The crowd hissed as Ryland landed a punch on his opponent's jaw.
"Looks like Ryland can take this," I said, but nothing was ever as easy as it seemed.
Ryland was grabbed by the psychic connection and thrown against the wall. He came down hard and didn't move.
"No!" I gasped. "Oh gosh, please get up Ryland, please get up!"
"So this kid's expertise is brute strength." Luke observed. He was strangely calm.
Ryland struggled to his feet before being knocked to the ground again. Blood was flowing from his lip. He wiped the blood away on the back of his hand and grinned, more blood flowing from between his teeth.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Luke said. "Watch this."
"Huh?" I blinked and looked closer.
Ryland had entered pure blood lust. His look was psychotic as he stood and focused his energy on his opponent. With two minutes to go, he'd really have to do something great to impress the judges. He didn't charge in headfirst like he would normally do, instead he stood calmly, his eyes focused on the prize.
Ryland's opponent suddenly went blank. His eyes glazed over and he stood as still as a statue.
"What's happening?" I gasped.
Luke grinned. "He's in the kids head. Telepaths can do a lot more than read minds, you know. He's blocking his mind and holding his body."
A shiver ran through me. So Ryland could do the same tricks that Carly could do. Controlling bodies. I didn't need another reason to be glad Ryland was on my side, but I added it to the list anyway. I swallowed hard, watching Ryland count down the last minute with his opponent completely helpless.
Ryland could have made the kid do anything, but he didn't. He kept this opponent still and his dignity intact. When the buzzer rang, he released him without showing off. He put his hands in his pockets and waited for the judges to announce the winner.
"The judges voted six to four for Ryland Williams." The announcer shouted.
Ryland went over to his opponent and helped him up. He was talking to him quietly to make sure he was alright. The kid shook his hand and smiled.
I let out the breath I was holding and sank back down in the chair. Luke was on his feet cheering and I just was happy the fight was over. I knew it was wishful thinking, but I hoped that I’d never have to watch a sparring match that stressful again.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"Ok , now I need you to focus." Ryland stood in front of me. We faced each other in the student gym dedicated for psychic training. It was late afternoon and the room was empty.
"How is this going to work if my mind blocks you?" I asked with my hands on my hips.
"Just trust me. You can feel when I try to read your mind right?"
"Yeah, unless you've gotten better at it. It's creepy as hell."
Ryland laughed. "It feels different for everyone. What's important is to be able to know when someone is trying to access your mind. Telepathic people have a variety of talents. That girl Clary can influence the mind and body better than I can."
"Terrifying." I shuddered.
"I don't disagree. The best defense against psychics like her is to avoid eye contact and put your mental blocks up." Ryland stepped back from me until we were just out of arm's reach. "If she gets in your mind and you aren't strong enough to kick her out, the results can be, well, deadly."
I shivered as I remembered her threatening me. She could have made me kill myself. She could have made me do anything. The power she had was beyond terrifying.
Ryland locked eyes with me and concentrated.
I felt his energy trying to enter my mind. My forehead tingled and the feeling grew into a sharp pain. I closed my eyes and looked away.
"Ok, so you can feel me?" Ryland asked. "Good. Your thoughts are still shadowy and unreadable to me, but at least you can get familiar with the sensation."
I shook my head and groaned. "It's a strange feeling."
"Normally it's a lot less invasive, we just have a weird bond." Ryland explained. He'd never been able to read my mind since we met. "Ok, get ready I'm going to do it again."
"How do I stop it?" I asked.
"You know the feeling when you get a weird thought and you try to push it away or think of something else? That's the trick. Put up a wall by filling your mind with other thoughts. Push back." Ryland explained.
The pain returned as he pushed into my mind again. I clenched my teeth and stared back, bringing up any thought I could think of to keep him out. I gathered my psychic energy and instead of letting it flow to my hands, brought it up to my head.
"Visualize the block." Ryland instructed, not letting up.
As he pushed harder, I felt the power over my body waning. I would not let anyone control my body like that again. Summoning all my strength, I imagined my powers creating a shield around my mind, forcing his energy away from me. I created a barrier out of my energy and thoughts.
Ryland broke off the connection and took a deep breath. "Better," He said.
I wiped sweat from my face. "It's intense." I stretched to relieve the tension in my body.
"Let's go again. I'm going to transmit a message. When my thoughts go silent, it'll mean that you've successfully blocked me out."
I nodded and braced myself for the uncomfortable twitch that I felt whenever he tried to enter my mind. It reminded me of the first time we met, when he saved me from the Rogue and spoke to me in my head. Who would have thought we would have come so far?
"Focus, Bianca!"
I flinched and focused my attention away from those memories. Now was not the time. I let my power flow to my mind, forcing up the shields again.
"Can you hear me?” Ryland's voice flowed into my head. It was slightly distorted and quiet.
I forced the shields up harder, visualizing them thickening and protecting my thoughts.
Ryland's voice grew quieter. "Good. Now force me out. Don't let anyone into your mind, Bianca."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My spine tingled as my power worked its way up my body and lashed out with all the force I could muster. There was a brief moment of tension before my power surged and the connection snapped. I felt the psychic shields fall into place and opened my eyes.
“Yes!” Ryland cheered. He jumped and ran to my side. “Perfect, that’s what I’m talking about. Geez, you learned in ten minutes what Luke hasn’t learned all year. Great job.”
I beamed. "Really?"
"Yeah!" Ryland pulled me close and kissed me hard.
Reality melted away and I lost myself in his kiss. I loved his taste, his smell, his touch. Everything with him was more perfect than I could have ever hoped for. "Thank you, Ryland," I said after finally breaking away from the kiss. "Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without you."
Ryland's eyes softened. "You'd be ok. You're so powerful in your own right. I see it every time I look at you. You might had had a rough beginning, but I know without a doubt that you're one of the best this academy has seen." He paused. "The way you pushed back against my telepathy was impressive."
“Well, let’s just say I don’t want to find out what training would be like without your help.” I said.
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere. Promise." Ryland kissed my forehead gently. He looked down at me with a devilish grin. "Now why don't you say we get some fun in before dinner?"
#
The competition was officially over. The mess hall was decorated in a way that should have looked out of place in such an industrial setting, but somehow didn't. I walked in with Ryland by my side. The room was buzzing with energy and everyone was talking and laughing. It felt good. It was a far cry from the serious first meal we shared.
I caught a glance of Phylicia's vibrant braids and found seats for Ryland and I. "Why aren't you sitting with your beau?" I asked.
Phylicia looked up. "We need to sit with our campus team," She said with a fake pout. "Don't worry, I'll make up for it later."
"So it's going good, then?" I asked.
Ryland ignored our giggling and poured a glass of ice water from the pitcher. Luke joined us a moment later and Ryland shot him an exasperated look.
"Girls will be girls," Luke chuckled.
Ryland rubbed my knee under the table. His touch made me burn with need. We hadn't had the chance to get much further than second base before the buzzer sounded to call us to dinner. I squirmed when his hand explored up my inner thigh.
Ryland grinned at me when I slapped his hand away.
"Ladies and gentlemen," The dean stood at the podium. His dark blue suit was trimmed with gold thread that glittered in the lights. He waited for everyone to quiet down before continuing. "Good evening and thank you for your attention. It has been a wonderful week and I thank all the campuses for their efforts."
The other deans watched him from the head table and clapped politely.
"It was my honor to oversee the competition to the help of my fellow faculty members and our esteemed judges." Dean Kennedy went on.
The judges that were still anonymous. No one knew who had watched them spar or solve problems. And we wouldn't find out unless we got a job offer. It didn't matter for me though, thanks to my disqualification.
I sighed and rested my elbows on the table as the Dean went on and on. He was the kind of person who just liked to hear himself talk. Pretty much the exact opposite of our dean, Major Griffiths, who acted as if he had never left the military.
Dean Kennedy waved his hands and our meals appeared before our eyes. "Now, let us eat. The winners will be announced shortly."
"Winners?" I repeated, looking around at my friends.
"Yeah, every competition has to have a winning team," Phylicia said. "The judges analyze our individual performance, our sportsmanship, etcetera." She took a spoonful of mashed potatoes and mixed it with her vegetables.
"Oh, I hope my disqualification didn't hurt our chances." I cringed.
Ryland touched my shoulder and I perked back up. "Doubt it. Besides, it's almost always the home team that wins. They have home advantage after all."
I watched the west campus students across the room. They were practically dripping confidence, like they had it in the bag.
Just as dessert was being served the dean stood at the podium again. "Before we dig in, I have a few announcements to make." He said. "I want to begin by saying that this years' judges were very impressed with all of you. I truly believe that it is the efforts of our community that are paving the way for psychics to reach new heights of success in both the public and private sector." He adjusted his cue cards. "Secondly, I would like to announce the winning team of this year's Annual Competition."
The anticipation swelled at the west campus' table.
Ryland looked down, poking at his dessert with his fork.
I couldn't even imagine how he felt right now. He was waiting for his old campus to win, watching them celebrate before their names were even called. He used to be one of them and now they all looked at him with fear or scorn. They had wiped his name from their records and treated him like a stranger because of one single screw up. It hurt me to see the defeat on his face. He tried to hide it, but I could tell he was angry.
"Tonight, I am very proud to announce the winning campus of the competition." The dean paused for effect, holding an envelope high. How classy. "Please join me in congratulating," He opened the paper and his brow furrowed. "Please join me in congratulating the team of," He forced out the next two words. "North campus."
The mess hall erupted in cheers. Every table jumped to their feet except the team from west campus. They sat dumbfounded and silent, staring at Dean Kennedy who looked like he shared in their collective shock.
"Oh my god, we did it!" Phylicia shrieked.
Ryland turned and hugged me tight. "We did it! Wait. What? How the hell did we?" He shook his head. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. We did it!"
"The winning team proved their capabilities in problem solving, everyday tasks, sparring, and showed good sportsmanship throughout the week. The judges agreed that they deserve the title of champions this year." The dean's voice was drowned out by the cheers.
Phylicia hugged me from behind, nearly crushing me. "We did it!"
I stood in a daze while our table screamed and hugged, all of us looking equally surprised we won but taking it in stride.
The west campus students were glaring at us silently. A few girls were crying. A bunch of people abandoned their dessert and stalked out of the mess hall without looking back.
Major Griffiths took his place at the podium and waited patiently for the cheering to stop. "Wow, how unexpected!" He said. "On behalf of the north campus, I would like to thank our judges for their time and the students and staff of the west campus for being such gracious hosts."
Luke snorted a laugh quietly and glanced at Ryland.
"As is the tradition, I will announce the host of next year's competition." Major Griffiths checked his paper. "East campus will host the competition next summer." He handed the microphone to Dean Brier.
I went back to my dessert as she spoke. I hated all these formalities and strawberry cheesecake was way more interesting. I tapped my foot in order to keep the rest of my body still. The surrounding energy grew more intense as the minutes ticked by. This many excited psychics in one place was enough to give me a headache.
People stayed at their tables until well after dinner ended. The east and south campus students came to congratulate us but the west campus students all left.
Julian came to sit by Phylicia, they glowed with happiness as they sat and talked. I sipped coffee and listened to the conversations around me, just happy to be taking it all in.
"And you, girl with the plexiglass!" An east campus student leaned over the table to speak to me. "That was amazing!" He exclaimed. "Like holy shit you deserved to win because of that."
I heard Zoe make a disgusted noise a few tables away.
"Oh, no, I got disqualified." I said. "I shouldn't have done that," I added modestly. "It wasn't fair."
"Real life isn't fair," Julian arched his neck to see over Phylicia's head. "Seriously, you were great. That sort of stuff would have gotten you bonus points across the pond," He said. "Europe's psychic academies are way tougher, trust me."
"That explains why you're so good." Phylicia said to him, twirling a braid around her finger.
I let them go back to flirting, happy to deflect the attention away from me.
Ms. Blackwell and Major Griffiths approached our table and the conversation died down. "I would like to extend my personal congratulations to you all," Major Griffiths said. "You all performed exceptionally well and impressed your peers and the judges." He smiled, glancing around the rows of tables. "We will return to Detroit tonight, so please say your goodbyes and meet in the dormitory lobby at nineteen-hundred hours."
"Yes sir," We said as one.
"Don't be late, we have a large group to teleport." Ms. Blackwell caught my eye, gave me a small smile and then left with the other faculty members.
"Finally, we're going back to our campus." Ryland sighed and wrapped his arm around me.
"You mean home?" I echoed.
Ryland shrugged. "You could call it that. But, like I said, home is wherever you are."
#
It felt good to be back. The north campus was familiar. It was cool and dark, thanks to the three-hour time difference we hopped in a millisecond. The sky was clear enough to see the lights of the Detroit skyline in the distance.
I took a deep breath, not minding the tangy metallic taste that hung in the air thanks to the countless abandoned factories that surrounded us.
"Feels good to be back." Ryland said, as if agreeing to my unspoken words.
I looked to him and let my fingers entwine with his. "It really does." I leaned my head against his shoulder.
More students app
eared in the teleportation area. We were ushered out and told to return to our dorms. I doubted anyone would get much sleep tonight. We would celebrate our unprecedented victory on the west coast's turf. It felt good, justified even. We might have left the campus as rivals, but we returned bonded and energized by our collective school pride.
Ryland took my hand and we walked back to the dorms together.
I should have been relieved to be back, but something in the air told me that much more dangerous trials were waiting for me at the north campus.
CHAPTER TWENTY
"Miss Hernandez, due to your remarkable talent shown at the National Competition, we had several employers ask for your information." Ms. Blackwell said.
She had asked me to meet her in her office after class, not wanting to share the news in front of everyone else. I didn't need any more reasons for people to hate me, it seemed.
"But I didn't win," I said. “I got disqualified!”
Ms. Blackwell waved her hand as if to dismiss the thought. "Not everything is about winning," She said. "Besides, it wasn't just your sparring that peeked their interest." She leaned back in her chair and knitted her fingers together, taking a moment to look at me in silence. "You have remarkable talent for someone who just became aware of their powers. With the proper training, there is no doubt you are going to be great."
I blushed. "Thank you." That was truly a compliment coming from as powerful a psychic as her.
"However, you are not finished your schooling and employers understand that." Ms. Blackwell continued. "All students need to be enrolled for at least a year until they are permitted to join the workforce. We need to ensure that you not only know how to use your powers, but how to control them as well."
I knew that was coming. "A year? I think I'll be needing more time than that, honestly."
"Hm," Ms. Blackwell paused. "It has been two months since you joined us and I've seen progress in you that I've never seen before. Don't compare yourself to others, you may be ready to graduate sooner than you think."
Psychic Lies: An Urban Fantasy Academy Romance (Psychic Academy Book 2) Page 13
