The Sands of Time Ch 39

 

"Arrest her."

"Whaaa...?"

Joon watched as two soldiers took Hillier into custody. Who still appeared as the old man Valerus. He glared at them and spit in Rachel's direction. Rachel waited until they had hustled her out before resuming her conversation. 

"We grow the crystals here. Or, I should say, they grow here. We have very little to do with it."

"Is this necessary?" Joon asked. He was referring to Hillier's arrest. 

"Well, I think so. She's a shapechanger, you tell me. She could duplicate any of us at any time. It seems to me you've been a little careless with her. Leo was a friend." 

"I know. We have this though," he held up the control unit for the inhibitor collar. "She had a nice long taste of it."

"Well, fine, but nevertheless." 

They were silent for a moment. 

"The crystals?" Joon prompted. 

"Yes. About a day from here. Over the mountains is something we call the Mound. Crystals grow there freely. It's really something." 

Joon had no words. 

"I would take you there if there were time." 

"I would like to." 

"We may have time, you know," she said wryly. "If they close this down, we may have nothing but time here." 

"That's the thing," Joon replied. "We need to get back before they close it, or troops get here." 

"What about my people?"

"I can't tell you what to do there," Joon said. "Valerus wanted to get the crystal and get back, so he or Stella or whoever could make a decision."

"Leo would never close this unless things were... bad."

"I agree. But they are bad. We're getting Incursions."

"What do the Directors want?"

"Well, no one knows. There seem to be two factions, as we've discussed. We need to get back." 

"I'm coming, too. I'm not getting stuck here and I need to know what's happening."

"Okay. When are you ready?"

"Let's get that crystal."

She led the way upstairs to a tidy but dusty room. There was a bed and dresser, several chairs. A cool night breeze blew in through an open window. They could hear night sounds that were different from Earth, yet similar. 

"This is where Valerus stayed when he was here." 

Rachel moved the dresser aside to reveal a compartment and drew forth a steel lockbox. Producing a key, she opened it. Within was a large object wrapped in cloth. She held it aloft and looked gravely at Joon. 

"Very few people have ever seen one of these." 

Joon nodded. 

She unwrapped it carefully, and Joon held his breath as she revealed the ithyri crystal. It was like the one on Ymir but this one was alive. Luminescent colors filled the room, moonlight reflected and refracted through the prisms, filling the room with illumination. And music. 

"Leo thought they were alive," Rachel breathed. 

The music was faint but he could feel it in his bones. He felt better, as if the music were healing him. It was refreshing. Calming. Soothing. 

She rewrapped it after a time. 

"Dare we take this back?" she asked. 

"I don't know. How does it work?"

"It... somehow attunes to the Gate, makes it easier to manage, makes everything easier. Valerus knew it best. There's so much we don't know...

She slammed her fist down on a table. 

"I know. Why does Hillier think she knows so much about Gates?" 

"Her people have been using them to explore the universe for years. The multiverse. It was only a matter of time before we crossed paths. You have some of Leo's papers, yes? He did extensive reporting on them." 

He could hear activity below. Something was going on. 

"I have to start doing calculations. We should get moving." 

Joon nodded and they began to descend. Someone met them on the way up. 

"We have a problem." 

"What is it," asked Rachel. 

"The Gate. It's doing something... odd."

They hurried outside to see the gateway giving off random pulses of light. Strobing patterns. Then it stopped, looking almost inert. Then the patterns again. 

"What is happening?" asked Maia as she ran out. 

"Could they be coming through?" Joon asked. 

"I don't think so," Rachel yelled. There was a loud humming as well. 

Joon had a sudden thought. 

Hillier.