Chapter Five

When I became aware of the world again, it was to the realization that nothing had changed. Varien was still in the clutches of the Voice; Jonathan and Leanna were still worried; Scott was still confused; and Fred was still suspicious. And S'Lel? He was concerned but looking far less so than the others… and less so than I felt.

Drawing from the strength of his calm, I pulled myself to a sitting position and motioned for Leanna to come near. Jonathan, I noticed immediately, was already sitting near me as if he had not moved since Leanna had put me to sleep. And from the look in his eyes, I suspected that was not far from correct. I gave him a look of gratitude and leaned against the nearby wall as Leanna and S'Lel came to sit with us.

"Has the situation changed?" I asked, eyes flicking away from my small group to Varien for a moment then back.

Leanna shook her head, an expression of deep concern settling over her features. "No. Now that it knows that you know it's there, it's not even bothered to keep up the pretense." She sighed heavily. "I can still feel Varien in there somewhere, but I have not been able to reach him."

I could tell that none of them wanted to ask me to go in again, but they all knew, we all knew, that I was the only one who could. So I saved them having to ask it. "I will try again. Now that I am more rested, I should be able to gain the upper hand."

I could see the worry slide into Jonathan's expression, but he did not say anything. It was a silent signal to me, a statement that he cared what happened to me, even if neither of us could define why we felt as we did. Was any definition of it truly necessary?

I offered him a smile in answer to his look, and patted his arm gently. That was my signal to him that I would be all right, and that I was indeed grateful for his concern. He recognized it and nodded, but I could tell he was still worried. And, frankly, so was I. But he did not need to know that, so I kept it to myself and stood, returning to Varien and looking into his eyes.

I became immediately aware that it was not Varien who was staring back at me through his eyes, but the entity we had come to call The Voice. In those normally-soft depths now rested a malevolent power that was so opposite of everything Varien was that it made me wince just to see it in those eyes. But that moment passed, and my own eyes narrowed.

"You come to try again, do you, Little One?" It sneered at me in his voice. Although the tones were his; they carried the same malevolence that was now in the eyes.

I saw the words for what they were; it was taunting me. And in that same second, I realized something else with crystal clarity. It had chosen to take the only one of them with any form of Psionic Talent, besides Leanna or myself. Why? Would it not have been easier for it to take Fred, or Scott, or even Jonathan before I had shunted him? Again, I surmised Leanna might have some form of defense granted her by her non-Terrestrial heritage. But the others did not have any such thing. So why choose Varien? And why, if it could do this, had it not done this to begin with?

The answer was simple, really. This took much of its strength to maintain, and it only chose this method from a sense of desperation. This was a ruse, an attempt to force me to sacrifice myself to save Varien. And that had indeed been my intent, until I had figured that out.

My eyes narrowed, and I laughed. "You have not played with one of us before, have you?" I taunted in return. "If you had, you'd know that we do not fall so easily into such amateur traps."

I could feel the others exchanging looks. Now they were united in their confusion. The Voice had now focused its entire attention and power on holding Varien. I ignored them and continued to hold his gaze.

He growled at me, but I knew it was not the soft-spoken man I had first met. "I could kill this one!" It spat. "Do you care nothing for him?"

I snorted at it, giving the best performance of my life. "What are you, kidding?" I waved dismissively. "Why should one mortal be of any more importance to me than any other?" I could feel Fred's eyes boring into my back, but I ignored it.

It hesitated, seeming to realize its mistake. It had taken the wrong one. But it could not have taken the right one if my theory was true. I shifted my position, hands on hips. "You care for that Mortal!" It hissed finally, waving toward Jonathan.

I shrugged. "What of it?" I challenged. "You couldn't take him, could you? Even before I placed the shunt." I took a step forward toward Varien's body. "Why not? What stops you?"

It forced Varien to take a step away. "I can take whatever, and whomever, I want!" It protested. "I am-"

"What? What are you?" I challenged again, taking another step forward.

It responded by stepping back again, back coming up against a wall. It did not say anything, but it was losing its hold on its prey. I could again see the fight in Varien's eyes. This time; however, I did not react by MindWeaving. Instead, I continued to speak.

"You are Strrae'hel." I continued. "You are the Bringer Of The Death. You are the One responsible for all of this." I motioned around me at the caverns and, by extension, the people trapped within their walls. "And all for what, Strrae'hel?" I asked. "Power? Prestige?"

He growled again and moved in on me. "You know nothing of me, Reject!" He growled out. "I served my people faithfully! I gave everything for them! And what did they give me? NOTHING!"

Reject? I did not understand what he meant by that, but it was likely just designed to unbalance me, make me easier to defeat in this War of Words. So I ignored it and shook my head. "And that gives you the right to do this?" I asked pointedly. "To trap them like this?" I sighed and backed up a single step. "But it backfired, didn't it?"

"Wait." Interjected Fred, voice confused and yet hard. "You mean he did it on purpose?" I felt him come up alongside of me.

"Yes, Fred. He engineered the disaster that trapped them all here, but I did not realize it at first. Mostly because They didn't know. He was going to trap the leaders and thus make himself Emperor by default. But his plan backfired. The Affect Radius was larger than it was supposed to be, and he was not as protected as he'd thought."

Jonathan came up on my other side. "So now he needs your power to get out of his own trap? Then what?" His eyes were fixed on Varien's.

"Then I would leave this Hell." Strrae'hel answered, but now his words bore no fire. It was over. He knew it.

"That leaves only one question." I heard Leanna say.

"Yes," I continued the thought, "if you could do this all along, why do you need me? Why not just take someone and ride them out? And why that particular host?"

He sighed and slumped against the wall, sliding to sit at my feet. "I need the Psionic Potentials to ride into the mind. But his aren't high enough to break the hold this place has on us."

The others did not understand; I could feel it. But I did. "You've tried it before, haven't you?" I asked.

He nodded mutely.

"And they hit the Doorway, and you end up back here."

Another nod.

"What have you done with Varien?" Fred grated out.

"Nothing." I answered softly as I knelt before Varien. "He's there. He knows if he destroys Varien, I'll have no reason not to destroy this Form . . . and him with it." I explained, eyes holding his. "You've lost, Strrae'hel. Leave him." I commanded.

He laughed at me. "I may not be able to destroy him, but I do not have to let him go either. So you either give me what I want, or he stays here until he, too, joins us."

I paused for a moment, contemplating it. "All right."