“Yes, you did.” He looked at his timepiece and then said, “And it only took you fifteen minutes. Very good, Valentina! Do you want to give it a try, Behn?”
Slightly disgusted with the amount of time it had taken her, she vowed it would go faster on her next attempt. Before her brother could answer, she asked, “Did I do it right? Was there something I could have done better?”
“I’m going to refrain from answering your questions until after Behn has made an attempt. How about it, Behn?”
“Why not!” Behn said as he reached for the plant from his sister still on the floor. He watched as she damaged one of the leaves before she handed it to him. “Thanks,” he said as he settled it on the bed directly in front of him.
Like his sister, he gathered elemy and surrounded the plant with the idea of well-being. As if the plant understood his desire, it began to heal itself faster than Valentina’s method. In a fraction of the time, the plant was repaired to the point where not even a scar remained. “That was actually pretty easy!”
“Wait! What? Are you finished already? Let me see,” Valentina leaned over and inspected several of the leaves since she was unable to tell which one was the one she had damaged. “What did I do wrong?”
Willian shook his head at the same time Behn laughed out loud at his sister’s indignant tone. Willian answered, “You both accomplished the goal, but you took very different paths to get there. Do either of you think you could replicate what you just did?” He looked from one to the other and saw them both nod. Finally, he looked over at Jon and asked, “Did you figure out what each of them did?”
“I think so,” Jon said slowly as he replayed the scene in his head. In both cases, he had felt the elemy being pulled into the room, but Willian had been right when he had said the goal was accomplished in different manners. He thought he preferred his sister’s overall method, but knew the efficacy of Behn’s way was much more efficient.
“Do you want to try it then?” Willian asked gently, not wanting to push him too fast.
“I don’t know…,” he began even as he recognized the deep desire to accomplish the task.
“Here,” Valentina said as she picked up the plant, punctured a leaf, and handed it over to her brother. “I think you’ll find it pretty interesting.” She purposely used a challenging tone to activate his competitive spirit.
Jon smiled at her tactic even as he reached out to take the plant from her. At first, he closed his eyes until he recalled Sofia’s advice to keep them open. He opened his eyes and focused his attention on the damage he could see in front of him.
Taking a little of both methods he had witnessed, he gathered elemy and enticed the plant to heal itself while also boosting the cells within to work faster. To his amazement, the leaf healed itself flawlessly, even faster than Behn had achieved. His eyebrows rose in amazement, and a huge grin spread across his face. He held up the plant and declared, “I did it! That was totally cool!”
“I guess it stands to reason, you both were able to watch how it was done first,” Valentina said sullenly since her brothers had performed so much better than herself.
All of the boys burst out laughing at Valentina, and the mood finally broke. From that point onward, their conversations were no longer edged in tension. Jon realized Willian might actually be useful, maybe even be a friend over time as long as he kept his hands off of Valentina. So far, they all were behaving.
Chapter Seventeen
THE BUS PULLED into the New York City depot just as the sun was setting. Petre stepped off of the platform, followed the flow of passengers out of the terminal, and stared in wonder at the tall buildings all around him. Never in his life, had he felt so out of place and insignificant as he did at that moment.
His original plan of asking someone for directions seemed laughable as he failed to even make eye contact with a single person. The people seemed so preoccupied and unfriendly, and he had no idea what his next step would be now that he was finally at his destination. Several times, he was bumped rudely by passers-by, and he was about to comment on it when he realized everyone else moved. Only his immobility in the center of the sidewalk had caused the problem. He immediately moved over closer to the buildings and out of the main flow so he could assess his situation and maybe discover somewhere to eat or even to sleep for the night.
It was clearly too late to meet with Stephen; he would have to wait until the next day. He looked around and tried to decide which direction in which to walk. The masses seemed to be going left, so he turned and melted into the flow of traffic. Petre was appalled by the levels of noise coming from the cars; he had no idea why everyone put up with the incessant blares of noise which seemed to be continually issuing from them. It was no wonder the people were so unfriendly to have to put up with such racket all of the time.
Petre’s nose warned him before his eyes that there was food nearby. His stomach began to growl, and his mouth began to water in anticipation of eating. At first, he was unable to determine where the smell was coming from until he paused a moment to see the group of people standing beside a shiny, silver vehicle with a window cut in the side. Even as he watched, the person inside the box handed a paper tub of food out to the person outside. Petre swiftly walked over to the window to see if they’d hand him some food.
The woman right next to him looked him up and down rudely and yelled, “Hey! You need to wait your turn, mister! Who do you think you are, the President? Get back there and wait with the rest of us!” She pointed behind her with one hand and grabbed his jacket with the other to propel him away from the window.
Petre felt his cheeks turn red even as he heard several people around him begin to chuckle. His rage began to boil just beneath the surface, and he felt himself gathering elemy to do the woman harm. Almost too late, he realized he was in the wrong, but he would not be spoken to in such a manner without repaying the bitch.
He looked into the window and saw the worker had just put together the woman’s tray of food. With the elemy already gathered, he turned away from the window and pretended to sulk away; he used his creation power. In an instant, the tray disappeared from the table and reappeared in Petre’s hands. He hunched forward and scurried away with a gleeful grin on his face.
Behind him, he heard a cry of alarm from the worker inside the metal box. “Hey! Where did the plate of food go? I just put it down right here!”
Beginning to laugh out loud, Petre had to hasten his steps to get away from the scene before someone figured out he had stolen the woman’s order. He melted into the flow of foot traffic and inhaled the mouthwatering scents of the steaming, hot food. Having no idea what any of it was, he used his fingers to pick up several chunks and put it into his mouth. He eagerly scooped several more bites into his mouth and closed his eyes in ecstasy.
Not paying attention to where he was stepping, he accidentally bumped into a group of teenaged boys. “Hey, punk, watch where you’re going!” one of the boys yelled as he reached out and flipped the tray of food out of Petre’s hands. All of them laughed at Petre’s expression of disbelief as he watched food spatter down the front of him and then splat into a pile on the dirty sidewalk.
“Did you see his face?”
“What a moron!” The boys continued to taunt Petre with their rude remarks and laughter.
Without another thought, Petre pulled the elemy from the earth and surrounding himself in a shroud of deception until he disappeared from their view. He chuckled as he saw their expressions change from taunting to fear as he seemed to vanish right before their eyes.
“Where did he go?” One boy asked as his voice cracked in fear.
“Dude, he just disappeared like a ghost!” another one yelled.
As one, they began to back up to get as far away from the spot where they could still see the food on the ground. They knew they had caused it to land on the sidewalk, but now the person was gone. They had no idea what had happened, but they definitely did not want to stick arou
nd to see what would happen next. After another few steps, they turned and ran all the while yelling at each other to hurry up and get out of there.
Petre laughed out loud at the revenge he had gotten on the boys, but then frowned when he realized he no longer had anything to eat and he was still hungry. Deciding it would probably be better to remain hidden, he kept the shield around himself as he walked back to the food truck where he had pilfered his meal.
Just as before, he made the tray of food disappear from the table and rematerialize in his cloaked hands. He heard the same commotion from the people inside at the discovery of the missing meal. Remaining where he was, he consumed the food promptly before something else should happen to it.
His first problem was solved with his full stomach, and he was able to begin to consider the solution to the other problem of where he would sleep for the night. He walked with the crowd of people away from the food truck and started looking around him. When he noticed a man standing outside a circulating door, he moved out of the flow to see if the official-looking gentleman might be of assistance. Letting his concealing cloak melt away, he stepped in front of the startled man.
“Excuse me. Would you happen to know of a place where I might be able to spend the night?” Peter asked him.
The doorman regained his composure from the sudden appearance of Petre in front of him. He pointed over his shoulder and said, “There are rooms available here tonight. Let me show you the way.” He turned and walked into the opening of the revolving door as if he had practiced it a million times.
Petre was not as skilled, and the doorframe hit his shoulder, causing him to stumble backward and wait until the opening reappeared before he hurriedly stepped inside and rushed to remain in rhythm with the rotation. He almost missed the opening into the lobby as he was watching his feet.
The doorman looked at Petre strangely, thinking it odd that he would have so much trouble with the rotating door. His years of service allowed him to keep a straight face as he said, “Right this way, sir.” He led Petre to the front desk and gestured for him to step ahead and talk with the woman smiling at him from the other side of the high furniture.
“Thank you,” Petre mumbled to the doorman. He wished he had been able to stand back and watch some other people before he attempted to do this himself. With a sigh of resignation, he cleared his throat and addressed the woman. “I require sleeping accommodations for the night. This gentleman has told me you might have something available.”
The receptionist’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she listened to Petre’s odd delivery. She smiled and said, “Yes, we can take care of that for you tonight. Is it just for tonight?”
“Yes. Please show me the way. I’m very tired and would like to lie down right away.”
“I’m sorry, sir. We will have to take care of the paperwork first. I promise I’ll be as fast as I can. Will you tell me your name?”
“Petre MacVeen,” he replied in annoyance, thinking this system was highly inefficient. He could not understand how having his name would make his room any better; he merely wanted to have a place to sleep. “Now may I go?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. MacVeen, we still have to take care of the bill. How would you like to pay for the room? Will it be Visa, MasterCard, or American Express?”
“What are you talking about? I would just like a place to sleep.”
“Yes, sir, I understand. You will have to pay for the room first.”
“What? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Who’s in charge around here?” Petre began speaking louder and looking around for someone else to be more helpful.
“I’m sorry, Mr. MacVeen. I don’t know of any place around here where you will be staying for free unless you want to try the Salvation Army downtown.”
“I don’t need an Army; I need a room.” Petre leaned forward menacingly and scowled fiercely at the woman until she backed up a step. Feeling vindicated, Petre turned away from the desk and walked through the lobby. He could hear a commotion behind him as he was not heading toward the door, but rather toward the silver, sliding doors where he noticed other people were heading. They must all be staying in rooms, and he would just pick one for himself.
“Sir! Wait, sir. You can’t go in the elevator without a room reservation!” the receptionist yelled out.
Petre stepped around a crowd of people and once again cloaked himself with his shield until he was unseen. He entered the elevator and smiled as he witnessed the commotion left behind in the lobby as a search began for him. The doors closed and the elevator moved up several floors in a matter of seconds. Everyone got out, so he did as well.
He watched secretly as he noticed people using cards swiped across the silver boxes to gain entry to their rooms. With a grin, he walked to the end of the long hall and knocked on a door. No sounds issued from within, so he used his mental power to trigger the lock to open. With no one the wiser, he entered the room and shut the door behind him.
The windows across the way were the only source of illumination as they reflected the city lights into the room. Petre had no idea how to turn on the lights and then shrugged indifference as he could create his own with the elemy. He could see the crisply made bed several feet in front of him. It was terribly inviting, and he was exhausted. He laid down with a gusty sigh and immediately fell asleep.
Chapter Eighteen
SHEMALLA CAME UP from the basement with the box of brochures in her arm. It had taken her much longer than it should have in the disorganized mess and she was more than a little frustrated with whoever had last brought in the shipment. It was not hard to maintain an order if only a little time were invested at the start. She shook her head and marched through the museum to return to the entrance.
Luckily there were only a few patrons as of yet, so she set the box on the floor in the main lobby and knelt to open it. She used her box knife to carefully unseal the container without damaging any of the brochures; another pet peeve of hers when the other workers carelessly destroyed the top ten brochures by cutting too deep. Her focus was solely on her task and she never even noticed when the people began to walk by her.
What did catch her attention was when she overheard the word “Tuala” spoken nearby. Almost as if it had been said with a loudspeaker, her head shot up, and her eyes turned in the direction from which she believed it had come. She stared as she recognized the three people standing not even ten feet away from her in the lobby.
Slowly she stood up and began walking toward the family she never dreamt of meeting in person. “Amanda?” she asked as she got closer. “Is that really you, Amanda?”
Amanda looked away from her father and saw Shemalla for the first time. Her eyes grew round, and she grabbed for her mother’s arm to keep her steady. “You know my name? How?”
“It’s a long story, and I’m not going to give you another déjà vu moment which I’m sure you’re already experiencing just by seeing me. I’m going to tell my boss I need the rest of today off and I’ll meet you in the parking lot in five minutes. Will that work for you?” She waited long enough to see Amanda nod slowly before she turned and rushed away.
Her heart was racing with excitement, yet she had no idea what it could possibly mean that Amanda and her parents had come to Tuala to seek her out. Now she knew why she had felt so out of sorts for the last day or so; it was because of her premonition about this meeting to come. She said a quick prayer for guidance even as she entered her manager’s office.
“I need the rest of today off. I’m sorry, an emergency has come up, and I have to leave right now. Please say you understand.” Shemalla practically implored him to acquiesce without a fight. Much to her surprise, he nodded.
“Will you be back tomorrow?”
“I’m not sure. Can I call you in the morning to let you know?”
“Sure, sure. I can see you won’t be any good to me in your current state. Get out of here and take care of your emergency. Let me know if I can do anything to help, okay
?”
“Thank you so much for understanding!” Shemalla gushed as she rushed out of his office and into the employee locker room to get her purse and keys. It would have been faster to have used elemy to bring her things to her, but she had made a promise to refrain from using her powers unless it was absolutely necessary. With her possessions in hand, she bolted toward the back door and burst through it, surprising another co-worker who was on a smoke break. “Sorry,” called back over her shoulder as she continued to run out to the parking lot.
She searched ahead of her and almost burst out laughing to see the Covington family standing beside a white 4-Runner, the replica of the one she had seen before. With her target in sight, she slowed down to catch her breath. By the time she came within speaking distance, she had calmed herself enough to make more sense.
Shemalla turned to Amanda and said, “I assume you still remember how to get to my house. Do you want to follow me?”
“Sure,” Amanda said even as a small grin appeared on her face. She could hardly wait to find out more about Shemalla and how she came to know all about her without actually ever meeting her. Maybe Shemalla’s story was even more fantastic than her own, which gave her quite a thrill since she had felt like a freak on more than one occasion as she told her story to others.
“What kind of car do you drive?” Chris asked, ever the practical guy.
“Amanda knows,” Shemalla assured him as she turned to go to her own vehicle.
“She’s right, Dad. Let’s get into the truck and get ready for our next adventure.” Already, Amanda had her hand on the handle of the door and opened it.
Chris reached around Diane and opened her door before he went around the front of the vehicle to get into the driver’s seat.
Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set Page 40
