Chapter 0150
**Mason’s POV**
Theo has obviously been telling Josie that I’m not taking care of myself. He should focus on his own issues and coping strategies rather than running to our bond to discuss mine. I’m positive he won’t have told her he’s been unable to shift for weeks, or that he spends most of his time so lost in his own thoughts that he doesn’t notice the world around him.
I wait for Deacon to let me know they’re at the portal and ready to get to work. The portal we have been working on fixing is almost fully repaired and if Deacon and Josie can fix the one on their side then our chances of reuniting with them will be a whole lot better. Luke is already ready to attempt the jump with the three of us. The only thing holding him back is the grief he’d felt from Josie when we had discussed the possibility of him losing us in the void. I don’t think he could live with the guilt of causing her that kind of pain. I know he’s close to attempting to go alone. I see it in his face every time he stares at the portal, he knows he could be with her if he left us all behind and went through like D had. Every time I’m sure he’s about to do it he looks at me, Axe and Theo and the guilt eats him up. I’m glad he has such an honourable conscious that won’t let him leave us behind. If I was skilled at porting I’d have gone through already. Fortunately for the others, I still haven’t mastered porting within the realm so porting between realms is out of the question for me.
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“We are ready.” Deacon says, Josie’s consciousness joining his in the mind link again.
“Okay. So let’s practice on something smaller first. What is around you?” I ask.
“Grass, some rocks, a wooden fence and a water trough. It’s some kind of animal field but there are no animals in it,” he responds.
“Great. Each of you choose a piece of wood on the fence. Focus on it. Don’t see it as a piece of wood. Think of it as trillions of grains of sand that are all stuck together to form the wood. They are much smaller than sand but that doesn’t matter, it’s just the easiest way I find to visualize it. Now manipulate the grains of sand the same way we use telekinesis. Move the sand with your mind,” I explain, hoping my method works for them. Otherwise, I’m going to have to talk to others with this gift to learn their method, and I’d rather not talk to anyone outside of my bond group if I can help it. I feel the intense focus of both Deacon and Josie and I remain silent, not wanting to break their focus. I slowly unzip the tent where Theo is sleeping. I’d told him to go back to the apartment but he wouldn’t go without me. I duck in as silently as possible, not wanting to wake him as I sit down beside him. If I was better at porting I’d scoop him up and take him home. He should be sleeping in a real bed, not in this cold and musty tent. Even in sleep, his face is sad. I wish I could take that sadness from him. I brush the hair from his forehead and he whimpers softly in his sleep making me want to hold him. I should be giving him comfort, not pushing him away like I have been doing but if I allow myself to be weak around him I’ll break. I can’t stand to feel the affection he exudes when I touch him because I can’t return it, I’m not capable of it, and he really deserves to have it returned. He deserves everything.
“I did it,” Josie says excitedly, startling me from my musing.
“Good, now try to return it to its original state,” I tell her, almost smiling with pride. She never ceases to amaze me. Her power has already surpassed mine and Deacon’s level. Once she fully learns how to wield it she is going to be a force to be reckoned with. I lay down to rest for a while whilst I focus on guiding Josie and Deacon. My body aches and desperately wants to soak in a hot bath and then relax for a week, but it can’t, not yet. When my bond group is reunited I will rest. For now, this is all I will allow, my body can recover a little whilst my mind does all the work. Theo shifts closer to me, one of his arms and legs sprawling over my body as he snuggles into my side with a satisfied hum. He’s still asleep so I allow him this comfort, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to keep him warm.
C
