in the middle of the circle of cottages and headed down a path in the opposite direction from the lake tunnel. “So we go back to Ghost City tomorrow and you haven’t morphed into Velmar.”
“That’s your job not mine,” she pointed out with a smile.
“True, but I’m pretty sure you know what I meant. What’s the worst that could happen if you can’t go digging for information?”
“I can try threats and intimidation. That works pretty well on Earth.”
“I know that will make you feel better, but I doubt it will be effective on Zerna. She is deluded enough to think that she can rule the world.”
They strolled along at a leisurely pace, hazy twilight filtering through the trees. “So what are our other options?”
“Deception, of course,” he said dramatically. “My specialty.”
She smiled. “You’ll look like Velmar but you won’t have his power. I’m not sure how that helps us.”
“You’re not yet capable of isolating specific thoughts and memories,” he admitted, but he didn’t let her spirits plummet too far. “However, you created a distinct sensation each time you tried. It was uncomfortable and disconcerting. I want to see if you can push the intensity over into actual pain.”
“I’ll experiment on her, but I don’t want to hurt you.”
“To make the bluff believable, you will have to be confident and convincing. We’ll tell Zerna that you’re just learning how to strip mine thoughts, that I or rather Velmar hasn’t had very much time to mentor you.”
“She’ll want to know why he doesn’t do it himself,” Nikki pointed out.
“It’s against Sarronti law and everything Velmar believes. But he is just antisocial enough that she will believe he trained someone else to do it for him.”
“Go on. How do I convince her that I’m strip mining her memories?”
“You’ll think of everything you suffered because of her and then let it show on your face. Then you’ll hurt the bitch just enough to scare the shit out of her.”
“Tell me what I need to know or I’ll scramble your brain, sort of thing?”
“Exactly. She knows when and how you received your powers, so she’ll have no reason to doubt us. All we have to do is convince her that volunteering the information is a wiser choice than making you dig for it.”
This sounded much more like an achievable plan. “That might work. Do you think pain and fear will be enough to make her buckle?”
“We’ll find out tomorrow.” He led her down a less obvious path. The ground was uneven and rocky so she took her time. This would have been a good day for jeans and a t-shirt, but the package Jaron requested had yet to arrive.
He climbed down a steep incline then turned around and helped her descend. Moss covered rocks and flowering bushes surrounded a small roundish pool. Nikki could hear rushing water, but the pool was still. He led her around the narrow bank until the angle revealed what she was hearing. Water cascaded from a rock ledge about thirty feet above them, crashing into a stream that in turn flowed into the pool.
“Where does the water go?” There was no stream on the opposite side of the pool.
“Underground. In fact pools like this all over the valley are what power the village.”
“Hydroelectric turbines?”
He smiled. “Yes. And in the history of the village, the pools have never run dry so we don’t foresee power becoming a problem.”
“This is really cool. Thanks for showing it to me.”
He chuckled. “Oh, this isn’t what I brought you hear to see.” He led her to a nearby rock and lifted her onto the rounded top. “Watch.” He motioned toward the waterfall.
Thinking she found his face more interesting, she reluctantly shifted her gaze back to the narrow stream of water. She was an avid hiker who lived in one of the most scenic states in America so waterfalls were nothing new to her. This one was surprisingly tall, but not very wide. If he thought this was impressive, she would have to take him to—
The stream of water started to glow with the most amazing tangerine light. It shimmered and gleamed then gradually deepened to burnt orange and finally red. “What is causing the color and why is it changing?” she whispered, mesmerized by the spectacle.
“It’s reflecting the sunset, but the colors are even more vivid than the horizon. I’ve heard the scientific explanation for why it happens, but who cares. I just think it’s beautiful.”
“It’s amazing.”
He waited until the color faded completely then moved