Dark Soul of the Clans Book Two

By Pamela E. Cash

Chassie is now known as Chausiku. She fought and won a major battle but at what cost? Her abilities took her to such a dark place that her own family doesn’t seem to trust her. But her intuition tells her they are hiding something. The clans have a secret...and Rasul has a secret weapon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pamela E. Cash
• Release date: Aug 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9780988616462

Pamela E. Cash

Pamela E. Cash lives in Chicago with her family and she loves supernatural books and movies.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The loud and continuous beep of the alarm went off...again. It was 6:45 in the morning. Chassie’s hand slid from under the covers and slammed down on the snooze button. She had already hit it three times since the alarm first went off but she didn’t care.

Her thick springy curls sprawled across her pillow as she rolled over onto her back and opened one green eye into a slit.

Ugh, she mumbled irritably. It can’t be time to get up already!

She rubbed her eyes with her fists, swiped her hair back from her forehead with the palm of her hand and exhaled hard. It was the first day of school and St. Loyola’s warning bell would ring in one hour. If she didn’t have her feet planted firmly inside of the classroom door of her first period class within five minutes of hearing the warning bell, she would spend the afternoon in detention. The thought made both of her eyes fly open. She reached over and switched the alarm button to off. She had thirty minutes to shower, dress and grab a bite to eat before driving to pick up John, swinging by to pick up Alexa and heading for school. She was excited to start the new school year as a junior...she just wasn’t happy about getting up early in the mornings again.

A couple more minutes of sleep won’t hurt, she thought. Just a few minutes more.

She closed her eyes and was just about to doze off again when her mind felt someone trying to force thoughts into it. It felt like a pounding headache. She frowned.

What? What? What is it, John? Stop bugging me. She spoke out loud but used her telepathy to communicate.

John was already up. He’d taken his shower and was about to go downstairs to eat breakfast when he remembered Chassie slept like a log and hated to get up in the mornings. So, he had repeated her name over and over until she woke up. He knew she would be annoyed when his thoughts tapped into her mind.

Get up, Chaz, he answered. You’re gonna make us late for school.

No, she snapped, keeping her eyes closed. Leave me alone…I just want a few more minutes.

Chaz, get up now! A thought suddenly occurred to him. It felt as if he yelled in his mind…did it sound like yelling in her mind too?

Not really, responded Chassie, but the irritation in your voice comes across clearly.

I forgot you can hear all thoughts—

Which is puzzling since you sent me your thoughts to wake me up, Chassie interrupted.

I know but I still forget you can hear me even when I’m talking to myself—I mean thinking to myself—it’s weird but you know what I mean.

She yawned and opened both eyes again. Going back to sleep was out of the question now. Yeah, I know what you mean…I’m getting up now. Be in front of your house in 20 minutes.

Okay. And Chaz, I know you…don’t be—

She blocked his thoughts and cut off his sentence. She already knew he was just going to lecture her about not being late and she didn’t feel like hearing it. It wasn’t being rude…technically. He wouldn’t know she had blocked him unless he asked her a question and she didn’t answer.

As she sat up in bed and stretched to knock out the knots in her back, she looked over at her nightstand. Her three favorite pictures were there. A picture of her mother sat in the center of her nightstand. On the right was another picture of her mother holding her when she was a baby. Her father was in the picture too, standing behind them. They were looking down at her and beaming with pride with big smiles on their faces. On the left was a picture that had just been taken a couple of weeks ago. It was a photograph of her grandparents.

She looked around the room and smiled. There were so many pictures of her family spread around her room when there used to be none. My family, she thought. The Sakombi clan is my family. For sixteen years, I didn’t even know they existed.

She looked at the photo of her mother again. It lifted off the nightstand and flew into her hands. She kissed the glass over her mother’s cheek and then opened her hand again. It soared through the air and settled back on the nightstand.

Time to get moving, she thought.

The robe on the chair next to her desk glided across the room and then hung in the air as her bed covers folded back. She got out of bed and put her arms through the sleeves. The robe wrapped around her and the sash tied in front. As she walked across the room, the sheets and Duvet cover on her bed straightened out neatly and tucked in at the corners. Her pillows fluffed and settled on top of the cover. Then the closet door opened and the outfit she planned to wear to school glided out and settled across a chair. Black lace-up shoes with chunky heels landed next to the chair.

She walked out of her bedroom and down the hall, running her fingers through her hair to shake out the curls that had tangled during the night. When she walked into the bathroom, the facet over the bath tub turned on and stopped midway between hot and cold so the water temperature would be just right. The shower plug lifted and the water switched from the facet to the shower head.

She hummed softly as she manually untied the sash around her robe, stepped into the tub, pulled the shower curtain closed and stuck her head underneath the water. Her eyes closed as she let the water cascade down her face and her body.

Wow, she thought, could it really be the first day of school already?

As she lathered her body with her favorite mango scented shower gel, she thought about all the things that happened over the summer...

*****

Chassie finally got to meet the rest of her mother’s family after she had defeated Rasul and avenged her mother’s death. Her grandfather, uncle, and many of her cousins flew in from Africa for a visit. Kamuzu couldn’t wait to see the granddaughter he had not seen in sixteen years. Zareb couldn’t wait to see her abilities. The day after the battle in the forest, Malika had called him and described what happened.

It’s done, Zareb, Malika communicated telepathically. Njau is dead.

What about Rasul?

Chausiku let him go. I don’t think he will try anything in the near future. We should keep an eye on him, though. Tell everyone to search for his thoughts in the savannah again.

Chausiku let him go? She is a child. Why didn’t you take over? I thought we agreed we had to finish Rasul this time.

I left with Elizabeth to take care of the child Rasul kidnapped to trap Chausiku.

What child? We always assumed he would go after Charles.

He outsmarted us. He took her best friend, Alexa...a human without abilities.

He is worse than I thought, he communicated, shaking his head. To use a human child in his pursuit of power and wealth was despicable. How could you have let him live? You shouldn’t have left that decision up to Chausiku. You should have stayed and finished him off.

Even if I had stayed, it wouldn’t have been easy to control Chausiku. She’s strong—stronger than we imagined. Her powers are...different.

What do you mean? She’s a Sakombi so she has telepathy and telekinesis. Are you saying she possesses the powers of other clans?

No. No clan has the powers I saw her engage. She can disintegrate objects...turn them to dust...even humans.

What????

She can literally turn objects, including people, into ashes. I saw it with my own eyes and—get ready for this—she can reconstitute them too...good as new.

My God! That kind of power could be dangerous especially while she is still a child.

I know. We will have to watch her closely. We can’t leave Charles alone to raise her anymore. He won’t be able to control her. She used her ability to torture Rasul.

She used torture? His anger came through clearly in Malika’s mind. Why didn’t you stop her? You should have used your own abilities to immobilize her. You are much older and more experienced, Malika. You should have been able to control her.

I don’t have the power to control Chausiku, she snapped. Her abilities are much stronger than mine or anyone else I know of, for that matter. I can’t even tap into her mind to read her thoughts.

All Sakombis can block each other from reading their thoughts, he replied. So, what?

She hesitated. She’d kept a secret from him...he wouldn’t like it. Actually, Zareb…you and the rest of the Sakombi clan can block your thoughts from each other. But if I concentrate very hard, I can break through your block. I’ve never done it with you but I have done it to some of our cousins. They can tell when I break through though. They tell me it hurts. It feels as if a needle has pierced their heads so I don’t do it. But Chausiku is stronger. I thought I blocked my mind from her once but I found out later she had heard everything I thought…and I didn’t feel a thing! She can also block me from hearing her thoughts. I can’t pierce through her block even when I concentrate on her.

My, my, he said. His brows furrowed.

And that’s not all, Malika continued. You know how Rasul can sense other clan members when they use their abilities and find their location?

Yes…I never understood how his Qiáo abilities expanded that way.

Well, Chausiku can block him too. He can’t locate her.

I’m not surprised, Malika. He couldn’t locate Adamma either, remember?

Yes…but again, Chausiku is stronger. She can sense when Rasul is using his abilities too.

All right, I get it. She’s very strong. So, if you can’t tap into her mind, how did you find out she tortured Rasul? You said you left to take care of the girl so you weren’t there.

I tapped into the minds of Rasul and Njau. My God, I can still hear their screams. Chausiku was peeling the flesh from their bones…then reconstituting their skin so that they healed. Then she would skin them alive over and over again. They endured excruciating pain.

He became silent for a moment, lost in thought. He’d always believed Chausiku would be very strong. Each generation of the Sakombi clan had been stronger than their ancestors, especially the direct descendants of Obasi, his grandfather. Of course, Malika and Adamma had abilities that surpassed them all. And now there was Chausiku. Her abilities were unfathomable. He was worried.

Have you talked to Chausiku about the torture?

No, not yet. I plan to take her out to dinner—just the two of us—and talk about it then.

Good, perhaps I’ll go with you. I’ll take a vacation from work and purchase my airline tickets. I’ll let you know when I will arrive so Chausiku can pick me up from the airport. By the way, how is Charles doing? He has no choice but to believe in us now. How did he take it?

He’s fine. He is the one who killed Njau…well, sort of.

What do you mean?

I’ll explain when you get here.

Chausiku helped him?

Yes. She moves things so fast with telekinesis. You just have to see it for yourself, Zareb.

He frowned. Yes…I really must—

And Zareb, she continued hastily, cutting him off. Don’t tell anyone about Chausiku’s abilities except Adanya and Naasir. Don’t even tell our cousins. I think we should keep all the things Chausiku can do to ourselves for now. There are some people who won’t like it.

I know, Malika. I’ll see you when I get there.

Two weeks later, Zareb arrived in Chicago with his children, grandchildren and Kamuzu. Malika and Chassie picked them up from the airport, taking two cars in order to fit so many people. Chassie had only met her grandmother on her mother’s side so she was ecstatic to meet so many people at once.

Grandfather! Chassie yelled as she dashed to the luggage carousel where Kamuzu and the others were gathering their bags. She recognized him from the pictures Malika had shared with her.

He whipped around just in time to catch her before she toppled them both to the ground. My dear, he said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. His throat tightened as he continued in a muffled voice, I haven’t seen you since you were a baby…I was afraid I would never see you again. They held their embrace for a long time while Malika watched them with watery eyes. Finally, Naasir broke them up.

Come on, Uncle Kamuzu, give the rest of us a chance, he said chuckling. He grabbed Chassie’s elbow, whisked her around and threw his arms around her. I’m your cousin, Naasir. Your great-uncle Zareb’s son. Then he turned to introduce her to the others but Chassie didn’t give him time.

Yes, yes, I know, she said, grinning uncontrollably. Grandmother has told me about you all! She ran from one to the other, touching their faces with her fingertips as though she needed to make sure they were real and then embracing them with a hug so tight that she could feel their muscles and ribs.

Oh my! said Adanya, chuckling and squeezing Chassie back with a bear hug of her own. Here, let me look at you. She unwrapped her arms from around Chassie’s waist and raised them to hold Chassie’s face between the palm of her hands. Yes, Aunt Malika was right. You are the mirror image of your mother. Adamma was like a big sister to me when we were young.

You resemble her too, said Chassie, or at least you resemble the pictures I have of her. You’re Naasir’s sister, right?

That’s right, said Adanya, and these— She turned her head to look behind her and then continued. —are my children. Two small heads peeked around her hips.

Chassie leaned down to caress the little boy’s cheek. You must be Tahir, she said. He nodded his head vigorously. I hear you just had a birthday.

I’m seven, he blurted out proudly.

Nobody cares, said the young girl standing beside him.

Bahiti! said Adanya tersely. Stop being mean to your brother. All birthdays are important.

Bahiti stepped forward and held out her hand to Chassie. Hi, I’m your cousin, Bahiti. I’m ten but I can’t wait until I turn sixteen and get my powers. I hear yours are amazing!

Bahiti! snapped Adanya, her irritation increasing. You know we don’t talk about those things in public, now shut it.

Bahiti lowered her head.

Chassie raised Bahiti’s chin with her fingertips. It’s nice to meet you, she said. Then she leaned down close to Bahiti’s ear. I’ll show you a few things when we’re alone at home. I bet you’ll be even stronger than me when you’re sixteen.

Bahiti smiled brightly and gave Chassie a quick peck on her cheek.

Chassie winked at her and then stood up to look at three boys standing quietly beside Naasir. Let’s see, she said pointing her finger at one of them. He was tall with a muscular build and his hair was short with a fade cut. He had an easy-going smile on his face. Haruko, she said, shaking her finger at him. You’re Naasir’s oldest son—nineteen. You’re in college.

He nodded his head slightly and extended his hand. Her lips curled into a sideways smile as she smacked his hand away and jumped up to clasp her arms around his neck.

He laughed. Nice to meet you too, he said, holding her up with his arms around her waist and swinging her from side to side.

She laughed with him. It’s the first time I’ve ever met cousins so no hand-shaking allowed.

He put her down and she side-stepped over to the next boy. He was slightly shorter than Haruko, had a medium build and he wore his hair in an Afro fade. He immediately put his arms around Chassie and gave her a hug.

So, I guess you already know I’m Jabari, he said into her ear.

I do, she said, hugging him back tightly. You’re seventeen so you haven’t had your powers much longer than I’ve had mine. How’s your control?

I’m working on it… He leaned back and raised one eyebrow at her. I plan on working on doing what Aunt Malika says you can do too.

Chassie laughed. Oh really? Like what?

That disintegration thing is a cool power. Will you show me how you do it?

She nodded. Sure, we’ll practice at home.

He grinned.

She patted his arm and then walked over to stand in front of the third boy who was standing off to the side. He was fifteen-years-old, tall for his age, wore his hair in a mohawk fade, and had a lanky build. He awkwardly put one arm around Chassie’s shoulder and patted her on the back.

Hi, Chausiku, he said in a small voice.

Hi, Kasim, she said, patting his back in the same way. She could tell he was a little shy. Welcome to Chicago.

Well, said a gruff voice behind Chassie’s back. I see you’ve met the family.

Chassie turned around and saw a tall man of medium build with snowy white hair and a white neatly trimmed beard framing a smooth and very dark-skinned face. The lines crinkling around his eyes were the only evidence of his advanced age. His face looked familiar to Chassie even though she had never met him. Uncle Zareb, she thought, seeing the resemblance between him and Malika. She started to reach up to hug him but then hesitated. She could sense he was trying to block her from his mind. She wondered what he was trying to hide but decided it could wait until she had spent more time with her family.

Hello, Uncle Zareb, it’s nice to meet you, she said in a polite voice and giving him a small smile.

I’m sure we’ll get to know each other very well during our visit, he said, patting her cheek lightly with the palm of his hand and giving her a tight-lipped smile.

Brother, said Malika happily. She untangled her arms from Kamuzu, walked over and gave Zareb a warm hug. Then she put her arm around Chassie’s shoulders and pulled her closer as she continued. Isn’t it wonderful to finally have my grandbaby back in our family? If only Adamma were still alive…this day would be perfect.

Yes, of course, said Zareb. He kissed Malika’s forehead tenderly. I know how much you miss Adamma…we all do.

Malika notices he didn’t include Chassie in his agreement with her but she let it go.

Well, we should get going, she continued, turning and walking back to Kamuzu. Charles is at home and I’m sure he can’t wait to meet all of you.

The Sakombi clan headed to Chassie’s house and began their summer-time visit. She was happier than she had ever been—even happier than when she got a car for her birthday. They spent a lot of time at home where they could use their abilities freely and get to know each other better. Chassie relished the opportunity to learn more about her African heritage—not just her Sakombi heritage. Malika and Adanya even taught her how to cook African dishes. She laughed, hugged and felt loved more than ever. The closeness of family was what she had missed most about not having her mother around.

Charles had not really been happy to meet them but he was cordial. They made him uncomfortable—things were always flying across the room by way of telekinesis—so he preferred to spend most of his time at work. Malika tried to make him feel more at ease around their abilities, as Kamuzu was, but he always looked at them with wide eyes like a deer in headlights. After the first few days of the visit he began staying at his office very late then coming home and going straight to bed. He told them he was working on an important legal matter but he doubted anyone other than Chassie cared about his explanation. He assumed his absence gave them the freedom to talk about family matters not meant for outsiders—people without abilities—to hear. He was wrong though. They didn’t consider him an outsider, even though they knew how he really felt about them. He had avenged Adamma’s death and he was Chassie’s father so he was family.

Chassie spent most of her time with Haruko and Jabari. She became especially close to Haruko who treated her like a little sister. Since they had also received their abilities when they turned sixteen, she was able to train with them. Training with a Sakombi was quite different than training with John and George. They taught her telepathic and telekinetic techniques that only someone with the same ability could teach.

Jabari was almost obsessed with Chassie’s ability to disintegrate and reconstitute objects. He persistently tried to emulate her abilities and then grilled her incessantly about her method each time he failed. She constantly told him she didn’t have one. It just happened whenever she thought about it.

Haruko had tried to disintegrate objects a couple of times but realized you either had the ability or you didn’t. The rest of the Sakombi family didn’t try at all. They’d had their abilities for years