by Unknown
Miklos flinched as she suddenly appeared beside him. His hand had even begun to reach for his stunner before he realized that it was her. Furthermore, she was laughing.
''Damn it, Jalissa, don't do things like that!" he rasped, caught between his anger at her tricks and his relief at her return. "This is no time to"
"I'm sorry," she said, but without much contrition. "Take us to Ker. When you get there, I'll 'port us down."
"It's too dangerous," he told her. "While you were playing your games, I've been thinking. I'm going to contact the Special Agency and Trans/Med and persuade them to let us try to contact the rebels before the troops arrive. We'll have to re-fuel before we can go there, so we're going to need their cooperation in any event."
She shook her head. "We don't need to refuel, because we don't need the spacecraft to get there. I'll take us there."
He stared at her, dumbfounded, wondering if she'd taken leave of her senses. There was something in her expression that seemed almost insaneor at the very least, inappropriate to their situation. Her huge dark eyes glittered and her smile was almost supernaturally radiant. And when she lifted a hand to touch his cheek, he could see the faint bluish glow that surrounded it.
"The gods will help us," she told him. "We can 'port to Ker with their help."
He seized the fingers that were unnaturally warm against his cheek. "Jalissa, what happened? Where did you go?" He was really worried about her now, certain that the damnable Coven had exacted revenge against her for bringing him herenot to mention making love with him here in their place.
She told him what had happened, how she'd returned to the center of their old home to ask the gods for their help in getting to Ker.
"They want us to go there. They approve of what we're doing."
"Jalissa, are you sure that they spoke to youor did you just hear what you wanted to hear? You once suggested that others had done that: that Warlock, for example."
"They spoke to me, Miklos. We're going to Ker."
And before he could utter another word, she wrapped her arms around him and a brilliant blue light was blinding him to everything but the feel of her body against his.
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Miklos felt strangeas though he'd just awakened, even though he also felt certain that he hadn't slept. Jalissa lay beneath him on the hard ground, and was already wriggling to free herself from his weight. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, now straddling her. She was smiling.
"Welcome to Ker," she said, waving a hand around them. "This is Ker, isn't it?"
Still dazed, yet beginning to feel the first faint stirrings of desire, he got to his feet. It seemed that he had only to be in her presence to want her, regardless of the circumstances.
Making love to her in the Coven's homeor former homehad been one of those "circumstances." He'd been terrified that he might have condemned them both to death for that, but now, as he looked around them, he saw that she was probably right: They were on Ker.
Or at least it could be Ker. Miklos no longer trusted his senses. For all he knew, this could all be an illusion and they might still be back on the asteroid in their spacecraft. His hand went automatically to the stunner at his belt, and he wished that he'd brought the laser gun.
She had gotten to her feet and was casually brushing the red dust from her robe. He stared at her, feeling as always that powerful mixture of love and something close to awe. Maybe, he thought, that sense of awe was responsibleat least in partfor his constant hunger to possess her. A part of her was forever beyond his reach, making that which he could possess even more necessary.
"Well," she said, planting her hands on her slim hips, "are we on Ker?"
"You brought us here," he replied with a smile. Then he nodded. "I think so. This is what most of the planet looks like."
"Where are the crystal mines?"
"They're all in one area, and the base is there as well. The rest of Ker looks much like this."
They were standing on a high plateau, where the surrounding view showed no life of any kind. Beneath a milky sky, the land was all ruddy in color, like the dust under their feet. A hot, dry wind buffeted them.
"Do you happen to have a plan?" she asked, turning toward him.
"I had hoped we could make one during the journey here."
"The rebels will listen to meonce they find out that I'm a Witch."
"That's assuming they let us live long enough to find that out," he replied, only half in jest. He was liking this situation less and less by the minute. He knew he'd be recognized by at least some of the rebelsand they wouldn't be happy about seeing him.
"I'll protect us," she said dismissively.
"Maybe we should split up," he suggested, even though he didn't like the idea much. "They won't harm you even if they don't know right away that you're a Witch."
Her dark eyes flashed. "Maybe not, but they'll kill you, and you have only your stunner."
Miklos frowned, trying to put himself into the mind-set of the rebels. "I'm not so sure of that. My guess is that they may already be regretting the fact that they shot down those troopships. They have to know that they can't hold out forever against the Federation."
"They may very well believe they canif they have the backing of the Coven."
"But the Warlock is dead," he pointed out.
She frowned. "What worries me is that some of his friends might be here. Remember, I told you that he claimed to have like-minded friends."
Miklos hadn't considered that possibility, and didn't want to now either.
"Can you control them?"
"They wouldn't harm me, but I'm not sure how much credibility I'd have with them either. Kavnor claimed I wasn't really one of them anymore, and he's right, of course.
"I could try to contact them if they're here, but there's danger in that, because it would let them know that we're here too. What are the chances of our sneaking quietly onto the base?"
Miklos considered that. "The defenses are aimed at preventing unauthorized landings from space. Everyone lives on the base: the troops and the miners and some of their families. I doubt that they'd be paying much attention to the possibility of anyone approaching by land."
"Well, then, we have to find the base."
"How do you propose we do that?" he asked.
She pointed to a tall, reddish-colored peak in the distance. "We can begin by going there and hope that we'll see something you recognize. I can't risk 'porting us directly onto the base, because we could land right in the middle of them."
"I don't understand how 'porting works," he confessed. "Do you have to be able to visualize a place before you can go there?"
"It's certainly better that way. The truth is that I don't really know. I haven't done enough of it."
She stared at him, tilting her head sideways. "You could give me a picture of the base. That would help."
"Describe it, you mean?"
"No. You could do that, but it would be better if you let me take it from your mind."
Miklos felt a chill. "You can do that?"
She nodded. "We have the power to read minds, but we never use it. It's the strongest taboo we have."
They stared at each other in silence, and then he nodded slowly. "Then do it. It isn't wrong if I give my permission."
She took his hands in hers, her eyes searching his face. "If there were a way I could give up all my powers when this is over, I would do that." "It's part of you," he told her. "And I love all of you." But he knew that if she'd been reading his mind at that moment, she would know he lied. It was certainly true that he loved her, but he also knew that there would always be times when he wished she could be an ordinary woman.
She gave him a sad smile, and he realized that even without reading his mind, she knew that.
"Picture the base in your mind," she instructed him. "Try to see it as you might see it approaching on a hovercraft. Is there any place nearby where we could
appear and still be concealed?"
"Yes. Just west of the base is a series of low hills," he replied, beginning to picture it in his mind.
She continued to hold his hands, but now she closed her eyes, and after a moment's hesitation, he did likewise.
He didn't know what to expect as he tried to concentrate on his memory of the base. Despite the fact that he should be used to her magic by now, he felt a strong aversion to this. The fact that even the Coven considered mind-reading to be wrong reinforced his fear.
Then he felt somethingand immediately recoiled, both mentally and physically. She merely gripped his hands more tightly as a soft warmth flooded through him, flowing outward from his mind until it touched all of him. The sensation was definitely erotic, but it was far more than that. And then, as suddenly as it had come, it was gone. He actually cried out in protest as his eyes flew open.
She was watching him warily, the question in her dark eyes.
"I . . . felt something." The words were inadequate, but he was too confused to be more precise.
She looked away. "I didn't think that would happen. I mean, I knew it happens among us, but . . ." Her voice trailed off uncertainly.
He sensed that whatever had happened, she didn't want to talk about it now. But he did want to talk about it. He'd never felt anything like it before, and he wanted to feel it again. Instead, however, he asked if she'd gotten the image of the base.
"Yes. I can find it now. I'll 'port us to those hills and we can walk in from there."
She slid her hands up his arms, gripping him tightly. Her touch brought back an echo of that sensual mind-touch and he felt his body respond. But he also noticed that she wouldn't meet his gaze.
Chapter Fourteen
They landed on their feet this time, with her arms still gripping his. She was already looking past him and when he turned around, he saw that the base lay several miles beyond them on the broad plain.
"It looks so . . . peaceful," she said, moving away from him as she continued to stare down at the scene below them.
"It probably isat the moment," he replied. "The rebels control it now."
The base was huge, larger even than the sprawling base on Tevingi, because it was also home to the hundreds of miners who cut the precious crystals from their deep caverns. Only a few figures were visible as they moved across the open spaces between large buildings.
Miklos drew her into the shelter of some rocks. They were far enough away that it wasn't likely they'd be spotted from the base, but he didn't want to risk that. Then he began to describe the layout of the place in detail.
"Those long buildings closest to us are for the troops. If they haven't already killed the loyal troops, they're probably holding them there. The prison stockade wouldn't hold all of them. The miners live in the compound out near the airbase, and there are small guest quarters there too."
"How many people are there altogether?" she asked.
"Assuming that the loyal troops are still alive, about six thousand."
"How many of them would have remained loyal to the Federation?"
"Probably at least two hundred. The officers are all Vantrans, and there are some others who would probably side with them because they have no history with the Coven. But most of the troopsand all of the minerscome from worlds loyal to the Coven."
She sank to the ground with a sigh and he sat down beside her. "We should wait until the middle of the night," he told her. "That will give us the best chance of succeeding. If they've got the loyal troops locked up in one of the barracks, they aren't likely to bother with much of a guard. ''I'll take the guards and then we'll have the assistance of the loyal troops."
She shook her head. "What you're talking about is a battle, Miklos, and I don't want that. We should split up. You go find the troops and I'll try to reason with the others. When they find out that I'm a Witch, they'll do as they're told."
"But if there are other members of the Coven here . . ."
"I have to try," she said firmly.
"I don't like the idea of our being separated."
"Neither do I, but I like the idea of a battle even less."
Miklos crawled over and peered around the edge of the rock. The sun was sinking rapidly, making the landscape even more ruddy in color. He knew that her plan made sense. It was what he would have suggested if his companion had been anyone else. But he had a terrible, irrational fear of letting her out of his sight: irrational because with her magic, she was far better armed than he was.
They sat side by side watching as the light drained away. Although he'd finally agreed to her plan, Jalissa almsot wished that he hadn't. She too felt an irrational fear at being separated from him. She told herself over and over that their plan would work, that nothing could happen to either of themand yet a part of her refused to believe it.
Overhead, the stars had come out. Ker had no moon to dim their lights, so the dark canopy of the heavens was aglow with millions of tiny lights. The hot wind of the day was replaced by a cool breeze.
"Jalissa?" he said, breaking a lengthy silence between them, "What happened when you . . . reached into my mind?"
She lowered her head, not wanting to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"I told you that I felt something, and you said that you didn't think that would happen."
When she didn't reply, he reached out to cup her chin and draw her around to face him. "Tell me."
"It . . . happens among us, or so I was told. I was too young when I left the Coven to have had any lovers. When it happens between a Witch and a Warlock, they know they have found their mates."
"A union of the mind as well as of the body?" he asked gently.
"Yes. I felt it too."
"I want to feel it again," he said huskily as his lips covered hers. "I want to make love to you both ways."
She hesitated, caught in an uncertainty she didn't fully understand. He drew back, his eyes searching her face intently.
"You're afraid because you think you would be drawing me too deeply into your magic," he said.
Jalissa nodded. It seemed ridiculous to be wor- rying about that now, given what he'd already seen. He already knew about her magic, and even seemed to accept it. But this was different. This was shared magic, not just a display of her powers. And his next words proved that he understood that too.
"Your magic doesn't frighten me anymore, love. It's a part of you. Let me share it with you."
They made love beneath the glittering stars, cushioned by their discarded clothing. The union was like nothing either of them had ever experienced before as they opened both their bodies and their minds to each other until neither one could have said where one left off and the other began.
Each of them felt the awesome power the other had to give pleasureand to receive it. Lips and flesh touched in passion, while minds touched with the deepest understanding of love. They were wholly absorbed in each other, bodies writhing in ecstasy while their linked minds fed that passion.
And even when their bodies had been sated, their minds remained united, making words irrelevant as they fell asleep in each other's arms, sharing dreams that echoed their love.
Jalissa awoke with a start, caught on the very edge of a dream that was already sliding away. Miklos was stirring too, and she both heard and felt his protest. Her skin was prickled with an icy fear, and she felt the mind-link, already tenuous now, shatter.
She shiverednot from the cool night air, but rather from a near-certainty that the dream she could not recall was a portent. She wanted to ask him what he had dreamed, but the words would not come out.
Miklos kissed her, a soft, lingering kiss. Then he got to his feet and drew her up with him. "It's time to go," he said as he helped her into her robe, then put on his own clothing. She heard the calm in his voice that she now knew hid deep emotions, but still she could not ask what he'd dreamed.
She almost refused to go on. Below them, on the plain, the base was lit by small points
of light that seemed barely to pierce the all-encompassing darknessa darkness that now seemed to reach into her every fiber.
But they were set on a course, and there was no turning back. So she moved into his outstretched arms and 'ported them both down to the very edge of the base, to a spot deep in darkness behind the barracks.
"I will need time," she told him in a whisper as they stood there, still holding each other tightly. "I have to find out if any of the Coven are here before I can do anything."
"If the loyal troops are still alive, I'll keep them in their barracks, and go to the air-defense in- stallation. I can't be sure exactly when the other troops will arrive, so I have to capture air defense to prevent them from shooting down the ships."
She nodded. His was by far the more dangerous mission. Whether or not any other Coven members had come here, she was in no danger. Hers was a mission of persuasion, while his was fraught with the danger of battle. But to change the plan now was to risk many more lives.
"When this is over," he whispered, "they will either accept us or we will find a new life. But we'll be together. I promise."
She raised her face to his, barely able to see him in the darkness. "I love you, Miklos. And I know we'll be together."
Then, before he could question the tremor in her voice, she left him, 'porting out of his arms to the far side of the base to begin her search. And in that instant, it felt to her as though she had left part of her behind.
Jalissa huddled in the shadows next to the building that housed the guest quarters. From what Miklos had told her, if there were any Witches and Warlocks here on Ker, it was likely they'd be in this building.
Quietly, she began to circle the building, listening for voices. There were a few lights on inside, but it was possible that the residents were all asleep.
After creeping around the entire building and hearing nothing, Jalissa tried the main door and found it unlocked. She stepped inside to find herself in a sort of lounge area. Only a single lamp was lit, leaving the large room in near-darkness. But then something moved in the shadows, rising from a chair in the far corner of the room. She froze, calling on the fire but keeping it contained, so that her hands glowed slightly. The figure approached her hesitantly.