Mind Sensing 7

He paused, backed his mind away from her thoughts, and looked down the street at the dozens of strangers in High and Dry.

It was as if a chain in his mind had gone loose on its gear and suddenly snapped back into place. The sounds and the voices were so obvious now.

The people that passed, the birds that flew overhead—each of them had a mind as fragile and precious as crystal. They appeared in the senses of his mind as exquisite structures, and if he wished, he knew he could turn them over and inspect their insides like a statue made of blown glass.

"Minds so delicate," he said, stepping out of the way as a small group passed them on the avenue. "Their structure is form, but also sound. Like an orchestra contained in crystal."

"What is it like to hear them?" Vraska asked.

Jace couldn't put it into words.

"It's . . . noisy. Like a sea of champagne glasses and each of them are ringing a different tone."

They rounded a corner and headed toward the harbor.

Now that he was aware of what the snippets of voice and conversation were . . . he sensed he could turn off the noise.

Jace concentrated.

And the mental voices silenced.

He could still sense the gauzy, elaborate but breakable structure of the minds he passed, but they were silent now.

SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY