Page 59 of Asmodel

Izzy gasped as Asmodel lifted off the ground, his body stiff.

His face was contorted in pain, as if an invisible, crushing grip seized him.

Izzy cried out, “Asmodel!” and jumped up, her instinct to help her man.

“Damn it, Izzy!” Raxx grabbed her arm and pulled her down. He hissed. “What do you think you’re doing?” He waved at the alien, who tossed Asmodel’s prone body, now reverted to his normal self, to the other side of the square. “We can't risk getting closer to her. We’ve got to think of something else.”

Izzy sniffed away unwanted tears. “JR13?” She glanced at the spybot on her shoulder.

His black-and-silver bulbous head focused on Asmodel.

When she spoke, his luminous eyes swung her way. “Can you check to see if Asmodel is okay?” She had to know if he somehow survived the brutal flight the Krystalii sent him on.

“From here I can tell organic man still lives, just unconscious. However,” JR13’s back panels opened and iridescent wings appeared. “I’ll monitor his vitals and report back to you.”

Without another word, the droid flew close to the ground, blending into the disheveled scene with debris and other insects buzzing around.

Putting her hand over her mouth, she watched JR13 make it straight to Asmodel who was lying on his back, his arms wide. After making sure the bot was as safe as he could be, she turned to Raxx. “You got any ideas?”

If Asmodel, with his strong psionic abilities, couldn’t stop the Krystalii, what chance did she and Raxx have?

The crystalline alien let loose a bloodcurdling scream.

Izzy jumped.

“Son of a bitch!” Raxx flopped to the ground, thrashing as he held his ears. “Make it stop! I can’t stand…!” His body shook, and his arms and legs whipped violently before he became unnaturally still.

“Raxx!” Izzy rushed to kneel by his side. She put a hand over his chest and sat back on her heels with a sigh when his heartbeat was strong and steady. What in the heck just happened? Why did he do that?

“Looks like the Krystalii hit a nerve.”

JR13’s voice near her ear made her jump. “Darn it, JR13. Warn a person next time, will you?”

“Echo asked me to come back when she lost control of Raxx after the Krystalii screeched like that. The psychic energy she let loose was off the charts. So much so even Echo couldn’t filter it for him.” JR13 informed her. “He’ll be okay. Eventually. I think.”

Well, wasn’t that just great? Izzy considered the prone Raxx, then looked across the way to scrutinize the vulnerable Asmodel. “Why wasn’t I affected like Raxx?”

“Because of the PsyShields you’ve got on.”

JR13’s matter-of-fact tone made Izzy roll her eyes. Well, duh. She’d forgotten she had them on. She peeked around the column to see what the crystal lady was doing. Poor thing looked like she was in pain. Bowing on her knees with her arms around her waist, she moaned and muttered. Clumps of mud and dirt dulled the glassy sheen of her body.

“No... I must... have to… Lord Baelon,” Prisma-Solara’s voice broke into a pained whisper. One of her fists pounded the side of her head. Crystalline dust, dirt and shards of clear-cut panels fell off her body.

“Oh, that poor thing.” Izzy bit her bottom lip. “How can we help her?” And everyone else, for that matter.

“Well, see…” JR13 began. “Echo and I have an idea.”

A hopeful jolt raced through Izzy. “Really?” She glanced at the Krystalii rocking back and forth, her eerie eyes closed. “What do you have in mind?”

“Between the two of us, we can generate a counter frequency tuned to disrupt the Krystalii's psychic brainwaves. It should create enough dissonance to bind her powers, at least temporarily.” JR13's voice carried a blend of synthetic tones, as if he joined with Echo to answer.

Izzy's eyes widened. “Wow, do you think it’ll work?” Another wail from the Prisma-Solara made her wince. “What do we do if it doesn’t?”

“There is a 99.85% probability it will succeed.” JR13’s snooty tone was all him.

A minor tremor rumbled under her. Well, couldn’t ask for anything better than that at this point. “Okay, JR13. Let’s do it.” The ground gave another grumbling roll under her knees. “Quickly please!”

The little droid’s eyes blinked. “Initiating now.” He paused, likely communicating with Echo.

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