JACK
The tremor through the mental shield behind him has Jack's delicate telepathic web twanging to life - awe and frustration are one thing, but the fear has the immediate surrounding reach tightening to something razor sharp. It lasts only an instant - an instant of every sense on alert, of memorising the route he now knows to the exit, of understanding the width of the tunnel, how many men might stand abreast in it, how easy it would be to dodge or jab or cast magic in here - before he realises it's directed at himself.
Curiosity and intrigue twists through Jack's thoughts, and then he realises it - realises he's left himself wide fucking open. Slamming his mental shields down so quickly it can only be instinct, he holds out a hand in the dark and abruptly pauses so Vesper might bump into it, needing a second (or several seconds) to collect himself. Hearing the boy's words, but only barely over the thunder of his own pulse, it's a long few moments, but eventually Jack lets out a soft laugh.
Slowly, ever so slowly, that slit in his shield reappears, trickling the intentional thoughts through again and feeding Vesper the mental map of the tunnel and the way it will spill them out onto the beach. "Don't beat yourself up, I'm smarter'n most people think," he says softly. "'Sides, I got age an' experience on you. If anyone can catch up, you can, an' then I'll really be fucked."
Demigodly power and range on top of that kind of intelligence? Torchline will either thrive or suffer under Vesper, and Jack's here to see which side of the coin he'll call when the time comes.
Ahead of them, moonlight begins to flicker off the shallow water like milk-white flames, and Jack nods. "There's our exit."
Curiosity and intrigue twists through Jack's thoughts, and then he realises it - realises he's left himself wide fucking open. Slamming his mental shields down so quickly it can only be instinct, he holds out a hand in the dark and abruptly pauses so Vesper might bump into it, needing a second (or several seconds) to collect himself. Hearing the boy's words, but only barely over the thunder of his own pulse, it's a long few moments, but eventually Jack lets out a soft laugh.
Slowly, ever so slowly, that slit in his shield reappears, trickling the intentional thoughts through again and feeding Vesper the mental map of the tunnel and the way it will spill them out onto the beach. "Don't beat yourself up, I'm smarter'n most people think," he says softly. "'Sides, I got age an' experience on you. If anyone can catch up, you can, an' then I'll really be fucked."
Demigodly power and range on top of that kind of intelligence? Torchline will either thrive or suffer under Vesper, and Jack's here to see which side of the coin he'll call when the time comes.
Ahead of them, moonlight begins to flicker off the shallow water like milk-white flames, and Jack nods. "There's our exit."
when I look at something, I see it for what it could be
when I look at something, I see how it ends
when I look at something, I see how it ends
Code stolen from Queen Sky
- Secret Telepath
- Functionally Immortal (Forever 35)
- Two small star tattoos beneath his left eye
- Click for The Ark!
