Empath

by Evans, S. Usher

  "Empaths are rare, interesting creatures indeed. Cassidy was also a strange creature."

  "Cassidy?" Lauren blinked, the name so familiar and normal. "Her name was Cassidy?"

  Probert nodded. "It's been many years, but I do believe her given name was Cassidy. Does that ring a bell?"

  "It just sounds like a name from my world," Lauren replied. The parallels between her and this other empath were becoming more and more pronounced.

  "The poor girl was very troubled." Probert shook his head sadly. "Even the slightest touch would result in her empath fits, as I like to call them. She barely let anyone in the same room with her."

  Lauren felt a surge of camaraderie with this girl she'd never met.

  "She had my same necklace, too, didn't she?" Lauren said, fingering the stone at her neck. "Did she say anything about it turning darker? Did she ever heal anyone with tyllwyllwch?"

  "I cannot say we had much interaction. I was a very young man. Fifty years have passed since she was…taken."

  More than likely, she gave into the Anghenfil's tempting promises. Lauren remembered the young girl in the painting, and imagined what it must have been like for her when the Anghenfil arrived to pull her from her misery.

  Lauren wondered what it would look like when the Anghenfil finally takes her.

  "Do you know why the Anghenfil took her?" Lauren asked, loud enough to stuff the image back into the box it had escaped from. Maybe there was some other reason for it, and not the one that was obviously staring her in the face.

  "A terrifying day." Probert shook his head. "She had been the King's guest but a month when the terrifying creature arrived out in the gardens, great big wings beating like a drum. It wrapped its great serpentine tail around her and carried her to the mountains near Rhianu."

  "I'm familiar with the creature," Lauren said. When the Anghenfil wrapped its tail around her, she'd been forced to relive her (laughably benign) worst memory. She wondered what Cassidy saw when the monster wrapped its tail around her. What was her worst memory?

  "I have never known why the Anghenfil was drawn to her," Probert said. "Empaths are pure of spirit, so the texts read, which is why they can cure those afflicted with tyllwyllwch."

  "The tyllwyllwch," Lauren said, playing with her necklace. "I still don't understand how I did that, either."

  "An entire village, I hear. There are some that say the tyllwyllwch is borne from the spirit of the Anghenfil."

  "Really?" Lauren said, looking up at him. The tyllwyllwch was nothing but misery and desolation, definitely the same sort of thing the Anghenfil made her feel. But she had been able to defeat the tyllwyllwch with her stone; did that mean she could defeat the Anghenfil with it too?

  The creature certainly hadn't liked the stone in Mairwan's dream. Lauren imagined herself with a sword in hand, facing the Anghenfil the way Cefin had bravely faced it.

  The idea was laughable. She'd already tried to face the monster and failed miserably.

  "Lady Lauren?" Probert's voice brought her back into the room.

  "Sorry," Lauren said. "This is just a lot to think about. The tyllwyllwch, the Anghenfil…none of it makes sense to me."

  "I would not worry yourself. We are far removed from the mountain where the beast has made its nest. It hasn't been seen in Traegaron since the day it came for the empath."

  Perhaps that was why she hadn't heard it in her mind these past few days—not since she'd left Rhianu. That knowledge comforted her only a little.

  "Lady Lauren." Probert had moved very close to her while she was wrapped in her own thoughts. "Would it be too much trouble to use your powers on me?"

  "I…what?" Lauren said, turning around so she could face him head-on. Something about his closeness unnerved her.

  "Word has reached us about your talents," he said, his fingers flexing gingerly. "Cleansing an entire village of tyllwyllwch and bringing a girl back from the dead."

  "The village, yes, but I didn't bring anyone back from the dead. She was just knocked out," Lauren said, backing up further as he approached her. "But with normal people, I just feel what they're feeling."

  "Then you have only touched the surface of your powers," Probert said, continuing to walk closer as she walked backwards. "You have the ability to cleanse others of all of their negative energy, to fill them with joy."

  "I've never…" Lauren shook her head, but remembered Cefin. She had healed him, hadn't she? But that was only her walking him through his own misery. That wasn't like the tyllwyllwch, where she used her powers to bring light to others. "I don't understand…"

  "It's very simple. Those who study the art of emotional transference know how to move a bad feeling from one person to another. You, the empath, simply take those feelings as your own, leaving the transferor to be purified of his evil thoughts."

  "I have enough evil thoughts, thanks," Lauren said, as her back hit the library wall. Probert moved even closer to her, and she felt trapped. She'd nearly drowned in her tears after a day of tyllwyllwch and healing Cefin, she wasn't sure if she could handle someone intentionally giving her bad thoughts.

  "Pity," Probert said, reaching out and grabbing her arm anyway.

  Lauren gasped, not out of shock, but out of pain. She wasn't reading him, but he was pushing something into her, little ants crawling up her arm and overtaking her senses. The electric shocks traveled down to settle in her heart and surrounded her lungs until she couldn't breathe. The box of forbidden thoughts in the back of her mind burst open, stampeding through her mind like a herd cooped up too long.

  "—You can tell me anything that's on your mind—"

  "—Cefin will hate you if he finds out—"

  "—I was soooo excited when he proposed—"

  "—Nobody will ever want you like that—"

  "—You're the best person I've ever known—"

  "—but not good enough to be with forever—"

  "—The Anghenfil knows what you are afraid of—"

  "STOP!" Cefin roared somewhere in the distance.

  The connection severed as Probert's hand lifted off of hers and she collapsed onto the ground. Cefin was standing over her body, looking murderously at Probert. Lauren wasn't even sure when he arrived there or why he was there, but she was thankful that the pain had stopped. She just wished the echo chamber of thoughts would stop, too.

  "What did you do to her?" Cefin growled.

  "My dear boy, she's an empath," Probert replied, grinning like Cefin had just handed him a pile of money. "She can remove all bad feelings, leaving nothing but elation. It's perfectly normal."

  Lauren shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself, struggling to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks. The Anghenfil simply made her relive her worst memories; Probert added a scathing commentary that made them a thousand times worse. If given the choice between this torture and the Anghenfil, Lauren could see why Cassidy made the decision she did.

  "She never looked like that after she touched anyone else!" Cefin snarled.

  "Of course not, they were not using her correctly. Most people just give all of their feelings, but if used properly—"

  "I think we've heard enough." Cefin grabbed Lauren by the arm before she could stop him.

  Fear, fear for her. She was so pale, she was possessed when he touched her. He did something bad to her and I will kill him for it.

  "C-C-Cefin," Lauren sputtered, pushing him away from her. She latched onto a nearby window, as her knees gave out underneath her and she fainted.

  ***

  Lauren awoke in her own room, the late afternoon sun streaming into the castle windows. She felt like she had spent the entire day drinking. Her head thudded dully and her body sore and sluggish. She turned her head to the corner, where Cefin was staring out the window, his lips pressed into a thin line.

  "Hey," she whispered.

  "Lauren," Cefin said, rushing over to her. He knelt next to the bed, worry etched on his face. She wanted him to touch her but
settled for the closeness instead.

  "I'm fine," Lauren murmured, but they both knew it was a lie. "What happened?"

  "I got you out of that library with that stupid…" he trailed off angrily. "And you fainted. You've been asleep all day." He leaned in closer, and she breathed him in. "What did he do to you?"

  Lauren furrowed her brow. "He said it was some kind of emotional transference, that most people didn't know how to do it, but that he could just push all of his bad feelings over to me and I'd deal with them."

  "Like when you…? Did I make you feel like this?" Cefin's face twisted in guilt and worry.

  "No, no," Lauren said, wishing she could brush the stray hair out of his face. "That was…different. This was terrible."

  "How so?"

  Dread filled her chest, and all she could do was shake her head. Telling Cefin about what she saw was too terrifying. But the act of keeping the thoughts away unleashed them in a torrent, and tears burst forth from her eyes as it echoed in the space between her ears.

  "Lauren, ssh—"

  Please stop crying, my darling

  Lauren's skin tingled like he had just brushed a tear from it, and his thumb was an inch from her skin. But his intrusion into her mind stopped the raging storm and she was able to take a deep calming breath.

  "Sorry," she whispered, wiping away her tears. "I shouldn't fall apart like that."

  "I think we should return to the village."

  "But…" She didn't even get to look in the library for any answers to her questions. She was as ignorant today as she was before she embarked on this journey. Except for the knowledge that the empath before her bore the same necklace.

  She looked into Cefin's eyes and remembered his strong desire for her to stay. Maybe she should have let sleeping dogs lie. She knew that the only way to get home was to face the Anghenfil and defeat it, but there was no way that was ever going to happen.

  "You keep coming to rescue me," Lauren whispered, instead of voicing her thoughts.

  "I told you, you're—"

  "Cefin, don't try to tell me it's because I'm a villager. I read your emotions, remember?"

  "You said you didn't feel anything," Cefin whispered.

  "Did you want me to tell Probert and everyone in the kingdom that you're madly in love with me?" Lauren said, the words tumbling out before she could stop them.

  "Yes," Cefin replied without any hesitation. "Because it's the truth."

  Lauren swallowed nervously. She had never pictured herself falling in love with someone other than Josh, or pictured anyone else falling in love with her, but here she was. And she remembered everyone telling her that she would find the love of her life, she would find The One, and she'd forget all about Josh.

  And it appeared to be staring her right in the face.

  Cefin had been trying to protect her from the very first day, and he had been the one to save her life. If not for him, she would be buried in the cave still—or worse. And then he took her to the Anghenfil, a bone-headed idea, sure, but he had been the one to save her.

  Even now, he had left Aerona and the village to be with her. He was her knight in shining armor, the one she had been waiting for. He was her savior.

  Except that she couldn't be with him. Not as an empath.

  She bit her bottom lip and tried not to cry again. Nothing was fair, and no one would ever lo—

  She stopped that thought before it could finish.

  "Lauren, I didn't…" Cefin said, turning away from her. "I'm sorry if I upset you. I shouldn't have, if you don't feel the same."

  "It's not…I can't touch you," Lauren whispered.

  "So you…feel the same way?"

  "What does it matter?" Lauren sniffed, looking out the window. "I'm stuck being a stupid empath, and I'm just…alone." Again, the forbidden thoughts threatened to break free.

  "You're not alone, Lauren," Cefin said, moving his hand closer to hers. Just another inch and his hand would be on top of hers. If he moved just a bit more, she would be in his arms. It just made her ache for him.

  A knock at the door interrupted their moment, and a stuffy servant walked inside, taking no notice of the intimate scene playing out on the bed.

  "The king has returned and requests your company immediately," he said, bowing low.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  "You don't have to go," Cefin said, following Lauren down the stairs. "We can turn around and go back to the village. We can protect you from him there."

  "I'm sure he'd come after me and I don't want to put Rhianu in that kind of danger," Lauren whispered back. "Look, let's just do the meet and greet, and I'll read him and we can get out of here."

  Cefin clenched his fist. "I don't trust Probert, and I don't trust anyone in this castle. What if the king tries to do what Probert did?"

  Lauren swallowed, sharing his fear, but shrugged noncommittally. "I'll refuse, and you and I run like hell to the stables to get Bessie."

  Cefin smiled, the first she'd seen in a while, and it was like a salve to her anxiety. His love for her was out in the open now, and she was acutely aware of his gestures of affection. She couldn't be with him, sure, but at least she knew someone cared for her at all.

  Again, the urge to hold his hand, crawl into his arms, touch him at all roared strong.

  Her nerves went into overdrive when they walked into the great hall. The room rivaled the library in size and splendor, but this place was filled with people instead of books. Beautiful women in dresses, men in frocks and tights with white wigs, and Lauren the object of their attentions. She felt a little jealousy of the women who eyed Cefin, but pushed it down. Jealousy, at this point was a waste of energy when there was so much more to be focused on.

  "Stand here," the servant ordered before disappearing into the mob of people.

  "Are you all right?" Cefin whispered.

  "Yeah, you know," Lauren said with a shrug. "I see lots of kings and queens."

  "Really?" Cefin asked, surprised.

  "No, Cefin."

  "You make too many jokes in serious situations." Cefin sniffed, adjusting his shirt sleeve as a man walked by and scoffed at him. "I don't like it here."

  "You and me both, bud."

  Roaring trumpets blasted in the room, and the inhabitants turned to the front of the room, their faces alight with expectation and suspense. A very well dressed man came to the front of the room with one of the aforementioned trumpets clamped to his side. He took a deep breath and his voice boomed.

  "KING IDRIS APPROACHES!"

  Lauren's hands shook as the king walked into the room. He was already a formidable person, but the addition of a bright red velvet tunic and long red robe behind him, complete with a gold crown atop his head, gave him the aura of an even more fearsome man. He surveyed the room as if he owned it (which, Lauren supposed, he probably did).

  "I wish to see the empath," Idris bellowed. Lauren felt even smaller when they landed on her. Of course she would stick out like a sore thumb; she and Cefin were the most underdressed people here.

  "It'll be all right," Cefin whispered, motioning for her to go forward.

  Lauren took a few tentative steps. She stopped when she saw Probert appear at the king's side, a satisfied look on his face. Narrowing her eyes at him, she continued the seemingly endless journey to the front of the room. Men watched her curiously as they moved out of her way, while the women judged her with scathing looks of reproach.

  Finally, she stood in front of the king, and swallowed hard, her mind drawing a blank.

  Was she supposed to bow?

  She curtsied, and immediately felt stupid doing it.

  "Hi," she said, continuing her demonstration of her complete lack of decorum. "You called for me?"

  Immediately, she knew she had said something wrong because those closest to the king turned to gasp at him with a horrified and amused expression. She tossed a look back to Cefin, who nodded nervously, and then turned back to the king, who was studying her.
>
  "Your impudence is amusing to me," he boomed, after an eternity. "My scholar says you are the empath. He has seen it with his own eyes."

  "Yeah, he has," Lauren growled, narrowing her eyes at Probert, who still seemed high from their encounter that morning.

  "I command you, empath, to heal me then," Idris commanded. A buzz of excitement rose from the group. "Demonstrate your powers for us all, and show us that you are who you say you are."

  "I…" Lauren stammered. "There doesn't seem to be any tyllwyllwch around here—"

  "HEAL ME!" Idris barked, causing Lauren to jump backwards. "Or I will send you and your companion to the dungeons with the rest of the charlatans."

  Lauren turned to look for Cefin, but the crowed had squeezed him out. They were closing in on her and she felt the beginnings of a panic attack in the bottom of her stomach. What if she saw some horrifying thing in the king's mind and he threw her in the dungeons anyway? What if he was as adept as Probert, and he pushed the painful feelings into her?

  "I command you!" Idris said, as the murmur in the room grew at her inaction. "As your king!"

  "Well I didn't vote for you," Lauren mumbled under her breath.

  "Bring her to me!" Idris commanded.

  Lauren saw the flash of metal before two completely different voices filled her brain, pulling her between thoughts about a drunken game of cards the night before, duty to the king, and the nervousness of the girl who was having a fit.

  When she returned to her own mind, she was kneeling before the king, and she heard her own panting before she felt how winded she was.

  "So…" Idris observed, his eyes roaming over her crouched form, "you would dare disobey the king?"

  Lauren was pretty sure Idris wouldn't give a rat's ass about the way empathy felt, or how Probert had basically forced himself on her. But she remained unable to get to her feet, her hands clawed against the marble floor under her hands.

  "Please don't make me do this," Lauren whispered.

  "You will disobey me?" Idris asked, looking down at her.