Chosen

I tried to remember any other unexplainable instances that had occurred in the last several months, but came up empty-handed. Phoebe, (who was about to jump out of her seat) couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Affectation!” she spit out, and then clamped a guilty hand over her mouth.

“What’d you call me?” I scrunched my nose at her, making her laugh.

“Affectation,” Zara began, “is the ability to shroud your appearance.”

She allowed her words to sink in for a moment, but it was apparent that Willow and Phoebe had already heard of it. Me? Not so much.

“Like…a shape shifter?” I questioned hesitantly. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I had no desire to ‘shift’ in any way.

“Not quite. Affectation is more of an illusion,” she explained. “You aren’t physically changing whatsoever. The person you plant that image upon will simply see you that way.”

“I’m not sure I want to brainwash anyone.” I bit my lip and heard Finn snicker from the kitchen. I cut my eyes at him, which only made him laugh louder. I didn’t think brainwashing was a laughing matter, but what did I know?

“When you shroud your appearance, you’re just causing the other person to see you differently. You aren’t changing their thoughts or memory. You’re simply presenting them with a mental picture of you that removes what you truly look like.”

“You can’t be serious,” I countered. I could change the way people saw me? Something about that possibility sent excitement pulsing through me, but my instincts were telling me there were consequences.

“Serious as a heart attack,” Zara promised ominously. “But, it’s not an ability you should throw around on a regular basis. There can be major consequences if it’s used out of context.” Bingo.

“So what do I use it for?” I’d always wanted a bigger chest, but I had a feeling that fell under the ‘out of context’ she was referring to.

“For our immediate needs, I’d advise you to use a shroud for protection.” She studied Finn.

“The person seeing the shroud will not know that you’re doing it, but only one person at a time can be fooled. The second anyone else walks up, they’ll see you for who you really are.”

“I could see where that would get tricky,” I contemplated. Something about it just seemed wrong - tricking people into seeing something that wasn’t really there. Needless to say, I still wouldn’t hesitate to use it against Nadia or Keto.

“Let’s practice,” Zara ordered. “Willow, I want you to be our first guinea pig. All you have to do is make sure your mind is open and your eyes are focused on Stasia.”

“Show me something good,” Willow winked at me.

“Alright, Stasia, first you’ll have to decide what you want Willow to see. Then you have to picture a clear image of it in your mind, before transferring it to Willow. It’s similar to seeing other’s memories, except…the opposite.” That made just enough sense for it to confuse me completely.

“Okay.” I pictured what I wanted Willow to see in my mind, and then memorized it before driving my energy to Willow; continually focusing on the image. She squinted several times, but frowned.

“You’re either a really pretty Brad Pitt or a really ugly Jennifer Anniston,” she guessed.

Phoebe collapsed into a fit of giggles and Finn laughed from the kitchen.

“It was supposed to be Phoebe,” I groaned in defeat. Unfortunately, that made everyone laugh that much harder. After tears were wiped and everyone caught their breath, we tried again.

“Okay - this time really fixate on the specific details of the image,” Zara instructed. “But once you send her the image, wipe it from your mind. If you don’t give it to her fully she won’t be able to see the whole thing, or else it’ll be a mixture…like your Phoebe attempt.”

After everyone had again chuckled at my expense, I decided on another image and then sent it her direction. As Zara had suggested, once sent, I dismissed it right away. I even took a sip of tea as I watched Willow’s eyes widen. She placed a hand over her mouth and stared at Zara and Phoebe to see if they were seeing what she was seeing.

Convinced she was the only one to see my new appearance, she finally spoke. “You’re Liam!”

I didn’t know if I could pull off a boy, but I chose one that she would recognize without hesitation.

“It worked!” I bounced up and down on the couch. Willow burst into another bout of laughter.

“Next time you turn into a boy, I’d refrain from talking,” she giggled.

“I didn’t even think about that!” I crowed, and sought out Zara for my next question. “So how do I turn it off? I’d hate to have Willow thinking I’m Liam. That could get real awkward, real fast.”

“Just pull your energy back,” she retorted simply. I gathered up the small amount of energy I had sent Willow and pulled it back to my body.

“Much better,” Willow exhaled with a smile. “That was freaking me out.”

“That is the coolest ability ever!” Phoebe shrieked with wonderment. “Do me next!”

For the next hour we embarked on a diabolical game of ‘Guess Who’ until I was the resident expert on shrouding. The fact that I could do it without even trying was almost unsettling, but the entertainment I got out of watching their reactions to my version of Oprah, Sporty Spice, and Crocodile Dundee was worth it.

Even though I had the most practice with reveries, Zara still wanted me to practice in front of her to make sure I was doing it correctly and efficiently. The fact that I had an ulterior motive for wanting to practice reveries had something to do with my willing attitude. Willow and Phoebe got comfortable on the couch while I coaxed Finn into sitting with me, so that I could lay my head on his chest. It didn’t take much coaxing. While Zara paid close attention, I closed my eyes and allowed my soul to detach and lift from my body.

My soul glided across the island and onto the mainland as I headed for my chosen destination. I just hoped they were still there. When my bare feet landed on something solid, I stood in the middle of a dimly lit bedroom inside Natasha’s house. I twirled around to get a sense of my surroundings and instantly registered the form of a person lying in the bed. I crept towards the bed to get a peek of the person’s face. He was facing the wall, so it took a little maneuvering on my part to see it. As I leaned over, I held my breath and inspected the rough features that somehow appeared more rugged than old.

From the floral scent coming off of him, I assumed that his full head of gray hair had been recently washed with a bottle of shampoo from Natasha’s collection. The coarse gray hair of his beard and mustache wavered ever so slightly as he breathed in and out. He looked perfectly at peace under the veil of sleep, and I got the urge to hug him. It must have been so lonely for him, being in that prison for such a long period of time. I was about to step away when his eyes flickered open.

My heart dropped to the floor and I moved away at an inhuman speed. I pressed my back against the far wall and held my breath. I slowly knelt down beside a chest of drawers, praying I was invisible to him. In some of my reveries Peleus had been able to see me, but as in the last one at the prison on the beach, he couldn’t. I wasn’t taking any chances though, so I tried not to make a sound.

The low light did wonders to keep me hidden. I could have been a shadow. A poorly shaped shadow, but a shadow nonetheless.

He shifted in the bed, twisting onto his other side and adjusting his pillow. Thankfully, his sleepy eyes fluttered closed once more and I remained in my hiding spot for several more minutes as his breathing deepened and I was satisfied he was asleep. With the dexterity of an elephant, I made my way to the foot of the bed.

Oddly enough, three large suitcases had been set out; all overflowing with men’s clothes. I had a good feeling that they belonged to Charon. On the dresser sat a disheveled stack of papers and a large unmarked, manila envelope. The papers were scrawled in a language I couldn’t understand, and there were hundreds of them. It almost looked like diary. I picked up the manila envelope and looked inside when I heard his voice. I dropped to the floor without a second thought, hitting my leg on the dresser drawer that wasn’t flush with the others and slamming my elbow on the wood floor.

Ignoring the pain, I listened for him to speak or strangle me. That’s when I noticed a figurine on the edge of the dresser above me that was currently teeter-tottering on its side. I watched in horror as gravity won the battle and it fell. In one swift motion I caught it in my right hand, exhaling with premature relief.

As I brought my hand back down, it slipped out and landed onto the floor with a single clanking