Home at Last

by Alex Sapegin

  “We’re in it—deep,” the general broke the silence. “Command authorized ‘penetration.’ Three days ago, I accidentally became aware of information about the preparatory center.”

  “Is that where they sent Mehdi?”

  “Yeah. As part of the operation on Ilanta, it was decided to take a couple people, including some mages. The boy should serve as a link. The people who have a stake in it don’t want to hear any objections.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You saw the possibilities of magical medicine. Tell me, if you had the chance to be fifteen years younger, would you? That’s it, some people don’t want to miss the possibility of youth and are ready to sell their souls to the devil, and risk the money. Heck, I still think that it was a big mistake to leak information into the president’s office; now they’re requiring material profit out of the portals. And where there’s a lot of money tied up, the stinkiest crap always seems to come up. Take China for example. The portals haven’t even been built yet, and already there are so many holes in their heads. That’s why, Igor, I prefer taking the position of the observer, and I advise you to do the same. If the whole thing burns out, we’ll join the victorious camp with a clear conscience. If Command fails, we don’t get punished since we weren’t ever really responsible for anything, and, on the contrary, we even warned of the possibility of embarrassment.”

  “I feel sorry for Kerimov.”

  “Yes, Iliya got a raw deal.”

  “Do you know anything about how they’re planning to attract Olga?” Lantsov asked.

  The major general nodded.

  “Before they cut off my tail, I managed to find something out. They’re putting the Osadchuk group on the case. They’ll choose several young people with an appearance and charisma conducive to communication for contact with the girl. Since the girl can sense lies, the ‘contacters’ will speak only the truth or the information brought to them within the framework of the operation.”

  “There are different truths and different ways of serving it. The baby won’t stand a chance.” Lantsov took out a cigarette and lit it. “I didn’t think in my old age I’d feel like such a horrible jerk.”

  The general rose from his chair and walked from corner to corner. “That’s not our concern now, like the second team of the third group. Hide your thoughts and conscience deep in your gut and get ready to play for the audience. The main thing now is, there’s a really bad mess cooking, and no matter how I feel about Kerimov, we, unlike him, can be removed in such a way that no one will notice. While we’re on the chopping block, young wolves are tearing into the trough, secretly supported by the Kremlin and their cronies. Pandora ’s Box is open, Igor. The financial circles of America and Europe have joined the game; the anglophones are on the rampage. I don’t know how long our ‘guarantor’ will hold up under that kind of pressure. The powers that be in this world weren’t satisfied with construction contracts. They want to get their hands on the technology—that’s the scariest thing. I’m afraid that if information gets out about the discovery of a method of instantaneous movement within good old Earth, we won’t be left with a choice…”

  “I knew it’d lead to that…”

  “That’s it, kablooey. I need to sleep on the couch; I can get three hours. At 6:00 a.m. Reston and Co. are coming to the base; get ready.”

  “I’m delighted,” Lantsov muttered, removing the unfinished vodka and the remnants of the snack in the refrigerator. “Dang, who’s awake at this hour?” The indignation was related to a telephone on the coffee table, which started to buzz.

  Igor slammed the door of the refrigerator; meanwhile, the general opened a briefcase which was laying next to his chair during the conversation and pressed a small button on the device hidden inside the briefcase.

  “Go ahead,” he said to the Colonel, slamming the lid shut. Lantsov glanced at the disguised jamming machine (the two old paranoiacs were very appreciative of privacy) and picked up the receiver.

  “Colonel Lantsov here.” As the information reached Igor’s brain, his face stretched out longer and longer. He put the phone down and turned to the general. “Forget about the couch, Leonid. There’s new information from the second team of the third group. A passenger car will be delivered in five minutes.”

  “Take it to the safe,” the general handed Lantsov the briefcase with the tricky little device.

  May 19, 20XX. Russia. N-ville. Elementary school № 3. Olga…

  “Elena Vasilievna, you have visitors.” The secretary peeped into the principal’s office.

  “All right, Lyuda, let them come in.” The director turned from her computer screen, on which she was checking the electronic grade report of the seventh grade “B” class, and rubbed her eyes. It was the end of the year, the fussiest time, and the kids were going crazy. It was 90 degrees out, and, as if by some cruel trick of fate, the air conditioner was broken.

  “Come in, please.” Lyudmila moved aside, letting two young people, a guy and a girl, into the principal’s office. Both looked to be about twenty-five-years-old. The girl had a colorful fitted sarafan, revealing her tanned shoulders. She wore fashionable woven sandals on her feet. The young man was flaunting his worn jeans and a snow-white cotton shirt.

  “Hello.” The visitors smiled radiantly and greeted her in reply. “Have a seat. What is it you wanted to talk about?” the director asked. The girl straightened the folds of her sarafan and gracefully sank into a chair; the young man bowed his head gratefully. Everything was done so naturally that Elena Vasilievna could not help smiling.

  “Allow me to introduce myself, Elena Vasilievna.” The boy took the initiative. “This is Darya, and I’m Sergey.” He again smiled warmly. “Now about why we’re here. We work in the same company as Iliya Kerimov and would like to speak with Olga. May we invite her here?”

  “What does working with Olga’s father have to do with wanting to talk to the girl?” the director asked incredulously.

  “You see.” Darya stopped Sergey with a gesture. “Olga has developed extrasensory abilities, and we need her advice on a certain issue.”

  The headmistress and Lyudmila, who was listening to the conversation, were quite ready to believe that the girl was psychic. There was something other-worldly in Olga; her strange behavior, her uncanny, too-adult reasoning and view of the world… No less strange was her connection with the huge dog that performed her every command without words. But the most frightening thing about the child were her eyes. To somehow hide the whites of her eyes, Olga had been wearing sunglasses for the past two months. It wasn’t surprising that the gypsies who sold weed behind the school were so afraid of her they trembled whenever they saw her and went way out of their way to avoid her.

  “Very well, Lyudmila, would you please invite Olga in?”

  After ten minutes of waiting and a casual conversation on abstract topics, the people in the office heard the clatter of claws on the floor and light footsteps. All three turned to the door, where the fragile girl stood in the doorway, stroking the scruff of an impressive dog.

  “Hello, Olga.” Darya rose from her chair. “I’m Darya, and this is Bon? Can I pet him?”

  “Hello,” Olga answered, adjusting her glasses and bowing her head. The principal and the young people felt as if they’d been examined by an X-ray machine. “Better not, Darya. Bon doesn’t like strangers.”

  “Sorry, I just like big dogs,” the girl said and smiled. “and animals usually respond to me in kind.”

  “You’re here for a reason,” Olga interrupted, ignoring the girl’s attempt to gain her favor. “As I understand it, you want to ask something.”

  The secretary, the principal, and the young people shuddered at the cold tone in which the last sentence was uttered. Elena Vasilievna looked at the student with condemnation, but that look bounced off the wall and fell powerlessly to the ground.

  “Yes, Olga, you’re right,” Sergey answered, feeling a shiver run down his spine. “We’re here for
a reason.”

  “I thought so,” the girl answered and looked at the dog. Bon loudly licked his chops and lay down in the corner of the office, watching those present with his intelligent eyes.

  The witch! the director and the guy both thought.

  It’ll be somewhat harder than I expected, thought Sergey.

  “Elena Vasilievna, can we stay with Olga one on one?” Darya asked.

  The director left, tightly closing the door behind her. Olga sat down on a chair, folding her hands on her lap.

  “Olga, you understand that Sergey and I work at the research center your dad leads.”

  “I understand. No need to beat around the bush,” the girl said bluntly.

  “Alright, as you say," answered Darya, who was a little uncomfortable with Kerimov’s daughter, whose psychological portrait, given several days ago, didn’t reflect half of what she felt right now. “Your father, like us, is looking for Andy. Your dad is on a business trip right now, but the job of finding your brother hasn’t stopped. However, we’re having some difficulties. Last time you indicated to the operators the direction of the search. Could you help us again now?” Sadness crept into the girl’s voice, and her eyes showed sincere hope for help.

  “I don’t know,” Olga said, getting a little embarrassed for the first time during the conversation. She had “read” Sergey and Darya and was convinced that they weren’t lying and really did work in the research center.

  Noticing Olga’s hesitation, Sergey immediately spoke up and launched an offensive. “Don’t worry, Olga; you don’t have to go anywhere. Since your dad isn’t here with you, no one will allow you access to the center. Instead, a minibus with equipment will drive to the school. You can try to determine where Andy is from the bus.” Olga raised an eyebrow. Sergey immediately explained, “They’ll launch the apparatus and open the ‘window’ in the center. They’ll transmit the image to a large screen installed in the cabin of the bus, just like on TV. If you can’t tell where he is, it’s okay. When Iliya Evgenevich comes, you can try again directly from inside the center.”

  Olga thought for a few minutes. The young people, afraid of losing her fragile trust, didn’t ask her any questions. “I’ll help you.”

  “Thank you so much! You don’t know what a big help this is. The bus will drive to the school parking lot after the fourth lesson. We’ll wait for you in the lobby.” Darya smiled reassuringly.

  An hour later... Secret scientific research center

  “Everyone take your places!” ordered Colonel Reston. “Report to your posts when ready!”

  Reports of readiness for launch were heard from the speakers. This time the launch was different in that there were a dozen people in hazmat suits for extreme biological protection near the transition chamber. Unprecedented security measures were taken in advance; the launch was considered to be of the highest degree of complexity. Several people from the secret service were on duty in the room, ready at any moment to intercept control of the apparatus. At the time of launch, all the maintenance personnel was removed from the technological unit of the third complex. The guard posts were reinforced by extra harsh, smart-looking young men.

  “Attention, prepare yourselves! Five minutes to launch!”

  Olga, closing her eyes, was standing in front of the large screen that occupied the inside wall of the minibus cabin and swiped her hand over it. “Keep going,” the girl said softly. Darya nodded and said something into the microphone.

  The image on the screen jerked. The “window,” led by a remote operator, was rapidly sweeping over the steppes, forests, and rivers and was approaching the mountains.

  “He’s close…” The flight slowed; the window maneuvered between the snow-white caps of the high mountains. Olga opened her eyes. There was a valley covered with mighty ridges with a large lake in the middle. “Down.”

  The “window” dove down, after which, upon Olga’s instructions, it approached one of the caves with a wide opening platform in front, on which lay the thick branches of a huge Mellorny growing under a rock by the shore of the high mountain lake. Surprisingly, the tree was along. Usually, Mellornys didn’t grow as single trees but in a whole forest or grove.

  “Andy…” Olga gasped, looking at the tall, barefooted man emerging from the cave, dressed in a simple homespun shirt and trousers. “I found you!”

  A ripple ran over the screen; the image blinked and disappeared.

  “What happened?” Olga turned to Darya. “Why did the image disappear?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered. “I’ll try to find out why we lost the signal from the center.”

  Suddenly, Olga fell to the floor of the minibus and kicked and thrashed as if having an epileptic fit. Darya and Sergey were thrown onto the wall of the bus by an unknown force. The driver crashed into the windshield.

  “You tricked me,” the girl croaked and stopped beating convulsively. “A curse on you! Andy!”

  Olga wanted to stand on her feet, but just then a gas canister flew into the open window and started hissing as it emitted some gas. Everyone in the cabin closed their eyes and fell down like sheaves of wheat at the harvest. Bon whimpered and fell on his side next to his girl...

  Ilanta. Karegar’s Valley. Andy...

  Andy gingerly tapped the fresh earth with his palm and looked at the young Mellorny seedling. How many sacred trees had elevated their evergreen crowns to the sky with his help? Dozens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands. The first forest, planted shortly after the transition to Ilanta, grew by ten to fifteen hectares every day. Every day the roots of the Mellorny, like underground snakes, loosened up the ground and opened their mana-filled and life-giving shoots. Thin saplings with silvery bark, emerging from the earth with the rising of the sun, turned into mighty giants, the roots of which stretched to a new patch of land. The forest—home to tens of thousands of elves and humans—was growing by leaps and bounds. The terrain around the bald hill, which used to be an interplanetary portal, changed dramatically. As far as the eye could see, there was a thicket, and even a mighty river couldn’t become an obstacle to the spreading greenery. Interwoven with one another, the roots lay down on the bottom of the river and overtook the opposite shore...

  Today he’d planted Mellornys in his own native valley. Andy, switching to true vision, habitually connected with the astral and sent the power of the ocean of energy to the luminous silvery core of the sacred tree. The seedling swayed, as if from a strong gust of wind, and let out a few new branches. The energy continued to flow in a continuous stream. Within a few minutes, the tree stretched for several yards and became three times thicker in diameter. Behind him, he heard a convulsive sigh. Andy turned and met Lilly’s gaze. The elf was leaning her elbows on the platform and looking enthusiastically at what was happening. Ilnyrgu and Tyigu opened their mouths with surprise. It was the first time they’d seen such a miracle. Il, the first one to snap out of it, shook her head in disbelief and cast a strange look at Andy. The were-dragon smiled and waved towards the village.

  “That’s impressive,” the orc said. “What will it look like when it’s fully grown?”

  “It’ll be big,” Andy smiled, showing all thirty-two teeth. “I put a limit on it, locking the growth of the root system at a certain level. I have enough small groves near the cave. Otherwise, the Mellornys, like a good weed, will grow into the whole valley.”

  Ilnyrgu, nodding, closed her eyes. “Incredible. Such a powerful flow of energy,” she said hoarsely. “I have goosebumps. Is there always such a density of mana in the elven forests?”

  “No, only in the new ones. The Light Forest is old; the Mellornys in it have come very close to the threshold of life and spend most of the mana pumped from the astral plane to maintain their own vitality.”

  Andy picked Lilly up and jumped onto the platform.

  “Yeah, I saw those Mellornys,” Olaf blurted out. “Once Sigurd and I alone took a whole village of those forest long-ears to meet their gods...”


  Having received a sharp elbow under the rib from Slaisa, the Viking shut up and looked guiltily at Lilly, who frankly didn’t pay any mind to the words of the red-haired Norman. “We, uh, gh-m,” Olaf coughed, “went on a crusade...” After getting another elbow poke in the ribs, he looked painfully at his betrothed. “It was the case... yes, but those Mellornys were smaller than sheep next to a bull. Yes, why is it so?”

  “That Forest was grown by the elves, and this tree was planted by a dragon,” Lilly said in Alat, distorting the words. The elf, not averse to the use of artifacts, magic, and Tyigu’s help, was actively learning Alat and could already fairly fluently speak the local language.

  “I see,” Olaf chuckled, nodding his head, though he did not notice the difference between the methods of planting trees.

  On this the conversation faded. No one said a word about the village; everyone was thinking his own thoughts. Embracing Lilly and Tyigu, leaning with his back to a big tub containing a second Mellorny seedling, which was to be planted tomorrow, Andy thought about the events of the last weeks. The days past, flashed like a sparkle over the water, led the heir to the throne to a new fork in the road. Beyond that, his life would make another sharp turn...

  On the day Timur woke up, Andy fought with his mother for the first time. The scandal probably could have been avoided, but... The big “but:” a word spoken by Jagirra in the heat of the moment that simply stripped Andy of his self-control.