Once Bitten (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #1)(14)

She told me once that she doesn’t like being inside the salt circle either, due to claustrophobia, but it would keep her safe if something bad detected her magic and decided to drop by.

“What should I do?” I asked. I frowned at a splash of dipping sauce on the inside of my wrist. “You have nothing new for me?” I pursed my lips and watched as she laid the three charms on the floor so that they formed a large triangle.

“Why don’t you work on that touchless psi ball again? You did far better than me.” I had created a bigger ball than Lena, but at the size of a grape, I hardly found it to be brag worthy.

The no touch energy ball had taken a lot out of me. It involved creating the ball without the use of hands. The mind-only ball was much easier said than done. The fingertips are an especially sensitive tool in a psi exercise, a key factor in most energy conduction that united the body and the mind in creation. To do it with the mind alone was both uber advanced and damned hard.

“That was a hell of a task.” I held my breath when she wiggled her fingers above the purple gem.

The energy she drew into her circle hummed on the air. She whispered a word of Latin as the stone began to glow.

“What are you doing to them?” I nodded toward the colorful stones.

She held up a finger to indicate she needed a moment of concentration. I took the hint and left my next question unvoiced. I knew better than to chatter away when someone was trying to focus. Jez was famous for it.

Instead, I returned to the small round table. I pulled the wooden chair out with a scrape and angled it toward the front entry rather than Lena. I closed my eyes, cleared my thoughts, and took a deep breath. I actually put my hands behind my back, to resist the urge to use them. As I simply tuned in to my surroundings, I could feel the power that Lena had called prickle along my skin like pins and needles.

After two more deep breaths, I envisioned a tiny green spark. I watched inside my mind as the glowing orb grew to the size of a golf ball. I opened my eyes to find the psi ball hovering at eye level in front of me. I gasped, drawing Lena’s attention. Lena was the only human that I knew who could see energy the way I or a vampire could.

“My heavens, girl,” her voice was soft but incredulous. “How did you manage that?”

I shook my head silently. Hell if I knew. The psi ball should have glowed a faint green or gold. Instead, it shimmered in a deep, ocean blue. Energy often took on the same hue as the aura of the practitioner, but my aura is yellow-gold.

My heart surged as a thought hit me and, along with it, a small dose of adrenaline. Arys’s aura was blue. I’d seen him work energy before. All we’d done was touch, right?

“I’m really not sure.” I breathed, staring at the blue ball hovering a foot from my face.

I glanced at Lena. All three of her charms glowed brightly. I experienced the temporary sensation of wanting to touch them.

“Have you been up to something that I don’t know about?” Lena’s tone was disturbingly parental.

I turned back to my psi ball to avoid her accusatory stare. I noticed my yellow-gold lining the outside of the ball. As I watched, it swirled throughout the blue like the rainbow in an oil patch. Strange.

“Like what?” I replied. Too late, I added, “Of course not.”

I could feel her eyes on me as I feigned supreme concentration. The little ball hovered as if awaiting instruction.

“It’s much bigger than the last one you made.”

My fingers twitched on the rung of the chair, and the little energy ball dissolved. The free energy buzzed around us like high-pitched radio frequency.

“Maybe that’s something you should do outside.” A hand flew to her temple where she rubbed lightly. “The intensity of that thing is giving me one hell of a headache. Now, tell me what you’ve been up to.”

“I’m sorry, Lena. Are you alright?” I got up from the wooden chair and approached her circle.

She didn’t answer me. She gathered up her glowing gemstones in one hand and broke the salt circle with the other. I took her silence to mean that she was insisting on an explanation.

With a shrug I said, “I touched a vampire. One with one hell of a pull. We’ve shared a metaphysical attraction since we met, about three years ago. But, it’s grown since. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever felt.”

I felt silly saying it like that, but it was true. I had no idea why I would respond so strongly to Arys on a power level. It didn’t happen with anyone else. Not like that.

“You touched a vampire. How? What do you mean?”

Lena reached for the broom in the corner, but I intercepted the action. I ignored the pointed look that she shot me as I turned to start sweeping. As I cleaned up Lena’s salt mess, I told her about the exchange with Arys. I considered not telling her the color of his aura but decided the detail wasn’t worth hiding.

The extended silence that followed worried me, and I realized a part of me was scared. I didn’t do well when not in control. Whatever drew me to Arys was not within my ability to harness.

“Honey, promise me you’ll be careful.” Her tone took on a note heavy with worry, and my heart leapt into my throat when she added, “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”

“Why? What? You’re scaring me.” I fought the urge to drop the broom, grab her by the shoulders, and shake out whatever she knew.