The Eye of the Stone by Tom Birdseye Page A

flutes out toward Jackson. Jackson looked down at the fingers and palm that only moments before had been pressed against Tessa’s back. They looked calloused and capable, but oddly unreal, more a foreign object than part of a human body. Anger swelled and rose in Jackson’s chest at the sight of them.
    â€œListen to your heart,” Dedron said. “Don’t be afraid.”
    â€œ Afraid? ” The word was like a spark set to gunpowder. Jackson’s hands began to tremble with concentrated force. It surged into his fingertips, vibrating with a sensation like electricity ready to release. He held his hands up and shook them in Dedron’s face.
    â€œYou’re the one who’d better be afraid!” he shouted, and a tiny spark shot from the tip of his left index finger with a sizzle.
    Radnor’s scowling face snapped into one of shocked wonder. “Your hands! But I thought—Is that a gun?”
    A collective gasp filled the air. “A gun!” Several of the Timmran soldiers standing nearby stepped back, eyes fixed on Jackson’s hands as another spark—longer this time—shot out of his fingertips. As if in answer, lightning flashed across the sky and the rumble of thunder surrounded them.
    â€œYou don’t need that kind of power, Jackson Cooper.” Dedron stepped out in front of Tessa, who stared wide-eyed at Jackson, clutching Arnica to her side.
    The stone pendant flared on Jackson’s chest, now radiating power like a sun. All of Jackson’s fingers began to spark. Foot-long arcs of jagged light crackled in the air, answered again by lightning and rumbling thunder from above. “Don’t tell me what I need!” he boomed, and leveled his fingers on Dedron. He felt all-powerful, invincible, filled with righteousness.
    â€œYes, Jackson Cooper!” Radnor urged, his voice hot in Jackson’s ear. “Break the Yako spell on my daughters.”
    â€œShow them the power of Zallis!” Yed said into the other ear. “Show them the power of the Steadfast Order!”
    â€œBut you don’t understand,” Dedron said, for the first time a hint of fear seeping into his voice. “It is Panenthe who sent you, not Zal—”
    â€œShut up!” Jackson bellowed, and the next thing he knew he had erupted, lunging at Dedron, seizing him around the neck.
    â€œNo, Jackson Cooper–Jackson Cooper!” Arnica cried. She rushed forward with Tessa, who was shouting, “Stop!” Tessa grabbed Jackson, digging her fingernails into the backs of his hands.
    In one quick motion Radnor was yanking her away, corralling both her and Arnica in his massive arms. “You don’t know what you’re doing! You’re under a Yako spell!”
    Jackson’s hands tightened on Dedron’s neck. It was as if they had a mind of their own. “Break the spell on Tessa and Arnica!” he demanded.
    Dedron struggled in Jackson’s grip, wrestling to get free. “But I didn’t put them under a spell!”
    â€œLiar!” Jackson thundered. He tightened his grip even harder. Dedron gagged. “Heathen liar!”
    â€œJackson, stop!” Tessa screamed.
    Arnica cried, “You’re hurting him!”
    â€œPI—please …,” Dedron choked out. “In the name of Panenthe … I can’t … breathe …”
    For an instant a memory flashed across Jackson’s mind. Seth had gotten mad and punched him in the stomach once, doubling him over. Jackson had lain in the playground dirt, gasping for breath, thinking he might die, feeling like he wanted to. Now a momentary rush of regret filled him and his grip loosened just a little. In that second Dedron twisted desperately to get free, his elbow slamming into Jackson’s forehead.
    It was as if lightning had struck, then thunder, knocking Jackson back. For a moment patches of light and dark were all he could see. Intense pain shot