Crystal Fire (13 page)

"For a Crystal Master, you suddenly seem bent on the stone's destruction."

Teran eyed him. "What do you think, after all I've told you? Has the Knowing Crystal ever been our friend?"

"You toy with me, Teran. I don't know what to think anymore."

His brother climbed to his feet. "Well, no matter what the stone is, the only known way to control it is through Crystal powers. You must learn to commune with it, Brace. It's our only hope."

He motioned Brace to follow him. "Come, there are books I would share with you and the time for your training grows short. The Crystal calls you even now."

Puzzlement twisted the younger man's face. "What are you talking about? I hear nothing."

Teran sighed. "No, you wouldn't yet. You must first be sensitized to the Crystal's call. And it's past time we began."

He strode off back toward the palace, leaving his brother to stand there in rising frustration. What, by the five moons, was happening to him? Brace wondered. The quest. The Crystal calling. Ferox's master plan. The danger to the Imperium.

It was more than he could fathomor ever wished to. And he definitely didn't like the growing sense that he was once again losing control of his own fate. Didn't like it at all. With an angry curse, Brace headed after Teran.

Marissa woke a little after mid sol. A maidservant waiting in the antechamber was immediately at her side. The woman offered Marissa a lustrous green dressing gown to cover her nakedness, then escorted her to the bathing room where a warm mineral bath had been readied. With a contented sigh, Marissa slid into the bubbling water, luxuriating in the exquisite sensations. The servant applied a floral-scented soap to Marissa's hair and began to scrub it gently.

It was so good to be pampered, to have her every need seen to, Marissa thought. Her life would have been very similar to this if she'd never been cast out. Instead, it was filled with hardship and deprivation. And the quest that loomed before her had suddenly assumed even greater consequence than before.

Her thoughts drifted back to sol rise when they'd found Brace's brother. The Knowing Crystal stolen, Queen Alia nearly killed, and their quest now of Imperium magnitude. An eerie premonition shivered down Marissa's spine. Somehow, someway, this was all inextricably linked with the reason Ferox wanted Brace.

Marissa had always wondered why Ferox had specifically asked for Brace Ardane in exchange for Candra. In the past, she'd brushed it off as some personal vendetta. But now there appeared to be a more sinister, wide-ranging purpose. And she was as much a pawn as Brace and Candra.

The consideration angered her. No one, and especially no male, was going to manipulate her life! The sooner she learned more of Ferox's motives in this whole sordid mess, the sooner she could devise a plan to circumvent him.

Suddenly the maidservant's ministrations seemed too slow and irritating. Marissa tolerated her bath until her hair was washed and rinsed, then motioned the woman away.

"Please prepare my clothes while I finish bathing," she requested. "Then I'd like to meet with Lord Ardane and his brother."

"The two lords asked not to be disturbed," the woman replied. "Our Queen, though, has requested your presence as soon as you're ready."

Frustration filled Marissa, then she quashed it. There'd be time enough later to speak with Teran and Brace, and Queen Alia was as good a source of information as any.

She nodded. "Then please help me prepare for the Queen."

Marissa paused. Her warrior's garb was pretty shabby apparel for an audience with royalty. She glanced up at the maidservant as she hurriedly scrubbed herself clean. The woman was dressed in a simple gown of pale yellow.

"Would it be possible to borrow a garment from you?" Marissa began. "I wouldn't care to go before your Queen in my own poor clothes."

The woman smiled. "There's an ample selection of fine apparel in the large closet in your room. And once you're dressed, I'll prepare your hair." She studied Marissa for a moment. "The bright blue gown, with matching flowers in your hair, would be perfect. It would bring out those striking eyes of yours."

Marissa rose from the bath. "The gown sounds fine, but absolutely no flowers. I'm not a frivolous girl skipping through a garden, intent on pleasing some male. I just want to appear before your Queen with some semblance of dignity."

"As you wish, my lady." The servant wrapped Marissa in a large, warmed towel as she stepped from the bath.

A half hora later, garbed in the most sensuous-feeling gown she'd ever worn, Marissa was ushered into the Queen's bedchamber. She glanced down at herself, inordinately pleased with her appearance. The bright blue gown shimmered about her, flowing loosely from her shoulders to expose a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage and a long expanse of slender arms through the wide slit in the full, narrow-cuffed sleeves. Aside from the thin, jewel-encrusted chain belted about her trim waist, the gown was simple, elegantand made Marissa feel surprisingly beautiful.

She shook the uncharacteristic emotion aside and forced her attention back to the Queen of Aranea. Alia was propped up in bed on several large pillows. She smiled and waved Marissa to a plump-cushioned chair set beside the bed.

"Welcome, Marissa," the Queen said. "Come, sit beside me and we will talk."

Marissa walked over to stand beside the chair and bowed. "I'm honored to meet you, my lady."

"Alia. Please, call me Alia," the auburnhaired woman replied. She extended a slender hand in greeting, an ornately jeweled ring of sovereignty sparkling on her middle finger.

Marissa accepted Alia's hand, squeezing it briefly before releasing it.

"There is much that binds us, I think, besides the two important men in our lives. I'd like to be friends." Alia motioned to the chair. "There's no need for formality. Sit, Marissa, and be comfortable."

Marissa studied Alia as she lowered herself into the chair. The Queen was beautiful, with pale ivory skin, rich honey brown eyes, and luxuriantly curling flame-dark hair. She was also several years younger than Marissa.

The look in her eyes, though, was just as steady, just as sure as the one Marissa bestowed upon her. She, too, has been tempered in the forge of life, Marissa realized with surprise. She, too, has known hardship and danger. And, similar coloring aside, for some inexplicable reason the Queen reminded her of her best friend, Raina.

Respect and a growing sense of kinship welled in Marissa's breast. Perhaps they could indeed be friends.

"What is it you would know?" she began. "I'd be pleased to tell you what I can, but my own experiences are probably mundane in comparison to your rescue of the Knowing Crystal."

A smile of remembrance warmed Alia's eyes. "I found more than the Crystal on that quest. I discovered myself and my one true love. Things I think you, too, will find on yours.

"Strange, isn't it," she mused, suddenly pensive, "that each quest for the Crystal seems to require both a man and a womanand the strength of their loveto have any hope of success. There's some wonderful mystery to it all, but it's truth, nonetheless. Keep that in mind, Marissa, when things seem darkest."

Marissa frowned. "Brace and I are partners and nothing more. I'm a Sodalitas and despise males. I would certainly never allow myself to love one. Especially one such as Brace Ardane!"

"Strong feelings, even hatred, can be but a mask for deeper emotions. And, no matter what you say, I still think you were predestined to join." Alia paused. "It is good that you are brave and resourceful. Ferox's evil is not a simple thing. He's a very complex, seductive man, with motives that go beyond the mere desire for power."

Her eyes clouded with memories. "There's more than a simple schoolboys' rivalry between Ferox and Teran. Yet, though I well know the source of Teran's enmity for Ferox, I've never truly understood Ferox's hatred for Teran. It's so . . . so bone-deep and soul-rotting. And there's something disturbingly familiar . . ."

With a tiny shudder, Alia refocused her attention on Marissa. "Well, be that as it may, Brace will need a woman like you at his side for what lies ahead."

"First Lord Ardane, now you!" Marissa burst out in spite of herself. "Ah, lady, I grow so weary of these cryptic statements, as well as of everyone wanting to involve themselves in my quest."

"It has never been just your quest, Marissa." Alia smiled. "And that frightens you, doesn't it?"

Marissa couldn't quite meet Alia's gaze. "II don't know what you're talking about. If everyone would just keep out of it . . ."

"Teran has told me that Ferox has your sister as well as the Knowing Crystal. We can assume Ferox wants Brace, who possesses the powers to be a Crystal Master, as well. Think about it, Marissa. Is this quest really so simple, or just yours anymore?"

Wide, blue-green eyes swung back to Alia. "What do you mean Brace possesses powers to be a Crystal Master? Nothing was ever mentioned about that."

"Why would one brother possess such powers and not the other? It's passed by blood, not talent."

"By all that is sacred!" Marissa lowered her face to hide it in her hands. "I just want my sister back. That's all. Why must everything be so complicated? I curse the day I met Brace Ardane!''

"What are you afraid of, Marissa?" Alia prodded softly.

"Not the dangers, if that's what you're implying," Marissa replied hoarsely, lifting her head to glare at Alia. "It's just . . . everything else."

"You mean Brace."

"Yes. I mean no!" Frustration twisted Marissa's face. "Oh, I don't know what I mean! I'm a warrior. I've faced hardship and danger, yet nothing,
nothing
I've ever experienced has frightened me like
he
has! I want to run, turn from him before it's too late, but I can't. I
need
him to rescue Candra. There is no other who can do it!"

"Let me help you, Marissa," Alia soothed, leaning forward to touch her arm. "I, too, once feared my feelings for Teran. I, too, had to fight past the doubts and fears to find my true selfin loving him. Let me help you sort through your feelings for Brace."

"How do you know so much about what's between Brace and me?" Marissa asked suspiciously. "Did the Crystal tell you?"

"No." Alia smiled. "Perhaps it's just because I've been through it myself. Perhaps it's just because fate frequently calls two kindred souls together." She shrugged. "Do the reasons really matter?"

For a fleeting moment indecision wavered in Marissa's eyes, then a hard, shuttered look de- scended. "My feelings for Brace Ardane aren't the issue here. The rescue of my sister is. The Knowing Crystal is not my quest. Please, lady, let's talk of Candra, or talk of nothing."

Alia eyed her for several secundae, then sighed. "As you wish, Marissa. Your heart isn't yet ready for other things. But hear me, and hear me well. You'll be forced to face your feelings for Brace sooner or later. The quest has no hope of success if you don't."

"Concentrate, Brace. Clear your mind of all thoughts, all questions, and trust. Trust!"

From a distant place Brace heard Teran's voice, deep and intense, urging, encouraging. He inhaled a shuddering breath and willed himself to relax. Sweat beaded his brow and his muscles trembled with weariness, but he struggled on.

They'd been at this for over three horas. The first hora had been spent in the rudiments of Crystal power and how to achieve union. Those lessons had been difficult enough, but the practice itself had been grueling.

To unlearn what you had once learned, to empty yourself and take nothing into those hidden, uncharted recesses of your being and patiently wait to be filled by some unknown entity, was a terrifying, nerve-wracking experience. It was also too submissive for Brace's proud spirit.

"You're fighting it again," Teran's dispas- sionate voice once more intruded. "Trust; submit. Call to the Crystal; then wait."

Frustration welled in Brace's heart. Teran didn't understand. As much as both desired it, there wasn't a trace of Crystal powers in himhis brother saw only what he wanted. There was no point in going on. It was hopeless!

"Relax, little brother. Do it for me, for the Imperium."

With a deep inward sigh Brace tried again. Perhaps it was the utter exhaustion, but this time the resistance ebbed out of him. Peace flowed in to fill the void, pervading Brace with warmth and joy. And suddenly the deep silence was no more.

A sound, faint yet lovely, drifted through his mind. The sensation was so fleeting that Brace wondered if he hadn't imagined it. Then it came again, this time accompanied by a feeble glimmer of light. Brace concentrated all his strength on remaining open and pliant. Fresh sweat beaded his brow to trickle down the sides of his face.

The light grew, found substance. The Knowing Crystal! Wild, fierce elation flooded Brace. The Knowing Crystal!

"Yes, little brother," Teran said. "Now go. Join with it. Commune."

For a brief moment Brace hesitated. Commune? Join? The utter trust of such an act gave him pause. What if it consumed him, took over his mind? He couldn't . . . he just couldn't. "Come, little brother. I'll go with you. There's no danger for a Crystal Master."

In one great leap of faith Brace's mind joined with Teran's, hurtling past the boundaries of conscious control toward a blinding light. Hurtling, spinning, falling

A loud, discordant sound shot through his brain, finding voice in sharp, imperative words.
Not Teran
, it said.
His time is over. I want you, Brace. Only you
 . . .

Both men broke contact simultaneously. Their eyes met in stunned surprise. Wracking tremors shook Brace's body and his breath came in ragged gasps. Teran squatted before him and gripped his arms.

"It's enough for one sol, little brother," he said, struggling with his own shock at what had just happened. "The morrow's soon enough to try again."

"Wh-what did the Crystal mean?" Brace rasped. "Why only me? II don't understand."

"I don't either, but there's time later to ponder it all. In the meanwhile, let's get you to your bedchamber. You look exhausted."