Dateless and Deadly

Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

“So, explain how it feels when you use your magic on these things,” I gestured to the mess of computer cables and chips spread across the table in front of me. I was trying to figure something out and I was really hoping Spencer could help me. It had been a couple days since Caine had tried to attack Sam. Since then, the strength of her energy shield had multiplied, thanks to Dillon. The day after the attack we’d spoken and I’d explained that even though I didn’t have a great aptitude for other magic, I was pretty good with shielding. We collaborated and together, put up an incredibly strong shield to protect Sam and the rest of the base.

“Well,” Spencer said, his forehead crinkling a little as he thought about his answer. I waited for the predictable flip of my heart which is what usually happened when he frowned like that but instead I felt a mild appreciation for his unshakable concentration. Honestly, the more time I’d spent working closely with him, the more I realized that he was a little conceited.

I mentally shrugged and tried to listen closely to Spencer’s reply. “I just kind of...feel along the source of energy. It’s like there’s a circuit and if I break it or redirect it, I can change the outcome. For instance, if there’s a password I want to crack, I just have to break the circuit then redirect it towards a different destination. Create a new circuit so to speak.” He shrugged, still frowning. “Of course, the analogy isn’t perfect. The only way you can truly understand is if you feel it.” He looked at me for a second, and the impact of his light blue eyes did manage to make me lose my breath a little. He really was nice to look at.

He just wasn’t much of a conversationalist.

“I know you don’t have an affinity for this stuff but do you want to try again?” He asked. I caught a wayward thought and realized that he was worried about his equipment.

I shrugged, not really caring about his computer chips and nodded. He walked me through connecting with the machine and finding the “circuit” as he called it. I could feel the electricity running through the machine its energy humming like a life force. I released a tiny bit of my own energy to move along with it but it didn’t really make a difference. I could feel a tiny piece of myself in the computer but that didn’t mean I knew what the hell any of it meant. I couldn’t change anything within a computer if I didn’t know where to look. I guess that’s why he had all this equipment in the first place. He first had to figure out where to connect the circuit to in order to make it work.

I withdrew and shrugged again. He looked disappointed but I didn’t really care. Maybe I couldn’t get the password but I knew that I could easily fry the thing. I just needed to direct all the energy at one part of it all at the same time. Now that was interesting. I was tempted to try it but I didn’t want to destroy Spencer’s precious computer so I let it go. I looked at my watch and noticed it was time to head to defense practice.

I changed into my gym clothes and walked into the room filled with mats. James was there as well as Will and Jack. I walked towards them as my sister came bounding in after me. She was wearing tight yoga pants and a sports bra. Her bellybutton ring shone in the light and I saw Jack and Will appreciating her appearance.

I rolled my eyes then looked at James. He was looking at me. I couldn’t read his expression and before I got the chance to look a little harder, he turned away.

Okay, I thought, ignoring the weird flop I felt in my stomach when my eyes had briefly connected with James’.

“So,” I said, stopping in front of the boys, “who am I fighting today?”