The Gathering Read Online Free PDF Page A

you’ll let us risk our lives for Luka, but not you?”
    “Please Link, promise you won’t try to save me.” I scratch my wrist harder, wishing the fire would go numb. I want the past seventy-two hours to be one giant nightmare. I want to wake up inside a hub where Luka is okay and my grandmother’s still alive.
    “Hey.” Link reaches out and gently stills my scratching fingers. “You’re Xena Warrior Princess, remember? You can save yourself.”
    A throat clears loudly behind us.
    Clive stands at the end of the hallway. “The captain sent me to find you. He says we’re ready.”
    My heart speeds up as I follow him through the antechamber toward the training center. I focus on Link’s steady presence beside me and stare hard at the back of Clive’s shoulder, grateful he’s here. On the cusp of his freedom, he could very well be marching to his death. “Thank you for helping us.”
    Clive doesn’t stop. He doesn’t slow or turn around. Our shoes echo in the silent hallway, and then, just when I think he won’t say anything at all, his low voice fills the quiet. “I know what it’s like to be separated from someone you love.”
    By the time we arrive, the training center is crowded. Only a few are missing: Non, who stands guard above ground; Declan, who’s taken Gabe’s place at the door; Anna, repotting plants in the greenhouse while casting a cloak around the hub like always; Fray, who left two hours ago with Dr. Carlyle because his heart is on the verge of ruin. And Luka, asleep inside his dark room. Rosie slips quietly inside behind me and stands next to Jillian, who places her hand reassuringly on Rosie’s shoulder.
    Gabe lifts Cap from his wheelchair and sets him in one of the chairs. Once Cap is settled, he addresses the team, though his attention locks on me. “We do not, under any circumstances, leave Clive’s cloak until I give the command.”
    I nod.
    “As soon as Luka is free, Gabe will get to him and startle. Once they’ve startled, all of us will follow. If you are in danger, you will startle before we complete our mission.”
    I want to object. I want to shake my head in protest. Instead, I force myself to sit in the last remaining seat. Link gives us each probes to attach beneath our collarbones, then quickly hooks another probe to our left temples.
    He saves me for last.
    “Come back to me, Xena.” He sets his hand over mine. I was scratching my wrist again. “All the way back.”
    I think I know what he means, so I nod.
    He nods at Jillian, who stands behind the computer with her finger poised over the keyboard, then turns back to me. “Go time in three … two … one.”
    One second I’m looking into Link’s eyes. The next I’m not.
    *
    I start linking. First Cap, then Gabe. Things are fine until I search for Sticks. It takes longer than it should, and when I finally manage, a stab of pain pierces my temple. Wincing, I blink rapidly and pull in Jose. The pressure in my ears mounts. It’s like my brain is being squeezed.
    “You okay?” Cap’s voice sounds far away. As if I’m at the bottom of a well, and he’s yelling down from the top.
    “I’m fine.” But my voice sounds far away, too.
    This usually doesn’t happen until I’ve linked at least eight people. My max is nine. I’m only at four, with one more to go. Breathing heavily, I use every last drop of mental energy I have to find Clive.
    It’s not easy. The pain is sharp and intense. But I finally manage.
    The six of us stand in a circle. I wait for the pressure to stabilize. This is what happens when I’m done linking. The pressure ebbs a little, but not nearly enough. I’m still breathing like a woman in labor.
    “Are you sure you’re okay?” Cap asks again.
    I wipe the prickles of sweat from my forehead and nod. The six of us hold hands as I squish up my face and think about Luka.
    Nothing happens.
    There’s no tug of a doorway. No shift in gravity. We remain standing in this nebulous dream space. I