Curiosity Killed Shaney(53)

“You mean, like pushing a flying board off its trajectory?” Mr. Anderson wiped his hand over his face, which had paled.

“Or turning on a sander you’re not touching,” Hudson added.

“Fuck,” Todd murmured.

Shaney turned and looked out the kitchen window. Could something deep inside, surfacing and wreaking havoc on his environment, have been the cause of many of his past disasters? Sure, some of the stupid things that had happened were due to his insatiable curiosity. But how many times had those escapades crossed the line into the unexplainable? Many even bordered on impossible. Could he really blame something other than himself? Could it really be true?

Shaney Mills is not a fuck up?

Caleb cleared his throat. “I’d like to try something, Shaney, with your permission, of course.” Shaney turned to see Maximus grinning maliciously, and Shaney felt the evil in his balls. No matter what Caleb said about his permission, Maximus’ expression told Shaney that he really didn’t have a choice.

“Whatever.” Shaney’s life was no longer under his control anyway. Why start now?

Hudson squeezed his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Shaney nodded his lie, wondering when the fucking revelations would stop crawling from the grave of his life to haunt him. How long before he cracked and turned into a babbling straightjacketed mess in the corner of some padded room? Not long, he surmised by the scattered emotions duking it out in his head.

Caleb pulled a black marker from his pocket. Shaney chuckled, envisioning a stockpile of markers filling an entire basement somewhere. If Caleb were smart, he’d have stock in the Sharpie company, because Shaney had a feeling the man would end up going through tons of them where he was concerned.

Caleb grabbed Shaney’s left hand and quickly rendered another one of those complex angular and circular symbols on the palm. The man must have excelled in shape-drawing in preschool. Probably excelled in everything. He had that overachiever air about him.

Caleb capped the marker and deposited it back into his pocket. He then turned and grabbed a coffee mug from the counter.

“We talked about the idea of energy being the backbone of all creation. Energy arranges matter into patterns and thus creates all life forms and non-life forms—everything visible and invisible to the naked eye.” He held the cup up for Shaney’s perusal. “What’s this mug made of?”

Shaney frowned. “Clay?”

“Energy and matter. Focus on that. It’s that easy.”

Easy for you.

“This symbol on your hand will help you to focus your energy toward the cup,” Caleb said. “Hudson, stand behind Shaney and touch him. You will help mediate the power, keep it from building to levels he can’t control.”

Shaney cast a wary glance at Hudson, who stepped up behind him. Instead of placing his hands on Shaney’s shoulders, Hudson moved in close, molding to his back, and wrapping his arms tight around Shaney’s stomach. “It’s okay. I’m here and I won’t let anything hurt you.”

Shaney sighed and relaxed against the man, his stomach doing that funny flippy thing and heat racing to his groin. He so didn’t need a hard-on right now. Catching Todd smirking at Hudson’s behavior, Shaney stuck out his tongue. Todd shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Caleb crossed the small room and placed the cup onto a shelf bolted to the wall then turned. Shaney fought to pay attention, but something hard pushed into his lower back. Shaney wiggled his butt experimentally, and Hudson’s chin appeared over his shoulder. A soft groan reached Shaney’s ear. “Keep doing that, and I’ll drag you into the bedroom.”

Oh, hell. That throaty whisper did little to quell Shaney’s growing desire.

“Shaney, you’re going to focus on the cup,” Caleb said and Shaney tried to hear his words. “Break the cup’s essence down to the patterns that created it. Then, focus the internal energy through your hand and try and manipulate that pattern. There is a reserve of energy inside of you, a part of you, just like your thoughts. With concentration, you can control how that energy interacts with other forms. This primordial energy has the ability to shape other forms of energy. Command your energy to bend and shape the cup’s energy pattern to your will."

Shaney gave Caleb his best ‘you’re full of shit’ look.

“You can do it, baby,” Hudson said, squeezing his arms tighter around Shaney.

Shaney rested his hand on Hudson’s forearm, grateful for the encouragement. Todd chimed in with his encouragement as well. Shaney smiled at him wanly.

Okay, concentrate. So not his strong suit. Raising his hand, Shaney extended his palm with the symbol toward the cup. Furrowing his brow, he concentrated on the cup, calling forth that reservoir of energy, pushing out with his mind, straining, imagining a beam of energy, propelling that energy, manipulating it. Blood rushed from his head and a light-headed, woozy feeling washed over him. He just needed to concentrate harder, push harder...