"As you know, Glamour is a Set two skill. You've already mastered Set one, stealth, stalking and the art of hunting."

"Yes father," Carmine says, trying to keep her gaze steadily focused on Mason.

"Do you know what the other skill sets are?"

"I-" Carmine has a faint idea, but she's not certain. "I'm not sure."

"I will give you a quick overview." Mason gestures for Carmine to sit on the gurney they usually reserve for their ritual victims. "It is my hope that by the end of this year, you will have mastered the rudiments to all six sets."

"By winter?" Carmine asks. Her heart fills with self-doubt. "I don't think that's possible."

"You are a talented lure. A gifted half-blood. I believe it's possible," Mason reassures Carmine.

"Why the rush, father?"

"I have my reasons."

Again, here he is with his deliberate vagueness. Carmine bites her lower lip in frustration. "Please continue."

"As you know, all vampires are born with immortality, enhanced strength, stamina, speed, healing and heightened senses. Half-bloods rarely survive, but if they are born and manage to live past the age of one, they start manifesting a weaker version of all these innate abilities."

Carmine nods. She already knows all this, but she patiently waits for her father to continue. 

"There are six sets of skills that are acquired abilities. Usually vampires can, either through trial and error, continuous training or mentorship develop all these skills within a few years. They are easy to master when the vampire is still young and filled with curiosity and the desire to learn. Some vampires who are lazy or unmotivated will never develop the higher skills I am about to tell you."

Mason turns to his notebook and unlocks it again. He flips towards the front of the book and stops at a page marked by the silhouette of a human head with a halo around it. "Set three is Aura-perception. This skill allows you to physically see the feelings and temperaments of humans around you. For example, if they are hostile or unfeeling people, they will display cool colours in a fuzzy halo around their bodies; and vice versa if they are friendly or in love. The colours are brightest around the head area so if you ever encounter a person showing two different auras, judge them by their head colour- it's more accurate. 

Of course, this is set is followed closely by set four: telepathy and psychometry, also known as mind-reading and object-reading. Knowing the thoughts of history of a person just by looking at them is a very useful skill."

A few more page flips later, Mason continues. "Set five is mental kinetics. This is a particularly difficult set to master because there are so many subsets of kinetics you need to learn. Some of the most useful and powerful kinetic abilities include: telekinesis: moving objects with your mind, electrokinesis: manipulating electricity and power, ferrokinesis: morphing metals at will and the most difficult of all, pyrokinesis: starting fires out of thin air. Of course I will not teach you the last skill because if done wrong, we could both end up dying."

"Why do some vampires practice pyrokinesis if it's so dangerous?" Carmine asks, perplexed by the notion. 

"They use it to kill other vampires," Mason replies darkly, "And sometimes humans too. It's an incredibly dark evil. Nothing good can come of a vampire who toys with his own life just to take another's."

Carmine is silent for a while, pondering over all the new information her father just told her.

"After the mental kinetic abilities we have the last set: the most difficult of them all. One that I'm not even capable of executing perfectly. Shapeshifting." Mason sighs, touching the drawing of a vampire turning into a bat. "Some old vampires, perhaps over six or seven hundred years old, can shapeshift into any creature on the planet. For younger vampires, like myself, we can turn into small creatures of the night like raccoons, bats and wolves. Many prefer bats because it enables them to fly...but really, flying isn't that much faster than our running speed so it's mostly used as a method of aerial escape."

"Can you turn into a bat?" Carmine asks, her eyes lighting up with wonder.

 Imagine all the things she can do if or when she masters these terrifying but awesome abilities. Carmine's chest swells with anticipation. 

"Only for about an hour," Mason answers, "It saps up a lot of energy and isn't very practical."

Carmine nods. "So...when and how can we practice Glamour?"

"I will teach you how to channel your focus into glamouring. As for practice...you already mentioned practicing on your boss, right?"

Carmine's lips curl into a small smile. "Yes father. That's right. Now please teach me how to channel."

Mason nods solemnly. "You need to be in a comfortable but assertive position. Usually standing up works the best. Make yourself seem confident and as big as possible, so that the other person respects your authority. Next, make sure your voice is clear and uninterrupted. Preferably you will do this in a quiet, secluded area. When you're ready to glamour, take in one or two deep breaths and concentrate on your words. Believe in them, as if they are already true. When you give your instructions, be direct. Say 'stand up from the chair', instead of 'can you stand up' or 'get up'. Make sure there is no room for misinterpreting your words. And try to avoid vague or broad sweeping statements filled with potential loopholes. Instead of saying 'do nicer things for me', say 'buy me coffee every morning and take me shopping tonight at seven'. Do you understand so far?"

"Yes." Carmine's eyes shift from side to side, trying to absorb Mason's every word. 

"Now give me an example of what you might say to your boss tomorrow."

"Okay," Carmine says, "Umm...Sebastian, give me a $5000 raise this month and uh, dry clean my uniform."

"That won't work."

"Why not?"

Mason mimics Carmine's stance and attitude. "You're hunched over like this and there was zero conviction in your words. You sounded unsure. And that's not acceptable. You need to go into this with either a prepared speech or 100% faith in your ability to glamour on the spot."

"Okay, how about this," Carmine asks. "Sebastian, give me a $5000 raise and your car keys."

"Better," Mason murmurs, "But you forgot to protect your actions in the end. You need to either create a logical explanation for your demands or make him forget he ever did these things for you. This is in the event that your actions cause some sort of irreparable damage and you're held liable for it."

Carmine sighs. This skill is harder than it seems. "Sebastian, give me $15 for lunch and your car keys so I can drive myself to the restaurant. You want me to be a happy employee right?"

"Never ask the person for their opinion. You have to tell them what to think, not let them think for themselves."

"Sebastian, give me $100 for dinner tonight as well as your car keys because I need to drive to and from the restaurant. You will not question my motivations and you will gladly comply with my request. As soon as I turn my back you will forget I ever talked to you about this subject."

"Much better," Mason nods his head. "That is very concise. Good. I think we've had enough for today. I may be a night owl but you, my dear, need to go to sleep. Don't you have a day shift tomorrow?"

"Yes, you're right father. Thank you for helping me. I will report back to you the results of my glamour experiment."

"Good night sweetheart."

Which vampire ability would you want to have out of all 6 Sets? My favourite is probably kinetics. I guess aura-reading is pretty useful too. Oh what the hell, all of them are badass! ;P Please vote if you enjoyed reading this chapter. Next update on Sunday! Chesmok