“Why do you say she is like us?” another of the men in the central triangle formation asked of Bet.
“I don’t know her personally, but everyone knows about the crystals. They’re embedded in her skin. Just like some of you.” Bet looked around at the flashing of crystal that could be seen here and there around the circle and in front of her.
“Have you seen this?” the first man asked directly of Agnor.
“I have,” he answered in a solemn tone. “She has over one hundred shards of varying sizes permanently embedded in her skin. Some are as small as a sliver. And some are as large as my thumb.” He held up his hand so they could see the size of his thumb.
A sort of impressed silence greeted his claim. Bet looked around, feeling uneasy.
“How is that you speak our language?” she asked.
“Ki bestows many gifts,” the man answered mysteriously.
“Ki?” Bet repeated, puzzled.
“What you call crystal. It is known to us as Ki. Ki teaches and empowers. Ki enlightens and strengthens.”
“Sadly, its power has also been used to enslave many Talented minds in the wider galaxy,” Agnor said quietly.
The first man looked grim, as did his fellows. His mouth tightened into a compressed line.
“We welcomed you here to learn your truth,” he said finally. “Ki demands information we have been unable to provide.”
“I will do all in my power to provide the information you seek,” Agnor promised.
“Good.” The first man nodded. “Will you come with us to experience Ki?”
Agnor nodded. “It is what I have come here to do.”
The group of men surrounded them as they walked in a processional line off the plateau, following a winding path that led down into the bowels of the crater. Bet looked up a few times on the long journey, shocked to find she could just barely see the ship from a certain angle. They were traveling deceptively fast, though their walking pace seemed slow to her. Still, they were covering ground at a rapid rate.
As they moved downward, the light changed. It went from dim to dark and then dim again. Then, suddenly, the glow started to grow again in intensity. It was a blue-tinged illumination that grew as they moved along the bottom of the crater. At that point, they were moving into the ground itself, into a massive cavern that glowed brightly.
It was beautiful. Alien in the extreme, but amazingly lovely. Blue flickered along the walls of the long, narrow corridor that led…somewhere. The source of the light was there. Wherever this tall tunnel led.
Fear had been left far behind. This was an experience like no other, and Bet wasn’t afraid. Somehow, Agnor’s presence calmed and reassured her. She felt as if nothing bad could happen to her with him around, unreasonable as that seemed.
The line of men shuffled and reformed until they were walking single-file through the narrowest part of the tunnel. The light was growing brighter and moving now as they drew near to what appeared to be an opening. Agnor led, holding Bet’s hand as he stepped through first. She followed and nearly tripped over her own feet.
They were in a massive underground chamber that danced with radiance in the blue part of the spectrum. The walls and parts of the floor of the cavern was filled with crystals of varying sizes, and the beams bounced from shard to shard, pillar to pillar. The play of light was both fascinating and inexplicable.
They were in an enclosed chamber. There should be no light source to illuminate the crystals in such a way. Unless…the light was coming from inside the crystals themselves.
Bet gradually became aware that the robed men filed in behind her and arrayed themselves around the giant room. They all faced inward, forming a rough circle in the open spots of the floor, between the crystals. Some were so massive she wouldn’t be able to get both arms around them. Some were tiny, as if they’d only just started growing. All danced with the blue glow that bounced around inside the crystal lattice and out into the world around.
Perhaps that was the way they communicated with each other, if they were all different entities. Or maybe, if it was one giant entity, that’s the way information was passed from one part of the organism to another.
“Is this Ki?” Agnor asked aloud, stepping a pace forward into the chamber.
“Ki is here. Ki is all around.” The main speaker had stayed near.
“I am Agnor, a scientist from a world called Geneth Mar, which is home to the Council.”
Agnor tugged on Bet’s hand, and she stepped closer, moving next to him. “And I’m Bettsua, also from Geneth Mar. I’m a Specitar, like Agnor, but my power is telekinesis.”
“What does that mean?” the robed man asked.
“I can move things with my mind,” she explained. Maybe these people used different terms for that Talent. But if the crystal was somehow translating or interpreting, why wasn’t there an equivalent term?
“Can you demonstrate this power?” the man asked. Bet nodded, and he pointed to a plain rock—not one with crystal on it—near her feet. “Please lift that with your mind, to waist height.”
She did as he asked and realized every eye in the room was on her. “What would you like me to do with it?”
The man started, shocked out of his reverie. “Please place it over there.” He pointed to a clear spot about five feet away. Bet complied with his request and placed it neatly in the spot he’d asked for.
“Do you need to rest?” he asked solicitously.
“No, thank you. I’m fine. I lift more than that every day. It doesn’t tire me. It’s part of my job,” she tried to explain. The men in the room looked impressed.
“And do you share this power, Agnor?” He spoke Agnor’s name as if it came with difficulty to his tongue.
“No. I am a telepath. I speak mind-to-mind with others who have the same ability.” Agnor seemed to realize these guys needed explanations. “I can speak to one or two minds that are strong enough, on nearby planets. When I’m on my homeworld, or any Council world, where such Talents are common, I can speak with many people who share this gift over vast distances.”
“We are aware of such skills,” the man confirmed. “But nobody on Ipson has such abilities. It is forbidden by Ki.”
“Because of the way Ki influences such Talents,” Agnor said quietly.
“Yes,” the robed man answered quickly, with new respect.
“Then, may I ask why Ki allows the crystals to leave this world and go to the collective?” Agnor dared to ask the question burning in Bet’s mind. “The blue crystals are used to enslave Talented minds so that only a small number of masters rule them all. The control scepters allow armadas to attack peaceful planets and claim them for the collective. And once under control of the collective, Talented children are stolen from their parents and forced into servitude, their Talents usurped by the masters. It is a horrible way to live and one that I believe no human being would seek, given the choice.”
“Ki brings order, but for some time now, those of us who serve Ki have wondered about the representatives who come here, seeking Ki’s favor. Their minds are blocked to Ki, and their words have begun to ring false with us, Ki’s servants. We wish to know your truth, as you see it.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Ki would like to commune with your minds so that it may read the truth of your words for itself.” The man looked uncomfortable. “This is something that is seldom, if ever, done, and among our folk, it leaves a person permanently changed…not for the better. But our minds are not like yours. You have powers that we cannot fully understand. Perhaps it will go better for you.” He shrugged. “Either way, it is up to you. Ki cannot change paths if truth is not discovered.”
“I’ll take the risk,” Agnor said almost at once. “The crystals are killing innocents. If I can convince Ki to stop allowing the collective to mine here, I would gladly forfeit whatever I have to.”
“Wait.” Bet almost hated to speak, but she knew her time had come to act. “You’re too important, Agnor. This is something I can do. I’ve touched the mind of Ki before.” She moved forward, stepping in front of Agnor.
She knew she had to move fast, before he could stop her. Taking a deep breath, Bet dropped her shields and allowed her mind to touch that alien entity she had made contact with once before. And…she was subsumed.
Agnor raced to catch her as she fell. Bet had collapsed, and if he hadn’t been so close to her, he wouldn’t have been able to grab her before she hit the ground. As it was, she’d landed in his arms—just barely. The robed men encircled them, but that was the least of Agnor’s problems. He worried for Bet. She looked very pale.
He held her gently, worry riding him hard as the minutes dragged on. He knew she was communing with the alien entity and he didn’t even want to consider the great risk she was taking. Each second was an agony for him as he waited for her to come out of it. To come back to him.
Would she be whole? Or would she be damaged in some way? Perhaps her psyche might even be damaged beyond repair. It didn’t bear thinking about.
He held her, searching her face for some sign of waking, though her eyes were closed as if she was asleep. But he knew it wasn’t a natural sleep state. For one thing, the usual background hum of her consciousness was…elsewhere…at the moment. He didn’t really know what that meant, since it was something he’d never experienced before, but it added to his worry.
He didn’t know how long the moment lasted. It could have been mere minutes, or it could have been the agonizing hours it felt like, but eventually, she stirred. Her consciousness returned from wherever it had been, and a few seconds later, her face twitched in a way he thought adorable. As if she’d been tickled in her sleep and was slightly annoyed by it. Slowly, she came back into her body and rose from whatever altered state she had gone into when she attempted to communicate with Ki.
Her eyes blinked open and focused slowly on him. Thank goodness.
“What happened?” she asked quietly.
“Ki has gained understanding,” the spokesman for the robed men said from over Agnor’s shoulder.
“What does that even mean?” Agnor looked over his shoulder at the man, his temper frayed by the possible damage done to Bet.
“It means we can speak with you directly now,”
said a voice in Agnor’s mind. A telepathic voice with a feel to it of vast power, tempered by will.
“We learned the way from your mate’s mind. She has an orderly mind with great power. She will be fine. She was not harmed by our touch.”
Agnor rose from his crouching position, taking Bet with him. He steadied her for a moment, looking deep into her eyes, before finally letting go. She seemed no worse for the experience, though her energy levels were a little lower than they had been before. No doubt the experience of communicating with the crystal entity had taken some toll on her endurance, but given enough rest—and maybe a little special healing time spent in pleasure together as soon as they were alone again—he hoped she would recuperate quickly.
Bet stood on shaky legs, moving out of his embrace. She sent him a small smile that went a long way toward reassuring him. She seemed to get steadier with each passing moment, much to his relief.
“I’ll be okay,” she said, reassuring him. “You need to talk with Ki.”
There was a boulder behind her, and she leaned on it. He sent her a doubtful look, but she made a pushing gesture with her hands, as if she was pushing him toward the crystal entity, encouraging him to talk with it.
That was why he’d come here, after all. To learn all he could about the crystal. And here he was, closer to it than ever before, but he was torn. He wanted to be absolutely certain Bet was all right. Everything else—everyone else, in the entire universe—was secondary to her. And that thought gave him pause.
It was at that moment he knew for certain. She was his perfect match. His life mate. The only woman he would ever love and want to spend the rest of his life with… If she would have him.
He would spend the rest of his life convincing her, if he had to, but he had to get this mission done first. Then, he could devote all his energy to earning the love of his lady.
He turned back to the center of the vast crystal chamber. And then, he opened his mind…
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Bet had no idea what passed between Agnor and Ki, but she understood a bit more about the crystal than she had before. It was, as they’d thought, alive. It had rummaged through her mind, examining her past, her thoughts, her experiences. It had
learned
her. And it seemed to have taken the parts it needed to understand how to ‘path, though that wasn’t one of Bet’s true abilities.
Like most children on Council worlds, she had learned the basics of ‘pathing in elementary school. All children were taught about all the various forms of Talent, since many would either grow up to be a multi-Talent or have friends who were. It was considered basic education to understand the way of it and to recognize its use in others.
Ki had been interested in those memories especially, and it had learned fast. Bet had little education in alien life forms. It wasn’t one of her interests. Now, she wished she’d paid a bit more attention in those lectures. Something in them might’ve allowed her to understand what Ki was a little better.
Though, she felt confident she’d done her part. She’d facilitated the communication between Ki and Agnor. His was the bigger role here. Agnor was the diplomat, the scientist, the adventurer. He would do his part for Geneth Mar. He was the captain.
She was only a crew member. A cog in the beautiful, high-tech wheel that was the
Calypso
.
She sat on the rock and waited. She might have napped, she wasn’t sure. Everything since dropping her shields to Ki was a little blurry and unreal.
She was aware of the robed men watching them with keen interest, though they made no moves to interfere with Agnor or herself. They observed, and one or two had frowns of what looked like concern on their faces.
She must have dozed off—or maybe even blacked out—because the next thing she knew, a woman, wearing the same robes as the men, but in a lighter color, touched her arm. She must have shaken Bet awake.