Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. No copyright infringement is intended.
Alice smiled at me. "The key to keeping you out of our heads was found in nature, who would've thought it was so simple."
With a shaky voice I asked. "What is it?"
"Carnelian. It protects against attempts to read minds, perfect for stopping you. That is how I managed to stop you getting inside my head for a while now. Only you were too caught up in her to notice that you weren't able to read me. Pathetic really."
I didn't know what to say to her, the knowledge that she was right horrified me. I hadn't noticed that I couldn't read her. What else had I missed? My family relied on me, and I had let them down, badly.
.