33. Chapter 33
Chapter 33
“ S o chirpy,” Jaeger teases when I get to our second training session the next morning.
Although, being in another dimension, I only know it’s morning because my watch is telling me it is.
I get settled at the low table, right across from where Jaeger is already sitting, smiling at me with an eyebrow quirked. “Well,” I reply with a grin, “we did just get our hands on an artifact that will solve all our problems, didn’t we?”
“It’s broken,” she reminds me gently. “Dryden still has to make it work.”
“He will,” I say with determination in my voice.
She observes me for a moment, still smiling. “You have a lot of faith in him.”
I shrug. “He’s a capable guy, isn’t he?”
Jaeger nods. “Alright,” she starts with a clap of her hands, “let’s use all that chirpiness to get you to make some progress.”
“Aye aye, ma’am,” I answer readily, my smile only growing wider as I scan the ritual items before me.
“How do you feel about training today?” Jaeger asks.
I throw her a grin. “Ready to woo gods and unlock awesome powers,” I say as I get started with the first ritual.
I light the candle and address the God of Death, getting no answer in return.
But when I prick my finger on the spindle and try to get in touch with the God of Dream, something strange happens.
It’s like a whisper caressing me from within.
I freeze, my eyebrows shooting up as I look up at Jaeger, watching her reaction like a hawk.
She’s nodding pensively. “Mind Magic. Well, I have to say it doesn’t exactly surprise me.”
I squint at her. “Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?”
“We’ll see, once you’ve tried actually using it,” she tells me teasingly.
I smile. “Alright, I’m ready for your tips and tricks, my amazing mentor slash confidant.”
She shakes her head, turning somber. “It’s hard to give any particular instructions. What I can give you, though, is a warning.”
I nudge her to talk.
“It will hurt,” she says simply, but she’s dead serious.
I nod thoughtfully. “I’m intimately acquainted with all kinds of pain.” Throwing her a smirk, I take the opportunity to poke fun at de Groot. “If you don’t believe me, just ask your other chirpy vampire friend.”
Jaeger quirks an eyebrow at me, but she’s smiling again. “Why don’t you stop making lame jokes and get to work?”
I let out a chuckle then turn serious. Taking a deep breath and sharpening my focus, I keep looking straight into her eyes.
Soon, her eyes are all there is of the world around me. My head is throbbing, my vision swimming and my breathing quickening, but I see her — the hard exterior along with the soft center.
Once the headache becomes too unbearable, I expel a sudden, pained breath and quickly look away. “I did it, didn’t I?” I ask as I turn my focus back onto her.
To my surprise, she shakes her head. “No, you didn’t. If you’ve never used Mind Magic before and you know the person you’re trying to use it on, I imagine it can feel as if you’re using it. But once you succeed, there will be no doubt in your mind.”
I nod and force myself to give it another go. Just make the leap, however painful it might be, I tell myself.
I keep pushing and pushing until I get this need to slam my head against something to stop the pain.
“Why don’t we continue this some other time, Anna?” Jaeger snaps me out of it. “I’m afraid you’ll overexert yourself.”
Despite the nausea now accompanying my every movement, I shake my head. “No. Everyone else is giving their all. It’s only fair for me to do the same.”
Jaeger just nods, although there’s worry in her expression.
Forget you know her, I tell myself, and remember everything you used to know. For some reason, the image of Nimueh swims before my eyes.
It sends a shock of strange yet familiar sensations across my entire body. I know this, it’s always been a part of me.
All of a sudden, like the flip of a switch, I find myself in a space outside space, images of a beautiful albeit stern vampire woman flashing before my eyes.
The very next second, I get violently pushed out and back into ordinary space.
I blink in confusion. Just like Jaeger said, there’s no doubt whatsoever that I’ve just used Mind Magic, but… Was it really de Groot I just saw, and why?
It’s the expression on Jaeger’s face that snaps me out of it. Tense and flushing all of a sudden, she’s abruptly getting up.
It’s then that it hits me. “I’m so sorry, Jaeger,” I blurt out as I start getting up as well.
“That’s fine,” she mutters. “It’s my fault. I didn’t really expect you to manage this so quickly.”
“No,” I insist when I realize she’s awkwardly refusing to look at me, “it wasn’t my intention to—”
“I said it’s fine,” she turns to snap at me, however softly.
And with that, she marches out of the room, leaving me standing there with a sinking feeling in my stomach.