The room was dark, and I felt disorientated. I must have sounded like a child as I said, "It was just a nightmare! It scared me!"
She sat down on the edge of the bed, and said, "It is almost time to return and see April. You should speak to Bitsy. She helped you with your nightmares before. If she could, she would help you again."
It dawned on me she was probably right. I was still waking up, and asked, "When are we due back at Drevins Spraug?"
"In two days." Tersa replied. "You should try to rest between now and then."
I was growing tired of resting. I knew I needed the rest, but as my energy levels return to normal, it always becomes boring just lying there. I decided to get up, and Tersa didn't object. I'm sure she could sense in the link that I was fed up with sleep, and the nightmares that sleep would bring.
Staggering down the stairs on shaking legs, I made it back to the kitchen I had started in weeks before. Tersa told me to sit down, and brought me some coffee. My hands trembled so hard, I could barely hold the cup. Within a few minutes, we started to both relax and discuss current events. For a short time, we forgot about all the death and destruction right outside the house.
I tend to wear simple clothes, such as a basic robe. For some reason, Tersa began to talk to me about my need to dress in a less casual fashion. I failed to see how this was relevant to the issues I was facing at this point, but despite that, I tried to keep up with her comments.
There was a soft tap at the kitchen door, and Uncle Hammond stepped in. He joined us, and Tersa brought him a cup of coffee as well. After a few minutes of polite greetings, Tersa looked at me and said, "If you're alright, I'm going to go teach a weapons class."
I nodded, and Uncle Hammond promised he would see to it I remained safe this time while she was gone. It began to dawn on me I was being supervised. Oddly enough, I didn't mind. Tersa smiled, and said she would return soon.
For a short while, I tried not to worry about anything. It was nice to just sit and talk to my Uncle as we had years ago when I was just a small child. He had always been kind to me. My mother, his sister, was his only sibling. She had never developed the powers of a Magi. Instead, they had remained dormant, until I was born.
As we talked, I began to feel my Uncle was leading up to something. At one point he paused in the conversation, and said, "You, and your family, are all I really have Kaltar. I've tried to never speak of this. For all these centuries, I have tried to block these memories from my mind. Now, I feel we need to talk, and I must revisit a time long before you were born."
I simply nodded and allowed him to continue, he was deep in thought, and slowly said, "The Magi were fewer then." He sat thinking through his words, and then continued, saying, "I was visiting with Madias and his son when the Darkness fell upon this sector of space last. The Guardians were still a small force in space at that time, but in this sector they had amassed an armada of ships vast in scale. They were planning a strike against the Darkness. It is their way to use machines instead of their minds." He paused a moment, and then said, "They depended on them too much!"
I let him take his time. After a moment more, he continued again, saying, "It was close to the time when the Guardians were to launch their first wave of ships. All was ready for a massive incursion into the space controlled by the Darkness. Madias asked me to be present as they started to send out the first Guardian ships. Then the Darkness came, and everyone began to die."
He focused on me, and said, "I've seen what you faced in the scans. It is the same as what fell upon us that day, so long ago." It was easy to see my uncle was stressing badly. His hand were beginning to shake as he spoke. There was obvious fear of hidden memories that now flooded back from the past. The link was flush with it.
He looked at the floor, and said, "The Darkness fell upon us, and the Guardians turned on each other." My Uncle. The man I respected most in all the Universe, began to cry.
In little more than a whisper, he said, "It was as if they had the Madness... but they were supposed to be immune to that. It was killing everything as it passed through the star systems at almost the speed of light. Billions were dying as I stood there, and I finally reacted."
"First, Madias attacked the beast. He only served to make it angry. It turned on him, and mauled him badly. Rautha, the son of Madias, attacked as his father lay dying before him. His anger made him stronger, so that he actually stopped the Darkness, and the attack. The beast was focused on them now, and I saw the Darkness would kill them. I lost my mind, and attacked in a blind fury. A rage was upon me, and I just wanted to kill the beast."
Uncle Hammond had somewhat regained his self-control, and his voice began to steady. He seemed to remember back, saying, "The Monster focused on me, and I reached for all the energy I could find. As I pulled up that force, I thought of your mother and father. It occurred to me they would die if I failed. I released my attack, along with my anger, straight at the beast. It screamed, and I could tell I had hurt it far worse than Madias and Rautha had."
My Uncle looked directly at me and said, "I was weakened, but I reached out and hit the beast again. As I did, I was thinking of my love for your mother, and my friends that were in danger. When I struck this time, the beast ran. The last time I struck it, the beast was hurt a hundred time worse than the first. All these years I thought it was my anger that drove the beast away, but now I wonder. Since the return of the Darkness, I've wondered why it withdrew."
He reached out, tapped the back of my hand, and said, "I now believe it was the love I felt for others that drove it away. It is shadows and evil. Light and love are deadly to it."
I sat thinking about his comments. As I saw his outlook in the link, I saw the logic of it. I also got a flurry of images related to the attack he was talking about. It came with the emotion of the event, and the terror that went with it. I could see my Uncle was no warrior. He was a Magi fighting to save his life, and the lives of his friends.
"You did what you had to," I said.
"And then I stopped," he whispered. I could barely hear him.
I leaned closer and told him, "You stood your ground, Uncle! Nobody can ask more than that of another!"
He started shaking his head no. After several seconds, he said, "I should have gone after it. It was on the run. I might have finished it then." He covered his face with his badly shaking hands, and said, "If I had killed the Beast then, you would all now be safe!"
He was on the edge of breaking down. I quietly told him, "You frightened the beast, and it ran. If you pursued and were killed, and it returned, what then? This Galaxy would have been absorbed, like all the rest." I paused, thinking for a moment. Then said, "I believe you may be right. This knowledge may help finally end the Madness. If you had died, we would have never known this."
"I should have gone after it," he quietly muttered to himself. I could see he had this debate with himself every day for centuries.
After a moment more, I said, "If it was me that day, would you have allowed me to leave, and go after the beast?"
A smile slowly spread across his face, and he quietly said, "No! I love you, and would have kept you safe with me!"
"Had I been there, I would have wanted the same for you," I observed. "I love you! You did nothing wrong! You did the right thing over and over! I have seen the beast! Only a fool would not know fear!"
He sighed deeply, and husked out, "Well! I had plenty of fear! After all these years I still don't totally understand what happened, but I get the feeling the Darkness sees us as an infection. It eradicates us as we might bacteria on a countertop in the kitchen."
I smiled at him, and said, "Well, I'm one bacteria that fights back! With your help, perhaps we can finish this once and for all!"
He cringed as he looked over at me, saying, "Don't depend on me Kaltar! I'm hollow inside after so many years of internal debate!" He broke eye contact, looking down. "I hope you won't hate me for refusing!"
My Uncle is a great hero! I n
ever loved him more than I did at that moment! I simply told him, "This is my battle! You fought yours long ago! Now you bring me valuable information! You've done enough! As the current head of the Magi Council, I command you to stand down!"
The smile returned to his face and he said, "You will truly make a great leader. Your parents raised you well!" With that, he stood, and I could see he was leaving. We hugged, and parted company. As he left, I noticed how exhausted he looked. I got the feeling he had finally set down a huge weight he had carried for far too long.
Chapter 17
Awakening
Over the next several days my strength returned. I began to feel better, and could begin to follow reports of what was happening in relation to the Darkness. On the third day after I spoke to my Uncle, I had an unexpected visitor.
I had been teaching self-defense at the school, and returned home exhausted. I sat down in a large chair in the front room, and must have dozed off. I awoke to find the Lady of Light, Maggie, seated in a chair across from me. She smiled warmly as I awoke, and told me, "You talk in your sleep!"
She was sitting in the chair, and shining brightly, yet I could see through her. This was just her essence. Her body was elsewhere. "You are very beautiful!" I said. "You are truly the Lady of Light!"
She blushed. It was more her expression than her color. There was a beauty and intensity here that goes far beyond the norm. She quietly said, "And you are Kaltar! The greatest Magi to ever exist!"
Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. I'm sure I blushed as I said, "My teacher calls me Bean!"
Maggie openly laughed, and said, "I'm sure it fits you!" Then she sobered slightly, and said, "You saved me!"
I didn't know what to say. I finally exclaimed, "I failed you! Your friends were all dying!" I began to break down. I managed to say, "I'm glad I could help! I just didn't know what to do!"
Maggie's essence leaned forward in her chair. I could tell she was scanning me. After a moment, she said, "You're just a young boy Kaltar! Too young for this burden! It's unfair, but we're all we have to work with! We must prevail, no matter what it costs us personally! There is too much at stake for us to fail!"
She was right of course. "What would you have of me?" I asked.
She was assessing me as she sat there. After a moment, she said, "The Guardians are preparing to expand out of this galaxy. They are becoming more aware of the Magi, and others that may help them. They need your direct help!"
"You are aware that this is the point in the past when the Darkness attacked, and wiped the Guardians out?" I asked.
Her eyes hardened, and she growled, "I won't allow that to happen again!"
Her energy levels were off the scale. I said, "If you keep burning energy at these levels you won't survive! You need to return to your corporeal form, and replenish yourself!"
My comment had caught her off guard. She hesitated, and then told me, "I am far more powerful when focused like this! I need this to defeat the Darkness!" She sat for a few seconds, and then said, "I can't change back! My energy levels won't allow me to switch back and forth. If I'm forced to choose just one form, this will be it!"
I shook my head, knowing she was sentencing herself to a slow death. It was just a matter of time till she dissipated, or at least grew too weak to return to her human form. She would be left to wander through time and space like some kind of ghost. Not knowing what to say, I blurted out, "I don't think that's a very good answer!"
Again, that warm, friendly, smile crossed her face. She quietly explained, "I fight for my beloved Satu-Ra, and his child, my daughter. Would you do any less for your parents, or your beloved?"
Of course, I already knew the answer. I'd fight to the death to protect them. I still wished I could help this woman. There had to be a better way. For the first time I personally really began to feel the pressure she was under.
"The Magi are few, and don't understand warfare well!" I observed. "We are trying to help, but we're poorly trained, and have no real concept of battle."
Maggie paused to consider. She was gazing at me intensely, and said, "You are a focal point!" Her scans increased greatly, and suddenly she burst out with, "You can open a gate anywhere, at any time!" Her head turned slightly to the side as she gazed at me, and she softly said, "You are amazing!"
She reached out with an outstretched arm, and began to pull energy from me. It wasn't something she had intended. It was just a natural reaction. Within seconds she closed her hand and dropped her arm down. The energy transfer stopped at once. She looked at me in awe, and said, "You're a focal, and an empath!" She stared at me for a moment more, and then asked, "Is there anything else I should know about you?"
"I am your friend!" I said softly. Then I raised my hand, and began forcing energy into her form. Her image brightened at once, and she started to stand up almost as quickly. I did the same, and we stood together face to face for a moment. She was getting ready to fold space. I could see it in her eyes.
Almost in tears, she pleaded, "Please help us!" Then she folded space, vanishing instantly.
I stood there thinking about what had just occurred. It could have been a dream, but I knew it wasn't.
Then the front door opened, and Tersa stepped in. I must have looked odd standing there, because after a moment, she asked, "Are you alright?"
I stood debating the best answer to that. I finally told her, "I guess that remains to be seen!"
At that point, Tersa just frowned, and said, "It's time to return to Drevins Spraug! Our month was up yesterday!"
I nodded, and we stepped close, and folded space. I stood before the lair Bitsy had created for her young with Tersa right behind me.
The ledge that sits at the edge of the mountain where Bitsy has her home, is as large as several "football fields" on Earth. In the moment we stood there in front of the lair, a huge cloud passed over head. Several hundred red dragons settled around us, each the size of a minivan on Earth. They landed, and just stood there quietly looking at us.
To my surprise, Tersa said, "I told you not to surprise him!" Then she brushed right past the dragons, and started to go down into the lair. I had to move quickly to catch up with her. Several of the dragons fluttered slightly as I passed, but none actually tried to follow.
We were well into the tunnel when I caught up, and I asked, "Have you been here since the last time I visited?"
From a side tunnel we were walking past, Bitsy said, "She visits here every day!"
I looked from Bitsy to Tersa, and queried, "She does?"
Slightly flustered, Tersa said, "I've just been keeping tabs on April for you. I would love to be the person that tells you she's awake." There was an unspoken truth here. I could sense it in the link, but I just let it go. Tersa would tell me when she was ready.
Down the tunnel behind Bitsy I could hear movement, and abruptly Al came into sight. He was covered in dust, and it appeared obvious he had been digging, expanding the lair. He smiled at us, and then disappeared back into the dust cloud behind him. He seemed very happy in his work.
"Is April okay?" I asked
Bitsy nodded her huge head and smiled. She said, "She is safe here! Your dragons will protect her!"
I hesitated, and then asked, "My dragons?"
"The dragons of Drevins Spraug are yours to command till the ends of time!" stated Bitsy. She said it in a matter of fact voice, but I could tell this meant more than it appeared. She was so close, that her huge eyes were like mirrors. I could see Tersa and myself reflected there. The giant white dragon blinked once and said, "You will know when the time is right Magi! Call upon us, and you'll see what it means to command the dragons of Drevins Spraug!"
I reached out and touched Bitsy's ear, rubbing it gently as I had when she was small enough to hold in my hands. The giant beast instantly started to purr like some gigantic cat. The entire moment was very surreal.
Then I heard Doctor Colton call out, "Kaltar! I've been waiting for you!" I turned to find
the woman approaching us. She showed no fear of Bitsy. Instead, she walked up, and stroked the beast on the cheek softly, as if the thing was her pet dog at home. The huge white dragon leaned into the woman's hand, and I'm sure I heard the monster sigh.
The doctor focused on me, and said, "April is doing fine. Would you like to see her?"
I nodded, and we went in. For the first time, I realized there were more of the sleeper tubes than there had been before. The doctor saw my thoughts in the link, and said, "The Chosen are rapidly growing in number. If the entire human race converted tomorrow, we would need millions of these tubes. It is one of many problems we must confront."
None of this had ever occurred to me. Without thinking, I asked, "Is there anything I can do?"
"Yes," she replied. "You can wake up April, and give us all some hope!"
I could feel the tension levels rise in Tersa at once. She was right on my heels, and as we walked into the room with April, she reached out, and grabbed my elbow. Pulling hard, she stopped me and asked, "Have you really thought this through? There is a reason why empaths don't link with these cases. They are dangerous, Kaltar!"
I finally had to ask. It was obvious in the link something was wrong. I asked, "What's going on here Tersa? Why are you acting this way?"
Flustered, she looked at me, almost in denial. Then she seemed to reconsider. Finally, she slumped slightly, saying, "This is all my fault!"
I had no idea what she was talking about, and I'm sure the confusion showed. A few seconds went by, and I told her, "You had better explain that remark!"
Tersa seemed to stand a little taller, but still wouldn't look me in the eyes. Looking at the ground, she said, "I arranged for April to be exposed to the enzyme that created the Chosen. I thought she would join the Chosen, and you would be happy..." She broke off, and just stood looking down. I could tell she was crying silently.
The Books of Kaltar Farsara Boxed Set - Books 1 through 3 (The Kingdom Kaltar Farsara Built) Page 27
