The Crystal Tower

by Liam Donnelly

  In this new vision, Max was orbiting earth. He watched, powerless, as a vast object, blazing with white-hot fire hurtled toward the planet. As it struck, a blinding flash of light followed, and then the atmosphere unfurled backward in a massive shockwave, dispersing over the continents below. Then the image faded, and his vision was filled with fire: cities burned, charred corpses lined the streets, and animals ran in every direction, trying to escape the unavoidable heat.

  Knowing he had seen all he had to see—and desperately not wanting to think about the ramifications of the vision he had witnessed—Max withdrew his thoughts.

  Now you know, Zatera said, his voice filled with hatred. Do what you will, Max. Do what you will.

  ***

  Red Eye and Omega were the only two pilots left in the sky. Tori watched, wide-eyed, as the young man wearing the loose, flowing white garments faced off against the man in the black cloak, who appeared, from this distance, to be at least fifteen years older. As she squinted, Tori was sure she saw ancient wisdom in the man’s face. Just the sight of him caused her spine to tingle. She figured it was an odd thought to have at that moment, but it came nonetheless, and she shivered.

  As she did, she heard his voice speaking in her mind. Get out of here now.

  She glanced around the cockpit, eyebrows raised and mouth agape. “Uh, who said that?”

  I’m the man you’re looking at in the black cloak.

  Tori looked closer. She saw him meet her gaze for a single second. He circled around the younger man who had been their target, closer to the tower. Just as quickly, his gaze returned to the other, with whom he appeared to be locked in some kind of unspoken stalemate.

  You have no chance of defeating him. He’s toying with you. Testing the limits of his power over this world. If you linger, he could infiltrate your planet’s military defense systems. Somehow, the idea has evaded him for the moment, but that could change. Get out of here, right now.

  Tori frowned at the severity of the man’s tone, but he was speaking into her mind—despite the psionic shielding, which, as she checked, was still active and protecting the craft from such interference. It seemed to have absolutely no effect on him whatsoever. Tori sighed and stared at him for a moment longer. Something about his presence told her she had to trust him.

  “Red Eye, this is Omega. I’m ordering a full retreat.”

  “Understood.”

  “Return to base.” Tori’s gaze lingered on the black-cloaked man for a few more seconds before she powered up her engines and set a course to return. Together, the ships’ engines roared to life, then rushed past the tower, climbing when they reached the city and flew high above it as they started their return.

  ***

  Max had no time to waste. Knowing he was already stretching the limits of the length of time he could leave Jane with Elliot pursuing her, he waited for the retreating vessels to distract Zatera. Then, using all the energy he could muster, Max lifted his hand in one fluid motion and hurled a volley of psychokinetic energy into Trey’s body.

  Zatera didn’t have time to register any shock as he was hit; he flew straight through the shield—ripping a hole right through it—and was thrown toward the side of the tower. Then, with the force of Max’s power still pushing on him, an outer section of the tower exploded as Trey’s body slammed into it. Large shards of the crystalline structure smashed to pieces. As though in slow motion, they fell toward the sea like enormous reflective ornaments.

  Trey’s limp body drifted downward too, and his eyes opened and closed in a dazed fashion as he pushed himself away from the cracked surface. Scanning quickly, Max saw that he had damaged the body and temporarily weakened Zatera’s hold over Trey. That had been his intent. Max winced at having hurt Trey, though he knew that in a short time, Zatera would have control over him again and would easily repair the damage. With one final, confused glance at Max, Trey’s eyes closed. Then the body went completely limp and fell toward the water.

  Max glanced back at the tower, at the damage he had caused and the falling fragments, and then looked upward. The structure was still growing above him, and like an alarming beacon, it warned that time was indeed running out. Max looked down at the base of the edifice. Trey’s body was still falling, receding into the distance. A determined expression stole over Max’s features as he thought about what he was going to do. The thousand or so outcomes he had parsed in his mind less than a day before—when the tower had only begun to form—had now been whittled down to fewer than a hundred, and only ten of those eventualities were positive. Max figured this could be his last chance. Now that Zatera was temporarily weakened, there was a window of opportunity, and Max wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

  Once Trey’s body had passed through it, the shield had closed rapidly—too rapidly for Max to follow through the opening. Summoning all the power he could, Max faced the barrier of energy and raised his arms outward, his palms facing it. Then he levitated forward and pushed against it, unleashing as much power as he could. The sky lit up as the field surrounding the tower glowed with fierce blue light. However, the Ethereals inside still had control, and they were using every ounce of strength they had to maintain the integrity of the shield, pushing back against his efforts. In his mind’s eye, Max saw them looking up, concentrating on keeping the barrier intact. Max knew he could best at least them.

  He summoned more energy and gritted his teeth. As the colossal levels of power were channeled through his body and into the shield, new lines creased his eyes. He felt his heart beat inside his chest with the strain. Vast streaks of energy shot out from his hands like electricity and disappeared on either side of him in the night sky. With one final push, Max heard an odd sizzling sound. A gap began forming in the barrier in front of him. It spread out from his hands, quickly growing to a diameter of twenty feet. Max took several deep breaths and moved back a few feet, placing a hand on his chest. As he glanced to his side, he saw that the shield was closing just as fast as it had opened. Wasting no time, he levitated across the barrier and turned to see it close behind him.

  Momentarily weakened, Max stopped and took several breaths, trying to let his body come to terms with the strain. However, despite how much air he took in, it seemed that his body would not recover as quickly as it previously had—and there was no time to waste.

  Glancing at the sea below, Max turned in that direction and rushed toward it. In mere seconds, he flew down the entire length of the tower and exploded through the water at the base. Moving past the more jagged structure that held the edifice in place underneath the water, Max continued his descent until he was just a few feet off the ocean floor. He kept himself encased in a hollow sphere filled with air. Upward on his right, he sensed Trey drifting on the surface, and he could feel Zatera’s mind racing—raging—to get back to the body. However, anger was splitting Zatera’s focus as he tried to regain control of it. Despite this, Max knew Zatera would soon find a way back, and so he took action.

  Reaching out his hands, Max pointed them at the jagged base of the tower, where the crystal had formed a wide mound. A light built up at his palms, and the sea around him glowed, illuminating the structure in front of him and giving him a better view of the enormous formation, which curved around well beyond his physical sight. Max waited, and the light building in his hands grew brighter. When he could no longer hold the energy, he released it, shooting a bright, thick beam out of his hands with almost the same energy of a pulsar. It exploded into the base of the edifice and immediately began cutting through it. Large chunks of crystal—some of them as large as trucks—broke off and floated into the water. Some of them moved toward him and bounced off his shield.

  Max watched as the beam cut through the structure. Realizing that he was making progress, he kept channeling the energy. Given the way events were unfolding, he knew this may be his only chance to cause significant damage to the tower, and so he kept up his rain of fire. Max could feel the blaze of e
nergy cutting through the base. Then, after a few moments, a thunderous cracking sound resounded through the water around him. He stopped firing, and as the energy dissipated from his hands, only a dim light remained in them, where the residual energy from the attack lit up both Max and the confines of his shield. He was preparing to fire again when he sensed Zatera return to Trey’s body, which awakened.

  Ignoring this for the moment, Max scanned the base of the structure and saw the huge, dark scar he had left in it. Indeed, as he scanned the edifice above him, Max noted that the tower’s upper portion was already tilting by several degrees, and moving slowly. Another thunderous cracking filled the sea around him as the structure below the water level weakened.

  There was no more time to try again, but Max had damaged the tower, and that would, at least for the moment, delay Zatera and his plans. Max turned and, moving as fast as he could, flew up toward the surface. In less than a second, he crossed the depth to which he had descended. Then he was out in the night air.

  Max rose and kept moving toward the city. As he took one last glance behind him, he saw that Trey was hovering in the air, growing more distant with each passing second. Max knew Zatera would not pursue him; he would return to repair his tower, as there was no way he would risk it tilting further. However powerful the Ethereals inside the building were, they couldn’t repair that kind of damage without him, and so Max flew forward, continuing toward the city.

  ***

  Jane still sat in the hospital room, hiding from Elliot, only now, her eyes opened and closed slowly and were bloodshot from the strain of keeping herself hidden from his telepathic scans. Elliot was glancing into different rooms that lined the long corridor. Now she heard his voice, which was layered with the voice of that other, terrifying entity she had encountered in the Marble Hall. She had run immediately at the sight of him then, but now she could be comforted only by the mere fact that she was dealing with Elliot, and not Zatera directly.

  Where are you? she heard him say, his voice drifting across her mind like a jagged saw across concrete.

  She shivered, and focused harder. In the psychic landscape where she kept her inner self hidden, Jane looked different. Her clothes were clean and her hair had a golden appearance, like the sun. She still stood with her back against the inner wall she had built in her mind and she concentrated fiercely on the other side, from where she knew Elliot was approaching. He had broken through four of her defensive barriers. Now only two remained.

  Stepping over the wall he had just destroyed, Elliot approached the second remaining barrier. Jane watched in her mind’s eye as he reached out his hands and light grew in his palms. Immediately, she felt the pressure build up on the wall inside her, as it was her own psyche he was attempting to breach. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she pushed as hard as she could against his psychic will. However, as their wills clashed, Elliot overcame her easily. Jane gasped as she let go and the wall was obliterated, leaving a much larger gap this time. The ground beneath her trembled, and she placed her hands against the bricks behind her for support. Only one barrier remained now, and she watched, shaken, as Elliot stepped over the edge and approached this last wall, so close to her that she sensed his presence just beyond the final barricade.

  In the room outside, Elliot grasped his temples in frustration. Where the hell are you? he screamed. As he did so, everything in the immediate vicinity was affected. One pane of glass in a nearby room shattered, and though she flinched, Jane held her body perfectly still. All around her, the metal tools in the dark room vibrated and clattered against each other. Then the space fell silent again. The blue light behind Jane continued moving as Elliot’s penetrating senses scanned the hallway. Clearly, he knew she was there, but she had concealed her physical presence well, and she knew Elliot was far too impatient to physically search the hundred or so hiding places she may have used inside these hallways.

  In the landscape of her mind, Jane watched beyond the final wall as Elliot glanced sideways. A trace of a grin appeared on his face. She returned her attention to where she stood, knowing he had broken through all but one of her defenses, and glanced up at the light of the sun. Through the new clouds that had formed around it, a parting appeared, and a stark ray of light shot through, beaming directly onto her, warming her body and energizing her. Her brow creased in consternation then, for in this vista, the birds had returned. This time, they were beautiful otherworldly creatures with immense wingspans and thick white feathers. They were flying just a couple of hundred feet up, so they appeared near to her. Jane stared at them and had the odd sense that they represented something else; it was as though they were watching her—perhaps even protecting her. She knew everything else in this makeshift world had come from her own mind, but she had the sudden impression that they certainly had not. Her mouth gaped as she had an inkling of what they represented, though she had no time to think about it further.

  Still, Jane drew energy from their presence. As Elliot once again reached his hands up to face the last wall, Jane reached out her hands, palms facing downward and fingers pointing toward the wall. With every ounce of strength, she fought his will as he pushed against the final barrier.

  The pressure on the wall increased, and Jane continued fighting back. She thought of her friends—their faces came to mind—and the light from her hands grew brighter as energy flowed from them into the wall. Elliot pushed harder, and Jane felt the barrier shudder. Then, the face of her mother came to mind and the energy that flowed across the space between Jane and the wall grew brighter still. The barricade grew taller and thicker. The bricks, which had at first been small, red, and rectangular, became large concrete blocks. These newly formed slabs appeared almost impenetrable.

  Jane heard Elliot groan in frustration. In her mind’s eye, she saw a flash of light as his head reeled around and his eyes lit up. The wall trembled around her, and Jane felt the ground shake, but still she did not falter. She kept her palms up and continued focusing on maintaining the structure. The force from Elliot’s presence grew stronger, and Jane shuddered as she felt their wills collide. One of the bricks smashed, and the front part of it exploded outward. At that point, just to the left of where she was focusing, a crack appeared in the foundation and rose upward. It was less than an inch thick, but now light poured through it. Eyeing it quickly, Jane focused on it and sealed it.

  She and Elliot were locked in a stalemate, and Jane didn’t know when it would end. As soon as she had that thought, everything changed. The sky grew dark, and as Jane glanced up, she saw new, thick, dark clouds swirling above her. Lightning struck out from between their bubbling forms as they rolled rapidly across the sky, covering the sun and all the light. One could easily be forgiven for thinking it was dusk. Jane grimaced as she quickly understood what was happening. She felt the second presence—the stronger one behind Elliot’s mind, the one pulling the strings—take command for a moment.

  In her mind’s eye, Jane saw him inside the Crystal Tower as he turned and looked straight at her. For a second, she locked eyes with him. In that moment, Jane found herself remembering the same vast Marble Hall from another dimension—his dimension—running scared from him: it was a thinly veiled warning, but she was not scared now, just aware that she had no chance of holding the wall against the might of his will. She needed a new plan.

  As Zatera took full command of Elliot’s faculties, the force behind the wall became immense. Now it took every ounce of strength she had to keep cracks from forming. Indeed, Jane sensed that he wasn’t even trying. Fragments of rock began exploding out from the opposite surface in every direction; the wall was being smashed to pieces, and Jane knew she had only moments before Zatera reached her inner sanctum. Knowing what she had to do—and knowing that Zatera would likely leave Elliot once he had broken through her psychic defenses—she lowered her hands and let go of her hold on the barrier. Before she departed, she took one last glance and saw a barrage of concrete flying toward her as t
he wall was completely destroyed. Just before she was hit, Jane closed her eyes, and willed herself away from that place and back into her body.

  In the room, now fully present in her physical body, Jane took a deep breath as she glanced around in the dark. She had only a few precious seconds to move, as she knew it wouldn’t take Elliot long to realize she had left. Wasting no time, she stood, ran for the door, and, pulling it open, dashed into the corridor. Elliot was on her right, the blue light from his eyes still illuminating the hall in an eerie glow. Jane saw him glance toward her out of the corner of her eye, but kept running back the way she had come.

  As she heard something crack behind her, Jane glanced over her shoulder and saw that Elliot had torn a section of seats away from the wall. They were now flying down the hallway in her direction, moving so fast she barely had time to think. Jane raised her right arm and formed a shield. By the time the chairs reached her, they had separated, and as they impacted her psychic barrier, they shattered to pieces, sending fragments of wood scattering throughout the hallway. The force of the blast knocked Jane off her feet and sent her skidding down the tiles in the direction of the doorway.

  Now, with her back flat against the floor, Jane blinked once, twice. Dazed, she took a deep breath and leaned up, placing her elbows on the floor for support. She frowned as she watched Elliot slowly walk toward her. She had no remorse for him. He had been empowered by this ancient being, but he had not needed much prompting. That was one of the reasons he had been chosen to follow her. Gritting her teeth, Jane scanned the room to his left just as he passed a large window there. As her strength returned, she reached out and ran the hands of her mind over the various objects in the room. She found something large and heavy, and she immediately knew what it was—a filing cabinet. Jane ripped it from where it stood and heard a clattering sound from the room beyond as she sent it hurtling through the air.