“What glories shall I see when I step upon that shore and see my Savior’s face...” The words of Neleck’s favorite poem wafted through my thoughts, fading as his presence faded slowly away. Then as the words disappeared, the body beside me took a deep shuddering breath and was still.
I waited in the silence. Only the steady thud of my own heart and the rhythm of my own lungs broke the quiet. Grief came in snatches, winding cold wispy fingers about my heart. Yet, beneath the ache settling over me, I could sense a peace. Someday I would see him again. Thank you, Father.
Rising, I carefully placed the cooling hand on the bedclothes. His eyes were already closed; so, there was nothing more for me to do. I crossed to the door, signaled to the healer’s assistant that Neleck had passed, and stepped out into the night. Despite the workload awaiting my attention tomorrow, I doubted that sleep was anywhere in my near future.
Chapter VII
Zezilia
By late Cadeomea, the time when the leaves turn brown, orange, and red in preparation for winter, I was sending instinctively and Errol proclaimed me ready to attempt using the second talent.
“I have high hopes for you in this aspect, Zez,” he informed me as he led me up the trail to the meadow. Selwyn was to join us there to observe my first lesson.
“Why?”
“Of the trained females to date, all of them have excelled in mass moving above their abilities at sending.”
I frowned at him. “Why?”
“The theory is that women produce more energy than men.” He pushed aside an overgrown bush and held it back for me to pass. “You see moving objects without touching them takes a different skill, completely separate from the brain.”
I nodded. Force or Thought had explained in sparse detail what happened when one tried to move matter. In order to move matter, a talent must have two things: a functioning amoveo, an organ located beneath the breastbone; and a capio gland. The capio gland produced an energy completely undetectable to the normal human senses which the amoveo then manipulated to interact with the physical world around the talent.
All of this had been accepted and known from before the Great Loss. When our people were forced to disburse from the great cities in the far north after the land soured, they left most of their knowledge behind. A few scholars had thought to bring texts of information, but it had all been so long ago that only a few texts had survived. Everything known was traced back to those few sources and observations.
“It is theorized that the female capio gland produces more energy for their amoveo to utilize, thus it takes less effort from their amoveo to move something.”
“Is this why we are having the first lesson in an open field?”
Errol paused to laugh. “No, that is because I learned my lesson teaching Ilias. He literally lifted every object in the entire room on his first successful try. It took me months to teach that boy to focus. I don’t want to call down my wife’s wrath over an overturned room again. So, you shall have your first try out in the open where the worst that can happen is dirt hanging in the air.”
At the mention of Ilias’ name, I stored away this new information about him. The man’s name came up every other lesson, and the whole family spoke of him with great affection. Candra told me stories of camping trips with her father and Ilias, Eloine spoke of his singing, and Galatea compared every man she met to the mysterious former student. Though I knew that Errol tried not to compare his students, Ilias’ name came up often when discussing what he expected of me, or what to do or not do in different situations. Apparently, Ilias had been his best student before me. Frequently of late, I found myself wanting to ask someone abruptly who this mysterious student was and see if I could startle information from them.
“Ah, here we are,” Errol announced as he pulled himself up the last rise. “Oh, good, Selwyn is already here. We can begin at once.”
Selwyn lay in the grass near the edge of the field. Sprawled out on his back with an arm flung over his eyes, he looked like he had been napping while he waited. A grasshopper was perched in his dark hair and a many legged bug crawled up his bare foot. Errol crossed to him and nudged his side with a sandaled toe.
“For the last time, Candra,” Selwyn muttered.
“Candra isn’t here.” Errol informed him. “Has she been bothering you?”
“Oh, greetings, Errol.” He blinked up into the afternoon sunshine. “She hasn’t been too bad. Just wanted me to help with her tree house since Zezilia wasn’t available.” Rising to his feet with the fluidity of a man used to sitting on the ground, he inclined his head. “Good to see you, Zez.”
“And you, Master Selwyn.”
He smiled and something tugged at my memory. Annoyed, I pushed it away.
“Thank you for coming to assist.” Errol nodded his red head to him.
Selwyn shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. A first lesson in moving matter is always eventful.” He winked at me.
A thrill of nerves slithered down my back. This sounded bigger than Errol had led me to believe.
“Don’t be nervous.” Selwyn’s wild, smoky taste flickered over me tongue. “I am only here because Errol isn’t much of a mass mover.”
“So, you are here to stop me from hurting him?”
“Or yourself.”
“Come over here, Zez,” Errol called. I turned to spot him in the center of the meadow, a frizz haze of hair above the tall grass. “Selwyn, would you mind mowing this field before the next lesson. I cannot see worth anything through this jungle.”
I followed the sound of Errol’s voice, wading through the
