The Acolytes of Crane (Theodore Crane, #1)(30)

‘Why should I care? I am only a teenager,’ I said. Who was Zane, I pondered to myself. What was Sephera?

‘Our nemesis extracted a man about a week ago from the future. You would know him, I’m afraid. We have conclusive data that the so-called David, the young man who led you to the river at Taylors Falls, was actually Travis Jackson.’

I gasped. Whoa—Travis had actually transformed into someone else? And why did he stage his own disappearance?

King Trazuline nodded solemnly at my aghast reaction. ‘He was extracted by the Dacturons, because they wish to use him to meddle into the affairs of the Urilians. He is no longer of your time.’

My eyes widened. ‘He—he is of the future?’

The king sighed. ‘No. Not that either.’

‘I—I don’t understand, your majesty.’

‘Travis is no longer here or there, but he is extremely dangerous still. It was a change that left us feeling extremely vulnerable. Travis’ future self murdered his fifteen year old version with a merge.’

My hands began to shake.

‘Travis,’ the king continued, his eyes squinting, ‘has been wholly transformed into an unstoppable force, powered by hatred. He is attached to no time or place and can move freely between our realms. We estimate his age to be twenty-two.’ He began to pace left and right, ‘We are not entirely sure why he has been frequenting your house or why he attempted to end your life, so he could get you a one-way ticket to Sephera, but we do know that it has something to do with the home in which you live.’

‘A moment sire,’ the robot whispered to King Trazuline.

Bowing his head at me, the royal left the room through the automatic sliding doors to confer with his subject. The hum of their discussion slipped through the slender gap of the doors, but I could not make out the words. I sat there nervous and inundated with thoughts. I wondered what the Dacturons wanted with my house. They were using Travis to get to me.

The king and his subject re-entered the room, seemingly content.

Pushing aside the thoughts of Travis, I had to know who my rescuer was. I gazed at his majestic garb as he towered over me. ‘Sir, so you are really a King?’ I asked. ‘Your armor is intense.’ I once again admired his armor.

He said, ‘Yes, I am a king, and this is traditional battle gear in my culture. It is comprised of metals foreign to your land. What seems to be a crown my boy, is actually a rolesk entrusted to me by Zane. Rolesks afford us the ability to manipulate Dietons.’

He stopped for a moment to stroke his fingers against an emblem on his armor, and like one of my old transforming figurines, his armor simplified into a shield that he slung over his back. I was stunned at this display of what seemed to be magic.

He said, ‘I apologize, I was getting hot. Where was I? Dietons. They were designed during an age of nanotechnology near the beginning of my time. It is a concept upon which your planet spent lavishly in the future.’ His voice deepened. ‘They just barely scratched the surface! We are the ones who perfected the technology. You previously referred to these Dietons as The Intervention. You are unfamiliar with nanotechnology. Nanotechnology has to do with technology on an atomic or molecular level. In other words, too small to be observed by the naked eye, but still intensely signifi—’

He was interrupted by another alien being from across the room. He said, ‘Sir, if I may, the boy may have trouble comprehending all that you speak of. We must not assume he can fathom these concepts. He must first evolve, at least at an intellectual level satisfactory for our purposes.’

I sucked in my breath, as he stood out so easily. Over twelve feet tall, he triumphantly towered over the others. Like an angel, he had symmetrical wings tucked neatly behind his torso, encased in a golden material. As I looked at him, I admired him. He was of great nobility as well, just like King Trazuline. He too was crowned with a rolesk.

This being turned his head toward me and gently said, ‘No offense, boy. I am not at all in disbelief of your capabilities. I am just concerned about your capacity for this overwhelming amount of knowledge in such a short time.’ He placed his hand on my shoulder and continued, ‘I’ll cut to the chase. The Dacturons are the enemy. Travis is working with them, and you are our only hope.’


‘Who are you?’ I whispered, staring straight up. He was nearly three times my height. ‘Human boy, my name is Migalt. I am a messenger of justice and power prescribed by my creator, and you will follow me now to the chamber. You must confide in us, for we have your best interests in mind.’

Angrily, I blurted, ‘Why should I trust you guys? I didn’t ask you to bring me here. I didn’t want this. I knew that something crazy would happen if I pushed The Intervention.’ I paused, trying to remember all the strange names that I had heard within the last five minutes. ‘Or Dietons, whatever you call them. I am just a teenager.’

Migalt said, ‘Theodore. Please calm down, and follow me.’

Seeing no other option, I started toward Migalt.

Trazuline said goodbye to me, with a salute to his head. To his side, the robot-like person was busy on his tablet.

Migalt carried on and said, ‘See, trust is being able to predict one’s actions based on what they have done in the past. This is a concept that you believe in. You know of us to be completely in your favor. We have not wronged you thus far and have only brought you further into glory. We saved you from certain death. You shall believe in us, as we believe in you. Zane designed the entire mission. That alone comforts me.’