Way of No Return (Champions of the Crystal Book 8)

Chapter 15.3

Scotty was munching on a ration bar and wishing he had a comm line to the fleet to warn them about the way he thought the Reissians were trying to encircle the flagship when Mara sprang to her feet with a gasp. Then she let out a breath, relaxing.

"What?" Scotty demanded, looking around as he got up.

"Seuréa was in trouble, but she's safe now," Mara replied. "For the moment. I believe we must make a quick trip to Bathir and try to draw them away from her."

"Ready when you are," Scotty said, casting one last glance at the battle scene before it dissolved.

The piercing cold of the mountain air was a shock after the warmth of the cavern at Giandrah. Scotty looked around, but he couldn't spot any sign of civilization. "Where are we?"

"A few miles from Vahreen," Mara said. "I sense a group of Kyan nearby. I will show myself to them in disguise, and then we will need to outrun them for as long as we can."

"Right." Scotty checked his gear to make sure it was all secure.

"You may attempt to kill some of them if you have the opportunity," Mara said.

"You bet."

Mara took a few moments to transform her appearance into her daughter's image. Then she started up the hill, Scotty trailing after her. "Hey," he said after a moment. "We need to look like we're trying to be stealthy. No way they're wandering around out in the open, right? Especially if they've been spotted already."

"True," Mara acknowledged. "Shall we go down to the trees?"

"Yeah." They turned to go downhill, and Scotty asked, "Are they all okay?"

"I believe so," Mara said. "There is still considerable interference in this area; I did not clear it."

"You might as well," Scotty pointed out. "It's not helping them hide, is it?"

"I do not want to endanger my granddaughter," Mara said. "Giving the Crystal full access to Sabrina is risky."

"Oh. But you can draw what you need?"

"Yes. It is more difficult, but my connection is stronger than Sabrina's. It cannot be significantly disrupted while I am on the same planet as the Crystal." Mara smiled faintly. "In a way, everything on Praxatillus is an extension of the Great Crystal. Its resonance is everywhere, especially in the planet itself. While I stand on the planet's surface, I am almost as much in contact with the Crystal as if I were standing in Giandrah touching it."

"Huh," Scotty said, thinking about it. "It's just too bad everybody in the galaxy knows where the Crystal is, and that we put our planetary government complex right above it. From what you're saying, we could move it anywhere else and it wouldn't matter to you, plus it wouldn't be as much of a target."

"Moving the Great Crystal would be dangerous," Mara said. "The third Guardian was the one who moved it to Giandrah from the Trees, and she was nearly killed doing so, even though it was much smaller then. The Crystal reacts unpredictably when its power is bent back upon itself. If we were ever to move it, we would have to try to do so mechanically, rather than having me move it. And it is very large. A substantial portion of it is actually beneath the floor of the cavern." She smiled over her shoulder at him. "Others before you have thought of the obvious, Scotty."

"And it's a nifty bit of misdirection," he said. "The bad guys focus on getting hold of the Crystal, which wouldn't actually do them any good, instead of trying to get their hands on the Guardian, which might actually work."

"Or the Inheritor," Mara said. "Unfortunately the Kyan seem to have discerned the best way of achieving their goal. They must not succeed."

"But the Crystal wouldn't let them control Seuréa," Scotty said.

"Not if she were aware of that control. But think for a moment. What if they sedated her and implanted some of their cyborg technology in her so that she was not aware of any possibility of control? The Crystal could not be aware of the possibility if she were not. It would allow her to direct it, assuming her thoughts were her own."

"That'd have to be some pretty damn good tech," Scotty said, disturbed.

"Which they have. Those parasitical biological devices might easily be adapted to that use. All the ones that have come before may have been research."

"Like what they did to Marie?" Scotty asked, appalled.

"Yes." She stopped suddenly. "We are close. How can we attract their attention while appearing to be avoiding it?"

"Where are they?"

"Just over the ridge from us."

Scotty looked around. "I'd vote for building a fire, except that'd be way too stupid," he said wistfully. "Wouldn't it?"

"I'm afraid so," Mara agreed. "People fleeing for their lives rarely stop to cook breakfast."

"Hey, how about those mountain goats or whatever?" Scotty pointed ahead, where a small group of yaks was making their way along the side of the mountain toward them. "We could 'accidentally' startle 'em and send 'em running."

"Excellent," Mara smiled.