alarmed. The sedative
made her too dull to throw him out or raise shields, even if she
had any. He exuded false friendship, trying to fool her empathy
with lying thoughts, but she sensed his fear and duplicity, and
understood the cold nature of his mind. As she had once spoken to
Scrysalza, she spoke to him in the wordless language that every
thinking creature shared when their thoughts were mingled.
I warned
you, she thought. I told you not to come. But you’re here,
like a thief, come to steal my most precious memory. Let me show
you the horrors of my past; share them with me. She sent him a
powerful image of the Envoy in all his massive repulsiveness, and
jabbed him with the memory of the parasite’s sharp mind, whose
razor thoughts had flayed hers and left it raw and bleeding. She
filled his head with the grinding roar of the Envoy’s wordless
language, and bathed it with the memory of the agony she had
suffered.
Endrin frowned
at the telepath, perplexed. His eyes had opened wide and his back
was arched in a spasm. The younger doctor, Jadon, checked the
telepath’s pulse and cast a concerned glance at Endrin.
“He appears to
be in some distress. His heart is racing.”
“I’m sure he
can deal with it.”
The telepath’s
increasing pallor and clenched jaws told Endrin that something was
amiss, and he waited for further developments. Jin groaned and
writhed, his eyes rolled back. Whatever was happening to him was
getting worse, and Endrin’s alarm grew. The telepath shuddered,
clearly in distress. Signalling to his young colleague to help,
Endrin tried to pull the convulsing man away from the peaceful,
blank-eyed girl. Jin grabbed her neck, ensuring they could not
prise him free without strangling her.
Jadon hunted
through the cabinet for a sedative powerful enough to incapacitate
the girl. He found one with a cry of triumph, then dropped the
injector, and Endrin stepped on it. The monitor’s steady beep
speeded up, and a soft alarm droned.
Semil stared at
the machines’ changing readouts. “Do something!”
Endrin cursed
and punched the telepath, trying to knock him unconscious. “She’s
trapped him.”
“How can she?
She’s only an empath. Do something!”
“She’s more
than an empath,” Endrin said. “An empath couldn’t do this to a
telepath. Whatever she touched on that ship, it’s made her like
it.”
“The Envoy was
an empath, so was the Crystal Ship.”
“No, they were
more. Much more. The Crystal Ship was able to broadcast its pain.
She’s not an empath. She’s something else; something we’ve never
seen before. She uses the skills of others against them. That’s
what makes her the Golden Child.” He tried to drag the telepath
away as the man convulsed again, froth bubbling from his lips.
“What can we
do?” Jadon demanded.
Endrin shook
his head. “I don’t know. She’s killing him, just like she killed
the Envoy. Sedate her, quick!”
Semil shook her
head. “No, don’t. She’s dying.”
“She can’t
be!”
“Look for
yourself.”
Endrin glanced
at the machines’ readouts, cursing. “We’ve got to save her.”
“How?” Jadon
asked.
Tarke’s head
jerked around as Scimarin said, “A message from Shadowen. Rayne’s
biorhythms are becoming erratic.”
He thumped the
arm of his chair. “Damn them!”
Jumping up, he
leant on the console, glaring at the stars beyond the energy shell.
“And for the blood of my wife,” he murmured, “your land shall run
red with the blood of all your kinsmen, and the killing shall not
end until my blood has mingled with the earth and my last breath
has passed from my lips.”
Rayne sat in
front of the telepath’s psyche, imagining herself as a young child
with long golden hair. Know me, she thought. I am the
Golden Child. I am the greatest weapon ever born, to defeat the
ultimate evil and save you. Witness the power that fills me, the
legends that surround me. You will not steal the image of
made her too dull to throw him out or raise shields, even if she
had any. He exuded false friendship, trying to fool her empathy
with lying thoughts, but she sensed his fear and duplicity, and
understood the cold nature of his mind. As she had once spoken to
Scrysalza, she spoke to him in the wordless language that every
thinking creature shared when their thoughts were mingled.
I warned
you, she thought. I told you not to come. But you’re here,
like a thief, come to steal my most precious memory. Let me show
you the horrors of my past; share them with me. She sent him a
powerful image of the Envoy in all his massive repulsiveness, and
jabbed him with the memory of the parasite’s sharp mind, whose
razor thoughts had flayed hers and left it raw and bleeding. She
filled his head with the grinding roar of the Envoy’s wordless
language, and bathed it with the memory of the agony she had
suffered.
Endrin frowned
at the telepath, perplexed. His eyes had opened wide and his back
was arched in a spasm. The younger doctor, Jadon, checked the
telepath’s pulse and cast a concerned glance at Endrin.
“He appears to
be in some distress. His heart is racing.”
“I’m sure he
can deal with it.”
The telepath’s
increasing pallor and clenched jaws told Endrin that something was
amiss, and he waited for further developments. Jin groaned and
writhed, his eyes rolled back. Whatever was happening to him was
getting worse, and Endrin’s alarm grew. The telepath shuddered,
clearly in distress. Signalling to his young colleague to help,
Endrin tried to pull the convulsing man away from the peaceful,
blank-eyed girl. Jin grabbed her neck, ensuring they could not
prise him free without strangling her.
Jadon hunted
through the cabinet for a sedative powerful enough to incapacitate
the girl. He found one with a cry of triumph, then dropped the
injector, and Endrin stepped on it. The monitor’s steady beep
speeded up, and a soft alarm droned.
Semil stared at
the machines’ changing readouts. “Do something!”
Endrin cursed
and punched the telepath, trying to knock him unconscious. “She’s
trapped him.”
“How can she?
She’s only an empath. Do something!”
“She’s more
than an empath,” Endrin said. “An empath couldn’t do this to a
telepath. Whatever she touched on that ship, it’s made her like
it.”
“The Envoy was
an empath, so was the Crystal Ship.”
“No, they were
more. Much more. The Crystal Ship was able to broadcast its pain.
She’s not an empath. She’s something else; something we’ve never
seen before. She uses the skills of others against them. That’s
what makes her the Golden Child.” He tried to drag the telepath
away as the man convulsed again, froth bubbling from his lips.
“What can we
do?” Jadon demanded.
Endrin shook
his head. “I don’t know. She’s killing him, just like she killed
the Envoy. Sedate her, quick!”
Semil shook her
head. “No, don’t. She’s dying.”
“She can’t
be!”
“Look for
yourself.”
Endrin glanced
at the machines’ readouts, cursing. “We’ve got to save her.”
“How?” Jadon
asked.
Tarke’s head
jerked around as Scimarin said, “A message from Shadowen. Rayne’s
biorhythms are becoming erratic.”
He thumped the
arm of his chair. “Damn them!”
Jumping up, he
leant on the console, glaring at the stars beyond the energy shell.
“And for the blood of my wife,” he murmured, “your land shall run
red with the blood of all your kinsmen, and the killing shall not
end until my blood has mingled with the earth and my last breath
has passed from my lips.”
Rayne sat in
front of the telepath’s psyche, imagining herself as a young child
with long golden hair. Know me, she thought. I am the
Golden Child. I am the greatest weapon ever born, to defeat the
ultimate evil and save you. Witness the power that fills me, the
legends that surround me. You will not steal the image of
Similar Books
