DARKNESS DESCENDS (Children of the Psi 2.0)

DARKNESS DESCENDS (Book 2.0 Children of the Psi series)

WILL

You can tell a lot about people by the way they treat animals. Take my girlfriend for instance. Before school this morning, I pull up next to Cassie's house and find her crouched next to a gray kitten, her fingers outstretched. The kitten nudges her hand with its nose and drags the entire length of its body against her fingertips, like it’s the most sensational feeling in the world. The kitten circles around, pushing its fur against her hand all over again down the opposite side of its body.

It all happens in one fluid motion, like the kitten and Cassie are doing some sort of ballet together, completely unaware of me or the rest of the world, and for a brief moment, I wanted to be that kitten, purring beneath her fingertips. When she glances over and sees me waiting, she smiles. I can feel her mind anchor to mine, and my mind touches hers back.

He’s beautiful, isn’t he? He just walked over to me, wanting love.

 

I think he’s hungry, Cassie.

 

She smirks at me and shakes her head. You're such a guy! Always thinking about food.

Cassie and I have a unique way of communicating. We can speak aloud like the normals or we can speak through our minds. Although we're both mind readers, our gifts are slightly different. Before I met Cassie, I had to be touching someone to hear their thoughts, or experience their feelings, but Cassie can mind-drop. That means she can eavesdrop on other people's thoughts without any physical contact. She says I push my thoughts at her, and she doesn’t always hear mine, which is a good thing sometimes.

With a little bit of encouragement and lots of experimenting, we eventually developed a way to mind-anchor to each other. So, she is able to mind-talk to me without having to touch me. We anchor our minds together, which works like a circuit for our electromagnetic energies, allowing our thoughts to travel back and forth to each other.

But just a few weeks ago, during Homecoming, I realized I could actually hear her thoughts without being anchored to her. Since I met Cassie, my telepathy has really amped up.

Standing slowly, Cassie backs away from the kitten and goes back inside her house. The kitten scurries after her on tiny white paws, almost getting caught between her legs, and she has to ease him away from the door when he tries to sneak through. The kitten waits at the doorstep, flicking its tail up and down, until Cassie returns with a bowl of water in one hand and a bowl of food in the other. The kitten rushes over to the bowls and scarfs down the food, taking huge chunks of whatever it is into his mouth. He chews vigorously before taking another mouthful. While the kitten is preoccupied, Cassie picks up her backpack and rushes over to my car and gets inside.

Mmmm…you smell like beef stew.

 

She laughs. It’s all we had in the cabinet, but he seems to like it. If he's still here when I get home, I’m going to ask Dad if I can keep him.

 

I wanted to help you with the kitten, but I probably would have just scared it away.

 

Yeah, you look a little scary today.