Chapter Three
How could she have been so stupid! Max had slipped right past her this morning while she slept. Naesado would've been ashamed of her. He had taught her better.
Tess paced the floor, berating herself. She had caught Alex when he stepped off the plan from Sweden about a month ago. She had mind-warpped for several weeks, sending him to Las Crusas to the University of New Mexico. Using their computer lab, she hoped he could interpret the Destiny Book for her.
She knew the book was written in an old indian language. Naesado had told her that much. He had hoped River Dog's tribe could help but they had only been able to point him in the right direction. He had almost closed in on the tribe he had been looking for when he finally found his first solid evidence that led to Max, Michael and Isabel.
She had hoped Alex could find the language at UNM without alerting anyone to her plans. She didn't know how much longer she could use Alex without his mind deteriorating.
She needed that book translated. Naesado had told her not to. He had warned her not to translate the book. He was the only one who was to translate it. She was only to show it to them. He had never said why.
She didn't care. He was dead now. The book would prove to Max they were meant to be together, that their lives here were temporary, that Liz was of no concern. She was sure of it. They would go home - hopefully with a child - and rule once again. Khivar had already promised to allow her and Max to rule - at least in name. That would be a start. Max - she - was meant to rule.
She looked at the clock. It was past three now. All her plans would go down the drain if he had gone off and gotten himself killed. She had other problems too - like her growing attraction to Kyle and her overall feelings toward Earth in general. She was growing attached.
"Where are you, Max!"
For several minutes after the wall had slid back into place, Max had used his powers in every way he could think of to get to Liz. He tried forcing the wall to slide back, he had concentrated on gathering his strength into a powerful ball of energy and using it to strike the wall repeatedly until he collapsed on the floor, his entire body drenched with sweat.
He had tried numerous other tactics too; things he'd known wouldn't work but he'd attempted them anyway. Forcing the wall open was as impossible as hoping on a ship and flying to his real planet. When he finally gathered enough strength, he rose to his feet and headed down the dark corridor.
After what seemed like hours of walking, occasionally calling Liz's name, a sudden sense of deja-vu crept over him. This seemed familiar somehow. The longer he walked, the stronger it became. He had been here before....but when.
This passage had to connect with the one Liz was in somewhere - didn't it? He hoped she had stayed put. There was no telling what was down here.
How could he have let this happen? Why did he trust another shapeshifter? Naesado had rarely done anything but get them into more trouble. He hadn't really shed any light on the hundreds of questions they had had. They hadn't even got to ask most of them. He had hid things from them too. He knew he had. Why hadn't he demanded more answers? Once again he had put Liz in danger by being stupid! He had failed once again to do what he had been born to do!
Blood flowed from four marks on the palm of his hands where his nails dug into his skin. He felt nothing.
Liz hadn't stayed still.
Why didn't you listen to the voice when it told you to run? For thirtieth time in the last hour, that thought ran through his mind. The answer was always the same: Because she had trusted Tic-Tac. She still did.
There was a reasonable explanation for all this. She was certain of it. She had never been comfortable around Naesado, never felt any sense of goodness emanating from him at all. The feeling she'd felt around Tic-Tac was the same one she expected to feel around a pope. He had had a priestly feel about him - for lack of a better explanation.
They were supposed to do something down here - seperately. She just wished she knew what that something was. The least he could've done was give them something to light their way with. It was pitch black down here.
At least the ground was level. She had only tripped once and that had been over a log or something. She wished she could see. River Dog and his tribe might have used these passages for something. They could be covered ancient writing or symbols and she was missing it.
It was still hard to think about indian tribes of any kind without thinking of Grandma Claudia. She still hadn't read all of her book. Every time she picked it up, she was forced to quit reading after a few pages. It had been a year and a half since she had passed away. Even though they had been close - as close as a granddaughter can be to her grandmother - she hadn't dreamed it would still be as painful as it was after so much time had passed.
Liz gasped. Why hadn't she asked him about Grandma Claudia? Had he mind warped her, made her forget why she'd been so intrigued to come here in the first place? He was playing some kind of game for sure. She still doubted it was sinister.
She suddenly stopped. Had she seen light? After waiting a few moments to see if it would appear again, she shook her head. It must have been her eyes playing tricks on her. Taking a few more steps, she saw it again. This time she was sure she hadn't imagined it. Picking up her pace, she jogged onward. She rounded the corner and stopped, her eyes growing wide in amazement.
A shaft of light had found it's way through a large crack in the ceiling. Something up there was keeping the light from streaming through permanently. What it was she couldn't tell. She really wasn't interested at the moment either. Something else held her attention now - something beautiful.
Atop a tripod made of the shiniest quartz she'd ever seen, sat a huge crystal ball. It was easily the size of three basketballs. When a direct ray of light hit the beautiful artifact, it was nearly blinding. She could now hear soft voices, whispering to her. At first, she couldn't determine where they were coming from. They seemed to be coming from the right, then the left, behind her and then from inside her head.
Finally, she pinpointed the voices' origins. They were coming from the crystal ball itself! "Come closer.", it urged her. "See what is never to be see. Travel the River Of Time."
"Already did.", Liz said, feeling stupid talking to a glass ball. "I'm still paying for the last sneak preview."
The voices pressed on. "The key lies in the past - not the future. You must see - you must understand - for yourself."
Before she realized it, her legs were moving, carrying her closer to the crystal ball. She could see inside it now. What appeared to be gases of many different colors swirled madly inside, each one devouring the other over and over again. Warily, she reached out to touch the orb, placing her hands on both sides of it. She almost jerked them back when the swirling madness inside dissipated at her touch.
She suddenly had the feeling she was being sucked into the crystal ball, as if the orb was growing larger - or maybe she was shrinking. Without removing her hands, she glanced at her surroundings. She was relieved to find she was the appropriate size. Nothing had changed. Returning her gaze back to the orb, she saw a reddish-brown dot deep in the orb. Within seconds, the dot was ten times its original size, then fifty times...hundred times and then.....
"What is that?", she asked, not expecting an answer.
"Antar.", came the reply. "1665."
His legs felt like he had cinder blocks strapped to the bottom of them. His lungs were on fire and his throat was raw from screaming her name. Finally, he stumbled and fell.
He had stumbled and fell a dozen times already but he had gotten back up. This time he didn't have the strength.
As Max had continued down the dark corridor, the sense of having been here before had grown and grown. He had never discovered where this scenerio had taken place at before but he knew Liz was in serious trouble. His fears were realized when he heard Liz's voice calling for him over and over, asking for help. He had started running and calling her name back.
He didn't know if his eyes had adjusted to the dark or what but he could actually see where he was going. He could see the outline of the cave now. At one point, the cave had been illumanated by a strange light. He hadn't known where it came from and he hadn't cared, especially when he had caught a glimpse of Liz as she rounded a corner ahead of him.
Her beauty took his breath away. He had forgotten how beautiful she was. He had called her name but she hadn't answered. That small glimpse had reenergized him and he had ran faster than he had ever thought possible.
He had never seen her again. The light was gone now too as he lay flat on his back, staring into the nothingness above him. He could still hear Liz calling for him but he had no strength to move.
How could she have been so stupid! Max had slipped right past her this morning while she slept. Naesado would've been ashamed of her. He had taught her better.
Tess paced the floor, berating herself. She had caught Alex when he stepped off the plan from Sweden about a month ago. She had mind-warpped for several weeks, sending him to Las Crusas to the University of New Mexico. Using their computer lab, she hoped he could interpret the Destiny Book for her.
She knew the book was written in an old indian language. Naesado had told her that much. He had hoped River Dog's tribe could help but they had only been able to point him in the right direction. He had almost closed in on the tribe he had been looking for when he finally found his first solid evidence that led to Max, Michael and Isabel.
She had hoped Alex could find the language at UNM without alerting anyone to her plans. She didn't know how much longer she could use Alex without his mind deteriorating.
She needed that book translated. Naesado had told her not to. He had warned her not to translate the book. He was the only one who was to translate it. She was only to show it to them. He had never said why.
She didn't care. He was dead now. The book would prove to Max they were meant to be together, that their lives here were temporary, that Liz was of no concern. She was sure of it. They would go home - hopefully with a child - and rule once again. Khivar had already promised to allow her and Max to rule - at least in name. That would be a start. Max - she - was meant to rule.
She looked at the clock. It was past three now. All her plans would go down the drain if he had gone off and gotten himself killed. She had other problems too - like her growing attraction to Kyle and her overall feelings toward Earth in general. She was growing attached.
"Where are you, Max!"
For several minutes after the wall had slid back into place, Max had used his powers in every way he could think of to get to Liz. He tried forcing the wall to slide back, he had concentrated on gathering his strength into a powerful ball of energy and using it to strike the wall repeatedly until he collapsed on the floor, his entire body drenched with sweat.
He had tried numerous other tactics too; things he'd known wouldn't work but he'd attempted them anyway. Forcing the wall open was as impossible as hoping on a ship and flying to his real planet. When he finally gathered enough strength, he rose to his feet and headed down the dark corridor.
After what seemed like hours of walking, occasionally calling Liz's name, a sudden sense of deja-vu crept over him. This seemed familiar somehow. The longer he walked, the stronger it became. He had been here before....but when.
This passage had to connect with the one Liz was in somewhere - didn't it? He hoped she had stayed put. There was no telling what was down here.
How could he have let this happen? Why did he trust another shapeshifter? Naesado had rarely done anything but get them into more trouble. He hadn't really shed any light on the hundreds of questions they had had. They hadn't even got to ask most of them. He had hid things from them too. He knew he had. Why hadn't he demanded more answers? Once again he had put Liz in danger by being stupid! He had failed once again to do what he had been born to do!
Blood flowed from four marks on the palm of his hands where his nails dug into his skin. He felt nothing.
Liz hadn't stayed still.
Why didn't you listen to the voice when it told you to run? For thirtieth time in the last hour, that thought ran through his mind. The answer was always the same: Because she had trusted Tic-Tac. She still did.
There was a reasonable explanation for all this. She was certain of it. She had never been comfortable around Naesado, never felt any sense of goodness emanating from him at all. The feeling she'd felt around Tic-Tac was the same one she expected to feel around a pope. He had had a priestly feel about him - for lack of a better explanation.
They were supposed to do something down here - seperately. She just wished she knew what that something was. The least he could've done was give them something to light their way with. It was pitch black down here.
At least the ground was level. She had only tripped once and that had been over a log or something. She wished she could see. River Dog and his tribe might have used these passages for something. They could be covered ancient writing or symbols and she was missing it.
It was still hard to think about indian tribes of any kind without thinking of Grandma Claudia. She still hadn't read all of her book. Every time she picked it up, she was forced to quit reading after a few pages. It had been a year and a half since she had passed away. Even though they had been close - as close as a granddaughter can be to her grandmother - she hadn't dreamed it would still be as painful as it was after so much time had passed.
Liz gasped. Why hadn't she asked him about Grandma Claudia? Had he mind warped her, made her forget why she'd been so intrigued to come here in the first place? He was playing some kind of game for sure. She still doubted it was sinister.
She suddenly stopped. Had she seen light? After waiting a few moments to see if it would appear again, she shook her head. It must have been her eyes playing tricks on her. Taking a few more steps, she saw it again. This time she was sure she hadn't imagined it. Picking up her pace, she jogged onward. She rounded the corner and stopped, her eyes growing wide in amazement.
A shaft of light had found it's way through a large crack in the ceiling. Something up there was keeping the light from streaming through permanently. What it was she couldn't tell. She really wasn't interested at the moment either. Something else held her attention now - something beautiful.
Atop a tripod made of the shiniest quartz she'd ever seen, sat a huge crystal ball. It was easily the size of three basketballs. When a direct ray of light hit the beautiful artifact, it was nearly blinding. She could now hear soft voices, whispering to her. At first, she couldn't determine where they were coming from. They seemed to be coming from the right, then the left, behind her and then from inside her head.
Finally, she pinpointed the voices' origins. They were coming from the crystal ball itself! "Come closer.", it urged her. "See what is never to be see. Travel the River Of Time."
"Already did.", Liz said, feeling stupid talking to a glass ball. "I'm still paying for the last sneak preview."
The voices pressed on. "The key lies in the past - not the future. You must see - you must understand - for yourself."
Before she realized it, her legs were moving, carrying her closer to the crystal ball. She could see inside it now. What appeared to be gases of many different colors swirled madly inside, each one devouring the other over and over again. Warily, she reached out to touch the orb, placing her hands on both sides of it. She almost jerked them back when the swirling madness inside dissipated at her touch.
She suddenly had the feeling she was being sucked into the crystal ball, as if the orb was growing larger - or maybe she was shrinking. Without removing her hands, she glanced at her surroundings. She was relieved to find she was the appropriate size. Nothing had changed. Returning her gaze back to the orb, she saw a reddish-brown dot deep in the orb. Within seconds, the dot was ten times its original size, then fifty times...hundred times and then.....
"What is that?", she asked, not expecting an answer.
"Antar.", came the reply. "1665."
His legs felt like he had cinder blocks strapped to the bottom of them. His lungs were on fire and his throat was raw from screaming her name. Finally, he stumbled and fell.
He had stumbled and fell a dozen times already but he had gotten back up. This time he didn't have the strength.
As Max had continued down the dark corridor, the sense of having been here before had grown and grown. He had never discovered where this scenerio had taken place at before but he knew Liz was in serious trouble. His fears were realized when he heard Liz's voice calling for him over and over, asking for help. He had started running and calling her name back.
He didn't know if his eyes had adjusted to the dark or what but he could actually see where he was going. He could see the outline of the cave now. At one point, the cave had been illumanated by a strange light. He hadn't known where it came from and he hadn't cared, especially when he had caught a glimpse of Liz as she rounded a corner ahead of him.
Her beauty took his breath away. He had forgotten how beautiful she was. He had called her name but she hadn't answered. That small glimpse had reenergized him and he had ran faster than he had ever thought possible.
He had never seen her again. The light was gone now too as he lay flat on his back, staring into the nothingness above him. He could still hear Liz calling for him but he had no strength to move.