SHELDON: Hey, man. Thanks for doing another interview.
ROLAND: Sarah asked me to do it.
SHELDON: [lips twitch] And you’d do anything to make her happy?
ROLAND: Of course.
SHELDON: That is so weird.
ROLAND: [arches a brow] Rumor has it you would do anything to please Tracy.
SHELDON: Really? You, uh… you heard that?
ROLAND: Yes.
SHELDON: [flustered] Well, that’s different. I’m normal. You’re… you.
ROLAND: [narrows eyes]
SHELDON: Come on. Everyone knows how antisocial you are. It’s just weird seeing you act all lovey-dovey around Sarah.
ROLAND: [sighs] Is this what you wanted to talk about in this interview—my relationship with Sarah and how swiftly your insolence will end with your arse getting kicked?
SHELDON: [laughs] No. I actually wanted to ask you about something else. I interviewed Marcus a few days ago, and he mentioned a gifted one named Alyssa.
ROLAND: [gaze sharpening] Alyssa? The Earl of Westcott’s wisewoman?
SHELDON: [surprised] Yes. You remember her?
ROLAND: Absolutely. How did her name come up in the conversation?
SHELDON: I asked him who the first gifted one he met was.
ROLAND: Ah.
SHELDON: You met her yourself?
ROLAND: Yes. I met her whole family actually.
SHELDON: That was, like, eight hundred years ago. How did you remember that?
ROLAND: I suppose it’s a combination of the advanced DNA all gifted ones like myself possess, coupled with the virus that lends me immortality and prevents me from aging. The memories of immortals don’t fade with time the way those of humans do.
SHELDON: That’s awesome and sucks all at the same time. I imagine there are some things you’d like to forget.
ROLAND: [expression darkens ominously] If we forget our mistakes, we won’t learn from them.
SHELDON: [swallows] Yeah, back to Alyssa. So… Alyssa was a gifted one like you back in the twelfth century.
ROLAND: Yes. She actually came to be quite powerful.
SHELDON: Marcus said she could heal with her hands and read emotions with a touch.
ROLAND: Among other things.
SHELDON: You’re renowned for disliking and distrusting… pretty much everyone. Yet you sound as if you liked Alyssa.
ROLAND: I admired her a great deal. She was, quite frankly, gutsy as hell. Those like us who bore special gifts tended to inspire fear and hatred in those who distrusted anyone who was different. Instead of viewing our abilities as miracles, most believed they were gifts bestowed upon us by demons. And we were frequently blamed for things we didn’t do.
SHELDON: Like what?
ROLAND: If drought struck, a gifted one’s “sorcery” was surely responsible. If a cow’s milk dried up, the resident gifted one must have done it. If a man’s health failed, he must have been cursed by the gifted one. So many a gifted one was slain.
SHELDON: That’s infuriating.
ROLAND: [shrugs] It’s the way of the world. Little has changed. Just look at the trouble we Immortal Guardians have faced in recent years.
SHELDON: True.
ROLAND: Most of us gifted ones hid our unusual abilities as best we could for our own protection.
SHELDON: I don’t blame you.
ROLAND: But Alyssa… [shakes his head and smiles] She found a way to use hers openly.
SHELDON: As Lord Dillon’s wisewoman.
ROLAND: Yes. Her grandmother served as Lord Dillon’s father’s wisewoman, you see. When Lord Dillon assumed the title, Alyssa took her grandmother’s place with none the wiser. Lord Dillon was widely feared thanks to his ferocity on the battlefield and his reticent nature. So Alyssa was able to use her gifts to counsel him and to heal the injured and sick without worrying so much about being slain. All were so afraid of Lord Dillon that none would dare incur his wrath by harming his trusted wisewoman. And since everyone believed she was the same wisewoman who served Dillon’s father and grandfather before him, some even began to believe her immortal and thus capable of exacting retribution against any who sought to slay her.
SHELDON: That was pretty slick.
ROLAND: Yes, it was.
SHELDON: You sound like you admired Lord Dillon, too.
ROLAND: I did. His skills with a sword rivaled Seth’s.
SHELDON: Dude.
ROLAND: Exactly. I even disobeyed Seth’s orders not to interfere and joined Lord Dillon in battle once just so I could have the privilege of fighting beside him.
SHELDON: And?
ROLAND: It was worth the punishment Seth dealt out afterward.
SHELDON: You like to fight, don’t you?
ROLAND: I’ve been a warrior for nearly a thousand years. I’m very good at it.
SHELDON: Maybe you should have spent a little more of that time improving your people skills.
ROLAND: [arches a brow] Sarah has no problem with my people skills.
SHELDON: Which is why immortals who have never met her assume she’s a few cards short of a full deck.
ROLAND: [eyes flash bright amber] What? Who said that?
SHELDON: [scrambles out of his chair] Not me! It wasn’t me! Don’t kill the messenger!
ROLAND: You’re the only one currently within my reach.
SHELDON: Is that my cell phone ringing? [fumbles in his pocket] I think my cell phone is ringing. [backs toward the door] Thanks for the interview, man. I gotta book. [slams the door behind him]
SARAH: [enters, lips twitching] That was mean.
ROLAND: [grins] But fun. I thought he’d never leave. [pulls her into his arms] Now where were we?
June 2015
A Sorceress of His Own Blog Tour
SHELDON: Thanks for doing another interview. I know how busy you are.
SETH: The humans at the network have been on edge lately—with good reason—so if interviews like this will put them at ease and help them feel more comfortable with immortals and gifted ones, I’ll do as many as you wish.
SHELDON: Thanks, man. I appreciate it. How are you holding up, by the way?
SETH: What do you mean?
SHELDON: Well, with everything that’s been going on…
SETH: I’m fine, thank you.
SHELDON: You don’t want to talk about it?
SETH: No.
SHELDON: Okay. So I interviewed Marcus and Roland the other day.
SETH: [lips twitch] How did the interview with Roland go?
SHELDON: [grimaces] It didn’t exactly end on an up note.
SETH: [smiles] Roland might be a little less antisocial now that he’s married, but Sarah can’t work miracles.
SHELDON: [laughs] Speaking of miracles… I’d like to talk about gifted ones. Can you tell us a little bit about them for the newbies at the network?
SETH: Of course. Gifted ones are men and women who were born with extremely advanced DNA that lends them special gifts that ordinary humans lack. Telepathy, for example. Or precognition. Teleportation.
SHELDON: That is so cool. I wish I could teleport.
SETH: I admit that’s a favorite of mine.
SHELDON: No one seems to know the source of gifted ones’ advanced DNA. Do you?
SETH: Yes.
SHELDON: [waits a long moment] So… will you share it with us?
SETH: No.
SHELDON: Why?
SETH: Because bloodshed always follows when I do.
SHELDON: Seriously?
SETH: Yes.
SHELDON: Okay. Well… when I discussed some of those special gifts with Marcus and Roland, they told me about a gifted one named Alyssa.