A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 36 Connections

Callin looked at the soft silk wrap on her head and wondered how much of her beautiful, black hair had grown back. The Flayer attack had been almost a month ago, but he knew it took much longer than that to regrow skin and hair.

"They seem to think it's a crime if I sleep in on Saturdays."

"They said they would make you bacon, eggs, and French toast if you came down to breakfast."

Callin perked up at that. "Well, why didn't you say so!" He swung his feet out of bed and stood up, completely at ease despite wearing only his boxers.

He saw Ahleena's eyes travel up and down him, making him freeze. Their mental link was so intimate, so deeply entwined, that he hadn't even thought twice about getting out of bed in front of her. Now, though, he was suddenly once again recognizing her as a beautiful female, and he felt like his heart was racing and his lungs were full of cool air.

"You're far more relaxed around me now, Callin. You trust me." She said quietly, her dark, almond eyes seeming to swallow him and lock him in place.

Callin reached up to scratch the back of his neck, looking everywhere but at her. "Yeah, well, that's good. Right?"

Ahleena smiled at how red his cheeks were. He was relaxed around her, and she could tell he trusted her now far more than when he had first come to the mansion, but he was still a sixteen year-old boy. She was about to turn, to walk out and let him dress in peace, when she noticed something in their mental link.

It was something that he had wrapped around himself, around his every thought, weaving it into himself so tightly that she had almost overlooked it. But now that she was right in front of him, she could see how it had begun to burn brighter in his every thought. She could see how it was linked to her.

Her curiosity, and her concern for him, had her closing her eyes as she looked deeper into their link. Callin felt it, of course, and she heard him take a step away from her.

"Ah, you may not want to look inside at my thoughts too deep right now..." He mumbled.

Ahleena smiled at that, but focused her mind a bit tighter. She now could see what it was. She could see it was a hidden, lingering fear that was woven into and throughout him. A fear of what would happen if she died, a fear given life by the fact she had almost died when the Flayer had attacked her.

That attack was a month ago, and she was nearly fully healed. But the memory of seeing her so wounded was still painfully fresh and bright in his mind. He wasn't healed from seeing her so wounded. In fact, it seemed like he was even more scared now, than he had been a month ago.

"Callin. Sit down. We're going to talk. Telepathically."

Callin twitched in surprise at her mental voice, then clenched his hands as he felt the iron will behind her words. As he felt himself sit down, even though he hadn't chosen to sit. Her mind-link still had power to force him to obey her every order, if she spoke it to him telepathically.

"Why did you just do that? Are you trying to drive me crazy?!" He snarled.

Ahleena tilted her head, examining him with unreadable eyes. Callin looked away, unable to face her when she looked at him like that.

He stiffened when she slowly reached out one hand towards his face. Her fingers brushed softly under his chin, guiding him to face her, until he met her eyes. He swallowed as he saw the exotic, depthless mystery of her eyes, and faintly wondered if he might just be going insane right at the moment.

"We need to talk about the Flayers. We need to talk about what I saw in the lab. We need to talk about what happened to you, when you saw me nearly die."