Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie by Heather Ray (beach read book .TXT) 📕

before her. Yet she couldn't bring herself to take a single bite.

Instead, she again drew inward, losing herself in contemplation of this latest incredible turn of events.
Chapter Eighty

After another hour of thought, during which Kimberly weighed the options laid before her, and the ultimate consequences of each, she decided to stop thinking. Taking a breath, she gathered whatever courage she could muster, and strode out of her chamber.

The hall outside was long and narrow, with flickering torches casting shadows along the stone walls. However, despite never being in that particular wing of the palace before, she knew instinctively which way to go.

Maybe I can feel

his evil...

she considered, listening to her heels clap against the hard floor. Maybe, on some level, I'm even drawn to it.

Trying to quell the visceral reaction to that sickening thought, she took another slow breath.

After a few more yards, she came across a set of large, ornate doors. Without even breaking stride, she pushed them open.

"Have we reached a decision?"

Kimberly glared at the Emperor, folding her arms contemptuously. "What 'we'

have are some questions,"

she informed him.

"Then ask."

"The spell you cast on Egeon...is that what you intend for me?"

"Mostly." He stepped toward a lab table, lifting a bowl containing the black salve. "I used this potion, activated with my magic, to selectively numb his feelings. Personally, I'm quite proud of the result."

Kim's eyes slid to the potion, then back to Zedd. "He seemed a little loopy,"

she observed, slowly beginning to pace near the exit. "What exactly

did you 'numb'

?"

"In Egeon's case, I numbed the ability to feel emotional pain," Zedd elaborated. "That includes anger, hate, remorse, guilt, longing, depression...the entire spectrum."

"So he's high."

Zedd shook his head. "I am unfamiliar with that expression. Though, if your concern is not to become 'loopy'

, I can reassure you that I will not change you as drastically as I have Egeon. It would not do for an Empress to be unable to express anger at all. I have already begun refining the spell to suit your specific needs- targeting specific memories to remove the source of much of your pain. It is more difficult than blanketing emotions, but it can be done."

"Is the change permanent?"

"Yes. I cannot reverse the effects."

"Then what happens to me if you mess me up?"

she challenged, flaming eyes glaring at Zedd ruefully. "I'll be brain-fried?"

The Emperor managed to contain a chuckle. "I don't 'mess up'

spells, Kimberly."

The spawn of evil huffed anxiously. "Whatever."

Her hands unconsciously rose to her head, weaving through free-falling waves of hair. "If you remove Maligore's power over me, you'll erase more than my hate. You'll erase my power."

Zedd remained silent for a beat, watching her failed attempt to maintain composure during the discussion. He could feel her inevitable submission draw nearer. Confident in his victory, he made his final play. "You realize, of course, that the spell of Maligore no longer holds you."

She froze in her tracks.

"As I said, I have researched the Flame," he smugly reminded her. "It only imposes upon an individual at Maligore's will. Since Maligore no longer exists, he cannot hold you under its sway. Originally, you were forced to sacrifice your Purity when you were tossed to the Flame. Only now, you choose to relinquish your feelings, in order to keep the power. The only reason you are still bonded to the Flame is because you are desperate to hold it. Correct?"

Kimberly remained frozen, shock warring with the slow dawning of understanding. For some reason, the words Zedd spoke felt true. Almost as if she had unconsciously realized it, but chose not to dwell upon it.

The implications quickly hit her. If I'm holding the Flame, then it's entirely my choice whether or not I feel joy or pain. Only, it's all or nothing. And once I smother the Flame completely...it'll be gone. Completely

.

After giving his prize enough time to ponder her latest epiphany, Zedd answered the question she had asked. "Once the Flame is gone, you will become human again. You will lose your enhanced strength, speed, and mastery over fire. However, that power can be easily replaced. I have imbued inanimate objects with the power to topple mountains. I can infuse you with any of a variety of superhuman abilities." He stepped closer to her, suddenly invading her personal space. "The choice is yours."

Surprisingly, Kimberly didn't pull away. Instead, she folded her arms, lifting her head to look her suitor in the visor.

"I want revenge,"

she stated coldly, her tone brooking no argument. "I won't let Tommy and Kat get away with what they've done."

Zedd hovered at half an arm's length from the human girl, meeting her intense gaze. "I cannot cast the spell for at least another week," he advised her. "It will take me that long to recover my strength after testing the potion on Egeon. The more precise the spell, the more energy it requires." He cocked his head slightly. "That will leave you plenty of time to consider how you would like to proceed against your enemies."

He watched her relax minutely at his accommodating answer. "Does this sound like a favorable arrangement?"

Another lengthy silence hung between the pair -- so quiet, all that could be heard was the shallow breathing of one stricken human.

Kimberly's gaze remained transfixed on the Emperor's face, searching for some clue to his motivations. Yet his expressionless mask of silver and ruby gave her very little insight. Absently, she wondered if there even was a face beneath the gleaming metal.

Even without that simple reassurance, Kimberly found herself moving toward a decision.

Swallowing, Kimberly again locked her eyes pointedly with Zedd's visor...and spoke the word that sealed her fate.

"Yes."

Part Fifteen: Intentions

Chapter Eighty-One

It just didn't feel real.

She heard the word trickle from her lips, confidence in her tone despite the whirl of concerns quietly twisting in the back of her mind. She heard her own voice, and blinked in surprise that she actually

agreed to wed Lord Zedd...the most fear-inspiring villain she'd ever faced in her two-year Ranger career.

She kept her blistering gaze on the Emperor of Evil, trying with all her willpower to appear as nonchalant as he did. It's not a big deal,

she tried to convince herself. He already said he doesn't love me. This will only be an alliance...one of those political marriages.

Only, if that were completely true, what was he

getting out of it?

She held his gaze; assuming, of course, he was actually looking

into her eyes through the ruby visor. It certainly felt

like he was staring at her...making her damn

uncomfortable with his indiscernible gaze.

Vaguely, the bride-to-be wondered how he was going to react. He didn't seem the type to lift her into his arms, gazing adoringly into her eyes while laughing as his anxiety slowly faded into pure joy...

She winced at the memory of that sunny day by the lake, and banished all thoughts of her former

love from her mind. She tried not to remember all the daydreams she'd had of the moment she was finally propositioned. Of Tommy's ecstatic face as he slid a modest ring on her finger.

Suddenly, she was wrenched from her inner thoughts by something cold. Her eyes flying open, she stared at Zedd quizzically. She felt his silver fingertip trace the line of her face, starting beside her left eye and slowly creeping down her jaw.

Once his pseudo-caress reached her chin, he gently lifted her face to meet his gaze steadily. Faintly, Kim wondered at what point her head drooped.

"Excellent," he finally spoke, his voice low. "The galaxy will tremble at our union."

Then, as suddenly as it began, his touch pulled away. He regarded her a few moments longer, his hands falling to his sides. "There is much to prepare. If you will excuse me, my dear."

And with that, the Emperor of Evil swept past her, and out of his own private chamber.

Kimberly stood motionless, her eyes wide as her overwhelmed mind tried to grasp what had just happened to her.

She had been certain

he felt nothing toward her. She had even taken a measure of comfort in the fact that theirs would be a marriage of convenience, and nothing more.

Still, there was definitely something

behind the cold caress. His touch on her skin sent an odd tingle across her entire body, making her insides flip. She had wanted to push him away...to make room between them...only to finally realize that, as her fiancée, he was within his rights to touch her.

"Oh God,"

she murmured, a delicate hand slowly rising to cover her trembling lips. "He...he wants

me!"

She'd caught the note of desire roughening the Emperor's smooth voice. She'd sensed the contemplation behind the caress.

No, he didn't love her. He couldn't

, really. But that didn't mean he didn't feel

...and what he felt left his future wife positively mortified.