Star Gods, стр. 6
I take out my folder and pull out my report with the paper stapled to the front. Ashe takes it from my hand.
Tyce looks over his shoulder and fist-bumps me. “Nice one.”
My smile vanishes when Ashe drops the pages a few inches and arches his brows. “Really, Zeke? How in the world did you think this was appropriate?”
I shrug. “If Mom and Dad were here, you’d be thinking the same as Tyce.”
“Well, they’re not here.” He takes a pen from his breast pocket, scribbling his name on the top page. “You wouldn’t have done this if they were. You need to have the new report done by the time you go back to school and do it right. No copying what you wrote for this one.”
I grin. “Oh, c’mon.” My brother knows me too well.
“I’m not sure how long we’ll be,” Ashe says, turning to Claire while stuffing his wallet into his back pocket and grabbing his keys. “I already healed his concussion, so that shouldn’t be a problem, but we need to keep up the pretenses. If it gets too late and you need to head home, just give Tyce a call, and I’ll send him home.”
I shoot up from the chair. “Hey, um, Ashe, can I speak to you a moment?” I jut my chin toward the kitchen.
Tyce places his hand on my shoulder. “Relax. She knows all about us.”
“She knows?” I gape at my brother in disbelief. “Since when?”
Tyce shrugs. “Last year?” He leans down and gives Claire a kiss.
“And she still wants to be with you?” I snort when Tyce’s expression turns to shock, and Ashe lets loose a rumbling laugh.
Tyce messes up my hair and shoves me back into the recliner.
“Zeke.” Ashe nudges my leg with his boot. “Zeke, are you listening?”
I shove Tyce’s hand away. “Yeah, I’m listening.”
“There’s a sandwich in the fridge for you and some chips on the counter. You’re to take it easy for the rest of the day. Got it?”
“Why? You healed me, remember?”
“You still have stitches, and there’s always a chance I didn’t fully heal the concussion. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it. Anything else?”
Tyce points at me as they walk out the door. “Yeah. Don’t give Claire a hard time.”
“Never do.”
“You want that sandwich now?” Claire asks, removing her folder and books from her backpack and placing them onto the coffee table.
“I can get it. I need to stretch my legs.”
Claire sits on the couch, tucking a stray hair behind an ear and digging in her backpack. I can’t help but think how lucky Tyce is to have her in his life. “Let me know if you need anything.”
I grab my sandwich from the fridge along with the glass of milk Ashe had obviously poured and sit at the table to eat. I’m taking my last bite when Claire slaps her book closed and comes into the kitchen.
“Want to play a round of cards?” she asks, taking my empty plate away and setting it by the sink.
“Sure.” I grin. “If it’s strip poker.”
We play the regular kind of poker until she beats me for the third time. It’s nearly six.
“You hungry?” Claire asks. “Ashe said we could order pizza.”
Ashe has called four times in the three hours they’ve been gone. The last telling us they were getting close to being done. I calculate the time frame for when the best food on Earth will arrive. “Sure, I can eat. You want me to call in the order?”
“You do that, and I’ll clean this up.”
I take a step toward the phone, and my head gets that weird, tingling feeling I usually get when the Luminaries are sending me a message. “What exactly did Tyce tell you about us?”
“That your dad is a descendent of what astronomers would deem aliens, called the Star Gods, and your mom is human.” Claire reaches over the table and adds my cards to the pile she has in her hand. “Ashe and Tyce can heal, put up wards—which is like a security system—and you can project a personal barrier, travel someplace else with other people, and get messages from the Star Gods about individuals you and your brothers are supposed to help. You can also talk during the message without others knowing.” She turns her head to me. “Did I explain that right?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Her hands freeze mid-shuffle. “Zeke, your eyes are glowing.”
“Yeah. Don’t freak out, K?” Claire disappears as the vision starts. It's clear, like it’s supposed to be, without any pain, showing me the girl running with her face turned away as she looks over her shoulder. As soon as the vision starts to zero in on who or what’s chasing her, the red haze appears and the pain hits, searing the inside of my skull. I cry out, dropping to the floor with my hands on both sides of my head—just like before.
“Zeke!” Claire cries, and I feel her hands as they touch my back.
I try to take a deep breath as the scene begins again, as if I pushed the play button, picking up right where it had left off. Still, the girl’s face is unknown to me, so I pay more attention to her surroundings. She’s in an alley, which looks much like the business district only a couple blocks away.
“Can you span out?” I bite my lip, hoping they will comply and not slam me with pain again. I can hear the murmur of Claire’s voice beside me and really hope she isn’t freaking out. “Show me more of where she is, please?” I ignore the apparent distress the girl is under so I will be able to find her. She’s running through large puddles, meaning this is going to happen after a good rainfall since the alleys are currently dry as a bone. It’s nearing sundown as dark shadows bounce off the walls as she runs.
Something comes and