Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

?That door was insane!? Jason exclaimed. Recalling it, he rubbed

a hand across his face in that Delos gesture that Helen always noticed.

?It was like you had taken an industrial-strength welder to

it.?

?How many volts do you think you have stored right now?? Cassandra

asked. They all entered the arena.

?No idea.? Helen shrugged. She felt for the charge and tried to

gauge it, but she couldn?t describe it. ?It?s a feeling, not a digital

readout, Cass.?

?Oh, then wait!? Cassandra said, holding up her hands. ?Maybe I

can devise a way to measure it.?

?Cassie, geek out later! We?re all dying to see this right now,?

Hector whined.

?All right, fine! Sorry, Helen. Whenever you?re ready,? she reluctantly

allowed.

The Delos family moved behind Helen, giving her plenty of room

to aim her bolt out across the nonconductive sand of the arena. She

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held up her right hand. That was the hand she wrote with, but it

didn?t feel like the best fit, so she switched to her left. Then she

summoned her bolt?deliberately for the first time.

Lightning shot out of her hand. Not static, not some pathetic

splinter of a spark, but actual lightning. It arced forward in a

bright, branching blur, and it made a huge cracking sound, like an

orchestra of leather bullwhips snapping simultaneously. One

second the air was full of blinding icy blue light, and the next

second half of the arena was coated in a thick sheet of smoking

amber-colored glass.

No one said anything for a second.

?Unbefrickinglievable,? Hector cussed quietly into the silence.