Crystal Fire (27 page)

She quickly found the computer unit and mentally touched it. Instantly Brace felt a sharp pain lance through him. He steadied his focus, maintaining his psychic grip on Candra. She touched the power source again, attempting to realign its circuits.

Blinding agony rocketed through Brace. He gasped, the sound strangled and choking. His body arched back in the chair. Frightened by the sudden weakening in their mental link, Candra backed off Brace's pain subsided.

The Crystal knows, he thought through his tormented haze. Knows and is protecting itself. It will not be reprogrammed; it will not deviate from its own predetermined coursea course no one seems able to changenot even a Crystal Master.

But if a Crystal Master was helpless before it, how much more powerless was the entire Imperium? Powerless and in the greatest jeopardy. He
must
try to control the stonenow, in the only opportunity he might ever have.

Mentally, Brace turned to Candra.
The Crys
-
tal is fighting me. I'll try to find a chink in its defenses. Once I do, slip inside as quickly as you can and shut it down. Don't reprogram it to Ferox's bidding; just shut it down. Do you understand?

He felt her hesitate. Anger fueled his resolve.

Candra, do you understand?

Y-yes
.

Brace turned from her then and focused all his concentration on the task ahead. The pain began the instant Candra touched the computer unit, searching for a way within. Brace fought back against the excruciating torment, maintaining his hold on her as he aided her in the search. The pain grew until his skull throbbed with a deafening, pounding agony. And still it burgeoned until he thought he'd go mad.

Mad
.

His greatest fear, and suddenly it had shape and form. Where before it had been but a haunting specter, now it was black and heavy, touching him with icy fingers of dread. It loomed around Brace, encompassing his being, consuming him. His throat constricted. He couldn't breathe.

Brace writhed in the chair, the force of his movements contained only by the bonds that cut cruelly into his flesh. His mouth opened in a soundless cry and tears coursed down his sweat-slicked face. And still Brace fought on.

He held Candra in an iron grip, even as all around him his universe was disintegrating into bright, blinding agony. Her spirit wavered, and Brace nearly screamed aloud with frustration.

Gods
, he cried to her,
don't fail me now!
Shut it down! I can't . . . hold on . . . much longer!

The madness, like a black, flowing morass, curled around Brace, entwining him in its constricting coils, snaking into his very soul. He struggled, frantically attempting to throw it off. The blackness clung, seeping into him until he could scarce differentiate insanity from reality. The end was near. He knew it. He couldn't fight much longer.

The realization sent a stab of terror through him. For a fleeting instant, Brace's mind cleared. He was lost, but Candra could still escape. And with her life he would also assure Marissa's. It was the last thing he could do for the woman he loved.

Get out!
Brace screamed.
Get out before the Crystal consumes us both! Now, Candra! Now!

He fought to hold back the madness, to gain Candra the time to flee the Knowing Crystal. But in that last moment she hesitated, too terrified to go on without him. Then it was too late.

The last vestiges of Brace's strength shattered. Reality shredded, imploding until nothing remained but a dark, empty hole.

With a wild, despairing cry he turned. He reached back desperately for Candra, but she remained frozen with fear, immobile. Then he turned and ran, fleeing the pit yawning behind him, the madness reaching out after him. And, as he did, Candra's dying scream pierced the air.

Marissa
, Brace groaned as he plummeted into anguished insensibility.
Gods, Marissa . . . forgive me
.

The light of the Knowing Crystal wavered, sharpened. The stone began to gleam oddly and grow in size. Its voice rose, became audible, discordant.

Suddenly the Crystal seemed to explode with flashing bursts of light. It lifted from Ferox's hand to twirl wildly about the room. With a terrified cry the blond man leaped back, a frozen look of horror in his eyes.

In that instant of shock Marissa twisted free of the guards' restraining hands. She staggered to her sister, the severing of their life-link filling her with sickening, strength-sapping agony.

Candra lay slumped beside Brace's chair. Marissa sank to her knees. Gathering her sister's limp form to her, she rocked her back and forth.

It was over. Candra was gone and her own death would soon follow. She closed her eyes and waited.

''M-Marissa," a deep voice above her croaked. Startled, Marissa lifted tear-filled eyes to Brace.

He gazed down at her, sick with despair. "Gods, Marissa. I'm sorry. I"

The cell door slammed open, forced ajar by sheer body mass. Into the mesmerizing brightness leaped the big, hairy form of a Simian.

Recognition hit Marissa and Brace simultaneously. Rodac!

Within the glare of the rhythmic, flashing light, everything seemed to move in slow motion. A blaster appeared in the big alien's hands. One by one, Rodac eliminated the guards.

Behind Rodac, Ferox grabbed wildly for the still airborne Crystal. He missed, then grabbed again. This time the blond man captured it.

As Brace struggled futilely in his bonds, Ferox slunk across the room and out a small, half-hidden tunnel. Brace glanced at Rodac. The alien was watching the last guard sink to the floor.

"Ferox!" Brace cried. "He's getting away!"

The Simian's gaze followed Brace's to the tunnel's entrance. With a shrug, he slung his blaster over his shoulder and strode to Brace. After briefly examining the beryllium shackles, he grimaced and shook his head.

"The key control," Brace rasped. "The big guard with the beard had it around his neck."

Rodac moved to retrieve it, then quickly freed him. Brace staggered to his feet and stumbled in the direction of the little tunnel. Rodac jerked him back.

Where do you think you're going?

"After Ferox. He has the Knowing Crystal. We've got to stop him!"

No
, the alien motioned.
There'll be another time for him. We've got to escape before his men are upon us
.

Brace eyed him for a brief moment, then sighed. "You're right. Do you know another way out of here?"

Rodac nodded.
There's a tunnel that leads through the mountain and I've got a skim craft
.

A grin creased Brace's haggard face. "Then let's go."

He knelt and touched Marissa on the shoulder.

She glanced up, a confused, pained look on her face.

"Marissa," Brace said softly, "it's time we left this place."

"Candra . . . I can't leave Candra," she mumbled. "She needs me. She'll always need me."

"She's dead, sweet femina." He gently pried her fingers loose from her sister. "There's nothing more we can do for her. Come," he said, pulling Marissa to her feet. "We must go."

She rose mechanically, then swayed, her face blanching. Brace caught her, swinging Marissa up into his arms. He turned to Rodac.

"Lead on."

The Simian led them unerringly through a mind-boggling series of dark, twisting tunnels, the trio pursued closely by Ferox's men. Blaster fire from the approaching guards ricocheted down the stone corridors, the resultant explosions showering them in a hail of rocky projectiles. Finally Rodac motioned Brace ahead toward a faint glimmer of light, then drew back to cover their escape.

Brace pulled Marissa more tightly to him and quickened his pace, racing toward the cave opening. Behind him, he heard Rodac's blaster fire again, then a loud cracking of rock and roar of falling stone. Dust billowed out of the cave, engulfing Brace in a choking cloud.

The Simian slid to a halt beside him.
That rock slide should slow them down for a time
.

He glanced at Marissa.
How is she?

She lay against Brace, her arms twined around his neck, her head resting dispiritedly upon his chest. Uneasiness coiled about Brace's heart. This was not the headstrong, resolute Marissa he knew, the mouthy little spitfire.

When he'd first seen her, still alive and well with Candra in her arms, he'd thought Marissa's fears for her own death were unfounded. But nownow he was no longer so certain. Perhaps her earlier words about the twin life-link were indeed true. What else could explain her sudden lack of response? Was Marissa's soul slowly draining from her?

Grim determination welled in Brace's breast. No matter what happened, he'd never let Ferox destroy the woman he loved. Their commitment to each other
would
prevail.

He scanned the terrain. They stood upon a high plateau, the skim craft partially hidden in some nearby rocks. Brace laid Marissa down and, with Rodac's assistance, quickly freed the craft. While the Simian warmed up the machine and programmed the appropriate commands, Brace settled Marissa between them. She snuggled against him, her pale face expressionless.

Rodac glanced over.
Where to?

Tenderly Brace smoothed the tangled hair from Marissa's face. She needed more help than he or Rodac could give her. And, while time was lost in seeking out aid, the quest for the Knowing Crystal still beckoned. Did he truly have the right to follow his heart when the lives of millions hung in the balance? Yet hadn't Teran told him that the strength of Marissa's love was vital to the quest? If his brother's words were true, Brace couldn't hope to succeed without Marissa.

His hand fell from her face, his resolve hardening. To save Marissa, he must risk everything. They might all be lost if she died.

"Let's take her back to the only family she has left," he rasped. "The Sodalitas."

The Simian nodded. The bubble rose to encompass them, and with a surge of its powerful engines, the skim craft lifted into the air. Immediately it veered about in the direction of the distant Moracan capital. Over sheer precipices and craggy peaks they flew, the horas slipping by as the sol slowly burned away. The beauty of the ruggedly majestic, snow-capped mountains was breathtaking, especially in light of their sudden escape and newfound freedom.

Still, the scene gave Brace little solace. A short time ago they'd been Ferox's captives, he mused bitterly, he on the verge of torture and death, Marissa and Candra facing eventual rape and worse. Now he and Marissa, at least, were free.

Yet even the relief of their escape failed to ease the pain in his heart, the growing sense of futility. To distract himself, Brace turned to Rodac.

"I thought you were dead when you fell back into that chasm," he began. "I'm sorry I left you, but there seemed little choice at the time. It was a difficult decision to make."

Rodac set the craft on auto pilot.
It was the logical thing to do. Your femina hadn't a chance if you didn't get her out of the storm. I never expected you to wait for me
.

Brace sighed. "Nonetheless, I don't deserve such understanding. I'm not in the habit of treating my friends like that."

Small, beady eyes studied him.
I've never had a Bellatorian for a friend. It's a novel idea
.

"You came after us at great risk to yourself. I'd call that an act of friendship."

The Simian shrugged.
I still needed your aid
in relieving Ferox of all his wealth. It certainly wasn't stashed in that mountain fortress of his
.

Brace smiled. "So you took a little time to search that out, did you? Well, I suppose that shouldn't surprise me. How did you manage to find us, anyway? Ferox didn't leave much of a trail."

The alien smirked.
I followed you to Tutela. In spite of Marissa's opinions to the contrary, your scent is strong enough to track
.

"In the air, following skim craft?" Brace snorted his disbelief. "I hardly think so."

Well, it was worth a try
. A double row of sharp teeth gleamed at him.
Suffice it to say I made a calculated guess that Ferox was headed to the nearest transport stationand that was Tutela. Then he conveniently left behind some of his men to make sure the transport technician didn't reset the controls. It was easy enough to find one who would tell me where his leader's hideout was located
.

"Your arrival was most timely."

Was it?
Rodac's glance brushed Marissa as he flipped off the auto pilot and directed his attention back to flying.

Was it indeed? Brace wondered as the horas passed and he watched Marissa slip further and further into a sleep he couldn't rouse her from. As best he could, Brace tried to quash the fears and nagging doubts.

This was not the time for introspection and self-pity. And it was certainly not the time to try to fathom what had happened in that mountain chamber with the Knowing Crystal. All that mattered was getting help for Marissabefore it was too late.

They sped through the mountains, clearing the last of the peaks about mid sol. Skimming down to the foothills, Rodac reset the coordinates to the forested area nestled on the distant horizon. Within its depths lay the fabled home of the militant Sodalitas, women shut off from the rest of the world and especially from men. Women who might not take kindly to their arrival with a dying Marissa in Brace's arms.

But whatever the consequences, Brace meant to see it through. Only other Moracans might know how to save her; only the Sodalitas would care. And he'd risk whatever it required.

Brace glanced at Rodac. There was no reason for the Simian to risk the Sodalitas's wrath. The big alien had more than fulfilled his end of the bargain in rescuing them from Ferox.

"There's no need for you to stay once we arrive at the Sodalitas's," Brace began. "Take the skim craft and head back to your people."

Rodac shot Brace a quizzical look, then once more punched in the auto pilot.
We made a deal. You promised me a share of Ferox's wealth. Are you now backing out on that?