Page 52 of Asmodel

Talira shook her head. “No, but I think we should go to the Regent’s private chamber. He should know where she is.”

“And do you know where that is?” Asmodel tilted his head.

“I do.” Her midnight-blue eyes narrowed. “Here…” She kneeled on one knee. “The rooms are…”

As Talira intoned various ways and options to access the palace, Izzy watched Asmodel. He closed his eyes and his face lost all tension. She touched the part of his mind he’d shown her and got caught up in a myriad of images that were hard to follow. Endless corridors led into opulent rooms, with short-furred zaltrixan mingling back and forth. Some with a self-absorbed air, while others were obvious servants waiting on their masters. Some were long-furred pardalions, handcuffed and gagged being dragged away by guards. Their heads hung as if in defeat.

Unable to keep up without getting a severe case of vertigo, Izzy physically as well as mentally took a step back. She’d let the professional, Asmodel, do whatever he was doing.

“Do you think you can get us there?” Talira stabbed an extended claw into one of the dirt outlines she’d created.

Asmodel opened his eyes and looked where she’d indicated. With a brief nod, he replied. “I can. But, I’d rather we went somewhere in the open first. That way we can make sure we don’t appear in a part of the building that collapsed.”

Talira stood, leaning her weapon on her shoulder as she dusted her paws off. “I doubt the palace suffered any damage. The reinforcements in the building, as well as the shields around it, would have kept it standing. But I do know somewhere we should go first.” She pointed the bottom of her spear to the side of where she indicated the royal quarters were. “It’s a place only I and one other know about.” She kept her eyes downcast.

It must be where she’d meet Jaltaar in secret.

“Yeah, but what are we gonna do once we get there?” Raxx asked. “I gotta tell ya, I’m not looking forward to being a guest of the zaltrixan again. They have a totally heinous way of treating a guy, ya know?” His dark gaze landed on Talira. “Any chance that’s where the crystal chick will be?”

“They don’t allow outsiders near the private part of the imperial palace. My guess is she’d be closer to the royal gardens, site of the richest soil on CeluriaVO. I’m sure they offered that to her to rejuvenate.”

“Ah, that’s right. I read somewhere that one of the best ways to revive crystals is to put them in rich soil,” Izzy mused aloud. She glanced at Asmodel. “If she’s rejuvenated, I wonder why you sense she’s out of control now.”

“Let’s find out. Talira,” Asmodel addressed the scikvak. “Tell Praetor Vorlok we’re leaving and let him know where we’re headed. Do your communication devices still work?”

She nodded.

“Good. Ask him to let you know when they’re close so we can tell them it’s safe to enter the city or not.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Talira strode away.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of her—” Raxx thumbed behind him, where Talira scurried off. “—but I have something that might help you with the psychic mojo the crystal bitch might throw at us.”

Asmodel’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? What’s that?”

Raxx reached into an inner pocket of his leather jacket. He pulled out two round disks no bigger than a quarter.

Izzy leaned closer for a better look at the translucent, almost invisible objects. “What are they?”

“These, my friends, are something that just might save whatever sanity you have left.” Raxx bobbed his hand up and down. “Or at least save one of us.” He studied Asmodel. “Since you have the same psychic stuff she has, these little babies should protect you better than us mere mortals.” He nodded to Izzy. “These are called PsyShields. I, ah, acquired them from an alien species called the Crichian. You just slap them on, and whammo… all the psychic crap around you gets blocked right out of your mind.” His grin was infectious. “Cool, eh?”

“Don’t you have more than one pair?” Izzy asked.

“Ah, no, chickie poo.” His cheeks flushed. “I tell ya, it wasn’t easy to get these when I did.”

Oh, he must have taken them without the Crichian knowing.

“All you gotta do is to place one on each temple, and you’re totally righteous.”

Izzy frowned. “Why don’t you use them?” It was awfully nice of him to offer them to Asmodel.

“I don’t need to ‘cause I have Echo here.” He patted his belt where his doohickey hung.

“Okay, thanks. It’ll be good to have a backup.” Asmodel put the shields into his inner jacket pocket.

“Ready?” Talira joined them. She slung the long weapon-pole through a harness strapped to her back, making the tip of the spiked ball swing in a lazy pattern.

“As much as we’ll ever be,” Raxx intoned with a smirk.

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