Child of Time (4 page)

Entering the cave and leaving chalk marks at the
junction they progressed deeper into the earth. The light was shed
on a new world of plants, fish and insects that seemed to thrive in
the darkness. Moving further on the boys found a tunnel that was
covered in a purple kind of crystal. The light reflected around the
room seemed somewhat magical with the rainbow hues splattering the
walls. Kiyan was busy examining the walls of the cave when the
realization began to grow on him that he was being watched.
Lowering his defenses he reached out with his mind. There was
something there but he could not put his finger on it. A little
farther and his mind touched Kendra, a twinge of curiosity and then
a flood of detail from her. He realized he could see better with
his mind than his eyes while he was connected to Kendra. Scanning
the caves for hundreds of feet in each direction he finally sensed
a detail that was not right.

“
Young one, you are skilled for your time in this
world
.” A voice echoed in Kiyan's mind.

“
Who are you?”
Kiyan was startled but was able
to convey his question through Kendra.

“
I am Draxos of the earth people. You are near my
home.”

“
Forgive us we did not mean to intrude.”
Kiyan
apologized still unsure what to think.

“
Nonsense, any friend of Kendra’s is a friend of
mine.”
Draxos responded amicably.

Feeling someone shaking his shoulder Kiyan opened his
eyes and saw the rest of the group looking at him. A feeling of
mild worry emanated from them.

“You kind of zoned out there for a minute” Jeremy
finally said. “What happened?”

Everyone jumped accept for Kiyan and Ray when Draxos
introduced himself. “We were having a conversation. That is what
happened.”

“We did not hear anything and who are you?” Kiyan
could feel that Fred was a little nervous now. A glance from Addy
and he seemed to relax a little.

“For those of you who aren't telepathic, my name is
Draxos of the earth people.” With that he stepped out of the
shadows and the boys saw a tall humanoid covered with scales and
having piercing brown eyes. He seemed to exude an air of dignity.
None of the boys had expected to see such a civilized denizen of
the caves. Draxos must have sensed their surprise because he gave a
loud laugh and a smile spread across his features. “Haven't you
ever seen any earth people before?”

No was the response from the boys. ”We didn't even
know that there were any earth people on Thane. We knew about some
on Samtan but not here.” Kiyan offered a hasty explanation.

“We are a quiet people and our eyes are used to the
dark. The suns in the sky are bright so we rarely travel to the
surface. We grow what we need to down here and live in peace. If
your settlement were in this valley you would have met us sooner.
You are welcome here as friends should you decide to visit any
time.”

Kiyan sensing a lingering anxiety from Jeremy and a
desire to get back to camp from Fred announced that they would love
to visit some time but that the day was waning and they needed to
get back to camp.

Draxos nodded. “It was an honor to meet a friend of
Kendra and a dryad.”

As the boys backtracked their way through the caves
there was silence between them. The conversation did not start
until they were halfway back to their camp in the glowing woods.
Kiyan was unsure if he was relieved or should be uneasy about the
others knowing about his telepathic abilities. He wondered what
they would want to know about Kendra. He realized that he himself
knew very little about her.

“What did he mean by those that are not telepathic
and how was he talking with you. You're not telepathic Kiyan, are
you?” Jeremy worded the question strangely. Kiyan could tell he was
confused.

“It wasn't until this morning that I learned to
communicate telepathically, before then I could only sense emotion.
Even then only strong emotions.” Kiyan was trying to avoid the
other question that was sure to come about Kendra.

“That’s awesome!” Jeremy responded “And who is
Kendra?”

“She was the ascended at the ceremony yesterday.”
Admitted Kiyan.

“Well the earth people must really respect her, I
mean she is an ascended after all.”

The sun was dying when the kayloo glided back into
camp. Ray and Addy flew off in search of food and the boys began
tying up their camp hammocks. A few minutes later both kayloo
returned with some wild vegetables and some more fruit. After
supper everyone hit the sack and soon the sounds of sleep filled
the night. Kiyan lay unable to sleep, to many questions passing
around his mind.

Finally deciding sleep was not going to come Kiyan
climbed out of his hammock and walked over to the edge of the
living platform. Seeing Addy already there made him hesitate for a
moment. She must have heard him moving or sensed him, after all she
was part of the plant that made up the platform. She smiled at him
and looked at a seat beside her. Kiyan thought to himself that
already since this morning he considered her to be something of a
friend. Seeing Ray perching on a huge limb nearby made Kiyan giggle
quietly. The sight of a large flying horse with elephant trunks and
claws holding onto a tree was comical. A sense of embarrassment and
a glimmer later and Ray had taken a form Kiyan had never seen him
in. A flying squirrel was scampering over the tree and was soon
perched on Kiyan’s shoulder.

“Sorry for laughing at you.” Whispered an apologetic
Kiyan. “Besides I did not know you could do that.”

“
You rarely climb trees to this height besides
Addy would catch you should you fall.”
Ray was confident in his
response.

Hearing a soft voice in his mind, Kiyan turned in
surprise to Addy.
“You are one of Fredric’s best friends. I
would protect you and Jeremy second to Fredric. Ray saved Fredric
today because I didn’t know that humans could drown.”
There was
an undertone of guilt in the last admission.

Ray Interjected then.
“When she bonded she learned
for the first time how fragile your race was. She knows now how to
care for Fred.”

Fredric, what an old fashioned name probably from
the old world
, thought Kiyan.

Again Kiyan felt Addy speaking. “
I sprouted more
than three hundred years ago. All that time I never had any desire
to bond, I lived in the woods and was by myself. But last week I
sensed Fredrick and couldn’t resist. I can’t explain it but he is
unique, special in a way. He feels the life in the space around him
even at this early age. He doesn't know it yet but he will be what
you call a life mage or what my kind calls a grower.”

“He...... he isn't mad at me for not telling about
being telepathic is he?” A hesitant Kiyan finally mustered the
courage to ask.

A soft musical giggle sounded in Kiyan’s head.
“You are the reader, you tell me
Addy laughed obviously with
a mischievous streak of her own.
“But no he isn’t mad, just
happy for you. The fact you did not read him to try and find out
means his trust is well founded.
Kiyan felt Addy observing him.
“
You are more sensitive than most are, I cannot communicate with
many of your race like I can with you.”

Finally feeling satisfied Kiyan let himself revel in
the silence of the night, bathed in the light from the nebula and
the glowing woods he closed his eyes. Reaching out with his mind he
heard incoherent whispers of a dream from one of the boys,
reflecting that, he let his other barriers down and listened to the
soft symphony of a thousand night creatures in an attempt to find a
cadence or a rhythm to the chaos. He felt the measured pulse of the
suns and following that. He felt something different. It was not
emotion or thought that he felt. He let it materialize in his
mind’s eye until he saw the forest in a new light. It seemed to
glow with energy, every insect and animal glowing with a brighter,
more agitated light than the trees and vines that shone with a
steady powerful glow in varying shades of the rainbow.

Pulling his mind in after watching the symphony of
lights for a few minutes he looked around the camp. The camp glowed
the same color as Addy and bands of energy passing between Addy and
Fred. Strangely there were filaments of energy extending from Fred
to the surrounding area. Jeremy looked peaceful in a small sea of
blue and Ray? Ray was emanating disturbed waves of the same energy
that Kiyan could see strands of reaching from himself. Pulling back
on the energy closed Kiyan’s mind’s eye but before the vision faded
he saw a bright light approach. Recognizing the same peace and calm
from the dreams, he knew who it was. More questions but it was too
late, a feeling of pride from Ray or Kendra and it was gone.
Feeling himself slipping into a deep dreamless sleep he felt Ray
moving him and then settling down in the hammock with him in his
squirrel form before everything faded.

Chapter Three: Awakening

Joshua sat in his home with his wife, thinking about
a multitude of things. He was a man of average build, not overly
strong but well able to match younger men. A few grey hairs marked
his temples, he wore them well, a sort of ennobling touch.
Remembering that day so long ago when the administrators of the
concentration camp had decided he was too old to be of any more use
and had condemned him to the incinerators. The only crime that he
was guilty of was being born. A shiver ran down his spine. Not
looking to be more than thirty, everyone knew he was one of the
oldest elders on the joined worlds. The memory of that day
resurfaced and continued to haunt him. He remembered being shoved
into the gas chamber and the gas hissing into the room.

Holding his breath at the memory caused Sandra to
look up from her sewing. She well knew what he was probably
remembering. As the gas filled the room he remembered clearly the
flame that started at the far side of the room. Watching it billow
and roll toward him, it must have only been a second but it felt
longer. Feeling faint from the gas and the sight of death
approaching he had sunk to the ground. As the blinding light
overtook him something happened, a pair of hands grabbed him and
the light from the fire seemed to grow dimmer until it was gone. He
remembered waking after some time in a green lush valley with a few
other people lying in the grass around him. Then he saw her. It was
an ascendant. I wasn't until afterwards that he found out what she
was and the only thing she had told him was her name. Kendra.

The last two days passed through Joshua's mind. He
knew about Kiyan's past, he knew that the Kendra had brought him to
the village. He also assumed that she had been the ascendant at the
ceremony the other day. The question of who the boy was hadn't
crossed his mind for several years. There were too many
possibilities. He could have been a refugee from earth, but no one
had ever been gifted before five hundred years old if earth born.
It took some time to regenerate the DNA. Fourteen years ago someone
had been exiled for a crime that had resulted in a couple deaths,
but the timeline was not right for his child. The fact that a
parent had chosen to give up a child seemed the most possible
scenario but that still seemed remote. No one ever had a child
unless they wanted one. Whatever Kiyan's origins were, Joshua was
sure that Kendra had a good reason for bringing him to this
village.

Fred, now that was another thing. Joshua knew only of
two other dryads that had bonded with humans. They seemed to
instead like living in seclusion in the forest. The most
interesting thing about the two humans had been the fact that they
had both become strong life mages. Life mages were a whole new
level of benders above elementals. To be a life mage one usually
mastered a school of bending. With special training after showing
an aptitude they would learn how to bend the life forces around
them. The strongest ones were capable of people as well as being
able to control the growth of plants. He remembered that one of the
dryad bonded life mages had been reputed to cause an entire forest
to grow in one night. Perhaps there was more here than met the eye.
A trip to Samtan might be warranted just for more information on
the subject. If he left now Joshua could be back before sunset.

--------

“Are you sure that Fred is going to be OK?” Kelsey
asked Harlem.

“You remember how good Catlin was with Sandy.” Harlem
responded.

“But he was a golem that had sat in the village for
several years not some wild tree creature. She almost killed him at
the lake remember?” Continued Kelsey.

“Thank God Fred was OK but now that Addy is bonded
with Fred, he is safer than probably ever in his life.” Harlem
countered. Smiling as he remembered watching from the ridge as
Kiyan flew over and then his surprise when Addy erupted out of the
forest and took flight with Fred.
Oh to be young again.
Having seen Addy in her humanoid form had made it easier for Kelsey
to let Fred go on the camping trip but there were still some
doubts. The news that Addy had a flying form would have to
wait.

----------

Addy was somewhat apprehensive as she watched Jeremy
and Kiyan fly into the water of the lake that formed just beyond
the glowing woods. She seemed to have had an effect on Fred as he
chose to wade into the water slowly this morning. After the ritual
of scrubbing and diving Jeremy proposed that he and Kiyan practice
water bending.

“I don't know how to bend, I just know that I have
potential to bend, Kendra was helping me.” Kiyan protested.
“Besides Fred can't bend and I don't want to leave him out.”

Addy’s soft voice sounded in Kiyan’s head.
“
Fredric is a life bender, also an earth mover. One of my
sisters joined with an earth mover so I know some about how to bend
earth. I can help him with that.”