Bert:

  That woman was pissing me off. Not only had she practically accused Eli of bringing a weapon to the academy, something that wasn’t illegal as far as I could see, but she had the gall to throw me out of the space as she did so. Honestly, if not for that professor showing up, I might have done something I would have regretted.

  Well, maybe. Something told me that she could just end me if I did something that directly threatened her. And then where would Eli be? Without me, who would protect him from what was likely coming? From all the people here who would see a weak person and either exploit his knowledge and skills, or use him as fodder.

  Even though she didn’t let me return, I stayed close enough to hear everything going on in that room. I almost jumped for joy the moment the professor offered to take Eli to get tested and clear everything up. While I didn’t know what the test would include, it would both save him from whatever this woman had planned and finally get it through his head that he had a gift.

  I knew he had a gift. His parents knew he had a gift. Hell, I was sure that even his teachers had known he had a gift. But none of us could name what it was. I had been trying to catch him using it, but so far, nothing. Years of watching and all we got were weird coincidences and signs, but no outright use.

  So when it came time to take the government’s mandatory test, I finagled a promise out of him. One that would force him to use his gift. Only, nothing fucking happened. Sure, he impressed a bunch of the people watching, but he never once used anything that could be a gift.

  And I was pissed about that. He promised to go all out, yet he refused to use his power. By the end of the test, I had enough. Sure, I might have been a bit harsh, but could you blame me? I was going to end up going to the academy, and he wasn’t. He was going to sit in his shop doing what he always does. Hide. From the world. From me. From himself.

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  Of course, as I finally accepted all this, his parents called and I found out the moron had, not one, but two offers to come to the academy. Offers that he was going to turn down!

  It took a concerted effort from both families to force the fucker to take the offer. My parents would watch their shop and keep everything safe while his family was out and about doing whatever it was they did. All while I watched over the idiot. Protect him.

  Yet here I was, unable to do anything more than watch as they started to parade him down a twisting series of halls. The only thing I had to put up with as I followed the trio was the consistent glares the woman shot my way.

  Then we reached a room. One that stood out against the wall. Something about it screamed both danger and power. Whatever was in there, it had the potential to do a lot of damage.

  I tried to follow the three in only to be stopped at the door by some force. Without a way forward, I was forced to stay just outside the room. To watch as Eli was tested. I found my fascination turn to horror as the machine went from something interesting to an instrument of torture.

  My fists bashed against the shield as his screams filled the room. Echoed off the walls and down the hall. Then, as though that had merely been a probe by the machine, the light it gave off turned blinding as his screams rose both in octave and volume.

  Blood coated the air in front of me as I continued to try to beat my way to him. Yet nothing I did worked. I was watching them kill him, and there was nothing I could do.

  And then everything cut off. The light vanished and the screaming stopped. My eyes locked onto the body lying in the center of the arch. Nothing looked broken, burned, or even hurt. But he didn’t move. Given how everyone rushed to get to him, this wasn’t what was supposed to happen.

  Somehow, the machine had hurt him. The question banging around my head was whether it was intentional or not. And given how that woman had been treating him, I was sure it was somehow her fault.

  If he never came out of this. No. If he was hurt in any way, I was going to make her pay. I didn’t care if it cost me. I didn’t care if it was the last thing I did. I was going to force her to feel what she did to Eli. Force her to understand that she was not as powerful as she thought.

  It might take years, but I would do it. I would do anything for the one person who treated me as a normal person, even when my power forced itself forward earlier than anyone else in our class. Even as all the other kids ran from me. As parents flinched away from me when I forgot my power. Not Eli. Never Eli.