Read Online ORDER OF SEVEN by Beth Teliho - Free Book Online

The tension in the air is so thick it’s like another person in the room. I fumble with my charm bracelet, thinking of something to say. Finally, “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Of course.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me this at Nodin’s apartment? With the others?”
    “It felt too personal. In a sense, you’ve been with me for years. And there you were tonight, in the flesh. It felt like I should tell you first.”
    My protective wall splits in two. Large chunks fall away, leaving giant gaps in the facade.
    I hear a tiny beep sound twice, indicating two in the morning. Baron looks at his watch and sighs. “I guess I better go. I do have a competition in the morning.” He stands to leave.
    I’m both devastated and relieved as he gets his jacket and we walk to the door. “I’ll tell the guys about the symbols tomorrow,” he says, putting his jacket on as we walk across the lawn.
    At his Jeep, he turns to me. A cold breeze brushes past me and I shiver. He opens his arms and I don’t consider hesitating. I wilt against him, warming, the energy thrumming.
    His thoughts come trickling in, crumbling the last of my wall into a giant heap of dust. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave her. The intimacy between us is completely illogical, but I give zero fucks. These feelings are new to me and thrilling, and I wouldn’t dare get off this ride.
    He nuzzles his face in my hair. We stay like this for several minutes and I notice something feels weird. My muscles twitch with mounting tension and I don’t understand why.
    “Something’s wrong,” I whisper, my hands balled into fists. “I feel...” I struggle to articulate it. “Hot and angry.” I step back and look at my hands. They’re shaking.
    Baron looks around me. “I know. I see it. Your aura looks like a thunderstorm brewing.”
    I wince. “That’s creepy. Why is it happening?”
    ”I have a hunch. Let’s try something. Stand back a minute. No touching.”
    I do as he says. The energy gets erratic again, whirling around us like fireflies on cocaine and the pressure on my ears returns. I wait while he watches me, or around me, really. After a few minutes, he asks how I feel.
    I exhale slowly. “Better, yeah.” I look down at my now steady hands. “But the energy between us is strong again.”
    He nods. “I think I know what’s going on.” He pauses as if gathering his thoughts. “When we are touching, at first, you’re shades of yellow again because you’re doing what you’re made to do, you’re channeling. That’s why it feels so much better. Initially. After a few minutes, your energy is getting blocked, and evidently pretty pissed about it.” He looks around me.
    “Why is it blocked?”
    “Because I can only receive so much. There’s an interruption. Your body is trying hard to channel into an infinite space, but instead it’s flowing into a finite space: me.” He leans against his Jeep. “How does it feel when you’re with your tree?”
    I take a deep breath. “Transcendent.”
    “Exactly, because you’re channeling the energy somewhere—most likely back into the atmosphere—and you retain some, which is why your aura is freaking enormous.”
    “So what does this mean?” I ask.
    “Well, it means when we’re around each other, the energy will be chaotic and uncomfortable. And when we touch, it’ll feel great, but that’ll only last until the interruption of energy becomes a problem.”
    “Can you do anything about it? You can alter energy, can’t you?”
    Baron considers this for a minute. “I could try. I might be able to take some from you, calm it and return it. It wouldn’t work for long, but it could settle things down. Like putting a cup of cold water in a boiling pot. It’ll cool at first, but eventually it’ll be up to boiling again.”
    “How do I look now?”
    He takes my hands, and the pulses course through us like a river. “Yellow,” he says with a little grin.
    “So it took at least five,