A surge of energy hit Shaney like a heated smack to the face. Hudson whimpered and thrashed in his bindings. Silas’ face twisted with the rage that fueled his energy. He was going to lose it and kill both Shaney and Hudson.
Silas waved his hand. “You insolent little fag! I spent ten years of my life working to unlock his powers and all this time they were manifesting naturally? You’ll pay dearly for this. Give me the book, or I’ll call my associate Mr. Steele. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to that precious package of yours that he’s holding onto.”
Shaney gritted his teeth, working to push the energy back as Hudson cried out in pain. “Stop it!” Shaney screamed. “Hudson! Silas, stop. I’ll do whatever you want.”
Silas instantly the energy pulled back. “You’re going to give me your power anyway. Together, we’ll be invincible. Nothing can stop me.”
“I can,” Dan whispered quite effectively. “Shaney, wait for the flash.” Shaney was sure he was the only one who’d heard him.
Dan stepped back and dropped the book to the floor. He then stuffed both of his hands into the pockets of his jeans. When he pulled his them out, they were balled into fists. He stared at those fists wistfully, then gave a wan smile.
Looking up, Dan squared his shoulders, his cold, hard eyes on Silas. Now, this was the Mr. Anderson Shaney knew.
Something akin to a cathartic release eased over Dan’s face, peace that wasn’t there a moment ago. “Call Steele if you want, but you no longer have power over me, Father. Kristen is safe. Steele no longer has her. My daughter has been moved to a secure location where you’ll never find her.”
“He had your daughter?” Shaney asked, still amazed at the depth Silas would sink to obtain his goal.
Dan nodded, the sorrow breaking his hard mask. “She’s six and I haven’t seen her in over two years, but I found her and you’ve lost your leverage, Dad. I don’t care what happens to me now.”
The rage building within Silas expanded and filled the circle. Shaney doubled over with the sudden onslaught. Again, Hudson moaned and wailed, and Shaney tried to push his energy out and wrap a protective barrier around Hudson.
“You’ll pay for what you’ve done! I’ll deal with you later. Leave!” Silas threatened, pointing a finger at Dan.
“But I have one last thing for you, Dad.” Dan opened his hands. Lying on each palm was a stone with a symbol carved into the top.
Silas gasped, raising his hand, the red glowing ball forming. “I’ll kill you if you even try to place those stones.”
Dan ignored the threat. As he tossed the stones, one toward Hudson and one toward Shaney, Silas raised the hand with the red ball.
“Dan!” Todd bolted past Shaney. Before Shaney could react, the energy ball sailed through the air. Todd tackled Dan as the red orb exploded across Todd’s back, engulfing them both as they landed in a heap on the floor.
“No!” Shaney screamed. Energy rose in a blue crackling sphere around him and he fought desperately to control the onslaught, but the power overwhelmed him. Shaney fought to dominate the uncontrolled energy. Hudson moaned louder, writhing in pain. Oh, God, he was hurting Hudson. Adrenaline rushed his blood, pushing the energy higher. Shaney’s body had become a sucking vortex, drawing energy through every pore and orifice.
One of the stones Dan had thrown rolled into Hudson’s circle and came to rest by his boot. A flash of light illuminated the room. Wait for the flash. Hudson immediately ceased thrashing and slumped over, motionless. He was free of the effect of anything in the two larger circles. The other stone rested just outside of Shaney’s circle and didn’t release him. In the meantime, Silas had reached out of his circle and retrieved the book, laughing manically. “You may have freed your boyfriend, but you’re still trapped.” He opened the book and began chanting in some ancient language. He was going to bind with Shaney and have access to all his powers. He couldn’t let that happen! His friends, his family, Hudson, the world, would suffer greatly.
Behind Shaney, Todd laid motionless on the floor with Dan leaning over him. Shaney thought he could see Todd’s chest rise and fall. Caleb huddled against Maximus, staring up at Shaney with a look of total devastation and hopelessness. Shaney lifted the corner of his mouth. “I’ve got this,” he assured Caleb. “Take care of them.”
Shaney faced Silas, who continued the annoying chanting with his eyes closed. There was an external tug at Shaney’s energy, and he knew he had to hurry. He turned his palms toward the floor at his sides and called forth the energy he’d previously used from the earth. The floor rumbled as energy rushed from beneath the barn and up through the floors. The noise rivaled that of a jet taking off. Shaney funneled the excess into a swirling eddy as he absorbed all that he could. The rush was heady and brought a smile to his face, despite the fact that the agonizing realization of what he was about to do. A brilliant blue sphere filled the air around him.