Alliance

by Andrew Stride

  They could all hear it and there wasn’t just one whale singing, there were many and to clarify, this sound was being made by a group of Balacobacks.

  “I’ve not heard them sing before,” said David.

  “It’s how they communicate with each other,” said Sha.

  The light of their fire illuminated the undersides of their broad wings as they flew by overhead.

  “What are they doing here? Roosting or something?” asked David.

  “No,” said Sha with a smile. “Didn’t you say something about the Hidden Ones showing you a way out of this place?”

  They all looked at her.

  “Seriously?” said David.

  “Were you expecting this?” asked Boroc.

  Sha smiled. “When you’ve been out here for as long as I have, very little surprises you. We have formed a relationship with these gentle giants.”

  “Gentle!” remarked David. “You sure about that?”

  “You do not know them as we do.”

  “Maybe not. I just remember what they did to those Squalvolvans.”

  “They can easily detect hostility and will react accordingly.”

  “Okay, well let’s get on with it. What now?” asked Boroc.

  “Now, you’re going to be quiet. They are sensitive and will only come to us when they are ready.”

  “Christ, this could take all bloody night,” said Boroc.

  “It will if you don’t shut up,” said Sha.

  David heard Mica chuckle and one of the Balacobacks swooped in for a better look at them.

  Sha whispered. “Some of the shamans have managed to form close bonds with them, but this takes many years. I think we’re about to experience something very special indeed.”

  Sha wasn’t wrong. The Balacobacks were descending and by the light of their fire, she spotted a possible platform on which they could land.

  “Look up there,” Sha pointed to a spot that jutted out from the cavern wall. “We must get up there.”

  It turned out that these Balacobacks couldn’t land just anywhere, their bulk wouldn’t permit them to take flight from the ground. Sha explained it as a controlled fall and they could only do this from a considerable height.

  Just before they left the camp, Mica retrieved Robin’s backpack and Jimbo stick and as she did so, a powerful feeling came over her. It was as if Robin was standing beside her. Mica felt his warmth and although the exchange was brief, it was just what she needed.

  Mica joined the others and she was trying not to smile too much, but she was sure that Sha noticed her mood had lifted.

  They followed Sha to a spot below a natural platform. It looked high because it was and if they were to get out of this place, then they really didn’t have a choice but to get up there.

  The climb wasn’t so bad, years of calcite deposits had formed natural steps and once at the top, their light crystal illuminated a flat rock platform, which could have been purpose built. Perhaps these Balacobacks were regular visitors to this place and had helped create the platform. There was plenty of evidence on the ground in the form of deep scratches to suggest this could be the case.

  As impressive as the platform was, it looked a lot smaller now and David wondered if they’d done the right thing by coming up here. He said as much and Sha’s response was that she’d seen a Balacoback land on a site half this size.

  “What do we do now?” asked David.

  “Wait here, I must speak with them” and with that Sha stepped forward and after composing herself, she began to chant.

  The sound of Sha’s voice certainly added atmosphere to the proceedings and David was sure he could feel the ground vibrating under his feet.

  A few minutes went by and Boroc snorted his disapproval. Sha continued and then quite suddenly came a reply, a low sound that echoed around the cavern and there could be no doubt that contact had been established.

  This was really happening and a Balacoback of considerable size swept in out of the darkness and they were caught in the downdraft of its wings. This was just the beginning because Sha’s chanting was attracting quite a crowd and the Balacobacks took it in turns to check them out, before gliding back, beyond their light.

  With the initial greeting over, there followed a pause, then the momentum picked up quickly with a mind-blowing display of sound that left them speechless.

  The display concluded with a sound outside their audible range, which they felt as a deep vibration that coursed through their bodies. Sha would explain to them later that this was a Balacobacks equivalent of an X-ray and with it, they could look beyond the physical and into the heart of every one of them.

  A solitary Balacoback drifted in and this time it dropped lower and despite its size, it landed in front of them as gracefully as a falling leaf.

  There wasn’t time to question the probability of what they were witnessing and without hesitation; Sha waved the three of them over. With a cautionary finger to her lips, she reminded them not to speak.

  “Just relax,” she whispered. “They are very sensitive.”

  They walked slowly towards the waiting Balacoback and it was hard to believe these were the same animals they’d seen attacking the Squalvolvans.

  The animal reacted to their presence, its huge wings rippled and this was accompanied by a deep musical sound that David felt resonate in his chest. After its little song, the Balacoback fell silent and Sha bowed her head and whispered a few words.

  With the introductions over, they followed Sha’s lead and stepped onto its wing.

  The Balacoback looked huge in flight, but up close it was massive and Boroc was getting agitated again. David guessed he didn’t like the idea of getting on this thing’s back any more than he did. Boroc liked it even less when he realised he wouldn’t be sitting up front and David found his silent protest somewhat amusing. It helped to take his mind off what they were about to do.

  Flying these things was for the experienced only and when it came to a beast that was unfamiliar to her, even Sha was a little nervous. Since Sha had persuaded them to trust her, this was probably not the best time to admit that she had only ever been a passenger before today.

  The tips of the Balacoback’s wings were smooth and yet the smoothness was quickly replaced by coarse bristle and it reminded David of the texture of a doormat. The nearer they got to the centre of this beast, the longer these bristles became, until they were walking through long coarse hair. David could feel the Balacoback’s hair caressing his legs and hear the fibres brushing his trousers and it was pretty obvious that Boroc wasn’t enjoying it much.

  The longest hair ran down the middle of its back and when Sha sat down, only her head and shoulders were visible. Sha looked back and gave them a nod to do the same. So a little reluctantly they sat down and raised their arms, just as Sha was doing, even though they didn’t know why they were doing it. With the Balacoback’s hair standing up on end as it was, it looked like it had received an electric shock.

  David felt a little nausea rising from the pit of his stomach at the idea that they would soon be airborne. Boroc was fidgeting and like David, he was feeling ready to get off. Mica could tell how anxious David was becoming and her voice came into his mind and told him that it was going to be all right. How was it going to be all right? There were no harnesses and nothing to hold on to.

  Then something happened. The hair of the Balacoback started swaying like grass in the wind and quite unexpectedly it fell across their laps and around their legs. It had no sooner settled in place, when the bristles hardened, fixing them firmly to the spot.

  Mica spoke directly into his mind again. “Let’s try and enjoy the flight.”

  The idea that David might enjoy the flight seemed unlikely and he was still looking for something to hold on to when the Balacoback started to move. David felt like he was going to puke and they hadn’t even left the ground. This was like something out of a nightmare, an out of control feeling and the reason he’d never liked t
heme park rides. The Balacoback’s huge black body flexed beneath them as it pulled itself towards the edge of the platform. David wasn’t sure whether to close his eyes or not and then realised he couldn’t see Sha through Boroc’s bulk and just needed some assurance that she was still there.

  “Is Sha going to fly this thing?” whispered David.

  “It looks like it. So you better hope this dumb animal likes the feel of a woman.”

  Sha looked back at Boroc disapprovingly. They were right on the edge of the platform now and prepared themselves for take-off. A controlled fall Sha had described it, but when the Balacoback fell off the platform there certainly didn’t feel anything controlled about it.

  “Nooo…” David shut his eyes and prayed, not that this was going to change anything.

  There followed a short period were everything went fuzzy and David guessed he’d blacked out when the Balacoback pulled out of its dive. The Balacoback rose gently and it was safe to say that they were well and truly stuck on its back. Like a fly on flypaper, thought David. The coarse hair that had fallen around their legs and lower body, had done its job and held them firm. With the worry of falling off out of the way, David relaxed and unclenched his fists.

  David felt every wingbeat and when his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see other Balacoback’s flying with them. They were part of a flock, moving together, effortlessly. They circled the cavern a couple of times and feeling more comfortable, David glanced over the edge of the wing and saw their campfire burning brightly below them.

  They all felt a bubbling sensation, quickly followed by a musical trumpeting, which was their Balacoback signalling to the others that it was time to leave and they headed straight for the mouth of the cavern.

  It was truly breathtaking to fly out and be immediately among the mountains, their snow-covered peaks silhouetted against a star-studded sky. A magical sight.

  David had flown over mountains before, but this had been from the safety of a pressurised cabin, with drinks and an inflight meal. There were no such luxuries aboard this flight and he hadn’t missed them and even the cold mountain air wasn’t a problem, because the heat from the Balacoback was keeping them warm.

  The last of the Balacobacks left the cavern and all was still, well not quite. Animal had been waiting, playing dead, which it certainly didn’t have to work too hard to accomplish. It rose from its resting place and looked around. It appeared to be the only survivor, but it was hopeful and for a short while it tried to piece together some of its kind.

  It turned out that they hadn’t fared quite so well. Most of their heads were missing and those that remained, were so badly damaged, they barely resembled a head at all.

  Animal howled in frustration, a blood-curdling sound that rang out through the cavern and it stood listening, in the hope of a reply. It was out of luck, but with the morning light came a sound. Animal’s ears pricked or at least they would have done had the flames not melted them to the side of its head. Its appearance would certainly leave a lasting impression and in this line of work that was a bonus.

  The Squalvolvan stood awkwardly on its hind legs and its senses picked up a disturbance in another part of the cavern. A portal was opening and it raced towards it, howling its approval, eager to greet the arrival of its dark souled companions.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Defying Gravity

  Over the last few days, Qwamma’s focus had shifted several times and he was relieved and shocked by what he saw. Something impossible had taken place. Boroc had travelled to the Ammarlas’ collective consciousness to help reunite Robin with his physical self. In all of Qwamma’s days he had never seen anyone so consumed by darkness, return so completely.

  As experienced with such things as Qwamma was, he had had his doubts, serious doubts, but he could not deny what he was seeing.

  David was approaching his final destination, but how many humans would be lost to the Formless Ones before he completed his mission?

  If what Qwamma was seeing was to be believed, then the messenger could actually turn out to be the saviour of not only the human race but of life in all its forms across the entire dimensional network.

  Qwamma had to know more and there was a whisper that help was on its way.

  Seeing Boroc in the crystal field had come as a bit of a shock to Robin and finding himself back there had too. It took him a while to piece it all together, but with Joe’s help, he was back on track and ready to pick up where he had left off. Then he was told he was needed elsewhere, as it had come to light, through the investigations of the Harmonic Ones that the Formless Ones had been concealing a dimensional portal on Vulsumar with the help of the Femesummas’ technology.

  This was the worst kind of news. Details were sketchy, but early indications suggested that this portal was being used to travel to a previously unknown and uncharted dimension. The Ammarla knew more than most about these sorts of things, hence the reason why Robin was being called upon to assist.

  To be of assistance, Robin had to get himself to the Lumsulu temple on Moza. Qwamma knew he was coming and the Harmonic Ones were taking care of the details, which was just as well, since he would be travelling by sound rather than light and using a crystal to get there.

  Using a sound crystal to open a portal was one thing, but actually travelling from crystal to crystal was unheard of, although it would only be Robin’s spirit form making the journey.

  If it hadn’t been for Joe and the fact that Robin was still in the Ammarlas’ finer dimension, it would not have been possible. Robin was on loan, so to speak and this meant he would have to return to the collective when he was done, although his full rebirth was assured.

  Robin was ready and hovered with Joe in front of a massive crystal. They were waiting on a signal and a shimmering golden light deep within the crystal’s structure, meant a connection had been established.

  Joe’s light splashed across the crystal’s surface, like an artist’s brush might splash across a white canvas, setting the crystal ablaze. It was time and Joe prompted Robin to move forward and his glowing spirit form melted into crystal and merged with the light within.

  Now that he was fully integrated with the crystal, his spirit form could make the journey and the transition was pretty instant.

  He knew he’d arrived when he saw Qwamma’s spirit form shimmering inside the cathedral-like space of the sound crystal.

  Qwamma had experienced all sorts of problems and it was thought that their combined energies would overcome some of the obstacles placed by the Formless Ones, to deliberately mislead anyone attempting to discover their secret.

  They quickly realised that the dimensional portal had been active for some time. Not only that, but it had been used before, so rather than create a new portal, the Formless Ones had actually reactivated an old one.

  This was big news, but the revelation was that when this portal became active for the first time, it had actually caused The Great Change. This event was the most significant to have occurred in the history of the Jarjarum and Qwamma was left wondering why they hadn’t been able to make the connection before today.

  Robin and Qwamma looked deeper and found that the Formless Ones had not only been imprisoned on Vulsumar but banished from another dimension. It appeared that the dimensional portal had been created solely for that purpose and then closed. There was a strong suggestion that getting themselves banished coincided with them losing their physical form. Perhaps their physical form was unable to make the transition, but had those responsible been aware of this?

  The Formless Ones must have committed a crime of extraordinary proportions to warrant such a punishment. Coming from another dimension did complicate things somewhat and the idea that they had been trying to get back to their dimension all this time, explained a lot about their behaviour. But no matter how desperate, nothing could excuse the shocking nature of their atrocities.

  There was no telling when the portal had been reactivated or how many
souls had been taken, but by the time the Formless Ones were finished, not a single human would remain.

  Having devoted eons in a bid to perfect this life form for their use, they weren’t about to leave it behind. The human race was key to the Formless Ones survival and without it, they could not have built an army and this was just the beginning.

  The worry that the humans might end up on a planet the other side of the galaxy was now more likely, a planet in another dimension.

  The only thing still holding the Formless Ones in this dimension was the tether, which still bound them to Vulsumar and the messenger had to stop them before they were strong enough to sever it.

  After seeing Huey get shot out of the sky, Laja had led the group to a more sheltered location, an ice cave to be exact, but like the rest of the island, the ice cave was melting at an alarming rate. Large pools of water had gathered at their feet, fed by the icy droplets that fell from the ceiling.

  It was hard to say how long they would be able to shelter here and there were only two scenarios playing out in Laja’s mind. Wait while the island melted around them or hope a larger one floated by, which would buy them a bit more time. But more time to do what? More time to delay the inevitable!

  As capable as Laja was, he was hoping for some divine intervention because this extreme environment was likely to eat them up and spit them out.

  They had observed two suns and yet this system actually had three. The two visible to them spent a great deal of time in eclipse, while the third was off on its own, a late riser and at a distance where its influence on this planet was minimal.

  The three suns were known locally as, Rezim, Remo and Rozat. Rozat was the coolest, a red dwarf, while Rezim was a massively hot, white star. It was Rezim that was currently emerging from behind Rozat and warming everything up.

  The third sun, Remo, started life as a planet, but an internal spark turned a gas giant into a star with a clutch of micro planets.

  Most planets in this triple star system were too unstable to support life; however, there were a few exceptions. Take the planet Ruma, where our group had been marooned. This massive planet with its deep and complex atmosphere was far from stable, but despite this, life here had found a way.