The Way Back (Champions of the Crystal Book 4)

Chapter 4.1

"When you said little, you weren't kidding," Sabrina said to Netros as they squeezed into the tiny, disused storeroom.

The Stanosian did not reply, huddling in the far corner and staring ahead with blank, hopeless eyes. Lndor helped Sabrina lower Tirqwin to the floor, propping him up in a corner. There was hardly room for them to move without bumping into each other, but Lndor backed up as much as he could so that Sabrina could kneel beside Tirqwin. She removed her helmet with anxious, clumsy fingers and tore off her gloves, laying her hands on Tirqwin's cheeks. "Tirqwin! Tirqwin, wake up. It's all right, you're safe."

"Ssh," Lndor urged. "Try to speak softly, my lady. That door is not soundproofed."

"Tirqwin," Sabrina whispered. "Tirqwin, it's me, Sabrina. Come on, give me a sign of life, will you?" She patted his cheeks lightly.

Lndor winced. "The psychic interference is growing worse, my lady. It might be kinder not to wake him."

"We have to get him to Khediva, and we can't carry him and fight our way through at the same time," Sabrina pointed out. "He was able to block her out the first time; he can do it again."

Lndor didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue, dividing his attention between Netros and the door.

"Tirqwin, come on," Sabrina pleaded softly. She ran her fingers lightly down his face, finding a wrinkle or two she didn't remember. His laugh lines had deepened, and there were more of them, she thought, than when they first met. They seemed to testify to a life he had enjoyed since they parted, and her pleasure in that thought was marred only slightly by hurt at not having been part of it. She pictured how he must have looked when Ford was born, and the hurt pulsed as she imagined the scene she should have been part of.

She remembered suddenly that Ford said he had been born some three months after her departure, and she realized with a pang that Mara must have been pregnant, and must have known it, when she said good-bye. Had Tirqwin known it too? And neither of them had told her. She had been so much a part of their lives—a driving force behind the success of their marriage, even—that she had always assumed she would be part of their children's lives too. And she hadn't been. Fifteen children had been born without her ever having seen them. She had stopped being important somewhere along the way.

"It doesn't matter," she whispered to herself. What mattered was getting Tirqwin and Mara safely away from Stanos. She took Tirqwin's shoulders in a firm grip and shook him, hard. Lndor stirred uneasily, but Tirqwin remained insensible.

"There's got to be a way to get to him," she sighed. She wasn't the least telepathic, but Tirqwin was, in a very limited, specialized way. He'd made contact with her mind before, on Allyria, testing her shielding abilities. She bit her lip, thinking. Tirqwin was closed off as a result of Varla's attempt to invade his mind; his links with Khediva and Mara were also disrupted. But might he not be casting out to restore those links, even subconsciously? They were part of the stable background of his life. Surely he could not function for long without trying to regain them.

Sabrina took Tirqwin's palms and pressed them flat against her temples, trying to open her mind. With all the psychic interference around, it was unlikely Tirqwin could focus on her without the aid of physical contact. She closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could, trying to keep her thoughts clear and precise. Tirqwin, it's me, Sabrina. I need your help.

After what seemed an eternity, she thought she heard a faint, whispery voice say in despair, It's an illusion.

It's me! she cried. I'm here!

But this time there was no response at all. Sabrina sat back, letting Tirqwin's hands fall away, and wiped at her wet cheeks.

"My lady?" Lndor said uncertainly.