Chapter 29
Ientered the gym, leaving my guard outside the door.
I liked it empty like this, quiet and smelling of sweat, with the energy of other beings lingering in the still air.
I went to the mirror and started a stretching exercise designed to bring my energy to my core and relax the mind.
I felt the tension of yesterday seeping away with the Zen-like movements.
Manus had taught them to me early in my training and the centered feeling only got deeper and stronger as time went by.
I felt Jordan’s presence as he came out of the locker room.
I didn’t need to turn to see him. I felt where he was even with my eyes closed.
I could sense him as he moved, his magic hinting at his intended direction.
Concentrating on the magic, I could interpret each of his actions as he gathered his weapons and did his own stretching.
I felt his every move as if I could see him while I stretched my mind, body, and magic.
I had never done this precise kind of sensing before. I turned to face him, eyes still closed, standing on one foot with the other held up to my hips. He moved slowly in the other direction and I followed, eyes still closed, twisting my body on one foot to match his direction.
He stopped and so did I. “You have found the ley line magic.” He was very matter-of-fact.
I opened my eyes and felt the now-familiar surge of desire but was able to squelch it easily. “Others have mentioned it, but I don’t think I know exactly what you mean.” I slowly lowered my leg to the floor and continued to the next movement of the stretching dance.
“Open your eyes to the world as you did when you followed my magic. The line has gotten stronger here since you came to us. The ley is seeking you.”
I tried to open myself but I only saw his perfect, masculine lines in the room around me. “I don’t see anything.”
He smiled. “Just me?”
I stepped out of the stretch. “I mean, I only see the room and you in it, you arrogant—”
“Easy, girl. It will come. You’re close. When you can see it, you can draw strength and power from it. The ley lines weave around the earth like a series of magic rivers. You’ll see them when you’re ready.”
“If I hear one more person say ‘when you’re ready’, I’m going to scream,” I huffed somewhat childishly.
“Keena, power comes in bits and pieces to everyone. If it hit you all at once, it’d be like driving your car into a wall.
All of us have gone through this. Most of us did it as we matured through puberty, so it was smoother.
You want it all now and want to control it all now.
I understand your need for control. It comes from facing the human world alone and misunderstood, even by your own mind.
You managed in that world by staying in control of everything and everyone around you.
But this world is not so easily controlled.
Let it come in a trickle, or the wave will destroy you. ”
“How do know all that?”
“I did the same thing. I grew up without any guidance for my powers. It scared me, and I had no control over them, so I controlled everything else I could.”
I found myself even more attracted to him for sharing that bit of himself, but I wouldn’t let him know that. “Fine. We here to fight or have a therapy session?”
He laughed. “Bring it on, little girl.” Giving me an evil smile, he crouched and drew his wooden sword from his side.
We had decided to use the practice weapons and pull punches since we had never fought each other before.
We circled for a moment, looking for the “tell” that would clue one of us into the other’s intentions.
I realized he wasn’t going to lunge first—so I did.
I fell to the floor and swung my leg at his calves, knocking his feet out from under him.
He landed hard on his ass but rolled over and got to his feet before I did.
The Demon was fast for such a big man. He caught me midway up, landing a kick to my side.
Since he hadn’t used full force, I was able to let the momentum push me over sideways and roll away before he could pounce on me.
Our practiced dance continued for some time, each getting the better of the other from moment to moment.
The half Demon moved far differently from Manus.
His stride and motions were harsher, stronger.
Manus moved like a cat, all sleek and flowing.
Jordan moved like a force of nature, each effort big and dangerous.
He was holding back and I still had to strain to keep the upper hand.
It was a good reminder that I had grown accustomed to Manus and his fighting style.
I wouldn’t always face the same opponent.
I finally spun on him unexpectedly, pinning him to the wall, mock blade at his throat, body pressed hard against his.
The smell of him, masculine, with no perfumes, no hint of anything but his skin, assaulted my senses.
I jerked and turned away, taking a few steps to clear my nose of his scent. He stayed at the wall.
“Close your eyes and use the ley to follow me,” he ordered, voice hard. I turned back to him. His eyes were closed. “Channel that feeling, the pent-up energy, to find the ley lines, Keena. Close your eyes and use the frustration, enhance it.”
I did as he said. Crouching low, I closed my eyes and concentrated.
He moved silently around my right side. I felt him move farther away and then try to come in closer on the left.
I turned to him, eyes still closed. He lunged, dropping to the ground to hit me below the waist. I felt it all and easily jumped over him.
He spun back up on his feet and continued his assault.
I blocked three more attempts before he landed on me and pressed me to the floor.
“Keep them closed. Feel for the power with your mind. Search the room for it.” He was pressed hard to me. I felt my desire for him start to grow even with the amulet.
“Use it to see the line.” He uttered the command softly into my neck. I could feel the heat of his breath on the little hairs behind my ear.
It burned slightly as I channeled the frustration to my abdomen where I most felt control over my magic—then I opened my mind, letting down all the walls.
I could see spiderwebs in hues of blue under my eyelids.
As I opened them, I found the room glowing a mild blue.
Running through the center of the workout area was a deep-cobalt-blue line, almost purple.
It hovered, glowed and hummed. The power in it was a living, breathing thing and was beckoning to me.
Absentmindedly, I pushed at his shoulder. When he realized I saw the line, he slowly rolled off me. I stood, almost afraid to touch it, afraid to break the trance and lose sight of it. Power hung in the air.
A strong magic lived within the shimmering blue.
I felt it, smelled it, and reached out without taking another step.
It arced back to me as a lightning strike, single threads joining with me through the tips of my fingers.
The lights dimmed in the gym, and I felt the power surge through every cell of my body.
I felt the thrust of my Demon power welling inside me.
It burned, consuming my mind and making it hard to think.
The feeling was too much. I had to release it.
I needed to thrust it out. I was full, overloaded, and starting to panic as it threatened to overcome me.
Jordan’s voice came softly through the air from everywhere.
“Send it back to the line. Channel it back to the line.” Feeling anchored to his voice, I imagined the thrust going back to the line, back through my fingers.
The blueness of the ley line expanded with the power, looking like a snake that just had a big meal.
The brightness intensified and all the lights in the gym went black for a second.
The door flew open with a loud smack and the guard rushed in.
Jordan stopped him with a hand signal. I felt the power leaving me and dissipating into the line.
I was no longer tired from the exercise.
For the first time in a very long time, I was content and confident with everything.
I had everything I needed. There was no fear, no sense of dread or worry. I was filled.
“You can close it out the same as you found it. Close your mind to it and it will wait for you.”
I closed my mind in much the same way I closed my mind to Jordan’s psychic abilities, building a little wall in my brain to shut it out. I turned to Jordan, who was still lying on the floor.
He smiled. “You have more Demon blood than I thought, priestess. It’s rare to be able to share with the line.
Most can draw little bits from it, but few can build on its power and share it back.
It is the gateway to other realms and it has welcomed you.
” His body shuddered. He took in a ragged breath. “You are a remarkable creature.”
I blushed, still feeling very content. He got up. “Grab a shower and we’ll have lunch.” He walked away and I watched him, his confidence still hanging around him as sure as his power.
I shook my head and opened my mind to the ley line again.
Just in case I had imagined it. It still hung there, shimmering with the blue of darkest sapphire.
I reached for it again, and it came to me quickly.
Power filled me. I was aware of Jordan removing his clothes at the lockers, the guard shifting uneasily from the energy in the hall.
I could feel others moving about above me, on the next floor. I took a step forward.
“Don’t walk through it, Keena,” Jordan called out from the locker room. “Slow down. Remember, you don’t have to control everything at once.” His voice seemed to surround me, filtered and echoed by the power of the ley line. I pulled away from the line, backing up and pulling my hand back.
It released me with a small swooshing noise. I closed my mind back down. I still felt that sense of wonder from it. Felt like I gained some unknown understanding from it. I sat on the floor for a moment to contemplate the experience.
I had fought so hard for control over everything, holding myself back and endangering others in the process.
I was struggling to hold on to my humanity.
I had controlled everything and everyone around me in my human life, and I couldn’t here.
It was time to accept I wasn’t just human anymore.
I was something else that held a piece of humanity, but I wasn’t human.
The time had come to accept myself—and those around me—completely.
To embrace all aspects of my being and use that human part of me that I did have confidence in to understand the rest. Easier said than done, but I knew where to start.