Siphon (A Touch of Power Book 1)

by Jay Boyce

  She didn’t know what to think of her lacking skills section. Maybe every traveler started with a blank slate? She hoped so. It would be embarrassing to have such a low starting point, considering she already felt like she was behind the human race as it was because of her stats. That left just one thing: her special ability. Contemplating it intently, she wondered, just what the heck does Siphon mean? She knew what the word meant, of course. She just had no idea why it would appear on her special abilities list. There was no context support for it.

  As soon as she focused on it, a new explanation popped up.

  Siphon: Using skin to skin contact, you may permanently absorb 1% of one chosen attribute and skill experience of your target. The target will recuperate their attribute and skill experience after a set amount of time, receiving a .5% increase to those siphoned areas.

  What the what? She could steal someone’s attributes and skills? She was mildly comforted by the fact that they would get something out of it too, but it seemed…strange. It also felt like the system wasn’t telling her everything, but she supposed that was part of the whole trial and error process.

  Coming back to herself, she realized she’d been seemingly staring into space for at least two minutes. Jessica and Kaylee were having a whispered conversation that she wished she could hear, but unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be one of her strengths. Maybe she could develop it? How did that work?

  “Sorry about that. Can you tell me how skill experience works?” She quietly interrupted their whispers.

  Jessica and Kaylee smiled, and it was Kaylee who answered this time. “Yes, miss. Of course. Skill experience is gained by…well, doing just about anything. Your skills will form as you practice, and then you’ll gain experience by doing it. It’s pretty straightforward.”

  I guess that makes sense. I mean, I didn’t do a whole lot in my last life. Unless peeing through a catheter counts as a skill. Do they even have catheters here? I guess there’s no such thing as browsing the internet either. Maybe I could have gotten a reading skill at least… Oh well.

  She mused to herself as she nodded, trying to get a grip and organize her thoughts. What she absolutely needed to know was the situation of the world. With all the weapons she’d seen, it didn’t seem like this was a particularly peaceful place. She also needed to figure out what she would do to get by, and maybe see if there was a library or something so she could just look up the information herself. Fortunately, Jessica saved her from her musings by trying to explain things simply to her.

  “So, now that you’ve seen your profile, there are a few things you should know. You’re in the capital of Caoi, which is Abala. The kingdom is ruled by King Derrick and Queen Ashanna. More specifically, this is The Green Dragon, one of the dormitories for students of Dracona Academy.” They looked a little guilty at this, and she could pretty much figure out why. She wasn’t supposed to be here, and they’d have to tell whoever was over them. Still, she was determined to get as much information out of them as she could before that.

  “This academy… What do they do there?”

  Kaylee looked a little starstruck when she responded. “It’s sponsored by the King. They accept the most talented people from all over the kingdom to train them!”

  Jessica cut in at that point, looking a bit more down to earth. “They’re usually the sons and daughters of the aristocrats. There are a few truly talented people who get chosen every year through the selection process, but most of them get in through recommendation. The king pays for their training and lodging since he declared ‘they are the future of the kingdom.’” She glanced at Kaylee and sighed at her wishful looks. It was obvious that Jessica was the more down to earth one, and Kaylee had all sorts of fantasies going on inside her head at the moment.

  Jade ignored the daydreaming Kaylee and focused on the pertinent information. “So, what you’re saying is I could stay here if I get accepted to the academy through this selection process?”

  This seemed to snap Kaylee out of her reverie, and she guffawed. “Yeah, but you’ll never make it…” She clapped a hand over her mouth, looking panicked as Jade chortled inwardly. She couldn’t honestly blame her… I mean, look at me. I’m just a waif compared to normal people, even Kaylee herself, who’s probably considered skinny. Why would she have any reason to think I’d make it into what’s basically the noble faction?

  Outwardly, Jade just smiled at her. She wasn’t going to scold her for making a perfectly reasonable judgment call. What she wanted to know was if they took people in for things other than brawn. She figured she might be able to develop that aspect eventually, depending on how her special ability worked, but for now, she needed to use her brains.

  Jessica came to Kaylee’s rescue, as well as Jade’s. “Actually, you might have a chance. They tend to let most travelers in if they have a special ability. Do you?”

  Jade nodded gratefully. “Yeah, I do. So where do I go to find this selection thingy?”

  Kaylee, as if trying to make up for her earlier faux pas, immediately turned helpful. “It’s not too far from here. You just need to go to the upper city hall and register for their tests and the interview. It’s still going on for the next two days.”

  She smiled at Kaylee, trying to communicate that she didn’t hold a grudge without bringing it up specifically. “Thanks. I know you’re busy and I’m grateful for your help. Is there a library I can go to?”

  “You can read?” Jessica stared wide-eyed at her.

  Jade winced. Apparently, the demarcation between the rich and the poor was more stringent than she had hoped. She shrugged helplessly. “I could before. Here, I’m not so sure. I guess I won’t know unless I try?”

  Kaylee nodded thoughtfully as she replied, “I guess that makes sense. There’s a library, but it’s not easy to get access. It’s close to The Red Wyrm, one of the other dormitories, about five blocks north of here.”

  “Thanks. I think I’ll try and start there, maybe look around a little before I go for the test. You guys have been so helpful…so I guess I should probably go with you to meet your boss? You know, to see if I can stay here for a few days until I get on my feet and join the academy?”

  They both looked a little skeptical at her unconscious tone of certainty that she would make it into the academy, but well…she was a traveler, so they didn’t call her on it. What if she really made it into the academy? They would much rather be on her good side. Finally, seeming to conclude their unspoken argument, Jessica nodded. “Yes, I think that would be for the best. But uhm… Do you have anything else to wear? For instance...shoes?”

  Jade stared blankly at them before saying honestly, “I have no idea. Let me check.” I really hope whatever god sent me here at least gave me some normal clothes… She awkwardly stumbled her way to the dresser, silently reveling in the fact that she could WALK! It didn’t matter how awkward she was, the fact that she could do it on her own was amazing! Therefore, she ignored the concerned gawks Jessica and Kaylee were sending her way as she started opening the drawers and rifling through them.

  To her relief, there were several pairs of pants and undergarments in the various drawers. Though she had no idea what they were made of–her previous practical experience had mostly taught her about jeans, scrubs, and hospital gowns–they looked comfortable enough. However, not seeing any shirts, she remembered the other door in the room. Stumbling her way over while Jessica and Kaylee looked to be visibly restraining themselves from jumping up to try and catch her when she wobbled, she opened the door victoriously.

  Jackpot! In the closet were several shirts or tunicy things hung up, as well as a freaking awesome cape, a simple flowy dress, and something else which was drapey and she didn’t know the name for. There were also some wicked looking boots on the floor. Triumphantly, she turned back to them and announced, “I do have other stuff!”

  Smiling politely, Jessica suggested, “Perhaps you’d like to change then.” Jade nodded, and she continued a little
more hesitantly, “Do you...need help?”

  The smile fell from Jade’s face. She had been doing so well...and people were still trying to dress her. She recovered almost instantly, but Jessica and Kaylee could tell they’d hit a sore point as she put on a wooden smile. “I’ll be okay, but thank you. It’ll just take a moment.”

  Jessica nodded, but not wanting to offend her more, ushered Kaylee out of the room while saying over her shoulder, “We’ll just wait outside.”

  Nodding stiffly, Jade quickly selected a shirt, the cape, some boots, and then tottered back to the dresser to grab the other necessities. She flopped unceremoniously on the bed in order to shove things on and off as quickly as she could, despite her jerky movements. It took around a minute, but she was fully dressed and yanking on her sweet new boots. She stood up, feeling way more confident than before. Really, she hadn’t realized how much being in pajamas in front of the two immaculate girls had made her feel...incompetent? Or maybe it was just finally being able to don something other than the attire of an invalid that gave her courage. Either way, it was time to go.

  She rummaged through the desk for a moment, finding a key in the top drawer. Assuming it was to the room and not wanting to lose the sweet swag she’d just figured out she had, she grabbed it and opened the door, giving a now much brighter smile to the two girls. “I’m ready!”

  They both looked relieved that she was okay and smiling normally again. Kaylee noticed the key in her hand and nodded approvingly as she shut the door behind her and locked it. Since they realized ‘her stuff’ was in there, it was better to keep it locked until they figured out what to do. Jade smiled and reached out, touching their arms briefly as she uttered quietly, “Thank you for all you’ve told me. It really helped.” Even if they had only barely touched the surface.

  Jessica smiled sweetly. “It’s no problem. So, let’s go meet Raphael, and then you can begin your adventure!” Wasn’t that what the box had said too? That this would be an adventure?

  Grinning back at her, Jade nodded. “That sounds amazing!” As they turned, her grin grew a little wider as she mentally clicked on the two glowing notification dots that had appeared at the side of her vision after she touched the girls, eagerly reading the notifications as she wobbled after them.

  You have touched Jessica Dorney, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...

  Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.

  Choose a skill to siphon: Appraisal, Cleaning, Cooking, Herbology, or Perception.

  You have touched Kaylee Ivers, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...

  Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.

  Choose a skill to siphon: Cleaning, Diplomacy, Dodging, Perception, or Tailoring.

  Chapter Three – Assimilation

  If I don’t click anything, it’ll go away…probably. Do I have to make a choice? Does that mean it won’t do anything to them until I make a choice? I could really use the extra help though…and it did say it would come back stronger for them, right? So there’s no harm… Okay… I’m going to do this, so what’re the best choices?

  First, figure out the stats…my worst stats are constitution, strength, and dexterity… I have no idea if these girls have good con, but Jessica looks stronger, and Kaylee looks like she might be fast… Yeah, let’s just go with that.

  Only five skills each? All right… They both have cleaning and perception, so maybe those are more common… Cleaning and cooking make sense, given the whole maid thing. And if these two have it, perception is probably normal too. So that leaves appraisal or herbology for Jessica… I’m in the middle of the city, so not many herbs to find here. Appraisal it is! For Kaylee…diplomacy, dodging, or tailoring. I don’t need to fix my clothes. Diplomacy or dodging both sound pretty good… Then again, I need to talk my way into keeping my room and into the academy place, so diplomacy would probably be better.

  Jessica and Kaylee kept shooting nervous looks at her as she seemed to wobble her way behind them. Of course, the fact that she was doing mental calculations about which of their stats to ‘temporarily borrow’ wasn’t helping. Blue screens in front of your face just didn’t seem to help with the whole see where you’re going thing. Glad that she had figured out that she didn’t have to wave her hands at the blue screens, she mentally ‘clicked’ on her first choices for Kaylee as she started trying to surreptitiously watch her like a hawk. A new message replaced the old window she’d been debating over.

  Siphoning complete. Assimilation of Dexterity and Diplomacy from Kaylee Ivers underway.

  Seriously, that was all she got? No ETA, no amount, nothing? Her eye twitched as she felt her cheeks flushing a tiny bit. Kaylee didn’t even seem to skip a beat as she walked ahead, though she was now looking a little more nervous that Jade was staring at her so intently whenever she glanced back. Whatever, go big or go home. She mentally clicked on the stats she’d chosen from Jessica as well.

  Siphoning complete. Assimilation of Strength and Appraisal from Jessica Dorney underway.

  Hopefully it at least tells me when it’s done… Wait, how do I even tell time here? There’s no cell phones, and I haven’t seen any clocks… She was trying to mentally nudge the system to give her a digital clock, but it seemed the system didn’t care if she knew what time it was. She couldn’t even see the sun in here. I wonder if they have multiple suns…? Her thoughts straying tangentially, she almost tripped as she descended the last step. So it was to a graceless halt that she entered the eyes of a most formidable looking man who was glaring quite harshly at the two girls in front of her, which did not seem to lessen even the slightest as the condescension oozed towards her when she came into view.

  I am SO awesome at first impressions in this world…totally… Straightening up to her full height of 5’5”, she gave him her most winning smile as she tried to walk as gracefully as possible forward, sticking her hand out. “Hi! I’m Jade, the traveler.” Maybe that will strike the fear of god or whoever into him... Ignoring the need to itch her lips, she cheerfully and mostly confidently stared up at this fairly…burly hunk. Yup, I’m in trouble.

  She took a brief glance, studying his face. He had awesome black swoosh hair that looked perfectly gelled back and a five o’clock shadow across his perfectly chiseled face. He was also at least 8 inches taller than her. When she met his angry dark brown eyes, she found him still staring down at her like she was an ant that had crawled on his food, ignoring her hand that was just hanging in the air like a limp fish at this point as she maintained eye contact. I will not blink first. I will not blink first. Nooooooo, I blinked first! Okay, so her macho posturing was not getting her far. Finally, he asked slowly, as if trying to mask what she would call barely, if not almost entirely unconcealed, rage and scorn in his voice, “You are a traveler?”

  She lost it. Completely ignoring the fact that with his bulging muscles he was pretty much twice her size, she stomped her foot–oh my gosh I can stomp my foot!–and, concealing a brief flash of unrestrained joy, dropped her hand and scoffed right back. “What, you think I wanted to come to this random world where I knew absolutely nothing and no one? Give me a break.” She casually flicked her hair, because hello, he was still the cutest non-married non-doctor she’d ever seen. “I was thrown into this situation and I’m just making the best of it. So you’re going to let me stay here until I’m officially accepted into the academy in two days.” When in doubt, act confident. How much could it hurt?

  She was utterly insulted when that caused his facade to break, mostly because he was openly guffawing at her. “Really!? You think you’re going to pass the selection in two days?” He was howling so hard he was almost crying. Hot or not, she really wanted to punch him. The only thing stopping her was the thought that she would probably end up hurting herself more. Self-preservation was a thing, you know? Instead, she took a step closer and po
ked him in the arm. She would have done the chest, but there was that whole skin to skin thing explicitly stated in her ability, and if anyone deserved to be siphoned, it was the jerk laughing at her right now.

  She was gratified to see the new blinking icon in the top corner of her vision, and she smirked at him as she asserted, “I guarantee I’m going to make you eat those words.”

  Sadly, he kept roaring until he finally seemed to realize she was dead serious as she smirk-glared at him. Still in disbelief, he shook his head and seemed to spend an entire minute considering her. She just kept glaring, crossing her arms in front of her (nonexistent) chest to present a strong front. Finally, he glowered at Jessica and Kaylee. “Is she really a traveler?”

  Jessica and Kaylee exchanged glances, holding another one of those silent conversations that seemed to go something like ‘you say something,’ and ‘no, you!’ It looked like Kaylee lost this round, because she sighed and then turned to look at Raphael. Yeah, I know your name, you big jerk, even if you didn’t tell me yourself! Quietly, she spoke. “As far as we can tell, yes. She just appeared in one of the rooms with a bunch of stuff and she seemed…” She glanced at Jade with uncertainty, and you could just tell she was about to say something rude, like one of those things southern people said before they ended with ‘bless their soul.’ “Pretty much incompetent and lost. What other explanation is there than that she’s a traveler? You can see she’s a terrible actor.” Hey, you didn’t have to add that last part! That’s over the line...maybe… Note to self: steal someone’s deception skills. Someone’s gotta have deception skills, right? That seems like something that would be a skill here...

  While she was half glaring and half inner monologuing, she hadn’t realized that all three of them had turned to stare/appraise her again. When she finally came to, she snapped a little waspishly, “What!?”