Plucking the round globe from its stem, Corvan nibbled a small hole in the skin and squeezed the juice into his mount. The instant kick was like that first sip of strong coffee after a long shift down in the mine. Popping the fruit into his mouth, he worked the flesh away from the seed.

As the fruit of the lumien slid down his throat, a powerful sensation of well-being flooded his body. No wonder people in the Cor wanted lumien fruit so badly, there was nothing else that could satisfy your cravings in quite the same way.

Corvan touched his tongue to the pointy end of the seed. A shiver of excitement coursed through his body, and he recalled of the intense sensation when he had bitten down on the seed in Tsarek's dwelling. At that time Tsarek had stopped him from eating the seed, but ever since that time Corvan had thought about that powerful jolt of pleasure.

Jorad claimed it was against the law to consume a lumien seed but that was down in Kadir where they had a limited supply. They had to make that a law before all their light had been lost. This mother plant was already producing multiple fruits, so eating one seed wouldn't limit its life in any way. Besides, this particular plant was a gift from Saray, and it was his to use as he desired.

Spitting the seed into the palm of his hand he examined it closely. There was no doubt that he would need extraordinary strength to defeat the Rakash. If eating one small seed could help him rescue his father, then that was more important than the rules down in Kadir. He had witnessed first-hand how consuming a seed had energized the Chief Watcher.

The memory of the black lizard writhing in pain on the floor of the High Priest's great hall knotted his stomach. The seed from the mother plant had given the Chief Watcher incredible strength, but at a terrible cost. The small red seeds appeared to be even more powerful. Kate had been brought back to life after one of the seeds from pouch had only burned her hand. Saray’s thumb had been regrown just by holding the red seed’s power. What would happen if he actually ate a seed that had grown from that same source?

Holding the seed up he gripped it between his thumb and forefinger. This one was tiny--nothing at all like the huge seed the Chief Watcher had eaten. Placing the kernel back in his mouth, he again pressed his tongue to the pointy end, savoring the sensation. As fresh awareness flowed into his head, he knew without a doubt that the seed would make him stronger. Its power was his if he needed it, and right now he believed he did.

Working the seed over to the side of his mouth, he applied a bit of pressure. It was tougher that he thought, like a pistachio nut that hadn't been cracked enough to open by hand. He bit down harder, and it splintered apart, sending a jolt of raw energy rumbling through his chest like a freight train and then into his arms. He could feel it moving along, it's light shining through his skin as it coursed through his veins. The sensation picked up speed and headed toward his fingers.

The room spun around him. Corvan reached out to steady himself against the rock wall. Asurge of power rushed to his hand and shot from his palm like a jet of water from a fire hose. The force tossed him backwards into a heap on the floor.

As his equilibrium slowly returned, he tried to move but could not muster enough strength to even raise his head. Something crackled above him. He managed to tip his head forward until a glowing red hole in the rock wall, the size of his fist, came into view.

His forehead broke in a cold sweat. The power from that one little seed leaving his body was strong enough to melt granite. The red glow faded as the rock cooled. A soft gray ash drifted down over his body.

He tried again to sit up, but his body refused to cooperate. The exiting jolt of lumien power had completely drained him. A shiver ran through to his core, as if he'd just fallen through the ice into a frozen pond. His heart was slowing down, was he going to die?

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A splash of vivid light fell off to one side of his chest. Overhead, the stem of the plucked fruit was oozing clear blue liquid. Corvan inhaled deeply, absorbing the minute bits of energy suspended in the air. Summoning all his remaining strength, he pivoted his body around until his open mouth was beneath the forming droplet. It swelled, quivered, and fell, splashing on his cheek. He licked at it and his heart responded with three quick beats.

Shifting to his right a few inches, he watched the stem closely. Finally, another drop formed. This time the juice fell directly into his mouth and ran down his throat, its energy flowing into his heart. It began to beat steadily faster.

His chest grew warm, but his hands and legs grew colder. When he thought about moving some heat into his hands, the energy left his chest and surged toward his fingers. He let it rest a moment and then thought about warming his toes. At that thought, the heat radiated down his legs and into his feet. The ability to control the energy and make it go wherever he wished felt unbelievably good.

Another drop formed and he waited for it to splash into his mouth. This time he moved its energy into his mind. Instantly the tunnel grew brighter and minute details in the rocks jumped out at him. In the stillness he was sure he could even hear the lumien plant pushing new vines out along the wall.

One last drop fell. This time Corvan pushed it deep into the muscles of his arms. The power flowed and he catapulted himself off the ground and onto his feet in one swift move. He nodded to himself. If he could do all this with a few drops from the vine, being able to control the power from the seed itself would make him invincible. It would be easy to break through to Tsarek's dwelling, return to the Cor and rescue his father.

His confidence fades as his knees began to shake, his heart rapping in his chest like a toy drum. He needed more lumien power, but the other two small globes were nowhere to be seen. The mother lumien was hiding them from him like a hen hiding her chicks beneath her wings. Pushing his hand through the tendrils, he located one, but it was now solidly attached to the rock and the vines fought against him. Pulling out his pocketknife he flicked the blade open and cut through the stem.

A gush of liquid light squirted out, ran down his arm and dripped on the cavern floor. Ignoring it, Corvan eagerly sucked the fruit from the seed but this time it didn’t give the same satisfaction. His body was craving the seed, not the fruit, but he didn’t dare eat another one.

A wave of dizziness dropped him to his knees and a stabbing pain shot across his chest. There was no choice now. He needed the power from inside the seed. Taking a tiny nibble he allowed the rush of power to run straight into his throbbing heart. The hollow feeling subsided and the pain melted away.

The rest of the seed lay twitching in his hand, bright liquid oozing from where he bit into it. Could he handle more? Already he felt stronger and more capable. A bit more should do it. Taking another tiny bite, he let the seed's energy flow into his core along with the overwhelming assurance that he could easily handle more. Popping the rest of the seed into his mouth, he chewed fast.

The energy filled his nostrils and shot up into his head. His eyes watered as the raw power throbbed in his chest. Wrapping his arms around himself he pulled away from the rock wall. If the energy got away on him, it might tear his heart in two.

Fear set in as Corvan struggled to keep the power from jumping out of his chest. It was too much to hold and he let a tiny bit into his veins. It ran wild through his body and then settled down as he directed it into his right arm. The muscles in his forearm tensed and rippled, just like the forearms of the Chief Watcher.

Could he become as evil as the black lizard? Was the power evil? Couldn’t he use it to defend others. He could use it to set things right and make people like Billy stop hurting others. Just like Charles Atlas in his comic books, nobody would be able to push him around anymore. He could stand up for himself and for others.

Getting to his feet, Corvan focused on keeping the power restrained inside his heart, then gingerly reached out and touched a finger to the rock wall. A twinge of pressure rose in his chest and shoulders, but the energy remained confined.

Opening his hand, he grabbed the edge of the jagged rock where the first bolt of energy had blasted a hole. Placing the other hand next to the hole, he released a small amount of power into both his arms and his muscles bulged. Corvan tugged on the piece of rock and pushed away with his other arm. A wedge of granite broke away from the wall. The chunk must weigh a good fifty pounds but to his energy-rich muscles it felt like a baseball.

Pulling his arm back like a pitcher on the mound, Corvan released more energy into his bicep and hurled the stone down the length of the cave.

The rock shattered to bits in an explosive cloud of debris.

A shadowed form took shape within the dust, then ran directly at him.