Dyla walked down the stairs with Cat on her heels.
“You found it yet?” Dyla asked.
Eclair stood looking at the pedestal holding the powerful crystal.
“Come over here and look at this. It’s a thing of beauty.”
Darius, Dyla and Cat gathered around the pedestal, and watched Eclair gently lift the crystal from its perch.
“I’ve never seen one so large. It’s intact and has power,” he said.
“Excellent,” Darius said.
Cat stared at the enormous crystal. She had never seen a diamond that big before, and she was mesmerized by it until the gleam of a sword blade caught her eye. She stepped closer to the pedestal holding the sword, and ran her hand along the hilt.
“Excalibur,” she whispered.
“We’ve spent enough time on this planet,” Darius said. “It’s time to go home and mount our defense. Things should have quieted down by now.”
“Wait, what are you guys doing?” Cat asked, coming out of her stupor.
Darius ignored her question. “Eclair, open a portal to the surface so she can get out safely. Then we leave.”
“Wait, you can’t leave yet,” Cat pleaded. “What about all this? All this history! And what about me? I’m a scholar of Arthurian legend. Don’t you realize that this is the find of a lifetime?”
“I told you, we don’t have time for this,” Darius growled, turning to Cat. “Eclair will open a portal back to the surface for you. Grab whatever you want, and get ready. We’re not waiting.”
Darius was interrupted by Eclair’s shout.
“Incoming portal! Take cover.”
“What?” Cat asked, looking around.
Darius and Dyla immediately spread out to either side of the room, waiting and watching. Eclair stood looking at the shimmer of light forming in the room.
The portal stabilized, and Munroe stepped through first, followed by a group of gun-toting henchmen.
He smiled expansively at them. “Bravo! Well done, kids. We’ve been looking for this place for centuries. We thought it was lost forever. Those damn Telkurs went to their graves with the secret of this place locked in their filthy hearts.”
The twins warily circled the group, on guard for any movement or attack.
Eclair looked at the men with guns standing behind Munroe. “You can’t fire those weapons down here. You’ll rupture the enclosure’s seals with any stray shot.”
Munroe turned to his men. “He’s right about that. What do you think, Sir Henry?”
Sir Henry ‘Blackheart’ Hanover stepped forward, and stared at Eclair holding the crystal. He reached out his hand to him.
“I’ll take that, young man. That’s an extremely valuable crystal you’re holding.”
Eclair nearly choked as he stared at the man. He was the mirror image of Grand Duke Vogdo.
Henry’s appearance jolted Cat out of her stupor.
“Sir Henry, my ass. You’re nothing more than a petty thief, Blackheart.”
Blackheart shifted his gaze, and took a step toward Cat, murder written on his face. “Petty thief?”
“Now,” Darius yelled.
He blurred into motion, taking out the nearest guard with a vicious blow to his neck.
Dyla pivoted on her left leg as she spun around and landed a kick to the midsection of another gunman, toppling him over. She quickly jumped over him to launch a series of punches at the next gunman, but he was prepared, and countered her attack.
“Get that crystal!” Blackheart screamed.
A shot rang out.
Everyone stopped. The bullet, meant for Darius, missed him and lodged itself into the wall. Immediately, water began pouring in through the widening crack. They had only a precious few minutes before disaster struck.
“Idiot,” Blackheart yelled. ”Get that crystal.”
Munroe lunged at Eclair, trying to take the crystal from the unsuspecting youth. Eclair deftly sidestepped his attack, and knocked him down with a blow to his head.
“I’ll kill you for that,” Munroe said, through clenched teeth, as he struggled to get up.
Eclair danced back out of range. “I think not.”
They were out of time. The crack sounded like the deafening peal of a bell when the wall began to collapse. Water began rushing in through the gaping rent in the wall. The room was quickly filling with water.
Munroe grabbed Blackheart, and pushed him toward the stairs.
“Get to the outer room and we’ll seal the door. It will hold the water back long enough for us to open a portal to the surface.”
“I want that crystal,” Blackheart said.
“We can catch them on the surface. I’ll make sure they don’t get far.”
Munroe’s men had already clambered up the stairs, and Blackheart was close behind. Munroe stopped at the doorway, pulled a pistol out of his waistband, and shot Eclair in the chest.
“No,” screamed Dyla, running to him.
Eclair collapsed into the water, still clutching the crystal in his hand.
Munroe smirked. “That should leave you enough strength to open one more portal, to the surface.”
He slammed the door, sealing them in a watery grave.
Darius knelt over Eclair, examining his wound. The bullet had hit him high in the chest, and he was bleeding freely, but still conscious.
Eclair pushed Darius’s probing fingers away. “We don’t have time for that. We have to get out before the room totally floods.”
“They’ll be waiting for us on the surface,” Dyla said.
Darius knew she was right. “I know, but we have no other choice. Munroe’s right. We have to get out of here.”
Eclair grunted as he fought to stand up. “No, we have another choice. I can open a portal back to Otharia.”
“Are you sure?” Darius said.
“Yes, give me a minute.”
Cat stood in knee-deep water, paralyzed with fear. Her find of a lifetime was quickly turning into a nightmare; a nightmare from which she saw no escape.
“I don’t want to die down here,” she pleaded.
“No one is going to die,” Dyla reassured her. “Eclair can get us out of here.”
Eclair clenched the crystal, concentrating intensely. The enormous effort began to show immediately as he gasped for breath. He didn’t stop, despite the pain, but continued to probe; searching for the beacon he knew was out there. He had never opened an inter-planetary portal before, but he knew the steps. Concentrate on the destination, visualize it in your mind, find the spark, and merge the two locations as one. He was growing weaker as he stretched his awareness ever farther. The bleeding was taking its toll on him.
Finally, he found the familiar spot on the edge of his awareness, and he reached for it. It was so close, within his grasp, but he was too weak to make the connection. An agonized groan escaped his lips as it began to slip from him.
Darius and Dyla grabbed him.
A surge of power jolted him, and coursed through his body when the twins joined with him. With their added power, he reached out and encircled his awareness around the familiarity. Without a second thought, he merged the two locations, opened his eyes, and saw Otharia before him.
The twins gently lifted Eclair, and moved forward toward the portal opening. Darius stopped and looked at Cat. She was standing, transfixed in place, frozen with fear. He stretched his hand out to her. “Come with us. It’s your only chance to survive.”
Cat hesitated. “I can’t!” She didn’t want to die, but saw no other means of escape.
“Cat, now!” Darius yelled.
She grabbed his outstretched hand, and stepped through the portal to an unknown world.
Excerpt from The Chronicles of Otharia during the reign of the First Vacancy:
Division II – PSI Potential
Subsection I – The PSI Factor
PSI powers are highly valued for the practical uses they can employ. Most of the physicians come from the ranks
of the telekinetics, because of their abilities to affect and mend damaged tissue. Many of the empaths go into the practice of law and its enforcement, because of their abilities to feel the truth. Telepaths are the arbitrators and dealers of the society. It was the strongest of the lot who were sought after by the royal houses. Many graduates of the Institute were from royal houses, but were not in line to rule. As there were only so many seats of power, the rest were given positions where their individual skills could best be employed.
Chapter 40 – The Return
Sitting at the control console, Trinity thought about the events unfolding around her, and felt helpless.
“Why is this happening?” she moaned, laying her head down on the console.
The Grand Council was meeting in two days to announce their decision on Avikar’s petition. With no heir in sight to dispute his claim, Avikar was poised to take the throne of Telkur.
Avikar’s kinship with Lilliana had positioned him as next in line to rule. With the twins gone, and not answering Avikar’s petition, his claim of abandonment would stand. Even though Lilliana was alive, the Grand Council could argue that she was unfit to rule because of her amnesia.
“I can’t let him get away with this,” Trinity mumbled.
Thankfully, Sardel had agreed to testify that it was Avikar who headed the smugglers’ ring, although Ty wasn’t sure whether the word of a gypsy would hold enough sway with the Council. After all, Avikar could argue that it was he who discovered, and destroyed, the smuggling ring.
“How could anyone believe that?” Trinity asked no one in particular.
She was deeply concerned that Ty was taking a big chance bringing the gypsies to the Council meeting. When the Council learned that Ty was opening formal trade relations with the gypsies, it could prove his undoing. Bad blood has lasted for centuries between the gypsy nation and certain powerful families. Ty’s offer of safe passage would only keep them safe for so long.
Trinity sighed. “Oh Ty, I hope you know what you are doing.”
Unfortunately, even this combined evidence did little to prove the twins’ innocence of murdering the Dalcon team. Lilliana had no memory, and couldn’t accuse Avikar of wrongdoing. The only course of action was for Ty to present supposition that Avikar was behind the Dalcon murders as well; but, without any concrete proof, it didn’t look as though he would be able to clear the twins’ names in their absence.
I wish I could disown him as my brother. He’s such an arrogant ass. I wonder if I was adopted.
She was deep in thought when she felt an incoming portal. There was enormous strength behind it, and she grew alarmed immediately. A portal of this magnitude of power was not a common occurrence.
The portal stabilized and, to her astonishment, the twins came through, carrying a bleeding Eclair, along with a strange young woman who was following closely behind Darius.
“Oh thank God,” Trinity cried, when she recognized the group. “I feared I would never see you again.”
The portal winked out.
“Eclair is hurt,” Dyla said. “He needs a healer.”
Trinity held up her hand to stop the twins from coming any further into the station.
“Wait, you can’t stay here. It’s still not safe. We must go to Ty. He’ll be able to hide you and help Eclair. Move aside.”
The group shifted right, and, before anyone could argue, Trinity had opened a portal to the Persing Duchy’s main portal station. She programmed the console to automatically close the portal when they were through. The Telkur station would be unattended momentarily, but there was no other choice.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.”
The telekinetic on duty in Persing looked up when the portal opened and the group came through.
“Lady Trinity,” he said.
“Quickly, open a portal to the main guard house,” Trinity said.
“But ...”
“Do it now! I have the duke’s authority.”
“Very well, my lady,” the telekinetic said.
He opened another portal into the guardhouse. The group stepped through the new portal, and was immediately surrounded by a contingent of guards.
The Captain of the guard stepped forward. “Lord Darius, we have orders to escort you to a safe room if you ever appeared. Duke Tyrian will be informed of your presence immediately, and I shall summon help for Lord Jortac as well.”
“Thank you,” Darius replied, grateful for the well-informed captain’s quick action.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cat’s shocked expression when the guard referred to him as ‘Lord’.
“What have I gotten myself into?” she whispered, to no one in particular.
“I have to get back to the station,” Trinity said. “I’ll come back as soon as my relief shows up.”
“Thanks for everything. It’s good to see you again,” Dyla said, giving her a quick hug.
The guards ushered the group to the Duke’s private wing in the Persing manor.
Ty, arriving on the heels of the physician, smiled broadly at the sight of his friends. The smile disappeared just as quickly as it had come at the site of Eclair lying on the couch. The strain of opening the portal had weakened him to the point of unconsciousness. He was pale as death.
He rushed to Eclair’s side. “What’s happened to him?”
“He was hurt while we were escaping,” Dyla answered.
The physician held his hands over Eclair’s chest and concentrated. He finally nodded, and looked up at the group.
“He’ll survive,” the physician said. “I have healed the worst of the damage, but I must extract the metal in his chest. Please wait outside. I’ll call you if I need anything further.”
Darius and Dyla had turned to leave the room when Cat stepped in front of them, a horrified look on her face.
“Wait, what’s he talking about? He’s been shot. He needs surgery, and this is not a sterile place to operate on him.”
Darius gently took Cat’s arm, and steered her toward the door.
“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “On Otharia, we use the power of telekinesis to mend wounds. The physician will extract the bullet, and knit Eclair’s flesh simultaneously. It shouldn’t take long for him to complete this. However, Eclair is exhausted, and must have quiet and rest.”
Ty and Dyla quickly joined them as they left the room. Ty led them down the corridor to his private study, and ordered food and drink. Darius and Dyla gratefully sat down for the first moment of true rest either of them could remember in quite some time.
“I know you have a tale to tell, and I want to hear everything,” Ty said. “However, I must tell you what’s been happening here, first.”
Darius raised a cautioning hand. “Before you do, I’d like to introduce Catiana Spencer, from the planet Earth.”
Ty looked at the disheveled, young woman, stood and bowed with all the respect due a duchess.
“I am pleased to meet you. My name is Tyrian, Ty to my friends, and I’m the Duke of Persing. Welcome to my home. I’m Darius and Dyla’s cousin, so please, consider me in the same light as you do them.”
Darius groaned. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea at the moment. She hasn’t come here of her own volition.”
“What? You forced her to come here?” Ty asked incredulously.
“Well, sort of, but we had no choice at the time.”
Ty paused, letting Darius’s last remark sink in. His cousin had brought a woman from Earth back to Otharia. How much stranger could their lives become?
“Interesting. You must tell me what happened on Earth, but first, let me tell you of events here. A most startling revelation has occurred. It’s about your mother.”
“What about my mother?” Dyla asked.
“She’s been found alive.”
The twins gasped in astonishment.
“Alive?” they said, simultaneously.
“Where is she?” Dyla cried.
“That’
s difficult to explain.”
Dyla jumped out of her seat. “What are you talking about? Where’s my mother?”
“Hold on, please, calm down. Have a seat, and I’ll tell you everything.”
Dyla resumed her seat and let Ty finish his story.
“She’s been living with the gypsies since the night of the accident.”
“The gypsies? How did she end up with them?” Darius asked.
Ty shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know exactly, but there’s more to the story. I’m sorry, but there’s no easy way to say this. She has amnesia, and remembers nothing of her life before the night in the warehouse. That’s why she’s never returned, though she survived the explosion.”
Darius and Dyla sat in stunned silence. Their mother was alive.
“I know it’s a lot to understand, but that’s not everything,” Ty said. “Avikar has submitted a petition to the Grand Council to legally become the reigning duke.
It was Darius’s turn to jump out of his seat in outrage. “Avikar? How dare he think he’s good enough to sit on the throne of Telkur. That bastard, I’ll kill him myself.”
“Not if he becomes duke first. We must go to the Grand Council meeting and prevent that from happening.”
It took some time for Ty to relay the events that had occurred while the twins were on Earth, ending with Avikar’s plan to denounce the twins, and take the throne for himself.
“But our mother is alive,” Dyla cried in protest. “She’s the rightful ruler of Telkur.”
“Your mother knows nothing of her past,” Ty said. “From what we could glean from her, she wants nothing to do with the duchy.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Darius said. “She only has to present herself before the Grand Council, and Avikar’s petition will be groundless.”
“She did agree to appear before the Council, but I had to bargain to make it happen.”
“Bargain? What bargain?” Darius asked.
“I promised to open trade relations with the gypsy nation.”
“Fascinating,” came a weak voice from the doorway.
All heads swiveled to see Eclair standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.
The Quest for Nobility Page 29