you're likely to find yourself on beach in the south of France, working on your tan. Have a bath and then come out and we'll talk.”
He left, the dagger clutched in his hand and closed the door softly behind him.
The relief of finally being able to pee washed all other emotions away briefly. Then the warm water of the bath managed to soothe the rest. I let myself drift off to sleep, my head resting on the edge of the bath as my body floated in the water.
I didn't dream. I didn't think of anything. But when the water started to cool and I woke up again, I felt a little better. Not whole, still so very empty, but enough of a shell of a body to be able to get on with life for now.
Avery was once again picture perfectly coiffed when I ventured out into the room. He looked up from where he had been sitting on the couch and watched me as I straightened the bed covers and then traipsed to the kitchen in search of food. After coffee and a quick sandwich I sat down on the edge of the bed and forced myself to look at him. His eyes met mine and held them. Neither of us moved an inch.
Finally, he said, “Ms. Monk, if you can do what you did last night and just now with your Light, then you can do anything. I was shielded last night, prepared as your thoughts had already betrayed you, yet unable to stop your attack at all. This morning, I was physically incapacitated for some time, the only chance I had of holding you captive was to manipulate your mind. But I had been prepared. Others would not be. You'd get one shot and one shot only, but it may be enough. They would be as good as defenceless." He paused, letting that all sink in. "You don't need me to train you to use your Light as a shield. You just need to get the hell on and do it.”
Easier said than done. When I didn't reply, but just sat there motionless staring at him, he went on. “I think you need to take the night off from the bar and we'll work on convincing you just how powerful your Light can be.”
I shook my head and flicked a glance at my wall clock. Still a couple of hours until I had to be at work.
“You've got two hours, Rousseau, then I'm out of here.” I couldn't bear the thought of being in his presence longer than that. I needed a break. From him. From this flat. Hell, from life, but I'd settle for a change of scenery and a rowdy beach crowd of drunks.
“If you haven't mastered it in two hours, then you don't go to work.” He said it like it was a fact. I just shrugged in reply, not having enough energy to bite back.
His first attack wasn't subtle. Maybe he was letting me find my feet with the obvious. But, Pina Coladas on an obviously Hawaiian beach with the sun pelting down and the palm trees swaying in the breeze, wasn't hard to see for what it was. An illusion. I let Michel's naked body stalk closer to me for a moment, enjoying the scene and then slammed my shields home and pushed Avery from my mind with my Light. It wasn't instinctive, but I wouldn't have admitted that to him to save myself. I'd get better, with practice.
Luckily, he wasn't ready to pull the plug on this little adventure down insanity lane.
The next attack was less blatant. In fact I was several minutes into it, making out with Michel in his chamber in Sensations when it occurred to me, Michel was dead. I bit back a cry of pain and sent my Light out at the source of the illusion like a whip. I came to in my Copacabana flat with Avery rolling around on the floor, holding his hands to his head.
He continued to writhe on the floor in agony, so I wasn't prepared for the third attack, expecting him to need to recover before launching in on my mind again. This one felt real. Avery must have put more oomph into it or something, because I didn't fight it, like I had started to the rest. I accepted Michel sitting across from me at Sensations , him drinking his Scotch straight, me with my Bacardi and Coke. Doug was even there, bringing me a sandwich on a silver tray. Michel was
He left, the dagger clutched in his hand and closed the door softly behind him.
The relief of finally being able to pee washed all other emotions away briefly. Then the warm water of the bath managed to soothe the rest. I let myself drift off to sleep, my head resting on the edge of the bath as my body floated in the water.
I didn't dream. I didn't think of anything. But when the water started to cool and I woke up again, I felt a little better. Not whole, still so very empty, but enough of a shell of a body to be able to get on with life for now.
Avery was once again picture perfectly coiffed when I ventured out into the room. He looked up from where he had been sitting on the couch and watched me as I straightened the bed covers and then traipsed to the kitchen in search of food. After coffee and a quick sandwich I sat down on the edge of the bed and forced myself to look at him. His eyes met mine and held them. Neither of us moved an inch.
Finally, he said, “Ms. Monk, if you can do what you did last night and just now with your Light, then you can do anything. I was shielded last night, prepared as your thoughts had already betrayed you, yet unable to stop your attack at all. This morning, I was physically incapacitated for some time, the only chance I had of holding you captive was to manipulate your mind. But I had been prepared. Others would not be. You'd get one shot and one shot only, but it may be enough. They would be as good as defenceless." He paused, letting that all sink in. "You don't need me to train you to use your Light as a shield. You just need to get the hell on and do it.”
Easier said than done. When I didn't reply, but just sat there motionless staring at him, he went on. “I think you need to take the night off from the bar and we'll work on convincing you just how powerful your Light can be.”
I shook my head and flicked a glance at my wall clock. Still a couple of hours until I had to be at work.
“You've got two hours, Rousseau, then I'm out of here.” I couldn't bear the thought of being in his presence longer than that. I needed a break. From him. From this flat. Hell, from life, but I'd settle for a change of scenery and a rowdy beach crowd of drunks.
“If you haven't mastered it in two hours, then you don't go to work.” He said it like it was a fact. I just shrugged in reply, not having enough energy to bite back.
His first attack wasn't subtle. Maybe he was letting me find my feet with the obvious. But, Pina Coladas on an obviously Hawaiian beach with the sun pelting down and the palm trees swaying in the breeze, wasn't hard to see for what it was. An illusion. I let Michel's naked body stalk closer to me for a moment, enjoying the scene and then slammed my shields home and pushed Avery from my mind with my Light. It wasn't instinctive, but I wouldn't have admitted that to him to save myself. I'd get better, with practice.
Luckily, he wasn't ready to pull the plug on this little adventure down insanity lane.
The next attack was less blatant. In fact I was several minutes into it, making out with Michel in his chamber in Sensations when it occurred to me, Michel was dead. I bit back a cry of pain and sent my Light out at the source of the illusion like a whip. I came to in my Copacabana flat with Avery rolling around on the floor, holding his hands to his head.
He continued to writhe on the floor in agony, so I wasn't prepared for the third attack, expecting him to need to recover before launching in on my mind again. This one felt real. Avery must have put more oomph into it or something, because I didn't fight it, like I had started to the rest. I accepted Michel sitting across from me at Sensations , him drinking his Scotch straight, me with my Bacardi and Coke. Doug was even there, bringing me a sandwich on a silver tray. Michel was
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