The Wexkia Trilogy: Boxed Set

by Dale Furse

  Sam’s opponents broke off the attack and turned to look at their wounded comrade. Tightening her mind’s hold on the ruby, Nell took that chance to connect.

  ‘Sam,’ she screamed into his mind.

  His hands flew to his ears, and he screamed aloud, ‘Don’t bloody scream at me. Can’t you see I’m busy?’ He picked up a heavy chair and smashed it against the nearest Corl’s head, felling him instantly. The other two rounded on him and he dived behind a sofa. Using all his strength, he tried to push the seat at the advancing men.

  ‘I don’t know how you’re doing this Nell, but I hope you can help me,’ he grunted.

  A burst of adrenalin rushed through Nell. ‘He heard me.’ Maybe she could also thought-move things without being close. She concentrated on the sofa until the heat rose in her veins and the sofa turned into a catapult, smashing the advancing group flat onto the floor, legs and arms twisted in unnatural directions. Terror filled their faces. She hadn’t meant to throw it that hard but still she grinned inwardly.

  ‘Good one,’ Sam said. ‘Let’s help Tanat.’ He sprinted past the other waiting areas and joined Tanat as Mekie, shrieking with mad eyes, lunged at a Corl who aimed a poison dart at Sam. She stabbed him with a large, slim tool. He turned on her, hate oozing from his eyes but as he raised his hand, he fell in a heap at her feet.

  ‘I hope that was sterile,’ Sam laughed, and Nell felt his admiration for Mekie fill his heart.

  Kale forward-flipped over the desk and landed beside Mekie as two more s entered from outside. They aimed blowers at Mekie and Kale.

  Nell stared. They were the two s who attacked her and Pren. How could they be free so soon? She used all her mind’s strength to mind-move the blowers out of the s’ hands. They clattered on the floor. Two Corls approached and Nell mind-aimed their blowers at the s. Another thought and darts charged the chambers.

  An Eldorap appeared and whisked the blowers out of the Corls’ hands before the darts escaped. Deesc.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Nell screamed in his mind.

  ‘The darts were meant to kill. Now be quiet.’

  Nell was about to send a rebuff but pulled it back. She could have killed the s. Deesc knocked the Corls’ heads together and they collapsed onto the floor, unconscious. The s were given the same treatment. More Corls, followed by s and Phibs, coursed through the entrance doors. Deesc set about disposing them two and three at a time.

  She recognised some of the assailants from previous unsavoury meetings. The Phib teacher who tried to destroy a box of Wexkian books, the Phib boys who kidnapped Kale, and their councillor fathers from Linque, the s who she stranded in the crater on Gramlax and there were even some s from Nadar’s trading ship where he had held her and Mekie prisoners. They’ll never learn so maybe they don’t deserve to live.

  Either her friends were too busy or they couldn’t see Deesc. ‘Can anyone see you?’ she shouted above the mayhem.

  ‘No. Help your friends and don’t kill anybody,’ he commanded, then let out a laugh. ‘I’ll tend to the newcomers.’

  Nell smiled inwardly. He sounded as if he was enjoying himself and she liked him at that moment. Searching the remaining Corls, she found and removed their weapons. There. That should keep everyone safe.

  The sun’s rays sparkled on something at the corner of her eye. She moved her mind in that direction. Of course. ‘Sam, yell out "Catch!" to the others when I say, "now".’ She mind-thought four of the gold okfor bars out of the wall that separated the waiting rooms. ‘Now,’ she said, and sent the bars flying towards the defenders.

  ‘Catch,’ Sam shouted, as the bars flew through the air.

  Sam, Tanat and Mekie caught theirs, but Kale missed and it clanged on the floor.

  As Kale bent toward it, a yellow Corl hurled his body at her Corl friend. The Kale must have either seen or sensed his assailant because he rolled and bounded to his feet in almost one movement bringing the hard metal bar down across the attacker’s back.

  The Corl made a gushing noise and fell with a thud.

  Tanat, Sam and Mekie waved their weapons menacingly at the remaining two Corls.

  They looked at one another, the advancing party and one another again. About-facing, they lumbered through the scores of fallen bodies and, taking no notice of their associates’ objections, rushed out of the restoration. It took an invisible Deesc felling a few more of the army before the remaining s and Corls stopped advancing, turned and fled after their comrades.

  Mekie stood over a pile of bodies. ‘Help me,’ a voice pleaded from under a body. Mekie kicked whoever it was.

  Nell shifted her vision. Par-prald. The bully who nearly killed Kale.

  Mekie kicked him in the head. ‘I hate you.’

  ‘Sam, stop Mekie,’ Nell shouted.

  Sam rushed over. He pulled Mekie back and looked at her victim. ‘Par-prald, huh? I know, Mek, but killing him won’t help anyone.’ He turned the body that lay on top of the Phib bully. “Par-gorgan. Isn’t it nice how father and son spend their quality time together,’ Sam sneered. He shifted his weight to one leg.

  ‘Don’t even think it,’ Nell said.

  ‘Just one little kick?’

  ‘No.’ Somewhere in her mind, Nell heard Cay-Reace’s voice devoid of all feeling. ‘I have isolated the markers that signify Wexkian heritage.’

  A second later, he grabbed Nell’s shoulders and shook them, his tone, horrified. ‘Nell!’

  Nell’s blood quietened and dizziness filled her head. Her connection with Sam weakened.

  ‘Sam.’ She interrupted her friend’s jubilations. ‘Call the authorities.’

  ‘What?’

  She pushed her thought out as hard as she could. ‘Call the authorities.’

  ‘Okey-dokey,’ he said. He turned away, throwing a kick at Par-prald’s shoulder.

  As she returned to her body, Cay-Reace spoke in a worried voice, ‘She has had a reaction to the paralysis drug.’

  Nell wanted to let her enemies know she was still there. She began to open her mouth but a hand clasped her shoulder. Her energy returned at its touch. Deesc.

  She stayed still. ‘Are you going to do something about this lot?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Why the hell not? You did fine in the narthex.’

  ‘Yes, but now, trust in yourself and your friends.’

  ‘I would, but I don’t have any friends here at the moment.’

  ‘I am your friend, Nell. Believe me when I say this. You don’t need me. You need to learn how to control your growing powers and you can’t do that with me hauling you out of trouble time after time.’

  She chose to ignore his unwarranted claim. ‘Are you still sick?’

  ‘Sick?’

  ‘Yes, don’t try to deny it. I saw you at the restoration and why did you say you weren’t Deesc?’

  ‘You saw an Eldorap at the Kafir restoration?’ he asked.

  ‘Stop answering a question with a question, will you? He looked exactly like you so stop it.’

  ‘How do you know we don’t all look the same?’

  His voice was light, but she caught the concern in it. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘I’ve heard things.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘That’s all? Oh? Come on, know-it-all, you can do better than that.’

  ‘You are right. Perhaps it is about time I told you something about myself.’

  ‘Take your time. I have all the time in the world.’ She hoped he heard the derision in her voice.

  ‘I understand your feelings and I apologise for misleading you. I am not a true Eldorap. I took on the form of my friend because I didn’t want you to see my true self. I don’t want to frighten you; I want to protect you, but only if you can’t protect yourself.’

  He stopped talking and Nell waited. He had spoken all that in one breath.

  ‘Deesc?’ she called. No answer. ‘Deesc, say something.’ Silence. ‘Deesc!’ He was gone. Ugh. What species was he then? She ground her teeth. Bad-ma
nnered oaf.

  Nell refocused her eyes. Varlor and Mer-petrale’s uncaring faces looked down at her. She turned her head. Cay-Reace and the youngest Corl’s troubled eyes found hers.

  ‘Where were you?’ Varlor demanded.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Nell used her most innocent voice.

  Letting out an impatient hiss, Varlor pushed away from the chair. ‘We will inject the antidote immediately. Menare, relay Cay-Reace’s information to the scientists with a sample of the child’s blood. And tell them I want it now.’

  The younger Corl moved to walk out of the room.

  Cay-Reace said, ‘No. Wait.’ Menare halted. ‘I ... I have already done that,’ Cay-Reace continued.

  Nell didn’t think he sounded confident of his words.

  ‘I just need another sample to double check my results.’ Cay-Reace turned back to Nell. He put what looked like the same type of instrument against her neck except this one had a thin, red stripe on it.

  Nell tried to move her head out of his reach. ‘You’re developing an antidote against an entire race,’ she declared. She must have been mistaken that he was worried about her a few moments earlier.

  ‘This won’t hurt a bit, Dar-Nellen,’ he said, ignoring her outburst.

  His tone made her stop struggling and gaze into his eyes.

  He looked hard at her as if trying to tell her something. He pulled her top from her shoulder and leaned his gloved hand on her flesh, lowering his wrist to touch his skin on hers.

  Jumbled images and words poured into her mind. Confused at first, she fought to put them in order. She couldn’t contain her happiness and before she could stop it, an ooh sound escaped her mouth. Cay-Reace pushed the instrument into her neck hard. Nell’s exclamation reverted to a yelp so fast that Varlor didn’t seem aware. Instead of her blood gushing into the instrument, fluid gushed into her vein.

  Too late, Nell realised the real traitor was watching. Mer-petrale came alongside Cay-Reace and squinted down at Nell. Not wanting to risk Mer-petrale giving them away Nell smiled up at her. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll be all right.’

  Blankness veiled Mer-petrale’s eyes. She shuffled back to her previous position.

  Varlor jabbed the doctor’s back to move him out of the way.

  Nell let out the saddest sigh she could muster and acted defeated.

  ‘We will transport you to a restoration across the sea,’ Varlor said, obviously pleased with what he saw. He faced Cay-Reace. ‘We will be sorry to lose such a talented physician.’ He scratched his left temple. ‘But our own physicians can check the medication and you must understand, you cannot be allowed to live.’

  His young brother, who had been rooted to the spot beside Nell’s chair, made a gagging noise at Varlor’s words.

  ‘Where is my true brother?’ Varlor roared at the poor thing.

  Menare’s answer was incoherent. Nell knew then how scared he was of his half-brother.

  ‘He should be here by now,’ Mer-petrale said, going to the door and looking up and down the hallway.

  With her eyes hard on Mer-petrale’s back, Nell wondered how they could have been so wrong about her. Mekie was smart enough not to trust her. Nell had to learn how to read people better. Surely, her talents should lend themselves to that form. She didn’t want to admit it but Deesc was right, her assumptions about others were too naive.

  Varlor walked past Mer-petrale into the hallway.

  Feeling Cay-Reace’s eyes on her, Nell faced him. He studied her as if trying to make up his mind about something. Scanning the room, he gestured by slightly raising and lowering his arm.

  She understood and lifted her arm away from her side a little. It obeyed her command where, minutes before, it was unfeeling and motionless. Ha. Instead of taking her blood, he had given the antidote to her paralysis. She was free.

  ‘When did you find out about Mer-petrale?’ she asked with her thoughts.

  The physician smiled regretfully. ‘The moment I was caught I realised she wasn’t with us when the alarm sounded.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have thought she would do such a thing,’ Nell said. Checking to see if the youngest Corl still watched the door, she risked scratching the itch on her nose that had been there since she woke up.

  Cay-Reace pushed her arm back with a look of warning. ‘You trust a friendly smile too easily,’ he said, and smiled wryly. ‘But you were more than willing to think I had betrayed you.’

  ‘I’m sorry, but Cay-tatel is your sister and she didn’t think twice about betraying Mekie, her own niece, as well as me.’

  He smiled and tilted his head. ‘I understand.’

  While Nell offered a small smile in thanks, she sensed another presence nearby. Jenker. And ... Dar-Seldra?

  Varlor returned. Nell wanted to jump up and grab the most revered of all Corls and reduce him to a simpering mass of jelly, but she had to wait for Jenker to arrive. He had said he wanted proof.

  Every Corl would learn what their race did to the Wexkians in the name of peace. s and Phibs had to know the truth. What that would mean to the three worlds’ futures, Nell couldn’t guess. She focused on the orange Corl and found him outside the door. She turned her attention to Varlor’s bracelet and ripped it from his wrist. Jumping off the bed, she caught it in her hand. It was sticky with brownish red blood. She looked at Varlor’s wrist. Ah, so the bracelets are embedded in a Corl’s biology. She smiled. That would have hurt.

  Jenker threw the door open. ‘Varlor,’ he said.

  Dar-Seldra rushed to Nell’s side and said, ‘Are you harmed?’

  She shook her head and hugged her aunt.

  ‘Is this what the revered High Elders do behind closed doors?’ Jenker said. ‘Torture children?’

  Varlor straightened his back and glared at him. ‘You have no right to question me.’

  ‘That might have been true once,’ Jenker said sadly. ‘Now I stand for the Corl race and they will not be deceived any longer.’

  ‘I will have you cast into a confinement and there you will stay for the rest of your days,’ Varlor hissed, holding his blood-soaked cape over his injured wrist with a gloved hand.

  Three Corls, two pink and one brown, stormed into the room with blowers drawn.

  Nell pushed Dar-Seldra away and leapt in the air, landing between Jenker and the Corls. Varlor jumped back.

  ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you,’ Nell said to the three newcomers. ‘Perhaps you’d like to see your mates in the restoration’s narthex first.’

  The two pink Corls hesitated, withdrew the blowers from their mouths and looked questioningly at Varlor, but the brown beast continued moving the pipe to his mouth. He paused as if unsure who he should shoot.

  Nell glowered at him, snatched the pipe out of his hand with her mind and threw it on the table. She glared at the other two who instantly dropped their pipes with a clang and backed into the hallway.

  Jenker tapped his bracelet and addressed Varlors co-horts, ‘Don’t go anywhere. You have been identified and are now being tracked.’

  Nell turned her attention to Varlor.

  ‘You cannot touch me,’ he declared with open pleasure. ‘I am the leading Elder of Corl and am sovereign over Corl and my people.’ He regarded Jenker with a belittling look. ‘You will bow down to me or I will set my army on you.’

  Sam and Tanat pushed the Corls out of the way and stood in the doorway with Mekie and Kale behind them.

  Mer-petrale made a move towards the table and the blowpipe, but Varlor’s half-brother threw his arms around her waist and with surprising strength, held her.

  Dar-Seldra rushed to Mer-petrale’s aid.

  ‘No,’ the young Corl said. ‘She is with my brothers.’

  ‘You always were an embarrassment to the family,’ Varlor blustered.

  Nell threw her body against Varlor and crushed his large frame against the wall.

  ‘What were you saying about an army?’

  Dar-Seldra’s voice sounded far away as she s
houted, ‘Nell, stop.’

  Varlor’s right hand darted towards his belt but Nell caught it, brushing her knuckles against a concealed blower. His cold, blue eyes darkened with surprise as Nell pushed his arm back to his side, pulling his cape away in the same move. Her fingers wrapped around his arm and she connected with him.

  Not stopping to think, she demanded with her mind, ‘You will bow to me.’ She then discharged a quick, but potent, pulse of energy.

  Varlor dropped to his knees. Nell still had hold of him and she could see the depth of hate on his face and in his eyes. ‘I will kill you,’ he grated.

  ‘Not if I kill you first.’ She smiled and hoped it showed her contempt. ‘Now BOW to me, lizard.’ She shot a stronger pulse of energy straight into his mind. He cried out, but his head fell forward in a bow.

  Jenker squeezed Nell’s shoulder. ‘Dar-Nellen.’

  Nell sighed, ‘Spoil sport.’ She let go of the blue Corl.

  Dar-Seldra placed her arm around Nell’s shoulders and drew her away from Varlor and close to her side.

  ‘You three,’ Jenker said to the pale Corls. ‘You are no longer in the leading Elder’s service. Take Mer-petrale and Varlor’s brother to the authorities in the narthex.’

  The Corls wavered as if unsure of his directive.

  ‘Now!’ he shouted.

  They escorted their prisoners out. Jenker wrapped his large hand around Varlor’s forearm. ‘Will he be all right?’ he asked Nell.

  Nell knew immediately what he was thinking. ‘Oh, Jenker. I didn’t hurt him much and anyway you’ll be pleased to hear I didn’t hurt Nadar as badly as we had thought either.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘He’s fine.’ Nell smiled reassuringly. ‘At least he will be as soon as you stop Varlor’s people from drugging him. When he comes around you can ask him yourself.’

  He smiled and wedged an arm under Varlor’s armpit to pull the blue Corl to his feet. ‘I will speak to you soon,’ Jenker said, vanishing into his own personal wormhole with his prisoner.

  Everyone hugged one another before Dar-Seldra spoke. ‘You can all tell me every detail when we get home.’