A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(36)

“The languages of the spirits in the scroll will become second nature to you. Gyda knows a few of the old Viking languages, and a couple of others too, and Servius knows more than I can possibly remember. Whatever we know, you know. It’ll take a while to sink in, but don’t be surprised if you start speaking a language you’ve never studied. I know when I first did, it was a little bit of a surprise.”

“Anything else?”

“You’re much stronger than a human. I don’t know how strong. That depends on how strong you were beforehand, but you’ll soon figure it out. Your senses are improved, although don’t go thinking you can hear like a dog or anything, and you’ll heal a lot quicker than you could have before.”

“The gunshot wound is almost gone.”

“Get used to that. Also, get used to not going to the hospital when you get hurt—they find it odd when a patient who was bleeding to death on a table an hour ago gets up and walks off. Trust me on that.” Rosa thought for a moment. “Oh, yes, you’ll know all of our muscle memories too, so if one of us was good at fighting, you will be too. Sword, ax and shield, knives . . . you’ll start to realize you can do things you never thought possible, and you’ll just know you can do it. Takes a while to get used to.”

“I already know how to fight,” Layla said, keeping her voice neutral. “I don’t need to learn more about how to fight.”

“The spirit scrolls were created for one reason: to make weapons out of humans, to try to ensure that they wouldn’t die as easily as they usually do. The only problem was they worked too well and made some people into monsters. I’m hoping that’s not you. But we’re some way off from finding out.”

“I’m assuming you’re going to get to the really bad side of my new life soon.”

“Still on the good for the moment. You’ll need less sleep but more food. You’ll also be able to use your ability. It’s unique to you, and based on what Gyda did the other day, it’s the manipulation of metal. You won’t be too powerful until you accept the spirits and demon, but you’ll have us to help you learn control. How the power actually works, and what it’s actually capable of, is something you’ll have to discover for yourself.”

“Accepting a demon? Power to manipulate metal?” Layla rubbed her eyes. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“Yes, it is. But you need to understand everything that’s happened to you, and quickly. It won’t be long before you get used to it all.”

“So, what could you do?”

“I could become invisible as needed. You’ll have to ask the others about what they could do. The scroll looks inside a person and assigns a power based on their personality, along with their wants and needs at that moment. You needed to escape, and you study metallurgy, according to your memories, so you get metal manipulation. We can see all of your memories—it’s a two-way street.”

“What if I don’t want this power? What if I don’t want you to see my memories?”

“Tough. It comes with the scroll. There’s nothing you, or I, or anyone else can ever do about it.”

“So I no longer have secrets?”

“We’re part of you. You don’t have secrets from yourself, so you can’t keep them from us. It’s to ensure that we are always honest with one another. So, yes, I can see that fire in you. Your need to fight and hurt people who could hurt you. And I understand it.”

“I don’t want understanding. I want it gone.”

“That’s a part of you, Layla. The best you can do is learn how to control it, just like you’ll learn how to control your new powers. On the plus side, I can’t lie to you, not ever. No spirit can.”

“What about the demon?”

“In theory he can’t lie to you either, but I don’t know whether or not to trust that.”

“And I have to accept him.”

“If it is a him, yes.”

“If?”

“I’m not sure demons have a sex; it just never came up. I referred to the demon as a him simply because he appeared in a male form the majority of the time. I think they change gender according to who they’re talking to and how they feel on that occasion.”

“Are they asexual?”

“Able to change as needed to suit their audience. I think that’s part of what they are. To my knowledge, no one has ever gotten close enough emotionally to one of them to learn about their species.

“Physically, demons aren’t anything like humans. They’re something entirely different, and they’re full of incredible power. Accepting the demon will be the hardest part of bonding with the scroll and the spirits in it. It will tell you awful things, it will show you things you’ll never forget, because it wants to break you, it wants to weaken you so badly that it gets to take control.”

“And how do I accept the demon, or any of you for that matter?”

“You just have to tell us. But you have to mean it with every fiber of your being. Otherwise it won’t work.”

“And once I’ve done that, I’ll be more powerful?”

“Considerably, yes, and you’ll be able to tap into the power of the demon, drawing it out to use. Although that in turn lets the demon closer to the surface, where your emotions, or overuse of power, can allow it to take control.”