"Let group meditation session number—"

"Nope. We are not doing that," Victor said.

Connor adjusted his floor pillow. "Let her finish."

"It's okay," Summer said. "V obviously woke up on the wrong side of the pillow."

"If I don't put an end to this now, you're never going to stop. I know you," Victor said.

"Did you guys get my joke?" Summer asked. They stared at her blankly. "Woke up on the wrong side of the pillow—you're currently sitting on a pillow—it's funny!"

"It's not," Victor groaned.

"Just wait until I finish training with your dad. You're gonna think twice before making fun of me." She leapt into her fighting stance, giving Victor a sharp look.

He put his hands in the air. "I'm so terrified."

"Summer, your elbows," Connor said.

"What about them?"

"They're too far away from your body."

"Oh, sorry. Thanks."

"No problem."

"Can we hurry up before you guys start making out?" Victor asked.

"I'm beginning to think you're more obsessed with our relationship than we are," Connor said. Summer shifted on her floor pillow.

"I'm just joking. Y'all are so sensitive now." Victor sat up straight. "Before we start, I have an announcement to make."

"Is everything okay?" Summer asked, fiddling with her necklace.

"More than okay." He paused for dramatic effect.

"Get on with it," Connor said.

"I can now officially read auras."

"What!" Summer exclaimed.

Connor's mouth hung open. "How on earth..."

"Yep, I saw a small outline around my hand last night."

Summer gave Victor a firm hug. "That's amazing!"

"You're suffocating me."

She pulled away. "Sorry."

"Did Jake give us a timetable for when you might start seeing your aura?" Connor asked.

"Nope, but he made it sound like it was gonna take forever. I stared at my hand all night until I eventually saw a tiny clear outline. It was totally worth only getting a couple of hours of sleep."

"This is so exciting!" Summer exclaimed. A ding from her phone captured her attention. She bustled to her door and held it open. "That was my granny letting me know that everything is ready."

"What are you talking about?" Victor asked.

"It's a surprise. You're gonna love it, I promise!"

Victor used his pointer fingers as earplugs. "Please stop yelling."

"Fine, follow me," she whispered.

The flowers in Summer's backyard created a potent sweet odor, striking Victor as he stepped outside. The dark green hue of her moderately well kept lawn contrasted with the brightly colored mystery plants that lined its edges.

Smack dab in the middle of the lawn was a large freestanding training dummy. A drawing of a scowling face with bright red eyes was attached to its head.

Mrs. Kahale was seated on the patio with a portable fan in her hand. Its plastic blades spinning close to her face, fluttering her sun hat's brim.

Victor burst into laughter. "What is that supposed to be?"

Summer's grandmother lowered her fan. "It's a very expensive training dummy, so please be careful."

"Are we just gonna stare at it and meditate?" Victor asked.

"You're strong enough to rip a demon's head off with one punch," Connor said. "And you created a small crater in Sunbury."

Victor grit his teeth. "The janitors aren't gonna be happy about that one."

"The point I'm trying to make is you have a lot of power, speed, and agility," Connor said. "But if you can't properly control it, you could end up hurting yourself again. Next time, it might not just be your hand."

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"Did you forget about my super healing?"

"No, but if you can prevent unnecessary injuries, wouldn't you want to?"

"Good point. So this dummy is supposed to help me control my powers?"

"Hopefully," Summer said. "Last night I was on the phone with Connor and I brought up your injury. We discussed ways to improve your control and, after some brainstorming, Connor came up with this awesome exercise." Summer jogged down the patio steps and stood next to the human shaped monstrosity. "You're going to enter your angel mode and practice hitting this dummy without moving it."

Victor sauntered toward the practice dummy, staring at the base as he moved. Once he got close enough, he released a flurry of straight punches, each one connecting with its torso. "Wow, this is pretty sturdy."

"For $400 it better be!" Mrs. Kahale exclaimed.

Victor leaned forward and squinted at the drawing attached to the dummy's head. "Summer, this is really good."

"Thank you! I spent a lot of time on that. More than I would like to admit."

"What am I doing again?" Connor asked.

"We are going back to my room. I mean, how could we possibly focus with him punching this thing all day?"

Connor grinned. "Well, of course."

Summer gave him a playful look, then her eyes met Victor's. "Granny is in charge of checking on your progress."

Victor watched as Mrs. Kahale lifted a glass covered in water droplets to her lips, her feet resting on a wooden footstool. "I don't think she shares your enthusiasm."

"Make sure you guys leave the door open!" Mrs. Kahale exclaimed.

"She knows she won't be able to see us from here, right?" Connor whispered.

"Hey!" Mrs. Kahale yelled. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Granny, it's nothing," Summer said. "V, are you—"

"Don't worry about me. I'm gonna master my powers in no time." Connor nodded at Victor and then bolted through the patio doors.

"Don't run in my house!" Summer's grandmother yelled.

"Sorry granny!" Summer exclaimed.

Victor gazed into the dummy's red eyes. It is a pretty good drawing, he thought. He took several steps back while maintaining eye contact. Chirping birds danced above as he inhaled deeply, relaxing his body. The sounds of neighborhood kids playing nearby, cars cruising down the street, and sprinklers watering lawns created a symphony of a typical weekend in suburbia.

A flash of auburn filled his headspace. Catelyn's gap-toothed smile bursting with warmth gave him pause.

Focus.

Tranquility wrapped itself around him. He had complete mental clarity, and he felt as light as a balloon. With his focus still on the drawing, he sprinted toward the dummy and lightly tapped its head with his knuckle. It violently flew several feet away, making a loud thud as it hit the grass.

An overwhelming sense of heaviness was always the first thing he felt while exiting his angel mode, then came the mental fog and dizziness.

The lawn spun, and he found himself staring up at the clear blue sky. Mrs. Kahale's fan fell onto the wooden patio floor as she gave the practice dummy a puzzled look.

She turned to Victor and almost jumped out of her seat. "It's even more beautiful than she had described."

"Huh?"

"Your aura. Summer told me that when you enter that state, your aura expands and becomes an even brighter shade of gold. But she undersold its beauty."

Victor got up and inspected his clothes. "Man, I just washed these."

"Oh, come on. You didn't think you would get a little dirty?"

"I didn't even know about any of this training stuff until a couple of minutes ago."

Mrs. Kahale snatched her fan from the ground and turned it back on. While moving it closer to her face, she said, "Well, you need to learn how to adapt. That's lesson number one. Now, pick that dummy back up and try again."

Victor grunted as he struggled to drag the dummy back to its starting position. Lesson number one, huh. Who the hell does she think she is?

***

Connor took a break to get some air. "I'm starting to feel lightheaded," he said, wiping cherry lip gloss from his lips.

"Yeah, me too," Summer said, catching her breath. "Maybe we should slow down a bit."

"Good idea. How about we actually start meditating?"

"I originally planned on us being outside with V and Granny, but I saw an opportunity, so I jumped on it."

Connor let out a chuckle. "Way to think on your feet." He scanned her room. "You wouldn't happen to have another drawing of a demon I could focus on?"

"I could draw another picture... or we could try something different."

"What do you have in mind?"

Summer crossed her legs and outstretched her arms. "Sit facing me with your legs crossed and give me your hands."

Connor followed her directions. While facing her, his eyes couldn't help but focus on her lips. "Like this?"

"Perfect. I read about a couples meditation technique the other day and I've been dying to try it with you. Just relax and look into my eyes."

Connor had no problem looking. It was the relaxing part that kicked his ass. She wasn't wearing makeup, so there were bumps and slight discoloration on her face, but it didn't matter. She was stunning with or without it. His body told him to pounce, but he had to suppress the urge.

Summer started laughing. "Connor."

"Yeah?"

"Your aura is freaking out right now."

"How can you expect me to focus? This is torture."

Summer furrowed her brow and tightened her grip on his hands. "I didn't know looking at me made you feel that way."

"Hold on, I didn't mean—"

She let out a devilish grin. "When did you become so gullible?"

"Very funny. Why do I even have to meditate anyway?"

"Did you forget about the whole sprouting wings thing?"

"You mean the wings I can't even see?"

"That's because you haven't been practicing for very long. Keep it up and I'm sure you'll be able to see them."

"Fine. How about you draw another awesome demon face and we can meditate together."

"That drawing took me forever. There's no way I can get it done by today."

"Well, I guess we have to postpone this session."

"Okay," Summer said. "What do you want to do instead?" Connor leapt forward, going for a kiss.

Unfortunately, in his eagerness, he slammed his forehead into hers.

After several seconds of laughter and forehead rubbing, Connor slowly leaned again. He stood up while still holding onto her hand and guided her toward the bed.

There was a loud bang outside.

"What was that?" Summer asked. She sprinted out the door.

Connor groaned and moped his way down the stairs until he saw her standing near the glass patio doors, gawking outside. Connor peered through the doors and immediately started laughing.

Victor was on the ground, covered in grass and dirt stains. The dummy was several feet away, sticking out of Summer's wooden fence—a grouping of flowers crushed underneath the weight of its base.

Mrs. Kahale yelped before springing up and running toward her ruined fence and flowers.