Chapter 24
“Thanks for cutting with me, babes,” I say, as Willow hands around hot chocolates from her fancy machine. "I've something big to tell you."
I bite my lip as anxiety swirls in my stomach.
“Waiting with bated breath,” Duncan says.
That’s all very well, but I don’t know where to begin.
“Theo?”
Start at the beginning, I tell myself. Just like the song says, it’s a very good place to start. Deep breath, here we go. “I was a very weird child.”
I pause. My friends wait patiently for my following words. I can do this. “I was weird because from an early age it was obvious that I had an unusual ability, to say the least.”
Duncan’s brain immediately explodes with speculation.
—ooh, synesthesia?/no, photographic memory/I want a photographic memory/isn’t there a thing when some people have extra cones in their eyes so they can see more colors?—
Extra cones? I didn’t even know that was a thing? “No, I don’t see more colors, or have synesthesia or a photographic memory, Dunc.”
His mouth drops open—Did I say that out loud?—
“And no, you didn’t say it out loud. The truth is, I’m telepathic and I can hear your thoughts.”
Willow turns white. Her face is more serious than I’ve ever seen it. “Telepathy is innate magic.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
—CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?—
I tell Willow there is no need to shout. She grins and mouths ‘Wow’. “How do you block people out of your head? How come this hasn’t driven you insane?”
“Good questions; A—I entertain myself with mental word games, or recite lyrics to songs, and B, how do you know I’m not insane?”
Duncan frowns, leaning forward on his elbows. “OK, Neo. If you're plugged into the Matrix, I’m going to replay a very specific sound and image in my head. Tell me what it is.”
Willow swats his arm. "Dunc, don’t test her!"
"It's fine, Wills," I say, locking eyes with him. "I’d be skeptical too.”
Duncan closes his eyes, scrunching his face in concentration. Instantly I see an image of him dancing around, singing, “there is no spoon” loudly, over and over.
“Yeah, yeah, nice one, Dunc. Also, you think at high volume.”
Suddenly he turns red. “Jeez. I dread to think what other things you’ve heard from my head. Sorry.”
“I promise I never heard anything much beyond your desire for pancakes,” I tell him.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Phew, this is a relief, they’ve handled it so well. ‘Now, I want to tell you as much as I can about the last few days, but this has to stay between us, guys.”
“Promise,” Willow replies.
“Promise,” Duncan agrees.
So I tell them nearly everything. The guys shifting into creatures, the dark essence pouring into the Earth Realm because Obex has broken, and then about Lumina inside me.
As I recount Amirene's words, the air in the room hums. A sharp, electric heat spikes in my chest, not like heartburn, but like I've swallowed a swarm of bees.
"Theo?" Willow is at my side in an instant. She reaches out, then pulls her hand back with a hiss. "You're burning up!"
"I'm... fine," I say, but that’s not true. I reach for the glass of water on the nightstand, desperate to cool down.
As soon as my fingertips graze the surface, the water inside doesn't just boil; it vaporizes. A geyser of hot steam violently hisses upward in a thick white cloud. The glass itself gives a high-pitched ping sound and fractures into a spiderweb of cracks, unable to handle the sudden thermal shock.
Willow jumps back, waving the hot steam away from her face. "Holy crap."
“Dude!” Duncan yelps, eyeing the ruined glass that is still standing, but leaking steaming water onto the nightstand. “That’s insane. How are you going to keep in control?”
I clench my fists, forcing the energy back down, feeling it sear the inside of my veins.
"It's the Lumina," I whisper, snatching my hand away from the radiating heat. “Amirene said wielding her essence would be difficult, but I think it’s getting stronger.”
I help Willow clean up the hot mess with a towel and try not to think about how much more out of control the essence inside me could get.
By the time we’ve finished, the sky is already darkening. Willow opens her sock drawer and brings out the rum. “It’s been quite the afternoon, Theodora Blessed-by-the-Guardian-of-Avalon Wilson. I don’t know about you, but I need a drink.”
“Dunc?” I look at my little Canadian friend. “Did I freak you out? I know it’s a lot.”
“Not freaked, but, if this doesn’t sound too rude, I’m glad I’m not you.”
That’s an understandable response. “It’s a lot, for sure. And right now, I haven’t got the foggiest what our next steps should be.”
Duncan squints and then gives a little laugh. “You know, this might sound a little daft to you, but I just started this new Metroidvania…”
“Pause,” I say, holding up one hand. “Metroidvania?”
“Non-linear progression. You can't get through the Door of Doom because you don't have the Magic Key yet. So, you stop banging your head against the door. You go do a side quest. You level up. You get the key."
He looks up, eyes serious. "Dispelling the dark energy is the Boss Fight. We aren't ready. We need to grind for XP first, so you need a side quest.”
Duncan’s laptop dings, and his attention immediately flits away. “Yes! No rum for me, Wills, I’ve got to keep my wits about me, shit’s about to get real.”
I think about Duncan’s nerd philosophy for a minute. A side quest sounds kind of peaceful right now.
Side quest. Help Willow get the girl.
I take another slug of rum. “Wills, I want to talk to you about Naomi.”
She jerks and almost spills her drink. “You what?”
OK, this can’t be immoral, after all, it’s in both Naomi’s and Willow’s best interest. “So, given that you now know about my ability, I want you to imagine that I have concrete evidence that Naomi…”
“Naomi, what? Don’t toy with me, bee-itch.”
“Naomi…is into you.” Willow’s mouth drops open. “But,” I add, “She thinks you and Dunc are a thing. Willow? Are you OK?”
My friend is goldfishing frantically.
“Just breathe.”
She finally managed to get some words out. “Theo Wilson, did you read her mind?”
“Accidentally. I didn’t try to, but some of her thoughts floated my way and, well, she was thinking of you.”
“That Dunc and I are...?” she yelps.
“Uh huh.”
“And she actually likes…” Willow slaps herself on the chest, then flops back on the bed dramatically. “Me?”
“Idiot,” I laugh, picking up her potions essay and fanning it around her head. “So, Willow Bloomhower’s-never-back-down-from-a-challenge Bloomhower, what’s your move?”
“Me,” she squeaks. “Me?”
“Yes, you. Poor Naomi thinks you’re both straight and have a boyfriend. If you want anything to happen, it’s up to you to set the ball in motion.”
She gapes, and a little light bulb goes off in my brain. “The Ball! Ask her to the All Hallows Ball, it’s this weekend, right?”
A thousand thoughts flit through Willow’s head and I concentrate on letting her have privacy.
After a couple of minutes, she squares her shoulders and juts out her chin.
“I’m going to do it. The world might be ending and evil energy is taking over, but I don’t want to die without shooting my shot first.”
“That’s the spirit,” I tell her. “Now that’s decided, can we spend a little time practising your brain-shields? I really don’t want to intrude on your brains anymore.”
Duncan and Willow pay attention and very soon are able to keep their thoughts from my head. In fact, it’s remarkably straightforward.
Huh, now I come to think of it, since returning from Avalon, the voices haven’t been half as hectic, almost like I’ve been automatically tuning them out without trying.
If that’s a blessing from Amirene’s Lumina, then I am, truly, hashtag blessed.
Looking at my phone, I decided it’s been too long since I laid eyes on the twins. Both my head and my heart are worried that they are just going to vanish into thin air again. “I’m heading to Electis.”
Dunc doesn’t reply, too busy battling something, but Willow hugs me. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” she tells me. “But in the meantime, I’m going to be rehearsing the perfect way to ask Naomi out. Is a prom-prosal going too far?”
“Much too far. Keep it simple.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” She flops back on her bed, a dreamy expression on her face.
As I walk down the stairs, my phone pings with various notifications. The first is a text.
DONOVAN: Tee! Where are u? Miss u
THEO: Likewise, I was just gonna sneak over to yours
DONOVAN: Stay there. I’ll come grab you
THEO: *heart emoji*
The second is a new email. It’s from Aunt Nancy.
Subject: Re: Majorly Important Question
Theo,
I'm sorry you feel your life is a "mystery" right now, but no, I genuinely didn't know about the adoption. With the wedding planning, I haven't been able to go through your mother's boxes yet.
Be good.
Nancy
I’m going to dismiss that as a whole heap of nothing-burger, but my newly developed spidey-sense is tingling. I read over the email again. The words ‘I genuinely didn’t know’ appear almost oily.
She’s lying. I can smell it, like spoiled milk. Gross.
I file that under things to think about later.
In the lobby, Ginger-Teresa and Justin Bieber Haircut are hanging out, looking at the noticeboard. Dammit, I have to stop calling her Ginger-Teresa. Just Teresa. And what’s his name? Oh, Scott. I remember now.
While waiting for Donovan, I practice my telepathy shielding by focusing on the two Defectivum students. OK, brain. Don’t listen.
And…
Silence. Not a peep.
OK, brain, now switch on. Instantly, my head is filled again.
—get her one of those flower things? Shit, I’ll call mom, she’ll know—
—What if he gets me one of those cheesy corsages? How do I hint that—
Brain, off.
Silence.
Woo, the fucking, hoo! I actually have control over my telepathy for the first time in my life. What else can this newly minted mind of mine do?
—Ludo?—
—Nymph. Do you need me?—
—Just testing how far my telepathy can go. Where are you?—
—Aquatic center, mending filter system. You?—
—Defectivum. Shit, this is awesome. I miss you, Lu—
—and I you. Who is with you?—
Ludo’s voice in my mind is deep and grounding. Even all the way across campus, he makes me feel safe.
—Donovan’s on his way. We’re going to Electis. Meet us there?—
The inner conversation with Ludo pauses for a second, then he sends me another message.
—You will be safe with the centaur. The tower is not a place I like—
—OK, but keep in touch—
—I will—
The door to Defectivum slams open.
“Tee-Tee!”
Donovan rushes across the lobby floor, picks me up, and swirls me around. “Fuck, I haven’t seen you all day. I hate it! Ooh, almost as much as I hate that uniform. Come on, let's go. I’ll tear that shit off you asap.”
Teresa and Scott stare open-mouthed and blinking as an gorgeous Elite man worships a Defectivum scholarship dud.
I give them a little wave as Donovan carries me, bridal style, out of the Defectivum building.
Donovan is like liquid sunshine, shot straight into my veins.
I find myself giggling uncontrollably despite all the heaviness we’re dealing with.
How have I existed the last year without this man?