suddenly my leg hit something. I looked down but there was nothing there. I could feel the object pressing against my shin, but the only thing in front of me was open air.
“What is that?” I asked Alex, swinging my leg again, kicking it.
He smiled, obviously happy I wasn’t having some sort of mental breakdown. “Your bed. We’re still in your room. Here…” He reached down and patted what looked to be empty air, though it made a sound. “Feel.” I reached down towards the invisible obstruction, to find that it was indeed my bed. I couldn’t see it, but it was there – the sheets, the pillow, and the quilt with the little embroidered rosettes – all of it.
My vision began to blur again, the sounds of the sea tapered off until they were only an echo, and a few moments later I was back in my room looking down at my quilt. I twisted around and plopped down onto the edge of my bed, disillusioned, yet somehow exhilarated. Alex pulled the desk chair up next to me and sat. I glanced up at him to find him studying me.
“Are you all right?”
“I think so,” I said, though my voice shook more than I would have liked. Dear God, had that really just happened? Was it even possible? I blinked a few times and shook my head, hoping I wasn’t losing my mind. “What was that?” I finally asked.
“It’s called Casting, it’s what I do; my ability. I can project images on reality, making people see whatever I want them to.”
“Is that what Ryland is doing?”
“No, Ryland’s ability is different. He can…” he paused, looking again to read my reaction. “The things he hears, the voices, they are people’s thoughts.”
“You’re telling me my brother can read minds?”
“Well no, not yet. Right now, he is just overhearing things once in a while by chance, but he’ll learn to control it as he gets older.”
“And that’s what you’re going to teach him at this school?”
“Not me specifically, but yes. That, among other things.”
“And the other kids there, they are like him?”
“Some of the children have abilities, but not all of them.”
He was looking at me with unveiled worry in his eyes. Poor guy must have thought I was about to implode, and honestly I probably should have been crying or screaming, or something else a normal person would have been doing, but I was strangely calm. For some inexplicable reason, this all seemed to make perfect sense to me. People had been trying to convince me for years that Ryland was crazy. Crazy because he needed more attention, crazy because our father left us, crazy because some people are just crazy, but they had all been assumptions based on nothing, and I hadn’t believed a word of it. Go figure that the story about magic visions and mind readers would be the one I would actually buy.
Maybe I was the one who needed medication?
I looked down at the floor, realizing that for the first time I was torn. I knew I had to do what was best for Ryland, but now I wasn’t sure what that was. What if these people really could help him? What if, for the first time in his life, he could finally be somewhere where he fit in? Where he could have friends and a normal life? Sure it seemed unlikely, but clearly there was something going on here that was beyond my understanding. I mean this guy had just sent me to Ireland without ever leaving my room. There was also the fact that they had been sent by the one known as my father, who – according to Alex – also had some magic ability. Much as I hated to admit it, if that were truly the case, then he might actually be able to help. Maybe…
I sat quietly for a few minutes trying to organize my thoughts, while Alex waited patiently. After a long moment I came to a decision. “Can I ask you something?” I asked, looking up at Alex.
“Of course.”
“And you’ll be honest?”
“I promise,” he stated with a grin. He’d said that a few times now, and though I’d mocked him for it, even I had to admit that he was the first person I’d ever met who could say that without sounding like a four year-old.
“Is going with you to this school truly the best thing for Ryland?”
He didn’t answer right away, as though he were taking my question very