reached out toher, pulled her close to my body and envisioned my thought shieldexpanding to surround both of us. I got it up barely in time, amere second before the light from the scan passed over us.
Once it passed, I tried to stand but got verylight-headed, and once more fell to the ground. This time Kellynwas there to slow my fall. “Now what is wrong with me?” Iasked.
“Sir, you overextended yourself by hiding mefrom the scan,” answered Kellyn, who started digging in herpack.
“Sir, from what you have told us I assume youhaven’t used your powers very much before coming here, and sincecoming here you have been using them non-stop. That alone would bepushing your mental strength to the limit, but then to extend yourshield to cover Kellyn …well, until just a minute ago I thoughtthat was impossible. It must have been very difficult, and it hasexhausted you,” stated Darnath.
“Here, sir. This will help clear your head abit,” said Kellyn as she handed me what looked like a bar ofchocolate.
“Candy?” I asked.
“Yes, sir. We discovered a while back thatthere is a chemical compound that your body depletes as you useyour powers. We can manufacture it, but it tastes horrible. So Iprefer to disguise it in candy. It is no substitute for a good mealand rest, but it will help you get by until we can manage that,”answered Kellyn.
After eating the candy bar, I did feel betterand was able to stand. “Amazing, my arm feels like it was neverhurt. No wonder they call you a master healer!” I said. “But how inthe world did I get hurt in the first place?”
“Sorry, sir, I should have known that wouldhappen,” started Darnath. “When I transferred my memory of thebattle to you, your mind completely re-enacted the fight. For mostpeople that is the extent of it, but for those of us who are morepsychically sensitive, the re-enactment often extends to themuscles. You see, when I hit that wall I broke my collarbone, sowhen that happened your body must have had a muscle spasm whichthrew your shoulder out of joint.”
“I see. Well, since that is now all behindus, let’s get moving,” I said. I was not sure how I felt about whathad just happened, not only with my shoulder but also with Kellyn.For the moment I would just move on to the next step and put itaway to think about later. I noticed that Kellyn began walking muchcloser to me after our encounter. She seemed a bit worried aboutme. I wanted to blame her concern on my recent collapse, but theimage burned into my mind was that look of horror I had seen on herface. She saw something when she fixed my shoulder that had hervery worried about me. There was only one thing that I could thinkof which that might be, but surely she did not think she couldfight the dark figure who waited for me?
Chapter Sixteen
We moved out and traveled in silence for awhile. There was something that had been on my mind, and thisseemed like a good time to ask about it. “Major Jerran, when thefirst of the Magi spoke to us, he called his group the Magi; later,when I met you, you also referred to them as the Magi; yet as faras I know Larath coined that name a couple of weeks ago and it wasknown only by a few select members of the Dragon Claw’s crew. Sohow did that name get known here?”
“Sir, forgive me, but the better question is: How did Larath know that name?” was his answer.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“Well, sir, we call them the Magi, becausewhen our telepaths probed them we learned that is what they callthemselves. This was long before even Lieutenant Tom arrived,” heanswered.
“I see your point,” I said and nothingfurther was spoken about that. This was not the first time a threadof information had led back to Larath. What part did he play in allthis? I was still missing some key piece of information. I knewthere was some piece of data that, once known, would shed a lighton the rest of what we knew and would make sense of it. I had noidea where to find it, however. Then I remembered the book Icarried with me. It was written in a language that looked similarto that on the wands. Maybe that was a clue.
“Major, the writing on the wands and staves,do you ever see it elsewhere?” I asked.
“Yes, sir, but only on their clothing andsome of their jewelry,” he answered.
“Then this is not their primary writtenlanguage, I assume?” I prompted.
“No, sir. They have another language forthat. It looks somewhat similar but we cannot read it,” heanswered. He paused a moment then continued, “One of our latemembers could read it. He learned it by telepathically stealing theinformation from one of the Magi, but he was killed before he couldpass it on.”
“If he could do it then can Darnath, Luke, orGafar also do it?” I asked.
“Yes, sir, but not without giving away ourposition to the Magi,” he answered.
“Well, it is good to know it is an option, ifa dangerous one,” I said. I was about to ask about the book when wecaught up with Darnath.
“Sir, this is the last safe place to rest.Just around the corner is an automated security checkpoint. Once wepass that we will be about ninety minutes from the gate, but underconstant threat from patrols and surveillance,” reportedDarnath.
“Okay, then set up camp here and let’s haveone more meal. We do not know when our next chance will be,” Iordered. As everyone got busy I turned to Darnath and asked, “Canwe get by this checkpoint undetected?”
“Yes, sir. We will be able to walk rightthough it. Your thought shield will make you completely invisibleto it, and we have our own methods that work as well,” heanswered.
“How does my thought shield render meinvisible to electronic sensors?” I asked.
“Well, sir, we do not know for sure becausethere is no way to measure or record what happens, but whenpsionics decide to use their powers to hide, they disappear fromall sensors as well. The prevailing theory is that the body’snatural electromagnetic field is somehow being affected, thusrendering the sensors useless,” he answered.
“Interesting. So then let me ask you this, ifI had on my shoulder a standard navy issue medical alert patch andput up my thought shield, what would happen?” I asked.
“Well, sir, the patch would lose its abilityto read you, so all your vital signs would register zero and thepatch would assume you were dead,” he answered. “Sir, I take it youask because that happened?”
“Yes, and that is exactly what happened.Well, at least that mystery is solved,” I said. “Okay, everyonebring me what you were able to get from the storeroom and I willsee if I can figure out how to make a nice bomb.”
“Sir, if you do not mind, I think I shouldtake care of that since I am a demolitions expert,” Major Jerransaid with a hint of fear in his voice. Perhaps he was worried how Iwould react to that statement.
“Absolutely. I have some training, but deferto your superior skill,” I said and passed him all that I had.“Please make a timer that will give us fifteen seconds onceactivated,” I ordered. Then a thought occurred to me. “I shouldhave realized you would have demolitions training. With yourtelekinetic skill you can place the explosives easily with a levelof safety far beyond that of the average person.”
“Yes, sir, all telekinetics are required toget certified as demolitions experts for that very reason,” hereplied and then got to work on sorting out the jumble of parts wehad given him.
“Sir, I need to tell you something more aboutthe path ahead,” said Darnath.
“Speak freely, Darnath,” I prompted.
“Well, sir, the corridor is likely to haveaudio sensors to record any sound. So we will have to be as quietas possible, as our powers will have no impact on such recordings,”he said. He looked like he wanted to say more but kept quiet.
“Go on, Darnath, do not be afraid to talk tome. We are in this together and it is important that we keepcommunications open,” I said.
“Sir, well … if you don’t mind, I will letKellyn explain since it is her idea,” he said.
“Very well, Kellyn, I am all ears,” Iprompted, wondering what was up.
“Well, sir, please forgive us but when wefirst met up with you we weren’t sure what to think of you. Ofcourse we would follow the chain of command, there was no questionabout that; but you were an outsider to us, and we did not know ifwe could truly trust you. We have been imprisoned in this colonyfor a very long time, some of us all our lives, and that does notexactly breed trust for official representatives of the Empire.”She paused here. They
