Free Immortal Becoming by Wendy S. Hales Page A

made an agreement with the foster parents I was placed with at the time, that if I would practice at least two hours outside of class every day, they would give me a full scholarship for lessons. They were aware that I was already practicing for hours without any incentive at all. I knew it for the gift it truly was, and I made sure to practice at least twice as long.”
    Her voice caught and Shane prepared himself. He could sense what would follow was going to be bad. “My first foster parents were an older couple. When I was thirteen I became ill. I would bleed from my ears, my nose, sometimes even my eyes. I began menstruating, but it wasn’t normal. I bled for months on end. I was weak and sometimes needed help to even get to the bathroom.” She was whispering. Shane directed his hearing so that he could catch every word.
    “My medical needs were just too much for them; they were too old to care for me at that level. I was placed into a new home with younger parents. In that home there were two other girls and me. I remember the girls being quiet and withdrawn. I wish I wouldn’t have been so wrapped up in my own pain, but I was. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me, just that I always had too much iron in my body.” Shane’s hand paused at her back. Holy shit, she was iron-rich. How did she survive constant iron poisoning without knowledge or help?
    Jess was so wrapped up in the past, she didn’t notice Shane’s reaction. “I hadn’t gone to my dream aunt for awhile. See, when my mother first died I went to her every night. Then I started to deal with my mother’s death, and I avoided her. She and my mother were twins, and seeing the face of my mother every night just became too painful, emotionally. One night I was hurting so badly, bleeding from everywhere. I hadn’t done any martial arts for several months. I was in a new home away from the school and the parents that I knew. I went to Moira one night in my dream to tell her goodbye. I was sure I was dying, even looking forward to it.” She took another deep, jagged breath.
    “Moira knew what was wrong with me. She told me about psychic overload, but she didn’t know how to help me deal with it. She assured me I could find a way to manage it, just like my mother had. She had such faith in me. She also knew about high iron. She has high iron too. She made me a special drink every night for a week. I began to recover. I still get that drink from her. I had it tonight when I fell asleep in the bath.” Shane had noticed the improvement of her coloring after her bath. He had simply attributed it to the steam, heat, and desire.
    “Once I was stronger I began to find ways to keep my headaches and psychic overload at bay. Mostly I just became a loner, distancing myself from everyone as much as possible. I wanted to go back to martial arts, but the new parents wouldn’t allow it. Well, Steve the fath … man wouldn’t allow it.” She finished with a shudder.
    Instead of her answering any of Shane’s questions, Jess was multiplying them with every word she spoke, but he remained silent and resumed rubbing her back lightly. She subtly pulled away from his touch. Rejected, he let his hand fall into his lap.
    Tension radiated off of her. “I would sneak away to attend the Ryu, taking the bus as often as I could. Steve found out and was waiting for me when I got home one day. We were the only ones there. He pulled his belt from his pants, telling me I needed a spanking. He pulled down my jeans and panties, and bent me over the end of the table. He swung the belt, but instead of it striking me, he rubbed it across my bare butt like a caress. Then he told me to get dressed and get to my room. I was grounded, and he said I should thank him for deciding not to paddle me.” Her voice became steely and crisp. In her anger, Jess was drawing energy to herself. Incredible.
    “That night after dinner I got really sleepy, so I went right to bed.