Chapter 7

Ray was speechless. They were both in there? They couldn’t be! What they were describing would mean the death of one of them! Ray turned to say so when she spoke, “No Ray, neither of us will die. You might say we are one being now. I, Nali, used almost all my life force to protect you the last time we were back on the home plane. I, Elizabeth, have had a love for you for many years, though you always seemed too busy to notice me. I didn’t have the courage to approach you. That first time, I almost died when you asked me to,” Leaning close, she kissed him and whispered, “Thank you Ray. Though it was almost pure lust, I enjoyed that more than all of the times with others put together.”

Ray’s eyes shot open and a stupid grin lit up his face, and then just as suddenly, it was gone.

Ray held Elizabeth close. Christ, he thought, he wasn’t sure how he felt about either one of them. Yes, it was true he was starting to develop feelings for both, though he wasn’t sure you could actually call those feelings love. “Both of you,” Ray started, “I can’t tell you how I feel at this moment. I am so unsure. I do feel more than friendship for both of you, but love? I don’t know yet. I have to think about this before I can answer. I don’t want to lose either of you, but I am so unsure.”

“Ray,” Elizabeth started, “both I and Nali are now dependent upon each other, though we can survive if you can’t come to love us,” here Elizabeth sighed, “it would be hundreds of times better if you did. Know that we can never separate again. Our life forces are sustaining each other. You see, we were both about to die,” here Elizabeth lowered her head and her voice. “I was so happy you finally wanted me Ray. I have for a while now. I just found out last week that I WAS dying but not any longer.”

Ray was astounded. He thought he knew everything about all the people that worked at the office. Well, shoot, that theory all to hell! “Have you told work?” Ray asked.

“No, I was going to inform them next week. Then Nali came to me. She offered me a chance to live. It seemed we had a common bond: you. I jumped at it. Anything I can do to be with you longer is worth whatever hell or task I would have to undertake,” Elizabeth explained.

Suddenly the voice changed, “It wasn’t hard to save her or myself. The combination of both our life energies was more than strong enough to sustain the both of us.”

“I understand pretty much the how and the why. The only thing I am not understanding is why me? I am nobody really, I...” Ray started. Here Elizabeth put a finger to his mouth.

“Oh Ray, you are a lot more than you say. I know who you are. I have for a long time. John is just a figurehead. You are the true talent behind the company.” The shocked look on his face being a telling sign. “I thought so, plus you are a hero to the BLEMS as you call them. You have obtained a range of energy far higher than any other human.”

“Still, you two, I don’t feel special nor any different than anyone else,” Ray confessed.

“Yes, we know. As I have come to understand, this is usually the mark of a true hero, one who feels that they are just doing what they are supposed to. In a lot of cases, they even feel it is what anyone else would have done, but they are usually so far from the truth it is pitiful. You are more than special Ray. You have not only given life back to a whole world but saved countless lives. You have also stopped the advance of the Chortons for quite a few years. This, in turn, has allowed a few of their next targets to advance further than the Chortons could possibly take and might even be defeated. The problem is they adjust faster than any but you can. You are the first EVER they have gone against that can adjust faster than they can. It is also why the queen wants you to breed,” Elizabeth said.

Sighing, Ray knew he had to do something to stop them, but what? He only had himself, though he was learning a few tricks now that did seem to be working.

Thinking for a moment, Ray realized just what Elizabeth had just said — the fact that he adjusted faster than they did. The problem was that the last time he had barely been able to drive the power frequency that high. Great, he thought, just what I needed, to fail when I’ve come this far. Finally, after an hour, Ray’s head started to hurt. It wasn’t the fact that he had adjusted as fast as he had; it was HOW he had adjusted. The more he thought about it, the more confused he seemed to get. Great, here I have a way to beat them, and I haven’t a clue how I did it. Lying down, Elizabeth was at his side in a moment. “Ray?” She asked, “are you feeling alright?”