Embolden

by Syrie James

  Claire smiled playfully. “You have an irresistible urge to scratch your head.”

  Alec crossed his arms. “Nice try.”

  “Boo.” Claire stretched her legs out as far as they could go in the confines of the Mustang. “And here I thought I had this new, phenomenal cosmic power.”

  “You might. You just don’t understand how to harness it yet.”

  “If this gift is actually legit, I wish it had shown up before. All my life, it’s been such a fight to get my mom to listen to me. And my grandmother’s even worse.”

  “So said every person ever born.”

  “How am I supposed to learn how this works without my dad to teach me?”

  “Something tells me that even though the ability came from your father, his mother knows enough to get you started.”

  Claire thought about that. “You could be right. Helena’s been so afraid to tell me anything about this. Now I know why. It would also explain why Vincent was afraid of me.”

  “A gift like this is dangerous and easy to abuse. Theoretically, you could convince a person to do almost anything.”

  Claire threw up her hands. “This is so backward! I’ve always felt like Celeste was the one trying to brainwash me. And she was really good this time. If you hadn’t been there, I might have said yes.”

  “I know. That’s why Malcolm uses her.”

  “Who is Malcolm, anyway?”

  “Shane Malcolm is the head of all the Fallen cells in Los Angeles. If the Fallen are holding your father captive, he certainly would know where and why.”

  “Huh.” If I could just find this guy and touch him, Claire mused, I could probably get a vision of where my dad is.

  “No.” Alec shook his head emphatically.

  “What?”

  “I don’t have to be a psychic to know what you’re thinking, Claire. And there’s no way either of us can go to Malcolm to get that information. He’s dangerous. Extremely so.”

  “But—” “I’m aware of how badly you want to find your father. But if you agreed to work with them in exchange for what you’re dying to hear, the cost would be too great. You’d be aiding and abetting a group that places no value on human life.”

  “I know. But—”

  “Worse yet, if we’re right about your second gift, if the Fallen ever had you in their control, think of the damage they could do with it.”

  Claire heaved a frustrated sigh. “I wish I could brainwash them into telling me about my dad.” She caught Alec’s expression, and added, “Chill out! I don’t even know how this thing works or if it works at all.”

  That evoked a slight smile, but his tone was still serious. “Just promise me you’ll be careful with this and won’t use it again until you’ve talked to Helena.”

  “Okay, but you know how cagey she’s being.”

  Alec nodded. A slice of moonlight through the car window illuminated his handsome face and danced on his dark, golden hair. After a moment, he placed one hand gently on her arm. “The clock is ticking on your curfew. Do you want me to get you home now, so you can chat with Helena about this?”

  “No way.” She glanced at her watch. “We still have seventy-three minutes,” she added, her voice lowering. “There must be something we can do to distract ourselves during that time.” She leaned in and walked her fingers slowly up his arm. “Got any ideas?”

  His grin widened. “I do.” Then he drew her close, and his lips met hers.

  twelve

  Claire quietly unlocked the front door, her face still flushed and her entire body aglow from her backseat make-out session with Alec. The evening might have started badly, but it had sure gone better as the night went on. She still felt the echo of Alec’s final steamy kiss before he dropped her off.

  She shut the door carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible. Her curfew had ended an hour ago, but if she was lucky, her mom and Helena were already asleep and would never know. Slipping out of her shoes, Claire tiptoed through the living room and started past the kitchen, hoping to make it to her bedroom undetected.

  “How was the movie?” Her mother’s voice penetrated the stillness, making Claire jump.

  Her mom was sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea and a book, the look on her face unreadable.

  “It was okay,” Claire lied. “The movie we wanted was sold out, so we had to go to a different one. It was a little longer, sorry.”

  “An hour longer, to be exact?” Her mom’s tone was a little sharper now.

  Claire’s cheeks grew warm. “Yeah.”

  “If you knew you were going to be late, you could’ve texted or called.”

  “I guess I should have. Sorry.”

  “Or if you wanted to blow off the movie to make out with your boyfriend in the backseat of his car, you could have given me a heads-up about that, too.”

  Claire felt like her face was on fire. “Mom!” She wondered how on earth her mom knew about that. Or was she just fishing? “What makes you think I’ve been—”

  “I don’t think it, I know it. When you didn’t come home on time, your grandmother and I were worried. So she did a little psychic searching and discovered what you were up to.”

  Claire gasped, both outraged and mortified. Her grandmother had seen her and Alec when they were … ? The very thought made her want to die of embarrassment. Thank God they hadn’t done anything too crazy or naked. But still. “How dare you let Grandma check up on me like that? How long was she watching?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes, it matters!” Claire was furious. “Grandma has no right to use her gifts to play Peeping Tom on me!”

  “Yes she does. It’s her job to look out for you, Claire, to protect you. We had no idea where you were. You could have been in danger.”

  “But I wasn’t! This is embarrassing on so many levels, Mom. It’s like having a parent read my diary, only ten thousand times worse!”

  Lynn glanced at her with interest above her cup of tea. “You have a diary?”

  “No! Mom, why can’t you see that what she did is horrible? Aren’t I allowed any privacy?”

  “Not when you disrespect the rules you aren’t. When you’re going to be late, you tell me. That’s the agreement we’ve always had. And you don’t lie to me. Ever. That’s two rules you’ve broken in one night. For that, you’re grounded, and I’m confiscating your phone for a week.”

  “A week?” Claire was horrified. “What am I supposed to do without my phone for a week? And you can’t ground me! Rehearsals for Camelot start on Monday after school.”

  “You can go to rehearsals, but you’ll come straight home after that. No dates with Alec, no hanging out with friends, and no chatting on the phone or texting for the next seven days.”

  “Mom, I was only an hour late! That is so not a big deal!”

  “It wouldn’t have been if you hadn’t lied about it.”

  Claire heaved a groan of frustration. “This is so hypocritical of you.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Have you totally forgotten what it’s like to be young? You met my dad at the exact same age as me! Are you telling me you never got home just the teensiest bit late? That you never lied to your parents about anything?”

  Lynn’s expression turned stony. “What I did or didn’t do is not relevant.”

  “Isn’t it? Isn’t that what this is really all about?” Claire was about to add, You’re worried that it’s going to be ‘like mother, like daughter,’ aren’t you? That I’m going to get pregnant like you did. That’s why you’re acting like a parole officer. But she stopped herself. She’d said something similar to her mom once before, and the results hadn’t been pretty. Instead, she insisted, “Mom, you don’t have to worry about me and Alec. It’s not like I don’t know where babies come from. I won’t do anything stup
id.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. But this is about more than that, Claire. It’s about trust between you and me. And you’ve broken that.”

  Claire was shaking. How could her mom punish her like this for something so small? “All my life I’ve done everything you wanted. Compared to some of the kids at school, I’m a saint.”

  Her mom hesitated, suddenly looking tired and deep in thought. “I don’t compare you to other kids, Claire. They don’t have the same risks and concerns that you do. But …” She trailed off as if confused about something.

  Claire was about to continue defending herself when she noticed something odd and familiar about her mother’s expression. It reminded her of the same, vacant look on Celeste’s face when Claire had talked to her earlier that night. That weird binding feeling was present again, too, like Claire was attached to her mom by a set of invisible strings.

  Holy crap. Am I doing it again?

  Claire almost gasped aloud as an idea took hold. Maybe Alec was right. Maybe she did have a second gift, the ability to persuade people to her way of thinking. It hadn’t worked when she’d tried it on Alec. She wondered what she was doing differently this time. The only thing she could think of was that she was really pissed off. The anger ball in the pit of her stomach was threatening to choke her. Did intense emotion have something to do with this?

  Another thought quickly followed. What do I have to lose?

  Invisible strings. All they needed was a tug. Taking a deep breath, Claire stared hard at her mother, letting her anger fuel her focus while removing any trace of it from her voice, as she said, “Mom, I get it. I was late. I’m really, really sorry, especially for lying about the reason. I promise I won’t do it again. Would you give me a break and let it go, just this once? Please? Just let it go.” She repeated the last phrase in her mind, Let it go. Let it go.

  The weird look in her mom’s eyes deepened. “All right,” Lynn replied matter-of-factly. “I suppose we can let it go. Just this once.”

  It’s working! Claire felt excited and a little bit guilty at the same time.

  “Stop that this instant!” an angry voice called out.

  The mental connection with her mother snapped. Claire whirled to find Helena standing in the kitchen doorway, her eyes smoldering.

  “Stop what?” Claire tried to look and sound innocent.

  “I know what you are doing,” Helena hissed, striding forward and stopping just inches away from Claire.

  “Really? Is that ’cause you’re spying on me again?”

  Without hesitation, Helena slapped Claire across the face.

  Claire gasped in pain and surprise, one hand going to her cheek as she blinked away tears.

  “Don’t you dare try that again, on your mother, on me, or on anyone else,” Helena told Claire furiously, “or so help me, I will do worse than that.”

  “Helena!” The faraway look had vanished from Lynn’s eyes, replaced by shock and dismay as she wrapped her arms protectively around Claire. “What are you doing?”

  “She deserved that.” Turning her glare back to Claire, Helena added, “It seems my suspicions were correct. You have discovered your second gift, haven’t you?”

  A flush enveloped Claire’s face, but she didn’t reply.

  “What second gift?” Lynn asked.

  “Persuasion,” Helena explained. “Mind control. Just like her father.”

  “What?” Lynn stepped out of the embrace and studied Claire, baffled.

  “It happens when they concentrate their thoughts and speech together in a certain way. She just played you like a puppet, to get out of trouble.”

  “Wait, no.” Lynn shook her head. “Everything was fine, we talked it out.”

  “No, you did not. You were terribly upset, then you let her off the hook without any punishment for what she did tonight.”

  Lynn turned to Claire. “Is that what happened?”

  Claire couldn’t help the blush that still stained her face, an admission of her guilt.

  “How could you do that to me?” Lynn’s expression radiated hurt and disappointment. When Claire didn’t respond, Lynn turned to Helena instead. “Dear God. Tom never said anything about that kind of ability.”

  “Because it is very dangerous, and even he refused to use it unless he was in mortal danger. Claire, you must promise to never do that again.”

  “Why?” Claire heaved a sigh. “I don’t understand. You’ve been helping me to develop my visions. Why is this different?”

  “You know the answer to that,” Helena replied. “One should never deliberately change someone else’s mind or bend them to one’s will. It is not right.”

  “That’s not always true. I accidentally used it to get three Fallen off my back tonight! If you teach me what you know about it, I could protect myself, so I don’t always have to depend on you or Alec.”

  “There are other, better ways to protect yourself.” Helena’s expression hardened. “It can be more difficult to control a Grigori or a strong-blooded Nephilim, so relying on it is risky for only a Halfblood. More importantly, this power is too tempting to use. Being a Halfblood means you’ll become highly skilled very quickly. How will anyone ever trust you again if they know you can toy with their minds? Ask your mother how she feels about what just happened.”

  Lynn’s eyes had grown steely. “I don’t even know where to begin, Claire.”

  Claire felt small. It took a huge effort to will herself to meet her mother’s eyes. “I’m sor-”

  “Don’t say another word,” Lynn interrupted. “You are officially grounded, and not just for a week. For as long as I see fit.” She held out her hand, palm facing up. “Give me your phone.”

  With a deep sigh, Claire silently surrendered her phone to her mom.

  “Now go to your room. I can’t even look at you right now.”

  As Claire turned away, Helena’s voice followed her down the hall. “And do not forget, I will be watching.”

  thirteen

  Alec stood outside his favorite Vietnamese takeout place, waiting for his order. It was a chilly Sunday evening, and the pavement was still damp from the afternoon’s rain.

  He stared at his phone, rereading for the umpteenth time the messages Claire had sent from her laptop the night before:

  Heads up: Grounded. No phone/email.

  Not your fault. Lied abt why I was late.

  Love you.

  Alec felt terrible. He hadn’t meant to get her home late, they just got … carried away. Her mom must have been really upset to ground Claire for lying. He wondered if she’d had a chance to ask Helena about her newfound powers, and if so, how that went.

  Being out of touch with Claire—not having any real idea what was going on—was frustrating. He felt disconnected. Like he was a Watcher again, waiting for his next shred of information, totally alone but expected to be at the ready at all times.

  In the past six months, he’d become accustomed to the rhythms of normal human existence. He’d come to enjoy having actual relationships with people, kept alive by fairly constant communication. The emotions that went with it were … satisfying. More than satisfying. They filled the need deep inside that he’d always had in his old life. All the songs he’d heard about loneliness over the years made a lot more sense to him, now that he’d experienced a real connection firsthand.

  A young man appeared at the window with a plastic bag of fragrant food. Alec paid in cash, as always, his stomach rumbling as he carried the container of cilantro-pork noodles out to his Mustang.

  The sharp sound of a slap caught his attention. In the parking lot of the sleazy bar next door, a blonde in a tight, purple dress was being pressed against a silver Lexus by a tall, good-looking man wearing dark slacks and a pin-striped shirt. The man held his hand to his cheek as he tried to convince the woman to enter the ca
r.

  “Lemme go, Lance!” the blonde cried out. They both appeared to be intoxicated.

  Alec hesitated. He’d seen this kind of drunken nonsense too many times to count over the past century. Was the blonde in any danger? The man bullying her was definitely bigger and stronger. Once again, the instinct to do something stuck in Alec’s craw.

  But then Claire’s voice echoed in his mind: We mere mortals have people trained to take care of that kind of thing.

  She was right, of course. This wasn’t his business. It was risky to get involved. He could, however, alert the authorities and keep an eye out in case things escalated.

  Opening the Mustang’s door, Alec sank into the driver’s seat, plopped his bagged dinner beside him, and made the call.

  “Nine-one-one emergency,” intoned the voice over his phone.

  “I’d like to report a public disturbance,” Alec began. Just then, as he watched the battling duo, something caught his eye. As the blonde pushed the man away, his face flickered for an instant. The way Vincent’s illusions had sometimes flickered when his focus wavered.

  Alec trained his secondary sight on the man. Sure enough, the guy had a bright blue aura—the color radiated by a Fallen who was using his abilities.

  He’s one of them.

  The woman had no aura at all, meaning she was human.

  Alec had seen Fallen with this “glamour” ability before. They could project different images of themselves to make themselves appear beautiful, when in reality they were disfigured fiends. They could also project images into their targets’ heads to frighten or ensnare them. Similar to Vincent’s abilities but less grand in scope.

  It was a bad idea to insert himself in the situation, Alec told himself. He’d gone AWOL for a reason.

  But the woman had no chance against this guy, and neither would anyone else. How could he just drive away and do nothing?

  “Hello? Sir?” asked the voice over the phone. “What kind of public disturbance?”

  “Never mind.” Not your jurisdiction. Alec hung up without another word.