Chapter 7

• Owen walked over to Cora and took her arm gently. “Is there something we should do?” He had no idea why he was offering to help with something he totally didn’t understand, but he could feel the tension coming off her in waves and didn’t want anything to spoil this oddly wonderful night for everyone.
• Cora looked down at his hand for a few moments then back to his face. “Let go for a moment, please.”
• Feeling as if he had done something wrong, he dropped his hand and put it in his pocket. “Sorry.”
• She smiled and shook her head. “Don’t apologize. Take my arm again.”
• Bewildered, he did as asked.
• She chuckled, “I think we have found Owen’s talent. He absorbed the negative feelings I was feeling, just by touching me. Of course, it floods right back when he’s not, which worries me. The energy is that strong out there, but at least we know Owen is a very strongly grounded empathic.”
• Owen looked down at his hand. “I did what? I’m what?”
• Rachel smiled up at him. “You can take the negative and, I’m willing to bet, the pain from others. I’m guessing it doesn’t affect you in any way, or you would have known before now. That is cool, Owen.” She grinned over at Leena, “We could really use him at the factory.”
• Leena laughed. “Yes, a resident empath would be easy to explain to the boss.”
• Dade was still staring at Owen. “It figures you’d have something cool. I wonder...” He walked over to his pack and pulled out his pocketknife. Dade grinned at Owen as he held up his hands with a startled look on his face. “Relax, it’s for me.” He opened the blade and pulled it over an inch on the back of his arm. “Can you fix stuff, too?” He held his arm out to him.
• Owen was thinking he was stuck in a seriously weird dream, but still walked over and placed his hand over the small cut on Dade’s arm. “Is this all I do?” Dade shrugged and looked at his hand. He lifted it to look at the cut. “It’s still there.”
• Dade ran his hand over it. “It’s not throbbing now and it’s not bleeding either. So, you can stop the pain but not completely heal.” He shrugged and dropped the knife back in the pack. “Well, it’s still cool.” He slapped Owen on the back, “welcome to our little circle.”
• They both turned to watch Cora walk to the fire and place her hands over it. “It’s really damp now that it’s raining.”
• Kasey handed her the bottle of mead. “It’s going to get a lot damper.” As she dropped her hand, the rain increased even more. “Did anyone bring umbrellas? We’re going to drown getting back to the cabins.”
• Leena walked over and rubbed her hand up Cora’s arm. “It’s really bad isn’t it?” Cora nodded. “Should we try to see where it’s coming from?” She glanced around at the others, then back at Cora.
• Cora let out a breath. “It could make it worse.”
• Chris walked over and took her hand. “There are eight of us here, we can shield anything together. Do you have what you need with you?” He glanced around at the others who nodded. “Let’s give it a try then, shall we? Maybe we’ll have a breakthrough that will let us know what to expect.”
• Owen watched as everyone reached for their backpacks and bags, and within moments there were candles, rattles, dishes, herbs, and more things he couldn’t name. He watched them light herbs and candles. “What should I do?” He knew nothing of this.
• Dade looked around. “Well, this wasn’t what we intended to welcome you, but it needs to be done.” He glanced at Cora then back to him. “If it gets to be too much for her, it will cause her a lot of pain. If that happens, I’d like you to go stand behind her and place your hands on her shoulders and see if you can ease it for her.” Cora stopped what she was doing and looked over at Dade. She offered a quiet smile to him then went back to what she was doing.
• Owen let out a slow breath, “okay.” Everyone looked so serious. “Just... if you could try not to scare the shit out of me, I’d really appreciate it.” Chris tapped him on the back, and the Doc grinned at him.
• Kasey walked over and reached up to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “Just stay in the circle until we’re done, and you’ll be fine.” She turned to Leena and Steven. “You ready?”
• They nodded.
• The eight stood in a circle around the small fire pit. Outside the shelter, the rain poured so hard it was a steady, deafening sound. Cora stepped closer to the fire and stared into it. She glanced up and nodded to Leena. Taking Dade’s hand, she whispered, “Let’s hope the ancestors are available tonight.”
• Dade lifted her hand and kissed it before he let go. “I’ll make sure they are.” He picked up the instrument in front of him and gently began to shake it from side to side. His lips moved in a silent chant, and he closed his eyes.
• Owen watched as Leena and Steven both turned their backs to the circle, facing the pouring rain. Raising their hands, they lowered their heads in concentration. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he’d never have believed. As their heads came up, the wind circled the shelter and blocked out the pouring rain. He could no longer see, or hear, the heavy downpour. Not knowing what to expect, he looked at the others. Chris, Kasey, and Rachel were standing with their hands clasped and staring into the fire as the flames rose, flames that were nearly white now. He blinked just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
• Dade’s motion with the shaker became faster and louder as he moved to stand beside Cora. Her head was thrown back and her eyes closed, she seemed to be shaking with the rhythm of the rattle. Her eyes flew open as she stopped moving and looked into the fire. He could see the sweat beading down her face, and her hands trembled. The look on her face told him she was afraid, but she said nothing. She reached empty hands toward the fire, and the flames flew higher. Not knowing what else to do, Owen went to stand behind her in case he was needed, hoping he would know if he was at some point.
• She stepped back and cried out in fear. He caught by the biceps and held her, as Dade instructed. Glancing over her shoulder and into the fire he saw, he blinked again, images. They blurred together and he couldn’t understand them.
• Cora cried out again and sagged back against him. He caught her tight against his waist and held her to his chest. His own chest began to burn. He didn’t know what was going on, but he felt compelled to stop it. “Stop now!” He said roughly.