Genesis Sinister. James Axler

They’re past their due date. Whatever that stone used to do for you, now all it does is eat you up. You need to get it removed. Your god is gone and he ain’t coming back.”

      “You have no idea of the power—” the man began.

      “Yes, I do,” Grant said solemnly. “Try it. Go ahead, tap the stone field and show me what you can do.”

      The man glared at him, suspecting a trick. Grant encouraged him with an incline of his head. “Go on.”

      Standing there by the wall, the man clenched his fists and spoke three words: “I am stone.”

      Grant drew back his fist and, without warning, smacked the man in the jaw. The man was knocked back by the force of that blow, staggering backward until, three steps later, he slammed against the wall behind him.

      “Stone, huh?” Grant taunted.

      The robed man wiped at his chin, swiping blood away from a loosened tooth. “What...?” he asked, confused. “You... What happened?”

      “Stones don’t work anymore,” Grant told him. “Trust my people, and we’ll get it out of you and anyone else that needs it. Leave them in there, and they’ll burn through your body in next to no time. That’s your choice. Are we clear?”

      The man nodded, still rubbing at his sore jaw. “So what do you want me to do?”

      Grant pointed at the second box of stones that Kane had now carefully retrieved from under the stage per Domi’s instruction. He had sealed the box to ensure nothing could touch his skin.

      “The stones,” Grant said. “I want to know where they came from.”

      The man looked at Grant with resignation, a shining droplet of blood budding at his split lip. “Okay, man, I’ll tell you what I know. But you said you’d help me, right?”

      “That’s what we’re here for,” Grant assured him.