Cara nodded. “I looked into it when your father contacted me. It ran along both your mother’s and father’s bloodlines. Seems it combined in you. But as your culture practices pacifism, it didn’t show up until something upset you.” Mari’s face contorted, but Cara continued on. “Genetics matter when it comes to talent.”
“So one of my parents had this ability?” I asked.
Cara glanced at me. “Like Mari, you might have inherited abilities from both sides.”
I swallowed and wished for the eight millionth time that I couldremember. But all that popped into my mind were the pictures of them. And both had appeared perfectly human.
“Well, I could do without this talent,” Mari commented as she looked around us. The gravel path had quickly turned into a dirt trail. It was surrounded by trees with reddish trunks and leaves that looked like large, flattened needles.
Branches swayed in the breeze, but I was aware of movement among them. Trix tracked it with pricked ears.
We were not alone.
“Are there any predators out here?” I asked.
“There are,” Cara said. “But none that will bother us. Not so long as I am here, anyway.”
I shot her a look, and she smiled. “You are not the only one who can talk to animals.”
“I don’t talk to them.” I glanced down at Trix, who was trotting happily along, nose in the air. “They just kinda show up.”
“That is one thing I want to assess,” Cara stated.
The path led us to a clearing. The Watcher moved us into the center of it.
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked.
“Nothing at all. I just want to see if they come. Is it an attraction? Or are you calling them somehow?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, we’ll find out, then.” She smiled at me.
I exchanged a look with Mari, who waggled her heavy brows. It amazed me how human expressions took on an entirely new dimension on her ogre-ish features.
I felt silly just standing there. What if nothing arrived? Maybe the entire thing had just been my imagination.
An animal stepped into the clearing.
Long-legged and sleek, it reminded me of a deer. Only it had a shorter nose and curled horns above an elongated neck.
It wasn’t alone. Several others followed it. Birdlike creatures the width of my hand flew to the nearby branches. A group of turkey-sized furry animals hopped right up to us, stood up on their hind legs, and wiggled their noses at me.
As before, Trix sat and observed, refusing to give into her base doggie instincts. Mari’s eyes were huge as she looked around us.
“In ancient times, my people would consider you a forest spirit,” she stated. “And then they would eat you.”
I gaped at her. “They’d eat me?” My voice squeaked.
She nodded, and then she grinned. “To absorb your talent. My people weren’t always peaceful.”
“Dorinthians used to be feared, and for good reason,” Cara agreed. She transferred her gaze back to me. “Can you feel those surrounding us?”
Feelthem? “No, I don’t think so.”
“Close your eyes,” she coached. “See if you can sense their presences.”
I sighed. This seemed silly, but I obediently closed my eyes. “What should it feel like?”
