The Books of Kaltar Farsara Boxed Set - Books 1 through 3 (The Kingdom Kaltar Farsara Built)

by Ivan Bridgewater

  "I still say I should speak to him," I noted quietly. "He might listen to reason."

  "Or he might just have you killed, like all these people," Tersa added. "I suggest you listen to Dona."

  Vandahar had been leading a search team through the building. He now returned, leading a dozen Guardians. Overhearing Tersa's last remark, he said, "They're right, Kaltar! You should leave him to us!"

  "So you are taking all the risks?" I asked. "That sounds pretty unfair to me."

  "You're too important for us to allow you to take unnecessary risks." Dona said forcefully. "I'll contact Satu-Ra and have him make it an order if I have to."

  I was tempted to just fold space, and go after the man they called Morgan. I fought back the urge, and went back to helping the injured. Almost an hour later, Tersa and I were helping the last few injured Guardians heal. We were both exhausted, but most of the Guardians we treated, survived. I noticed Dona and Vandahar talking, and then he stepped over, and said, "You two should go get some rest. A lot of Guardians owe you a debt today." I could see we were being sent home.

  Again, I fought the temptation to go see Donald Morgan. Tersa looked at me as she saw my thoughts in the link, and quietly said, "For the sake of April and the twins, don't do it."

  I debated for just an instant, and then said, "I'm going home to Remaca. If you need me, don't hesitate to call. Then I folded space, returning home.

  I arrived, and within seconds, Tersa appeared right behind me. We were standing on my home's front porch, and for just an instant, Tersa looked at me closely. Then she said, "For just a moment, I thought you were going to ignore us, and go after Morgan. Thanks for not doing it."

  "If I hear just one more person dies because of that man, I’ll lose my patience," I told her truthfully. "If Dona has a plan on how to deal with him, she better put it into motion."

  "She's trying," Tersa replied. "You can't just tell the people of Earth what's going on. If you kill, or arrest, a powerful person on Earth, a lot of Earthers will start asking questions."

  "I don't care!" I asserted. "If he was responsible for what happened to Carl, I want him punished."

  "He will be, but it's going to take time," Tersa noted. "You're too young to understand how the passing of time affects all our plans. Give them time."

  "Not one more life!" I repeated. "I only have a few weeks, and I must return to the front. I won't leave a major threat behind. Tell Dona, time is running out." Tersa nodded her acknowledgement, and we went in the house.

  April, Jasmin, and Selena were all sitting in the front room, talking. April stood up as we walked in, and we hugged for a moment. It felt so good just to hold her, I didn't want to let go. After a few seconds, April leaned away, and brushed my hair back out of my eyes.

  "You look exhausted," she observed quietly. "Why don't you go lay down, and get some rest?" She glanced over at Tersa, and then added, "You both look worn out. Is everything alright back on Earth?"

  "Everything’s fine," I noted. "I'm learning a lesson in patience, and not enjoying it."

  "I'm going to go take a nap" Tersa announced, "I'll talk to you later." She turned, and stepped back out the door.

  "I should get going too. I have things to do as well," Jasmin said. She stood up, and so did Selena. A few seconds later, I was alone with April.

  "Where are the twins?" I asked.

  "Asleep," April replied. "They tend to do a lot of sleeping, and eating." She looked at me closely, and added, "You could use some sleep yourself."

  "I know." I agreed. "I'm just awfully tense."

  April took me by the hand, and led me upstairs to the bed. A few minutes later, I was falling asleep, as April rubbed my back. It seemed like mere seconds, and I fell sound asleep.

  Chapter 11

  Tersana

  I was surprised when I awoke to sunlight streaming in the bedroom window. I had slept almost twelve hours, and it was early morning. April was already up. Getting dressed, I went down to join her. Her face lit up as I walked into the kitchen, and she said, "You finally woke up. I was beginning to think you were going to sleep the morning away."

  "We have plans to visit Drevins Spraug today," I reminded her. "I want you to have enough time to appreciate and look around the place where you might be staying."

  "You know," April started, and then hesitated. "I can see in the link how and why Tersa created this place."

  "Bitsy requested she create a place of safety for us and other humans who visit Drevins Spraug," I noted truthfully.

  "She created it for the man she loves," April stated plainly. "You're an easy man to love, Kaltar. I know just how she feels." She stood up, and stepped close to me. I looked down into her eyes, and opened my mind to her.

  "You know my deepest heart," I reminded her. Reaching down, I pulled her hand up onto my chest, till it covered my heart. "You know my every thought. You know how much I love you."

  She leaned closer, laying her head on my chest, wrapped her arms around me, and pulled me close. Then she whispered, "Yes! I know your deepest heart. You are the purest soul I’ve ever known. I know you love me."

  "I hope that someday Tersa will find a man that will be worthy of her," I said softly. "He will be a lucky man."

  "Yes," April agreed. "He will be a very lucky man."

  "I've seen this place on Drevins Spraug," I told her. "Tersa has created a wonderful place for us to visit. It will be a safe place for you to stay when I must leave again. I need to know you're safe, and that my children will survive this."

  "I don't want you to leave," April blurted out. "I know you have to, but I wish we could just be together."

  "We still have a few weeks," I reminded her. "By then, you’ll be tired of me."

  With her face still buried in my chest, she laughed just slightly, and then said, "Never in a million years."

  From upstairs, the sound of a small baby crying interrupted us. "I need to go feed them," April observed. "We'll have several hours to go visit Drevins Spraug after they've been fed." She stepped back away slightly, and leaned up to kiss me. Then she was gone, off to feed the twins.

  One hour later we met Tersa outside, and folded space, leaving for Drevins Spraug. Selena and Jasmin were watching the twins, and we would have several hours to visit before we had to return. We went directly to the place where Tersa had recreated her memories from her childhood.

  We arrived to find Bitsy waiting for us.

  The huge white dragon somehow knew that April would be there, and was overjoyed to see us. It's fair to say April felt the same way. For at least five minutes, we stood and talked to Bitsy. Then we started to walk deeper into the area Tersa had converted. Bitsy was too large to follow us through this gate, and we left her at the gate to the village.

  I call it a village, because I don't know how better to define it. We were entering through the west gate. The entire place was built behind a heavy stone wall, thirty feet tall, by ten foot thick. The gate we entered was probably large enough to drive a truck through. I believe you would call it a pedestrian gate. It came complete with a moat and drawbridge. The roads were nicely finished, and made of polished bricks of some sort. The main thing I noticed, was the lack of people.

  The homes we saw were all very nice. You kept expecting people to open one of the doors, and walk out. We saw various shops, but they were all closed. We walked along for several minutes, and then April said, "This place is beautiful. It's beyond my wildest dreams. You've outdone yourself Tersa."

  "It's been a great pleasure to create," Tersa responded. "I recently added a new touch, so you would feel more at home." As she said the words, we rounded a corner in the road, and a duplicate of my home on Remaca came into view. April was delighted, and Tersa said, "I want your stay here to be a happy one."

  April just smiled and nodded in response. We walked into the building, and I felt instantly at home. We spent several minutes walking around the house, and then walked back out onto the road.

&
nbsp; "Some of the research and medical people from the dragon's caves have started staying here," Tersa informed us. "Otherwise, the place is pretty well empty."

  "We can fix that," April said. "We will move here in the next couple of days." Tersa's face lit up in obvious pleasure.

  "You sure you like it?" Tersa asked. "I can make some more changes if you wish."

  "Please don't," April requested. "I love the place just the way it is."

  "I keep converting more and more land to this type of terrain," Tersa explained. "I eventually hope to convert about a thousand square miles to a more human friendly zone."

  "That seems like an awful lot." April said.

  "It's not really," Tersa observed. "You won't even see it from space. Drevins Spraug is a huge planet, far larger than most that can support life. I want the place to be self-sufficient for up to two thousand people. We will want to produce a lot of our own food, and whatever else we feel we might need."

  "What do the younger dragons think of the place?" I asked.

  "I occasionally find one of the younger ones wandering around the streets," Tersa admitted. "But the narrow streets aren't really built to handle dragon traffic."

  We continued walking for almost an hour, and I must again remark about how wondrous the place was. We finally found ourselves at the gate where I had originally entered the village during my last visit. It was a far larger gateway, and Bitsy was there waiting for us. She was obvious delighted to see us.

  "Isn't it a fine place to live?" Bitsy asked. "I believe any human would like to live here."

  "Yes! It's perfect!" April agreed. "The twins and I will be staying here while Kaltar is gone. I love Remaca, but this is a far more secure place. It will be a fine place to live."

  "Are you sure you don't mind?" Tersa asked me. "I realize you created Remaca, and I must note I think it's a great place."

  "It doesn't bother me at all," I honestly told her. "This place is truly a wonder to behold. I take great comfort that April and the children will be safe here." I could see that Tersa was delighted.

  "Every dragon on Drevins Spraug will protect April and the children to the death," Bitsy told us. "We live to serve April, and the great Magi, Kaltar."

  "That says it all for me," Tersa added with a slight smile.

  "We'll be back in two days," April told Bitsy. "We'll be bringing friends, so you'll soon have plenty of humans here to visit with." Bitsy did a funny little dance I had never seen her do before. It was easy to see she was extremely excited.

  "We will be ready," Bitsy responded. She looked right at me, and added, "I promise your family will be safe here!"

  "I don't doubt you a bit," I told her.

  After a second, I asked, "What shall we call the place?"

  "We should call it Tersana," April said immediately. "In honor of the person who created it."

  "The place was originally called Merciada," Tersa informed us. I could tell she was uncomfortable with the name April suggested.

  Before I could say anything, Bitsy said, "I believe Tersana sounds much better. It fits somehow."

  I debated for just a moment, and then said, "It's Tersa's home. She should have the final say."

  "If you're sure that's what you want," Tersa said reluctantly. "It sounds kinda odd to me, but I suppose I'll adjust."

  "The city of Tersana," April said aloud, mulling the name over. "I think it sounds perfect.

  "Then so be it!" I noted loudly. "From now on, this place is known as Tersana. Now if we've seen enough, we should probably get back to Remaca, and the twins."

  "So soon," Bitsy lamented. "We've had no time for fun. I hoped we could at least talk for a while."

  "We'll be back soon," I assured her. "We have a lot to prepare, before I must leave to return to the war."

  "We'll be ready for you," Bitsy told me, her mood sobering slightly. "Your family will not only be safe, but happy here."

  Assuring Bitsy we trusted her to take care of the details. The three of us folded space, and returned to Remaca. Without any hesitation, we started moving our home right away. I spoke to Selena about having the students keep an eye on the animals. She promised me she would insure that the animals were kept safe.

  Jasmin had been quiet through all this activity, and I could tell she was very preoccupied within the link. I finally stopped what I was doing, and asked, "Are you alright? I can tell your mind is far away."

  "It's the twins," Jasmin confessed. "They've brought a lot of old memories to the surface. My siblings and I advanced at an extremely accelerated rate, and we missed out on a lot of our childhoods." She hesitated a moment, and then finished, saying, "I guess I envy them slightly."

  "You've grown to be a very impressive young lady," I told her truthfully. "It appears you have been making the right choices."

  "You're not much older than me!" she chided me slightly. A huge smile covered her face, and I could tell in the link that she found my comment pretty amusing. "I'm not sure what you base that opinion on."

  "I've already come to respect you and your family in many ways," I responded. "Your heart and mind is very open in the link. You are like your father. Your aura is blinding, and it shows in your behavior."

  I could tell I had embarrassed Jasmin slightly. We let the subject drop, and I went back to moving our belongings to Drevins Spraug.

  Six hours later, a large stack of shipping boxes, was building up in my home's front room. I walked in, to find April looking at the boxes closely. After a moment or two, she said, "I've got forty-two boxes here, and you have three. Where is all your stuff?"

  "Magi don't own a lot of stuff," I reminded her. "We tend to travel light."

  "I can't imagine a grown adult who can fit everything they own in a couple of boxes," April informed me as she stood looking at my few belongings.

  There was a knock at the front door, and I stepped over, and opened it. Selena was standing there, with a mob of students all around her. She stepped in, and said, "We're here to help with the moving." She glanced at the pile of boxed, and asked, "Is that all?"

  "It's most of it," April replied, setting down another box. "I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, but this is enough for now." Selena just nodded, turned, and started waving the students into the house.

  "Pick up one box each, and assemble in the front yard for the jump coordinates," Selena instructed the crowd of students. In short order, the boxes were all snatched up, and the room emptied. By the time I stepped out my front door, Selena was already giving her final instructions to the group. "Lock on me, and I'll lead you to a place you’re going to really enjoy." I got the distinct feeling in the link, that Selena had been telling the group about Tersana in advance. They looked more like young children, than Magi warriors in training.

  "Let’s get going!" Selena told them. Then she folded space, and disappeared. A split second later, the group of students disappeared right behind her. April stepped out the front door with a big smile on her face. I could tell in the link that she had been watching through the door, and she quietly said, "You should follow them. They're off to the theme park."

  "What's a theme park?" I asked, scanning her mind for a reference. Before she could reply, I ventured, "An expensive place to waste time?"

  "No silly!" April replied, almost laughing. "A bright, colorful place to go and have fun."

  "Oh," I replied. I was a little confused, and just stood there for a moment.

  April leaned up, and kissed me on the cheek. Then she said, "Go follow them. Tell them to put the boxes in the front room just like they were here. I'll go unpack them tomorrow." I simply nodded, and folded space, following her instructions.

  I arrived on Drevins Spraug, to find the entire group of students standing at the front gate of Tersana. Several of them were talking at once, and I heard one young Magi say, "I've been here before! This wasn't here!"

  "It's a project Tersa has been working on," Selena was explaining to the group. "Follow me, and I'll tak
e you to Kaltar's house." As a group, the students all started to follow her. That's when I saw the small baby dragon following them.

  The baby dragon was very tiny. Smaller than the birds I had created on Remaca. It was so focused on the students, it didn't seem to notice me. I followed the students, and the dragon, in the city gate. About two minutes later, we were in front of my new home. The group started to all go inside.

  I began to get the feeling the baby dragon was looking for something. It wasn't flying, so it was having a hard time getting around. Getting the feeling the stairs up to the front porch were going to be a problem, I stepped closer to help, and at that moment, the baby dragon really focused on me.

  There was a look of recognition on the young dragon's face. Its eyes widened, and it literally charged at me. Startled, I yelped, "Hey!" The small creature sprang onto my hand, and running right up my arm, settled onto my shoulder. I had seen this behavior in the past, and knew I had just been adopted.

  Following the students into the house. I could see they were already getting ready to leave. Selena glanced at me, saw the dragon, and said, "I see you adopted a dragon. I warned the students not to do that."

  "I seem to have a knack for it," I observed. "I suspect I'm linked to over a hundred of them by now." I could see the surprise on Selena's face.

  "You're linked to over a hundred dragons?" she asked. Several of the students stopped talking, and started listening to us.

  "Probably closer to two hundred," I admitted. "I got knocked down one time, and they kind of swarmed me."

  "I think being linked to a dragon would be cool!" one of the students said. "I doubt I'd like several hundred of them all looking into my head!"

  "It's not so bad," I responded, truthfully. "They're smart enough to not overwhelm the link." The small creature on my shoulder began to snore, and several of the students started to laugh.

  "Let's get back to Remaca," Selena suddenly instructed the group. "Most of you still have classes to attend today."

  "You're kidding!" another student noted loudly. "You show us this for ten minutes, and then try to send us back to class!" A lot of grumbling began to start, and I could see the students were preparing to rebel.