Читать книгу Atlantean - E.N. J.D. Watkins - Страница 11

After yesterday’s extraordinary events, school today was pretty boring. I had a different set of classes, all of which were far too easy for me. I spent lunch listening to gossip and stealing glances at Victoria.

Now that I could see Eliana for what she was, I couldn’t help but notice that Eliana was much better looking than Victoria. And this was odd because Victoria was far more attractive than any girl I’d ever seen. But while Victoria possessed a human sort of beauty, Eliana’s was best described as inhuman. With all that being said I was still more drawn to Victoria than I was to Eliana.

Seeing as how I was the only boy ogling her I removed my cell phone from my pocket to see if Eliana’s magic was in effect. Looking through the camera I found that it was. I was looking at a golden-haired boy which meant that Victoria and the others must have been seeing a sickly one.

“Having fun keeping up appearances?” I thought teasingly.

I heard Eliana’s heavenly laughter fill my mind.

With no music class the rest of the day went by quickly, and before I knew it I was back in my rooming staring at the ceiling contemplating my next move.

I just wish I had somewhere to begin.

The next day held a bit more promise for me because I would be attending music class again.

But I got a flash of disappointment, however, when I walked into the classroom and saw that the professor was there on time. Thankfully, my disappointment was short lived.

Apparently my music had been so enchanting that the professor wanted to hear me play again. But when I sat down to play I realized that there wasn’t just one melody floating around in my head, but five. Four of them were wholly unknown to me. The other was the one I had played yesterday. Deciding to stick with what I knew, I was about to play that melody again when Eliana stayed my hands.

“Don’t play that one today Amadeus,” said her voice within my mind, “Play one of the others.”

“Why?” I thought more than a little curious.

“Trust me,” thought Eliana, “You won’t regret it.”

Ever since we’d merged, trusting Eliana had become almost second nature for me. I still didn’t know how she knew the things she did, but I knew she had my best interests at heart. She even ridded me of my strange and painful nightmares, allowing me to sleep peacefully for a change.

“So which melody should I play?”

“This one.”

Eliana removed all of the other melodies from my mind except for the one she wanted me to play.

I did as I was told and, once again, my fingers moved of their own accord as though I was possessed.

I closed my eyes as the distinctively different melody touched my ears, wondering if this song had the same mysterious qualities as the one I’d played yesterday.

Turns out it did. But it wasn’t a voice that entered my mind, it was thoughts—thoughts that were distinctly feminine in nature. At first I thought they belonged to Victoria, but then I realized that they were centered on a chocolate-skinned boy with lavender eyes.

Huh. Were these the thoughts of the tiny blonde-haired girl I’d seen enter the cafeteria with Victoria yesterday?

“The name is Valentina,” said an alluring, but annoyed voice. “And yes they are.”

“What’s with you?” I thought saucily.

More annoyance.

“I thought you were Eli.”

Even though it had only been a day since I learned Eliana, was a girl it was still bizarre to hear others refer to her as Eli.

Discovering that she could enter other people’s minds was hardly surprising; I was beginning to think that there was nothing she couldn’t do.

I felt Valentina’s annoyance once more.

“Someone’s in a good mood,” I thought sarcastically.

There was no reply. But I got the distinct impression that she was waiting for something.

“She wants you to apologize for invading her thoughts, Amadeus,” chortled Eliana.

I snorted.

Then making my voice as polite as possible, I thought my apology.

“I’m sorry for invading your thoughts Valentina.”

I felt her annoyance instantly vanish.

“You’re forgiven,” she said in light, cheery tone.

I made a mental note to watch my manners when speaking to her.

She giggled.

Seeing that she was in better spirits I thought the first question that came to mind.

“How’s Victoria?”

“She’s fine—well not fine, really: she misses you.”

“Really?”

“Of course. You two share a deeper connection than you realize, Amadeus.”

I wasn’t surprised that she knew my name. She was in my head after all.

“That I am,” she agreed, “And as such I can see the questions you have. Unfortunately, I, like Victoria, have no answers to give.”

Figures.

“I can however give you a hint,” she continued, “The answers you seek lie within the sea.”

I made sure not to miss the emphasis she put on the word “sea.”

The hint may have been small but at least I had something to work with.

“And, Amadeus,” she continued.

“Yes?”

“Try not to make contact too often, or Eli will get suspicious.”

I started as a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Valentina couldn’t see all the things that were in my mind.

“Actually,” countered Eliana, “She very nearly does. The only thing she can’t see is the knowledge pertaining to me. That’s why she keeps calling me Eli.”

“I take it that she can’t hear you right now either,” I thought slowly after noting that Valentina had nothing to say about Eliana’s voice suddenly appearing in my mind.

“Nope,” she said, “I’ve placed my voice and your knowledge of me in a portion of your mind that can only be accessed by me.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed by this.

Smugness radiated from Eliana’s mind.

I snorted and slowly brought the song to a close amid the class’s hearty applause.

Opening my eyes I stood, bowed a cool little bow, and strode back to my seat in much better spirits.