Chapter Three

The first thing I registered as consciousness returned was that I was now lying on the stone floor, something cushioning my head. The second thing that made itself known was that there were several voices talking in hushed but intense voices a short distance away. They were not the voices of the Others or the One as I was not touching the wall any longer, and They did not seem to talk to me except when I was doing so . . . as though the floor did not create the same connection as the wall did. Interesting. I tucked that bit of knowledge away for future contemplation and opened my eyes slowly.

This showed me first S'Lel who was sitting right in front of my face, watching me sleep. Almost as though he were standing guard over me or watching me so that he could warn his Mistress when I woke. But since he did not move, I surmised that he was either guarding me or assessing me. I reached up gently to scratch behind his ears, and he gave me a soft purr in response before moving off to sit beside Leanna.

The next thing I saw was the group, Willaway included, sitting close together discussing something. Apparently, they either did not want me to hear their discussion or they wished not to wake me given the whispered quality of their voices. So, for the moment, I remained silent and contemplated the things I had seen and heard to this point.

The cushioning beneath my head was the leather jacket Willaway had been wearing when I had first met him. He had folded it neatly and placed it to act as a pillow sometime before going to speak with the others. I must have indeed been exhausted since I had not felt him leave or perform this gentle service. I smiled slightly and closed my eyes again to think.

"You mean you trust her, Varien?" Fred's voice reached my awareness, interrupting my thoughts and making me stop and actually try to listen to the conversation.

Varien sighed. "With the kind of power she has, Fred, if she wanted to harm us, she would have done so long ago." He answered softly.

"And if you're wrong about her? What if she's in with that . . . Voice?"

Now that was a bit paranoid wasn't it? I thought, holding still and listening as Leanna spoke.

"You think she is?"

Another sigh, this time the doctor. "I don't know. But it all just seems . . . too convenient. I mean, it's talking to her, she broke all of us out of here, and she's the only one who seems to know the way out. Doesn't that sound a little off to any of you?" He pointed out.

Okay, gotta give him that point. I thought as I tried not to sigh. If I had been in his position, I might have come to the same conclusion.

"And she was the only one who could help Willaway there." He added, finishing his list of evidence.

I could feel Communication between S'Lel and Leanna, then I heard the cat pad over to me. He did nothing at first, but after a few seconds, he tapped my arm with his paw to get me to open my eyes. He knew I was awake even if the others did not. When my eyes opened and met his, I heard his soft voice in my thoughts.

They doubt because they do not understand. His thoughts were clear, ordered, not the random images and feelings of the cat he appeared to be, though they did have a sort of purred quality to them. Interesting, so the feline was more than he seemed. I had thought as much, but until now, I had not been able to prove it. I wondered if he had ever talked to the others besides Leanna.

I held his gaze. And how can I make them understand, S'Lel? I asked softly.

For a moment, he merely sat there before me, staring into my eyes. Then, his voice came again in my mind. Show them what you are. Varien speaks of your power, but they do not grasp the scope of it. Show them why you cannot give the Voice what He wants. He advised. Then he was gone, padding back to sit beside Leanna. His gold eyes held on me for one more long moment, then they closed, and he laid down as if he were sleeping.

At first, I laid perfectly still, processing what he had said. Shows of such power were normally not done since they often had the reverse of the desired affect. But the Feline knew these people better than I did, so I decided to follow his judgment and slowly stood, taking Willaway's jacket with me as I approached and sat beside him. I handed him back his jacket and looked to the others who had all fallen silent when I joined them.

Fred still looked suspicious; Varien looked tired and frustrated; Leanna looked curious; and Willaway looked simply relieved and hopeful. I sighed and started by locking eyes with each for a second before actually speaking. When I did speak, my voice was soft and calm, carrying gentleness and warmth to them. I meant them no harm, and I needed them to believe that.

I only hoped S'Lel was right.

"Varien, you have likely guessed what the Voice wants from me, yes?" I began, eyes holding his.

He remained silent for a moment as he studied me. "Yes. He likely wants your power. Though I'm not sure what good it would do him in his current state . . ."

"Current state?" Fred interjected. "What d'you mean by that?"

Varien shook his head. "I don't know exactly . . . just a sense." His eyes took on a far-away look for a moment then came back to focus on me.

I did not directly answer that yet. "I have discovered something very unique about this system of caves." I offered, eyes still holding Varien's, watching his reactions to my next words carefully. He could likely sense the life in this place, but could not define it. I was about to give him the key to that particular puzzle . . . and open a whole new can of worms with Fred. "This place was once inhabited. They had a great war which saturated their atmosphere with radiation. To escape it, they moved into these tunnels. The problem with that was that the particular radiation that saturated the land caused an unforeseen effect."

"They became part of this place." Varien murmured almost distantly, focusing on me again then. "Didn't they?"

I nodded. "Yes." A sigh. "There are many here. I cannot even begin to calculate their numbers. Most are simply desirous of leaving, being freed of their stone prison and returned to their former Form."

"But the Voice doesn't want that?" Leanna put forth.

I shook my head. "There is One voice which leads the Others here. He has shown me the way out. That is how I knew which way to go. The Voice that threatens is also stronger than the Others. But He wishes to rule Them, to dominate Them."

"And for that," Willaway ground out, "He needs your power." He sighed heavily and looked disgusted. "It never changes! New world, same old greed!" He sighed heavily again and shook his head.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. These people were just like every other Mortal Race I had encountered so far in my travels. But it was sad to see.

"Yes. He knows that with my Power, he can dominate. They know that with my Power, they can be freed. And the One . . . He simply wishes to protect all of us and his Children."

For several minutes, the group sat silently, contemplating what had been said. Finally, Fred, the voice of skepticism, looked at me, eyes narrowed. He was still suspicious, and I could not blame him. Of all of them, I seemed to have all the answers and all the Power. What else was he supposed to think since he could not Scan me to be sure of which side I was on.

"How do we know it isn't a trick?" He accused.

Varien sighed. Leanna looked between us as though she wished to hear how I would answer his charge. Willaway shook his head and looked as though he wanted to apologize to me for Fred's behavior.

"A valid question." I answered softly, the warm kindness still in my tones. "And the answer is simply that you don't. If I do nothing, you have no evidence to prove my loyalty to one side or the other save my word that I am leading you out. And if I show you my Power, then you have reason to fear what I can do rather than trust me. Either way, you get out and I look bad." I stood and stepped away from them. "Tell me, Fred, would it ease your mind to see the Power the Voice seeks? Would it make a difference in your judging of me to know that I have not given Him what he asks of me? Or would you still like me to give it to Him and hope that He is as benevolent as I have shown myself to be?" My words were a challenge, and I knew it.

S'Lel looked up at me. I was not exactly following his advice, but close enough. I had added a wrinkle he had not anticipated. But the answer to my challenge would tell both of us much about the young physician.

Fred stared hard at me for several long moments before shaking his head. "You're right." He finally said, sounding slightly less suspicious but slightly miffed. "I don't have any way of proving your loyalty. And a show of power only proves that he's right . . . that you have power. It wouldn't prove how you would use that power." He sighed.

"Besides," Leanna offered in her gentle voice, "she helped Jonathan. She didn't have to." Her light blue eyes came up to hold mine. "That's enough for me." She was almost absently scratching S'Lel behind the ears, but I could tell it was a statement to me. It meant besides, S'Lel likes her. That says a lot.

Willaway stood and faced me. He seemed to be studying me for a moment, or maybe just the look in my eyes. After that moment, he asked softly, "Why did you help me?" It was not a suspicious challenge as Fred's questions had been. It was more of the scientist in him showing itself in the curiosity of that question. Leanna had brought up a good point. I did not have to. And yet, I had.

The problem was that I really could not answer it. I had only known at the time that it hurt to see him in such pain and that I would have done anything to take the pain from his eyes. The 'why' of that still eluded even me; however. So how was I supposed to explain to him what I, myself, did not fully understand?

"In truth," I said softly, "my actions were borne of feeling rather than thought." I reached out and touched his shoulder gently, unconscious of the movement. "You were in pain, and I . . . needed to ease it. So I did." It was as simple as that and as complex as that.

His eyes flicked to my hand on his shoulder then back up to hold my eyes. Only then did I register that I had placed my hand there. I gave the shoulder a gentle squeeze then removed my hand, but my eyes remained locked with his. I wanted him to see the Truth in them. The eyes were always the Tellers of Truths.

"Thank you." He murmured after that moment of searching my eyes and finding my Truth. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you."

"Yes, how did you do it?" Fred asked, rising and approaching us. This time; however, the question held no challenge, only the curiosity of the physician.

My eyes slid to him. This was a question I could answer. "I gave It what It wanted." I said with a mischievous smirk.

"What?" Varien was on his feet and in Alert Mode instantly. Likewise, Leanna was up and ready in an instant.

I raised a hand and shook my head. "Do not worry. I only mean that I gave Him a taste of it by creating a shunt in Jonathan's mind which would return what He sent to Jonathan to Him." I paused for effect, the smirk returning along with a glint in my eyes. "At twice the strength He sent it."

Everyone stood silent for several long moments, then Fred actually laughed. "Teach the creep to ask for her Power, I guess!" He shook his head and moved away to gather his things; we would need to move on soon.

The others chuckled as well and moved off to follow Fred's example. Willaway; however, remained. "It's funny," he muttered as we returned to where we had slept and he squatted down to put things back in his bag, "normally, I don't like people poking around in my head." He looked up at me for a moment then away as he zipped the blue-and-white bag he carried. "But somehow, I feel comforted that you were there."

I squatted down beside him and put my hand on his arm. This time, I was fully aware of the gesture. When he looked over to me, I smiled warmly. "I'm glad I could help." The smile faded somewhat, and I looked down at the bag just to have something to look at except for those gentle eyes as I added, "I'm just sorry I got you into that to begin with."

There was silence for a moment as he thought about that, and I could imagine the frown sliding over his features. "You didn't get me into it." He corrected. "I walked in when we crossed into that last Zone."

I shook my head. "I mean because He wants my Power, and He senses that I care what happens to you." I corrected gently, still not meeting his gaze.

"A thing which, while I don't understand why it's true, I'm grateful for." He murmured more to himself than to me. He reached out then and gently lifted my chin so that I was looking at him once more. "But that's not something to be ashamed of." He counseled gently. "You're a kind and caring person, and those are rare qualities. You cannot be held responsible for his greed and avarice."

His words were so kind, and they made me smile. Even more so because I knew he was speaking his Truth. "Thank you, Jonathan."

He nodded, smiled, and stood. We both rejoined the others, and I led them down the beginning of the next leg of our journey.