The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [42]
I felt almost light-headed as my mind floated free of my body; waves of thought and impressions washed over me. They came from every corner of the stable, flitting like butterflies, drifting like peat smoke. Idle thoughts about how to saddle a horse that had never been ridden or what to do with a fevered mare, a fleeting thought about a bitter wintertime when hundreds of animals had died. The barn was alive with memories now that I had opened myself to receive the imprints they had made. There was no telling how long the impression of a thought might last. It depended on the thinker and the time and the place and a dozen other things.
Remembering my intention to probe Rushton, I raised his image in my thoughts, seeking his mind in particular. The beauty of probing him at a distance was that even if he felt something, he would not associate it with me. But I would be very careful and reach only into the upper levels of his mind.
I pushed my thoughts farther afield, striving out to where Misfits were picking fruit, and beyond to where livestock grazed in far fields, into every corner of the farms. I was ranging too widely now to receive any individual thoughts; it was like traveling through a pool and getting deeper and deeper without ever touching the bottom.
I went out beyond Obernewtyn, forgetting Rushton and wondering how far I could go. If it was possible to go beyond the mountains, I might be able to reach Maruman. But before I could try, something brushed against my mind.
I recoiled, but curiosity made me withdraw only a little way. Foolishly, I ventured near again, and again my thoughts touched something. It was not a mind but some sort of force. I touched it again and felt it squirm. Then it reached out and enveloped me. Suddenly I was afraid. I began to withdraw, but the force grew stronger and held me tightly. Frantically, I pulled back, but whatever the force was that I had disturbed began to drive me back toward my own body. I fought, but I was like a leaf in a storm. I became aware of the nearness of my body. Dimly I registered that I had fallen to my knees.
Inexorably, I was forced into my body, and to my horror, it was my body as well as my mind that was now trapped. I could not move a muscle! A drumming sounded in my ears, and a wave of new fright washed over me when I realized that the force was summoning my body.
With a sob, I felt my legs tremble. Against my will, I began to walk stiffly toward the open door of the stable.
“No!” I screamed, but inwardly, since not even my mouth would respond to my will.
Then I sensed another mind. It was not like the mindless force that had taken hold of me. It was human, but there was something strange about it, too. But any curiosity I might have felt was swamped by my terror.
“O reaching girlmind … who?”
This other mind was far stronger than Matthew’s, but there was something disjointed about it, as if a voice spoke in an echoing chamber. I felt the cool touch of the other mind, and its tendrils meshed gently with mine. Instinctively, I fought free of its embrace, knowing that such a connection would reveal me utterly to that unknown mind. Yet in that moment I had sensed its desire to help me.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Trust me, sistermind. What is your name? My friends and I have sensed you before.”
I struggled for a moment in the viselike grip of the inhuman force and realized I was about to walk out into the open.
“Help me!” I cried to the other.
“Perhaps if we help, you will trust. You are strong. But the machine that holds you is too strong for you to fight. Together we will be stronger. Meld with me, and when I signal, pull away as hard as you can. The machine has no mind to make a decision. It will not