***
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to give me an electric jolt?" Drew demanded. He felt like he'd just been plugged into the electric grid.
"Time's getting short and you said just do it." Irfin said.
"Something I'll never say to you again," Drew said shortly. "What did you do, taser me?"
"Of course not," Irfin said. "But I did give you a wee jolt of electricity. It was the quickest way to pull you from the trance."
"Well, you're not doing that to Pandimora." Drew stood protectively in front of the couch.
"We might not have a choice," muttered Irfin, moving closer to where she lay. "You have to change her body temperature in some way or create a jolt, such as the one I gave you."
Drew put out his hand. "No. Just wait. Let me do it my way."
He hurried into his bathroom and put a clean washcloth under the faucet, then ran it under cold water. He came back out and knelt beside her, putting the cold washcloth on her forehead and cheeks, but she remained unmoving. He looked up at Irfin. "What about ice cubes?"
Drew hurried into the kitchen, shaking ice cubes from the freezer trays. He dumped them on the counter and grabbed half a dozen cubes. Returning to Pandimora, he put them in the washcloth and put it against the tender skin of her neck. He was thankful when she began to stir and finally awoke. He sat back on his heels when she sat up, frowning, obviously groggy.
She clutched the crystal to her breasts with both hands. "Lukais tried to take the crystal," she said. "I was dreaming but I was deeply submerged and couldn't get out."
Drew brought her up to speed on what had happened while Irfin impatiently paced back and forth. "The good news is you found the crystal," Irfin said.
She nodded. "It was so strange. We teleported without direction into the crystal cavern."
"Not really. You were both dreaming," Irfin declared. "How else would you teleport together while asleep?" He bit his lip. "This is most unusual, for a human to be teleported in the dream phase with a faerie. Most unusual indeed." His eyes began to brighten. "However, the good news is the crystal if safe and sound. The not so good news is the crystal rightfully belongs to Lukais as supreme power and be assured he intends to take it."
"No." Drew rejected that immediately.
Pandimora clenched her jaw. "I'm not turning it over to him. You have no idea what he has planned. He will decimate all worlds," she cried, panic in her voice.
"You will have no choice," Irfin stated. "How do you propose to keep evading him?"
"After all this you can't be serious," Drew said.
"He will return. Once he has the crystal, we will know then if he can be trusted or not."
"That'll be helpful," Drew said sarcastically. "He can obliterate us and we'll die knowing he's the bad guy."
Irfin drew himself to his full height, his expression fierce. "The elder does what he feels is necessary to protect the world of the fae. All any of us can do is what our conscience will allow."
"Well, that's pretty convenient," Drew said sarcastically. "So you are on his side?" He looked at Pandimora. "I had a feeling we couldn't trust him."
Irfin rolled his eyes. "I'm looking at the entire picture and all the probabilities. There really is no right or wrong, just outcomes."
"I'm looking at it from a human perspective," Drew said. "If he abuses his power, faeries disappear. Humans too. You can't condone it."
"How long do we have before he finds us?" Pandimora asked urgently.
"We are on borrowed time now. I need the crystal, and your masking devices as they're calibrated to your individual frequencies. Right now, it's the best I can do." Irfin held his hand out to Pandimora. She hesitated, stared at him a moment, then reluctantly handed him the crystal. Irfin accepted it almost reverently, then stared at it fixedly, his short, thick fingers stroking down one smooth side.
"The masking devices are on the kitchen counter. Why do you need the crystal?" Drew asked, uneasy to see it leave Pandimora's hand.
"To protect it," Irfin muttered. "To make sure it ends up where it belongs." As Drew watched the air around Irfin began to blur and move in waves, as if the little man was part of a puzzle being pulled apart.
He watched in horror as the man snapped the crystal in two. Hardly able to believe his eyes, he stared at the jagged edges then up at Irfin.
"No!" Pandimora's scream barely registered as they both lunged toward the little man.
"It's for the best!" Irfin shouted, then he dropped into a portal that materialized in the floor. "Get your devices! The elder is approaching fast. None of us are safe."
Drew tried to grab him but Irfin was gone. Frantically, he pushed at the wood floor which was once again solid. Grimly, Drew looked at Pandimora. "Gone -- with the crystal. Open a portal --"
"I can't." For the first time he heard desperation in her voice. "I have no energy flow to do so."
"Has all this been one big plan for Irfin to snatch the crystal?"
"No," she said staunchly. "No. He would not betray his own."
Drew paced the floor. "What are his loyalties? He's been planning this from the start. He's got to be in league with the elder. He was probably promised immortality for his wife. I don't think it really matters to him who gets hurt."
Pandimora stared at him. "What are you talking about?"
Drew told her what he knew from his investigation for Irfin's wife.
She shook her head. "I knew he had family in both realms. No, I will not believe Irfin is in league with Lukais."
He stared at her. "Maybe he's not."
"But you just said --"
"Maybe he's in this for himself alone. Maybe he's selling the crystal to the highest bidder? Or maybe he's got plans of his own for the crystal and will harness its power or something. What do you really know about him, except that he conveniently showed up when you were in crisis? Had you ever met him before?"
Doubtfully, Pandimora shook her head no.
"Maybe he waited just out of sight that night I found you. I know I saw something or someone hiding on the side of the road. Could he have been planning this all along? Did Lukais put him up to it?" Drew knelt beside her. "We have to go after Irfin and recover the crystal."
She nodded, her face troubled. She bit her lip. "I wonder now ..."
"What?"
"All the time we were in the crystal cavern, it was all within my dream. Irfin knew, as did the elder."
"And if Irfin's telling the truth, you're the only one empowered to retrieve the crystal. Meanwhile, they just waited for your return to snatch it. We can't trust them, you must see that now." He stared at her hard, ready to argue the point if she still disagreed. However, seeing the crushed look on her face, the expression of being betrayed, he put his arms around her. "I will protect you," he vowed. "We'll figure this out."
The explosion wrenched them apart.