The Ship Who Won by Anne McCaffrey & Jody Lynn Nye

Author:Anne McCaffrey & Jody Lynn Nye [McCaffrey, Anne & Nye, Jody Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure, Space ships, Interplanetary voyages - Fiction, Space ships - Fiction, Interplanetary voyages, Fantasy fiction, People with disabilities, Women - Fiction, Life on other planets, Women
ISBN: 9780671875954
Publisher: Baen
Published: 1994-03-31T23:00:00+00:00

176

"You haven't moved at all, Keff. You're still in the middle of Chaumel's dining room. Everyone is watching you,

and having a good time, I might add. Er, you're staring at

the ceiling."

Keff tried to justify her observation with the terrifying

sensation of falling, the close stone walls, and the gar-goyles, and suddenly all fear fled. He was furious. The

abyss was an illusion! It was all an illusion cast to punish

him. Damn their manipulation!

'That is enough of this nonsense!" he bellowed.

Abruptly, all sensation stopped. The buzzing he suddenly felt through his feet bothered him, so he moved, and

found himself lurching about on the slick floor, struggling

for balance. With a yelp, he tripped forward, painfully

bruising his palms and knees. He blinked energetically,

and the points of light around him became ensconced

torches, and the pale oval Plennafrey's face. She looked

concerned. Keff guessed that she was the one who had

broken the spell holding his mind enthralled.

'Thank you," he said. His voice sounded hollow in his

own ears. He sat back on his haunches and gathered himself to stand up.

He became aware that the other magifolk were glaring

at the young woman. Chaumel was angry, Nokias shocked,

Potria mute with outrage. Plenna lifted her small chin and

stared back unflinchingly at her superiors. Keff wondered

how he had ever thought her to be weak. She was

magnificent.

"Her heartbeats up. Respiration, too. She's in trouble

with them," Carialle said. "She's the junior member here-I'd say the youngest, too, by a decade-and she spoiled her

seniors' fun. Naughty. Oops, more power spikes."

Keff felt insubstantial tendrils of thought trying to

insinuate themselves into his mind. They were rudely

slapped away by a new touch, one that felt/scented lightly

of wildflowers. Plennafrey was defending him. Another

sally by other minds managed to get an image of bloody,

half-eaten corpses burning in a wasteland into his

consciousness before they were washed out by fresh, cool

air.

"Keff, what's wrong?" Carialle asked. "Adrenaline just

kicked up."

"Psychic attacks," he said, through gritted teeth. 'Trying

to control my mind."

He fought to think of anything but the pictures hammering at his consciousness. He pictured a cold beer, until

it dissolved inexorably into a river of green, steaming poison. He switched to the image of dancing in an anti-grav

disco with a dozen girls. They became vulpine-winged harpies picking at his flesh as he swung on a gibbet. Keff

thought deliberately of exercise, mentally pulling the Rotoflex handles to his chest one at a time, concentrating on the

burn of his chest and neck muscles. Such a small focus

seemed to bewilder his tormentors as they sought to corrupt that one thought and regain control.

Sooner or later the magifolk would break through, and

he would never know the difference between his own consciousness and what they planted in his thoughts. He felt a

twinge of despair. Nothing in his long travels had prepared

him to defend himself against this kind of power. How

much more could he withstand? If they continued, he'd

soon be blurting out the story of his life-and his life with

Carialle.

Not that-he wouldn't! Angrily, he steeled his will. If he

couldn't protect himself, he couldn't guard Carialle. Even

at the cost of his own life he must prevent them from finding out about her.

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