Then two things happened very quickly. A heavy work boot crunched down on DuPris's throat.
"I like to do things the old-fashioned way," Alex announced.
And then Trevor felt the Stone being pressed into his palm. "Is this what you're looking for?" Marias voice asked.
Some of DuPris's attention had to have shifted to repairing the damage in his neck because the pressure in Trevor's brain lessened. Focus, he ordered himself. Focus.
He pressed the Stone down on DuPris's chest and detonated its power.
The world went white and silent.
When Trevor regained consciousness, he was lying on the ground. He shoved himself into a sitting position.
"Where's DuPris?" he demanded groggily. "What happened?"
The realization that Liz, Maria, and Alex were flecked with blood and tissue and pieces of bone hit him. He staggered to his feet. "What happened? Are you all right? Did DuPris teleport?"
He took a step forward, and his foot slipped on something squishy. Trevor looked down and saw what appeared to be a section of intestine.
"Um, that would be DuPris," Maria said, her voice flat and emotionless.
"Necessary sacrifice," Trevor muttered. Unlike Adam. Adam, who had posed no threat to DuPris or the rebellion. Adam, who had been killed for… for sport.
Trevor raised his eyes and scanned the room. He saw Liz on the floor, cradling Adam in her arms again, her long, dark hair forming a veil over both their faces.
"Should I give the Stone to Isabel?" Alex asked, wiping his face with the back of his hand.
Trevor quickly glanced at her. She was lying next to Max, their expressions nearly identical masks of agony. Michael lay in a heap a few feet away from them.
Fear crawled up Trevors spine. "Michael?"
"I'm fine," Michael answered with a cough. He pushed himself shakily to his feet. "Just got the wind knocked out of me for a minute."
"Thanks for backing me up," Trevor said, warm with relief. At least he hadn't lost his brother. That was something. He hurried over to Isabel, dropped to his knees, and placed the blood-spattered Stone of Midnight into her hand.
"Work," Trevor said. "Please, please work."
Michael stared down at Isabel. It was like watching one of those time-lapse photography videos-the ones that speed up time to show a seed going to full blossom in seconds.
Isabel's cracked lips smoothed out. Color flooded back into her face. Her breathing became steady and even again. Then she opened her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes, and she smiled at him.
"You made it," he said.
"Did you ever doubt it?" Isabel answered, the old 'tude already back in her voice.
Maria and Alex knelt next to Isabel and grabbed her in a group hug.
"Nice to have you back," Maria said.
"Very nice," Alex added, kissing Isabel's forehead.
"Where's Max?" Isabel asked, glancing around.
Everyone's eyes darted over to the body on the floor. He wasn't moving.
"Oh, my God, Max," Isabel said, tears in her voice. She tried to get up, but Michael reached out and held her back. He didn't want her to risk moving too fast.
"Is there anything you can do for him?" Michael asked Trevor.
But Max answered before Trevor could. "I'm okay."
Isabel started to cry with relief as Max pulled in a deep breath, his eyes going to Isabel, then moving from person to person. Making sure we're all fine, Michael thought. Leave it to Max to think of everyone else before himself.
"Does Adam need healing?" Max asked as he slowly climbed to his feet.
"He's dead, Max," Michael answered, his heart feeling heavier by the second. "DuPris killed him."
Even though he'd spoken the words, he couldn't quite believe them himself. He couldn't believe he and Adam were never going to make toast together again. Or watch late night cable. He couldn't believe Adam was never going to ask him another doofy question about kissing.
Tears stung Michael's eyes, and he felt one slither down his face. He didn't wipe it away. Adam deserved it.
Max scrubbed his face with his hands. "And DuPris?" he asked.
"You're soaking in it," Alex answered. He gestured at the floor, and Max's face went pale. His only response was a brief nod.
"Do you know what this means?" Maria asked, a tiny quiver in her voice. "We have no enemy. Valenti's dead. DuPris is dead. It's over."
"There's still the consciousness," Michael said, his eyes on Max. Did Max finally get it? Did he understand that Trevor was right?
Everyone's eyes were on Max, and he looked at each one of them in turn. Finally, slowly, he focused on his sister.
"Isabel got through her akino," he said blankly. "You guys were right all along. You don't die if you don't join." He rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Everything I believed about the consciousness is a lie, and I almost forced Isabel to connect to it."
Michael noticed that Max didn't say anything about the way the consciousness had tortured him. Typical Saint Max. What mattered to him was what happened to other people.
"I want to help you shatter it," Michael told his brother. A few spikes of joy appeared in Trevor's chaotic aura as his eyes met Michael's.
"Me too," Maria and Alex said together.
"I'm definitely in," Isabel announced, propping herself on her elbows.
Michael glanced at Liz, but he didn't think she was capable of speech. Or even of hearing. She was still holding Adam, her face buried against his neck.
"Max?" Michael asked.
"Of course I'm in. You don't put my sister through that and get away with it." He looked at Trevor, his eyes clear and determined. "Just tell me what you need me to-"
His mouth went slack. His eyes went blank. Then his knees bent, and he slowly dropped to the floor. Michael managed to get behind him and catch him by the shoulders before his head hit the cement.
"Max!" Michael cried. "Max!"
There was no response.
Michael slapped Max's cheeks-hard.
No response.
"I've seen this a few times before," Trevor said. "He's been completely absorbed by the consciousness. He's not going to be able to-"
Max tilted back his head and stared up at Michael. There was awareness in his bright blue eyes again. "Help… me," he managed to say. "Tra… apped."
[ front blurb]
THE LATEST VICTIM…
"Max! Help!" Isabel didn't have enough breath to scream. She was going to suffocate right there in her own kitchen.
No! Isabel would not let that happen. She jammed one of her fingers down her throat. If she could just get a little of the mold out, she'd be able to get some oxygen in.
And then her throat was clear. Her nose was clear. It was as if the mold had never been there. As if it had been a horrible… nightmare.
But she was awake. Wide awake. And she'd been awake the whole time. This is what happened to Max when he began to enter his akino, she realized. Heightened physical sensation. Physical sensation-like touch, like smell.
Isabel lowered her head into her hands. Max would tell her not to worry. He'd tell her that connecting to the collective consciousness and sharing your life with all the beings of the home planet-living and dead-was awesome.
To Isabel it sounded like prison. Always being watched. No privacy. No choice about who you let into your life.
And Isabel would rather die than be in prison.
[ Version History]
1.0 – scanned, formatted, and spell-checked from mass-market paperback. ISBN: 0-671-03563-0
2.0 – July 12, 2004 – The_Ghiti – proofed in detail against deadtree format.