?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
286/395
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.