Intangible (Invisible #2 SAMPLE)

Intangible Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A Dangerous Idea

(Mason)

Being invisible once seemed like a curse. After the last few days of constant, invading supervision, I wish I could go back to being the guy nobody even knew existed. I never realized how much I valued my privacy until it was gone. Losing it to complete strangers makes it even worse. Losing it because there is a whole society of killers out to murder me makes it unbearable.

“Mason, please,” Molly, my seven-year-old instructor, begs.

Small, fingers wrap around my larger hand. Molly squeezes, but I can feel a slight tremble in her hand. It surprises me and causes me to look at her. The pleading look in her eyes captures my attention.

“Mason, you have to focus. You have to learn to access your power and control it. You have to try harder,” she pleads. “There can’t be any mistakes. They have to do it right this time.”

“What do you mean this time?”

“Failing is… it’s just not an option,” Molly says before dropping her eyes.

“What happens if I fail?” I ask.

Molly shakes her head, brunette ringlets bouncing into her eyes.  “I …” she says. “I’m not supposed to talk about it. Mrs. Britton will be angry with me if I do.”

Feeling the trembling in her hands increase, a surge of protectiveness bunches my shoulder. I’ve only known Molly for three days, but the instant kinship I felt toward her refuses to let me stand by and watch the Brittons mistreat her. The Brittons are not Molly’s biological family, of course. She’s an Aerling like I am. They are the only family she has ever known, though, and she can’t hide how much they scare her.

I don’t want to put Molly in danger of being punished, but I have to know the consequences of failing, so I ask, “What happened the last time there was a ruling Aerling like me?”

Still visibly upset, Molly relaxes somewhat and answers the question. “Usually, ruling Aerlings are identified at a young age. They show special talents right away. As soon as they’re identified, they start intensive training. The Caretakers are afraid of failing.”

Turning so I can put one arm around her small shoulders, I hug her against my side. “Why are they afraid?”

“The last time the Caretakers found someone like you, their training didn’t work. They blamed the Aerling, I guess. They said he wasn’t quite right and couldn’t learn to control his power. Every time he tried to use his talents, things got scary. When he turned eighteen, they were more than happy to send him on his way, but the bad things didn’t stop when he left.”

“What happened?”

Molly doesn’t answer right away. Her lips press together, probably to stop them from trembling. She tucks her body more tightly against mine. “The first time it happened was the day he went home, not an hour after the Aerling boy and his escort vanished. It was one of the Caretaker children, the one closest to his age that was first. Nobody could explain why she just stopped breathing. Nobody connected the dots at first. It took two more of the family members dying for them to realize what was happening. And it didn’t stop with the family. Everyone who tried to teach the Aerling was dead within weeks of him leaving.”

Finding a response to that is impossible. If I don’t learn to control my power before my eighteenth birthday, it could kill everyone who has tried to train me.

I am supposed to be moved every week until my birthday. That’s less than three weeks away, but that is still too many people put in danger because of me. “Molly, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”