Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
He plucked the crystal out of her hand and put it down on the desk. It stopped glowing at once and sat there looking dead and cold, as though it hadn’t lit up like a light bulb when she cupped it in her palm.
“An affinity?” Lucy asked, looking up at him. “I don’t understand.”
“I will explain.” He went back to sit behind his desk, leaving the dimriel crystal and the other two stones lying on the desktop. Steepling his fingers, he leaned forward and looked at Lucy intently. “Dr. Heartwood, as I said, this substance is from the heart of our ship. But I fear it has become infected.”
“Infected?” Lucy frowned. “I’ve, er, never heard of a crystal becoming infected before.”
“Did you see the streaks of black in the center of the crystal?” Rarev asked her.
“Yes.” Lucy nodded. “Those aren’t supposed to be there?”
“No,” Rarev said gravely. “I fear they are a symptom of heart-rot—a sickness that dimriel is sometimes prone to. And if the heart of our ship sickens and dies…”
“The entire Mother Ship will die,” T’zaren finished in a harsh voice.
“I’m afraid you’re correct,” Commander Rarev said, nodding at him. “And unfortunately, those black veins of heart-rot that you saw are already infecting every part of the ship’s heart,” he said to Lucy.
“That’s terrible!” she exclaimed. “Look, I’ve never seen this kind of crystal before but if you’ll give me a few days to study up on it, I’ll certainly see if there’s anything I can do.”
“There is something you can do for us, but I’m afraid it has nothing to do with study,” Commander Rarev said to her. “You see, once dimriel is infected by heart-rot, it cannot be saved. The rot will simply continue to spread until the entire crystal is black and dead. The only cure is to remove the infected crystals and replace them with new, fresh ones.”
“So you’re saying…your ship needs a heart transplant?” Lucy asked, raising her eyebrows.
Rarev nodded, a relieved smile spreading over his leonine face.
“I knew that you would understand.”
“So…you want me to do it?” Lucy asked uncertainly. “I mean, I’m not any kind of a surgeon and I really don’t know anything about, er, transplanting crystals. On Earth they generally take years and years to grow and form naturally. I’ve never—”
“I do not need you to do any kind of surgical procedure,” Rarev said, shaking his head so that his mane ruffled again. “Once the old, infected dimriel is removed and the new crystal is put in its place, it will grow on its own. What I need from you, Dr, Heartwood, is to get the new crystal in the first place. We must have some fresh, uninfected dimriel to keep the Mother Ship alive.”
“You need me to get it?” Lucy frowned. “But why me?”
“Because the dimriel crystal shows an affinity for you, which means you will be able to safely handle the new dimriel and keep it alive until it can be transplanted into the Mother Ship,” Rarev explained. “Also, you’ll be able to tell if the crystal you are given is real or fake.”
“So I’m assuming the fake crystal won’t give me that, er, tingling feeling?” Lucy asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Exactly.” Rarev nodded in apparent satisfaction. “I’m so glad you understand.”
“But where do I go to get the new crystal?” Lucy asked. “Since you said it’s very rare—in this universe, I mean.”
“It is extremely rare. In fact, the only place that has it is the stronghold of Lady Twa’linda on B’ron Three,” he said.
T’zaren sat up straighter in his seat, his forehead creasing into a frown.
“That’s not a safe place for a female to go alone,” he objected. “Lady Twa’linda is a Twainer!”
Rarev raised one furry eyebrow.
“Who said I was sending Dr. Heartwood alone?” he rumbled.
T’zaren shook his head.
“Commander, you cannot mean—”
“I do. But of course, I will need you to undergo the same test Dr. Heartwood just did,” Rarev interrupted smoothly. He looked at Lucy. “Would you be so kind as to put the blindfold on T’zaren and make certain he cannot see? The test must be touch alone—no sight allowed.”
“Oh, er…” Lucy felt a little uncertain at this suggestion. She started to just hand the blindfold to the big Monstrum beside her but Rarev shook his head.
“No, please put it on him, as I asked,” he said, frowning. “This is part of the test.”
Lucy cast a glance at T’zaren to see how he felt about this. The big Monstrum had a tense look on his face but when she caught his eyes, he gave a brief nod.
“Okay.” She shrugged and rose to go stand beside him. He was so tall that even seated, his head was at the level of her breasts. If she’d wanted to, she could have opened her blouse and pressed one of her nipples into his mouth for him to suck without even bending over.