indulge your mother, but only because I love you. I am growing tired of being taken for a fool by her.”
“I need her.” I managed, through the cords of fear that tightened around my chest.
“You lie,” he said with absolute certainty. Then he sighed, “What am I going to do with my children? You lie for your mother, Bobby lies for you, yet perhaps it is only inevitable as I was sired by a dragon of trickery.”
“Probably,” I said.
He laughed, and squeezed my shoulder; as his thumb touched my skin I felt the fear I was probably filling up the car with, seeping out of me and into the pad of his thumb.
He rarely did this to me, but I knew it was giving me a taste of my own proverbial medicine. My aspect, at least partially, came from this exact ability of his. We were made from the same blueprint, though, unlike him, I could not keep the emotions. For some reason, my aspect had also morphed into something much more than I should have inherited. In this one way, I was more powerful than my grandfather. Unless I sent it to him, he was limited to feeding only off the strongest emotions people dumped out of them, whereas I had the potential to consume the entirety of a person’s soul.
By the time the driver turned off the main road, a warm numbness had replaced the ice cold fear and my panic had abated enough for me to remember that I had something, something that could redeem me at least a little. “I was invited to hang out with both the Hales at six thirty today.”
“At their home?” He asked.
“No,” I said, disappointed.
“That is still good,” My grandfather said with a smile, “You can finally use your abilities to uncoil and manipulate their emotions. I would suggest you work on the boy, he seems to be the more susceptible of the two.”
The car stopped, as did my mind, the gears just halting.
My grandfather must have read something in my expression because he said. “I know you usually refuse to use your aspect on humans and I understand why you have this reservation, however, this time you will have to overcome them. You will take off your dampener when you are alone with the boy and change his feelings so that he is in love with you.”
“Grandfather,” I said, clearing my throat, “Planting emotions is a lot harder than pulling them. I know it worked when we practiced, but you have so much more soul than Keanu. I don’t know if that’s even possible with a human.”
“It’s very possible. You will have to use finesse. Every other time you’ve uncoiled a soul will only count as practice for what you will have to do, it is within your ability. All you need to do is delve into his deeper emotions and pull emotions from some areas, say his love for wave-riding and plant it instead as an emotion in his memories of you. It is not so different from steering obedience or fear; it will just take more subtlety and artistry. He will seek you out afterward and you can fine-tune it when you are more comfortable and do it in small increments.” It wasn’t a request, it was an order. My grandfather’s stern face showed he would accept nothing but acquiescence.
I nodded.
What could I say to him? ‘No grandfather, I might damage your enemy’s son and I kind-of want him to fall in love with me all on his own.’ Somehow, I did not think it would go over well. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure that was what I really wanted; I just knew whatever I wanted from Keanu, I wanted it to be authentically from him and real.
“Soon the vengeance we have waited so long for will be realized,” My grandfather said.
I inhaled deeply and then nodded again, this time meaning it.
The image of me, eleven years old, drenched in blood, begging my grandfather to make me a soldier arose in my mind. I had trained these past five years for this mission; it was what I’ve lived for. Maybe my grandfather was right to put me aside; I did not deserve to be a soldier.
My grandfather pulled out a gleaming gold
“I need her.” I managed, through the cords of fear that tightened around my chest.
“You lie,” he said with absolute certainty. Then he sighed, “What am I going to do with my children? You lie for your mother, Bobby lies for you, yet perhaps it is only inevitable as I was sired by a dragon of trickery.”
“Probably,” I said.
He laughed, and squeezed my shoulder; as his thumb touched my skin I felt the fear I was probably filling up the car with, seeping out of me and into the pad of his thumb.
He rarely did this to me, but I knew it was giving me a taste of my own proverbial medicine. My aspect, at least partially, came from this exact ability of his. We were made from the same blueprint, though, unlike him, I could not keep the emotions. For some reason, my aspect had also morphed into something much more than I should have inherited. In this one way, I was more powerful than my grandfather. Unless I sent it to him, he was limited to feeding only off the strongest emotions people dumped out of them, whereas I had the potential to consume the entirety of a person’s soul.
By the time the driver turned off the main road, a warm numbness had replaced the ice cold fear and my panic had abated enough for me to remember that I had something, something that could redeem me at least a little. “I was invited to hang out with both the Hales at six thirty today.”
“At their home?” He asked.
“No,” I said, disappointed.
“That is still good,” My grandfather said with a smile, “You can finally use your abilities to uncoil and manipulate their emotions. I would suggest you work on the boy, he seems to be the more susceptible of the two.”
The car stopped, as did my mind, the gears just halting.
My grandfather must have read something in my expression because he said. “I know you usually refuse to use your aspect on humans and I understand why you have this reservation, however, this time you will have to overcome them. You will take off your dampener when you are alone with the boy and change his feelings so that he is in love with you.”
“Grandfather,” I said, clearing my throat, “Planting emotions is a lot harder than pulling them. I know it worked when we practiced, but you have so much more soul than Keanu. I don’t know if that’s even possible with a human.”
“It’s very possible. You will have to use finesse. Every other time you’ve uncoiled a soul will only count as practice for what you will have to do, it is within your ability. All you need to do is delve into his deeper emotions and pull emotions from some areas, say his love for wave-riding and plant it instead as an emotion in his memories of you. It is not so different from steering obedience or fear; it will just take more subtlety and artistry. He will seek you out afterward and you can fine-tune it when you are more comfortable and do it in small increments.” It wasn’t a request, it was an order. My grandfather’s stern face showed he would accept nothing but acquiescence.
I nodded.
What could I say to him? ‘No grandfather, I might damage your enemy’s son and I kind-of want him to fall in love with me all on his own.’ Somehow, I did not think it would go over well. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure that was what I really wanted; I just knew whatever I wanted from Keanu, I wanted it to be authentically from him and real.
“Soon the vengeance we have waited so long for will be realized,” My grandfather said.
I inhaled deeply and then nodded again, this time meaning it.
The image of me, eleven years old, drenched in blood, begging my grandfather to make me a soldier arose in my mind. I had trained these past five years for this mission; it was what I’ve lived for. Maybe my grandfather was right to put me aside; I did not deserve to be a soldier.
My grandfather pulled out a gleaming gold
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