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wind in her thoughts. S’Sla was cool and steady.
    To her amusement, Plink came in with her warm, solid presence.
    S’Sla blinked and his slit pupils dilated slightly. “So tight already. Well done, Specialist. Well, here we go.”
    She felt a deliberate pressure on her mind. True to his word, Tranoth was holding her hand and that could have been what caused the overload.
    There was a jerk, a sharp shard of pain, voices cried out and Plink made small noises of worry.
    “What the hell happened?” She reached up to touch her forehead, but she was still holding Tranoth’s hand.
    He was sitting slumped over in the chair. She touched his throat and he was breathing.
    Plink hopped off her shoulder and jumped into Tranoth’s lap. Mora put her hand on Plink and Tranoth jerked awake.
    What happened?
    Mora blinked furiously. “What?”
    “I asked what happened.”
    “No, you didn’t. I heard you but your lips weren’t moving. S’Sla!” She turned her head to the Minder.
    He was looking at his student with irritation. “Aktu here threaded the needle.”
    “What?” Mora couldn’t understand the reference, but she was speaking a language that wasn’t her own now.
    “He grabbed Tranoth’s mind and pulled it through yours. He created a connection that wasn’t there before.”
    “Can you undo it?”
    Plink looked from one of them to the other and hopped onto Mora’s lap, her presence removing the vestiges of pain from Mora’s mind.
    Mora looked at the Minder and his student. “Well? Can you undo it?”
    S’Sla slowly shook his head. “It would take too much out of either one of you. There was an energy that set the link the moment that it happened.”
    Tranoth rubbed the back of his neck. “That might have been me.”
    Mora looked at him with suspicion. “What?”
    I was wondering what your mind looked like and wishing that I could have a bond with you that was similar to that of Plink. My talent is electrical impulses. That was what sealed us.
    She cocked her head. “It might have been, but it wouldn’t explain the threading of the needle.”
    S’Sla winced, his scales flexing. “When I pushed the language link into your mind, I created a vacuum. That is what would normally cause you a headache. Aktu’s instinct saw the empty space and sought a mind to fill it. He grasped Tranoth via your physical contact.”
    Tranoth asked, “What will the side effects be?”
    S’Sla smiled and it was frightening with his nose slits flaring and jagged teeth exposed. “There is only a communication link. You can send thoughts but that is all. It is not an emotional link. You can be separated and the link will remain. Neither of you will suffer for it. No side effects beyond conversation, I am relieved to say.”
    Tranoth sighed. “And if there are?”
    “Come back and I will do an assessment. If it is too extreme, I will have Veera summon the strongest Minder I know of. If she won’t come to you, I am sure that you could go to her.” S’Sla bowed low. “I regret that this occurred, but it should not impact your lives too greatly.”
    Tranoth tensed, but Mora got to her feet. “Let’s go in search and see if that class is still running.”
    She hauled him out of the Minder’s office before the crackling power she had seen coating his hand could be used against S’Sla.
    “We will tell Veera what we attempted and the result. I am sure that she can send for someone to unravel our minds. Oh, that sounds bad.” She grimaced and stroked Plink.
    “Well, it is an accurate statement. Come along. We are close to that class, and if I can’t hit something, perhaps we can watch someone else do it.”
    She elbowed him lightly and kept her hand tight to his as they walked the halls. At least she was now speaking Common.
     
    The class was fascinating. The students sat and made notes about using a talent for distance focus. Most of the students were telekinetics, and when the post was brought out, they were asked to throw