Whispers on the Shadow Wind — Daily Flash Story: Chapter 18

Each chapter will be written by improvisation and inspired by a random InspiroBot poster until we reach a natural end. I hope you enjoy it!

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THE RIGHT CONDITIONS

“So, what am I supposed to do?” Austin asked. They’d waited until the nurse came by to check on him to ensure they’d have the longest window possible without interference from the hospital.

Dawn settled into the chair closest to Austin’s head and said, “Well, if you remember what it was like trying to guide Lillian, then I’m going to do something similar, but I’m going to take a different approach.”

“Okay, and that means?” Austin asked.

Dawn smirked. “You used telepathy, but I only have witchcraft.”

Shannon rolled her eyes and stood up, glaring at Dawn. “Witchcraft? Psychic abilities and now we’re talking witchcraft? Next you’re going to tell me that vampires and werewolves exist!”

Dawn shrugged and said, “I honestly am undecided on both of those. Vampires likely not, since most of the lore surrounding them is based upon exaggerations of real people, like Vlad the Impaler. Werewolves have a lot more myths surrounding their existence independent of specific people. That doesn’t mean I believe in either, but I’m always more willing to consider what data is available before ruling anything else out.”

This answer earned her a chuckle from Lucas as he said, “I don’t think you’re really helping your case.”

“Once a skeptic, always a skeptic, I suppose,” Dawn said, smiling at Shannon. “But it’s hardly important to our discussion, although I suppose werewolves could be used here, in a metaphorical sense.”

“How do you mean?” Austin asked.

“What do werewolves need in order to shift form?” Dawn replied.

To her surprise, it was Shannon who answered, “A full moon.”

“Precisely,” Dawn replied, nodding to Shannon. “They have a specific set of conditions which allow them to transform. While it may be mystical in nature, they can’t just use their powers whenever they want to.” She turned back to Austin and continued. “Likewise, you’re clearly not able to use your abilities all the time, since you’re not able to do them now.”

“So, in this analogy, I’m the werewolf, and there’s no full moon?” Austin asked.

“Right. So what I’m going to do is ask you to meditate and try to access your powers. I’m going to do some divination at the same time to see if I can bridge the gap between your powers and your current state. I’m going to try and figure out what the conditions are, and, if possible, restore them.”

“What if you can’t find them?”

“Well,” Dawn sighed, “my theory is that your body simply isn’t letting you get what you need in order to access them, likely because it’s been under a lot of strain.”

“Even though I want to howl at the moon, I can’t enjoy it because my voice is hoarse from shouting?” Austin replied, accepting the analogy.

Dawn grinned. “You’ve got the idea.”

“Okay, let’s do it,” Austin said.

“All right, just start meditating and reaching for your powers then.” Dawn reached into her pocket and pulled out a purple crystal on a single silver chain. “I’m going to use this and do a meditation of my own. With any luck, I’ll be able to see inside your head.”

“What kind of stone is that? Amethyst?” Shannon asked.

Dawn nodded and said, “It’s associated with the crown chakra and often used for divination. This is one of several pendulums I use in my work.”

Austin nodded and assumed a position he could focus better from. “Okay, proceed.”

He closed his eyes and began breathing at regular, measured intervals. Dawn waited a few moments before standing and letting the amethyst dangle over his head. She murmured a slow chant to herself as she attempted to enter a trance, delving into the crystal first and using it as a focus to reach inside of Austin’s mind.

She closed her eyes and was about to reach the next level of delving when Shannon said, “What? It’s glowing!”

Dawn spared her a quick glance and said, “Please be quiet, we both need to concentrate.”

“Sorry.”

Once silence had settled once again over the room, Dawn resumed her chant, and quickly reached the same level of before. Delving into someone’s mind with divination required a bit of tricky work, but it was something Dawn had done several times before, and she knew her way around the problem. For most people, their auras got in the way, but it was completely different working with a telepath. Austin’s mind not only welcomed her openly, it seemed to be filled with guideposts to information.

Her mind filled with the image of a dark void occupied by only two things, a large wall and Austin, who had a miner’s pick he hammered at the wall with, trying to bust his way through. Every hit sent off a little sliver of stone, but after Austin pulled the pick away, the wall looked as firm as ever.

Closer inspection of the wall gave Dawn more images to puzzle through. Carved all over the wall were various scenes, some with people, some with objects. As she looked through the images, she could recognize Shannon, and Lucas, and even Lillian. Craig was there, too, standing beside an empty chair, with Misty huddled in a corner behind it.

The largest image was an oncoming train, and this was what Austin hacked at directly, but each time he made a dent, the image only seemed to get larger. Dawn had a hunch and voiced her concern, “Are you afraid of something, Austin?”

“No, I . . .” Austin said out loud, and the Austin in the void stopped hammering at the wall. “Well, maybe a little,” he admitted.

“Try to move past it, will you?” Dawn suggested.

“Okay.”

The Austin in the void closed his eyes and took another swing at the wall. The wall shattered as if it were made of glass and disappeared into the void. Dawn gasped as the void suddenly filled with color, a prismatic vortex like a thousand rainbows twisting together spread across the darkness.

The sheer sight of it overwhelmed Dawn, and she pulled back from Austin’s mind, staggering backward and into her chair. “Okay, that’s enough,” she said wearily.

“What’s the verdict?” Austin asked.

“I’m not sure, but do you feel any different?” Dawn asked. “Do you see or hear anything strange?”

Austin shook his head and looked around the room. “I . . . fuck . . .” he groaned and said, “Shannon, there’s two of you. Lucas, there’s two of you, too.”

“They’re back?” Lucas asked.

Austin nodded. “They’re back.”

“Does that mean you can use your powers?” Shannon asked hopefully.

Austin shrugged and reached out to her with his mind. To his surprise, he spoke telepathy instead of the image of Shannon his mind had conjured as it had always been before. “Does that answer your question?”

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