Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
CONNOR
“You’re not concentrating,” I tell Skye bluntly. “You’re never going to manage this if you’re thinking of other things.” We’ve been working on building a basic shield for the past two hours, and while he seemed to get it at first, progress has slowed almost to a standstill.
“I can’t help it if my brain wants to think of other things,” he whines. “This is a big deal. I’m preoccupied.”
I sigh and lean back in the armchair. We’ve borrowed Ewan and Daniel’s place again, because it’s out of the way of any guests, private, and comfortable. “Anything I can help with? Questions you might have?” He’s not going to get this until whatever’s bugging him is out of the way.
“Did you and Kieran have sex last night?”
Whoa. I wasn’t expecting that from Mr. Adorable.
“Why would you think that, and how is it any of your business?”
He laughs. “That’s a yes.”
“That’s a no,” I correct. “Believe me, if I’d had sex, I’d know it.” My whole body is screaming for it. Especially after watching Kieran go off last night. I’ve never seen anything so hot in my whole life.
That cute-as-a-kitten face frowns. “Well, something has him more relaxed today. I assumed it was a good fucking.”
“He doesn’t like me,” I point out, partly to throw him off the scent, and partly because I want him to disagree. “Why would he fuck someone he dislikes?”
“He doesn’t dislike you, exactly,” Skye protests. “More that you piss him off. I’m sure he’d like you if you weren’t so…”
I wait.
“Yeah, I’m not going to finish that sentence. So, you and Kieran didn’t fuck. Hmm. Blowjob, maybe?”
“Nope.”
Skye studies me. “Hand stuff, then.” He sits back, satisfied. “That’s great. It’s been ages since he hooked up, and things have been stressful lately. Kieran doesn’t deal with stress like normal people.”
I’m still stuck on how he guessed so accurately what happened last night. “Uh, he doesn’t?”
“Who doesn’t what?” Uncle Norval demands, popping in. I sigh.
“Nothing, Uncle.”
Skye looks around wildly. “Your uncle’s here?” There’s a slight surge of energy, and Skye’s searching gaze zooms in on Uncle Norval. “Oh. There you are. Tell me, what kind of men does Connor like to date?”
What? “No, don’t—”
“Ahhhh, there’s a question.” Uncle Norval plants himself on the couch and settles in. “You looking to snag my nephew?” He appraises Skye, then shakes his head. “Sorry, lad, you’re not his type.”
“I wasn’t thinking for me. What do you think of my friend Kieran?”
“Which one’s he?”
“I’m not looking for a date,” I begin, but nobody’s listening.
“My boss. The redhead,” Skye adds when Uncle Norval just stares at him blankly.
“Ohhh, him. He’s just Connor’s type. Our Con loves the gingers, especially the fiery ones.”
This is why everybody hates it when Uncle Norval comes to visit. Speaking of… “Uncle, don’t you have somewhere else to be? Things are under control here. Surely someone else could do with your help?”
“I’m retired, Connor. That means I get to go wherever I like, and I like it here.” He narrows his eyes. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Yes.” This shouldn’t be news to him. People have been trying to get rid of him for centuries.
“Pffft.”
“So,” Skye interjects, looking way too happy, “do you think—”
“Skye, it won’t bother me to walk away right now.” I shrug. “I’m trying to help you, but there are a lot of other things I could be doing. Don’t waste my time.”
Skye heaves a huge sigh. “I can’t concentrate when I’m so worried about Kieran.” He bats his eyes at me, and I can’t hold in my laugh.
“Look, you’re cute, but that look doesn’t work on me. Kieran’s got a lot going on, but he’s an adult and I’m sure if he needed you to worry about him, he’d say something.” I hesitate, then add, “Him and me dating isn’t likely. I travel a lot.”
“That’s true,” Uncle Norval says sadly. “It takes a special kind of person to be with a hunter.”
Skye’s sorrowful expression almost succeeds in making me feel bad. “Fine,” he says. “Walk me through this again.”
I talk him through the mental exercise of building a shield, and this time he actually manages it… for about thirty seconds.
“Why can’t I hold it?” he demands in exasperation, and Uncle Norval laughs.
“You’ve never done this before,” I explain patiently.
“It takes time to build your psychic muscles. Come on, keep going while we talk. Don’t forget to do the exercises I showed you every chance you get—once an hour, if you can.
In a week, you’ll be able to hold the shield all the time, and a week after that you’ll forget it’s even there.
The more you exercise, the stronger it will be. ”
There’s fear in his eyes. “Does that mean until then I’m open to possession?”
“Of course you are,” Uncle Norval says, and I close my eyes.
“Uncle, could you go check on the gateway, please? Gabe’s so busy learning the estate today, and we’d both feel better if you were there.”
Surprisingly, he falls for it and pops out.
“I’m sorry,” I tell Skye. “I should have explained this better. The shield will guard you from random spirits, but if something is determined to possess you, it will batter its way in. That’s not just you—that could happen to anyone, me included, and I have awesome shields.
There are some things out there we humans are just not equipped to fight against. I’m not telling you this to scare you; I want you to understand the nature of your ability. ”
“Ability?” he says bitterly. “This isn’t an ability; it’s a hindrance. A menace.”
“No.” Fuck, I wish he hadn’t had to learn about this by being possessed.
“Conduits are an essential part of our dealings with the otherworld. It’s unfortunate that you learned of your talent this way.
Being possessed is the smallest part of it.
You’re one of the few people on this planet who can communicate with spirits. ”
He blinks. “What?”
I nod. “How do you think we know so much about the otherworld? The demons certainly didn’t tell us.
Those that can communicate aren’t trustworthy.
But there are some spirits, harmless beings, that are willing to share knowledge, and the only people they can communicate with in their spirit forms are conduits. ”
“Do they have to possess me to do that?” He shudders. “Because I don’t think I could handle that.”
“Nope.” I shake my head. “Like I said, possession is just a side effect. If you’d been aware of your abilities before the body-hopper got to you, not only would it not have gotten in, but you would have been able to talk to it. Find out what it wanted and potentially convince it to go home.”
He mulls that over. “It sounds like I have a lot to learn.”
“You don’t have to,” I say honestly. “You can focus on shielding and go on your merry way. But spirits are going to recognize you for what you are, and if you encounter them in future, they’ll try to communicate.
With the shield, it’ll be like a buzzing sound, or you’ll get a headache.
Depending on where you’re living and how many spirits find you, it could be debilitating. ”
“Like Josh when he lived in Chicago with ghosts?”
“No. There aren’t as many spirits around as there are ghosts. But ghosts usually can’t recognize a medium just by being near them, whereas spirits will sense you. That’s how the body-hopper found you so fast.”
“So what are my options?” The question is serious, and he looks me right in the eyes.
“Start by practicing your shield. There’s time to think about the rest. I can teach you some of it, but not all—I’m not a conduit.
In the meantime, and what I’ve been getting to, you’re going to find you’re much more aware over the next little while.
Until your shield is firmly in place, your psychic senses are going to be…
sensitive. The body-hopper woke them up, and the psychic exercises you’re doing are strengthening them.
So if something else does come at you before your shields are fully in place, you’re still not going to be defenseless like before.
You’ll be able to sense them. If that happens, slam the shield up as hard as you can and call me. ”
“But I can only hold the shield for a few seconds at a time,” he protests.
“It’s been two minutes this time,” I point out. “By the end of the day it’ll be longer.”
“A few minutes is nothing. How can I go back home, twenty minutes away, when I can’t shield myself for long enough for you to come rescue me?” The forlorn expression makes him look more like an innocent kitten than ever.
“Before you leave, I’ll give you a temporary shield,” I promise.
“It’s not as good as what you can do for yourself because it’s not coming from you.
And it’ll slowly deteriorate. But it’ll give you peace of mind and hold back any attempted possession that happens before you can defend yourself.
” It’ll also take a whole lot of energy out of me, which is why I haven’t suggested it before.
I hope he wants to stick around here most of the day.
I don’t want to spend the afternoon sleeping.
He purses his lips. “I do really want to go home,” he admits. “Sharing this house with Daniel is…”
“Frustrating?” The word is out before I can rethink it. I pull a face. “Sorry. When I got rid of the body-hopper, I saw some things. I try not to look, but sometimes…”
“It slaps you in the face?” he asks. His tone is dry, but his cheeks are pink with embarrassment. “Please don’t tell him. It’s bad enough that I’m the gay guy crushing on his straight friend without him knowing about it.”
“Your secret’s safe,” I swear, crossing my heart like I used to when I was in elementary school. That gets a smile. “Does anyone else know?”
“I haven’t talked about it, but I’m pretty sure Josh and Ewan do. They both give me this worried look sometimes. You know, because falling for a straight guy is dumb.”
“It happens to a lot of us,” I assure him. “Kieran doesn’t know?”