Page 69 of Tethered to the World
She nearly jumped out of her skin when Logan pushed away from the wall and sauntered toward her. She waited for a sarcastic or cutting remark, but he seemed sincere. He was already dressed, but he must have done nothing more than run the shower to get here in time to be waiting for her, and she raised a brow at his still-dripping hair.
“Until we know more about your father and who drugged you last night, we decided to take shifts watching over you.” Logan nudged her to get her moving. “Xander will be along shortly.”
They barely reached the entrance outside the arena before Xander silently joined them, looking completely refreshed, as if he hadn’t just spent the past three hours kicking her ass. He took lead, Logan automatically falling in step beside her.
Because of Logan’s comment, she was surprised when they stopped in the middle of the busy campus and took a seat on the edge of a water fountain, the guys taking up residence on either side of her, so close their arms brushed against hers. “What are we doing?”
“We’re going to practice with your abilities.” But Xander wasn’t looking at her, he was surveying the crowd for any possible threat.
“Xander told me you’re able to tell a person’s species by just looking at them.” Logan glanced at her admiringly for a heartbeat, then he turned and tipped his chin in the direction of a couple of students crossing campus. “What are they?”
Her mouth went dry at the thought of touching the darkness so eagerly waiting for her. Xander spoke, cutting off her protests before she could even formulate them. “You’re afraid of what you call the darkness, but it’s a part of you. Keeping your other nature separate from you is dangerous, like ignoring a bomb ready to detonate.”
She swallowed hard at the thought of what he was asking. To rip away all her shields would leave her exposed and vulnerable. Her shields have kept her hidden and protected. Without them, she wasn’t sure what she would become…a killer or worse. “Or it could be like releasing a plague onto the world. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
Xander turned to gaze at her with clear teal eyes. “And neither do you. Until you learn, you’ll always be hampered by that fear. You’ll never grow into your full potential.”
“And if I don’t want to reach my full potential?” What kind of monster would she become? She shuddered at the thought of becoming a bridge to the afterworld, burdened with the ability to throw open a door so all the deadly creatures could escape and consume the world.
Logan reached over and threaded his fingers with hers, not looking at her as he placed their joined hands on his knee. “You’re afraid of the wrong things. You are a lot stronger than you believe, but I worry about what will happen when your uncle finally shows. If we’re not allowed to kill him to protect you, we’re basically defenseless, and I’ve had enough of being helpless.” He squeezed her fingers and looked at her. “I think you have too. Only when you accept the darkest part of you will you be able to defeat him and finally be free.”
He sounded like a damned fortune cookie. She blew out an exasperated breath, recognizing he spoke the truth. These next few minutes were going to suck. “Fine. Let’s do this.”
Xander pointed to a girl talking on the phone. “What is she?”
She tried to pull her hand away from Logan, but he refused to release her. “You need to let go. I don’t want to risk using my abilities while you’re touching me.”
Instead of agreeing, Xander took her other hand. “You don’t get to choose the setting when you’re attacked. You’re going to have to learn how to roll with the punches.”
She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it.
He was right.
Dammit!
She concentrated on the girl he indicated. She was already halfway across the quad, and nothing about her suggested she was anything other than human.
She called the darkness, felt it stir to life like glitter caught in a whirlwind. Instead of letting it seep through her skin and risk touching the others, she kept it inside, allowing it to cover her eyes. She wasn’t in the afterworld exactly, but somewhere in between. A large snake seemed to slither around the girl’s hips and up along her back, resting its head on her shoulders.
“A snake.” She blinked to clear her eyes, tension leaving her spine when the darkness didn’t threaten to drag her into the afterworld.
Instead of being pleased, Xander frowned. “You’re holding back.”
Her smile fell away. “You don’t allow your beast out every time you want to use your senses.”
“No, but I don’t call for my beast to enhance my hearing. My senses are always waiting for me when I need them, our beasts resting right below the surface, watching and waiting. You shouldn’t have to call on them.” He ran a hand along his jaw, then looked over at the campus. “You might have only seconds to react, but those seconds could mean life or death.”
She couldn’t refute his insight, but the very idea sent her pulse pounding. “Then how do you keep your monster from taking over?”
Xander lifted their joined hands and pressed them to his chest. “Oh honey, you’re not a monster. We’ve all had to do things we regret to stay alive.”
“Letting your beast free doesn’t mean it will take over. It actually makes you stronger, helps you react faster. It’s a part of you.” Logan played with her fingers, cupping her hand in both of his. “We’ve all lost control when our emotions get the best of us, but with enough practice, you’ll learn when to let your beast free and when to lock it down.”
“Try again.” Xander leaned forward, resting his free elbow on his knee, then nodded to a boy who had just dropped his books. “Him.”
She shifted her feet restlessly against the urge to bolt, resisting for one reason…what if they were right? What would happen if she just let go? Biting the inside of her lip, she relished the flash of pain—needed it to keep her head free from emotions trying to clutter it up—and decided to trust them.
When she called upon the darkness without restricting it, she didn’t expect it to surge out of her in a violent wave and swallow them whole. A shiver of pain prickled along her skin as the darkness rose. The guys grunted as it slammed into them. She tried to jerk her hands away, but they only tightened their grip, refusing to release her.
