“Yes, as were the gliders when they came. Why that isn’t still the case today, I don’t know. But I wish you could’ve heard the way my father told this story. He put you right there, amid it, so you literally experienced the people’s horror when the Gaptors appeared, then their panic when the gliders followed. My ancestors were convinced our world was being invaded by giant beasts—one an enormous version of something they were familiar with and the other a total abomination.”
Kayla shook her head. “Those poor people.”
“You have no idea,” Atu said. “Already incapable of fighting off one aberration, my ancestors were horrified when the gliders appeared. I can imagine their conjecturing about what new torment was about to befall them.”
“I bet,” Kayla agreed.
Atu nodded, then continued. “Rationally, when the gliders landed near their village, my ancestors scattered, convinced they were under attack again. But as they ran, they heard a voice calling them, urging their return. It conveyed the desire to help, assuring them the visitors had not come to harm them.”
“What did they do?” Jaden breathed, his eyes bright with excitement.
“Unsure, my ancestors slowed their retreat but remained hidden. Eventually, when the new arrivals still made no move to harm them, they crept back, desperate to believe the herald but still wary of a trap. When they were close enough to identify the one speaking, they doubted the truth of his statements. His size made it doubtful he could do anything, much less help them. He was small with furry ears and the feathered appearance of a giant owl, but he could speak, and he had arms.”
“Zareh!” the teens breathed in unison.
It was Atu’s turn for surprise. “You know him?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Jaden grimaced. “We’ve met, but to say that we know him would be a gross overstatement. We can tell you more about him later. Please, continue.”
“Well, it didn’t take the little guy long to persuade our ancestors that he and his companions really were there to help. That objective achieved, he did a strange thing. He called for volunteers to ride on the backs of the giant bats he’d brought with him.”
“The first voyagers?” Kayla deduced, a faint smile touching her face. She glanced at Jaden and found him watching her, a grin playing at the corners of his generously curved mouth. His scrutiny seemed more than that of just a casual observer, making her squirm. Why is he looking at me like that? What is he thinking? No, focus on the mission! Not Jaden!
Before she could explore the thought, Atu confirmed her assumption, explaining how the people had initially been dubious. That was, until one of their warriors volunteered. Then no one wanted to be left out. Despite this, there were still more bats than people in the tribe, so the remaining unpaired gliders flew away. A few days later, they returned, all bearing voyagers of their own.
With the gliders reassembled, Zareh trained the group, working with both gliders and their voyagers until they satisfied him they could mount an effective offensive. The scene on the wall depicted the few gliders and their voyagers, who volunteered to lure the Gaptors into the valley where they’d set the trap.
The Gaptors, ignorant of the gliders’ presence until then, spotted the small volunteer group and snatched at the bait. Chasing maniacally after opponents from their own world, they were of a singular mind—to defeat those who now stood between them and successfully completing their mission. They wanted to crush the opponents who had humiliated them before.
Their hatred of the gliders was their downfall. Not taking time to first consult with their master, they pursued blindly, their loathing driving them beyond reason. Once snared in the valley, it was too late to access their master’s wisdom, and they were too busy fighting off their enemies to formulate a plan of any kind.
A brief but bloody battle ensued, and the voyagers slew all the Gaptors. All except one. Somehow, he miraculously escaped the initial attack and concealed himself behind a ridge where he viewed all that transpired from afar. Watching the meticulous execution of Gaptor after Gaptor, he realized his master’s plan had failed abysmally, and rather than lose his own life, he slipped away. But Zareh spied his retreating form and sent a few of the gliders and their voyagers after him.
Already battle-weary and their stamina all but gone, the group pursued the fleeing Gaptor. But he had strength to spare, and they lacked the energy and enthusiasm to keep pace with the desperate escapee. When he passed from their sight, they were forced to concede defeat.
They returned to Zareh, bearing the discouraging news. Zareh merely nodded, informed them he needed to consult with others, and assured them he would return. Then he vanished. It was ten days before he reappeared, by which time the people had given up hope of ever seeing him again.
His return sparked wild cheers, and a spontaneous, jubilant celebration marking their victory ensued. During this celebration, Zareh presented the surviving voyagers with medallions. He commanded them to always keep the medallions within their families, so should there ever be a need for the voyagers again, the gliders would know who to seek. When the revelry concluded, Zareh, and the gliders left, promising they would return if the situation demanded it.
Chapter Eleven
“Where did they go?” Kayla asked.
Atu shrugged. “No one knows. They didn’t disappear, the same way they’d arrived, as the people thought they would. Instead, they flew south until they were beyond even the most farsighted villagers’ vision. Then they vanished. And no one’s laid eyes on a glider since. At least, not until today,” he amended, smiling at Han and Taz.
“And the Gaptor that escaped? That’s the one we zapped today?” Jaden asked.
“It was,” Taz attested.
Jaden sputtered. “But that would make him about a thousand years old!”
“While that may be impossible in your world, it’s not uncommon in ours,” Taz responded. “Also, we can add something here that Atu’s perhaps unaware of. After Zareh left the villagers, he and his companions sealed the breach between our worlds. This cut the communication between the Usurper and his lone remaining Gaptor. Abandoned and isolated, the Gaptor kept to himself, steering clear of humans for a few centuries. We think his philosophy was ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Whatever his thinking, it worked. When there were no immediate sightings of the extant Gaptor, rumors abounded that he’d died of injuries sustained in the battle.”
“Except we know that wasn’t true,” Kayla pointed out.
Taz nodded. “But over time, people believed those rumors, ignoring the possibility he was still alive. And while those who’d experienced the battle relayed the stories of the gliders and Gaptors to their children and on to theirs and down through the generations, the stories eventually drifted into the realm of legend. People forgot, and those who heard the tales thought they were just that—tales. Only the seekers knew the truth and remembered to keep it close to their hearts.”
“I wonder what happened that prevented our families from passing the truth down,” Jaden muttered. His irritation that his own family had not done a better job keeping the story alive was clear.
“Do you remember reuniting with your medallion?” Han interjected before Taz could continue.
“Sure, I found it accidentally when I was clearing out the basement.”
“How much of an ‘accident’ do you think it was that you were the one to find it and not your brother or sister?”
“It was just pure luck—”
“No, Jaden, not luck. Destiny,” Han assured him. “Only one family member in each generation receives the medallion. It’s that member’s responsibility to care for the medallion and pass the stories along.”
“Then why didn’t my family do that?”
“Unfortunately, as was often the case before this age of modern medicine, the caretaker, or seeker if you will, perished before they could pass the information on to the next generation. In those cases where sudden death occurred, the medallions hid thems
elves until the next chosen family member was of an age to become their keeper.”
Kayla giggled. “They hid? Come on, they’re not sentient!”
Han continued like she hadn’t interrupted. “Zareh imbued them with this ability. When the family members came of age, the medallions found their way to their guardian as intended.”
“What you’re saying then, is that when the seeker died unexpectedly, the story died with them?” Jaden asked, pacing the room now.
“Yes. That’s why you and Kayla have gaps in your knowledge. While your grandparents did their best to relay the stories, the tales they were told were so garbled and confused, they could only give you snippets of information instead of the complete picture.”
Taz picked up where she had left off. “As I was saying, the account of the battle became a legend. The Gaptor faded from memory. Until his master found a way to communicate with him. And that was when the attacks started.”
“But how can that be if the doorway was closed?” Kayla asked.
“We don’t know. And we’re still no closer to an explanation. What we know is that after Zareh and the others returned to our world, the Usurper disappeared to avoid prosecution. We conducted extensive searches because we wanted him found and held accountable. Alas, he eluded all attempts, despite abundant evidence he was still in our world.”
“You still haven’t found him after all this time?” Kayla’s asked.
“No, but our level of concern increased when word filtered back that he’d somehow learned of the medallions’ existence. How he got that information, or who relayed his knowledge back to us, remains a mystery. But the theory is that once he found out about the medallions, he devised a way of communicating with the remaining Gaptor. If he could order his agent to retrieve the medallions, he would reduce the chance of resistance when he again returned to conquer your world.”
Kayla huffed. “So there’s no doubt he’s coming back?”
Taz studied her before answering. “All his actions support that theory.”
“Bring it on then,” Kayla challenged. “Let him do his worst. He must get through us first.”
Jaden chuckled. “Whoa, steady, girl! Where’s this coming from?”
“I’m tired of being scared. Doesn’t the saying go, ‘If you can’t beat them, join them?’ Or in our case, if we can’t escape our role, we can make darn sure we win?”
“I like your attitude.”
And there it was again. That amazing smile. Kayla had to look away. Her attempts at focusing on the mission, and not Jaden, were failing miserably. When Jaden smiled like that, it took serious effort to resist him. But it was more than the smile. The way he was looking at her had her heart beating faster. His intense gaze made her feel he could see into her very soul. I sincerely hope that’s not possible. Because what will he do about what he sees there? About to panic, Kayla relaxed when Jaden turned to the gliders.
“That’s all good and well to know the history, but we still don’t know what we’re doing,” Jaden grumbled.
Whirling, Jaden faced her again. Kayla swallowed. Is he looking for a reaction? But Jaden continued talking without his earlier penetrating gaze.
“Remember when we were floundering around in the storage shed and the Gaptor attacked us? Then we heard that clicking sound, right before he just flew away in the middle of his attack?”
Kayla was amazed her brain could still function enough for her to guess where Jaden was going. “You’re thinking that was his master communicating with him?”
“Yeah, I think it was—why else would he have left? He had us down to rights. And only a summons could’ve made him leave us then.”
Taz pounced on the information. “A clicking sound?”
“Yes, like an old rotary telephone would’ve made if you left it off the hook for too long,” Kayla said. “Is that significant?”
“Perhaps,” Taz murmured. “I’ll pass it along. It might help Zareh figure out how the Usurper is communicating into this world.”
Her strange phrase reminded Jaden of something he’d picked up on earlier. “Han, what did you mean before when you said, ‘you’ve opened the door?’”
Han sighed. “If you hadn’t killed our attacker, I presume he would’ve reported back to his master as usual. Because he’s dead, he can’t. Assuming I’m right, when he misses his check-in, scheduled or otherwise, the Usurper will suspect we have destroyed his agent, or at least compromised him. It might lead him to conclude that whoever his opponents are, they’re capable of fighting off a lone Gaptor.”
Jaden laughed. “Yeah, because we knew exactly what we were doing.”
Han brushed off the sarcasm. “But you did kill him. With this thought in mind, the only way the Usurper’s likely to still get what he wants is to reopen the door and send more than a single Gaptor through. That’s what I meant.”
Jaden’s pacing picked up. “So, by killing his agent, we’ve forced the Usurper into finding a way to open the door between our worlds again. Only by doing that can he get more of his minions here and ensure his success.”
“But that contradicts your earlier statement about the Gaptors being confined to your world,” Kayla pointed out. “So which is it? They’re confined or they’re not?”
Taz answered this time. “The Usurper entered your world once before. Having since had a few hundred years to mull it over, it’s probable he’s found a means to enter your world again. And now that he has a reason to, vis-à-vis, no agent apprising him of the situation here, he may well open the door a second time. Especially if it’s in line with his timing to invade your world. Therefore, while we currently have the Gaptors confined, it will only take another breach to change things.”
Jaden scowled. A few minutes later, he shook his head. Then the rage was back.
Kayla, watching the play of emotions on Jaden’s face, asked, “Jaden, what are you thinking?”
“There’s a lot of theorizing going on here. And even if the gliders are right, how can anyone blame us? We didn’t have a choice killing that Gaptor, did we? Besides, we didn’t know the relic stones would do what they did. And even if we did, we would’ve done the same thing—otherwise, we’d be the corpses instead of that monster.”
Jaden paused, and Kayla waited a moment before pressing him. “And?”
“Pursuing this line of reasoning and considering Zareh’s expectations that we’re supposed to be saviors, more Gaptors entering the world must’ve been a foregone conclusion somewhere along the line. Why didn’t Zareh warn us? Why didn’t our gliders mention more Gaptors existed? They had ample opportunity to correct our misconception. I mean, it was glaringly obvious that we believed we only needed to conquer the one predator. So Han’s earlier explanation that telling us about the other Gaptors wasn’t necessary because they weren’t here doesn’t hold water.”
“Jaden, you’re making my head hurt,” Kayla complained. “All these questions don’t seem to have a point. You’re going round in circles.”
Jaden gave her a weak smile. “What I’m trying to say is that we aren’t being given the tools we need to succeed. There are too many things we don’t know and too much we’re finding out after the fact.” Jaden glared at the bats. “Can you at least tell us why we’re being kept in the dark?”
Chapter Twelve
Kayla needed an answer as much as Jaden. “Yes, why are we being kept in the dark?”
Taz ruffled her wings, ordering her thoughts. When she replied, her tone lacked its usual haughtiness. It was almost kind. “Contrary to your belief, we don’t have all the information either. Regarding the knowledge we do have—and yes, we know more than you—there are limitations on what they permit us to share with you and when. Before you ask, this is because Zareh believes it will compromise the mission if you’re told too much, too soon. An assessment I agree with,” Taz ended quietly.
Ouch, that’s a slap in the face, Kayla thought. Taz doesn’t think we can handle knowing what we’re in
for? It must be worse than we imagined. She couldn’t help the biting retort. “Nice to know our gliders have such confidence in us.”
Taz’s gaze was cool. “It’s not that we don’t believe you’re talented. In fact, when we compare you to the other voyagers we learned about in our training, you two are by far the most promising.”
“In which case,” Kayla shot back, “is there ever a time you think you might trust us with a full report?”
“Like I said, it’s not about you. It’s entirely related to the information. It’s dangerous. If we tell you all we know and you’re captured by the Usurper, it’ll be worse for all of you. Is this making sense yet?”
Jaden voiced the question plaguing Kayla. “Just to be clear, we only get as much information as we need right now to get to the next step and no more because if we have it all and the enemy captures us, the world will be toast?”
Han nodded. “That’s about the gist of it. Barring a life-and-death situation, they prohibit Taz and me from giving you information beyond certain boundaries, despite our feelings on the matter.”
Jaden threw his hands up. “Fantastic!” Then something else occurred to him. “Did you two know the relic stones could destroy the Gaptor?”
Han hopped from foot to foot, delighted to have a question he could answer without incurring Jaden’s wrath. “No, we didn’t. We knew they were a threat, but we didn’t know why.”
“Gratifying to know we weren’t the only ones surprised, then. We can agree that question’s answered categorically.”
Kayla thought of something. “You mentioned the Gaptor reported to the Usurper. He’s the one who ultimately controls them, then?”
Taz’s smile conveyed pride, as if Kayla had just worked something out. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“If that’s true, then the Gaptors aren’t our actual enemy—their master is. If we beat him, there’ll be no need to fight them. We need to find out what he wants and why he wants it.”
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