To Touch the Stars

by Tess Mallory

  Something connected them in that instant as Eagle's green eyes seemed to engulf her soul. Something inside of both of them. She knew it, she could feel it. Then it was gone. He had shut it down, sealed it off, denied it. He was shutting her out again. Carefully, he set her away from him, and Sky steeled herself not to feel the pain of this gentle rejection.

  "I'm sorry. Forgive me, Sky," he said, reaching out and tucking one long strand of hair behind her ear. "Let's get to the temple." Hands on his hips, he glanced back at Telles, who was slowly approaching.

  "Are you all right?" he asked, tossing Eagle his shirt.

  Eagle nodded and used the garment to blot the sweat from his face before he slipped his arms into the sleeves. He left it open and Sky turned away, unwilling to let herself be tantalized again. She couldn't bear this anymore. Every time she reached out to him, he caressed her in return, devoured her senses and sensibilities, then left her wanting and angry. He was messed up—his brain probably so skewed, so twisted there was no telling who or what he might really be. And no way to find out. She had to pull back, protect herself, before it was too late.

  Telles stood beside her, frowning. "What about you, Sky? You okay?" She nodded, unable to speak for a minute. "Maybe your sister will be waiting for you inside. Don't give up hope."

  Hope. She almost laughed aloud. Her hope for her sister was quickly dying. Her hope for herself had already dissolved as Eagle gently disentangled himself from her arms, and her life.

  "Maybe," she said, her voice little more than a whisper. But it wasn't true. Mayla wasn't here, she knew it, felt it in the pit of her stomach. So why were they here? She glanced at Eagle. Was all of this poignant struggle with the "truth" part of a well-orchestrated show? Was Kell right and she was walking into a trap? If so, she wasn't walking in blind, not anymore. And she wasn't walking in defenseless. The suit she wore gave her strength. Now she needed a weapon.

  "Before we go any farther, I think we should break out the blasters from our supplies," she said. "Telles, you were in charge of that."

  "I think we should wait until—"

  "Now, Telles." Her command voice usually got results. This time was no different as Telles slung the pack off his back and opened it. He took out two small phasers and one slightly larger blaster. He kept the blaster for himself and handed the others to Eagle and Sky. She stared down at the small weapon.

  "This is it?" She gestured toward the small gun with the other hand. "This is my weapon? Am I supposed to use it to shoot someone or to manicure my nails?" She glared at Telles, her suspicions igniting once more.

  "That's all I could fit in the pack. You said to carry light. Don't worry; it can still kill a man at ten feet. If we get into a fight, it will likely be in close quarters."

  "Of course," she muttered. She stuffed the small weapon into a pocket in the droid suit and leaned down to pick up the wilderness-carving blade on the ground. "I'll do it, Sky," Eagle said.

  Sky slashed the blade down between them, effectively stopping Eagle's offer to continue chopping through the jungle. He didn't move a muscle as the weapon sliced through the air, burying itself in the ground next to his foot. She pulled the blade free, shooting Eagle a look that dared him to challenge her.

  "I don't know what's going on," she said, "but I am taking command of this mission, boys. Now shape up, or I'll leave you behind."

  "Sky, what in the world is the matter with you?" Eagle asked, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "I thought—" She cut him off.

  "I'm beginning to think Kell was right and I've been played for a fool. If that's true, I promise the two of you will be very sorry." She pulled the small phaser from her pocket and pointed it at Telles. "Ten feet, eh? Give me the blaster." Without a word he handed it to her. She activated the larger weapon and turned it on Eagle. "Now you."

  With a snort of disgust Eagle tossed it over.

  "Now, Colonel, you're so eager to cut the way through—go ahead. Telles, you help him." She gestured with the blaster. "I'm tired of both your games. Get us to the temple. I know Mayla isn't there, but I intend to find out what's going on—and what the two of you have to do with it."

  "What do you mean, you know Mayla isn't here?" Eagle asked, his dark brows colliding as he took the blade from her hand. She took a step back from him to put a little distance between them. He grimaced at her movement. "You think I'm going to cut you in half, I suppose? If I'd wanted to kill you, baby, I could have done it a dozen times over." His mouth tightened. "And you'd have never known what hit you." He shook his head in disgust and released his pent-up breath in one long rush. "Women!"

  "Shut up," Sky ordered. "No more talking. No more nice little stories about erased memories. The two of you are going to walk in front of me and clear the way to the temple. Once we get there, if I can't find a reason why Mayla might have sent us here, we're returning to the ship and getting the hell out of here."

  "But Sky—"

  "Shut up, Colonel!" She tossed her long hair back from her shoulders, the blaster trained carefully on Eagle's chest. "Just start swinging that blade and carve us a way through the jungle."

  He looked away, his fingers tightening around the handle of the ancient machete. "Fine. But this is the end of the line for me. I'm not going back to the ship with you if we don't find her. You agreed on seven days." He shot her a look, his green eyes glittering with suppressed anger. "My time is up."

  She nodded, feeling that familiar rage course through her again as he stared haughtily at her, arrogance written in every handsome feature. "Yes, space-boy, your time is up. But maybe not in quite the way you figured. Start chopping and start walking."

  Eagle's face closed and he turned toward the tangled growth in front of him. Telles moved beside him, and together the two men started clearing the ancient path to the Seekers' temple.

  Sky followed, feeling as though the wide, sharp blade was coming down, stroke for stroke, into the very center of her heart.

  Chapter Twelve

  Eagle hacked through the underbrush, mad enough to tear the forest apart with his bare hands. He wasn't angry at Sky, but at himself. What was wrong with him? First he had made love to her, feeling a passion and desire he'd never thought possible; then he'd abandoned her, fearful of her power. She had weathered his cruelty, offering her trust, her understanding, back on the ship, a second time, and again he had rejected her. He'd gathered his shreds of courage about him and gone with her into Telles's mind, but once the light had been turned to his own part in things, his own past, the questions he couldn't answer, he had run back inside himself like a scared little boy and deserted her again.

  He glanced back over his shoulder. She was trailing behind Telles, and because she didn't know he was looking at her, the haughty, tough mask had dropped from her porcelain features. She looked tired, infinitely sad, and discouraged. He longed to take her in his arms again and this time promise her the world, promise her sister's return, promise her forever. He couldn't. He couldn't promise her anything. All he could promise was pain, and he refused to be the bearer of that gift anymore.

  Eagle sliced through a particularly tough patch of brush, feeling his muscles strain with the effort. He didn't care. He welcomed the pain. Deserved the pain. Where was the man who had fought so many battles he couldn't even number them or recall their names? Where was the man who had cold-bloodedly chosen men to die in the name of the Dominion—who had callously de-fended his father's actions for so many years? Where was Benjakar Zarn? Where was Eagle?

  He had disappeared and in his place was this mewling, weak imitation of a man, a man he despised. A man who whimpered on a woman's shoulder and was too afraid to face a fictitious story about his past. A man who was too weak to risk himself for love. He slammed the blade into the ground, and using his hands, pulled two thick vines apart, wrenching them back, sweat pouring down his shoulders, tiny scratches causing blood to spot across his skin. He bent over, catching his breath, hands resting on his thighs,
then heard the quick intake of breath behind him. Looking up, he straightened slowly, stunned at the sight before him. He heard Sky's awestruck voice from behind.

  "Is that it, Telles?" she was whispering. "Is that the temple?"

  "Yes. Isn't it magnificent?"

  Eagle's eyes slid shut, but they did not block out the glorious image in front of him. The picture was burned forever in his mind, and had been for a very long time. He was only just now remembering it.

  No. You aren't remembering it, he shouted inside. 1 don't know how you know this, but you are not remembering.

  High, smooth walls of deep, jade green stretched toward the sky, at least three stones, each level smaller than the last, resembling a huge, tiered cake. Round columns adorned each corner of the structure, reaching even higher than the walls, ending in twisted, swirling points. There were no doors, no windows, no openings of any kind, but Eagle knew exactly how to gain entrance. He took a deep breath as knowledge burned into his soul and a floodgate somewhere deep inside his mind opened. He did not stop the outpouring, though he suspected he could. He did not stop the flood of thoughts and memories, though he knew by allowing it, he was welcoming his own doom. His hands flew to his head, his fingers tightening against his scalp.

  He knew. He knew everything about this place. The Seekers temple was built from beautiful blocks of a green stone called malachite. Legend had it that the stone had been brought from the mythological world of Terra, although when, or how, only the Seekers were said to know for certain. That had been before the first Cezans, during the dark times when the future of Andromeda looked dim and uncertain. The Seekers had been established by the first ruling Cezan in order to preserve the history of Andromeda, her people, and its beliefs—as well as the knowledge of where those beliefs originated.

  "Well, magnificent isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe it," she said. "More like mossy and moldy. I guess no one has been able to take care of the place over the years."

  Eagle glanced at Sky and frowned. What was she talking about? The temple was beautiful. It was—before his eyes, the structure began to shift, to change, to corrode from the proud emblem of Andromedan culture to a crumbled ruin of a building, gray, and as Sky had said, moss-covered. He staggered.

  "Eagle?"

  He heard his name but he couldn't respond. Swirling colors converged inside his head, pulsating against the back of his eyes. He had to pull back. He had to stop the flow. It was too much. This had to be some kind of trick. This place was somehow shooting these images into his mind. But if that was so, why couldn't Sky see it? The colors surged again, and instinctively he was hit by the knowledge like a flood of water and imagined a dam, blocking the flow, halting the wave of liquid facts threatening to drown him, dancing down his synapses, prodding him for entrance. He felt Sky's touch on his arm. Slowly he lowered his hands from his head. Taking a slow, shuddering breath, he opened his eyes. The glory had returned.

  "Follow me," he said. He moved toward the shining green stone, wondering if the old Eagle would ever return from its depths or if he was doomed, once he stepped inside, to being sucked down into the spinning black hole opening inside his mind.

  "There aren't any doors," Sky said as they approached the huge building.

  "Yes, there are." Eagle pushed ahead of her. Huge blue-green ferns tinged with violet grew around the base of the temple, some affixed to vines climbing up the side of the smooth jade mountain.

  "You're remembering," Telles said, his voice hushed as he moved to Eagle's side. He grabbed him by one arm, forcing him around. "What else do you remember?"

  Eagle pulled away, gesturing in front of him. "I don't know what you're talking about. You lead the way," he said.

  Telles shook his head. "Nope. You're leading us, buddy. How do we get inside?" His blue-gray eyes were filled with such hope that Eagle could hardly bear to look at him. He moved toward the monolithic structure, his hands on his hips, coming to a stop only inches away from the first round pillar.

  "We think ourselves in."

  "What?" Sky walked around, confronting him face to face, blaster still in her hand. "Are you crazy? What is that supposed to mean?"

  "Give him a chance," Telles said.

  "Sure, I'll give him a chance." She lifted the gun and pressed it into the center of his chest. "What do you mean?" she repeated, talking slowly, as if to a child.

  Eagle pushed the barrel of the weapon aside. "I mean, that there is a door here, it's just hidden."

  "Hidden?" She glanced around. "By a plant?"

  "No, it's hidden from our minds. The temple must transmit a signal that tells all who approach there is no door, just as it tells all who approach that it is a dilapidated old ruin. It isn't. Don't look at it with your eyes. Look at it with your mind. This should be child's play for you, Sky."

  She stared at him while Telles's face was split by a totally uninhibited grin. "You're remembering," he whispered again. Eagle ignored him, concentrating on the wonder on Sky's face.

  Tentatively she reached out a hand to touch the rough rock and jerked it back as if she'd been burned. "It looks rough but it's really smooth. What does it really look like, Eagle?" she asked. "What are you seeing?"

  "Smooth green stone, the color of the leaves and vines around us except deeper. It's called malachite. It came from Terra."

  Sky spun around, her mouth open. She snapped it shut as Telles laughed out loud joyfully. "Terra?" she said on a breath. "Terra is only a legend. Surely you aren't suggesting—"

  "Can't you see the real temple?" he said, unable to resist the temptation of goading her. Was it possible he could use his mind in a way that Skyra Cezan could not? "Come on, Sky, just concentrate."

  She glared at him, then turned her narrow gaze toward the temple. After a moment he heard her sigh with pleasure. The sound sent a sharp pang through him. Not too long ago he had been causing those sighs. Now there was no chance for them—or wouldn't be, once they found her sister.

  "I see it!" she shouted, throwing her arms wide. "I see the temple! It's beautiful!"

  Eagle couldn't help smiling. "Can you see the door? I couldn't see it at first either."

  She paused, then pointed toward a corner of the structure. "Yes! There it is—a small door, barely taller than I am."

  Telles shot Eagle a curious look. "You seem to be taking this rather better than you were before."

  Eagle shrugged and tried to keep his tone nonchalant. "Go with the flow, I always say." Flow, hell. He didn't believe this for a minute. It was some kind of trick, some kind of setup Telles or the rebels or someone had engineered to convince him. He had to believe that. He had to believe it was a ruse. Because if he believed it was just a ploy on the part of the rebels, he could handle it. He could do what he had to do.

  "Let's go in," Sky said. "Maybe we'll find the evidence you're looking for, Telles, and you can prove your theory to Mr. Hardhead."

  He raised one golden brow. "And to you?"

  The joy she'd expressed over the beauty of the temple faded, along with her eager tone of voice. "Yes, and to me."

  "Aren't you interested in finding Mayla?"

  A shadow touched her face. "Mayla isn't here, Telles." She glanced at Eagle. "You both know that." Telles shook his head. "No, I don't know it at all. What makes you say this?"

  "If she was here I would feel it, I would sense it. I am a Cezan and so is she—we know when a member of our family is nearby."

  "I'm sorry, Sky," he said. "But I don't understand why you say that Eagle and I knew this. We didn't." He shot Eagle a look that spoke volumes. "At least, I didn't know."

  "She doesn't trust us anymore." Eagle said the words flatly. "She thinks this is some kind of a trap because she senses Mayla isn't here. You said yourself she could be any number of places."

  "But she's not on Andromeda," she said, her voice tight. "Come on, boys." She gestured with the blaster. "I still want to see what's inside this rock. Let's go explore Andromeda's past, sh
all we?"

  "Not until you put that thing away," Telles said in disgust, hands on his hips, blue-gray eyes flashing with rare anger. "We're all in this together. I let you inside my mind, Sky. Surely that entitles me to a little of your respect, if not your trust."

  Eagle watched the exchange and felt a sharp stab of jealousy. It flared into outright pain when Sky nodded and lowered the weapon. "You're right. I'll put it away, but I'm sorry, Telles, I can't give you my trust again just yet."

  "I understand."

  Eagle turned away from the two and ducked under an overhanging branch, ignoring his desire to punch Telles in the nose. Telles was much more suited to Sky than he could ever be. Maybe that was the way to get over her—encourage his best friend to become her lover. His hands tightened into fists and he had to turn his thoughts quickly away from the mental picture of Sky and Telles together before he did damage to something or someone. He stopped in front of the hidden opening and concentrated on getting into the temple. Telles and Sky followed close behind him.

  The door was small, the height of it barely clearing Sky's head. It was made from the same smooth stone and seemed to be sealed shut with no obvious way to open it. The three stood staring at the impenetrable surface it presented, then looked at each other.

  "Do you remember how to get in?" Telles asked. He leaned one hand flat against the door, hooking the other over his hipbone.

  "No, I don't remember," Eagle said, growing progressively more irritated with this game Telles was playing. He placed his own hand flat against the smooth surface next to the doorway. "But I know how." He flexed his fingers three times against the stone and the door parted from an invisible seam, splitting down the middle.