Path Of The Broken

22. Barrier-2

As thunder rumbled and lightning stuck through the veil, Damien sprang out of bed. He knew the upheaval was caused by Jess, he just didn’t know why. A quick scan told him she wasn’t here in his estate. That much he could sense. He folded the veil, travelling the distance between where he’d been and her location easily and quickly.

She stood there in a centre of calm while the veil roiled and churned out from her. Damien swallowed as he closed the distance between them. The disturbed energy flowed over him, through him, but it didn’t hurt him, so he gathered it wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. He stood behind her, yet she hadn’t even noticed his arrival as she stared ahead of her. Damien looked over her shoulder, seeing Ilarith’s shimmering curtain of power that had captivated her attention. Still, she should have known he was here no matter how fascinated she was by the curtain of power.

Jess?

Damien’s arm flashed up in an automatic response, deflecting her strike. She froze, looking at him, pale, her eyes wide in shock. The veil around them cracked and rumbled in response.

Damien, you startled me.

Damien reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder, trying to get a sense of what was going on with her. He’d been battling to get through to her about the consequences of locking away her emotions. She’d dug in, stubbornly resisting, unable to understand what was so wrong about what she was doing. She could not see herself; she maintained steadfastly that she was fine. Yet the reaction of the veil around her, responding to her, showed she wasn’t. Not really.

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Jess, you need to rein in whatever it is you think you are doing.

Jess looked at him, perplexed, then glanced around the veil, finally noticing the upheaval around her. She smiled slightly, clearly not understanding.

I’m not doing this, Damien. Why would you think I am? Her tone was defensive as she had been for days and she backed up a step.

Damien glanced around, assessing the veil again. It had her mark threaded all through it, yet she seemed to be telling the truth—as far as she knew it. As unbelievable as he found it, she clearly didn’t realise that the veil was responding to her.

Yes, you are. It is responding to you. Your signature is threaded all though this. Jess, snap out of it. Stop what you are doing.

Damien walked forward, scanning her shields and noting they were leaking although he could tell she didn’t realise. He also knew her shields weren’t like this all the time. It was a recent deterioration. He placed his hands on her shoulders, expanding his own shield to cover her as well. Jess’s eyes widened but she didn’t back off or take any action to stop him. As his shields covered her, the agitation in the veil stopped.

Jess glanced around, her confusion written on her face.

I don’t understand. I had my shield up.

Damien nodded. He could see that she did, except she’d leaked, badly. Without asking, he drew them both away back to the relative safety of the sitting room at his estate. He knew she like the sitting area and the view it afforded. Damien hoped it would settle her.

Jess slumped into one of the chairs, curling up in it and looking confused and miserable. Refusing to look at him.

“Your shields are almost non-existent.” Damien sat down on a nearby chair, maintaining his own shields around her for now.

“I… I don’t know why that happened. I guess I was letting my emotions get the better of me. The shield and how it was made is frustrating me. I’m sorry, Damien, I’m normally better at pushing my emotions down.” She winced, biting her lip. “I’ll do better.”

Damien groaned. “Jess, I keep trying to explain this to you. You can’t lock away your feelings, it doesn’t work that way.”

Jess shook her head. “Damien, it’s too dangerous to get out of control.”

“You are already out of control. Refusing to acknowledge your feelings the way you are, well, they are finding another way to express themselves.” Damien held up his hand, stopping her protest. “What I saw from you in the veil is not someone who is in control.”

Damien threw images at her of the veil and how it had reacted to her lack of control. Another of her being unaware of his presence, when she should have sensed him since he hadn’t been hiding his power from her. Lastly he threw the image of what her shields had looked like to his other sight, broken and leaking out into the veil around her, leaving those around her vulnerable. Leaving her exposed to anyone else with power. Damien sighed, seeing her lips tremble, her emotions raging inside the shield he maintained for her.

“I don’t understand.”

Damien stood and walked over to the couch she was sitting on, pulling her into his arms. She remained stiff for a moment before she broke down. Emotions she’d tried to lock down since she’d killed her mother rose up, seeking an outlet, overwhelming her. He could sense that even though she didn’t understand how she’d been wrong, she was now listening. Damien rocked her and let her cry. Time for instruction could come later.