The Forgotten Way (Champions of the Crystal Book 6)

Chapter 15: The Gathering Storm

"Your Majesty, you should rest."

Mara turned from her contemplation of the Great Crystal with a frown. Llevandeer, the Conservator of the Chamber, showed no sign of regret at interrupting her, and she got to her feet with a sigh. "Thank you, Conservator, for reminding me. I promised to have dinner with my children."

"If you wish, I will continue to search for traces of Prince Niavar while you are doing so."

Mara shook her head. "They are so fleeting as to be useless. But I am troubled that I do not understand the other things I sense."

Llevandeer nodded thoughtfully. "They do not seem to be alien."

"No. They seem to emanate from within the Crystal itself. I thought I knew all the different nuances within it by now."

"Ah." Llevandeer smiled. "I do not think anyone has ever completely known the Great Crystal, save perhaps Miah herself. No one living has ever plumbed the most ancient depths of it, even those of us whose time permits lengthy explorations. You have many demands on your time; it is natural that your use of the Crystal has been practical rather than theoretical."

"Which is a very polite way of calling me a rather shallow Guardian," Mara said wryly. She cut off his protest. "Never mind; all you have said is true. And I must go attend to my other duties. Meanwhile, I would appreciate it if you would spend some time contemplating those theories relevant to our current dilemma."

"Of course," Llevandeer said. "Have I your permission to ask for the assistance of others who may bring a useful perspective?"

"Certainly," Mara said as she made her way out of the cavern. "And may Miah guide you!"

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Scotty leaned against the wall and watched Wilmik as he watched the scanner. "You know," he said, "I was hoping for something a little more useful."

Wilmik didn't take his eyes off the device's tiny screen. "It is being useful, Lieutenant. There's just nothing for it to sense yet. Whoever's doing this is probably conserving their power, this far out. They're only canceling out the resonance in their immediate area. We'll practically have to trip over them to notice."

"Oh, joy," Scotty said. "Okay, I'll stop bugging you."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Wilmik said fervently.

Scotty strolled toward the cockpit. When he reached it, he found Sastarn and Ricar watching the sensor readouts. "Got anything?" he asked.

"Just a bunch of rocks," Ricar said irritably. "I make it a rule never to complain about being bored, because it seems to tick Fate off. Still, this assignment is really tempting me."

"At least we're not flying in a straight line anymore," Sastarn said cheerfully, looping the ship gently around an asteroid. "If you'd let me dial down the artificial gravity, this would almost be fun."

Scotty grinned. "I agree, but Wilmik's contraption needs all the help holding together it can get. No acrobatics."

"So much for excitement," Sastarn sighed, putting the ship into a dive and then pulling up sharply to miss another asteroid. "I wish—"

"What's that?" Scotty asked, pointing.

"Hey!" Ricar said, staring more closely at the sensor readout. "It's almost pure metal. Could be a ship."

"The wreckage of a ship, maybe," Scotty agreed, staring at the misshapen lump growing larger as Sastarn steered them closer. "Any signals?"

"No energy readings," Ricar said. "Do you recognize the design?"