Chapter XVI, Reading 4

Flindra regained consciousness and was immediately aware that her hands and legs were bound tightly. Her face was pressed against a rough wooden floor. Then through the fog of her stunned mind, she sensed the motion - this was no floor, she was in the hold of a boat.
She willed herself to make no noise. She needed to think without drawing the attention of her captors who she heard close around her. Rigga was still on her finger - the shield was still maintaining itself at skin level, but the power level was low because of the fog gripping her mind. She concentrated on the shield, willing it to strengthen. With an effort, the power shield reinforced itself. Then Flindra extended it an inch or two beyond the surface of her body.
The pain in her body lessened as she was bathed by the power of the intensifying shield. As the pain lessened, her mind cleared. When she felt strong enough, she expanded the shield to probe around. Flindra felt the unconscious presence of Sergeant Leitho as he lay in the hold a few feet from her. He was too deeply unconscious for her to prod awake. She hoped he was not seriously injured.
The effort of extending the shield was wearing on Flindra's weakened condition. She pulled the aura back around herself being careful to have the limits extend beyond her body.
Then she remembered the orb. She could feel that it was no longer hidden in her tunic! Had it been taken from her? Panic gave enough strength and direction to her mind that she could probe for it. She willed it to respond to her. As she concentrated, Flindra began to perceive its presence but was unable to locate it in space.
A memory of one of Kewero's lessons shot uninvited through her mind. She remembered her mentor explaining the cavern system. Kewero had mentioned that the caves were offset from the world, offset in both space and time. They existed in a separate reality. The shimmering zone they passed through to reach the cavern was a passage between the realities.
Flindra concentrated on locating the crystal sphere. She imagined her mind passing through the barrier separating the two realities. It was just like the lessons she went through to control the barrier to the caves. What she imagined soon became real. Her mind had passed through the barrier and was aware of the orb being here - in this place beyond space. It was safe and Flindra knew she could summon it back to the world. She would leave it where it was for the time being.
Her mind was pulled back to her own reality. She was too tired to maintain the disciplined effort necessary to remain in contact with the alternate reality. Since she was unable to do anything else, she decided to sleep. She would need all her wits and strength to escape from this predicament.