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“To be frank,” said Haqq, “we do not want you inheriting any of the psychological tendencies that belonged to the previous owner of those bones. There is no evidence to support the idea that this is even a possibility, but I believe the worry is still quite reasonable, don’t you?”

“I guess...”

“So, no strange or unexplained mood swings since you began wearing it?”

“No.”

“Good. That is very good.” He scribbled something into his notes.

Behind him, the man with the gun from earlier fired off a rocket that soared across the chamber and obliterated a target dummy with an explosion so large that it shook the whole room. Flames and gnarled metal spikes leapt across the firing range, taking down several additional targets and even bounding back and cracking the safety glass directly behind Haqq.

Everyone turned to the stranger, who seemed quite pleased with himself until he noticed their stares.

“It works,” the man said in his thick accent.

Haqq just glared at him.

“I will go make adjustments.”

“You do that,” said Haqq. He returned to his notes once the other man was gone.

‘Our apologies,’ Sazandara said to Hector and Garovel. ‘The young ones are always so enthusiastic about their work.’

Lynn took the opening to interject with her own question. “So how do I use Incineration?”

Haqq looked up. “Ah, yes. I did promise to tell you. You may not like the explanation, however.”

She merely folded her arms as she waited.

“In order to invoke the secondary ability, you must be in the correct emotional state. Which, simply put, is happiness. You must be enjoying yourself.”

It took Lynn a moment of blinking to respond. “What? I have to be happy?”

“Correct. There are two things required to invoke it. The first is enjoyment, and the second is intent to use it. Rather simple, really. The problem, of course, is that whenever you want to use the power, you will naturally be in the middle of a fight, which is a difficult environment in which to find enjoyment.”

Lynn still didn’t seem like she understood, and Hector couldn’t blame her. “Wait a minute,” she said. “I have to be... so... what?”

“It is the same as how aberrations themselves harness it,” Haqq explained. “They all have a very strong bloodlust. It is part of their nature, which as it turns out, plays a key role in their power.”