Riley's Paradox, page 2
part #9 of Hearts of ICARUS Series
“What’s the matter?” Percy asked, his projected voice close to her ear and low enough that only she could hear him.
“I’ve had a nagging, antsy feeling all morning, and so has Fluffy,” she whispered while pretending to search for something in her bag. “I thought it was just impatience to get home, but as soon as we got up here the feeling became much stronger and now Fluffy is pacing and hissing again.”
Percy tensed, taking her katrenca’s warning very seriously. “Have you any idea what’s causing it? Or what direction it’s coming from?”
Riley shook her head in answer to the first part of his question, but before she could answer the second part a wave of dark fury slammed into her mind without warning. She gasped softly in shock when she realized it had come from Fluffy.
Usually, Riley became angry about something, and Fluffy rose up in response as though backing her up. This time, Fluffy had sensed or understood something that she’d missed. Whatever it was, Riley couldn’t waste time trying to figure it out. The greatest danger at the moment was coming from within herself.
Fluffy wanted to shift, and she wanted it now. And so did Riley. In fact, every instinct she possessed insisted that she protect her humanoid form by allowing her bigger, faster, stronger, more dangerous alter form to take over.
Clenching her jaw tightly and closing her eyes to help herself focus, Riley used the techniques the Tigrens had taught her to control and settle her emotions, and by extension, her katrenca’s emotions. At first it seemed impossible. The combination of both her and Fluffy’s fear and anger was simply too strong. Riley’s determination wavered, and her katrenca moved closer to the surface. Then a mental image of the devastation her half crazed alter form could cause on the crowded concourse filled her mind, and strengthened her resolve.
By the time she got a firm grip on her emotions she was breathing hard, and her hands were shaking, but she was in control. Not Fluffy. She let herself relax just a little, slowed her breathing, then gently began urging her katrenca to calm down and retreat.
When she opened her eyes again, it was to find Percy watching her carefully. “I’m sorry, Percy.”
“That was amazing, Riley, and there is certainly no need to apologize.”
“Amazing how?” she asked curiously.
“Amazing that you managed to hold Fluffy back,” Percy answered. “Your eyes became instantly black, including the whites, which I’ve never seen happen before. I even caught your katrenca’s scent for a few moments there.”
Riley’s eyes widened and her face paled. “Has that ever happened before?”
“No, not since I’ve known you,” Percy said. “That was very close.”
“Yes, it really was,” Riley agreed, suppressing a shudder. Apparently her time was running out faster than expected. She shied away from that thought and focused on the present.
“What happened?” Percy asked cautiously.
“Fluffy sensed something I didn’t. Whatever it was, she very nearly forced her way out because of it.”
“Can you tell me what Fluffy felt like?”
Riley paused, searching for the right word to describe what she’d felt coming from her alter form. “Like she’s being hunted.”
“Hunted?” Percy hissed.
Riley shrugged. “Correction. Fluffy felt like I was being hunted, which is why she fought so hard to get out.” Riley frowned. “I feel it now, too.”
“Which direction is it coming from?”
“I don’t know yet,” Riley replied. “It’s too broad.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
“I sense the danger clearly, and it’s growing steadily. But it seems to be coming from everywhere at once. I can’t get anything specific. No direction, no scent, nothing.”
Percy’s senses spread out, seeking any sign of danger or threat. “I feel nothing,” he said finally. He was startled to feel Riley’s sudden hurt.
He leaned forward, then turned his head awkwardly so he could look up at her. “That doesn’t mean I doubt you, Riley. It just means that your predator is more powerful than I am, and has better senses. Facts both of us already know.”
Riley glanced down at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Thanks Percy.”
“There is nothing to thank me for.” Percy paused for a moment, then added, “I know I’m an annoying pain sometimes, but I will always have your back, Riley. Yours and Fluffy’s. You know that, right?”
Riley frowned. “I’ve never actually thought about it. But now that you’ve asked, I have to say yes, I do know that.” She reached up to give his little cheek an affectionate rub with one finger. “I have your back too, Percy.”
Percy purred for a moment before catching himself. “Why have we stopped?”
“I was trying to pinpoint where the feelings are coming from without involving Fluffy too much. I thought stopping might help, which obviously failed.”
“I sense no danger from the people around us at this moment.”
“Nor do I,” she replied, neatening the things in her bag that she’d shifted around.
“What do you want to do?”
“Get on that transport.”
“Will you feel safe then?”
“That’s a good question for which I have no answer. I can only hope that leaving this place is better than staying. I have no skills in self-defense worth mentioning, releasing Fluffy is a risk I dare not take, especially with so many people around, and my strongest psychic ability is of no use in a situation such as this. My second ability would be useful, but it requires more energy than I have to spare. I can only hope that getting on that transport and off of this skyport will remove us from whatever danger is stalking us.”
“That makes sense, for the most part.”
“For the most part?”
“If your life is in danger, then you must do whatever is necessary to protect yourself, Riley. Even if it means releasing Fluffy.”
“Hopefully it will not come to that,” Riley said with another shudder. “Anything else?”
“I do not understand that word you used. Sight-kick. Did I say that right?”
“Close. Psychic.”
Percy repeated the word, getting it right after a couple of tries. “What does it mean?”
Riley put the strap of her bag back over her shoulder, checked the time, and resumed walking. “Clan Jasani males are born with the ability to use magic,” she said softly enough that only he could hear her.
“Magic,” Percy said speaking just as softly. “That’s manipulation of the elements of nature, correct?”
“Correct,” Riley agreed. “Females have psychic abilities. That means they can do unusual things using the power of their minds. Most have two abilities.”
Percy took a few moments to consider that before speaking. “Is it like my ability to throw flames?”
“Don’t you have glands inside your mouth that you use for that?”
“Yes, I do, but I must first activate them with my mind.”
“But the flames themselves are created from glands, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then it’s not a psychic ability. It’s physical.”
“What about balefire?”
“Do you use glands for that, too?”
“I have no idea. I know only that I use my mind for that as well, and that it was very difficult to learn.”
“If you can’t tell me how you do it, I can’t tell you if it’s psychic or not,” Riley said. “A psychic ability is something done purely with the power of the mind.”
“Like my ability to project my voice?”
“Since I don’t know how you do that either, I can’t be sure.” She frowned, thinking. “Can all Lonyx project their voices?”
“Yes,” Percy replied. “It’s required for conversations more complicated than that allowed by hisses, growls, and scent alone.”
Riley nodded. “I don’t know if it’s psychic or not, but it seems to be a mental ability of some sort which is close enough, I suppose. What about flying?”
“What about it?”
“Your wings are very small for your size, and they’re made of what appears to be an open framework of bony cartilage without a covering. They certainly aren’t aerodynamic, so it seems to me they must utilize either magical or psychic power in order to work.”
“I use my wings for guidance, and to aid balance, Riley. They are not aerodynamic because there is no need for them to be.”
“Well then, how do you fly?”
Percy cocked his head at an angle and looked at her as though he couldn’t understand what she’d said. “Have you ever seen me flap my wings about like a bird?”
“No, I can’t say that I have.”
“Then why would you assume I fly when it’s obvious that I don’t?”
“There are a number of various sky vehicles which have wings that don’t flap, and they fly,” she said, arching one brow at him.
“Sky vehicles?” Percy asked, confused.
“Machines that travel through the sky.”
“I wouldn’t know about that as I’m neither a machine nor a vehicle.”
Riley just stared at him for a moment, stumped. She cleared her throat, then asked, “If you don’t fly, what do you call it when you coast through the air?”
“I call it coasting. As you just did.”
Frustrated, Riley quickly checked on Fluffy who did not handle frustration well. To her surprise, Fluffy wasn’t upset in the least. She was amused.
“Okay then, how do you coast?”
“I just suspend the effect of gravity on my body.”
“Oh, is that all?” she asked with more than a hint of sarcasm. “You just suspend the effect of gravity.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I have no idea how such a thing is even possible, but getting back to the subject, I suppose that yes, it could easily be either a magical or a psychic ability. That’s just a guess on my part, though. I truly don’t know much about these things.”
“Nor do I,” Percy said. “Lonyx have no interest in how or why we’re able to suspend gravity or project our voices. We care only that we can do those things, and the best methods of using them for our own benefit. It’s the biggest difference between us and humanoids, I think.”
“That’s the truth,” Riley agreed.
“What abilities do you have? If it’s not too personal to ask.”
“I don’t generally share that information with those who’re not Klanaren, or anyone I don’t know well and trust completely.”
“I see,” Percy said, hiding his disappointment.
“I’m a little surprised that I haven’t told you about this yet, though.”
“You trust me?”
“Of course I trust you,” Riley said, surprised. “Do you think I’d let you ride my shoulder otherwise? Or sleep in the same room with me, let alone the same bed? Besides, I told you I’m shifter, and you know about the problems I have with Fluffy. Those are much more important secrets.”
Percy wanted to point out that while he knew she had those problems, he had no idea why she had them, or how they came to be. After a brief hesitation he decided that this was neither the time nor the place to give his curiosity free reign.
“You had no choice but to tell me those secrets,” he said instead. “If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have agreed to tell you how to approach the Mhah-Jher of Rha. Besides, I’d already sensed the katrenca within you.”
“That’s true, but it doesn’t make it any less of a secret. I wouldn’t have told you for any reason if I didn’t trust you.”
“I know. I just assumed that since you know me better now, and given my tendency to annoy you all the time, you’d be less willing to trust me with more secrets.”
“You’re not annoying all the time,” Riley said with a quick grin. “Most of the time you’re great company, and I always like you. Astral projection.”
Percy cocked one ear back in confusion. “Pardon me?”
“One of my psychic abilities is called astral projection.”
“Oh.”
Riley waited, hiding her smile when she felt his tail twitching nervously against her lower back.
“I have no idea what that means, Riley.”
“Most people don’t,” she said, deciding not to tease him. “It means I can send my conscious mind out of my body to travel wherever I want it to go. Well, not wherever. I can’t send it too far away from my physical body, or maintain it for more than half an hour or so.”
“That’s…,” he trailed off, struggling to come up with a way to describe his thoughts. “I don’t know what that is. I can’t even imagine such a thing. What’s your second ability?”
“Telekinesis, which means I can manipulate things with the power of my mind alone.”
Percy considered that for a long moment. “I don’t recall seeing you do anything like that. Or have I, and I just didn’t realize it?”
“No, you haven’t. I need most of my physical and mental energy to control Fluffy now. I haven’t even tried to use a psychic ability for more than a year, which is probably why I never thought to tell you about them.”
“If I didn’t know you so well, I would wonder if you’re making this up,” Percy said as he continued to scan the people around them. “May I ask you another question? It’s personal, so if you don’t wish to answer, I will understand.”
Riley glanced down at him. “You sound nervous.”
“I don’t want to upset you.”
“It’s okay, Percy. I’m calm right now, and so is Fluffy. Go ahead and ask.”
“I’ve only been around humanoids for about a year and a half, as you know. You also know that up until three months ago my interactions with them have been less than pleasant. Given my limited experience, I know that I may be wrong, but it seems to me that most humanoids display their emotions in a very obvious manner. Some hide them better than others, but even they are rarely successful.” Percy looked up at Riley who looked back steadily, giving no outward sign of the sudden tension he felt coming from her.
“You, however, are completely different,” he continued softly. “The more emotion you feel, the less emotion you display. In addition, the emotion you do display is generally the opposite of what you actually feel. It’s all very confusing to me.”
“Have you always been able to feel my emotions?” Riley asked.
“Yes, though not clearly at first. The more time we spend together, the easier it becomes. Or, and this just occurred to me, maybe it’s that the better I get to know you, the easier it becomes.”
“I’m not surprised,” Riley said, then shrugged. “Well, it is surprising that my shield doesn’t work on you. What doesn’t surprise me is that you usually sense my emotions because I’ve noticed that myself. I don’t know what your question is, though.”
“I wonder if hiding your emotions is normal for Clan Jasani, or if that’s another one of your abilities.”
“Neither, actually,” Riley said. “My emotions are shielded, but it’s this ring I wear that does it.” Riley raised her right hand where she wore a heavy silver ring on her middle finger. The band was wide and thick with rows of tiny pictographs carved into it. The top was set with an oval shaped, deep green stone with white striations near one end, and dots of red that looked like splatters of blood across its polished surface.”
Percy barely glanced at the ring, having seen it many times since Riley never took it off. “How does that shield you?”
“The stone is agate, which has natural properties that help settle and soothe emotions. My Uncles Tigren, High Druids of the Klanaren, enhanced the stone’s properties with their own power, then imbued the silver with magic, locking it into place with the pictographs. As long as I wear it, it shields my emotions. If I focus hard on sending my own energy into it, the shield becomes stronger. I don’t do that unless I have to because it’s much more difficult than it sounds, and very draining.”
Percy looked at the ring more closely, then back up to Riley’s calm expression, which gave no hint of the worry and nervousness he felt coming from her. “Don’t worry Riley,” he said softly, projecting his voice close to her ear. “I swear upon the Blue Moons of Rha that I will not betray you, or your secrets. Ever.”
Riley dipped her head and raised one fist to her chest, acknowledging the seriousness of his sworn word. Then she smiled. “I already know I can trust you, Percy. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be here with me now. Please don’t take my emotions personally. They are not directed at you, nor are you the cause of them.
“My worry and caution have become a part of me that I have very little control over anymore. The best I can do is hide my outward reaction, and even that is becoming increasingly difficult.” She reached up to rub his cheek again. “I thought that getting through my shield was deliberate on your part.”
“I have no such abilities that I’m aware of,” Percy said. “I can detect the scent of some emotions if they are strong enough, but that’s easy enough for anyone with a nose.
“I don’t know why I always know what you’re feeling, or even how I do it, but I know it’s specific to you. I’ve never been able to feel the emotions of others before, and that includes both Lonyx and humanoids. Does your ring shield your emotions from everyone else?”
“I used to think it worked on everyone. Now I just hope that you’re the only one it doesn’t work on.”
Chapter 2
Wilder Katre-Lau stepped through the Mau’s docking hatch and onto the landing at the top of the boarding ramp, his brothers Winston and Weston right behind him. A strange tightening sensation gripped his chest, followed by an almost electric tingle that raced over his skin. It only lasted a couple of seconds, but it was unlike anything he’d ever felt, or even heard of, before. Curious, he moved to the railing and looked down to the crowded concourse below.
