by MJ Schutte
Again, Thomas paused.
When Brighton stayed quiet Thomas asked, ‘What is a human’s most basic instinct?’
This time Brighton spoke, ‘Survival?’
‘Yes!’ Thomas said smiling. ‘Survival! You wanted to survive and your instinct took over. You took energy from the only available source. Two animals and the plants around you. It’s also possible that the wolves were threatening you and your instinct was to kill them before they killed you. Whichever way that happened doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you did it, you took their energy and made it your own.’
Thomas was expecting an argument from Brighton but instead he nodded and said, ‘Yes, that makes sense.’
Thomas carried on.
‘The next question is why haven’t you used the talent since then? Perhaps you were simply not aware that you have it. From a very young age most Dark Ones are aware of the talent. This was not the case with you.’
Brighton held up his hand.
‘Wait,’ he said, ‘There is something you don’t know.’
Thomas leaned forward expectantly.
Slowly Brighton spoke, ‘I have always been aware of things around me.’
‘You mean you can see them?’ Thomas asked.
‘No, I can feel them,’ Brighton answered.
It was Thomas’ turn to stay quiet. This was interesting.
‘What do you mean feel them?’ came the question from Carmen.
‘I mean I can sense people and animals around me, just like Thomas said he could sense people. And you I suppose,’ Brighton said to Carmen.
‘Incredible,’ Carmen gasped. ‘I never knew you could do that!’
‘That confirms my theory, you have the talent,’ Thomas said.
He suddenly frowned. He just thought of something else.
‘Strange that I’ve never felt it when you use your sense. Have you, Carmen?’ he asked.
‘No, I’ve never felt it,’ she replied.
Brighton was looking from face to face, highly confused.
‘I sense both of you right now. And the goats outside,’ he said.
Thomas thought for a moment.
‘Perhaps we can’t feel it because our sense is blind to you. That would mean we are also blind to your talent. Yes, that must be it.’
‘Do you use it often?’ Carmen asked.
‘What do you mean?’ Brighton said with a frown.
Thomas also frowned.
‘It’s a simple question. Do you use it often?’ he repeated Carmen’s question.
‘I don’t intentionally use it. It’s just always there,’ Brighton replied.
‘Constantly?’ Carmen asked carefully.
‘Yes, all the time,’ Brighton answered.
‘Right now?’ Thomas asked.
‘YES!’ Brighton answered irritably.
‘This is interesting,’ Thomas remarked, thinking deeply about the new information.
Carmen smiled and said, ‘I know of one time when you were not aware of anybody except one very beautiful young woman.’
Brighton instantly went red.
Thomas glanced at Brighton. He saw the opportunity to lighten the mood a bit.
‘Now this is something I want to hear about. Brighton and a pretty girl. Tell me more,’ he said to Carmen, rubbing his hands together.
Carmen smiled slyly.
‘Well, I didn’t really see them together but I’m sure they were…’
‘We didn’t do anything,’ Brighton quickly interjected.
‘Oh really? You lost your shirt and I happen to know she wasn’t wearing her dress,’ Carmen teased. ‘I think…’ she started but quickly stopped when she saw the sadness on Brighton’s face.
She touched his shoulder and softly said, ‘I’m sorry.’
Brighton got up and walked out mumbling something about checking on the goats.
‘What just happened?’ Thomas asked, very confused. ‘Brighton found a girlfriend, what could be better?’
‘Lilian,’ was all Carmen said.
‘No…not Lilian from Four Mountains,’ Thomas stammered.
‘Yes,’ Carmen said flatly.
‘That’s not good, not good at all,’ Thomas said slowly.
‘I was hoping he would forget about her. Now he might just try to go after her again like six years ago. That’s a distraction he doesn’t need.’
‘There’s more. Seth is in Avarya. Or he was four days ago at least.’
‘Seth is here! Dear angels, that is really bad!’ Thomas gasped. ‘Wait, how do you know? Did he come here?’ Thomas asked, panic rising in his mind.
‘Lilian told me,’ Carmen answered.
‘How does Lilian know Seth? Come on woman, tell me everything, don’t make me beg!’ Thomas shouted.
‘Lilian is Seth’s daughter. He was here questioning people about someone he has been hunting for a very long time,’ Carmen said softly.
Thomas’ eyes went wide.
‘Me,’ he whispered. ‘That explains why there are so many Dark Ones around lately.’
‘How many?’ Carmen asked softly.
Thomas knew she wanted to know how many he had killed.
‘Three in the last five days or so.’
Carmen didn’t want to ask but she had to know.
‘And before that?’
‘Eight this year. Seven last year,’ Thomas said honestly.
He saw how much this disturbed Carmen so he tried to joke, ‘If it goes on like this I will have them all dead in a few years and we can live in peace.’
‘That’s not funny Thomas!’ Carmen berated him.
She turned around so he wouldn’t see her tears.
Thomas got up and put his arms around her.
‘When will it end?’ Carmen sobbed.
When I’m dead Thomas thought but didn’t say anything, Carmen was upset enough already.
Brighton was sitting on a rock next to the river. He was at the private little spot only he and now Lilian, knew about. Memories of her ran through his mind. Her soft skin, her blue eyes, those long blond curls. The way she moved, how she felt in his arms. He could still see her there, pulling her camisole over her head. He could feel her firm breasts against his chest, her lips on his. Over and over he relived those moments.
When the sun started rising he finally got up and slowly walked home. He didn’t notice the goats or look at the vegetables.
Thomas and Carmen were sitting on the porch. They had been up all night talking.
‘Morning Brighton,’ Thomas shouted when he saw the young man approaching.
Carmen frowned at Thomas.
Brighton walked up to the porch before he answered.
‘Morning Carmen, morning Thomas,’ he said softly.
‘That’s something you never learned,’ Carmen accused Thomas.
‘I remember what you said about shouting, I just choose to ignore you,’ Thomas teased.
Turning to Brighton he said, ‘Carmen tells me you’re rather good with a bow. Would you like to show me?’
Brighton smiled, the memories of Lilian pushed to the back of his mind for the moment.
‘Yes, let me fetch it quickly,’ he said and ran into the house.
He loved shooting with a bow. Moments later he was back carrying three bows and a quiver full of arrows.
‘I’ve been experimenting with different types of wood and string.’
He held up the longest one.
‘This one is the best. I made it from Yew wood. The willow bow is also pretty good. Oak does not make good bows. Do you want me to teach you how to shoot? Carmen says I’m a good teacher. She uses the oak bow because it’s the easiest one for her to handle, the string is not that tight.’
Brighton babbled on for a while longer about arrows, feathers, tips and a few other things Thomas did not understand.
Carmen smiled at Thomas. It was good to see Brighton this excited.
‘…so you have to aim higher. You also have to compens
ate for any wind there might be.’
Thomas nodded his head as if he understood everything Brighton just said. He gestured towards the corner post of the garden fence.
‘Do you think you could hit that from here?’
It was only sixty paces away. Brighton looked at Carmen and rolled his eyes. It was she that answered Thomas.
‘He never misses.’
‘Never?’ Thomas asked in disbelief.
‘Never,’ Brighton said proudly. ‘I hit a fowl at over two hundred paces last week.’
‘You’re teasing me,’ Thomas accused.
‘It’s true,’ Carmen said. ‘I was there.’
Brighton decided to show Thomas. He grabbed a lemon from the table and ran down past the garden.
While he was gone, Thomas said to Carmen, ‘You must be playing a joke on me. What you’re saying is impossible! A bow cannot even shoot that far never mind killing a fowl at that range.’
‘Watch,’ was all Carmen said.
Brighton returned.
‘Do you see the lemon?’ he asked Thomas.
Thomas squinted his eyes; he could just make out the lemon about two hundred and fifty paces away.
‘Yes, I see it,’ Thomas answered.
Brighton took the Yew bow and nocked an arrow. He pulled the string to his cheek, aimed for just a moment, and let the arrow fly. It split the lemon in half.
Thomas was speechless.
‘I told you he never misses,’ Carmen said smugly.
Brighton had a wide smile on his face.
‘If I could build a bow with more power I would be able to hit the lemon from even further away,’ he boasted. ‘This bow is very accurate.’
A thought formed in Thomas’ mind.
‘It’s not the bow,’ he said slowly.
Before Carmen or Brighton could speak, Thomas was up. He took another lemon and tossed it about twenty paces away.
‘Shoot that,’ he said to Brighton.
‘But it’s only….’
‘With your eyes closed,’ Thomas cut him short.
‘What? If I close my eyes, I can’t see it. If I can’t see it, how am I supposed to shoot at it?’
‘Just try,’ was all Thomas said.
Brighton closed his eyes, pulled the string back, and let the arrow go in the general direction of the lemon. It missed by an arms length.
‘I told you,’ Brighton said irritably.
‘Patience, you will understand just now,’ Thomas said.
Scanning the big tree next to the house, he spotted a dove.
He pointed to it and said, ‘Shoot that dove with your eyes closed.’
Brighton looked at Carmen. She shrugged her shoulders.
Brighton nocked an arrow and closed his eyes. He took aim at where he thought the dove might be and let the arrow fly. The arrow passed through the dove’s body and slammed into the tree stump beyond.
‘How…’ Brighton stammered. ‘How can that be?’ he finally managed.
‘One more test then I will tell you what I think,’ Thomas said.
He looked in the tree and spotted another dove high up in the branches.
‘Shoot that one,’ he said pointing.
‘Should I close my eyes again,’ Brighton asked as he nocked an arrow.
‘No need. Just try your best to hit it,’ Thomas replied.
Brighton pulled the string to his cheek. As he let it go, Thomas screamed and clapped his hands loudly.
The dove flew. Just before the arrow reached the spot where the dove was a moment before, something strange happened. The arrow curved in the air and found its target.
The dove tumbled out of the sky.
Thomas danced around and shouted, ‘I knew it. I knew it. I knew it!’
Both Carmen and Brighton were too shocked to speak.
‘I knew you could do it!’ Thomas shouted.
Brighton found his voice.
‘How did that happen? How can an arrow change direction in the sky like that?’ he asked, staggered at what he just saw.
‘You made it change direction,’ Thomas said confidently.
‘I did what? That’s ridiculous!’ Brighton shouted.
Thomas stopped dancing and poked a finger at Brighton’s face.
‘And I know how you did it,’ he declared.
‘This should be good,’ Carmen quipped. ‘Please, enlighten us.’
Thomas was too excited to sit down. Instead, he paced up and down the porch while talking.
‘Brighton has the talent, this we are all agreed on.’
Carmen and Brighton nodded.
‘I believe his talent is more than just taking energy. He can also manipulate it.’
Thomas looked at them to see if they understood.
Carmen said slowly, ‘You’ve been in the sun too long. Your brain has melted.’
Brighton laughed and agreed with her.
‘Think about it,’ Thomas said without taking notice. ‘How did Brighton make that arrow change course?’
Brighton stopped laughing and said, ‘I’m not convinced that I did that. Perhaps a gust of wind blew it in the right direction.’
Ignoring the statement Thomas asked, ‘Have you ever missed when shooting with your bow?’
‘Well, no. But that’s because I’m a good archer,’ Brighton said proudly.
‘Even when your prey is a small rabbit, two hundred paces away and running?’ Thomas asked.
‘Any good archer could do that,’ Brighton said.
Carmen touched his arm.
‘Brighton, I’ve seen many archers. Nobody can make the shots you do. Thomas has a point. Let’s listen to him.’
To Thomas she said, ‘Let’s assume for a moment that you are correct about Brighton’s ability. There is still one flaw. An arrow is made from dead wood. There is no energy in it.’
‘Ahhhh, that’s where you’re wrong,’ Thomas countered wagging his finger.
‘How does an arrow fly?’ he asked Brighton.
‘The string pushes it away. The stronger the pushing force, the further it will fly,’ Brighton answered.
‘Yes! The string imparts energy onto the arrow. Although the arrow has no energy of its own, it receives enough from the string to fly towards the target. Brighton manipulates that temporary energy in the arrow to make small adjustments in its flight. That’s why he never misses. He guides the energy of the arrow towards the energy he feels from his target. This is also why he could hit the first bird with his eyes closed. He does not need to see it, he feels it and guides the arrow towards it.’
Carmen was speechless. What Thomas said made sense, she could not think of any valid argument against it.
Brighton, however, did argue.
‘But I missed the lemon with my eyes closed.’
‘True, but I can also explain that. When you pick a lemon off the tree, it’s separated from its life force. It receives no more energy from the tree.’
Brighton finished the sentence, ‘And that’s why I can’t sense it. It’s essentially dead. In a few days it will rot and soon there will be nothing left of it.’
‘Correct,’ Thomas said with a wide smile.
Brighton picked up the bow and nocked an arrow.
‘Let see if you’re correct.’
He let the arrow fly into the field concentrating hard on trying to change its path. It flew straight.
He tried again. Again, the arrow flew straight.
He turned to Thomas.
‘It seems your theory is wrong. I tried my best but could not manipulate the arrow at all.’
‘What did you aim at?’ Thomas asked.
‘Nothing, I just shot into the field,’ Brighton replied.
‘And that’s why you didn’t make the arrow change course,’ Thomas said.
Brighton nodded his head in understanding.
‘I see. I wasn’t trying to hit anything so there was no need to change the arrow’s path.’
‘Correct,’ Thomas replied
.
‘But how come I didn’t even know I was doing this,’ Brighton asked.
‘Instinct,’ was all Thomas said.
‘Like breathing,’ Brighton said slowly. ‘It just happens, you don’t have to think about it.’
Carmen finally spoke.
‘I still have doubts about this, but let’s assume Brighton is in fact talented and his talent is somehow different from ours….’
Thomas interrupted, ‘And much stronger.’
Carmen gave him a dark look.
‘Don’t interrupt, it’s rude’.
She continued, ‘So his talent is stronger than ours, why can’t we sense him but he can sense us?’
Thomas answered quickly, ‘It must be something to do with his birth.’
Both Carmen and Brighton started speaking but Thomas held up his hand.
‘Think about it. When Brighton was born the very people who offered their help shunned him. Even Clarissa left him and only went back eight days later. This is his first impression of the world and its people. I think he instinctively hides his talent for fear of being shunned again. Clarissa raised him as her own. In time, I think, if she had the talent she would have been able to sense Brighton because there was a bond of love. He trusted her.’
Brighton’s head snapped up.
‘Lily,’ he said.
Carmen nodded, ‘Yes, it makes sense…’
Brighton wasn’t listening to her. He jumped up and looked towards town.
‘Lily is coming,’ he said and ran for the road.
Thomas asked Carmen, ‘What were you going to say?’
‘Lilian can sense Brighton and now I understand why. He loves her very deeply. He would give his life to her if she asked. He does not hide from her who he is.’
‘I see your point,’ Thomas answered.
‘That would mean Lilian knows he is talented,’ he continued. ‘This is not good.’
‘Why not?’ Carmen asked. ‘He loves her, she loves him. She is a very sweet girl and exceptionally beautiful. What could be better for Brighton?’
Thomas looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
‘She is Seth’s daughter!’ he said heatedly.
‘So?’
‘So Seth will use her to get close to Brighton. Brighton’s love for her makes him vulnerable,’ Thomas said gesturing wildly with his arms.
‘Lilian loves Brighton. She would never do anything to harm him. Besides, she hates Seth. There is no way she will help Seth get close to Brighton. She would give up her own life for Brighton, the same as he would for her,’ Carmen stated.
