More like Blondie’s power, actually, but still not exactly that.
[It’s the wild magic,] the voice said. [Older than old, it’s the first magic. Tapping into the elements themselves, not just the elements’ radiated force.]
I turned back to the eye. “I guess that would make sense, since you’re so ancient. So’s your power.”
The creature chuckled in my head, and I had the odd experience of watching the mottled green-gray skin around the creature’s eye crinkle in amusement and flash brown, until the laughter in my head ceased.
[You are a practical little creature, little one. And so calm.]
I shrugged. “This past year has been all about the surprises. I’ve learned to roll with change.”
[Aren’t you frightened?] it asked.
“Of course,” I admitted. “But you could have killed me at any point, couldn’t you, since I’ve been in your home. Plus,” I hazarded, having formed a hunch from having the creature in my mind for these past few hours, “you were the one possessing everyone, weren’t you?”
There pulsed a feeling of agreement in my head—less language and more a sense of affirmation.
“I thought so. So, if you’d wanted to kill me, you could have just possessed me and made me dash my brains against a cave wall, or used that sword to kill myself instead of that bird. Which was a dastardly little trick, that bird.”
[Not my trick,] the creature interrupted. [That was put there by those who built this prison.]
“The Alfar?” I asked.
[Yes, that is what you call them.]
“That makes sense. Although I’m surprised I passed any test that they created.”
[You didn’t,] the creature intoned, in my mind. [You failed.]
“But the door…”
[I opened the door. The test was meant to test resolve. Your apology, plus the time you took to make the decision and the fact you paused at killing another creature, meant you failed.]
“Huh,” I replied. “Well, I never was very good at standardized testing—”
[Why did you pause?] the creature interrupted. [It was only a bird, after all.]
“It was only a bird,” I acknowledged. “But it was the principle. Whoever set that test up was being cruel, and expecting me to do something equally cruel. It’s one thing to kill a bird for food or because it’s… I dunno, attacking your babies. But the way it was just put there, like that…”
[And yet you did kill it.]
I hung my head. “If I didn’t, it’d be dead anyway. And so would a lot of other people, and animals.”
[How did making that decision make you feel?]
I thought about that before answering. “It made me feel used. Out of control. Like I don’t get to live my life the way I want to, but the way other people dictate.”
[You’ve felt like that for awhile, no?]
Yes, I admitted, although only in my thoughts. I knew it was useless to lie to the creature, since it could be in my mind so easily. And yet I felt like I wanted to talk to it for some reason. It felt good to be so honest—I felt like I could be honest with myself, in a way that was never easy.
[Since when?] the creature asked.
“Since all of this started. Since I learned about my mom and her world, my life’s been exciting, but not necessarily mine. I love it, too,” I insisted, knowing that my feelings for my new life were complicated. “But sometimes I wish I had more control over the way I live.”
[And yet I gave you choices, and you refused them.]
I smiled, sadly. “They weren’t really choices. They were fantasies.”
The creature seemed to be thinking about what I’d said. When it finally spoke, its voice was grave.
[Would you like to hear my story?] the creature asked. [For I, too, have felt acted upon. My life has not been my own. And yet, I have learned to accept that fact. Even to embrace it.]
Realistically, I knew that I had no choice in the matter. The creature clearly wanted something from me, and whatever it wanted involved me knowing its life. But I appreciated it giving me a choice.
“I would be honored,” I said, meaning it. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I knew it would be interesting.
[Come forward, little Jane,] it intoned. [Come forward and open your mind…]
I stepped forward, letting my shields drop away, picturing my mind as an opened Tupperware container. Partly, I figured that the creature could probably take what it wanted, anyway, so I should play along. But, I was also interested.