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

Chapter 21.1

Scotty looked on in concern as Mara drew huge, ragged gasps of breath, sweat dripping off her chin as she poured the last of her strength into whatever she was doing. He didn't think  she could last much longer. As she began to sway, he caught her, pulling her half into his lap and holding on to her as if she were a girl again.

He had a sudden vivid memory of the aftermath of Rayland's murder, when they had held on to each other like the lost orphans they felt themselves to be. He wondered if his sister had felt the same, and tried to conjure up an image of her from that time. It came to him after a moment, just a flash of her chalk-white face in startling contrast to her bloodstained shirt. They had all sacrificed so much for Praxatillus over the years. Surely it could not end this way?

"Mara," he murmured, "can you use my strength? Take it. Do whatever you have to, to keep going." He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. He wasn't Miahn, but he had some crystal sensitivity through the genes Tirqwin had given him. I've got your back, Mara, he thought.

When he felt the sharp pain of something important being sucked out of his body, he smiled.

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The new Way was unstable and barely hanging together, still in existence only because of Mara's iron will and the massive energies she poured into it. Although she had been linked to a Tirqwin's mind for a century, Way formation was a Wayship's area of expertise, and Mara lacked the knowledge to construct one. Accessing Ford's knowledge through the Crystal was not as efficient as Sabrina's link had been, and Mara tried not to let her sense of imminent failure overwhelm her as she struggled to hold the Way together for just a few moments more.

When Sabrina joined back in, it took her a few precious seconds to figure out what was wrong and process Ford's instructions about how to fix it. But even as the Way stabilized and intersected the massive one threatening the planet, she could tell it wasn't enough. The interruption had made their Way miss the coordinates Ford had been aiming for, and although it was disrupting the larger Way somewhat, it wasn't enough to collapse it.

More energy, Ford thought. Mother, try to move it to where it's supposed to be. Sabrina, it's got to be bigger—more energy may do it. Seuréa, can you catch Darkene? If it comes apart on us, it'll be almost impossible to accurately calculate anything in that space.

Got it, Seuréa thought. Mara and Sabrina didn't respond, their concentration absorbed in their tasks.

Ford poured more energy into his link with Sabrina, helpless to do anything else. The time for calculation had passed, it seemed, and they had blown their chance. He cast frantically around in his mind for another angle of attack. Mother, can you reach Father?

I can try, Mara thought faintly, but I will not be able to alter the Way's path if I do.

Ford hadn't been able to discern any change in their Way's direction, so he thought, Try Father. Maybe they can do something from their end.

Or, Mara thought, reviewing what Sabrina and Scotty had told her about their experience in the Way out from Pharo, perhaps we can do something together. Perhaps it is more matrices we need, not merely more power.

We'll keep working this end, Ford thought. Miah's blessings.

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Khediva had stopped giving verbal updates on her structural integrity some minutes ago, so Tirqwin knew the end was nearing. The Wayship's silence and the grim resignation he could feel through their link told him that hope was futile, even the slim hope he had held out that they could break out of the Way in time to save at least some of the others, so that his family would know what had become of them. Khediva had no such worries; she had accepted that Praxatillus' destruction was as inevitable as their own, and she cared less about their deaths than about the fact that Sabrina and Scotty and their children were lost. Survival without the prospect of reunion seemed a hollow victory at best, and she did not wish to pursue it. He thought he agreed with her, though some of his children would likely survive, at least in the short term.

He heard Mara whisper his name, and smiled. He wasn't above accepting a comforting illusion to take with him into death. And it had to be an illusion, he knew—Mara had never tried to contact him while he was navigating a Way. The risks were too great.

He frowned and opened his eyes. The risks, in this case, were not that great. And she had to be trying to work with the Way, if she were still alive. Was it possible?

Khediva picked up on his thoughts. Her voice was strained but calm as she said, "I do not have enough sensor capacity left to ascertain whether there is crystal-based interference in this Way." She paused. "Shahina reports slight deformations in the Way structure, however. Something is happening, though probably not enough to allow us to complete our escape. Shahina calculates that we have only minutes remaining."

"Khediva, help me reach out. If Mara is trying to contact us, it is for a reason. Do you have coordinates to give her?"

"Guesswork only," Khediva responded, but he felt her turn her concentration to the link. After a moment, she said, "Can you feel that? It is almost an echo of you. Is this some artifact of this Way's odd construction?"

"No," Tirqwin said, smiling as tears escaped down his cheeks. "Khediva. Do you not know Scotty when you hear him?"