Crystal Beach (Crow Hill Book 1)

by Tom Larcombe

  Michael sat on the ground and stared at the ice, which was now beginning to melt.

  * * *

  Chapter 18

  Rynn found Michael sitting there, staring at a melting tower of ice.

  “Where'd he go?” she asked.

  Michael gestured towards the ice.

  “He's inside of it?”

  “Yes, last I saw,” Michael said.

  “Oh. I'm sorry I wasn't quick enough. Once he got that vortex going, my bullets were flying all over the place. I tried to hit him with one of my strongest fire attacks too, but it just splashed off of his shield. I did manage to eventually overload his shield and drop it, but I wasn't fast enough.”

  Michael's reply was close to monotone.

  “That's okay, you got the gunmen out of the way first. They would've been a problem.”

  Rynn walked around and placed herself between Michael and the stream, blocking his view. He tried to shift position so he could see around her, but his body refused to cooperate. She looked him in the eyes.

  “Don't do this to yourself Michael. He would've killed you without a qualm if he could have.”

  “Yeah, but I'm not him. I don't ever want to be able to kill someone without regrets.”

  “You regret it already. Don't beat yourself up over it,” Rynn said.

  “That's two people I've killed this week. Both times, for a little while at least, it felt good. I don't want to be the kind of person who feels good about killing someone. I'm worried that I'll grow to like it.”

  “Just the fact that you're worried about that tells me it isn't likely,” Rynn said. “I'd be more worried if you acted as though it were nothing.”

  Michael's face twisted into a grimace.

  “But still, it felt good.”

  He managed to turn in time to vomit onto the ground next to him instead of all over himself. Rynn stayed silent for a moment, rubbing his back.

  “Am I a good person Michael? Do you think I like to kill people?” she asked.

  “No, of course not.”

  “Well, if you count today, I've had to kill six people this week. Four on the way down here and then two today. I don't like it; I hate it. But someone has to do it. If I hadn't, then the people I'm responsible for might be dead now, or worse. If I hadn't helped today, the Board would've taken over here, you'd probably be dead, and who knows what plans they'd be hatching right now.”

  “I wonder why they wanted me out?” Michael thought aloud. “They haven't even sent a courier to pick up the crystals for the last two weeks. So it can't be that.”

  “I just remembered something Michael. I meant to ask you about it earlier, but with everything that's happened it slipped my mind. I've been here before. It was a long time ago and when my dad brought me here he called it the cache, not the mine. Do you know anything about that?”

  Michael perked up now that he had somewhere else to focus his attention.

  “No, I never heard it referred to that way. Just as the mine. So if it is a cache, maybe the Board wants whatever is stored here. Do you remember anything else about your visit?”

  “Not much, I only went into the cave once. It was a little unnerving so I didn't go back.”

  “That was where the cache was?”

  “I think dad was setting it up to be a cache. His friend John was here with him and it sounded like he'd be filling it after dad finished putting in some safeguards. You have to remember this was back in the fifties and I was just a little girl so it's all kind of fuzzy. I remember crossing a stream in there, but I only remember that because the water was so cold.”

  “There's a stream coming out of the mine, but we don't use the tunnels on that side. We don't want to foul the water. That was common practice before I took over here even.”

  “I wonder if that practice dates back to dad and John's visit,” Rynn mused.

  “We can check it out, but not right now. Help me stand, would you?”

  Rynn offered him a hand and when he took it, she pulled him to his feet. Michael took a tentative step or two before Rynn stepped in to take part of his weight. With Michael leaning on her, they made it back to the porch. She helped him sit down and then took the chair opposite him.

  “What happened there?” she asked.

  “Huh?” Michael replied.

  “Your shirt, what happened to it?”

  Michael glanced down. There were five large holes in his shirt, the edges were singed, and he could see blisters on the skin underneath them.

  “That's not good,” he said. “I can't feel those blisters at all. I think that's where he hit me with lightning a few times. I grounded most of it out, but I guess I missed some. Oh man, is that going to hurt later on.”

  Rynn came over to him and slowly removed his shirt. His chest was pink and red, with burns and blisters surrounding the areas where he'd been struck.

  “Can you heal yourself?” she asked.

  Michael shook his head wearily.

  “I couldn't even check on Raymond with my Sight after I froze him away. I think I overdid it.”

  “Raymond?”

  “Oh, you weren't down here. Oily guy's name was Raymond.”

  “Not that it matters any more,” Rynn said. “We need to get the kids back here. Cindy's pretty good with healing. She can help you.”

  “It's not like we can call them on the phone or anything. I didn't think of setting up a way to let them know when it was safe to come back.”

  “There might be something I can do,” Rynn said. “I didn't exhaust myself and I know Cindy pretty well at this point. Maybe I can talk to her mind to mind.”

  “I was pretty impressed when you did that to me,” Michael said. “I didn't think you could do that long distance. At least not when I knew you before. You always had to be within a mile or so back then. It was nice, I liked the intimacy of it. It was something we shared that none of the other students could do.”

  “Michael, I think you're babbling. You might be going into shock or something. Can you stay quiet for a minute while I try to contact her?”

  “Sure,” Michael mumbled.

  Rynn concentrated, filling her mind with Cindy as she knew her. She'd been in Cindy's mind when she fed her energy to heal Todd so she focused on that part of Cindy. It should be unique enough to allow the connection.

  Cindy? Rynn sent.

  Rynn could feel that she was getting through, but there was no reply.

  I can't hear you if you're trying to answer me. But everything is taken care of up here. I need you and the other students to come back though. Michael's been wounded and he needs your help.

  Rynn felt an affirmative response from Cindy's mind. She wasn't sure, but she thought she'd gotten the message through. When she turned back to Michael and saw his chin resting on his chest, she sighed. He was out cold, whether asleep or unconscious she didn't know.

  I should probably try to keep him warm, especially since his shirt is off. I think that's one of the treatments for shock, but I wonder if that would irritate his burns?

  She went to her bedroom and took a blanket off the bed. Then she came back and draped it over him as loosely as she could, trying to keep it from contacting the blisters.

  Warm is probably better than the breeze. If not, Cindy can tell me when she gets here.

  * * *

  “He did what?” Cindy asked.

  “He got hit by a bunch of lightning bolts, grounded most of them out. The last one he directed into the other guy,” Rynn said.

  Cindy shook her head.

  “I'm so out of my depth here,” she said.

  “But you're what we've got. Do what you can.”

  Cindy sat down and tried to calm herself. After a minute or two she separated a portion of her consciousness and moved it into Michael's body.

  Jeff was hovering nearby.

  “Rynn, is Michael going to be okay?” he asked.

  “Cindy's checking that right now. She can do some healing. Hopefu
lly there will be something she can do for him.”

  Eugene had taken Sean and Randall back down into the basement, with Andi following after them. He'd said something about maybe being able to get them some more space before he left.

  “Oh, that's gonna hurt,” Cindy said.

  She stood up and stretched her legs out.

  “Well, I can tell you why he wasn't feeling any pain at least. He overloaded his nervous system. It didn't actually shut down or anything, but there's so much energy running through it that everything must have been a constant stream of sensation for him. It's not surprising that he would start blocking some stimulation, especially pain. I'm surprised he managed to get back to the porch.”

  “I helped with that. He couldn't walk on his own,” Rynn said.

  “We need to get that extra energy out of him somehow. That should be the first step. Once we do I can figure out what else needs to be done. I can't tell right now with everything hyper-stimulated.”

  Rynn had an epiphany.

  “That's kind of like what wizards do to electronics. We overload them until they short out. I've got an idea.”

  She went into the house and called Eugene up from the basement.

  “You studied Michael's paper, right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “How would you go about draining a piece of complex electronics that was overloaded with energy?”

  “I'd attach a ground to a crystal that could hold that much energy, then attach the other end to the electronics and let it drain.”

  “Good, do you know where Michael keeps his equipment?”

  “I haven't been in there, but he did show me.”

  “Go get something to use for a ground, I'll provide the crystal.”

  Rynn went out back again. She'd seen a crystal lying on the ground near Michael when she was helping him walk. She picked it up and made sure it contained no charge. Then she walked back to the porch.

  “Alright Eugene, Michael is your complex piece of electronics. He's overloaded with energy. How do we do this?

  “Crystal,” Eugene said, holding out his hand.

  Rynn laid the crystal in his hand.

  Eugene wrapped the wire tightly around the crystal several times, then he focused on it and did something Rynn didn't catch.

  “What was that you just did?” she asked.

  “I used a binding on the wire so it stays attached to the crystal. The same spell also makes the energy transfer easier and more efficient. It was in Michael's paper.”

  “So what now?”

  “With a real piece of electronics, I'd use the same binding on whatever it used for a power source. I don't quite know how to do that with a person though.”

  “Maybe his head? That's the center of the nervous system,” Cindy suggested.

  Rynn shook her head.

  “No, I don't want to mess with his head. I don't want to think about what might happen. Eugene, attach the wire to his right index finger. When he uses his magic, he always uses his right side to release the power. So, we'll hook it up there and I'll see if I can get him to help drain himself.”

  Eugene shook his head and looked worried, but he set to winding the wire around Michael's right index finger.

  “You want the binding also?” he asked.

  Rynn nodded.

  “If it works, Michael should know how to undo it. If it doesn't, he won't care, at least for a while.”

  Eugene concentrated for a moment, then looked at Rynn.

  “It's done.”

  Rynn closed her eyes.

  With Michael in front of me, I should have no problem contacting him mentally.

  Michael, she sent.

  She knew she wasn't connecting. There was something interfering, she suspected it was the power they were trying to drain.

  I need to get him to focus on me, then I might be able to get through to him.

  “Cindy, you said he's hyper-sensitive to stimulation right now?”

  She nodded.

  “Any kind or just what's already going on inside him?” Rynn asked.

  “I think any kind. Did you see his shivers when I moved the blanket to look at his chest? That was a new stimulus that he reacted to.”

  “Alright then. I hope this works.”

  Rynn leaned in close to Michael and noticed that his breath smelled of fresh mint and coffee. She closed her eyes again and pressed her lips to his. He shivered slightly.

  He's there, he's noticing, but I don't have his full attention... yet.

  Rynn slid her tongue between Michael's lips. She teased his tongue with her own and felt tension return to his lips. Then his tongue moved, reacting to hers. She focused the entirety of her attention into the kiss.

  Michael! she sent.

  She felt a moment of disorientation from him before he answered.

  What?

  You need to help us drain some energy. You're overloaded and we have to get it out of you before Cindy can find out where you need healing.

  That's why you're kissing me? he asked.

  Well, that and because you never kissed me hello when I showed up. Now run that excess energy into your right hand. Don't try to do anything with it, just send it down into your index finger. We'll take it from there. Just let it go.

  Rynn drew back from the kiss. She admitted to herself that she did so with regret, but she refused to take advantage of him in this state. The bottom of the blanket sufficed to cover up the other evidence of his reaction to her kiss once she tugged it into position to cover his lap.

  Cindy was facing the other way when Rynn opened her eyes. Eugene was steadfastly staring at the crystal.

  “Holy shit, it's working! The crystal is charging,” Eugene said.

  “Eugene...” Rynn said.

  “Sorry. But it is, it's working.”

  Cindy turned around and moved in front of Michael. She looked at Rynn for a moment.

  “I never would've guessed you were a romantic Rynn,” she said.

  “If you kiss a man the right way, you can get his undivided attention. Michael and I have a past and I remember how he likes to be kissed. It got his attention so I could communicate with him.”

  “I'm sure that's all it was,” Cindy said.

  Rynn was amazed that Cindy could pack that much sarcasm into six words. She blushed and glared at Cindy, whose face softened slightly at Rynn's reaction.

  Cindy turned back to Michael and sat down. Her face went blank for a few seconds before becoming animated again.

  “At this rate, I'll be able to find out what's wrong in about five more minutes.”

  Rynn watched as Michael's body slowly relaxed. It wasn't any one thing she could put a finger on until his posture slumped and he shifted to a more comfortable position. When he did, Cindy's face went blank again. A minute later she spoke.

  “There isn't a lot of actual damage except for those burns. Most of those are second degree burns and I don't know how to treat severe burns. If I could heal those he'd just be incredibly stiff and sore for a few days. There was something around his optic nerves also, but I took care of that already.”

  “Wait, you can't treat burns but you can treat his eyes?”

  “I used to wear glasses, but I fixed it. You can bet I made sure I knew what the eyes and the rest of the visual system was supposed to look like first,” Cindy said.

  “Cool water, not cold,” Michael murmured.

  “What was that?” Rynn asked.

  “Burns, second degree. Cool water but not cold.”

  “He's telling us what to do,” Cindy said. “Just a second.”

  She darted into the kitchen and came back out with a bowl of cool water and a clean cloth. She soaked the cloth in the water and placed it over Michael's chest. After a few moments he sighed with relief.

  “I was right,” he said. “That hurts, a lot.”

  “What do I do?” Cindy asked.

  “For now, just keep the cool cloth on my chest. Give me a m
inute and I'll walk you through working on serious burns.”

  Michael sighed with relief again when Cindy cooled the cloth again and replaced it on his chest.

  “Okay, you ever work on a sunburn?” he asked her.

  “Yeah, that's not really a burn though. You just get the body to slough the dead skin and start it regrowing new skin to replace it.”

  “It's very similar, except you need to do it all in one run. You start at the deepest section of burn you can find and get the body to release the dead and damaged skin...”

  Michael explained the process to her. He finished by repeating an admonition he'd mentioned several times already.

  “Remember, don't stop once you've started or you'll trap dead cells inside the body. That can lead to serious problems so you need to force those up and out of the burn as you go,” he said.

  “I don't know if I have enough power to do it all at once.”

  “Just try one burn first then, find the smallest and see if you can handle it.”

  “Don't worry Cindy, I'll back you with energy again,” Rynn offered.

  Cindy sighed with relief.

  “I think I can do the rest of what he said, it's just that I don't know how long it will take so I didn't know if I'd have enough power to get through it all.”

  “I've got you covered,” Rynn said. “Jeff? Would you help us out here?”

  “What can I do?” he asked.

  “Cindy and I will be busy healing some of the burns. Would you keep his chest cool while we do? Just wring out the cloth, dip it in the cool water, and put it on Michael's burns any time he tells you to. You might need to refill the water also. I think you can handle all that, yes?”

  Jeff nodded, white-faced.

  A half hour later the smallest burn was taken care of. Cindy offered to try a larger one since she knew what she was doing now. Michael nodded assent and she started again.

  An hour later Michael's two largest burns had been tended as well. Cindy was wiped out though.

  “Tomorrow, I can do the other two tomorrow,” she said.

  “Thank you,” Michael said. “It still hurts, but not nearly as much. You do good work.”

  Cindy flushed from the compliment. Then she lurched to her feet.