by Mikayla Lane
Jodi looked surprised when she turned to David, and he shrugged his shoulders.
“Dizarion said he could show it to me and I had to know where you went and what you did. I’m still trying to comprehend what I saw there. Do you really find those infected by evil and destroy it?” David had to ask even though he saw Dizarion do it with his own eyes.
He was a little shocked by the gleam that came into Jodi’s eyes when she looked at him.
“That’s exactly what we do. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me,” Jodi growled.
David was speechless at the anger he felt coming from her and was glad when Tiernan explained it for him.
“Mom is hunting and destroying all of those who’d been tormenting her over the years. She’s really good at it.” There was pride in Tiernan’s voice as he spoke and a twinkle in his eyes.
David chuckled and reached across the table to squeeze Jodi’s hand.
“I have no doubt she is. Your mom has always been a strong woman.” David grinned at Jodi as she blushed. He was happy to note she didn’t pull her hand away from his.
“She’s a badass,” Tiernan snickered.
“Watch your mouth!” Jodi hissed.
“Don’t talk like that!” David insisted at the same time.
Tiernan chuckled. “I was just testing my boundaries.”
David and Jodi looked at one another, and neither was amused.
“Son, no more cursing and the next time you want to test your boundaries, consider asking if something is acceptable first,” David chastised, wondering how he could enforce rules with a son who could kick his ass without much effort.
“OK Dad,” Tiernan replied with a huge smile. “I promise I won’t be a bad kid.”
David and Jodi weren’t the least bit surprised by his words and could feel the truth radiating from their son as he’d spoken. Jodi ruffled his blond hair and kissed his cheek.
“Do you want more pancakes or something else?” Jodi asked as she fussed over him.
“No, Mom. I’m good now. We need to go east. My relic is that way,” Tiernan said as he hopped down from the table and cleared his plate and an empty glass of milk.
David just shook his head in wonder at how efficient, and responsible Tiernan was as he warned the pilot through the shengari’ to head east. His son was a fount of surprises and David couldn’t believe the maturity and intelligence the child displayed.
It’s like trying to raise a grown man in a kid’s body, David thought to himself.
“Just my soul and energy are grown up. I’m still a little boy too. Just like Tristan. In the energy realms of light and dark, we’re warrior kings, but in the physical realm we’re still kids and learning our way around,” Tiernan explained, having read David’s thoughts.
“That’s another rule, no pulling things out of our head. Using your abilities against us is unfair. Our thoughts are private,” David chastised even though he was glad for the explanation. It made it easier to look at things that way.
“Is that what it means when someone says they have an old soul?” Jodi wondered aloud.
Tiernan nodded his head. “Most of them are hybrids and don’t realize that it’s the wise beast that is the old soul. Everyone will wake up soon though.”
“The conversion,” David stated, looking to see if Jodi knew what that meant.
“Hey guys, you do realize if we keep going this way, we’ll be in the Middle East,” the pilot called out.
Jodi looked at David with concern, and he turned to Tiernan who sat on the couch calmly, his foot swinging back and forth as he played with David’s comm. Tiernan suddenly smiled at his parents.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything bad happen to anyone,” Tiernan promised before he snatched something out of the air.
David watched curiously as the boy shook his empty hand as if fighting something then made a motion with his other hand. The boy suddenly stopped and went back to playing with David’s comm. It only took a second for David to understand what happened.
“You can see them in the physical realm too?” David had assumed the Night Walkers could only see the evil in the dark realms.
Jodi also looked to her son for the answer. She recognized Tiernan’s hand movements from when they’d traveled the dark realms together and felt his energy spike.
“Nah,” Tiernan shook his head and grinned broadly. “I felt the energy pass through me and took a chance I could get it. I did. Once I get my relic, I will have that ability.”
“What does it feel like?” David sat down across from Tiernan and pulled Jodi down beside him.
Both stared at their son, who looked like any other 10-year-old kid with an electronic device in his hands. But there was nothing normal about the small boy and David was more than a little worried and awed by the power Tiernan could wield.
“A bad chill. The kind that makes you shiver then disappears and leaves goosebumps on you,” Tiernan replied, still playing with the device.
David remembered seeing the black blur that passed through the ship when he was in the shadow realm and couldn’t stop the slight shiver that ran through him at the thought of one going into him like that.
“They don’t try to do it because it slows their travel, but they’re attracted to my power. I’ll tone it down at home though, so they don’t come at you and Mom,” Tiernan said as if he was talking about the weather.
Jodi grabbed David’s hand and squeezed it in concern as her eyes pleaded with him to do something. David was just as floored as she was.
“You can turn it on and off?” David finally asked.
Tiernan tilted his head to the side as if thinking about it before he answered.
“Yeah, it’s like a light I can switch on and off. I can hide us from it all or create a beacon that will draw the entities to me so I can kill them. The stronger I become in this world, the easier it will be for me to make them manifest in the physical. Tristan is learning the same thing with the lost souls and light beings. Soon we’ll have our armies ready, and Tristan and I will lead the coming battle,” Tiernan explained, swinging his foot from side to side.
David felt like he couldn’t breathe. Just trying to wrap his mind around it was overwhelming and it didn’t help that such mature and serious words were coming out of the mouth of someone that was little more than a baby. His mind went back to every concern, fear, and horror he’d ever seen in the military, and he couldn’t imagine allowing his small son to experience any of it.
Tiernan put the comm back on the table, walked over to David and laid a hand on David’s knee. The child’s strange eyes swirled like mini black holes surrounded by a ring of blue.
“This isn’t my first war. I’ve battled beside Tristan for eons on other worlds. I know what I’m doing, and just need to grow and center my energy in this world before I can achieve maximum power. Don’t worry, I’m a pretty good warrior,” Tiernan said the last with a cocky grin.
David could feel Jodi’s hand trembling in his, and he gave her a gentle squeeze while he put his other over Tiernan’s.
“You’re a child, and it’s our job to protect you,” Jodi whispered, unable to take her eyes off her baby.
Tiernan shook his head, an impish grin on his adorable face.
“I have never been a child. On any world. You think in terms of my physical body, not the soul that resides within. Tristan and I came into being at the birth of the light and dark energy, and we will not die until the energy is extinguished,” Tiernan explained.
“You can’t be killed?” Jodi whispered in a trembling voice as Tiernan turned his strange eyes to her.
“Only my physical body can be destroyed until I achieve full power and complete my duties. When our obligations in this world are over Tristan, and I will allow ourselves to die a physical death so we can be reborn in the next world that needs us.” Tiernan could feel the horror that ran through his parents, but he wouldn’t lie to them. They needed to know the truth.
&
nbsp; “So we’re not your only parents? You’ve left others behind on other worlds?” Jodi wasn’t sure how she felt about that and couldn’t help but wonder if Tiernan loved his other parents or even if he could feel love.
Tiernan reacted as if he’d been slapped.
“Of course I feel love!” Tiernan insisted. “I have had thousands of parents throughout my existence and have loved each of them. I also didn’t just abandon them as you’re thinking, they lived long and happy lives and were deceased before my duties were complete on their worlds. These things take time. It’s not like the conversion is occurring next week.”
David rubbed a frustrated hand down his face and wondered where Dizarion had disappeared to. He could use a little help trying to wrap his mind around a son he never knew until recently who was also a timeless warrior.
“Don’t worry, Dad. Everything is going to be OK now that Tristan and I are together. Besides, I get to help him this time!” Tiernan laughed for a moment. “Last time, I needed help adapting to the physical world.”
Tiernan walked back to the table, picked up the comm and began tapping on it again as David and Jodi looked at one another in shock. David put his arm around her and pulled her close as he stared at his son.
Chapter Eleven
David looked down at the ancient city needlessly destroyed and the thugs that still remained within the ruins looting the historical treasures meant for mankind. He looked up when he heard Tiernan’s heavy sigh.
“What?” David asked with concern.
There’s no way in hell he’s going down there, David thought to himself.
“I have to go down there to where the relic was to get a better feel of where we need to go. You can stay here,” Tiernan said as he stretched his arms over his head as if to limber up.
“The hell you are!” David snapped.
He didn’t care how powerful Tiernan was, he wasn’t about to put a child in the middle of a bunch of terrorists that had seized the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. It just wasn’t going to happen. David would go down himself and take them out. With his Prime ability to blend into his surroundings and his Seal skills, he could have the place clear in a few short hours.
David walked over to a storage cabinet and began pulling out a multitude of weapons that he put in various sheaths and holsters on his tact gear. He turned at the small hand that grabbed him and looked down at Tiernan.
“I need to go with you Dad.” Tiernan’s face was a mask of intense determination.
“Baby, you need to stay with me and let your Dad and his friends take care of this,” Jodi intervened, trying to pull Tiernan away from David. The boy wouldn’t budge.
Suddenly Tiernan disappeared in a pinpoint of light, and the Dark Warrior stood before them. His chest was bare except for the multitude of sigils burned into his skin and the crisscrossed sheaths that held the massive swords strapped to his back.
“Look what ability I got from you,” the dark warrior said with a twinkle in his eyes then disappeared.
David could easily see the shimmer of energy where the warrior was using the same chameleon abilities that he possessed. Ancient warrior or not, David wasn’t letting his son get in the middle of a bunch of terrorists.
“No! Stay up here with your mother,” David insisted before he stalked over to the opening in the floor he’d drop from once the ship de-cloaked.
The Dark Warrior only grinned and charged at David. Seconds later they were tumbling through the air before Tiernan righted them on the ground, providing both of them with their chameleon cover until David could overcome his shock and maintain his own.
David quickly put Tiernan behind him and used his own ability to help hide them from the terrorists that were only feet away. He felt Tiernan move, and before he could stop him, Tiernan began expertly swinging his swords, cutting down the enemies in his path.
Shouting went up among the terrorists as they tried to figure out where the invisible killer was and began randomly firing around them. David ran to his son, surprised to see the bullets being repelled by the glowing sigils on Tiernan’s body. But once the sigils were alight, it ruined his son’s camouflage and left the Dark Warrior visible.
David pulled his guns and began firing as Tiernan wielded his swords, completely unconcerned about the bullets pinging off his body. Dozens of terrorists began to turn and flee in fear shouting about a “Djinn,” while others threw down their guns and tried to come at them with machetes, axes or whatever sharp implements they could find.
It took effort for David to keep his attention on his own battles because his eyes kept straying to his son and the incredible skill Tiernan displayed while wielding the swords. It took another twenty minutes of continuous fighting before David looked around the eerily silent ruins then turned to his son.
“You need to learn subtlety,” David snapped as he turned Tiernan around and inspected the warrior for injury.
“Nothing but force works on the terminally stupid and evil. Besides, their ideology is incompatible with life, and I would have battled them here or in the dark realms at some point. All of them have been sentenced to final termination,” Tiernan replied with a grin.
David followed closely as Tiernan strode to a large pile of rubble and debris. He could hear a slight rumbling sound as the Dark Warrior circled the small hill that once held a beautiful ancient temple.
Suddenly a golden light appeared from beneath the pile, and David stepped back as Tiernan held his arms out, absorbing the energy. It blinked out just as quickly as it began and David turned as Tiernan snatched hold of him and they started to ascend.
“Son, we’re going to have to talk about this shit!” David growled as his feet thumped onto the floor of the ship.
The Dark Warrior was quickly replaced by the little boy, but the adorable pout on Tiernan’s face wasn’t going to deter David.
“Turning back into a child when you’re in trouble isn’t going to work! What you did down there was reckless, and you put yourself in unnecessary danger!” David snapped.
He hardened his resolve when he saw the sad look on Tiernan’s face.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. Their bullets can’t hurt me. The residual energy left by the relic of power was more than enough to ensure my safety and yours,” Tiernan argued in a grumpy voice.
The explanation didn’t make David feel any better.
“A little warning would have been nice! And this popping in and out and taking me along without at least a shout out that it’s coming isn’t right either!” David paced in irritation.
He’d swallowed his heart when he’d seen his son shot at and was still shaken by it.
“We didn’t have time for you to argue with me over it. The energy from the relic is fading as the distance between us increases. We must go to Germany where it’s in the hands of a collector of stolen artifacts,” Tiernan replied, the pout back on his face.
David looked ready to explode again when Jodi stepped in between the two of them.
“OK, why don’t you both get in the shower, and I’ll tell the pilot where to go next,” Jodi offered, hoping to get rid of the tension between the guys.
David looked at the determination on his son’s face and threw his hands up in the air before he strode from the room, going to the shower. Jodi turned to Tiernan and fussed over him for a moment before kissing the top of his head.
“Your father is a good man and a warrior in his own right. He only wants to be a father to you and protect you. You know you shouldn’t have done that and testing his boundaries, knowing what you do, isn’t fair to him,” Jodi murmured, trying to soothe Tiernan’s ruffled feathers.
She knew it worked when Tiernan’s shoulders sagged and he nodded his head.
“I know. But I’m not a child and cannot be treated as such. We must both compromise to make this work, and although I understand how hard this must be for the both of you, we don’t have the time for fantasies of an ordinary family,” Tiernan replied, h
is eyes compelling her to see his point of view.
Jodi sighed heavily and nodded her head, trying her best to swallow the lump in her throat and the fear that raced through her at his words.
“We just need a little time. And patience, baby,” Jodi whispered as tears welled up in her eyes.
Tiernan hugged Jodi around the waist and grinned up at her.
“I know, Mom. Once all the surprises are out of the way it’s all going to be OK,” Tiernan promised before he skipped off to his room to get a shower.
Jodi sat on the couch, wrapped in her own thoughts when Dizarion appeared in the corner of the room. Jodi stomped over to him, venting her frustration.
“Where the hell were you? They could have been killed down there! I thought you were supposed to protect him!” Jodi shook with anger and residual fear.
Dizarion looked startled at her anger before he masked his emotions.
“I was attending to another important task. Besides, it is not my duty to protect Tiernan from the humans. It is the dark realms where he needs me and the physical realm where he needs you and his father. Why did you let him go?” Dizarion countered, folding his arms across his chest.
David came into the room, a towel wrapped around his waist while he dried his hair with another. He did his best to hide his smile when he saw the appreciative look on Jodi’s face and the way she forced her eyes back to Dizarion.
“It was hard not to let him go when he threw me out the door with him!” David argued, defending his wife and their actions. “I can’t exactly stop someone who chucks me out of a ship now can I? In case you forgot, I can’t fly!”
“Then perhaps you should lay down some ground rules. Isn’t that what parents do?” Dizarion asked, one dark eyebrow quirked.
“Ground . . . are you out of your mind?” David snapped. “How the hell is that supposed to work? I tell him don’t do it again, and when he does, I do what? Spank him?”
