A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 36 Connections

Chapter 36

The wind howled down the valleys, raising up its lonesome song to the wide, Alaskan sky, its pitch rising to a demonic shriek as it scraped through the jagged mountain canyons. Along one stark cliff face a lone figure stood, unconcerned by the threat of the approaching storm. Her flame-red hair, tossed wildly by the chaotic winds, seemed a perfect complement to the dark, lashing fire in her eyes. Her full lips and delicate features did not diminish the sheer, dangerous power radiating outwards from her.

She closed her eyes and sought inside to calm her boiling emotions, knowing there was nothing that could be done at the moment to solve the conflict she faced. Davin wanted them to go to Callin. The entire team. And she knew why. He said it was just to talk, but she knew better. Davin was not a man who "talked".

Just the thought of seeing Callin again had driven her here, her mind unshielded as she considered reaching out to him, knowing it was possibly lethal for her to be outside and unprotected in the Fraying. She knew leaving the Void without a Weaver was so dangerous it was nearly insanity, but she couldn't risk anybody sensing her reaching out to Callin, if she did decide to try to contact him. And she desperately needed time alone. Time to think.

Had it been long enough since she had last seen him? Was her training advanced enough that she could face him again? Was she ready, truly ready, to see him? Just the fact that she needed this time alone, away from the Weavers, away from Davin and his manipulation, told her she wasn't ready.

She briefly considered going back into the Void and ripping Davin right out of his inner link. Taking control of her life for once. But she didn't feel ready for that, either. He was too powerful, and she doubted she could convince a Weaver to help her with her own power without his help.

She also knew he was also channeling the power of the four Weavers somehow, and doubted she could take him on with all of their power behind him. Not yet, anyway.

She turned and walked towards the cliff face, her power blazing bright in her mind as she embraced her inner link. She used that link to invert the totality of all she was, then passed through the stone like a ghost. She would go back to the team and follow Davin a bit longer, while she formed her plan. And when she was ready, she would strike. She would own herself once and for all.

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"Callin, wake up! It's 8:00 already, you going to sleep the day away?" Raina yelled.

In his bedroom, Callin sat up and blearily rubbed his eyes, scowling at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was Saturday, he had been looking forward to sleeping in till at least lunch time.

"Go very far away!" He yelled back.

Even through the thick wooden door he heard Carmen and Raina snicker at his disgruntled tone. He shook his head, wondering why they loved tormenting him so much.

"Do we need to come in there and drag you out of bed?" Carmen called.

Callin heard both girls shift their balance, heard both of their breathing patterns stutter for a moment, and knew Ahleena must have just walked into the hall. Then, a moment later, he heard her talking quietly with the girls.

He found himself leaning towards the door, his head cocked slightly, as he struggled to hear what she was saying. His powers and his senses hadn't stabilized ever since the Flayer attack, seeming to ramp up to mind-shredding levels, or drop down to nonexistent, many times a day. It was driving him crazy.

The door swung open and Ahleena strode in, arching one eyebrow at him as she saw him sitting up in bed.

"The girls seem to believe you should go eat breakfast with them." She said, standing next to his bed.