Eleanor (14 page)

Hello, Eleanor.

Will’s friendly greeting made her smile. When she had visited Freddie’s mind she had seen Freddie burning in front of her, but this was different. It was like Will had an empty, white-washed room in his head and their awareness filled it. She felt his friendly curiosity all around her.
 

Hello, Will. Are all men’s minds this empty?

Will’s laughter echoed around the empty space.
No, Eleanor, contrary to popular belief, guys do have occasional thoughts. You’re not in my mind. Think of this as an antechamber, a space where we can talk. I can choose what to say to you, what to show you
–
my thoughts are my own.

Show me?

I can show you my memories if I wish to, let you feel my emotions, just as you can show me yours if you want to.

Wow, we can mind-meld?

Will laughed again.
Yes, you could call it that. Conlan’s right
–
you have watched too much TV!

Eleanor giggled.
Can you feel Conlan?

Sort of…
I know he’s there, and I’ve tried reaching him in the past, but there’s something blocking me, shielding him from my attempts. If I get too close he tries to pull energy from me. It’s not a very pleasant experience. The last time he tried I responded instinctively with such force I almost killed him. Generally, I try to keep my distance.

Eleanor received several flashes of Will’s memories, occasions they had tried to connect in the past, with Conlan lying in an unconscious, crumpled heap.

Have you explained this to him?
Eleanor felt a strong surge of guilt from Will and even stronger feelings of concern and devotion.

Until you arrived we were never going to get it to work anyway, so I didn’t see much point in crushing his hopes
, Will said.
We’re doing something wrong, aren’t we?

Yes
, Eleanor agreed.
I can’t imagine we’re meant to feel like our insides are being ripped out, so there must be another way. Do you mind if I try pulling your energy from you?
Will’s presence faded slightly and Eleanor got the impression he had just taken a mental step away from her.
 

I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Eleanor. I did Conlan quite a bit of damage the last time, I could kill you.
 

Eleanor shrugged.
I’m willing to take the risk; I need to know what’s possible, if I’m going to figure this out.
 

Will snorted.
Arrogant, aren’t you?
 

Eleanor smiled.
No, just determined.
 

OK, but be careful,
Will warned.

Getting as firm a hold on Will’s energy as possible, she carefully began absorbing it. When Will did not react, she focused all her concentration into pulling as much energy from him as she could. It was like drinking water. It felt like her stomach was filling to bursting point with cold liquid, but the more she drank, the more she wanted. The effort it was taking was pushing her towards exhaustion, but she was taking so much energy she found she could keep the fatigue at bay. It was a rather unpleasant feeling having Will’s energy slosh around inside her, like her own energy was drowning. She heard voices in the distance, someone yelling her name. A sudden stinging pain snapped her eyes back open. Conlan was kneeling in front of her. He seemed on the edge of panic.
This is very unlike him
, a detached part of Eleanor’s mind observed. He slapped her face a second time as he yelled.

“Eleanor! Stop!”

The detached part of her mind knew there must be something wrong, but another, much stronger part felt only the pain. Angry, she fought back, releasing all the energy she had pulled from Will directly at Conlan. His eyes widened in agony as it hit him and coursed through every cell in his body like thousands of volts of electricity. He collapsed writhing onto the floor, his gasping, tormented cries filling Eleanor’s head and reverberating through her stupefied brain.

“Eleanor, stop it, you’re going to kill him!” Amelia shrieked.

“I’m trying!” Eleanor said through gritted teeth, as she tried desperately to pull the energy back, but once released it flowed from her – she had no control. While there was no let-up in the onslaught Eleanor had unleashed on him, Conlan’s movements were getting weaker, his cries reduced to whimpering sobs. Freddie moved to her side.
 

“Sorry, Eleanor,” he whispered, and then he struck her across the head, a teeth-rattling blow administered with something hard and solid. Consciousness did not leave completely, but it was enough to break her focus, making everything distant and hazy. Without focus, the energy she was releasing dissipated around her, making the air crackle with ozone. She slumped forward, feeling blood running with warm lethargy through her hair. Freddie caught her and gently lowered her to the ground, then went to check on Conlan. Eleanor watched, through eyes she could barely keep open, as Conlan stopped writhing. He rolled painfully onto his back, panting. His limbs twitched sporadically, but he waved away Freddie’s attempt to assist him.
 

“Help Will,” he insisted, his voice hoarse.
 

Looking beyond Conlan, Eleanor could see Will. He lay on the ground, eyes closed, unnaturally still; Amelia knelt beside him, frantically moving her hands over his neck and then placing her head on his chest.

“Freddie, he’s not breathing,” she said, fear making her voice squeak.

Fighting to stay conscious, Eleanor watched Freddie start chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth in an attempt to kick-start Will’s automotive responses.
What have I done?
Despite the effort Freddie was putting into his CPR, Will showed no signs of improvement. Eleanor closed her eyes in despair, tears intensifying the throbbing pain in her head. With her eyes closed, she felt something; it was faint, but it was there. Will’s string of energy, still entwined with hers, pulsed weakly.
I drained the life from him, literally.
I guess our energy isn’t limitless.
Although it seemed even a limited amount could do damage. A thought occurred to her that if she could pull his life from him when she pulled his energy, she could help him by giving him energy back. She had none of Will’s energy left, as most of it had ripped through Conlan and the rest dissipated around her, but she had her own energy and there was always Freddie’s energy. Eleanor tried to focus on Will, but he felt too far away. It was like pushing a huge boulder up a steep hill.
I need to be closer.
She rolled herself onto all fours, and fighting the black wave of nausea and dizziness she forced herself upright. With slow, unsteady steps she walked over to Will, dropping to her knees near his head; she reached out a hand to touch his face. Amelia grabbed it.

“What are you doing? Haven’t you done enough damage? Leave him alone!” she yelled, her eyes wet grey stone.

“Let me help,” Eleanor whispered, distressed by how tiring uttering just those three words had been.

“How?” Amelia asked suspiciously.

“I don’t have time to explain.”
 

For what felt to Eleanor like an eternity, Amelia kept a firm grip on her wrist until Freddie pulled her free, taking Amelia’s hand in his.
 

“He’s dying, Amelia, CPR isn’t working, let Eleanor try. Will has nothing to lose at this point.” Staring down at Will’s lifeless body, Amelia nodded, her tears dripping off the end of her nose.
 

Eleanor placed her hand against Will’s face and concentrated on finding the faint pulse of life. She found it, but it was fading fast. She grabbed hold, and with all the force she could muster pushed the glowing green energy from the ball in her stomach into Will. At first nothing happened. Then gradually the pulse strengthened, there was the sensation that her heart was straining, beating for two, as Will’s heart jump-started, finding its own rhythm. She took slow, deep breaths until Will’s breathing mirrored her own. She pushed more energy into him, surprised at how little effort it took when they were touching – far less than pulling energy out. She felt her own energy level dropping, pushing her rapidly towards the looming darkness, and she realised in dismay that she could not take energy from Freddie because she no longer had the strength to pull it from him. The energy she had would have to be enough. With one last burst of effort, Eleanor sent out as much energy as she could. Not having the strength to hold herself up, she slid slowly down, laying her head gently on Will’s shoulder. Her consciousness started spiralling into the silent black, but as it did Eleanor heard the most wonderful sound. It was Will’s voice, confused and tired, but very much alive.
 

“What happened?”

Power

It was the voices that pulled Eleanor up from the bottomless black – loud voices, angry. She was lying in her bed, a thick, hot, itchy bandage wrapped round her head. The fog in her mind lifted slightly and the voices started making sense.

“She nearly killed you!”
 

A yelling female voice.
Amelia.
Then more conversation, too low for Eleanor to make out the words.
I need to get up; I have to tell them I’m sorry.
That meant opening her eyes and moving. Her whole body ached miserably and there was a steady, mind-numbing pounding in her head. She took a couple of deep breaths and opened her eyes a fraction. A candle burned on the floor beside her bed, casting dancing shadows across the cave. Opening her eyes the rest of the way she squinted in an attempt to bring into focus what she could see, and then she carefully tried to sit up. Her muscles protested and the pain in her head reached a screaming crescendo, but taking short, quick breaths she pushed through the pain, swung her legs off the bed and managed to get herself standing. Walking slowly, feeling sick, Eleanor moved in the direction of the voices. The bandage, made loose by her movement, slipped slightly down her face. She pulled it off, wincing as it rubbed the damage on the back of her head. She probed the area cautiously with her fingers; there was a large raised bruise and a long, scabbed over gash.
What did Freddie hit me with?
She moved into the main cave. Conlan, Will and Amelia were sat round the fire, their backs to her, while Freddie was swinging a sword backwards and forwards in the training cave.
 

“… didn’t mean to hurt me Amelia,” Will was saying.

“I don’t care whether she meant it or not, she nearly killed you both. She should have known better!” Amelia snapped.

“Why should she have known better?” Conlan asked.

“Will told her it was dangerous…”

“No, I told her it might be dangerous for her,” Will corrected.

“The fact still remains that her ‘experiments’ with Freddie and Will are the closest we have come to getting the connection working. She doesn’t follow orders, she follows her own intuition, and as much as you want her punished, Amelia, I don’t think beating that out of her is going the help us,” Conlan said.
 

“She left you writhing on the floor in agony while she sucked the life out of Will and you’re just going to let that go? Aren’t either of you the slightest bit frightened of the power she possesses?” Amelia asked bitterly.
 

Feeling dread crawl up her back on tiny needle claws, Eleanor stepped a little further forward.

“It was actually the other way round,” she said quietly. They turned to look at her, Amelia glaring pure loathing.
 

“What was the other way round?” Conlan asked, regarding her with a cold, emotionless expression.

“I sucked the life out of Will when I pulled the energy out of him and it was his energy I used to … to…”

“To attack me,” Conlan finished flatly.

Amelia, fury in her eyes, jumped to her feet and charged, bringing Eleanor down in a tangle of arms and legs and slamming her head into the ground. Amelia made no sound – she just punched and kicked at every piece of vulnerable flesh she could reach. Dazed and struggling to stay conscious, Eleanor made no attempt to protect herself. This was Amelia and if Amelia was trying to hurt her, it must surely be justified. The beating stopped as Will pulled the furious woman off. He held Amelia close, stroking her hair as she sobbed brokenly into his chest. Eleanor pulled herself up onto her knees, feeling utterly wretched, and forced herself to look at Conlan’s face, searching it for some sign that he understood she had not meant to hurt him, had not meant to hurt anyone. All she found was cold disapproval.

“I’m sorry, I’ll accept any punishment you want,” she whispered, dropping her head, not able to meet Conlan’s eyes anymore, not able to deal with the sick feeling churning through her insides. She wanted to say something else, something that would help them understand, but the throbbing in her head was making coherent thoughts difficult. The silence stretched out, and before it ended Eleanor slid gratefully back into unconsciousness. In her last moment of awareness she felt strong arms stop her headlong flight towards the floor.

Eleanor woke again with the feeling that something was wrong, intuition shooting fear through her heart. Although there was no sound, she could feel screeching vibrations through every nerve ending in her body. There was nobody in sight, so moving carefully she got herself standing again. The fuzzy, vomit-inspiring dizziness was less than before, but the throbbing in her head was still a steady, monotonous pounding. She shuffled slowly out into the main cave. Will and Amelia were side by side in the kitchen, preparing food and talking quietly to each other, and they seemed fine. Judging from the noise coming from the training cave, Conlan and Freddie were sparring. Not wanting to risk Amelia’s wrath, Eleanor shuffled quietly over to the entrance of the training cave and sat to watch. Conlan and Freddie’s swords were a blur as they traded blows backwards and forwards. Freddie seemed to be putting rather more effort into it than was strictly required. Eleanor focused and the vibrations jumped up a gear. Freddie’s eyes were blazing, reaching out she felt how dangerously elevated his energy was, and watching his movements she realised he was fighting to win. Conlan seemed oblivious and was clearly enjoying himself.
One slip up and Freddie’s going to skewer you
. The thought had no sooner surfaced when Conlan caught his foot on a loose stone. He only lost his balance for a heartbeat, but it was enough. Freddie was on him, heavy overhead blows pushing him further off balance. Panicked, Eleanor reacted instinctively and began siphoning as much of Freddie’s energy from him as she was able – far more and far quicker than she ever had before, realising too late that it was not going to naturally dissipate, she was building up power too fast. It was beginning to make her energy ball glow and become hotter; the effort pushed her battered, damaged body towards another shutdown. She silently berated herself while frantically trying to think of a solution to the problem. She wracked her brains and suddenly the image of fork lightning hitting the ground filled her mind.