Izikiel (26 page)

Blinking, Izikiel looked up at the sun. It shone with a bright yellow light through layers of white clouds floating in a sea of blue sky. Gleaming towers of metal and glass stretched up into the sky. Neatly trimmed trees and shrubs grew all around
them. People, hundreds and thousands of people, moved throughout the city as air borne vessels flew above them. The air was warm and fresh.

‘What the
...? What happened?’ Jonas asked.

His body armour glinted with a silver radiance making him appear like a knight from ancient fables.

‘We’ve travelled back in time again,’ Izikiel replied.

‘How can you be so sure?’

Pointing up at the sky, he replied, ‘Because those are the same interceptors that shot us down.’

‘Oh, right
.’

A
dozen of the small interceptor craft hovered in front of them. Dipping forward, their nose sections folded down and they descended to the ground. The moment they came to rest, their hatches peeled open and a swarm of armed soldiers came racing towards them. Their dark blue armour had a series of black attachments which Izikiel guessed were weapons. As they got within a dozen paces of them, the soldiers stopped and drew those weapons. Aiming directly at them, they waited.

After a moment of silence
, one of the
Tellusian
military personnel stepped forward. They took off their composite helmet revealing long black hair and a youthful face. The woman’s violet eyes radiated authority as she spoke.

‘I am c
ommander Alesia of the
Tellusian
planetary defence forces. Drop your weapons.’

Jonas turned to the others
with a grin on his face.

‘Well I for one think we should do what she says.’

‘I tend to agree with you there,’ Xavier said.

Turning to Vorn, Izikiel
whispered, ‘What are they likely to do with us?’

‘I’m not sure but I’d say given all the damage we caused in orbit
they’ll take us directly to the Matriarch,’ the ship captain replied. ‘Or they could just lock us away in some holding cell indefinitely. Even odds, I’d say.’

‘That’s comforting,’ Izikiel said.
Turning to the dark haired commander, he said, ‘We surrender under one condition.’

‘You are in no position to neg
otiate,’ the commander replied.

‘You’ve seen what our weapons are capable of. If you do not take us to see the
Matriarch then we will detonate the rest of them here on the ground.’

The c
ommander seemed to consider her options for a moment.

‘Alright, I accept the terms of your surrender. We will take you to the
Matriarch.’

The
Tellusian
soldiers moved forward and disarmed them. Escorting them out of the ship, they were led across the plaza towards a nearby landing pad. Glancing backwards, Izikiel saw that the
Valiant Crusader
was sitting in the middle of a large open air plaza. The ship appeared to be in poor shape. Its hull showed numerous signs of blast and impact damage, while the forward section was covered in black dust. He still could not fully comprehend how they had survived and found themselves in the past once more. There was one thing that was becoming apparent to him. Whoever was controlling their movements through time was deliberately keeping them from the present.

‘
Who is this Matriarch?’ Te’Anne asked as they were ushered onto the landing platform.

‘The
Matriarch was the head of the most powerful family on
Tellus
. The Calligrates family ruled over
Tellus
for over two millennia, up to the encounter with the Void Lords. Even in our time their descendants still retain many positions of authority within the city,’ Vorn explained.

‘But the
Matriarch is a woman?’ Jonas asked.

‘Yes. The head of the
Calligrates family was always the eldest woman.’

‘
Interesting’

Cassandra turned towards the former security officer. Her blue eyes sparkled as she asked, ‘Why
? Is it so hard for you to believe that a woman could rule over an entire planet?’

‘
It’s not, I was just -’

‘I know exactly what you were
thinking,’ the human-form Elemental said. ‘Typical’

‘Excuse me?’ Jonas asked.

‘I said, typical. Men always assume that only they are suited to positions of authority.’

‘Now hang on, I never said that. I was just surprised that’s all.’

‘Yes, you were surprised that a woman was the ruler of an entire planet.’

‘Well yes, I mean no
-’

‘My
point exactly,’ Cassandra said, turning away.

Izikiel saw the look of satisfaction on her face. Once more he found himself marvelling at how
human
the Elementals really were.

‘Here comes our ride,’ Vorn said.

A ship with a dark blue metallic hull dropped out of the sky heading towards them. It was considerably larger than the interceptor craft that had shot them down. Its squat mid bulk was framed by quad engines and several stabiliser fins. The engines rotated downwards as the ship lowered itself slowly onto the landing platform. Its landing gear unfolded and the ship came to rest a dozen paces in front of them. The moment its hatch opened, the raven haired commander stepped forward.

‘
Move it. The Matriarch is waiting.’

As they were ushered
aboard the transport ship, Izikiel began to wonder about the Matriarch. The head of a millennia old family who ruled over an entire world would not be an easy person to deal with. To make matters worse, they had just attacked one of their most powerful warships in orbit during a time of war. One thing was certain. Their chances of explaining their actions were very slim. Even slimmer was the likelihood that anyone would actually believe them.

The dark blue
Tellusian
transport ship accelerated effortlessly into the sky. Its quad engines rotated backwards as they rose past the gigantic skyscrapers and multi-tiered city gardens. The ship began to build speed the moment it cleared the sky line. Izikiel could see the two squads of interceptor craft flying behind them, through the rear viewport. Watching the world flash by at incredible speed, he marvelled at how smooth the flight was. Momentarily distracted, his thoughts returned to their situation.

‘Cassandra, I need to speak with
you,’ he whispered.

The human-form Elemental raised her eyebrows. He stared at her until she slowly nodded her head.
Moving to stand beside him, she spoke in a hushed tone.

‘
What is it, disciple?’ she asked.

‘
I’ve been thinking about what’s happening here on
Tellus
,’ Izikiel said. ‘Whoever is controlling time is deliberately avoiding the present.’

‘
I agree. Someone is preventing us from reaching
Tellus
in our own time.’

‘
Then that’s exactly where we need to go.’

‘But how?’

‘Can you control time?’ Izikiel asked. He knew it was a long shot but he was still unsure of the limits of the Elementals’ power.

‘
No,’ Cassandra said, shaking her head. ‘That is an ability reserved for humans and usually only disciples. Whoever is controlling time is very powerful.’

‘
Another disciple?’

‘
I don’t think so, unless there was a fourth disciple that no one knew about.’

Izikiel shook his head.

‘No, there were...
are
only three. It has to be the third Guardian that the Baron spoke of.’

‘
What do we do then?’

‘
We have to stop them from moving us back and forth through time. We have to somehow break through into the present.’

‘But how?’

Izikiel considered the question as the ship flew over a tri-tower construction clad in emerald coloured glass with jet black support beams. Banking left, their course took them over a series of bridges criss-crossing a narrow river. Reducing speed, the ship began to descend. Izikiel could make out a domed structure on the horizon. It reminded him of the protective force field around the New Babylon star port.
That’s it
, he realised.

‘
We have to shield ourselves from the effects of the time shift,’ Izikiel said.

‘
But how can we protect against time travel?’

‘
We don’t have to. The power still flows from the Eternal Flame and that’s something that we can certainly deal with.’

‘
Alright,’ Cassandra agreed. ‘What about the others, we can’t just leave them behind?’

‘
We’ll come back for them. I promise.’

‘
I will be guided by you, disciple.’

‘
Are you making fun of me?’ Izikiel asked.

Cas
sandra smiled but said nothing.

The blue armoured soldiers
moved towards the hatch in preparation for the landing. Casting a look at his companions, Izikiel could see that Xavier and Jonas were tensing up. Catching their gaze, he slowly shook his head from side to side. Reluctantly, the two former security officers relaxed.

They
approached the dome. Izikiel realised that it too was a force field, although significantly smaller than the one around New Babylon. An oval shaped section peeled apart and the ships descended into it. Looking through the view ports, Izikiel could just make out what was a truly surprising structure. Made of gigantic Ionic columns, it appeared to be an ancient Greek temple. The scale, however, was beyond anything Izikiel could recall from ancient history lessons at school. It was easily ten times the size of the ancient structures back on Earth.

The ships alighted on a patch of incredibly green grass which had been carefully manicured
to a uniformly equal height. As they were ushered out of the transport ship a handful of guards clad in black uniforms approached them. The interceptor squadron commander moved to greet them.

‘Commander Ales
ia, have you brought the prisoners?’ one of the black clad guards asked.

‘Yes, c
aptain,’ she replied, pointing at them. ‘Will the Matriarch receive us now?’

‘She awaits
you in the main audience chamber. Follow me.’

‘Lead the way.’

Moving across the grass they soon reached a series of marble steps leading into the temple. Statues of ancient Greek gods and heroes lined the pathway. Izikiel recognised most of them; Zeus with his lightning bolt, his son Hercules fighting the Hydra, Aphrodite the goddess of love. They all appeared to have been carefully recreated from the ancient temples on Earth. Izikiel felt comforted by their familiarity.

‘What is this place?’ Te’Anne asked as they reached the top of the stairs.

‘This is the Calligrates’ home,’ Vorn replied. ‘It was built as a replica of an ancient dwelling on Earth.’

Jonas let out a low whistle as they stepped inside the main audience chamber. The white marble floors were so highly polished
that they acted like a mirror. The centre was occupied by an enormous multi-storey fountain. Water flowed freely from the mouths and vases held by statues of Greek warriors. The ceiling above was made of a transparent material, allowing light to filter through and reflect all around the black marble walls. Numerous doors were partially hidden around the chamber.

Izikiel’s gaze was drawn to a large raised dais. Standing in front of a solid marble throne and flanked by an array of
armoured guards, stood the Matriarch. Her steel grey hair was in sharp contrast to the fervour evident in her blue eyes. Following a moment of silence, after they reached the foot of the dais, the head of the Calligrates family spoke.

‘
Speak quickly for your time is short.’

Izikiel
considered the Matriarch. She was a small woman, barely reaching to the shoulders of the guards standing behind her. The wrinkles on her face and her posture all pointed to her advanced age and frailty. This was not how Izikiel had pictured the ruler of an entire planet to look like. Yet there was something about her, something which demanded respect. He wasn’t sure whether it was the intensity of her gaze or the forcefulness of her tone but he knew that they had to tread very carefully if they had any chance of surviving.

He motioned
to Vorn. The ship captain stepped forward and bowed low.

‘Forgive us,
Matriarch. The incident in orbit was unavoidable as we had no way of identifying ourselves and feared that we would be destroyed. We beg your forgiveness and throw ourselves at your mercy.’

The
Matriarch’s blue eyes looked at each of them in turn. Finally, her gaze came to rest on Vorn.

‘Who are you?’
she asked.

‘I am Vorn, captain of the
Valiant Crusader
. This is Cassandra, my co-pilot. The two armoured men standing next to her are Xavier and Jonas, security officers from the planet
Vesta
. The other woman is Xavier’s sister, Te’Anne, our leader Izikiel and my...ah, little cousin.’

The
Matriarch considered what she had been told. Motioning with her hand, one of the guards stepped forward and whispered something into her ear. The Matriarch frowned.

‘My people inform me that there is no record of a
Valiant Crusader
in our database. Explain yourself, captain.’

‘There must be some mistake,’ Vorn
said. He cast a guarded glance at Izikiel. ‘The ship is real as you have seen and that is its designation.’

‘Do you dare call me a liar?’

Vorn raised his hands up in a defensive gesture.

‘Never that
, Matriarch. I am simply suggesting that given the ship is a classified military vessel, it may not be listed in the general database.’

‘I assure you
, captain, that I have access to
all
ship records on all the colony worlds. Your ship simply does not exist,’ the Matriarch said. ‘This leads me to believe that you are either smugglers or that you are agents of our new enemy.’

‘I assure you
that we are neither, we -’

‘Silence! Guards, apprehend these people.’

Izikiel realised that there was only one thing left to do. As the guards rushed down from the dais towards them, he stepped forward and held up his right hand.

(
‘Izikiel, what are you doing?’) Cassandra’s voice echoed in his mind.

(
‘There is no other way.’)

(
‘But you will change the course of history!’)

(
‘No, I won’t. Trust me.’)

Focusing on his outstretched hand,
Izikiel whispered a single word in the ancient language.

‘
Aduro
’

The effect was instantaneous as his hand burst into blue flame. The guards fell back a step as the
Matriarch’s eyes opened wide.

‘What trickery
is this?’ she demanded.

‘No trickery, I promise
Matriarch,’ Izikiel replied. ‘I would speak with you. Alone.’

The
Matriarch hesitated for a moment as she glanced at her guards who were waiting for further instructions. Reaching a decision, she nodded her head.

‘Very well, come with me. The rest of you will remain here. If anything happens to me my guards will execute each and every one of you.’

‘I understand,’ Izikiel said.

H
e followed the Matriarch through a side door. Closing it behind them, he saw that they were in a small room with an impossibly high ceiling. The walls and floor were made of the same marble as the main chamber but the floor was covered in a thick white carpet. There was a table with four chairs in the centre, while a large window dominated the left hand side. Several Greek statues were visible in the garden outside.

‘
Sit down,’ the Matriarch said.

Taking a seat across from her, Izikiel waited patiently. The
Matriarch sat down opposite him and placed her withered hands on the table. She looked up at him.

‘What are you?’
she asked.

That surprised Izikiel slightly but he forced himself to remember that these were people who had never heard of the Eternal Flame or its disciples.

‘I am human, if that’s what you mean,’ he replied.

‘I must confess that I have never seen the kind of technology you used before,’ the
Matriarch said. ‘Is it hardwired into your body?’

Izikiel shook his head.

‘No, what you saw was not the result of technology. It was brought about through faith.’

‘Faith?’

‘Yes, faith in the Eternal Flame.’

‘
I have never heard of it before,’ the Matriarch said.

‘No one living on the colony worlds has. Not
yet
.’

‘What do you mean?’

Izikiel decided that there was only one course of action left open to him. He also realised that it could work to their advantage.

‘My companions and I have travelled back in time over a thousand. I do not believe this to be a coincidence as this particular point in time is significant as humanity is on the verge of their greatest battle with the
Void Lords. A battle during which mankind will suffer unimaginable loses. But it will also result in the appearance of the first disciple of the Eternal Flame and a way of fight the Void Lords.’

The
Matriarch sat still for a moment without saying anything.

‘How do you know all this?’
she finally asked.

‘
I know because I am the third and
final
disciple of the Eternal Flame.’