Star Gods, стр. 28
“But his eyes,” Sage asks again.
“Yeah, it’s a Star God thing. We’re freakin’ amazing,” Tyce answers.
I snort.
“Aren’t you supposed to be paying attention, Zeke?” Ashe chastises.
I block them out and concentrate.
The message fades in and Neil’s look-a-like turns, smiles, and wags a finger at me. He travels, sending out a wave of red. It hits me, making me grunt at the onslaught of sudden pain. I breathe through it, willing it back. As I do, something I’ve never done in a message before happens; I’m pulled right along with him and step out of the haze into the darkest of nights.
I turn slowly in a circle. Hooded individuals are all around me, standing stoically still, their faces concealed. I call on my ability as Neil’s imposter pushes through the ranks dragging a body with Sage’s color hair beside him. He smiles at me, and the image instantly changes again to the alleyway in back of Abby’s store. I hear a woman scream as the assailant yanks Abby in front of him, slits her throat, and blood drips between his fingers.
“I wonder, Zeke,” he says, his baritone voice echoing in my head. “Will you get here in time?”
I find myself on my hands and knees, my heart hammering in my chest. I take in a gasping breath. “Shit, shit, shit—we have to go.” I hurriedly get to my feet and Tyce grabs my arm when I sway. “Where’s Sage?”
“She’s fine,” Tyce answers.
I glare at him. “That’s not what I asked.”
“Ashe has her right over there. She’s fine.”
I search for her, only to find her being supported by Ashe near the tree line, her face a pasty white and I rush to them. “I thought she wasn’t receiving.”
“It came on late,” Ashe responds lowering Sage to sit on the ground. “What were you shown?”
“I’m kind of nauseous,” Sage interrupts, lowering her head. “Do you always feel like this?”
“I used to. I’m really sorry but we have to get to Abby.” I take her hand in mine, forcing the jolt she needs through our connection to remedy how she’s feeling. Her eyes go wide. “Take some deep breaths.”
“Kind of slams in like a drug,” Sage says.
“Do I need to be worried about that comment?” Ashe asks.
“I am so not used to people being concerned about me.” She pats Ashe’s arm. “No, you don’t have to be worried.”
“Good.” He smiles, gives her a quick one-armed hug, and turns his attention to me. “What was the message, Zeke?”
Sage peers up at me as I clench and unclench my jaw before answering, her smile fading. She knows, she saw.
“We have to get to Abby, right now.” I shroud everyone in my barrier and travel.
8
The alley is empty of human life and way too quiet as I drop us behind Abby’s store. There’s no breeze, no sound, until a woman’s scream permeates the air around us.
Sage grabs my arm and squeezes. “Oh, God, it’s real.”
The back door opens, and Abby awkwardly comes through with a knife held at her throat by one dressed the same as the one who attacked me; a hood covering his head and darkening his face.
“Son of a bitch.” Ashe moves forward pulling on his ability.
“You may want to rethink that.” The hood drops back revealing a man I haven’t seen before and I’m inwardly happy it isn’t Neil. His hair is dark brown cut close at the sides, the top longer. He’s muscular in an overpowering way, and the violet eyes that stare in our direction are widely rimmed in black. A scar runs diagonally down his face from his upper right eyebrow to his lower left chin making him look far more menacing. He sneers at Ashe from his position behind Abby.
“She’s human, let her go!” Ashe demands.
He sputters a laugh in response. “Wow, you guys have no idea, do you?”
What’s that supposed to mean?
“She’s not the one you were sent after,” Ashe states. “You can’t harm her.”
“Oh, because you say so?” He draws Abby onto her toes. “You say that as if I follow orders. I don’t follow anyone’s orders, others follow mine.”
Abby’s facial expression instantly changes. She smirks, winks at me, and moves fast. She elbows the assailant in the ribs, stomps hard on his foot, then pivots, bringing her elbow up and slamming him in the face. His head snaps back and she takes advantage by pivoting the other way and flipping him over her shoulder. A whoosh of air leaves his open, startled mouth when he lands hard on his back.
“Move!” Abby yells, grabbing Ashe by his hand and jolting him when she pulls.
The assailant is only a foot away from me. I stare at him, lying helpless on the ground.
“Zeke!” Ashe yells.
His staff is here, right in front of me.
“Zeke!” Sage shouts.
I reach my hand out just as he lunges for his staff; it flies into my open hand. His eyes widen before he sneers at me and a wave of something I’ve never felt before spreads through me. I kick him as hard as I can in his face; blood instantly spurts from his nose. “Don’t mess with my friends or my family,” I warn him, and reach out with my mind to cloak everyone with my barrier and travel us home.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Ashe shouts angrily as he and Tyce reinstate the wards. “That was a goddamn Assassin! You nearly got yourself killed grabbing that thing!”
“Assassin, as in Unknown Planet Assassin?” Tyce asks.
I barely spare them a glance. Instead, I hold the staff and examine the blade. “I don’t know who he was, but he had the same staff that stabbed me.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Ashe continues with no regard to what I said. “Do you have a goddamn death wish?”
“What the hell do you mean, Unknown Planet Assassin?” Sage interrupts, her voice squeaking.
“Are Assassins shapeshifters?” I can see exactly where the missing piece in my pocket reattaches…
Tyce rips the staff from my hand. “Are you listening?”
“Yes, I