The Tigrens' Glory (Soul-Linked Saga) (Volume 9)

by Laura Jo Phillips

  There was a long silence, but Glory sensed that he was thinking the situation over in his mind. “Is there a way to remove us from the tanks?” he asked.

  Glory gasped. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Panic, she realized. She needed to calm down and start using her head or she wasn’t going to be much help. She reached for the mask that had served her so well for so long, but for once, she couldn’t grasp it. Her heart began to race, and her fear doubled. She was forced to waste precious minutes taking deep, calming breaths in an effort to clear her mind.

  She was a warrior. She could do this. When her tension finally eased, she took another deep breath and focused on what she needed to do.

  “Let me look at these controls,” she said for Kyerion’s benefit. She knelt down and studied the panel more carefully, hoping to find a diagram or symbol that would make sense to her, but it was just as meaningless on her third examination as it had been on the first. There was probably a button that would open the door, but she had no way of knowing which one it might be, and certainly couldn’t risk pressing them at random.

  She turned her attention to the tank itself, searching for a way to open it manually. She was relieved to find a simple latch mechanism at one side of the tank. She reached for it immediately, but her hand passed right through the cold metal. Her heart sank.

  “There’s a manual latch on the door,” she told Kyerion, refusing to allow the sobs building in her throat to escape. “Since I’m in a dream state here, I have no body, so I can’t open it.”

  “The only thing I can think of that might help is Spirit,” Kyerion said. “I’m sorry, Glory. I know that’s impossible, but I have no other suggestions.”

  Spirit? Where in the nine hells was she supposed to get Spirit? Even if she had it, she wouldn’t know what to do with it. “Kyerion, I need to return and speak with people who know more about these things than I do,” she said. “I’ll return soon, I promise.”

  “Why do I feel so much better now than I did?” Kyerion asked. “Kirk and Cade are better too, though not strong enough to speak with you themselves.”

  “I fed a little energy to all three of you,” she said. “Should I give you more?”

  “No,” he replied. “We’re fine, and you’ll need your own energy for what’s to come.”

  Glory hesitated, but she knew Kyerion was right. “I’ll be back soon, all right?” she said again, worried about leaving them alone, but knowing she had no choice. She wasn’t going to be able to save the Tigren without help.

  “We shall await your return,” he said.

  Glory was surprised by the edge of humor in his voice, but she was far too frightened to share in it. She closed her eyes and focused on returning her consciousness to the Ugaztun.

  The moment she became aware of her physical body again, she opened her eyes and threw herself off the bed, running toward the door just as someone knocked on it. She yanked it open, surprised to see Saige Lobo and her blue haired Rami, Faron, Dav and Ban.

  “I need help,” Glory blurted in a near panic. “They’re going to die.”

  “Yes, I know,” Saige said as she reached for Glory’s hands and gazed straight into her eyes. “We will do everything we can to help you save them Glory, but without you, they have no chance. You must calm yourself.”

  Glory took a deep breath and nodded, then stepped back to let the Lobos in. Saige glanced at Faron. “I need Lariah and Summer, as fast as possible please.” He nodded and she turned her attention back to Glory, leading her over to the table where they each took a seat. Just as they got settled the Dracons and the Katres speed traveled into the room.

  “What’s going on?” Lariah asked Saige as she and Summer hurried toward the table, taking the two remaining chairs. One look at Saige’s face as she sat down and Lariah understood. “Riata?”

  Saige nodded, then turned to Glory. “It would take a long time to explain all of this, but in short, I have a Spirit Guide,” she said. “A woman who was once a Healer, and now helps me to guide the Jasani. Or I help her. I’m not sure which. Her name is Riata.”

  Glory nodded. She’d never heard of Spirit Guides, but that didn’t matter. She’d never heard of most of the things she’d seen and experienced over the past couple of weeks.

  “Riata just sent me an urgent message,” Saige said, casting a meaningful look at first Summer, then Lariah. “The Three are to help Glory now, or the Tigren will be lost. She said this is why we were given access to the forgotten power.” The room went silent as everyone considered the meaning of that statement.

  Glory leapt to her feet and went to her bed for the mosaic, barely noticing that the male Lobos, Dracons, and Katres, had positioned themselves in a circle around the table. “I was just there,” she said, returning to the table with the mosaic in her hands. “With the Tigren, in the place where their bodies are.”

  “That isn’t an easy thing to do,” Summer said in surprise. “Tell us, please.”

  “The situation is very bad,” Glory began, then told them everything she’d seen as quickly as she could. “I don’t know how to fix whatever’s wrong, or even if I could fix it if I knew,” she finished. “Kyerion suggested getting them out of the tanks, and there’s a manual latch that I’m sure will open the door, but I don’t have a physical body there. Kyerion said I’d need Spirit, but I’ve no idea where to find Spirit, or how to use it if I had it.”

  “Lariah, Saige and I can provide you with Spirit,” Summer said confidently. All of the men stared at her in surprise, though no one questioned her.

  “You can?” Glory asked. “Kyerion said it would be impossible.”

  “He’d be right, except that Spirit is the forgotten power the Three have been given access to,” Summer said.

  “Just out of curiosity, how do you know that?” Saige asked.

  “After the meeting we had the other day when Spirit was mentioned, I gave it some thought,” she replied. “I think the Nine used Spirit, through us, to enable them to speak to the clans. In doing so, they gave us access to it.”

  “We channeled Spirit?” Lariah asked. “Are you certain?”

  “Yes, but even if I wasn’t, the fact that Glory needs Spirit and Riata sent us here to help her, would have convinced me,” Summer said.

  “That works for me,” Lariah said. “Any ideas how we’re supposed to go about doing this without killing Glory in the process?”

  “Yes, that’s the big question, isn’t it?” Summer murmured thoughtfully. They were all adept at feeding magic to their Rami, and it was easy enough for the men to feed energy to their Arimas. Feeding magic or energy to a third party was a different matter altogether. If Glory were berezi, and her future Rami were present, they could have done it, but that wasn’t the case.

  Summer thought for a moment, watching Glory as she stroked her fingers over the mosaic she held. “Is that your focus?”

  “Yes,” Glory said. “Hope Bearen gave it to me. The tigrenca depicted here are those that I speak with in my dreams.”

  “You are certain of this?” Garen asked, shocked.

  “Yes,” Glory replied, frowning at Trey and Val.

  “We forgot to tell him,” Trey said with an apologetic smile. Glory laid the mosaic flat on the table and pointed to each of the three tigrenca. “They told me that their mother made it when they were young men. They also warned me that their mother was powerful, and that I should be careful with it, but I don’t know what they meant by that.”

  “May I?” Summer asked, getting up to walk around the table to where Glory sat.

  “Of course,” Glory said, handing the mosaic to Summer.

  Summer looked at the images created with the different colored gemstones, then looked beyond the images to the truth of the object itself using her talent for knowing. Everyone waited in silence, allowing her to focus without distraction. When she handed the mosaic back to Glory she was smiling.

  “There is much more to that than a pretty picture,” she said, re
turning to her seat across from Glory. “It’s a power safe.”

  Garen glanced at Faron, then Maxim. They all wanted very much to ask questions, but this was not the time or place for their curiosity. They held their tongues and watched as their Arimas worked through the problem.

  “What is a power safe?” Saige asked.

  “Pretty much what it sounds like,” Summer said. “It’ll hold whatever power is fed into it until someone draws it off. We three need to form a circle with the mosaic.”

  “I don’t understand,” Lariah said. “How do we do that?”

  “The three of us hold hands,” Summer said, frowning in thought. “You and I have to trade places, Saige. You need to be in the middle. You hold hands with Lariah and me, and she and I will touch the mosaic with our free hands. Don’t worry, this will not cause harm to you or your sons,” she added with a reassuring smile. “Glory, you’ll need to put your hands on the mosaic as well. We will gather Spirit, feed it into the mosaic, and you will take it from there when you’re ready to use it.”

  Saige and Summer traded places, and Glory slid the mosaic into the center of the table so they could all reach it. Summer frowned again as she looked at the four of them sitting around the table. “Once we’ve filled the mosaic with Spirit, we’re going to have to push it toward Glory when she’s ready for it. If we don’t, she’ll use too much of her energy just drawing on it to succeed in opening a tank. I’m not sure we’ll be strong enough after we’ve gathered the Spirit, though. If we’d already gone through the jump point into the LMC we’d be physically closer to the Tigren, which would make it easier for all of us. But, from what Glory’s told us, I don’t think we can wait that long.”

  “I think we can be of help with that,” Garen said. “We can feed our Arimas power. Will that work?”

  “Yes, it will,” she replied with obvious relief. Maxim placed one hand on Summer’s shoulder while Faron did the same to Saige, and Garen did the same to Lariah.

  “Once you begin drawing on Spirit you’ll have to focus really hard on what you need to do,” Summer said to Glory. “Go as quickly as you can once you begin, and don’t let anything distract you.”

  “I’ve never used magic before,” Glory said. “I have no idea how to do this.”

  “You’re not actually going to wield it,” Summer explained. “You’re just going to fill yourself with it to increase your own strength. Just imagine that it’s raw energy, and that you’re drawing it into yourself through your fingers. Then, imagine your hand becoming solid enough to manipulate the latch.”

  “Okay, I think I can do that,” Glory said. “What happens once I open a tank? Do you think there’s air in the building that they can breathe?”

  “Yes,” Trey said. “The Xanti and the Damosion, both beings from that galaxy, breathed air as we do. That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a compatible atmosphere in that building, but it is, at least, probable.”

  “Will they need medical assistance once they leave the tanks?”

  “Glory,” Garen said, leaning down to look directly into her eyes, his voice soft but firm. “Our choices are limited, and simple. We must either risk opening the tanks, or hope that their tanks don’t fail before we are able to reach them.”

  “No,” Glory said, shaking her head. “The backup system won’t last long. I just know it. They have little time. Minutes. An hour, maybe. No more.”

  “The fluid they are in is certainly breathing fluid,” Trey said. “Once removed from the tank, they will have to expel the fluid from their lungs. Their bodies should cough the fluid up automatically.”

  “You’ll only be able to open one tank,” Summer warned. “It will be up to the one you release to open the other tanks.”

  Glory’s heart was thudding heavily in her chest, but this was the right thing to do, the only thing to do, and she knew it. She took a deep breath and turned her eyes back to the mosaic. “Kyerion is strongest,” she decided. “I’ll open his tank.”

  “Take the time to explain to him what you’re going to do, and what he can expect,” Summer said. “He’ll have no experience with technology, so if you don’t tell him what needs to be done, he won’t know. That will give us time to gather Spirit and feed it into the mosaic for you.”

  Glory nodded, then closed her eyes and slowed her breathing before reaching for the familiar, trancelike state again. She’d never Dream Walked twice within a twenty four hour period before, but the first Dream Walk had been very short. Hopefully that would make a difference. No, she told herself. Not hopefully. Definitely. It would make a difference. She would not fail.

  She focused on the Flame and the Door, clearing her mind with the ease of practice. It took a little longer than usual, and she refused to allow herself to feel relief when she found herself staring at the candle. Instead, she closed her eyes again and imagined the building filled with hibernation tanks, hoping to bypass the valley in an effort to save time. She focused specifically on the area in front of the Tigrens’ tanks. A few moments later she opened her eyes to find herself exactly where she’d hoped to be. This time she allowed the relief to wash through her.

  “Kyerion?”

  “That was fast, Glory,” he said. “Or it seemed so to me.”

  “Yes, it was only a few minutes,” she said. “I’ve got some help now. They said I’ll only be able to open one tank, so I’m going to open yours since you’re strongest. You’ll have to open Kirk’s and Cade’s tanks once you’re out. Prince Trey said that the fluid you’re in is breathing fluid. Your lungs will need to expel it before you can breathe, and we think there’s a good chance you’ll have a breathable environment inside the building. There are no people around, so I can’t be sure.”

  “Glory,” Kyerion said, his voice gentle. “We understand the risks. Don’t worry. Whatever happens, we thank you for aiding us.”

  “Don’t forget,” she said worriedly, “you need to open your brothers’ tanks as soon as possible using the handle on the door. Once I’ve got your tank open, I’ll feed you as much energy as I can, but I don’t think you’ll have much time. I think there are fewer blue sections now than there were before I left.”

  “I’ll open their tanks,” Kyerion said. “You have my word.”

  “Here goes,” Glory said. She studied the latch mechanism carefully. She’d have to turn the handle from upward to downward, then pull to break the seal and open the door. She raised one hand until it was just above the handle, careful to be sure her fingers were barely touching the metal itself. Then she pictured the mosaic in her mind and reached for it. She breathed out slowly when she sensed the warm pool of Spirit it now held. She imagined drawing it into herself through her fingers, just like Summer had told her, relieved when she felt it flowing into her body and mind. She drew on it until she felt the cold metal against her fingers and her hand looked more solid than the rest of her.

  She said a quick, silent prayer, then wrapped her fingers around the handle and pushed downward. For a long moment nothing happened. She drew more Spirit and pushed harder on the handle. A spike of pain shot through the center of her head, but the handle moved a few inches. Encouraged, she pressed even harder, ignoring the feel of blood trickling from her nose.

  The handle swung all the way into the down position and all the lights on the control panel began to flash rapidly. She tightened her grip on the handle and drew every bit of Spirit left in the mosaic. Then she pulled. For a long moment nothing happened, and she feared it wasn’t going to work. She pulled harder. Another sharp pain sliced through her head, this one going deeper and lasting longer, but she gritted her teeth against it and continued to pull with everything she had. At the last moment, just before her hand became transparent again and slid through the metal handle, the seal around the door gave way. But, after all of her effort, the door was only open a bare fraction of an inch.

  There was no more Spirit left to draw on. She’d failed. She looked up at Kyerion, and decided that she would
stay there, with the Tigren, until their tanks went dark. If she couldn’t save them, she would at least remain with them until the end.

  She was gathering herself to speak with Kyerion one last time, to give him the bad news and tell him how sorry she was, when she noticed that the door was widening. Surprised, she looked down and saw that the pressure of the fluid in the tank was pushing the door open. She backed away, watching as a trickle became a flood that soon shoved the door open wide. Kyerion’s bare feet hit the bottom of the tank, then he slumped forward and fell out onto the floor with a rush of fluid, his body limp and lifeless.

  “Kyerion?” she called, feeding what remained of her own energy into him as fast as she could without thought to herself. “You have to breathe, Kyerion, please, breathe!”

  She waited for a response, fighting the strange pulling sensation that threatened to drag her back to her body by sheer strength of will. The harder she fought, the bigger the pain in her head became, but she didn’t care. She could not leave until she knew whether he’d live, or not.

  Kyerion began to cough, weakly at first, and then more strongly. He rolled over onto his stomach and expelled great gouts of fluid from his lungs. He coughed some more, then gasped as he inhaled deeply.

  “Kyerion?”

  His eyes opened, then closed before he called out to her with his mind. “Glory?”

  “Yes,” she said, sobbing with relief.

  “Thank you, Glory,” he said. “You must return to your body now. Don’t worry. I’ll release Kirk and Cade in a moment. I’ll not fail you, or them. I give you my word.”

  “I’ll come back as soon as I can,” Glory promised as she felt herself drift away. She wasn’t ready to leave, but even her indomitable will had given out. She closed her eyes, and darkness closed in on her.