After the Calling

<<Bliss: Part VII

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The sensation of Rowanne’s aura hovering in his proximity startled Nyxon awake.  He let his eyes crack open.  The discomfort in his face reminded of him of the events of the past 24 hours, and he realized that he’d lost track of time since stumbling weakly into Rowanne’s bedroom and collapsing.  

Rowanne was glaring at him from the foot of the bed. “Well, I suppose I know who won that fight,” she said, unsympathetically.  “Care to tell me what happened?”   “No,” Nyxon replied, folding his hands across his chest.

Hmph,” Rowanne frowned. “Well, did you at least find the whereabouts of that precious empath?”

Nyxon winced at Rowanne’s description of Hadrian. “No. But perhaps, if you’d tell me exactly why we’re interested in this individual, I’d be more inclined to increase my efforts in finding him.”

“We’re interested because I say we’re interested.” Rowanne fumed, changing the subject. ”And what of my boys? What has become of them?”

 Nyxon paused to think for a minute, trying to remember the fate of the rest of his trio. “Garcia… I left him with a healer. He’s half dead.”

“Why didn’t you bring him here?” Rowanne asked, her voice frigid. “You know that I have my own… methods of healing.”

“Yes, I do know that,” Nyxon said catching a glimpse of her two sharpened incisors.  He was hoping that she’d employ these healing methods on him. Despite his poor state, felt a stir of lust in his groin. “There is not much you could have done for him. He lost too much blood.”

“And John Levin?”

“We got separated.  I don’t know what’s become of him.”

Rowanne furrowed her eyebrows and exhaled heavily through her nose. “The astral can take care of himself,” she decided.  “But clearly, you all are useless.”

Ignoring her insults, he began attempting to examine the state of her aura.  He had become well acquainted with the cold, dark, unyielding nature of her vampiric psyche, and it excited him.

Sensing his prodding, she gave him the answer he was looking for.  “Yes, I have fed, Nyxon,” she said slyly, “But the true question is whether or not I’m willing to share. My disappointment is great.”

“Aw, don’t be that way, love,” Nyxon rumbled, feeling his excitement rise with the knowledge that she had recently replenished the energy reserves of her aura. The battle with Mercer had exhausted his psyche, and although he knew he’d recover in time, he craved the phenomenal strength and heightened senses, and decrease in healing time that he gained whenever Rowanne shared her seemingly supercharged energy with him, an ability he had only encountered with vampiric psychics.

Rowanne ignored him. “I gave you a job. And it isn’t done.”

“What do you mean, darling?” Nyxon flirted. Although he knew she’d be immune to his charms, the psychic siren in him could not help but try to enchant her. “We did what you wanted. Made some noise, smashed some things, threw some energy.” Nyxon sent some warm psychic waves in Rowanne’s direction, but they deteriorated against her psyche’s cold exterior.

“Don’t try to charm me, Nyxon! The whore isn’t dead, is she!?” Rowanne yelled, balling her fists. 

Nyxon frowned and sighed, deciding to change tactics. If he couldn’t charm her, he could play into her possessiveness. Rowanne’s inner brat squirmed anytime she felt that something that belonged to her was at risk of being taken away.  “You knew we wouldn’t be able to kill her. She’s a powerful being.” Nyxon said, letting himself slide down flat on the bed. Putting his hand behind his head, he said in a relaxed tone, “An incredibly powerful, insanely beautiful being.”  

“What is that supposed to mean? She isn’t so powerful! Or beautiful…” Rowanne lowered her voice. “You speak as if she’s invincible. No one is invincible!”

“Well, if anyone comes close…”

“I’ve killed psychics who could wipe the floor with her entrails.”

“Well, maybe you should have kept them around.  Apparently, they could have come in handy,” he said, chuckling. “I mean, I’m nothing to shake a stick at, and look at me. She’s unassailable, that woman is, and at the same time, mesmerizing.”

Rowanne paused for a moment, and Nyxon tried to refrain from smiling as he waited for the inevitable question.

“You don’t… you don’t still have feelings for her do you?” Rowanne asked quietly, her hands crowding her face.  “I mean, you aren’t still in love with her… are you?”

Nyxon exhaled dramatically and rubbed his bruised face. He was born for this.  

“What do you mean, do I still love her?” he said, sitting up slightly. “What kind of question is that, Rowanne? You can just dismiss everything that I feel for you, everything that we’ve built together for some slut from my past? Just because I’m stating some auroric advantages that she has over me? This is preposterous!”  

“No, no, that’s not what I meant…” Rowanne said, stepping towards him a bit. 

He sat straighter, glaring at her. “Well, what did you mean? Because it sure sounds a hell of a lot like that’s what you meant. Here I am, sitting here bruised and bleeding for no else but you, and – ”

“I can fix that!” Rowanne said, fervently, and to Nyxon’s surprise, pulled her short dress over her head and threw it aside. Standing at the foot of the bed, topless, she apologized. “I’m sorry Nyxon, you know how I get when the topic turns to… that woman.” She climbed up on the bed and began to scoot towards him on her knees.

Nyxon couldn’t help but be surprised at how easily he had turned the tables. Granted, he spent a significant amount of time honing his ability to manipulate Rowanne, but lately her insecurities were becoming tantamount to her rationalities. He wondered what was going on that could make it so easy to turn this lion of a woman into a tepid kitten.

However, when she bared her pointed incisors and pounced on him, he decided that it was something he’d have to think about later.

Nyxon did not resist at all as Rowanne sunk her fangs into his neck, moaning as blood spurted from his neck and into her mouth.  He knew that the blood she took from him doubly reinforced the energy she was pulling from his aura. But he also knew that once she was sated, she would give back, and renew him into a better, stronger, more powerful form of himself.

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Roux sat cross-legged in the center of her now empty bedroom.  Salem had sent her upstairs hours ago to begin bringing her boxes downstairs, but Roux had preferred to instead relish in the room’s emptiness and eavesdrop on Salem’s conversation with Tobias downstairs. 

“What level of psychokinesis do you think she’s reached, Salem?” Tobias had asked. 

“Don’t try to label her. Levels were created by members of The Calling to make it easier to persecute people. She isn’t any level, Toby. She just is.” 

Even though she had sensed Salem coming upstairs to check on her, Roux pretended to be peeved when the bedroom door opened. 

Salem looked around, and frowned. “The room looks exactly the same Roux. You’ve moved not one box downstairs.”

“I was just about to start,” Roux said, not looking up. 

“You’re posters are still on the walls! Roux, come on.  I’ll help.” Salem walked into the room and began shifting through the boxes that contained Roux’s few belongings. 

“Fine,” Roux sighed and without thinking she willed a box that Salem had grabbed in her direction. 

Salem jumped as the box slid across the room on its own volition, stopping directly in front of Roux. 

Seeing Salem’s reaction, Roux slapped her forehead. “Sorry! Sorry, I forgot!”

“Roux!” Salem said sharply. 

“I know, I know.  No psychic activity in the house until I can control the amount of telewaves I send out.  Sometimes it just slips, sorry.”

“No, no, no. Roux! You just moved a box!”

Roux looked up at Salem in confusion. She had always been able to move things with her mind.  Salem used to scold her when she was younger for willing fireflies and butterflies into jars so she wouldn’t have to chase them.  Before, when they used to live in the country, she helped Salem plant a vegetable garden in half the time because she was able to plant a whole row of seeds in one go. 

“Yeah… I moved a box…”Roux said, perplexed. “What’s the big deal?”

Roux watched, bewildered as Salem allowed herself to fall back against the wall. 

“Salem!” Roux cried, jumping up and rushing to her. “What is it? What’s wrong? I really don’t think anyone was able to sense me from that small little thing, but I’ll totally stop moving things in the house.  That was a slip-up! I’m sorry?”

“No, that’s not it Roux,” Salem said, shaking her head. “You can move inanimate objects. You’ve ascended from psychokinesis to telekinesis.” 

Roux squatted next to Salem. “Is that… is that bad? They’re like the same exact thing.”

“No, Roux.  They’re not the same exact thing.” Salem shook her head, a forlorn look on her face. “Inanimate objects have no energy field. They aren’t like trees and animals and people who are alive and emit energy that you can sense and connect to.”

“Salem, I don’t understand what the big deal is.”

“Listen, I’m trying to explain.” Salem continued. “While psychokinesis is a powerful gift, a psychic with that ability isn’t stepping that far outside of themselves, because they can connect themselves to the energy that they are moving.  Energy is energy.  If you can sense energy, like most psychics can, it isn’t such a far reach to be able to manipulate it.”

“So… because I can move the box…”

“It means that you can connect to things that have no energy.  You can release enough energy from your own psyche to manipulate things that were not meant to be manipulated. You can… in a way… give life to the lifeless.”

Roux looked down uncomfortably at her hands. She had been moving inanimate things with her mind for months now. She had just thought that it was something she had always been able to do, and had just never tried. She had believed it was the same thing as with the butterflies, and the plants. 

“So… it’s just one more thing that is wrong with me” Roux said, sadly. 

“No,” Salem said, her eyes snapping open. “It’s just one more thing that makes you special.” Salem stood up and motioned for Roux to do the same. 

“But my aura…” 

“Just know that your aura,” Salem started, masking any dejection in her voice, “is exceptionally powerful. That’s all.” She squeezed Roux’s shoulder as she made her way toward the door. “Don’t worry about it.”  

Even though she was trying to stay in her own head, like Aeryn told her, Roux couldn’t help but peer into Salem’s thoughts as the door closed behind her. 

Salem’s mind was working overtime, her head buzzing with ideas, images, possible solutions, people, numbers, names.  But only one thought, near the back of Salem’s mind, a weakling that Salem herself didn’t appear to be paying much attention to, brought Roux to tears.  

This is going to kill us.

Chapter 2: Madness: Part I >>