HIS MUTE MATE
"I can try. But I need to see what you're capable of first."
"How do we do that?"
She stood and walked to a cabinet. She pulled out a crystal—small, smooth, glowing with an inner light.
"Hold this," she said. "And think of your voice."
I took the crystal. It was warm, pulsing.
"Now," she said, "speak."
I opened my mouth. The word came out without thinking: "Submit."
The crystal blazed. Light exploded across the room. Books flew off shelves. Elara stumbled back.