Alight The Peril Read Online Free

and started chanting the alphabet in my mind.
    . . . C, D, E, F, G . . . Mason chanted with me.
    Darn it! I screeched through our link, and he winced. Sorry. . . . I really thought I had it that time.
    Nice safe room, he said, and I scowled.
    What should I do? Different mental image? I seriously needed help. It kind of sucked to try to master a skill no one else had, or would even believe if you tried to explain it. It wasn’t like I could just go search for instructions on a how-to website.
    I think you need to not try quite so hard.
    That’s . . . not exactly helpful, I said.
    No, really. Mason shifted on the bed a little, and his arm moved away from mine. My skin cooled in the absence of his body heat. When you try to be that rigid, it makes the edges of your mind . . . I don’t know, brittle or something. The more rigid you are, the easier it is to find little cracks.
    I raised my eyebrows. Huh. So you think I need a barrier that’s more flexible, maybe?
    Yeah, try that.
    I thought for a moment. What was a flexible, but impermeable barrier? My brother’s drysuit, the one he wore over his clothes to go wakeboarding in the spring when the water in Tapestry Lake was barely above freezing.
    Okay, here goes. I took a deep breath and imagined a thick layer of drysuit surrounding my mind like an insulating bubble, and I started singing the happy birthday song. When I reached the end of the song and Mason remained silent, I grinned in triumph.
    “It worked, didn’t it?” I said.
    Yeah, it must have. Nice work! Oh, but my birthday’s not ‘til October, you know.
    I smacked his arm and groaned. “Ugh, why? Why can’t I learn this?”
    “You’ll get it eventually.”
    “If by eventually you mean never, then I agree with you.” So annoying. It drove me nuts that Mason picked up thought-blocking so easily.
    “Wanna see something cool?” He asked after a minute.
    “Sure.” I looked at him expectantly in the dark room, but didn’t see anything.
    Then, there it was. Mason was glowing. It was as though a faint, warm light had illuminated just beneath his skin.
    I sat up. “Shut . . . the . . . front . . . door!” My voice sounded harsh compared to our silent exchanges through our link. “How are you doing that? It’s like you’re a human firefly!”
    Mason’s laugh rumbled deep in his throat, and I eyed the ceiling, remembering my sleeping family upstairs.
    I don’t know how to explain how I do it. There’s more. Watch.
    I stared as the light within him changed from a faint, warm yellow glow to a whiter, more intense light.
    “Wow, that’s—” The words died on my lips as Mason raised his hand, and an orb of blue-white light formed in his palm. The ball of light detached from his hand and floated up until it was level with my face. I gaped in wonder.
    Touch it, he said softly.
    I raised my hand to the light, hesitated, and then pushed my fingertips into it. A buzz of pleasant, ticklish electricity ran up my arm to my body, leaving goose bumps in its path.
    I can make it a lot more intense, but I’m afraid it might hurt you. I think it’s supposed to be some kind of defense.
    The glowing ball disappeared, and my fingers hung in the empty darkness for a second before I lowered my arm.
    Defense? Like a weapon? A stun gun? I asked. I was tempted to flip on the bedside lamp so I could really see his face. I wanted some confirmation that I’d actually seen what I thought I saw. I slowly lay back down on the bed, and curled up on my side facing him. A strange twinge of excitement stirred at the base of my sternum.
    He shrugged. Maybe, I’m not sure. I haven’t told your Aunt D about it yet. I wanted to show you first.
    Just then I noticed the heat radiating from him, much more than usual. I reached out and ran my fingertips slowly down his arm, and I gasped when residual static crackled softly between my skin and his, illuminating tiny blue sparks. His skin was as hot as the bottom of my laptop after it’s