The Boy Who Had the Power

by Jeff Sutton

  "Immortality," he repeated. He still couldn't believe it.

  "The government didn't know about that at the time, not until later. By the time they rushed another ship out there the colonists had fled."

  "To...Jupiter?"

  Faust smiled without losing his veiled look. "That's the background. Now you know the kind of questions you have to ask."

  "About the colonists?"

  "That's Holton Lee's problem, not mine."

  "Immortality?" he whispered.

  "Exactly, I want the secret."

  "No one knows but Holton Lee," he protested. "You said that yourself."

  "Let's get specific. I want the name of Holton Lee's asteroid, and where he is on it. Some of them are fairly large. And I want to know exactly how he is to be awakened. I need precise details." Faust tapped a finger against the table. "The answers are in that stone. It's up to you to get them for me."

  "I'll try," he promised.

  "For your sake, you'd better succeed."

  Jedro heard a squeal outside the door and whirled around. The Tattooed Man came in carrying Kathy. He had a hand clamped over her mouth.

  "Ahhh!" Faust leaned back, watching while The Tattooed Man thrust her roughly into a chair.

  "Let her go," Jedro shouted violently.

  Faust shook his head. "She knows too much."

  "She doesn't know a thing," he protested. He switched his gaze to Kathy.

  Her face contorted with fright, she commenced to weep. The Tattooed Man watched her impassively. Jedro swung back toward the carnival owner.

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  Faust lit a cigarette and watched the smoke curl up past his face. His glance lingered on Jedro.

  "Clement was her father," he said.

  Kathy's head jerked up. "You know where he is?" she cried. "You had something to do with his running away. I know it! I know it! Where is he?"

  "Why don't you ask Jedro?" suggested Faust.

  "Jedro?" She turned slowly toward him, her blue eyes suddenly enormous.

  "Where is he?" she whispered. He gazed at her, unable to answer. "Please," she begged.

  "I saw him," he mumbled uneasily.

  "Where? Please tell me."

  "In the hills...where I used to live."

  "Oh!" Kathy blanched.

  "Jedro saw him murdered," Faust put in. Kathy screamed.

  "Why did you have to tell her that?" Jedro shouted angrily. He started to rise and Gurdon pushed him down.

  "What difference does it make?" asked Faust.

  "It's not true," wailed Kathy. Wringing her hands, she looked wretchedly at Jedro for confirmation.

  "Tell her," ordered Faust.

  "It's true," he muttered. Caught in a surge of anger, he jabbed a finger at The Tattooed Man and shouted, "You shot him! I saw you!"

  The Tattooed Man regarded him stolidly.

  "You're a murderer," he shrieked. He swung toward the carnival owner.

  "So are you. You ordered him to kill Mr. Clement. I know that you did."

  "Really?" Faust's lips curled in amusement. "Did you get that from the stone?"

  "You were trying to steal the stone from Mr. Clement! That's why you did it," he yelled.

  "Ah, the stone. It better start telling you things." Faust regarded the weeping girl thoughtfully.

  Jedro looked wildly around. The Tattooed Man was watching him. There had to be something he could do, he thought frantically.

  "Granny! Granny!" The shout echoed like silent thunder through his mind.

  Please let her be a telepath! He pushed at the hope while sensing its futility. Give me the power, he prayed. A tingling sensation ran up his arm.

  He opened his fist and looked down. Violet flames leaped and danced from the depth of the stone, but that was all. He needed help -- Twisto or Granny or Taber. Taber, that was it. Taber had protected him from The Strangler. If only he could unlock the cage! He groaned despairingly. Clement had said he had the power. What power? The knowledge of his helplessness mocked him.

  Abruptly Faust said, "The girl will have to die."

  "You can't," Jedro shouted.

  "No?" Faust laughed derisively.

  "Why would you do a thing like that?" he implored.

  "She knows too much."

  "She won't say a thing," he cried. He looked beseechingly at her. "You won't, will you? Tell him you won't. Say it, Kathy."

  "I don't care anymore," she sobbed.

  "The same applies to you," said Faust.

  "You'd kill us both?" Jedro stared disbelievingly at him.

  "I could turn you over to Gurdon, let him decide."

  "No!" he exploded.

  "Don't fancy Gurdon, eh?" Faust's eyes weighed him. "But there might be another way. If you Page 77

  were to tell me exactly where Holton Lee is, give me all the details..."

  "Don't tell him anything," cried Kathy.

  "Oh?" Faust eyed her curiously. "You know about Holton Lee?"

  She tossed her head. "No, but I still wouldn't tell you a thing. I'd die first."

  "A quite likely event," he observed.

  Jedro gazed helplessly at him. Somehow he had to save Kathy. Thought of what The Tattooed Man might do to her made him positively ill. "I'll tell you," he whispered.

  "Where is Holton Lee?"

  "In the asteroid belt." He felt numb and cold. "I told you that."

  "Which asteroid?" demanded Faust. "There are tens of thousands of them."

  "Don't tell him anything," cried Kathy.

  "Shut up or I'll toss you to Gurdon right now," threatened Faust. He looked impatiently at Jedro. "Which asteroid?"

  Which asteroid? Which asteroid? Jedro let the question seep through his mind. The stone seemed to throb against his palm. His entire body tingled.

  "Don't tell him, Jedro!" Kathy's cry came again, seemingly so faint and far away that he scarcely heard it. The face of the old man he knew to be Holton Lee blossomed in his mind. The eyes, pale blue and thoughtful, regarded him steadily. A huge rock rushed through space, blotting out the stars. A jagged canyon opened in its side. Far below, boxed in by towering walls, he saw the silvery outlines of what he knew was Holton Lee's cryogenic vessel.

  Then across his mind was emblazoned the name of the asteroid. He saw...

  Suddenly his eyes snapped open.

  "Which asteroid?" snapped Faust. His face held a taut, waiting expression.

  "Vesta," he whispered.

  "Ah, Vesta," Faust rubbed his hands. "Where on Vesta?"

  "I don't know."

  "Didn't you ask?"

  "I just saw the ship...in a canyon."

  "A good set of instruments can pick it up soon enough." He leaned forward. "How do you awaken him?"

  Jedro closed his eyes. "Open the ship...go inside," he said tiredly.

  "All the instructions are there."

  "You shouldn't have told him," cried Kathy.

  "I had to," he muttered.

  Faust eyed the girl coldly. "It makes no difference. You still die."

  "No," shouted Jedro.

  "But she does." Faust brought his gaze to Jedro's face. "So do you."

  "I thought you'd planned something like that!"

  "It makes no difference what you thought."

  "But it does!"

  "Why?" Faust lifted his head, suddenly wary.

  "I gave you the wrong asteroid."

  "You're lying!" He leaped angrily to his feet.

  "Am I?" Jedro felt suddenly calm.

  Faust swung toward Gurdon. "Wring the truth out of him," he barked. The Tattooed Man stepped forward, his dark eyes glittering. His lips, pulled tightly back against his teeth, gave his gaudy face a wolfish expression.

  Jedro shrank back.

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  "What are you going to do?" he croaked.

  "He's going to snap your bones, one by one."

  "I still won't tell," he shouted.

  "I believe you will," answered Faust. "Or would you rathe
r hear the girl's bones snap?"

  "Let her alone," he cried. He caught the fright in Kathy's face and said placatingly, "I'll tell the truth."

  Faust appeared to consider it. "How can I believe you?" he asked finally. "You lied the first time."

  "I won't lie."

  "That's no assurance."

  "How do I know you'll let her go if I tell the truth?"

  "You'll have to trust me."

  "Don't do it," cried Kathy.

  Faust ignored her.

  "Let her go, then I'll tell you," promised Jedro.

  "Why should I?" Faust measured the boy. "I've always found people quite truthful under pain."

  "You have to let her go," he exclaimed. The fear prickling at his mind, he felt close to panic. He jerked his gaze toward The Tattooed Man. The eyes in the patterned face watched him blankly.

  Someone banged on the door. Faust swung around with a look of annoyance.

  "Go away," he shouted.

  "It's Granny," a shrill voice persisted. Jedro caught his breath, the hope swirling through his mind.

  Faust crossed the room and shouted through the door, "I'm busy. Come back later."

  "It's important," she insisted.

  "Not that important!"

  "But it is." Her voice rose. "It's about Holton Lee and the memory stone."

  "What?" Faust jerked open the door. Jedro caught the flash of a tawny body that knocked the carnival owner violently to one side. Faust's skull struck the metal edge of a protruding shelf and his legs buckled, sending him dazedly to the floor.

  "Taber," shouted Jedro. He saw the lion crouch before its powerful body uncoiled like a loosened spring. The Tattooed Man screamed as Taber struck him, driving him against the far wall. He wriggled free and bounded off to one side, blood spurting from monstrous slashes across his chest where the razor-sharp claws had ripped the shirt away. His eyes filled with horror as he watched the lion, his jaw muscles jerked convulsively. Suddenly he screamed again, an ear-splitting scream of pure terror.

  Kathy's voice rose in a piercing wail.

  "Taber!" Jedro's strangled cry was lost in the din. The lion crouched, switching its tail, its baleful eyes fixed on the screaming figure of The

  Tattooed Man before it leaped. Jedro heard a horrible crunching sound, then the fearful shrieks were cut short. Sickened, he turned away.

  Faust scrambled to his feet and lunged toward the door just as someone outside pulled it shut in his face. He clawed frantically at the wood. "Stop him! Stop him!" His thin, piping wail came like the screech of a metal saw.

  Jedro yelled at the lion again. Standing astride The Tattooed Man's body, the big cat looked around. The large golden eyes contemplated the man clawing at the door, then abruptly the big cat crouched.

  Faust threw a backward glance, his face twisted in the agony of terror.

  Jedro glimpsed the tawny body sailing past him and heard a blood-curdling screech. In sheer horror he saw the lion strike the carnival owner, driving him against the door. The powerful hind Page 79

  legs raked downward. Faust's shrieks rose louder and louder, then abruptly stopped.

  Kathy screamed.

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  GRANNY PEERED cautiously through the doorway.

  "Send Taber back to his cage," she commanded.

  Jedro uncovered his eyes. The big cat, standing over Faust's body, switched its tail and growled.

  "Taber, Taber," he said dully. The golden eyes regarded him, then the lion looked back toward the door.

  "Be nice, Taber," admonished Granny. She wagged a finger.

  Jedro looked at Kathy. Her face buried in her hands, she was sobbing softly. Sprawled on the floor beyond her, The Tattooed Man stared vacantly at the ceiling. The blood that had gushed from his slashed chest and torn jugular appeared a part of the garish tattoos that covered his lean body. Jedro felt sick.

  "Send Taber to his cage," repeated Granny.

  "Taber," croaked Jedro, "go back to your cage, boy." The lion swung its head around, the great golden eyes meeting his. They held a curious gleam that Jedro couldn't comprehend. "Go back to your cage," he urged.

  Taber switched his tail, growled, and looked toward the door. Jedro grew conscious that he still grasped the stone. Its tingling warmth filled his

  body. Small violet flames leaped upward from its depths.

  Avoiding Faust's body, he stepped forward and knelt, running his fingers through the thick mane. A growling purr rumbled from Taber's throat. His voice choked, Jedro said, "Go back to your cage, boy."

  The lion swung its head around, gazed at him and padded through the doorway. Jedro watched the big cat cross the narrow sawdust corridor and spring lightly into its cage, where Rana still waited. Granny scooted out from behind the trailer and slammed the big metal door.

  Jedro looked at Kathy. Her eyes were tear-filled, and her shoulders shook in small convulsions.

  She turned away to conceal her agitation. He wanted to comfort her, yet felt she wanted to be alone with her grief. He gazed at the stone and wished again that he'd never seen it. Clement, The Strangler, Faust, and The Tattooed Man it had brought nothing but death. He looked back at the bodies and grimaced.

  Granny came inside and glanced around. "Messy," she said.

  "How...?" He gazed at her, afraid to voice his question.

  "It was the only way, Jedro." She looked at the weeping girl. "Stop sniffling, Kathy. Sit down."

  Kathy dabbed at her eyes and turned, averting her gaze from the torn bodies.

  Jedro couldn't stem his curiosity. "How did you know what was happening?" he demanded.

  "Faust was a fool," snapped Granny. "I knew what he was up to from the first."

  "But how?"

  "I read it in his mind."

  "You did?" Despite what he'd heard of her ability, he was startled.

  "I said so, didn't I?"

  "You are telepathic," he exclaimed.

  "Enough so to read a mind like that, Jedro."

  "Then you know...?"

  "About the memory stone? Of course. It's certainly caused enough grief."

  Granny looked at the dead carnival owner. "That's all the idiot ever thought about. It loomed larger in his mind than his brains."

  "Gosh." He grappled with his thoughts, not knowing what to say.

  "That's why I joined the carnival on Earth," said Granny.

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  His eyes jerked to her face. "Because of the memory stone?"

  "My telepathy," she corrected. "After all, what's a carnival without a good mind reader?"

  "Then you knew about Mr. Clement?"

  "Yes, of course." Granny regarded Kathy sadly. "He was a fine man, dear.

  His death was a tragic loss."

  Jedro was puzzled. "But if you could read Dr. Faust's mind, why couldn't he?"

  "Clement? He wasn't a telepath, Jedro. He had precognition -- could see into the future. There's a difference," she explained.

  "Daddy could see into the future?" Kathy's tear-stained face held disbelief.

  "Yes, child. Didn't you ever suspect that?"

  She shook her head.

  "He wasn't one to exhibit the talent," pursued Granny. She looked around. "Let's sit down. My feet are killing me."

  Jedro said, "But if he could see into the future, he must have known about Faust from the first."

  "Of course, but he was looking at the inevitable."

  "Oh, that's terrible," Kathy exclaimed brokenly.

  "Terrible and sad," agreed Granny. "Today's troubles are bad enough without having to carrying the burden of the future."

  Jedro glanced at Faust's body and shivered. "Even if you could read his mind, I still don't know how you knew what was happening."

  "I heard your call, Jedro."

  "You...heard me?"

  "You called several times," she declared. "You also called Taber and Holton Lee and Clement, although I don't know how you expected Clement might hear you.

  Oh, you c
alled, all right, loud and clear."

  "You read my mind from that distance?" he asked slowly.

  She shook her head. "I'm strictly a close-up operator, Jedro. You projected your thoughts into mine."

  "I did?" Again he was startled.

  "Good heavens, Jedro, don't you know by now that you're a Supermind?"

  "I am?" he stammered.

  "A direct descendant," affirmed Granny. "That's what this is all about.

  So is Kathy. A different lineage, of course."

  "She is?" he exclaimed. A startled look crossed Kathy's face.

  "But I'm not," she cried. "I...I can't read minds."

  "The talent is often slow to develop," explained Granny.

  "What makes you think it will?" Her voice was more composed.

  "Genetics," replied Granny. "Your parents were sensitives. If you're not telepathic, you'll be clairvoyant or a downthrough or a PK."

  "PK?"

  "A psychokinetic, child. That's the mental ability to move objects through space. Or you might combine several or all of the talents, although that's quite unlikely."

  "I almost hope it's not true," she whispered.

  "You can't change your genes, girl."

  "What makes you so certain about me?" asked Jedro.

  Granny's old eyes searched him. "Who do you think unlocked the lion cage?"

  "What do you mean?" he stammered.

  "You unlocked it," she asserted. "Both times. And let me tell you, boy, that's a nasty habit. You'll drive Jason Hart stark raving mad. He's got the only key."

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  "But I didn't," he protested. "I know I didn't."

  "Oh, you opened it, all right, even if you didn't consciously intend to.

  Why do you think Clement gave you the stone?"

  "I've wondered," he admitted diffidently.

  "He came all the way from Earth to find you, Jedro."

  "He told me that."

  "You have the power."

  "To do what?" He couldn't believe the cage-opening bit.

  "Make the stone respond, for one thing."

  "But why me?"

  "It requires a certain kind of sensitive."

  "What kind?" he challenged.

  "Psychokinesis." She scrutinized him wonderingly. "It's an extremely rare talent. Aside from that, the talent had to be operative at a certain time. Oh, there have been PK's before -- they say Ganymede was leaping with them -- but they lived in the wrong age. You've hit the jackpot, Jedro."