Page 57 of Asmodel

With a grimace, she placed the first disk on one temple and waited.

Asmodel didn’t feel or sense anything unusual, so he nodded encouragement at her.

With a steady hand, she put the other one on.

At once, Asmodel lost all sensation of Izzy’s mind. Wait, not just her mind, but her entire body became a blank slate. As if she wasn’t there.

“Are you okay?” He gripped her shoulder. Losing the ability to sense her psychically felt like losing one of his physical senses. He might not like it, but he wouldn’t admit it out loud.

Izzy’s bright-brown eyes met his. “I guess so.” She shrugged. “I don’t feel any different.”

“See?” Raxx crowed. “Told ya so.”

Izzy glanced at the other man. “How do I know if they’re working or not?”

“Tell us, big guy.” Raxx pointed at Asmodel. “They working?”

Keeping his focus on Izzy, he gave a brief nod. “I can’t psychically sense you at all.”

Izzy beamed. “That’s good!” She frowned as she studied his face. “Isn’t it?”

Asmodel forced the tense muscles in his face to relax. The last thing she needed to worry about was him. “Yes,alma gemela. Now you’ll be invisible to the Krystalii.”

The ground violently shook.

“We’d better get going, dude.” Raxx said after the tremor softened. “Like Mr. Miyagi says, if we don’t go now, we’ll get squished like a grape.”

Asmodel didn’t know who Mr. Miyagi was or why he talked about grapes, but the jest was sound. He tilted his head at Jaltaar and Talira. “Please stand back.” He glanced at his bot companion on his shoulder. “You know what to do.”

For once, the bot didn’t spout any snark as he scurried to the nape of Asmodel’s neck, his pointy feet making the skin prickle. Once the spybot was secure, Asmodel held out his hands to his two companions and instructed, “Hold on and don’t let go.”

“Alright, folks, buckle up, secure your luggage, and make sure your table trays are in the upright position. This ride’s gonna be bumpier than a bull on a trampoline!”

Of course Raxx had to have the last word.

Izzy materialized between Asmodel and Raxx in the heart of Panterion Prime. Her eyes widened. The formerly awe-inspiring sight of the once-grand skyscrapers now had jagged edges, their glass facades occasionally shattered like a frozen, glittering waterfall. The ground beneath her hummed with the aftershocks of the earthquake, a low, continuous vibration she felt through the soles of her shoes. A cloud of dust hung in the air, filtering the light into a dull, ghostly gray haze. The scent of ozone and concrete teased her nose. The sharp, metallic tang mingled with the earthy smell of uneven rubble.

She turned to Asmodel and gripped his forearm. “Where is everyone? Do you think Jaltaar and Talira can get them out safely?” Her voice was no louder than a whisper over the city's eerie silence.

Asmodel narrowed his hazel eyes, his lips pressed in a firm line.

Raxx pulled Echo off his belt and scanned the horizon. He responded with a grim nod. “Shit! This sucks. A lot of them are vaporized.” He nodded to the piles of dust and clumpy dirt littered across the square.

“Vaporized?” Izzy gasped. “Is that true?”

“I’m afraid so,” Asmodel replied. “There isn’t a living soul within a mile of here.”

“But what caused…”

“Hide!” JR13’s voice rose. “She’s coming back!”

Izzy didn’t have time to do anything but run since Asmodel gripped her upper arm and shoved her behind a wide column pillar now broken in half. He planted his body around her, his chest pressed against her back. Raxx next to her, clutched Echo with white knuckles.

Appearing from nowhere, Prisma-Solara materialized. Her brilliant, shimmering figure was planted in the square’s center. Facets of her crystalline form caught the hazy light from the semi-destroyed buildings. Despite her striking beauty, she carried an unmistakable air of chaos. The yellow crystals on her body crackled with unstable energy, the color fading and coated with clumps of dirt. As her figure flickered, her sharp edges cast chaotic shadows across the broken pavement.

Once again, the ground heaved beneath Izzy and her companions.Oh, my stars.The crystal female’s psychic energies not only manifested as visual distortions, but she was altering the environment as each tremor grew in intensity.

Around the Krystalii, the air was thick, charged with a pulsating power that sent waves of dissonance through the atmosphere.

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