James Axler – Starfall

Instead of feeling the chunks of rocks in her skin, though, she felt only smooth, unblemished flesh. She stared at her open hands in front of her, fully expecting to see them covered with blood.

They were clean.

Even as the realization hit her, Krysty felt the pain leave her body. Only a few heartbeats later, so did the sensation of the burning heat.

She stopped, suddenly realizing where she had to be be­cause there was no other place she could have gone after Phlorin had ripped through her mind. She stared around her, taking in the geyser activity. Marshaling her courage, she thrust her hand into a geyser of steaming water that shot up within arm’s reach.

None of the heat touched her. Likewise, none of the wa­ter touched her, either. The geyser bubbled and hissed against her hand, jetting through it in streams. As if she were some kind of illusion.

“Gaia!” Krysty said, realizing then what must have hap­pened. “Earth Mother, don’t let this be true!”

The burbling geyser continued blasting water through her hand as if it weren’t there. She didn’t exist. Phlorin had trapped her inside her own mind.

Krysty closed her eyes and concentrated, listening for Ryan’s voice again, letting it be her beacon to bring her back to herself. She knew she had to hurry because she could sense what Phlorin was prepared to do to him.

Chapter Five

Astonished by the deep timber in Krysty’s voice, as well as by the raw hatred, Ryan barely managed to turn his head to the side as she backhanded him. The blow carried in­credible force. On occasion, Krysty was able to tap into a strength much greater than anything human, but only dur­ing times of intense stress, or life or death, calling on Gaia’s name.

She was tapped in now.

Ryan flew backward, his ears ringing with the impact as his teeth snapped together, slicing deeply into his cheek. The taste of blood filled his mouth. Nearly twenty feet away, his body aching all over, he pushed himself up, gaz­ing at the redhead.

She stood uncertainly, as if getting her land legs after a long time at sea. She gazed at him as if she didn’t know him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Ryan demanded, barely keeping control over the anger that flooded his vision with fiery red mist. He stood with effort, his legs still weak under him.

“Stay away,” Krysty warned in that terrible voice. She drew a hunting knife from her belt, ignoring the pistol on the rooftop beside her.

Bullets chopped into the pebble-and-tar surface, leaving pockmarks behind as lightning flashed overhead. Thunder hammered the dark heavens.

Ryan saw the wild look in his lover’s eyes and knew she wasn’t herself. He maintained his distance, but he spoke to her in a softer tone. “Krysty, it’s me, Ryan.”

“Stay away from me.”

“Don’t you remember?”

For a moment, Krysty’s face softened, and uncertainty filled her expression. “Ryan?” Her voice sounded more normal, just strained.

“Yes.” Ryan took a step toward her and kept closing. He also kept the SIG-Sauer in his hand. He didn’t want to use it, but he knew he wasn’t strong enough to take Krysty hand to hand with Gaia’s strength fueling her. “What’s wrong?”

“Head hurts,” she replied in her normal voice. She coiled her free hand up in her sentient hair, pulling at it as tears pooled in her eyes. “Hurts real bad.”

“The voice?” Ryan kept moving, getting closer.

“Yes.” Krysty gasped in pain. “Said her name was Phlorin. Said she was one of the Chosen. Told me she was dying.”

“You still hear her?”

“Not hear her,” Krysty disagreed. “She’s here with me. Inside my head. Tried to trap me there, tried to make me think I was going through a jump nightmare and wasn’t really here, or there, at all. Trying to make me do things even now.”

“Make her go away.”

“I can’t.” Krysty shifted, jerking again, a harsh light suddenly filling her green eyes. She took a quick step back, bringing up the hunting knife, the edged side of the blade on top. Giving no indication, she moved into the attack, sending the knife streaking toward Ryan’s abdomen.