“I’ve got you,” Grey whispered. “You’re not alone. I won’t let it crush you.”
Just as the wave hit, Clay sucked in a ragged breath and tightened his hand in Grey’s. The power was everything. Everywhere. It was all existence. All life. All life that ever was and would ever be. Time stretched and twisted back on itself. For a second, he was sure he was lost.
Except for Grey’s hand holding his.
His brother was there.
Still holding him grounded.
Clay focused on it amid the torrent rush of power. A shining beacon promising to bring him home again.
But it wasn’t the only one.
Beside Grey’s power was a second shining light. Dane. His soul mate. His other half.
With his safety net secure, Clay welcomed the power into his chest. He let it swamp and wrap around him. It soaked deep into his flesh and infused his soul until he was no longer sure where he stopped and the power started. They were one…and it was beautiful.
Clay turned his head away from Grey and looked around the field, but everything was different now. He could see the energy of fire in the air, the dance of water, the whisper of the wind, the beating life of the animals, and even the power of Grey’s soul. He could see how they were all linked and tied to the earth, both free and dependent. Clay couldn’t control those other powers, but they strengthened him, and the earth gave them strength.
“It’s all so big. So…beautiful,” Clay said, but the words came out broken and rough like a sob. A cry of joy.
It was only when he blinked away tears and looked at Grey’s smiling face that Clay realized he was no longer in the trance Grey had put him in. He was seeing all the world as it was and still tapped into the full power of the earth.
“It is,” Grey whispered, sounding just as shaken.
Very carefully, Clay released Grey’s hand. He remained perfectly still, not touching Grey, but found he was okay. The power didn’t drown him. It couldn’t. It was a part of him, and he was a part of it.
With the same slow movements, Clay pushed to his feet and took a few steps deeper into the meadow. Everything around him simply seemed to be more. He could hear whispers from the trees and plants around him, but he was coming to realize that they were extensions of something much bigger, just like he was. The Earth itself was alive with a living and breathing soul. He was a part of that soul and yet separate.
And now that he’d fully accepted his gift, he could hear the Earth’s soul. Feel her wants and needs. Feel her pain.
Clay turned, following a particular line of pain away from the plantation house. He frowned, trying to focus on that point of pain, give it more definition, but in his gut, he knew what he was looking at.
Lifting his hand, he pointed in the direction of the Earth’s pain. “There. I can see them.”
Grey rose and came to stand next to Clay, squinting in the direction he was pointing. “Who?”
“The pestilents,” he replied. His words were slow, as if they were slogging through a marsh to reach his own ears. “Their mere presence on the Earth causes her pain. I can see where there is the highest concentration of them.”
“How many?”
“I-I-I don’t know. I…” Clay’s voice trailed off and he brought his hand to his eyes, rubbing them. Everything was getting hazy, and there was an ache starting to throb behind his eyes.
Grey grabbed his hand and forced him to meet his gaze. “Clay, I want you to imagine a door in your mind. Just a regular door. Behind the door, I want you to place all your powers. The voice of the Earth. All of it. Put it behind the door.”
“Big door,” Clay whispered.
“Uh-huh. Very big door,” Grey repeated evenly, but he wasn’t deterred. “But there are no locks on it. You can open and close that door anytime you want. Right now, I want you to close it.”
Clay followed Grey’s instructions, imagining the door in his mind closing and shutting out the power from the Earth. He could feel it there, hear it whispering, but it was like dialing it all back to manageable levels again.
He blinked, really seeing Grey again. There were lines of strain and fatigue in his face. Sweat dampened his temples and ran down the sides of his face, but he looked happy. Relieved.
“Okay?” Grey asked hesitantly.
“Yeah. Really good. It’s all there. I’m plugged in, but…”
“You can sort through it all a little easier,” Grey finished. Clay suspected he’d had to do a similar trick for himself, and maybe even Baer. They might have been born for their roles, but they still possessed human brains. It was all a bit much.