Bella Vita (23 page)

Okay, we're going to move
to the second round, this time it'll be stronger. Those that get
through this will advance to the next level of it and so on. Please
ready yourselves, you have one minute.
I
set out the timer once more.

The beep went off again. I sent out the same
level as the first. No one responded. I upped it enough to see a
reaction. Again, there was a clear break between those that could
handle this level and those that couldn't. Once we ended on this
one, there was another five that couldn't handle this amount. I put
them in the next to last row. I had three rows left to fill to
complete the 25 students that were in the class besides myself.

Once again, you have one
minute to ready yourselves.
I set the
timer out for them.

This time when the timer went off I didn't
give them a warning test. I increased a little more than I had
before. It was clear that they hadn't prepared enough. All of them,
including Daniel reacted. Soon they adjusted or fell by the
wayside- unfortunately Daniel was amongst them. These filled the
next row.

One minute.
The timer was back out with its glowing red
digits.

I increased more than the last this time. A
few hadn't adjusted for this increase, but the majority had- only
problem was that they couldn't hold it. Leland faltered just enough
to lose his concentration- the full force of the zap hit him and he
was done. This time six people fell out.

The last four began to ready themselves
before I even instructed them to. I set out of the timer anyways. A
second before it went off I sent an intense energy blast to them.
They all held. I allowed this to last longer than the rest though.
Slowly, they wore down one by one. The last one left that didn't
wear down was Emily. I smirked at the girl.

Emily would you like to
continue?
I cocked my brow at her in
challenge.

No, thank you.
She gulped audibly.

Okay. As for the rest of
you, I want you to look at the people that fell out with you in
each round. These people will be your future study groups for each
level you're in when I teach. I'm going to hand out a sheet to each
row, I want you to write down your name on that sheet. Next class
we meet I'll group you accordingly and have you practice what's
appropriate for your level. I'll be dismissing everyone
individually from class. When I call your name please come up to
the front of the room.
I handed out the
paper and sat down in the front with the first list. I took a deep
centering breath. I knew it would drain me to find their natural
talents that have not been trained, but I was determined to
discover what potential was present.

Emily, please come to the
front of the room.
She approached my desk
with her bag in her hand.

Ye-sss, Mee-sss
Emma.
She stumbled the words out at
me.

Relax. And please take a
seat across from me with your hands on the table.
I directed her to the stool in front of me, she
sat down. Her doe eyes stared up at me- fear was
present.

Do not worry. I'm going to
look into your mind. It might feel a little strange at first, but
don't fight it. I will not hurt you. Do you understand?
I asked her.

She shook her head vigorously.

I closed my eyes and took her hands. She
resisted at first, as was expected. I pushed gently on her mind
until she yielded. Soon I had access to everything that made her,
well, her. I followed the path of her power- similar to what I had
done when Bernie had tried to hide things from me. I wasn't
surprised to see the ability to compel, it was undeveloped but it
was her gift. I couldn't find an inner predator, or a knack for
healing. I discovered her love for our history had given her the
ability to mentally shift through it all- like a mini library
stored in her mind. The last detail I noticed was that her eyesight
was excellent- I realized this overlapped with her love for our
books because of the fine print. It was very interesting.

Thank you, Emily. In the
future, I'll tailor a special homework assignment for you to help
you shape your gifts that you don't realize are there.
I smiled at her.

Thank you, Miss
Emma.
She said a little
confused.

Not to worry, everything
will become clear later. I promise. You're free to go now, and
excellent job on today's task.
I beamed at
her and she flushed. I quickly wrote down her gifts and moved on to
the next person.

Charles?
I waited for a hand from the back of the room to
lift.

Please come to the
front.
I said loudly.

Charles slowly made his way to the front of
the room and sat down in front of me. I could feel the disdain
coming off of him in waves. He clearly didn't know how to control
his feelings.

Please place your hands on
the table, I'm going to read you, but don't resist. Do you
understand?
I was trying to be patient
with him, but his dislike was like sour milk on my
tongue.

Yeah, whatever.
He placed his black nail painted hands on the
table.

When I took them, it was like taking a cold
shower. I realized he had never been trained in self-control, which
surprised me. I found a deep darkness within him from different
aspects of his life. I tried to heal these, I could feel some of it
giving way. He jerked in my hands but didn't try to force me out of
his mind. I looked deeper. He was gifted with healing, something he
had never even tried. His healing was similar to mine. I smiled
knowing I would take him under my wing. He was also gifted with
art. But there was something unfocused about this art. I wanted to
know. I pushed further. He was a seer- only it came through his
artwork. No one knew he was one though, he didn't even know. He
would need a lot of help I decided.

Thank you, Charles. Do you
have a class later today?
I asked
him.

Yeah, but only one.
Some of his attitude had faded with the
darkness.

After my evening classes I
would like to have a little of your time. Would that be
possible?
I wanted to help him.

Yeah, I guess so. When and
where do I need to be?
He was chipping his
polish now.

How about we meet in the
fields by the greenhouse, say around seven?
I smiled at him.

Okay, I'll be there.
He grabbed his bag and stood up.

Thank you, you may go
now.
I smiled and wrote down his
abilities.

I went through the list. When I got to
Leland, he slowly walked up to the front of the room.

Leland, please place your
hands on the table. Now when I enter your mind, please don't
resist. Or it'll cause an uncomfortable sensation for you.
Okay?
I asked hoping my patience would
hold.

Yep, darl. Go ahead.
He shrugged at me and then placed his hands on
the table.

It was difficult to find a path to follow in
his mind. There was a lot of confusion and a general sense of being
lost. I didn't know how to heal this. I decided that it was
something he would have to sort out himself. I finally found what I
was looking for, it was buried deep within his consciousness. I
discovered his affinity to compel people, the change into the
panther, there was a development for healing but nothing compared
to Charles- or anywhere near mine, but something I hadn't seen him
do was an ability to become invisible. I didn't know if I needed to
tell him, or if I should. This ability was clearly not developed,
but it was present. I sensed he also could communicate with
animals, but he hadn't realized this was a gift. I let go of his
hand.

Thank you, Leland. On the
next class, I'll have a specific assignment for you.
I tried to keep my voice level, I was kind of
excited about his abilities.

Okay, thanks, darl.
He picked up his bag and left.

Finally I was at Daniel. I asked him to come
forward. He sat opposite me with his hands on the table.

Now Daniel, please don't
resist my mental probing, it won't hurt you- otherwise it'll feel
uncomfortable.
I told my
professor.

I would never resist
something like this.
He smiled at
me.

I took his hands. There was a warmth I had
never experienced before. I realized that Daniel was proud of me
and it was just below the surface. I tapped into this. It was a
nice pleasant feeling, like dancing in the sunlight. I wanted to
laugh because I felt so happy. I shook my head and had to force
myself to move pass it. The path to his talents was difficult to
come by. His mind had naturally developed tricks, but not defenses.
It was very interesting. I finally got to what I wanted to know.
His affinity in the mental arts was not defense or offense, it was
similar to compelling but not the same. He had the ability to plant
thoughts, but he also put feelings and emotions. He had the ability
to heal emotions with his mind. It was a strange middle ground for
healing and mental abilities. But it was similar to what I had seen
with Charles. He could probably help with that aspect more than I
could. I also found out that he only had this special talent. After
seeing so many multiple talents it was strange to see a singular,
but I knew not to discount it.

Thank you, Daniel.
I smiled at him.

No problem.
He smiled and got up.

I gathered my papers together. I briefly
looked over the talents that weren't being nurtured. There were
several students that had no special gifts, about ten, the other
fifteen had them, but didn't really know about them. I had great
physical strength, healers, seers, time benders, more transformers,
and so many more. I just didn't know what to do with all the
information. I just packed it up for now. It would have to come
later because I had classes to get to.

Thank you again, Daniel,
for letting me teach the class.
I smiled
at him as I headed for the door.

No, thank you, Emma. That
was by far the most interesting class I had yet.
He grinned at me with sparkling light green
eyes.

I left and headed to my next class.

The day passed quickly. The
information we covered in both the history and living as a vampire
classes was stuff I knew- which was nice. Leland allowed me to work
by myself, his only instruction was to ensure that I learned
control. Something he felt I was lacking, that and respect for
authority.
Control was easily mastered
with me because I was able to communicate with my inner predator.
It was a shared relationship.

Once I was out of that class, I ran over to
the greenhouse field. I wanted to make sure I was there before
Charles got there. He needed to know he was not alone. I knew I was
going to make sure that happened. I waited for about ten minutes
before he appeared.

His hair was mused, and his clothes looked a
little crumpled. The clear signs of sleep were all over him. I
smiled because we're supposed to be night owls by nature.

Merry Meet,Charles.
I bowed slightly to him.

Merry Met, Emma.
He returned the gesture.

Please come and sit with
me.
I led us over to a bench.

So why am I here?
His words were filled with attitude, but more
general curiosity- a clear improvement over earlier.

Well, for starters, I want
you to know that you have special abilities that haven't been
refined or even noticed really. And I want to offer to tutor you
personally.
I smiled at him.

Hmm, so what's the special
gift?
Tension colored his
words.

Well, you have two. You are
a natural healer- similar to the way I heal, with your energy. But
they don't teach that here, so it's no wonder that no one caught it
before. And you're a seer, but your visions are expressed through
your art.
I hoped that he would
listen.

He stared at me in slight disbelief.

I promise what I say is
true. I have no reason to lie.
I smiled at
him.

I heard about how you can
heal. They say it's unnatural, but still a miracle. I don't need
anything else that will draw more attention to me.
He shoved his hands into his pockets.

I can train you, and it
won't draw anymore attention than your inner darkness does as it
seeps its way into your everyday words and motions. I can help heal
that as well.
I reached out my hand to
him.

He looked at me in disdain and turned to
walk away.

“Charlie, you don't have to
be angry and afraid all the time.” I took hold of his shoulder and
turned him towards me.

“Don't, don't call me that.
I've not been called that since my little sister...” His words
broke off.

“Let me help you. Here sit
and I can help heal some of this now.” I took his hand and led him
to sit down on the bench.