Unbound: The Call of Power

Chapter 03

Ellie rushed to get into the bus, barely making it. She was supposed to have gone to the Library much earlier to check out some books for her Clairvoyance class, but she had missed her alarm. Again. The bus was crowded, but she didn't have to push her way through to the back. Once everyone registered her presence, they automatically gave way.

It might have seemed like Ellie was respected and revered even, the way a path cleared for her so quickly.  But she knew better. Everyone was afraid that the telepath would hear their thoughts if she touched them. She smiled to herself. If only they knew she already could read their minds. It's funny how SNs still confuse clairvoyance and telepathy, she mused. Ellie Wong was clairvoyant and telepathic. She could piece together a story of anything she touched and if she concentrated just a little more, she could hear what anyone was thinking.

These people need to understand that I have no interest in their boring lives, she rolled her eyes as she placed her headphones back on and increased the volume. More than often than not, the thoughts she heard were unimpressive and Ellie thought most to be simple minded people living simple lives.

While she could block out most thoughts, the music helped to give her some radio silence. It was especially useful when she was hit with visions, as the silence meant that she could sense the onslaught of a vision much faster. Combined with her clairvoyance and telepathy, her powers of  precognition made Ellie a powerful enough witch. Being powerful didn’t make her any well liked though. People were so afraid of their secrets being known that they avoided her.

She sighed quietly, settling herself into the seat a student had got up from. She didn't want to know if he had given the seat up to her because she was a teacher or if he had simply wanted to avoid her. Either way, she decided that will enjoy this ride.

Lost in her thoughts, Ellie watched the trees roll by when she felt the sudden pull of power. Her chest started to feel tight and a light ringing started in her head. Her palms started to tingle, and she knew a vision was on its way. After all this time, she still felt a little surprise as she felt the tug at the back of her head. Before she knew it, she was pulled in; as if she was suddenly dragged underwater. The music in her ears became distant and distorted, and her vision blurred as everything in her sight fell away.

When Ellie blinked again, it was dark, and she was standing in the middle of a large room. As her eyes adjusted, she recognised it as one of the ballrooms in the school’s auditorium. A woman was standing next to her, looking around in fear and horror. All around them, she could hear screaming and shouting. Ellie felt a wave of affection wash over her as she looked her. This was someone she seemed to care about. She couldn't make out the woman’s face, but the bracelet around the woman's hand was glowing with a soft, blue glow. That’s what she needed to focus on. Ellie heard herself saying, “If that’s what you really want to do, then do it now. Else”. The woman looked over at Ellie as she reached for the bracelet on her hand.

She opened her mouth to say something but before Ellie could hear it, she was sucked out of the vision. Imagine being held underwater for a long time, and then being able to finally come up for air. That was what coming out of a vision felt like. She was gasping for breath, and the ringing in her head slowly subsided as the sights and sounds around her returned to normal. Her vision cleared and she was back in the bus. As Ellie caught her breath, she wondered who the woman was and why she felt so connected to her. The bracelet must mean something.

As she was trying to make sense of what she had just seen, the skin on the back of her neck prickled. As Ellie looked up, she belatedly realised everyone on the bus was staring at her with a various mix of reactions ranging from disgust to fear. Ellie groaned internally. She hated having visions in public even though she had no control over where she got them.

For an outsider, they would see her freeze in the middle of whatever she was doing, and her eyes would roll to the back of her head, leaving only the whites visible. While in her vision, Ellie would not be able to hear or see anything else. This is scary enough to some, Ellie supposed. Sometimes she couldn’t help but question if she was gifted or cursed. She didn’t want these glimpses into the past, or of anyone’s deepest secrets or the future.

Ellie grabbed her bag and made her way to the exit. She alighted effortlessly, as everyone made sure to avoid her again.

All she wanted was to be a little normal and have some excitement of the “not knowing what happens next” variety, maybe even have a friend – someone who wouldn’t be put off by the fact that they could not hide anything from her. For years, she saw friends after friends leave in fear and horror as soon as they found out what she could do until she gave up all hope on trusting someone to stay.

She thought back to the wave of affection she had felt in her vision. I wonder if she would be someone trustworthy, someone would not leave – This woman I am yet to meet? Ellie was sure she did not know who the woman was, and try as she might, she couldn’t make out her features in the vision.

That’s expecting too much, she told herself, as the library came into view.

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“Finally!”

Ellie was so focused on her thoughts that she was startled by the voice behind and dropped what she was carrying, including her phone.

As she bent down to gather her files, she looked around to see who it was. A woman was running up to her, apologising as she reached her.

“I’m so sorry,” she gushed as she reached for the rest of Ellie’s scattered files. “I had been walking around for two hours, trying to find this damned library”.

“Don’t worry about it! Serves me right for not waiting till I got inside to take out my teaching notes,” Ellie smiled at the pretty woman as she straightened up.

The woman followed suit and held out the notes that she had helped pick up. Ellie studied her face. She didn’t look like a student, and Ellie was sure she hadn’t seen her around campus before.

Ellie c****d her head. She must be a new teacher.

As if on cue, the woman held out her hand, “I’m Maya, Maya Matthews. I am a new teacher here,” she paused. “Well, more like teaching assistant I guess,” she shrugged, offering up a hesitant smile.

Ellie smiled at her and shook her hand; returning with a small smile of her own. She felt drawn to this woman, Maya – a sort of camaraderie.

She suddenly remembered the previous staff meeting a week ago. Dean Chinh had mentioned that they were having a new teacher joining the school.

Ellie knew that the new teacher was human and had been head hunted to join the school from wherever she had been working at previously. It was all everyone could talk about for a week after that, and Ellie was caught up with the buzz. After all, a human who was specifically chosen to join the school was big news.

Ellie shook her head at the memory.

“Ah yes, Dean Chinh had mentioned we will be having a new teacher on board,” Ellie looked up at Maya. “It’s nice to meet you, as shocking as it was. I’m Eleanor Wong, but you can call me Ellie”.

Maya smiled at Ellie sheepishly. “Sorry Ellie, I was just so happy about finding this place. Should have just taken the bus”. She glared at the grand building ahead of them.

Ellie couldn’t help but grin at Maya. She looked like she was wishing the ground would swallow her up whole and she was holding the library responsible for it.

Ellie motioned towards the entrance of the library. “Walk with me?”

Maya shrugged, falling into step with Ellie.

“So ah, what do you teach Ellie?”

Ellie looked at Maya, unsure if she should tell her. She liked her already, even though she didn’t know her at all.

Dean Chinh had mentioned that Maya was aware of SNs, another reason that had contributed to the gossip of the past week. But Ellie knew the adverse reactions she garnered when humans and SNs alike, knew of her powers.

Ellie took a deep breath.

“I work with the SN students who are clairvoyant and telepathic. Since I am both, I teach them to control and manage their powers. I also teach the witchcraft programme under Arts”. She decided not to mention her precognitive abilities yet.

It was no secret around campus, but she figured just these two alone were enough to scare anyone away. No need to pull out the big guns.

Maya looked at Ellie intently for a beat. Ellie clutched her notes tightly, waiting for the look of fear and horror, and the questions that usually followed.

She told herself that it wouldn’t matter how this stranger reacted, even though a tiny voice at the back of her mind said otherwise. She was drawn to Maya, and she didn’t know why.

“Damn! Clairvoyance and telepathy”, Maya looked at her with an expression Ellie could only decipher as being impressed. ”Well, that’s pretty cool. People must avoid you religiously”.

She tried hard to mask the surprise she was feeling. She wasn't expecting this. No one had ever been remotely impressed with her powers, except for her family.

Ellie was sure she was reading Maya wrong when it suddenly hit her. The silence.

She paused in her tracks, her mouth forming an “O” as the realisation dawned on her.

She couldn’t hear Maya’s thoughts, nor had she picked up on anything when she shook her hand earlier. She had felt nothing, and she had heard nothing.

Absolute silence, in the whole five minutes of interaction.

How is that even possible? For a human, no less?

Ellie just gaped at Maya in utter shock, trying to form a sentence.

“Wait a minute… How?”

Maya let out a soft laugh at Ellie’s reaction, as she held up her wrist. The metal bracelet glinted in the sun.

“I am wearing a wrist charm, Ellie. It pretty much blocks off most SN effects on me”.

Ellie squinted at Maya’s bracelet. The sun was reflecting off it, and the glare was in her eyes.

She was trying to comprehend the situation. She had never been around a human whom she couldn’t read before.

Maya shifted her wrist slightly to avoid the glare and Ellie could make out the markings on Maya’s charm. She felt her chest tighten, as she slowly registered what she was seeing.

It was the exact same bracelet as she had seen just a few minutes earlier.

Ellie’s eyes widened, as she looked back at Maya.

That meant that Maya was the woman in the vision.