Ancient Mystic's War of the Realms Saga, Lady Adellandra Dratianos [reading tree .TXT] 📗

in the Realm.”
“I get your point.” Claudia rolled her eyes, tossing the cup into the trash.
Before she could say another word, the pager on Anna’s belt beeped.
Claudia saw the frown on her sister’s face when she looked at it.
“Where are we going this time?” Claudia asked dreadfully.
“Nowhere.” Anna said, replacing the pager to her belt. “I’m needed upstairs to calm a patient.”
“What about me? Am I supposed to just sit here and wait for you?”
“Not at all.” Anna handed the folder to her, outlining the route she had to take during the rest of her shift. “You’ll just finish what we started.”
Claudia stared, thinking her older sister was crazy.
“Stop looking at me like that.” Anna nudged her. “I know you can do it. Here, I’ve even provided a perfectly good map so you won’t get lost. The shift ends at seven, so meet me here when you’re done, okay?”
Claudia sighed. “Are you sure you can trust me to do the right thing?”
“Not only are you my sister, you’re also a Ancient Mystic.” Anna whispered, giving her a final nudge of the shoulders before leaving. “I trust you.”
“Famous last words.” Claudia cried as the door shut behind her.
She looked through the folder in her hands. “Might as well get back to work.” She whispered to herself.

II

Sire Wolfton Stargazer could literally sense something was wrong with Katherine, his beloved bride. The Sisterhood Amulet around his neck also served as his Protector’s Pendant, linking them together in thought and emotions. Whenever Katherine was in trouble or hurting somewhere, the Amulet-Pendant would give him her power of Empathy to make him feel her pain.
He could see this time would be no different. For a brief moment in time, he had Kat’s power of Premonition. He saw his beloved confronting Sabrina and fainting after sending the former Dominionite Maiden somewhere.
“Celine!” He called to his bi-breed daughter, but she was already in front of him. Tears were in the child’s silver-blue eyes, telling him she already knew. He hugged her, using magic to transport them both to Katherine Hawk-Stargazer’s side.
They reappeared but yards away from her still body. As soon as Celine saw her mother, laying on the ground, she raced to her, crying. “Mommy!”
Wolf watched as his daughter tried to use what little of the Ancient Mystic Healer’s Magic she knew on her mother, but to no avail.
“Do not exhaust yourself, daughter.” Wolf growled, finally going to them. “You cannot spare the energy.”
Celine purred in agreement, looking at her father for answers.
Wolf wanted to heal his mate with the Magic within the Amulet-Pendant. He tried as well, nearly exhausting himself, the very thing he told his daughter not to do. Feeling helpless, he took Katherine in his arms, holding her close.
“Oh, Katherine, my beautiful, wonderful Balinese.” Wolf whispered into a non-listening ear. He rubbed his snout lovingly against her cheek. It was warm, so he knew she was still alive. “I am here for you. Please wake up darling.”
Celine silently stood aside, saddened by her father’s actions and the fact she couldn’t do anything to help ease either of her parents’ pain. She watched as her father cradled her mother the same way he used to when she was a pup-kit. That’s when she noticed the faint glow coming from her mother’s body. The violet-silver glow was brighter around her Sisterhood Amulet.
She noticed her father was glowing the same color, especially around his own Amulet-Pendant. Why would they each be glowing violet now? She bent down beside her parents, but her father didn’t even realize she was still there. She placed a hand on each of their cheeks, one on her father’s and one on her mother’s.
“Papa.” Celine whispered. Wolf turned to his daughter with grief in his eyes. “Do you not see it?”
“See what, Celine?” His voice was soft, barely a whisper.
“Mommy’s glowing!”
He shook out of a daze and stared at his mate. “How?”
Celine could only shake her head. She didn’t know, either. “The Sisters. They will heal and revive her for sure.”
Wolf pondered his child’s words. “So be it.” He said, taking her hand and disappearing again.

III

Claudia was half-weary by the end of the day. Though she closed her empathy power hours ago, she felt drained. She looked at the folder in her hands as she rode the elevator up. Her last charge for the day was a recovering lung cancer patient.
The elevator stopped at the third floor, opening to let her out. She walked down the hall to room 325, where she found the patient in bed, resting. She watched from the doorway, afraid of moving to wake him. From her view she could see the heart monitor, softly beeping after every heartbeat. The patient was hooked up to a slow-dripping IV. She found his chart on the door, reaching to look it over.
His name was Daniel Norton. He was sixty-two years old, husband of Alison Norton, father of three, grandfather of seven and a cigarette smoker for forty years. Judging by his age, Claudia thought he was old enough to have lived through both World Wars.
“Don’t just stand there, lass, come in.”
His soft voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and stared at him. His eyes were open and he was awake.
“I’m sorry Mr. Norton.” She apologized. “You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you.”
“That’s fine, but you get used to it around here.” He replied with a grin. He gestured for her to come closer. “Come talk to me, lass. I don’t get many visitors these days.”
“What about your family?” She asked, standing above him. “Don’t they visit you?”
“Used to, not anymore.” Mr. Norton told her with a shake of his head. “They’re all too busy with their own lives to visit an old man like me.”
“How sad?” Claudia said softly.
They talked for a full hour. He told her how his parents, brothers, and sisters were all dead years ago. He tried to joke about it, saying. “They always called me the stubborn one. Wouldn’t go down for nothing.”
Claudia smiled. “You seem to have kept your humor through it all.”
Mr. Norton nodded. “Have to in this world.”
There was something in his tone she felt wasn’t right. She slowly opened her empathy, using it on him. She saw the devastation and felt the horror as she was made to watch each of his family members tortured and killed. He was a teenager during World War II, a Jew sent by the Germans to a Concentration Camp. If it weren’t for his knack at working heavy machinery, he would have been dead with the rest of them.
The very feelings she got from his memories made a tear escape from her eye.
“Lass?” He placed a hand on her arm. “What’cha crying for?”
Claudia opened her eyes and sniffed, wiping away the tears. “I’m empathic. I can sense feelings and emotions from people I read. My power isn’t very strong, but what I read from you was intense.”
“Ain’t that something?” Mr. Norton was impressed. “What did you read from me?”
“I saw a vision through your own eyes.” Claudia began. “I felt your feelings, almost becoming you. I saw. . .”
“What did you see, lass?”
“The camp you were in.” She replied. “I was made to stand aside while the Germans killed your family in front of you.”
Now she felt depression from him. She didn’t want to depress him, that’s not what she was here to do. She wanted to make him feel comfortable. Claudia reached out and touched his hand.
“I’m sorry Mr. Norton.” She said. “I didn’t mean to open up old wounds.”
He pet her hand. “Alright, lass. No harm done.”
“You can’t lie to me. I can sense your depression.” Claudia told him. “I wish there were something I could do to help you get over it.”
Mr. Norton held her hand for a long time, staring at it. “There is.” He told her. She looked at him and waited for his answer when he smiled. “Heal me.”
“I can’t. Not really.” She replied. “The doctors –”
“I don’t mean my body, lass.” Mr. Norton said. “I mean, my mind.”
She held her breath, letting it out. “I can’t do that, either. Even if I could, I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“You can do it, lass.” He said. “Have faith in yourself. By the look in your eyes, I’d say you were an Ancient Mystic. The only Ancient Mystics I’ve known had great healing powers. Try it. I know you have it in you.”
Of course he knew about the Ancient Mystics. He believed, no – knew what he said was true.
She smiled. Now, so did she. She thought of her healing lessons, and all that Anna had taught her. An idea popped in her mind. She shut the hospital room door from her spot with telekinesis, locking it. When she looked back at Mr. Norton for his reaction, she saw the smile on his face.
She released her hand from his arm. “I’ll need to go inside to heal your mind. Will you let me?”
“Of course, lass.” He said. “I trust you.”
“I’ll explain what I’m going to do.” Claudia told him. “I’m going to implant a dream-like memory in your mind, letting you be with them again. It should give you the feelings of peace and happiness. Each time you feel depressed about anything, simply think of this dream-memory and let yourself feel good again. Ready?”
“Ready.”
She placed hands on each of his temples, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to enter his mind. Just as she opened the metaphysical door to his Dream Realm, a face flashed before her.

Sabrina’s Maiden form appeared in front of Claudia’s image.
Before the Maiden could do anything, Claudia cried out. “Not this time, Sabrina!”
“He’s mine, Ancient Mystic wench! Let me have him!”
“Never!” Claudia’s image cried out. The Magic flowed through her system, begging to be used. Sweeping an arm in front of her, she yelled. “Begone!”
Claudia’s multicolored magic wind wrapped around Sabrina’s still-standing form. In moments, the Maiden disappeared and Claudia was left to her task. Once she planted the dream-memory in Mr. Norton’s mind, she left.

She opened her eyes to see her charge sleeping quietly. She was weary yet unharmed. Her last empathic feeling of him was contentment. She closed her empathy power, feeling drained.
She couldn’t stand without feeling dizzy so she sat on a chair beside his bed. She thought over what just happened. How did she know what to do? Her Magic studies never included fighting demons in Dreamers’ minds. She closed her eyes to shut out the thoughts.
They were interrupted when someone pounded on the door. Without getting up, she used telekinesis to unlock it.
“Hmm. The door must have been stuck.” She hear an unfamiliar female voice mutter.
It was Mr. Norton’s nurse, with Anna at her heals.
Don’t get up, little sister. Anna thought in her mind. Wait until the dizziness wears off.
Claudia didn’t argue. As soon as the nurse was gone, she spoke up. “I know how to beat Sabrina and Damian.”
Anna stared at her. “How?”
“Control.” Claudia told her what happened with Sabrina in Mr. Norton’s Dream Realm.
“Amazing.” Anna whispered. “Our sisters have to know about this.” She looked at her watch. “Shift’s over anyway, so let’s go.”
With one final look of goodbye to Mr. Norton’s sleeping body, the girls left the hospital.

IV

Sire Wolfton Stargazer carried his mate in his arms, daughter close at his side as she followed. When they arrived at the Sisters’ Palace,