No sooner do the words cross my lips than the ground begins to tremble beneath my palms. The glass rattles, tinkling against itself as the trembling rises, then fades. I retreat quickly to Carleon’s side. I can see the whites of his eyes, wide with fear as he grips his laser. “Spider drones?”
“No,” I whisper, raising a hand to silence him. The tremor comes again, harder and faster this time. Its rhythm is unsteady, unusual, yet something tickles the back of my mind, as if a memory is struggling to surface. “I think this is something else.”
Carleon kneels beside me, waiting. He is used to my freaky abilities and has learned to trust my instincts. If I say it’s not a machine, he believes me without fault. I only hope I am right. We don’t have time to face off with a spider drone.
My abilities seem to be changing with each day, morphing into new hybrids of powers that even Kyan struggles to keep up with, though my focus is horrendous and my control is pathetic at best. Toren and Eamon have been forced on more than one occasion to put out my fires.
“You feel something?” he asks in a voice hardly above a whisper.
I nod and close my eyes so I can concentrate. “There is someone out there. Someone powerful.”
“Drakon?”
I know the time Carleon spent as one of Drakon’s soldiers has given him a deep respect for the commander’s gifts, and his affinity for using them to torture innocent people, but even I’m surprised by the slight tremor in my friend’s voice. Shaking my head, I motion for him to fall silent. I need to focus.
It is difficult to still my mind with all of the fears and doubts flitting through like a runaway subway car. I worry about my friends’ safety, of being too late to capture Drakon, and of making a mistake that could cost men their lives. The weight upon my shoulders in nearly unbearable, but I know Kyan trusts me, so I must as well.
The soldiers fighting within these walls are not my enemy. They are simply doing the bidding of an evil man. If we win this battle today, they will be given the chance to throw down their arms and join us, or return to Kyan’s home world, Calisted, with the other prisoners. Most will stay. Those that don’t will not be harmed.
The thrumming of the ground and the sounds of Carleon’s breathing fade away as I search the unseen spaces on the other side of the base. I have felt strong minds before, but this one is different. It is not a mental ability that I sense, but a physical one.
“Do you know of a man who could create such tremblings…?” I trail off as my eyes widen with recognition. “Vikesh.”
Carleon cries out as the rafter directly overhead creaks loudly, splintering down the center. He raises his hand to shield himself as it tumbles down upon him. I grunt as I throw out my hands, catching the heavy beam only inches from crushing his head. I grit my teeth and toss the beam aside. The walls rattle and shake as the beam slams into the wall, splintering the concrete blocks along their mortar lines. I grasp Carleon’s hand and tug him to his feet. He coughs, beating his chest as he expels the cloud of dust he inhaled. “We have to stay out in the open. It’s the only way!”
My friend stumbles behind me as I yank open the door and surge from the hut. A tremor ripples through the ground and I cry out as a wave of dirt sends me flailing to my knees.
“Someone you know?” Carleon cries out as he fights to remain upright.
“Yes.” I scream and yank him out of the way as the building in front of me falters on its foundation. The roof groans loudly as the entire wooden slant slides from the top of the building and spills down on top of us.
I throw out my hands and focus with all of my might on creating a protective shield around us as three stories of stone and wood crumble down around us. I wince as each large chunk slams into the shield, draining on my strength.
“You can do it,” Carleon says with a shaky voice as he watches the debris connect with the invisible armor mere inches above his head. Instead of the oppressive weight, I try to focus on the terror in his eyes and the way the color has drained from his face. When I glimpse the slight tremor in his lips, I growl and toss away the biggest section of the wall. My arms ache as I lower them to my sides.
If my blasting a hole in their wall didn’t get their attention, tossing that building aside sure will!
It is hard to breathe around the cloud of dust trapped within my shield. I cover my mouth, coughing wildly as I wave off the dome. Carleon follows right on my heels as I stumble forward, our footing unstable on the debris beneath our feet.
“Who is this Vikesh guy?” He coughs, wafting his hand before him to clear the air. Dust clings to his hair and cheeks, matted with the sweat that beads along his forehead.