Clash Of Power

Clash Of Power
Jarox’s POV…

I sat on the floor of my bedroom with my legs crossed and my eyes closed. I wasn't sleeping. I wasn't even entirely inside my own body anymore. My consciousness had stretched beyond the walls of my room and found the two guards escorting Abigail through the palace. I could see through their eyes. I could hear through their ears. I could feel the movement of their bodies as though they were my own. But it wasn't like before. I wasn't forcing them. I wasn't dragging their limbs around like puppets. I simply suggested something, and they accepted it.

Turn left. They turned left. Speak. They spoke. Keep walking. They kept walking. It was frightening how natural it felt.

I'd spent my entire life believing my empathic abilities were nothing more than a strange gift that allowed me to sense what others felt. Now I understood. Yahweh hadn't given me the ability to feel emotions. He had given me access to the minds behind them. And now I was going to use it.

I had already decided what needed to happen. Abigail couldn't be allowed to reach the Keepers. If Feran got what he needed from her, the empire would have an army capable of destroying the human resistance completely. But even worse than that was what I'd learned. Abigail wasn't simply a weapon. She was a false bridge. A force that could eventually bring destruction to both species. I couldn't allow that future to happen. Not after everything I had already lost.

The guards continued moving Abigail through the palace. I could feel the distance growing between us. My influence wasn't unlimited. The farther they traveled, the harder it became to maintain the connection. They had to stop. Now.

I guided them toward Trix's laboratory. The doors opened. They took Abigail inside. Then they locked the door behind them. One guard remained beside Abigail while the other crossed the laboratory and approached the incinerator. He activated the machine. It hummed to life. The temperature began climbing.

Abigail looked around. For the first time since they'd taken her, I sensed something close to concern from her. I spoke through the guard beside her.

"It'll be over soon."

Abigail looked toward him. Her expression changed. She knew something was wrong. The other guard removed his tranquilizer weapon. He raised it. He aimed directly at her. My concentration tightened. Just a few more seconds.

Then it happened. The lights went out. Everything disappeared into darkness. The palace lost power. For several seconds, there was nothing. And then I felt it. The suppression field around Abigail vanished. Her cuffs had deactivated. She moved instantly. The restraints slipped from her wrists. The power returned. The lights came back on. I saw Abigail standing free. The guards moved toward her.

She struck. I felt the impact through the minds I was connected to. Then came the screams. Not sounds. Feelings of pain and terror. And then—Nothing.

The connection disappeared. I opened my eyes. I was back inside my bedroom. My breathing was heavy. I stared at the wall. "No..."

The Krugs I was connected to were both dead. I'd unleashed her. Abigail was free inside the palace. And everyone I cared about was here. Including my father. Including Trix.

I rose slowly. I could feel it in my bones. Something terrible was about to happen.

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Abigail’s POV…

The two guards were dead. I stood between their bodies and looked at my hands. I wasn't shaking. I wasn't afraid. I simply understood. My first thought was simple. Escape.

I needed to leave the palace. But then I stopped. Why should I run? Everyone who wanted to kill me was here. Everyone who wanted to use me was here. Feran was here. The scientists were here. The Keepers' plans were connected to this place. And I had the power to end all of it. My mind settled.

Running would only postpone the inevitable. I would eliminate the threats first. Then I would leave. I turned toward the door. I raised one hand. The entire door exploded from its frame. Metal flew across the laboratory. I stepped through the opening. The alarm began screaming. Red lights flashed across the palace.

I smiled. They were coming. Good. The first group of guards rounded the corridor. Weapons raised. I didn't stop walking. One of them fired. I became invisible. The projectile passed through empty air. I appeared behind him. My hand touched his back. He flew across the corridor and crashed into the wall.

Another guard charged. I lifted my hand. He rose from the ground. His body twisted helplessly in the air. I threw him into the others. They collapsed together.

More came. There were always more. I lifted both hands. Energy erupted from my fingertips. The blast tore through the corridor. Armor shattered. Bodies fell.

I walked through the smoke. Someone tried to sneak up behind me. I felt him before he moved. A piece of metal ripped itself from the wall. It flew through the air. The guard dropped.

Another group appeared. I disappeared again. They looked around frantically. I moved through them unseen. Metal fragments lifted from the floor around me. I released them. They became projectiles and they tore through flesh and organs, dropping all the guards like they were flies. The corridor fell silent. I continued walking.

The palace had become a maze of enemies. But I wasn't lost. I knew exactly where I was going. Eventually, I reached a wider section of the palace. And there he was. The one I was looking for; Emperor Feran.

He stood with several imperial guards around him, speaking to them as the alarms continued screaming throughout the building. I stopped. Everything inside me became still. I looked at him. The emperor. The man who had wanted to use my body. The man who had ordered my death. The man who believed my existence belonged to him. I began walking toward him.

The guards noticed me. Their weapons came up. They formed a wall around their emperor. Feran looked beyond them. His eyes found mine. For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then I smiled. He was my greatest threat. And I was no longer interested in running. The guards tightened their formation. I raised my hands. They were ready to die for him. I was ready to kill them all.

And this time, nobody was going to stop me.