The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [30]
My mind reeled with the things he said. In a few moments, he had changed my life. I had so long believed I was a lone freak with the ability to read the thoughts of other people and of beasts. A strange, almost frightening thought came to me then: if there were three of us, there might be more. There must be more. Belatedly, it occurred to me that I had been rude to dip into Matthew’s mind. This sudden desire not to invade the thoughts of another person was new and told me that I had accepted something I had previously thought impossible. I was no longer alone.
“We’ll manage canny between us,” Matthew was saying, still in that barely audible voice. “I’d be pleased, though, if ye’d teach me how to shield so well, fer I can’t believe that shield of yours is any accident,” he added humbly. I looked into his bright, intelligent face, and it was as if some wall in me crumbled.
“I will teach you,” was all I said, but with those words it was as if I peeled off a layer of skin. Matthew beamed, seeming to understand the momentousness of sharing for the first time, and I thought of Jes and wished he could know what I had discovered.
“And Dameon?” Matthew asked anxiously, breaking into mindspeak.
I turned slightly to watch Dameon’s graceful progress behind us and sent out a gentle probe. He flinched and stumbled, and I withdrew hurriedly.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, but he shook his head.
“I was just surprised. It’s stronger than when Matthew does it,” he said, and smiled. “I can feel your curiosity,” he laughed. “It’s almost as bad as his. I call my own ability empathy.”
“He does that all th’ time,” Matthew reassured me aloud. “He picks up th’ weirdest things. No words, though, an’ he’s deaf as a doorpost to other things.”
“Quiet back there!” Ariel shouted, effectively silencing the entire group. I hoped Matthew would be careful, and to my relief, he said nothing more and dropped back to walk with Dameon. He sent a silent promise that we would meet again soon, when it was safe.
Busy with my thoughts, I cannoned into one of the twins, who had stopped in front of me. We had reached the end of the maze.
Ariel led us out and told us to wait by the maze gate until Rushton came to collect us. Matthew and Dameon made no move to join me, so I took their cue and stayed where I was. The sun had risen quite high now, and though the grass was still dew-soaked and the shadows long, the air smelled delicious with the mingled farm smells.
I glanced back at Matthew and, seeing his sober expression, I had an unaccountable desire to make a face at him. I was amazed at the warmth of my feelings, but as the farm overseer approached from the direction of the sheds, I felt a moment of apprehension. Though this time he paid no particular attention to me, there was an aura of power about him, and I was reminded of something Maruman had once said about wild animals—that even the most gentle was not quite safe. That was how Rushton struck me—as if one might run a great risk in simply knowing him. Yet when he began assigning tasks, his apparent boredom reassured me.
Dameon, Matthew, and others were sent over to a large building that he called the drying shed. Cameo and the twins were sent across to the orchards. Then only two of us remained. The other girl was to feed the pigs, Rushton said, and I was to clean out the stables. He gave me an expressionless look with his bold green eyes and told me to wait inside until he returned.
A large dog lay against a wall just inside the stables. He opened his eyes