Mythic (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 17 - Energy - Part I

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Chapter 17 - Energy - Part I

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Rena blinked. 

She was careful to keep the chair between herself and the gaze that burned past her own and delved deep into the core part of her kitsune, that place where no one but a life partner was supposed to ever see. 

She struggled to keep him out. "You... want me to--what?"

"To feed off me!" said the djinn. He took a step forward and Rena's ears flattened. "Oh, come, Emberheart! There's nothing to be afraid of here!" 

"Why would feeding off you achieve anything?" asked Rena. "What of the book, the sticks, the crystal?" 

Qariinn waved a dismissive hand at the table. "They are useless unless you can tap into your energy abilities and combine them," he said. "And to do that, you require a boost in power. Five tails will not be enough for what I have in mind, Rena." 

"And... feeding off you will increase that number?"

"Temporarily, yes," said Qariinn. "Think of this as an experiment, of sorts, before we delve into more permanent methods later. Now, come." The djinn attempted to skirt around the chair, and once more, Rena backed away. He shook his head. "There is no reason to be afraid of this, Emberheart! Embrace it! Trust that I have your best interests at heart!" 

Another step of shifted distance. "I'm not comfortable with this. Maybe tomorrow?" 

"We do not have time for luxuries," said the djinn, placing his staff on the table. " But I would not push you if you were not ready." His eyes were backlit, glowing with some inner light that both terrified and thrilled her. "You can feel it, can't you? The energy, just falling off me, wasted. Don't let it be so. Feed off it." 

He said it like she had a choice in the matter with the crystal threat hanging around his neck, clinking beside his own key. Rena fought with herself to keep her eyes off it, to give any acknowledgement of the power he currently held over her. 

The djinn's light burst through his pores, flooding the air with a thick veil of ley mist while a hand reached out towards Rena. 

"Try it," he said, words like silk. "See how it tastes."

He exhaled.

It hit her. 

Every nerve on Rena's body reacted to the sheer amount of energy emitted on that last breath. She was entirely aware of and drawn to his aura that was pure and fresh, crystal clear yet always moving, a pristine river that cut through the land and forged its own path wherever it wished. It was stronger than any hotspot she'd ever fed off, more heady than any of the ley handouts the Order had ever given her, and when the second wave hit her, Rena could no longer resist. 

She stepped over the chair and took the djinn's smooth hand in her palm, curling her fingers around his as she submerged into that brilliant aura. It rushed through her, filling every cell to the brim with that crystalline energy the djinn apparently had so much of that he was willing to just waste it--but not Rena. She was greedy for that power, lusted after it almost as it ran over her skin in a tingle that started from her hand and spread right down to the point where her tails swayed behind her. 

Her fingers tightened on the djinn's as she took yet another step, pulled deeper into his aura, closer towards him. Want was no longer accurate. Need was now closer to her relationship to that energy. 

Qariinn encouraged her as she drank in everything he gave her. Rena clutched his forearms, her five human senses shut down in favour of the single kitsune one that presided over her ley.