The Locket (37 page)

Logan smiled, gently placing his fingers under my jaw, his amber eyes looking into mine.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said.

Did he mean in the literal sense?

Before I could clarify, he answered, “Yes, in the literal since”

Holy crap! Logan had read my thoughts which could only mean one thing.

“Logan,” I squealed, throwing my arms around his neck. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked excitedly. He returned my hug, lifting me off my feet and then set me back down. “Why didn’t any of you tell me?”

“We weren’t supposed to reveal ourselves unless you absolutely needed us. This was necessary to protect you. There was a chance Kace would be able to read your thoughts or see your visions,” Logan explained, pointing to Brent and Reese. “They didn’t even know.”

“Did you know about each other?” I asked curiously.

“Yes,” Logan answered. “The five of us have known since we were kids. We all moved to Northfield at the same time. The Agents knew you would return home when it was time.”

I wanted to ask Logan if that meant the fated ones knew my parents would die but Brent spoke first, thankfully. I didn’t think I would have liked the answer.

“So you’re all Chasers?” Brent asked.

“Yes, we are, but unlike you and Reese, we serve as surrogates. We were designed in case something happened to Reese or Brent before Claire gained her abilities,” Logan clarified.

“Like a plan B?” I laughed.

“Kind of like that,” Logan laughed back. “We would have revealed ourselves regardless, after you reached your full abilities.”

“How did they choose all of you?” I asked.

Logan answered. “Our seals all shared something with yours much like Brent and Reese do. Our connection was not as strong but designed to complement you, nonetheless. We have fewer abilities than you do. So far it seems one of our abilities is dominant – serving to strengthen yours – thereby defining us.”

I looked at the faces before me, doing the math while Logan finished explaining. There were five of them and one of me, six in total. “You’re the other children, aren’t you?” I asked.

Logan looked at me. His soft golden gaze made be smile in contrast to the way they looked when we first met.

“We are, Claire,” he confirmed.

“What are they?” Brent inquired.

“You told me there were six, Brent, remember? You told me how the fated ones saw that a Locket child would be born from two parents, whose lives were saved, telling me there were six possibilities. I turned out to be The Locket. They are the other five children,” I explained.

Logan continued explaining, confirming they were the other five Locket children. They had been designed to help the three of us. The Agents figured it out when the seals within all six of us pulled together so strongly. They knew it was essential for us to work together.

“You said that you were a Hunter. What does that mean?” I asked Logan.

“Yes, hunting is my dominant ability. Therefore, it defines me. I can find anything or anyone, human or spirit,” Logan answered.

“And the rest of you?” I questioned.

Riley stepped forward first. “I am a Healer, Claire.”

“Oh. Brent can do that too.” I replied.

“Not like I can,” Riley said, flashing a cagey smile.

“I don’t understand,” I said, drawing in my eye brows.

“I can heal all of you, not just my Paramour.”

“Wow! That is amazing, Riley,” I told her, smiling proudly. I felt relieved knowing that if any of us were hurt when we found Kace, Riley would be able to heal us.

“Brody is an Inducer. It’s pretty amazing, too,” Riley cheered.

“It’s not that cool,” Brody offered shyly. “But it could come in handy. Do you want to see how it works?” he asked.

I nodded excitedly.

Brody glared at Logan.

“Aw…come on man. Not me.” Logan whined.

“Dude, she wants to see how it works.” Brody pushed.

“Fine!”

Brody stared intensely at Logan for several seconds. Logan started to sway. He held his hands out at his sides as though he was trying to keep his balance, making me laugh.

“I create a dizzy effect, like vertigo, keeping people off balance,” Brody explained, turning from Logan who steadied himself, appearing in control now.

“Yeah, real cool,” Logan huffed his annoyance.

I laughed.

“Hey, it is cool,” Brody defended. “Except in the mornings when I feel the vertigo.”

“So that explains why you’re always late to class,” I teased, remembering him showing up late to class with messy hair and wrinkled clothing.

“Exactly, Claire. Mornings are no fun for me,” Brody laughed.

“It’s a good excuse, anyway,” Logan joked. We all laughed and Brody punched Logan in the arm.

“What can you do, Brooke?” I asked her.

Layken spoke up, clapping her hands together eagerly. “It’s so awesome. All of us will need her when the time comes.”

Brook looked at her hands shyly before responding. “I am an Augmenter, which means I am able to enhance each of your abilities.”

“That is awesome, Brooke! We will definitely need that,” I praised. “That just leaves Layken?”

Layken cocked her head slightly, raising one teasing brow. She flashed a sly grin before she spoke. I suddenly couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Her words entered my ears in song, the sweetest words I had ever heard. My body relaxed immediately, and a sense of calm entered my blood. My eyelids became heavy with tranquility. I realized this was not the first time I felt this way around Layken. She released the spell, watching me to see how I would react.

“This is not the first time you’ve done that to me,” I said, smiling. She smiled back, nodding in agreement.

“The Siren’s song, Claire. It’s so hard to resist,” she sang.

“What about the three of us?” I asked, shrugging and pointing to Reese and Brent.

“We don’t know,” Layken answered. “The way I understand it, each of us learns what defines us as we age.”

“I know,” Reese said. “I am a Semblancer.” I had figured that one since I knew Reese could change his appearance to resemble anyone he chose. “But the ability has grown, Claire. Watch this,” he added, looking at Brooke. Then there was another Brooke and another until there was ten of her around us. It was no longer possible to know which one was the original Brooke.

“Whoa! That’s crazy, Reese,” I said, trying to figure out which was the real Brooke.

“I know,” he beamed, as the other Brookes faded away. “But think how hard it will be for Kace to hurt you if there are so many of you.”

“Good point,” I agreed, glancing at Brent to see if he knew his role in the group.

He heard the question even though I never actually asked it.

“I’m a Trapper, Claire.”

I had seen him absorb and trap before so this seemed the logical thing.

“Has your ability grown also?” I asked

“It has,” he admitted. “I can trap anything that is not inherently human.” This was not new, and I had been witness to this before. He heard my thoughts again.

“Only now, I can absorb and trap another person’s ability and use it as my own for a period of time,” he finished.

“Wow!” I praised. “So that just leaves me, I guess, but I have no idea what I am other that what I’ve been told.”

I thought about the glass bubble I produced for protection. Was that what I had to offer? It had to be something else. Kace said I didn’t understand my ability and got upset every time I talked about people needing to be reminded that they were good. It can’t be the bubble. Omni told me my greatest gift would be to control the mind. I assumed when I learned what the ability was, it would define me.

Brent’s eyes grew wide. “You’re right, Claire. That’s it,” he said, snapping his fingers. I realized he read my thoughts again. I was okay with it this time because I was curious.

“What is it?” I asked, confused.

He took my hand and held it. “You’re a Manipulator, Claire. It makes so much sense for The Locket.”

I looked at the others to see if they agreed. “A Manipulator? That doesn’t sound good.”

Brent smiled, looking at me with so much pride that my heart skipped. “God, I can’t believe I just figured it out. It’s been so obvious.” He hugged me and kissed the top of my head.

I smiled at his excitement. “What does that mean?” I urged, requesting further explanation.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and spoke softly. “It’s what makes you so amazing and kind, Claire. A Manipulator controls memories, and more importantly, controls feelings in others. They can also modify, suppress, and influence those memories whenever necessary. The ability allows you to replay memories in others or show them their future. In your case, you use it to show people the good that is in them, teaching them to trust themselves and do the right things. Think about it, Claire. You used it to help Melanie and Logan.”

“I think Brent is right, Claire,” Logan interrupted. “I couldn’t help but see I was a good person when I was around you. After spending time with you, I couldn’t think about anything I’d done wrong but I could clearly see everything I’d done right.”

“Of course, The Locket. Lock and unlock,” Reese said, like a switch was flipped on for him too. “Kace said The Shadow locked his seal by exposing his darkness. I think Claire was chosen because she can show Kace he’s good, through his memories. If Kace believes that, it will unlock his seal. That will release The Shadow’s control and allow us to defeat him.”

Worry bubbled inside of me. “I’m not sure I can do that,” I said tentatively.

Logan crossed in front of Brent, taking the spot in front of me.

“You can, Claire. I never thought of myself as good. I thought I was a carbon copy of my dad, destined to live the same miserable existence. You showed me differently. You’re stronger than you believe. Think about it, Claire. You were able to look past what I did to Maggie,” he stressed, grabbing my hand and holding it. I smiled when Brent didn’t get upset. Maybe he finally understood.

I hung my head thinking that my friends had more faith in me than I did in myself.

“I’m not so sure about that, Logan,” I said in barely a whisper.

Logan pulled my chin up. I looked in his eyes uncomfortably as he spoke. “Claire, I was in a bad place when the Agents stripped my abilities and denied me my place in your life. I had anger so deep inside that I never thought I’d get past it.”

“They took away your abilities?” I asked, completely befuddled.

He palmed both sides of my face. His touch was warm, contrary to the other Logan that left my skin chilled when he touched me. I smiled knowing the old Logan was gone and buried. I also smiled at how calm Brent remained while Logan showed me affection. It was hard for him but he was making progress.

“Of course they did, Claire, just before I kidnapped you. My behavior was not worthy of such gifts. If it were not for you, I would still be without them, living a bitter life, blaming others for the things I could control. Believe in who you are, Claire,” Logan insisted, begging me with his eyes to understand.

This was so much to think about. Could I really harness enough power to make a man like Kace see more in who he was? Kace had been lost to the hate within him for so long. I wasn’t sure he could ever be convinced he was worth more than his service to evil.

“Maybe we should split up and go look for him?” Reese said anxiously, interrupting my thoughts.

“No! We have to stay together. It’s the one thing I’m absolutely sure of,” I shouted loudly. For the first time in my life my puzzle was complete. Each one of us was a piece, fitting together perfectly. If one piece was missing, this would not work.

I marveled how good it felt to be here with all of them. I had the same sensations at the lunch table – our seals linked together – designed to be friends. I had reached a point in my life where I told myself friendships didn’t really matter. I didn’t need friends. Now, in my group of eight, I knew they were my lifeline. Without them, I was not complete and neither were they.

I considered our abilities and what each of us brought to the circle. Some of us shared gifts, yet each of us had one that was solely our own.

“How did all of you do that electricity thing with Kace?” I asked inquisitively.

“It’s Astral energy. Because we’re half Apparition, we’re able to control it. You can do it too, Claire. As we grow stronger, we’ll do more with it. It’s very powerful. It’s how I can trap, how Riley heals, even your glass bubble is an effect from the energy,” Brent responded.

“I already know what Reese and Brent’s alternate abilities are. What about the rest of you?” I wanted to know everything about them.

“Well, I can do the semblance thing like Reese,” Layken offered. “But I can’t create little clones like he can, that’s for sure,” she laughed.

“What about you, Logan? Any alternate abilities?” I asked and he smiled like we shared a secret. The teasing way he looked at me sparked something inside of me and I flushed inwardly.

What the hell was that?

Logan chuckled like he felt my reaction. “You already know, Claire.”

“Oh, that’s right,” I smiled, looking away. With the swing in conversation I forgot Logan read my thoughts earlier. Logan gestured to Brent towards the other room and they left to talk.

I felt the fervor in my cheeks and out of nowhere, I realized my puzzle might not be complete after all. These friends and I were put together for a reason. Something in our seals decided our fates. Was it a coincidence that Layken and Logan shared abilities with Reese and Brent? I started to panic at the thought.

Calm down, Claire. You don’t even know if
that’s possible.

Is it possible? The very idea caused my head to spin. Of course it was possible to have more than one friend, even really close ones, but could I have two loyal enough to be my Aegis? The other side of the coin was harder to fathom. Was it possible for my seal to match two peoples exactly? Did I have two Paramours? Was Logan’s seal stamped to match mine also? If so, what did it all mean? I saw Logan and Layken together with a child in my vision. That must have meant I was wrong about the possibility. But Omni did say outcomes could change depending on our choices.