Chapter 41 #2
One after another, the plants in the atrium shriveled and died, the network of plant life succumbing as a unit, their lush green leaves turning to crisp brown husks in seconds.
Evelyn opened her eyes and gasped with the stolen energy thrumming in her body. In her hurry, she hadn’t stored the energy in any containment. Every beat of her heart came faster than the last as her pulse raced. She ran back to the bridge faster than she’d known she was capable of.
I’ll buy Cairn a fucking nursery when this is over.
Evelyn nearly ran into Aiden as she skidded to a stop. He grasped her arms and steadied her. His clenched jaw was the only clue she could see to his mental state.
No wonder he’s the one they sent into the medivessel.
“Where do you charge things here? I need an outlet,” Evelyn said.
She could feel herself trembling in his grip.
His eyes widened as he took in her state, and he instantly guided her to a side console and flipped up a panel.
The emergency charging apparatus was behind a clear pane that slid out of the way with a swipe of his hands.
Evelyn shoved the fingers of her left hand into the charging port as far as they would go, the prongs of the port ripping her cuticles. She closed her eyes and dropped into her visualization, blocking out the chaos of the bridge around her.
I really hope I don’t electrocute myself. That would be a really stupid way to die.
Her mental space was filled with swirling, seething strands of energy. She could barely see the mauve of her squishy chair, the tank of Amplification energy. Seeing the tank sparked another idea.
One dangerous idea at a time, Evelyn.
Focusing on the task at hand, she shoved a strand of power into the charging port. It resisted, swirling around the edges of the port, unwilling to leave its friends in her mind palace.
She soothed the strand, assured it that it wouldn’t be lonely for long. The energy relented, flowing into the port. She sent another through. Then another. She felt sweat dripping down her face, her cardigan suddenly oppressively hot.
“Shields are recharging, dollface. It’s working,” Aiden whispered in her ear.
Evelyn felt his arms wrap around her waist, the gentle weight of his head on top of her own.
She nodded and kept shoving power into the system.
Strand after strand of energy were fed into the port, each one struggling against her guidance, each one finally relenting after she assured it that it wouldn’t be alone in the ship’s stores.
By the time her mental space was clear again, she could barely stand. She leaned against Aiden’s reassuring frame as she examined the tank of Amplification energy.
Couldn’t hurt to try. Much.
She opened her eyes and twisted in Aiden’s arms. “I have an idea. It’s sort of crazy.”
He grinned. “Crazy ideas are sort of our thing, dollface.”
Evelyn managed a weak smile as she leaned back against his chest. She was worn out from her latest botanical experiment, but she wouldn’t be able to relax until they were all out of danger.
The shields were helpful, but they wouldn’t save them entirely.
If the Twins’ ship rallied, they’d be playing cat and mouse until the Dawn was battered beyond repair, and a hostile boarding party would be the least of their worries.
“I want to see if I can Amplify you enough to shove their ship off course.”
Aiden’s eyes flashed, the grin on his face taking on a salacious edge. “That’s it, dollface. Fight dirty.”
The fluttering in her stomach was entirely inappropriate. She cleared her throat as she clenched her thighs together. “Do you want to try?”
“I’m game. It’s a long shot, but Cairn could use the help if we can manage it.” Aiden checked the feasibility of their plan with the pilot.
“Aye, getting them off our ass will make the jump easier,” Cairn said.
Evelyn nodded toward the view screen. “You want to see it?”
Aiden took her hand and guided her to get a better view. The Twins’ ship was creeping closer, dodging Veselko’s blasts but making steady progress.
“Ready?” Evelyn asked. Aiden nodded. She laced her fingers through his and closed her eyes, crossing to the energy tank and opening the tap.
Golden energy flowed from it, forming a puddle at her feet.
She focused on the flow and sent it into Aiden, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as the energy connection went live.
Evelyn felt him shudder as it entered his body.
The power continued to flow out of the tank, puddling at her feet.
She should have stopped the tap, slowed the flow.
She’d never attempted to boost someone so much before, but these were dire circumstances.
Conventional wisdom said to stop Amplifying before your knees went weak, lest you be out of commission for future opportunities of service.
This advice hadn’t taken into account the Amplifier fleeing for their lives in deep space.
Out of commission for a few days is better than dead.
So Evelyn continued to send the power into Aiden, boosting his telekinesis.
“Fuck,” she heard him whisper. “This just might work.”
Evelyn opened her eyes. It took everything in her not to sag against Aiden’s body.
She looked up at him to see every hair on his body standing at attention, like he’d been the one with a finger in the charging port.
Blood was dripping out of his ear, and she feared that she might have fried his senses with an overload of energy.
She shifted her vision and saw the golden glow of Amplification filling his frame. He seemed as stable as ever.
“Use it. Quickly,” she whispered.
His eyes were slits, focused on the Twins’ vessel as it bobbed toward them.
He reached out with the hand that wasn’t holding onto her own and made a flicking motion with his finger.
The force of the motion sent them both careening to the ground.
Aiden just managed to shift their bodies to prevent Evelyn’s head cracking into the floor.
From the grunt he made, she doubted he was as successful at avoiding impact with his own.
On the view screen, the Twins’ ship jerked off course.
It spun in circles, making two full revolutions before the ship corrected itself out of their path, flying through the stars in the opposite direction.
Evelyn sighed in relief. Her eyes fluttered shut, and the last thing she heard before she passed out was Cairn’s whoop of delight as he punched in the jump coordinates.