A Song in Ebony Ch. 03

"Careful," said Larry. "Looking into it is how you activate it. Oh, and here's one for you too, Hans." He rolled another gemlike sphere across the desk to the professor, who stopped it with one hand but did not pick it up. The old man regarded it as if it was an unexploded bomb sitting in front of him.

"Is it safe?" he asked Larry. "Is she safe? You admit in this report that she physically attacked you upon your first meeting. I know she apologized about that afterwards, but how can we be sure of her goodwill?"

"How can we be sure of anybody's?" asked Larry. "It requires trust on all sides. As for me, I now trust her completely. That's why I'm going back."

Jaxalla straightened up. "Back? You just got home!"

Larry shook his head. "No. If home is where the heart is, then my home is with Izzy. Don't worry, you can use those gems to come by and see me anytime." He stood and slung his bag over his shoulder. "And now we need some more people to watch my departure."

"More?" asked Hans.

Larry nodded. "After I go, there will be pressure on you to sweep this all under the rug. Those 'thrice-damned Confed bureaucrats' are going to find this all too messy for their worldview. And we need those research areas explored. You two can't do it alone. So I want as many people as possible to see this." He held the green gemstone on his wrist up to his mouth. "Showtime, Izzy."

There was a 'ping' from the terminal in Hans' desk. He opened it. "There's an message from the Master's email account which tells everyone to gather in the Great Court for, quote, 'one hell of a show', unquote." He glowered up at Larry. "I suspect that he did not send that message, Larson."

The young man shrugged with a smile. "Maybe not. C'mon, let's go find out."

Larry opened the door and strode out of the office. After a bit of hesitation, Jaxalla scampered after him. Hans sighed and levered himself up out of the chair.

The little train of three wound their way through the grounds of the college, finally coming to the lawn of the Great Court. Hans heard the sound of a rising commotion as he finally arrived panting at the edge of the lawn.

Larry was walking among the students and faculty, smiling and greeting those few he knew. In his wake was some gasps and pointing. He finally made it to the center of the vast space and spread his arms, turning to address everyone. Hans and Jaxalla stood close by and watched.

"Thank you all for coming. I confess that the Master of the college did not send that message. My colleague did. She is a friend, and believe me when I say that she has nothing but good intentions for us all. Professors Liechtenauer and Jaxalla can fill you in on the details. Let's just say that their department is about to become a hotbed of new research. And now, my friends, I bid you all a fond farewell."

He gave a wink to the two of them, then whispered something into the green gem on his wrist.

What happened next was the other biggest shock of the professor's life. He remembered it all in stark detail and could see it anytime he closed his eyes. Larry's body was suddenly surrounded by a multitude of waving black tendrils that erupted out of the ground around him. They closed around the young man like a flower closing its petals, forming a black tulip-shape. That shape then...left. Hans told the authorities afterwards that it looked as if the giant black tulip had pulled down into the ground, but that was not true. The shape had simply gone elsewhere, moving in some direction that Hans could not point to. There was nothing left but a bare section of lawn and a gaggle of amazed faces.

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Jaxalla rolled the green gem in front of her. She was sitting morosely on a cushion in her office, and it was finally quiet. It had been a very long day after Larry's outlandish departure. There had been many, many meetings with various authorities. Hans had given them his green gem, handling it with a cloth the whole time as if it would contaminate him to touch it. He had avoided telling them about Jaxalla's gem, and she hadn't felt like telling them either.

It was so unfair! Her good friend had come back from the dead, only to leave again. She wanted to talk with him more, find out the details of what had happened. His report had been rather sparse in certain areas. And honestly, she also missed just talking with him.

Although...he had said that she could visit anytime she wanted to. She remembered the manner of his exit and shuddered a bit. She was afraid of trusting something that could just pluck a person out of normal existence like that. But Larry had trusted that entity. And she trusted her friend. It was like he said, trust was required on all sides.

She made her decision, and set herself up a little higher in determination. Jaxalla picked up the gem in her front palps and gazed into it. Very quickly a glowing pattern of light began throbbing in its center. The pattern grew she stared at it, and then became a spinning helical coil that reflected in her multiple oil-drop eyes.

[Hi there, I'm Izzy! What's your name?]

One more spark, to spite the infinite darkness.