by DL O'Neal
Cheyna felt her cheeks flush with something more than the heat. She cleared her throat, wishing her reactions to his teasing weren't so obvious. "My point exactly, my lord." She tried to get images, such as the hot pools, when she was decidedly vocal, out of her mind. Refusing to allow herself to be distracted, she pressed, "If there is blame, place it at my door. I should have spoken up sooner."
"No argument there," he agreed, a note of dryness in his voice. "Nevertheless, that doesn't excuse me." He held up a hand, forestalling her objection. "We won't go over it again. No matter what you say, I should have taken more care. I will in the future. You know, we could have avoided all this."
"How?" she asked, wariness springing to life.
"If the Raipierian advisors had left a physical map instead of these blasted crystals, I could have left you surrounded by Krthe's elite force of guards in Class while I recover the Crystal Sheathe." He resumed wiping her neck.
Cheyna sat up straight and pushed his hand away. "I do not think so, my lord! Even if the map were in physical form, I would be right here with you!"
Drakthe scowled. "You'd be safe in the city."
"In other words, you want all the fun for yourself," she translated, indignant. Drakthe was much too prone toward trying to control everyone and everything around him.
"You call getting kidnaped, fun?" he shot back.
"I call it acceptable risk."
"Acceptable risk! They could have killed you." His hand closed around the damp rag until his knuckles shown white.
Cheyna saw the remembered rage in his eyes. She hurried to deflect it. Her bondmate was all too fond of scolding her. Why, he might even become so worked up he would actually call off the quest instead of merely threatening as was his wont.
"You rescued me."
His arm tightened around her. "I shouldn't have had to rescue you, Cheyna. I should never have allowed you to be placed in danger."
"Which is the precise reason directions were placed on the memory crystal."
He shifted until he could stare down into her face, and heaved a sigh. "I know I'm going to hate myself for asking, but exactly how does the memory crystal protect you from danger?"
"Because only those with true powers can access it," she said as if it should be plain. "Harm me and the one chance of locating the Crystal Sheathe is lost."
"Unless an unscrupulous trader gets his hands on you."
"Which is why I have you. You will not allow any to harm me."
Drakthe just stared at her. He opened his mouth, and then closed it. "Jkael. Sometimes, bondwife, you scare me to death."
Cheyna smiled and rested her head in the hollow of his shoulder, enjoying his ministrations.
Several minutes later, he asked, "How are you feeling? Better?"
Cheyna assessed the state of her stomach and head. She was no longer nauseous, nor was her head thumping in time to her heart. Actually, considering how bad she had felt only minutes ago, she was doing pretty well. Only a vague headache lingered to remind her to be more careful in the future.
"I am fine, my lord." She sat up, smoothing her clothes and hair.
He helped her to her feet, holding her arm in a firm grip.
"We'll take it easy for the rest of the day." He gave her a hard glance. "You will let me know the instance the heat becomes too much, won't you?"
Cheyna tried to look innocent. "Of course, my lord." She concentrated on brushing some dead leaves from her tunic.
He caught her chin in his hand. "I mean it, bondwife. The moment you start feeling ill, let me know."
"I will employ common sense, my lord, so as not to delay us again." She struggled not to glance away from his piercing gaze. He didn't appear impressed by her promise.
"Now, why doesn't that make me feel better?" he asked the planet at large, but his touch was gentle as he helped her to remount.
The moment he was out of hearing, she leaned down and whispered to her patient taiger, "My lord worries overmuch. I am much stronger than he believes. Now that I am conscious of the danger, I will take care." She straightened and smiled when she noticed Drakthe looking askance at her.
True to his word, Drakthe didn't push as hard. The combination of heat and humidity was still oppressive, but Cheyna made sure she took frequent sips of water and found it did not bother her as much.
"Cheyna?"
At his call, she pulled her attention from the wild profusion of brilliantly shaded flowers. She moved closer.
"What is it, my lord?"
"Are you sure you are the only one able to access the crystals?"
She frowned in concentration, sensing the seriousness of his question. "Well, most Raipierians could probably access the crystals--"
He cut her off impatiently. "Leave the Raipier out of it. On Scimtar. Are you the only one on Scimtar that can access the crystal?" Drakthe lifted the collar of his tunic in a vain effort to capture an errant breeze. "On Scimtar, Cheyna."
"I believe so." She considered it further. "Yes, I would say I am unless...." she trailed off.
"Yes," he prompted sharply. "Unless?"
She pursed her lips. Cutting an eye in his direction, she tentatively offered, "Unless you can, my lord?"
"Me?"
"Well, we know you can mindlink. Your talents might possibly stretch further."
"Give me the crystal." He held his hand out.
His immediate insistence dismayed Cheyna. "My lord, I do not think this is a good idea. We do not know the repercussions. It could be dangerous. Remember what the Elder said about my mother. She intimated that but for the crystal they could have saved her."
His arm remained outstretched.
"Please, my lord. Let us at least wait until we stop for the evening." At his curt nod of agreement, Cheyna released her pent-up breath in a small rush.
Night cloaked the jungle as Cheyna settled by the fire, heightening her sense of apprehension. Her throat was dry as she asked, "Are you certain you wish to do this?" Burned into her memory was the sight of her mother, tears of blood coursing down her face. She lacked hard proof, but in her heart she was convinced the crystal was the cause.
"The memory crystal, bondwife," he instructed implacably.
Cheyna unfastened the leather pouch and poured the crystal into the palm of her hand. She closed her fist around the stone.
"My lord...Drakthe, we do not know the consequences. It could be dangerous." She swallowed hard before saying in a small voice, "I do not know what I would do if it caused you harm. It would be my fault."
"It is even more dangerous not to know," he countered.
"But why?" she cried. "Why is it so important to know if you can access the crystal? So you can stash me somewhere you consider safe?"
"No. Make no mistake, bondwife, if I for one minute thought I could enforce it, you'd be sitting in our chambers in Class, whether or not I am able to access the information on the crystal."
"That makes no sense. If you cannot access the information that leaves only me."
"If the Crystal Sheathe still exists, I can find it. Granted, without the aid of the memory crystal it'd take longer, but I'd still find it. The only thing stopping me from planting you somewhere safe is the knowledge that the minute I turned my back you'd be following me. In which case, I prefer to have you where I can keep an eye on you."
Cheyna didn't know whether to be pleased at his show of caring, or insulted that he believed he had to monitor her.
"Then why, if you believe we do not need it, are you so insistent on trying to access the memory crystal's information?"
Drakthe was silent for so long that Cheyna thought he was not going to answer. "The NaturPath. The one from Shhiv."
"You believe her disappearance has something to do with the memory crystal?" Her mind immediately began exploring the possibility.
He stared into the dark for a long moment. When he looked at her, his somber expression sent a chill down her spine.
"I learned in
Akuchi, right before discovering your kidnaping, that the Shhiv NaturPath was not the only NaturPath to disappear, seemingly into thin air."
"Not the only--" She bit her lip. "So my kidnaping was not a merely an act to lure you out?"
"That is the second reason you're not, as you put it, stashed somewhere safe. It appears a concerted effort to find the Crystal Sheathe is in motion. And," he concluded with heavy wryness, "yet again the NaturPaths are at the heart of our difficulties."
"To blame the NaturPaths is unfair, my lord," she protested. "If, as you say, someone is trying to find the Crystal Sheathe, then the Agora NaturPaths were prudent in making the Plains difficult to traverse."
"Difficult, House-daughter? They very nearly got us killed!"
"But we were not," she pointed out. "If matters have advanced to the point someone is endangering the lives of NaturPaths, then their caution is well founded." Really, for an intelligent man, her bondhusband could be infuriatingly obtuse. Why could Drakthe not see the logic in the NaturPaths' actions?
"Why are they kidnaping NaturPaths?" she asked as it occurred to her.
He shrugged. "My guess would be for their empathic ability. Someone--Lcrier--knows at least part of the story."
Cheyna shivered in the warm, night air. "How could he know he needs psi talent? We did not. Not until we found the memory crystal."
"Interesting question. Makes for a lot of conjecture, doesn't it?"
"Still," she persisted, "why are you so adamant about testing the crystal?"
"Because, bondwife," he explained, each word slow and measured, "if I can access the information, it leads toward the assumption that psi talent is neither as rare nor as unheard of as is commonly supposed. Makes this quest a whole other game."
Cheyna stared at the stone nestled in her palm. On the one hand, she wanted to toss the crystal so Drakthe would not imperil himself for her sake. On the other, duty made her realize the futility of delaying the test. She glanced up, serious.
"When you try to see into the crystal, if you feel pain, any pain at all, cease. I think my mother killed herself by imprinting a message on this crystal."
"I promise." He gave her a crooked smile. "Don't worry, bondwife, I'll be careful. I'm eager for the next level of Sai and Kai." He reached out and retrieved the black crystal. "What do I do first?"
"See into the crystal. For me the information is stored in tiny threads, with each thread linked to that of another."
"Threads?" he asked, openly skeptical.
"Yes." Cheyna tried to think of a way to explain what she saw each time she peered into the depths of the crystal. "But not like thread on a spool. More like clips of people and places frozen in time. Tug on one and it comes to life, unwinding backward or forward, depending on what you want."
"Doesn't sound very efficient to me."
"Oh, but it is. They stored massive amounts of information on this one stone."
"I understand that, House-daughter. What I don't understand is how you can ever sort through it and find anything! At least a book is indexed."
"The stone is indexed, in its way. You do not read the crystal like a book, searching for a topic here or a phrase there, but let it speak directly to you. You intuitively know what the bits and pieces are about. Those that interest you, you explore in greater detail. Once I learned to let the crystal guide me, I found it simple to access. For instance, when I was searching for mention of the Sheathe and Krees, I thought of them and the crystal led me to pertinent information. That is how I watched Tlor's discovery of treachery unfold. Really, it is more efficient than a book, and also much more in-depth."
"If you say so. All I have to do is look into the crystal?"
"Open your mind and see. Just remember, at the first sign of pain, stop. The crystal guards itself well."
But Cheyna intended to keep a close watch on Drakthe. She didn't think he believed her, not completely any way, about the risk associated with the memory crystal.
The crystal cupped between his palms, Drakthe stared into the opaque depths, searching for anything resembling a thread. He felt a bit foolish holding a stone and trying to see inside it. Give him a book any day.
A slight throbbing gathered behind his eyes. Drakthe closed his mind to everything but the crystal. The fire, the night wind, even Cheyna disappeared. The bonding pendant in the hollow of his throat grew warm and throbbed to the beat behind his eyes.
Drakthe gritted his teeth and concentrated harder.
The slight throbbing became a stabbing pain. Still, he persisted. It became a contest between man and those that left memories from hundreds of years ago.
Drakthe wasn't aware of the tiny bead of moisture that formed in the corner of his eye.
Cheyna was.
The crimson drop caught the light of the flickering flames, and glowed with deadly intent.
"Drakthe!" Cheyna snatched the crystal from his hands.
A deep, gut-wrenching groan of denial burst from his lips. "No!" Drakthe grabbed his head as pain overwhelmed him. Ribbons of dancing colors abruptly faded, taking the stabbing pain with them.
"Dear Saints," Cheyna breathed. "Drakthe, are you all right? Answer me, my lord," she demanded, anger and fear melting and merging into one in her voice.
"Don't yell, bondwife," Drakthe whispered, all too aware of the headache left behind by the mental ribbons. He summoned up a poor attempt at humor. "Before you scold, House-daughter, do you think you could fix me one of your tonics. I dare say, if I don't need it now, I will when you finish reading me the riot act." He unconsciously touched the pendant at his throat. Only a faint warmth radiated.
"Stubborn warrior. I told you to drop the crystal the moment you felt distress. Did you listen?" She answered her own question. "Of course not. You believe you know better than anyone."
"The tonic, Cheyna," he prompted, his fingers massaging his temples.
She searched for and found an analgesic powder. Cheyna tipped a measured amount into a cup and mixed it without missing a beat in her lecture.
"You must learn to listen to me. How dare you take such a chance? You could have injured your mind permanently, not to mention risking death." She blinked when he grabbed the cup from her hand and drained it in one swallow. Her eyes softened.
"Is the pain in your head very bad?" she asked solicitously.
"I've had worse." Though, to be perfectly honest, he couldn't remember when. He wasn't about to tell his bondwife that, however. It would probably induce another lecture.
She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Her fingers replaced his as she moved behind him. "Were you able to see anything in the crystal?"
Drakthe shook his head in disgust, only to wince at the renewed pain. "Nothing like what you described. All I saw were colors."
One hand left his temple. She leaned over and wiped the corner of his eye before holding the slender finger out for him to see. A smear of blood gleamed wetly on her finger.
"Those colors were killing you."
Drakthe stared at her fingertip. Once he had gazed into the crystal's depth, once his mind touched the mesmerizing strands of color, he hadn't been aware of anything other than the pain.
And the need to keep trying at all costs.
He'd been locked in a loop of death.
The trap offered by the crystal was a lethal one. One where the victim became determined to triumph over the pain and was oblivious to the danger.
Drakthe folded Cheyna's hand in his, bringing it up to brush her knuckles with a light kiss. "This time, bondwife, it seems you saved my life."
"Like I said, Merchant Master, you do not listen to me. I told you it was my duty to protect you."
He let his smile warm her knuckles.
Drakthe eyed the steep, twisting trail hugging the mountainside with distaste. "Are you sure a crystal is in that cave?"
"Absolutely."
"When we linked and looked into the crystal, you couldn't have made a mistake, taken us t
o another moment?"
"No."
"I was afraid you were going to say that. Out of curiosity, House-daughter, can't they hide the blasted things somewhere where you don't need to cling to a trail like a mountain gnant?"
"Do you always complain like this on a mission, my lord?" she asked him, her amusement poorly hidden.
"Only when the mission calls for wings and all I have handy is a pair of feet," he retorted.
Drakthe tethered his animal and motioned for her to do the same. By the time they reached the summit of the trail, they were bent double and gasping for air.
"Okay, House-daughter, where is this cave of yours?" An expansive wave of his arm indicated the wild tangle of vines and creepers. Drakthe wiped his arm across his forehead and surveyed the thick jungle with a jaundiced eye.
Her voice still light with the effort to get enough air into her lungs, Cheyna admitted, "I am not sure." Dismay flashed across her face. "How, in the name of the Saints, are we supposed to find a cave in all this?"
Drakthe inhaled several times, allowing his lungs to get back to a normal rhythm. He manfully resisted the urge to point out there were drawbacks to a mental map, and considered the problem.
A thousand years, give or take, meant considerable change in a location's topography. Hands on his hips, he surveyed the area. Well, if they couldn't look at today and see yesterday, perhaps they could look at yesterday and see today.
"Try accessing the crystal and following her exact footsteps. Can you do both simultaneously?"
Scarlet brows arched. "If," she said slowly, "we could determine an exact position from which to start, I believe I could."
"Then let's try." He wanted to get this finished. The whole concept of memory crystals, of accessing history through psi resonances, made him uncomfortable. If you came right down to it, he wanted the entire quest to be done for a whole host of reasons.
She fished the stone out of its pouch and stared into its depths. Cheyna shifted her position several times before satisfied. When she was ready to begin, she nodded.
Drakthe paced alongside her, keeping a close watch on her. Her expression tightened when she had to start over, and then start over again. He didn't say a word, merely following her back to the starting point each time she turned around. Cheyna wanted this to work, maybe even more than he did.