Chapter 138

Brenna

A Clear Conscience

The couple had made their journey southeast, preferring to follow the more subtle routes of human traffic. There are obvious roads made by armies that are designed for the expedient transfer of goods and resources. Then there are the other hidden routes that are made by individuals who brave the wilderness to trade simpler goods and resources with smaller towns. It was one of these out of the way paths that Lykan and Brenna chose to follow.

The path was narrow, barely large enough for a horse drawn carriage to make its way through. As the path continued, so too did the duo, ever making their way forward as they prepared for a time when they would try to blend in. Well blend in as much as two exceptionally attractive people could. This was why the couple chose to cover their faces, using hoods and loose cloaks to conceal their forms and their weapons.

Many would likely consider the pair to be bandits, that is if anyone could observe the pair coming from a distance. The couple though seemed oddly capable to any would be observer. Brenna for her part had been granted exceptional mind sensing abilities. This was partly why she was so deft at understanding Lykan. Yet rather than hide her trump card, she disclosed her true feelings and abilities.

“I have used my powers against you. I realize this now. The new abilities I have gained, from my time with you were used to help me seduce you.” Brenna began one night.

Hearing this Lykan paused, letting Brenna continue. He himself was so at a loss for the sudden confession that he felt he couldn’t move even if he tried. Here he was learning that the being he loved beyond all others, might have mentally manipulated him. Something he had thought himself protected against. Still the thought of mind domination was no small matter. So, he let her explain, before he jumped to any rash conclusions. Seeing his reactions, or rather feeling the emotional state of his mind gave Brenna the courage to move forward with her admittance.

“One, or rather part of my new abilities is that I can read the emotional state of people.” She paused locking eyes with Lykan, who for the first time in a long time seemed to be completely still. It was at this point, when she saw his unmoving nature, that she realized how truly beyond human he was. The fact that she could match him only served to heighten the effect.

“I have used this to manipulate you.” She paused, “well maybe manipulate is not the best of terms. I used it to strengthen our bond together. I used this when you doubted yourself before the battle with the leviathan. I had to use it then, as at that time when you entered the ocean waters once more, I felt you would surely perish without intervention. You would have thrown your life away, knowing that the seemingly impossible task before you were something that needed to be done. Realizing your state, I manipulated you then. Just as I manipulated you afterward, when I needed you to comfort me.”

Silence.

One breath.

A second breath.

“You do not have the ability to control thoughts?” Lykan asked.

“No, but I can read your emotional levels. I have gotten particularly good at handling your mental states and deciphering your thoughts. Right now, you are calculating, contemplating whether I am even now manipulating you. I am not, I am just reading the waves that are coming from you.”

Hearing this Lykan’s mind came to life and began to spin and thrum with hundreds of different thoughts all at once. His mind reminded Brenna of a hive of angry bees, all buzzing about trying to get different tasks done. This was the part she hated. This was the moment that would make or break their futures together.

Brenna nervously began to fidget; she didn’t need to move. Her body’s regulatory system had slowed down enough that she no longer needed felt nervous twinges. Still, she let her body react, as she wanted to be as open and transparent with Lykan as possible.

“So, you just read my open mind? My thoughts that I produce naturally?” He asked.

Hearing this, Brenna nodded, her gaze shifting to the ground.

“But rather than continue to do this, why tell me now?”

Hearing that, the question caught Brenna off guard. Why had she spoken of this now?

With only a minor shrug she admitted. “I don’t know. I felt it was something that should be noted. Here I have this advantage over you, and if you found out later, it might…” She trailed off not knowing how to end that thought.

“It might what? Lead to anger on my part?”

“Maybe. I also thought it was something you should know about. Your thoughts are loud, while your face does a great job of concealing many of your worries, your thoughts betray you. It took me time to decipher what I was at first feeling. But the more time I spent with you, the easier it was to determine what you were thinking. How you would react, and how you were reacting.” Brenna said.

Hearing this Lykan nodded. The buzzing in Lykan’s mind slowly slowed down, until there were just a few key thoughts coming through. The most powerful of which was doubt.

“Right now, you feel doubt. I don’t know what you are doubting exactly, but you do feel doubt. Generally, I would ask you questions that help me discern why you would feel doubt. So, I ask, what are you doubting?”

Hearing that a faint smile formed on Lykan’s lips. “Why now? What is the end goal?”

With those questions a faint smile crested Brenna’s lip. “After all this time you still doubt your worth to others.” She said, as she leaned forward and embraced Lykan in a hug.

Lykan for his part stiffened under the sudden action. Not quite knowing how to react to the movement. She held him, until his mind finally stilled enough to feel one emotion.

“My goal is to be with you forever.” She began, but instantly put her finger up to Lykan’s lips as he opened his mouth to protest. “And stop. You didn’t force this on me. You didn’t manipulate me into being your partner. I know you have your doubts but know that I need you as much as you need me. At this point I could not bear the thought of leaving you. Nor of this coming between us. That is why I am telling you here and now what I am capable of and have been doing. I have been reading your emotions for a while, trying to help you out whenever and wherever I can. I have implemented moments where I show my value to you, so you will not discard me when your use for me is over. I have done all of this, and I am now confessing to you the purpose of my actions.”

Hearing this, Lykan smiled both inwardly and outwardly. The gesture seemed oddly forced on his face as his lips didn’t quite stretch in the correct way, his face was a little too rigid to react.

With that Lykan said three words that would forever be ingrained in her soul. “I forgive you.”

Those three words were enough to erase the tension in her shoulders and allow her to take a much needed breath of relief.

Only after seeing the way her body visibly collapsed in his arms, did he seem to realize something. “You were truly worried about my reaction?”

With that Brenna turned her head up to lock gazes with Lykan. “How could I not. You protected me, gave me purpose. Showed me how to stand on my own. Then gave me tools to be powerful. Tools that I then used against you.”

Hearing this Lykan nodded. After a few moments the embrace ended and the two continued on their journey. Still Brenna could feel Lykan’s mind buzzing with different thoughts.

Finally, after a few thousand paces he asked. “Can you use these mind reading abilities on everyone?”

Hearing that Brenna shrugged. “Well first, again I can’t actually read your mind. Maybe that will come later. All I can do for now is read your emotional state. Then based on how you interact with me, I can determine what you are thinking. But this is only because I have gotten to know you so well over the past few months.”

Hearing this Lykan nodded as he continued his way forward. “We will need to improve upon this as we move. Perhaps we should start with the next village we go to. Start by first reading the emotions, then trying to see how many emotions you can understand at once. Do cold readings, trying to figure out how certain people in power think and so on. We can use this and should use this to improve.”

Hearing that Brenna paused as she realized a few things from his statements. “You are thinking of using this as a weapon?”

“We might as well. My hope is that eventually you will be able to tell if Titan’s are alive, or just their corpses remain in stasis. Then maybe over time your skills will evolve to where you can cast devastating mind attacks. But until that point, we need to develop this base ability of yours. I am curious how this will work.”

With that admission, the buzzing of Lykan’s mind calmed to its mostly dull hum. With the revelation Brenna was both relieved and a little concerned. She was relieved at the fact that Lykan for his part had completely forgiven her. Or at the very least had made it so he was okay with her use of the ability so far. The concern came from the fact that Lykan was already thinking about the next evolution of the Ability, about the weaponization of the seemingly benign ability. She hadn’t even thought about such an act, but here was Lykan already thinking two stages ahead.

Part of her shuddered at the thought, but then another part realized that this was just who Lykan was. Even as they moved, she could see him picking up sticks and twigs from the ground then hurling them forward at trees and other targets as quickly as possible. For now, the branches just bounced off the trunks with minor sounds, but it was clear what his intention was with his new Telekinesis ability. He wanted to use it to impale enemies. With that realization, it was only understandable that Lykan would likely try to do the same thing with her ability to read thoughts.

“We might also have to duel.” He said, a few seconds later.

Brenna for her part was completely floored by the sudden topic change. “What?”

“We might need to test out your ability in combat. Or at the very least to see if you can detect sneak attacks. I have a skill called Ambuscade that helps me with such events. Your mind ability might provide much the same, if not greater chances of detecting ambushes. So, we will need to practice that aspect of your Ability as well. To find its weak spots and limitations, then to improve upon them.”

Hearing this Brenna nodded, though she didn’t quite know the full extent of what Lykan had in mind, his mind seemed to denote malicious intent. Well not true malicious intent, but a protective nature. This underlying thought, or emotion was what Brenna cherished the most about Lykan. The way he always sought to protect others, over himself. Even with the threat of violence it was clear that it was all meant to protect her. This was a sentiment that she enjoyed thoroughly. The fact that his whole want to protect others was now squarely placed on her and her improved safety.

So lost in track was she of her own thoughts, that she failed to notice the first signs of civilization. Only Lykan pulling forward his hood to cover his features more, was the only sign. Seeing his gesture, she quickly followed suit as they followed the forest trails that led to a nearly concealed community.

The village at first appeared like most others. There were clear signs that fields were being harvested, and that a certain level of seclusion was being observed by the inhabitants of the village. Yet, there was something off about the village. Even Lykan seemed to notice something peculiar about the place. Though what he noticed were not the same things that Brenna noticed. There was an odd death aura that clung to the place. One that made the whole village seem possessed in some way.

Then, she saw it.