Part 7
"We've searched the entire base," Salle reported in Upper Antaran.
"Are you sure?" Maria asked nervously. "Everywhere?"
"Yes. Everywhere. However, a couple of the guards were found drugged, and they don't remember anything. Felee and Jarret are missing as well."
"Felee and Jarret, too?" Maria squeaked. "I bet Jarret was walking with Liz on one of her strolls, and Felee has never really liked Liz anyway. You know he thinks Tess—er, Ava—should be queen."
"I don't think we should be jumping to such conclusions just yet." Salle looked at Maria harshly.
She shrank back, whispering, "Sorry."
"Well, we're all a little tense right now," Salle said more comfortingly.
Serena pressed her lips together so hard they were almost turning white.
"Are you alright?" One of Salle's attendants asked.
"I just… have… a bit of a headache…" Serena's voice trailed off until it was almost inaudible.
"I should take you to Kaia," the attendant said.
"Maria…" Serena's eyelids fluttered, and the girl rushed to her side, despite waddling somewhat because of her pregnancy.
Maria bent down a little bit to slide her arm around Serena's waist to help support her. "Serena? What is it?"
"I think Liz… is trying to contact me." She sat down on one of the low wall benches. "Has she ever contacted anyone besides Max?"
Maria bit her lip, thinking. "I don't—I don't think so. Why? Is it much different?"
"Hmm?" Serena's silver eyelids were closed as she leaned back against the cool, smooth stone.
"I don't understand." Maria's voice lay heavy in the air, full of fear as Salle and his current attendants huddled around the two women.
"Salle," Serena murmured, gesturing at him to explain.
"It's a different wavelength," he began, furrowing his brow. "Contacting one person is different from contacting any other person. It taxes both persons' resources to try to contact—well, since Marua Leese is not used to focusing in on different people, she may be contacting both Serena and her husband at the same time."
"What's Liz telling you, Serena?" Maria looked to the one she knew best in the group.
"It's fuzzy, but I think—I know Kivar's men have her."
"Where is she?" Salle demanded. Then, more calmly: "What else can you see?"
"She is so scared. Liz wants to protect her baby, and she's so scared."
* * *
"You're sure?" Tess asked Max.
"Of course he's sure," Michael interjected. "So where's this gateway?"
"It's on Antar," Max began slowly.
"Let's go then." Michael started towards the door.
"Whoa, there, space boy." Tess shot him a look.
"It's not that simple, Michael." Max rubbed his temples.
"I'm—I just want to help them, you know?" He sat down on the couch next to Max dejectedly.
Tess came over and, sitting on the armrest, put her arm around his shoulders. Michael just sighed.
"What were you trying to tell us earlier, Max?" Tess asked.
"I'm not sure exactly where on Antar it is, but it's not safe. Not only do we not speak their language, we would be in Kivar's territory."
"You don't remember?" Tess asked disbelievingly.
"What do you mean?" Michael turned to look at her.
"Our language. I guess I just thought… that we all remembered, all four of us." Max and Michael stared at her. "It didn't even occur to me."
"And that took you nine years to figure out?" Michael raised an eyebrow.
"Well, it came back kind of slow, and I was caught up in other things." They continued to stare. "Sorry."
"So you can mindwarp them to make us look like Skins, and you can speak for all three of us." Max was already back on task. "We need to figure out how to get there without Kivar or any of his followers knowing."
"Maybe we could meet one of the rebels there," Tess put in.
"But how would we contact them?" Michael asked.
Tess looked over to Max, asking, "Wasn't Liz trying to contact you? Do you think you could contact her?"
"It's a one-way thing, like when Isabel dreamwalks people. Though others can help her, Liz has to initiate the connection herself."
"She's bound to contact you soon, especially once we get to Antar, where she can feel your presence," Michael said.
"We need the crystal before we can even think about Antar," Max told them.
"You mean like the one Serena used?" Tess asked.
"Yeah."
"So where's this crystal, Maxwell?" Michael raised his eyebrows in question.
"All I know is that it's somewhere in the granilith chamber."
The three of them were silent for a moment.
"We have to have the crystal before any of this other stuff can work, right?" Tess looked from Max to Michael and back.
"Well, basically…" Max began.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's get Kyle, Isabel, and Alex and start looking."
* * *