*Ding!*

*Ding!*

*Ding!*

*Ding!*

Nice, Theo thought as he looked down at the partially paralyzed form of his mother. Every little bit of strength helps. He cleared his throat thoughtfully. "Uh, have you calmed down yet?" He covered his mouth and faked a few light coughs to prevent his mother from seeing the smile creeping across his face." On second thought, don't answer that. Instead, how about we find a place where we can talk?"

A half-hour later, Theo and his mother were seated in a large but sparsely furnished drawing-room. The only furniture in the room were several moderately plush looking couches, a wooden rectangular table long enough to comfortably seat a football team and enough chairs to seat them comfortably. Two individuals sat on opposite ends of one of those couches. Theo noticed the subtle look of disbelief on his mother's face and coughed to cover his smile.

Lisey's eyes narrowed, and a low growl hummed in the back of her throat. "What is it that has you so amused?" The air became cold in response to her mood. 

When Theo saw his breath leave his nostrils, he knew he was in trouble. He had no experience dealing with this woman or with the psychic scents that accompanied her outside of combat situations. Everything his mother said contrasted too much with what her psychic scent was telling him a shiv of pain would stab him behind his eyes.   

Sia's face appeared next to him. It took all his self-control to keep his face blank and not show how surprised he was at how different she looked. Well damn, I didn't realize she could change her appearance. Her long black hair had shortened into a neat bob cropped at her jawline with razor-edge precision and aligned close to her face. He followed her line of sight and saw that she was looking intently at his mother. Shivers ran down his spine when he felt her tracing small circles on his back.

Well, this is new, he thought as his heart skipped a quick beat before he managed to calm himself. * What's on your mind Sia?* He asked expectantly.

*That depends,* she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. 

*On what?*

*On whether or not you think you can trust your mother or not.*

* We'll see,* he said before he refocused his attention on his mother. "Nothing, mother," he replied immediately, hoping to head off any further incidents." Calm down. I was just thinking about how things have changed so drastically in such a short amount of time."

His mother gave him a long, thoughtful look before the room's temperature returned to normal. She sat back on the couch and folded her arms, giving him an expectant look.

He took that as his cue and continued. "I'm sure you have questions. Why don't we get past those first?"

"Why did you lie to me?" It may have sounded like a simple question, but there were layers of meaning bound up in it. This boy had created fissures in the wall that surrounded her deepest emotions and thought of possible betrayal hurt her more than she thought possible.

As if sensing these conflicting emotions radiating off his mother, he immediately took a more conciliatory tone with her." I'm sorry about that." He ran a nervous hand through his long blond hair and sighed." I wasn't trying to deceive you. I just wanted to fix her and find out who wanted me dead on my own."

A quick-twitch appeared at the corner of Lisey's mouth." I could have helped you with that," she replied noncommittally.

"I don't think so," he pointedly disagreed." To you, Veronica was a maid, another one of the faceless help that populates your grand halls like well-dressed roaches. Since she'd fulfilled her purpose could be discarded." He stopped to gauge his mother's mood. Not surprisingly, his assessment of her was on the mark. Nothing he'd said thus far had moved her emotional dial one inch.

"Well, you're partially right. I genuinely could not care less about what happened to a simple maid." She paused to emphasize her point." That was until I learned that she wasn't a simple maid but a potential killer who lived secretly under my roof for several years. You will excuse me for being slightly frustrated at finding out that my son was keeping secrets from me."

Theo winced noticeably at the way his mother put such a hard emphasis on his name. Before he had a chance to explain himself further, he noticed that she was looking past him. 

Suddenly he felt Sia's presence right beside him. * She's using Talent to send a message to one of the maids.* 

*Can you tell what she's saying?* The fact that Sia could tell his mother was using Talent to communicate with someone was awesome. But it would be great if she could understand what was said.

*No, I'm not strong enough yet.*

Which implied that it would be possible in the future. * That's cool, something to look forward to in the future.*

Several moments later, there was a polite knock on the door. 

"Come in," Lisey said firmly.

A young maid walked. When she reached them, she called in a silver tray which held a glass decanter of red wine and two glasses. She lifted the decanter, poured its contents into her mistress's glass first. Then she gave Theo a questioning glance. When he shook his head, she set the decanter back on the tray, bowed politely, and left the room. 

Lisey drank the entire contents of her glass. She used Talent to lift the decanter and refill her glass. Before she set the decanter back down, she looked at Theo with a slightly raised eyebrow.

He raised a hand and shook his head again." No thanks, I'm good."

Invisible hands placed the decanter gently back on the tray. Lisey looked at Theo one more glance before she drank half the glasses contents. Then she focused her attention on her son and put the half-empty glass down.

Judging from the look on her face, Theo figured she was allowing him the opportunity to explain himself. 

Theo looked his mother in the eyes, mentally crossed his fingers, took a deep breath, and took a step into the unknown. He spent the next half hour telling his mother an abbreviated version of how he'd come to this new world straight through how he managed to find himself in this room. In all that time 

Lisey's expression never changed. She absorbed all the information with a straight face. She never interrupted him, merely allowing him the chance to explain the circumstances that led him to this room as best he could.

"So let me get this straight. You expect me to believe that you possess my son's body but not his mind."

Theo stared at her blankly for several moments before he could wrap his mind around what his mother had just said well enough to answer her. It didn't help that he had Sia screaming various terrible things about his lack of intelligence into his mind. 

Lisey saw the stunned look on her son's face and gave a thin smile." Calm yourself. For some reason, I believe this absurd story you've told me." She crossed her legs and smoothed out some wrinkles from her skirt." In all honesty, this tale of yours makes the most sense given the information available."

This is gonna be easier than I thought. Theo smiled in relief. 

Sia clicked her tongue dismissively. *The only reason she believes anything your dumb ass has told her is because of the System.*

*Your point?* He countered. As far as he was concerned, what good were powers if they didn't benefit your life?

*My point,* she shot back vehemently. *My point is it's unnatural.* Then she stopped and started to laugh faintly. *And you're about to find out just how strange it is.*

He felt Sia's presence reseed before he could ask her for clarification. 

Theo hadn't realized how much his attention had wandered, so when he focused on his mother once again, he was shocked when he saw her flushed face and unsteady hands. 

What the fuck?! He thought as he backed up until his back pressed against the couch's armrest." Uh, mother, are you okay?" Theo asked as he waved his hand repeatedly in front of his face." I mean, you're looking kind of flushed, and your hands are shaking." He stopped himself before he mentioned how funky her psychic scent had just turned.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm all right, young man," she replied as she unfastened her blouse's top button." You've just made things much easier for both of us."  

One faint burst of Talent later and Lisey was knee to knee with her son. 

"What the—"

Lisey cut him off by placing a finger on his lips." Now, we negotiate."