Child of Time (36 page)

Kiyan began to realize the amount of energy he was
channeling to Jeremy. He began to stop drawing energy off the
atmosphere. It was a few minutes before he had calmed the raging
inferno. When he managed to return to his normal form he found
himself on a frosted rooftop. There was no sign of Jeremy anywhere.
A couple of dragons glided past in the direction that Kiyan sensed
a fight. A shadow moved against the snow on the roof as Kiyan
walked towards the edge. Kiyan had trouble focusing as the shadow
approached. The dark hair swirled in the falling snow framing
Terra's face.

“Why?” Kiyan felt darkness closing in before he had a
chance to finish the question. The last thing he felt was the
pleasant cold of the snow against his cheek as he collapsed.

---------

Fred, Addy and Ray were more than a little upset when
they found out what Kiyan's plan was. Ray was the most disturbed by
the thought of Kiyan turning himself over to the overlords. When
Terra woke up she was also upset but resigned to what she called
fate. Fred tried to calm them down by saying that he was sure Kiyan
could take care of himself.

“What do we do now?” Jarrod interrupted them when he
told them that he had done as Kiyan had asked. “The rest of the
under cities will be freed within the hour.”

“Seal the entrances and have the telepaths scan as
far as they can. We don't want to be taken by surprise.” Ray took
the lead and began issuing orders. “Can the Voth down here
fight?”

“Some have been soldiers for the overlords. We can
fight but it’s not our way.” Jarrod looked uncomfortable.

“Your way or not the overlords won't hesitate to
destroy us all if they get down here. They are an advanced
civilization and must have drills or some other means of getting
here.” Ray was blunt but he saw the look of determination on
Jarrod's face.

“If Kiyan sacrificed himself to give us freedom we
won't let them take it back without a fight.” Jarrod looked
resigned to his fate.

“I wouldn't go so far as to say sacrificed.” Ray
could sense Kiyan in the distance and all seemed well enough.

“I will call for any who will fight and the rest we
can hide inside caves.” Jarrod was off at a run.

I can bend over the entrances to the side caves to
hide them better. Fred went in the same direction as Jarrod
followed by Addy. It took a remarkably short amount of time before
they had hidden everyone that couldn't fight. Kayloo in various
forms with Voth riders stalked the perimeter of the cave looking
for any disturbances.

Ray shifted into his dragon form and joined the
stalkers. Addy was in her battle form and Fred's crystal skin
glittered in the light. The attack came without warning. Flashes of
light illuminated the cave as dozens of squads teleported into the
cavern. When the light was gone the defenders charged. Angry red
plasma reached out and struck the first few kayloo as they neared
the well-ordered soldiers. Their ranks broke as Ray slammed into
the ground in the middle of their circle. Voth soldiers flew in all
directions from the impact and the distraction rendered any
organization moot.

Fred charged with Addy but was passed by Terra riding
what looked like a griffin. Some sort of winged and feathered lion.
Her eyes glowed as light flashed from her fingertips at any soldier
that had the misfortune of meeting her. Jarrod was engaging in hand
to hand combat as his kayloo snapped and snarled slashing left and
right. Jarrod used his powers to misdirect his opponent causing him
to strike where he was not. A touch to the head or a swing was all
it took to disable an opponent. A soldier had a blaster trained on
Fred as he charged but Fred hardly noticed the burn as the plasma
dissipated harmlessly against his stone skin. He was about to duck
the next shot when a small dart planted itself in the soldier's
chest. Fred engaged the next couple Voth he met. The snap of bone
followed with the screams of the injured surrounded Fred as he
advanced. A roar from Ray shook the cavern as the battle ended
almost as fast as it had begun. Ray in all his terrible majesty was
standing over the cowering overlord when the dust settled.

“I surrender. Take them but don't hurt me.” The
overlord had an ashen grey countenance as he begged for his
life.

Jarrod rode his kayloo over to the overlord's
location. “You have a choice. You can become one with a kayloo or
you can be banished. The choice is yours.”

“Don't you see? You've doomed us all.” The overlord
seemed to forget his fear as he was addressed by a mere bonded
Voth. “These protector you call your friends can't protect us from
the drakken. I spent my life doing what is best for the Voth people
and you will have undone it in a few days. I will never let one of
those beasts control my mind.”

“Then banishment it is. I would never want to subject
a kayloo to your mind as it is.” Ray held the overlord firmly as
the man raged at Jarrod's retreating back.

“What now?” Jarrod asked when the last soldiers had
been taken care of. All but the overlord had chosen bonding over
banishment. Terra and Freya glided over to their location.

“We could go to the surface and help up there.” Ray's
voice thundered in the cave before he shifted back into his
humanoid form. “This was only a part of the forces, the majority
should still be on the surface.”

“Something is wrong.” Terra looked distant as she
spoke.

“
Help us.”
The message slammed into Terra and
Jarrod hardest.

“We have to get to the surface now. They are going to
kill them all.” Both Jarrod and Terra rushed the terrified
overlord. Freya held him down while the two rifled through his
pockets. There was a tearing sound as Terra ripped a hidden pocket
open. There was a flash and Jarrod, Terra and their kayloo were
gone.

“What was that?” Ray stood over the trembling
overlord.

“They took my emergency transport beacon!” They
watched as the realization sank into the overlords face.

“Where did they go?” Fred asked the next
question.

“I, I'm not going to tell you.” The overlord got a
look of determination in his expression.

“The overlord headquarters.” The overlord's facade
crumbled at Fred's words. “Come on we need to move now.” Cracks
spread around them as Fred began bending. The floor began
levitating as the ceiling split. A moment more and they were
hurtling towards the surface.

--------

Terra and Jarrod found themselves in a shielded cell
with their kayloo. Jarrod rushed the clear wall but staggered back
when he impacted the force field.

“Let me handle this.” Jarrod watched in awe as
Terra's eyes began glowing. There were several guards outside the
chamber with weapons aimed at them. Light flashed from Terra's
fingers and one by one the guards dropped to the floor. The last
guard dropped his gun as he staggered to the control panel. He
struggled for a moment before entering a code then collapsing as
the force field dissolved. Terra shook her head as the glowing
disappeared.

“Remind me never to get on your bad side.” Jarrod
slipped around the corner with his kayloo stalking at his
heels.

“I think I can implant the idea in your
subconscious.” Terra laughed as she told Jarrod there weren't any
more guards for a few corridors.

“That isn't what I meant. You are kind of scaring me
right now.” Jarrod sprinted down the hallway with Terra and Freya
close behind.

“Don't worry I don't mind warp my friends.” Terra
laughed before pausing for a second. “He is in the next corridor
then right around the corner.

Jarrod slipped up to the corner and squinted for a
moment. Blood vessels bulged on his neck as he focused. There was a
strange sound around the corner then a thump as the guard
collapsed. When they walked around the corner they found the guard
in the throes of spasms. Terra's light flashed and the guard lay
still.

“Slow the heart rate. They pass out quietly.” Terra
rode Freya in her griffin form as they advanced.

“I tried making him sleep but he woke up when he
fell. I tried again then he got scared and it went downhill from
there.” Jarrod stopped at a window overlooking the city. “What in
the world is that?”

Terra came up to the window and joined Jarrod looking
at the white flakes swirling outside. “When the icy wind rages.” A
dark shadow passed the window making them both jump back. “Was
that?”

“A winged man? It looked like a huge draconic kayloo.
The prophecy was vague about what winged men represented.” Jarrod
watched another grey shadow fly past in a flickering blue
light.

“There is something wrong with Kiyan. He is fading.”
Freya charged down the hall leaving Jarrod racing behind dealing
with the startled guards. He rounded the corner just in time to see
Freya and Terra launching up a stairwell amidst a flurry of falling
snow. Taking a flying leap Jarrod caught the edge of a hole in the
roof. He pulled himself up just in time to see a huge pale blue
dragon slam into the white roof.

“Step away from him.” The dragon thundered at them.
“He is dangerous. He could kill them all.”

Terra stood over Kiyan's still form with Freya
circling overhead. “Leave him alone.” Terra struggled as she felt
the mind of the dragon trying to force her away from Kiyan. Terra
linked with Jarrod and Freya and pushed back with all their
collective might. The dragon staggered at the attack.

“Why are you protecting him?” The dragon circled them
warily.

“He freed us.” Terra stood her ground. “He is the
child of time. He isn't going to hurt us.”

“He plunged the entire planet into an ice age. The
child of time isn't that powerful.” The dragon glittered in the
dark from the light of Terra's flashing eyes.

“It was not just him.” They all turned to look at the
swirling mists vaguely similar to a person. “I did part of it, he
just channeled the energy.”

“Why did you destroy the environment of this planet?”
The dragon thundered at Jeremy's ghostly form.

The swirling fog dissipated for a second before
reforming. “It was prophesied!” Terra and Jarrod yelled in
unison.

“It is only temporary. As soon as I run out of energy
and stop bending the planet will return to normal.” Lightning
clapped across the rooftop.

---------

Kiyan sensed movement before he sensed anything else.
The next sensation was the large scales against his face. When he
opened his eyes and raised his head he found himself on the back of
a dragon soaring above the clouds in the sunlight. The momentary
fear of falling was quieted as Kiyan felt Terra's arms around him.
He felt relieved as he sensed Jeremy's consciousness in the clouds
below.

“What happened?” There was a flash of light and their
surroundings changed to the simulator aboard the ship. Simulator
was running a program that gave the dragon plenty of space to land.
Kiyan tried climbing off the dragon but found his legs much weaker
than he had expected. The only thing keeping him up was his
implants and Terra.

“You overextended yourself. You may be an ascended
but you can't control your powers fully yet.” Kendra moved to
Kiyan's side and helped him to a seat. Give it time. The dragon had
shifted back into a human form and approached Kiyan and grasped his
hand.

“Dragon born! You have dragon blood flowing strong in
your veins.” The descended dragon looked far younger than Kiyan had
expected. A mop of curly blond hair washed over his forehead and
bluish white eyes nearly glowed from the sharply defined face.

“I'm not a dragon. I'm just an ice former.” Kiyan
wasn't sure what the dragon meant.

“There is no way that an ice fire bender powerful
enough to cool an entire planet is not a dragon.” Kiyan looked into
the pale eyes as the dragon spoke. “Call me Kronos.”

“I don't know. I mean I haven't changed into anything
else other than ice.” Kiyan glanced at Kendra as he responded.

“I would believe it, both of your parents are
powerful old dragons.” There was a tone of humor and pride in
Kendra's voice.

“What about the planet and the kayloo?” Kiyan asked
the question to no one in particular.

“The kayloo rebellion has succeeded in bloodlessly
seizing control of the government. There are several Voth that
chose banishment rather than bonding. They will be transported to
another planet in exile. The Voth left on the planet have chosen to
rebuild their civilization along a different path.” The Athena's AI
relayed the current situation of the planet. “We have improved the
strength of the Voth defense grid and have placed their planet
under the protection of the protectorate. The Voth have offered us
the temporal fragment and we will honor their wishes to be left out
of the war. In three cycles we will be leaving their orbit. They
have proposed an open borders alliance after the war is
settled.”

Kendra saw a glimmer in Kiyan's eye when he looked up
at Terra where she stood in the back of the room. “What about my
friends from here?” There was an almost imperceptible quaver in his
voice as he spoke.

“Just friends?” Kendra arched an eyebrow as she
spoke. There was a bloom of color on Terra's face at the
question.

“I want to stay. No, I mean, I want to go with you,
not stay here. Here as in the planet not the ship.” Terra could
hardly speak she was so nervous. “I mean if it is alright with
you.”

Kendra spoke before Kiyan had a chance to figure out
what to think. “It is our practice to accept a representative of
every planet we protect into the protectorate. I think you could
serve on Kiyan's ship if you wanted.” Kendra noticed the glimmers
of light shining from Terra's eyes at the news.
Remarkable,
she thought to herself.
One as young as Terra being a telepath
so strong.