"What does Carl think of all this?" I asked.
"He seems delighted," Vandahar answered. He glanced at Cindy, and seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then he said. "He's driving his opponents to distraction. He's driving down the cost of the less dirty fossil fuels, and driving the coal industry into the ground."
"That's just trading one problem for another." April said quietly. "Gas and diesel aren't that much better than coal. The oil industry has turned to something they call fracking to force the oil out of the ground. I suspect it's not a good thing."
"Carl spoke to me about that," Vandahar confirmed. "He said he was literally driving the fracking industry into the ground. I guess it's too expensive, dirty, and dangerous, to produce oil that way. His plan is to set up solar power stations across the planet, and do away with all use of fossil fuels. If he gets his way, the Earth is about to change."
"How long will all this take?" I inquired.
"Probably many years in Earth time," Vandahar acknowledged. "But as the Chosen become more powerful, I suspect the process will speed up."
"He's going to get himself killed," Cindy observed quietly. She looked at me and said, "You've got to stop him Kaltar!" She paused for a moment, and then added, "Something bad is going to happen. I don't know why, but I get a really bad feeling about this."
"I fear she is correct," Vandahar agreed. "Something subtle is occurring in the timeline, and I believe it is tied to Carl's activities."
"Carl is directly affecting the timeline?" I asked.
"It's either Carl, or you," Vandahar noted with hesitation. "Jasmin brought it to my attention. I didn't see it at first. It appears something is building up, but we don't know what."
"Perhaps we should suspend operations for now," I suggested. "That might allow the anomaly to pass without anything occurring."
"Or it might trigger the event," Vandahar observed. "This is why prophets don't like to talk about the future. They may change it, by discussing what they know. They might even cause the event to occur."
"What should we do, Kaltar?" April asked.
I stood there debating for a moment, and then said, "I suppose we're committed for now." I focused on Vandahar, and asked, "Is there anything more we can do to protect Carl?"
"Not that I can think of," Vandahar answered. I could tell in the link that he had reservations, but he was not voicing them. I scanned a little deeper, and could see that the entire arrangement was fraught with danger. Vandahar had the same reservations I did about using an Earther as bait. He also had no desire to discuss it in front of Cindy and April.
I decided not to interfere for now, and simply said. "Please let me know at once if there is any change."
"I'll keep you posted," Vandahar assured me as he began to stand up. He looked down at Cindy, placed his hand on her shoulder, and said, "I'll do my best to protect him."
"I know you will," Cindy responded quietly. "I'm probably just being silly."
Vandahar left, and I could tell April and Cindy were far from relaxed after his visit. The rest of the day was uneventful, but that night, April told me how worried she was.
"I'm afraid for Carl," April said as we laid in bed that night. "I know there is a war going on, but it seems so far away. Carl is a personal friend, and I know he is in danger. I don't know what to do." I could sense in the link that she was close to tears. I could understand her feelings.
"Vandahar and Jasmin have taken care to protect Carl," I assured her. "I trust them, and see little I can do, but to let events unfold."
"I know," April agreed. "I guess I'm being a little too sensitive."
I laid there, and spooned up behind April, holding her close to me. I could sense the presence of the twins in the link, and they seemed very contented. As I held her, I could hear April's breathing become more regular, and could tell she was finally asleep.
For several minutes I just laid there debating what to do about Carl. In many ways I felt responsible for what was happening to him. If I had handled things differently, this might never had happened. I decided I would need to return to Earth, and talk with Carl again. There had to be a less confrontational way to deal with all this.
I awoke with a feeling of confusion. April was gone, and sunlight was streaming in the window. I hadn't slept in late for many months, and reached out, scanning for April. I could sense both her and Cindy sitting in the kitchen talking. I just laid there for a few minutes more, thinking about Carl. I finally decided it was time to go back to Earth, and have another talk with him.
Getting up out of bed, I got a shower, and went down to see April and Cindy. They had already finished breakfast, and after some debate, I decided not to have anything to eat. I kissed April on the cheek, and said I was going out to run an errand.
Both the women scanned me, and knew at once where I was going. I could sense fear coming from April, and relief coming from Cindy. We talked for a few more minutes, and I got up to walk out. April seemed to almost spring from her chair. She wrapped her arms around me, and held me as close as she could with her stomach being so distended. I patted her gently on the back, and reassured her I would soon return.
I finally released my hold on April, and despite her concerns, left to talk to Carl. I folded space from my front porch, and arrived at Carl's front door instantaneously. As soon as I did, I got an odd sensation, as though something wasn't right. I reached out, scanning for the problem, but couldn't see anything to explain my feeling of unease.
I tapped on Carl's door, and it quickly opened as I was still knocking. Carl glanced around the hall, and quietly said, "Get in here!"
"Are you alright?" I asked as he ushered me through the door. "You're acting very oddly."
"Can't you feel the scans?" He asked. "They started a few hours ago, and I can't track where they're coming from."
Somewhat surprised, I reached out, scanning for any sign of trouble. I couldn't sense anything, but I trusted Carl, and stepped up the power to my scans. There was still nothing I could pick up. With grim determination, I reached down to Earth's core, and pulled up massive amounts of energy. You could smell, and feel, electricity in the air. There was a snap of electricity as I released the scan.
What caught my attention instantly wasn't what I saw, but what was missing. Down the hall from Carl's room, was a spot where there were no air molecules. I'm surprised I didn't see it in my earlier scans. Carl was scanning me, and I saw his face as the realization hit him. He stepped over, and reopened the front door to the apartment. We both stepped out into the hall, and looked for the anomaly.
I should point out that almost everything has air molecules in them, at least in some form. Water, glass, plants and steel all have at least some form of air molecules in them. A freestanding vacuum should be impossible. A containment field of some sort would be required to hold the space open. There was nothing visible in the usual visual spectrum. Only a full scan showed what appeared to be a sheet of thick glass floating upright, like a door, at the end of the hallway.
Carl looked at me, and said, "Well, that can't be good!"
"Is it part of your building's defensive systems?" I asked. As I finished the sentence, an electrical ripple occurred in the area we were watching, and something started to step through. I have seen enough of Earth and its science, to know that this thing was what Earthers called a robot. The Magi hate most machines, and I instantly felt a chill run up my spine.
The machine finished stepping through the portal. It had a humanoid shape, but was made entirely of metal. The one exception was the human brain I could see encased in a clear cranial container on top of the metal skull. It's polished all metal frame gleamed, and showed no signs of weakness. A set of electronic eyes glowed bright red, and made the device appear angry.
"The thing don't belong to me!" Carl informed me sarcastically. "I think I’d remember if the Magi, Guardians, or the Chosen, told me they left it here."
Another door in the hallway opened, and three Guard
ians stepped out. I didn't know them personally, but I recognized the clothing. The door was across the hall from Carl's door, so the men formed up around me, and stood waiting.
With an odd whirring sound, the mechanical man moved forward. The Guardians advanced down the hallway toward the robot. The men each had a sword, and I knew they wouldn't allow the thing to get past them without a struggle. As they came within striking distance, the metal man unfolded a second set of arms, and each of the two new hands had a blade.
As the robot's weapons appeared, the Guardians attacked. They moved across the hallway, blocking the machine's progress as it moved down the hallway. The hallway was just wide enough for the three Guardians to work, and they were doing a good job of contending with the thing. Then a second robot stepped through the gateway. It moved up alongside the first machine, and the entire fight began moving closer to us. Behind the fighting men and machines, a third robot stepped through the gate.
Vandahar appeared in the hallway, having folded space from upstairs. He took in the situation at a glance, and I could sense as he built up an energy wave. With a snap of static electricity, the energy wave moved down the hall. As it hit the robots, you could see the distinct flash as the wave passed over a shield. The clang of steel from the swords and robots advanced two steps closer.
All this had occurred in mere seconds. My words can't do justice to the mayhem working its way toward us. I finally stepped forward, and reaching past the battle, began to supercool the gateway, by changing the structure of the atoms connecting the two Universes. I slowed their atomic spin, and they began to cool. A fog began to appear down the hall, and the gate could actually be seen for the first time. It was the deepest void I’ve ever seen, and seemed to go on into eternity. A frost began to form on its edges.
The next robot stepped through, or I should say tried to step through. It almost seemed to make it, and then the frost covered the glass casing surrounding the brain. There was a loud snap as the transparent glass cracked slightly. A small stream of fluid began to run down the front of the robots face, and with an electric snap, the thing stopped, right in the middle of the portal. Frost began to form on it at once, and its glowing eyes went dead.
It required all my concentration to maintain the energy flow into the portal. Ominous snapping noises began to issue from the gate and the robot lodged in it. The fight had worked its way fifty feet up the hall, and was almost upon us. The robot's shields were shrugging off everything Vandahar shoved at them. He finally snapped open his battle staff, and stood in the hall, fighting alongside the Guardians.
Then the first Guardian fell. He almost seemed to step right into the robot's attack, and was ran through twice in a split second. I could see the shock and pain in his mind, and I was distracted. Events from there seemed to spiral out of control quickly. My memories seem to shift into slow motion, and to have become very confused. I remember an explosion occurring, and the shock and blast wave coming toward us. It appeared to me it was the robot that exploded, but it might have been the gate itself.
As the blast hit the first robot, it was propelled forward violently, smashing into the backs of the two machines doing all the fighting. Vandahar reached out, grabbed the shoulders of the two remaining Guardians, and folded space. I was distracted, and not focused enough to fold space. I stood there like a fool as the blast wave hit us.
Carl was not so foolish, and shoved me in the apartment door. We were both knocked off our feet, and I hit the far wall of the room hard enough to leave an impact mark. I came to rest face down on the floor, with smoke rising from my clothes. Struggling to get to my knees, I looked around for Carl.
I could see his crumpled body on the floor halfway across the room, and crawled over to him. As soon as I pulled him over I knew he was dead. A polished steel rod the size of my wrist was lodge firmly in his chest. It was two feet long, and appeared to be an arm off one of the robots.
There was a high pitched ringing noise, and I thought it was just my ears, ringing from the loud explosion. I gradually realized a Guardian was crouching over me, trying to help me up. Two more stood guard in the doorway. I could see more flooding past the open doorway to the apartment. Reaching out with my scans, I could sense that the gate had been destroyed. The doorway was closed.
I couldn't really stand without help. I began to realize that the ringing noise was a fire alarm going off in the hall. The Guardian I was with sat me in a chair, and stood guarding me with his blade drawn. I could tell he had been ordered to protect me. I saw Vandahar step in the door, and Tersa was right behind him. The concern on their faces made me cringe.
Tersa began scanning me for damage, and I tried to shrug her off. Her eyes warned me to shut up without a single comment being needed.
"Good trick with the two Guardians." I commented to Vandahar through gritted teeth. "I should have done the same."
"You were kind of busy!" He replied quietly. A Guardian stepped in, and started to throw a sheet over Carl's body. I sat there, staring at Carl's face. It was frozen in a moment of shock and pain. I couldn't get the image out of my mind. I just sat there, in obvious shock.
Tersa could pick up my thoughts in the link, and promptly pulled my up out of the chair. She wrapped her arms around me, and softly said, "You're going home Kaltar!" She instantly folded space for Remaca, dragging me with her.
The ringing noise was almost gone, and the air felt clean and fresh on my front porch. It was all so detached after the extreme events of the last five minutes. I couldn't get over how fast everything had occurred. One minute Carl and I were just talking. The next, he was dead.
Tersa was helping me in the house, and it suddenly dawned on me that I had to tell April and Cindy. I was supposed to help a friend, and now he was dead. I had failed some of my closest friends, and one of them was dead. This wasn't some nameless face in a battle. I had known Carl for some time, and knew he was driven to be a good and honorable man. I dreaded telling them what had happened, but there are no secrets from telepaths.
April and Cindy came out of the kitchen with a look of shock on their faces that must have mirrored my own. Cindy was crying silently, and April was barely holding it together. I was led up to my room, and April instructed me to rest. Tersa was busy repairing some of the damaged tissue in my shoulder, and the room seemed deathly quiet.
Cindy was standing in the doorway to my room, and in a distant voice, she said, "I should go home to Earth. I need to make arrangements. I need to see Carl..." She stopped, and broke down sobbing, slowly collapsing to the floor.
April helped her slowly stand up again, and Tersa said, "I'll arrange for one of the students to take you back."
"Please take her personally, and keep her safe," I requested, speaking to Tersa. She gave me a dirty look, but agreed. I must have passed out, because that's the last I remember for several hours.
Chapter 7
Carl's Dream
I awoke, and my room was dark. I could feel April lying next to me, and her steady breathing told me she was comfortably asleep. The twins on the other hand, were wide awake, and scanning me heavily. I could feel enormous sympathy coming from them. Far more pity than I allowed myself.
"Not your fault!" They pinged me in the link. They were only babies, and couldn't see that this was clearly my fault. I should have been more focused. Vandahar had the presence of mind to react, while I just stood there. Two Guardians were saved, and Carl was cut down. He should be safe, and plotting to save the Earth. I write these words, and I can clearly see I killed him. My failure! My fault!
My friend is dead. I failed both Carl and Cindy. I stood there and let him die, by my inaction. My total lack of focus! So many people depending on my assistance. Such great ability seemed wasted on me. I failed to protect my own parents, and now Carl.
"You're still just a boy." April observed softly. I jumped slightly, thinking she was asleep. Every muscle in my body ached from hitting the apartment wall. She rolled over enough to lo
ok up at me in the dim light.
"Carl was aware of the risks he was taking," she noted calmly. "Cindy tried to stop him, and so did several others. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself for his death." I began to cry silently. April reached up after a second, and wiped my cheek. In a husky voice, she said, "Please don't cry, Kaltar! Nobody blames you but yourself."
After a moment, I simply relaxed into April's arms. She laid holding me for several minutes, and I suppose I dozed back off. When I woke up again, I was alone in bed, and the sun was up. The room was warm from the sun streaming in, and I just laid there for a few minutes.
Twenty minutes later, I walked out onto my front porch. The house was empty, and I was looking for April. I saw her down by the river, talking to Al, and walked down to see what they were doing. As I grew closer, I could see that April had her feet in the water. The cool, flowing, water, must have felt nice on a warm day. Al looked half asleep as he laid on the bank next to her.
"You should sit here for a while," April called out as I walked up. "The water is very relaxing."
"I've been told the students keep some rather large creatures in the river," I advised. "I don't know if I would get too relaxed just sitting there."
April looked at me for a moment, and then at the water, saying. "You're kidding! Right?" I was standing right over her now, and just stood, smiling down at her. After a moment, she pulled her feet out of the water. I sat down on the riverbank next to her, and started taking off my shoes.
"Al is here, and he’ll always keep you safe." I assured her. Her smile returned, and she slipped her feet back into the water. Seconds later, I joined her, slipping my legs into the water up to my knees. April was right in her earlier comment. The water felt delicious as it flowed past my feet.
"Are you feeling a little better?" April asked quietly.
"I'm fine," I responded. Al leaned close, and gave me an odd look. I could tell he questioned my comment. After a moment he just laid his head down, and appeared to go back to sleep.
The Books of Kaltar Farsara Boxed Set - Books 1 through 3 (The Kingdom Kaltar Farsara Built) Page 36