Between The Crystals

Ch 90 The Airship Crystal

My mind was still trying to wrap itself around the sheer size of this airship as I examined the crystal from where I stood. Not only was it far larger than a normal porting crystal, but it was oddly dark. The pretty light refractions were absent, nor was there a glow at the base like the small airship crystal had.

Citrine remained beside me, seemingly content to let me stand there and inspect the room now that she had gotten me this far. Jasper sat next to a cushion about ten paces from the crystal, and I turned my attention to the strangers near him. All three were sitting as they watched me in curiosity. None had a belt, armband, or devices, and that was a huge relief after the earlier hallway encounters.

I'd come too far to back out now. Not only was I already inside the massive airship I'd been fretting about, but the crystal was right in front of me. I tentatively walked toward the spires as Citrine ambled beside me.

I stopped in front of it and gazed up at the eight spires, still stunned by the size of the crystal. Citrine stood beside me, conveniently placing her shoulder next to my arm. The second my hands touched the crystal, I knew it wasn't a porting crystal. The shimmer was absent, and like the other airship crystal, there was nothing present in my senses.

Actually...there was a vague deepness, almost like staring into a dark abyss where shadows cloaked whatever was there. I gently pushed some energy into my palms, where it vanished. As the crystal absorbed the energy, the spire under my hand seemed to reflect light differently, almost like a porting crystal. As I kept sharing, the odd effect seemed to trickle downward to the base, almost like water running over a boulder in a myriad of paths.

When it reached the base of the cluster, it pooled there, and the reflections glowed slightly. A deep crystalline creak came from the spires as the "pooling" reflections flickered with a sudden brighter glow.

The deepness latched onto my energy like a hundred tendrils and pulled. Energy poured out of me in a rush so intense it knocked the air out of my chest. Even as I tried to pull my hands away, Citrine gave an alarmed hiss and head-bunted my hands off the crystal.

My legs gave out. Citrine caught me and pulled me several paces away from the crystal, repeatedly nudging her nose against my cheek with an anxious hum. I leaned my head against my knees as I fought to catch my breath and blink away the black spots in my vision.

From the corner of my eye, the sight of clawed feet bounding closer had me jerking my head up in alarm, which only made my head spin faster and intensified the black dots so much that they blotted out everything around me. As I swayed, a familiar warmth curled around me and supported my body.

By the time the dots cleared enough for me to see, Jasper was snuffling my hair and the other three stood a few paces away, looking between me and the crystal. I leaned my head against my knees again, still gasping for air and desperately trying not to pass out.

This was just as bad as my first oversharing mistake, possibly worse. Since when could a crystal steal energy? I decided to leave that question for later and instead focused on catching my breath.

Gradually, the black spots in my vision abated and the room stopped spinning. It took me a while longer to catch my breath. The exhaustion swamped me in a fashion I hadn't felt since that fateful day I overshared by the riverbank. My battle to keep from passing out turned into a struggle to stay awake as my body decided it had expended too much energy.

Walking wasn't an option—I knew that without even moving my legs. Had I been in the village, the hunters would have carried me to the resting hides, where I'd get one of Grant's lectures about overextending myself, presuming I didn't fall asleep in the middle of it. No wonder Andre had been willing to let the Saursune siphon his energy in hopes of extending his limits.