Allies (Kaylid Chronicles Book 4)

by Mel Todd

  Philip had moved out of the mass of people, rubbing his temple and looking at Rarz. Everyone fell silent as the Gunny walked out away from the mass of people but nowhere near close to Rarz. McKenna couldn't blame him. Those teeth were intimidating as hell.

  "Rarz, I will say this I didn't expect, and while I'm working on not having to get clean shorts," there was muffled agreement to this comment, "I'm not sure how to use this ability. You mentioned something else, about the portals?"

  ~Yes, but I figured this needed to be seen first, so you understand what is possible. But the relocation is more efficient for what we are trying to do. If you are agreeable, I will move back to your Earth form. This seems to make your people nervous.~

  The voice rumbled in her mind and McKenna saw others shudder and rub their temples, though no one turned their attention away from the dragon.

  Ha, they should try having Wefor talk in their head. His voice is almost pleasant.

  "Please. That might make this easier," Philip replied, and the huge wings bobbed up and down. Rarz lifted onto hindquarters, his head coming perilously close to the ceiling, then he began to shrink.

  How the hell? Where is the mass going?

  The astonishment of the shifters watching rippled through the mindspace. There were no words, just intense focus and confusion.

  ~We need to know how he’s doing that. It would make life much easier if we didn't have to worry about energy components.~ Cass's mutter was met with agreement.

  ~Wefor, you sure you don't know how he’s doing this?~

  [There is no information to explain this. Conservation of mass is a universal constant. It can cannot be violated and he increased his mass. The air displacement and the way the floor settled verified the mass increase.]

  ~Add it to our "discuss later" list, I guess. Though starting to seem like all the later things will take years to get through,~ McKenna said as she watched the man pick up his robes and dress again.

  He and Philip moved back towards the group and a few people did take a step or two back as he approached.

  Philip nodded at him and McKenna realized they'd been talking as he changed, but she had been too busy to pay attention or realize it.

  "McKenna, would you be amenable to being my guinea pig?"

  His voice startled her, but she looked around and realized no one else could do it. The observers wouldn't trust him, and if this was going to work, she had to trust him. Either she started trusting now, or it wouldn't work at all.

  "Sure, what do you need?"

  He waved her over and looked at the group. "As I explained to your Gunny Roberts and Secretary of Defense Burby," he stumbled a bit over the titles and she realized they really hadn't told him how to address people. With his command of English they kept assuming he understood how to use it.

  That’s silly, no one understands English, it’s illogical at the best of times.

  The thought made her snort even as she tried to relax and not tense up. Glancing back at the others, they were all on edge and she could all but see the desire to shift to warrior form written on their faces. A form much better for fighting than their all-too-fragile human forms.

  "My people have a means of travel we call relocating. The best way to explain it is I create wormholes from one place to another that people and objects can travel through. These wormholes can be held open for long periods of time. Also, they aren't physical connections the way you define physical, so they can not be blocked by objects such as planets, though extended interference from suns may make it necessary to drop and reestablish the connection."

  Everyone just looked at him and McKenna figured the blankness on her face mimicked the blankness on theirs.

  "I'm not sure that makes any sense," Philip said slowly as if he hated to admit he didn't understand.

  McKenna didn't have any issue with that. "I have no idea what you just said."

  Rarz didn't quite huff out a sigh, but it seemed like he really wanted to. "Are you willing to demonstrate what I am talking about?"

  "Sure." McKenna didn't bother expressing her doubts. At this point she just wanted this over, and a bed to sleep in.

  His brows wrinkled and he looked at right behind her, then tilted his head up and towards the sky. "There, that should work." As he spoke a glowing circle-portal thing appeared behind her. McKenna jumped back, startled. It felt slightly prickly up close, like static electricity in a ball. It wasn't painful, just prickly so that you knew it was there.

  "If you walk through that opening, it will deposit you up there." He turned and pointed. Up on one of the catwalks about thirty feet in the air a similar glowing circle stood.

  ~Are you insane? You're going to walk into a glowing circle of light? What if you never come back?.~ Toni's protestation cut across the mindspace and McKenna hunched her shoulders in protest.

  ~Either I trust, or I don't. Do you see any other options? Anyone?~ Silence reigned in the mindspace.

  McKenna turned to Rarz, pasting a smile on her face. "Sounds good. Just walk in?"

  "Yes. You will reappear up there at the exit area."

  "Here goes nothing."

  With a deep breath McKenna stepped into the portal. Reality disappeared.

  Chapter 13 - And Back Again

  "Is anyone out there? I don't know what to do. My name is Jacob Smythe. They came and took my big sisters. They killed my parents and they damaged the doors so they won't open. I'm stuck in the basement and I'm scared. Can someone help? Am I using this right? I'm sorry; it’s my dad's radio. I'm not supposed to play with it. But I'm scared and hungry. Can anyone hear me? Help?" ~Intercepted CB radio from somewhere in London.

  Colors, sounds, tastes, textures, and even odors, all pulled and swirled through her mind. Not painful, they didn't exist long enough for her to identify any of them, but enough that her mind registered their existence, but couldn't process. She could feel her body moving, walking.

  One step

  Two steps

  Three steps

  But she couldn't feel any movement because everything swirled at her and rushed her senses, making her almost dizzy.

  Then there was a calm clear space in front of her, something she could focus on. That gave her direction and she stepped towards it and found cool air in her face. The metal grate of the catwalk rang under her boots and a cacophony of voices echoed in her head.

  ~McKenna what the hell!~ Toni's voice hit her with Perc, JD, and Cass all expressing similar sentiments.

  ~Where were you? Your light went a funky color. Not the gray of distance, or the black of death, but a weird pulsing silver.~ Cass asked, her voice a bit calmer than everyone else's.

  McKenna flinched a bit at the reminder of Caroline's death. A death she still hadn't told Christopher about.

  ~You are unharmed?~ Rarz's voice rolled through the mindspace and McKenna shuddered a bit. His voice was almost physically there; it felt like a variation of Wefor's.

  ~I'm fine. That was weird, but I'm fine.~

  ~It might be advantageous if were you were to wave to show that you are uninjured. Most down here can not speak to you via Speech.~

  McKenna oriented herself to look down on the assembled people who were all waving arms and looking a bit excited. She waved at them and the swell of noise grew for a minute, then subsided.

  ~Would you like to come back via portal or another method?~

  McKenna looked around. The catwalk she was on was very high up. With only a long ladder with access, one that had no safety cage. Heights didn't freak her out, but with her exhaustion, and that amount to go down, the ladder didn't seem the best option.

  ~Portal if you don't mind. Scared I might slip and go splat if I used the other option.~

  ~One moment.~ A second later a glowing silver swirl appeared beside her.

  ~I'll be down in a moment.~ With another deep breath she stepped in, a bit more ready this time. The colors and other sensations were still there, but even if she didn't try walk, she reali
zed the peaceful section at the end of the tunnel came closer to her. With amusement she tried to walk backward, but it did no good; the end came to her just as quickly as if she had moved towards it.

  Part of it pulled at her mind and she wanted to turn. It felt like she should know how to control, to create, to use it. Something tugged at her again and she tried to turn towards it, but the end kept coming at her no matter how she turned. She couldn't find what pulled at her from a direction that didn't exist.

  Stepping out into reality didn't bring peace and quiet this time. Instead, she was buffeted by the sound of people yelling over each other, arguing, and excited jabbering, to the point that she ordered the nanobots to reduce her hearing sensitivity.

  "We need to use this immediately. This will give us a chance to get to the ships and destroy them." An older man yelled and Burby sighed.

  "Why do you think we’re here? But we need to get organized and rescue as many as possible. If we don't make the effort and we live past this, the world would crucify us. Do you really want to start World War 3 with the Chinese after going through this? They maybe be seriously wounded but I have no doubt all their nukes still work, and they won't have anything to lose. We don't have much time, but rushing it will just make it worse."

  McKenna sighed. She understood that they would be needed, but for the most part all someone had to do was point them in the right direction. Exhaustion pulled at her like weights around her body, urging her to sleep. That was becoming more important than food.

  Philip walked over to her. "You okay? That portal thing didn't do anything to you? It's safe?"

  She looked at him and suspected she looked like a drooling idiot. "No, the portal tunnel thing is fine. Why?"

  "’Cause you look like death warmed over." He cast his eyes around her small group. "In fact you all look rougher than most the people here."

  She shrugged, glancing at JD who just shrugged. He looked tired with circles under his eyes. Of all of them, Cass looked the best. Tired but not exhausted. She also hadn't shifted much, staying in human form.

  "Too little sleep, too much stress, and not enough calories. This whole experience isn't easy on anyone." She shrugged. There were lots of people out on the front line. People were dying and worse, people who just wanted to live their quiet lives were being killed. How dare she complain when no one else was getting what she got: food, weapons, protection?

  Damn, you're a selfish bitch, Largo.

  The sharp self-castigation helped a bit. But exhaustion and a huge hunger for something other than food pulled at her.

  "I get that. But none of you are combat trained to know how to deal with this. Besides, from everything that has been said, without you the mission will fail. That means you get the royal treatment." A new man had approached and his words pulled her out of her zone.

  McKenna looked at the speaker. Hair buzzed down so tight she could see the dark brown skin under the dark hair. Sun and weather had added lines to his face but with his rich brown skin the color of melted chocolate, she didn't have any idea what his age was. Fit to Kaylid levels, muscles rippled along his body, but he was only her height at 5'7" and about half the mass of either JD or Perc.

  "That means you think this is a go, Colonel Sextan?" Philip asked, an odd deference in his tone.

  "I think we don't have any fucking choice, so yes it's a go." The man turned to look at all of them. "My name is Geoff Sextan and I'll be helping create the insertion teams. We’ll spend tomorrow morning practicing working together and getting used to your forms. But for now we need to plan, and assign personnel, and try to get people here. These are things you have no skills with and frankly, your input would cloud the matter. I need you rested, fed, and ready to go in the morning. My plan right now is to be attacking by the day after tomorrow. Hell, what’s today? I lost track a week ago." His growl sounded frustrated.

  "It doesn't matter. Go back to the Inn and get some sleep. If you aren't at the best you can be over the next two days, the planet dies. I'm not willing to accept that." Geoff made it an order, but it was one she wanted to obey.

  She wanted to stiffen at that, both in outrage and to assure him she'd do her best no matter how tired she was. But he was right, and she didn’t have the energy for outrage.

  "I'll take care of it, Colonel," Philip assured him. The man gave all of them, even Rarz who had wandered over, a hard look then nodded once. He executed a militarily precise turn and strode off to intercept another group of people who were just as hard-looking as he.

  "Who was that?" McKenna asked, feeling like a bull at full speed had just hit her. No goring, but her worldview felt off-kilter.

  Philip took a deep breath and visibly shook himself. "That was Colonel Geoff Sextan, the only living holder of two Medals of Honor, a Ranger. He would have had this position if he'd ever accept a promotion, much less the position. The guy is a living legend like Audie Murphy."

  McKenna had heard of Audie Murphy and watched the movie about him. If this Geoff Sextan matched him, he must be pretty impressive. She tracked his movement and noted the way people paid attention to him.

  "I see. So what does that mean?"

  Philip gave her a lopsided grin. "It means most of the people here will listen to him and go with his suggestions as if they were orders. I'm going to get you back to the hotel so you can be ready to hit the ground running tomorrow." He paused and looked at Rarz. "If you can handle it, we’ll need you. Probably ask you to perform lots of portals and answer many questions as we try to work through the logistics of all of this. I hope you can handle another ten or twelve hours of this."

  Rarz glanced at the rest of them then slowly shrugged and McKenna had to fight back a laugh.

  He's watching our body language and trying to copy it. Smart dragon.

  Even as the thought crossed her mind she flinched, then relaxed as no one commented. It got confusing with an AI living in you, people you could talk to via telepathy, and a dragon that apparently could barge in at any time. It made you paranoid about your own thoughts.

  "That is acceptable. My species needs less sleep than yours. Our days are longer, and we have the ability to go longer without sleep. Staying awake another hundred of your hours will not be an imposition, though after that I may need to sleep for a significant period."

  Everyone looked and at him and he did that slow shrug again. "I am not human, my needs are different."

  "Yeah, speaking of which, do you have any needs? You've done a lot of shifting and from what I've learned of shifters they need fuel to replace the calories they burn doing that," Burby asked even as McKenna focused in, interested in the answer. The idea of not being chained to calories would be helpful.

  "Food would be appreciated, but is not mandatory. It is apparent that while the small computers you have facilitate the change, they do not provide access to quantum space to store energy and mass in." Rarz paused, a frown touching his face. "I am unsure why you can not do so. Technically you should have the ability; otherwise you would not change at all. But this is something all Drakyn know without teaching. It is part of us, so I am unsure how it would be taught."

  Oh well. So much for that thought.

  "Good to know. I figure we’ll all need sustenance." Philip looked around and waved over a soldier, a sergeant McKenna thought. "Sergeant. Get these five back to the Inn, then get some coffee, sandwiches and fruit over to the conference center. This is going to be a long night, so make sure we’re staffed."

  "Yes, sir. This way please, sirs, ma'ams."

  With efficiency that McKenna had figured out was a hallmark of the service, they found themselves back at the hotel. Walking into one of the group of rooms assigned to them, all with connecting doors, McKenna bleary-eyed, glanced at the clock.

  Two in the morning. No wonder I'm exhausted.

  Her bags were sitting on the floor and she dug through them, finding clean clothes, and headed to the shower. The long hot shower didn't solve her exhaustion, but
it made her feel much more centered and less like a refugee. Tomorrow would come too soon and she felt everyone else doing the same thing. The kids were already fast asleep. She sank into the bed and let sleep wrap her in warm darkness.

  ~Kenna?~

  Toni's voice drifted into her mind as the world turned fuzzy.

  ~Hmm?~ It was all she could manage to pull out as she listened to Toni.

  ~I know you're crashing. I am, too. But did you notice anything strange about Rarz? In his human form I mean.~

  That caused her to rouse up a bit, breaking the surface of sleep to manage a coherent sentence.

  ~Like?~

  There was a long pause, and sleep started to pull her back down, not that she fought it.

  ~When he stood out there naked, did you notice he didn't have any genitalia?~

  The words weren't enough to bring her to full wakefulness, but they followed her down into sleep. She only replied with a ~Huh.~ before giving into her body's craving for rest.

  Chapter 14 - Planning Stages

  Attacks in Istanbul and most of that region have slowed as we approach day eight in the siege. Drone and satellite imagery show buildings in ruins, rubble everywhere, and armed figures prowling the streets. The region they attacked is well used to war and after the first day, the Iman for the area declared all humans to stay as human as any in shifter form will be killed on sight. Their response to the invasion has been brutal and there are few reports of any shifters being captured and returned to the ships. But there are more disturbing reports of shuttles landing outside of cities in Europe and lone Elentrin walking in, and leading people back out like the Pied Piper of old. The US government is advising all people to purchase nose filters and wear them at all times. ~TNN Invasion report.

  Pounding on her door yanked McKenna up from odd dreams. Nothing from their mysterious compatriot, Ash, but her dreams had been full of weird images and thoughts that faded as she roused.