Page 60 of Inception

I threw on my work uniform, stole one more glance in the mirror, and then hurried off to speak with Uncle Karl, who I found sitting at his desk in the office, shuffling through a stack of bills and other papers. He was surprised to see me; that much was evident on his face.

“I thought you were sleeping at Taylor Valentine’s house?” he asked through creased brows.

I smiled at his use of her full name. “I decided to come home after the party. I kind of wanted to be in my own bed,” I said, sitting down in the leather chair across from him.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, peeling away his reading glasses and setting them down on the desk, the concern billowing in over his eyes like a translucent film.

I took a nervous breath as I readied myself for the distorted version of the truth I was about to tell. “I was attacked by a Revenant last night after the party,” I said, in an eerily calm manner. When I saw his eyes swell, I quickly added, “I’m fine though, I got away. Nothing happened.” My tongue pelted out each lie as though it were an intrinsic weapon.

“For Pete’s sake, Jemma. Why wasn’t I told about this last night? We could have sent someone after them.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that,” I said, shrugging my shoulder. “I just wanted to get back home.”

He let out a displeased breath, though there seemed to be some understanding in his eyes.

The conversation was veering off course. I needed to get back to the point. “The thing is, I’m glad it happened, Uncle, because as scary as it was, it made me realize something.”

He watched me curiously, uncertain of where I was going.

“It made me realize how much danger I’m actually in, and as long as I stay likethis,” I said, motioning to my pitiful self, “I’m just a sitting duck waiting for the next attack.”

He sunk back into his chair and nodded solemnly as though he’d already been grappling with this truth for a while now.

I, too, had been struggling with it...with the reality of who I was and of what I was supposed to do. Up until now, I hadn’t been able to accept it as my truth—asmydestiny, and even though I was still struggling to come to terms with it, the alternative was to stay in the dark; weak, unready, and vulnerable to predators like Dominic, and that was something I was no longer willing to do.

“I want you to break the spell,” I said with conviction. If the spell was suppressing my abilities—preventing me from sensing Revenants—then I wanted no more part of it.

His eyes widened, pulling in the light from the room as a full-figured smile formed on his lips. “This is wonderful news, Jemma. I knew you would make the right decision—”

“I haven’t made any decisions yet.” I felt a mild tinge of guilt for not giving him the entire truth about what my true intentions were, but I batted it away. I had to stay focused on my new plan:operation stay the hell alive. “I’m going to take this day by day. Right now the only thing I know for sure is that I don’t ever want to be in that position again, so I’d like to start training as soon as possible. If that’s okay with you.”

“Yes, of course. I fully support you in this.” His eyes shifted away just then. There seemed to be something unsettling him. Something he wasn’t saying.

It was making me uneasy. “What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” he said, doing his best to assure me. “I’m taking care of it.”

I made a face letting him know I wasn’t buying whatever it was he was trying to sell.

He brought his elbows up onto his desk and pressed his fingers together in a steeple. “We might have to delay your training for a little while,” he finally said, his eyebrows pulled together in frustration. “We don’t have aHandlerready for you just yet, however, the Council is working on remedying the situation. It’s only a temporary setback.”

“What’s a Handler and why do I need one?” I asked, unsure of what that was and how big of a wedge it would throw in my plan.

“Of course, forgive me. I forget how little you know of the Order,” he said, ill at ease. “Handlers are highly trainedDemibloodsthat are part Slayer and part something else, usually a Caster or a Shifter.”

That was just like Gabriel. His mother was a Slayer and his father was a Shifter, which would have made him a Demiblood. Or at least it did before he...changed.

“Their sole purpose,” he continued, “is to train you and yourKeeperand prepare you both for battle. As one. Together you will form aRigand work for The Order. But without your Keeper on board, it’s impossible to—”

“Why can’t I just train alone?” I interrupted. I had no interest in hearing all the rules and useless protocol. That stuff was for the birds.

“Slayers very rarely work alone. It’s far too dangerous,” he explained. “Your Keeper is essentially your other half. They’ll learn your every move, your every weakness, and they’ll be there to protect your neck when it’s on the line. It’s a bond unlike any other.” There was a strange twinkle in his eye that looked a lot like pride. “There is so much that goes into creating a powerful Rig, Jemma, but without the other half, it is virtually impossible to find a Handler willing to sign on.”

“So, no Keeper means no Handler and no training.”

“Precisely.” His face hardened as he went on. “A Keeper must first Pledge himself to you, and unfortunately, yours is refusing to accept his responsibility.”

My head recoiled. “What do you mean mine is refusing?”

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