The Books of Kaltar Farsara Boxed Set - Books 1 through 3 (The Kingdom Kaltar Farsara Built)

by Ivan Bridgewater

  "He stood by my side, and tried to protect us all!" I was at a loss for further words, and just leaned my head back, and closed my eyes. After a moment, I heard the door click shut. I opened my eyes, and the room was dark again. I laid there quietly crying for some time. Then, I suppose I fell asleep.

  When I awoke, sunlight was filtering into the room. So much was happening. I laid there trying to sort it all out. I knew I needed to pull myself together, but I was just too exhausted to think clearly. After a few minutes, there was a tap at the door, and Tersa stepped in. She said, "You're to stay there in that bed till you're rested, by order of the Magi Grand Council!"

  "I was told to report to Signey Octurus for training," I reminded her.

  "The Council countermanded that order after I sent in my report," she replied.

  "You filed a report?" I asked. "Since when do you file a report?"

  "Since I was ordered to by the Council," she responded. "I'm supposed to keep you from killing yourself, though I suspect I'm fighting a losing battle." I started to crawl out of bed, and Tersa stepped closer. She said, "I told you to stay there! I'm not kidding!"

  I laid back down. I was still far too weak to get into a struggle, even if I was willing to hurt Tersa. "How long was I asleep?" I asked.

  "Half a day," she replied. "Almost a full day since we arrived here!"

  I was failing! Lying there was not going to work! After a moment more, I sat up, and swung my legs out of the bed. I could hear the irritation in Tersa's voice as she said, "Kaltar! You aren't up to this yet!"

  I looked up out of the corner of my eye, and said, "Don't interfere Tersa! I'm not kidding!"

  She pulled back into the doorway and said, "The Rock, nor the Council, will be pleased!"

  I was just getting ready to tell her what I thought of the Council, when I started hearing shouts in the distance. Tersa heard them as well, and as she started out the door, I got up, and followed. By the time we opened the front door to the house, we could clearly see a dozen students headed toward the house.

  One of them was Selena Zanthros. As soon as she saw me, she yelled out, "They're attacking the outer colonies Kaltar! Our home worlds are being destroyed!" She paused, and started to sob deeply.

  Another woman student calmly asked, "What do we do Kaltar?"

  "Yes! What do we do now Kaltar?" asked Tersa.

  Without thinking, I said, "I'm going home!"

  I heard Tersa yell, "No!" just as I folded space.

  In that instant, I was home, but it was no more. Everything as far as the eye could see, had been burned right down to the ground. Our home! The crops! The trees and animals! Everything was gone! I screamed out for my Mother and Father! Nothing but the wind responded. The smell of burned flesh was everywhere. I stood there stunned for a moment, and then bent over at the waist, and got sick.

  As I stood up, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and turned to find Tersa and the students standing just a few feet away. They looked as stunned as I felt. I tried to pull myself together. I had to think this through. I forced myself to focus.

  Turning to one of the students, I sternly said, "I want you to go to Krashure Maug, and tell Carr Hammond his world has been attacked. Tell him Kaltar has gone to find his family! Tell him I'll need help!" I nodded, and he folded space, vanishing instantly.

  Standing next to me, Tersa asked, "What now Kaltar?"

  "You'll take the students and return to Remaca!" I said. "Wait there for further orders from the council!"

  "Ain't no way!" said Tersa. "You can forget it!"

  I prepared to tell Tersa off, when one of the students suddenly stepped closer, and said, "None of us will leave you here alone, Kaltar!"

  "You lead, we follow!" added Tersa.

  I could see in the link there would be no winning this argument. I just rolled my eyes, locked my focus on my parents, and folded space.

  All of us as a group arrived together. Two of the students got sick instantly. We were on the crest of a hill, looking down upon a valley of crosses. On each one, a person hung limply, nailed to the wood.

  Far off in the distance, past a thousand crosses, I saw a large camp. It had to be the people who did this! I folded space straight to the edge of their camp. Almost at once, a siren started going off. Humans dressed all in grey, and several thousand Critz appeared to be headed straight for me.

  Tersa and the others appeared next to me. One of the students said, "Oh shit!" as he watched the wave heading toward us. I was flush with anger, and ready to kill. Drawing up all the power I could, I opened the ground beneath them as they came toward us. As a mass, they fell into a chasm miles deep. It was over in a flash, and I violently slammed the ground shut, instantly cutting off their horrific screams as they fell into the black void.

  The way I had closed the hole caused a small shock wave to ripple through the ground. Some of the crosses and buildings fell down. Tersa softly said, "Wow!" under her breath.

  Selena asked, "What do we do now Kaltar?"

  "Find my parents!" I growled.

  I scanned again, and could tell my Mother and Father were here. I couldn't understand why I couldn't see them. I frantically started looking at the bodies on the crosses. A moment later, one of the other Magi yelled, "Hey everyone! Get over here!"

  As I approached him, I saw pits dug in the ground. They were each covered by a metal grate. In each small pit, was a starved creature that used to be a person. Among them, I found my parents.

  In the distance, I could see an army headed toward us. As my parents were pulled alive from their graves, I prepared to wipe out every minion on the planet. I was angry beyond words.

  Turning to Tersa, I commanded, "You'll take my Mother, and leave this place! She is in your care! Take her to safety! Do it now!" The anger was evident in her face, but she did as I asked.

  As my father stepped up, I looked at Selena and said, "Please take my father to safety!"

  "You trust me with your father?" she asked. She looked into my eyes for a moment, then grabbed my father’s arm, and folded space. One after another, the people that survived, left with the students, till just two Magi were left.

  I looked at one of the last Magi and said, "You must leave! I'm going to destroy this world!"

  The man's eyes widened for a moment. Then he said, "You're not serious!"

  "Get out of here!" I yelled.

  "Do as Kaltar says!" said the Rock as he stepped out of the smoke now spreading through the area. Apparently I had started a fire somewhere in the camp.

  I really didn't care!

  The other Magi took one look at the Rock, and folded space. The two of us were left there as the hordes approached. He quietly said, "Are you sure you want to do this Kaltar!" He paused a moment longer before saying, "Killing isn't in your nature young Magi. This job would be better left to me!"

  Abruptly, Uncle Hammond appeared. He looked around, stunned, and collapsed to his knees. He dropped down, touching his head to the ground, and began to sob. His world was dead! Our world! I could see in the scans nobody was left. We had only numbered slightly more than twenty thousand people anyway.

  Now, we were less than twenty!

  Uncle Hammond climbed back to his feet. I helped him stand. He was regaining his self-control. Looking down at me, he said, "This is for me to do Kaltar! Killing a world is a horrible, brutal thing! I'm your Uncle! If you love me, you'll leave with Caleon! Please!"

  I could clearly see the faces of the enemy now. The Rock placed his hand on my shoulder, and said, "We must leave!"

  Deep in the planets core, I stopped its rotation. I had taken all my anger, and forced it into the planet's core. All the energy and anger I could pull together at one time. I spiked the core, disrupting its rotation. That caused some immediate effects. The first was when Uncle Carr looked up, and asked, "What was that?"

  Then a violent ground tremor hit. The wind began to pick up speed, and an odd screaming noise could be heard in the far dis
tance. It sounded as if several volcanos all went off at once.

  A second, more violent shock wave hit. All the crosses, along with most of the camp left standing, collapsed. We were knocked to the ground, and so were the enemy hosts that had rapidly surrounded us. Deep within the planet, massive energy waves were being thrown off by the now unstable planetary core. I grabbed the energy from one of the spikes, and brought my right foot down hard. A pressure ridge ran along the ground, picking up power as it went.

  Mere inches tall as it passed us. It was six feet tall by the time it was a thousand yards away. I could see the wave would peak at about thirty feet tall.

  It would pick up speed till it approached the speed of sound. The wave would traverse the planet in about an hour, and then the whole place would be destroyed. One huge fireball in the sky for about a week. Then nothing but a burnt out hunk of rock in space.

  My world! My home! Everything I loved, but a few homeless souls! All gone!

  I turned to the Rock and Uncle Hammond and said, "Please return to Krashure Maug! I have one last task to perform!" The two Magi both stood thinking about my comment. They looked at each other, and then back at me.

  Uncle Hammond quietly asked, "Are you sure that's what you wish us to do Kaltar?"

  "I have one last task to perform!" I said. The enemy around us was regaining its feet, and beginning to edge forward.

  The Rock looked around and said, "We must leave, Carr!"

  Uncle Hammond nodded, and the two Magi folded space.

  At least a hundred thousand Critz stood before me. Scanning the planet, I could sense millions of them.

  Reaching back into the planet’s now unstable core, I pulled up huge amounts of energy. I had been thinking about Ramann, and his talk of a hydrogen reaction. I decided it was time to give a practical demonstration on its use.

  I closed my eyes, and released a dampening energy wave. Nothing visible occurred, but the Critz would no longer be strong enough to jump. Nobody on the planet but me would be able to jump for several hours, and by then, it wouldn't matter. Then I brought up the power to my shield, and amped more and more power into the release of the hydrogen reaction. After a few seconds, my shield began to glow. I must have looked as though I was encased in a crystal ball.

  The Critz began to edge forward, no doubt curious. They were about to receive a harsh lesson. Holding my shield as tightly as I could, I initiated the hydrogen reaction. In effect, I was ground zero for an above ground nuke burst.

  I had to maintain my focus, so I could maintain my shield. There was a brilliant flash, as if the sun was right next to me. The shock on their faces around me will be forever etched in my mind. In a split second, the fireball vaporized everything. I could feel my shield strain, trying to hold out the blast. I looked up into the sky, and saw the heat vectoring into the flaming chimney you see in the pictures.

  The chimney rose straight up for a mile, and then flatten, mushrooming out in the classic pattern seen in the movies. For a full minute, all I could see was dust, flames, and the white hot glow of my personal shield. Then I started to catch glimpses of the burning caldron all around me.

  Trembling all over, I started to pull up the power needed to fold space and leave. For a moment I stood there watching the wind and fire whip around me. This had been my home world. In a few minutes nothing would be left. Anger, and a desire for revenge ran rampant in my mind.

  Then I folded space for Remaca. Dropping to my knees as soon as I arrived, I tried not to pass out. The Rock and Tersa each took one of my arms, and helped me stand. Shaking violently all over now, I said, "My home is gone!"

  "It was just a place, Kaltar!" observed the Rock.

  "All those innocent people!" I cried out. Sobbing now, I lost all control. "They never stood a chance! They knew nothing of war! They harmed nobody! Why did this happen?"

  My father was standing close by. He quietly said, "They were looking for you, Kaltar! We were held to the end so we could be used as a shield against you. They murdered them all to get at you, and your Uncle." My father’s voice was unbroken, but tears flowed freely down his face. In a whisper, he said, "I'll never forget the screams as they were nailed to the crosses!"

  Looking straight at me, my father exclaimed, "They must be stopped Kaltar! I never believed such evil could exist..." His voice finally broke, and he looked down at the ground unable to continue. I had never seen my father cry. It shook me deeply.

  I've never really hated before! I now know true hatred! This must end! I'll track these monsters to their lair, and make sure this never happens again, no matter what it takes.

  No matter what!

  Chapter 12

  Baby Dragons

  Several weeks have passed since I last wrote in my journals. The Rock told me they would help me focus, but it is time consuming, and I've been busy.

  Since my return to Remaca, events have been a blur. For several days I was a student, learning Magi self-defense. On the fourth day, I became an instructor. It appeared I was a natural, and that I could draw far more power from my surrounding than most Magi could.

  In effect, I was a very powerful weapon. There just isn't any other way to say it. When properly motivated, I could be very dangerous.

  I should be focused on my adversary, but I have suffered so much loss, it's difficult to think through. Several of the colony planets have been wiped out, but we have taken steps to make sure that doesn't happen again.

  My father and mother have been taken to a safe place, far away, within the Galaxies inner core. I can tell in the scans that they've been forever changed. I've started having nightmares. I keep seeing the field of crosses! The bodies of my friends and neighbors!

  I was too late!

  I am failing!

  I am failing everyone!

  I must try harder!

  On this morning, I saw Tersa for the first time in several days. She teaches advanced combat training at the school now. I seldom see her at all lately.

  I was walking from my home to the school. It was walking with my head down, deep in thought, when I heard Tersa say, "Just walk on by! Don't stop and say hello!"

  Realizing I had almost walked right past her, I stopped and said, "Sorry about that! I was thinking instead of paying attention. How have you been?"

  Tersa gave me an odd look, and said, "I can see in the link that you're not focusing at all! You need to pay more attention!"

  She was right, and I was aware of it. I quietly said, "It's all a nightmare! I wish I could wake up, and find everything back as it was."

  Slowly shaking her head, she said, "This is reality Kaltar! We must focus on our task, or we shall all die!" She paused a moment, and then asked, "Have you been to check on April recently?"

  I had been avoiding going to see April. My nightmares included images of her encased in what looked an awful lot like a glass coffin. I wanted her out of that thing! There had to be a way! I just didn't know what to do.

  Tersa softly told me, "You should go see her Kaltar! It might help if you see her safe."

  "I suppose," I replied. "I've just been so busy. I'm on my way to a class now."

  "I'll stop by after school," she said. "We can go together."

  I hesitated, but then decided she was right. I nodded my head yes, and said, "I'll meet you at the house in three hours."

  She simply nodded her acknowledgement as well, saying, "I'll see you then!"

  For the next several hours, I taught others how to kill. This is what I've come to. This has come to be all I have. I've become a killer of worlds. The Rock had said, "Killing isn't in your nature young Magi!" but he was wrong. It is now all I have left.

  After the class that day, I walked back to the house, once again deep in thought. As I walked into my kitchen, I was surprised to find not only Tersa, but Vandahar and Selena Zanthros as well. I could tell in the link that they had joined us as escorts, and almost told them to stay home.

  Sensing my thoughts, Vandahar said,
"Get used to it Kaltar! You're too important to go out without escort!"

  I simply nodded, and said, "Very well then! Let’s go!"

  We all folded space, and arrived as a group on Drevins Spraug. I went straight to the entrance of Bitsy's lair. Almost as soon as I arrived, I heard a small yelping sound, and two small dragons came out of the lair's entrance. They were each about the size of a small dog. They took one look at us, and ran right back into the cave entrance.

  Almost at once, Al stuck his head out, and looked around. He saw us, smiled, and went galloping back into the cave. We started to follow, and as we walked along, I realized the main tunnel was crawling with infant dragons. There had to be hundreds, perhaps thousands of them.

  We were just a few hundred feet in when Bitsy came into view. She looked at me and bellowed out, "Kaltar!" Every little dragon in the place stopped playing, and looked first at Bitsy, and then at me. Then the babies all started to run right at me.

  For just a moment, I thought I was about to be baby dragon food. They actually knocked me to the ground, and covered me in a mound. I could quickly tell they were just showing affection. If you've ever sat down amongst a litter of large puppies, you know what it felt like.

  Tersa, Vandahar, and Selena were all laughing. I was sputtering, and trying to get back up. Abruptly, Bitsy whistled loudly, and all of the babies but one headed down the tunnel, deeper into the lair.

  The one small dragon stood looking at Selena. Then the small creature leaned up against her, and rubbed it's head on her ankle as a cat might back on Earth. As she started to bend down, I cautioned, "Don't pet it if you don't want it to get attached!" She paused, and looked up.

  Then she stood back up, and said, "I'm not ready for a pet dragon yet!" The small creature wagged his little tail, and took off down the tunnel.

  As it scampered down the tunnel, Bitsy looked at me, and said, "You need not fear! The babies have already made their choice!"

  Still brushing off slightly, I looked up and asked, "What are you talking about?"