Eleos (Book two in The Empaths series)

Chapter Fourteen

Lucy grinned and retrieved the pouch from a container with the rest of her tea selection. "Remind me to give some of this to Lilith later, too."

"Absolutely," Rachel replied. She took the pouch from Lucy and made them a cup each. "Let's go sit outside."

Lucy followed Rachel out onto the front porch and they settled in to drink their tea and watch the villagers go about their day.

* * * * *

Lucy and Rachel were still sitting on the front porch when Tristan, Jared, Lilith and Riley wandered back across the clearing and up the path to the cottage.

And it was only a short moment after they arrived that a portal appeared right there in Lucy's front yard and Cora stepped gracefully through, smiling up at them as the portal snapped shut behind her.

"I see you're all here," she said, chuckling.

"We are indeed," Riley replied, rubbing his hands together. "There's no way we were going to pass up the opportunity to learn something cool from you."

Cora's smile widened. "So it would seem." She was still standing on the front lawn, and she took a moment to look around before her eyes rested on a spot by the river. "Why don't we go and sit over there," she said, pointing at a particularly green patch of grass.

They followed Cora and watched as she nestled herself into a spot on the ground – her legs crossed and her hands resting on her knees. Then they all took their places in a semi-circle in front of her.

Lucy was sitting in the middle, and she suddenly began to feel the niggling hint of anxiety creeping up on her.

Tristan reached over and took her hand. "Don't be nervous," he whispered.

Lucy could just see Riley attempting to pull his laptop out of its bag before Lilith grabbed the bag and shook her head. "Not now, Riley. You can take it all down later."

Riley pouted for a moment before he pressed his lips into a thin line and shoved the laptop back into its bag. "Fine," he mumbled.

Lucy laughed a little to herself at their exchange and her nerves settled.

All the while, Cora sat silently watching – her amusement escaping through the half smile that pulled at one side of her mouth. She quickly cleared her throat and spoke. "Today I'm going to be teaching Lucy how to put up a block in her mind so that what she is feeling at any given moment doesn't dominate how the rest of you are feeling." She looked at Lucy and gave a slight nod. "So, it's probably a good thing that you're all here. That way we can test if the block is working on all of you."

Her eyes drifted over them, before coming to rest on Lucy. "I need to ask something difficult of you now, Lucy. I need you to find a memory that provokes powerful feelings for you, something that you know will be strong enough to affect your friends."

Lucy's heart plummeted.

"It doesn't have to be your saddest memory, but unfortunately, the painful emotions are the ones that will translate clearer when it comes to your friends. They will know as soon as that block is put into place, when the emotion cuts off." She leant forward and placed a gentle hand on Lucy's. "You can do this," she whispered.

Lucy shifted her position and took a deep breath, trying to calm the sudden wave of anxiety that washed over her. She glanced over at her brother, and a lifetime of memories flashed between them, but his eyes and his expression showed that he knew exactly which memory she was going to choose. His eyes shimmered with tears before he nodded his head and reached out to take Rachel's hand.