Balmythra

Chapter Twenty-Eight

  In the Abyss

  That rock could have been a lace curtain. I passed through it effortlessly, then dropped straight down into pitch black emptiness. Instantly, hard crosswinds tossed me up and about like a feather in a gale. And I'd thought my coffin ride was bad… My neck snapped; my legs flailed. Tumbling head over heels, I strained to see and groped desperately for a handhold. My fingers touched nothing.

  How could I possibly survive this?

  I found just enough wits to chastise myself for plunging—literally—into this adventure without a plan of action or even expectations. Where were my parents? Where was Jor? And what could I possibly do for them while tumbling in a whirlwind?

  It's all Jor’s fault.

  Anger at him welled up so forcefully that I actually tasted its bitterness. Jor had stolen my life by pushing me into the Stream, something I'd never forgive. Why had my mother trusted him? Had her leadership responsibilities taken priority over her daughter's safety? Well, if that’s what being a Guardian required, I wanted no part of it. And how could my mother have let herself get kidnapped in the first place?

  As if in reaction to my irrationality, sane thought abruptly rebounded. At once, I realized this hellish turbulence ensnared more than my body. It controlled my emotions, as well.

  And emotions were key.

  Ignoring my rag-doll state, I shut my eyes tightly and tried to focus inward. It wasn't easy, but I managed, thanks to the memory of Matt's surprise kiss. From that starting point, my negative feelings began to fade. I concentrated on calming not just my mind, but my body, as well.

  I can do this.

  Concentrating fiercely, I thought of my parents. Gradually, memories of their love and laughter returned and strengthened me. I thought of Rocc, always protective of his little sister, and, finally, of Matt and how much I loved him.

  Warmth filled my heart and slowly suffused my body. The turmoil in and around me began to calm. Eyes still closed, I reevaluated my physical state, noting how the muscles of my forehead and cheeks ached from being tensed so long. I opened my eyes slightly and saw I was suspended upright in impenetrable darkness.

  Sending out spider webs of thought, I searched for my parents and Jor in the vast void. I wondered why I couldn't hear them now as I had on witnessing the ceremony. Surely they were here. I couldn’t have been wrong about that. Ruthlessly blocking my rising concerns, I trusted instinct, instead, and let my love flow outward.

  The faintest of glows began to alter my current reality. My ring pulsed to life. In seconds, ever stronger flashes illuminated the immediate area. Dark blurs became shapes. Shapes became bodies and more bodies, grotesquely twisting and turning in the same turbulence that had ensnared me moments before. Among them slithered the shadows. I stiffened with shock and revulsion as one brushed past my face. Stifling a scream, I struggled to control my growing hysteria.

  There must be hundreds of people in here.

  Who were they? How could I find my parents or Jor among them? And what about the shadows? Is this where they lived and fed? I panicked for a nanosecond but managed to open myself up to knowledge of my Guardian heritage. This was my destiny. Whatever it cost, I would use my gifts to serve my people. And at the moment rescuing my parents was definitely a part of that service. I desperately needed their strength and wisdom to maintain Ionian unity.

  Unity.

  The nexus.

  Of course! Not even considering the possibility that I might not reach anyone from this abyss, I began the meditation required for the connection I craved. I drew ever deeper inside, closing my eyes to the disturbing scene revealed by the flashes from my ring. Going further into my psyche than ever before, I found an inner stillness opposite to my surroundings.

  So calm.

  So peaceful.

  My love for my people generated compassion so tangible that it shook the Void and burst through the walls. I immediately sensed hundreds of minds—all connected—and relief thrilled me.

  Alleana? It wasn’t a voice, but a thought form, whisper soft, from light years away. I recognized it at once. “Dad!”

  My heart swelled with relief and joy. New strength infused me, surging through my veins, further fueling my love-powered generator.

  Elation shot through the nexus.

  My eyes popped open to search for my father. I saw that intense light now flooded the immense void and illuminated hundreds, maybe thousands, of imprisoned bodies. Anxiously, I searched the faces of those nearest, but recognized no one. I noted their features and skin color—every race, every nation—and the fact that the void stretched out to forever on all sides. I knew I'd never find those I loved searching by sight alone.

  With images and feelings, I transmitted my situation to Ionians outside the cave and close enough to help. I felt their resounding shock. In one voice, they clamored for permission to come to me. I visualized masses of Ionians psiflying to the cave.

  “Oh no! You mustn’t.” I shouted the words and heard my voice echoing eerily. With tremendous effort, I calmed myself again and allowed my mind to settle once more into the deep pool of collective consciousness.

  At last, firmly in control of my emotions and my people, I explained that the only way I could ever receive my loved ones' unique signals was to intensify my own abilities with the nexus. I needed to use their combined psychic powers to search the cavern for my parents and for Jor.

  My people agreed, and in my mind’s eye I saw faces of all ages from every corner of Balmythra accepting my leadership. Individual identities flashed through my mind. I thought I recognized some of them from long ago, while others seemed much more familiar....

  Ginzy!

  My stomach twisted with fear for her. Then I realized that she sat contentedly next to Katie, Julie, and Brady under an enormous galandroff tree in the Nayderloest's forest with my old bag near at hand. Even as I reassured myself that this was just a thought, Ginzy, her hair more copper than red in the sunlight, looked straight at me and blew a kiss. Shocked, I had to make myself refocus.

  I channeled the strength of the nexus, and in seconds was rewarded, not with the distinctly male presence of my father, but with the psychic scent of my mother, a feminine blend of sandalwood and lavender. Ever so gently, I probed my mother’s mind. Completely blank. Horrified, I sought her life force, and, upon sensing it, cried out in relief.

  I fought tears again. Deliberately shifting my thoughts from my mother to my father, I connected with him once more and probed his mind. At once a flood of memories gushed forth.

  Alli.

  The long-forgotten nickname gave me goose bumps. Dad's thoughts, faint as a whisper, brushed against the mental ribbons seeking him.

  “It’s okay," I said. "I’ll save you."

  But how?

  Overwhelmed by what I had to do, I assessed our situation. If I could reach my parents physically, a psifly to Saironalis might be possible. But wouldn't they have tried that already? I guessed they had and assumed that their involuntary entry into the void hampered all efforts to escape it. But I'd come willingly, and that gave me hope of successfully escaping.

  Once again, I used the nexus to increase my abilities. I imagined myself as a magnet, drawing my parents to me. The effort took everything I had, but I kept at it, highly conscious of the chaos surrounding me and the black shadows hovering just beyond the pulsing circle of light projected by my ring.

  I sensed that my parents drew closer, negotiating the sea of battered bodies with difficulty. Using my eyes now, along with my mind, I searched the surrounding area and discovered quite by accident that I could actually turn myself around. I quickly spotted two bodies approaching me with determination totally opposite to the random movements of everyone else.

  My parents.

  I held out my arms and tried to call to them, but never managed a syllable before a painful jerk, somewhere in the vicinity of my belly, doubled me over. Searing pain shot through my arms an
d legs and exploded in my head.

  The nexus splintered. Blackness swallowed me up.