Page 48 of Abalim

After blinking to clear his watering eyes, it dawned on him how quiet it was.

The normal sounds of people taking care of their daily business were muted. As were the sounds of insects and normal background noise of animals.

A line of Lumarians created a humanoid corridor that started from the elders’ hut to the Ritual of Renewal tree at the end. Their bright pupilless eyes were shimmered in dull yellow while others were a blazing red. Some eyes were narrowed in anger or widened in shock.

Or, vice versa. No telling with aliens.

To avoid getting slammed by unwanted emotions, he braced his psionic abilities to block everyone. Except for Lisa. He carefully joined his mind with hers. Ugh, he was hit by her inability to control what she sensed, which threatened to overwhelm her.

My inkheart.He made sure his mental voice was soothing and nonthreatening.

She tripped.

He gripped her elbow to keep her steady.Keep walking. I’ll help you control the emotions you’re drowning in.

Her smile lit up her face.Thank you,she mentally replied, her shoulders drooping as if tension was released. Biting her lower lip, she glanced at the quiet Lumarians they passed.Most of them don’t want to see us sacrificed at the tree. Only a handful do.

Unfortunately, it only takes a handful to intimidate the many.

A bright light from the tree caught his attention.

“NO!” Maelani screamed, with one of her hands extended. She burst into a run before any of the guards could stop her.

Her escape created mass confusion. The Lumarian corridor broke up as most of them ran behind her.

In the scramble, the guards were shoved aside and lost control of the prisoners.

“What’s going on?” Lisa exclaimed as they ran to catch up with Maelani and Dravik in front of the massive ritual tree.

Abalim skidded to a stop and grabbed Lisa’s arm to hold her in place. His eyes widened as he witnessed three Lumarians from their group along with Alarea, all handcuffed to the tree, disappear in a wave of shimmering sparkles.

“Oh, my god!” Lisa exclaimed with her fingers covering her mouth. “It looks like they’ve been transported.” She gripped his forearm in a strong grasp. “Maybe they aren’t being killed at all!”

He glanced at her with his brows furrowed and a frown. “Transported?” He’d never heard that word before. “What’s that? I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Mister Abalim, sir.” JR15 crawled out of his hiding place to talk on while riding on Abalim’s shoulder. “It’s a type of teleportation machine that is a subspace device capable of instantaneously sending an object or person from one location to another.”

He sent an incredulous stare first at his bot friend and then at Lisa. “Really?” He studied the image of the last of the young Lumarians disappearing. If anyone asked him, he’d swear the tree absorbed them instead of them being sent somewhere else.

The crowd surrounded the tree with angry fists pumping in the air. The air filled with their shouts, whistles, and clicks.

At once a group of Lumarians turned their back on the crowd, held hands and began to sing.

We call to thee, Echovara

Ancient and mighty.

Accept our humble offerings,

Our souls

Our trust

In the name of our survival,

We sing our sacred chant to thee.

The wide bark of the tree moved and rippled until an image of an out-of-focus elder Lumarian became clear.

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