Chapter 16

I nodded, even though I had no idea what she said.

“Perhaps, Cyril,” Elder Udela said with a smirk, “you could speak in layman’s terms, so we have some idea of what you’re saying.”

Elder Arian stopped and grinned. “I’m sorry. You’re right, Izzy, I get carried away.” She took a deep breath and clasped her hands in her lap before looking at me. “I use the inner wrist because the skin is thinnest there,” she lifted her arm and showed me hers, “so it reaches your system quickly.”

That I understood. “Is it a drug?” I looked from one to the other, “I’m not really big on drugs.”

Cyril shook her head. “No. It’s a combination of technology, anatomy, herbology and witches magic.” She grinned. “It’s quite brilliant, I don’t mind saying.” She laughed. “And Izzy is a much calmer person since we discovered what really worked.”

Autumn pulled her phone out and looked at it. “Michael needs me to help in the yard.” She gave me a cautious look, “are you good here?”

I looked from Izzy to the other elder and then nodded. “I’m good. I don’t have a meltdown scheduled for today.”

Autumn smirked and got up. “I’ll see you at the yard.”

We watched her leave. I turned and looked back to see Izzy shaking her head.

Izzy laughed. “More than once I was mistaken for a lunatic when I went off.” She gave me a serious look, “those moments when your inner thoughts get trapped in the thoughts of others and you don’t know which way is up.”

Inhaling sharply, I nodded. “Yes. I have meltdowns often.” I frowned, “twice so far since being here.” I motioned to the air around us. “I thought this was all inside my head.” I frowned. “I used to have them so often, I thought it was all the drugs they gave me, but now I don’t know.”

Cyril Arian nodded. “That is why we do a complete workup of your blood. Make sure there isn’t something lingering in there.” She picked up the notebook beside her. “How long ago since you got out of that dreadful place?”

“Three years.” I looked down at my hands, “it might be closer to four.” I looked back up at Elder Udela’s soft brown eyes. “I have no reason to keep track, really.”

She nodded, a look of understanding on her face. “That you got out is the most important thing.”

Elder Arian, Cyril, nodded, her curly hair bouncing. “Did you have any surgeries that you know of?”

I looked to Izzy briefly before looking back. “Surgeries?”

“Yes.” She nodded again. “More than a few times we’ve found that those places tried to insert implants.”

My heart jumped up into my throat. “Implant what?”

Cyril rolled her eyes, “silly ineffective devices they think will, fix,” she made quotes in the air, “what is wrong with someone, when there isn’t anything wrong.”

I looked down the front of myself. “I don’t think so.”

She wrote in her notebook. “We’ll get a scan and be certain.” Setting it down, she held out her hand, “may I check your wrists?” She gave me an awkward smile, “to measure and be certain of scar free surface.”

I looked down at the finger guard on my hand, then undid it. Setting it in my lap, I took the scanner out of my pocket, then removed the inhibitor. Pausing I looked at the device Michael had given me. Blowing out a breath, I undid it and set it with the other bits on my legs. I held my hands out. She ran her hand up my one forearm, turned it and checked the other side, then did the same to my other arm.

Izzy leaned over and looked at my elbow. “What happened there?” She pointed to the scar.

“Oh.” I turned my arm and looked at it. “After I thought I’d hid long enough, and my hair had grown back,” I paused to watch Elder Arian measure my forearm and wrist and scribble it in her book. “I decided I needed a job. I was starving, cold, no home.” I shrugged, “I found a job at an animal shelter, cleaning the cages and looking after the animals.” She took my other arm in her hand and picked up her measuring tape. “I don’t hear animals’ thoughts.” I glanced at the scar again, “I got a little to close and made one of the dogs nervous.” When she released my arm, I clasped my hands in my lap. “I didn’t tell them it happened, I didn’t want the dog to be put down, so I had to treat it myself.” I held up my arm and twisted it to look at the scar. “It was a bad location to wrap by myself.”

“I think you’re brilliant.” Elder Arian lifted her face from her notebook. “Troy told us how you got out of there.” She nodded. “I’m so glad you did.”

Izzy nodded, a big smile on her face. “I’m so happy you’re here.” She gave the other elder a wide-eyed look. “In such a short time, she’s already found answers.”

“Yes. Answers we desperately needed.” She frowned when her phone buzzed across the table. Picking it up, she studied it. “Clairee is unable to come here, she’s knee-deep in rounding up witches as ordered, so we’re to meet her at the temple.”

“We’d better get there then.” Izzy stood up. “We have much to do today, checking guards, witches and mages.” She nodded.

I put the inhibitor and little device back on and stood up as I stuffed my finger guard into my pocket.

“I’ll be along shortly. I want to go discuss the blood tests and scans with the doctor.” Elder Arian picked up her notebook.

Izzy nodded and motioned to the door. “I’m afraid we’ll have to walk, Kara, I don’t have a porter programed for the medical wing.”

I huffed out a breath. “That’s perfectly fine. I don’t port very well.”

She laughed. “No one does at first.”

~

The witch’s temple was nothing like I had pictured. It wasn’t a temple at all, just a normal building. A large building from what I saw as we walked across a lush green lawn. It had been hard to see completely with my guard, Izzy’s guard and three other guards that had joined us as soon as we stepped outside. That was a lot of large bodies to see around. Izzy told me it was all perfectly normal to have that many escorts. Maybe normal in her world, but just being near others wasn’t a normal thing for me.

The lobby of the building wasn’t fancy, but it felt homey, modestly decorated with comfortable looking benches and plants. I didn’t know what the scent was, but it made me feel the same way that smelling the lavender for the first time did.

The woman from the meeting came out from a room and smiled as she came toward us. She bowed her head as she got closer. “I’m Clairee.”

“Kara.” I gave her my best awkward, but friendly smile.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get over to meet with you.” She looked stressed. “Trying to get all the witches in the realm here on short notice is proving,” she glanced to the elder, “to be a challenge.”

“It’s not a problem, Clairee.” Izzy smiled at her. “Kara was wondering how this works exactly.” She held up her wrist to show her special band. “I’ve long forgotten the specifics.”

Clairee nodded, “it’s not that complex,” she smirked, “okay, it is a bit complex. Elder Arian’s device works with the natural pressure points in your wrist. Combined with proper herbs and magic, if you will, it helps you to control your ability.”

I frowned. “I thought it was an off switch.”

She studied me for a moment. “It could be called that, once you learn how to use it.” Someone yelling could be heard from behind one of the doors across the room. Clairee looked at the door for a moment, then turned back to me. “Finding the correct herbs for each person is the hardest part. We have to find the one, or ones, that enhance calming for you.”

I didn’t completely understand what she was saying. “I’m not sure what that has to do with…”

Izzy touched my shoulder, then dropped her hand when I looked at her. “Abilities, such as ours are hardest to control when emotions are high.”

I nodded, she wasn’t wrong.

“They certainly don’t get out of hand when you’re calm.” She gave me an exaggerated look, “the more you try to stop them the higher your heart rate raises, then that makes them get worse until you have a meltdown, as you said.”

Clairee nodded. “Staying calm goes a long way in controlling when you want to hear or not hear another’s thoughts.” She smiled. “It works for some seers, those with telekinetic abilities that they can’t control and telepaths.”

The door the loud noise came from opened and a small woman came rushing out, toward Clairee.

“Excuse me.” Clairee went over and listening to what the woman said, with her hands motioning frantically. Nodding, Clairee gave us a quick smile, then went to the room she’d come from.

I looked back to Izzy. “So does this work for people like Crissy?”

She made an o with her mouth for a second. “Sadly no. Controlling, or suppressing visions is a trickier business. In Crissy’s case, if they’re suppressed it’s like the pause button was hit, so once the suppression is lifted, they all hit her like a tidal wave.”

I nodded. “I’ve heard the mayhem in her mind.”

She nodded. “Yes. I don’t think any force natural or otherwise could suppress that.”

I felt sad for Crissy.

Clairee came back out, a serious look on her face. She came back to us quickly. “Sorry about that.”

“I explained how it worked a bit further.” Izzy said.

“Ah, good.” Clairee took a deep breath. She motioned to another door, “I have a few samples prepared.” She started walking toward it. Izzy followed her.

Before I could move, the door the woman had come out of opened and Rafael came out. The expression on his face was as hard as the look I’d gotten the day I shot him. When he spotted me, he slowed. Looking toward the floor briefly, he took a deep breath, then started walking in my direction. The look was gone, but his stance and posture were rigid and angry.

Unsure if I should follow the women, or continue to stand there, I looked back to see Clairee and Izzy waiting in the doorway. When I looked back, Rafael’s large body was right in front of me.

“Are you doing all right?” He asked, his tone conveying no emotion.

I nodded, wondering if I should ask him the same thing. “Cyril,” he frowned like he didn’t know who that was, “Elder Arian thinks they should scan and make sure I have nothing implanted in my body.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What kind of implant?”

I clasped my hands together. “She said sometimes doctors do that trying to control what’s wrong with people.”

He scowled. “Let them do their tests. Make sure everything is as it should be.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”

Rafael took a deep ragged breath, his blue eyes moving over my face.

“Is-is everything all right with you?”

He closed his eyes for a second and jerked his head like he was annoyed. “Yeah. Fine.” Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he looked at it. “They have the guards ready at the yard.” He looked over to Clairee. “Are you finished here?”

I shook my head. “Clairee has samples…”

He motioned one of his large hands toward where she stood. “I’ll wait here.”

Giving him a wide berth, I went over to where the women waited, glancing back to see Rafael standing there with his hands on his hips glaring at the floor.