Mortal Obligation

“Fair enough.”



Ree sat down in a giant wingback chair and pulled her legs up under her. She had so many different questions, but decided to stick with the basics. For now.



“What exactly is the power?” Ree really wanted to understand just what it was the flowed in her veins.



“It is a bit of the larger aspect of Creation. It is what makes up the bits of our soul, and it is in everything. The power you can touch, and the power that is inside of you, lets you manipulate creation in small ways. You can sense things, move things, and use the power as if it were an actual object.”



“Creation? Like the big bang?” Ree couldn't begin to fathom all of the power it would have taken to set the universe into motion.



“On a much smaller scale. You can't create a planet, or its inhabitants. You can only adjust things that are already here and on this plane.” Sophie rested her chin on the palm of one hand. “It is still a great deal of power. When you think of all the things you can touch here on this planet, the Earth, people, weather, animals, and the Power itself.”



“How come you can touch the power? I thought it was only given to a human.”



Sophie looked down at her desk and shuffled some papers. Ree realized it was an uncomfortable subject, but she needed to understand everything.



“My sister was an Alastriana. She fought a long hard battle, one that was waged not just against her mind and physical strength but against her heart as well. She suffered a mortal blow I wasn't able to prevent. When she was dying, she gave me a Death Gift.”



“Death Gift?” Ree leaned forward.



“Yes. With the last of her strength she passed on her ability. I am the only Guardian to ever be able to touch the power.”



“Did that upset the gods?” Ree asked.



“Not in the way you would think. Some Guardians have gifts similar to their godly relatives. It is actually beneficial that I can touch the source; it means I am able to better teach you how to use it.”



“Do the others have any gifts?” Ree thought it might be helpful if they could do some extra things as well.



“It is too early to tell. But you should know that it is a very rare thing. Most are of the normal Immortal variety.” Ree chuckled along with Sophie.



“So, how do I use the power to kill Dark Ones?”



“Well, you will be able to sense them and lead the others to their hideouts. You can use the power almost like a spear, which is what happened in front of the Civic Center. Though, I have to tell you that you got very lucky that time. He was a young bloodhound and not expecting you to be able to call the power. Of course, I don't think any of us were expecting you to call the power to you so quickly. I could tell it wouldn't be long, which is why I hired you at the shop, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon.”



“How long have you been watching me? No offense, but it’s a little creepy. I used to dream people were outside my window all the time. It got really bad just before Trist died.”



“I've been in Savannah for almost twenty years. The Dark One population seemed to be growing substantially and the gods sent me to try and keep it down. It became clear this would likely be the place of the last battle, so I stayed. I kept track of all families that seemed to be a good candidate to host the Alastriana. Your family was on the list to be watched.”



“What about the other families? Are there a lot of others out there that have the potential to touch the source?” Ree wondered if she might have met any of them.



Sophie grimaced and looked away from Ree before answering. Her whole profile changed, her shoulders tensed, and her face took on a tired look. “I've been fighting the Dark Ones for so long, but I can't win all of the time. I learned that lesson early on when my sister died. She defeated their warrior, but died in the process. Sometimes, sacrifices are made for the greater good.” She turned and looked at Ree, her eyes hard. “The Dark Ones began hunting down the mortal lines that could produce an Alastriana. They have murdered hundreds, even thousands of people. I did my best to protect all of the families in my range, but I can't save them all.”



Ree swallowed and felt a little sick.



“You have to understand that for a lot of reasons, I felt like it would be your family that would produce the Alastriana. I was right, and the day your mother named you in the hospital, you became my main concern. While I tried to protect the others, you were the one that had to be kept safe at all costs.”



“Oh man,” Ree got up and paced around the room. “They died because you were watching me? Was I really in that much danger?”



“Every Alastriana is in that much danger. The Dark Ones can sense you just as well as you can sense them.”



“Does that mean the Dark Ones have been watching me for that long?”



“They have been stalking your family since you began going to school.”



Ree made another lap around the room, her shoes sinking in the thick carpet as she wore a path in front of the fireplace that was quietly glowing. She stopped in front of the mantel and stared into the flames that were licking the wood. She was tired of feeling frightened and scared of shadows. In fact, she could feel the anger from yesterday gathering in her chest. The flames jumped and started to grow as she watched. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself and the fire returned to a gentle crackle.



“Okay, it’s time to learn what to do.”



Chapter 22



Sophie nodded and stepped out in front of her desk. She pointed at the fireplace and smiled. “Do it again, but without being angry.”



Ree turned back to the fireplace and concentrated. The flames grew some, but not with the fierceness they had shown earlier. She tried again, this time throwing more of the power at the flames, imagining throwing a bucket of water at the fireplace. The fire grew, sizzling and snapping out of the fireplace, and then died back down. She wiped some sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand.



“It is one thing to send a burst of power, but it takes much more work to sustain that power.”



Ree nodded and looked at the fire again. She imagined the energy pouring out of her in a stream, and the fire began to steadily grow. She kept adding to it, and watched as the flames continued to grow. Sweat trailed down her face, and she was breathing heavily.



“You can't use just your energy. Take energy from around you,” Sophie said.



Ree lost the chord tying her to the fire, and the flames dwindled down to almost nothing. She had been so caught up in the power, she had almost forgotten Sophie was even in the room. She watched as the Guardian threw a few more logs onto the fire. The others had broken and weren’t much more than embers.



Doing as Sophie suggested, she pulled the energy in the room to her and redirected it at the fire. It was almost like she was a giant siphon, sucking the energy into herself. Concentrating harder than she had ever concentrated in her life, she fed that energy back into the fire. She pushed and gave, trying to act more like a bridge than the actual source.



“Enough, Ree. You're going to burn down the house.” Sophie touched her shoulder and she jumped into the air and cursed.



“Sorry, Ree. But the fire was out of the fireplace and crisping the walls!”



Ree sagged to the carpet and took a deep breath. She looked at the fireplace and was surprised there was a large black stain that ran around the bricks, and up the wall toward the ceiling. The mantel clock had black clouding its face, and the flowers in a vase on the end were wilted. The room was darker than when she had started, and she realized night had fallen.



“How long was I staring at the fire?” She rubbed her eyes, noting how tired and worn out they felt.



“Almost an hour.” Sophie sat down on the rug beside her and handed her a bottle of water. “But you did really well.”



After gulping down half of the bottle, she put the cap back on and crossed her legs Indian style. That had been a very serious work out, and she hadn't moved from one spot. She felt even more tired than when she’d run earlier that afternoon. Sophie let her rest for a little bit longer before taking her outside. They sat on the grass and worked on directing the energy more. Sophie set a glass paperweight shaped like a ball between them.



“Direct the energy into this ball, carefully lift it into the air, and hold it there.”



“Lift the ball into the air with the power?” When Sophie only nodded, Ree shrugged and looked at the paperweight. It was a clear globe, the Earth’s continents etched into the glass. There wasn't any type of energy coming from the globe, it felt lifeless and empty compared to the plants around her. She pushed a little of her own energy toward the ball, and nothing happened. She tried again, thrusting a little more energy. Again, nothing.



“Try using what is around the globe,” Sophie suggested quietly.



Use what around the globe? Frustrated she cast her eyes around the clearing. There wasn't anything but her and Sophie in the garden. No, that wasn't right. She could feel the plants, the grass, even the earth beneath her rear end humming with their own energy. Shifting gears, she touched the earth with her hand and felt a spike of pleasure when the energy around her surged. The globe wobbled and rolled away from her. Carefully she tried to raise the energy from the earth like a field to lift the globe. The glass ball settled against a root, and rocked back and forth. The more she delved into the earth with her mind, the more power she found. There was so much on this little island that Ree thought she might be able to lift the house. Laughing, she laid both hands on the ground, and the globe soared into the air. She tried shifting the currents, and the globe began to spin in place. She watched it, a smile of pride lighting her face.



A sharp crack snapped her attention, and the globe fell toward the ground. Her eyes squeezed shut, expecting to be pelted with glass shards, but nothing happened. She opened one eye, just enough to take a peek, and saw the globe hovering an inch above the ground.



“The real trick is to be able to keep your concentration when there are other things happening around you.” Sophie pointed a broken tree branch in her direction. “This was only a twig being snapped. Imagine if things are trying to hurt you.” Ree looked at the tree branch and thought that it was nowhere near the size of a twig. Where did she find that branch? I don't remember seeing that when we sat down.



The tasks Sophie started setting became more and more difficult. She had to keep the globe floating above the ground while Sophie walked around, trying to distract her. Eventually, once she was able to keep from flinching, she had to step around Sophie. It felt like a dance. The globe was the disco ball floating above their heads. Every step Sophie made, Ree had to counter. Once that was mastered, she moved the globe in a pattern above their head while countering Sophie's movements. The Guardian added arm movements to their dance, Ree ducking and side-stepping as best she could.



“Good, good. Spread your awareness as much as you can,” Sophie said.



Ree gritted her teeth, not sure she could answer. To say it was difficult to keep the ball moving in its orbit over their heads while anticipating Sophie's movements was an understatement.



“C’mon, Ree. Talk to me or we will start singing, or reciting poetry,” Sophie demanded. She took her teacher position very seriously. “I've always been fond of William Blake. Do you know his poem, ‘Night’?”



It was all Ree could do to keep up, let alone talk. “I . . . do . . . not . . . want . . . to drop . . . the . . . ball . . . on . . . your . . . head.” She stepped around a stone bench and barely missed being hit by the older woman’s outstretched fingers.



“It is a muscle. The more we use it, the stronger it becomes,” Sophie said.



“Fine . . . I . . . prefer . . . ‘The Tiger’,” Ree panted.



“Ah yes. ‘Tiger, Tiger, burning bright,’” Sophie said, swinging her arm at Ree’s head.



“‘In . . . the forests . . . of the . . . .’” Ree stumbled on a root and had to scurry to stay out of the Guardian’s reach. “‘Night.’”



The glass globe felt like it weighed a hundred pounds at this point, and she was beginning to tire. Sophie jumped over the bench and gave her a little push. If she had the time or energy she might have called her something mean, but as it was she didn't have the energy to expend. She kept moving, the ball making figure eights in the air.



Sophie merely smiled and kept coming at her. “‘What immortal hand or eye,’” the Guardian continued.



Ree kept stepping backwards, and the dance continued near the fountain. At one point she realized she was getting rather close to the cold water in the pool surrounding the fountain. Sophie had a serious glint in her eye, and Ree suspected she was going to up the ante. She tried to step away from the fountain, but Sophie kept pushing her back. “Could . . . frame . . . thy fearful . . . symmetry,’” she said through gritted teeth.



“‘In what distant deeps or skies,’” Sophie continued, “‘Burnt the fire of thine eyes?’”



Ree’s foot hit the edge of the fountain and her attention snapped toward the cold water. She did not want to take a frozen bath. Just before Sophie could reach over and push her shoulder, she panicked and threw the ball at the tall woman. The Guardian ducked, and Ree stepped behind her. The ball resumed its position circling above her head. She smiled at the woman just before she shoved her at the fountain.



Sophie’s eyes widened as she fell forward into the basin. Just her upper half hit the water, because she braced her arms and the water wasn't very deep.



“On what wings dare he aspire?” Ree quoted. “What the hand dare seize the fire?”



Sophie stood up and brushed wet hair out of her eyes. “I'd say I deserved that, but I think we both need a bath.”



A wall of water rose behind her and flew out at Ree. Squealing, she ducked behind a scrawny, leafless bush, the glass globe following her without thought. She hissed when the water fell on her – it was even colder than she had anticipated. Another wall of water rose behind Sophie, and Ree ran for more cover. She dove behind a small utility box and waited for the freezing rain to pelt down on her back. As soon as it fell, she felt for the water behind the Guardian and pulled her own sheet, dunking the older woman with her own trick. Sophie hollered in protest and then started laughing. When Ree peeked around the corner Sophie was gone, and a large ball of water hit her in the face. She squealed and ducked back behind her box wiping her face with her sleeve. She reached out with her senses and searched for the Guardian.



Sophie was standing along the edge of the forest, behind a giant elm. Carefully, Ree grabbed several bucket-sized amounts of water and floated them toward the woman. She lifted her head to encourage Sophie to step out from hiding, and, as soon as she felt the Guardian shift behind the tree, she launched the water. There was a high-pitched squeal and coughing.

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