He nods as he talks. “Usually, I would say yes, but the stuff on the ground and shelves started moving before the ground shook.” He looks confused, so I look over to Bry and see the same on his face.
“What does that mean, guys?” I ask, feeling panicked.
Bry sighs and squeezes my hand. “It means you’re extremely powerful, Harleigh girl. I need to talk to Dad and see if this is something he’s ever seen before.”
I nod as he pulls out his phone to call David, and Colten pulls me to him. “It also means we really need to find out who your father is.”
I lean in against him, not even wanting to think about that.
17
Brian
Having Colten to help us figure out her powers is a help. He knows more about demons and their powers and how to wield them than I ever could.
But what happened in the gym today shocked the hell out of both of us. I’m not sure I have ever been around power that strong.
Harleigh and Colten head back to her room while I stay behind to call Dad. In this moment, I am even more grateful that she has the both of us to support her. She never has to be alone, and that makes it worth the slight awkwardness that can arise.
“Brian,” Dad greets me, short and to the point.
“Hey, Dad, I need to talk to you about Harleigh.”
“Alright, give me a second.” I hear him telling people to leave his office and close the door before he speaks again. “What’s going on?”
That’s a loaded question. I haven’t told him about Colten and Harleigh yet. Not the relationship, or training part.
I take a deep breath and tell him everything. The relationship, the training and everything that happened in today’s session.
“There is something I didn’t tell you before,” he says, and I am instantly on edge.
How can I keep her safe and help her if I don’t know everything?
“What are you keeping from us?” I try to keep my voice even as the hand not holding the phone curls into a tight fist at my side.
“You know we don’t know who her father is.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Whoever he is, he is powerful. Harleigh holds more power than anyone we have seen in a very, very long time, Brian.”
“And you didn’t think that was something I should know?!” I snap at him.
“We don’t want to worry her. She will figure out her powers in her own time, and I know she is a good person. We all know it. That’s why you were chosen to guide her, but this knowledge would have only upset her. It still might.”
I groan into the phone. He’s right. She hated knowing her mother was as evil as she was. I have no idea how she would react to something like this.
“Breathe, Son,” Dad says down the line. “You can choose whether or not to tell her. She will need to know, but be careful how you do it.”
That goes without saying.
There is something else that happened that neither of them is aware of.
“Something else happened too,” I tell him.
“What?”
“I’m what calmed her and stopped everything from happening.”
“How do you mean?” Dad asks. He probably figures if it was just a boyfriend, love thing, I wouldn’t have brought it up.
“I put my hands on her face and when we made eye contact, all I could think about was wanting to calm her down. To take away her anger and pain, and be there for her.”
“Okay?”
“All of a sudden I felt power coming from me. Out of my hands and into her. She calmed immediately after that, like she was at peace with everything. The longer it happened, the more at peace she became.” I take a deep breath.
“Sounds like this little exercise also brought out a power of your own, son. The power of tranquility and calm.”
I’ve read about it in the books Dad has. It’s fairly common among angels as we are born to be peaceful unless ordered otherwise, but it’s usually a power for full fledged angels, not half-bloods.
“Is that even possible?” I ask him.
“It’s not common in half-bloods, but it’s not entirely impossible. I’m proud of you, Brian.”
The emotions that come up when he says this to me are hard to describe. Pride, happiness, and a feeling of finally being accepted are among them.
Colten
