“Thanks, Jane. And yes, you’re right. That’s all true. However, if I had gone straight for him, I might have been able to put a stop to this before it even began.”
Jane looked at him, her eyes full of wisdom and a confidence that months ago she could not have imagined possessing. “I don’t know everything that’s going on in that vast mind of yours. Nor do I know what’s happening within the ranks of your own kind—your people. However, at this point I think I know you well enough to suspect that you doubt even yourself in this case.” She paused for a moment, then leaned in toward him, trying to catch his eye. “Could you really have stopped him?”
Max turned toward her and his brow furrowed ever so slightly. Then his eyes grew distant as he glanced down at the sand. “Maybe,” he said. “Then again, maybe not. And if I hadn’t succeeded, I would have lost this mortal life from the outset.”
“Exactly. And then we would have been completely lost. At least as things are now, we have a fighting chance. You talked about fighting him on the psychic plane. You said we weren’t strong enough to help you.” Jane paused. Slowly, his head tilted up and his eyes met hers. “Are you absolutely sure about that?”
He held her gaze for a moment in silence. Then a trace of a smile appeared on his lips. “Quite sure. Though…there may be ways you can help.”
Jane nodded sternly and returned her attention to the tower. The energy at the tip, which previously had been a dim light, grew brighter. With every second, the stark, coral-like illumination became clearer. She frowned. “What’s happening to it?”
“He’s starting. The Ethereals’ powers have been thoroughly exhausted, though he’ll keep them there with him; they’ll provide him with a small amount of energy. It will take time for him to summon enough of the substance we talked about to open the gateway.”
“Similar to the one we experienced with the Machine?”
Max shook his head. “No. That was too unstable. It wasn’t built specifically to reach the Nexus. In a sense, I suppose the Nexus allowed itself to be found because it was you who reached out for it.” He glanced at her. “It trusted you, Jane.” Now, Max took a brief look at her right hand, then lifted his gaze back to the horizon. “It doesn’t trust him, so he’s built something capable of violating the laws of the nature. The gateway will immediately intersect all the planes of existence at once, in effect, leading him straight to the Nexus.”
“And all in the name of power, right?”
“Yes.”
Jane sighed. “How long will it take?”
“Not long. Days, maybe more. Maybe less. No earthly weapon can breach the tower’s defenses now and…I don’t know if I can stop him.” Max’s head dropped as an expression of unadulterated weariness stole over his features. Jane reached out and rubbed his cold cheek with the back of her hand. Then she turned her hand over and placed her palm there for a moment. Slowly, Max turned and looked at her. As he did, she took his right hand in hers. Smiling gently, she felt him tighten his grip as he held her gaze. The wind picked up, sending swirls of sand across the beach in front of them.
In unison, they looked back out at the tower. The new glare that shone from it illuminated their faces with the strange blend of lights—now a haze golden-white.
“We’ll find a way, Max.”
Ciara, Mike, and Morris filed in behind them. Apparently aware that Jane and Max had needed to speak in private for a moment, they had given the two plenty of space. Now they moved closer and echoed Jane’s words.
“We will,” Ciara said.
“We will,” Mike said.
Morris stood next to Jane and glanced down at her. As she met his gaze, she saw that his eyes spoke of a new confidence she had not seen in him before. “We will,” he repeated.
She smiled at him and reached out for his hand. He took it, and then he stood next to her, facing the tower.
They remained like that in silence for a moment before, like a strange yet confident denouement, Max repeated their words.
“We will,” he said.
The Crystal Tower Page 38
