Star Gods, стр. 42
Well, that’s new.
I throw my barrier to cover him, and then reach out with telekinesis to bring the other to be almost nose-to-nose with me.
He snarls. “I’ll take great pleasure in killing you both.”
I reach with my mind and take a firm hold on his abilities. His eyes widen when he realizes he has no control. “Is there a problem?” I pull roughly, and find great satisfaction in the fear displayed on his face. I hiss as his ability rushes into me, burning me on the inside. I use telekinesis and shove him hard to slam into the wall where his body makes an imprint. “You can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
“Zeke, what did you do?” Sage hisses.
“Sorry.” I grit my teeth, trying to keep the Assassin’s ability from absorbing wherever my abilities are stored. With looks of concern from my family, I extend my barrier to include the younger Assassin and travel us back home.
“Why did you bring him?” Cesar asks, waving an arm toward the Assassin. “Why didn’t you do to him what you did to the other?”
I back up against the wall, leaning forward with my hands on my knees, my insides burning. “You seem awfully calm for someone who just experienced alien abilities for the first time.”
“It’s not my first time,” he answers. “Why, Zeke? They were sent to kill me.”
“He’s young, Cesar.” I stifle a grunt of pain. “He’s inexperienced, and he surrendered.”
“Zeke, it’s hurting you which means it’s hurting me,” Sage says, sitting on the couch and placing her head into her hands. “What the hell is it?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“What’s going on with you two?” Tyce asks.
Ashe crouches in front of me staying far enough back so we don’t touch. “Explain what’s happening.”
I grimace. “It burns.”
“You’re omnipotent, Zeke,” Ashe reminds. “You’re meant to hold it and more.”
“What if I don’t want this one? It feels bad.”
“And that’s why it’s hurting you,” Abby says. “You’re fighting it. You can’t expel it, Zeke. If you let it go without a hold on it, it’ll go for one of us, and not knowing what it is, that could be worse.”
I jerk my head toward the young Assassin. “I can send it to him.”
“What?” he panics. “I didn’t do anything to any of you. I surrendered!”
“Zeke, if you let it loose, it could rebound and can go into any one of us,” Ashe responds instead. “Cesar and Claire aren’t meant to hold abilities.”
“And it could kill them,” I finish. I peer at the Assassin. “What were the other Assassin’s abilities?”
He looks at me, terrified.
“What abilities did I take from the other Assassin?” I ask loudly, clenching my teeth. Anger builds inside of me, and before he can answer, I remove the barrier and lift the young Assassin off the floor by the front of his jacket.
“Zeke, stop!” Sage yells.
“Zeke, what’re you doing?” Tyce asks with concern.
“Tell me, now!” An odd buzzing sound starts inside my head, different from when the Luminaries are trying to reach me.
“Which one?” the young Assassin asks, kicking his feet.
“Whatever he had,” Sage responds, concern in her voice. “Tell us what he had.”
“He can paralyze people,” the young Assassin answers, his eyes going downcast. “And he can kill them. He squeezes until they die.”
“Can Levi read you right now?” I ask, holding him firmly in my grasp. I shake my head when the odd sound increases.
“Zeke!” Sage shoves up from the couch. “Stop, Zeke, you’re hurting him!”
“Sage, can you take control?” Ashe asks.
“I don’t know. He’s really angry and I don’t know if it’s the ability he’s holding back or something else.”
“Sage, can you allow the ability to absorb?” Abby questions. “That might be why he’s acting this way. He has to let it in, it’s fighting him.”
“How?”
“I asked you a question, Assassin,” I interrupt, shaking my head to try to clear it. “Can Levi read you right now?”
“No! I haven’t earned my staff, so he can’t track me until I do!” Tears stream down the young Assassin’s cheeks. “Please, I don’t want to die.”
“What does the black around the color of their eyes mean?” I demand.
“They’ve killed.” His eyes widen. “It means they’ve killed.”
The odd sensation turns into what sounds like whispering voices. I push it away and lift him higher.
“Zeke!” Sage comes within a foot of me.
“What.”
I feel as she tries to grab hold of the telekinesis and fails. “You’re damn scary right now, Zeke. Knock it off.”
“I only want an answer.”
“He has answered! He’s only a boy, Zeke, and you’re scaring him for no reason. Stop acting like you’re some kind of god or something with your eyes all glowing and shit. Let him go!”
“I am a god,” I snap back.
“You know what I mean,” Sage warns, lowering her voice. She pushes in again and I shove her off.
“You’re going to hurt him, Zeke,” Ashe adds, stepping forward, his hands brightly glowing with wards. “You’re way too angry and losing control. Like Sage said, knock it off.”
I inhale sharply, exhale slowly. What the hell am I doing?
“Screw this,” Sage says. She charges at me and physically shoves me, breaking my hold on the young Assassin—he drops onto the floor only to be up in a second and moving as far away from me as he can get.
“What the hell just happened?” Tyce exclaims.
“I don’t know.” I lean back and slide down the wall to sit on the floor, drawing my knees to my chest and grab my head with my hands. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I did that.”
Sage joins me. “You have to let it in, Zeke. It’s hurting you and making you crazy.”
I look pleadingly at her; sweat beads on her face just like my own. “I don’t know if I