A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 53 Ghost and The Teeth Of Memories 2

       

Chapter 53 Ghost and The Teeth Of Memories 2

Callin lifted his head off the marble floor, wondering at the frenzied pace of his heart. It felt like he had just tried to battle two hundred Flayers all at once! Then he frowned as he saw the others stirring, crawling up to their knees and looking around dazedly. Why were they all on the floor? What had hit them?!

Jacob walked over, his eyes so distant that he looked like he was sleep walking. Callin felt his fangs and claws begin to burn in their sockets as a small part of his mind wondered if maybe Jacob wasn't himself, if some telepath had taken over his mind. It was a terrifying thought, so wretched that he shied away from it even as he imagined how bad that could be if it were to really happen. A telekinetic telepath as powerful as Jacob under the control of another would be nearly unstoppable.

When Jacob just stood silently by the stunned group as they all began to slowly clamber back to their feet, Callin recognized that he was just exerting his powers in multiple directions at once. One of those directions being some type of shield he had surrounded them with.

Then Callin felt strangely hollow, strangely empty. It was a feeling of disconnect, like a part of him was missing inside. This was too much, something too similar to the feeling of a telepathic attack, for him to bear at the moment. It was a sensation that struck deep, snatching up old memories he had only recently been exposed to. They came hurtling into the forefront of his mind, an insane freight train with gnashing jaws.

His claws burst out, spraying the air with a crimson mist, and his fangs cut their way out of his upper gums. His power was rising up, a fiery tide inside, lashing about inside his core, reaching out to lick up and down his arms with electric blue flashes. His head swung around as his hunter eyes scanned for the telepath that had dared to attack him.

Lost in his animal side, it took a long moment for his mind to recognize that it wasn't an attack. It was a break of his link to Ahleena. A break caused by the shield Jacob had covered the entire group with. Callin instantly hated that shield, instantly felt trapped and invaded. He struggled to control these animal instincts, managing to stand up straight and slowly approach Jacob, although he couldn't get his claws and fangs to retract.

"Callin..." he heard Jace say, his voice low and dangerous.

Callin felt how a bubble of heat had surrounded him, making his bone claws ache, and he could feel the tips of his ears beginning to burn.

He turned to face Jace, snarling softly, hunter eyes blazing with a dark, inner fire.

"Back off. I'm going to talk to him, I'm not going to hurt him. Can't say the same for you, though, if you don't power down." Callin snarled.

Jace sneered at Callin, crossing his arms confidently.

"Go talk, then. But if you try anything, I'll fry you where you stand, freak!"

Callin stared at Jace for a moment, then smiled and lifted his head, exposing his throat, before walking back over to Jacob. Jace scowled at Callin's back, not sure what that meant, but understanding that he had just been dismissed as less than a threat. He watched Callin closely, not trusting him when he was like this, especially with Jacob so vulnerable at the moment. Callin reminded him more of an animal than a human when he was like this, from his eyes, to his claws and fangs, to even the way he walked.

"I need to find Ahleena. I can't feel her, I can't feel our link through your shield. Let me go." He said, standing in front of Jacob, who hadn't acknowledged his existence.

Callin felt his arms hairs shivering as he stood this close to a telepath using so much power that the air in the room felt electric, alive, and yet somehow ultra-heavy. Like an invisible giant ghost hand hovering over them all, supercharged with power and about to come crashing down.