The Crystal Telepath

by Evelyn Lederman

  “When you have fully recovered from your snake bite and the after affects, bring Candy home. I would imagine that Zane and Leenea Childers will be happy to foster her until you girls are ready to stand on your own two feet in our world. Things seem to be going along nicely between Tarsea and little Alexia Montiff. My head Intelligence Officer, Solfa Teflar, cannot seem to stop talking about her newly discovered cousin. I am glad you were able to have a friend until Candy can join you.”

  “She is a sweet girl. Alexia helped nurse me when I was running the fever. Things got a little dicey while Alexia was there. Chartail hid in the second bedroom. Neither of us wanted to put Alexia in a difficult position. I will bring Candy to you after she has assimilated to this world. When I bring her to the Troyk universe, I will send you word.” Shirl hoped she had covered Alex and Tarsea’s appearance at the house, in case more intelligence came in about their having been there.

  “Do not overdo it, my lovely girl. You have a rare gift, but you have to take care of yourself. The crystal you wear receives its strength from you. It is worthless if you cannot draw from its energy because you have none yourself.”

  “Can I help to accompany Chartail to the portal?” Shirl knew she was walking a fine line at this point, but she still had an inkling of doubt where Chartail would end up.

  “You still do not trust me?” the Prime Ruler asked. Shirl could see the man was not offended. He had the beginnings of a smile on his face.

  “I have to sleep at night, sir. Any doubt will creep in and cause me insomnia. Chartail and I went through so much together in the Nightshade world.” She rubbed the bite Drake had given her. She did not miss Jeryl Jarlyn temporarily down-casting his eyes as she touched the physical proof of what occurred to her in the Nightshade universe.

  Shirl had one more item to discuss related to Chartail. She hoped that guilt would cause the Prime Ruler to give her one more concession. “There is another request I have related to Chartail. Before she is sent to the penal colony, it would be nice for her father to see her and tell her he loves her. Prime Adholm is a good friend of yours and would do so if you request him to. There are no more tomorrows for those two. I would hate for Prime Adholm’s pride to prevent his last chance to see his daughter. It would be a shame to let a life time of loving be overshadowed by one incredibly stupid move on her part.”

  Jeryl Jarlyn rose and approached her. He extended his hand and she took it. The Prime Ruler took her into his arms, giving her a fatherly embrace. “I will see that Chartail’s father sees her before she is sent to the portal. Darden will set the coordinates if that will meet with your approval. That young man has been tutoring you on portal transit according to Solfa. He also was one of those who rescued you girls from the Nightshade universe. I would imagine he has garnered your trust by this point.”

  “Thank you. That will all be acceptable.”

  The Prime Ruler chuckled at her approval of his actions. “See, I am not the monster some people will try to convince you I am. You have good friends in this world. Keep to their guidance and all will be well.”

  Shirl left his presence. She knew the people of this world had protested about what happened in the Nightshade universe and had been quieted. As charming and charismatic as Jeryl Jarlyn was, mind control telepathic rule was wrong.

  Her friends had carefully supported efforts to overthrow the government and the Prime Ruler was ignorant of their involvement. That needed to continue. She needed to collect Starc and head back to the Childers’s residence. There was still the question of where Alex was.

  Chapter 20

  Starc had finally released Shirl’s hand once they reached their destination. The short detention he had in the basement of The Palace while Jeryl Jarlyn talked to Shirl had felt like an eternity. She had communicated through the soul mate channel their conversation and at points he wanted to strangle her.

  For some reason Shirl felt it was all right to taunt The Prime Ruler, as you would a hungry cougar. Fortunately, she left unscathed. He had been surprised at how accommodating Jeryl Jarlyn was. The man must have felt that Shirl was an untapped resource that would pay high dividends in the future. He kept focusing on Shirl being a rare female crystal telepath. Starc needed to talk to Darden and discover what other legends existed about women like Shirl.

  They entered the Childers’s home. Tarsea was in the common room, while Darden and Koel were still looking at various locations Raine Narmouth could have stashed Alex while he was fulfilling his duties.

  “Any news?” Shirl asked Tarsea. Starc knew that Shirl had gone through hell in Sedona waiting for news about Alex. It was happening all over again. However, this time his soul mate was surrounded by people who cared for both her and Alex.

  “Nothing. I have tried every telepathic channel she could possibly hear. We have learned from past experience that the soul mate channel mends itself first if she has any kind of head injury.” Tarsea continued to pace as he drank from a glass. Starc went over to the bar and poured himself and Shirl a drink.

  “I have kept trying to contact her through our channel,” Shirl shared with Tarsea. Shirl was so close to Alex, Starc could not imagine how she would function without Alex in her life. Alex and Candy were the only family Shirl had. Starc had been shocked when she offered Candy to Jeryl Jarlyn on a silver platter. When she explained to him how different Alex and Shirl had to behave in the Troyk universe, he actually thought Shirl had made a brilliant move for Candy’s benefit.

  He handed his soul mate the glass. She accepted it without a word and sat. Starc joined her on the couch. Solfa sat on the other side of his soul mate. Alex’s cousin took Shirl’s hand and held it. They comforted each other, as Shirl continued to sip the alcohol he had given her.

  “I will start cooking one of Alex’s favorite dishes.” Tolfer shared with the group. “She will probably be starving when she gets home.” People all have different ways of dealing with stress. Tolfer was a nurturer, cooking for Alex was his way of coping with her absence. However, in a crisis situation, Tolfer was invaluable. When Tarsea had been stabbed, Tolfer had made sure that he did not bleed out until medical attention arrived. He saved his brother’s life that night.

  Probably twenty minutes had passed since they arrived, when he heard the front door open. Footsteps followed once the door closed and then Alex appeared weighed down with packages. Everyone just stared at her.

  “What?” Alex said. She actually seemed taken aback by everyone’s presence and the looks on their faces.

  “Where have you been?” Tarsea yelled. Starc figured his worry had instantly changed to anger. They had been all scared to death that something had happened to Alex and she had been shopping. He imagined he would be acting the same manner if it had been Shirl.

  “You have a birthday coming up,” Alex explained. “I met up with Sondra and Jessalyn since they knew the best stores to find gifts that I hope you will love. I left you a note in the bedroom. Since I had both the girls with me, I felt I was safe from that worthless piece of shit.”

  Tarsea stalked out of the room and returned moments later with a piece of paper in his hand. “Fine! You left a note I did not find. Why in the world did you not respond to me through the soul mate or the warrior channel?”

  Starc noted the confusion on Alex’s face. “You did not send me any communication. Even the warrior’s channel was unusually quiet.”

  “Alex, there was a lot of chatter in the warrior channel,” Shirl responded to her friend. “Chartail was discovered and arrested. Starc and I were detained in The Palace for several hours. Tarsea was also coordinating efforts to find you through that channel. I even tried contacting you through the channel you and I now share with Chartail.”

  Leenea Childers rose and approached Alex. She hugged her son’s soul mate. “I am fine, Leenea, thanks for asking.”

  “Wait! Alex you heard my mother ask you if you w
ere all right?” Tarsea asked.

  “Yes. Why are you asking such an asinine question?” Alex was starting to get testy from all the questions thrown at her. Starc always got a kick out of the snarky Alex. Leenea helped Alex place the various packages on the wet bar’s counter.

  “I do not understand what is going on,” Tarsea said. “You cannot hear anything through the soul mate or warrior channel, but you can hear communication through our familial channel. It should take months before you can access that pathway.”

  “The little one has moved things along,” Tarsea’s mother replied.

  “What little one?” Alex inquired.

  “This little one,” Leenea said as she patted Alex’s abdomen. “You are pregnant. Your body for the time being will interrupt access to all external channels except the familial one. When the baby is farther along a temporary channel will open between you and the child until it is born. Once that has occurred, you should be able to access the other channels you had access to before.”

  Alex looked shocked and a little pale. “I have to sit down.” Shirl immediately rose and brought her friend to a vacant couch. “It has been two weeks max. Maybe at this point I should have a fertilized egg. I mean, based on what I’ve read, there is not even an embryo until the third week.”

  “Sweetheart,” Leenea said, “your body is preparing for the baby. As soon as I conceived, the same thing happened to me related to the soul mate channel I shared with Zane. Remember, soul mate and warrior channels are stories based on myths. Troyk medicine does not have information concerning how pregnancy is going to impact the variety of channels you possess. The communal channels and the familial channel you share with Norri, Solfa and Pattrice will remain unaffected.”

  “Tarsea,” Alex cried, “we are going to have a baby! I am not prepared to be a mother.”

  “You will be a great mother, my little pixie,” Tarsea said as he kissed his soul mate. Starc could see that Tarsea was still shell shocked by his mother’s revelation.

  “Shirl, we have to get Candy over here, I can’t get married without her.” Alex shifted and came into her friend’s arms.

  “I’ve got that covered,” Shirl responded. “When I met with Jeryl Jarlyn this afternoon, I told him about Candy. He thinks I know nothing about Benko and that Candy will know less than I do. She won’t have to hide who she is, like you have to.”

  Alex just stared at her friend, visibly paling. “You told that monster about Candy? What were you thinking?” Alex must have played back part of the conversation that occurred since she returned home. “Oh my God! What about Chartail?”

  “Chartail will be sent to the penal colony, Alex,” Shirl answered. “There was nothing I could do about that. At least I got Jeryl to agree to have Chartail’s father see her before she leaves. Darden will accompany them to assure she is being sent there. I was still not comfortable he wouldn’t send her back to the Nightshade universe. For some reason the man was extremely accommodating to me. He was almost foaming at the mouth at the prospect of what a female crystal telepath can do. I saw an opportunity to get Candy here with little drama and I took it.”

  Darden and Koel arrived as Tolfer announced dinner would be ready in ten minutes. Both men hugged Alex, relieved she was all right. “Wait,” Alex said, “I am now eating for two. How cool is that? Tolfer, did you make enough food?” Starc could not help but laugh.

  Shirl watched in wonder as Alex chowed down. Her own appetite still had not returned. She did not know if she was still feeling the effects of the fever or if something else was wrong. Butterflies invaded her stomach when Alex voiced concern about Shirl having told Jeryl Jarlyn about Candy. Self-doubt consumed her.

  “Tolfer is going to take it personally if you do not eat more of his food,” Starc communicated to her through the soul mate channel. She knew he was concerned about her not eating. He had made several comments during lunch. Part of her was touched that he cared about her well-being. Another part of her did not appreciate big brother watching over everything she did. She was use to men looking at her, but not to the point they noticed what she was doing at any given point.

  “Shirl,” Alex said, “I am sorry if I overreacted to your news about Candy. Now that I think about what you said, it makes good sense. It will be so much easier for her not to have to live a cover story.” Although she did not say anything about how little Shirl had eaten, Alex smiled after she took another bite of her meal. Shirl never had much of an appetite. Now it was non-existent.

  “Darden is scheduled to go the Ginkgo Terra the day after tomorrow,” Shirl said. “I figure that Candy is in Sedona looking for us. We have to come up with a story not only explaining your disappearance, but mine as well. I was supposed to have had dinner with the police commander I was working with the night I came across. Like everyone else, he was concerned I was not eating.”

  “I will come along. They can close the file on both our disappearances that way.” Alex stared at her soul mate, almost daring him to object to her plans. Shirl thought the next nine months would be very entertaining, watching the tug of war between those two.

  Tarsea had the good sense not to challenge Alex. “I will join you. Benko Jarlyn should have made it back from Chicago. It is time we start talking about the Troyk universe and the role he needs to play.”

  “Zane and Leenea,” Shirl said, “would it be acceptable for Candy to join us here? Jeryl Jarlyn actually suggested it, but I wanted to make sure it was all right with the two of you.”

  “Shirl,” Leenea replied, “we would love to have Candy here. Between everything you and Alex told us about her, we feel like she is part of the family already. I think she could be a trailblazer and be the first female CT Guard. Alex told us about the self-defense classes that Candy taught. It seems she would be a natural.” Shirl thought that would be a great idea. Candy already having a role to play in this world would make her adjustment that much easier.

  “Speaking about CT Guards, my brother just communicated to me. Starc and I have another assignment tomorrow with him. Jarlyn is sending us to Terra Nova. Am I being sent to another hell hole?” She was almost afraid of the answer, but she had to know. Her last two trips had been disasters.

  “Terra Nova is an iron age world. They are relatively peaceful. Every now and then there is an uprising where one warlord hopes to get territory from another.” Darden answered the question, although she was not sure what he meant.

  Alex giggled. Her friend was probably grateful the attention had shifted away from her. “Shirl was not much into history. In our world it was the point in time when man started to use iron, rather than bronze. Basically an agrarian world and weapons were swords. Picture guys with big biceps. Those swords must have been heavy.”

  “If you will all excuse us,” Tarsea said. “I am going to take my pregnant, soon to be wife, to our bedroom. We need to have a discussion about men with big swords.” Shirl could not help smiling at the wicked grin that crossed Tarsea’s face. They could be amorous in public without losing control. It still bothered Shirl how different her relationship with Starc was from Alex and Tarsea’s.

  She watched as the two left the room. There were still questions she had about Terra Nova. “Have either of you two been there before?”

  “Once,” Darden answered, “there was a rare crystal that Jarlyn wanted. I still do not know what he trades in place of all the crystals we pick up. After the Nightshade universe, I am almost afraid of finding out the answer. He has personal gatherers who deal with that.”

  “Do you go in armed?” Shirl asked.

  “We will arm ourselves as we do with most missions,” Starc answered Shirl. “Your safety is always my primary concern. That would have been the case even if we had not been soul mates. Now it is even more paramount that I return you safe to our world.”

  Something had been bothering her about her brother from almost day o
ne. “Is Cianan one of Jarlyn’s personal gatherers?” she asked, although she already knew the answer.

  “Yes,” Darden replied. “Some missions he goes alone, while others he almost has a CT Guard army with him. The good news is that Jarlyn treasures you too much to send you on any real dangerous missions.”

  “Really? I have been attacked by a vampire and bitten by a snake. If those were safe missions, I cringe to think what a dangerous mission would encompass.”

  Shirl pushed her plate away as she pondered what Jarlyn was really after and if she could trust her brother. She hoped Terra Nova was the first world she would visit where her life was not in danger. For some reason, she doubted it.

  Chapter 21

  The cold cut Shirl to the bone. Having lived in Phoenix her whole life, the moderate temperature of Terra Nova was like being on a frozen tundra. The lightweight jacket she had been given to wear on the mission did little to shelter her body from the elements. Even her shins ached from the cold. Starc and Cianan seemed unaffected by the chill.

  “Where are the damned crystals?” Shirl asked, “Let’s get them before I freeze to death.” She was too frickin’ cold to sense where the crystals could be found. Starc seemed startled by her comment. He momentarily stared at her and then proceeded to remove his jacket. Her soul mate wrapped his jacket around her. Warmth spread through her body. The lining had been warmed by his body heat. His scent consumed her, bringing about a different kind of heat rushing through her.

  “We need to head south.” Her brother’s comment broke through her lust-saturated brain. “The inhabitants of this world are extremely territorial. I want to be long gone before they are aware of our presence. They are relentless trackers. Women are a scarce commodity in this world. If they get their hands on Shirl, not even a king’s ransom will get her released.”