Grai's Game (First Wave) (19 page)

“Thank you, my friend. That strand with Viper is used very often, and we appreciate your assistance in repairing it.”
Dread said through the newly created strand that Tristan had made between them, speaking to the boy’s beast.

He wasn’t the least bit surprised when Tristan turned his head towards him and gave a quick nod before turning back to the strands he was deftly manipulating with his fingers.
Dread had no doubt the child could speak. They just hadn’t found where and how he used his voice.

“Have you allowed him to see Gibly since he has been awake?” Dread asked.

Grai was taken aback for a moment by the question. “No. I don’t think he’s seen Gibly at all since we came here. Why?”

“Conductors live in the shadow world, but they aren’t the only ones who can see in that realm. Some animals can also see and speak there.
It’s how some species communicate with one another. Like the Sibiox. Most conductors have a strangely close relationship with certain animals.”

“The beast species are not the only ones with a communication path like the Shengari’. Where we only use and sometimes see the Shengari’, there are thousands of other paths like that for other species. Tristan sees them
all; I believe.” Dread explained.

This was proven moments later when Niklosi and Decano had barely opened the door to the dining room, when Gibly came running past them and headed straight for Tristan at a full run.

Grai, unsure if the cat was going to hurt his son, was getting ready to lunge for the boy, when Dread stopped him with a strong arm across his chest.

“Stop! He will not harm him. I promise. Just watch.” Dread said roughly. He was curious to see what would happen between Gibly and the boy. As was the entire room. The silence hung in the air thickly as everyone was glued to the scene unfolding before them.

Gibly jumped up on the end of the table and ran halfway across the top, dodging plates and glasses before stopping in front of Tristan. Reaching up, Gibly nuzzled one of Tristan’s hands as he manipulated an energy string.

Tristan stopped mid-motion and turned to look at Gibly, in the eyes. A moment later, Tristan grunted loudly and opened his arms
wide. Gibly jumped into the boys lap and nuzzled and cuddled him as Tristan hugged the cat closely, humming softly.

Dread moved slowly, closer to the boy and the cat to see how they were interacting. Kneeling beside the child’s chair Dread watched the energy spark around the
two. It was as if the child, and the animal were sharing their energy. Dread had never seen anything like it.

Bright sparks and flashes of energy crackled around the two
for a few moments. The strands from the cat were combining and separating from Tristan’s as if in a strange dance. Tristan’s humming seemed to help weave the energy around the boy and the cat, finally settling the energy strands around the two like a blanket.

Dread watched in fascination as the energy vibrated as if being fed by the boy before being bounced to
Gibly, who absorbed it, magnified it and bounced it back to the child.

“What are they doing?” Grai asked in a whisper, afraid to disturb the smiling child and cat.

Dread looked to Viper who was grinning, before turning his own smiling face to Grai. “They are bonding and communicating.”

“What are they saying?” Grai asked, hoping to finally hear the words of his son.

“I do not know. I cannot speak or hear along the path they are using. I believe they speak on the Sibiox version of the Shengari’.” Dread explained, slightly in awe of the boy’s abilities. Grai’s hope felt crushed. If Dread couldn’t hear or speak to his son, then no one could.

“He can speak in every realm that he can see. Which is many. How many I cannot even guess because I can only see four. The Shengari’, Gibly’s, the Zendarian’s and one other that I am still unfamiliar with.
”

“
I do not have even close to the level of power that the child possesses. I can only estimate that he can conduct dozens, if not hundreds of energy paths.” Dread said, trying to ease Grai’s disappointment.

“If he can conduct the Shengari’, then can
’t he speak in it?” Grai asked.

“Have you tried to speak to his beast?” Dread asked.

Grai looked at Dread like he was slow
in the head, before replying, “Of course. He wasn’t bonded though. There was no ability to communicate. It was nothing more than pain and fear.”

“So you haven’t tried since he became fully bonded…” Dread said with a grin as he watched it finally dawn on Grai that he hadn’t.

Grai was so nervous and excited that he didn’t notice that everyone but Tristan, Dread and Gibly had left the dining hall. He sat heavily in the empty chair next to his son, who was still holding Gibly in his lap.

Reaching out gently, he tried to speak to his son through the Shengari’. “Tristan, can you hear Daddy?”

“He says can hear you, but he can’t speak there yet. It’s too new, and he’s still a little afraid of it because that path has only hurt him for so long. It will take time. But he will heal and eventually speak there.” Gibly said, his eyes glowing with an eerie halo around his green eyes.

Grai was too stunned to speak, so Dread asked the questions for him. “Gibly, can you speak to him?”

“Of course! He’s my friend. One of my kind is meant to be with him.” Gibly said, arching his back with pride as he nuzzled the boy’s cheek.

“What do you mean? Why should one of you be with him?” Dread asked
curiously, while Grai still tried to absorb that, his son could speak.

“My people help balance the
conductors.” Gibly said simply.

“Because of all the energy they deal with?” Dread asked, still trying to understand what Gibly meant. Speaking with the cat wasn’t always easy due to the obvious differences.

“The conductor is consumed by the pull of the energy. Because they exist in more than one world, they are drawn to stay in the world whose energy is the strongest. That is not this world.”

“My people help the conductor balance the energy and ground them enough to help them strengthen their bond to th
eir world.” Gibly said, swishing his tail and tickling the boy until he giggled.

“So you can reach him where no one else can and h
elp him anchor himself more fully in this realm?” Dread said, finally understanding it.

“Yes!” Gibly said happily.

“So he’s still afraid of this realm and the beast bond because of the pain, but you can help anchor him and teach him how to interact more in this realm? Eventually use the beast bond and communicate?” Dread asked, trying to help simplify the explanation for Grai’s sake. The poor man still looked shell-shocked and hadn’t said a word since Gibly started speaking to them.

“Yes.”

Dread wasn’t surprised he was right. He was beginning to understand this now. “He will always be more drawn to the other realms, but the energy of your people around him, helps to draw him into this realm more. The more time he spends with you, the more he stays grounded here long enough to learn more about how to navigate this realm.”

“
This is like exploring a new world for him isn’t it? It’s overwhelming and scary at times.” Dread said, knowing he was right and truly fascinated by all of it.

“Yes! You understand!”
Gibly said excitedly.

“Why can’t he use me? I would do anything to help him…” Grai said hoarsely, obviously trying hard to contain the riot of emotions that
were whipping through him.

Dread answered before Gibly. “Because you, none of us, have such a high spiritual energy.
It’s not so much that he can’t reach us; we aren’t developed enough to reach him. The energy of the Sibiox run along a complimentary path that they can bond on. He most likely can do that with a lot of different species.”

“He’s very, very special, Grai. He’s a gift. An amazing gift.” Dread said almost with awe, as the implications of what the child was capable of dawned on him. Grai wasn’t ready for all of that yet… none of them were.

Speaking only to Gibly, Dread warned him of the dangers of telling anyone, even Grai right now, the full power the boy held. The full ramifications of the fact that the human disease may not be a disease… if there were more conductors like Tristan on this planet…

Gibly made a slight nod of his head. “My people are aware of
it; it is why so many of us come now. We are needed. We can speak to some of the native animals, call to them to find their conductors.”

The prophecies… Dread thought. Why didn’t he see it? He mental
ly kicked himself multiple times, before turning to Grai. He stared at him for a moment before sending a private, urgent message to the Zendarian leader. Receiving the immediate response, he turned back to Grai.

“He needs to be protected. Gibly’s people will be coming and will help protect him. But he needs his own guard. At all times.” Dread said seriously, weighing what he could say carefully.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on Dread? Don’t lie to me! This is my son!” Grai said with a growl, fighting the urge to grab the man and shake him until he told him what was going on.

Dread held his hands up
, knowing Grai’s emotions were on the edge. The whole situation was a lot to take in for him; he couldn’t imagine how Grai felt as the boy’s father; and he didn’t even know half of what they were truly dealing with.

“Nothing is wrong. He has more power than any one person I have ever seen. The true extent of which we can’t even begin to understand yet. Now that he has a way to ground himself more here, through the Sibiox, he may start displaying his abilities in this realm.”

“Look, in each energy realm he has different abilities other than the Shengari’. The higher the energy realm the higher the abilities. He’s never had a chance to stay in this realm for long and learn it. The more he learns…” Dread let the sentence trail off, hoping that Grai’s quick mind would understand what he didn’t say.

“The more he will manifest his natural abilities with the energy here. Do you have any idea what those abilities will be?” Grai asked, trying to fathom how he could have possibly been a part of creating such a beautiful being. He wasn’t sure if the Gods were mocking him, testing him or blessing him.

“I have never seen anything like him, Grai. The only ones who would know would be the Zendarian’s
, and I recommend you contact them immediately. In fact, I’ll do it for you and explain to them what I can see. It will help them to figure this out.” Dread offered, not telling him that he had already contacted the Zendarian leader.

Grai thought for a moment before agreeing. “Yeah, you seem to have more figured out than I do. Thank you my friend.” Grai meant it too. He’d learned more about his precious child since Dread had come than he had in all the years he’d been with his son.

It didn’t surprise him at all that his son was
special; he had always known that. Tristan had always been a miracle to him and always would be; this news wouldn’t change that. What did surprise him was the power he could possibly wield.

Grai turned to Dread, the fear crawling up his spine as he realized what the man had told him.

“If Dagog ever got hold of him… Oh Gods…” Grai slumped heavily into the nearest chair.

“Grai, that’s why we will protect him. The Zendarian’s will help us figure it out. Until then, Gibly can help protect and ground him. Have Tricia pick a house away from the others, so there will be privacy if he starts to display abilities that would draw attention to him. We can do this.” Dread encouraged the scared father, not even sure himself what they could expect.

“Who the hell do I pick to protect the life of my son? Maybe he should stay down here?” Grai said, standing to pace the length of the table.

“Grai he can’t be hidden now. The seizures, the coma… it only slowed him down. Now that he is better he can’t be stopped. His journey, his destiny will unfold the way it was meant to, and it can’t be avoided. He has to be prepared for it. His abilities may save his life.”

“As his father, you have to make sure he is ready. Let Gibly help him. Give him the privacy of the outside world to learn and
grow, and we’ll protect him as best as we can. It’s all we can do until we know the extent of what we’re dealing with.” Dread said, knowing that keeping the boy down here now that he was better would be disastrous. His power would need an outlet as it grew and being underground would not be good if he had an outburst.

“Why did this happen? Is it because I’m half-Relian and half-Valendran? Or because Tricia is human? I don’t understand how we could create something as amazing as Tristan.” Grai asked with confusion.

Hell, he never thought he could have a child to begin with. The scientists he had hired had found that since he was not a mix of multiple DNA like most Relian’s that he and his brother’s shouldn’t have the problems breeding that the other Relian’s were going through because of the lack of purity in their bloodlines. Like most of his people, he was a hybrid, but a more pure hybrid.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with your species at all. There are conductors on other worlds, in other species. They are a gift of the Gods. One that needs to be protected.” Dread said, stressing the need for the child to be protected until he could learn more.