46. Torus
Councilor Paige’s shuttle wasn’t very far away and he got there in no time to find her husband, Lone, already waiting outside with the golden wire of a Think-me in his hand. He was a Twin Kindred, though it wasn’t immediately apparent if he was the Light Twin or the Dark Twin of his pair, Torus thought distractedly.
“Here you go, Brother,” Lone said, handing him the Think-me. “Hopefully you can reach your Mate on this. I have to warn you though—the range isn’t as great as it is aboard the Mother Ship. Hopefully she hasn’t gone too far to hear you.”
“She was supposed to stay in the general area of the courthouse,” Torus said, taking the Think-me. “She’s probably sitting in an eatery somewhere with her phone turned off.”
But he didn’t really believe that—something was wrong—he was sure of it.
He jammed the Think-me down over his temples and concentrated as hard as he could.
“Molly? Molly can you hear me? Please answer, sweetheart—I’m worried about you!”
But there was no answer. Not even an inkling of one—which meant that either she was ignoring him or she was out of range. Torus desperately hoped it was the former and not the latter. If she was too far away to get his thought message?—
“Warrior, your female is in danger!”
The strong, feminine voice startled Torus so much he nearly gasped. At once he knew who he was talking to—or rather, who was talking to him. The overwhelming presence that surrounded him was unmistakable.
“Goddess?” he asked, looking around. Lone, who was still standing beside him, was looking too. Clearly he had heard the Goddess as well.
“Yes, it is I—the Mother of All Life,” came the reply. “Warrior, you have no time to lose. Go at once to the coordinates I have placed in the nav-com of this vessel. You must hurry—your female’s life is in danger!”
Then, as suddenly as it had come, the voice and the presence were gone. Torus exchanged a wide-eyed look with Lone.
“Come on!” Lone beckoned him into the shuttle. “We have to go!”
Torus followed him but inside his guts were twisted into a knot. How far away was Molly? The Goddess hadn’t said—she’d only told him that her life was in danger.
He just prayed he could get to her in time.