Chapter 32 Ahleena and The Armor
Finally, he had his power in his control. It was control shaken by the demands of the killer creature he was, but he was able to think clearly enough to begin to do what he needed. He crouched next to Ahleena and gently laid his hands on either side of her face. Her heartbeat was evident even through the bone armor, and blood quickly stained the stark white of his armor. He had his eyes shut, searching inside for the link to his armor. Finally he felt it, and he threw himself at it with total determination.
A ripple of power spread from his head and went down his body. Where it passed, his bone armor began to sway and slide, almost like thick liquid. In seconds it had begun to slide upwards, gathering on his shoulders, leaving him bare. He focused further, using the techniques of the Ninja Ahleena had been teaching him to keep his mind completely on track. His bone armor began to slide down his arms in slow waves, rippling like syrup, and began to flow over and around Ahleena. To wrap her head to toe.
Long minutes passed, but finally Callin opened his eyes and looked down. Ahleena was covered entirely in his bone armor, except for a tiny slit for nose and mouth so she could breath. His armor was smooth, featureless, wrapping her every contour like a second skin. She looked like an impossibly detailed, white, marble statue lying at his feet. Callin felt a surge of victory, knowing his armor was so tightly bonded to her it would successfully function like a skin. To keep her from bleeding out. He dove back into his mind, now chasing something he didn't know if he could do but willing to try. Desperate to try.
He felt about inside his mind, inside the core of his body, trying to find the link to his healing power. He wanted to transfer it to Ahleena, to accelerate her healing. To save her. His bone armor on her would not save her by itself, she was far too wounded to recover. It would buy him time, but even that was limited. He suddenly felt exhaustion rise up inside, a freezing vacuum sucking him dry and pulling him down. He landed on his back among the leaves, bouncing his head painfully off a rock, his body like Jell-O. He blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected the battle and sending his armor onto Ahleena to drain him like this. It felt like he hardly had enough energy to even stretch his chest to draw a breath!
With a determined snarl, he shook it off as much as he could, instead closing his eyes and once again diving into that single-minded focus like Ahleena had shown him. That razor focus of a Ninja. He wasn't good at it, could barely bring his mind even to the beginning of what she could do, but it had been enough to let him control his bone armor. Now, he hoped it would be enough to let him send his healing power to Ahleena. If that was even possible. If that wasn't possible he wouldn't know what to do.
As he lay there, focusing, some part of his mind was still aware that the woods were alive around him. Creatures and things around him still moved. The natural sounds of the forest were a comfort to him. If there were Flayers about, it would be totally silent. Deadly silent. As if nature itself knew that an aberration moved amongst it. The exhaustion that lay on Callin like a wet blanket dragged at his mind, eroding all coherent thought, and he found his mind drifting instead of focusing like needed.
Although his mind wandered his keen hearing still worked. The sound of approaching footsteps snapped him into reality violently, a frigid rush of adrenaline pouring through him, giving him the strength to stand up and see what was coming. His claws were bared and held ready, but his arms shook and he could feel his center of gravity shifting erratically. He was in no shape to fight. He shied away from that realization, instead putting every bit of what little strength he had into putting forth as ferocious an image as he could. Maybe, if it was an enemy, he could frighten it off long enough for him to get his strength back.
"Sounds like you've got a bad cold." Jace remarked dryly, hearing Callin's low snarl. He stepped into the clearing from behind a tree when Callin fell silent, making Callin smile. Jace may talk tough, but he hadn't dared to step into the open until he knew Callin had heard him.
"What happened? Are there any more Flayers around?" He asked, looking around the bloody scene of destruction. Then his eyes widened as he saw the white statute at Callin's feet.
"Is that Ahleena?!"
Callin nodded, not trusting his voice. The relief that was pouring into him that it was only Jace instead of another enemy was making tiny, swirling starbursts flicker across his vision. He blinked hard, trying to clear his eyes, and wondered vaguely what that rushing sound was. Then, the world pitched sideways and went dark.
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"Any change?" A muted voice, far distant, said.
A female voice answered, a husky tone just slightly evident. "No change. His vitals are steady. Strong. Why won't he wake up?" A slight panicky note at the end.
Callin opened his eyes, then slammed them shut with a groan. The overhead lights were blinding. A harsh white light that reminded him of days of nightmare agony. And then his nose caught the scent of all the medical equipment surrounding him. Truly the scent tied directly to those helpless nightmare days of pain. Panic and an animal rage coursed through him, sending his fangs fully out and his claws bursting out of the tips of each finger, spraying the air with blood.
He rolled to the side, landing on all fours, then leapt across the room to land on the counter that ran along the far wall, his head swiveling, scanning, a wicked growl rumbling from his chest. A low, primal sound filled with undeniable threat.
Jacob and Carmen were standing by the bed, staring at him with huge, shocked eyes. A slight, golden glow was surrounding Carmen, flickering in her eyes, making her look like ethereal, like a ghost. Or an angel. Callin's memory came flooding back, and he felt his cheeks heat up as he realized he was only wearing his boxers. He slipped down from the counter, a sheepish grin on his face.
"Ahh...kinda thought I was back in the Lab." He mumbled, looking around for something to cover himself with. The blanket on the bed was the only thing he could immediately see, but it would involve walking directly towards Carmen. And that was not what he wanted to do.
Jacob got over his surprise and waved at the door, which opened silently to the telekinetic push he sent it. He gently nudged Carmen with his hand towards the door.
"Carmen, maybe you should stop staring and step out so he can get dressed." He said quietly.
Carmen blushed brightly, suddenly averting her eyes with a mumbled "oh yeah". She scurried out, making Jacob grin.
"She ran like she was more scared of you now that you're back in control." He remarked.
Callin narrowed his eyes, knowing Jacob knew full well about their attraction. He decided not to answer that, instead heading over to the only dresser in the room, figuring his clothes must be in there. Before he was halfway across the room, he was scenting the air to find out what was in the dresser. It was a natural thing to do, the way he always relied on his sensitive nose. The complete lack of scent in the air made him freeze. A hand made of ice played a game up and down his spine as he carefully sniffed the air again and once again scented nothing.
"What?" Jacob asked, picking up on his rising panic.
Callin didn't answer, instead baring one claw and slicing one long line down his forearm, watching intently. His blood welled up, a bright red in the harsh light, then trickled down his forearm, painting a crimson trail that should never have been. His healing power wasn't working! Once again, his powers were acting strangely, or not working at all. This had happened to him a couple times when he had been running from the Labs up in Alaska, running from the Flayer. When the Flayer had stripped his arms of skin and nearly killed him, it had taken days before his sense of smell returned, and with it, his healing power.
He turned to face Jacob with a sigh, feeling frustrated rage begin to boil in the recesses of his mind. It was distant, like it was real but patient to wait for its time to erupt. He repressed it with a growl, making Jacob raise an eyebrow. Callin shook his head, as if to say that he wasn't growling at him, not trusting his voice just yet.
"Your powers are acting strange again, aren't they?"
Callin felt his claws slide out as he felt that Jacob must have been reading his thoughts, the instinctive hatred of the thought of a telepath in his head bringing out the killer rage within. His logic rose up right behind it, letting him retract his claws as fast as they had come out, telling him Jacob was not only an extremely powerful telepath, he was also simply extremely intuitive. And he knew Callin, knew how to read his body language, knew what had happened to him the last time he had fought a Flayer.
"How long was I unconscious?" he asked stiffly, still not completely convinced Jacob hadn't read his mind.
"Callin, I saw your claws just now. And I can hear in your voice you'd rather I left the room. Left the mansion, in fact. I know you distrust telepaths, but I haven't read your mind even once since you've come here. I can tell you that telepathically, if you don't believe me." Jacob said quietly. Almost as if he were speaking to a dangerous, unpredictable animal.
Callin resented that he deserved that tone, and inside his commitment to learn how to truly control himself like a Ninja grew even stronger. He couldn't wait to resume training with Ahleena.
"Ahleena!" he suddenly cried as memory ensnared his mind inside a frigid ice storm of fear. Had she survived? What had happened?!
Jacob jumped forward to place his hands on Callin's shoulders, forcing him to meet his eyes.
"She is alive! Callin! Look at me! She is alive!" he spoke quickly, intensely, his storm gray eyes glowing bright.