“I’m not smart enough to use this thing! Ry’nao, I was supposed to give this necklace to you—” I started to lift it.

His four-fingered hand shot out and pressed it against my collarbone! “Ella, if you remove it, you will die, and Farley also!”

“But, you can use it to save the Thirteen! There are poisons from the 6th level on Esta Faho, and everyone from there is dying!”

He gasped! I think it takes a lot to make an emperor gasp! “Child, I could not use it even if I could take it! I think you are able to use it because your husband can. I do not know enough to use it! But, it may teach you how—”

“I just want my husband to live! And, his brother!” I didn’t think before blurting that out!

Farley stood in front of me. Looked around. “Where is this? Did we travel to Bisillipia?”

Farley’s new clone stood beside him and held him up! “Nae, we are on Alb Seer! I am alive?” He looked at me. “Ella, you used the necklace!”

I grabbed Farley! “You weren’t supposed to give this thing to me! Put it back on! I don’t want you to die!” I sobbed.

He put his arms around me and kept a hand on the back of my neck. A very cold hand. “Ella, if you used it, keep her! I nae know how to–I thought it merely a necklace of stones that reflect telepathic attacks.” His eyes turned black.

The necklace spoke to both of us. You must act quickly, before the poisons take both of your memories. We go to the site of the weapons facility.

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Suddenly, we just stood on black glass. This place wasn’t Elshar Zheiea! Red sky and five moons, where one small one traced a path across the other four, but it’s night here! Yellow sand—pale yellow—ended on one side. Bare sand led to a mountain range. The other side was all black glass. We sank into it.

Farley held me! “What happened? Where is the weapons facility?”

“Pirad ported it into a sun, and it destroyed the star system!”

Foolish one. It destroyed a hundred. But they were not inhabited worlds. They all had substances forbidden on this level. The only world left with these substances is this one. And, it is mine, at last!

An Elshar walked towards us! Farley tried to reach with his telepathy, and it didn’t go anywhere. It hurt! He tried harder and nearly fell! I held him up, away from that poison dust! I wished Mican dead, but it didn’t work.

Did you think you could control it? I let you think that. Your friends do not know where you are. This world’s mines are automated. They won’t find you for a very long time.

Mican jerked the necklace off me and threw it on the black glass. We were underground in a black glass room with no openings. The necklace shattered into fine dust!

Then he just walked out. We tried to follow him and bounced off. Fell.

Some of the shattered necklace dust absorbed into Farley’s wrist. I brushed it off but it stuck to my hand. Absorbed into me, as if I were Zheien!

Farley put his hand on it. Smiled. Before I could stop him, he smoothed his hand over all of it and it was gone.

“Love, we don’t know what that will do to you—”

He tried reaching with his telepathy and a white flash startled me. Farley cried!

I pulled him against me. Even our mindlink hurt!

And Mican laughed.

It’s cold here. Farley will die first. And, we can’t even share memories, or we’ll hurt each other! What a horrible way to die! I laid down and pulled my husband on top of me. He’ll stay warm longer if he’s not touching that awful floor.

As I laid down, I looked up. Open sky? But, if it’s open, how is it blocking our telepathy?