The Starborn Saga (Books 1, 2, & 3) (8 page)

With a thought, I find that I can. 

Hundreds, maybe thousands of rocks lift from the ground at my command. Like with the knife in Connor’s shack, I’m able to make them move where I want them to, and at a high speed as well.

First, I take out a line of greyskins making their way toward Connor and me. As quick and sharp as arrows, the pebbles rip through their bodies, and hopefully their brains. One-by-one they drop to the ground, blood and rocks flying in all directions. 

I don’t Cem"eir have time to notice Connor’s reaction as he stands behind me, but I can see Aaron’s face as he takes it all in. 

I’ve hardly put a dent in their numbers, however. I let the rocks drop when some of the greyskins get a little too close for comfort. There are too many for me to focus on killing each one. 

I see Aaron jump from his high position since the greyskins have turned away. He too lifts his arms. I have to cover my eyes from the light that bursts from the vehicles in the distance. 

A loud surge of electric bolts fly from them into Aaron. At first, I think some kind of strange phenomenon has just occurred that will surely kill him. But the bolts aren’t part of some crazy accident. Aaron is calling them to himself, letting the energy fly right into his chest. 

The lights from the vehicles go dark, but then Aaron uses those same bolts of electricity and sprays them through almost every greyskin in the area, frying them to a crisp right in front of everyone’s eyes. The greyskins scream out in hunger and rage as it takes several seconds before they finally collapse and lie motionless on the ground, but they are dead. 

But there was one still skulking behind him, and I seem to be the only one who sees it. The distance is too far for any kind of accurate throw, but it doesn’t matter. Without thinking, I grab the knife that’s strapped to my thigh and throw it in his direction. With the same focused attention I had with the rocks, I make the knife sail through the air past Aaron and into the forehead of the greyskin behind him, dropping it to the ground.

The atmosphere has turned from a deafening chaos to complete silence.

Everyone around says nothing as they stare at Aaron, and then at me in disbelief. Connor
’s mouth is hanging open, but I am no less surprised about Aaron. 

Though I’ve given myself away, all I can think about is that there is another person like me. Another person with supernatural abilities.

Aaron.

CHAPTER FIVE

Nothing is said for almost an entire minute as everyone stands unmoving in the darkness. Aaron and I nearly destroyed the entire herd on our own. 

I look back at Connor who still hasn’t seemed to grasp what has just happened. He appears surprised to see that not only do I possess some kind of mysterious power, but his brother does as well. How does Connor not already know about Aaron?

“What in the world was all of that?” Heinrich belts out. He looks from me to Aaron and back to me again. “I’m waiting for an answer.”

“I…I don’t know,” I stutter. “I wish I had some kind of explanation for you, but I don’t.”

Aaron shrugs his shoulders. 

Connor comes up from behind me and stands next to me.

“You mean you could do all that and you were running away from the greyskins when I met you? Why were you running at all?”

I shake my head. “I had just figured out that I could do that,” I say. “I have no idea where it came from. I haven’t really had time to process it.”

“What about you?” Connor asks, looking at his brother.

“It’s good to see you too,” Aaron smirks.

Connor sighs and shakes his head quickly. He steps forward toward Aaron. “Sorry, it’s just so crazy.” He rea Fem"ei > 

Heinrich is the next to speak. 

“Are the others alive?”

Aaron shakes his head slowly when Connor lets go of him. “No. They were all killed four days ago.”

“Why did you fall off the radar?” Heinrich asks. 

“You saw what I just did with the vehicles, only I accidentally did that to the wristbands.”

There are so many questions to be asked, no one knows what to say first. Heinrich turns to Connor. “You,” he says with squinted eyes. “You abandoned the camp when you were supposed to be on watch.”

“I set the device to alarm you,” Connor says. 

“You’re lucky Bret had to get up and take a leak. You’re also lucky we didn’t shoot him before we realized he wasn’t a greyskin.”

“I’d say Bret was the lucky one in that situation,” Connor comes back. A few of the men stifle a laugh as Heinrich fumes.

Heinrich takes a deep breath and looks at Aaron. “I’m guessing you didn’t finish what you set out to do.”

“Yeah, it’s never going to work,” Aaron says, glancing at the others and then at me almost as if he’s unsure if he’s allowed to talk freely. “We were attacked before we could get the supplies we needed.”

Heinrich swears and spits on the ground. I obviously have no idea what they are talking about. All I know is that Heinrich said he would take me home after finding Aaron. Right now I would feel more comfortable with that than going back to Salem. I have no idea what it is they are involved with. It’s all too apparent they aren’t looking for farm equipment. I glance at the Screven guard, Rob, who seems to have a confused look on his face. 

I wouldn’t mind being away from this entire group. That is except for Aaron. Someone that has another supernatural ability, but one that is so different than mine is intriguing. Or at least I think my abilities are different. Do I have the power to shoot out electric bolts? Can he move things with his mind? Perhaps he has some answers. I can’t help but notice that he keeps glancing in my direction, maybe thinking the same thing about me.

Rob steps to the front of the group. “Let’s get out of here and start heading back to Salem.” He looks at me. “You too.”

“Why?” I ask. “I was hoping you might take me to Screven, but if not then I would rather you just take me home as originally planned.”

Rob shakes his head. “No,” he says. “Your skill would be of some interest to the higher ups in Screven. Krindle will be interested to talk to you.”

“Wait just a second,” Connor says, stepping forward. “She’s not one of us. You can’t just make her come to Salem.”

“I can, and I am,” Rob says. 

“You think you can stop her?” he asks, looking at me.

“I am asking nicely,” Rob says. “Besides, possessing special abilities might make it more likely that you gain an audience with Jeremiah.”

I hadn’t thought of it like that. Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to go with them then. I just hope Rob is true to his word.

“How long have you been able to do that?” Connor asks Aaron.

Aaron shakes his head. “Connor, I… just don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it? We’ve got two people here, one of whom I’ve known my whole life, the other for a day, and both of them can do…that.” He waves his hands in the air, not really knowing what to say. 

“Come on,” Heinrich says. “It’s time to go Ks air.”

With a quick thought, I call my knife to me and it is wrenched out of the greyskin’s forehead, landing safely in my hand. I bend down to wipe the blood on a shirt from one of the many corpses on the ground. I don’t really know that everyone is watching me until I stand up and see them staring. I feel my cheeks go red, but it’s dark so no one can see my embarrassment.

I don’t know why I feel embarrassed. It’s almost like I got caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing, but this is my power. Should I be hiding it? I don’t know how long I will be able to hold on to this power, nor do I know if it’s coming from within me or from an outside force that I can’t see. 

Rob said my skill would be of interest to higher ups in Screven, but I don’t want to be useful to them. I want to be useful to my people back home. If I can use this power to protect them, that would be great, but I know I can’t do it on my own. Can I?

We all make our way to the vehicles in silence. Thankfully, Aaron left one of the vehicles with power, but we still have to wait a few minutes for each of them to jumpstart another. Soon, we are off. 

The long ride back is quiet. Connor tries to ask his brother more about his powers, but Aaron isn’t talking about it. He keeps saying that he will talk to him about it some other time. But this doesn’t keep Connor from asking me about mine. I tell him everything I know. I tell him about the cranes and the knife in his shack as the others listen intently. Connor isn’t satisfied with the story, but neither am I really. I want to know where these powers have come from, but I’ve got no answers. The only person that might be able to tell me anything is Aaron, but he won’t talk. I feel like it’s because of me, but I can’t be sure. 

Once Connor realizes he’s not getting any more information, he stops talking and I lay my head back against my seat. Rob sits to my left and the two brothers sit across from me. As everyone begins to drift to sleep, I can’t help but notice the two don’t look all that much alike. 

Both of them are handsome, but in different ways. Connor has brown hair and hazel eyes. He is way more rugged-looking than his brother. Aaron has jet-black hair that is cut more closely, and his eyes are a deep blue. I’ve never seen two brothers who looked more different. I can’t help but wonder if they are actually brothers, or if they were adopted, or if they have been close friends since childhood and are as close as brothers. I don’t suppose it matters.

At some point, I drift off to sleep and I don’t stir until the dawn breaks. Bret is still driving, and I can even see the Salem colony up on the horizon. 

I can’t imagine how Bret managed to stay awake, driving all night, but he looks wired. His fingers are dancing along the steering wheel and sweat is dripping down the side of his face. He’s constantly looking out both windows as if he’s afraid or looking for something, but keeps the vehicle heading straight. 

My stomach drops at the thought of going into the colony. I think about the people back home. They wouldn’t be expecting me for another day or so. But I know I won’t be there by then. From the looks of it, I’m not sure I’ll be back in a week… or two weeks. I have no idea what Rob’s going to do. I’ve got to figure out a way to get to Jeremiah. Rob said I would likely get an audience with him, but who is Rob anyway? The man probably has little more power than any other Screven guard.

Chatter on the wristbands starts to pick up as we get closer to the colony and the others wake from their sleep. I look to my left and see Rob tapping in some kind of information on his wristband, probably to Krindle. I hope that by exposing my abilities to Kabiee them that I haven’t put my liberty in jeopardy. I know they want me around for a time, but how long is that? What do they expect of me?

All the vehicles are stopped at the gate by the Screven guards. Rob instantly gets out and walks over to them and Heinrich does the same, leaving Bret, Aaron, Connor, and me in the vehicle.

“Krindle’s there,” Aaron sighs, looking through the windshield. He turns his head to Connor and me. “He doesn’t look happy.”

Aaron and Connor turn in their seat and I lean forward to get a good look through the windshield. We can’t hear the conversation unfold, but Heinrich looks heated as Rob talks to Krindle about something. 

“Twenty credits says Heinrich talks him out of it,” Aaron says. 

“You’re on,” Connor says. 

“Talks him out of what?” I ask.

Connor glances back at me. “Krindle will want us all to go through inspection, make sure we’re not bit. It’s a really annoying process.”

“You think that’s what they’re saying?” Bret asks.

“Without a doubt,” Connor says. 

Bret lets out a labored sigh. 

I remember Krindle saying something about me being processed yesterday morning, but Heinrich had talked him out of it then. 

“I’m not going to be inspected,” I say. “I wasn’t bitten, and I’m not going to let some guards strip me down to check. What are they going to do, anyway? They don’t have any power over me.”

I start to open the cab door, but Aaron turns and grabs my arm. At first, I want to tell him to let go, but something about his deep blue stare stops me. 

“Don’t,” he says. “I know you’ve got this new gift, but you can’t use it right now.”

“Why not?”

“You just…you just can’t,” he says. “Now isn’t the time.” He lets go of my arm and turns back to look out the windshield. “I can’t think of a worse time to use our abilities.”

What is he talking about? If we are in danger, or our freedom is being threatened, this is the time to act. This is when it is most necessary. But Aaron’s insistence seems so sincere. I don’t know what to think, or who to trust. This is all so frustrating. 

In a moment or two, Rob turns to the vehicles and motions for everyone to come out. Aaron gets out first, followed by me, and then Connor. Everyone else starts to make their way to the forming group, but I straggle behind, doing my best to keep out of anyone’s line of sight. 

My attempt fails. As soon as I take a few steps, Krindle calls out my name and demands that Aaron and I move to the front of the group. I take a deep breath and follow Aaron. I glance back at Connor only to see him shrug and shake his head at me. Krindle must want to know about our powers. He’s not going to believe that I don’t know anything about it. Maybe Aaron will have some answers. 

“Mora, correct?” Krindle asks. He knows my name already, but I nod. “And Aaron,” he continues. “Rob here tells me that the two of you have displayed some true talent in taking down greyskins. An entire herd, I believe.”

We say nothing. I stare at Krindle in the eyes, letting him know that I don’t fear him.

“Heinrich has reminded me that you are trying to see Jeremiah,” Krindle says. “He doesn’t take visitors often, but I will talk to him for you and see if he will grant you a meeting. That way, you will not have to travel all the way to Screven only to be rejected.”

I think this is a nice gesture, but how much can I trust Krindle? Is he pretending to be nice? Is K beo be rhe genuine?

“Thank you,” I say. 

“Also, since several people have died on this trip, there is room on the roster for you to stay in Salem as long as you need. However, given the nature of your mission, and since you all did come in contact with a herd, you must all be inspected thoroughly.”