The Crystal Telepath

by Evelyn Lederman

  A tall, broad shouldered man with dark auburn hair approached. “We will hold back the scourge. Be prepared for battle in case any of them make it through our defenses.” He came up to Shirl and took her hand. “My name is Ervin Allaway. It will be my pleasure to get to know you better if I am triumphant on this day.” He kissed her hand and ran to join the men fighting outside.

  “Shirl,” Cianan stood before Shirl, “take this crystal. If we are threatened, open a gateway and direct your anger at any approaching men who threaten you.”

  Shirl had no idea what her brother was talking about. She had not been able to open a portal in this world. Plus, she was not sure what directing her anger at anyone would do. Shirl looked at the crystal her brother had given her. It was one he picked up in Terra Flora. She was unaware of the qualities the crystal possessed. “I don’t understand what you are talking about,” she complained to her brother.

  “Just do it,” her brother replied. “Starc, when she opens the portal, make sure Shirl is between you and the gateway.” Her soul mate merely nodded, too absorbed in preparing for anyone entering the room from the chaos outside.

  She noticed a number of swords lying against the far wall. Shirl ventured over and picked up a number of the swords until she discovered the lightest. Looking the lady of the manor was one thing, self-preservation was quite another. She had no idea how she would fare against an experience swordsman, but she was not going to have any man take her out of this village. Starc joined her. He took the sword and gave her his weapon. It was almost weightless in her hand compared to the sword.

  “Simply point and shoot,” Starc explained. “Easy. The weapon has a storage capacity of three energy blasts.” Shirl merely nodded her head. She prayed she would not have to use the weapon.

  A man breached the sanctity of their room. He wore different colors than the men they had met in the woods. She assumed he was the enemy. She raised her weapon and fired it as he approached. Her shot was left of the target and demolished a chair. Fortunately, Cianan fired a second shot that brought down the man.

  Shirl had seen enough movies to grab the sword that fell at her feet. If the man was not mortally wounded, she did not want him having access to his weapon. She returned the weapon to Starc, feeling he had a better chance of stopping an oncoming lunatic than she had. One chair to her credit was going to be her crowning glory. Worst case scenario, she would use the sword to protect herself.

  As she prepared for more men to breach Allaway’s parameter, she realized she had tried to kill a man and felt nothing. The horrors of the Nightshade universe must have desensitized her against violence. It was all about self-preservation at this point.

  A few more men entered, battling each other. Two additional men not engaged with one of Allaway’s men came directly at Starc and Cianan. Starc shot one and prepared to fend off a third man who entered. Her soul mate had only one energy shot left. Cianan aimed his weapon at his assailant and attempted to fire. Something in the firing mechanism failed. The man raised his sword toward her brother.

  Without thought, Shirl grabbed a sword and placed it between the falling sword and her brother. She held on with two hands, knowing there would be a lot of kickback she was going to be deflecting. The force of metal on metal brought Shirl to her knees, but she still held the sword. Her opponent took a look at her and stopped dead in his tracks. His distraction gave Cianan enough time to grab a free sword and finish off the man.

  More men entered the room, a number heading toward her. Her brother and Starc held off as many men as they could. Her soul mate had used his last energy blast and now held a sword in his hand. She stood behind them, doing her best to channel Errol Flynn. The movie star’s sword fight with Basil Rathbone in Robin Hood was legendary. She had watched that movie dozens of time. That was one of the reasons why she had tried on the dress. Growing up, she had wanted to be Olivia de Havilland’s Maid Marion.

  One of the men skirted Starc and came at her. She raised her sword in a deflected move. At least she had hoped it was a defensive move. She deflected two short thrusts before Starc took over, having finished off his opponent. It was not long before two more men made their way to Starc. Shirl was going to help him when another man came at her with an axe.

  There was no way she was going to be able to hold off an axe with the sword in her hand. She backed up, looking for some type of shield. The man kept moving forward. Shirl dropped her sword. She doubted he would harm an unarmed woman, especially with women being as sparse as they were in this world.

  The warrior grabbed her arm and started to drag her in the direction of the door. Although she was not going to put up a fight with a sword, she certainly was not going to go willingly with the man. She let her feet fall from underneath her. Let him deal with her dead weight! One of Allaway’s men, free from the man he had been fighting, drove his sword into her capturer’s side. He immediately released her and she started to crawl back to Starc. Another pair of hands captured her and brought her up against him. He was a man of short stature and slight of build. Shirl was able to take a step back and kneed him in the groin. Her assailant fell to his knees.

  She temporarily admired her work, not immediately assessing her situation. Before she knew it, another man grabbed her. Unlike the other men, this one hit her in the face and threw her over his shoulder. Her assailant took only a few steps before someone hit the man in the back. She felt him fall forward, taking her with him. The man who slugged her cushioned her fall. She got up as quickly as she could, noting he was in the process of getting up as well.

  Groaning, the fallen man reached out and grabbed her arm. She was helpless against his strength, as he pulled her toward him. “You will be mine,” he told her as be brought her underneath him. She was momentarily overwhelmed by his weight and the stench coming from him. Shirl snapped back to her senses as he roughly started to lift her beautiful dress.

  Outrage consumed her. She could not believe this animal was attempting to rape her as men were battling around them. Frantically she looked around for some type of weapon. She would not be able to fend him off with her own non-existent strength.

  Shirl saw a dagger that lay next to a downed man. Her assailant was so preoccupied with the clothing that hindered his plans, he was unaware of Shirl reaching for the knife. She stretched as far as she could, successfully grabbing the weapon. Her hand gripped the base of the dagger and drove it into his side with every bit of energy she had. The man did not move again after the weapon pierced his side. He was bleeding out, the crimson liquid saturating her dress.

  He was a bear of a man, weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds. Shirl did her best to roll the dead man off her. A part of her thought about waiting out the battle hidden underneath the man, hoping the villagers were triumphant. However, she could never live with herself if anything happened to Starc.

  They would live or die together, as soul mates were destined to do. She was not sure that was true, but it sounded impressive. She wiggled out from under the man she stabbed. In the process she was kicked and stepped on, as men continued to fight around her. She needed to get back on her feet before she got trampled.

  Shirl made her way back to Starc and her brother. She circumnavigated men fighting to their death. On her way, she grabbed a sword that had belonged to a fallen warrior. Starc was involved taking on another man. Shirl took her sword and swung it in the direction of his opponent’s side. She made contact, taking the man down. Shirl ran into Starc’s arms. Cianan had just finished off the man he had been fighting. The three came together, exhausted.

  The three watched in horror as more warriors from the rival village entered the structure. Ervin Allaway and a number of his men were still standing, but losing their battle. Fresh reinforcements to continue waging war against their wearied friends did not look promising. Starc and her brother could barely stand at this point.

  “You have to open
a portal now, Shirl,” Cianan said. He wiped blood away from his mouth.

  “I have tried,” Shirl cried. “There is some kind of interference preventing me.” The fight had physically weakened her. She did not think she had the energy to open a temporary portal, even if she had been successful earlier. What little strength she had left was better served holding back the next assault that was moments away from occurring.

  “Shit,” her brother said. He grabbed one of the crystals he wore, placed it on the floor, and crushed the crystal with his foot. “Try it now. Direct your anger toward the men fighting our allies.”

  She stared at the crushed crystal at her brother’s feet. What had Cianan done? Starc shouted through the soul mate channel, “Try it, Shirl!”

  She concentrated on increasing the volume of the natural frequency in her head. This time she was successful. A portal opened and Starc followed Cianan’s earlier direction, he got on the other side of Shirl. She turned and looked at the men fighting for their lives. Shirl thought of how well she had been treated by the people who lived in this village, of the brutality these raiders presented, and her sore jaw. She tasted her own blood in her mouth. Beside her, the air become unstable.

  “Allaway’s men, fall to your knees,” Cianan shouted. To Shirl’s surprise, the men went down.

  The displaced air turned into the largest portal she had yet witnessed. The event horizon shimmered and then an energy burst blasted out. Shirl watched in horror as the men standing were incinerated. She collapsed to her knees, overwhelmed by what she had just initiated.

  Chapter 22

  Starc handed his soul mate a mug of tea with a bit of alcohol in it. She had not uttered a word since the energy blast that eradicated the men who were before the portal. By some miracle, only one of Allaway’s men was caught in the decimation.

  Cianan kept his distance. The man had a lot of explaining to do. He knew what Shirl was about to unleash when he handed her the crystal. There was not a doubt in his mind that it was all orchestrated by Jeryl Jarlyn.

  Ervin Allaway entered, carrying soup with him. “You have to eat,” he said as he handed her the bowl. “Old Peigi made it herself. Her hands are crippled with age, but she wanted to make this just for you. Her grandson was one of the men you saved this day.” Shirl looked at Ervin. She picked up her utensil and started eating the soup. Starc knew his soul mate well enough to know Ervin’s words about the old woman slaving over the meal had caused her to eat.

  Starc did not know what to say to his soul mate. Shirl had a haunted look in her eyes. She had no idea what she had unleashed before she did it. He did not understand why she felt so guilty.

  Allaway kissed her hand and left. Starc sat next to his soul mate. “Talk to me, Shirl,” Starc implored her. He needed her to voice what was on her mind. She was used to talking, so he asked her orally, rather than through the soul mate channel. Telepathic communication could be too impersonal to her.

  Shirl considered him for several moments. “I want to talk to Cianan.” She then turned off once again. Shirl simply sipped her tea, shutting him out.

  It did not take long for Starc to find Cianan. He seemed resolved that he had to talk to his sister. He could no longer postpone the inevitable. Cianan walked beside Starc, as if walking to his own execution. Considering how shell-shocked Shirl was, he was glad he was not in Cianan’s shoes. There was so much Starc wanted to say and do to Cianan, but it was Shirl’s right to act first.

  Shirl looked up as they entered the structure she had temporarily been assigned. She had been unofficially adopted by the village. No one reacted to her in fear, only extreme gratitude. His soul mate was their legendary avenger. It did not matter the legend came from another dimension. She had bestowed her blessing and power in their defense. Had it not been for Shirl every surviving man and male child would have been killed. What few women they had would have been taken forcefully by the victors, sentenced to a life of slavery serving their capturer’s depraved needs.

  “You owe me an explanation,” Shirl addressed Cianan. She spoke barely above a whisper. Sheer exhaustion reflected in her voice. “How did you know about the energy blast and why were you blocking my ability to open a portal at will?” Starc could hear Shirl holding back the anger in her voice. She must have felt betrayed by her own brother. Their relationship was strained from the beginning, but Starc could not imagine why Cianan did what he did.

  Cianan sat next to his sister, taking her hand. Starc was surprised she did not forcibly remove her hand from his. “I do not know how to apologize to you. My whole life I was mad at you. You were the reason why my mother, our mother, left me. Jeryl Jarlyn used that anger to pit me against you. He played me as much as he did you.”

  “I don’t understand,” Shirl responded. “When our mother went through the portal, I was a year old. Why would you blame me?” Disbelief reflected in her tone.

  “I overheard an argument between our parents on the eve of her leaving with you. Jeryl Jarlyn knew all the fables associated with crystal telepathic mated females. Although the idea of soul mates was legendary, Jeryl believed it wholeheartedly.

  “When you were born, our Prime Ruler became obsessed with you. He wanted to adopt you so he could control you and find your soul mate. The power that you would have once mated became his obsession. By the time you were born, our parents’ marriage was over.

  “She viewed Benko Jarlyn as her salvation. When he left our world, she followed with you. Mom told me she was leaving me with dad because she did not want to leave him alone. I begged her to take me with her, but she left. Our father disappeared that night. I assumed he followed to protect you. It was all about you.”

  Shirl stared at her brother. Starc knew she was digesting everything Cianan told her. They all assumed that Jenka Thork had gone with Benko strictly as his follower and the crystal telepath they needed to navigate the portal. It must have been overwhelming to his soul mate to learn everything her mother did was done to save Shirl from Jeryl Jarlyn.

  “If she had taken you with us,” Shirl replied, “you would be dead. She died terribly of a brain embolism. You would never had seen your twenty-fifth birthday. When did you become Jarlyn’s puppet?” There was so much venom in Shirl’s voice, even Starc was taken aback.

  Cianan could not look directly at his sister. “Jarlyn called me to his office when you first arrived. He asked me to mentor you on how to navigate the portal. When we returned from the Nightshade universe, I was brought back before him to be debriefed. I told him what happened between you and Starc. In addition I told him about you opening a temporary portal with little effort. It was not a leap of logic that you were now a mated female crystal telepath.”

  “You son of a bitch,” Starc said. He had to hold back from giving Cianan the beating of his life. Shirl deserved answers. “Let me guess, he did not even have to use his mind control. You just volunteered the information.”

  “I was so angry with Shirlyn,” Cianan replied. Starc saw Shirl cringe at her brother using her full name.

  “Grow up, you bastard,” Starc growled. “Take some responsibility for your actions. Blaming a year old baby for all the things wrong with your life is pathetic.”

  Shirl took Starc’s arm and shook her head. She redirected her attention back to her brother. “Go on,” was all she said.

  “He gave me a crystal that would interfere with your ability to open a temporary portal. Jarlyn sent us to Terra Flora for me to get the rare crystals that would allow you to use the portal as a weapon. The stones you picked up were just a smoke screen. I was to release the portal block when you were desperate enough to harness the power of the gateway. He said there would be an energy blast, but I had no idea the extent of that blast.”

  “When we return to the Aster Province, what are you going to tell Jarlyn about what happened here?” Shirl asked, she sounded weary.

  “I am going
to have to work that out. It will be half-truths. His mind control telepathic abilities can only identify lies. There is no way I am going to communicate the magnitude of the energy blast. We will also have to talk with Ervin and his people about what to communicate when gatherers from our world visit this village.”

  Shirl sighed. Starc figured whatever her brother confessed and was going to do going forward, would not be easy for Shirl to hear. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Rather than shake him off, she nestled into his body.

  “I fantasized my whole life about traveling,” Shirl confessed to her brother. “Fellow orphans dreamed about finding a family, while all I wanted was to escape. When the portal in Sedona first opened, it was a dream come true. You have turned it into a nightmare. We will head out to the portal to return to the Troyk universe in an hour. That trip will be my last through the portal, ever.”

  Chapter 23

  “All right, there has been enough moping. You need to talk to me and get out of this mood of yours.” Shirl looked up as Hurricane Alexandra entered her room. Alex had one of those determined looks on her face. She did not want to deal with her friend right now. Shirl was still dealing with everything she learned and had done in the Terra Nova universe. Alex joined her on the bed, undeterred by her desire to be left alone.

  They lay in silence for several minutes. It felt good having Alex close. Maybe it would be a good idea to get some of her feelings off her chest. She knew that Alex would be there for her regardless of what she shared. Besides, Alex had not witnessed the extent of what Shirl had unleashed.

  “You would not understand, Alex” Shirl said. “I feel like a pariah. No one should have the power I exhibited in Terra Nova. I killed several men with weapons in self-defense. That, I can live with. The blast of energy killed everything in its path. I was like an atomic bomb.”