Chapter 21: Chapter 21

"The key is to completely clear your mind before setting up the block."

It was my first day training with Brian.  He had printed out the information Savannah sent, and we had been going through the first exercise for almost two hours. I felt like a kindergartener in a foreign school.

"It's like dropping a curtain over your subconscious.  That way you only allow certain things into your mind."

I took a deep breath and nodded.  I sat completely still and tried to clear my mind.  "Clear, clear, clear," I pushed my brain to respond.

"Now, when you're ready, I want you to pick up this necklace of Dani's and try to block the vision."

I focused for a moment longer and reached for the necklace.  When my fingers touched it, I felt a sharp pain, before the vision came, uninvited.  I was standing in a dark room, surrounded by three angry men.  I inhaled sharply.  "Drop the curtain, Katie."  Brian's voice weaved into my head.

I closed my eyes and imagined a black curtain falling over me.  When I opened them, I was back in the hotel room.  "I did it!"  I exclaimed. Point one for the freak!

He grinned and took the necklace from my hands.  "Excellent work!"

I took a sip of my coffee and leaned my head back, massaging my temples.  "This is draining."

Brian nodded.  "It will be at first.  But the more you practice, the easier it will be.  We've only been working for a few hours and you've already pulled yourself out of a vision."

"But don't you think it will be harder with a real person's energy, as opposed to an object?"

He shrugged.  "We'll find out.  Dani will be here soon."

I felt a little panic.   "Are you sure we should rush into using a person so quickly?" Showing my weird new talents to Dani wasn't at the top of my happy list.

"Objects only possess trace amounts of personal energy.  Savannah says the best way to practice is with a real person.  Dani is the best choice, because you spend so much time together."

"What about Dustin?"

Brian shook his head.  "Your Link with Dustin makes you more susceptible to his energy.  His visions are, in essence, your visions.  Blocking him will be next to impossible for a while. After you master the skills, we'll revisit the idea.  Now, while we wait for Dani, let's keep working with the necklace."

I sighed and sat up straighter in the chair.  Brian held the gold chain out to me, and I reached for it.   "Block it," I told myself.  "Drop the curtain."  The familiar pain shot through my head, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut.  When I opened them, I was in Shawn's room, sitting on his bed.  He was smiling at me, his deep green eyes glowing vibrantly.  He leaned towards me; his lips pursed into a kiss.

"Drop the curtain!" my mental voice yelled.  "Ugh!"  I screeched, out loud.  I heard a loud pop, and I was back in the hotel room again.

Brian was standing in front of me, his eyes wide with surprise.

"What was that?"  I asked, looking around. The too close encounter with Shawn had my stomach flopping over itself.  It was like almost being kissed by my brother.

"When you screamed, the light bulb in the lamp exploded."  He walked over to examine the little shards of glass littering the floor by the desk.

"Oooops."  I dropped the necklace like it was on fire.

"That was unexpected.  What did you see?"

"I was in Dani's body and Shawn was about to kiss me.  I mean, her."  I shivered at the thought.

Brian burst out laughing.  "Okay, that makes sense.  I'd probably shatter light fixtures if he tried to kiss me too!"

His laughter was contagious, and I soon found myself giggling too.

"What's so funny?"  Dani walked into the room.  "Aren't you guys supposed to be working?"  She set her purse on the desk.  "What happened to the lamp?"

Brian and I laughed even harder.

"Okay."  She sat down and waited for us to finish.

I forced myself to calm down and looked at Brian.  "Okay, I'm sorry.  I'm ready to be serious now."

He chugged the rest of his coffee and turned to Dani.  "Katie has been doing really well, for a beginner.  We've been practicing with your necklace, and she has pulled herself from two visions already.  However, Savannah says the true test is blocking while touching an actual person.  That's why you're here."

Dani looked a little worried.  "So, you want me to let her loose in my head, so she can practice puling herself out of unwanted visions?"

"That is the idea," Brian replied.

She looked unnerved.  "Look, Katie, I really want to help you, but I'm not sure I want you running around in my head."

Brian handed her the necklace.  "She's going to see things, regardless of whether you want her to or not.  It's not her fault.  If we can teach her how to control it, that will cut down on the amount of time she actually spends in your head."

Dani thought for a moment.  "Okay, but this stays between us, in this room."  She gave us both a pointed look.

I nodded and reached for her hand.  As soon as I touched her, the pain in my head flared.  I closed my eyes and tried to drop the curtain over my subconscious.  When I opened my eyes, I was running through a field as fast as I could.  Something was behind me, but I was too scared to look back.  I had no idea where I was, but I knew I had to keep running.  I could hear growling in the distance as I put more speed into my feet.  The fear completely took me over, and I forgot to clear my mind and drop the curtain.

All the sudden, something grabbed me from behind.  I screamed and fell to the ground.

When I opened my eyes, I was back in the hotel room.  Brian and Dani were staring at me, their mouths open in awe.  The room was in disarray.  The desk was on its side and the blankets and pillows from the bed were strewn about.

"What happened?" I let out a huge breath.

"Katie," Dani gasped.  "What did you see?"

I shook my head.  "Um, I was running from something.  I got too scared and forgot to block the vision.  Something tried to grab me, and it was growling."

Dani leaned against the wall; her eyes downcast.  "It was the werewolves that Kellan had on his payroll.  I tried to escape, and they brought me back."  She was still gazing around the room.  "How did this happen?"  She held out her arms towards the destruction.

Brian was still speechless, as he righted the desk.

"Did I do this?"  I stared at Dani, confused.

She nodded.  "As soon as you touched me, things began swirling around the room.  When you screamed, the desk flipped over."  She seemed impressed.  "This is getting weird."  She widened her eyes at Brian.

He sat down at the desk and thought for a moment.  "I have no idea what's going on.  I've never seen a case of telekinesis before, except with Magic Casters."

"Telekinesis?"  Dani put the pillows back on the bed and sat down.  "Are you telling me that Katie's moving things with her mind?"

He nodded.  "Right before you got here, she shattered the bulb in the lamp while she was trying to block an unpleasant vision."

"Have you ever had an experience like this before?" Dani questioned.

I shook my head.

"Let's try something."  Brian pulled a pen out of his bag and put it on the desk.  "Katie, can you move the pen?"

I stood up, walked towards the desk, and pushed the pen onto the floor with my finger.

Brian scowled.  "I meant with your mind."  He replaced the pen back on the desk.

"Are you serious?"  I threw up my hands.  "How would I be able to do that?  I still have no idea how it happened in the first place." I felt like an out of control toddler.

He put his hand on my shoulder.  "It's okay.  Just take a deep breath and imagine pushing the pen.  See it moving in your mind."

I narrowed my eyes at the pen, willing it to move.  But it stayed still.

"See it in your mind," Brian encouraged me.

I focused again, trying to push the pen around in my head.  It vibrated slightly but didn't move.  "Katie!"  Brian suddenly yelled.  I jumped with fright, and the pen flew off the table.

"What the hell was that?"  I glared at him.

"I wanted to see if the telekinesis was tied to your emotions.  By the looks of it, I think we can say yes."  He shook his head and pulled his laptop out.  "I think I better email Savannah."

Dani and I exchanged a look.  Could this get any weirder?

"I think we should stop for the day."  Brian powered up his computer.  "Katie, I want you to remember that none of these visions can hurt you.  It's like a movie and you're in the audience.  If you find yourself in a vision, try to remember the curtain.  For now, stay away from large groups of people, at least until I hear back from Savannah."

I nodded and grabbed my purse.  "Can you give me a ride back to campus?"  I asked Dani.

She still looked spooked.  "Yah, as long as you don't see a vision and flip the car."

I frowned.  "I'll try," was all I could promise.

Dustin was waiting for me in my room when I got home.  "How did it go?"  The look in his eye told me he had already talked to Brian.

I shrugged and dropped into the desk chair.  "A little surprising.  I thought I was doing well until I trashed Brian's room with my mind."

Dustin chuckled.  "You become more intriguing every day."  He leaned down and kissed me softly.

I sighed.  "Dustin, this is crazy.  Six months ago, I was living at home with my parents and brothers, and I had no knowledge of anything not human.  Then I come here, piss off an evil vampire and almost die.  Now I am seeing Auras and visions and moving things with my mind.  It feels surreal.  How am I going to turn this craziness into my new normal?" I tried to slow my frightened heart.  The last thing I needed was to get freaked out and send a desk barreling into my boyfriend's head.

He pulled me into his arms.  "Katie, I had no idea this was going to happen.  I've known a few vampires who have Linked with humans through healing, and nothing like this has ever happened.  I've seen some side effects, mostly telepathy, from the Link, but I have never heard of these Auras or visions accompanying it.  I'm running blind here, just like you."

I felt confused and frustrated.  "I'm a loose cannon.  I had a vision when I touched Dani, and when it was over, Brian's room was a mess."

Dustin lifted me into his arms.  "Let's do something."

I gave him a questioning look.  "Dinner or a movie? Brian doesn't think it's a good idea for me to be around a bunch of people. I'm a bit emotionally unsteady." Understatement of the century.

"No, I mean, let's do something different.  Let's go somewhere and spend some time together, one on one.  I think you need a break."

"Where?"

"Let's go somewhere where crazy is normal.  Let's go to New Orleans."  His eyes lit up.  "I have some friends there who have offered me the use of their condo whenever I want."

"Dustin, do you remember why we're here?  Classes?  I can't just keep leaving or I'll flunk out."

He leaned into me and linked his eyes with mine.  I heard his voice inside my head.  "Babe, there is no way you can sit in a class full of people right now.  There are 10-15 Supernaturals in each class, and each of them have not only distracting Auras, but multiple lifetimes worth of memories that you can see.  Brian thinks it's a good idea for us to lay low for a while anyway."

I allowed my inner voice to respond.  "What am I going to tell my professors this time?"

"I can talk to them if you want."  He smiled, sweetly, and I caught his intentions.

I shook my head.  "I don't want you messing with my teacher's minds.  Besides, I'm pretty sure your mind tricks won't work on that crazy English teacher/magic caster."

"Okay," His eyes stayed on mine, while his voice swirled around in my head.  "Let's go for the weekend.  Then you won't miss class.  Today is Friday, and we could head out right now.  That will give us all day tomorrow, and part of Sunday to enjoy the city."

I felt myself relenting.  "I'll pack a bag."

He grinned.  "Let's get going."

Author's Note: Sometimes all you need it a trip away from your stress! Where's your favorite place to visit and relax? Vote and comment below!! Luvs as always!! AM💜