The Mind Control Telepath

by Evelyn Lederman

  “Fascinating, it is almost as if the crystal focuses my telepathic gift. I’m going to have to grab a crystal or two for my own usage.” Shirl handed the stone back to JoAnna, a genuine smile on her face. A microcosm of trust had been built between them with JoAnna’s confession.

  “Let us get on with it,” Starc said, “we are burning daylight. I want to be back at the portal well before sunset.” He reached for one of the crystals around Shirl’s neck and pulled out a black stone. “If you see a rock like this one, pick it up, and give it to Shirl for further examination.”

  JoAnna nodded she understood and headed toward the cave on her right. Prior to entering it, JoAnna took off her nap sack and pulled out a flashlight. Unlike the ones on Earth, this one was powered by crystals. She grabbed her canteen and took a generous sip of water.

  “I understand there is a small waterfall in the cave. They tested the water the last time they were here and it is safe to drink. Let us refill our water supply before we get to the task at hand.” Koel placed his arm around her waist and guided her into the cave. Although she was miserable, his touch sparked a fire within her. Unfortunately, Koel was all business and they had work to do.

  As soon as she stepped into the cave, JoAnna understood why Koel assisted her. The bare cave floor was wet with condensation, which made it extremely slippery. She looked for areas where rocks covered the floor, which added some traction. Either way, she needed to be careful as she made her way through the cave.

  Crystals were embedded in the walls, as well as scattered on the ground. JoAnna realized why Shirl felt this was a crystal lover’s paradise. She had not expected the pure volume of the rocks that surrounded her. It made the task of finding one particular stone seem impossible. If she focused on looking for gold and black colors, it was possible she would be successful.

  An hour flew by, with little success. JoAnna picked up several amethysts she planned to give Shirl. However, she had been unsuccessful finding any herderite.

  “Over here,” Koel shouted from deeper in the cave. They had earlier decided to explore different parts of the cavern, while their friends checked out others in the area. If communication was necessary, they would use one of the communal pathways. JoAnna had not missed the excitement radiating from her soul mate’s voice. She crossed her fingers as she made her way deeper into the cave.

  “What have you got?” JoAnna asked as she approached Koel. She directed her flashlight to the objects she could barely make out that sat in the palm of his hand.

  As the beam of her flashlight hit the rocks, she let out a sigh of relief. JoAnna focused on the herderite sparkling in front of her. The stones were larger than the specimens Jeryl Jarlyn had in his collection. What a find!

  “Are there any more?” JoAnna asked as she accepted the herderite from Koel. She didn’t want to appear greedy, but the more stones they harvested, the less likely they would have to return to Terra Flora any time soon.

  With a gleeful smile on his face, Koel directed his flashlight to an area at his feet. JoAnna’s flashlight and eyes took in the beauty of her soul mate for another precious moment before she refocused on the spot Koel illuminated. She let out a gasp as her eyes beheld a wealth of the golden crystal.

  “I will take half to pacify Jeryl Jarlyn,” JoAnna said. “You gather the rest for everyone else’s use.”

  She did not miss the look of surprise on Koel’s face. His features were shadowed outside the flashlight’s direct radius, but it was clear enough for her to see. As her gaze lit on his face, his expression changed to one she could only describe as pride. Pride in her. It resembled the expression on her father’s face when she shared her latest accomplishment with him. Until that moment, she had not realized how much she missed the man who had adopted her all those years ago.

  “Do you think Darden or Shirl could take me back to Earth to see my father?”

  His soul mate’s question was so unexpected, it took Koel a couple of seconds to internalize her question. He felt no pull on his brain or her presence in his mind, she merely made a request. Koel had been discouraged about whether they had a future together, but once again in this hostile world, he had another glimmer of hope they would overcome the obstacles her power presented.

  “We can make arrangements for you to see him,” Koel finally responded. “Shirl’s headaches were so severe when she left Ginkgo Terra, it would not be wise for her to take you. However, I would imagine Jeryl Jarlyn’s gatherers made regular trips there in search of Benko. We would be able to accompany one of them to that world.” He had not bothered to mention that Darden would be unavailable, since he now resided in the Troyk penal colony.

  JoAnna looked up from her task of gathering the crystals and gifted him with a smile. He leaned over and placed his lips on hers. They both forgot the herderite, as their kiss deepened and he took his soul mate into his arms. He gingerly brought them to their feet, preventing them from falling onto the sharp crystals. The area was not conducive to making love, so Koel felt no concerns about kissing her with the pent up passion he struggled to control.

  There was no need to direct his soul mate telepathically related to the mechanics of their kiss. Her response mirrored his thoughts before he realized what he would do next. The power of how in sync they were was amazing. Although Tarsea, Starc, and Tolfer did not flaunt their relationships with their soul mates, Koel deduced what he experienced was the tip of the iceberg of what would eventually be possible with his soul mate.

  “I thought I would check on how you two were doing.” Candy’s voice echoed through the cave as she interrupted their all-consuming kiss. Darkness shrouded them from Candy’s probing eyes. Regardless, Koel reluctantly released JoAnna and then squatted to retrieve his flashlight.

  “Over here,” Koel directed Candy to their location. “We found a wealth of herderite.” He started to gather the remaining stones, as well as recover from kissing JoAnna.

  “Holy Toledo!” Candy exclaimed, as she saw what Koel had referred to. “Thank God, now we don’t have to come back to this scorching hell hole. Why didn’t you let us know through the communal channel what you had found?”

  Koel had not realized how greedy he had been to spend time alone with this soul mate. He had not thought about letting the others know about their find. Koel imagined they would have joined them if they had been unsuccessful in finding worthy crystals where they were. “Frankly, we were so captivated by the stash of herderite, I did not think about it. We did not find any of the black stones Starc requested.”

  Candy looked between the two of them. Koel felt like he had when his parents caught him necking with a girl when he was a teenager. JoAnna seemed unaffected by almost being caught in a compromising position. It was a ridiculous way to feel considering they were both adults and soul mates.

  “Cianan wants to head back to the portal in an hour,” Candy informed them. “Make sure you fill your canteens. I thought I would come and tell you, since JoAnna does not like to communicate telepathically.”

  “I suppose it is time I started to communicate in that manner,” JoAnna admitted, “since I plan to stay in the Troyk universe. Anyway, we are ahead of the game. Koel took care of replenishing our water supply as soon as we got here.”

  “Super,” Candy responded. “That gives you a little extra time to gather more specimens. Shirl, Cianan, and Starc were also successful in finding a variety of crystals, although not herderite. You guys hit the mother lode.”

  “What about the black stone?” Koel inquired. Koel was grateful his soul mate had been focused on the herderite and had not asked regarding the powers the black stone possessed. He should have asked Candy that question telepathically, but Koel wanted to be able to move past guarded conversations.

  “Yup,” Candy responded, “as well as a variety of other stones. Shirl rambled on about the characteristics
of each crystal. Some things don’t change, including me tuning her out.”

  Koel laughed at Candy’s last statement, and was appreciative of her guiding the conversation away from the black stone. If their luck held out, JoAnna would never find out about the power Shirl was able to pull from that crystal.

  JoAnna finished securing her treasures into her pack. Between the water she carried and the weight of the crystals, it was significantly heavier than when they arrived. She wasn’t used to carrying things, particularly heavy items. Even when she had gone camping, she was able to get others to carry her load. With Candy and Shirl bearing their own burdens, JoAnna could not consider asking any of the men to help her out.

  After one unsuccessful attempt at mounting her nap sack on her back, Koel aided her in getting the pack properly situated. With the weight evenly balanced over her shoulders, JoAnna was surprised at how light the pack was. She felt a sort of satisfaction being able to carry her fair share for a change.

  “You did not do much camping, did you?” Candy asked, as she untwisted the front straps of JoAnna’s pack. “A couple of years after you left, we went on a yearly weekend camping trip at the orphanage. I always had a blast and Shirl was miserable. The two of you would have made quite a pair.”

  Once again, JoAnna wondered what her life would have been like if she had grown up in the orphanage. Alex would not have to pretend to be her own cousin and Koel would have accepted her immediately. But instead, she drove Alex and Tarsea out of their home, plus Koel walked on eggshells around her.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of thunder, followed by a roar of wind and pouring rain. JoAnna imagined the haul back to the portal was going to be worse than the trip to the caves. She had not imagined such a thing was possible.

  “Can we delay our trip back and wait for the storm to pass?” Shirl asked. They had all reunited in the cave JoAnna and Koel had explored since it had the best water source.

  “I will check,” Cianan said before he headed out. He probably volunteered to examine the weather before Shirl bullied him into it. JoAnna had noticed Cianan’s eyes were on his sister when he agreed to determine the magnitude of the storm outside.

  JoAnna followed Cianan to the entrance of the cave to see firsthand how bad weather conditions were. She stopped just short of where the cave sheltered them from the brunt of the storm. The wind assaulted Cianan from the east when he had barely left the confines of nature’s natural barrier. Within seconds, Cianan was drenched. She noted him survey the sky and quickly ran into the cave.

  “It is all around us,” Cianan informed the group. “I did not see any blue sky. The weather is not going to clear anytime soon.”

  Colorful language was muttered around her in response to Cianan’s report. JoAnna imagined they all had the same thoughts floating in their minds. It was going to be a long, miserable walk back to the portal.

  “We might as well follow the same formation we had on the way here,” Koel recommended. Although Cianan was the leader of the group, Koel was in charge of the tactical aspects of the mission. “Let us head out. Delaying will not buy us anything, but increase the likelihood we are not going to get off this parallel world before sunset.”

  “Agreed,” Cianan said. “Everyone perform one last check on your gear and follow me.” One by one they followed him into the raging storm.

  They were halfway through the meadow when three of the most frightening animals JoAnna had ever seen exited the jungle in front of them. Based on the descriptions given to her, they had to be larma beasts. Unfortunately, they were between the beasts and the shelter they were seeking.

  JoAnna pulled out her gun, the same instant Cianan telepathically gave the order. However, she was not going to wait for him to order them to fire. JoAnna had no idea how fast these animals could run. Each weapon was charged with a crystal that would generate three laser blasts.

  She fired the gun and stood horrified as the pouring rain extinguished the laser fire. Several other streams fired by other weapons were also made harmless from the violent storm. The sound of the weapons discharging spooked the animals, sending them charging toward the group.

  Koel grabbed her by the hips and tackled her to the ground. He rolled just prior to hitting the surface, absorbing most of the impact. JoAnna watched as the animals surged forward, ready to trample them. Rather than closing her eyes, she kept them glued to the giant larma beasts.

  Behind her, a blast of energy shot forth, incinerating the animals in an instant. JoAnna shifted her head and glanced up at Shirl standing alone, grasping the black crystal she wore around her neck.

  Chapter 10

  The Troyk Penal Colony World

  Chartail woke from her short afternoon nap, to find her soul mate’s legs entangled with her own. One of Benko’s arms was draped over her upper chest. Their urgency for each other had been so great, they had only undressed from the waist down.

  Captivated, Chartail gazed at his slumbering face. When he slept, the tension normally evident on his forehead was gone. Benko was at peace, unlike the nightmares that continued to plague her sleep. Chartail wondered if the night terrors would diminish with time. She knew her soul mate worried about her, which added more stress to the mountain of issues he had to deal with.

  They had made love during the short time they had to rest, unable to get enough of each other. Regardless of how often or how long they made love, their desire to be together did not diminish. At least her brain did not fizzle, as it did the first time they had sex. Her brain had excreted the hormone which would bring about her next evolutionary stage in her telepathic abilities. To date, Chartail had not noticed any differences in her lack of powers. She had always been a weak telepath and that did not seem to change.

  In the penal colony, telepathic abilities were not celebrated as they were in the Troyk universe. The majority of the people who lived in the displaced Utopia community were there because they fought the mind control telepathic government. Only the crystal telepathic ability was sought out among them. When Shirl was present, she used her crystals to try to find one among them who could open a natural portal. Unfortunately, they had not found one. With Darden, now living in the colony, he would be able to travel between dimensions and bring back supplies. He also continued to search for a crystal telepath within the village.

  Benko stirred next to her and slowly opened his eyes. A smile graced his face when he realized who was beside him. Her soul mate had a foggy brain whenever he woke. Fortunately, the latest supply shipment from the Troyk universe included coffee.

  “Afternoon, beautiful,” Benko murmured. Although his speech was slurred, those words came into her mind as clear as a bell. She brushed his hair from his forehead and gently kissed his lips. “I love waking next to you.”

  Chartail did not get all excited or bent out of shape by his use of the L word. They were little more than strangers at this point, although they knew they were soul mates. The bond between them opened a telepathic channel; it did not manufacture feelings. There was no denying the strong sexual chemistry between them, which only seemed to continue to grow. Over time, general affection would develop to fortify their relationship.

  “I should get up,” Chartail moaned. “Clarke has agreed to meet with me to talk about the women who want to take a more active role in the defense of the village. He is terrible; I know he will dismiss everything I have to say.” Chartail put her signature pout on her face. She had used that expression on her father to get whatever she wanted.

  Benko raised his left eyebrow and stared at her. The helpless female was not the persona Chartail presented in this world. That facade was abandoned shortly after it was discovered she had plotted Jeryl Jarlyn’s assassination. There was such a very small line between murder and a revolutionary action.

  “Fine,” Chartail complained, as she got out of bed. “If h
e gives me attitude, I am not responsible for what I may do to him.” She knew her soul mate knew she exaggerated what she would end up doing to Clarke. Chartail pulled up her leggings, still glaring at her soul mate.

  “I have faith you will present your case in a logical manner, which he will not be able to counter. Just use that brilliant mind of yours and the charm that always disarms me.”

  Chartail left their hut, without a single glance back at her soul mate. She knew she projected her frustrations about dealing with Clarke onto Benko. Fortunately, he did not seem to mind. Relocating the Utopia settlement to the portal guardian’s village had taken most of their energy. The people around them accepted her as one of their leaders, the woman who led the contingent from the Troyk, Nightshade, and Terra Nova universes to turn the tides of the battle they were close to losing. Only Clarke viewed Chartail strictly as the woman who slept with their leader.

  The community came alive after their afternoon rest period. When Candy was here, she called it a siesta. Children were usually the first to emerge, ready to let loose their recharged energy. If anyone overslept, the noise the kids made while they played would rouse them.

  Chartail had never related to children, even when she was one. They were too loud and unruly. After arriving in the penal world and the aftermath of the battle, she had a new appreciation for the kids. Their ability to snap back after tragedy struck her as nothing short of amazing. The children gave the villagers a reason to keep going.

  A ball rolled in her direction. Chartail picked it up and threw it to a blond little boy. He caught it, as he wrapped his little arms around the ball and held it to his chest. For the first time in her life, she actually considered having children of her own. Had she not had to meet with Clarke, Chartail would have stayed and played with the children.