Star Gods, стр. 39
“Nice going,” Tyce says. “What the hell’s wrong with you? All this power going to your head or do you think this is some kind of game. Let me remind you, Zeke, that we’re a family. Whatever this is, whatever is going on, it involves all of us together. You got that?” He takes Claire’s hand and pulls her behind him as he leaves too.
Sage chews on the inside of her lip while staring agitatedly at me. She hooks a thumb toward the doorway. “What Tyce said.” And slams the door behind her.
In this moment, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alone. What am I doing and why am I doing it? If I keep going at this rate, I’m going to completely alienate myself from my family. I sit on the plywood of my bed, open my sketchpad, and lay it in my lap.
11
Sunday, April 17, 2039
With my sketchpad dangling from my fingertips, I carefully open Ashe’s bedroom door while silently praying they’re both wearing clothes. I peer over at the bed where they lay nestled together. “Abby,” I call softly.
She doesn’t stir.
“Abby.”
She snuggles in closer to Ashe.
“Abby,” I say louder.
“Huh?” Ashe mutters and Abby’s head shoots up. “What’s the matter, Zeke? What’s going on?”
“Sorry to wake you. I…I need to speak with Abby for a minute.”
He gazes to his darkened windows. “What time is it?”
“One o’clock.”
“In the afternoon?”
“No. Morning.”
“Can this wait?”
“No. I really need to speak with Abby.”
Ashe scoots more upright onto his pillow and shoves his hands through his hair. “All right, give us a sec, okay?”
“I’ll be in the kitchen.”
It takes them longer than I expect with Abby coming into the kitchen alone. She stops, placing her hand on the table to look at me with uncertainty. “Don’t be angry. I figured this must be important with you waking us in the middle of the night, and Ashe and I felt it necessary to wake everyone else. Zeke, I know firsthand what it’s like to try to make it without family. Ally is all I have and without her, I feel forever lost. You need your family, no matter how you feel, no matter how any of us feel, we need to work and stay together.”
“I was considering waking everyone myself, but didn’t know whether or not anyone would hear me out.”
“Did something happen?”
“Sort of.”
“Should I make coffee?”
I drum my fingers on the cover of my sketchpad. “Probably a good idea considering Ashe is waking Tyce.”
She chuckles. “I heard he isn’t too receptive from being woken up.”
“It’s a memorable experience,” I answer sarcastically.
“I can’t wait.”
With the coffee percolating, Tyce plops down in the chair across from me. He rubs his forehead and scowls. “That coffee done yet?” he grumbles.
“Almost,” Abby responds, taking mugs from Claire. “Such a cuddly bear you have.”
Claire smiles. “You have no idea.”
“Why are we in here?” Tyce complains, flopping back in his chair and draping one arm over the back of it.
“I need to speak with Abby,” I answer.
“And I’m in here because…?”
“We need to support our brother,” Ashe answers, coming in behind him and cuffing him.
Tyce scowls.
I raise my brows in surprise.
“What’re you asking Abby about?” Tyce complains, scrubbing at his eyes.
“I need to know what abilities Levi and Levia have.”
“Why?” Sage asks, leaning against the wall with her arms across her stomach. She still looks pissed.
“Listen, I know everyone’s irritated with me on multiple levels…”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Sage mutters.
I ignore her and her irritated mood. “There’s a reason I asked for Abby and there’s a reason I need to know. We need to work together, right? Then let’s do this together.”
“What the hell time is it anyway?” Tyce grumbles.
I glance up at the clock on the wall. “Around two in the morning.”
He bangs his forehead on the table until Claire sets coffee in front of him and rubs his back.
I’m extremely grateful I’m not the one who woke him. “Abby?”
She suppresses a smile, and sits in a chair next to me. Ashe places a hand on the back of it and drinks his coffee. “Well, the ones we know of for Levi you know of two—shapeshifting and telekinesis—the ability to move objects with his mind that you currently have. Add to that self-healing.” She pauses, smirking at me. “You didn’t happen to take all his abilities?”
I reach into my pocket and extract my pocketknife. Before anyone can stop me, I take the blade and slice it across my palm. “Ouch.” I hiss through my teeth then inhale sharply and try to concentrate; nothing happens, unless you want to count my blood dripping onto the floor.
Ashe grabs my hand while Abby retrieves paper towels. “That was stupid. I think we can rule out self-healing.” He shakes his head. “How about shape-shifting?”
I smirk at my oldest brother while staring into his very annoyed face. “By your expression I’m going to go with its not happening.”
He playfully shoves me.
I chuckle while opening and closing my hand. “How about Levia, Abby?”
“She has apportation—you know, float disappear and materialize somewhere else, as well as objects. Um, she has precognition—the ability to see future events, and lastly, she has aura reading.”
“So, Levi doesn’t travel, he’s using his sister’s apportation,” I say.
“That would be my guess,” Abby replies.
“What’s aura reading?” I question.
“An aura is an unseen energy surrounding people and other living things telling what kind of mood one is in, or type of person they are,” Sage explains, coming more into the room. “Auras depict in different colors. For example, someone who is happy might be yellow or someone evil would most likely be black. Abby, they have a lot of power between them. Are you sure the Luminaries have it right about Zeke and me? It really sounds like it should be them.”
“Remember my comment about two worse than Satan? We know it’s not them as they love hurting people too