A Scholar's Purpose: A Story of Elska (final chapter) by Acton Bell

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When L'ars-K'a'lil D'quin's hands closed over hers, Lyrel felt a jolt that physically shook her, then a flood of emotions overwhelmed her. There were sorrow and anger that she recognized as her own. There was surprise, disappointment, an overpowering sense of self-satisfaction. There was jealousy, envy, and hatred so thick she gagged on it. Then she felt pride, a sense of accomplishment. Then nothing.
Lyrel opened her eyes. D'quin was looking at her, a concerned expression on his face.
It took her a moment to realize she was half lying on the bed with D'quin's arms about her. It felt surprisingly natural. Then she remembered. Sitting up, she demanded, "What was that?"
D'quin drew back. He held the Mthrise crystal in the palm of his hand. "You were holding this," he said. His manner was ashamed and hesitant. "When I touched your hand...." he said, his words trailing off.
Lyrel waited, barely containing her uncharacteristic impatience. There had been something familiar about the emotions she had felt. They were not her own, but they carried the tang of someone she knew.
"The crystal, it is very important to you, isn't it?" D'quin said. He waited for her nod before continuing. "I am a post cognitive. When I touched the hand that held the crystal, I saw its past. There are many strong emotions layered on it," he continued. "The bond we share allowed you to feel some of the emotions that have become attached to it. I am sorry for that. I should have exercised more control."
Lyrel waved away the apology and looked at the crystal. There seemed nothing special about it. Yet.... She lifted her eyes. D'quin sat still, waiting for her to speak. She sensed his unease.
"You saw something in this crystal's past that troubles you," she said.
He nodded, still watching her carefully. "I do not know the ways of the Elysium, but I think something was not right."
She reached toward the hand that held the crystal. "You see visions? Images?"
Again D'quin nodded.
"Can you show them to me?" She rushed on before he could speak. "There was something...I must see it."
In answer he held out the crystal. "Take it," he said, "and try to free your mind of thought."
The crystal was warm, as was D'quin's hand, but Lyrel could not repress a slight shiver of apprehension. There were no Elysium Psis. This was beyond her ken.
Her muscles contracted with sudden tension. She jerked at the light touch on her arm and looked up into D'quin's face. Her breath caught at the warmth visible in his blue-green eyes. For me, she thought, and grew dizzy with the realization.
A wave of reassurance brushed gently across her mind and her resistance tumbled to pieces.
There were no words to describe what she was experiencing. She had been afraid that by opening herself to him she would be subsumed, that she would cease to be; but that was not what was happening at all. At this moment she was more completely herself than she had ever been before.
She had never experienced such intimacy with another. It went far beyond physical contact.