There was a shock, and warmth flooded my body. She looked me in the eyes then and I wanted to pull her to me, to pull her warmth to my rain soaked cold. But she pulled her hand away, and I felt hot in the face. The moment was gone.
You need to wash and rest, Anders. After you have bathed and dressed again, rest. Everyone will rest. We all sleep here in the late afternoon, to refresh our minds for the evening supper. And then we will talk. One day, when the talk is done, we will dance. And if you will, we will dance together.
And then she smiled at me once more before I could answer, and she was gone.
I left my clothes where Ulrike had indicated and washed myself. The water was hot as promised and smelled like clean pine. It made me sleepy, and something about the tree made me feel safe and snug. When I had finished washing myself, I put back on my clothes, which were dry and clean, but a bit greener than I remembered them. They smelled good too, a strong smell of pine that relaxed me. The bed of needles was soft and warm, and soon I was asleep.
Perhaps it was the magic of the tree, but for once my dreams were free of the dark lord. Instead, things forgotten from my childhood came to my dreams with a brilliant clarity: swimming under water in a lake and holding my breath so long that my father up above had scolded me; my first attempts at magic — I had made a piece of paper move with my mind, and flown a paper airplane around the room in circles until my father, proud but annoyed, had snatched it out of the air.
V
I awoke refreshed to find a hand on my shoulder.
It was not Ulrike, but Elias.
I frowned, and Elias seemed to find this highly amusing.
Ulrike wanted to wake you, but I beat her too it. You like her don’t you?
I was about to respond, when Elias laughed. Better not answer me with your thoughts until you learn to shield your mind. Otherwise Ulrike and the whole tree will be laughing about you until we leave.
I smiled and spoke instead. “Show me how to shield my thoughts like you showed me how to pull the energy.”
Images flashed into my head. Elias was showing me his mind, a bright blue beacon, and around it, broadcasting out, were this thoughts. This is how you do it, and why everyone can hear your thoughts. Everyone who has the ability that is.
Show me how to shield them.
Elias nodded. This is how you need to do it. Look.
Again, my vision filled with images of my mind. This time though, the blue beacon was covered with an orange concentric shell. One small hole opened up, reaching out to another mind: Elias, looking like another bright beacon, but purple. And his purple beacon was covered with an orange shell too, but it opened up to accept my thoughts and let them in.
This is how you send and accept private thoughts. And this way no one can scry into your mind, and read your mind. Without shielding, someone could read your head even when you are asleep. We have tried to shield you as best we could, but it is time for you to shield yourself. Woltan and Kara agree.
Try it now.
I nodded. I imagined my mind, built an orange shield around it, impenetrable.
I opened my eyes, and Elias was smiling. “You did it too well! You can’t even hear my thoughts any more. Let some thoughts in, just don’t let people take anything away you don’t want to share.”
I closed my eyes and reimagined the orange shield. I imagined myself sensing the thoughts coming in towards me, absorbing them. Then I imagined having thoughts to send, and sending them directly to someone. I looked at Elias with my third eye. I sent a thought out toward him, and felt the shield close again after it went.
How’s this? Can you hear me?
I opened my eyes and looked at Elias.
Elias nodded with a smile. And now at last no one else can. One last test. I will try to probe your mind, when you are ready.
Will it hurt?
Elias shook his head. You may feel like someone is tapping or knocking you. If I was much stronger or evil, it might hurt a little bit. You’ll get used to it.
I nodded. Probe me.
I closed my eyes again and concentrated on the orange sphere. It felt like someone was poking me, scratching at me, grabbing at me, squeezing me, but where exactly? Not my head, not my body. It was my aura that was being probed, my mind and my aura. Elias was still pounding at me and I felt something that felt like a sharp nail trying to rip into me. I was tired. I concentrated. I redoubled the shield. I poured energy into it — it felt like flexing a muscle that hadn’t been used in a very long time. I figured I would be sore from more than the probing; just closing my mind was tiring.
The probe had faded to a small buzz and to a tickling sensation.
“Okay,” said Elias. “Anders, you can relax now.”