Allies (Kaylid Chronicles Book 4)

by Mel Todd

  "I hope Thelia stays unconscious. It might be better for her or them. Not sure which." She said the comment off-hand, not really expecting anything.

  "For them, I hope she’s unconscious. I get the feeling that woman is always in control of her orbit." Perc's voice had a dry humor to it that made her smile.

  "Truth." She fought back a laugh at that, then almost tripped over Rarz’s tail as he halted.

  "This is far enough to ensure people will not be harmed by the fire." With a sort of reverence, he laid Ash down. "I will miss you. Not a friend, but an ally that I have respected greatly over the years."

  ~We’re ready if you are. In an isolated space, just us.~ JD didn't say who us was, but McKenna knew and her arms ached to hold the kids.

  ~Show me, please?~ Rarz's eyes closed and she could almost feel him going down the connection to where they were. As it connected a portal from where the others were in Baltimore opened next to them. She could vaguely hear the shouts from the soldiers, but ignored them in favor of the two kids headed towards her.

  "Kenna!" Charley's voice sounded like the sweetest music she'd ever heard, and she dropped to her knees as he slammed into her. Nam followed a few steps behind him, their arms tangled and wrapped around each other in a mess of awkward pokes and jabs. Pain ripped through her as one of the kids hit her broken arm, but she didn't care. From how hard her kids were squeezing her, she figured they missed her just as much.

  "I missed you two," McKenna said, her voice soft.

  Neither of the children responded, just hugged her tighter. While she inhaled their scents; letting the mix of the two essences surround her. Having them here made her feel better than she had since she walked through that portal.

  "Kenna, we better do this soon." JD brought her out of the emotional overload and the kids released her, reluctance in their movements. They didn't go far, staying by her side. This matched her desires perfectly.

  She turned her eyes towards to where Rarz had laid Ash. Somehow in the minute or two she'd held her children, he had created a depression in the sand. Ash lay in in the middle, laid out like a hero of old.

  I suppose that’s accurate. He’s a hero going to meet his ancestors. I think they've been waiting for him for a long time.

  They all looked at her and she wanted to shrink away from their gaze. How to preside over funerals was not in the police handbook. But she stood up straighter. Ash had earned their best and she'd do exactly that.

  "We are here to release the body of Ash to the stars of Alara. His sacrifice made what we have done possible. May he find the peace he earned." McKenna didn't know what else to say, and time was in short supply.

  "Rarz, if you would do the honors?" She waved at the body as she spoke.

  "You will all need to step back," his voice low and vibrating. He walked over to the other side of the pyre while they all moved backwards a few yards. No one wanted to be too close.

  "Is the dragon going to breath fire?" Nam asked, her lilting voice clear in the desert.

  "I don't know. We’ll watch and see." Toni, Jessi, and Jamie were close to her. JD and Cass, holding hands, were on her other side. She started to turn, but then felt the warmth at her back and realized Perc stood there. McKenna leaned back a touch, just enough to feel his fur against the skin of her neck.

  This is where I belong.

  The thought radiated through her as she focused her attention on Rarz. He glanced at them, nodded, and then his body began to flow, enlarge, change into something horrible and magnificent. Faster than it took her to breath twice, a huge red dragon stood on the sand across from them.

  "It's a real dragon, a real live dragon," Jamie's voice had a hushed awe to do it.

  "I wanna ride!" Nam all but shouted. McKenna grabbed her hand and stopped her before she got more than one foot moving.

  "Not now. Remember why we're here?" She had to fight a smile as she spoke to the small girl. In the warehouse the dragon had seemed a huge, looming, and dangerous presence. Out here in the bright sun, his scales of red, gold, orange, and hints of green sparkled and danced. He seemed much more fantastical than dangerous.

  "Oh. Funeral." The little girl drooped and leaned back against McKenna. "To say good bye to the sad man. He helped or tried to help all of us."

  Sad man is as good of a description of Ash as I could ask for. The sorrow he carried.

  "Yes. Maybe someday you may ask Rarz nicely if you can ride him."

  And I'll warn him first and skin him alive if he hurts a hair on Nam's head.

  They ignored the excited yells and sounds of approaching soldiers and watched Rarz.

  He leaned back on his haunches and held his forepaws in front of him, tail wrapped around him. He looked like a sculpture in a gaming store, stunning in every detail. She heard his inhale at the same time a tiny portal appeared between his claws. With a sound that rattled through her bones, he roared and liquid fire exploded out of the silver portal and engulfed Ash's body.

  "What the hell?" A voice behind her bellowed. She didn't move, just watched the flame dissolve the being that had done everything he could to stop the enemy. A weird singing sound echoed in the mindspace. The sound brought to mind the stars at night, the wind through the trees, the music of a waterfall.

  [It is the song of his people. The one they sang when a loved one was sent to meet their ancestors.] Wefor whispered in their minds and they felt the music fill them, tones and harmonies unfamiliar yet etching on their hearts.

  Perc was the first. He raised his head and started to sing, his voice matching the song in their minds, the music engraving into their souls. One by one they all joined in. Even Nam with a crystal-clear voice that seemed to fill the valley. Singing a song written on a planet destroyed hundreds of years ago to celebrate the life of a hero.

  Chapter 42 - Aftermath

  The change in attitude in the last week towards shifters has been dramatic. Furspace has already folded, few shifter-based business are staying open, and already the few high profile shifters have stepped back from the public eye. While there have been no legal challenges yet, as everyone is still trying to deal with bodies, damage, and getting life back to normal; there is a mood of wanting nothing to do with shifters. Is this a short-term backlash or will it have long term effects? ~TNN Invasion News

  "I'm still not sure if I should thank you or sentence you all to prison," Doug Burby groused sitting on a chair in the meeting room. "Even the president doesn't know what do you with you and your spectacular return to Earth. You brought people back but now we have even more problems, one of them too damn pretty for her own good."

  "You mean we haven't been punished enough?" McKenna's voice was arch and exasperated. "Between that bit of us being basically immortal got out, the press hasn't let up for the last three weeks. People are protesting saying we shouldn't get jobs or health insurance. Heck, at this point half the world wants to kill us, the other half wants to deify us." Her frustration faded as she spoke and Perc took her hand, holding it. None of them were in warrior form, and the kids were at the house with Carina.

  "No, I'll agree this doesn't look good. Someone is pulling strings expertly and the tide is turning against shifters faster than we can do anything about it. Having so many beings that aren't human here isn't helping. It's got people squawking about another alien invasion and you should hear the illegal alien arguments on the hill."

  "Nice to know they found important things to argue about." The words might have been a tiny bit bitter, but the laughter from Cass and JD soothed it down from where it would have ended, absolute rage.

  "I can't disagree. But for the first time in a very long time we have active funding for a space defense and a space force. They are treating that ship like a precious object and gold mine mixed into one. With the assistance you've provided, we've managed to pull almost everything out of their databases. The amount of information will fuel the drive to the stars like we haven't seen in decades. That should help drive jobs and
rebuilding. You add in the fear everyone has of the Elentrin coming back?" Doug shrugged. "It will take a long time for the tide of public opinion to shift to be pro-shifter. Shifters are a convenient scapegoat right now." He sounded exhausted as he said the last part. "And none of us know how to fight what is the truth. Expertly spun, but the truth. Hell, at this point the damn Elentrin has a better press agent than you do."

  She wanted to protest, but Doug was right. Kirk had come out looking good with his pre-planning. California was one of the few states whose citizens weren't demanding recalls of their elected officials. The governor had listened, and they were able to adapt faster than most.

  The public reaction right now was dark and angry. Between the damage the asteroids had done and people the Kaylid had killed, being a shifter wasn't healthy. Then when word leaked out about the alien Kaylid that were rescued, it got even worse.

  "I know. But I'm not sure what to do about it. We’re recognizable and going back to work right now with this backlash isn't wise. Not to mention that I'm not sure we still have jobs. Living might be a bit tight for a while. But we know how fast public opinion can change. In another two weeks people may love us again." McKenna fought to keep the cynicism out of her voice, but it was hard. Even the people they were working with on the ships seemed distrustful.

  Options didn't seem plentiful, not if she wanted to keep the kids. She'd be damned if she would give them up. Not that there was a chance anyone could get Charley to leave her. He had a wolf's attachment to pack, though on good days she realized Jamie, Jessi, and Nam would soon supplant that attachment.

  She shrugged again, feeling beat down. "I've pinched pennies before, I can do it again."

  "Well, that at least I can help with. While the government recognizes that they’ll need to work on making sure the law of equal rights is upheld, it doesn't change how people react. We can't help all shifters or Kaylid, but you few we can help." He flipped open the folder on the table and handed them all checks. "In recognition of your service to your country and the world. We were trying to get you the Medal of Freedom, but the tide of public opinion put a damper on that."

  McKenna and the others took the checks offered. She had to read it a few times to make sure she read it correctly. "Two million dollars?" Her voice cracked as she said the words and she reached for the glass of water on the table in front of her.

  "Considering what continuing to fight this war would have cost us? Not to mention the information on the ship you brought to us? Personally, I think it should have been in the tens of millions, but…" He shrugged and sighed. "Congress has just as many idiots who follow social media as do the public. It isn't much, but there are also checks here for the kids for their translation work for five hundred thousand." He slid one to McKenna and two to Toni. "I wish I could do more for you. But I've already turned in my resignation. The end of next month is my last day on the job and I can't say I've ever been happier to quit something."

  She stared at the check for her foster son, it took a minute to remember Nam hadn't gotten the language load, so while she had kept them company, she hadn't translated with the others.

  McKenna felt numb, after everything that had happened, this was how it ended? She didn't know what to say or do, but this would keep her, Charley, and Nam for a while. Maybe Perc could change his name and they could move somewhere else, but the others?

  Before she could get too deep into a spiral, Rarz spoke.

  "I had not known how to broach this idea, but perhaps this is as good a time as any." His voice had an odd note to it, like a mix of wariness and hope. It ran along her mind and she felt Wefor perk up. The AI had been downright depressed lately, muttering about irrational fears.

  McKenna changed her position in her chair to look at him. He'd been at the far end of the conference table, not with them, yet not apart. He'd spent lots of time talking to people. Mostly scientists or military attaches, but so far, he had demurred and resisted bringing over any more of his people, citing fear of their acceptance. The wave of resentment and fear towards the Kaylid had given credence to that fear, but many still hoped.

  "And what would that be?" She hadn't released Perc's hand and his grip tightened a bit as they waited. What miracle could Rarz possibly offer them?

  "The Elentrin are still out there attacking my people and we are a species that breeds very slowly. Many of the worlds they tried to take from us, but failed, have housing and land. These planets would support human life since they are very similar to Earth in most ways. We need people who can fight, innovate, and teach; people who will help us learn how to face the Elentrin and I fear some of the other species out there in the vastness of this universe. We have only explored this galaxy, there are untold more out there."

  It felt like they'd all been stunned. Even in the mindspace, there was shock. Toni was the one who broke it, her voice cutting through it like a dull blade through paper. It tore something to hear her speak.

  "You want us to come with you and be your cannon fodder instead? Let my children die to fight your war?"

  Rarz tilted his head looking at her. Once more something passed between them, something richer and darker than McKenna had seen before.

  "No. I'm offering to provide homes for all Kaylid. I'm asking if some of them would be willing teach us and maybe fight with us. I'm offering passage to planets with empty homes that need life brought back to them. I'm offering you a chance to come to my worlds. I'm offering hope, for all those who aren't welcome here."

  The words crackled across the room.

  "All Kaylid? There has to be at least a hundred million that are still alive." Burby sounded shocked at the offer.

  McKenna just tried to process it.

  Rarz shrugged. "I have worlds that need populations. Some they could build from scratch, and others they could live with us. But given your people, I'd be surprised if even fifty percent accepted. But for those among you, the dreamers and explorers, the warriors and builders, it is an option."

  The words hung there, full of promise and risk. McKenna glanced around the table looking at the faces of the most important people in the world to her.

  "I guess we have a lot to talk about."

  Epilogue

  The impacts of asteroids in Tennessee have shattered the New Madrid fault and earthquakes are rippling up and down the Southeast. The impact fragmented the asteroid, leaving a crater, and current estimates are two thousand dead at least, while the one that hit in Minnesota has devastated the three nearby towns. Experts are pointing out it could be have been worse as the asteroids seem to have fractured as they went through the atmosphere, making the impacts less destructive than they could have been, though that isn't much consolation to the people whose families have been destroyed. The one in Nevada hit desert and the only side effects might be new mining in the area. ~TNN Invasion News

  Raymond fought to keep his face blank as the members of the House of Representatives exploded into arguments about what to do about the refugee aliens that were taken from the spaceship. They still hadn't finished pulling the remaining canisters off the ship. So far, more and more were turning out to be aliens. Some of which looked like things from nightmares, or memories of long ago, which helped ignite more arguments as only the Largo woman and her friends could even communicate with them.

  Either way, everything that was happening, especially the asteroids, fueled his agenda. The weapon had been primed and aimed directly at the shifters. The addition of the tidal waves, one of which had all but removed Sydney from the map, had assisted greatly. People had someone to blame. The additional devastation from the asteroids had only heightened the anger. With three hitting the US, the death toll had been in the thousands, not the hundreds of thousands like in Australia, China, and France. Having someone they could blame gave humans across the world something to focus on, and they did it with a feverish intensity.

  I wonder if I can get them to become a second-class citizen? Immortality should scare
people. Think of the power they could accumulate if we let them be normal. Power like I plan on accumulating.

  Which was exactly why it couldn't happen. Raymond already started to make sure he had multiple identities ready. When it was time to go down that road, he'd simply become someone else, his heir apparent. Immortality was a gift he'd never expected, but he would use it to its fullest extent. And insure his empire continued to grow with him at the helm.

  This session looked like it would drag on for hours and he had other work to do. He slipped out of the gallery and headed down the hall, just one more person of power moving about. Anonymity was his best weapon. When people didn't know you existed, it made it hard for them to guard against you.

  His watch buzzed softly, and he glanced at it. A text message from a number he didn't recognize. It could wait a few minutes. Raymond finished leaving the building, enjoying the walk to his offices. After he'd walked for a few minutes he stepped out of the way of the foot traffic and pulled out his phone.

  *Job done. Pain eliminated*

  A string of numbers followed the text. Raymond allowed himself a small smile as he logged into an anonymous bitcoin app and transferred coins to that account number. He then deleted the text and wiped all history of the transaction. Glancing around, he walked back out into the flow of people, no one even gave him a second glance. The cop and her wife had been eliminated, the other cop was neck deep in the shifter drama, and everyone else was dancing to the strings he pulled.

  The urge to whistle struck him, but that would make him noticeable and Raymond Kennedy thrived on being unnoticeable. Keeping up his brisk pace. Strolling in DC was what tourists did. He made a check list of what was left. After using Willard for a few more pushes of popular opinion, he would have to arrange a very graphic shifter-based accident to befall him. The outcry would be the final thing he needed to make shifters a subservient species. Now, if only the remaining doubt about their breeding could be verified. No matter. If nothing else, history proved once you became an outcast, gaining back your original status would prove a challenge. If he had his way, they would become the perfect ground troops. After all, wasn't that what the Elentrin had used them for?