The Party of the Gods

“I want you to cut away the skin here and expose this vein.”

  The look on Tom’s face was unreal. “I’ll do no such thing!”     

  “It won’t hurt me. Look. That mouse is fine.”

  “I don’t care about the mouse. I’m not cutting you up.”

  “This is important, Tom,” Ulyx said crossly. “I can’t do it myself. You wouldn’t want me to report your lack of cooperation to Lord Locsei.”

  Reluctantly, the servant took the knife. Ulyx rubbed wood alcohol on his arm again, and told him to go ahead. Tom made a few bold slices and scraped flesh away until he managed to expose a small portion of Ulyx’s vein. Ulyx pressed the surrounding tissue with an iodine-soaked rag to minimise blood loss. Ignoring the pain, he manoeuvred his arm to reach the blue dot. “Tell me when the blue light is right on the vein,” he said.

  Tom watched, and after Ulyx slid his arm around for a while, he said “There!”

  Ulyx waited. At first he felt nothing, then suddenly an electrifying surge went through him. He didn’t need the meter to tell him the indicator had turned blue. He could feel the power course through his veins, revitalising him. It was a strange but wonderful sensation. He turned and checked the solution. Sure enough, it was blue. “All right, you may go,” he told Tom. Thank you.”

  “What about the coins?” Tom asked.

  “Oh, yes. I’ll lock them up.” He knew Lince really would be ticked off about money negligence, so he got up. His mind was exhausted, but he felt a strange euphoria as he went to do the chore. In a flurry, he did some other mindless jobs he’d been neglecting. He wondered how a bright man like Lince could be happy just tending an estate ‑‑ or two. He could probably really do something with his mind. He shrugged. He wasn’t about to tell his boss that. He needed the shelter he provided, and the food and clothes his money bought.

  When he finished the chores, he ate some dinner and went back to his room. He was anxious to start playing with his new power. He had no idea what it could do besides make him feel good. Could he use the power rays from the sun to affect other things? His theories suggested he could. He sat down on a couch and just let himself feel the energy. Closing his eyes, he tried to relax his mind. Maybe if he concentrated on doing something he could do it. Opening his eyes he focused on a pencil in front of him. He thought of lifting up. Nothing happened. He tried going through the motions of lifting it, commanding it to move. Still nothing happened. This didn’t feel right, he was missing something.

  He leaned forward and picked up the pencil, examining it. In order for him to affect something, the power had to reach it. He should try sending power away from himself. He shut his eyes and concentrated solely on feeling the energy flow. After awhile, he found that he could control where it went in his body. He could pile it up in one area, causing a tingling sensation. The heart pumped blood so quickly it was hard to keep energy there, but with practice, he could collect a lot in his hand. It made the hand tingle so much it almost burned, but he wouldn’t let the power flow back out with the blood. Suddenly, it overflowed and spilled out. He opened his eyes quickly and saw a brief blue glow on the pencil. If he’d kept them shut any longer, he would have missed it.

  He stared at the pencil, amazed. The theory was one thing, but now that he had actually projected power from himself, it seemed too incredible to be true. “I’ve done it,” he whispered, squeezing the pencil tight. “I’ve actually done it.”