Chapter Four #2
“Oh good!” Tharion clapped his hands with a wide smile. The tinkling sound of his applause had a musical tone. “We’ve created a place for you to sit and partake of the substance Baelon programmed into the ship’s database. Just follow me, and I’ll get you some right away.”
With a smile, Azazel took Toni’s hand and followed the yellow Krystalii, with JR14 staying glued to his shoulder. For the first time since setting foot on the Krystalii mothership, he allowed himself a sliver of hope.
Even his inner beast rumbled in silent agreement.
Toni sat cross-legged on the pad Vaeloryx had made for her and Azazel.
She sipped from the goblet Tharion had given her, filled with lavender liquid.
Settling back on the seat, she gave a hum of approval.
Darn thing was surprisingly comfortable.
She leaned back with a grateful sigh while Azazel spoke with their hosts.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out the Krystalii had powerful psychic abilities, but she never dreamed they could conjure something out of nothing, like this comfy couch.
What would that be like? To do or create anything out of nothing?
Or go anywhere on a whim? She’d produced several movies with similar themes, but the heroes in those stories usually didn’t end up with a happy-ever-after ending.
The main storyline had the hero overwhelmed by their powers and turning into unfeeling monsters, the kind who didn’t care if they hurt or murdered those who got in their way.
She grimaced. Just look at Lord “frosty facet” Baelon.
Now there was a poster boy for a person who had a god complex, forcing his will on others and killing anyone who stood between him and whatever his objectives were.
Maybe wishing she had that kind of potential wasn’t such a good thing after all.
Dropping that morbid thought, she pressed against the cushiony backrest and glanced around.
Thankfully, the rebel hideaway was warmer than the rest of the ship she’d been on.
But the air still carried a metallic chill that rattled her bones.
Azazel, with JR14, carried on with their plans as the Krystalii sat in a loose circle on the pad with them.
Light danced across their crystalline forms, giving her a surreal impression that the aliens were made of fractured stars.
“I’m afraid I have some disturbing news I must share before you retire,” Vaeloryx said in a louder tone.
The breathtaking colors of his aquamarine-and-silver scarred body somehow radiated a calm authority.
He tapped a jagged hand against a console that appeared in front of him, and a holographic display flickered to life.
He indicated a map of what he called the galactic seat of the Federation Consortium.
He called it the chancellor’s palace, an immense space station shaped like an elegant, sprawling city that orbited the planet Zerin.
“Baelon has made his move. The dimensional invasion has begun. His forces have concentrated on the planet Zerin and at the chancellor’s palace. The Elites are dismantling the Federation’s government as we speak.”
Toni’s breath hitched. She pressed a hand to her chest, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard it squeezed the air from her throat. She gripped the chalice hard enough that some of the liquid swished over the rim.
Vaeloryx continued.
“Added to that, the first wave of his fleet has already deployed to most of the secured strategic outposts across the galaxy.”
Azazel lifted the goblet he held to his mouth and drained its contents. His expression remained impassive.
Toni’s stomach churned at the image the Krystalii projected.
She wasn’t a soldier or a strategist, but even she could see the Consortium didn’t stand a chance if Baelon’s forces gained total control.
She glanced at Azazel. He’d put the goblet on the floor next to him and studied the hologram with quiet intensity.
His eyebrows slanted into a deep furrow.
“Do you know what Baelon’s endgame is?”
Azazel’s voice might be calm and measured, but Toni watched his jaw clench and his eyes narrow.
Vaeloryx’s gaze darkened, making the silver color darken to a dull gray.
The rest of his crystalline face remained unreadable.
“Control. He seeks to absorb the Consortium’s genetic and psychic resources.
What the general population of the Krystalii is unaware of is that our birth cycle is weakening and has been for several millennia.
This is why Lord Baelon’s prime directive has been an obsessive need to capture a human to use your species’ adaptability.
He feels this is the key to reversing our decline.
Therefore, he intends to harvest the material he deems necessary. At any cost.”
Toni shivered and crossed her arms. Time to join the conversation instead of sitting on my ass while my species is on the chopping block. “Harvest necessary material? You mean… my people?” Her voice came out sharper than she intended. “He’s planning on harvesting humans from Earth?”
“Yes,” Vaeloryx answered. “As I have stated, he has a particular interest in your species. In addition to being adaptable to producing young for an alien race, it’s your resilience, your psychic potential that is notable.
All of which makes Baelon view humans as a threat as well as a resource.
” His shrug was stilted and unnatural. “He sees no difference.”
Toni’s hands clenched as a wave of anger surged through her.
No one had the right to reduce someone to a resource.
“Why not start here, then?” She waved at the planet Zerin and the chancellor’s orbiting palace on the hologram.
“Why not go straight to Earth and gobble all the humans up?” She snorted.
“It’s not like we could fight against him. ”
“Earth may be the endgame,” a bulky-Krystalii announced in a rough, gravelly voice.
The voice came from an imposing male made of obsidian crystals standing off to the side. His glossy black crystals carried glowing, violet iridescent streaks, which made him quite intimidating.
“But Baelon is astute enough to take out the biggest threat to his invasion first. That way, all the other systems in this dimension will fall in line with whatever he wants.”
“That’s correct, Kaelith.” Vaeloryx made a halting gesture with his palm up. “However, we need to allow the organics some time to re-energize before we discuss what to do next.”
The sneer on the inky Krystalii’s face made Toni’s face heat.
“Organics.” The brute snorted. “Creatures with no power or strength. I don’t see the value of bringing them into our group. What do they have to offer besides needing us to waste time as we take care of them? We’d do better on our own.”
“Yes, well, about that.” Azazel looked at his hands before glancing back at the Krystalii. “I have certain, ah, talents that align with yours.”
Toni had drained her own cup and now frowned at Azazel’s announcement.
What did that mean? How could he possibly be like the Krystalii?
Her eyes widened. Wait. He never denied being a psychic when she teased him about it.
Had she been right all along? Did that mean he was some kind of plant from shards-for-brains Baelon?
She straightened and put her own goblet on the floor.
A surge of unease sent acid burning up her throat.
Trying to go unnoticed, she scooted away from Azazel.
She didn’t get too far before he put his arm around her waist. “Hebat,” his voice caressed in a soothing tone. “Whatever has put that fear in your eyes, I assure you it’s not what you think.”
Toni jerked in his hold and turned to him.
“Yeah? Isn’t that what people say when they’re hiding something?”
Azazel straightened, his back ramrod steel. The slight upward tip of his ears darkened.
“Antonia—” He held his opposite hand up. “—I am not the villain here. My priority was to rescue you and take you back to Earth.” He glanced at the still and silent Krystalii. “But now things are much more dire.”
He turned his attention back to her.
Toni’s heart raced at the pleading in his mahogany-colored eyes.
“However, you are correct that I purposefully held a part of myself from you. And it’s time I confess that I’m something more than what I appear.”
Toni’s pulse hammered as she glared at Azazel. “All right, what do you mean by something more?”
His shoulders straightened, and his face tightened under her scrutiny.
He looked at her as if weighing the best thing to say.
After a quick glance at the Krystalii, he exhaled, then he spoke in a soft, but steady tone.
“I’m like them, Toni.” He nodded toward the Krystalii rebels.
“I have psychic abilities like they do.”
Toni blinked. Her head felt light as a chilly wave of disbelief washed over her.
“Psychic?” Her voice cracked. “Like reading minds and all?” She gulped. “Moving things with just a thought?” She clenched her fists at her sides, knuckles white. “And you didn’t even consider that was something I should know about?”
He glanced away from her with thinned lips.
“It was never my intention to hide anything from you.” Throwing his shoulders back, Azazel continued.
“Believe me, I want nothing more than to share with you who I really am.” He waved a hand around him.
“Ever since I came aboard, I’ve had to suppress my psychic abilities to keep the Krystalii from finding me.
” His grin was self-deprecating. “And since we’ve met, all we’ve done is run around this ship to avoid getting caught. ”
Toni rubbed her arms and hung her head. Fair enough. She looked up at him.
“Okay, but we sure could’ve used some extra mojo a couple of times back there.” She gave a nervous chuckle.
JR14 chimed in, his metallic voice precise and matter-of-fact.