The Crystal Telepath

by Evelyn Lederman

  “You are absolutely beautiful in that outfit,” Starc told Shirl. “I know Leenea gave you money, but please, let me buy this outfit for you. Until my dying day, I will always imagine you in this outfit when I think of you. Would it be too bold to ask you to go to dinner tonight, allowing you to bring other women to shame?”

  Shirl stared at him for several seconds. Starc had been so angry with himself over the jealousy he felt related to Drake, he barely had spoken to Shirl over the last few days. He could only imagine what that silence had communicated to his soul mate. She finally replied, “I would like that.”

  He walked to her, brought her into his arms and kissed her passionately. “I am so sorry for the way I have been behaving. It has nothing to do with you. Just old issues I cannot seem to let go of. I realize that is not fair to you. We need to get to know each other, rather than just letting the heat we generate take over.”

  Alex and Tarsea emerged from the dressing room. She was dressed in her tunic and her hair was a mess. “We are going to head back to the house,” Alex said. “It is hopeless trying to buy evening wear with Tarsea nearby. I think it is best for Norri and Pattrice to buy my clothes. Those outfits at least make it out of the store in one piece.” She lifted a torn tunic. Tarsea gave Alex’s butt a gentle pat and she started giggling.

  “I am buying the tunic and leggings for Shirl. We are going out tonight for the second seating at Gerard’s,” Starc informed his friend. Tarsea gave Starc an approving wink as he accompanied Alex to the front desk to pay for the shredded outfit. Shirl went back into the dressing room to change. He could not wait to take her out on their first date.

  The two couples exited the store and walked back to the Childers’s residence. Starc took Shirl’s hand and she did not shake him off. He had to tell her about Elzbeth Southam and how his experience with her would cripple their relationship until he came to grips with his trust issues.

  Chapter 14

  Shirl floated through the restaurant, as the hostess showed them to their table. She was so happy to be with Starc. The early difficulties between them seemed to work themselves out. As they made their way, she could not help notice the looks she was getting from men. The outfit she wore was like a neon sign to gaze at her.

  Norri spent twenty minutes messing with her hair and makeup. Alex’s aunt was compensating for the time she lost separated from Alex, and now with Shirl. Starc tightened his grip on her waist, sending nonverbal communication that he was proud to be alongside her.

  They were seated at the back of the restaurant. It provided the privacy a young couple would crave when first dating. Shirl liked being out of the limelight. Alex had told her what to order, so she did not bother to look at the menu. Her friend had become obsessed with food since coming to the Aster Province.

  Shirl was too nervous to care what she ate. Something set off Starc’s earlier foul mood and she needed to understand what. There was still an awkwardness when they were alone that needed to be resolved. The waiter came and they both telepathically ordered their dinners. Starc ordered a bottle of wine to accompany their meal. As usual, the wine was delivered almost immediately after ordering.

  Shirl took a sip from her glass. She traced her finger around the top of the glass and it hummed. Crystal. Starc watched as she continued to draw a strange type of music. The song of crystal soothed her soul, helping to cut the edge off her frayed nerves. She wondered if all crystal telepathic individuals had an affinity for the stones or if it was just her. Shirl could not fathom just using them for the utility of their power.

  She gathered her courage and broached the question she had been dying to ask. “What did I do that made you so angry at me earlier?” Shirl took another sip of wine, rewarding herself for jumping in the deep end of the pool. The wine also helped to relax her.

  Starc stared at Shirl. He must have been trying to figure out what to say. “I had a relationship a couple years ago and was betrayed. Ironically it was neither of our faults, but I cannot get past being cheated on.”

  Shirl took in his words, but they made no sense. “I do not understand. If both of you were guilt free, why do you feel betrayed?”

  Starc rubbed the scar over his left eye, shaking his head. His gaze returned to Shirl. “We had just decided to become exclusive. The next night she had sex with Rayne Narmouth.”

  Shirl nearly spit out the sip of wine she had just taken. This was the same Raine Narmouth who had assaulted Alex twice. “Did he rape her?” she whispered. “How could you possibly feel she cheated on you if she was forcibly taken?”

  “It was not rape in the normal sense,” Starc replied.

  “What other sense is there?” Shirl asked in disbelief. What kind of world had Alex and she entered? The men’s reactions to the attacks on Alex made it clear a woman’s consent was required for sexual relations. “I am lost!”

  “She had been approached in a bar the day after we had decided on exclusivity. Raine had been dating her as well casually off and on for several months. We were friendly rivals back then. Narmouth and his brother walked up to her when she arrived. Shortly the three of them left the bar together. I received a telepathic communication the next day, telling me she had changed her mind, she was now with Raine. Several days later we ran into each other and she changed her mind yet again. Her behavior made no sense to me. She seemed so committed to me when we made the decision. It kept bothering me that both Raine and his brother were together with Elzbeth.”

  “Why did the brother’s presence bother you?”

  “He is a mind control telepath,” he shared with her through the soul mate channel. “She had committed to me, then left the bar with both Narmouths and then as soon as she saw me again she changed her mind. It is classic mind control. She must have had some doubts about our relationship and Narmouth preyed on that doubt. A mind control telepath can take any indecision and make the decision for you. It is only after a new stimuli is introduced that the mind will re-evaluate a decision made. We have no idea if the decision we originally made was ours or one made by someone with mind control talents.”

  Shirl considered his words. The real victim here was the poor girl. She was violated mentally and physically. Shirl did not know what to say regarding the rape. Anything she said would be overcritical where Starc was concerned. She considered his behavior toward her and what may have caused Starc’s temporary withdrawal of affection. The requirement to continue the discussion was delayed when their dinners were served. What little appetite she had was gone after hearing the story. She moved food around the plate with her fork. Tasting a bite here and there.

  “Talk to me, Shirl,” Starc begged her.

  Shirl could barely contain her anger. “Your behavior recently was more of a reaction to what may have happened between me and Drake. I was in a life or death situation and I chose to live. Drake did not force me to do anything. Yes, we kissed, but that was it.

  “You and I had been basically strangers, but a single touch told us we were soul mates. A concept, by the way, that is foreign to me, not having grown up here. I owed you no fidelity. You held all the cards, Starc. I was ignorant of what being a soul mate was. If you had a question regarding what happened between me and Drake, you should have asked before you took me against that wall. You tried and convicted me without even letting me offer a defense. Actually, I should not have had to offer a defense!”

  She did not feel it necessary to explain how Drake used their soul mate bond against her. The situation was so close to what happened with Elzbeth, it was scary. At least she had not made love to Drake, if that act could have been described in those words.

  It was a matter of trust and forgiveness for an action neither of them had any control over. Was anything felt with full commitment? Wasn’t there some doubt in everything people did? She was being judged on something she would always fail with no fault of her own.

  Her eyes bu
rned, she was so consumed in anger. She could not get her emotions under control. She wanted to get out of the restaurant and away from Starc.

  “Alex, can you and Tarsea come get me?” she communicated to her friend through what still remained a closed link. “Starc, I cannot sit here anymore and talk to you. If we continue this discussion, I am afraid I will say some things I will never be able to take back. I should be fine going to Terra Flora tomorrow with Cianan. We should not see each other for a couple of days. I have a lot of thinking to do, and so do you.”

  Shirl stood on legs that barely held her weight. She somehow made it to the restaurant’s exit and sat on a nearby bench. Alex and Tarsea would be there soon, based on how close the gathering place was to the Childers’s residence.

  In a matter of minutes, Tolfer sat next to her. “I was on the way to my parents’ when Tarsea asked if I could pick you up. Looks like you had a rough evening. Let us get you home so you can talk to Alex.”

  Shirl looked at Tolfer. He was always so cheerful and caring. “Alex has been getting me out of one problem after another all of my life. I think it is time I deal with things on my own.”

  Tolfer grinned and placed his hand over hers. “It is commendable that you want to be more self-sufficient. Your world has been turned upside down. No one understands that better than Alex. Why not talk to her as a sounding board. Do not ask her to fix things, but tell her some of the things you are thinking about doing. She will then give you feedback. Ultimately, these are your decisions to make if you truly plan to stand on your own two feet.”

  The man made a lot of sense. It would be helpful to talk to Alex. The idea of using her to run ideas across was sound. Shirl could not figure out why she had never thought of that before. She guessed it was always easier to let Alex make the decisions. Shirl figured it was finally time to grow up.

  “Can you tell me the tales about soul mates as we walk to your parents?” Shirl asked her escort.

  “It would be my pleasure,” Tolfer replied. “Although Darden would know more tales related to crystal telepathic soul mates. I just know the basic fables.”

  Shirl felt so much better as she walked alongside Tolfer. He was so easy going, so nurturing. He was like the brother she never had. She finally realized she was hungry. “I did not have a lot to eat at dinner and it turns out I am starving. How about preparing a mid-evening snack for me. Plus, Alex would be more than happy to eat again.”

  They both laughed at that last remark. Her laughter hid the devastation she felt regarding her relationship with Starc. She did not think there was going to be a simple fix. It may have been doomed from the beginning.

  Starc finished off the bottle of wine and then ordered a couple shots of stoak. The distilled keen went down smooth, warming his body. Getting drunk was not going to solve any of his problems, but it sure was a nice way to delay the inevitable.

  In telling his story, he managed to hurt Shirl. He could not blame the anger she felt toward him, which was why he did not follow her out of the restaurant. Tarsea had communicated to Tolfer through the warrior link, rather than the familial channel. It was Tarsea’s way of letting Starc know Shirl was being taken care of.

  He downed his third shot of stoak when Darden joined him, carrying two more shots for the brothers to share. Since Darden was part of the warrior link, he knew this evening had blown up in Starc’s face. Darden had been the only person he had ever shared every detail about what happened between him and Elzbeth Southam. Without a word, he grabbed the shot his brother steered in his direction and drained the glass. He had already accepted the fact he was going to feel like shit tomorrow morning.

  “She does not want to be near me, not even on tomorrow’s mission. I cannot blame her any more than I can blame Elzbeth. Shirl is my soul mate. It is supposed to be easy with soul mates, like Tarsea and Alex.”

  Darden laughed at his comment. “There is nothing easy about Tarsea and Alex’s relationship. Alex gets mad, she tells Tarsea how it is going to be, and he copes. That girl is always trying to see how far she can push Tarsea before he lays down the law.”

  “There is real affection between them, like you and Cassie.”

  “You forget, little brother, I was there when the two of you were reunited in the Nightshade universe,”

  Starc hated when Darden referred to him as his little brother. They were separated in age by a mere five minutes. Regardless, his brother was missing the point.

  “That was just biological,” Starc replied. “A relationship has to be more than raging hormones.” Starc thought how easy it would be if that was not the case. As soon as he started thinking was when he ran into problems.

  “I cannot speak for Cassie and myself, since our relationship has not progressed to become sexual. I do know that Tarsea says he cannot let things fester too long with Alex. If he does not address what is wrong with their relationship, he ends up sleeping on his parents’ couch.

  “Can you think about the grief Tarsea goes through when Leenea finds him sleeping in the common room after Alex throws him out or he walks out on her? Those two are so much easier to be around after they work out their frustrations.” His brother did not have to elaborate on how those two worked out what was troubling them. They argued and then they made up. In short, they communicated.

  “So,” Starc answered, “what you are telling me is I should have gone after Shirl. Easier said than done. Darden, I do not know what to say to her. Besides she asked me to leave her alone for the next couple of days.” Starc was miserable and there was no more alcohol on the table.

  “I wish I knew what to tell you, brother. What I do know is you need to go through the portal with her tomorrow, regardless of what she says. Your job is her safety, period. If you cannot work out what is wrong, at least get to the point where you are talking to each other. Odds are she is talking to Alex and Tarsea is agitated not having Alex to himself. For Tarsea’s sake, go talk to Shirl and try to start the mending process.”

  “I am keeping the two of you up,” Shirl said. “You should go to bed. I will be fine.” She had spent the last hour talking to Alex and Tarsea. At first she was not comfortable talking so intimately with Tarsea present, but Alex was adamant he stay. Alex’s rationale was that Tarsea knew Starc, all the stories about soul mates, and the Troyk universe. Her friend reasoned if they were going to have a real conversation about their relationship, if Starc was not present, Tarsea was a competent replacement.

  Shirl could still picture Tarsea’s face when Alex referred to him as a ‘competent replacement.’ It took everything she had not to break down and laugh. Bottom line, Alex was right. Having Tarsea there resulted in a more balanced discussion. There were so many questions she wanted to ask Starc, but could not do so. She had shut him down before he had time to further explain things.

  “You need to talk to Starc,” Alex said. “In the meantime, you cannot go through the portal alone tomorrow. We still do not trust your brother. They have CT Guards for a reason. Terra Flora presents several hazards, if the Giant Larma is not enough for you. That thing still gives me nightmares.”

  Shirl had already been regretting calling Starc off the portal trip tomorrow. It was a decision made in haste, her emotions overtaking her good sense. She would have Tarsea or Tolfer communicate tomorrow to Starc and have him go to Terra Flora with them. Spending time with him on a mission might help foster a good discussion between them, even with her brother present.

  “I am going to have a glass of herbal tea to help me sleep,” Shirl said. She rose and hugged both Alex and Tarsea as they left the common room.

  Shirl was making her way to the kitchen when there was a knock on the front door. She heard voices in the hall as she prepared her tea. Tomorrow was going to be a stressful day. Maybe the tea would prevent her mind from replaying her discussion with Starc at dinner over and over again. She needed to quiet her brain and get some
sleep.

  Footsteps made their way to the kitchen. She glanced in the direction of the hall and Starc stood before her. Shirl’s first reaction was to fall into his arms. After what happened in the Nightshade universe, that probably would not be a good idea. Her body craved him like nothing she had ever experienced. It was her brain that kept raising the red flag, deservedly so. Sex was not the solution to their problems.

  “I could not let things stand where they currently are,” Starc said. “Everything you said to me in the restaurant, I cannot argue with. I already hate myself for these ridiculous things I am feeling regarding Elzbeth and you. The problem is, I cannot figure out how to get beyond those thoughts. Finally, I could not stop making love to you in the Nightshade universe if I had tried. I did not have a functioning brain cell as soon as you came into my arms.” He looked so defeated standing there alone. Her heart ached for him.

  Shirl walked away from her tea and into Starc’s arms. She knew she was giving up too easily, but she craved his touch. It soothed her soul. “Tarsea tried to explain what he thought was going on in that brain of yours. I should not have cut you off. The situation got me so angry and frustrated. It was my way of relieving some of what I was feeling. I am sorry for that. Leaving was the coward’s way out.” She felt pounds lighter, getting that off her conscience. It felt great telling him how she felt.

  “I told you to survive in the Nightshade universe anyway you could,” Starc told her. “Words cannot truly express how relieved I am that you are alive and you were not forced to do anything you find abhorrent to remain alive. The thought that I could have found you as we found Chartail has haunted my dreams. I was out of line to suggest anything inappropriate happened between you and that vampire. Shirl, I just do not know where to go from here?”