Sought(146)
“It’s possible, all right. Using that.” Xairn nodded at the viewscreen and Kat followed his gesture involuntarily. What she saw was incredibly strange. There appeared to be a dark silvery-blue, swirling hole somehow cut into the fabric of space. Not just a hole, she thought, still staring. It’s like a funnel or a spout. Like water circling the drain in a bathtub—the biggest bathtub in the universe.
“What’s that?” Lauren sounded as awed as Kat felt. “Is it a black hole?”
Xairn made a strange, deep rumbling sound from low in his chest that made Kat drag her eyes away from the strange sight on the viewscreen. After a moment, she realized the big Scourge warrior was laughing. It was a rusty sound, as though he didn’t laugh very often, but kind of nice anyway.
“Of course not,” he said, one corner of his mouth twitching with amusement. “If it were, our ship would have been broken to bits and sucked in by its huge gravitational pull even before we saw it. That, Lauren, is an inter-dimensional gateway. A wormhole.”
“A wormhole? And you’re going to fly us into it?”
“Through it,” Xairn corrected. “We’ll be at the Maw Cluster instantaneously. After we conduct our business there, we can find another to take us home—your home anyway. That sector is full of them and the star charts indicate several that will bring us back to your solar system.”
“I don’t know…” Lauren looked doubtful.
“I do.” Xairn closed his eyes for a moment and his entire body tensed. “Can’t you feel that? My father is out there somewhere, not far behind. He’s seeking someone or something else now, but the moment he captures it he’ll turn his attention to us.”
Lauren looked over her shoulder fearfully although there was nothing but the back of the ship to see. “He’s after us? You mean in a ship?”
“He’s pursing with his mind.” Xairn made a face. “I can hear him whispering to me. Urging me to bring you back to him… Gods!” He pounded one huge fist on the steering yoke. “We have to get away before it’s too late.”
“All right.” Lauren’s face had gone pale but she began strapping herself into the safety harness with determination. “All right, Xairn. Get us out of here.”
His grip on the controls tightened and the look of concentration on his face was frightening in its intensity. “Hold on. Traversing a wormhole is rough business.”
We have to go! Lock’s voice in Kat’s head startled her. She’d been so caught up in the interaction between Lauren and Xairn that she’d almost forgotten what was going on. Kat, we have to go, Lock said again. If they take us with them through the wormhole, we might never get back to our physical forms.
Got it. Kat gave herself a mental shake. Let’s get out of here, grab Deep and go.
Rising up through the skin of the ship, she found herself in the darkness of space once more. Deep? Where is he? She felt a moment of panic and then she saw the bright silver streak of his spirit zipping around, just inches away from the seeking black smudge of the AllFinger’s tentacle. God, how was he doing that? Staying one step ahead of the evil like that? Kat felt her heart, thousands of light years away, jump in fear as she saw the tendril of darkness almost catch him just before he skipped away.
Deep, she called. Deep, come back to us! We know what’s going on with Lauren. Let’s go home.
Can’t. His mental voice was hoarse with exhaustion. He’ll feel it. He’ll know there’s more than one of us if I join you two. Can’t risk it.
Yes, you can, Brother! Come! Lock demanded, but his command had no effect on the brilliantly darting light that was Deep’s spirit.
You’ll have to go without me. I can’t distract the AllFather and hold you here much longer anyway.
Don’t you dare let us go while we’re still separated! Kat raged at him. We need you, Deep. Lock needs you and he’s going to need you even more after I’m gone.
I’m sorry, little Kat. But I—
Just then there was a blast of light from the direction of the wormhole. Momentarily distracted, Kat turned her attention to it just in time to see the small silver ship circling the wide funnel like a toy boat being sucked down a vast drain. My God, she thought. Can they survive that? They’re going to—
Deep! Lock’s mental voice was filled with such anguish that Kat felt it like a knife in her heart. From the corner of her eye she saw something that made her scream in sorrow and disbelief.
The bright, flitting light had flown too close to the black tentacle of darkness. As she and Lock watched, an oily, black, many-armed cloud erupted around it and began to engulf it, like an octopus snaring its prey. For a moment the light seemed to be straining to pull free, struggling away from the tentacles until only one of them had a grip on it. No, not just a light—that’s Deep, Kat thought numbly. Deep, please no! Not now. Not when I finally know that you really do care for me. That you love me the same way I love you! Please!