Okay, definitely unfair.
She’d been forced to make some tough decisions which may have screwed up my life. And she didn’t have hindsight. But right now I couldn’t forgive her. Well, I guess technically I could, but I really didn’t want to.
Ignoring my reticence, she sat next to me.
Continuing to disregard her, I simply enjoyed the opulence of the couch, sinking into its luxurious depths.
Lallielle was rigid, twisting her hands over and over. Eventually, when I couldn’t stand the uncomfortable atmosphere any longer, I faced her.
“So how does the mind-reading and telepathy work?” I asked, needing more information to figure out how to block my thoughts.
She smiled hesitantly. “I can’t read your thoughts. You have a strong natural mind-block, same as your father.
“Sometime during our evolution, we learned to communicate over distance and mind to mind. How it works is beyond me. From our age of power maturity we’re mainly taught how to control the powers, not about their origin.
“We keep constant mind-blocks in place, but if someone wants to communicate with me there is a nudge in my head, as if someone is scratching lightly. When that happens I can open my mind enough to talk – like a one-way door. Or I can open a window and allow a back-and-forth flow of information. Each nudge is unique. You’ll sense who’s trying to communicate – if they’re familiar to you.”
“Can I see memories?”
Lallielle opened her hands, palms out. “If the person allows you full access.” She shrugged. “And maybe even if they don’t; we’re not sure of your powers. They won’t enlighten until your eighteenth birthday.”
It was all useful and interesting information, although my tired brain was starting to ache. Despite this I wanted to try something.
Taking a deep breath, feeling a tad stupid, I squinted and pictured entering Lallielle’s skull.
The strain must have shown on my face.
She laughed. “Are you trying to read my mind?”
I shook my head innocently. But I was fooling no one.
“I’ll help you,” she said, “but you have to relax. Close your eyes.”
Sighing, I obeyed, allowing a small trust and letting her voice guide me.
“Now you need to find the energy inside. It will be a deep place that you know and feel but have never examined too closely.”
As her words washed over me, I started an internal exploration. It wasn’t difficult. I knew the spot she referred to. Even on Earth I had felt the warm, pulsing depth. It was familiar to me so I never questioned its existence.
“Have you found it?”
At my nod, she continued.
“Now draw on the energy, take a small strand and pull.”
I attempted to mentally follow her directions. I was shocked. The substance felt like sticky taffy as a coil started to remove from the centre.
“Now direct the energy toward my mind. Create an entrance. I’ll stay blocked; see if you can disable my wall.”
The strand continued to unravel. Taking a deep breath, I gathered as much as I could and threw it toward Lallielle. I pictured it slamming into her mind and creating a huge hole.
My eyes flew open at her loud gasp. She was clutching her head.
“Are you okay?” I grasped her arm. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She shook her head. “No ... no, it’s okay. Just a slight shock.” Looking up, she smiled in a reassuring manner. “You don’t need to blast quite so hard. Try for subtle.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I was nervous to try again, but my determination to learn outweighed this. I repeated the process, but this time understated, allowing the energy to seep through small cracks in her wall.
And just like that I was inside.
I don’t know how to explain the sensation of being in another person’s mind. Probably how a schizophrenic feels: your own thoughts and then a completely separate entity’s as well. Images ... random words, like watching snippets from lots of different movies.
There was something else. Lallielle had been hiding it well, but she was in agony. Every time I treated her indifferently, I was killing her. The strength added to my guilt. Brace hadn’t been kidding when he said they felt emotions intensely.
I waded through the pain. Pushing it aside for a moment, I tried not to be overwhelmed by the plethora of memories.
Suddenly a scene appeared before me – Lallielle was outside – in the street. A young baby was safely tucked into a pram behind her. I squinted. No one was touching the little cart, but it drove along unassisted behind Lallielle. Some of this world was wicked advanced.
Lallielle smiled as the baby girl waved fat little hands in the air. I knew immediately that the chubby baby with rosy cheeks, short red curls and huge green eyes was me. I noticed Quarn, a few steps behind, looking much younger and carefree. Lallielle paused in front of a small store with dark-blue walls. She hesitated a moment before opening the faded and patched door-hanging and stepping through. The carriage and Quarn followed.