The Twisted Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 3)

Chapter 24.1

"Mara, c'mon, gimme a sign here!" Scotty swore under his breath, patting Mara's cheeks lightly. It had no effect on her trancelike state.

He looked up as the door opened and was relieved to see Selémahs there. "Lady Selémahs, something's wrong!"

"I know," she replied. "Come, we need the Guardian in Giandrah."

"What's going on?" Scotty said, helping Selémahs pull Mara from her chair and hoisting her awkwardly in his arms.

"The Great Crystal is in turmoil. Somewhere a great catastrophe is about to happen," Selémahs said, leading him out into the corridor.

"At Pharo?" Scotty demanded, going cold with fear.

"Who can say?" Selémahs replied after a moment. "That is outside the Crystal's sphere of influence."

Scotty bit his lip, glancing down at Mara's face, creased with concentration. "That's it, isn't it? She's tryin' to reach Tirq, and she can't!"

"We cannot know until we get her to Giandrah and look into the Crystal," Selémahs said.

Scotty shifted Mara in his arms and began to run.

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"How long do we have?" Sabrina panted, pulling herself hand over hand down the stair rail to the brain core.

"A minute at most," Asnefer said. "Do not worry about subtlety; disconnect everything!"

They launched themselves at the glowing globe, which was flickering and sparking in agitation, and began pulling at the leads connecting Khediva's brain to the controls.

"It's not working!" Asnefer exclaimed in surprise. She pounced on the nearest console with such force that her feet hit the ceiling. "The controls are locked independently of her!"

"What can we do?" Sabrina cried desperately.

Asnefer put her feet against the ceiling and launched herself at the floor near the far wall. Sabrina gasped as she realized what the High Tirqwin was trying to do.

"You'll destroy her!" Sabrina protested, aiming herself inexpertly at Asnefer and slamming into the wall above.

Asnefer yanked the metal panel free and tossed it up at Sabrina. "She will destroy herself! Hold onto this; do not let it float!"

Sabrina caught the panel; it hurled her against the ceiling. As she bounced back toward the floor, she reached out her free hand, trying to grab Asnefer.

"This should have been done before you got here," the High Tirqwin panted, tugging unsuccessfully at the crystal matrix. With a muttered curse, she planted her feet against the wall and pulled with her entire body. A few seconds later, she was flying across the room, an inanimate crystal matrix in her hands. Sabrina let out a shout of panic as Asnefer cracked her head against the far wall and her insensible hands let go of the fragile matrix.

"Sabrina?" Tassan called from the entryway.

"Tassan, catch the matrix! Don't let it hit anything!" Sabrina shouted, slamming the wall panel back into place as best she could. When it was firmly wedged, she propelled herself back toward the control console. It was still locked, so she turned and flung herself forward to catch Asnefer's body as it drifted by. "Asnefer? Wake up!"

The back of the High Tirqwin's head was sticky with blood, but she was breathing. Sabrina looked for something to tie her to for her own safety. Tassan floated nearby, holding the matrix gingerly and looking confused. "It's okay; that powers the Way engines," she said. "Khediva can only travel in normal space without it." She looked down at Asnefer and then back at Tassan, who was staring at the matrix in amazement. "And you never saw it, do you understand?"