The Cupid War
perceives them differently. You know you use them to ascend or descend to another level.”
    â€œSo how do you go up when you need to?” Fallon asked.
    â€œLike this,” Caleb said, and he walked behind a man who was stepping onto the escalator. Caleb inserted his hand into the man’s back, and when the man rose with the rising steps Caleb was dragged along behind.
    â€œIt’s easy!” Caleb said. “Just touch the heart.”
    Fallon walked up behind a young woman and touched her heart as she stepped onto the escalator. He ascended with her; it wasn’t jarring at all, just a smooth ride.
    Caleb was waiting for him at the top.
    â€œDon’t let go straight away,” he cautioned as Fallon and his ride reached the upper level. “Your mind needs to readjust to the new ground beneath you. Take a few steps with this lovely young lady—that’s it—and when you think you are ready … ”
    â€œHow will I know?” Fallon asked. The idea of falling through the floor did not appeal to him.
    â€œYour mind works fast,” Caleb said. “Trust it. Let go.”
    Fallon did so, and did not immediately fall through the floor. He took a couple of steps, watching his feet carefully, but the floor remained safely solid.
    â€œIt’s like the glass floor,” he said.
    â€œPardon?”
    â€œIn the CN Tower,” Fallon said. “They have a glass floor on the observation deck. People are afraid to walk out onto it because they can see all the way down to the ground, but the glass is just as solid as the concrete around it.”
    â€œIn other words, it’s all in your mind,” Caleb said. “Good analogy, though. I must remember that for my next trainee. Anyway, keep practicing. Who knows, you may become as good as me someday. Now come, let’s go to the movies.”
    They entered the cinema and walked right through the ticket collectors. Fallon headed for a theater showing an action movie he’d been dying to see, but Caleb held him back.
    â€œFor the purposes of training,” Caleb said, “we will get the best results from a romantic comedy. Follow me.”
    They entered a theater showing a film that Fallon wouldn’t have gone to even if he’d been paid. The Truth About Poodles —about a man who adopted a fluffy white dog in order to woo the woman of his dreams—was exactly the sort of tripe he avoided with a passion.
    â€œWe don’t have to watch the whole thing, do we?” he asked as Caleb selected an aisle. He looked at some of the guys in the half-filled audience and chuckled; they looked bored out of their minds.
    â€œNo, but you do have to watch some of it,” Caleb replied, “so you’ll be ready for the right moment. I’m sure you are familiar with celebrity love?”
    â€œYou mean those idiots who fall for famous people who they’ve only seen in movies or photos?”
    â€œPrecisely,” Caleb said. “When that happens, it is usually because a Cupid has been doing exactly what we are about to do now. Practicing.”
    Fallon looked from the bored male faces to the screen, and put two and two together.
    â€œWe’re gonna make those poor saps fall for Jenny Lane?” he asked, watching as the celebrity in question “acted.” “No way, Caleb. That’s just wrong. That’s … man ipulating peo ple.”
    â€œIt is practice,” Caleb pointed out, “and it is harmless. Remember, it will only work if one of these gentlemen is open to feelings for Miss Lane.”
    â€œBut they’re never going to have her,” Fallon said.
    â€œThe feelings we give them today will fade,” Caleb said. “Unless we give them another boost later on. Which we will not do. Unrequited love always fades if it is not nurtured, Fallon. Sometimes it becomes obsession, but such instances are rare. And doing this”—he reached into one

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