Crystal Fire (33 page)

The fight drained out of her and Marissa slumped in defeat. "No, there shouldn't."

She shook her head and sighed. "But our reconciliation is still so fresh, so new, and I haven't worked it all through yet. And I'm afraid of what lies ahead."

"What's thismy little warrior afraid?" He gave her a devilish grin. "I never thought I'd hear you admit to such human weaknesses. The next thing I know, you'll be confessing to a desire to give up your warlike ways and stay home and bear us children."

Marissa's mouth dropped open and a sharp pain stabbed through her. Ch-children . . . How could Brace be thinking of such a thing at a time like this? Had he guessed that she'd missed her woman's flux? But that wasn't possible. She wasn't even certain herself that her tardy menses meant anythingsave that her body might be reacting to the stresses of the past half-monate.

And now was definitely not the time to worry about what was to be done if she
was
pregnant. Yet the consideration of bearing twins . . .

Despite what Raina had told her about Olim and of the manner in which Brace had saved her life, it all seemed too tenuous, this belief in the healing powers of love. And she'd never risk the life of any child of hers to such unsubstantial emotions!

For a fleeting instant, the image of a babe, plump and cuddly in her arms, flitted across Marissa's mind. What would it be like to bear Brace's children? To watch her belly ripen with his seed? To know what it meant to bring forth life?

It would make Brace very happy. She'd seen that sudden, joyous flare in his eyes when he'd spoken of a family. And, after all he'd been through of late, he deserved some small share of happiness. Happiness that she, too, could share, savor . . .

"Don't," she choked, wrenching herself back to reality. "Don't speak of a life that may never be. There's no time for dreaming, not now, not until this quest is over. It will only weaken us to the horrible things yet to come."

"Marissa, there's no harm"

She rounded on him, glaring at Brace through a haze of wrathful tears. "Yes, there
is
harm, great harm, and if you're too blind to see it, I'm not! Now, no more of it. Do you hear me, Brace Ardane? No more of it until this is all over and we've truly a future to dream about!"

He arched a dark brow, then subjected her to a cool, appraising look. "As you wish, femina. I'm sorry to have upset you. I beg your forgiveness."

"It's of no import."

Brace eyed her for a moment longer, then flipped off the auto pilot. He spoke no more and, as the horas passed, he guided the craft ever nearer to the mountains. Mountains that hid the Knowing Crystaland a man called Feroxsomewhere in their craggy vastness.

"Gods! No!"

The anguished cry jerked Marissa from a deep sleep. She sat up, blinking in confusion. It was still dark, perhaps the early horas of the next sol, and the small perpetual flame box lit the cave with only a dull glow. She glanced around and met Rodac's dark, beady eyes.

A low moan came from behind her. It was Brace, writhing in his blankets, his face twisted in agony, caught in the throes of yet another dream terror. Marissa's heart leaped to her throat. She made a move to crawl over to him when a leathery hand halted her. She glanced back over her shoulder.

Is this the sleep terrors you spoke of?

"Yes. The Knowing Crystal begins again to torment him. We must try to rouse him, if we can."

Rodac released her and Marissa scooted over to Brace. For an instant she hesitated, dreading the toll the next few moments would take on both of them. And dreading even more the eventual outcome of the battle that now began in earnest with the Crystal's renewed attempts to drive Brace mad before he managed to destroy it. How much longer would she have the strength to call him back from the endless horrors of his dreams?

Long enough to at least reach Ferox?

Squaring her shoulders, Marissa bent and gathered Brace's sweat-slick, shuddering body to her. "Brace," she called. "Come back. Come away from your sleep. Come back to me."

He cried out, arching upward into her arms, his big body taut, caught in the grasp of some terrible inner torment. The powerful lunge of his body threw Marissa off balance and he toppled over on her. She struggled to slip out from beneath him, but his greater weight kept her pinned.

And then, suddenly, long, strong fingers were around Marissa's throat, choking her. "Rodac!" she gasped, fighting with all her might against Brace. "H-help me!"

The Simian was at her side in an instant, prying at hands grown superhumanly strong in the dream-induced battle with some unknown foe. As Rodac struggled with Brace, Marissa felt the breath gradually leave her body.

She gasped, choked, fought wildly, but to no avail. Brace's fingers gouged ever deeper. Whirling lights, blindingly bright, danced before Marissa's eyes. Dully, she realized she was dying.

The realization fueled her waning strength. If she died, Brace would never recover from the knowledge that her death had been at his hands, however unintentional. The quest would be over, the Knowing Crystal victorious. And Ferox would still be alive . . .

Ferox . . . still alive . . .

Never
!

Her determination fought past the smothering blackness. Ferox would
not
win. And neither would the Knowing Crystal. No matter what it took, she'd never, ever, let it destroy Brace.

With the last vestiges of her strength, Marissa grasped Brace's head in both hands and willed her love to flow into him. From someplace beyond the gray mist that engulfed her, she felt the throttling fingers loosen and a heavy weight pulled off her.

She rolled away and lay there gasping. Air rushed in to fill her lungs. By all that was sacred, Marissa thought weakly, it felt so good to breathe again!

Little by little, her vision cleared and strength once more flowed through her. She rose on one elbow, weak and floppy as a babe. A meter away, a grim-faced Rodac held Brace securely in his arms.

For a long while, Brace was quiet. Then his eyelids fluttered open. He glanced up, dazed, frowning in confusion at the hairy alien leaning over him.

"Wh-what's going on here?" Brace croaked. "Got lonely in the nocte, d-did you?"

Rodac rolled his eyes and shoved away.
Not so lonely that I've yet a need for wild man like you. You nearly killed Marissa, you crazed fool!
"K-killed Marissa?" Brace whispered hoarsely.

His eyes met hers.

She sat there, still breathing heavily, one hand at her neck. Her fingers, however, couldn't hide the angry red marks that marred the white skin of her throat.

"Gods!" Brace groaned. "The dream was bad enough, but this is beyond bearing!"

He rolled over to bury his face in his hands. "What next? Ah, what next?"

Marissa crawled over and touched him on the shoulder. "Brace, what do you mean?" she asked softly. "What happened in your dream this time?"

He stiffened when she touched him, and groaned again. "It was as before. The Crystal was chasing me, the blackness yawned up to engulf me. Then someone called and I turned. Hands appeared out of the darkness, clawing at me, drawing blood. I went mad then, striking at the unknown owner of the voice, pulling him down to me."

Brace paused for an instant, his body trembling with the remembered terrors. "II think I imagined it was Ferox, and a fierce joy flooded me. My fingers tightened about his throat and I began to choke the life out of him. At last, I thought, I'd have revengefor the both of us. Then a face rose out of the blackness, white and terrifying. And it wasn't the face of Ferox."

"Who was it, Brace?" Even as she spoke, an icy presentiment wound itself about her heart. ''Who was it?"

He lifted his head then and tears glistened on his cheeks. "It was you, Marissa," Brace choked. "Gods, Marissa! It was you!"

Marissa stared at Brace for a long moment, her mind racing. Had it been an accident that Brace had turned on her in his sleep, that she'd been the nearest person to attack? Or had the Knowing Crystal meant for him to murder her?

His eyes met hers, and the haunted look burning there told Marissa all she needed to know. Brace was thinking the same thing. Though it had been totally out of his control, he had indeed been obeying a higher commandand that command had been to kill her.

Anger swelled within Marissa. For every step they took in this quest, the Knowing Crystal always appeared to be one step ahead of them. And now the stone seemed to realize that not only was Brace a threat to its continued power, but Marissa was a threat as well.

She doubted that the stone knew exactly why it saw her in that light. In the end, it didn't matter. The logical course of action was to destroy herand that was precisely what it had tried to do. Marissa wondered what the Crystal would try next.

Brace crawled to a sitting position. "I think we all realize what happened here," he began wearily. "The Knowing Crystal is fighting back in every way it can."

We'll just have to anticipate its moves better
, Rodac motioned.
The stone did us a favor this nocte. Forewarned is forearmed
.

"Yes," Brace agreed. "And since it influences me through my dreams, it's wisest if I don't sleep any more until we reach Ferox and the stone."

"Lack of sleep will definitely prepare you for the final confrontation," Marissa interjected sarcastically. "Perhaps you should fill us in on your ultimate plan, just in case you doze off at the last secundae."

He shot her a tight-lipped look. "I told you before. There's not much point in a plan. It all depends on what Ferox and the Knowing Crystal do."

Let me suggest that you at least let Marissa and me go in for the Crystal when we reach Ferox. There's no telling what the Crystal would do if you tried to lay hands on it. Far better that us thick-skulled, insensitive commoners give it a try
.

"Speak for yourself, you hairy bag of bones," Marissa chuckled softly, the tension of the past few moments at last beginning to fade. "I am
not
thick-skulled." The Simian grinned at her.
Be that as it may, I'm sure you see my point
.

"And what am I to do in the meanwhile?" Brace demanded. "Sit safely back and let you two risk all?"

Rodac shrugged.
Well, there's always the small matter of Ferox. You might want to finish him off while we're busy stealing the stone. His death would simplify things greatly
.

"Ferox is mine!" Marissa's voice slashed through the air.

Two pairs of masculine eyes turned to her.

"Does it really matter who kills him, as long as he dies?" Brace asked.

"It matters to me!"

Well, what you desire in this is of no import
, Rodac motioned.
You are a warrior and know better than to allow personal needs to cloud things
. He arched a speculative brow.
You do know that, don't you
?

"Of course I do," she muttered. "But if the opportunity arises"

"
If
the opportunity arises," Brace said, "I'll save him for you."

He paused. "After we take care of Ferox and regain possession of the Crystal, we must set out immediately for Cambrai and the pools. The stone
must
be destroyed as quickly as possible."

"Yes, yes," Marissa waved him on. "Tell us something we don't already know. If not, I'm ready to get some rest. We've a long journey ahead on the morrow." She arched an inquis- itive brow at Brace. "I
assume
we've still a ways to go?"

"Another sol or two, I'd guess," Brace agreed grimly, "from the faintness of the Crystal transmissions I'm picking up."

He frowned. "Strange, that ever since we escaped Ferox, the Knowing Crystal's transmissions have varied so greatly. Sometimes its signals are quite strong, and other times I can barely pick them up."

"And do you have an explanation?" Marissa asked.

"I think it's the box Ferox carries the Knowing Crystal in. Teran's research spoke of some container capable of blocking Crystal transmission. I think Ferox is using that box at times."

"But why?"

Brace shrugged. "Perhaps he doesn't want us on his trail just yet. His plan, whatever it is, isn't working, though. Even when it's in its box, I can still pick up faint signals from the Crystal."

"So there's a chance we can reach Ferox before he realizes it?" There was an edge of rising excitement in Marissa's voice. "Perhaps take him by surprise?"

"Perhaps, if nothing else enters in to complicate matters." Brace paused, motioning to Marissa's and Rodac's bedding. "No matter what lies ahead, you'll need your rest. Go to sleep, both of you."

"Are you serious about not sleeping until we reach Ferox and the Crystal?" Marissa asked, concern darkening her eyes. "I didn't mean to sound so flippant about what you said earlier."

His mouth drew into a ruthlessly determined line. "Yes, I was serious."

"Brace, I'm not so sure"

"I meant what I said, Marissa," Brace repeated gently. "Now, no more of it. Please."

She stifled the impulse to go to him and take him in her arms. Marissa had seen the look of anguish that had passed across his face when she'd just questioned his decision not to go back to sleep. Seen it and known that to argue further would only increase his personal torment. But to leave him to fight his demons alone . . .

"As you wish," she murmured and went back to her bed. If Brace insisted on staying awake, a good nocte's rest was even more vital for her. She must maintain her strength and alertness if she were to be of any help.

"He means you, too, you hairy bag of bones." Marissa pointedly glanced at Rodac.

The Simian's rows of tiny teeth gleamed in the firelight. He then climbed back into his squat of repose and promptly began to snore.

For a time Marissa lay there, quietly watching Brace. He sat propped against the stone wall, his gaze never meeting hers, his face a mask. A mask of taut anguish and haunted questions. She wondered what his questions were. Did he doubt his ability to continue, much less see the quest through to a successful completion? Did Brace even dare consider such possibilities? And yet, how could he not?