Melinda Metz: The Dark One

"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]

"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.