Love Beyond Time Read online

  modern conveniences and, as a society, they hadn't handled

  the change well.

  There never ceased to be creatures born of both the

  light and the dark that would prefer not to be monitored or

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  held accountable for their actions. It was imperative they

  know how to use the technologies as well but only recently

  had his people started to count on the human technologies

  to aid them instead of using their gifts, handed down from

  the Spirits of their ancestors to aid them in their lives.

  They had discounted the Great One and they had

  dismissed Abraxas' warnings of the prophecies coming

  true.

  The Great One had seen it all before it had

  happened. Eighteen children would be born to their group

  and a nineteenth child born far away.

  The last one would be The Darkness, born to

  destroy the Outsiders and spread evil to the world, unless

  the Eighteen could stop him. For lack of a better

  description, this child would be the worst of all demons

  brought to humanity through a stupid mistake.

  It seemed ridiculously easy; eighteen powerful

  beings could certainly stop one. Except this one was more

  powerful than any before him and could almost, upon birth,

  control his unknowing minions and begin the destruction.

  The Great One had feared it was already too late.

  This Darkness had been here before.

  In the past, it had been in the shape of a monster, a

  wolf, and a dragon, but now Abraxas feared it had found its

  most terrifying incarnation—a human baby boy.

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  Somewhere, perhaps close by or perhaps thousands of

  miles away, it was suckling on its mother's breast as she

  was painfully unaware she had carried in her womb a

  vessel for the destruction of all things pure and good.

  His people were human, he always told them,

  human but with a twist of magic. They could manipulate

  the weather, move things with their minds, bring on great

  forces of energy, and even change the course of fate should

  they decide to, but only in the effort to save the greater

  good. They brought balance to the universe and kept things

  in order. Human beings without their powers often wrote of

  them in children's stories calling them witches or wizards,

  frequently making them the antagonist of the story.

  Amongst themselves they simply were called the Outsiders.

  It was a term he was fond of and wished they'd

  thought more about the day they decided to install the first

  refrigerator in one of their homes.

  It amused Abraxas how quickly people vilify things

  they don't understand. With the death and destruction of his

  people, all things would become horrific, an endless array

  of death and destruction. It couldn't be allowed to happen.

  Without the Outsiders to help balance the inherent

  power struggle of humanity, chaos would surely occur. Evil

  beings thought only to exist in myths would feel free to

  come back to Earth to start destroying things again. Free

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  societies would fall apart, and men and women, whose

  intentions were initially positive, would find themselves

  becoming almost demigod-like in their absolute beliefs that

  they knew the best ways to live, worship, work, and even

  love on the planet.

  It was possible humanity would destroy itself within

  a decade of the destruction of the Outsiders.

  Humanity's desires for greed and absolute power

  were growing stronger and so were the evil beings that

  were joining them to help fulfill these needs.

  The Outsider's had lost many friends and family

  members in the effort to set things right and into balance

  once again. But this new threat, this latest evil being who

  was now just a baby, was a new problem altogether. He

  could not be beaten by the current generation, and he was

  already taking control.

  Even in infancy the Evil One was growing stronger.

  Telepathically ordering his willing minions to seek and

  destroy Abraxas' people, especially the children—the only

  ones he knew who could stop his plan of destruction. If

  only there had been more time to prepare, to figure out

  what the children were supposed to do. But, alas, it was too

  late and it was up to Abraxas to do what he could now.

  As if reading his intent, the clouds above him

  swirled in response. Thank you my old friends, he silently

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  uttered to the Spirits who controlled the skies. Try as they

  might, they could not stop the weather for him but they

  were trying to give him every advantage in power. The

  swirling moved clockwise, the natural rhythms pulsating

  through him as he sent a message to his people that he

  prayed would reach them in time.

  He opened his mind to reach his people, to

  communicate as he had not in a month, telepathically.

  " Much as I have tried, I cannot stop what is coming for

  you. I know you can feel them moving to where you have

  chosen to hide. You are right to suspect the howl of the

  wolves and the buzzing of the crickets tonight. It is evil

  watching you . There are too many of them and you are

  spread out, we are too weak while they grow too strong. I

  cannot save you, but I can save your children. I will hide

  and protect them. I ask you to give them to me now in the

  hope that all will not be forever lost. "

  He took a deep breath and heard in his head the

  murmurs of horror and comprehension that finally dawned

  on the mothers and fathers of his clan. He could feel, as if

  in a dream, his own wife begin to sob as she held their child

  more tightly. His infant daughter, who already held more

  power than he ever could imagine, would never know his

  face. Behind him, a branch broke and he sighed with

  resignation.

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  " They come for me now and I cannot stop it but I

  will send our children to where they cannot touch them and

  I will keep them safe, hidden until they are strong enough

  to fight Him and win. But I will not take them from you

  without your consent. They are your children to protect,

  yours to cherish, and if you wish them to die with you then

  it is not my place to prevent this."

  He took a deep breath, pulling out his staff. He did

  not need it to use his powers, but on this night, with this

  level of urgency, he needed to be focused and he needed

  every advantage he could obtain.

  Separately and away from the ears of his family, he

  sent a message to Veli, his oldest and most trusted friend.

  Veli would not want this job; he had lost his own wife in

  childbirth the year before and had taken refuge far from his

  peop
le to try to heal. It was Abraxas' deepest hope that this

  separation had kept him off the radar of the Evil One.

  * * * *

  " No! " Veli shouted, jumping up from his seat by the

  fire he had stared at for hours. He had heard the

  proclamation from Abraxas, and his heart had wept at the

  thought of such destruction, but even before Abraxas could

  speak he knew what his old friend, brother really if he was

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  honest with himself, intended to do. He could not become

  responsible for all of those children, train them, or care for

  them. He was not equipped for such a task, such a

  responsibility.

  * * * *

  " I am sorry to leave this to you. It should be my job

  but I cannot shoulder it. I am going; in moments I will be

  no more. You will not fail, Veli. Everything now depends on

  you, " Abraxas answered Veli, still standing on top of the

  hill in their homeland, although standing might be too good

  a word for the distressing job he was doing maintaining his

  balance against the onslaught of the wind.

  Cutting off communication before Veli could

  answer, Abraxas extended his arms to the universe and

  began the transfer. His people needed only to send their

  children along the safe link he provided and they would

  arrive unharmed and hidden with Veli. How many? How

  many would his people send? Eighteen links he felt. His

  people had not disappointed him. They understood the

  magnitude of what was coming and wanted their children

  protected at all costs.

  Beneath his feet the earth shifted and moved. The

  Evil One was trying to stop him from below; to have the

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  earth swallow him before the task was done. Abraxas tried

  desperately to hang on to the link he had created. He

  clenched his teeth together, his whole body shaking. They

  moved so slowly, why couldn't he push them through the

  link faster? Just a few seconds more and all would be done.

  They could have him then.

  Violently, the earth sprung open and began to suck

  Abraxas down. As he had done many times in his youth, he

  sprang above the ground trying to float of his own volition

  and not rely on the ground to support his weight. The trees

  swayed and moved. With a crack of lightning a tall branch

  came down on top of him, pushing him down to the hole in

  the ground. Hitting his arm, he tried to roll and fell further

  into the abyss. The link crashed around him. Had he done

  it? Had it been enough time to get the children to Veli?

  Silently, he begged Veli to answer him.

  How many had gotten to him?

  * * * *

  " Just three!" Veli stared in open-mouth horror as

  the link closed around him. "Don't stop, Abraxas. Only

  three have come through. Two boys and a girl."

  * * * *

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  Abraxas screamed at the pain Veli's words caused.

  Was it his daughter? Had she made it?

  " Find the others!" Abraxas commanded Veli. " They

  could be anywhere, and without them all is lost." He could

  feel the pain of his people as the Evil One's minions

  discovered each in turn. They would fight but they would

  not win. Ultimately, he knew they had minutes to live. He

  had failed them. Only Veli could succeed now. He had to

  find the children. With his last coherent thought, Abraxas

  dreamed of Niki and then there was the blackness.

  * * * *

  Veli Destrand looked in horror at the three small

  faces staring up at him from the floor, two boys and one

  girl. What had Abraxas commanded him? Find the others?

  How was he to do this? How was he to care for the three

  infants who now looked up at him? He did not know these

  children, did not even know to which parents they

  belonged. He had left his people a year earlier before these

  children were even conceived. They were so tiny and

  helpless and completely dependant on his care.

  Turning his attention to the blonde-haired girl, he

  almost laughed with the strange absurdity of this situation.

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  "Who are you?"

  Her hair was a bright shade of yellow, short on top

  of her head, although it had already begun to curl. Was this

  Abraxas' daughter? How on earth would he ever know who

  these children belonged to? What were their names?

  The small kitchen in his little cottage seemed even

  smaller to him at that moment. He could hear the hum of

  the window Unit air conditioner that made the room cooler

  in the summer. He had always found it to be pleasant

  sounding, like a white noise to drown out the other sounds

  of humanity that sometimes, albeit rarely, intruded upon his

  quiet life.

  Veli had always thought he would have children

  one day. His wife, Anahera, had thought that perhaps

  sometime in the next five years they would begin trying to

  have a family. Outsiders lived so much longer than humans

  that there was never any rush to reproduce. They had

  believed they had all the time in the world.

  Then she had died, and his whole world had ended.

  The truth was, he would have preferred to go his entire life

  without ever seeing another child. Now he was staring

  down at three babies and he had just been instructed to find

  fifteen more. How the hell was he supposed to do that? He

  stomped his foot, thinking he would step out of the house to

  get some air.

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  All at once, all three infants started to scream. The

  blonde girl rolled onto her side. Reaching out with

  remarkable control for one so young, she stroked the top of

  the head of the black-haired baby boy. Despite her screams

  she seemed to be trying to comfort the other two boys. Veli

  knelt down to look more closely at the children.

  The darker of the two boys looked like he was

  fuming. His cries were not high pitched and sorrowful like

  the girl's. It was more like a wail of the furious. "That's

  right, kid. Rail to the gods about the unfairness of life. See

  if anyone listens." Veli's ears rang from the onslaught of the

  piercing baby shrieks.

  The third child, still dark but lighter haired than the

  other boy, immediately stopped crying. Cocking his head to

  the left side, he moved his hand over his head. Veli could

  only describe the child's gaze as analytical at best. He knew

  enough about children to know this was strange. Babies

  who were this little shouldn't be so clear eyed and focused.

  Quickly, the child slammed his clenched fist on the ground.

  As if on command, the other two babies stopped screaming.

  Veli desperately wanted to call out for help. Could

  he risk it? Could he put a message out into the general link
/>
  they all shared and risk being found by someone working

  for the Darkness? He pulled anxiously at his now too tight

  shirt collar. He had no choice but to try and immediately

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  opened his mind to send out a call.

  " I am Veli Destrand. You all know me. I have three

  children here with me. Abraxas has instructed me to find

  the other children, and I swear to you that I will. But I don't

  know who these children are or who they belong to. I

  believe one day that I will be able to return them to you.

  Please send me descriptions of your babies and what their

  names are. I'm picturing in my mind the babies that I have.

  If they belong to you please tell me. "

  He hoped this would be good enough. What were

  some other things he should ask? Should he ask about

  specific powers? Temperament? With a sense of dread he

  suddenly realized that he didn't even know how to change a

  diaper. He was really going to be in big trouble. How did

  you feed a baby this small?

  All at once, Veli could feel answers piling into his

  brain. He needed to write them down because he would

  never remember them if he didn't. Glancing once more at

  the children, not that he had clue what to do with them if

  they actually needed something, he leapt to his feet and

  rushed to a drawer to pull out a blank sheet of paper.

  My daughter is Charma, the first answer resounded .

  She is blonde-haired and small. I am Larissa Monroe and

  her father is Morgan. You know us quite well, Veli. Please

  be kind to her.

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  Love Beyond Time

  Rebecca Royce