“Explain to me the talents you’ve uncovered so far. In your own words and your own understanding.”
Jacob pushed his negative thoughts away, figuring he’d get answers to his questions eventually. “I can sense weakness in things—that’s how I got into the fortress.”
“Do you know how this works?”
Jacob shook his head. “I just hold my hand over the spot that feels warmest and encourage it to get warmer. Then it becomes moldable.”
“You are exhibiting a partial response to the Rezend that was put in your body.”
“How do you know—you were stuck here when that happened.”
Azuriah raised his eyebrow and stared at Jacob. “Do you have to ask?”
Jacob shrugged.
“I see the Rezend in your body. Do you not see it?”
Jacob shook his head.
“You will someday. If you learn to control your abilities.” Azuriah walked to an alcove, beckoning Jacob to follow, and they sat on a window seat. Awkward—sitting so casually next to the very touchy, grouchy leader of the Shiengols. “The Rezend would have given you control over living things. However, due to the Lorkon blood in you, and the fact that you aren’t a Makalo, it had an opposite effect. You are able to sense weakness in things that are dead.”
Whoa. That was insane. “Really? Cool.” Sensing weakness in dead things. He couldn’t wait to tell Matt.
“What other abilities have you learned to control?”
“Well, I can see emotions—I can see yours, and it’s . . .” He paused at the expression on Azuriah’s face, and decided against saying which emotion it was. This guy was super intense! And scary. Jacob hoped he’d adjust to the mood swings. “I, uh, know the creature or person has to be intelligent—meaning, able to think on their own or something. I can’t see the emotions of rats. But I could see the emotions of the dinosaur and the Minyas and the Eetu fish.”
“Dinosaur?”
“The thing we just had to fight—the one outside the walls.”
“Cerpire.”
“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”
“The evil and good inside you are constantly working against each other to achieve separate purposes.” Azuriah motioned to the wall Jacob had come through. “You could see the Cerpire and the Molg because of the evil inside you.”
“Evil inside me?” Jacob choked on the words. “I can see evil things, but that doesn’t make me evil.”
Azuriah rolled his eyes. “I didn’t say you were evil—I said evil was inside you. They’re completely different.”
Jacob hesitated, thinking that over, then nodded. Then something Azuriah said earlier sank in. “Wait. How’d you know about the Molg?”
Azuriah glared at Jacob.
“Never mind.” Jacob bit his lip, deciding then and there never to ask Azuriah another question. This guy was ridiculous.
Azuriah watched Jacob for a moment, his emotions changing, and Jacob did his best to ignore them. Obviously, the man didn’t believe his feelings were Jacob’s business.
Azuriah closed his eyes, making darkness fall upon them. “Do you understand what I’ve explained so far?”
“Yes.” Jacob had known for a while now that the Lorkon tried to change him into a tool—it would make sense they’d also tried to turn him evil.
Azuriah got up and paced. “And do you know why you can see emotions?”
Jacob shook his head. “Not a clue. Because the Lorkon gave me the ability?”
“No, they did not. For now, just know that some of your abilities—the purer, more intelligent ones—were inherited, not administered via Rezend or Lorkon.”
Shocked, Jacob stood. “Inherited? From whom?” And why hadn’t he been told? He crossed his arms. This secret-keeping was really getting on his nerves.
Azuriah grunted in annoyance. “Never mind that.”
Jacob almost clenched his fists. Instead, he ran his fingers through his hair. At least he was getting information—he figured it was better not to press his luck. He glanced over, realizing no one was guarding the hole. Why hadn’t his friends come in? “My brother . . .”
Azuriah seemed to know what Jacob was thinking. “Is fine. We’ll join them shortly.”
Jacob nodded.
“What else?”
“You mean, about my gifts?”
The Shiengol didn’t answer.
“Well, sometimes I can sense the abilities of other people. Though that seems to come and go.”
Azuriah nodded. “It isn’t necessary at all times, and will fade until it needs to be used again. Of course, it would be ridiculous to expect to tap into it whenever you feel like it.”
Jacob couldn’t see why such an expectation would be so ridiculous—all his other talents were available whenever he wanted them. He brushed that aside. “Okay. I can also Time-See.”
“Time-See?” Azuriah sat down. “You mean, you can ‘gussam?’”
“Huh?”
Azuriah waved his hand dismissively, an impatient expression on his face. “Time-See is fine. Describe it to me.”
Jacob stood to pace, hoping Azuriah wouldn’t get mad about him doing that too. The Shiengol didn’t say anything, so Jacob continued. He took a breath. “It’s my newest thing. I used to think I was hallucinating, but then I discovered I could control it. I have to concentrate really hard, but I’m able to see different places.”
Azuriah cocked his head, an expression of pleasure on his face. “How far have you developed this ability?”
“I’ve tried to see one place for longer than a couple of seconds, but I haven’t been successful. It’s pretty painful to do it.”
Azuriah jumped to his feet. “We shall practice now.”
“Wait, what? You’re going to practice with me?”
“Yes. Come.”
Jacob followed and stopped in the middle of the room when Azuriah turned to face him.
“Show me.”
“All right.” Jacob paused. “How?”
Azuriah tapped his fingertips together. “Just Time-See, and I’ll watch what you do.”
Jacob closed his eyes, trying to think of a place he hadn’t gone yet. He decided to Time-See his high school.
He stared ahead, unfocused his eyes, and concentrated on a mental picture of the school. The room around him changed, and he was in the orange gym. Kevin was there with Coach, shooting basketballs.
The pain in Jacob’s chest pulled him back to the somewhat dark interior of the fortress.
Azuriah was still watching him. “Well, that was interesting. Have you no control whatsoever over your body?”
Jacob held back his response because he was sure it would make the Shiengol upset. How was he supposed to focus on controlling his body while he was trying to see a different place?
“You went somewhere in the present. Have you tried seeing in the past?”
“Only a little. Time-Seeing hurts.”
“Well, of course it does.” Azuriah’s tone sounded like he was talking to a child. “Do it again. Time-See to when your mother was kidnapped by the Lorkon.”
Jacob nodded. He concentrated on the event, not sure how to tell his body to take him back that far. Things around him flashed over and over again, then stopped, and he saw a younger Princess Arien with a large belly. A feeling of nostalgia flooded over him—he missed his mom!
The pain in his chest stung, but he wanted to see what happened next, especially when someone—a Lorkon—stepped up behind her. He was hit by an overwhelming desire to cry out and warn her, but he couldn’t stand the sharp burning any longer, and lost focus. He was whipped back to the present.
“That was . . . disappointing. Danilo, you must try harder.”
Jacob bit his tongue. Danilo might be his name, but it was really starting to annoy him. He’d much rather be called Jacob. And he was tired of being pushed around by this Shiengol. “Fine.”
He concentrated more. The room around him vanished, replaced again by the one where his mother had been. It looked like her personal quarters. There was the Lorkon, reaching a gloved hand around Arien’s face—
The pain in his chest was just too great. It felt like his heart was going to explode. With a rush, things popped back to normal and he fell to the ground.