Read Online The Crystal Sorcerers by William R. Forstchen - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: William R. Forstchen
Ads: Link
with Leti and Storm they now felt slightly uncomfortable at the naked presence of the other's partner.
A bit shyly, the two disrobed--to chuckles of amusement of the two women.
"Well, let's go skinny-dipping," Mark cried, and leaped off the cliff.
Plummeting down the face of the cliff, he snapped up his shield as Leti had told him to. Extending his arms outward, he slammed into the water, his shield protecting him from the impact. For a moment he felt a slight twinge of panic as he continued to streak downward and held his breath.
Tentatively he breathed in and exhaled. Around the edge of the shield he saw a sheet of bubbles break away and rise up.
He took another breath and exhaled, and another ring of bubbles raced to the surface.
Three dull thuds snapped through the water, and Ikawa, Leti, and Storm came streaking down toward him.
Fascinated, Mark watched as they spiraled around each other, drifting through the water with the same effortless ease as flying through the air. Yet everything down here seemed to be taking place in slow motion, with graceful, languid movement replacing the sharp, rapid-fire maneuvers of flight.
Delighted, he started to laugh and watched as the three descended past him. For all the world he suddenly felt as if he were in a vast cathedral of blue, the three other swimmers drifting down like angels dropping from heaven. The pale beams of sunlight filtered about them like light through the stained glass windows of a cathedral.
Rolling back over, he watched as they drifted down into the darkness, their halos of bubbles rising around him in ever-expanding circles.
Following his friends downward, he was fascinated as the pale turquoise blue of the upper region slowly transformed into a darker blue like the early evening sky, which interplayed with the shimmering beams of sunlight.
An iridescent column of yellow forms came spiraling up out of the depth and he almost cried out with joy as the column broke into a spiraling circle of thousands of yellow fish, striped vertically with slashes of violet.
Blending in with the school, Mark found himself surrounded in a shifting kaleidoscope: One moment the fish were all swimming end-on, presenting razor sharp images; then in an instant the school would shift, and the dark blue of the ocean would become a rainbow of color.
Downward the school turned, mixing with another column of fish. Mark followed, shifting as they did, looping and arching. Colors gradually dropped away into yet a deeper blue, as if the gentle mantle of night was washing over his world.
"Mark, can you see me?"
Snapped from his reverie by the voice from his communication crystal, he looked about. His three companions were nowhere in sight.
He felt a vague uneasiness in this twilight world.
"Hold up your offensive crystal and set it as a diffused beacon of light."
As Storm had instructed, he raised his right hand. A wide beam shot out, illuminating the fish so that their colors seemed to explode. Under the glare of the beacon, the thousands of fish which had surrounded him, and had appeared to be dark green in the muted light of the deep, suddenly stood out in high contrast, revealing a rainbow swirl of reds, yellows, and burgundy, so that the water seemed almost on fire.
Again his attention drifted as he observed the alien world about him.
"Still can't find me?" Storm said playfully, with a slight note of chiding in her voice. "It's a skill you should learn."
Mark swung his beacon back and forth but could not locate her.
"Your farseeing ability, silly."
Nodding to himself, Mark shifted his focus, channeling his attention.
The world about him seemed to shift slightly, and then from below, at five o'clock, he could detect three blips.
"Just like sonar!" he cried.
"A little sub chase," Ikawa laughed.
He rolled over into a dive, rapidly picking up speed.
Two of the blips remained motionless, but the third broke away to the left in a tight spiral turn.
Suddenly Ikawa and
A bit shyly, the two disrobed--to chuckles of amusement of the two women.
"Well, let's go skinny-dipping," Mark cried, and leaped off the cliff.
Plummeting down the face of the cliff, he snapped up his shield as Leti had told him to. Extending his arms outward, he slammed into the water, his shield protecting him from the impact. For a moment he felt a slight twinge of panic as he continued to streak downward and held his breath.
Tentatively he breathed in and exhaled. Around the edge of the shield he saw a sheet of bubbles break away and rise up.
He took another breath and exhaled, and another ring of bubbles raced to the surface.
Three dull thuds snapped through the water, and Ikawa, Leti, and Storm came streaking down toward him.
Fascinated, Mark watched as they spiraled around each other, drifting through the water with the same effortless ease as flying through the air. Yet everything down here seemed to be taking place in slow motion, with graceful, languid movement replacing the sharp, rapid-fire maneuvers of flight.
Delighted, he started to laugh and watched as the three descended past him. For all the world he suddenly felt as if he were in a vast cathedral of blue, the three other swimmers drifting down like angels dropping from heaven. The pale beams of sunlight filtered about them like light through the stained glass windows of a cathedral.
Rolling back over, he watched as they drifted down into the darkness, their halos of bubbles rising around him in ever-expanding circles.
Following his friends downward, he was fascinated as the pale turquoise blue of the upper region slowly transformed into a darker blue like the early evening sky, which interplayed with the shimmering beams of sunlight.
An iridescent column of yellow forms came spiraling up out of the depth and he almost cried out with joy as the column broke into a spiraling circle of thousands of yellow fish, striped vertically with slashes of violet.
Blending in with the school, Mark found himself surrounded in a shifting kaleidoscope: One moment the fish were all swimming end-on, presenting razor sharp images; then in an instant the school would shift, and the dark blue of the ocean would become a rainbow of color.
Downward the school turned, mixing with another column of fish. Mark followed, shifting as they did, looping and arching. Colors gradually dropped away into yet a deeper blue, as if the gentle mantle of night was washing over his world.
"Mark, can you see me?"
Snapped from his reverie by the voice from his communication crystal, he looked about. His three companions were nowhere in sight.
He felt a vague uneasiness in this twilight world.
"Hold up your offensive crystal and set it as a diffused beacon of light."
As Storm had instructed, he raised his right hand. A wide beam shot out, illuminating the fish so that their colors seemed to explode. Under the glare of the beacon, the thousands of fish which had surrounded him, and had appeared to be dark green in the muted light of the deep, suddenly stood out in high contrast, revealing a rainbow swirl of reds, yellows, and burgundy, so that the water seemed almost on fire.
Again his attention drifted as he observed the alien world about him.
"Still can't find me?" Storm said playfully, with a slight note of chiding in her voice. "It's a skill you should learn."
Mark swung his beacon back and forth but could not locate her.
"Your farseeing ability, silly."
Nodding to himself, Mark shifted his focus, channeling his attention.
The world about him seemed to shift slightly, and then from below, at five o'clock, he could detect three blips.
"Just like sonar!" he cried.
"A little sub chase," Ikawa laughed.
He rolled over into a dive, rapidly picking up speed.
Two of the blips remained motionless, but the third broke away to the left in a tight spiral turn.
Suddenly Ikawa and
Similar Books
