The Haunted Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 5)

Chapter 9.5

Scotty ignored the stitch in his side as he pelted up the hillside behind the house, ignoring Danask's orders to wait. He had to get back. Sabrina would pull some rabbit out of her hat and Mara would be okay. Cynthia would save her. He was confident; he just had to see it for himself. He would not let himself think about any other outcome.

What met his eyes as he crested the hill stopped him in his tracks for a moment. A strange man in a strange robe was standing with his hands on his hips, looking annoyed. At his feet lay—bodies. Scotty's heart stopped as he recognized his sister's pale hair.

"What did you do?" he screamed, launching himself forward again. "What the hell did you do?"

His furious punch somehow did not connect; the stranger took a step back, unperturbed. "Ah. I feared I would not be able to finish, but you are a prime candidate. Kneel."

"Go to hell!" Scotty growled, drawing his blaster.

The stranger waved his hand, and the blaster went flying. "She chose this," he said.

"The hell she did!"

"She wanted to save the other one. But there was not enough energy in her. She will die in vain if you do not let me complete the process."

Scotty stared down at his sister's body and saw that Mara's blue tinge had indeed faded. "You can...you can save her?" he said after a moment.

"If we continue immediately."

His com buzzed with static. "...can't read...are you...status?" Danask's voice shouted through heavy interference.

"If you're lying," he said, "my friends are going to blast you out of this universe and into the next."

"Why should I lie? I am merely fulfilling a request. Someone will have to make good on the payment—whoever this woman's heirs are."

That would be me, Scotty thought, but stopped himself from saying it aloud. "Well, it won't be my problem, will it?" he said. "Okay. Let's go."

——————————

Danask cursed, shifting her grip on Ricar's form, locked into position in his suit. "You double-checked, right, Bendei?"

"Of course I did!" he snapped, helping Amoret struggle up the hill.

Danask glanced at Wilmik, who had Ricar's other arm. "It's just if you didn't get those shaped charges pointed the right way, we're all going to vaporize."

"I know that," Bendei retorted. "They're pointed the right way, okay? Wilmik doesn't know his head from a hoopball right now!"

Danask bit down on her reflexive retort. With Wilmik, Ricar, and Amoret disabled, their mission became exponentially riskier. And now Lieutenant Devon had run off, doubtless to find more trouble. At least those annoying meteorites had stopped. And they had managed to take out quite a few Reissians, which no Praxatillian could help but find satisfying.

"Bad news," Bendei said.

"What is it now?"

"Those meteorites are full of Pharon crystal. We're not done cleaning up."

Danask swore. "Let's get the rest of the team to the safety zone first."

"Almost there. A few more meters. We can set up the shield pod and leave them in that."

"Then we have to find Lieutenant Devon," Danask said.

"Having a bad feeling, Dan?"

"A very bad one."

——————————

Scotty thought, That wasn't so bad.

Then he looked around. Crap. I'm dead.

He was in a large space; he could tell that much. It felt vaguely familiar, but the lights were much too bright for him to make out details. He got the feeling he wasn't alone, though. "Hello?"

Something brushed past him, and he whirled around, but didn't see anything. As his eyes adjusted, he began to see foggy wisps floating all around him. One twined around his ankles like an affectionate cat, and he thought he smelled his sister's perfume.

"Rina," he whispered, shaken. Here, in this place, he could remember, he realized; all the fragments made sense. He wondered if he would meet his parents.

A strong updraft came from his left, and he narrowed his eyes until he could make out a form. It was like looking through a waterfall, but he recognized Imari's face, distorted as it was. She was holding something.

"Seuréa," someone whispered sadly. A chorus of regretful whispers echoed around him.

Oh shit. I forgot about that, Scotty thought. I'm so sorry, kid. He tried to peer through the barrier and realized he could see others. One face in particular was familiar; he hated to see Aurora look so sad. It slowly dawned on him—he was inside the Great Crystal, looking out on the central chamber in Giandrah.

How the hell—? Wait! If I'm connected, it means Mara is still alive! With a surge of hope, he shouted, "Imari, wait! Don't do it! Mara's still alive! Just wait!"

There was a surge of power around him, and he heard the baby start to cry. "Wait!" he shouted, reaching out. "Stop!"

The stream of power knocked him back, and he looked around frantically. "Mara! I know you're here! You have to be! Don't let them do this to her!"

"You're blocking her," one of the murmuring voices said. "There's only room for one of you."

"How do I—"

"Just let go."

"That means I'll die."

"But you don't belong here."

Then what's Sabrina doing here? he wondered.

"Take her and go," the voice said. One of the wisps coalesced into a dimly remembered face. "Shariara," the other voices whispered.

Scotty felt again the shock of grief and burden that had accompanied Mara's mother's death, and recognized that history was repeating itself. He took a deep breath, heedless of his lack of physical presence, and made himself relax. For a moment, he felt as if parts of him were drifting away; then his awareness faded to nothing. His last thought was, strangely, of a geyser.