Gorinthians (62 page)

Radroc was immune to most of
the signal noise. He had shown the Guardians the frequencies that
Jerard would most likely use. As Jerard hung in midair, helpless in
the snare of vibrations that jammed his thoughts, Radroc struck out
with his power, pulling Jerard’s spirit out of the modified shell
that the deranged scientist had created for it in this plane.
Radroc felt a strong surge of uncertainty about completing his
mission after seeing the beings with which Jerard had been in
contact. Still, he could not stop now. With a sigh, Radroc pulled
out a small crystal and channeled his Yar into it. Within a few
seconds, a hole that only Radroc could sense opened up, connecting
Jerard’s home plane with this world’s plane. Radroc flung Jerard’s
spirit through the gateway, where it would await rebirth on his
home planet if he could find the way.

Radroc closed the gateway.
“That’s enough, Captain.” Radroc’s voice in Captain Jorbran’s ear
caused the stocky man to jump slightly before recovering. A moment
later, Captain Jorbran sent out the signal through his Yar to the
rest of the Guardians to stop. As they slowly let their Yars
release the vibrations, they began descending slowly to the ground
where the remains of the wall lay.

“
Did we win?” Captain
Jorbran asked with a grin, directing his question at the place that
he had heard Radroc’s voice.

“
It appears so,” Radroc
replied with a sigh that contradicted his statement. He projected a
new image of himself so that the others would have something to
focus on.

“
What about the remains of
Jerard’s army?” Captain Jorbran inquired with a glance toward the
mountains.

“
I will take care of them
when I leave,” Radroc assured him. “They are not likely to remain
in their stone castings once they learn of Jerard’s
demise.”

Elder Torrence made his way
out of the remaining rubble that surrounded the gate. “Where is
Jerard?” he demanded, looking around them as if he might catch a
glimpse of his remains.

“
I sent his spirit back to
his own plane,” Radroc answered slowly, watching Elder Torrence
with a speculative gleam in his eye. “I discovered something I was
unaware of before Jerard left us.”

Elder Torrence grunted as he
surveyed the destruction that surrounded their city. “What did you
discover?”

“
Jerard has been in contact
with another race for quite some time now.” Radroc felt the
familiar ball of ice settle in his stomach as he recalled the
images in Jerard’s mind. “These beings are from another plane. I
have had encounters with them before. I fear that we are only just
beginning a struggle that may last a very long time.”

“
What are these beings
like?” Elder Torrence asked with a scowl.

“
They look similar to
humans, as far as their physical characteristics.” Radroc was not
sure how much to tell them without speaking with his father. “Their
organs are slightly different, and their bodies are deformed from
years of what they call various stages of shrub-stain decay. They
found a source of technology that they began playing with before
they learned what the lasting effects would do to them, and they
lost a lot of their original humanity in the process. The
technology they discovered while trying to preserve their race is
the dangerous part, however. I will need to discuss things with my
council before I can tell you more, but be prepared for more
conflict.”

“
That’s what we live for,”
Elder Torrence said dryly. “Are these beings able to use their
Yar?”

“
To a point,” Radroc
replied. “They communicate with their minds instead of using verbal
output. Again, this ability was more related to technology than any
mastery of their Yar. They have a keen interest in this planet
because of the vast amounts of free energy the planet radiates. The
vehicles they use to travel will not function here, so we have some
time. That is, as long as Jerard has not already set more events in
motion than I am aware of.”

“
When will we see you
again?” Elder Torrence inquired curiously.

“
That’s hard to say,”
Radroc replied with a frown. “If you don’t see me, then this threat
will probably not materialize. If you do see me again, it will be
because the threat has become dire.”

“
Then farewell, I hope,”
Elder Torrence muttered grimly.

“
Indeed,” Radroc smiled to
himself. Elder Torrence’s gruff exterior belied a true compassion
and value of spirit that had originally drawn Radroc to him.
Turning, Radroc began making his way down the mountain toward the
remains of Jerard’s army. It appeared to the Guardians that each of
his steps covered hundreds of feet. Within a few moments, he had
reached the remains of the army of stone giants near the boundary.
All of the Elementals were gone, leaving the crude stone bodies as
a testament of their once-terrible existence. In time, the reality
of them being a living army would fade to myth as future
civilizations regarded them as works of art by ancient
civilizations.

Radroc pulled out his
crystal one more time, channeling his Yar into it to open a gateway
back to his own plane. With a last glance at the blighted
landscape, Radroc stepped through the gateway.