Star Gods, стр. 44
Maliki pauses mid-chew and sets his fork carefully onto his plate. “A new recruit gets paired up with another Assassin to learn their job. When we kill for the first time, that’s when we earn our staff and that’s when we can be tracked.”
“How does it work?” I drink down my milk and push it and my empty plate away.
“The staff is made from a special tree on planet. When I earn it, the wood of the staff is infused with my blood and all the Lead Assassins. That’s how it forms a bond that I can’t break. They would know where I am and can get to me wherever my staff is.”
I think of the staff in our closet and wonder if it’s really hidden from them.
“How many leaders are there?” Ashe asks.
“Right now? Two.”
“How many are there usually?” Tyce questions.
“Six. One for each direction. North, South, East, West, Stars and Earth.”
“Isn’t Stars and Earth the same as North and South?” Sage questions, while cutting through another pancake.
“Technically, yes. But you have to be higher up in the chain of command to obtain those posts.”
Abby grabs the coffee and refills cups. “What happened to the other four leaders?”
“Levi took them out, and demoted the Head Assassin to a Lead.”
“Levi’s Head Assassin?” I ask.
He clears his throat. “Yes. He says if anyone deserves the position it’s him, not some earthbound half-breed.” He leaves his chair and backs away from me. “Can you please stop doing that?”
I furrow my brow. “Doing what?”
“I said I’m on your side. I’m answering all your questions. What do I have to do to prove I’m not Assassin material? I only want to go home now that I know my family could be alive.”
“I don’t understand.” I look to my twin and her brows rise. “What is it? What am I doing?”
Sage’s fork stops inches from her mouth. “You can’t feel it?”
I point to my face, my anger rising. “Does this expression say I know what’s going on?”
“Your eyes are glowing.”
“I’m not getting a message. Why are they glowing?”
“You’re probably not going to like the answer,” Ashe states, drinking his coffee.
“You receive messages from the Luminaries?” Maliki asks, coming back toward the table.
“Yeah. Why?”
He swallows hard but doesn’t answer.
“Why, Maliki?” I repeat.
“You’re…ah…”
I move my fingers in a circular motion. “C’mon, out with it. I’m what?”
He clears his throat. “You’re the future Luminesce.”
“Oh, hell no!” I bolt from my chair and it crashes to the floor.
“Hold on, Zeke,” Abby demands. “It could be something else. It could be your connection with Levia.”
“He’s connected to Levia?” Maliki backs away from me.
I close my eyes, biting on my top lip and breathing deeply through my nose trying desperately to tame the anger boiling inside of me.
Sage’s fork clatters onto her plate. “Uh, oh.”
“Zeke…breathe,” Tyce says, slowly getting to his feet with Ashe following suit.
“Dammit.” I snatch up my sketchpad and head toward the hall, with my chest hurting with each breath I take.
“Zeke, wait,” Tyce calls. “Let’s talk this through. Getting angry isn’t solving anything.”
“Speak for yourself,” I snap, going into my room and forcing up barriers. I squeeze my eyes shut—but it’s no use—there’s only one way to calm my anger now. I fling my arms wide and let it loose, sending the abilities inside of me to smash into my barriers only to bounce back off and reabsorb into me.
This just gets better and better. I drag my fingers through my damp hair and try to regulate my breathing. When that doesn’t work, I sit heavily on my bed, open my sketchpad, and quickly start sketching.
My butt is asleep from the hard pressboard of my bed, the displayed pages of my sketchpad are no longer blank, and I finally feel like I’m in some kind of control. I take my finger and shade in an area only for a movement to catch my eye. I glimpse over to see Cesar standing on the other side of my barrier blocking entrance to my room.
“Are you sure you want to be in here?” I ask, going back to my shading.
“I’d like to speak with you, if that’s all right.”
I use my mind and remove my barrier.
Cesar sits on the edge of my somewhat bed, placing his hand onto my knee. “Not that I don’t want to ask what happened in here—I wanted to point out that no matter how you might be feeling about everything, I know this is difficult for you to handle and more keeps getting added. With that said, don’t worry about what’s possibly in the future. It could change and if not, you have time.”
“You sound just like Dad right now, Cesar.”
“Your dad is a very wise man.”
I set my pencil down on my page and close my book. “I don’t like my life plan being set for me by someone else,” I explain. “I’m supposed to plan my own life, aren’t I?”
“Isn’t this life plan in the future?” Cesar asks.
“Yes, but…”
“And as your dad has told me, future events can be changed.”
I nod in agreement. “Sure would’ve made this easier, Cesar, if we had known we had someone to talk to this whole time.”
“I never meant to keep my knowledge of you and your family from anyone, especially my own daughter,” Cesar explains. “Martin said if he and your mom didn’t return from planet, then the secret was found out and I needed to be here for you three and for the arrival of Sage. He said you’d come for me, once things started. I’ve known you boys for a long time. There’s not a mean bone in your bodies. Zeke, you’re meant to protect and keep us safe. That’s who you are.”
I toss my sketchpad, drop my legs over the side, and sit next to Cesar. “The more abilities I take the