Aurora Rising by Alysia S Knight Read Free Book Online Page A

Straye?”
    “He’s my grandfather.”
    “Really, then how did they ever misdiagnosis you so badly?” Now there was a demanding quality in his voice.
    Rori wasn’t sure how to answer. “It’s complicated.”
    “Well, we’ll look into that later. Now, this room is set to amplify your talents, making them easier to read, categorize and evaluate. When the lights go out, I want you to focus on the red light. Ignore everything around you, just listen to my voice and follow my instructions.” He hardly finished speaking when the lights went out, leaving the room pitch black.
    A small glow appeared on the edge of her peripheral vision. Rori knew it was from Narrasa’s computer screen. Before she could look toward it, a bright red light appeared above her, circled by several rows of small yellow lights that seemed to pull her attention in.
    “All right, Aurora, I want you to focus. Don’t hold back. I want you to open your mind fully, then your talent.”
    Rori pushed out with her mind and felt like the air stirred around her−like it was charged with electricity.
    “Good, but let it flow. You’re fighting it. You don’t have to worry about keeping it in check. There’s no chance of hurting anything in here. This room is designed to absorb the talent, not letting it out. Not even the strongest talent, no matter the type can escape. It’s the same technology used in dampening restraints and holding cells for talented prisoners but on a more complex scale. It doesn’t dampen, just keeps the talents focused in the machine.” The words came out of the darkness and she tried to follow them.
    “Good, relax, let it flow. We’re going to try something easy. Find me with your mind.”
    Rori reached out, feeling for the impulse that she had picked up from the man. She felt him there. She locked on then things shifted, and she knew it was the machine causing the distortion. Still, she had no problem following it back to him and felt a wave of satisfaction from him.
    “Good. We are going to move on. I’m going to show you some images. Let your natural impulses flow from what you see.
    The red light faded and pictures came in rapid succession, beautiful and peaceful intermingled with accidents and destruction. She cringed and held onto the image of the mudslide bearing down on the transport. Inside, her every cell in her body tightened before the image switched to a soft beautiful sunset, then the images faded and the red light reappeared.
    “Aurora, I want you to think back to last night. I heard you helped save the little boy.”
    The picture of Tad came so vividly to her mind Rori almost slid off the table. The small body hung out over the abyss and the chunk of debris coming toward him. She started to reach out though she knew it was just a memory and Tad was safe.
    “That’s good.” The words seemed to come from far off, and Tad faded from her mind. She was staring again into the red light, then it too faded and the main lights came on brightening gradually, letting her eyes adjust. Still Rori closed them, taking long deep breaths. She was exhausted.
    “Interesting.”
    She heard the word muttered by Narrasa and opened her eyes to see him still concentrating on the computer screen. She waited several minutes but he just kept muttering to himself as if she wasn’t there. Finally, she gave up waiting. “Med Narrasa?”
    “Hmm.” He looked up. “Oh, Aurora, I’m sorry. I forgot you were still here. You must be starving. Areathea had some food brought up. You can eat and rest while I go over this one more time.”
    ***
    “Keyen, come in.” Manning Hiymm greeted him at the opening, ushering him in, in his normal, affable manner. Hiymm’s small frame barely came to Keyen’s shoulder, but there was no doubting the strong talent. It radiated off the sharp featured man.
    Keyen waited until they were both seated. “Director, I’m certain it was a strong talent involved in the attack last night. I checked over