Page 518 of Shadowblood Souls
I can understand why she’d be startled. Jacob’s right that the rest of them saw major boosts to their abilities. It was only the younger shadowbloods, whose talents were much smaller to begin with, who didn’t show any effects.
Well, them and me.
I give a casual shrug that I hope conveys that I’m not bothered by it. “I wondered if the guardians’ conditioning and the way that affected my own emotions might have interfered with any progress I’d have made.”
Part of me thinks that’s a good thing. I’m not sure I’d want to know what horrifying new dimensions I could have discovered to my powers if Balthazar had gotten his way. My friends haven’t exactly been thrilled with every new development they’ve experienced.
But on the other hand, as I wait for Riva to borrow this one power of mine, a prickle of frustration runs through my chest. Followed by a different sort of jab as my conditioning clicks in, sending pain after the emotion.
I breathe slowly and deeply, not letting the discomfort show. I can’t tell whether the lingering effects of the guardians’ manipulations are fading or I’m simply getting better atenduring them, but I suppose it doesn’t make a lot of difference either way.
I wish I could take this task on instead of heaping one more responsibility on Riva’s shoulders. I wish I’d gotten a clearer sense of Balthazar during the weeks we spent confined to his villa.
All I have is a vague, jumbled impression of the tumultuous feelings I picked up on from a distance. I can’t even say for sure that every one of those impressions was definitely from him and not a nearby employee.
The best I can do is guide Riva. “You’ll want to focus on your memories of him, bringing them as vividly as you can to the front of your mind. And then push the image toward the map, like your memories are a magnet and you’re searching for a surface they’ll attach to. If it works, your finger will be drawn right to the spot where he currently is.”
Riva nods and squares her shoulders. We don’t need to touch to exchange powers, but she rests her fingers on my wrist for a moment as she tugs the ability out of me with a light jitter of my nerves.
She closes her eyes, her face tensing with concentration. As much as I hate that I’m leaving her to do the real work here, I can’t help admiring the determination she brings to this task like every other, etched across her beautiful features.
This is my woman. The woman I’d follow to the farthest, deadliest corners of the earth, as long as she wants me with her.
I’m never letting myself lose sight of what really matters again.
Quivers of skepticism niggle me from the watching shadowkind, most of whom have never seen us trade powers before. If Riva has any sense that part of her audience isn’t sure what to make of her, she doesn’t let it distract her. She steps toward the edge of the map and holds out her hand.
Her fingers hover in the air for several seconds. Then they twitch to the right.
As she drops to her knees to follow the pull, a surge of exhilaration wafts out of her. She’s excited that she’s pulling this off.
A softer smile curls my lips. Even if I’d rather be working my own power than passing it on to her, I do love seeing her take charge. Watching her put all the strength she sometimes doubts to good use.
She’s been through more than any of us, had to grapple with knowledge we can barely imagine, but she’s still just as committed as she’s always been.
Her hand drops, and her eyes pop open. She peers down at the map.
“He’s in… Tunisia? Around the middle of the country.”
Toni, who’s stood back near the doorway, stirs with a frown. “As far as I know, Mr. Balthazar doesn’t own property in that country. But it could be a newer acquisition he didn’t tell me about.”
Rollick hums to himself and shuffles through the paper maps he set on a side table. “It’s not too far a jump from Italy, where he was last holed up. I don’t think I have anything specifically of Tunisia here… Ah, this’ll give us a closer view of the western Mediterranean. We can at least narrow down the governorate, maybe even a specific city.”
One of the shadowkind, the squat man with metallic scales on his forehead who Rollick has called “Steel,” lets out a brief scoffing sound. “And then we’ve got to hunt down maps of the entire terrain of that country?”
“Once it’s narrowed down that much, I think a digital map should work all right,” I say.
A slim shadowkind woman with bark-like patches on her forearms shifts her weight restlessly. “How sure are we that this process is accurate? Even his lackey doesn’t think so.”
Riva lifts her head before I need to speak. “He’s there. I canfeelhim.” She grimaces. “It’s not a good feeling. I wouldn’t be imagining it out of nothing.”
The traces of doubt I’m picking up on don’t vanish, but in the face of Riva’s certainty, the shadowkind don’t argue.
Rollick folds up the world map and spreads out his Mediterranean one. As Riva steps to its edge, I let my gaze drift from her over the spectators.
A few of the shadowkind are totally on board with our presence. Pearl watches Riva work with genuine eagerness, and her friend Billy stands nearby, wide-eyed with curiosity. Sorsha the phoenix looks more concerned about keeping an eye on her fellow shadowkind than worrying about what us shadowbloods are doing.
I suspect Rollick has told her about how his people treated my friends in the past, just as my friends have told me. I wasn’t there when a bunch of his allies abandoned them and later tried to kill them, but I can taste hints of animosity among the others gathered in the room with us.
