Page 6 of Knight's End
Quinn opened his mouth and emitted what sounded like a moan. He was so surprised by the noise that he jumped.
But I jumped after him and threw my hands around his waist. I hugged him hard.
Connor just smiled. “I’m certain he’ll get the hang of it and be insulting us all in no time.”
Ryan piped up. “Yes. Connor’s an expert at useless talking, Quinn can learn from the best.”
Connor rolled his eyes but grinned at Quinn when my silent knight threw his arm around my best friend’s shoulder.
Declan interjected. “Before we get off track onto subjects like talking … Blue has Quinn's powers and it seems that Quinn has Blue’s.”
If two of them had swapped, could my other knights have switched powers as well? "Someone else describe what your powers feel like, so we can see if they've transferred to someone else." I ordered.
"If anyone's feeling particularly emotional … I know today has been a trying day for all of us, but if you're feeling random bits of emotion, like you’re being tugged in a thousand different directions at once … if your tongue tastes a bit funny—that’s the mix of emotions, and when there are so many, it can be a bit like mud—”
Declan's hand immediately shot into the air.
Ryan tried to push Declan’s hand down. “Quinn just made you eat mud.”
Declan pulled his hand away and pushed it back up. “I know. But I tasted it even before it started raining. Emotionally, I just thought I was having a panic attack. I thought I was finally going off the deep end, or that my system was on the fritz from having died and come back. Thank the gods I'm not crazy." Declan threw his head back and laughed. "I don't know how you stand this all the time, Connor. It's sarding awful."
Connor shrugged. "I didn’t have a choice.”
“Did you ever get used to it?”
Connor wavered his hand side to side. “Sort of.”
“Ever like it?”
They shared a long look, and I felt awful as I realized how much Connor had truly hated his own power. He’d never outright said it to me. I hadn’t ever asked.
He said, “Sorry. In time, you get used to it. You start to sort out whose emotions are whose, and eventually, even kind of decide which emotions are actually yours."
Declan shook his head. "Does it always taste bad?”
Connor shrugged. “I think spite has kind of a black licorice tinge.”
“What about joy?”
“Being around Bloss always tasted like raspberries to me. So, if you like raspberries …”
Declan waggled his brows. “I definitely like raspberries.” Then he pitched his head back and laughed. “This is the worst power in the history of the universe. And I have it." He declared between bouts of laughter that grew steadily louder until he was doubled over and gasping, clutching his ribs.
I stepped forward and grabbed his arm. “Dec?”
He started to cough again. But he didn’t stop laughing. He laughed and coughed in fits, until Ryan started smacking his back. “Are you choking?”
Declan tittered, “I think … it tastes … like powdered … sugar.”
I turned to Connor, filled with alarm. “Is he okay?" Connor had never reacted this way, ever.
Connor nodded. "I think the giddiness we are all feeling—the hope that we might actually still have some sort of power, some sort of usefulness—might be getting to him."
Connor's prediction turned out to be true. Only seconds later, Declan started to jump up and down in the mud, splashing all of us until we backed away. "I feel so happy!” he crowed.
"Well, you look like a nutter," Ryan scolded, but he was smiling. My giant clapped his hands together. "So, Declan got Connor's powers. If there were three powers left, the three of us couldn't do a one-for-one swap like Quinn and Blue. So that would mean, if the wish switched our powers. Aw, shite. I have Declan's powers."
"Hey! My powers were amazing!" Declan called from his jumping spot.
