Justin took Rowan’s free hand.She was clutching her folder in her other fist, stiff paper crumpling.The feeling of his skin soothed her.
“Come with me,” Amanda repeated, her face gone pale.“Leave him alone.”
Eddie made a small sound, breath rushing out of him.Dr.Jilssen swayed in his arms.
“All right, that’s enough.”Kate moved forward, out of the bar of sunlight.“Let go, Amanda.You too, Edward.Very good.Now, did everyone note that Eddie kept physical contact with the good Doctor while fighting off Amanda’s pressure?”
The doctor woke with a start and grinned broadly at Eddie.He seemed not to mind being put to sleep or awakened.
And yet… there was a frightened, ratty little gleam in the doctor’s eyes.It had come and gone so quickly Rowan wasn’t sure she’d seen it.
These people are like me.Dad would have loved this.
“All receptive telepathy Talents are helped by physical contact, andmostprojective telepathy Talents are as well,” Kate continued as Eddie and Amanda took their seats again.“Can someone give me an example of a projective telepathy Talent that isn’t helped by physical contact?”
Another teenage boy raised his hand.He had a smooth cap of sandy blond hair and blue eyes fringed with the thick eyelashes some boys were blessed with.“Some types of Pushing?”he ventured.“And the illusion-based talents, like Monica’s?”
“Very good.”Kate nodded.“The projective Talents that seem to utilize a form of autosuggestion arenotgenerally helped by physical contact.In certain cases, like Mr.Delgado, aspects of ‘the push’, as it’s called, aren’t because of the feedback from the pain endured by the subject.Certain ‘magnification’ types of telepathy also exhibit this trait to a lesser degree.”
As Kate continued speaking, Rowan slipped her hand free of Justin’s and began taking notes.This was fascinating, and if Henderson hadn’t been spending so much time patiently coaching her, she would have been completely lost in the terminology.
“Do we get to see Del do something?”the third teenage boy said.
“No.”Kate’s freezing look could have iced over the window.“Mr.Delgado’s talent is not for public display.”
The boy wasn’t put off at all.“Is it true he was in Sigma?”
Delgado didn’t move.Kate glanced at him.“Ask him, Thomas, not me.Now, if you don’t mind, let’s get back to class.”
“What about her?”Thomas persisted.“What can she do?”
My God, he’s talking about me,Rowan realized.
“Miss Price?”Kate asked.“Are you comfortable with speaking about your talent, for Thomas’s edification?I’m sure the rest of us are curious, as well.”
Justin turned to look at her.
Rowan gathered herself.“Oh.”Her voice sounded strange even to herself.“I don’t know what you’d call it.I… I help people feel better.”She trailed off, appealed to Justin with a mute glance.
“Rowan’s Talent is particularly interesting.With your permission, Miss Kate?”
“Of course.”The teacher nodded, folding her arms.
Justin leaned forward, resting elbows on knees.“Miss Price registers a 13 on the Matheson scale,” he said, and everyone’s eyes got a little rounder.“Her talents seem concentrated in telepathy and empathy, with a very interesting twist.Rowan helps people feel safer, calmer, almost like a tranquilizer.She calls it ‘the touch’, and it’s particularly useful on developmentally-disabled people and the mentally ill.”
“Those are the hardest kinds of people to Push,” Amanda said.
Rowan’s cheeks were hot.
“She has a small but significant telekinetic talent that seems to affect living tissue, speeding the healing process; there is also a certain degree of precognition present.”Justin had everyone’s attention.“With proper training, most kinds of applied telepathy will probably be available to her.”
“Very good, Mr.Delgado.”Kate took up the thread.“Now, can anyone tell me what the drawback to mixed telepathy and empathy is?”
Rowan found herself holding Justin’s hand again.Why do I do that?
He squeezed back, and she had to swallow the lump in her throat.Her father would have absolutely been over the moon.He had always believed in unseen things.
She didn’t know what she’d expected, but this quiet acceptance certainly wasn’t it.Maybe it wasn’t so bad being a freak.
