Forbidden

twenty-one

“Erica, you’re staring,” Alec said, amused.
The four of them were sitting at their usual lunch table. It was a blue-skied, sunny afternoon, the late September air as warm as summer, and Brian and Erica were gazing at him in a kind of silent awe, not even touching their food.
“Sorry, but I’m still trying to get used to… I’ve never eaten lunch with”—Erica glanced around, lowering her voice even though they were alone on the terrace—“an angel before.”
“Yes, you have.” Alec speared a piece of lettuce from the Caesar salad that filled half his tray and took a bite. “Lots of times. You just weren’t aware of it.”
“Oh. I guess that’s true.”
“And you’ve been hanging out with Claire for a couple of years now,” Alec reminded her. “And she’s half … you know.”
“Alec doesn’t like the A-word,” Claire explained, sipping her chocolate milk.
“You’re gonna protect Claire, right?” Erica persisted. “From whatever dark celestial forces might frown upon her existence?”
“You have my word on that.”
“Good.” Erica leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her fist, studying him. “’Cause even if she is only half human, we still think of her as one of our own.”
Brian was still staring at Alec, his eyes wide and unblinking. “How did they find out she’s a Halfblood, anyway? Is there, like, a group of Grigori sitting in a control booth in heaven, staring at a radar screen and waiting for blips?”
“I wish I knew. All I was told is that when an Awakened shows up on the grid, an Elder is alerted, and he or she in turn alerts one of us.”
“How do they alert you?” Claire asked.
“We communicate with each other through meditation.”
“The same way I connected to Helena?”
“It sounds like it.”
“Wow, that beats cell phones.” Brian dug into his turkey sandwich. “No roaming charges.”
“There’s a more important reason. Anything we say over the regular airwaves might be picked up by the Fallen. There are hundreds of thousands of them, everywhere, with every imaginable kind of ability. Although they exist in small, local groups, like gangs or Mafia families, many of them share information globally, and infiltrate every level of the world’s infrastructure.”
Erica finally took a bite of her own salad. “If the Fallen are so powerful, why haven’t we heard of them before?”
“They—like us—keep their existence secret,” Alec explained. “Humans have always seen anything different from them as a threat. If mankind knew about them and made a concerted effort to wipe them out, they’d probably succeed.”
“Why don’t the Grigori just take them out?” Brian asked.
“We’re only allowed to eliminate those Fallen who commit serious crimes unpunished by society, the ones whose actions pose a danger to mankind. But we have to be careful. If we kill too many, they might strike back in large numbers, and it could escalate into a full-scale global conflict—a true Armageddon. Not only would they overwhelm us, they’d take many innocent human beings in their wake.”
“So how many Grigori are there?” Claire asked.
Alec shrugged. “Hundreds, I think? Perhaps a thousand?”
“Wow, you really are outnumbered.” Erica frowned.
Brian munched on his potato chips, gazing at Alec pensively. “Claire said you’re a Watcher Ange—Grigori. That sometimes you monitor the Awakened, but your main job is to track down the Fallen who turn to the dark side and knock them off. Is that right?” He grimaced as Erica kicked him beneath the table. “What? That’s what she said.”
Alec winced at this blunt assessment. “I guess that’s it in a nutshell—aye.”
“You must be pretty good at … killing people,” Claire observed, a quaver in her voice.
Alec shrugged and concentrated on his food, thinking it best not to reply.
They ate in silence for a while. Alec saw the threesome exchange a silent look. He anticipated what was coming next—it was a topic he’d avoided with Claire earlier but knew was bound to come up today.
Sure enough, as soon as Brian polished off his sandwich, he said, “So, dude, who’s your current assignment? Who are you here to kill?” This time it was Claire who kicked him. “Hey! You were all thinking it, weren’t you? I think we have a right to know.”
“You don’t have to answer that, Alec, if you don’t want to—or aren’t allowed to,” Claire said quickly.
Alec felt blood rush to his cheeks. “It’s all right,” he answered quietly. “The truth is, I’m not on assignment at all.”
“You’re not?” Claire blew out a relieved breath. “I’m so glad.” Then her brow knitted in confusion. “So why are you here?”
“I quit.”
“You what?” Erica blurted, astonished.
“What do you mean, you quit?” Claire asked.
“I mean, I left. I’ve basically—how does your military phrase it? I’ve gone AWOL.”
“Why?” Brian asked.
“We’re taught that what we do is right and just, that our actions save lives in the end. And perhaps they do. But I’m tired of spying on people. Tired of being responsible for choosing who lives or dies. And tired of taking lives. For more than a hundred years, I ate nothing but rabbit food, did my job, and spent all my free time training. I was always alone, with no family or friends. After so many decades watching people from afar, I longed to try it for myself—to be free—to be one of you.”
“I don’t blame you.” Claire’s voice was deep with empathy. “That sounds like an awful way to live.”
“It’s like being a monk and an assassin, all rolled into one,” Erica observed.
Alec nodded grimly. “With all the responsibilities, and none of the benefits.” He had never had such a frank discussion with anyone before—much less with a group of humans. He felt raw and exposed—but at the same time, it was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was glad they knew—particularly glad that Claire knew.
Claire’s eyes widened suddenly. “What’s the penalty for going AWOL?”
Shite, Alec thought. He’d been hoping she wouldn’t ask that.
“If there are all these rules for everything,” Claire went on, “I’m assuming you aren’t allowed to just walk off the job anytime you want to. What will they do if they find you?”
Claire’s face was so creased with anxiety, Alec couldn’t bring himself to burden her further. She had enough problems of her own without worrying about his. “That’s up to the Council to decide,” he replied, which was as close as he wanted to come to the truth. “And I think that’s enough questions for one day.” He set his fork down on the table, looked around to confirm that they were still alone on the terrace, and smiled brightly. “Watch this.”
Alec gazed fixedly at his fork, wrapping his mind around the implement. He then sent out a stream of energy, mentally lifting the fork until it hovered a few inches above the table.
“Oh!” Erica cried, amazed.
But Brian was disappointed. “That’s it? Claire said you held back a car with your brain. Can’t you levitate something bigger than a fork?”
“One thing at a time, Brian.” Alec smiled. “Claire, keep your eyes on me. I want to teach you something.”
Claire looked directly at Alec. “What am I looking for?”
“It’s like looking for a hidden image in a 3-D picture.” Alec made the fork spin in the air. “Look just past me, Claire, over my shoulder. It should come into focus.”
“Whoa!” Claire gasped suddenly. “You’re glowing!”
Alec beamed. “You can see it?”
“See what?” Brian said, sounding like he felt left out.
“There’s this glow of golden light all around him,” Claire said excitedly.
“It’s my aura. Its intensity correlates to the level of power being used at the time.”
“I don’t see anything.” Erica frowned.
“That’s because you don’t have Grigori blood. Erica, are we still alone?”
“Yep.”
“Excellent. Watch quickly, Claire. I don’t want to draw too much attention, just in case.” Alec concentrated until he felt the weight and breadth of the picnic table in his mind. “Everybody, hang on.”
The benches began to shudder and creak beneath them. Startled, the others grabbed on to the table. Alec felt a surge of determined energy ripple through his body, up and outward, as he raised the table with its attached benches and occupants a few inches into the air, the fork jumping even higher and spinning above it.
Erica and Brian gasped.
Claire gasped even louder. “You’re right—your aura is even brighter now. It’s like fire radiating off you!”
Alec slowly returned the table to its former setting with a gentle thud. The fork dropped with a clatter.
“That,” Brian said, his mouth agape, “was totally awesome.”
Erica sat in stunned silence, still gripping the table as if her life depended on it.
Alec smiled at Claire. “It usually takes months to learn to see an aura—but then, I’ve never met a true Halfblood before. Now you know what to look for, Claire. You might find it handy one day.”
As soon as school let out, Alec met Claire outside the theater building with his most cheerful smile. “Ready to sing?”
“You know it.”
Alec was still surprised by how alive he felt when they were together, and overjoyed that she seemed to feel the same way. But knowing how complicated a relationship between them would be, let alone the possibly fatal consequences, he couldn’t help worrying that she might eventually gravitate toward someone more normal, like Neil.
Alec willed himself to put all negative thoughts out of his mind. It was going to be fun to further test the limits of Claire’s abilities, and just being with her now was like a gift in itself.
“When are auditions for the assembly, anyway?” Claire asked.
Alec yanked open the heavy exterior door and held it for her. “Friday after school.”
“That’s only four days away! We’d better practice every day, if we’re going to be ready.”
“Okay.” He repressed a chuckle. While he’d like nothing better than to spend that time with her, he was pretty sure practicing wouldn’t be necessary.
“What?” She glanced at him, her eyes narrowing as they moved down the corridor. “Why are you smiling?”
“No reason.”
The music room was thankfully empty. Alec tried the handle on the closet door where the orchestra kept their instruments, but it was locked.
“Mr. Lang must be gone for the day.” Claire frowned. “How are you going to get your guitar?”
“Like this.” Alec laid a hand on the doorknob and stared at the lock intently, until he could sense the pins inside. With his mind, he carefully slid them into their proper configurations. After the tumblers clicked, he turned the handle and the door opened.
Claire stared in awe as he retrieved his guitar from the closet. “Is that how you got into my apartment yesterday?”
“Aye.”
“That’s much cooler than regular lock picking.”
“It does have its uses.” Alec grabbed two music stands and placed them in front of a pair of chairs. Claire sat down next to him as he took his guitar out of its case, then withdrew two sets of sheet music and handed one to her. “I was thinking we could sing this.”
Claire glanced at the sheet music, puzzled. The song was titled “Stick with Me Baby.” “I’ve never heard this before.”
“No? It’s one of my favorites. The best version was sung by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.”
“Alison Krauss?” Claire let out a nervous laugh. “I’ve barely started to learn how to sing classical music, and you want me to sing like her? I think that’s a little out of my league.”
Alec’s lips twitched with the effort to hold back a smile. “I don’t think so.”
“Will you sing it through once for me first? Mr. Lang always does that.”
“No need. It’s not a complicated song. I’m pretty sure you can do it.”
She made an impatient noise. “I’m honored that you have so much faith in me, Alec, but I’m still really new at this. I can’t sing something I’ve never heard.”
“Let’s just give it a shot.”
Claire threw up her hands. “Whatever you say, maestro. You’ve been warned.”
Alec played the opening riff and plunged into the vocals. Claire took a deep breath and hesitantly began to sing along. As he’d expected, her voice was instantly in tune and in perfect harmony with his own. She was able to translate the notes on the page into song instinctively, just as he did—as if she’d been familiar with them all her life.
The look of astonished delight on Claire’s face as she sang almost made him laugh out loud. By the final chorus, the harmony between them was perfect. The joy he felt seemed to reverberate throughout the room. Alec strummed the last chord with gusto and shot Claire an exuberant smile. “Bravo.”
“Holy crap!” Claire leapt up from her chair with excitement. “Did I really just do that?”
Alec let go the laugh that had been building inside him. Seeing her this happy made him feel lit up from within, something he’d rarely experienced before. “Just like I knew you would.”
She stared at him, ecstatic. “How did you know?”
“I told you before—we can all sing. My kind can take it one step further and sing anything, even if we haven’t heard it before. You’re closer to us than anyone else alive, so I figured there was a good chance you could do that as well.”
“Wow. Wow. Wow. I guess that means we don’t need to rehearse at all?”
“Nope.” Alec grinned as he began packing up his guitar.
“But when I mentioned it just now, you didn’t say a word!”
“I thought it’d be more fun for you to figure it out for yourself,” he answered, dropping his guitar case inside the storage closet and relocking it by touch. He turned to find Claire standing right in front of him, arms crossed.
“I blocked out the whole afternoon to work on this. I told my mom you’d drop me off at six thirty.”
“Great.” Alec withdrew his pocket watch from his jeans and clicked it open, glancing at the timepiece’s antique face. “That gives us almost three hours before she expects you. What would you like to do with that time?”
Claire fell silent, her eyes on his. “Well, I guess we could go to the library and study. I have a ton of homework.…”
He nodded in agreement, although he had no interest in studying at the moment. “There’s reading for English, a worksheet for Spanish, twelve problems for calculus, three chapters for history.…”
“A lab write-up for bio.…”
A lock of hair fell forward into her eyes. Alec smothered his impulse to reach out and brush it back. “Twenty equations to solve for physics.…”
“Physics must be a cakewalk for you,” Claire teased. “Or maybe not, since the laws don’t really apply to you.”
“So, homework it is?” As Alec’s eyes locked with hers, his heart beat faster, hoping she wouldn’t say yes.
“We could always … do it later.”
“But then we’d be forced to go someplace fun,” Alec said jokingly.
Claire opened her mouth to reply, but he cut her off, remembering her caveats last time.
“I know, I know. It has to be outside, and full of witnesses.”
Claire shook her head, smiling. “That isn’t a requirement anymore, Mr. MacKenzie. In fact—shouldn’t we be worried about going to a public place? I mean, in light of the rule about relationships with Nephilim? What if we’re spotted by another Grigori?”
“Don’t worry, Vincent is the only Watcher who’s looking for us, and he’s on the East Coast at the moment. Plus he doesn’t know you’re the Halfblood.”
“Well that’s good, because the place I was thinking of does just happen to be outside and chock-full of people.”
“Where’s that?”
She smiled. “How do you feel about Ferris wheels?”