The Centerpoint Trilogy by Kayla Bruner Page B

mother, the same as any of them would do for their hostages.   He could see it in her eyes, however, that she was utterly desperate to save her mother. She was trying her best to be strong.
    “I could kill someone,” the man threatened. He touched the blonde woman on the shoulder and even under her mask, Ethan could see her smiling at him. Her smile was wide and spread out across her whole face. He could barely tell what she looked like, but from what he could see of her eyes, they were smiling too. “Or I could ask Lilly here to do it. Experimentation has shown me that Lilly here can, in fact, torture someone to his death.” He crossed in front of the hostages and then looked at them one by one as if he was death and he was weighing souls for judgment. “I got two adults, an old lady and a little kid. It seems like it’d be the least cruel if I killed grandma.” The woman in front of him shuddered, visibly. Ethan could see tears streaking down her cheeks. Her chest heaved in and out with each breath that she took.
    “No!” James moved forward, looking so desperate. His eyes were wide and wet with terror. He was not restraining himself in the way that Ethan and Anna both were trying so desperately to do. His expressions were crystal clear. “Don’t touch my gran, please. I’ll do anything you want me to do.”
    All of the hostages were terrified. The three adults huddled close together. Their bodies were touching.  They cried, shivered and muttered under the gags but not one of them truly moved. Anna’s mother stroked and touched the child in her arms, trying her best to calm her. Alicia, James, Ethan and Anna did not move much. They were so afraid of what this erratic man would do to the people that they loved the very most.
    The man walked around his hostages, touching each one in turn. His touches were light, barely there touches.  When he touched Anna’s mother, she shuddered and shielded the baby with her arms. James’ brother took a step back, meeting the man with defiance in his eyes. The elderly woman just coughed and shook hard.  He then turned to those he called his children. “You,” he said, stopping in front of James and putting a hand on his shoulder. James looked up, but he did not move. “I will kill your grandmother, painfully, unless you let loose your fire on another one of my hostages. Do it now, or you will regret it.” From the corner, Ethan heard the grandmother let out a pathetic cry. It was a tiny whimper, so quiet that he’d not have heard it had he not been listening for it.
    James stared. He shook his head and tears streaked down his cheeks. He had obviously seen the man kill and knew what he was capable of. “Please…” he begged desperately.
    “Lilly!”
    The woman raised a hand majestically and began to laugh. She cackled and tossed her head back, letting something rip from within her.  She laughed and laughed, and James’ grandmother began to twist and writhe painfully. Her body moved almost as if she were dancing, twisting from side to side in ways that her stiff body would not usually allow.  She screamed, a blood curdling scream that forced Ethan to move against his bonds. “Please stop!” he begged the man, as loudly as he could possibly manage.
    James roared out and the invisible bond that was his fear let loose. He ran as fast as he possibly could at the man, flames shooting from him. The explosion blast through him, shaking and rumbling and sending everything reeling backwards. The explosion rocked the place, blasting so hard that Ethan hit the wall. The concentrated blast seemed to shake Anna loose from at least some of her bonds, but he wasn’t so lucky. Anna acted and moved forward with the arm that had evidently been freed. She raised a hand and called upon her powers as well. Things flew all about. The wood beams broke loose again and everything that was not affixed to the floor, including bowls and lit candles went flying. Anna came free from the