I sprang forward, concerned, but Hosea held me back. I twisted away, then froze as Booster lifted his head. His face was lit, as bright as a star. But he was not in pain. He was lit with power. It coursed through him. His eyes bulged, his arms trembled, his fist vibrated around the weapon, which took the form of a whip. He got to his feet and struggled to raise the blue whip over his head and bring it down in a proper arc.

His fist gripped the stock, the tail trailed at his feet. Inch by quivering inch, he forced it up with sheer brute strength as if it weighed hundreds of pounds. It was at his ear, above his head, as high as he could reach. Suddenly, the whip sprang into motion. The blue tail flew up past Booster’s body, past the length of his arm and into the air. It sparked against the sky like lightning. Booster bore down and the cracker snapped back, striking the ground. Earth flew, smoke billowed. I turned my face, coughing and choking. When I looked back, the whip lay in a crater of its own creation.

Booster collapsed. We all rushed forward. Hosea rolled him over. “You fool. I told you to hold it in the palm of your hand. Not grasp it. This display proves you’re not ready yet.”

Booster shook his head, unable to speak.

Hosea took his pulse. “Perhaps next time you’ll listen before you act rashly,” he said. “Your physical prowess leads you to imagine you’re invulnerable. You must manage your strength so it works for you, instead of against others.”

Booster’s mouth hung slack. His eyes brimmed with fear.

“You won’t be able to talk for a while, but you’ll be fine,” Hosea continued. “You’ll rest the remainder of the day.” Over Booster’s weak protests, he wrapped the whip in bambi cloth and tied it to Booster’s hip. William and Hurley carted Booster away.

Hosea turned to the rest of us. “Booster’s weapon—”

“What was that?” Pidge interrupted, as shocked as the rest of us.

“It was a flail,” Hosea said. “A spiked ball attached to a chain. It’s the simplest Helix, but it takes great strength to wield, which is why I chose it for Booster.”

“Simple?” Pidge said, incredulous.

“Yes, archaic. The flail essentially batters its victims. It takes no great skill to maneuver. The spiked ball is large enough that your aim can be imprecise and still be very effective.”

Finch waved his arms. You say the flail has a spiked ball, but there was no ball at the end of Booster’s whip.

“When the Helix is fully formed, the ball will gather at the end and produce spikes. Booster dropped the weapon before it had fully activated.”

My jaw dropped.

“You mean that wasn’t a display of its full power?” Pidge asked, voicing all our fears.