Calmly, although puffing from running, the man walked to the side and sat down on a rock. 'You would kill us both by doing that,' he said.

'This power cannot harm me,' said Jaden. 'Only you.'

'Then I will tell you what you wish to know. Listen, child.'

'Don't call me child!'

The man put both his hands up. 'My apologies. But, will you listen, or will you continue to threaten one who has saved your life? There is no need for this.'

'You killed my family!' shouted Jaden.

'You're giving away our position. We need to be quiet and ... without this energy. Please, take a seat. If you wish to kill me after I have had a chance to explain my actions, then so be it, but first, listen.'

Jaden was cautious, unsure of what to do. Everything now seemed a contradiction. This was the man that had been behind the attack on his village, that had given the order to kill a helpless old man. And yet the man had saved his life, spoke to him at ease and knew his language. Was it a trap? How could he not be an enemy?

'I am unarmed, Sentinel. There is nothing I can do to you.'

The blue light began to fade as Jaden breathed, visibly relaxing and allowing the energy to subside as the forest returned to its normal colour. The man motioned for him to take a seat nearby on another rock, but Jaden did not move.

'Or you may stand,' said the man.

'Who are you?' asked Jaden.

'My name is Alkon Zaccarah, once General of the Alliance.'

'You gave the command,' concluded Jaden.

'I did what I had to do. This is war, your hands will not remain so clean for too much longer. Your home and family were doomed even without me. I'm not sure you know this, but your people were betrayed by one of your own. I was little more than the one who took the mission.'

'You lie to me.'

'No,' said Alkon. 'I have no reason to lie. If you listen, I will prove my innocence. You might even class me as a hero.'

Jaden furrowed his brows. 'You?'

'Yes. And even though you almost cost me my life, I still saved yours.'

'I've done nothing to you.'

'You have. Let me tell you my story. Then you can decide.' Alkon waited a moment for Jaden's response, and when none came, he continued. 'It is true, I was once a general for the Alliance. I have led them to more victories than I care to count, and I was decorated for each of them. I was respected even by the High Council, and none dared challenge my authority.'

'Then why are you here?' asked Jaden.

'Because, my young friend,' said Alkon, picking up a stick next to him to start drawing in the dirt, 'you prevented my escape. I have been trying to return home for years, that is why I accepted the mission here. It was my chance to flee unnoticed and the only safe opportunity to do so. When you entered the fort, you risked more than your own life. You risked mine and the lives of those who were helping me.'

'I don't understand,' said Jaden.

'Although I am born in Ordear, my allegiance is with the nations in the east. We planned an attack on the fort in Callibra to confuse our enemy. While they repaired the damage, I was to make a quick exit. But you were being watched, and you used the same route out that I was planning to use. Do you have any idea how long it took me to make sure that tree hung over the fort? I had to pretend I was in love with trees. They thought I was mad.'

Jaden stood silently in thought, thinking back to when the fort had been attacked.

'The black jets I saw,' he said, 'they were under your command?'

Alkon nodded. 'I was to make sure the defence was unmanned, and then they would have a helicopter waiting for me not far from the fort.'

'I saw it,' said Jaden. 'I thought it was a patrol sent to find me.'

'No. I sent men after you, but that is another story. It was by luck that the High Council did not find out that I had left the fort unguarded, otherwise I would not be here before you now.'

Jaden took a seat on the rock next to Alkon, looking at what he had drawn in the dirt. It was the outline of one of the blue-flamed fighter jets that had attacked the village. Jaden recognised it only vaguely, as it had been dark when they attacked, but he remembered seeing the design of what looked to be two triangles.

'How did you escape?' he asked.

'By letting an arrogant man believe in his own brilliance,' said Alkon, now drawing another symbol in the dirt. 'I knew it was only a matter of time before I was found out like my father. For decades we have caused the Alliance to fail without detection. But I could not risk execution, so I made them believe I was incompetent, no longer able to fulfil my role as general. It all went to plan. I knew there were men that wanted my position of power, so I used them. I was to be outcast, like my father, but my second-in-command gave the order for my execution instead.'

Alkon unlatched a compartment on his glove, revealing a device underneath the black leather. 'I had hoped to use this on the arrogant one, but I had a feeling I might have needed it another day. It saved my life. Do not fear, Sentinel, this weapon cannot be used against you. It needs to be recharged. I used it to get away from the men who would have seen to my execution.'

Jaden looked at the device on Alkon's arm, but couldn't recognise anything about it. He then tried to understand the symbol Alkon had just drawn in the dirt. It looked like a tree with a single line showing the trunk, and four curved lines for the branches. There were two dots to either side of the curved lines.

'This is the symbol of my true nation, Arinta,' Alkon explained.

'So if I am to believe you, you have escaped, but what are you going to do now?' asked Jaden.

'Return there. If the Resistance falls at Corsec, they will need to know what I have learned.'

'It's a long way to walk,' said Jaden.

'That is why I will fly.'

'How?'

'By stealing a helicopter from the Alliance. I had been hiding in the trees for hours before you turned up, waiting for my chance. But I have no weapons. I needed to rely on stealth alone.'

Jaden looked ahead of them, thoughtful, absently kicking the rock he sat upon with the back of his heel. The air was silent again, without gunfire or the screams of the beasts. It seemed the beasts had helped him. They had killed many of the ones he wished dead. But it was not yet enough. He wanted to learn of Alyssa's fate, and then he wanted to see those who had attacked Waikor die by his own hands. If they were allowed to continue, they would go on killing the innocent. Even if Alyssa was still alive, he now knew he would need to end the killer plague that was the Alliance, so that he would not have to protect Alyssa or anyone else from them.

'I can help you,' he said.

'How?' asked Alkon.

'I will kill any who come near me. They will try to attack me. Then you can take a helicopter.'

Alkon shook his head. 'A sentinel cannot kill anyone, is it not against their code?'

'I am not a sentinel,' said Jaden.

'Then why would you risk your life?'

'It is complicated. I have come to avenge the deaths of the Waikorian people.'

'Deaths?' asked Alkon. 'The people of Waikor are not dead.'

Jaden turned to him. 'What do you mean?'

'They fled,' said Alkon. 'They went east. Only the Daijuar were here when the Alliance attacked.'

'How do you know?'

'I was in charge of the first attack,' said Alkon, putting the stick back down. 'I sent a trusted man into the city to speak with my allies. I said that I would allow them to defeat my army, but that they must leave as soon as they had won. I told them I would meet them along the way in exchange for this. I knew they would offer to leave transport, but I did not want to risk it. Without being able to command scouts away from where they would wait, it would have been suicide.'

'You let them defeat you?' said Jaden questioningly. 'You could have been killed.'

Alkon grinned. 'There was always a risk,' he said. 'Your most dangerous enemy is the one that claims to be your friend. Why would a general allow his unit to be destroyed? He would not. That is the answer even the High Council would give, no matter how much suspicion there was, as it is true, no sane man would put himself in that situation.'

'Then you are insane,' said Jaden.

'I will not claim otherwise, but I will say that it is part of the fun, and I had no other choice, because of you. But you do not need to foolishly throw away your life if it is to avenge people who are still alive.'

Jaden nodded. And then his heart began to race. The people of Waikor were still alive. Alyssa was still alive. He could still get to her, to find her and stay with her. He could still save her from anything that might harm her.

'You said you would meet them on the way,' he said.

'Yes, but first I will need a way of getting transport.'

'If you promise to come back for me, I will protect you.'

Alkon considered the proposal. 'You are not a sentinel,' he said.

'I can do it.'

'Have you ever done this before?'

Jaden shook his head.

'Then I cannot allow it,' said Alkon. 'We will both end up dead.'

'What other choice do you have?' asked Jaden.

Alkon was thoughtful. 'Wait here,' he said, and quickly ran back toward the city.

Jaden wondered if Alkon was finding some soldiers to help kill him, but dismissed the thought. Alkon's story seemed true, for now, and for some strange reason, he felt he could trust him more than anyone else in the world. He wondered if it was some twisted and evil charm he used to persuade people to do his bidding, but there was something about him, something genuine and rarely seen. He was a man of sharp wit, but he knew his place, and his heart was on the side of good, no matter how much evil seemed to be attached to his name. It sounded crazy to Jaden, but it seemed that if anyone was going to be a true friend to him, it was the man that had saved his life without need, even after he had destroyed Jaden's home and could have been killed by Jaden for those crimes. His most recent actions and words explaining what had happened spoke much louder than his past. And with that selfless act combined with the story, Jaden was now starting to feel completely at ease. Alkon's calm manner was contagious.

Alkon returned almost half an hour later carrying an assortment of weapons and ammunition. 'They won't be needing these anymore,' he said. 'Follow me. We should get further away first.'

'What are we doing?' asked Jaden.

'You're going to show me what you can do,' said Alkon.

'We could use those to get the helicopter,' said Jaden, pointing at the weaponry.

'And we would be shot down as soon as we took off. No. I like your idea better. You will distract them and then I will pick you up later.'

They walked for almost ten minutes before Alkon seemed satisfied with the distance.

'We'll start easy,' he said, putting the weapons down on the ground. 'Make a shield. I'll throw these knives at you. Slowly at first, then when I am convinced you cannot be harmed, I'll try to hit you with them.'

'Where do I stand?' asked Jaden.

'By that tree would be best,' said Alkon, pointing fifteen yards away.

Jaden took his place and ignited a white shield around him as he had seen the Daijuar do.

'Ready?'

Jaden nodded, and the first knife was thrown. It penetrated the shield for a second, but was then thrown out of it, as if it had bounced off something inside.

'You will need to be stronger than that,' said Alkon. 'Here's a faster one.'

Again the knife bounced away, this time before it had even made its way into the shield. Alkon proceeded as he said he would, throwing them harder and faster, and soon directing them at Jaden's heart.

Jaden was starting to pass the tests without a problem, and Alkon decided it was time to make them a bit harder.

'How about a bullet?' he asked, picking up one of the rifles.

'Try it,' said Jaden.

'I will aim to the left of your right hand.'

Jaden nodded, and Alkon took aim. He fired a single shot to the left, but unlike the knives, it passed straight through the shield and hit a tree behind it. Jaden let the shield fall away as he realised he had failed to stop it and Alkon let his shoulders slump.

'It was a good idea,' he said regretfully, 'but we may need to find an alternative.'

'No,' said Jaden. 'I can do this. Try again.'

'I do not wish to kill you, Sentinel. I have wronged you enough already.'

'I can do it,' said Jaden strongly.

'Are you sure?' asked Alkon.

Jaden nodded.

'One more time,' said Alkon, picking up the rifle again and taking aim. 'If you fail to stop this, we will not try again. Where is your shield?'

'Just shoot,' said Jaden.

Alkon looked at him curiously.

'Don't hold back,' added Jaden.