Read Online Divided against Yourselves (Spell Weaver) by Bill Hiatt - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Bill Hiatt
Tags: young adult fantasy
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my “unexplained breakdown” (for which read, “the awakening of the memories of all my previous lives,”) I had a hard enough time convincing them that I was normal again, without trying to convince them I was normal despite believing I was a reincarnation of the original Taliesin. “Yeah, Dad, I can do magic, but I’m not crazy…really, I’m not.” Doesn’t sound like the world’s best strategy, does it?
I don’t want you thinking either one of them was stupid. Actually, they were both pretty sharp. What can I say? A little strategically planned sleep here, a little memory erasure there, a bit of illusion somewhere else, and I could keep them from noticing anything unusual. I didn’t like doing that kind of thing, but in the last four years that pattern had become so automatic I didn’t really think about it most of the time; I did it almost reflexively.
In my defense I couldn’t tell them when they were worried about my sanity, and I had since gotten the hint (from the rulers of Annwn, delivered through Nurse Florence) that I must not tell anybody else about myself. In other words, I couldn’t really tell them now, even if I wanted to. For better or worse, I had to settle for a well-crafted lie that at least kept them happy and out of harm’s way—I hoped. I couldn’t restrain a slight shudder, thinking about how much danger they would be in if Morgan figured out I was trying to play her.
“Tal, are you cold?” asked Mom in a concerned tone. “You’re shivering.”
“No, I’m fine, Mom,” I said, making a mental note to be extra careful for a while. Maybe it was just maternal instinct, but she really did have an uncanny way of sensing when something was wrong. She had seemed to sense danger if I went to Carrie Winn’s Halloween party, where I could very well have died, and now…”
I looked at her casually, trying to conceal the fact that I was studying her. She definitely looked better rested than she had in the bad old days of October, and really most of the past four years. She almost looked younger. Her brown hair was still liberally sprinkled with gray, but the absence of the perpetually worried expression helped smooth out some of those wrinkles, and she definitely looked less saggy. However, her blue eyes still betrayed a slight concern as she looked back at me across the table.
I tried to avoid reading people’s minds unless in cases of emergency, and I did not break that rule this time, but there was something different about Mom, something I couldn’t quite figure out. Then the truth hit me, and I jumped slightly despite myself.
I could feel psychic energy coming from her.
Oh, don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t much, a mere whisper compared to the shout that my power could create. Still, it was more than the average person would broadcast, and it could pose problems later because it would make her at least marginally more resistant to my mental manipulations.
“Tal, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost!” said Mom, reacting to my sudden movement.
“No, I just remembered I still have reading to do for English. I’d better get to it. May I be excused?”
Mom was clearly still worried, but Dad intervened at that point. “Sure! Get the homework done. You’ve had too many late nights recently as it is.” Then he shot Mom a leave-the-boy-alone; you’re-worrying-about-nothing expression. She nodded vaguely at both of us, suddenly preoccupied. Dad winked at me and smiled. He didn’t look as obviously younger as Mom, but he too was clearly better rested. I would have to keep it that way.
I got upstairs quickly and closed the door quietly but firmly. Then, instead of doing English homework, which I had actually squeezed in earlier, right before soccer practice, I planned. Nurse Florence and I had our work cut out for us. We needed protective spells for ourselves, our families, hell, maybe the whole town. I had no illusions about really being able to do a protective spell
I don’t want you thinking either one of them was stupid. Actually, they were both pretty sharp. What can I say? A little strategically planned sleep here, a little memory erasure there, a bit of illusion somewhere else, and I could keep them from noticing anything unusual. I didn’t like doing that kind of thing, but in the last four years that pattern had become so automatic I didn’t really think about it most of the time; I did it almost reflexively.
In my defense I couldn’t tell them when they were worried about my sanity, and I had since gotten the hint (from the rulers of Annwn, delivered through Nurse Florence) that I must not tell anybody else about myself. In other words, I couldn’t really tell them now, even if I wanted to. For better or worse, I had to settle for a well-crafted lie that at least kept them happy and out of harm’s way—I hoped. I couldn’t restrain a slight shudder, thinking about how much danger they would be in if Morgan figured out I was trying to play her.
“Tal, are you cold?” asked Mom in a concerned tone. “You’re shivering.”
“No, I’m fine, Mom,” I said, making a mental note to be extra careful for a while. Maybe it was just maternal instinct, but she really did have an uncanny way of sensing when something was wrong. She had seemed to sense danger if I went to Carrie Winn’s Halloween party, where I could very well have died, and now…”
I looked at her casually, trying to conceal the fact that I was studying her. She definitely looked better rested than she had in the bad old days of October, and really most of the past four years. She almost looked younger. Her brown hair was still liberally sprinkled with gray, but the absence of the perpetually worried expression helped smooth out some of those wrinkles, and she definitely looked less saggy. However, her blue eyes still betrayed a slight concern as she looked back at me across the table.
I tried to avoid reading people’s minds unless in cases of emergency, and I did not break that rule this time, but there was something different about Mom, something I couldn’t quite figure out. Then the truth hit me, and I jumped slightly despite myself.
I could feel psychic energy coming from her.
Oh, don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t much, a mere whisper compared to the shout that my power could create. Still, it was more than the average person would broadcast, and it could pose problems later because it would make her at least marginally more resistant to my mental manipulations.
“Tal, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost!” said Mom, reacting to my sudden movement.
“No, I just remembered I still have reading to do for English. I’d better get to it. May I be excused?”
Mom was clearly still worried, but Dad intervened at that point. “Sure! Get the homework done. You’ve had too many late nights recently as it is.” Then he shot Mom a leave-the-boy-alone; you’re-worrying-about-nothing expression. She nodded vaguely at both of us, suddenly preoccupied. Dad winked at me and smiled. He didn’t look as obviously younger as Mom, but he too was clearly better rested. I would have to keep it that way.
I got upstairs quickly and closed the door quietly but firmly. Then, instead of doing English homework, which I had actually squeezed in earlier, right before soccer practice, I planned. Nurse Florence and I had our work cut out for us. We needed protective spells for ourselves, our families, hell, maybe the whole town. I had no illusions about really being able to do a protective spell
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