It meant nothing to Jake, but it clearly did to Zamara. "Duran... that was the name of Sarah Kerrigan's consort."

"Wait, whoa, I thought Ethan was her consort?" Jake asked, confused.

"He left Kerrigan," Zeratul responded. "Duran claimed to be superior to her, a servant of a far greater power."

Jake tried to take this all in. Somehow, according to xel'naga physiology, zerg and protoss were to be combined. But the hybrid that Zeratul had seen wasn't that.

That meant it had to be someone else. And that meant...

"Someone has got the arrogance—or the stupidity—to try to mess with the xel'naga," Jake breathed. "And if they succeed—"

"The xel'naga will not be reborn. Instead, a monstrous and powerful perversion of both protoss and zerg will be set loose upon the universe, and all that we know and cherish will fall in their wake."

CHAPTER 17

THEY WERE DIRE WORDS, EXTREME WORDS, BUT Jake felt they barely scratched the surface. Zeratul had been almost motionless, save for his furious trembling. Now he unfolded himself from his squatting position so quickly it startled Jake.

"We have lingered here long enough. We have told the stories that need telling. It is time for action. We do not know who or what is behind these events; but we know that Ulrezaj and Samir Duran are involved to some degree." He turned his glowing eyes to Jake, speaking to both him and Zamara. "Our prophecy states that the Twilight Deliverer's reappearance heralds a great crisis. A time when things that seem to be in opposition must join together if we are to triumph. We saw it in Adun—the first to use the energies of both Aiur protoss and dark templar to protect the dark templar and save the Aiur protoss from making a tragic error from which they could never recover. We saw it in Tassadar, when he began to listen to me and what I had to teach. No teacher has ever been prouder of his pupil than I of him. And he taught me much as well. Things that until recently, I have forgotten."

A hint of Zeratul's shame brushed Jake again, but there was no self-pity, just acknowledgment, acceptance, and the resolve to move forward.

"I thought the prophecy fulfilled when Tassadar brought us together—when we joined to fight the zerg and do what we could to save our people. He sacrificed himself to destroy the Overmind. And yet, this crisis that faces us now is even more atrocious, more abhorrent, than losing our homeworld. It could mean losing...everything."

His eyes glowed brightly. "I think perhaps the Anakh Su'n has yet one more manifestation before all is said and done. But first, we must take care of you—both of you. There is a place, one of the first settled by the dark templar soon after we were exiled from Aiur. Though we have spent many hundreds of years exploring the Void since we found Ehlna, we have not forgotten it. It is a place of lore and knowledge. Indeed, our term for it, 'Alys'aril,' means Sanctuary of Wisdom."

Zeratul hesitated. "I once considered traveling there myself, on pilgrimage. It is instilled in us that we should do so, as we have no preservers to keep the memories for us."

"I remember, you once spoke of such a method of preserving knowledge among your people, but you did not tell me where," Zamara replied. "That is why I sought you out."

Zeratul nodded. "You have a crystal? From the chambers that lie beneath the surface of Aiur?"

"Yes," Jake answered. "Zamara seemed to think a crystal from there would give us a better chance of success in downloading her knowledge."

"May I see it?"

Jake smiled. "Of course." He fished in his pockets for the precious shard, his hand closing on it gently. Even to him, a non-telepath, it felt powerful. Warm and smooth in his hand, it seemed to have a vibration that was not physical, that one sensed with the soul rather than the body. He knew from experience that the sensation, now pleasant, would increase to the point of discomfort, and he let it drop into Zeratul's outstretched hand. Zeratul's eyes widened the instant it touched his palm. Two thumbs and two fingers closed over the precious item.

"Powerful indeed," he said softly. "I have never felt the like. Not even in the Alys'aril, not even in the Uraj and Khalis crystals. Truly, this is special—I will not say unique, for as you have said, many more crystals exist in those chambers. What a powerful force for good or ill they would be." He peered at the gem, cupping it carefully, reverently. "I am even more distressed to learn that Ulrezaj has commandeered the chambers now that I can sense for myself the power he controls."

Reluctantly, he extended his hand to Jake. "You are the best custodian of this for the moment, Jacob. You would not be tempted to use it, as I would. Save this for yourself—for Zamara."

Jake nodded and slipped the crystal back into his vest.

Zeratul hesitated. "Zamara.. .Jacob. Surely you must be aware that what you ask has never been attempted. We are able to capture memories of ordinary dark templar. A preserver is something else entirely. And to retrieve those memories from a human brain.. .could prove to be impossible. One or the other, or both of you, could die."

"We know," Jake said before Zamara could speak. "But honestly—is there even an option? If I don't get Zamara out of my head, I'm definitely going to die, and if I die, all her memories die with me. There might be a chance to transfer Zamara's memories to another preserver, but it'd be even harder to find one of those than get to Ehlna, especially now that we know Ulrezaj has been trying to kill them all. We've got this," and he patted the crystal in his pocket. "And we've got you. If anyone can convince the Keepers of Wisdom that this is an important task, it's you, Zeratul. I'm willing to take the risk because, hell.. .it beats sitting here and dying on a pink planet."

Zeratul half closed his eyes and hunched his shoulders, laughing.

"Then let us go to Ehlna, where the Keepers of Wisdom will do all they can to preserve a preserver, and save a human life."

Jake had, for some reason, gotten the impression that this was going to be a long journey. But as he rose to join Zeratul and said, "We should probably lay in some supplies—I'm going to need food and water for however long it takes," Zeratul only chuckled.

"If you are hungry, eat now. Otherwise, I am certain food will be found at the Alys'aril for you. Ehlna is not the most congenial of worlds, but it has clean water, and there is life upon it."

"Oh...1 thought this place was pretty far from here."

"Not via warp gate," Zeratul replied. Jake followed him into his small atmospheric craft and settled in, blushing a little. "Remember, Jacob, the gates are not protoss technology. They are creations of the xel'naga. And there is one on Ehlna. It is why we are still able to return, most of us, on pilgrimage, to haveour memories recorded for future generations."

"Those on Aiur could have found you any time they wanted to then."

"Not if they did not know the gate's coordinates. But if they did, yes, they certainly could. And if they ever had, I think my people would have looked on it as an act of destiny."

It was a short trip to the warp gate, and Jake looked out the window at the pink sky and purple-hued landscape. He would miss it. Zeratul had been right—it was a soothing and calming place. Even his headaches had seemed less frequent here. Absently he rubbed his temple, where he realized another monster of a headache was waiting, like a coiled serpent. He bit his lip and willed it back.

Soon, Jacob, this will be over, Zamara said, offering comfort.

One way or another, right?

She chuckled, sadly. One way or another.