Chapter 36

“Do not argue,” her mother interrupted her. “You are to go, Engalla. I have failed you. It was my fault. You do not belong here. I have made arrangements for you to be schooled in whatever you wish to learn. But in a regular school. You cannot stay here any longer in this Hogann.”

Engalla saw the sharp, hard eyes of her mother as sobs welled up in her throat. She forced them back. Softly, trying to sound humble, she said, “But I have the gift. You said so yourself that I had strong psi-powers.”

“Yes, but you do not have the will to control them. You allow them to control you. And that is dangerous. It is dangerous not only to yourself, but also to everyone around you.” Her mother’s face turned softer. “I thought that if I let them develop by themselves they would be stronger, freer. But I believed that you would learn the self-control that went with them. It is just not so.”

“I can learn. I will.”