“All right then,” Shirl said. “He is expecting a visit from me in the next day or so. Drake and his brothers will be at Lorenz’s settlement awaiting my return. I will be right back.”

  Shirl opened a portal and entered it with Starc. Cassie imagined the vampires would have to feed before returning with Shirl. Koel, in the meantime, worked with Tarsea and Benko to revise their plans to include a contingent of the freedom fighters to find and rescue Darden. They also had to determine how best to use the vampires and provide as little risk to the Troyk population as possible.

  Cassie soaked in as much of the plan as she could. Unlike Chartail, she had not attended many of her father’s planning sessions. Rather than stepping up and learning to lead, Cassie was often off brooding about her relationship with Darden. She could have kicked herself for her immaturity. Now, she needed to be the warrior her friends had become. They were fearless, and she needed to be the same. Her soul mate’s life depended on it.

  Half the members of the penal colony would join the fight. Darden had been searching worlds to find exiled dissidents to help rage war. The other half would evacuate the settlement with the children. If any of the exiled freedom fighters were identified in the Troyk universe, they would know where Benko had initiated his plans. There was the possibility of reprisals were they unsuccessful in overthrowing Jeryl Jarlyn.

  Shirl and Darden had been smuggling crystals and the weapons they powered to the penal colony for the day they would take back the Troyk universe. Cassie watched as the items were distributed. A number of the people did not want to take any armaments. No one wanted to use the weapons, but they would more than likely run into resistance before they reached Jeryl Jarlyn. The Prime Ruler surrounded himself with zealots, willing to die to protect their leader. Her grandfather would not go down without a fight. Cassie accepted the weapon her father handed her.

  “Point and shoot, baby girl,” he said. “It is as simple as that. Living with the consequences is something very different. If it is between your life or your adversary’s, do not hesitate. Shoot to kill.”

  Cassie hefted the weapon. It was surprisingly light. Most of the weight was at the rear of the metal device where the crystal was embedded. Each crystal weapon fired three shots. She put additional crystals in her pockets as they were handed out. Koel gave her and Chartail a quick lesson on how to unload and reload the weapon. They were not going to waste any crystal ammunition to practice shooting. Everyone, except Cassie, had weapons training.

  A portal opened and five large men and a woman exited behind Shirl and Starc. Cassie missed seeing Drake earlier, but immediately knew which man he was. Shirl and Alex’s descriptions had not done justice to the devastatingly handsome creature before her. The pale complexion of his skin brought out his incredible eyes. They had been described to her as black, but they were actually a dark purple.

  Drake immediately headed to Alex. He knelt and kissed her abdomen as Alex rolled her eyes. Cassie found it utterly touching and nothing she would have expected from a vampire. Her mental picture of Drake changed dramatically with this first impression. A weight was lifted off her shoulders. They were not taking a blood-crazed lunatic into the Troyk universe.

  A second vampire followed Drake to Alex’s side. He could not have been more than a boy when he was converted into a creature of the night. Cassie almost laughed at the over dramatization going on in her mind. It was not every day one met vampires. Like most women, Cassie was drawn to the romanticized vampire films. The boy had beautiful wavy brown hair and she imagined had DaVinci seen him, Leonardo would have wanted to paint him. Cassie heard Drake introduce him as Jace.

  The other three males did not appear to be vampires, if their tan faces were any indication. Cassie would have liked the strength three more vampires would have brought. However, these men looked like they would do great in a battle. They were huge!

  One of the largest Nightshade men approached Cassie with Koel by his side. “This is Frazour,” Koel said. “He will not leave your side once we return to the Troyk universe.”

  Cassie looked at the menacing figure before her and his lethal looking sword. No one with half a brain would challenge this gorilla. He had dark features like Drake, but appeared far more dangerous.

  “I fought beside your soul mate,” Frazour said. “He is an honorable man. We will not rest until he is found. My blood brother, Drake, has demanded more time with his mate for his services. I fight because of my respect for Darden.”

  She looked between Drake and Frazour. Cassie was aware Drake had four blood brothers, but was unaware human relations existed.

  “Now I’m lost,” Cassie admitted. “I thought Drake’s blood brothers were all vampires.”

  Frazour’s smile lit his face and made him appear less threatening. “Once we make love to our soul mates we transform into what nature had originally planned for The Creator to be. We are all becoming elementals. My soul mate, Emma, is a water elemental. She gifted me the sun. Our women are transforming faster than we are. Sammuel and his mate are land elementals. Lorenz and Afton can wield fire.”

  Cassie looked past the blond Adonis to the woman who stood beside him. The black haired statuesque woman could not be Afton. Yorik’s half-ling daughter had been a malnourished, slight girl. Shirl and Candy said Afton had transformed, but she was not expecting such a dramatic change.

  “Afton?” Cassie asked.

  The raven-haired Amazon turned in her direction. Her eyes widened upon recognizing Cassie. She said something to Shirl and made her way to Cassie.

  “I was hoping to see you,” Afton said. “Miranda always mentions you after visiting Beatrice. It had always been my intention to join Miranda on one of her visits, but things have been crazy.”

  “Yes, I heard about Yorik’s death,” Cassie said.

  Afton had orchestrated her vicious father’s death upon learning he planned to force himself on Miranda to produce another half-ling child. It would not be appropriate to express her condolences. After all, ultimately it was Benko’s mind control telepathic abilities that killed Afton’s vampire father.

  There was momentary unease between the two women. Cassie and Benko had been the ones responsible for Afton leaving Earth and entering the horrific Nightshade universe. They had been willing to sacrifice Afton for Shirl’s life.

  “I need to…” Cassie started to apologize before she was cut off.

  “There is no need,” Afton said immediately. It was clear from Cassie’s tone and lowered eyes what her intention had been. “I would have eventually starved to death on Earth and never would have mated with Lorenz. He would have faced eternity alone if you had not used your telepathic gift to trick me into returning to my father’s world.”

  The blond vampire who entered their world with Afton came to her side. This must be her soul mate, Lorenz. Afton raised her head and there was such a look of love on her face, it took Cassie’s breath away. Did she look at Darden that way? It only caused her to long for Darden that much more.

  “And for that,” Lorenz said as he entered the conversation, “we fight to reunite you with your soul mate.”

  Although Cassie had felt guilty about her role in Afton’s abduction, she had not realized how it had weighed her down. Tears of relief and gratitude fell from her eyes. Afton took her into her powerful arms.

  “Don’t worry,” Afton said. “We’ll find Darden. Frazour won’t leave your side until you are once again with your soul mate. Frazour has been a warrior his whole existence. For a period of time, he was so obsessed with killing, his blood brothers considered him more of a feral animal than a man. His mate, Emma, changed everything.”

  Cassie was not sure if she should be relieved or petrified. The bottom-line? If Frazour was helping to free Darden, she wanted him to be a vicious animal.

  Koel wanted to go over the plan several more times. He laid out where each person would enter the Troyk universe and the role they played. This late in the planning period, there were still a number of questions from the participants.

  As far as Cassie was concerned, they were taking too long. Minutes could be the difference between finding Darden alive or dead.

  Chapter 17

  Darden could barely open his right eye. Not that it mattered. It was so dark in his cell, there was nothing to see. Barash had beaten the crap out of him. The orders had supposedly come from the Prime Ruler to make Darden’s incarceration as miserable as possible.

  Jeryl Jarlyn had always wanted to have the ability to control the portal frequencies. He never left the Troyk universe because he trusted no one else to control the wormhole’s harmonics. Even though he was a valued crystal telepath, Jeryl Jarlyn considered Darden expendable. The Prime Ruler wanted him out of Cassie’s life.

  Darden wondered how long they would keep him alive. Barash seemed to get a perverse thrill slamming fists into his face and ribs. During one beating, it felt like Barash was hitting him with some kind of blunt object. He had not been conscious enough to determine if there was a weapon or if it was all his imagination. If not rescued soon, Darden knew he may be beyond any help a med-tech could offer. Troyk medicine could cure just about anything except when the patient bled out or there was major damage to an internal organ.

  Some crystal telepaths treated C.T. Guards as if they were beneath them. Darden never did because Starc had chosen that profession to be near his twin. As far as he was concerned, there was no better man than his brother. He was thrilled when Starc discovered Shirl was his soul mate. Together Starc could navigate the portals with the woman he loved beside him. Although Darden had always treated Barash with respect, his adversary took out his frustration over the disdain of other crystal telepaths out on his hide.

  Chained as he was, Darden was forced to stand. Extreme fatigue set in and he hoped he would dream of Cassie. She was all he thought about, every waking hour. Now he could only think of how to keep the pain at a manageable level. Darden prayed for sleep. It would release his body from the pain and let him be with Cassie.

  He was about to pass out again when a frequency started to play in his mind. It was similar to the sounds produced when he navigated the inter-dimensional portal. There were similarities, but there were also distinct differences.

  Darden had been so focused on what mating would do to Cassie, he had not given his own evolutionary change much thought. The female’s transformations seemed to be more extreme. He never once considered that he might develop any mind control abilities.

  The frequency grew louder in his head as he concentrated his telepathic powers on it, using the same technique he used when his crystal was low in energy. Although he did not possess the crystal physically, the same process should work. There were so many crystals in The Palace. Darden wondered if the mated enhancements he was gifted allowed him to access them, even when not holding one.

  Although his focus was on manipulating the power growing in his mind, Darden did not miss the sound of the metal door scraping against the floor. Barash had returned.

  “Good, you are awake,” Barash commented. “I will not have to wait to pass on our Prime Ruler’s regards. My future bride has disappeared. Do you have any idea where our little Cassie has run off to?”

  Thank the Supreme Being! Tarsea had ordered Shirl to get Cassie out of the Troyk universe, a simple request he made as a backup plan if anything happened to him. It would be easy enough for them to find a crystal Shirl could use. The stone did not have to be charged for her to pull power from it. A mated female crystal telepath could use a simple piece of jewelry and be successful. Jeryl Jarlyn was still unaware of the enormous power Shirl possessed.

  “You will never find her,” Darden growled. “Cassie is safe from both you and her grandfather.”

  “Gatherers have been sent to Gingko Terra and other worlds we have found dissidents over the years,” Barash informed him. “We will find Cassie, and I will rule by her side when the old goat dies. The more he abuses pulling power from the crystals he possesses, the sooner I will rule. He is half-mad already.”

  “Cassie will rule,” Darden said. “You are no one and have no special telepathic gift.”

  Barash slammed his right fist into his side. Darden swallowed the groan from the all-encompassing pain. Fury gleamed in Barash’s eyes. Darden unintentionally fueled Barash’s insecurities concerning his inadequate telepathic gift.

  Darden had seen firsthand how much Chartail was bothered by such treatment. It caused her to plan Jeryl Jarlyn’s death. His focus now should be on his latent powers to see if he could get free himself.

  “Oh, but I have an incentive for Cassie to be a good little girl,” Barash replied.

  It did not take any stretch of the imagination to figure out the bastard meant him. The last thing he wanted was his life to be held over Cassie’s head to force her compliance. He would will himself to die before that happened. However, he was far from surrendering at this point.

  Darden channeled the pain and pulled on the crystals’ power. He imagined himself within the core of the wormhole. When Barash came at him again, Darden focused his power on his adversary’s brain. Contained within the mind was the mechanism that directed motor function. All he had to do was turn off Barash’s ability to move, particularly his right arm.

  He ignored the arm’s forward momentum and concentrated on stopping the fist. Even though it stopped within an inch of his bruised cheek, Darden did not relinquish his assault on Barash’s mind. Darden could feel blood running from his nose, but continued pushing his telepathic power outward.

  Barash’s eyes widened, surprised by his inability to move. “What are you doing? You are not a mind control telepath you do not have the power to control me.”

  He did not bother to argue the point, but pulled in the power of the crystals that had sung to him earlier. Liquid ran down the side of his neck. Darden knew his ears were bleeding, his new telepathic powers too much for his untrained brain. He vowed to continue until Barash was dead at his feet or his own brain hemorrhaged from the strain.

  Blood started to seep from Barash’s head. His hands were cradling his injured skull. Darden could see brain matter starting to seep through the cracks he had created. Again, he refused to stop until one of them was dead.

  Cassie entered the Troyk universe through a special portal Shirl opened. They were the fourth of ten groups that entered this universe with two missions: freeing Darden and unseating the current mind control government. Her group consisted of Frazour, Candy, and six of the settlement’s best fighters. Frazour hand selected them based how each performed during the battle to defeat the Portal Guardians.

  Her father’s only demand when creating the teams was that Candy would accompany Cassie. Having Candy by her side relieved some of her anxiety concerning the mission, but there was plenty to spare. Her blood rushed through her head at such a rapid pace, she could barely hear.

  Her nose was assaulted by the smell of decay and mildew. The stone structure must have a wood base. She was no expert, but she imagined she smelled dry rot, among other things.

  “It really stinks down here,” Candy commented as she covered her nose with her hand.

  They entered the dimension exactly where the subterranean cells were located. To their surprise, the level was empty. The stench would have been overpowering had the human equation been added in.

  “Where are they holding all the criminals they are no longer sending to the penal colony?” Cassie wondered out loud. It was doubtful anyone had an answer. At this point, the information was irrelevant.

  “There should be a door that leads into the lower cells, if any exist,” Candy commented. “We should search the exterior walls for a hidden door or a trigger to open one. That would be the most likely place for an entrance to another level. If we fail, we’ll try searching interior surface structures.”

  Cassie and Candy moved along the wall closest to where they stood. They could easily move past the area where cells hugged the wall. She was not confident they would find what they were looking for. If such a door existed, it would be a known fact another cellblock lay below. With nine people searching, it took no time to determine there was no visible doorway.

  “Let us look for an entrance somewhere in the interior,” Frazour said. “Look for any break in the pattern on the floor, footsteps that exist and then disappear, or anything that just looks odd or off kilter.”

  Once again, Cassie trailed along behind Candy, as they scanned their designated section. Searching the interior was more challenging than the exterior. The few rugs on the floor were pulled back, but nothing indicated there was any entrance to any subterranean area. Cassie grew more frustrated and aggravated as the search continued with nothing to show for their efforts. Could they have been wrong about The Palace? Maybe she should have joined the team searching Crystal Telepathic Headquarters.

  Behind the noise in her head was an underlying frequency. Cassie could barely hear it. It was not a natural tone crystals made, but it sounded as if someone was manipulating the tonality. Not unlike a crystal telepath changing the pitch within a portal. Darden was somewhere close. Cassie knew it!

  “He’s near,” Cassie announced to the group. “There has to be another level and a way down.”

  “There could be an entrance that is not within The Palace, but located somewhere outside,” Frazour said. “It is not uncommon for keeps in the Nightshade universe to have subterranean passages that extend past the structure itself.”

 

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