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

Chapter 21.2

Scotty would have let out a whoop of excitement if he'd had the energy; they were moving faster than he'd ever imagined. And with only a barrier of energy between them and the Way within a Way, he could fully experience the magnificence of this mode of travel.

They slowed somewhat as the smaller Way began to come apart around them, but their momentum was enough to keep them going. Mara didn't care how much energy she splashed around, either, since the goal was to disrupt the larger Way. They were both weakening, though, and he wondered if they would survive long enough to reach their destination.

We don't have to, Mara told him through the remains of their connection. Now that I'm in the same space/time as Khediva, I can find her. Hold on; we are nearly close enough.

Scotty let out a yelp as he hit the deckplates hard, as if dropped from higher than the Wayship's interior allowed. He and Mara skidded across the control deck and into the wallscreen with a thump that was audible even over the cacophony of Khediva shaking to pieces.

"Mara!" Tirqwin shouted hoarsely.

"Where's the matrix?" Mara demanded, not wasting the energy to get up from the deck. "Khediva, show me now!"

Khediva sent the information through Tirqwin to Mara, at the same time crying, "Tirqwin, take Scotty to the infirmary!"

Tirqwin scrambled over to them, pausing to press a kiss into Mara's hair before dragging Scotty up into his arms and running for the infirmary.

Khediva began shouting warnings to her fellow Wayships as Mara reached back through the Way to the Great Crystal. At her urging, Shahina released the string of matrices, just in time for Mara to reach out and draw them in, connecting them in her mind with the matrix hidden in the heart of the Crystal. Mara began to glow, filling Khediva's interior with dazzling energy that would have blinded anyone there to see, and the shaking stopped as the Wayship was held within the expanding field.

"Crisis emergence!" Khediva cried triumphantly.

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The cheers outside sent Baldaran running to the window, looking up at the horrible swirling mass trying to devour the planet, now rapidly shrinking. He smiled in hope and relief as Ricar burst in the door. "Sir!"

"I see it," Baldaran said hoarsely, keeping his gaze on their vanishing enemy. Tears of joy began to run down his face, framing a decidedly unregal smile. "I see it."

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Sabrina and Ford collapsed in an ungainly heap, half on and half off the bed. Rutha grabbed for the baby just in time, and Pinsi tried heroically to keep Ford from slumping out of his chair. Only Seuréa remained standing, still concentrating fiercely.

Ford opened his eyes with an effort, checking on the baby, and then closed them again, letting his head land beside Sabrina's. Pinsi went to Seuréa's side and looked anxiously at her, throwing her arms around her friend as the Inheritor finally opened her eyes, drew in a breath, and began to sway toward the floor.

"Are you okay?" Pinsi cried.

"Yes," Seuréa whispered. "Yes. We did it."

Unable to hold them both up, Pinsi sat down as gently as she could, still holding on to Seuréa. "Good," she whispered.

Cynthia, working frantically to stabilize Ranja, looked over her shoulder, sparing a moment to try to understand what was happening. Taking in Rutha's expression of wonder, she decided it was nothing she needed to deal with and went back to forcing air into Ranja's damaged lungs.

After a moment, she heard Sastarn and Stecklan exchanging words with Lyrabeth, who was on guard at the barrier. Then the two men entered, covered in dust and looking dispirited. At Cynthia's questioning look, Stecklan shook his head. "We can't find Kendara," he said. Then he frowned at the sight of the royal family, all of whom appeared to be sleeping or unconscious. "What happened?"

"They did it," Rutha said.

"What, exactly?" Sastarn wondered.

Since no one had an answer, there was silence for a moment. Then Stecklan said, "We should look for a stasis cabinet for Ranja."

"That would be perfect," Cynthia said, since she was increasingly convinced her efforts were only prolonging the inevitable. "She needs serious treatment that I don't know how to give her. Do you think there is one?"

"Bound to be," Sastarn said. "Mining accidents can be serious. Maybe in the storage room next door?"

A few minutes later, the men returned with a stripped-down version of the capsule that had given Cynthia so many misgivings aboard Khediva. They gently settled Ranja inside and sealed it, thankful that the activator lights all showed normal function.

"Do you think it's safe to go for help?" Cynthia asked finally.

Stecklan and Sastarn exchanged glances. "I'd rather have some kind of idea of what's going on out there first," Stecklan said.

"It's just that Sabrina and the baby need more care than I can give them here," she said. "I think Sabrina's still pretty torn up, and the baby needs monitoring."

The men exchanged glances again. Sastarn said, "I'll take Lyrabeth and see if we can figure out what's going on. Will you be all right here?"

"That depends on whether there are still any Kyan in the tunnels," Stecklan said. "We have nothing but Lyrabeth's weapon to fight them with."

"There's the Inheritor," Sastarn pointed out.

They all looked at the pair of girls huddled against the wall, asleep. "Doctor?" Stecklan asked.

Cynthia took her scanner and ran it over them, then turned and did the same for Sabrina and Ford. She was careful not to wake anyone, yawning herself; none of them had had much sleep, and it had been years since her last all-nighter. She didn't speak until she was back in the huddle with Stecklan and Sastarn. "Lyssara's all right, just worn out. I think I can wake her if need be."

"The prince and princess?" Sastarn asked anxiously.

"Asleep, I think. Just very deeply. I'd rather not wake them. And Sabrina does still have serious damage—the longer we wait to repair it, the worse off she'll be. She's not going to be able to walk out of here."

"All right," Stecklan said. "I'll keep watch outside. Sastarn, be careful. The valley is probably crawling with the sharding things."

"I have my secret weapon," the pilot grinned, edging carefully through the ruins of the doorway.