The Fourth Zaldizko

I glanced up to yellow tinted clouds lazing about a dusk filled sky. An abrupt shift in the breeze and hint of iron drew my attention to a set of maple trees towards my left. I saw Jensen sitting cross legged in the middle of a crop with one hand raised in prayer and the cupped around his wrist to support it.

My heart raced with interest at his poised and focused state. His eyes were opened, but seemed to be staring past our vision like he was in a trance. There as a burning white aura around him, which trailed out like fine threads of rope that had latched onto the surrounding trees.

I gasped when each tree formed a glowing rope link to the tree next to it.

"Stand still and wait." Wilfred signed and instructed the others.

We watched and slowly turned about to see every single tree about the lane burned as a web of glowing rope links.

I returned my attention to Jensen whose mouth was moving with words. His hands made a slow and precise motion to form a glowing figure-eight symbol in the air. He clapped his hands and raised his arms. The symbol moved to be balanced between Jensen"s arms. The light around the trees swelled and moved up their trunks to turn them completely white with light.

The entire lane was a brilliance of pure white light for a fleeting moment until Jensen grabbed the figure-eight symbol and pulled it a part. Near blinding white light caused us to cover our eyes instinctively. The area was shrouded in white before it returned to a normal setting.

When our sight recovered, we ran over to Jensen who was struggling to stand. His complexion was clammy and pasty.

"You, get me ale when we get to HQ." He weakly signed to me with a c.o.c.ky grin when he recovered a bit more of his energy with Wilfred"s a.s.sistance.

I nodded and smiled.

"That"s the last of the ward barriers done and dusted." He heaved with a sigh.

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Everyone waited for Jensen to reclaim more of his strength before resuming our way back to the mansion and dormitory.

The kids took a narrower path through the trees towards a greystone building in the distance. I saw a few other students bound for the same place at a leisurely pace. We returned to the mansion and headed directly for the Gold Leaf Bar area. Death and I made our way to Room 69 to freshen up. The bar was already rowdy with War, Wilfred and Jensen into the drink by the time we returned.

I sat next to Jensen watching the joyous banter and not being able to hear it. Regardless, I didn"t feel like I was missing out. The fact that I was still able to communicate easily with everyone either by my hands or telepathy, made the lose less traumatic.

I felt a strong energy enter my private s.p.a.ce, and saw Jensen slam a gla.s.s of cider in front of me.

_"You deserve this. It"s zero alcohol and made from Asimina fruit. Good for healing,"_ he said in my mind and downed his in one go.

I copied him, licking my lips at the tangy sweetness I had tasted; moved around to the serving area and poured him a mug of ale.

He raised his mug with cheers and took a hearty swig. I stuck to the Asimina Cider bottle that I had found in the upright fridge next to a bottle of fake water labelled Ouzo.

The bar a.s.sumed its usual bustling activity and looseness when other nights entered. I wasn"t in the mood for much socialising, so returned to my room.

Small Cap was awake by then and crawled to perch on the window sill. I sat in a chair to gaze out to the mult.i.tude of tall elms, wisteria and plum trees swaying gently in the evening sky that was almost dark with night.

Why did I lose my hearing? Even if I wasn"t an experienced hīrā, I was always able to self-heal no matter how deep the cut. I felt confident that no matter what the damage the mind shield had caused, I would recover from. Suppose that was ignorant c.o.c.kiness on my part and a lesson learned.

I felt for Death. He was holding up okay, but deep down it would still hurt him.

I sighed and flinched when I felt an unexpected poke to my back. I didn"t hear Death enter the room. He joined my silent watch by the partially opened window, keeping his voice and thoughts inside. War eventually entered to drag us to dinner that was waiting for us in the formal dining area of the Gold Leaf Bar area.