A bark of laughter yanked Shaney out of his sphere of concentration. Todd had doubled over, gasping for air in between hoots of laughter. Mr. Anderson snickered, holding his hand over his mouth.
Todd drew in a deep, gasping breath, face beet red, tears streaming over his cheeks. “The look on your face. You look like you’re trying to shit out a watermelon!”
Caleb shot Todd an annoyed look then quickly schooled his features. “This isn’t a physical effort. You’ll be using a part of your brain you’ve never controlled before. Recall what you felt when the energy was out of control. Remember its first appearance, the visceral reactions—sensations, sounds, smells. Close your eyes. Hudson, help him to relax. Shaney, block out everything in the room.”
Hudson leaned down and whispered, “If I remember correctly, you were putty in my hands when I sucked right here.” Hudson placed his lips against the skin at the crook of Shaney’s neck and sucked gently. Shaney squirmed. How could he concentrate with Hudson’s mouth on him? Shaney’s breathing deepened and the tension leeched from his muscles. Hudson released his skin. “Relax. Focus on me. Somehow, I’m connected to your energy. Do you remember the cabin? In the circle?” Shaney’s mind panicked at the memory of the terrifying attack. “Feel my arms around you. I’m not going anywhere. Do you feel safe with me?”
Shaney did. “Yes.”
Shaney focused on the rhythmic push of Hudson’s chest against his back. Steady, strong, measured breaths. “What do you remember about the energy? How did the energy feel, taste, smell, sound? What did it look like?” Hudson asked.
Shaney focused on the memory, distancing himself from his overwhelming fear. “It felt tingly and massive...too big. Tasted like metal in my mouth. And the smell...It was like the air before a summer rain.” Shaney licked at his lips. “It hummed like thousands of watts of energy filling the air. And...And it was blue. Crackling streaks of blue.”
“Your eyes were glowing blue that night,” Todd whispered.
Shaney heard the words, but they hovered outside of his sphere of cognizance. A low, resonating hum built in tenor, sinking Shaney lower, deeper into himself. The familiar quiver built exponentially, filling muscles, expanding, flowing through nerves and bones and organs. The torturous pain of the past encounters was thankfully absent. This allowed Shaney to experience the raw awesomeness of the power, unencumbered, and it was too vast and wide, too immense. Connections spanned out in every direction, funneled into a vortex inside of Shaney's body, far surpassing the seat of his consciousness. Before his eyes, those blue strands coalesced like writhing, knotted snakes. Deeper, beyond that was something...a pattern—angles and circles, some shapes that he couldn’t name and others he’d never seen before. And how the hell all that formed the cup was beyond him.
Shaney gasped. “I see it. Oh, God... The pattern’s so complex, so intricate.” Like geometry class all over again. “What do I do with it?”
“With practice, I believe you’ll obtain the ability to change the shape, manipulate the energy, and reform the basic elements of an object into something else,” Caleb said with confidence.
Shaney snorted. “Like a ham sandwich?” That would be handy.
Caleb didn’t laugh at the joke. “That would involve changing the structure of the matter, which requires energy in forms you don’t possess. You can build with what you have, separate the form, rearrange the matter, and change the shape. The possibilities would be endless. Your abilities are still in their infancy, though, and truthfully, you’re the only person I know who can affect the energy behind matter without the use of the symbols and rituals.”
Shaney swallowed hard, uneasy with the entire situation. Hudson rubbed his hand over Shaney’s chest. Amazing how effective his touch was.
“Those abilities are what Silas wants,” Caleb said. “With the proper training, I can’t even fathom what you could achieve with thought alone. Powerful doesn’t even cover it.”
Shaney’s distress grew from Caleb’s words, crowding out his concentration. Whatever force he’d connected to diminished, and the cup started to shake. Something pushed aside the energy, something, dark, and ominous.
Shit, something bad was about to happen.
Chapter Twenty
Shaney wanted to stop and pull the energy back before he lost control, but Caleb continued speaking, continued fueling Shaney’s fire.
“Silas is a dangerous man. Not just because he covets your abilities, but also because he believes he has a right to them, a right to control you. He’s deeply disturbed. The loss of his son as an infant scarred his soul and tainted his reasoning. I believe he continues to mourn his son’s death as strongly as the day he died. Guilt will do that to a man.”