Something Wicked This Way Comes (closed for Perplexia)

[The Jeffinator]

The skies above were a cloudy grey as the wind lightly rustled the green treetops. The forest stretched out in every direction, the moisture in the air hinting at a coming rainstorm. An average afternoon in the Pacific Northwest during February; gloom was the norm.

In a clearing amongst the wooded hills sat a small lake, where a mountain of a man knelt over the shore, washing his face. He wore dark jeans and black leather boots, but was naked from the waist up, his other clothing draped over a nearby tree branch. His skin flowed taut over his rippling muscles, dark brown hair cascaded in flowing locks over his firm shoulders, and a short beard masked his face. His body was covered in tribal tattoos and his eyes shone a bizarre golden brown.

The man had been hunting for the source of a strange power reading in the area, but thus far he had come up empty-handed. But that was about to change, as he suddenly felt a strong Mana aura burst to life.

"There it is!" he yelled out, jumping to his feet. His nostrils flared as he called upon his superhuman senses to pick up a scent, followed by his eyes lighting up from golden brown to a metallic yellow. He then smiled and took off running through the trees towards the source, displaying speed and dexterity far beyond any mortal man.

A few minutes later, he came upon a hunting cabin in the woods, where he was sure this monster must be hiding. That was his job, after all -- hunting down nightmarish beasts around the world and exterminating them. He snuck around the side of the cabin, slipped in through a back window, and then stepped into the main room prepared for a fight. Instead, he found a young woman curled up in the corner. The Mana aura was clearly hers. Dumbfounded, the man just stood there, staring at her.

https://i.imgur.com/Tz51lnT.jpg

 

[Perplexia]

Myka Jones, was a typical newly turned 18 year old that marched the beat of her own drummer. From her blue and pink hair to her random interests.

Today it was hiking. Something was calling her to the woods. So like most of the time she followed her gut and headed deep into Tillamook, Oregons forest. There was something that flourished inside of her when she was out and about in nature. Perhaps it was the fresh air, the smell of the damp soil, or the trees that had viewed life in this town for hundreds of years.

Myka wasn't close to her family. Her mother was a drug addict who swore the drugs kept the voices away. Her father had abandoned them when Myka was only one. She had been the closest with her grandmother who encouraged her to follow her inner voice, without much explanation. She had unfortunately died a couple years back.

While deep in the woods she heard an unfamiliar noise. Bears should be hibernating this time of year so she didn't think it could be that. Everything seemed to happen in a moment. A giant grizzly bear erupted from behind the bush foaming from its mouth as it roared at her. Without even realizing it her hands flung in front of her as she yelled "get back". A force of light hit the bear with such a force it knocked him flat on his back. The bear glared at her still bearing his teeth. It was then that her eyes seemed to change, she could see it's aura, its glowing red eyes. It was if the creature was possessed by a demonic spirit.

The bear getting over its shock got on all fours and head the other direction. Shock was setting in, she ran as far as she could coming across an old cabin. Climbing in through a window she found a place in a corner where she curled up and the shock set in.

The entrance of the handsome man shocked her even further. He looked as though he could rip a person in two. "Bear" was all she could manage to get out.

 

[The Jeffinator]

The Hunter stood in place, watching the young woman for several long moments. He began to realize she must be in shock, her aura radiating in chaotic waves, invisible and silent, but potent enough to be detected by anyone with Mana-sensitivity. He also felt a second, smaller aura nearby, somewhere off in the woods.

"What's that?" he replied in a deep, husky voice as she softly spoke. "A bear?" He slowly walked towards her, crouching down to meet her at eye-level. He could see her dark green eyes seemed to be twicthing a bit, pulsating mild flashes of pale light within her irises.

"It's okay," he tried to sound calm and gentle, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. "I know you're scared and you don't understand what's happening to you. I'm going to try and help you, but I need you to tell me what you experienced. What about a bear? Did it attack you?"

The Hunter wasn't sure how what appeared to be a normal, unaltered human could have such a potent aura. Most of the ancient magical bloodlines had died off ages prior, and even his own powers were acheived through severe augmentation and years of training. But this girl seemed to have not even been aware of her dormant potential.

 

[Perplexia]

She simply nodded as he replied "a bear".
His warm touch on her shoulder was somehow calming. Myka found comfort and safety with this strange hulking man.
"No" she replied quickly to his question if it attacked her. Taking a deep breath her eyes met his. "A grizzly ..a demon, I held up my hands and shot it with a force of light. It was so strong. The bear toppled. It ran away. But it's ..i don't know.. my eyes changed i could see color. His eyes were read. Somehow i knew it was a demon. You must think i'm insane. I think i'm insane."
She took a long deep breath trying to find any sense in the words she spoke. But there was little. It literally sounded the like the babbling of a neurotic crazy person.

 

[The Jeffinator]

As their eyes locked and she explained what had transpired, he suddenly felt a twinge of attraction. Her cute little nose with it's ring, seductive lips, and that pink and blue hair cascading over her petite frame. He subdued images cropping up in his mind about what she would look like with less... clothing. What skin he could see was silky smooth and deserved a touch, a kiss, a lick. But maybe another time...

"You're not insane," he reassured her, smiling lightly. "It seems to me that your encounter with this bear must have unlocked something deep inside you. Has anything like this ever happened to you before? Things you could not explain? Other demons?"

 

[Perplexia]

"only the voices, or what i call my gut instinct. I had the feeling that I had to be in the woods today. I must go hiking. It happens to me regularly but never with a result like this."

"what do you mean it unlocked something inside me? Am I a mutant or something?, and how do you know so much about this? Who are you?" Whomever he was she felt safe with him. Which was unusual because normally she was weary of strangers and didn't like people as a general rule.

That was also the reason her sex life was null. She had done the minimal first kiss, and hand holding. But never had she obtained any amount of desire or attraction that this man had risen from deep with in her. Perhaps it was because she was just recovering from a traumatic event. Regardless a dirty cabin floor was not the place to experiment with this new hormonal desire.

 

[The Jeffinator]

"Voices?" the Hunter said as he raised his eyebrows. He saw her questioning gaze and knew she must be scared and confused about everything that was going on. "Not a mutant, no. You seem to have dormant inborn powers that you are just now realizing. You hear voices that you interpret as a gut instinct, a sense of precognition in a way. Those are abilities typically associated with witches and gypsies, but there aren't many of them left around these days."

He knew he was probably confusing her more. "Allow be to back up a bit. It may seem strange, but magic is a real force in the world, though it has lost most of it's potency over the millennia. To cast spells, one channels Mana, an invisible energy that seeps into our world from a parallel realm we call the Aether. When someone is able to perceive and manipulate this energy, it's called Mana-sensitivity, or True Sight. There were once a number of ancient bloodlines that produced generations of powerful spellcasters, but most of them died out centuries ago, either diluted by non-magical blood or exterminated by the Templars."

He could tell it all seemed a bit overwhelming. "I know this is a lot to take in. It's not easy to --" he snapped his head around to look at the door. That second aura he felt earlier was suddenly charging towards them. "I think that's -- arrgh!" His sentence was cut off as the bear smashed through the wall of the cabin, sending wood and glass flying everywhere. The Hunter dove in front of the girl to shield her from the debris, receiving multiple cuts and slashes on his bare back. He then turned around to face the bear, who had mutated into a monster, unleashing a ferocious, other-wordly roar.

https://i.imgur.com/3lXsmms.png

"Stay back," he said to the girl, looking over his shoulder as his eyes began to glow yellow once more. He returned his gaze to the beast as a mysterious steam seemed to lift up off the Hunter's body. The wounds on his back began to sizzle and then close up, healing instantly. He crouched down in a battle-ready position as the bear roared again, and then they both dove at each other at dizzying speeds. Claws ripped the Hunter's flesh open anew as he pulled the beast into a headlock and fell with it to the floor, trying to subdue it without having to kill the animal since the poor thing was just under a demonic influence and not a true monster itself.

"Arrghh!" he screamed out as bear got loose enough to sink it's fangs into the man's shoulder. "Fuck! I'm sorry, but I have no choice!" The Hunter quickly released the bear, reached down to grab two daggers from his boots -- one for each hand -- as the creature returned to it's feet to tower over him. He then plunged the blades up into it's throat, slashing them both outwards. The bear unleashed an agonized howl that quickly turned to gargling as warm blood showered the Hunter and onto the floor. The defeated beast crashed onto the floor, and the Hunter just stood there for a moment, bathed in red, holding his knifes and breathing deeply.

"I'm going back to the lake I came from to wash up," he said quietly as he turned to face the girl again. He slipped the bloody knives back in his boots and began walking out of the cabin through the giant gaping hole in the wall as his wounds began to sizzle and heal again. "Follow me if you want to know more about what's happening."

 

[Perplexia]

Myka was relieved to know she wasn't a mutant. So her voice were a form of precognition. Which was a way to tell the future. Perhaps she was put in the woods to meet him. She would very much like to reject the idea of magic but after what just happened to her it was still hard to process.

He began telling her about mana and witches, and bloodlines. It was as overwhelming as it was fascinating. She never knew the Templar's had been involved in slaying witches. Her thought process was disrupted by a large crashing.

Her savior covered her tiny frame with his as glass and wood impaled the walls to each side of her. Without fear he turned and faced the bear. When he looked over his shoulder to her his eyes were yellow. She could barely see the bear through her angels frame. But it looked different, much more monster-ish, and demonic.

Myka watched as steam rose from her saviors muscular body. The wounds he received healed in front of her. He had told her to 'stay back'. She wanted to respond with a quip about how she's wasn't planning on moving. She'd already encountered that once today. That was enough. But she didn't speak only nodded.

She watched as they charged each other. It was horrific to watch and mesmerizing at the same time. With a choke hold upon him, she thought it was finally over. Until the bear bit him. Covering her mouth to stifle a scream she continued to watch as the man apologized and pulled two knives from his boot and killed the bear thing.

Never would she have thought that a man could look so sexy covered in blood. But he surely did. He told her he was going back to the lake and to follow if she wanted to learn more. Well she certainty wasn't going to sit here and wait for something else to come through the door. Myka hurried to her feet and scampered after him. "Who are you?" she question and had to walk fast to keep up with his long strides.

 

[The Jeffinator]

"My name is Desmond Craw," the Hunter replied, striding along through the trees toward the nearby lake as the girl hurried along after him. "For now, anyway. I change my name periodically. I hunt monsters, which I thought you were until I saw you in the cabin. I haven't encountered a human with that strong a Mana aura in years. You're an exceedingly rare breed. What's your name?"

Once they got to the lake, Desmond dove in to wash the blood away, then walked over to his things by a tree. He slipped on a black tank top, a sleeveless vest, a few bands and other wrist adornments, and a long amulet around his neck. He then reached down to grab a large army-green duffel bag that he strapped over one shoulder.

"Now that I have my supplies, we can head back to clean up the dead bear. You sure you want to be there for that? It might be better for you to get out of the forest for a while and head home." he said as he walked back towards the cabin with her. When they arrived, Desmond dropped the bag and stared at the space on the floor where the bear had been laying, dead. Red footprints could be seen coming from the pool of blood on the wood floor, out through the opening, and back into the woods.

"This is not good," he warned, a tone of foreboding in his voice. "The bear's aura was gone. He was dead. I never felt him come back to life, but somehow he got up and walked away... This better not be fucking necromancers again..."

https://i.imgur.com/6kHEac3.jpg

 

[Perplexia]

Yeah he looked like a Desmond. She wondered if he get mad if she called him Desi. I'm Myka Jones. He kept moving. There's something to be said about a half naked man splashing himself with water. Even if it was to just get the blood off of him. She shook her head no when he told her she should probably go back to the cabin.

When they arrived to the cabin the bear was gone and footprints came out of the cabin. "A necromancer?" she questioned. She was pretty sure she had heard the term thinking it was someone who brought dead things back to life and made them into like zombies and such. But things could often be so different from the real world as they were in the movies.

"I think you're right, I should probably go home. Will I see you again? Do you think this thing will hunt me?

 

[The Jeffinator]

"Necromancers can manipulate the flow of Nythra, the life energy inside all living beings," he explained. "Mana is a separate magical energy that can be channeled, but Nythra is much deeper. Do you remember when I mentioned the other realm, the Aether? Well, think of it like this -- imagine a balloon that you put a papier-mâché mold on. It takes the shape of the material and then once the balloon pops and its life is over, the mold continues on. The balloon is your body, your Life Anchor, here in the Mortal World, and the mold is your Nythra Soul in the Aether."

He paced around the room as he explained. "The Anchor gradually gathers Nythra on the Aether side to cast a mold of itself, which grows into the Soul. When the Anchor dies, it's consciousness transfers to the Soul, which then breaks free and ascends beyond the Aether to whatever existence comes next. That is the normal order of things. But necromancers can manipulate Nythra to create a False Soul, which then re-animates the Anchor without restoring it's aura. The True Soul is already gone, and the False Soul is like an auto-pilot program to keep a machine running without a real operator. I know this is a lot. Sorry if it sounds like I'm mansplaining." He chuckled.

"Yes, you should probably head home, but since this bear is still around, I need to keep an eye on you," Desmond added. "I'll stay out of sight down the street, I just need to be close enough to sense your aura in case you get attacked again. If we're dealing with possible necromancy here, I may not be able to sense any assailants, so I will only have your aura to go by."

 

[Perplexia]

"No it's okay. Thank for mansplaining it to me. I think I get the jist of it now"
She sighed not understanding why this was happening to her.

"Alright" she said feeling a little safer knowing that he would be near to protect her.

"Are you sure I should go home? I don't want to put my mother at risk. She's not really coherent most of the time." She really didn't want to come right and say my mother is a raving drug addict.

"If you want to come with me, that would make me feel even better. Unless you have some place safer. If whatever it may be is hunting me. I don't want to put my mother or our neighbors at risk."

 

[The Jeffinator]

"That is a fair point," Desmond agreed, nodding. "We certainly don't want to put anyone else at risk. On the other hand, anyone involved in this may target your home if they can't find you anywhere else. If we had more Hunters, I'd call in a friend to watch your house while we stayed somewhere else. The closest Hunter is currently investigating cartel activity in South America, so he's got his hands full. The rest are on the other side of the world dealing with their own shit." He shrugged. "It's a grievous understatement to say we are 'understaffed.' It's been that way for decades."

He walked over and grabbed his bag again, slinging it over a shoulder. "The best way for me to protect both you and your family is to have you in the same place, at least for now. I was going to clean this bloody mess up, but since we've got a bit of a hike, it's best to leave it. I have a jeep parked at a rest stop a few miles away, but if you have your own vehicle at the edge of the forest somewhere, that might be closer. Are you from one of the local towns or do you live farther away?"

 

[Perplexia]

"I walked here." she exclaimed with a shrug. "I live in Tillamook." she answered to his question of if she lived in a town near by. "My mother.. well, she's a drug addict. She probably won't even know you're there, for she barely acknowledges my presence. She says the drugs quiet her voices. Is it possible that she will have whatever I do? Would you be able to check her aura?"

Myka was glad they were just going to leave the mess. Cleaning up blood wasn't her idea of a good time. She followed Desmond out and began to follow him to his jeep. "I'm short, slow down" she complained as they hiked.

 

[The Jeffinator]

"Tillamook, okay," Desmond replied, walking through the woods towards his vehicle. "I'm sorry to hear about your mother, though you may be right in thinking that she has dormant abilities too. I will scout her for an aura when we arrive."

As they continued on, he laughed out when Myka mentioned she was short and for him to slow down. "We've still got a bit of a hike to my jeep -- it would be quicker if I just carried you." He waited a second to give her a chance to protest, strapped his duffel back to the front of his chest, knelt down, and pointed to his back. "Hop on!"

He enjoyed the feeling of her warm body pushing against his, her small breasts rubbing against his back, her arms draped over his shoulders. He reached behind and placed firm hands on the back of her knees, stood to his feet, and resumed walking in fast and long strides.

"So, tell me about yourself, Myka," Desmond prodded as they strolled along. "Are you in school? What do you like to do in your free time? Hobbies?"

 

[Perplexia]

"Thank You" she replied to his comment about scanning her mothers aura. If she was magical. Perhaps he could teach her how to use it. How to control the voices or block them out. Then they could put her in Rehab, and it would be one less worry off of plate.

She let out a laugh when he suggested carrying her, thinking he was teasing. That was until he crouched down and instructed her to hop on. "Oh you're serious, um okay." She hoped on his back wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. As he walked her nipples became hard from bouncing against his back. His smell was euphoric. She'd never smelled anything quite like it. His natural scent was a turn on for her. It was first time she had ever felt attracted to a man like this. Sure she had thought boys were cute, she knew she was straight, but this guy was some how different.

When he asked her about herself. It took her a few moments to recompose herself.

"Well I recently graduated. I'm taking a year or so off while i work odd jobs trying to get the money for college. Mom supports us by living off her trust fund. But other then getting money for the bills, the rest goes up her nose or in her arm." Her voice went a little sad when she spoke about it.

"Really all my free time is spent listening to my voices. I do all kinds of odd things. Most the time i'm rewarded by something. My voices told me to climb a specific tree. So i did and found a hundred dollar bill impaled by a branch. It was odd, I guess the winds must have been really rough when it was swept up there. Today's voice said to go hiking, and I met you."

 

[The Jeffinator]

"That sounds like clairvoyance, indeed," Desmond replied. "A Soul gazing beyond the present timeline and secretly observing alternate futures to best guide the mind and body in the present. Do the voices ever sound like actual people talking? Sometimes a Soul can use one's memory of spoken words and rearrange them into new messages to communicate paranormal instincts and hidden desires."

He could feel Myka's nipples pressing into his back as they walked, causing him to fight the urge to rip her shirt off right there to suck on them passionately. He envisioned the firm, pink buttons between his strong, wet lips as he bathed the sensitive flesh with generous swipes of his tongue. He imagined what it might sound like to hear her moan, a flush of redness to her face as he worked his way further down her body...

He snapped himself back to reality, nodding toward an upcoming clearing in the trees. "The rest stop is just over there." They could hear traffic in the distance as they came upon a two-lane road that led around a hill to a nearby highway just out of sight. On the other side of the small road, there was a large brick visitor center with bathrooms, vending machines, and travel guides. "We probably both need to use the restrooms and grab refreshments, so I'll meet you back out here in a few minutes. That's my baby over there -- Black Rhino," he pointed to a black and silver jeep.

https://i.imgur.com/5SFsvIH.jpg

 

[Perplexia]

"I don't know, I've never really thought about it" she advised while pondering. "I guess I've always just thought it was my inner voice speaking to me. Urging me to do things. My grandmother use to call it a gut instinct. "Trust your inner voice she had said to me. You know kinda like those cartoons with angels on your shoulder, your conscious i guess. They've never put me in danger, well at least today, but i still think the purpose of the hike was to meet you."

When they got to the clearing he pointed out his jeep. He seemed pretty proud of it. "ya okay." she responded about meeting him back at his jeep. "Um Des, the voices say to check your tires before we leave."

She shrugged as her feet hit the ground and she trotted off to the restroom. As she sat there in the ill smelling restroom the aching in her nipples and between her thighs reminded her of how good it had been to be pressed up against that strong muscular man. Shaking her head she finished her business, washed her hands and headed out to the jeep.

 

[The Jeffinator]

After throwing his duffel bag in the back seat of his jeep, Desmond went inside to use the restroom and grab a few drinks and snacks. He walked back out to his vehicle with a full paper bag in his arms, setting it on the floor behind the drivers seat. He then looked up to see Myka returning as well.

"Is that so?" he replied when she mentioned checking his tires. "Well, let's have a look." He dropped onto his back on the ground and slid underneath the jeep. A minute later, he laughed. "Well I'll be damned." He slid back out, carrying a baby black kitten in his arms that had curled up in the frame above the rear tires. The cute little girl gently nibbled on his finger as he showed her to Myka.

"I guess if you are a witch, it seems only fitting that we'd find a black cat," he chuckled. "She looks a bit malnourished, so she's probably a stray. You basically saved her life, so you should name her."

https://i.imgur.com/ru2npyy.jpg

 

[Perplexia]

Myka just smiled widely at the little black bundle of joy. Sitting down in the passenger seat she took the kitten from Desmond and stroked her head.

"her name is sosha, 'oh i'm sorry,' she said to the cat. "Her name is Soshi, she was left to fend for herself when her mother was hit by a truck. Her siblings have all died of hunger, she is the last one. Oh okay.." she said to the cat "She wants me to thank you for finding her. There's a pet store in town, we can stop and i'll pick up some kitten milk and essentials for her."

The realization of what she did hit her and she looked at Desmond wide eyed. "I haven't done that before. Whats that called?" she referenced in her sudden ability to talk to animals.

 

[The Jeffinator]

"Speaking to animals was usually a specialty of the ancient druids," explained Desmond, smiling as he watched Myka pet the kitten. "However, it's completely possible for a witch to inherit this ability if they have a druid ancestor mixed in their bloodline."

He started up the jeep, and soon they were heading towards the pet store. "So, Soshi? Cute name."

 

[Perplexia]

Myka let out a laugh "She says she knows", cocky little bugger.
They pulled in front of the pet store with in a few minutes. https://www.burnham-on-sea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/pet-shop.jpg

With firm grasp on Soshi, she went inside and grabbed the essentials for her new pet. She returned to the jeep and Desmond with a bag and placed it behind her seat. With directions to her house they were on there way. It didn't take long to get to her cottage on the outskirts of town.

"Please ignore the mess, I haven't had the opportunity to clean up, as you can imagine we rarely get visitors."

When they walked in her mother was sprawled on the couch in a sheer robe taking a swig out of a bottle of Jack Daniels. "Oh the prodigal daughter returns, and with a man. And what a man, hello handsome. If the little prude here doesn't satisfy you i'm offering." Her mother hadn't taken a bath in a few days and it showed.

"Mother try to behave. This is Desmond. Desmond meet Felicity my mother for all intensive purposes."

"If you think i'm taking care of that cat you're dead wrong little miss."
"Mother you can't even take care of yourself. Soshi will be taken care of by me, don't worry."

Taking Desmonds hand she let him upstairs to her room. Which if he hadn't walked through the house to get there, he wouldn't have guessed it was part of the house. Her room was neat, and full of books. Her king size bed was neatly made. Putting down Soshi she went into her bathroom and mixed up the milk substitute and gave it to her. Then the litter box w/ litter.

Turning back to Desmond she asked. "Did you see anything in her aura?"

 

[The Jeffinator]

After Myka had given Desmond directions to the pet store and then her house, they arrived at the cottage on the edge of town. He was a bit surprised by the mess, and even more taken aback when her mother addressed him so crudely. Still, he couldn't help but grin at the exchange between the two women. He then felt skin on skin as Myka took his hand and led him to her room, where he offered to help her get Soshi's stuff all set up.

"It's hard to say," he replied to her question about her mother. "She's heavily intoxicated right now, and it seems as if the long history of alcohol and drug abuse has permanently weakened her aura. To be perfectly honest, I don't know if she would even be capable of channeling Mana in this state even if she had the potential. She has likely damaged her body internally to the point that any attempt to use magic could drain what little life force she has left." He realized this must all be very hard for her to hear. "I'm sorry, Myka..."

They finished getting Soshi taken care of, then Desmond pointed with his thumb over his shoulder towards the front of the house. "Do you think your mother would mind if I set up my tent in the yard? I want to be close in case anything happens."

 

[Perplexia]

"well, it was worth a shot." she said in reference to him reading her mother. "I don't know what else to do to help her. She won't help herself, so it's a moot point i suppose."

Myka sighs at his request to have the tent in the front yard shaking her head. "this is not my idea, but the voices say that you should stay here with me. They normally don't give a reason, but evidently.." she shakes her head. "In the front yard my mother will come and try to seduce you. When you deny her she'll call the cops on you."

"I'm famished, are you hungry? I'll make us some lunch."

 

[The Jeffinator]

Desmond raised his eyebrows as Myka explained the consequences of him camping outside. He then grinned. "Wow, the potency of your clairvoyance is growing fast. Within a single day you went from only having vague notions to actually predicting specific events that have yet to pass." He crossed his arms and laughed. "I'm fairly certain now that your bloodline belonged to Sùil an Ròs Dubh, which is Scottish Gaelic for Eye of the Black Rose. It was a large coven of witches in Scotland renowned for their power of prophecy and they were unmatched in that talent. They used to communicate via secret means by brushing rose pedals with melted black candle wax, psychically inscribing an artificial memory. The recipient would then burn the pedal, and the scent of the wax re-melting would carry the sights and sounds of the sender's intended message. This method was especially useful during times of persecution by the Templars."

Desmond pondered for a moment. "Though I would take care to analyze what the voices tell you. Since you haven't been formally trained, it is possible for subconscious thoughts and desires to manifest themselves as false visions. I'm not saying that's what this is, but due to how fast your powers are growing, you don't want to develop overconfidence. If you learn to trust too faithfully in your voices, they could be influenced by your deepest thoughts and lead you astray."

He then smiled when she mentioned lunch. "I have some food that I got from the store earlier, but I'd be a fool to pass up a home-cooked meal."