'Aha, bad move,' a sudden voice rang in my mind. 'You're basically revealing your ability to so many people. Aren't you afraid they won't be trustworthy? Come on, Evyionne. I thought you were smart. Turns out you're still quite naive.'

"Shut up and go to sleep if you won't be of any help."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and punch the air in front of me, because I needed to keep my composure. The chances of these guys believing me was low, but this was currently my best chance. I knew for a fact that I would not be able to perform the treatment covertly because I wasn't anywhere near sleek enough to do that kind of operation. Also, now that they have reached a state of heightened emotions, provoked by Elion, they would not be thinking straight and were naturally more susceptible to saying yes to a ridiculous request.

It wasn't naive. It was a calculated risk.

But I wouldn't explain this to Amber. I just wasn't in the mood to explain anything at all. Especially to him.

If my mistresses hadn't advised me on the ethics of this family, I would do nothing for them. But, so far, they had been welcoming and tolerant. And even in the short time I was here, I could tell they weren't bad people. My instincts and judgment of people were quite good, so I had some trust I wasn't wrong.

Besides, I wanted an opportunity to be able to control and explore my power. As bad as it sounded, Kaiser's mother was going to be an experiment.

It must be ridiculous listening to a thirteen-year-old girl like this. However, what else could I do?

"Do you know what you're saying, child?"

"I know," I said. "I can't guarantee she will make a full recovery, but I do know is that I can give it a try...but if you're not comfortable with it—"

"Then do it," Pier said.

"—I can...what?" I looked up in shock at Pier's response to my ridiculous request.

It was ridiculous, come on! I was expecting you to at least say something in protest! Underestimate me because of my age! Doubt my inexperience! This is your wife we're talking about, not a stranger!

As I was trying to digest his reply, Kaiser rushed over to me. "Evyionne, do you really have a way to help my mother?"

I nodded dumbly.

"That's great! Then do it now!"

What was up with this family? The climactic drama I was expecting a while ago had been thrown out the window.

I sighed inwardly and paused for a while longer, thinking about what I needed to get the job done. I looked seriously at the faces of the people in the room and found that they were all gazing just as keenly in my direction.

Awkwardly, I turned to the bed, and told Kaiser, "I...I will need my harp from your room."

"The harp!" Kaiser's eyes glistened with excitement. "I'll go get it!"

I caught Pier throw a brief glance at Herrin. "His room?"

Herrin shrugged.

I ignored their contemplating eyes and focused on the matter before me.

"Amber, tell me. How can I cure this woman?" I asked. "I tried it earlier, but I only ended up making her condition worse."

"Veils like the easy way, not the hard way. They get super aggressive, and you're currently in no position to be provoking them. You're not at that stage yet."

"I thought I had to beat them to submission at some point?"

"You do. But can you?"

I was speechless. "No."

"That harp should do the trick, but don't overdo it. Just let out an intent enough to coax them to come out and leave the woman's body. Although I'm not sure about recovery after that, it should stop her from progressing from here."

"Okay."

Maun tugged on my sleeve. "Evy? Will you be alright?" he signed.

I nodded and patted his head comfortingly. I signed back, "I got this."

It wasn't long before Kaiser finally came back with the harp. He excitedly handed it over to me and I gazed at him suspiciously. I had a feeling this guy looked forward to hearing me play just as much as he'd been looking forward to his mother getting better.

But I was still ill at ease having to play anything. What if I couldn't control it?

"Amber, you will stand guard there right?"

"Who else will clean up after your mess, otherwise? Isn't it me?"

Although the sarcasm and complain was very heavy in his voice, I felt at ease knowing he would be there to watch over me—as cliché as that sounded. Currently, I was in no position to be going soloing. I was lacking in too many places to be reliable.

I pulled up a chair bedside, then cast a brief glance at everyone in the room. "There are a few things I have to say before I get started," I began solemnly as I positioned the harp on my lap. "First, I can't guarantee for certain that the lady will improve, and I can't also guarantee success..." I trailed off. "Second, I'd like the room—just me and the lady—when I begin."

Just in case something happened that was out of my control. At the very least, they would not be placed in immediate danger. I was not very confident, but now that Amber was right here, I at least a little bit more optimistic.

There was a pause. It appeared they were trying to think over my terms.

"You must promise to stop when you can't handle it," Pier said. "If anything happens at all that is out-of-control...I will not stay outside."

I nodded, but felt sudden doubts from his words.

"Let's go, everyone."

The door closed and the room was finally vacant, just me and Kaiser's mother. I was a bit confused at Pier's attitude...because he didn't seem so shocked about this whole thing. Nor did he seem resistant about me stepping forward at all. Could it be that he knew about my ability?

Did the mistresses tell him?

Did they trust him that much?

But I doubted it.

"Amber, guide me here."

"Just take it easy. Don't use the song of the stars that you heard when you were just a soul in the in-between. That song's way too powerful. Pick something simpler, which you think can convey your intent better."

Convey my intent better?

For one, I didn't want the Veils to be overly excited. I think the mood had something to do with it. I should probably stay away from stimulating music and stick with slower, more solemn, and sadder ones if I wanted them to react so.

There was one particular song that was stuck in my mind for a while now. I just recently plucked the harp very briefly to play it. I found this song haunting and sad, yet very beautiful.

Greensleeves. A song of rejection and unrequited affections.

I took a deep breath and positioned my fingers on the harp. First, I played a whole scale, trying to warm up my hands. I then briefly recalled which scale Greensleeves was in. I wasn't sure of it at first, so I tested the notes on a G natural minor.

It worked.

Having settled these troublesome details, I began to play.

I first played the main melody at the beginning, enjoying the delicate sounds that tinkled off the golden strings. This served me well both aesthetically and practically. At least now I knew which notes to play.

After this brief intro, I had the harp become an accompanying instrument so that I could sing forth the lyrics. This made it much easier because I could select the chords that would easily harmonize with the melody while I sang. It was much faster than figuring out how to play everything on the harp at once.

"Alas, my love...you do me wrong..." My voice reverberated towards the end. I purposely elongated the last note with a vibrato, testing the reaction of the Veils.

Upon the first line, I could feel a gentle stir in the surroundings, but it was not yet so aggressive.

"To cast me off discourteously..."

A slight pick up in activity.

"And I have loved you...oh so long, delighting in your company..."

The first verse was done. Feeling more confident with this pace, I jumped into the next part. I purposely raised my voice a little, increasing the intensity of the song, this time to convey the ardent passion in this verse.

"Greensleeves was my delight, Greensleeves my heart of gold!"

This time the energies gathered a lot faster. I focused on the ones coiling from inside Kaiser's mother, trying to coax out the Veils that had taken root inside her.

"Greensleeves was my heart of joy, and who but my lady Greensleeves..."

I let the harp take the center stage next and my voice took backseat by lowly humming along. I keenly focused on the activity in the room when Amber's voice lightly broke me from my concentration, "You're doing good."

Almost forgot he was there.

Thankfully I didn't trip over my pace.

"Now, you have to focus on the Veils residing inside the woman. They're not supposed to be there, so they won't be as rooted deeply and they'll be easy to remove.

"So some Veils are supposed to be in someone's body?" I asked. It was a little bit sarcastic, but I was also genuinely curious.

"When death arrives, the soul must leave the body. And for that to happen, Veils must be there to seize it—both body and soul, to be exact," he explained. "Some Veils occupy the body, allowing it to return to the earth, and some would bring the soul to the afterlife to be processed. When the soul is reborn, they go through the river of reincarnation to cleanse their memories before they are awarded a flame of life. This life flame powers the soul to animate the body, but once this dies out, they can no longer do so. Unfortunately, the soul cannot leave the body on its own. Someone must sever the ties of the soul from its shell, or else it will be stuck in that body and it will not rot."

"Like braindead people in coma?" I replied as I continued playing.

"Yes, that does unfortunately happen...fail in logistics."

It was interesting to know, but I did not ask further. The instrumental part of this song had lasted far too long, not to mention the activity and power had accumulated enough momentum for me to do as Amber instructed.

I focused on coaxing out the Veils that hid inside Kaiser's mother. This time, instinct took over and I instantly knew what to do. I applied the lesson I learned about attracting the energy towards myself, just like the way I tried to do a while ago. This time, was different, however. I succeeded. When I tried this before, the Veils from inside of Kaiser's mother were full of resistance—not to mention the room that was chock full of life energy. As a result, it hurt her very much.

The resistance this time was much less—nearly nonexistent, in fact. The Veils inside of her were very willing to follow the guidance of my hand and steadily slithered out of her body.

I could not help but recall that story. The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

It seemed to me that, if I were to master the ins and outs of controlling this ability of mine, I would no longer be able to avoid playing or singing. I had been very resistant to the idea of touching an instrument for as long as I was unable to control my power. However, as it turned out, I would never be able to control my ability without it.

Now enlightened, breaking down that bottleneck from my experience, I advanced confidently and steadily.

Kaiser's mother took a soft breath in. The grayish complexion on her skin gradually receded and a healthier complexion took its place. Just like renewed spring.

The Veils that left her body, on the other hand, did not resemble the others. The Veils I usually saw had a somewhat uniform size—they all resembled stress balls and were just the size of one. But the ones that left her body were easily the size of a yoga ball...particularly the ones pregnant ladies used to bend and stretch.

"How do I coax them away?"

"Disperse the energy. Scatter it."

"How?"

"Just let go."

I wanted to ask how to let go, but decided in the end that I would figure it out on my own. Amber was not very reliable in this regard, and I did not expect a full explanation from him. So I simply stopped my music and decided to do the opposite of attracting the energy towards me, visualizing the dissipating energies whenever they slipped free from my control.

Although it was not dispersing it, exactly, the energy of death that filled the room eventually thinned out on its own.

However, it left a very cold place. I realized my fingers were freezing and it would seem they were on the verge of getting frostbite. I put down the harp, trembling, and took out the little amulet carving that Maun had given me. I then held it close to my chest to take comfort in the warmth of the life energy from within.

Looking up, Kaiser's mother stirred from her sleep. I stood up and walked to the door, opening it to find the anxious faces of the people outside. It reminded me of a doctor striding out of the operating room. The reaction was very much the same.

"I was successful, and I think she's waking up," I said...just like what a doctor would say.

The delight in their faces though...I guess it was worth it.