10. Thayla
Thayla
If Yemi and I can learn this, every plan moving forward changes.
We won’t have to make a two-day trek while sleeping on the cold, hard ground surrounded by the Abandon’s corrupt air.
No worries about using our power and being sensed. We could make it in and out of Obliteration’s house before he even realizes we’re there.
Get his Binding. Get out. Simple.
As simple as anything involving the Abandon and the God of Obliteration can be.
On the other hand, though, this could all be for nothing if his ass is carrying it around with him. Having the ability to hide everyone’s power won’t matter if he keeps the Binding on his ass at all times or some shit.
Nope, I’m not going to think like that.
One way or another, this is a necessary skill Yemi and I need to know.
“Okay,” I say. “Where do we start?”
Val’s gaze flares with excitement as it flicks between Yemi and me.
“I want you to keep this at the forefront of your minds. We’re not hiding. We’re separating. Got it?”
“Got it,” we agree.
“Good.” He nods. “When creating a physical barrier, what are you separating?”
Yemi’s hand shoots in the air and I snort.
“People from a space.”
My father grins.
“When creating a sound barrier?”
“Sound from an area,” she shouts out, and I cut my eyes at her.
“Give someone else a chance, huh?”
“Sorry.” She chuckles and I hip-bump her.
“How about emotional barriers?”
Yemi falls quiet, and I’m tempted to groan. Of course she doesn’t jump all over this one. I clear my throat.
“Emotion from its influence.”
“Correct,” he says, flicking his gaze from mine for a moment. “Concealing power is no different. What am I separating?”
“Power and perception,” Yemi says with far more enthusiasm in her answer than I had in mine.
“Perfect. Now that we understand that, I need you to understand this.” He focuses on me intently and I raise a brow.
“Just me?”
“Yes. Yemi has one domain. You have seven.”
Yeah…I’m well aware.
“Obliteration removes. Creation adds. Accord reveals. Chaos accelerates—”
“Consequence enforces, and…” Meridamus trails off before clearing his throat. The tight look on his face screams he wishes he had just kept his mouth shut. “Seduction attracts.”
I hold in the grunt that wants to slip free.
No part of my mind has wrapped around the fact he not only was attracted to that disgusting woman but somehow made a child with her.
After what she did to Derivius…nope, can’t go there.
I tear my gaze from him before he somehow reads my thoughts by the scrunch on my nose.
“You may struggle with this domain, or better yet, this particular ability. Not because you’re weak or can’t control your powers, but because six of your domains encourage you to act upon the realm and think about the outcome of using that power.”
“Well, yeah. The outcome matters. Gods forbid I just whip out my Obliteration and not give a shit what gets turned to ash.”
“Right. The outcome matters. It always matters. The difference is how you reach it.” He breathes a small laugh as my mouth opens and closes. “When you use your Obliteration, you decide what you want gone and your power removes it.”
I nod.
“When you use Creation, you decide what should exist and your power creates it.”
“Recreates it,” I correct. It’s my turn to smirk at his and Meridamus’s confusion. “My power of Creation can’t make just anything out of thin air. I can reshape something that already exists or recreate something that was from the leftover fragments.”
“Huh,” Val grunts. “That limitation was put on the wrong goddess.”
“Yeah, it was,” Kyzen and Meridamus say, then scowl at one another.
Yemi and I bite back our laughs at the awkward standoff.
“Regardless of that, those six domains begin with the same question. What outcome do I want?”
“Pretty reasonable question,” I say.
“It is, but the power of Boundaries asks a different question.”
Great. Of course it does.
“What question?” I ask.
“What interaction must change for that outcome to happen?” He gestures to Yemi and me, then around the meadow.
“If you want silence, Boundaries doesn’t focus on the silence.
It focuses on the interaction between sound and the people hearing it.
If you want to separate power, you don’t focus on hiding the power.
You focus on the interaction between perception and that power. ”
Slowly, the pieces settle in my mind.
“We aren’t trying to change the outcome directly,” Yemi murmurs. “We’re trying to change the connection that creates the outcome.”
“Very good, Yemi,” he says and she blesses him with a beaming smile. “So let’s begin with what I consider the easiest to start with. Sound.”
“Why do you consider sound to be the easiest?” Kyzen asks.
“Because it is the broadest. Sound—noises—can be heard any and everywhere. You don’t agree?”
“It’s not that I agree or disagree. Just curious. When I use my power, mostly when I speed time up, sound escapes me. I can’t hear anything. Only see.”
Val hums. “Interesting. I have no doubt that’ll change as you gain more power. Until then, well, once Thayla gets this, the two of you can work together and she can clear that barrier for you so you can hear.”
My eyes widen and I jerk my attention between the two of them. Kyzen’s shock is as clear as mine.
“Wait, what? You really think we’ll be able to do that?” I ask.
“He already merges and uses his power with Amick’s. Why not with yours?”
“How do you know we do that?” Kyzen asks, and I cross my arms as soon as he asks that very good question.
Sheepish features cross his face for a breath of a second before he fixes them and rubs the back of his neck.
“Let’s get on with the exercise,” Meridamus says.
“Yes, good idea.”
Kyzen and I scowl at them but decide to drop it.
I have a pretty good idea of how he knows.
“Yemi, since you’ve already created a sound barrier, would you like to try this first?”
Her gaze flicks to mine, and I nod for her to go ahead.
Val once again grins at her enthusiasm. “Good. I’ll walk you through this step-by-step.”
Yemi squares her shoulders and bounces on her toes.
“Okay,” she mumbles.
“Close your eyes. I want you to focus on the things you hear. Then I want you to narrow your attention to three of the loudest sounds.”
She takes a deep breath, and we fall quiet as she concentrates.
“The wind. The leaves rustling. Critters chirping.”
“Perfect. Your first task is to separate your hearing from the critters.”
Her eyes fly open and she focuses on the tree line as if she can spot each little animal that’s making a peep.
“Just the critters?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. One thing at a time doesn’t seem so bad,” she says.
Meridamus’s snort has her turning a worried glance his way and I glare at him for dampening her confidence. He holds his hands up, palms facing me with a smirk on his face.
Val ignores him completely.
“Focus on me, Yemi, and remember the lesson. You’re not focusing on the critters themselves. Focus on the interaction between your hearing and their singing. Think of the space between the two and separate it.”
She nods and allows her lids to fall shut once again. A silent beat passes before her power of Boundaries skirts across my senses. I study her and every move she makes. Although it isn’t really informative since I can’t actually tell what she’s doing. Still, I don’t want to miss a detail.
The wind continues blowing, rustling the leaves and carrying the critters’ chirping. Nothing really changes aside from how Yemi’s brows furrow deeper and the pulse of her power strengthens.
That’s until every sound around us vanishes. Startling silence spreads through the meadow. The second her eyes fly open and she gasps, all other sounds return as well.
“A little too broad,” Val says.
Yemi groans. “I know.”
“What did you separate?” he asks knowingly.
“Our hearing from sound.”
“Yes. What were you supposed to separate?”
“The critters.”
He gives her an encouraging smile. There isn’t a hint of disappointment on his face.
I appreciate that. I wouldn’t take kindly to his method of training if he went about it in a ‘tear you down’ kind of way.
“Again,” he says.
Yemi mutters something beneath her breath that sounds suspiciously like a harsh pep talk. I have half a mind to tell her to stop that but don’t get the chance when she jumps right back into trying again.
Her second attempt comes slower. This time she doesn’t call her power straight to the surface. She stands there, silently listening.
A faint shimmer ripples through the air and my eyes flare as the noises coming from the critters weaken. It doesn’t completely disappear, but it sounds farther away. Then the wind vanishes for a split second.
Her eyes fly open and her face brightens as she twirls to face me. A laugh bursts from my chest as she grips my shoulders and jumps up and down.
“That was it, right?” she asks.
“That was better,” Val says and her shoulders sag. “Don’t be disappointed. For a moment, you effected the correct interaction.”
“But then?” she asks.
“You simply grabbed more than you intended. Before you completely separated the sound of the critters, you separated the wind.”
Her grin returns as she lets me go and shakes herself out, getting right back into position to do it all over again.
“Again?” he asks.
“Yep.”
The excitement on her face grows, and she’s far more relaxed this time. This third attempt takes longer than the first two combined. Minutes pass as we observe her, but nobody rushes her or speaks.
It takes me that long to realize I no longer hear the critters. The wind and the leaves are as loud as they have been. I cover my mouth with my palm to keep my slip of excitement quiet. My wide, thrilled gaze finds Kyzen’s, though, and he gives me a nod paired with a breathtaking smile.
She’s doing it. She’s definitely got this part down.
Slowly, she finally blinks those beautiful golden eyes of hers open.
“It worked, didn’t it?” she asks.
“Hell yeah, it did,” I cheer, finally allowing my laughter to ring free.
“It did,” Val agrees. The pride in his voice catches both of us off guard. “Now we make it harder.”