Rane laughed. “I think Olivia already knows that.” She frowned glancing at me curiously. “Sorry to interject, but is there a reason no one has tried the Mindonsiphan to create pregnancies?”
“I may have used my abilities to keep one woman from dying.” I wasn’t sure whether I’d saved her life or the injection Elsa and Chloe administered had done so. “I wasn’t left with a training manual on what does and doesn’t work. Besides we don’t have a supply of Mindonsiphan around to inject pregnant women.”
Henry sighed. “So what were you left with? In terms of an explanation.”
Although I’d already explained to him what I could, I tried again. “Mindonsiphan works on the basis of perception. Our minds are always capable of doing far more but our own beliefs keep us from being able to do such things.”
“That sounds like crap.” Rane rolled her eyes. “I would love to do some of the things you’re capable of and I believe I can.” She crossed her arms. “But it doesn’t happen.”
I shook my head. “You don’t believe. Not in the same way because you know it’s impossible. You have to know in here.” I pointed at her heart as she sat beside me. “That you can and will do it. It’s more than just courage and bravery. It takes strength and endurance. It’s willpower that extends beyond the imaginable.”
“Rane’s right. Why can’t women who have been injected with Mindonsiphan become pregnant?” Henry questioned.
“I don’t know. Maybe they could? You can’t work against science and reality, though. For instance, you can’t make Rane pregnant merely by looking at her. It’s not magic,” I explained.
“So it’s an illusion? The fire you started on the road?” Rane asked.
I rubbed my forehead growing frustrated. “No. It’s not a trick. It’s real, but it’s only real as science allows. You can’t make the world spin faster merely by thinking it.”
Henry considered what I said. “But we made it from Haven to Shadow, how?” he asked me. “Whatever it was, it wasn’t any science I know of.”
He was right. From what we understood of science, the Mindonsiphan allowed us the chance to bend our reality. Nothing more. I let out a heavy breath trying to voice my thoughts. “Maybe it’s science we haven’t uncovered yet. Long before Newton discovered gravity, it had always been there.”
Rane smiled. “You are right about that.” She stood up and glanced around. “Maybe I’m selfish in asking this but do you have any of it left? Any Mindonsiphan? I’d be willing to be a test subject to see if I could get pregnant.”
“No, the last of it was taken by Isaura or destroyed in Shadow. There’s nothing left and I don’t know what it consisted of to produce more.” I should have saved a syringe. At least if I’d done that we could have had a chance to understand what was in it. Now the only existence of it left was running through our bodies. I did not want to be a guinea pig.
Henry glanced from Rane back to me. He was quiet for several long moments before he finally spoke. “I have an idea.” He glanced at Rane standing up from his chair as he approached. “Please forgive me for being so rude in asking this, but is it not possible for me to heal Rane and help us conceive a child together?”
My mouth dropped slightly. “I don’t know.” It was the truth. We’d tried a lot before arriving in Torv to help with the pregnant women, but the fact was we’d been forbidden to use Mindonsiphan. Was it not possible that it had the properties to heal? I’d seen it fix Joshua after he’d been badly injured at the hands of Craynor. My own palms that had been sliced from glass had healed quickly on their own.
Henry smiled reaching for Rane’s hand. “I’d like to try.” I tried not to scoff at the notion of what they suggested. Was it outrageous or could it actually be done?
Rane hesitated only a brief moment before she took his hand, eyeing him up and down. “What becomes of me if we conceive a child?” She was smart in her questions. The child would become the rightful heir of Spade.
Henry grinned, stepping closer and brushing his lips beside her ear. Sitting so close I could hear him, even if he was trying to offer an intimate moment. “You would become my wife.”
Her cheeks reddened as she stood up. Was she nervous? She held herself well, if she were. Henry guided her out of the room and I gave a slight laugh and wave as they left. Were they seriously going to try now?
I waited a moment and stood, glancing down the hall to make sure I was alone before walking towards the desk. I didn’t know how much time I had before someone came by. I opened the drawer, doing my best to be quiet as I pulled out the rolled maps. One by one I spread them across the table, surprised to see they extended far beyond the borders of Cabal.
Why did Henry have maps of the world? Did any of these countries still exist? The guard, Kelvin, in Torv had told me about other countries but I couldn’t recall any specifics.
I returned the maps into the drawer, perfectly rolled. While Henry was busy with Rane, I took the time alone to explore inside the castle walls.
CHAPTER 13
I’d been in Spade’s library, studying their texts and their language. It was interesting to read stories of their history which should have been considered our history, but it had been different. The texts were written by those who lived within Spade’s walls. The entire library consisted of new books, new texts. Most I’d never heard of. Some were novels, many were history books with stories that had been passed down for generations.
I jumped, startled, when the first strike against Spade hit. We should have seen it coming and been prepared, knowing Isaura was out there, searching for me. I was her target and the townspeople were mere casualties to her.
I was engrossed in reading as I felt the first rumble generating through the town. The books shook, a few fell to the ground. My eyes widened and pulse raced as I backed away from the shelf, unwilling to be crushed by it. I didn’t have to look outside to know what was coming. I staggered out of the library, as I heard the sounds growing even louder outside. Within town, the people screamed with fear, most having no idea what was going on.
“We’re under attack!” I heard them scream clear as day. It was a rally to get the troops of Spade in place.
The ground trembled with another quake as Isaura had gathered her power and learned to use the Mindonsiphan to her advantage. I’d studied and trained in Shadow, but my purpose was never to intentionally harm anyone. Isaura though, she wanted to kill innocent people. Did she even have a soul, it seemed impossible. “Come out, Olivia!” she boomed from just outside the gates. I maneuvered through the city square towards the tower. The stone walls held strong, but for how much longer? I hadn’t seen her. I could only feel her wrath as she had unleashed it on Spade. “Olivia. Olivia. Where are you?” Her voice held a sing-song quality as she paced outside the grounds. Each step was another rumble along the ground, an earthquake. “Come out. Come out. Wherever you are,” she taunted me.
I maneuvered through the town, finding my way higher so I could see what awaited us outside the stone gates. Spade was well protected but how long these men could keep Isaura out?
“Olivia!” I heard Henry’s voice and turned around to see him and Rane walking alongside one another. “You need to get inside where it’s safe.”
“No.” I wanted Isaura to know I wasn’t afraid and I needed to see what we were up against. I refused to cower and hide behind the castle walls.
Cate came rushing outside towards us. “You need to hide!” she insisted.
Henry sighed. “I’m not going to just hand you over to her. If she sees you, the minute she knows you’re in here, she’s going to storm the castle and kill you.”