Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Squire's Crystal (novel)

Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Squire's Crystal, or simply The Squire's Crystal, was the third novel published by Big Finish Productions as part of their Big Finish Bernice Summerfield series. This was Jacqueline Rayner's first full contribution to the Bernice Summerfield range; she had previously adapted all audio stories of series 1 except Beyond the Sun. This novel is the final novel to feature art by Carolyn Edwards; future novels' art would be done by Adrian Salmon whose work for the range began with The Stone's Lament.

This novel features Bernice Summerfield's body becoming possessed and having sex with Adrian Wall. She doesn't discover she's pregnant until The Infernal Nexus three stories later.

Publisher's summary
Legend tells of an evil sorceress who used the power of magical crystals to transfer her mind into the bodies of others. Her reign of terror was long and bloody, and her final defeat the cause of great rejoicing.

But that's just a legend. A story told to children. Isn't it? I mean, it's ridiculous. It couldn't have really happened... could it?

Finding the last resting place of the Crystal Sorceress is an archaeological dream on a par with discovering the Holy Grail. So it's hardly likely that someone will just offer the solution to Professor Bernice Summerfield on a plate.

But sometimes the unlikely actually happens. And one thing that's very, very unlikely is that Benny will suddenly find herself to be a member of the opposite gender...

Plot
Benny, who is standing in for Braxiatel whilst he is away on business, receives a call from Dominic Troy concerning his discovery of Avril Fenman's tomb. Avril, according to legend, was a squire who left her knight for dead whilst she ran off with a crystal with the power to steal souls. For this crime, she was to be executed, but she used the crystal to exchange hers and the executioner's bodies. She went on to jump from body to body to survive whilst embarking on a reign of terror which finally ended when the Knights of Rowan imprisoned her. Although Dominic works for Arsine de Vallen, Braxiatel's rival, he believes that Avril's prison is on the Braxiatel Collection's asteroid.

Although she is sceptical of Dominic's assertion, not believing that such a thing could possibly go unnoticed during Braxiatel's initial surveys, she arranges for Dominic to receive a visitor's pass. He arrives on the Collection and drinks with Benny until they are interrupted by Adrian, who tells them that the Killorans have broken into a previously undiscovered cavern. After an unsuccessful attempt to get in touch with Braxiatel, Benny goes to the cavern with Dominic and determines that Dominic was right; she is, however, suspicious of him as he is oddly concerned about his appearance and threatens her when she goes to touch Avril's body.

Benny leads Dominic back to the Mansionhouse and says that they will return to the tomb in the morning. She tells Joseph to keep an eye on him and to inform her should he attempt to leave his room during the night. When Dominic does so, he short-circuits Joseph and leaves whilst Benny realises that her wine had been spiked and falls asleep. When she wakes up, she finds that she has been sealed inside the crystal whilst Avril is in control of her body; Dominic wanted the crystal and used Benny to prevent Avril from taking his body, but Avril does not give him the crystal and instead smashes it to ensure that Benny cannot take her body back.

Benny manages to use all of her strength to keep herself in existence, albeit in a non-corporeal form, and she follows Avril and Dominic to Hera where Avril promises to take Dominic to the crystal cavern. At the Hera spaceport, they are joined by a female ally. Benny is unable to keep herself from being pulled into the crystal cave and soon finds herself trapped in another crystal with the souls of the previous victims of Avril Fenman. At the cave, Dominic begins to lose his mind to the crystals just as Avril had anticipated. Before she can kill his now empty body, the woman tries to shoot Avril and, in the confusion, Benny enters Dominic's body.

Avril and the woman fight and the cavern begins to collapse due to damage caused by gunfire. Avril escapes whilst the woman saves Benny, believing her to be Dominic. Before leaving, however, Benny makes sure to pick up a crystal. They fail to catch up to Avril and watch her take the shuttle back to the Braxiatel Collection, which Benny is unable to board due to Dominic's pass being for only one visit. De Vallen's guards demand to know why "Dominic" fled and take the crystal from Benny.

to be completed

Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Adrian Wall
 * Joseph
 * Avril Fenman
 * Irving Braxiatel
 * Dominic Troy
 * Wolsey
 * Arsine de Vallen
 * Poppaea Prince
 * Chevy
 * Rix
 * Calvin Jersix
 * Broderick Naismith
 * Clarissa Jones

Continuity

 * Benny mentions swapping bodies and ending up in a small white cat. (PROSE: Warlock)
 * Benny recalls her wedding day. (PROSE: Happy Endings) Her and Jason Kane's subsequent divorce (PROSE: Eternity Weeps) and Jason currently being lost in another dimension (PROSE: Twilight of the Gods) are also repeatedly referred to.