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Chapter 5
I tried to remain calm about the whole thing as I told them my side of the story, but it was difficult to do so. The further I went on, the more detached I felt from Holly. She seemed to withdraw into herself to think over what I said so that I felt as if I was talking into the air. I also felt the tension in the room rise again when I felt Daniel's temper flare up. I didn't know what to do next after I finished so I stayed quiet and was careful to not look into either's eyes. I was too afraid to.
Holly gave my hands a reassuring squeeze before returning to her seat on the couch across from me. "I had a feeling this was going to happen."
"Impossible," Daniel shot back at her.
"Why not? You knew as well as I did that this was a possibility."
"You know that's not what I meant."
"Then enlighten me and tell me what did you mean."
"I mean that it's impossible for him," he pointed angrily to me as if it were all my fault. "To be Quinn."
"And why not?"
"Don't play with me Holly. I know that you feel as if you should defend him because he was Kristin's Choice, but look at this from my point of view. What if she's made the wrong decision?" He cut her off, going on despite seeing Holly's own anger burning bright in her eyes and features. "No, listen. It has happened before you know. How many times has an Innocent taken over? And then how many times has that Innocent been unsuccessful and failed us? You know that the training and the learning periods are a dangerous time for anybody. But it's even more so because he's the one going through it."
"Honestly, Daniel. Just because he hasn't had any formal guidance doesn't mean he's already going to lose and destroy everything we've worked for. You know there are gifted ones like him out there helping us without knowing, and you also know that Energy seems to have a strong affinity for him as well. We've always known Ryan was a potential candidate but Kristin wanted him to be free of this entire mess."
"Looks like she changed her mind," he spat out bitterly.
"Don't change the subject! What she did came out of necessity and you know it. Something forced him to be at the right place at the right time because we were both too late. You heard that straight from his mouth. The point is, we didn't expect the attack and now all four of us have paid a price, Kristin most of all. It's not your fault you and I were caught with stuff to do. She would have understood that. Stop blaming yourself. I'm not blaming myself for the whole what could have been if I'd just been there a few minutes earlier. And I'm also sure he's not blaming himself for helping her in her time of need, are you?"
The couple turned to me, acknowledging my presence for the first time since the beginning of their argument. "Well, I'm not blaming myself exactly. More like just dumb luck. This is all new to me."
"I know it's hard," Holly replied. "But we're here to help you out. You're not alone."
Those last three words echoed in my head but I wasn't able to think more of it then and allow myself to be comforted.
"Will you stop that?" Daniel cried out.
"Stop what?"
"Stop treating him like a baby. You do this to everyone who's new. It's a tough world out there and there's no point in softening the blow."
"Oh stop it. Just because you don't need my pampering as much anymore doesn't mean there aren't others like him who need it at times like these. Really Daniel, sometimes you act like such a brat."
I waited for him to make a comeback but surprisingly, none came. He kept his mouth tightly shut and just stared at Holly, who stared right back. The silence built up but just when it felt like all hell was about to break loose though, the two of them started laughing. I was so shocked, I let them go at it quite awhile before I allowed myself to relax and give a small smile.
Holly turned and flashed a smile in my direction. "I'm sorry about that Ryan. We didn't mean to argue and put you on the spot like that. It's just that we've been going through a lot lately and with this now…" she trailed off, shrugging and smiling.
"It's okay. I understand." I did… Kinda.
"So when do you want to begin Quinn?" Daniel asked as soon as they'd calmed down enough to remember the situation at hand.
"The sooner the better," I replied. Even as they nodded in agreement though, I had to ask. "How'd you know it was me?"
"To tell you the truth, we really didn't know who it was," Holly started.
Daniel picked it up from there. "Yesterday afternoon, we felt her struggle but were having a hard time locating her. It was as if she'd cloaked herself or something. And it didn't help that the two of us were busy at the moment with another battle elsewhere. But we felt her death and we knew that her death meant that there was a new Chosen One. Energy wasn't running wild last night so we knew that she'd been able to Choose before she died. However, it wasn't until the two of us found ourselves outside your door that we realized it must have been you."
"And the links also prove it." She indicated to my neck and wrists.
I looked down at my hands. I'd forgotten about those. They flickered for a moment longer before disappearing. I sighed, looking up for an explanation.
"They're Energy sensitive," was the only reply I got from Daniel, as if that really explained everything for me.
"Don't worry about it," Holly tried to reassure me when I still looked lost. "You'll learn all about that and everything else soon enough."
"Great… Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?"
Daniel looked at me. "As long as you have that kind of attitude about it, you're going to feel like that. Given enough time though, you stop thinking about it because you don't have the time to."
"Yup, and you end up being just like him," Holly kidded. "No feeling whatsoever." Her eyes teased Daniel, who shrugged sheepishly.
Despite the light mood, I still felt an uneasiness within me. I knew Holly would have complete faith in me. We'd talked together, just the two of us in the past before. She knew what kind of person I was. And also, her loyalty to Kris was very apparent. She'd support Kris's Choice and would be willing to help me all the way.
Daniel on the other hand…
I don't know. Maybe I'm being unfair to the guy but he troubles me. I know he doesn't trust me yet but he's not making it any easier for me to change his opinion either. I groaned in my head, already seeing possible conflicts erupting between us. I hated fighting. Even now, as he turned to smile at me, I noticed how the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Those eyes of his regarded me coolly, almost warily.
Oh Kris…