Crystal Enchantment

by Unknown

Holding hands, they walked along the moonlit beach. When they had rounded the bend, Jalissa saw the Federation boat, a nearly invisible dark bulk in the silvered waters of the cove. Canar awaited them in the small launch on the beach.

  Miklos continued to hold her hand as they approached the waiting soldier, and only when she saw Canar's gaze go to their interlocked hands did she realize the importance of the moment. By morning, the Special Agent's strange behavior would be common knowledge on the shipand a report might even be on its way back to headquarters.

  She started to withdraw her hand from his grasp, but he merely tightened his grip as he helped her into the boat. Before Canar began to pepper her with questions, she sent Miklos a warning look, but his response told her that he knew exactly what he was doing.

  Back on the ship, Jalissa stumbled off toward her cabin, but before she had gone more than a few steps, Miklos's arm was around her waist. Knowing that she was only compounding the danger, she still leaned gratefully against him as they made their way below.

  Surely he'll want a report, she thought, hoping that she could keep her wits about her long enough to be credible. But he merely hooked a finger beneath her chin and drew her face up for a soft kiss, then let her go.

  She stumbled into her cabin, dazed from the day's events and still half-lost in those moments on the beach.

  Miklos waited until she had closed the door to her cabin, then turned around and went back up onto the deck. The ship's lights were out, so that it wouldn't be seen by any passing Dradar vessel. The moon had slid behind clouds, and a chill wind whipped around him as he stood at the rail.

  He pictured her in her cabin, stripping off her ugly disguise, baring that pale, creamy body he could only imagine. Would she lie in bed listening for his knock at the door? It wouldn't happen, but only because he'd drawn on his deepest reserves of willpower, draining them dry.

  Despite their outward reserveor perhaps because of itVantrans were a deeply romantic people. And Miklos Panera was no exception, although until now, he'd thought he was. The women who had passed through his life were mostly women he'd known since childhood: members of other powerful families. He'd had his share of lovers, but none of them had ever reduced him to the befuddled man he saw he was now.

  He wondered if the danger was part of itthe knowledge that nothing good could come of such a liaison. It was possible, he thought, and it could be the same for her. The thrill of teetering on the very brink of a dark abyss.

  Part of him wanted to believe it was just thatbut another part insisted that there was more. Caught between these competing claims, Miklos turned his thoughts to the report he'd received and what she would tell him in the morning.

  Whatever she said, he knew, sadly, that it wouldn't be the truth. Truth just wasn't possible between themand never would be.

  Jalissa slept late, and then breakfasted in the privacy of her cabin, expecting a knock at the door at any moment. Surely Miklos would be demanding to know what she'd learned.

  Reluctantly, she began to sort through various lies and half-truths, trying to decide what to tell him. He couldn't have learned much from Canar, so there was no one to contradict her.

  She knew too that there was no way she could return to the meadow today alone. Canar would be very careful this time not to "lose" her. And she was very reluctant to use her powers to pre- vent Kavnor from delivering his message with the Federation soldier standing there.

  Perhaps Kavnor had left. He wouldn't give up his mission; that was clear enough. But her warning might have sent him from Dradar. Unfortunately, that only transferred the problem to another worldand probably to one more willing to take up arms against the Federation than this one.

  When she knew she could delay her confrontation with Miklos no longer, Jalissa left her cabin and went to find him, her steps dragging as she faced the unwelcome prospect of lying. He wasn't in the lounge, and neither could she see him through the windows of the enclosed bridge. That left only his cabinthe last place she wanted to go.

  The scene on the beach floated before her as she went below again, then flooded through her with a sensuous heat when she saw him outside her cabin door, his hand just raised to knock. He heard her approaching and turned toward her, powerful and remote once more in his uniform. Still, as she drew closer, she could see a lingering trace of his own memories of the night before in the eyes that locked onto hers.

  She stopped a few feet from him and a silence hung between them, a silent acknowledgment of what had gone before and what must follow now. She wondered if he could possibly want to turn back the clock as much as she did. "I didn't want to disturb you too early," he said, finally breaking the silence between them. "Did you sleep well?"

  "Yes. Thank you." She heard both their words and what was unspoken as well, an eerie analogy to the way she worked with the crystal.

  She opened the door to her cabin and invited him in. Immediately, the cabin seemed overfilled with him. Staring at his dark blue uniform with its gold braid trim, Jalissa was struck by how intimidating he'd once seemed, and how, even now, some of that lingered. She felt that she was coming to know Miklos Panera the man, but the Special Agent remained remote and threatening.

  Perhaps, she thought, he would feel the same way if he knew the truth. He might believe he knew Jalissa Kendor, Whisperer, but Jalissa Kendor, Witch, was altogether a different matter. Whatever he might feel for her now would surely vanish beneath a wave of revulsion.

  "Tell me what you learned yesterday," he instructed her in a voice that did not make it easier for her to tell her story.

  "The Warlock was there, but he vanished. I saw him, but only briefly. He hadn't yet begun to speak because the crowd was just beginning to gather. It's possible, I suppose, that he might return today. At least the crowd seemed to have that hope."

  "Why did he leave without speaking?" Miklos asked, his gaze intent upon her.

  She shrugged. "I have no idea."

  "What did he say to you, Jalissa?"

  The question was asked softly, but it might as well have been an explosion. Fear clutched her spine with icy fingers. How could he know they'd spoken? She was sure Canar hadn't seen them together. He hadn't been there yet.

  She let the silence drag on until she knew it was too late to deny that she'd spoken to the Warlock. Her mind spun as she tried to re-formulate her story, finally settling on an option she'd discarded earlier.

  "He's not acting with Coven approval. He claims that the gods spoke to him directly and told him to spread the word of the Coven's existence."

  She paused, her eyes pleading now. "He's very young, Miklosonly sixteen. He's rebellious and also very naive. He truly doesn't understand what he is doing. I tried to explain to him that he is risking war, but he wouldn't listen."

  "You weren't going to tell me this, were you," he said in that same soft voice. Had she really heard understanding thereor was she only hearing what she wanted to hear?

  "No, I wasn't. I was afraid that you would think I was being disloyal to the Federation."

  "You could have used your stunner to keep him there until Canar arrived," Miklos pointed out, but without anger. "I . . . I didn't even think about it. I was still trying to reason with him when he vanished." The chill within her grew deeper as she realized she'd just admitted that Canar hadn't been there.

  "Why did he single you out to talk to?"

  She wasn't prepared for this dangerous question because she hadn't intended to admit that she'd talked to the Warlock. She affected a shrug.

  "I don't know. He seemed to know that I was Tevingian, despite my disguise. How did you know that I talked to him?" She decided it was time to divert his attention and forestall any further questions.

  "Canar couldn't have seen us," she went on when he remained silent. "He hadn't gotten there yet."

  "Which makes me wonder how you managed to get there ahead of him," Miklos replied coolly.

  "We were separated. I must have gotten ahead of him. If he
didn't tell you, then who did?"

  "I sent someone else, a man who has some knowledge of the Dradar language and could also pass for one of them."

  Stung by his deception, Jalissa now ignored her own. "Why did you do that?" she demanded.

  "Mostly for your protection," he replied smoothly. "And also in case he was needed to deal with the Warlock."

  "Then why didn't you tell me?"

  "For the same reason you didn't tell me about talking to the Warlockbecause neither of us trusts the other."

  The words hung there between them, cold and accusing. But when she met his gaze, Jalissa knew that beneath those accusations lay pain for them both. It was in his eyes.

  "He returned here and reported to me. Then I sent him back, to see what he could learn of the mood of the Dradars. He didn't come back until just before dawn, and he brought a very interesting story with him."

  Jalissa stiffened, knowing what was coming next. She did her best to look merely curious, but she was now chilled all the way through.

  "I'm not sure whether this tale can be credited, since he heard it in a tavern filled with drunken men. But the story was that there was also a Witch present."

  "No," she replied quickly. "He was alone."

  "This happened later. According to the story, two men approached a woman who was walking alone after dark. They apparently claimed that they were merely offering their assistance to see her safely home. But she struck at them with Witch's fire."

  He paused, staring hard at her. But she knew him well enough now to see the nervousness that lay beneath his steady gaze. He doesn't want to believe, she thought. He wants me to deny this.

  "I think it likely that their story was self-serving. They probably tried to attack the womanand got far more than they'd bargained for,'' he said.

  "It's more likely that they made up the story entirely," she replied. "Given their drunkenness and the stories about the Warlock, that isn't so surprising."

  Then, into the silence that followed, she voiced the suggestion that she should return to the meadow in case the Warlock returned.

  "Canar and the other man have already gone to town. You will remain here."

  And before she could respond to that, he strode out the door. Jalissa closed the door behind him and sat down to think. It was very difficult, given the fact that her mind felt as frozen as her body. He knew. The evidence against her was too overwhelming now. She wondered if she were a prisoner. But if he believed her to be a Witch, he must know that he couldn't hold her captive.

  Forcing her thoughts away from Miklos Panera, she began to worry about Kavnor. If he did return, the two soldiers would capture him. Disguised as Dradars, they would have only to make their way to the front of the crowd and then use their stunners.

  She locked the cabin door, then changed quickly into the clothes she'd worn yesterday, ignoring the torn skirt and ripped sleeve on the jacket. After re-braiding her hair, she composed herself quickly and 'ported to the hillside above the meadow. The crowd was even larger than yesterday, but there was no sign of Kavnor. She waited, pacing back and forth along the hilltop, staying out of view of the crowd in the meadow as much as possible.

  The minutes dragged by as she thought about Miklos coming to check on her and finding the cabin empty. Did it really matter? He knew what she was. Still, it seemed cruel somehow to force him to acknowledge it.

  With a strange sort of detachment, she wondered what he would do. Could he be planning even now to have her returned to Federation headquarters to be exposed?

  The crystal felt hard and cool against her skin. It wasn't likely that she'd ever use it again. Her career was over. And yet that bothered her less than the certainty that Miklos would betray her. She thought that he would protect her to the extent he could, but his loyalty lay with the Special Agency and the Federation.

  She had no idea how much time had passed before she suddenly sensed a presence and spun about to find Kavnor standing just behind her, staring down at the crowd.

  "Kavnor! You can't"

  The rest of her words were cut off as he 'ported down to the meadow, where she saw him standing tall on the hillside above the crowd. Even from this distance, she had heard the noise of the crowd, but now all was silent, hushed with ex- pectation. And she knew exactly how the young Warlock must be feeling.

  "Kavnor," she said, sending her thoughts to him with as much force as she could muster. "There are soldiers in the crowd, armed with stunners! You must leave before they capture you!"

  He had raised his arms high and she could see the faint blue aura. Then he stopped and his head turned in her direction. A second later, he was gone. She waited for him to reappear beside her, then sighed with relief. Apparently he had believed her and had gone away.

  Miklos stood at the rail and stared unseeing at the dun-colored sea. Several times, he began to turn to go below, then checked himself.

  He'd never thought he could be guilty of that common human failing of self-deception. Both his nature and his training went against it. And yet he'd spent the past hour trying to convince himself that the truth wasn't the truth.

  Jalissa Kendor was a Witch. That cold, hard fact stared him in the face, and he shifted his gaze, trying to avoid it. The woman he'd held in his arms, the woman whose body he longed to possess, was not a woman at all.

  But for all that fact implied, the only question he could ask himself right now was whether she had used her unnatural powers on him. He felt cold and sick and angry just considering that possibility. And yet how else could he account for what he felt toward her? If the most beautiful and brilliant women of his own race had failed to arouse him to such emotions, then he must be under the spell of an enchantress.

  His eyes felt strange, and he belatedly realized that they were stinging with unshed tears. The feeling was strange to him because Miklos Panera had never cried in his entire life. He blinked them away, then turned abruptly and went below, determined now to confront her.

  There was no answer to his knock at her door, so he called her name. When he still received no response, he tried the door and found it locked. She must be there. The cabin doors could be locked only from the inside. Theft was no problem aboard a military vessel, so the inside lock was there only to insure privacy.

  Suddenly, cold sweat prickled his skin. Could she have gonevanished in a puff of smoke like the Warlock they were hunting? He turned away, unable to face that possibility. But she must know that he suspected her.

  He went to his own cabin, and his gaze fell on the small kit of specialized tools and weapons he always carried with him. He could ask the crew for a key, but he didn't want anyone else to find out what he feared he was about to discover. A part of him wondered at his fierce need to protect her even as he took out the tool he needed.

  Back at her door, he rapped again, but the only sound he could hear was the rapid thudding of his own heart. He pressed the tool to the lock. There was a faint popping sound, and then the knob turned easily beneath his shaking hand.

  The small cabin was empty, though her belongings were still there. The door to the adjacent bath was closed and for one brief moment, he permitted himself the desperate hope that she could be in there. He hesitated, listening for a sound that would prove him wrong, then knocked at the door and finally pushed it open to find that last hope gone.

  For all that he knew he should be considering at the moment, Miklos's thoughts centered on one fear: that she had vanished forever. Her pale, shimmering Whisperer's robe hung in the small closet, and his hand reached out of its own volition to touch it as images of her flooded his mind.

  Finally, he decided that she had undoubtedly gone into town, to warn the Warlock if he returned. She would be back, and he thought about waiting here for her. But the thought of having her suddenly materialize before his eyes quickly drove him from the cabin. He had faced all sorts of dangers in his life, but he wasn't willing to face the proof of her witchcraft.

  Jalissa sank
down onto the bed, waiting for the brief spell of dizziness to go away. She supposed that if one 'ported regularly, there would be no reaction, but none of them did that. Since the Coven had retreated into its isolated world, there'd been no need for such a talent.

  Now that she was back aboard the ship, her thoughts turned to Miklos. He knew what she was, but he didn't want to know. The fact that he hadn't yet confronted her proved that. But what would he do with this knowledge? Was there any hope at all that she could convince him that they shared a common goal: the preservation of the Federation and the prevention of war? She doubted it, but she knew that she had to try.

  Still uncertain as to exactly what she would do or say to him, she got up to go find him. When she pressed the button to unlock the cabin door, it felt strange. Then she realized that it was already unlocked!

  He had come in here during her absence! There could be no other explanation. She envisioned him coming here and discovering that she was goneforced to face what she knew he didn't want to face. Wracked with a terrible sadness, she opened the doorand found him coming toward her down the hallway.

  "Get your things and come with me," he said without preamble. "We're leaving right away."

  She backed into the cabin and did as told. He followed her in. They both carefully avoided each other's eyes as she asked where they were going.

  "We've been looking for his spacecraft, but we didn't find it. He showed up again, then vanished. I think he's going to leaveand we're going to follow him."

  She merely nodded and finished her packing, then followed him up to the deck, where a small hovercraft had landed. Within moments, they were airborne, headed back to the base.

  "I'm leaving the U- here for the time being," he told her as they disembarked from the hovercraft. "We'll take this."

  He indicated what she knew was the smallest spacecraft in the Federation fleet. She'd never been aboard one, since they were used exclusively by the military for short voyages. She'd half-feared that he intended to take her back to headquarters, but clearly she was wrong.