The Empath Cycle: 2001 It Takes One - Book 2

"Please allow me." Ryanna told them. "You see, doctor, Therapist Audrey was her usual obnoxious self and when it failed to impress Sylvie, she broke the most sacrosanct rule of trained talents and attacked her psychically, so Sylvie defended herself and punished her as she should be. Then, with the support of the other therapists who rushed over, she healed those affected by the negative energies and, I think, erased their memory of the event to preserve the festive atmosphere of the evening."

Stunned, Lucia looked at Sylvie. "You did that all by yourself?"

"No, ma'am. Ryanna says we went into a kind of meld. So you should say we did it. I apologize if we did something wrong. Maybe we shouldn't have come here tonight."

"Don't apologize, young lady. I am the one who should be asking your forgiveness. We have been aware of problems with Therapist... or I should say former-therapist Audrey, since you seem to have taken action where we did not exactly know how. You see, we have had reports about her for a long time, but the only options opened to us at this point are so very drastic that we hesitated to take them. And since she was a good therapist and helped a lot of people, we did our best to minimize the effects of her actions until we could find a solution. Now we know there is one that is most effective and painless, we will be able to take action in the future."

"But, ma'am, I don't know what I did. I don't even remember the altercation."

"That's all right, Sylvie. With your help, we'll find out how you did it." Ryanna told her with a saucy grin. "And who knows? Maybe you'll help me with my doctorate like mammy Catherine helped mammy Sarah with hers. Imagine the long hours we'll spend together while I will examine your... brain."

That last had the desired effect and got them all laughing.

Once they had made an appointment with the Director for the day after Christmas and she had left, Sylvie was ready to go home.

"We have met most of the family and they've all seen me, so what do you say we go home? I've had enough excitement for one evening even if I don't remember the worst of it."

"I agree, love." Patricia hugged her. "Once again, you're my hero and I can't wait to thank you properly."

"Aww, guys! We haven't eaten yet. I'm hungry and I should take care of it before I start digesting myself from the inside out." Jade whined.

"Gross! I saw you scarf handfuls of finger food as you passed the buffet table when you were chasing me with your army of munchkins." Karlie reminded her.

"Emphasis on 'finger food', baby. I'm a growing girl, you know. I need my calories."

"Does this mean we're back in training tomorrow? And we could bring Sylvie." Julia teased. "She needs to begin her t'ai chi ch'uan training."

"No way! I'm not getting up at 4:30 just to do some stupid martial art exercises."

"Well, maybe we can alter our schedule while we're here, but you're going to have to compromise a little when we go back home. It's an important part of your adaptation to your talent." Ryanna told her.

"That may be so, but I simply refuse to get up that early for no good reason at all." Sylvie insisted.

"Don't sulk, love. That frown will make unsightly lines on your forehead." Patricia kissed them away. "And may I remind you that you get up almost as early three mornings a week when you work just so you can compete with John."

"It's not the same. It's for work and I just love to rub his face in it when he arrives and I'm already at my desk working." Sylvie grinned. "Plus, I'll have to begin at a kid's level. I'll never have the time to train seriously enough for it to make a difference."

"You think so?" Ryanna grinned.

Without warning she reached to Sylvie with a complex attack move at half-speed. She wasn't surprised when Sylvie went through the proper counter at the exact same speed, then used the classic counter-attack, again at the same speed.

To say that Sylvie was surprised would have been a major understatement.

"Do you want to dance?" Ryanna asked her.

They went to an open space on the edge of the dance floor and Julia joined them.

First, Sylvie bowed, fist in hand, in response to their salute. Then she watched them, bewildered as they went through a complex series of movements, pushing one against the other.

"These are tuishou or Pushing Hands forms." Ryanna explained. "They are the two-person training routines designed to be the gateway for students to experimentally understand the martial aspects of the internal martial arts: leverage, reflex, sensitivity, timing, coordination and positioning. Pushing Hands works to undo a person's natural instinct to resist force with force, teaching the body to yield to force and redirect it."

"Notice the slow speed." She went on. "It's because of another aspect of t'ai chi ch'uan, meditation with which you are already familiar. Not only that, but it's the exact same technique we practice. So, face Julia and follow her slow movements. It's very easy, you'll see. Now, breathe deeply and regularly, we won't go any faster for now, so you won't get out of breath. Good! See how easy it is. Here's the twist that makes it even easier. Slowly, stop trying to anticipate Julia's movements and let your mind flow toward a meditative state. That's it... relax... breathe..."

Ryanna's soft, regular voice guided Sylvie who was already an adept at meditation in her own right.

At a nod from Ryanna, Julia shifted to a second, more complex set of forms which Sylvie followed without missing a beat. After some minutes, during which Julia accelerated to half-speed, when Ryanna nodded again, it was Sylvie who shifted to the third set of forms and gradually increased the speed again until they were going all out. At Ryanna's nod, the next shift was flawless.

Sylvie was smiling from ear to ear and there was a spark in her eyes when Ryanna gave a sharp command in Chinese that brought both women to a complete and sudden halt. They were barely out of breath when they returned Ryanna's deep bow.

The deafening applause startled Sylvie and she spun around, wide eyed in alarm. Ryanna and Julia were at her side only seconds before their other wives joined them.

"It's okay, Sylvie." Ryanna told her in the same level voice she had used before. "You've just given them a demonstration of the highest quality. The proper response to their admiration is to bow deeply and say thank you."

The three women did just that. By the time the standing ovation had died down and the spectators had returned to their seats, Sylvie's heartbeat had slowed below the hundred beats per minute. She accepted Ryanna's arm around her waist gratefully as they walked back to their own seats.

"What a way to be yanked out of deep meditation." She managed to say, breathless as she hadn't been during the whole exercise. "I thought my heart would explode out of my chest."

"I'm sorry." Ryanna apologized. "I misjudged how deep under you would go. I only wanted to make a point, but you sure surprised me."

"She surprised you!" Julia exclaimed. "You weren't the one trying to keep up with her. What's it going to be when we move to sparring forms? The last time I was challenged like this was when we went to the competition at the Maurice-Richard arena, three years ago, and the old Chinese sensei agreed to spar with us."

"I remember." Ryanna laughed. "You see," she explained to their companions, "we had to beat his five best fighters before he would agree to even speak to us. And two of those were competing in higher weight classes than we were."

"Did you win the competition?" Patricia inquired.

"No. We never compete with ordinary people. It's not fair to them. First, we don't really know at what level we are. There is no standardized t'ai chi ch'uan ranking system, and not all schools use belt rankings. But we haven't been formally evaluated by a Master, or sensei, since mammy Martine left. Since then, we have met only very few and most wouldn't be bothered to give us the time of day unless we demonstrated our proficiency like we did at the competition and we can't just go around beating people only to get the attention of a sensei. Second and most important, we are afraid of what could happen if we lost control of our talent in the heat of battle should our opponent take things to the point where we really feel threatened."

"Yes, I can see where it could be a problem. What about me?" Sylvie asked. "Weren't you afraid that I would lose control since I wasn't even doing it consciously?"

"Says who?" Ryanna grinned. "Remember who you were channeling and I see we will have more teaching to do if you think you are unconscious or at the mercy of your subconscious when you meditate."

"Am I not?" Sylvie asked, confused. "Don't laugh at me, you meanie. The books were very unclear on the subject."

Before the discussion could turn philosophical, Jade and Karlie came back with five children, all of them laden with victuals.

"Thank you for your help, kids. These athletes need to replenish their energy and so do I for that matter."

Once they had unburdened themselves, the children raced around the table to hug and kiss the three women who had put on such a great show.

"You could have just gone to get yourself some food, you know." Sylvie told Jade.

"She did." Karlie laughed. "She stuffed her face while I rounded our little helpers and this half-empty plate was full when we left the buffet table."

"What can I say? I'm a growing girl and I need to be fed regularly. If you cruel girls hadn't deprived me all day, I wouldn't feel so emaciated."

The teasing went on through the meal and for a while after.

"Okay. We've mingled, we've sparred, we've eaten our fill. Jade even went back twice for dessert. Now can we go home?" Sylvie asked languidly as she leaned against Patricia, arms around her waist.

"Not just yet." Julia answered, after looking at her watch. "Santa is about to arrive with the presents for the little ones."

"Yes and every year a different family puts on a show. We can't leave before you watch it." Ryanna told them.

While Sylvie stayed cuddled with Patricia, the other women joined the dancers. Julia and Ryanna mixed martial art moves with modern dance steps in a sensual choreography reflecting their new-found intimacy. Karlie and Jade pulled in some older children to join them and were soon joined by most of the little ones, crowding the older dancers to the sidelines where they stood laughing and encouraging them.

They were glad when the lights of the hall were dimmed slightly and the music switched to a Christmas theme. Soon everyone was seated, except the children who crowded the curtained area beside the stage at the far end of the hall. They fell silent when a man came around it wearing a white robe, a wig and beard of long white hair, his superb make-up making him look old as time.

In a gravelly yet clear voice, he told his young audience the story of how Mother Nature came down to Earth from time to time to join with Her children because She loved them so much. How She became a mother like all others which was why they should all love and listen to their mommies because they are in Her image.

When the curtain was opened, there was a Nativity scene complete with cats and dogs, cockatoos and parakeets, a nanny and a billy-goat, a young man and a young woman breast feeding her new-born baby, both dressed in white robes too.

"That's not a regular Nativity scene." Sylvie wondered. "And what's with the Mother Nature story? These should be Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus."

"I didn't know you were a religious person." Ryanna grinned.

"I... I'm not... Not really. I was raised by a religious fanatic, but since I ran away from her home when I was sixteen, I've read a lot and I've found that most religions are a means of control by one group over another. I can understand primitive man's need to explain the forces of nature by assigning them a spiritual meaning because they were so far out of his understanding, but someone, some time, must have decided to use those beliefs to make his life easier by controlling others, be it a shaman who was too lazy to hunt for himself or some other kind of con man who wanted power. Until, eventually, it was institutionalized. Also, I've been recently taught by a person I've come to respect deeply that I should look with my heart, just like your family motto says."

Sylvie was lost in Patricia's emerald eyes, holding her hand to her heart, as she said the last. When she felt her other wives' hands on her shoulder, their love flowed through her again and it kept growing and growing until she was lost in the emotion, reveling in its intensity.

She didn't know how long she stayed in this trance, but gradually, reality gently re-asserted itself. At the very edge of her perception, she could almost see a soft glow of light suffusing the air around her. As it dissipated, she looked around and was amazed to see the people nearest touching them and so on in an expanding circle that encompassed all those present. There were tears in many eyes, but smiles on all lips.

"Thank you, dear sister." Joannie told her as she came forward. "You have given us an incredible gift. We will treasure it always."

The six women were in a daze as they walked home.

Everybody had come by their table to touch Sylvie and thank her for the wonderful Christmas gift.

"Does anybody have any idea what happened in there?" Jade asked to no one in particular. Then she looked over her shoulder. "Ryanna, Julia says you're our resident expert on psychic phenomena. What do you think?"

"I'm no more an expert than the next girl, but this may not have been a psychic event as much as a mystical one. We know we sort of meld together, but this was different, I think."

"I hear a lot of 'buts' and prevarication in there, baby. Are you channeling Karlie?" Jade teased the uneasy young woman.

"Not that it would be a bad thing." Ryanna answered as she pulled Karlie closer with the arm she had around her waist. "But you may not be so far off when you talk of channeling. We know the mammies left a part of themselves within us and I would like to think that it was them telling the family that they loved them."

"That's a nice sentiment which I much prefer to the idea that I may be some kind of freak. Do you think they'll let us go or will they kidnap me and hold me in some cage while they do weird experiments on me?" Sylvie asked, burrowing under Patricia's arm.

Ryanna jumped in front of her. Throwing her gloves to the ground, she held Sylvie's face in her hands. "Don't ever think like that." She told her fiercely. "Nobody will ever do anything like that to you. And if they try, they will have to go through me first."

The chorus of shouts of support did much to restore Sylvie's confidence, so did the ensuing group hug.

Chapter 6

"I know you girls said she belonged here with her family and I certainly won't begrudge her the experience with that old lady Cathy, but things are happening too fast." Jade told Ryanna and Julia, a frown of worry on her brow.

They were sharing a coffee after their morning training, limited though it was due to the lack of space even after they had pushed all the furniture from the living room aside.

"We agree with you." Ryanna replied. "We wanted to ease her into it over the last few weeks, but we were overruled because the family thought it would be a great Christmas gift to her. We should have fought for our position because we knew her."

"They think we are too young to make decisions." Julia pouted. "They just don't realize what she's gone through in so short a period of time. They thought they were doing something nice for her and you can't fault them for it, misguided as it was."

"That's right, Jade. Now that we are all here, we have to make this the best Christmas ever for her. And even if we don't understand it, something wonderful occurred last evening. Let's make the best of our time here. We can teach her what we can. Try to bring more of her gifts to the fore so she can control them and have as much fun as we can while we're at it. What do you say?"

"I say that's a great idea." The three women on the stairs chorused.

'What a wonderful way to wake up.' Sylvie thought, cuddled to Patricia's side, head in the crook of her shoulder, arm across her stomach, leg over her upper thighs, with Karlie molded to her back, her soft body pressed against hers. 'I could stay like this all day.'

Unfortunately, her body had a different agenda. She knew there was no way she could untangle herself without waking her bedmates, so she woke them as gently as she could, kissing Patricia's shoulder and neck while she rubbed her thigh lightly against her nearly bare mound and her free hand raised so she could run her fingers through Karlie's silky hair giving her what scalp massage she could from her position.

She knew she had succeeded when the arm that had been wrapped around her waist shifted so its hand was cupping her breast and full lips kissed her shoulder. She craned her neck back to get her first morning kiss, grinning into it at the low whine from in front of her.

"You will have to learn to share, love." She chided Patricia. "Remember that you have five wives now."

"I wasn't complaining about that, but because your leg is massaging my bladder and I have to get up before I get to kiss you."

"Poor baby, I've been holding it back too so I wouldn't jostle you two when I did the same thing."

They all laughed as they raced to the bathroom, glad for the accommodations planned for multiple occupants.

Once they had brushed their teeth and hair, the morning kisses promised to be only a prelude to much more when a chorus of growling stomachs interrupted those preliminaries.

"I guess that settles that. Empty stomachs trump wet pussies." Karlie declared.

"That's all right. We're not in a rush to get ready for work or anything. I could get used to this vacation thing." Sylvie grinned. "I haven't stopped since I was on my own. I was always working or going to school. Let's see what it feels like to be women of leisure."

"What about all those 'days' we spent on your beach?" Patricia teased. "They were pretty leisurely if you ask me. You are quite the hedonist, love."

"Yes, well." Sylvie blushed. "I had lots of lost time to make up for. And being alone on a beach with three horny naked women tends to bring it out in me. Maybe I have an inner slut too."

"Let's feed her then so she can come out and play with us regular horny broads." Karlie laughed.

"We're going to have to go to the village to replenish our stores. We almost cleaned out what had been stocked here with the cookies and cakes yesterday and we scraped the bottom of the barrel with this breakfast." Patricia announced. "When we live together, we're going to have to get a much larger refrigerator like this one here or a second one and enlarge the pantry. It's going to take some planning to feed six persons."

She was already thinking ahead on how she would organize their home, making plans for finding a larger condo if she could or buying a house that would accommodate her family when she noticed that things had gone quiet.

"What?" She asked, worried when she saw the misty eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Aww, mom. I guess Jules was right. You are the Mother." Jade told her lovingly

"Yes, love. You are right, we are a family and we will have to pool our resources and build a home together." Sylvie hugged her. "I'm sure we'll find a way to make it work."

Ryanna and Julia were crying openly as it was brought home even more concretely than it had been the day before, now that they were talking nuts and bolts, that they did indeed have a new family.