Chapter 40
“They went out, all of them went out and I was left in the darkness,” I repeated once more, watching Zion try to understand. “I know it doesn’t make sense, I know it sounds like a hallucination, but it happened. I felt everything, saw everything—I’m not lying.”
We were sitting at the kitchen table. We’d ordered delivery—grilled chicken with potatoes—and while I ate and tried to explain what happened in the corridor, the shadows danced in my hair.
“I don’t think you’re lying, but maybe there’s another explanation. The globes could have experienced interference—it’s rare, but it happens when they’re exposed to a stronger energy source. Maybe there was a power release nearby.”
I sighed for the thousandth time that night. How could I explain the devastating sensation of what I’d seen without sounding even crazier? How could I explain that it had touched my skin possessively? How could I explain that I’d felt its desire to touch me?
My shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Maybe that’s what it was, Zion. I must have gotten scared and my brain started seeing things that weren’t there,” I murmured, shoving more food into my mouth. He studied me for a few seconds, and his expression softened slightly.
“You don’t have to say things you don’t even believe yourself. I know you’re telling me what you think is the truth, I just...” He scratched his forehead, then ran his hand through his still-wet hair. “I’m trying to find some logic in all this. I believe you, but I need time to process it.”
I finished eating while Zion watched me thoughtfully.
“How did you know I was in danger?” I asked, before he fried all his neurons. Zion looked uncomfortable for a moment.
“Same as the day of the party. I knew through the bond and the shadows.”
He watched my every move. I swallowed hard as the shadows kissed my neck, and I shivered.
“Have you been spying through the bond?” I asked, more curious than bothered. He stiffened.
“I would never do that without a good reason or your permission, but when desperation takes over, it’s almost impossible for me not to hear. Your mind is loud, and when you’re anxious, afraid, or nervous, it practically screams everything at me.”
My cheeks flushed as I realized Zion could hear my most indecent thoughts.
“Why don’t I feel anything coming from you?”
“Because my barrier keeps my thoughts from passing to your side. Imagine the bond as a bridge between our minds, with a portal on each side. Mine is sealed, keeping everything from getting out, but yours is open, and every sound it produces echoes against my barrier.”
“So if you wanted to, you could hear all my thoughts?”
“I could, but that doesn’t mean I do—because I don’t. Only on the day of the party, but that was a special case.”
Zion set his utensils on his plate, ending the meal.
“Is this block the same type of mental barrier Serguei told me about?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. At the mention of Serguei, the shadows stirred restlessly.
“Yes.” He immediately crossed his arms over his chest.
“And when are you going to start teaching me?”
I leaned back in my chair. Zion considered the question, and obviously didn’t want to do this—because in his mind, teaching me the barrier meant the beginning of bringing me into his underworld of secrets.
“Want to start now?” he asked, pushing his chair back to stand.
“You’re seriously going to teach me without starting a second Great War?”
He shot me a sharp look, but I didn’t let it shake me.
“I have no reason to argue with you. Now that you know everything, you really do need a barrier. Other psychics could come snooping around in your mind or try to hurt you. It’s good for you to know how to protect yourself.”
He extended his hands.
“Other psychics could have been snooping around in my mind and messing with it all these years. Why are you only worried now?”
I reached out to him, and he pulled me to his chest.
“Because Serguei and I have always been protecting you,” he replied as he transported us to the Dornéu.
“What? You’re telling me Serguei always had a barrier on my mind?”
“Not a mental barrier exactly, but he set up alarms in your mind. If someone tried to get in, he’d know and rush to block them. That’s what happened when Ivanov got in—Serguei hid what was important.”
The archemic globes cast light in every direction. Zion led us to the stone bleachers and seemed to be thinking about something, then turned to me.
“Wait just a moment.”
I nodded and he disappeared. I looked around.
All that open sky was glorious—maybe this was the place where the stars shone brightest. I gazed at the constellation of Axtra, one of the largest, shaped like an eagle with outstretched wings, pointing north.
But after just a few seconds alone, I started remembering what I’d witnessed in the corridor, and my heart began to race.
Darkness would never feel welcoming again, and I didn’t know how to keep the fear from closing around my throat.
Zion returned a minute later, and I couldn’t help but jump back.
My heart was pounding, and he stared at my chest as if he could hear it beating.
“What happened?” he asked, scanning the area. He set two training mats on the floor before approaching me.
“Nothing. I was just thinking about this afternoon at the hospital,” I murmured, taking a deep breath. He gave me a worried look.
“Don’t be afraid. We’ll figure this out, or we’ll track down whatever you saw down there. I won’t let it hurt you.”
Zion took my hand and led me to the center of the arena, where the mats were. His words calmed me a little, but I was still on edge.
“Sit down,” he said, pointing to a mat.
We sat facing each other. Zion crossed his legs and I did the same.
“I might not be great at this. I’ve only taught one person to build barriers, and it took her almost a year to get the hang of it. I’m not a psychic, so I couldn’t show her every detail of how to do it, but in your case, we have the bond and we can use it.”
“Who was that person?”
Zion pressed his lips into a thin line and seemed a little uncomfortable.
“Kaori.”
Again that uncomfortable feeling crept through my chest, and I couldn’t tell if it was because of Kaori or just because of the story that came before—about Akira.
I kept staring at him and he held my gaze, as if he suspected I was curious but was reluctant to bring it up.
Seconds later, seeing that he wasn’t going to say anything, I decided to let it go.
It would be stupid to ask something that would ruin our training.
I was sure that when Zion was ready, he’d tell me himself.
“So let’s use the bond,” I murmured, moving on.
“Yes. I want you to close your eyes and find it inside your mind.”
I searched for the link I kept tucked away in a distant corner, and it wasn’t hard to find—it was always there, hovering in the back of my mind. For the first time in my life, I really examined it, noticing that it looked like the entrance to a golden tunnel, something that stretched beyond me.
“I found it. It looks like a tunnel.”
“Now I want you to go in and follow it until you find the exit.”
The tunnel was full of lights, as if its walls were made of rainbows, shimmering and casting colors toward me.
I walked through the passage and reached out to touch it—that was when I realized my body wasn’t physical, but something made of reddish mist. I was enchanted as I tried to touch myself and the bronze-colored mist disintegrated.
Up ahead, I spotted an exit on the other side, so I hurried toward it, marveling at all the colors.
Still distracted, I felt Zion sigh in front of me and wondered if he felt it too.
When I emerged on the other side, I was walking on the waters of a calm ocean.
The surface was blue-green, but deep below I could only see darkness and currents of water crashing into each other.
Before me, a gigantic barrier stretched out, extending beyond sight in every direction—both up and across.
It was transparent but became distinct against the horizon.
Taking in its full expanse, I felt small standing there.
“I found it, Zion. I’m in front of your barrier.”
“Go ahead, touch it.”
I followed his advice and approached, reaching out with my palm open. The shadows parted, allowing me to touch the thick glass. It was cold and pulsed against my palm as if it were alive. It vibrated to the rhythm of Zion’s heartbeat, and I could even hear his blood flowing.
“It’s alive,” I murmured, looking up.
“Yes, the shield is an organ of my mind, just like any other part of my body.”
“Maintaining this barrier must take a huge amount of energy.” I slid my fingers across the barrier and felt Zion gasp on the other side. “Do you feel my touch?”
He took a deep breath on the other side, as if steadying himself.
“Yes, I feel it. The barrier requires a lot of energy to build, but once it’s done, it only takes a little for daily maintenance—or when it has to work hard to keep someone out of my mind.”
“Are all barriers like this?”
I took in that entire expanse. What were the three walls compared to this?
“I don’t think so. I’ve never actually seen a barrier in my life—only the ones Serguei projected into my mind to help me understand how they worked, but they were all different from each other,” he said thoughtfully. “I suppose it has to do with each person’s type of gift.”
“Yours seems impenetrable,” I murmured, touching it again.
“That’s what’s expected of the son of the nation’s best psychic.”
“Has he ever tried to get in?”
Zion snorted on the other side.
“That’s a long story, Kyller.”
“I have time to listen,” I replied. I wanted to hear about it—everything about him fascinated me, and I felt like I knew so little.
“I promise we’ll talk another time,” he murmured from the other side. He seemed irritated.
“What are you hiding from, Zion?” I asked gently. “You hate Serguei, but why? What did he do to deserve all this?”