The Holders

by Julianna Scott

  However, for all the differences in appearance, both big and small, one thing was exactly the same. So much so that, if I’d have let it, it would have brought tears to my eyes.

  The smell.

  Musty leather from his books, sweet peppermint from the candles he’d always liked, and a musky tang from the same cologne he’d always worn. It was the smell that used to greet me every afternoon when I came home from school. It was the smell of the scarf he would take off and wrap around my neck and face when we’d been out playing in the snow for too long. The smell of him hugging me goodnight.

  I quietly cleared my throat, forcefully shoving the unwelcome memories to the back of my mind where they belonged. Having regained my composure, I followed Anderson to the center of the room where there were two leather couches, as well as four armchairs. Min was on one couch with Taron, while Jocelyn was leaning against the desk, talking with Cormac. It wasn’t until I took a seat on the second couch that I noticed Alex sitting in the armchair nearest the desk – and, no sooner did I see him, than my worries were overwhelmingly confirmed.

  Something was very wrong.

  He sat listlessly staring at the side wall, eyes sunken and bloodshot, his elbow on the arm of the chair while his mouth and chin rested against his closed fist. He was very pale, looking as though he hadn’t slept at all the night before, and it was obvious he hadn’t shaved that morning.

  I felt an uncomfortable stretching in my chest that made me squirm in my seat, and I had an almost overwhelming urge to run over and give him a hug. What could be wrong? Was he sick? Could be, though he didn’t look congested or feverish. He just looked… sad.

  As I sat there watching him, everything in me seemed to cry out to help. Problem was, I had no idea what to do, much less what to do in a room filled with other people. I continued to stare at him, hoping he might look up and catch my eye so that maybe I could quietly ask him what was wrong, or at the very least give him a sympathetic smile.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t look up until Jocelyn’s voice called all our attention to the front of the room.

  “Everyone,” he said, standing up straight, lacing his hands together in front of himself. “I think we ought to begin. There is quite a lot to discuss this morning, but before we move to that, Cormac thinks it would be best to start with the Reading.”

  My neck grew hot as I could suddenly feel all the eyes in the room on me, causing a ball of prickly anxiety to begin rolling around in my ribcage. Cormac took a step in my direction and I made a move to stand.

  “No, no,” he said, raising his hand gently. “Stay seated, please. No need to be uncomfortable.” He smiled, taking the place on the couch next to me. “Now then,” he said, as I shifted to face him, praying it wasn’t obvious how nervous I was. “We will go slowly and I promise you won’t feel a thing. Does she have a Block?” he asked, turning to Min.

  “Yes, on her Sciath. I thought it best until we knew what we’re dealing with.”

  “Indeed,” Cormac agreed. Then, turning back to me, “Min has put what’s called a Block on your Sciath, making it impossible for you to access your ability as long as it’s there, did she explain that to you?”

  “Yes,” I said, nodding.

  “A Block can also interfere with my reading, so we will have to remove your Sciath before we can continue.”

  “No argument here,” I said, looking forward to being free, even if it was only for a minute.

  Min came over and reached for my arm, but I pulled away from her, remembering what she’d told me about the chaos that ensued during yesterday’s test.

  “Wait,” I said. “What about yesterday? All the crazy stuff that happened because I didn’t have this on? What if someone gets hurt this time?”

  “Aye,” Mr Anderson agreed, looking as concerned as I was. “Duck and cover then, shall we?” to which I heard someone – probably Mr Reid – punch him in the shoulder.

  Min smiled at me comfortingly, ignoring them. “Everything will be fine. The issues we had were the direct result of your unprotected contact with the Iris. Without it here, we are all perfectly safe.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Don’t worry,” she said, reaching down again for my Sciath.

  She undid the clasps, then looked to Cormac who took my free hand in his.

  “Are you ready?” Min asked him.

  “Yes, go ahead.”

  I held my breath as Min removed the Sciath from my arm, and the moment it was gone I felt a warm fuzziness come over me. It seemed to generate from somewhere deep inside me, continually flowing in lazy patterns throughout my entire body. I released the breath I’d been holding, happy to find the sensation pleasant and soothing, as opposed to overwhelming and violent like the experience yesterday had been to the others.

  As I began to analyze this new sensation, I found that I could sense other fuzzy energy sources, just like mine, coming from other parts of the room. Some stronger than others, some closer or further away, but all made up of the same blurry flowing force. Stranger yet, was that they weren’t anything that I could actually see or hear. It was more of a feel – like soft brushes against my mind.

  “What do you feel?” Cormac whispered, excited curiosity in his sparkling eyes.

  “I don’t know,” I told him honestly.

  “But you do feel them?”

  “Them? You… you feel it too?”

  “I can feel everything that you are.”

  “What are they?”

  His eyebrows creased in amused confusion. “I’m not sure. I’ve never encountered anything like this. Min,” he asked without looking away from me, “can you remove the Block?”

  “Yes, of course,” she answered, surprised.

  She held the cuff between her hands and bowed her head over it mumbling something under her breath. When she looked up again, Cormac nodded downward indicating she should place it back on my arm.

  “Let us see if we can clear things up,” he said softly, though I could hear his anticipation underneath.

  The moment the cool metal touched my skin everything rushed into focus, and I sucked in a breath so sharp it made everyone in the room jump. The vague haziness was gone, as though a gust of wind had blown through, clearing away the fog. What was left were seven bright, distinct energy fields, each one located in a different spot around the room. Each one coursing steadily yet powerfully within itself, and each one leaving its own unique feel against my mind.

  Then, like the crack of a whip, it came to me.

  Seven.

  Seven energy sources – seven people!

  My eyes darted around frantically from face to face, trying desperately to see what I could so clearly feel.

  “It’s all right,” Cormac said, giving my hand a squeeze, his eyes dancing with delight. “Close your eyes and try to relax. It is nothing you can see. Just… feel.”

  I took a deep breath and did as he said, closing my eyes and concentrating on each distinctive brush against my mind.

  “What are they?” I whispered, hoping this time he would know.

  “Abilities,” he said.

  “What?” I opened my eyes to find him smiling.

  “Each one is the corresponding person’s ability. Their power.”

  So, I could sense other Holder’s abilities; that was pretty cool. Could have been worse, anyway.

  I closed my eyes again, picking out the nearest ability – Cormac’s as it turned out, since he was the one sitting closest me – and focusing on it. As I concentrated on the unique footprint the delicate swirls and waves of power created, I felt an odd sensation within myself. As though my own ability was trying to reach out and connect somehow with his.

  “Go on,” Cormac said, seeming to know what I was considering.

  I allowed the flow of my ability to extend outwards until it melted into Cormac’s, creating one long continuous flow between the two of us.

  This time it was his turn to make everyone jump, huffing out a
breathy, “Oh my!”, as though he’d been punched in the stomach.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, quickly breaking the connection between us, pulling my own energy back inward.

  The whole room was silent for a few seconds before Cormac began to quietly laugh, shaking his head. “No,” he said, his stunned amusement growing, “don’t apologize.”

  “Well, Cormac?” Jocelyn asked, after a few more moments of silence. “Is she…?” He didn’t finish, but everyone knew what he was asking.

  18

  “For God’s sake, man!” Taron growled with his usual charm. “What can she do? Tell us what you saw!”

  Cormac was still sitting silently, looking at me with something between wonder and humor. I wished he’d stop, as it was getting embarrassing, not to mention that I was just as anxious as everyone else to hear what he had to say.

  “I don’t know what to call it,” Cormac said finally, turning to face the semi-circle of expectant faces. “It’s something I’ve never seen before.” He looked to Min who was still standing nearby. “You may put the Block back on her now. Best to keep it there for the time being.”

  Min did as she was asked, taking my Sciathed arm in her hands and mumbling over it again. Just as the last syllable was spoken my new sense disappeared, taking with it the awareness of not only my own ability, but of everyone else’s as well. The gentle brushes against my mind were gone, leaving me totally normal once again, and honestly, a bit lonely. Subconsciously, I reached out, searching for the presence of the abilities again, but they were gone.

  Jocelyn stepped forward, growing impatient. “You mentioned abilities, Cormac,” he probed. “Is she a Reader as you are?”

  “I thought so at first,” Cormac answered, leaning forward. “The way she senses – that is to say, the feeling of each individual ability – is almost exactly the way in which I sense abilities when I Read someone. Initially the only difference between us that I noted was that, while I must have physical contact in order to Read, she was able to sense everyone in the room simultaneously, with no need for a physical touch. But then I noticed the attraction between her own ability to the abilities of those around her. The draw there was most unique, and quite unintentional on her part. And that’s when I saw it.” He turned back to me, placing a hand on my knee. “Becca, do you know what you did there at the end? The connection you forged between us?”

  “Yes… I think. What about it? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  “No, no, not to worry, I was only startled,” he assured me. “But you know what I am referring to? When you made your ability one with mine?”

  “Yes?”

  “That is your ability,” he said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

  “Wait, what?”

  “In that moment, when your power melded with mine, you were able to use my Reading ability as your own – or would have been able to, if you’d realized what was happening. That is what she does.” He addressed everyone. “She can borrow the ability of any Holder within her sensing radius – I’d say thirty feet or so – and use it as her own. Moreover, she is not limited to just one ability at a time. With all of us here, she could impart thoughts, cast images, and read minds, all the while flying every book on these shelves around the room.”

  Everyone else in the room was silent as they processed what Cormac had said, making me the only one to speak. “So, I can do anything that the people around me can do?”

  “Exactly. And in turn, were you to be completely alone, you wouldn’t be able to do anything at all.”

  “Wow!” was all I could think to say.

  “She’ll need to be trained,” Cormac said to Jocelyn, who had begun to pace slowly around the room. “She will need to learn how to use and control each ability individually. Min can lessen the restraints of the Block gradually, that way she can learn slowly and become accustomed to the characteristics and feel of each ability.”

  “What about the Iris?” Jocelyn asked. “How does it factor into all of this?”

  “I believe that the true power of the Iris is an ability to magnify a Holder’s power.” Cormac stood and begin to gesture with his hands as he spoke. “That is what I believe happened to the rest of us at the test. As the Iris was overpowering Becca, it was giving off residual power that heightened our abilities. Heightened them so much, in fact, that we were no longer able to control them, even with our Sciaths on. That is what I believe the Iris will do for her.”

  “Do you mean it will heighten her own ability, or the abilities she assumes from others?” Mr Reid asked, scratching his chin.

  “Both,” Cormac replied. “Take you for instance, Reid. If Becca were to use your kinetic ability as her own, she could only ever be as powerful as you are. The same goes for all of us – she can only be as strong at any one ability as the Holder she assumed it from. However, with the Iris in her possession, I believe she will be able use any ability to its fullest extent, no matter the power level of the original Holder.”

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Mr Anderson mumbled, and I couldn’t help but agree.

  I had access to basically every ability in the Holder universe? I was going to be able to read minds, and walk through time, and move things around without touching them, and cast images of anything I wanted, and loads of other stuff, all for the price of one? This was incredible. And way more than I’d anticipated, that was for sure. In any event, the “lame ability” worries I’d told Chloe about this morning were as good as gone.

  I glanced over at Alex to try and gauge his reaction to all this, only to find him staring down at the floor, his mind somewhere else entirely. Wasn’t he interested? Shouldn’t he be happy at the way things had worked out? After all, he was the one who’d asked me to stay, wasn’t he even the least bit pleased to find out that I’d have no choice but to stick around for a while? Granted, I’d been planning on staying anyway, but he didn’t know that.

  I moved my gaze back to the center of the room, trying to ignore the sudden queasiness in my stomach.

  Jocelyn had stopped pacing and was once again leaning against his desk, with his arms crossed over his chest, ruby Sciath shining on his finger. Everyone seemed to be watching him, waiting for him to speak, assuming that he would know where to go from here and oddly enough I found myself doing the same. My hatred of the man notwithstanding, I had to admit he could command a room. Almost everything about him, from his strong air to his steady gaze, gave the impression that he was a man of experience and knowledge. It wasn’t hard to imagine scores of men ready to get behind him and follow him into a battle of any kind, and I found myself wondering if he had ever been a soldier during his two centuries of life.

  “It’s clear this is uncharted territory for us all, and we need to make sure we proceed with caution,” Jocelyn began, uncrossing his arms and resting his palm on the edge of the desk. “I agree with Cormac, Becca should be trained.” As he said this, he looked straight into my eyes and as much as I wanted to look away, I refused to be so cowardly. After a tense moment, his eyes moved to the group and he continued, “We will work slowly, training her one on one, beginning with perhaps Anderson, or Alex – someone who’s ability won’t allow her to hurt herself or anyone else.” I could have sworn I saw Alex squirm at his mention. “Agreed?” Jocelyn asked.

  “Agreed,” everyone replied, while I sat quietly, assuming that as the newbie I wasn’t yet one of the decision-makers.

  “Becca?” Jocelyn asked, looking at me again.

  “Yes, fine,” I said, impressed that he’d noticed I hadn’t answered.

  “Good,” he said to no one in particular. “The second matter is that of the charms,” he said looking up at Min. “There has been another attempted breach.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Another?” Anderson said shaking his head.

  “So someone is trying to get in, then?” Mr Reid murmured.

  “When did it happen?” Cormac asked.

  “Last night,” Min info
rmed the room. “Just past twelve.”

  “Could it have been one of the students? Perhaps an accident?” Cormac suggested.

  “No, not this time. It came from outside the campus boundary. Someone attempted to use a charm of their own to open a hole in the guard, but they were not strong enough. The guard held, and I have added another set of strengtheners just in case.”

  “What about Lorcan, has one been set here?” Jocelyn asked.

  “Yes, and I’ve added Becca to the removal charm around the school proper as well. She cannot be removed from either against her will.”

  “Her will.”

  My will…

  My stomach squeezed uncomfortably, and I was suddenly glad I’d only had a Pop Tart for breakfast.

  “Good,” Jocelyn said.

  “Something will have to be done,” Anderson commented after a moment. “We can’t have Darragh’s bloody scoundrels trying to bust our doors in every other day.”

  “Min,” Jocelyn said, turning to face her, “are you confident your guards will continue to hold?”

  “I am,” she stated firmly. “The breach attempts thus far have been weak and unfocused; nothing that the charms can’t withstand. I have also changed the guards to keep out, not only those associated with Darragh, but any Holder, no matter the level of their ability. It is the strongest charm I have. I am certain it will hold.”