for tonight, please remember everything you have learned today and use it tomorrow. Well everything except…. this,” he walked slowly, shakily to the door and closed it behind him. I had nothing left and could no longer control my emotions; I laid my head down into my pillow and let out everything I never knew I felt.
Chapter Twenty
I arrived at school the next morning to another full parking lot. Magic under control, Aunt Syl had given me my freedom back. Thank God. I couldn’t say that I blamed her; waiting for me to figure out I was superhuman had its disadvantages. But no more blowing things up on accident, now I could do it on purpose.
I parked my car in the last remaining spot and paused a moment to take a deep breath and check myself. My mind was protected and my magic flowing through me naturally; well at least what I had been told was natural. It seemed as if I’d known this secret my whole life, but in actuality it had only been about twenty four hours; I guess I wasn’t really an expert.
I made it to class on time, excited to see Lilly and have someone my age to talk to about this crazy new life. Instant disappointment met me however when I opened the door and realized she wasn’t there. Although Principal Saint or Amory or whoever told me she wouldn’t be, I still had held out hope. The hardest part about learning your true identity is coming to terms with the very real legal system you never knew existed.
I found it ironic how easy it was for me to believe the whole super-human, magic skills thing; but how hard it was to take the Monarchy, governing council, rules and regulations part seriously. Maybe because I’d never personally experienced a ruling class in action it seemed more fiction than reality. I wondered if I had some interaction with the Monarchy if it would feel real or not.