Melanie looked up at Matt and he could sense her feelings. She had a sharp intellect and he could see the depth of her mind.
Danielle looked at Tag and then said, “Sprig, what should we do now?”
“We have to allow them to make contact. The ship will not work unless they are able to link.”
Danielle looked at Tag and Tag asked, “I ask again; is there danger in them making contact?”
Sprig raised his branches, “I don’t know but they have to do it.”
Matt looked at Melanie and nodded. She walked quickly forward and took both his hands in hers. Sprig’s scanner blew apart.
“Oh well, I didn’t have time to recalibrate it.”
Everyone tensed up ducking their heads looking around waiting for something to happen but after a minute everyone relaxed and Twig said, “Well, I guess the universe won’t blow up as we feared.”
Danielle looked at her and said, “Please tell me you’re joking.”
Twig and Sprig both raised their branches and Sprig said, “We’re in uncharted skies here, Your Majesty. Remember that when Tommy and Cassandra first touched the energy particle had a sharp spike in temperature. It seems that Cassandra was right, Prince Gardner has control of his power.”
Matt and Melanie held each other’s hands and felt the power build around them.
“Fly Girl, are you ok?”
“Yes, Melanie is ok.”
“Were you worried?”
“I was. I felt the power of that wave.”
Al watched Matt and Melanie and felt himself relax for the first time since Angel died. “I’ve been worried about him.”
“I could see that. Now you can relax. He has a new friend.”
“Just a friend?”
“There was only one integrator that caused love in Matt. Angel is gone but I sense that they do like each other a great deal.”
“Friends can help him heal. I still wish you had a place on that ship.”
“It’s not finished yet; who can tell.”
Matt and Melanie continued to hold each other’s hands as Matt’s power built around them. Each of them could feel the force building and reveled in the enhanced view of the universe.”
Danielle stood and said, “This meeting is delayed until tomorrow.”
Matt looked up and said, “We can’t wait until tomorrow. Just give us an hour and we will be ready to continue.”
Danielle looked at Tag who nodded and she said, “An hour it is.”
Matt took Melanie’s hand and led her to the garden where he had discovered his love for Angel. She went with him and saw in his mind what had happened. “Do you think we should be here?”
“Yes.”
She looked at him and said, “Are you sure, Matt? I cannot be Angel.”
““I’m not asking you to be her. I brought you here to apologize for my initial unwillingness to allow you to work with me. I can now see that this was an absolute necessity. I would not have found a weapon to use against the invaders without you questioning what happened. I believe that you and I can make a huge difference in this war and I will not hold back in insuring that we work well together. I’m sorry for how I treated you when we met. I do consider you one of my closest friends.”
She looked at his mind and saw he meant it. She opened her eyes, smiled, and said, “I will honor Angel with you every day for her sacrifice, I’m honored to be your friend, and I will do all I can to help you.”
“I am now excited at our prospects, Melanie.”
“I just hope we can stop them.”
Matt released her hand and they walked back to the meeting room where they found Sprig trying to explain what happened. Everyone stopped and Matt said, “We can try and explain this later but right now we need to move on to some important matters.”
Melanie said, “I do have just one question.”
Matt looked at her and said, “Go ahead.”
“Why didn’t we feel different when we first met? We’ve been working together for weeks and I didn’t sense him like now.”
Danielle started to speak but Sprig said, “May I handle this one?”
Danielle nodded at him to go ahead. “The two of you are created to be together just like those two chairs in the ship. I believe that Melanie’s psychic power had not been released when it fully matured in one of her ancestors so it had built up a protective shell around it and was passed down. Just coming close was not enough, it required physical contact to break through that shell. Once that shell was broken, then Matt would have access to the power that Melanie provides.”
Matt and Melanie looked at each other and nodded.
Matt looked at Melanie again then said, “First things first; Sprig did you bring those green shards with you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Please place them on the table.” Sprig moved forward and emptied the shards from an insulating bag onto the table top. “What have you done to try and damage these two shards?”
“We have hit them with every energy weapon we possess. We’ve fired everything in our inventory at them at velocities that are almost unimaginable. Nothing affected them.”
Mat pulled a white colored stick from a pouch and walked forward. “This is a magic wand given to me by another orphan at the state facility I was raised.” Matt gripped the wand and slammed it down on one of the shards which instantly broke into three pieces.
Sprig and Twig were stunned into silence; the rest of the attendee’s just stared at the broken shard. “What did you just do,” Tag asked.
Twig sputtered, “It was right in front of us the whole time and we didn’t see it.”
Matt smiled, “I didn’t see it either; Melanie is the one that put the pieces together so I could see it.”
Danielle shook her head, “Saw what?”
Matt looked at Twig and nodded. “Life kills them, Your Majesty. This green shard went through the hardest substances we make without slowing down until they hit Angel. There they stopped unable to penetrate any further. They were teleported out with her ship because they were surrounded by her body. Anything organic can stop them.”
Anglo looked at Matt, “What is your wand made from, Matt?”
“That other orphan was a Cainth; it was made from the branch of a Cainth stone tree. Matt looked at Terlen the leader of the sixteen clans on Cainth and asked, “How tall does a mature stone tree grow.”
“More than six hundred feet, some of the oldest have topped out more than a thousand.”
“How many would you guess are on your planet?”
Terlen closed his eyes and said, “Billions just on the northern continent.”
“We have in our possession a means to kill them, but that brings me to another issue.” Matt looked at Tag and Danielle and said, “There are two more that should be in attendance at this meeting.”
Danielle looked at Matt and asked, “Who?”
“I need Tommy and Cassandra Gardner here immediately.”
Both of the Gardners flinched and Tag said, “I’m not certain that would be wise.”
“Your Majesties, if we are to save the Realm, they must be brought here immediately.”
Tag stared Matt directly in the eye and saw him look right back with raw determination. Tag looked at Danielle and she shrugged telling him it was his decision. Tag raised his com and said, “I need you and Cassandra in the meeting room at Castle Gardner immediately.” He listened for a moment and said, “I’ll discuss it with you when you arrive; it involves the safety of the Realm.”
Immediately a silver screen appeared and Tommy and Cassandra stepped through. Cassandra saw Matt and immediately reached for her bracelet. Matt said loudly, “There is no danger, Mother. You must be here.”
Cassandra paused and looked at Danielle and Tag. Danielle said, “He insists that the Realm’s survival depends on you being a part of this meeting.”
Cassandra looked at Tommy who nodded. They walked to the far end of the table from Matt and sat down in two empty chairs. It was clear Cassandra was extremely nervous.