Page 53 of Ghost
She might run. If that happened, we might not ever see her again. But at the same time, it was too late for her to stay unknown, even if she wanted to be.
As for me, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I wanted her safe. It was possible for us to protect her and take care of everything without her noticing—that would be selfish. She deserved to know the danger.
Julian and Damen sighed, and Titus remained motionless.
We had to tell her. While I wanted to do anything else but scare her, it wouldn't be fair.
“From a young age, children of strength are separated into quintets—one member to represent each category. They are paired in that way so their abilities can remain balanced,” Damen said, bouncing his leg nervously. “If someone is very strong, and remains on their own, it can be… bad.”
I scoffed, because that was putting it nicely.Badwas a kind way to describe someone who has lost themselves to their powers. Finn was a good example of someone who refused their quintet. And what could happened when monitoring an er bashou became political.
The problem with Finn though, was that you couldn’t force someone to stay with their quintet. When it came down to it, within a quintet, there were limitations to what could be done to maintain balance. Proximity was needed for one’s abilities to control another’s. Finn had been dodging Anthony—the only person in his own quintet who could control him—for years.
“What isbad,” Bianca asked. “Is it like when a werewolf goes rogue?”
Titus stuttered and turned red, knocked out of his pensive mood. Most likely because he was embarrassed she seemed to have some knowledge on shifters. Not that most people didn’t know something, but most information was based on folklore.
But Titus was already desperate for Bianca’s attention. That much was obvious. She was the Ultimate Cute Thing ™. We knew that we would have a problem from day one. When he—wheezing in pain after she fled Damen’s house—had declared she was the perfect woman.
Out of all of us, he could get a bit...possessive.
“You know about rogues?” he asked.
“It's nothing.” Bianca’s attention shot back to Titus, and the most adorable blush touched her cheeks. “I read some books on werewolves. I’m not completely naive.”
Her statement caused Titus to redden even more. Meanwhile, I could only look at her with wariness. There were so many ways this conversation could go. “What kind of books?”
“It doesn’t matter! It was only some romance.” Her voice was curt, defensive. And it was way too easy to read in between the lines.
Oh Lord.
“Yes,” Titus gritted out, also desperate to change the subject, “kind of like rogues. Except more dangerous. When someone of some strength goes bad it can have serious repercussions. But some characteristics are more prone to it than others, so that helps.”
She shot Titus a questioning look, but it was Damen who continued.
“There are certain personality traits that are attributed with each element. When someone becomes unchecked, they become stronger in their spiritual strength. It’s because the energy that fuels their abilities grows. But that also means that the negative personality traits can take over too. The signs are there for anyone to see.” He paused, and I could tell he was nervous about admitting his role, but persevered. “Take for example, a fire based ability, which would be my classification. Onmyoji have a direct line of communication to the otherworld. That includes the dead that have already crossed over, demons, and other such beings. Those are our abilities. But people with fire energy can be prone to having a temper, can be impatient, and often become overachievers. A person with a water-based ability can keep them focused.”
“Is that why you keep this world a secret, because people have done bad things before?” She seemed to catch on. “If so, then anyone with paranormal abilities would be targeted to remove a perceived threat.”
Damen looked stunned, and I held back a laugh at his expression. Bianca had a lot of theories, and most of the time they weren't right—not entirely. Even if they were entertaining. But she was smart.
“You’re exactly right,” I replied. “There are organizations who seek to target anyone with a paranormal ability. And there are a lot of imposters too—people who claim to be psychics and mediums, and aren’t. The hunters for those organizations don’t differentiate between the real and fake.”
There it was, the look of trepidation I had been expecting.
It was almost too difficult to tell her more, but we had no choice. “The majority of us blend into society. But even so, it’s a risk, becoming involved. If you have an ability, especially a strong one, you need to be registered and monitored within a quintet. If you aren’t, then you not only risk losing control of your powers, but if our enemies find out who you are, then you also become an easy target.”
Bianca frowned slightly, pondering my words. Before she asked the question that I had been dreading. "What is a xing? You didn't answer me earlier. Do the hunters, or whoever, know who you are? Are you in danger?"
Chapter Twenty-One
Bianca
Xing
I watched the boys’ faces, still not entirely understanding how this related to me. “Is anyone with a supernatural ability considered a xing? What element is my ability associated with?”
To be honest, none of this made much sense. But I hoped it would explain itself the more I was exposed to it.
