Another new character, yay! He's one of my favourites too... Enjoy, and see you next week!


Chapter 12:

Mindbender

The next morning, Link awoke to a stabbing sensation to his stomach. At first, he assumed it was Jenifaël who had somehow found out of his escapade the other night, but when he opened his eyes to see a pair of lime-green irises with slitted pupils, he knew it was the cat. Just like he picked up younger kids, Maeka insisted to give houses to stray cats, to Jenifaël's great dismay.

The cat stared at Link, and let out a small meow.

-Myu, let poor Link sleep! Scolded Maeka as she picked up the black-and-white cat. She then took a look at Link and added:

-You seem… Different. Are you okay?

He rubbed his forehead with his left hand. For some reason, his head throbbed heavily, like…

And then, it all rushed back to him. The circle, the stars, the rosemary, the cut… Zelda…

He shot a look at his bandaged right hand, making sure it was out of sight under the covers.

-The weird thing is he actually woke up. Every morning, it surprises me that he's still able to open his eyes, called out Zarkan.

-Will you shut up? Snapped Maeka at him.

-Maeka… Warned Jenifaël

And then, all of a sudden and with practically no warning, they were arguing.

Meanwhile, Link was thinking. The rosemary was still hanging over him, along with all the random stuff he liked to collect. So he should now be able to speak to Zelda's mind, right? And yet…

He looked around at the five other people in the room, now animatedly discussing something. He could hear them and see them, but now he could also feel them. He could literally feel their minds shifting and thriving as they fought. They felt a bit like large bubbles which, when popped or penetrated (because popping someone's mind does not sound like the best thing to do) by his own, would spill all their thoughts and feelings to him. It was scary, yet strangely fascinating.

He then felt a tingling sensation on his right hand, the one where he'd cut himself the night before.

What the…

He took it out of his blanket, palm facing upwards. He slowly, carefully untied the bloody cloth he'd used to bandage it, and his eyes widened. Because what had, the day before been a large bleeding gash was now a thin white scar.

How…

And then he looked at the back of his hand. You wouldn't have thought it possible, but what he found there surprised him even more. Three golden triangles forming a larger one, glowing of a faint golden light. He noticed the lower right one shone a bit brighter before fading, until the whole thing looked like nothing more than a birthmark.

Why?

He felt a pair of eyes on him then (maybe it was his new mind-powers or maybe just instinct), and he looked up, hiding his hand behind his back. He calmed down when he saw it was only the cat, staring at him over Maeka's shoulder.

Link sighed, relieved.

And then it spoke.

Hmm… I see. Tell me boy, since when are you a mind reader?