Chapter 34 Natural Abilities
I had no idea what compulsion was. Seeing their anger I rushed to explain. "I don't understand. What do you think I did? Crow agreed to end practice today because I've had a really bad day. Now I'm in trouble for something else. I don't know what you think I did." My voice had risen.
Despite myself I found I was close to tears. The only bright spot was Crow. He actually looked pleased. Marco glared at him then at me. His lips set in a grim line. He had gone back to standing with his arms crossed.
Angelov looked thoughtful. I searched every face for answers.
"There's no way she could have done it on accident. We've been trained." Marco insisted. I got the feeling he really didn't like me.
"It would make more sense that it were an accident." Angelov looked at Marko. Marco stiffened. "She knows no one who could have taught her the skill, however, it could be a natural talent."
For once I was happy to be talked about like I wasn't there. I wished I wasn't there. I would have been blissfully happy if the floor opened and swallowed me - chair and all.
"But our training..." Marco insisted.
"I wasn't guarding against compulsion. It was just us." Crow admitted thoughtfully. I looked up at the sound of his voice. "I didn't think there was a need." He was looking at me. He sounded thoughtful but his face didn't give me any information about how he felt.
"Regardless, she obviously has the ability. I'll have to inform the queen and have someone come here to train with her." He told them with a finality to the statement. He turned to me. "It seems you have the ability to use compulsion already."
Amy saved me from having to ask. "What's compulsion?"
"The ability to force someone to do as you want them to do." He explained to Amy. Turning to me he ask, "Other then Crow, have you done this to anyone else?"
"What? I didn't even know I did anything to Crow." I looked at Crow. My mind spinning. Mind control. That's what this was. I had thought of Crow and Marko as Angelov's puppets. But I had truly made him mine. I was sure, in my mind, at least, it lessened the offence that it hadn't been on purpose. Still– I had to tell him I was sorry. I needed him to know. "I thought you were just being nice. I've had a really bad day and I thought you understood. I didn't mean to do what ever I did. I'm sorry. Really. I don't know how I did it. I didn't mean to."
"It's alright, princess. I'll keep my shield in place." Crow bowed slightly. His smile eased the tension I felt until I glanced at Marco. I knew he didn't like me.
"Has anything like this happened before?"
I shook my head to answer Angelov's question. I stopped mid-shake. "Wait— maybe. I'm not sure. Principal Rashe." I tried to recall the conversation. "I got in trouble in Mr. Bridges' class. It wasn't fair. I didn't mean to disrupt class or embarrass him. But he sent me to the office anyway. I explained to Principal Rashe why I shouldn't be in trouble. I expected to get detention anyway but I didn't." I rubbed my hands on my jeans before relaxing them on the table. I remembered my shock when he sent me to lunch with out a detention slip.
"What about your parents? Friends?" His chair creaked when he leaned forward.
I shook my Nose. "Not that I can think of." My fingers flipped the corner of the pages of the book closest to me.
"You've never heard of compulsion before?"
"Maybe in books or movie. But I didn't think it was real." I tilted my head. "How could I do that to someone without knowing... without meaning to?"
"Some of our species have enate abilities. Compulsion, telekinesis, precognition, some abilities can be learned but not all. Those with natural abilities are usually stronger. Most still have to train to use them safely. Yours is one of those abilities."
"And Crow," he absently indicated the Vampire to his right, "how did you compulse him? Do you remember what you said, felt, did? Do you remember the tone of voice you used?"
I shook my head. I had vague memories but I had simply talked, ranting about my day, my problems, my future. There hadn't been anything different. I explained that to Angelov.
"Very well. Your tutor will be able to help you find your trigger and teach you how to use it properly."
"Use it?" I was horrified. Why would I want to learn to use it on purpose? "I don't want to use it. It's mind control. I don't want a puppet. It's wrong."
Marko cleared his throat. "As much as I agree with you; you don't have a choice. You learn how to use it properly or you'll use it instinctively. There are reasons why other Vampires try to learn it. You can make humans forget things they shouldn't have seen. You can get information someone isn't willing to give."
Angelov nodded at Marko then turned to me. "By learning to control the ability you also learn how not to use it by accident."
"I don't want to use it at all." I whispered to myself. I saw it as taking someone's free will. Then another thought occurred to me. "Can it be undone?"
"It can be man–" the yellow phone rang breaking off Angelov's explanation. "Take them home." He told our guardians while reaching for the phone. "Angelov." He answered, nodding his goodbye to us.
Marko and Crow ushered us from the room. But I caught a few words Angelov said in the phone.
"One new development; Ms. Stone has a talent for compulsion."
A small spark of anger sprang to life in me. I suspected the queen was on the other end of the line. She was our mother but not once has she spoken to us. She has never given us a message to be delivered by Angelov, Smith, or our guardians.
According to Angelov's story she loved us and feared for our lives. Where was that love now? Had it been real? Had it faded over the last sixteen years with us absent from her life?
I'm not sure I wanted to know. The illusion of a loving mother forced to give up her children to save their lives had more appeal then a queen tricked into a pregnancy she hadn't wanted. Both, or neither, could be true.
What did it say about me that I didn't stop in that hallway, turn and demand answers from Angelov and the person on the phone?
Over the next week I tried not to think about the queen. I tried not to think about my ability. I did think about protection. Angelov was right. I needed to be able to protect myself and Amy if the need arises.
I didn't know how I would learn what I needed. I couldn't get a human to teach me. I was inept by Vampire standards but a human would notice my balance, agility, even how fast I was. I didn't want to ask Crow or Marko. Slow and study were not in their vocabularies and that's what I needed to learn. Plus I was sick of being black and blue. That was another reason I needed to learn more.
It was days after the incident I remembered I had heard of compulsion before. Amy had it used on her at her Aunt's wedding in Jamaica by some vampire we still didn't have a name for. We hadn't told Angelov about it. Amy didn't tell him that we had heard of it before. Maybe she thought I'd be in more trouble if they knew.
Monday at lunch Amy sat with a few friends from her Spanish class while Eric and I ate at the edge of the lunch room.
"You're really distracted." He took a large bite of his salad. He didn't put salad dressing on it, just salt, pepper and lemon juice.
"Sorry. I'm just thinking about training. I have to find a way to get better." I shook my head and took another bite of my apple.
"You Tube."
"Eric, I'm serious. I'm sick of being the weak link." I dropped the apple on my tray.
"No, really. You Tube has tons of videos on self defense. I've used them to learn Krav Maga. There are a lot of other techniques too." He took a drink of water.
I thought about what he said. It wouldn't hurt to check into it.
"I could even teach you what I've learned."
More time with my crush… plus. My crush kicking my butt while teaching me self-defense… con.
"We can check it out after I get off work tonight."
Before I knew it I was asking, "What time?"
"Ten." He took a huge bite of chicken and rice. He chewed slowly, waiting.
"Okay."
He swallowed and smiled. "I'll pick you up at ten–fifteen."
Great, I'm sneaking out again. I smile.
"Kyle's coming over here." Eric said looking behind me.
I turned in my seat to watch Kyle weave through the tables. He shook off a girl with pink hair who grabbed his hand as he passed her table. She said something, he replied and shook his head. He didn't stop walking.
He pulled out the chair and dropped into the seat at our table. "Hey." He greeted.
"Hey." Eric said at the same time as me.
"What happened in Bridges' class?" He asked taking cheese fry from my plate.
I pulled the plate closer to me, sending him a glare. "He sent the entire class to detention. We claimed we were all stupid and didn't deserve to be in his class." I shook my head.
"I heard a kid threw a desk." Kyle said stealing a fry from Eric's tray.
Eric slapped his hand causing him to drop the fry on the table. "You spaze. Get your own food."
I giggled. "No body threw a desk. Jim got mad and threw his chair. He thought Bridges' was trying to embarrass him. He called Bridge a historical reject. When the class laughed he sent us all to detention."
The class had only taken Bridges' half seriously. We all filled out of class fifteen minutes early for lunch.
"How'd you hear about it anyway? It was last class."
He laughed. "Where else? Jim. But his version was a little more colorful. He swears he called Bridge a ... I guess repeating it would get me in trouble." He smiled at Mrs. Cho one of the eleventh grade teachers.
She passed by and he smiled. "Why isn't Amy sitting with you today?"
"The Spanish class is working on a twenty page worksheet." Eric answered before I could reply.
I shook my head. This had to stop. "It's been five weeks. I'm sick of it. We're not going to keep being the go-between for you and Amy."
Kyle looked at Eric.
"No. Stop it." I hit the table with my palm. He jerked his gaze back to me. "I'm serious. If you want to know about Amy, ask Amy."
"It's not that simple, Steph." He turned to his brother. Eric shook his head.
"She's got a point, Eric." He pushed back his tray and leaned forward. He kept his voice low, "If it's about the attack, she didn't mean it, its just the blood-"
Kyle stood. The chair scraping the floor. "It wasn't that kind of attack." He walked away leaving us staring after him.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
I pulled my eyes away from him and turned to look at Amy. The rest of her group were bent over the table looking at the papers spread out. Amy was watching Kyle walk out of cafeteria. I could tell she wanted to follow him. She looked so sad it made me want to cry. I had to rub my chest to try to get the ache to go away.
"Steph?" Eric demanded. I turned to look at him. His eyebrows we're pinched and raised. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." I glanced back at Amy. She was looking at the papers spread over the table. I could still feel the sorrow covering her like a dark blanket. "I'm fine." I assured Eric with a forced smile. "Do you know what Kyle meant?"
He shook his head. "No clue." But I detected a hint of suspicion. I felt it like a trickle of water from a leaky faucet. "I think I need to have a talk with my twin." He looked at me apologetically. "Mind if we postpone our YouTube experiment? I think I need to go home tonight."
"No. Go ahead. I think I need to have a talk with Amy too." I looked over at her. She was nodding and smiling at a small red haired girl. Why did I still feel like my heart was twisting in my chest?
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This chapter was harder for me to write then I expected. I knew what it needed but getting it done was another matter.
As you know I'm offline. I can only get online rarely. So I'm going out of my mind wondering if anyone is even reading this.
I may have told you (if you read my other works) that I'm one of those insecure writers who need constant feedback.
So being cut off from my readers is driving me nuts. No messages. No comments. No votes. NOTHING and I'm feeling the pressure.
So when I get online and see 99 notification my spirit soars. However, those notifications aren't for Vampire Lessons. Are you reading this? Am I just writing this for myself?
I need some reassurance that will last me a week. I need comments. Something I can think about while I'm attempting to write the next chapter. Answer one or all of these questions.
A.) Steph's love should be Crow, Eric, Kyle or Marko? Why him?
(I'm scared some one will say Marko.)
B.) What REALLY happened in the car that caused the accident?
C.) Amy and Steph both have undiscovered abilities... What do you think they are?
D.) Amy's love interest should be Crow, Marko, Kyle or Eric? Why that person?
E. Post a question for other readers. Anything you want as long as it is about this book. Don't forget to post your answer to the question.
I can't wait to hear from you.
💖 Asha
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