The Last Portal

by Robert Cole

The events of that night were as terrifying as they were amazing, as weird they were wonderful. Whilst Susie and Joe stepped back at the sight of Zelnoff, Chris held his ground. He felt all his senses heighten and his fingers tingle; the urge to fight crystallised his thoughts. His growing mental powers gathered for one final surge.

  Zelnoff felt it too. His welcoming smile turned to confusion, then disbelief. “Stop!” he shouted, holding out his hands and shaking his head vigorously. “I’m not who you think I am. I’m not your enemy! “I’m Kaloc! Batarr and Zelnoff are the ones you should be fighting, not me.”

  Chris felt a hand on his shoulder. “He’s not our enemy,” Susie whispered. “I don’t feel he will attack us.”

  With enormous difficulty, he pulled himself back.

  For the first time Chris found he could probe this man’s thoughts. His name was Kaloc. It was true. He was a Guardian and he had been fighting Batarr and Zelnoff.

  “Please, you’re all cold and wet,” Kaloc continued. “This seems as good a place as anywhere to set up camp.” He pointed his staff at a rotting tree stump a short distance away and a beam of white light shot from the top of his staff. When the beam hit the stump it instantly burst into flames. “Please warm yourselves.” He gestured toward the now fiercely burning stump. “My men will bring food and drink and I will answer all your questions.” He sounded positively animated, as if he had just discovered a fortune in his own backyard.

  Chris looked across at Joe and Susie. In the glow of the fire, all he could see was relief etched in their faces. Joe was already shuffling closer to the growing flames, the palms of his hands held up for warmth. Chris just felt exhausted. At this moment he didn’t care. As long as this person wasn’t going to kill them, he could be anyone he wanted to be. The surrounding Prower had stopped guarding them and were roaming around like a lot of very large domesticated cats, except they growled instead of purred. The key, still in his hand, showed no glow. He noticed Susie was also examining her key, with similar results.

  “Please make yourselves at home,” Kaloc smiled reassuringly.

  More soldiers arrived with supplies and started building up the fire. As the flames grew higher, Chris noticed a tall figure, supported by two soldiers, limping toward them.

  “Altac,” Susie squealed, running over immediately.

  Altac smiled broadly when he saw them. “I’m very glad to see you’re all still in good health,” he said in his usual formal tone.

  Susie looked at his leg, then drew a sharp breath.

  “It’s not as bad as it looks,” Altac said, almost casually. “It will heal in no time. I don’t believe there’ll be any permanent damage.” The soldiers sat him down on a log close to the fire. Chris immediately probed his thoughts. He was in pain, but didn’t fear for his life. In his mind, this man was indeed Kaloc, whom he had met many times in the past twenty years and considered a friend. But at a deeper level, his mind was in turmoil. Chris read confusion and anger at the attack on Batarr, but for the moment anyway, Altac had decided to bide his time and wait for an explanation for this horrendous betrayal of Batarr and the Mytar.

  Kaloc drew closer and inspected the Mytar. “My men should be able to supply some dry clothes. Although the clothes may be a little too large,” he added as an afterthought.

  He stabbed his staff into the ground a little distance from the fire and the soldiers began erecting a camp around the light. Chris judged there were now about sixty soldiers busily at work. Some, like Altac, had wounds from weapon fire and were being attended to in a makeshift shelter, while other soldiers carried in supplies. Several logs were rolled across in front of the fire, providing convenient seats.

  Kaloc sat down on a log and studied each Mytar in turn as they stood in front of him. “I still can’t get used to the idea,” he said at last. “Children Mytar… Who would have believed it? I feel very sorry you have been dragged into this mess, but I’m also very happy you’re here.”

  Chris tried again to probe his thoughts, but this time he was locked out. Clearly Kaloc had only allowed him access to his thoughts briefly to confirm his identity.

  “Why are you so happy we’re here?” Joe asked, watching Kaloc suspiciously.

  Kaloc’s eyes narrowed, as though contemplating how to answer this question. “First, I would like you to explain to me how you got here.”

  After quickly searching the faces of Joe and Susie, and seeing they were not about to volunteer an explanation, Chris began. He explained how he found the key, how they had fallen through the portal, the meeting with Batarr, his vision where he had seen Kaloc collecting food, and all the events leading up to the present, with Joe and Susie periodically injecting their own perspectives. Kaloc listened carefully, nodding at certain points and grunting agreement at others, as though their story was confirming his suspicions.

  “This explains a lot,” he said, when Chris had finished. “The knife Batarr gave you was my favourite fruit-peeling knife. Zelnoff has already made several attempts to find me using this knife, but I know what his presence is like and can shield myself. But your vibrations were totally different. I realised too late that I was being watched.”

  “I didn’t know it was you, we…”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine,” Kaloc cut in. “In fact, considering what has happened, it’s been the best possible outcome.”

  Kaloc leaned forward eagerly. “Who has the key?”

  Chris pulled out his key and Susie also pulled out her key.

  Kaloc’s face broadened in laughter when he saw the second key. “Excellent. I couldn’t have planned for a better outcome.” He took Susie’s key and examined it closely. “This key belonged to Yemac, a good friend of mine,” he said sadly. “He underestimated the power of Zelnoff to corrupt even his most trusted advisors.” He handed the key back to Susie. “He was betrayed and killed and the key fell into Batarr’s hands. But now...” He smiled across at the Mytar. “You not only have Yemac’s key, but Batarr’s key as well. He has lost the Mytar and both the keys.”

  Even in the dim light of the fire, Chris could see the clear sparkle in Kaloc’s eyes.

  “Batarr has made his first mistake,” Kaloc continued. “It’s up to me to ensure it will be a very costly one.”

  In answer to their confused expressions, Kaloc gestured for them to sit down. “Batarr was once a very powerful and strong leader,” he continued, “and his ability to project himself into your dimension and others went well beyond the abilities of the other six Guardians of this planet. Apparently, whilst exploring these other dimensions, he must have found Zelnoff, or Zelnoff found him. I’m not sure whether Batarr voluntarily allowed Zelnoff to enter this world, or Zelnoff had control of him, but either way, the result has been the same. We are an occupied world and I lead the only remaining resistance, and hold the last remaining portal to your world.” He paused for a moment to observe the effect of his words. “And you three, I believe, are part of the last remaining group of Mytar on your planet.”

  “That’s not true,” Chris objected. “There should be other Mytar on Earth.”

  Kaloc shook his head. “You are the last. As you already know, the groups of Mytar are spaced apart so that at least another three older groups should still exist on your planet. Their vibrations would have been much stronger than yours and easier to detect. When Zelnoff invaded this planet, we immediately started trying to locate the strongest Mytar in your world. It shouldn’t have been a difficult task, but each time we found a group of Mytar, Batarr managed to kill them before we could transport them back here.”

  “Batarr killed all the other Mytar,” Joe said, his jaw dropping. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

  “We simply didn’t know he was working for Zelnoff. We thought Zelnoff was killing the Mytar, not Batarr.”

  There was a prolonged silence after these words. Chris couldn’t read Kaloc’s thoughts, but the gravity of his voice left no doubt in Chris’s mind that he was telling the truth.
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br />   “So he saved us because we could use the keys to find your portal?” Chris summarised.

  “Zelnoff cannot make the leap safely to your world unless he controls all the portals,” Kaloc continued. “As long as I’m alive and have control of a portal, he’ll be in danger of me disrupting the transport to your planet. He knows this, but so far hasn’t been able to find my portal, or me.”

  “Until now,” Susie interrupted. “Because of us, Batarr now knows where the portal is.”

  Kaloc nodded. “Zelnoff couldn’t find my portal so he needed Mytar to operate the keys to find it. As all of the adult Mytar were already dead. That only left your group. It appears from your presence that Batarr succeeded in finding you. I couldn’t have done this. Your signal would’ve been too weak for me to detect.”

  “So why are you so happy to see us?” Chris asked.

  “You represent the only force that’s still capable of stopping Zelnoff. I can only delay his conquest of this world, I cannot ultimately defeat him. Eventually he will find the portal and me. But now, with your help, there is a chance of not only stopping him reaching your world, but throwing him out of ours.”

  There was a collective gasp of exasperation. “We’re too young,” Joe pleaded. “We can’t do anything.”

  “This task shouldn’t have fallen to you,” Kaloc admitted. “But whether you yet fully realise it or not, you possess abilities that make you capable of extraordinary feats.”

  “But I thought we were going to go back to Earth,” Joe said, sounding more miserable by the second.

  “Batarr had no intention of returning you to your home once you located the portal,” Kaloc replied. “You are Mytar, and even though you’re still young, you represent a serious threat to Zelnoff’s plans. You saw for yourselves that Batarr was going to kill you. As long as any Mytar are alive, they will threaten Zelnoff.”

  “But I still don’t get it,” Susie said. “How are we a threat?”

  “Each Mytar has unique powers that are magnified in the presence of the rest of the group,” Kaloc explained. “If we can find and transport the remaining Mytar from your world to this one, then, when all the Mytar powers are combined, we may be able to defeat Zelnoff.”

  “Only maybe?” Chris queried, feeling he had heard this record before.

  “You’re young and immature, and your true powers have yet to develop. I cannot say if your combined strength will be enough.”

  “So we’re back to saving the planet,” Joe groaned, sounding disgusted.

  “After what you have seen, surely you cannot doubt the seriousness of this situation,” Kaloc replied, raising an eyebrow at Joe.

  “But how can we fight an army?” Joe asked.

  “You cannot fight anyone until you find the remaining Mytar. I don’t have the ability to detect them from here, so you will have to go back through the portal and find them yourselves.”

  At the mention of returning to Earth, Susie and Joe grinned at each other.

  “But not yet,” Kaloc added quickly. “Batarr has escaped. He will be rushing back to his forces, which are massing in the next valley. We must return to the portal before Zelnoff’s forces find it. At the moment, it’s well hidden in the underworld under the protection of the Nethral.”

  “The Nethral...” Chris repeated.

  Kaloc smiled at Chris. “I thought that name might stir some reaction. They were the first to alert me to your presence. News travels fast when a child can stare down hungry Prower.”

  Chris felt himself going red. “So do you know Duss and Cass?”

  “Not personally, but they were impressed enough to tell the high council of the Nethral all about your exploits. It wasn’t long before the news got back to me. Then, when my Prower reported a strange party of soldiers led by Batarr and accompanied by children, I took an educated guess.”

  Chris looked across at Altac. He was listening with a mixture of confusion and astonishment on his face. Clearly Kaloc’s words were a complete revelation to him. His mind was having extreme difficulty believing that all this time, his master, the Guardian he had served for so long and devoted his life to, was a servant of Zelnoff.

  “But how could Batarr hide his connection to Zelnoff?” Chris asked, deciding to voice the question Altac was burning to ask.

  Kaloc nodded, as though expecting this question. “Did any of you have any doubts who Batarr really was?”

  “Well… I never liked him,” Joe piped up, trying to sound as if he had known all along.

  “But did you ever suspect he was working for Zelnoff?”

  Joe grumbled under his breath but in the end, like Chris and Susie, had to admit he had no idea.

  “That’s what makes Zelnoff so dangerous. He has the ability to manipulate people with promises of power, or control them with his will. His influence spreads into every corner of the land, like a disease. Even I don’t know who has fallen under his control.”

  “When did you know that Batarr was with Zelnoff?” Altac asked.

  “Not for a long time,” Kaloc replied softly, after watching his friend. “We thought we were only fighting Zelnoff. Before we realised, three Guardians had been killed and the armies of Zelnoff were pouring through their portals. Zelnoff never used Batarr’s portal. That’s why we never suspected anything. We thought Batarr was helping us when, in fact, he was using his powers to find and kill the Mytar in your world, while Zelnoff was waging war on us here. Batarr carried out this deception for years. Only when I was the last remaining Guardian did I suspect him.”

  “And what made you suspicious?” Susie asked.

  “Hmm… Nothing obvious,” Kaloc said slowly, “only minor things. For instance, Zelnoff always seemed to know where the portals were, no matter where we re-located them, and he never attempted to find Batarr’s portal, even though, as you have seen, it is quite exposed.” He paused for a moment. “And probably in hindsight the most obvious; Batarr always wanted know the whereabouts of the other portals. We trusted him; he was our leader, so he was always told everything. When I moved the portal to the underworld, I decided not to tell anyone where it was located. It appears that’s what saved me.”

  “So you were never absolutely sure it was Batarr?” Altac asked.

  “No, I was never absolutely sure. Only when I heard about Chris’s abilities and the presence of two other children in Batarr’s company did I put the final pieces of the puzzle together. He wouldn’t have guarded you so well if you weren’t the child Mytar.”

  “So it was Zelnoff’s armies that destroyed those villages we saw on the lake,” Susie concluded.

  “You must understand,” Kaloc replied, his voice becoming very serious, “that this area is the last part of this planet that’s not under Zelnoff’s rule. There were people in those villages who spied on Zelnoff’s forces for me. Because Zelnoff didn’t know who were responsible, he destroyed them all.” He looked away into the flames of the fire. “This isn’t an unusual tactic for Zelnoff,” he added bitterly.

  Chris looked across at Altac, who was sitting nursing his leg, his coarse features wrapped in misery.

  “I know this must be hard for you,” Kaloc addressed Altac, an almost apologetic tone in his voice. “You trusted Batarr and were willing to die for him. I can only say how sorry I am for having to tell you this. Batarr didn’t try to convince you that I was working for Zelnoff because he knew you would have difficulty believing it. Instead he twisted the truth and said he was looking for Zelnoff. He knew you would defend him first and ask questions later, and that’s exactly what happened.”

  Altac didn’t react. Instead he stared blankly into the fire.

  Chris read enormous sadness and hurt in his thoughts, but his disbelief was gone. Kaloc’s explanation, for the moment at least, appeared to have satisfied his most pressing questions. “So how do we stop someone like Zelnoff?” Chris asked.

  “Batarr has actually told you more of the truth than he realised,” Kaloc said thoughtfully
. “Zelnoff’s strength is also his greatest weakness. If we defeat him, his whole empire will crumble.”

  “But no one even knows what he looks like,” Joe complained.

  “That’s true.” Kaloc turned his attention to Chris. “You have already used your abilities to find the Wassin and myself. You may also be able to use these abilities to find Zelnoff.”

  “So you’ve got something of Zelnoff’s I can use?” Chris asked, feeling the now all too familiar fluttering in his stomach.

  “No, but you mightn’t have to find him. He may come looking for you. On your planet, Batarr has already shown that he can reach you in your sleep. He may try the same thing tonight to find our exact location. If he does, you mustn’t try to block him out. He must be allowed to enter your dreams.”

  “Why?” Chris frowned.

  “Look for someone in the background. I don’t believe, considering your growing powers, Batarr would attempt this without help from Zelnoff. Zelnoff will be there somewhere. You must look for him. But don’t try to probe his thoughts, just try to see what he looks like.”

  Chris had the same sinking feeling he had experienced when Batarr had first asked him to find Zelnoff. He watched Kaloc as he began rubbing the tummy of a Prower, who had been lying on its back, patiently waiting for attention. If he protested, he would get the same stock response that Batarr had always given him. “Because you are Mytar.” Chris decided to hold his tongue.

  The Mytar were presented with dry clothes, although they fitted so badly that Chris decided to change back into the clothes Batarr had given him as soon as they were dry. While everyone ate, Prower roamed freely around the camp and were fed scraps from the dinner. Chris judged there were three different humanoid species among Kaloc’s forces. Apart from the human-looking ones like Altac and Kaloc, the others, who he had previously seen in his vision, looked even more alien up close. The large gorilla-looking people varied from black to light brown in colour, with long furry arms, thick eyebrow ridges and receding foreheads. They reminded him of the pictures he had once seen in a book on Neanderthal Man. The smaller humanoids, however, with their saucer-shaped eyes and disproportionately long torsos and ridiculously short, stout arms, looked totally unlike anything he had ever seen, or could have ever imagined. But he was pleased to find that he could read all their thoughts, and found confirmation of Kaloc’s words. The only new piece of information he obtained was that Kaloc alone had a unique gift amongst the Guardians: he could communicate with the Prower. No other Guardian could do this.

  Makeshift shelters were erected around the fire, and the Mytar were shown beds covered with soft, warm blankets. Before Chris went to sleep, Kaloc paid him another visit. He was very concerned about the ability of Batarr to penetrate his dreams, and offered one more piece of advice. “Remember, you are ultimately in control of everything that happens in your dreams.” He left, saying, “he would be looking out for him,” a comment Chris didn’t understand at all.

  Susie and Joe climbed into their beds and were asleep within minutes. Chris was also exhausted, but the events of the day and Kaloc’s final warning played on his mind. His last conscious thoughts were that he didn’t want to meet Batarr in his dreams, much less Zelnoff.

  Chapter 8: The Zentor