by Mikayla Lane
David gripped the glass so hard he was afraid it might break. He could imagine something similar happening to Tiernan if anyone had tried to commit Jodi to a mental hospital.
“We’ll find your mom,” David promised without thinking. “Do you know her name and where you used to live?”
David punched the information into his comm as Phillip rattled off an old address and his mother’s full name. He was surprised to see an instant response from Grai that he would begin looking immediately.
“We have some friends working on finding her now,” David assured the boy, happy to see him smile for the first time.
“Dizarion says you guys are like superheroes or something. Is that true?” Phillip asked, his face lighting up with excitement.
David glared at Dizarion who only shrugged at him before he turned back to the enthusiastic boy.
“Something like that.” David didn’t want to encourage the kid.
“Is that why you saved me? Because you’re saving all the kids, they’re stealing from their moms and dads?” Phillip asked, the innocent look on his face killing David.
David was relieved when Jodi walked into the room and saved him from having to answer the boy. He’d love nothing more than to destroy every single person trafficking and abusing children but he wasn’t sure how that would fit into the alliance missions already going on around the planet.
“Tiernan woke up for a moment and talked about how tired he was. He said he needs sleep and will see us in the morning,” Jodi said with a smile at David.
David stood and went to the replicator and got three more glasses. He handed one to Dizarion and another to Jodi before he held up his own.
“Let’s hope the worst is over,” David said with a grin.
The three of them had taken a sip, and Phillip even had a drink of his chocolate milk before Jodi took a seat at the table and sighed heavily. Unwilling to discuss anything in front of the child they sat in silence until Dizarion finally spoke.
“How about we find you a bed, and you get some sleep? I’m sure we’ll have some news about your mom before you wake up.” The Night Walker was hoping the boy would go without argument.
“But I’m not tired,” Phillip argued.
Jodi stood quickly and held her hand out to the boy.
“Come on, I’ll show you the spare cabin and all the cool things in there. Give yourself a little time to relax, and you might be surprised at how tired you really are,” Jodi suggested, trying to be patient with the kid.
David was worried that Phillip would continue to argue and was surprised when the kid stood up and looked at him.
“Can you please show me?” Phillip whispered and glanced nervously at Jodi.
David just nodded his head and took Phillip’s hand as he led him down the hallway. His rage increased at the boy’s fear of Jodi after what that French bitch had done to the kid, and he forced a smile when they entered the room.
He spent some time showing Phillip how to get TV on the comm screen in the room, leaving out how to connect to the internet or internal alliance systems. David didn’t want the kid finding out anything until Grai got back with him. In case there was something wrong, he didn’t want Phillip to find out by himself.
It was an hour before he was able to close the door and leave Phillip in the room by himself. The kid had been terrified to be alone, and David spent most of his time assuring the boy he wouldn’t wake up chained to the bed. He’d finally grabbed some blankets and a pillow and dumped them in the reclining chair, telling Phillip he could rest there instead of the bed.
By the time David left the room, his anger had only increased at the psychological damage that had been done to the boy. He knew it would take years of help for Phillip to ever lead a normal life and hoped that Grai found his mother soon. The sooner Phillip was back in a loving home, the quicker he’d heal.
When he got back to the dining room, only Dizarion was still sitting there with two more glasses of liquor. The Night Walker handed one to David, and he downed it in one gulp, welcoming the burn that paled in comparison to the anger raging through him.
“This world is a terrible place. The need for Tiernan and Tristan is much greater than I ever imagined,” Dizarion admitted, downing his own drink.
David got them two more glasses and sat slowly in his chair.
“They are just children who need to be regular kids before they begin bearing the weight of the world on their shoulders. It’s time for the adults to start making some headway before they take over,” David growled, his hand crushing the empty glass until it shattered.
“I can get behind that idea,” Dizarion agreed as he stood to get David a towel for his bleeding hand.
Chapter Eighteen
David was still seething the next morning after multiple conversations with Grai over Phillip and what he’d discovered in both Germany and France. It didn’t help that Grai had found Phillip’s mother had taken her own life a year after he was stolen from her. At least that’s what the autopsy and police reports stated.
Grai and David believed Phillip’s mother was stirring up too much attention to the government unlawfully seizing and keeping children and was killed for it. The woman had worked tirelessly to get her son back, and David was still trying to figure out how to explain to the boy that he had no one. Those bastards had taken everything from him.
He rubbed his hands over his tired face and looked up in surprise at the small hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll bet you’re starving,” David said with a smile at his son.
Tiernan nodded his head enthusiastically and sat down beside David. His little leg immediately swinging under the table.
“It’ll be OK, Dad. Don’t worry so much, you’ll make yourself sick,” Tiernan advised as David got up to get him breakfast.
David chuckled at the wise words coming from his son as he got the boy a huge plate of food and ordered a second one immediately. He figured if Tiernan were depleted after expending so much energy in the past, then he’d be starving after what he went through bonding with the relic.
He set the plate of food in front of Tiernan and let him get half the plate done before David decided to interrupt him.
“Are you OK?” David had been watching his son for any signs of lingering pain but hadn’t noticed anything.
“I feel amazing,” Tiernan replied with a mouthful of food.
“Chew with your mouth closed and don’t talk with your mouth full,” Jodi reminded him as she came out of her room.
“How am I supposed to eat and answer Dad then? Aren’t I supposed to respect my parents too?” Tiernan asked with a sly grin and a mouth full of pancakes.
Jodi gave him an irritated look as she went to the replicator and ordered coffee. When she turned around, she stared pointedly at David.
“This one is yours,” she said, then turned back around to order her own breakfast.
David looked at his son’s grinning face and shook his head at the way the boy was trying to manipulate them. He was getting ready to have a talk with Tiernan about manners and listening to his mother when he saw Phillip standing nervously in his bedroom doorway.
The look in the boy’s eyes scared him, and David knew they needed to get Phillip somewhere he could get psychological help quickly. He alternated between looking lustfully at Jodi and with hate and contempt.
David couldn’t imagine how confused the boy had to be, but he wasn’t willing to subject his wife to dealing with Phillip’s now damaged psychological state. Luckily they were nearing the place where David and Grai determined would be the best place for him.
“Phillip! Good morning. I hope you slept well,” David called out, drawing the boy’s attention from Jodi.
Tiernan turned around in time to see the hateful look on Phillip’s face, directed at his mother. His eyes swirled with power, the outer blue ring glowing brightly while the center swirled with darkness. Before David even knew what was happening, Tiernan disappeared
in a puff of inky blackness and reappeared in front of Phillip.
Phillip didn’t look afraid of the younger and smaller Tiernan until he put his hands on his shoulders. He tried to fight Tiernan’s grip, but Phillip was no match for the dark power completely controlled by the Dark Warrior.
David and Jodi just stared in shock wondering what Tiernan was doing and if they should intervene. It wasn’t until Dizarion appeared in the corner of the room that David decided to move closer to the two boys.
“Temper your power! His mind is too young and undeveloped,” Dizarion growled as he stepped towards the boys.
“The damage is too great,” Tiernan and the Prime beast, Carasus spoke at the same time.
“What’s going on?” Jodi asked, her voice shaking in fear as the dark power flowed around them.
Shadows crept from all corners of the ship and converged on the two boys at the call of the Dark Warrior. David began to rush towards them when they disappeared into the darkness that now filled most of the room.
“Tiernan!” David shouted as he stepped into the shadows and got completely disoriented.
David could hear Dizarion yelling at Tiernan to pull back his power, but the sound was muffled by the thick blanket of darkness surrounding him. It almost felt suffocating, and David struggled to bring his focus back to finding Tiernan before his son did something that couldn’t be fixed.
He felt something touch his hand and he fought against its grip until he heard Jodi’s voice.
“I’ll guide you. He’s pulled the boy into the dark realm.” Jodi squeezed his hand in encouragement.
Moments later, which felt like hours, David began to see the hazy realm his son ruled. There stood the two boys, just like they’d been on the ship, with Tiernan’s hands on Phillip’s shoulders. They were still on the ship, but there appeared to be black and white movies playing all around the two boys.
David felt Jodi’s gasp beside him and studied the films more carefully as Tiernan’s unusual eyes bore into Phillip’s. It didn’t take long for David to realize it was future scenes of atrocities Phillip would commit against other children because of what he’d been through and the anger that consumed him.
“Pull back a little!” Dizarion warned as he appeared beside them.
“What little damage I cause will be worth the cost for saving his soul. He agreed,” Tiernan/Carasus stated evenly.
Jodi squeezed David’s hand tightly as they watched Tiernan pour his power into the unmoving Phillip. David studied the dark waves of energy that went from Tiernan’s eyes into Phillip’s and didn’t see the approach of someone else until she was already there.
“Phillip?” the woman’s shadowed form whispered.
“Not yet!” Dizarion warned, immediately silencing the woman as she reached a hand towards Phillip.
The movies flashing around them began to disappear one by one until only one remained of an older Phillip jumping to his death from the top of a large building.
“Don’t do it!” Dizarion warned as he moved to grab Tiernan.
Tiernan shot one last blast of dark energy into Phillip, and the scene blinked out. Dizarion cursed while a tear slipped down Jodi’s cheek. David was wondering what the hell had just happened when the shadowed woman spoke.
“It had to be done. Thank you,” she whispered, reaching out a shadowed hand to touch Phillip’s head.
“You have but moments before I must push you through to the light realm. Someone will be waiting to help you from there,” Tiernan/Carasus spoke to the shadow woman as he took his hands from Phillip.
The moment Tiernan’s hands lifted, Phillip seemed to come out of his trance and looked around. The moment he saw the shadowy woman, Tiernan waved a hand and David wasn’t surprised to see Phillip’s mother standing there.
“Mom?” Phillip had whispered before he threw himself into her arms.
“We don’t have much time, baby. I just couldn’t leave while you were still missing,” Phillip’s mother whispered through her tears.
“What happened, Mom? Why don’t I remember?” Phillip asked, his own tears streaming down his face.
“I died, baby, and these kind people are going to take you to somewhere you’ll be safe and cared for,” she replied, her heart breaking for her only child and what had been done to him.
“How? Why don’t I remember?” Phillip cried, struggling to understand.
“You were hurt too, but you’ll be OK now. Be a good boy and remember I love you. Always,” his mother promised.
Tiernan laid a hand on Phillip’s shoulder immediately stopping his tears. He turned his strange eyes to her.
“My people will watch over him always, to make sure he remains safe from the entities that would hunt him because of his pain,” Tiernan promised her, his eyes glowing with black swirls and a blue ring.
“Didn’t you take it away?” She whispered, looking at Phillip in fear and concern.
“I can only remove it from his heart and his mind. What happened to him is etched into his soul. A mark left by the evil that tainted and tortured him. It creates a beacon within that only the strongest can dim. For all others it leaves them vulnerable to the dark entities that seek the wounded because they are easier targets,” Tiernan explained as her form shimmered from dark to opaque and back again.
“You don’t have much time, but if my commander has determined your son is to be protected by our people, then you can be assured he will join you in the light.” Dizarion bowed before the quickly dimming woman.
Phillip’s mother pulled him into a hug and rained kisses over his face before stepping back from him.
“Promise he’ll be OK?” she whispered.
“I swear to you, he will be fine. Now go quickly, I can’t hold the door open for long,” Tiernan warned.
David heard Jodi’s gasp as a huge square of brilliant white light appeared near Phillip’s mother. Seconds later a beautiful little girl with delicate wings stepped through and reached a hand out to the shadowy figure of Phillip’s mom. The moment she took the little girl’s hand, the woman changed from shadow to light.
David watched them walk through the doorway before it popped out of existence. He blinked his eyes only once, and they were back on the ship with no trace of the dark realm remaining in the brightly lit dining area.
He’d almost expected to see Phillip gone, why David didn’t know but was surprised to see the two boy’s standing in front of one another with Tiernan’s hands still on Phillip’s shoulders. Phillip blinked and pulled away from Tiernan as he wiped the tears from his face.
“It’s true? She’s really gone?” Phillip whispered, his wounded gaze imploring Tiernan to deny it.
“She’s honestly in a better place now, and you’ll get to be with her one day,” Tiernan promised, determined to ensure the boy didn’t succumb to the evil forced upon him.
Phillip nodded his head and burst into tears. Tiernan wrapped his arms around the older boy and led him to the nearest couch. He sat down beside the crying boy and held him tightly, whispering words of encouragement to him.
David and Jodi watched helplessly as their son comforted the distraught boy, unsure what to do and what Tiernan had done to Phillip. David guessed Tiernan removed memories of what happened to him, but wasn’t sure why Dizarion would be so concerned about it either.
“I think Phillip would like to be alone for a little while. Can we go eat in his room, please?” Tiernan asked, his face pale from the energy he’d used and hadn’t replenished before helping Phillip.
Jodi immediately turned to the replicators and ordered two plates of food. Without knowing the way Phillip had looked at her earlier, she handed Phillip a plate. David was surprised to see the boy give her an innocent smile, devoid of the hate and mistrust Phillip had displayed towards her earlier.
“Thank you,” Phillip whispered as he took the food and followed Tiernan into his room.
Jodi had the replicator make a few more plates of food, knowing the
one wouldn’t be enough for Tiernan to replenish the energy he’d lost. Dizarion, David, and Jodi were silent for long moments before David couldn’t stand it anymore.
“What the fuck just happened?” he demanded.
“He destroyed the memories of what happened to the boy to ensure Phillip didn’t succumb to the evil and become a perpetrator. He took a little more than necessary because of the strength of the power used, but Phillip will be fine and lead a normal and productive life now,” Dizarion explained, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee.
“I can grasp that,” David growled. “How did he open a door to the light realm? Isn’t that Tristan’s domain? How could he see what Phillip would do when he was older? Was any of that real or just what could have happened?”
David paced the room and ran a hand through his hair in frustration while Dizarion chuckled at his questions. One glare from David stopped the laughter.
“Of course we each have access to the other realm. We throw lesser entities back and forth all the time. Only the ones given a permanent death sentence are destroyed. As timeless beings, Tiernan and Tristan can see the past, present, and future. What you saw was really what Phillip would grow to become. Tiernan has prevented that future,” Dizarion explained, glad his commander had saved the boy.
The more Tiernan used his power, the more confident Dizarion was in their ability to complete their mission on this world. He knew that Tristan was far ahead of Tiernan in the mastery of his power in this realm even though Tristan’s physical form wasn’t prepared for the coming battle.
For them to save this world and shut the gates to the nether realms, Tiernan and Tristan would need to be equal in the mastery of their powers. A balance needed to be maintained, and Dizarion was sure his commander would be at full strength.
