The Crystal Tower

by Liam Donnelly

  At the sight of this young man, she shut her eyes and put up a mental block. In doing so, she had been able to shut out the image at the last minute. She decided it was time to tell her friends what she had been seeing.

  “Uh,” Jane said, breaking the silence as the car navigated the inner streets of New York City. She was familiar with many of these roads, having spent time there before being captured once again by the Committee. “Have any of you had any…” She stopped talking and winced, glancing out the window. Then the word she was looking for came to her. “…visions?”

  In the back, Ciara glanced at Mike, sharing a moment of silent knowing. “Yes,” Ciara replied.

  Jane let out a deep breath, glad to hear some life return to her friend’s voice.

  “I’ve seen some things,” Ciara continued. “ There’s some kind of circular platform in the ocean. I think it might be made of crystal. And there’s someone standing on top of it. It’s someone we’ve had contact with before.”

  “The entity, Zatera—the one that followed Jane and Max out of the vortex when we were back on the ship. It’s him,” Morris added as he glanced in the rearview mirror at Ciara and then sideways at Jane, a concerned expression on his face. “It’s just like Max said.”

  Jane looked at him. He nodded, confirming that he too had seen these things.

  “What are the flashes of light?” he asked now.

  “It’s pure psionic energy,” Jane replied. “Every time that thing flashes, I can feel it in my mind. It’s like touching some kind of generator.” She shook her head slowly. “This is not good.”

  “No. He’s using that substance to channel enormous amounts of power. That’s what the problem is,” Mike said.

  “Where is it?” Jane asked.

  “It’s about five miles off the coast of the city,” Ciara answered, a trace of fear in her voice. “I tracked it in my mind’s eye. There’s a bridge too. It’s enormous. He’s built it across the ocean, and it’s connected with a beach…” She stopped talking as her gaze fell to her side and her brow furrowed. “I think it’s called Franklin Roosevelt Beach. I’ve never been there. Have any of you?”

  They all replied in the negative.

  “Staten Island, though, right?” Morris asked.

  “Yes,” Mike replied.

  “What’s it for?” Jane asked.

  Ciara paused before answering. “I’m not sure. However, with the amount of energy I can feel coming off it, even at this distance, it can’t be good.”

  After another ten minutes, the car pulled into a space in a part of Manhattan with which they were unfamiliar. The four glanced out the windows at the sight of the city. Everything seemed normal—people were walking along the streets, either talking to each other or engaged with digital devices. A spare few among them had holographic displays overlaid on the upper portion of their eyes, and they appeared to be issuing commands to their AI assistants.

  “Yeah, everything looks normal here,” Jane said sheepishly. But it wasn’t, she knew, and Ciara confirmed this.

  “No. It’s not. Can’t you sense it? And look at their faces.”

  Ciara brought into sharp focus what Jane had been able to sense only distantly: They all appeared worried. At first, everything had seemed normal, but as she looked closer, she saw that their faces bore expressions of veiled concern. “You’re right,” Jane said. After another few moments during which she watched the people who passed by their car, Jane turned to Morris. Reading her expression, he nodded and reached for the door release. He pressed the button and it opened outward. Jane did the same thing. As she stood, the city wind flew in beneath her clothes, bathing her in scents and sounds she hadn’t experienced for a while. It was almost soothing; it reminded her of the times she had spent in the winter and early months of spring with her friends in a tightly knit quartet in a beautiful building on the Upper East Side. She smiled now and raised an eyebrow; how lucky they had been. That was, until Morris…

  He looked across the roof of the car at her and frowned, but this expression quickly turned into a half grin. Apparently, he had picked up her stray thoughts—she never kept a lid on them. The four of them (especially her and Morris) were growing so close, they had trouble keeping their thoughts secret from each other. Not that Jane cared; she trusted each of them with her life. They were her family now.

  Mike stood up next and looked behind him, back up the street from where they had come. Ciara was out last. As she heard Ciara’s door open, Jane turned around to see one hand reach up and grasp the doorframe. With uncharacteristic slowness, Ciara pulled herself to a standing position with a barely audible groan. Jane sighed; apparently, despite the new vigor in her voice, Ciara had not yet regained her physical strength. Jane knew this weakness was somehow connected to Ciara’s friend in San Francisco. She looked at Jane through weary eyes, and Jane decided to settle the matter on the spot, opening a telepathic channel to her, focusing as much as she could, wanting—for just this particular instance—to keep their communication private.

  Ciara, she said, are you still using your powers to keep us safe from Zatera’s influence?

  Ciara nodded.

  How much strain is it putting on you?

  Ciara looked around at the buildings, considering Jane’s question. Enough, she replied without looking back.

  OK. Jane folded her arms, considering her response. Ciara was responsible, not one to complain. Enough probably meant a lot.

  “We have to get away from this car,” Morris said sternly.

  As Jane looked over at him, breaking the telepathic connection with Ciara, she saw him pull his gaze away from the corner of a building. She glanced in that direction and saw a small, eye-like camera positioned there, only forty feet away. Then she glanced up farther to see numerous security drones flying overhead. Just as she looked at the underside of one of them, its small camera swiveled and turned in her direction; she immediately pulled her gaze away and glanced at the ground.

  “Damn,” she said under her breath. After a few moments, during which she took a few shallow breaths, she glanced up at Morris, holding her hand up to her forehead and doing her best to keep her face concealed. “You’re right,” she said.

  The moment he had Jane’s confirmation, Morris nodded at the others and walked away from the car, heading toward the inner city. Jane walked around the front of the vehicle and fell in behind him, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder to ensure the others were doing the same. Mike moved swiftly, and he locked eyes with her for a moment, nodding at her. Ciara trailed behind, and was glancing around, slightly dazed. Her brow was creased into an expression of befuddlement.

  Jane turned back around. It’s just the city, she thought. We’ve lived here before… what’s wrong? She squinted for a moment as she thought about this, keeping her gaze fixed on the concrete, but then she decided to put it out of her mind—at least for the moment—and focus on following Max’s instructions. She looked up at Morris, who was just a few feet ahead of her, and walked faster to catch up with him. Still, she trailed by a couple of feet. She wanted to reach out her hand to his so that the two of them could walk like any other couple, but she knew that whatever algorithms were running inside the systems of those drones would probably be looking for a couple. A male and a female in their late teens, holding hands and matching their description could be the very trigger that would give them away, and so she stayed behind, just a little.

  ***

  At the base of what would become the largest, most powerful structure ever built on Earth, Zatera, still in full command of Trey’s body was still standing in the center of the crystalline platform, channeling massive amounts of psychic energy. He stood upright, his spine perfectly straight, his eyes level with the city five miles away. He drew his attention away from San Francisco for a moment and focused on the four young minds that had just entered the city. He knew who they were immediately, and he felt the corners of his lips curl in
to a smile. It was an incredibly human gesture—one he had seen on many worlds—but still he frowned and glanced down and away from the skyline, momentarily caught in consternation. He wondered for a moment about the extent of Trey’s reach. Based on the psychic locks he had placed on his mind, the young man should have been deep in the recesses of the astral plane. Yet, he found himself succumbing to human-like expressions. He dismissed it; it bothered him only to a minute degree, and then, as he focused, the smile faded.

  A distinct ringing sound built up as the air around his body once again rippled with power, as though he were immersed in liquid. The base of the structure trembled slightly as the flashes of energy—energy he was channeling from the darkest corners of the multi-layered cosmos—increased. After a moment, he found what he was looking for.

  ***

  Jane held tightly to the solid metal bar that stretched from floor to ceiling on the subway. Morris stood behind her, his chin just barely resting against the top of her head. She could smell him; despite everything that had happened, he still managed to smell like vanilla. Jane smiled. Was it a psychic trick? Still, when she inhaled deeply, she detected traces of something else—odors that were distinctly him—and sweat. She inhaled deeply, not having had much time to connect with him recently. He had wrapped his left arm around her waist, and his strong right arm gripped the railing just above her hand, so that their clenched palms were touching end to end. For just a second, she closed her eyes, leaned back into him, and let down her psychic guard. She had a couple of seconds during which, in her mind’s eye, she saw the smile widen on his lips. She felt his thoughts intermingle with hers. The same connection that had formed quickly between them back at the facility flared up for the briefest of moments, and she took a deep breath as the wonderful sensations almost overwhelmed her.

  This lasted only a moment, as once she let down her guard, she was again reminded of something that had occurred when they had occupied the house on the Upper East Side of New York City. Her powers were growing. For reasons she couldn’t fathom, she was getting stronger. She had barely realized that her guard was up so high, but when she let her psychic defenses go, she had only seconds with Morris before a flood of emotion and thoughts washed into her mind, like the wind that came through the openings in the aging transit system and fluttered her golden hair.

  Her eyes shot open and she gaped. As though realizing she could read every thought on their minds, half the people in the car were looking directly at her. She blinked, squinting, and tried to find her defenses again, but she realized then she could sense everything; she could feel Morris’ growing concern behind her and hear him wondering about how to proceed. She could hear the man trying to hold back tears at the end of the car. She looked, frowning, and searched for him, but wasn’t able to find him amid the passengers who filled the central aisle. From the moment she let her guard fall, one thing amid this chaos had been bothering her to a much greater degree, but she hadn’t been able to discern what it was. What is it? she thought, a look of desperation creeping over her features as she kept her eyes on the floor and scanned it. Even her own thoughts had become scrambled as she struggled to get her defenses back up. Something was stopping her; someone close to her was in trouble.

  The same image she had seen in the car—that of the giant, glinting crystalline structure on the water—flashed inside her mind, and she recoiled, backing up into Morris. He wasn’t prepared, and even his tall, strong frame couldn’t stop them from falling backward a few feet. Jane didn’t need to glance around to see the frown form on the face of the person they had disturbed.

  Are you OK? she heard Morris ask, but his voice was distant. It was as though she had entered some primordial cave, and he was speaking from the entrance—a mere silhouette and far away.

  She closed her eyes and concentrated again. The image had not come from her. Determined this time, she focused the telepathic channel in her mind until it was laser-like. Slowly, the chatter stopped, and after a moment there was only blackness in her vision. Beneath her, far away, she heard the sound of the subway car rocking on the tracks. In the darkness of that focus, she found Ciara, whom she realized was the source of her concern. Jane approached her in her astral form and reached out to hold Ciara’s hand.

  Ciara glanced down at her outstretched hand, as though not understanding what it was. Then she looked up at Jane. After a moment, she regarded her with a thin smile.

  Jane. I can see you. Thank God. I was on the train—I mean, the subway—and Mike was sitting next to me with his hand on my back. I was looking at this. She turned away from Jane and pointed upward.

  Following her gaze, Jane looked up, and saw that the other side of the dark, psychic vista they inhabited had become illuminated. In the background was a dimly lit but incredibly dense star field, like the one Max had shown her on the road. However, something else was in the air, and as the blackness cleared, Jane felt her heart quicken in her physical body. She felt Morris’s grip tighten around her waist, and she knew her breath was running thin in the “real” world back on the train.

  Oh my God, Ciara, what is that? she asked as the drifting, wavering, golden ribbon came into view and her gaze fell upon it. Her eyes shot open as she saw this glowing object stretching across the heavens.

  That’s what Max was talking about, Ciara said sheepishly. It’s the river of light. We can draw from it.

  Oh…no, Jane said as she pulled away from it violently. It was the first time she had seen it outside the world of her dreams, and the immediate shock was too much for her in that moment. She glanced at Ciara for a split second, her face filled with sorrow at leaving her behind, then withdrew as rapidly as she could. Jane felt a rushing sensation as her mind fell backward through realms of time and space unknown to her. Then, with what felt like a surge of electricity, she found herself back in her physical body. Immediately, the sounds and scents that filled the air consumed her senses once more. Her chest was closed tight, and she struggled to breathe, fighting for deep lungfuls of air. When Morris placed a hand firmly on her back, her chest cavity finally opened wide, and her breathing returned to normal. She took deep breaths until she felt better.

  Thanks, she said to Morris.

  No problem, he replied. His large palm extended across her stomach, pressing gently there.

  Her breathing lightened when she felt this. As she glanced around at the car, she realized that whatever attention she had previously drawn to herself had doubled: more than half the people had turned to look at her. I think we should get back to the surface, she said, reaching out to all three of her companions with her thoughts.

  But we came down here because of the drones. Remember? What if the Committee’s still looking for us? Mike asked.

  I have a feeling, Ciara said, the struggle in her psychic communication evident, that the Committee’s not quite as interested in us as they once were.

  Jane glanced down at her surreptitiously. She was about to ask why when she understood—the answer was obvious. Only one thing left on this planet could be of greater interest to them. After a brief moment during which her stomach churned with worry, Jane was surprised to find a smile curl at the corner of her mouth. She stifled a laugh. If the Committee was going after Max, it was asking for a serious problem. The glee this thought elicited lasted for just a moment, though, as she remembered his face back on the beach. Her brow furrowed and she glanced downward as the image of the new lines that had formed around his eyes came to her mind—an image as clear and distinct as any she had ever recalled. She wondered what it meant, and she was glad to feel Morris pull her closer to him until his entire front torso was pressed against her back.

  There’s a stop coming up, he said.

  She nodded, lifting her gaze from the floor and directing it toward a window on the left in the far corner. She could see an approaching light—the light of the upcoming platform. Then she felt the train shudder and experienced a pull against her body as it
slowed down.

  Leave discreetly, she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ciara look up at her, and then from side to side.

  Do you think there’s a threat here? Ciara asked, still scanning the car.

  Jane glanced around, her eyes darting quickly and discreetly from one person to another. I’m not certain. I know don’t feel comfortable. At least half of them suspect we’re Ethereals, and at the moment, that’s reason enough to keep our heads down.

  The light in front of them grew until the platform could be seen rushing past on the left. Then the sound of brakes filled the air and the car slowly came to a halt. Jane stood motionless, waiting. They were only ten feet from the door. A half second before it opened, she felt Morris’s hand on her back, gently urging her forward. She reacted immediately, breaking into a full stride and glancing to her left to make sure Ciara was OK. Mike had taken her hand and he gave Jane a quick nod as they both stood together. Then, with Morris right behind her, Jane stepped across the threshold with more than half the occupants of the car still watching her.

  She looked to her right just as she made the exit and saw their eyes. It was a level of curiosity she had not seen before, and it troubled her. Her attention was drawn away from them and the train as a swirl of warm air blew around her. As she inhaled, what smelled like a mix of dust and oil caused her throat to dry up. She glanced forward, and on the right she saw a double staircase, marked clearly as the exit. The doors closed behind her as Mike and Ciara came up on her left.

  “What’s happening?” Jane asked. The station was not overly busy. It was large, and the fifty or so people who occupied it were spread thinly. Still, as the subway car behind them pulled away, picking up speed and disappearing into the darkened distance, a man stopped in the center of the station and turned toward them.

  Jane glanced at Ciara and saw that she was staring at the man intently.

  Ciara? she asked.

  I’m not sure. Whatever’s going on here is affecting people. She looked at Jane. It has something to do with what’s happening out on the ocean.