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“I suppose that’s one option…,” Vincent began, but then just sipped his drink in silence for a long moment, frowning.

Alec’s pulse raced. His fate was in this man’s hands. Vincent had been his father’s best friend and had made good on his vow to take care of Alec after his parents died. Vincent cared deeply for him—Alec felt certain of that—and the affection and respect went both ways. Still, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Vincent was known for his high principles. Would he turn Alec in or let him go?

“The thing is … there’s been a development,” Vincent continued finally.

“A development?” Alec asked, puzzled by this tangent.

“Something interesting happened a week ago. It turns out it’s a good thing I was here.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s an Awakened at Emerson Academy.”

“
What?
At
Emerson
?” Alec sank down beside Vincent on the sofa, astonished and upset. The first time an Awakened used their gift, it caused a brief shock wave of metaphysical energy that allowed the Elders to discern the individual’s approximate age and location, but not who they were, their gender, or the nature of their powers. That was when the hunt began—the hunt that was one of the things Alec had walked away from forever. “Shite! Of all places, it has to be the school I chose?”

“What’s that old saying—‘Trouble follows you wherever you go’?”

Alec’s heart clenched with worry. Surely, he’d be discovered now. “Does Zachariah—?”

“Relax, boy. Zachariah’s been sent elsewhere. To protect you, I convinced the Elders to assign this particular Awakened to me instead, since I was here anyway.”

Alec blew out a relieved yet surprised breath. “Thank you. But how did you convince them of that?” He and Vincent had usually been called in to take care of much older, higher-level targets. “A newly Awakened is a little beneath your skill set, isn’t it?”

“From the surge that showed up on the grid, it appears to be a very unique individual.” Vincent paused for dramatic effect as the mai tai disappeared from his hands. “We have reason to believe it’s an actual Halfblood.”

“A
Halfblood
? Are you serious? Shite. When’s the last time one of those came along?”

“It’s been eons.” Vincent’s expression darkened. “You know what they did to the last Halfblood, don’t you?”

“I’ve heard about it, aye.” Alec swallowed hard and glanced away, his concern for his own safety overshadowed by this new, potential threat to one of his classmates. Was it anyone he knew? If so, Alec felt sorry for them. Turning back to Vincent, he said, “So besides stalking me, I suppose you’ve been hanging around the school all week, looking for an aura?”

“Yes.”

“Posing as who?”

“Whoever is convenient. I served you mashed potatoes in the cafeteria on Thursday.”

Alec cringed and stood up, still grappling with this unwelcome news. “That’s nothing short of creepy.”

“Unfortunately, the target’s been very difficult to identify. At first I thought it could be the case I’ve been working on for the past sixteen years.”

“Oh. That one.” Alec nodded slowly.

“However, now I’m not so sure. Although the boy I’ve set my sights on hasn’t used any abilities while I’ve been around, he doesn’t appear to have both of the talents I’d expect.” Vincent heaved an irritated sigh. “And to make matters worse, of all times, I have to leave town.”

“Where are you going?”

“There’s a situation in New York that also requires my expertise and may take a week or more to resolve. The timing couldn’t be worse. I
hate
to put this job on hold.”

Alec sensed what was coming with rising dread. Striving for a casual tone, he said, “What’s a week, more or less? If this Halfblood has just Awakened—”

“Depending on their power, a Halfblood could be a dangerous anomaly—and a prime threat if recruited by the other side.
They
may have made contact already. You know I can’t let it wait. I need someone to handle this while I’m gone.” Vincent fixed Alec with his gaze. “And there’s only one person I can trust.”

Alec backed away several steps, shaking his head vehemently. “No.
No
. Forget it, Vincent. I’m here to get away from all that.”

“So you said.” Vincent rose and crossed his arms over his chest. “You
also
said you want to stay here at Emerson. And you want me to keep quiet about it.”

“Aye. But Vincent … I just can’t.”

“What would you rather?” Vincent asked, eyes blazing. “That I bring Zachariah back? He’ll certainly discover you when he searches the school. And he won’t be as understanding as I am. If you don’t run and hide—more successfully this time—he’ll turn you in. They’ll incarcerate you for eternity with a bunch of monks, if they don’t sentence you to death.”

“Isn’t that what they’re going to do to the Halfblood, if we find him?” Alec said, his pulse racing. “I can’t exchange someone else’s life or freedom for my own.”

“We don’t know what the Council will do. Maybe they’ll be more lenient this time. Unless, of course, we don’t get to him first. They’ll have no choice if he’s already been corrupted. All I’m asking
you
to do is to identify him and make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble until I get back. Do that, and I won’t report you to the Elders.”

Alec hesitated, frowning. “That’s it? You just want me to … watch over him?”

“That’s it. I’ll take care of the rest when I return.” Vincent looked at Alec, his dark eyes full of meaning. “Do me this one favor and I’ll grant your wish. As long as you don’t break any laws, or do any more foolish things—no matter how noble—you can stay here and play human for as long as you like.”

Alec silently debated Vincent’s offer, deeply conflicted. Did he want to do this—spy on his own schoolmates and condemn someone—however dangerous—to a dubious fate? Absolutely not. It felt like a deal with the devil. But if he didn’t do it, Vincent would eventually find the Halfblood on his own anyway. And at this point, did Alec really have any alternative? He was lucky that Vincent was granting him this out. He took a deep breath.

“Okay. It’s a deal,” Alec said.

“Splendid.” Vincent removed a postcard-size electronic tablet from his jacket pocket and set it on the table. “Here’s a recap of everything I’ve done so far. Just pick up where I left off.”

Alec stared down at the tablet, the gravity of their agreement starting to sink in. He barely noticed as Vincent walked to the door.

“Don’t look so despondent, Alec. When all this is over, you will thank me. Happy hunting.”

ten

W
hen Claire’s mom dropped her off at school on Monday, the debris from the scaffolding accident had all been cleared away, and it looked as if construction had been halted. Claire scanned the crowd but didn’t see Alec anywhere. As she crossed to the stairs, a group of girls came up to her, concern written all over their faces.

“Claire! Oh my God! Are you okay?” asked the leader of the pack. It was Gabrielle Miller, the athletic goddess she’d often seen talking with Neil.

“I’m … fine.” Claire was taken aback. Gabrielle had only talked to her twice in her life—once to welcome her to Emerson, another time to invite her to watch a varsity tennis match—and Gabrielle’s clique had never so much as glanced in her direction. So why were they talking to her now?

“We heard you were, like, almost crushed to death by that scaffolding on Friday!” cried Ashley, the curly-haired blonde at Gabrielle’s side.

“We were at lunch in the Village and missed the whole thing,” put in Courtney, the third girl. “Everybody’s talking about it. They said you were interviewed by the cops!”

“Is it true that Alec MacKenzie dragged you out from under the wreckage?” Gabrielle asked.

“Well, he … he didn’t actually
drag
us, it was more like he tackled us, and—” Claire began.

“Oh my God!” shrieked Ashley. “I would so
love
to be tackled by Alec MacKenzie!”

“He is
so
hot!” agreed Gabrielle.

“I’d give anything to have
him
save my life,” Courtney swooned. “He’s that quiet, loner type, which is
so
sexy. And he has such an awesome accent.”

“
So
awesome … ,” echoed Ashley.

Just then, Erica and Brian joined them.

“Whassup, peoplez?” Brian said in his typical cheerful fashion.

Gabrielle’s group whirled on them en masse, gasping at the sight of Brian’s sling. “Oh my God!” Gabrielle exclaimed. “Is your arm broken?”

“No, it was just dislocated,” Brian said.

“It’s a miracle that you guys survived!” cried Courtney.

“Are you, like, having nightmares and shit?” asked Ashley.

“Well, it
was
terrifying,” Erica admitted.

“It would have totally sucked if you’d died.” Gabrielle shuddered. “I mean, school’s just barely started! That would have ruined the whole first semester.”

“Everybody’s so freaked about it,” added Courtney, “saying, ‘It could have been me.’”

Gabrielle shouldered her backpack. “Brian, my dad’s a doctor, so let me know if you need any painkillers.”

“Thanks, but I’m already well supplied,” Brian returned with a grin.

The three girls waved and dashed off. Claire glanced at her friends with eyebrows raised as they headed up the stairs in the group’s wake. “That was strange.”

“Not really. We’re famous now.” Erica smoothed back her shiny red hair, a huge smile on her face.

“Have you seen Alec?” Claire asked.

“Not yet,” Brian answered.

“He’s usually right on time.” Claire was getting worried now. “I hope he’s okay.”

“He looked fine on Friday,” Erica said.

Claire frowned. “Maybe he’s avoiding school so we can’t grill him about what happened.”

“You just keep telling yourself that, Detective,” Brian said, shaking his head.

All day long, the scaffolding accident was the major topic of conversation at school. So many people came up to ask Claire if she was okay—most of them people she’d never talked to until now—that it made her head spin. She’d never been the center of so much attention before. Admittedly, it was exciting—but at the same time, she felt uncomfortable. She hadn’t really
done
anything, except not die. Alec was the one who deserved the recognition, but he was absent all day. Where was he?

After school, as Claire was grabbing her books from their locker, her eyes were drawn to the bulky, black mystery box sitting at the bottom. What
was
that thing, anyway? she wondered. Could any of her questions about Alec be answered by what was inside?

The box was locked tight, with a digital keypad on the lid. A thought occurred to her: Even if she couldn’t open it, maybe she could put her new ability to some practical use and try to get a reading off the box—the same way she had with the bracelet. She knew this was prying, but her intense curiosity overcame her feelings of guilt.

Taking a deep breath, Claire extended her right hand over the lid of the box, then pressed her palm down onto it, concentrating on the feel of the cold, textured surface.

Nothing happened. Nothing at all.

Just then, she heard the sound of laughter and approaching footsteps. She quickly slammed the locker door and hurried off with a disappointed sigh.
It figures
, Claire thought, frowning. Nothing about her supposed ability had ever been predictable or convenient. If she was going to learn anything about Alec, it’d have to be the old-fashioned way.