Star Gods, стр. 21

“You want us to take it easy on Neil?” Ashe asks.

I shake my head. “I have no idea. If I’m wrong and he has the weapon…”

“You’ll have your barrier up, Zeke. He can’t get through that.”

Sage cocks a hip and folds her arms over her chest. “Then how did he stab Zeke through it?”

“He can’t…” Ashe responds.

“He did,” Sage interrupts. “Zeke had his barrier around both of us when he was stabbed.”

“Is that true?” Tyce asks in concern.

I nod. “Yeah, it’s true.”

“How was that possible?” Tyce questions. “Zeke’s barrier is supposed to be like our wards, impenetrable.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” Ashe asks.

I blow out a nervous breath. “I guess I forgot. Everything happened so fast.”

Tyce gives me a look of uncertainty.

“It’s the truth, Tyce, I swear.”

“What do you want to do?” Ashe asks.

“I want to call him. Only he can give us these answers.”

“Hold on,” Sage says. “Got any paint? I want to paint a target on my chest so he can finish the job.”

“Sage,” I say.

She points at me. “If you’re wrong and he is the one from the alley, your barrier doesn’t do any of us any good.”

“Ashe and I will be ready to throw a ward up if needed,” Tyce answers. “It should stop him.”

Sage folds her arms across her stomach. “Thanks, Macho Man, but I’m sure Zeke thought the same thing and we know the outcome already.”

“We can’t ask him if I don’t call him,” I point out. “It’s our only option, Sage. If you and Claire want, I can take you both to her place and come get you when we’re done with Neil.”

Claire crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Sage’s hands slap her thighs. “Then I don’t have a choice. But if I die, and none of you do, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

I blow my bangs out of my eyes and call on my ability. “I’m ready.”

Sage crosses her arms and her elbow brushes mine. I swear I feel a jolt and my barrier goes up and over the girls with more strength than I was expecting.

Well, that’s interesting.

Ashe and Tyce raise their arms, obviously oblivious to what I felt, and I feel the wards drop.

Sage moves uneasily inside my barrier.

“Don’t worry,” I tell her, then call loudly, “Neil.”

Instantly, a shimmer of silver appears before Neil himself materializes in front of my brothers.

“You found her,” he says in relief, then looks questioningly at my brothers when the wards are reinstated. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Ashe drops his arms to his sides, his palms outward. If Neil tries anything I’m sure he’ll shoot a ward which will send the Star God across the room. “Who are you?”

Neil stands straight and tall, his Adams apple bobbing. “I’m a Star God, like you. I go by Neil, Zeke can vouch for me.”

“Don’t look at him,” Ashe demands. “Look at me. Who are you really? I’ve met the Luminaries as part of my training and you weren’t there, nor were you mentioned.”

Neil tugs at his collar and darts his eyes toward me. “I assure you…”

“I said, Look. At. Me.” Ashe’s voice is harder than I’ve ever heard before, and Neil’s face reddens. “I’m head of household until our dad returns. Anything Star God related goes through me first. Zeke is obviously your charge and I wasn’t notified of anyone, besides my brother and me, being assigned to him. So, let’s try this again. Who are you and why did you attempt to kill my brother?”

Neil’s face goes from anger to shock in a matter of seconds. “Kill?” His eyes dart to me. “What’s going on, Zeke?”

“Either you’re one hell of an actor or someone who resembles you tried to kill Zeke,” Tyce answers instead.

“I don’t understand,” Neil responds.

“Someone who looks exactly like you,” I explain, “took a staff with a circular blade of what appeared to be glass, touched my shield and dissolved it, then stabbed me with it.”

Neil pulls on his collar, his expression alarmed.

“Was it you, Neil?” I ask. “Or do you have an identical twin somewhere?”

Neil swallows, finger combing his hair, while gazing nervously between my brothers and me.

I flick a finger and surround him with a barrier. “Answer my question.”

“It wasn’t me, Zeke, I swear.”

“Then who?”

His Adam’s apple bobs again. “I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

He licks his lips and looks around inside my barrier. I squeeze my hand, making the area smaller and Neil’s eyes dart to me.

“I’m not kidding around, Neil. I told you the last time I saw you we play by my rules now. Who tried to kill me?”

Neil takes a deep breath. “Zeke, I swear to you, it wasn’t me.”

Light-headedness strikes me and I squeeze my eyes trying to clear them. “Swearing it doesn’t mean much to me right now.”

“Zeke,” Tyce says, taking a step toward me.

“Neil, I need an answer.” I squeeze my hand making the barrier smaller still and Neil’s expression turns to concern. I stagger, my head swimming, and I reach out for the recliner, but it puts me more off balance when it rocks.

Ashe charges toward me, shoves me onto the couch, and pushes my head between my knees.

“He needs to be healed,” Neil insists.

“He already was,” Tyce spouts back. “He needs rest so tell us what we need to know.”

“I can’t.”

“What?” Ashe rounds on him and gets as close to Neil as he can. If my barrier weren’t around the Star God, they’d be nose to nose. “Oh, you’re gonna say. You swear that you don’t know only to prove you’ve been lying all along.”

“I can’t tell you.” He lifts a hand revealing his right wrist. A glowing chain of silver encircles it.

Ashe stares at it, then punches my barrier. If it hadn’t been there, he would’ve punched Neil in the face. He glares at Neil and shakes his head.

“What’s going on, Ashe?” I ask.

“He can’t tell us because he’s sworn to secrecy.”

“Make him tell us!” Tyce demands.

“It’s against Star God