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"Only the Brain has the power to reopen the doorways."
Someone had us brought here, and I have a feeling they knew we wouldn't be able to leave. Was it the Echo flier? He abducted us, but then flew away.
"You are wrong, by the way," Aldith says. "You both possess the Echo power. The Brain would not need you otherwise."
We have Echo power, and the Brain needs us. Wow, that's crazy to even think about.
Gabriel rests his hands on his hips and stares down at the carpeting. "A smarter man would know exactly what to do. But I'm no genius, mad or otherwise. You've got the wrong guy."
Aldith tips her head to the side. "You do not believe me, but you will soon."
"We need to find the creature that brought us here," I say. "If we have Echo power, maybe we can do that. Bring him to us."
"You're suggesting we should summon a dangerous creature into the stronghold."
"That's right. But we would contain it. Maybe in one of the rooms that has no windows."
He watches me for a moment, as if he's trying to gauge how serious I am about this plan. I think he knows me well enough by now to realize I'm completely serious about it. Finally, he exhales a big breath. "Fine, let's try that."
Aldith leads us across the hall to a small room that has no windows. Gabriel and I discuss how to make the room safer for us, and that results in removing all the furniture except the bed, which is too big to move. I doubt it would fit through the door.
"Would you like me to assist you?" Aldith asks. "I helped Grant and Erin achieve the necessary state of oneness to access their shared Echo power."
"Sure, help us," I say. "We'd be grateful for your advice."
"Join your hands, one atop the other."
We do that, and Aldith hovers her hand over ours. The air seems to thicken, while invisible energy crackles in the air around us. I can't see it, but I feel that energy on my skin. Glittering light begins to emanate from our hands, and even when Aldith pulls her palm away, the energy continues to build and spread out. My hair stands up, like static electricity has affected it.
Gabriel's eyes have a faint green glow.
Do my eyes look that way too? I don't have time to think about that, because the energy has begun to pulse inside my body. It's not unpleasant. The sensation reminds me of a heartbeat, though it's not my heart causing it. Soon, the rhythm of the magics aligns with the thumping of my heart, and I begin to feel another heartbeat joining mine, merging until I no longerfeel it as a separate beat, but simply another layer melding with me.
Gabriel and I are tuned in to each other. I know that, but I could never explain how or why it happened.
An Echo creature appears beside us. Its wings were retracted behind its back when it arrived, but now the beast flutters his wings in a slightly threatening gesture.
"Why have you brought me here?" he asks. Yeah, it's obvious this is a male creature. He's not wearing any clothes, which means I can see his equipment.
"You kidnapped us from Earth," Gabriel says. "I want to know why."
The creature chuckles. "Because the Brain wanted you, of course."
My intuition has kicked into high gear, and I'm getting an idea about what might be going on. "Did you voluntarily do what the Brain said? Or did you have no choice?"
The Echo flier scowls at me. "I choose my own path."
"Okay, then why did you kidnap us? You said it was because the Brain wanted us, but that doesn't explain why you did it. What did you get out of the deal?"
"There was no deal. The Brain commanded, and I—" He scowls again. "No more talking to you."
He spreads his wings wide, forcing us to back away. Then he tries to kick the door open, but he can't do it. After multiple kicks and punches, he's still trapped in this room with us.
The Echo flier throws his head back and roars.
"Not the master of your own destiny, after all," I say. "So answer our question. Why did you kidnap us?"
Our winged friend stands there fuming for a minute or two, then folds his wings and slumps his shoulders. "I had no choice. The Brain commanded, and I had to obey. I know nothing else. Not why it wanted you, or what it planned to do with you."
