Cloak of Deceit

Chapter Fourteen

I practiced my imaginary kicking technique a few times, then tried throwing and pulling. After working out the kinks, I finally started to get the hang of it. I could feel the fibers in my brain stretching, the pathways re-aligning, like a web forming in a seldom-accessed corner of my mind. The more I practiced, the more solid the webbing became, and the easier it was to access the ability. It sounds funny, but I had to concentrate on not concentrating. Once I had moved the whole pile of bricks from one side of the room to the other, Ian urged me to try the water and fire.

It was harder with something not solid, like my brain refused to let me break the rules of reality ingrained in me from birth — gravity, fluid dynamics — things you take for granted. Eventually I just let go of my preconceptions and managed to form a floating ball of water. Fire came easier. I painted my name in the air with flames to cheering over the intercom, and decided being a Grigori wasn't so bad. I would be a hit at parties.

When the fire died out, a series of loud claps echoed from behind me. I whirled on my heel to see Monique standing by the chamber door. She hadn't stepped over the inhibitor line yet, but still, I should have heard or at least smelled her. Was it because I'd been so focused on my other powers? Maybe my psychic abilities and Undead senses were mutually exclusive. Julian would have been disappointed I'd let her sneak up on me. I wanted to have a better handle on things by the time he came back, so that maybe next time he'd have less of a reason to leave me behind.

"Very good." Monique's smile was cat-like. "I'm impressed, Alex. For a beginner, you show much promise."

I threw out my hip as she approached, wanting to shoot back that as a beginner I could do more than she could ever dream of. But I held my tongue. For one thing, I had no idea what she could or couldn't do. And for another, she was still my keeper, collar or not, until Julian got back.

"But moving bricks is only a small part of what it is to be what you are." She glided towards me. Her curtain of black hair fell in seductive waves over her slender shoulders, taunting me with all the feminine appeal I could never hope to possess.

"It is not the mastering of what is outside, but of what is inside the self that is the true challenge." Monique held my gaze as she stepped over the faint purple line on the floor. Her challenge remained unspoken.

I nodded in understanding as high-noon music sounded in my head.

She cast me a dazzling, feral smile. "You have a grasp now of where your psychic center is."

I was pretty sure I knew what she meant. The part of my mind I used to control the objects in the room, the new part I was just getting accustomed to, she called the "psychic center." I made a note of the term.

As Monique circled around me, the bricks lay in a helpless heap behind her, and I realized no matter what she had planned, my magic tricks really were small potatoes. There was something about her stance, the confidence she exuded. The amusement in her bi-colored eyes gave me a clue I was in for a real lesson. And it was gonna hurt.

I narrowed my eyes and tried my best to penetrate Monique's aura with my psychic senses, but just like before, my mind clouded, like trying to see under murky water. I frowned and shook my head to clear it.

Monique laughed, velvety smooth. "Of course I would not leave myself open to intrusion. In a position such as mine, vulnerability could cost many lives."

So, she did do it on purpose.

"It's not because you have something to hide?" I countered, turning to keep from having my back to her.

"I have something to protect," she said in her silken French accent.

I shrugged. "Don't we all?"