Pax activated his newly leveled Universal Mana Projection with just his light mana, noticing how different it felt to give his mana a greater physical presence. Instead of the usual ephemeral energy, he felt a tangible substance where his hands made gentle contact with Jane’s head. He was glad he’d gained more experience with the skill lately, so he had the basic control to feel confident that he could shape it how he wanted.

  A soft gasp from Harkness let him know that what he’d done was visible. He expected his hands were glowing, but didn’t let himself get distracted enough to check. Pax wasn’t done. Drawing on both his Mana Sight and Merge, he pushed the other four elements to his palm, giving them physical form and doing his best to force them to merge with the light.

  It took long moments of effort, the ropy cords not as happy about combining with each other as when they’d been less substantial. It felt like the difference between one of his illusion images and reality. He could run a hand through one, while the other had substance.

  His shoulders tensed, and Pax was tempted to push more power into the snarl of snaking mana types. Instead, he softened the shape of his light mana out until it spread between all the others like oozing mortar between bricks. When he leaned into his Merge skill again, the five types of mana bulged toward each other for a long moment of resistance before finally snapping into a single, consolidated form, bulging with energy.

  Titus let out a sound of disbelief, which made Pax really want to see how this all looked from the outside. He resisted, focusing instead on a shape that he spread throughout Jane’s mind with a gentle touch. As he split the combined mana into finer and finer threads, Pax marveled at how far he’d come from his first clumsy attempts when first working with his light manual and the puzzles that unlocked each section.

  It didn’t take long before he had a soft cloud of extremely fine tendrils radiating from his palms, each full of all five elements. Pax hesitated. This was his mother’s mind. He didn’t want to hurt her.

  He thought back to all his experience with delving into the internal mana worlds of others and let that reassure him. Besides, he would be much gentler than anything an Inquisitor could manage. With the barest push, Pax sent the cloud of tendrils further into Jane’s mind. To his relief, the intrusion didn’t seem to disturb her at all. She didn’t tense at all, and his mana seeped in with the gentle movement of mist soaking into thirsty ground.

  Pushing with his Sight, he sent his awareness through every thread of mana, doing his best to ignore the physical structures or the flows of aspect-less mana that moved through her. Instead, he focused on an invitation from his mana for her thoughts and memories to connect.

  As his cloud saturated the upper portion of her mind, Pax got almost no response at all. He persevered, letting the threads of his mana continue to move through her mind at a slow and gentle speed.

  Halfway there. He continued to hold the pressure steady, just letting it move and absorb its way through the rest of her mind. He increased the sense of invitation from his mana as much as possible. Welcome, Jane. I’m open to see anything you’d like to share.

  When his mana threads had reached the far side of her mind, filling it completely with his merged energy, Pax despaired of finding any success. His mind kept wanting to dive into the actual structure of her mind and begin addressing the scars and defects scattered everywhere. It took extreme mental effort to keep his awareness focused on his tendrils of mana, trying his best to connect with the nebulous thoughts and images that he knew had to be present in Jane’s mind.

  And then something flickered across his awareness. A smell and a taste, together. He recognized it immediately. Trifled Tort! He got so excited that his emotions disrupted the sensation, making it disappear with the speed of a startled insect.

  A notification popped into his vision, but he quickly quashed it, pausing all interruptions with an impatient shove. He couldn’t afford to be distracted now.

  Pax reined in his feelings and relaxed again, focusing on regaining the balanced state of invitation he’d managed earlier. For long moments nothing happened, but Pax could sense activity just on the edge of his awareness.

  And then another image flickered along one of his mana threads. Clamping down on his instinctive reaction, Pax didn’t chase the image. Instead, he let it come to him, seeping into his threads of mana and making a connection. The more it merged with his tendrils, the clearer it became.

  With a start, he suddenly recognized it was the face of someone he recognized. Mistress Harkness looked at him with a proud smile. The emotion he felt, though, was Jane’s, her enjoyment at pleasing her mentor.

  That image seemed to open the floodgates. Suddenly, more images seeped into his threads, merging and blasting toward Pax with a dizzying speed. All five senses flooded the still pictures, bringing them to life. Movement and full sound piled in a moment later, the intense memories threatening to drag Pax into Jane’s mind.

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  Instinctively, Pax triggered his Haste to give himself more time to stabilize his thoughts. With white-knuckled effort, he held onto his own sense of self against the flood of incoming memories and images. Too many to count buffeted him, making his control teeter.

  A cozy dining room full of the mouthwatering aroma of stew and smiling faces flashed by, leaving behind a flicker of warm emotions. A dark hovel with a noxious, damp smell and overwhelming pain jarred him so abruptly, he almost lost control again.

  Gritting his teeth, Pax held on. If his mother had to endure these experiences, the least he could do was to stand as a silent witness. He couldn’t imagine what his expression looked like to Titus and Harkness as he tried not to drown under the flood of the best and the worst Jane’s mind had to offer.

  Pax did his best to let the images and sensations pass by without reacting. Heartbroken cries, satisfaction while serving a meal, an overwhelming desire to die, a flush of tender love for someone whose face flashed by too fast to recognize. Was that his father? All of it made Pax despair of ever helping his mother.

  Pax lost track of time as he struggled to stay in control. When he noticed the quiet stab of pain growing in the back of his head, he knew he needed to do something before he drained his mana and lost control of it all.

  Pax could barely think within the barrage of memories, so he took the risk to push harder into his Haste. The inundation slowed further, almost pausing for just a moment. It was exactly the break he needed. Thinking clearly, he knew immediately what to do.

  Pax needed to retract his web of mana filaments. He’d been an idiot to send them through Jane’s entire mind. He should have started with a tiny area instead. But, then again, maybe he wouldn’t have been able to trigger the activation of whatever skill this was.

  But now, he needed to salvage what he could before it was too late. Without hesitating, Pax used all of his mana skills to extricate as much of his web as he could. He did his best to be both fast and careful. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Jane more mental problems.

  The relief came immediately. Each section of her mind Pax left behind reduced the flood of memories. He let go of his Haste, relieved to conserve some of his mana. When he had just the thinnest collection of tendrils at the very front of Jane’s mind, Pax paused for a moment to plan how to sever the last connection safely.

  Pax felt like he’d left a loud party full of thousands of people, only to find himself in an empty room with a single, quiet voice muttering a few words. I’m tired. People need to leave me alone. They make me nervous. But I like the boys. Maybe Harkness will let me make a trifled tort again tomorrow if I do good work in the kitchen. I’m ready to sleep. It’s bedtime now . . .

  With a start, Pax realized the soft voice must be Jane’s, or, to be more precise, her surface thoughts. Head spinning, Pax forced his muddled mind to think, despite his pounding headache. The realization of exactly what he’d achieved slammed into him, leaving him even more stunned.

  Not only did I connect with her memories, but now I’m hearing her surface thoughts! Pax blew out a shocked breath, feeling overwhelmed and astounded at the same time. I did it!

  He clamped down on his emotions with an iron hand that felt much more effective than when he’d first started. Pax needed to break his connection to Jane, while he could still do it safely. With the care of someone backing out of a dangerous beast nest, Pax pulled on each thread of his mana web, drawing them back into himself. There wasn’t much energy left, but each bit eased some of the weariness and tension inside him.

  When he was finally alone in his own thoughts, Pax let out a long, relieved breath before opening his eyes and pulling his hands away from Jane’s head.

  He had to blink multiple times, suddenly feeling how hot and swollen his eyes were. He reached up and felt how damp his cheeks were. Pax was too emotionally drained to even feel embarrassed.

  With a few swipes of his sleeve, he scrubbed his face dry. Only then did he meet the gazes of both Titus and Harkness. To his surprise, neither of them spoke, just staring at him with a complicated mix of emotions that told him they could tell he’d experienced something overwhelming.

  Jane, however, offered him a simple look, only a small amount of tension in her body. “I want to sleep now.”

  “Oh.” Her words jolted Harkness into action. “Of course, dear. Let’s get you situated. Then we’ll get out of your room, and I’ll bring your usual glass of water and set it on your nightstand.”

  The remnants of stiffness left Jane in a rush. She smiled as Harkness helped her lie back in her bed with a practiced fluff of her pillow and tuck of the warm comforter around her.

  Titus gave Pax a pointed look as he inclined his head toward the door. Pax jolted out of the tired fugue he’d descended into and nodded. Yes, they needed to leave Jane’s room so they could discuss everything that had happened.

  Harkness glanced over her shoulder as they quietly left the room. Pax could easily read her unspoken command. He better not leave before telling her what he’d done.

  Pax was fine with that. He needed a chair to sit in and a mana potion, and not necessarily in that order. As they stepped out of the room, Titus took charge, taking Pax by the arm and leading him to the common seating area down the hallway. He helped him to a narrow sofa and eased him down. Before Pax could get one himself, Titus pressed a mana potion into his hand.

  Pax barely managed a grateful look before he threw the delicious liquid back. Like a starving man with his first taste of food in ages, Pax sagged back in relief and pleasure as the potion soothed the ragged edges of his mind and mana.

  “Well? What in Vitur’s name did you just do?” Titus had run out of patience.

  Pax straightened, still weary, but feeling much better. “Want to give me a second to check my notifications? I have a feeling that’s going to be a big part of my story.”

  Titus’ gaze narrowed. He gave a curt nod. “Hurry up.”

  Pax didn’t know what he would find, but couldn’t help a flare of excitement. Had he gained the Interrogate skill? Or something even better?

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