Divided (Elena Ronen, Private Investigator)

by Jennifer Sights

  I turned on the shower, and stood under the hot water. I didn’t allow myself to cry; I’d done enough of that the night before. Crying was no way to get my life back under control. While I washed, I examined my emotions as objectively as possible.

  With Vittorio nowhere near, I felt very little lust for him. It was there, just under the surface, but it was manageable. Did my feelings go deeper than mere lust? I hoped not, but feared otherwise.

  Thinking of Vittorio’s obvious concern for me, his tenderness, the rapture on his face during our birdwatching outing made me smile. I had to be honest with myself. I was falling for him, but how much of that was because of our powers?

  I hoped once I learned to control this power - whatever it was - I’d be able to better discern which of my feelings were real, and which influenced by magic.

  I shivered at the thought of that word. Magic. Seems my mind wasn’t as open as I thought it was.

  I managed to find the kitchen, and was pleased to see breakfast waiting for me. My stomach growled at the scent of bacon.

  “I heard the shower, so asked Sarah to fix some food for you,” Samuel explained.

  “Thanks. I’m starving.” I dove into the hot scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and warm buttery toast. “Will you tell me how you discovered your power?” I asked between mouthfuls.

  “I was five years old when my power manifested,” Samuel said, sipping coffee while he told me his story. “Some kids at the playground were making fun of me. One of them pushed me down. I became angry and pushed him in return, only I didn’t touch him. I pushed him from ten feet away, hard enough that he flew backwards. I was lucky enough that my mother had power as well, so she knew how to train me. I’ve met others who didn’t have that luxury, who had to figure out what the hell was going on and how to control it all by themselves.”

  “Guess I’m lucky to have you and Vittorio, then,” I said with my mouth full of scrambled eggs.

  “Yes, though Vittorio seems to be a mixed blessing at the moment. The most important thing is going to be for you to develop mental shields. You will learn to build these shields around you, to keep your power in, and others’ power out. Once you learn that, we can explore other areas of your power.”

  “Like making light out of nothing?”

  One side of Samuel’s mouth turned up into a grin. “Yes. That is minor compared to much of what we can do.” He went to refill his coffee mug.

  “Like what?” I held my mug out for more, as well.

  “Patience, Elena. Shields first, then we’ll move on.”

  Samuel led me to a sitting room somewhere in the depths of Vittorio’s mansion. I felt lost in the huge structure. I knew it was his home, but I couldn’t bring myself to call it a house.

  The room looked as though it was never used. It contained a nice, but boring couch, and two equally boring arm chairs to match. A huge painting of mountains and a sunset hung on one wall. Otherwise, this was the most sterile room I had ever seen in someone’s home.

  “You probably guessed Vittorio doesn’t use this room often. That’s why I chose it.”

  “Why would that matter?” I asked.

  “Power can be unpredictable in beginners, so if it gets out of control, Vittorio will not care if anything in this room is destroyed.” Samuel shrugged to illustrated the unimportance of the objects.

  “Destroyed?” What was I getting into?

  “I told you I pushed the boy down without touching him. Some people can manipulate objects.”

  “I see.” My heart raced.

  “First, we need to find out if, and how, your power reacts to mine. Depending on that, we may need to enlist the help of someone else,” Samuel said.

  “Who?” I asked.

  “I don’t know yet. We’ll figure that out if we reach that point. I’m going to very gently push at you with my power. Nothing nearly as intense as what you experienced last night. Let me know if you feel anything.”

  I stood a few feet away from him. I saw no visible signs that he was doing anything, but my body began to tingle. I felt as if he was trying to invade my soul. Where last night my power was trying to tear its way out of my body, it now felt like Samuel’s was trying to tear into mine. I worried he would be able to read my worst secrets. “Stop, please.”

  “You feel it?” His face was neutral as he watched my reaction.

  “Yes. I don’t like it.”

  “Good. That will give you more incentive to block me out.”

  “But last night, Vittorio didn’t feel like an invasion. It was…” I trailed off, not wanting to describe my lust to Samuel.

  “I know. Everyone’s power is different, and reacts differently to that of others. Your power responds to Vittorio’s sexually. Mine responds to him combatively. It’s always different, but the methods with which you can control it, or block it out, are the same. Now, what is the strongest barrier you can picture?”

  “A huge, stone wall. Like the walls of a medieval castle.”

  “I want you to imagine a stone wall all around your body. This wall will block any power you do not wish to feel. It will keep yours in and away from other people, and will keep others’ power away from you. Close your eyes and imagine the wall. I’m going to push at you again.” He rested his hands on my shoulders for a moment, steadying me, then stepped back.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing. I pictured a thick, stone wall surrounding me. As I did this, I felt something push at it, as if a strong wind blew against the wall. It worked!

  I opened my eyes, surprised at my success, and immediately the wall was gone, and Samuel’s power threatened to overwhelm me. My power did not like his, and pushed back at him angrily, a wave of heat emanating from my body. I tried to build the wall around me again, but could not concentrate. I tried to mentally pull my power back to me, but didn’t know what I was doing, so failed. Samuel was pushed to the ground. My power seemed happy with that, and receded into my body. I felt no more heat.

  He stood up and brushed himself off. “Good. You did very well before you lost focus. What did you feel?”

  I told him of the wind pushing against my invisible wall.

  “Excellent! That is exactly what you should feel. You are a natural at this, Elena. I think you will be an easy student to train. But you must work on your concentration. You will not always be able to stand calmly with your eyes closed. Of course we’ll start off slowly, but you will need to build your shields up to a point where the slightest thought will put them into place. Do you meditate?”

  “No.” I sat down to catch my breath.

  “I want you to meditate at least once a day for ten minutes. More will be even better. Sit quietly with your eyes half shut - not all the way shut so you won’t fall asleep. Count your breaths, and try to think of nothing. Simply focus on your breath. When thoughts arise, just bring your mind back to your breathing. That will help you build focus. Now, let’s try again.”

  We worked this way for several hours. By the time Samuel announced we had made significant progress and were done for the day, I was exhausted. “Can Sarah take me back home?” I could have asked Samuel, but didn’t want to spend more time with him than was necessary. I was grateful for his help, but did not see us becoming friends anytime soon.

  “Why the rush? Is someone waiting for you?”

  My power flared at Samuel’s inquisitiveness, heat rushing out of my body.

  I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on my wall. “No, I’m just exhausted and would like the comfort of my own home.”

  “I’m sorry, Elena, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Again, my power flared. I shushed him so I could concentrate. I opened my eyes a minute later, after I felt in control of my power.

  “Very good! You were able to control it even under stress.” He smiled.

  “You did that on purpose?”

  “Yes. I’m very proud of you, Elena. Vittorio will be happy to hear this.”

  I had
n’t thought of Vittorio all day. “When can I see him?”

  “I think we should wait until you have a few more training sessions, though I’m sure he’d be more than happy to hear your voice tonight. And yes, Sarah will take you home.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  I needed a nap. Hell, even though it was only six in the evening, I could probably sleep the rest of the night. My stomach growling reminded me I hadn’t eaten since I woke, and that food was more important than sleep. I was too tired to cook, and didn’t feel like talking to Kevin just then, so I called for Chinese delivery. I ate, but was too tired to taste the food. I left the half-empty cartons on the table, then collapsed into bed. I had to wake up early to meet Samuel for another lesson in power control.

  Sleep had barely taken over me when I was jolted awake by my cell phone. I sat up in bed abruptly, annoyed at the call, and fumbled for my phone on the bedside table. “What?”

  “Elena?”

  “Vittorio!” His voice caressed my body, even through the phone. I sighed happily, and settled back against the pillows.

  “How are you? I have been worried.”

  “Exhausted. I was just falling asleep.”

  “Forgive me. I do not mean to rob you of your rest. I will call you tomorrow.”

  “No, it’s alright. Please don’t hang up.” My exhaustion erased any chance of me pretending to be calm and collected.

  “Samuel said you did well today. I am very pleased to hear that. Already, I miss you terribly.”

  “I miss you too,” I found myself admitting. I hadn’t even known it was true until the words escaped my mouth.

  “I hope to see you again soon, but do not want to risk a replay of last night.”

  “Yeah, me too. That was scary.” After a moment of silence, I asked, “Vittorio, when did you discover your power?”

  “I was five years old.”

  “How did it happen for you?”

  He was silent.

  “Vittorio?” How I loved saying his name.

  “I am here. It is a hard story. I would prefer to tell you in person. I do not like the phone for serious conversations. Can you wait to hear it?”

  “I guess so.” I didn’t want to, but if that’s what he wanted, I would respect that. “What did you do today? Why aren’t you at The Chapel tonight?”

  “I did not have the heart to go without you by my side. And I, too, am tired from the day’s activities. I spent the day with my teacher for more training. It was a humbling experience. It has been a long time since anyone has been able to break through my defenses.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Do not be sorry, Elena. I had grown complacent. It is a good thing, in a way, this happened. It is not safe to let oneself become too secure in one’s abilities. Sadly, I had done so. Perhaps had I not, last night would have been less difficult for us.”

  “Who is your teacher?” I realized I wanted to know everything about this man.

  “A close friend of mine.”

  “Will you tell me about him?” I asked, then yawned into the phone before I could stifle it.

  “I will, but now I should let you sleep, mia bellezza. You need your rest. You will not be far from my thoughts until I can see you again.”

  “What does that mean? Mia whatever?”

  “My beauty.”

  I smiled at that. “Good night, Vittorio.”

  “Good night, Elena. Ti amo.” He hung up before I could ask what that meant, though I had an idea. How could he love me? He barely even knew me.

  Guilt washed over me. Vittorio seemed like a good person. I hated lying to him, but if my suspicions about the Elizabeth whom Samuel had taken to the premiere were right, then Vittorio could help me find Courtney. And now that I knew about magic, I understood my instinct that no one at The Chapel would readily tell me if they knew Courtney. Did she have power? Is that what Ms. Carmen meant by getting into something worse than drugs? Did she know about magic?

  So many questions, and not a single answer.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The next two days consisted of more grueling training with Samuel, this time at his house, which was no less grand than Vittorio’s. Where Vittorio’s mansion looked like a miniature medieval fortress, Samuel’s was very modern, all clean lines and simple, yet elegant, decorations. It was almost sterile, as if he had designed the house for Zen Millionaires Today, then never gotten around to adding a personal touch after the photo shoot. I looked for photographs, but found none. I had hoped to find at least one of him and Elizabeth to confirm my suspicions, but had no such luck. There weren’t any collections on display, nothing to match Ms. Carmen’s story about his interest in Caribbean art or history.

  In fact, there was almost no personal touch to this house. If there was, it was hidden from public view. Samuel was careful to keep me away from certain areas of his house, and that alone made me suspicious. I only found one area that showed any hint an actual human being instead of a sterile robot lived here, and part of me wished I hadn’t.

  After taking a wrong turn to a bathroom, I found myself in a small room, not much bigger than a walk in closet. The room held a shrine. That’s all I could call it. A small table, like an altar, held photos of a beautiful young woman, though they were older. It looked like they were from the 70s and 80s. The woman held a small boy in some of them, and as they progressed I could tell the boy was Samuel. They stopped when he looked to be about ten years old. An urn sat in the middle of the table.

  “You seem to have taken a wrong turn.” Samuel’s voice behind me startled me.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

  “My mother. She died when I was ten.” He paused, lost in a memory. “Come, I’ll show you the way again.” He grabbed my arm a bit roughly, obviously angry at my intrusion, and led me to the bathroom.

  When I returned - I was very careful not to make any wrong turns this time - Samuel had composed himself and acted as if nothing had happened. Strange. I didn’t like talking about my mother, but I didn’t have a shrine or act as Samuel had.

  Unfortunately, practice to envision the wall to protect myself, and to keep my own power under control, left me little time for any other snooping. I made mental notes of areas to investigate further if I ever go the chance, but that was about it.

  When I arrived at Samuel’s the fourth morning, he seemed tense. He clenched his jaw, and nervous energy radiated from him. “What’s wrong? Is Vittorio okay?” My pulse quickened at the thought something might have happened to him.

  “He’s fine. In fact, he’s on his way over here now.”

  “He is?” Exuberance and apprehension battled within me. I was excited to see him, but did not want a replay of the other night.

  “Yes, I think you’re strong enough in your control to see him. But we’re going to try it here, with me present, in case I’m wrong. I need you to remain calm. You absolutely must keep your focus.”

  “Thank you, Samuel.” My dislike for him had lessened, but hadn’t dissipated entirely. If we had been better friends, I would have hugged him.

  “Save that for later if this doesn’t go horribly awry.” It seemed as if the dislike was still mutual.

  We sat in Samuel’s living room. I closed my eyes and meditated, proud of myself for remaining calm. I opened my eyes when I felt Vittorio’s warm energy fill the room. I jumped from the couch and ran to him, but Samuel stepped between us, stopping me from leaping into Vittorio’s arms.

  “Elena, remember what I said about remaining calm?” Samuel said.

  “Oh. Right. Sorry.” I looked down sheepishly. I wanted to make Vittorio proud; I was off to a horrible start.

  “Do not be sorry. I would love nothing more than to sweep you into my arms. I understand how you are feeling,” Vittorio said.

  “What now?” I asked Samuel.

  “Try holding hands. I think that would be the safest way to start.”

  “You think?” I wanted him to know beyond a
doubt it was the best way to start.

  “I can’t be certain of anything. Magic is not always predictable, especially in those who are just learning to control it. We have to start somewhere, though.”

  “Okay.” I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and concentrated. Even though I had done well with my concentration and focus, I wanted as much control as I could muster before touching Vittorio. I reached out and held my hand in the air, waiting for him to take hold of it. When he did I drew a sharp breath. My body tingled, but that was all. I opened my eyes, keeping my hand in his.

  “Good,” Samuel said. “A very good start, Elena. Now, take his other hand.”

  I did, and the tingled intensified, like an electrical current that had gone full circle, but nothing bad happened. I remained in control of my power.

  “Very good.” Samuel looked at Vittorio, asking him a silent question. Vittorio nodded.

  “Elena, I would like to try to embrace you. Do you feel strong enough for that?” Vittorio asked me.

  The thought of feeling his body pressed against mine made my heart race. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my breathing. “I think so.”

  “I want you to be certain. If you are not, we should not attempt this.”

  I wanted nothing more than to hold him, but I thought hard about whether I could maintain control. “Yes. I can do this.” I kept my eyes open. Vittorio moved slowly toward me, each step causing the tingle in my body to intensify. I kept my breathing slow and even, picturing the stone wall around me. The wall seemed so real I wondered how Vittorio would step through it to hold me. Of course it didn’t work that way.

  He closed the distance and tentatively wrapped his arms around me. He was within the wall, yet still the wall held his power out.

  My heart raced, and I felt my power come alive within my body. He held me gently, and even though I wanted to wrap myself around him as tightly as I could, I resisted the urge, concentrated on the power in me, holding it in check. When I felt strong enough, I wrapped my arms around Vittorio, lightly at first, then lost my self control.