Read Online Unforgiven by Stephanie Erickson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Stephanie Erickson
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work’ starts.”
Owen laughed out loud. “She’s right. Control is hard to master. It was a strange task for me. It didn’t feel right, controlling someone else.” He shrugged, keeping his tone lighthearted. “But it saved my skin more than a few times, so I’m glad I learned it.”
Finally, Mitchell chimed in. “Control can be a slippery slope. Make sure you keep your footing.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, so I decided not to dwell on it. “Well, that’ll be for another day. Tomorrow, I beef up my defenses.”
“You can do better than a snowplow,” Mitchell said without looking up from his plate.
“Like what, Mitch?” I asked.
“Anything you want. Use your imagination.” He said it so matter-of-factly and didn’t elaborate on my options.
“What’s yours like?”
Mitchell smiled out of one side of his mouth. “You’ll never have to find out if you know what’s good for you.”
Owen laughed. “We all know better than to go traipsing through your cobwebs, Mitch. I already feel sorry for the poor sap that tries to get into your head, Mac.”
I looked up at him and smiled; he’d already gotten into my head, and without having to scale a fence or deal with death by puppy. Despite the way I’d basically ignored him since Maddie, I couldn’t imagine having to go through any of this without him. Maddie’s death had ended the burning infatuation that had kept him at the forefront of my mind constantly, but it hadn’t snuffed the flame out completely. Instead, it had left slow, burning hot coals that kept me warm at night.
Reaching across the table to grab his hand, I simply said, “Indeed.”
The next morning, Tracy started teaching me about building up my defenses, adding traps, and pushing people out. “I don’t usually spend special lessons on this, since most people just adapt things they’ve seen other people do, but I thought we might have fun experimenting with it.”
I nodded, and she went on. “Your defenses are only limited by your imagination. Mine have a military feel because that’s how I was trained. It’s what I respond to best, and where I feel most at home. Yours don’t have to look like that.”
“Is there anything special I should keep in mind?”
She shrugged. “Your defenses must serve one purpose: keeping intruders out. It doesn’t matter how. Fear of harm, confusion, and the feeling of sheer defeat are all capable of repelling your enemies.”
The word confusion caught my ear. I didn’t care to have some terror-riddled landscape in my head, so the idea intrigued me. My haze could add to the confusion. Despite the fact that I didn’t want to keep it around forever, I might as well get good use out of it while it was there.
“But, if I confuse someone badly enough for them to get lost in my head, wouldn’t they just remain there indefinitely?”
Tracy nodded. “Assuming you didn’t know they were there. But the main point of your defenses is to arm yourself against unknown attacks. You already know how to push someone out. If you confuse them long enough to find them, you should be able to get them out yourself.”
“Assuming you know to look for them.”
She nodded, and we were quiet for a few moments.
“How are you feeling?” Tracy asked me, changing gears rather abruptly.
“Fine, why?”
“As I told you the other day, I hesitate to enter a grieving mind.”
“Why would you have to?”
“To test your new defenses, of course.” She thought for a moment. “I’m going to get a third party observer in here. Someone who can talk us through a rescue if needed.”
A rescue? I didn’t want to hurt her. “Tracy, we don’t—” However, she’d already walked out of the room. My mouth dried as I considered all the things that could possibly go wrong that would require a third person to step in and help. The original excitement I felt over this “fun” training day turned to dread as I waited for her to come back.
David came
Owen laughed out loud. “She’s right. Control is hard to master. It was a strange task for me. It didn’t feel right, controlling someone else.” He shrugged, keeping his tone lighthearted. “But it saved my skin more than a few times, so I’m glad I learned it.”
Finally, Mitchell chimed in. “Control can be a slippery slope. Make sure you keep your footing.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, so I decided not to dwell on it. “Well, that’ll be for another day. Tomorrow, I beef up my defenses.”
“You can do better than a snowplow,” Mitchell said without looking up from his plate.
“Like what, Mitch?” I asked.
“Anything you want. Use your imagination.” He said it so matter-of-factly and didn’t elaborate on my options.
“What’s yours like?”
Mitchell smiled out of one side of his mouth. “You’ll never have to find out if you know what’s good for you.”
Owen laughed. “We all know better than to go traipsing through your cobwebs, Mitch. I already feel sorry for the poor sap that tries to get into your head, Mac.”
I looked up at him and smiled; he’d already gotten into my head, and without having to scale a fence or deal with death by puppy. Despite the way I’d basically ignored him since Maddie, I couldn’t imagine having to go through any of this without him. Maddie’s death had ended the burning infatuation that had kept him at the forefront of my mind constantly, but it hadn’t snuffed the flame out completely. Instead, it had left slow, burning hot coals that kept me warm at night.
Reaching across the table to grab his hand, I simply said, “Indeed.”
The next morning, Tracy started teaching me about building up my defenses, adding traps, and pushing people out. “I don’t usually spend special lessons on this, since most people just adapt things they’ve seen other people do, but I thought we might have fun experimenting with it.”
I nodded, and she went on. “Your defenses are only limited by your imagination. Mine have a military feel because that’s how I was trained. It’s what I respond to best, and where I feel most at home. Yours don’t have to look like that.”
“Is there anything special I should keep in mind?”
She shrugged. “Your defenses must serve one purpose: keeping intruders out. It doesn’t matter how. Fear of harm, confusion, and the feeling of sheer defeat are all capable of repelling your enemies.”
The word confusion caught my ear. I didn’t care to have some terror-riddled landscape in my head, so the idea intrigued me. My haze could add to the confusion. Despite the fact that I didn’t want to keep it around forever, I might as well get good use out of it while it was there.
“But, if I confuse someone badly enough for them to get lost in my head, wouldn’t they just remain there indefinitely?”
Tracy nodded. “Assuming you didn’t know they were there. But the main point of your defenses is to arm yourself against unknown attacks. You already know how to push someone out. If you confuse them long enough to find them, you should be able to get them out yourself.”
“Assuming you know to look for them.”
She nodded, and we were quiet for a few moments.
“How are you feeling?” Tracy asked me, changing gears rather abruptly.
“Fine, why?”
“As I told you the other day, I hesitate to enter a grieving mind.”
“Why would you have to?”
“To test your new defenses, of course.” She thought for a moment. “I’m going to get a third party observer in here. Someone who can talk us through a rescue if needed.”
A rescue? I didn’t want to hurt her. “Tracy, we don’t—” However, she’d already walked out of the room. My mouth dried as I considered all the things that could possibly go wrong that would require a third person to step in and help. The original excitement I felt over this “fun” training day turned to dread as I waited for her to come back.
David came
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