Mindhealer 5 by Saintcrow Lilith

Author:Saintcrow, Lilith [Saintcrow, Lilith]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy
ISBN: 9781610260145
Publisher: ImaJinn Books, Inc.
Published: 2008-04-15T07:00:00+00:00

Eleven

It was not so surprising, really. Eleanor had warned her of this.

Caro wandered through the labyrinth, featureless doors set in the stone, none of them looking familiar. This was the space-between, the place of boundaries between two minds. As always, here she wore a long white dress, its hem dragging the floor and its tattered sleeves bound with silk ribbons. She carried the small silver globe in her left hand, memory and light rolled into a compact form for carrying. Something had happened, but it was difficult to see clearly here. There was always the danger of becoming lost in another’s mind, of the heart stuttering if the healer pulled away too quickly, of catching the viral sickness some minds carried. It was a danger she had always accepted—after all, the world itself was a garden full of peril. She had learned early and well that there was no safety, not for someone with her gifts. If the insanity of a mortal mind didn’t get her, the Dark would.

Tracing through the labyrinth, she reached out, trailed her fingers along the stone and the smooth wooden surfaces of the doors. She had gone into a mind, and something had happened. She was now trapped in the space-between, the shock of disengaging from the other mind knocking her into this space. Dangerous, especially if they tried pouring Power into her. This was not like astral travel, where the silver cord would hold the consciousness to the body. No, this was something different, something only another Mindhealer would understand.

Fuzzy voices twisted through the walls as she passed a low arch twined with ivy. Through it, she caught sight of a clear reflecting pool, lipped with stone, and with a stone bench beside it. Hanging over the pool was a tree watching its own reflection with bloodshot eyes. The leaves were bloodshot too, dripping; the plink of every crimson drop hitting the rippling surface of the pool was loud through the sound of faraway, radio-static voices. Soft voices, whispering voices.

Female voices.

“How long has she—”

“Since the . . . since Nicolette. The Mindhealers say not to touch, not to disturb her.”

“Her poor Watcher. Look at him.”

“Shh, he’ll hear you.”

“He hasn’t moved. Won’t let anyone help him, won’t let anyone—”

“Shh.”

Then she moved, because the pool had begun to bulge and ripple, and she did not want to see what would birth itself from that bleeding reflection.

Walking. Barefoot. Chill stone against her feet. Her fingers were growing numb, and that was a bad sign. She was lost. She could not find her way.

Stop, she whispered to herself. Doubt is useless here. Be quiet, and walk. You’ll find the way soon enough.

But she had nothing to guide her. She had gone into the mind—whose mind? Someone’s. And she had gone without preparation, without setting her landmarks, gone in a terrible hurry. Why? It must have been important. If she could only remember.

She looked down as she walked, at the silver sphere. It pulsed reassuringly. A memory was locked inside, a memory not of her making.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.