Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(49)
Declan took the other seat available, twirling it around so he could rest his arms and chin on the back. He looked at her for a moment, cocking his head in thought, before smiling. “Good Morning.”
Caitlyn couldn’t help but be a little arrogant. She crossed her arms playfully. “Good Morning? Where the hell are we and why are we here?”
Declan chuckled. “Well, aren’t you a bright ray of sunshine? We are in the old training facilities that have not been used in thirty years. Why is because I don’t want us disturbed. There is not anything here to distract you from what you need to focus on. There is no nature, no comforts of home, or no certain people to take away your concentration.”
She came to realize quickly that his training methods would be very different from Garrett’s. She grudgingly admitted that it sounded like it might be conducive to training, albeit boring. “Okay, then. So what are you going to teach me?”
Declan stood up. He looked pleased that she was direct with her lines of questioning. “We are starting with mind blocking.”
Caitlyn couldn’t suppress her self-assured tone. “Hate to bust your bubble, but I already know how to do that. We need to move on.”
Declan grinned in response. “So confident, aren’t we? No, you know the basics of mind blocking. What I am going to make you understand is that the mind of an Actual is like an onion. There are many, many layers to uncover. There are many different ways to block one’s mind, just as there are many different ways of breaking into one’s mind. You know how to block the most direct way of someone invading your thoughts; it’s the way most Actuals know how to figure out what someone is thinking and how to do telepathy. You would have no idea how to block my father, Lionel, and me from entering your thoughts, along with many others who are especially skilled at telepathy. There are many crevices in the brain and we can sneak around and find the cracks that are lying there ready to be manipulated. If you get someone who has particular skill, serious damage can be done. We are starting with the basics that Garrett taught you and building upon them.”
Caitlyn mused on this. “If that was true, why didn’t Garrett teach me that? He is able to perform projectile telepathy; surely he has the ability to get past a basic block if what you state is true.”
Declan shrugged. “He does. Being a projectile telepathist makes him particularly adept at breaking through a block. With that said though, most people don’t think it is worth the effort and he probably was saving it for the end of his training. I disagree, I think once someone grasps the basic concept of mind blocking, they should be taught the advanced techniques. If the Cine Tofa ever got a team together that was capable of that infiltrating the Trust; our numbers would be significantly dwindled and we would be at a severe disadvantage. There are certain criteria that every mentor has to cover before you can attempt the Threshold that is approved by the Council. Only the basics are covered in the Threshold test. I’ve been fighting the council for years on more rigorous criteria. They have not been willing to listen till recently.”
“But your father is an influential member of the Council and a Descendant.”
He shook his head. “The majority of the Council and Descendants did not agree and my father’s sway, while influential, is only worth so much. They are a bunch of old traditionalists. But…” He walked around the chair, closer to Caitlyn, “that is what you are here for. We are going to show them what a proper training can accomplish and its distinct advantages. Since you are my student, I’ll teach you how I feel every Actual should be taught. Are you comfortable?”
The chair she was sitting in seemed to get harder by the second. “No.”
His blue eyes danced. “No? Well, that is actually a good thing; it will make you more alert and aware of your surroundings. Look at the wall. Block your thoughts.”
Caitlyn already had her block up. Where in the beginning she had to manifest a brick wall mentally to block out others and not to project her thoughts unwillingly, she now just had a secondary instinct. Declan stood in front of her, his stare hard and piercing. She began to feel a fog overtake her, the thoughts she had becoming muddled and her clarity dissipating. She shook her head slightly and with furrowed brows, focused harder on shielding her thoughts, imagining an invisible wall between the both of them. She pushed at the fog with the same intensity it rushed at her.
For a moment, the fog relinquished, retreating. Caitlyn smiled smugly to herself, thinking she had won the battle. She looked up at Declan, grin wide on his face and she heard his voice clearly ring inside her head.