The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (48 page)

She snorted herself. “I'd like to know how he
blocked it in the first place. I
know
who did it, Annedin. I
saw him when I nearly lost everyone that day.” She shivered, the
memory of everything turning inexplicably
cold
all at
once...and of the connections she'd maintained between herself and
thousands of people suddenly being cut off. It was only a miracle
that she regained that connection seconds later. Those people would
have died if she hadn't, and she didn't want to remind herself of
that again.

Natianos Lehanna had not been the one to
sever that connection, but he had summoned the man who had. It was
Saisshalé. She had sensed the Dahné, standing at the window to his
office on one of the upper floors of the Mirades Tower, watching
her and, as it turned out, waiting for the proper moment to seize
control of the situation when it was easiest for him and
detrimental to her. He had done this to stay in the game. If she
had ascended, it would have given her untold powers of
intelligence, strength and spirit. She would have attained all the
knowledge of the past incarnations of the One of All Sacred, well
surpassing anything Natianos could have had. He was the one behind
the current Shenaihu nuhm'ndah uprising, and with the One
incapacitated, it would take a hell of a lot to stop him now.

Denysia told Annedin all of this, and the
kiralla listened. As Amna, Annedin already knew about the
convergence at the warehouse and their reasons for it. She also
knew about her frenzied attempt to contain the Rain of Light before
it spiraled out of control. That had to have been Natianos' doing
as well, pushing Nehalé Usarai towards that awakening ritual.
Natianos could have easily roused the Rain on his own, but in order
to do that, he'd needed someone to be able to control it. And in
order for that person to do so, she herself would need to be
awakened.

Natianos knew full well that the One of All
Sacred lay dormant somewhere in Bridgetown, waiting to be
reawakened, her soul waiting to ascend to full cognizance. He would
need to use her long enough to pull the Shenaihu nuhm'ndah and the
Mendaihu out of dormancy, but before she acquired all her
powers.

Denysia spent considerable time in silence
after saying all of this, pacing back and forth in front of her
dragon-daughter, contemplating her next moves. Annedin watched
quietly, twitching an ear or flicking her tail every now and again.
She wanted to say something, Denysia could tell, but chose not to
out of respect. Eventually she repositioned herself into a squat,
tail curling around in front of her, forearms folded one over the
other. She lifted her head halfway, never raising it above
Denysia's out of respect.

“Fadin,” she said. “Please, sit and rest.”
She patted the floor next to her, talons tapping gently.

Denysia exhaled in defeat. She looked into
the blank space around them, stretching and cricking her neck as
she did so. She wasn't necessarily tired, but resting sounded like
a good idea right now. She adjusted her robe as she sat down on the
ground and crossed her legs in front of her, her own wings folding
over her shoulders like a cape, keeping her warm. Annedin adjusted
herself a little bit to move closer, and lowered her head into
Denysia's lap. Denysia rested her hands upon her, stroking the
short flame-colored ridge-tufts of fur running down the back of her
neck.

“We can figure this out as we get to it.”
Annedin said. “For now, we have more immediate situations to think
about. The time is coming when we will need to face the Shenaihu
nuhm’ndah, and we must prepare. Karinna is doing all she can, but
even if she were to be trained by an Elder, I'm afraid she might
not be ready. As for the others? I wish them Peace, Love and Light.
I will keep them in my spirit.”

“I shall too,” Denysia said. They continued
to sit there in silence for some time, comfortable with each
other's company, cherishing it. Eventually Annedin closed those
black eyes and fell into a light sleep. Denysia did not sleep, but
calmed herself the best she could. She centered herself with an
image of two intersecting circles, ribbon-thin gold, an
ever-swirling image waltzing in a calm light. Nothing harmed or
threatened her in this black, bleak landscape, and she had Annedin
to protect her. All was peace.

She thought of Karinna trying her best to
protect her, never understanding that she could only protect
herself in the end. She was committed to protect her young sister
no matter what the cost, which in itself was noble. Yet she did
this at a price to her own survival, not always choosing to keep
her own sanity from falling apart when things got out of hand. She
would need to learn this, and learn this quick.

Denysia sighed quietly and Annedin stirred
but did not wake up.

I am responsible for my own actions,
she thought to herself.
It's about time I live up to that.
By now she had a good idea of how to take care of Natianos Lehanna
and Saisshalé. She would be holding onto this plan until the last
possible moment, but other than that she would do all she could to
keep both sides at bay. This spiritual war was coming, and it would
be a fierce one; she felt within her soul that things had started
to happen not only in Bridgetown but in other parts of the
world.

Keeping the peace she could work with. She
knew how to do that. Executing this plan to neutralize Saisshalé,
however, would prove difficult. If Amna — if
Annedin
— were
with her, perhaps things might be easier. Having D'kami here would
complete the picture, even knowing who he was now. Well, perhaps he
would be returning soon, just as Anando had done for Karinna...

She was ready to return to Gharra, but she
would not rush herself or anyone else. Things would unfold soon
enough, and when they did, then she'd be ready.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Peace

The cool early evening breeze pushed against
Poe’s ARU overcoat as he stood at the edge of the Crest, looking
out over the Bridgetown Sprawl. He watched the lights turning on
all over the city, randomly blinking to life as the sun made its
slow descent over the western hills. Autumn was halfway through its
course now, and the month was slowly coming to an end. The
temperature hovered somewhere in the high fifties most nights now.
It was the time of year when winter became an inevitability and
people cherished whatever warm weather remained.

Poe stood up here, in his usual spot near the
center of the rocky ridge overlooking the city, as he had been
doing recently over the past few weeks. Caren was off with Anando
tonight, taking a well-deserved break from work and anything else
that threatened her or the city. She'd been taking the rushed
Mendaihu training the ARU had offered her, little more than a
refresher course on defensive theories she'd already learned at the
Unit academy but every little bit helped. She'd picked up all the
methods and principles as if it were instinct and expanded on them
to her own liking. Emha Crittiqila Nayélha’s additional teaching
had been minimal but effective as well.

Poe himself had passed on the emha Nayélha's
tutoring, instead choosing to hone his vigilance up here on the
Crest. Every now and again he would use his Lightseeing to watch
the city for a few hours until he felt all was at peace. He'd
opened up both sides of himself, Mendaihu and Shenaihu nuhm'ndah,
to reach out with that gossamer thread and touch the city and
listen within. Obviously he could not touch every single spirit
that dwelled here, but he could listen to the city. As a profiler,
as a reality seer, he listened and dissected and disseminated and
pieced together what he could.

From what he sensed, the city knew that a
potential Season of Embodiment was upon them, and they were
powerless to stop it. They would not run away from it, nor would
they fall victim to it. They would stay and fight. They would
protect those within the city as much as they could, as Watchers of
Earth. As Mendaihu Gharra and Shenaihu nuhm'ndah, as one, in
peace.

He felt a presence from behind, followed by
the sounds of boot heels against the rocky ground. He turned and
saw Kai standing about ten yards away, watching him without saying
a word. It had gotten dark up here, and shadows had begun to hide
the true shape of the ground underneath him. Now it had almost
obscured her face, though he knew it to be her…he recognized her
spirit as closely as he knew his own. Sensing his attention, she
pushed back a few strands of black hair behind her right ear to
reveal a smile. She stepped lightly over the stones and paused, not
wanting to venture any further on ground she couldn’t quite see.
Poe nodded at the compromise and met her halfway.

He reached out and took her hands, grasping
them tight. “I'm surprised to see you up here.” He gave her a peck
on the forehead, pushing her hair out of the way again and looking
down into her dark eyes. “But I'm glad. I've missed you over the
last few days.”

And indeed he had. He had purposely distanced
himself from nearly everyone as he completed his Mendaihu training
and spent his daily hour or two up here, watching and sensing the
city. She had been busy herself, patrolling the streets with her
brother Ashan, equally as vigilant. They both had their own
responsibilities now. But even so, he couldn’t deny the sense of
desolation and loneliness that welled up whenever they parted, no
matter how hard he tried to ignore it. There was a spiritual
connection here that he didn't fully understand, and did not want
to question it. Love was not something to be analyzed.

“I've missed you too,” she said, and embraced
him. She laid her head upon his chest and sighed. “I only wish we
could be together under different circumstances, Alec.”

“Soon enough,” he said, knowing he didn't
sound very convincing. “Soon enough…if we can survive the next few
weeks, we'll survive anything. I know we can do it.”

He felt Kai's shoulders hitch in a silent
laugh. “Wishful thinking,” she said.

“Faith,” he whispered, kissing her
forehead.

She laughed again, patting his chest. “You
have too much faith, Alix,” she said. “Honestly, I don't know where
it comes from.”

“Don't get me wrong, Akaina…I've had enough
shit happen to me to turn me into one of the most cynical and angry
bastards you'd ever have the displeasure to know. But that's just
all surface, reactive stuff. You can thank Ashan for pointing that
out to me.”

Kai shifted and looked up at him. Her eyes
were looking deep into his, and for a quick moment he felt the
instinctual emotional jump and nearly threw up that wall again. But
he quashed that feeling as soon as he felt it. He might keep a wall
up to keep certain people out and safe from his own imbalances, but
he would not put one between himself and Kai.

“What about us, Alec?” she asked.

He cocked his head and returned her gaze.
“What about us?”

“This isn't reactive, is it?”

Honestly, he'd never questioned his love for
her before. He'd vowed not to, because if he did he knew it would
only turn out like all the other relationships he'd had over the
years: he'd overanalyze everything, never completely trusting his
own heart, and they would tire of it and leave. And he’d repeat his
mistake every single time. Except this time…this time was
different. For the first time in his life, he felt his spirit sing,
and that had never happened in the past.

“This is...” he paused, thinking of the right
words to say. “This is from the heart,” he said. “This is from the
spirit.” She did not have to answer to that; she understood
completely. They were happy enough to hold each other in that
silence for some time before either one of them next spoke.
Eventually, Kai pulled away and guided him to another outcropping
of rock and sat down.

“How is it down in the city?” Poe asked after
a while.

“It's been quiet,” Kai said. “Too quiet,
sometimes. It's becoming harder to get a general sense reading when
there's so much tension around. It's almost as if it's part of the
Shenaihu plan. Nothing is really happening, yet we all expect
something
big to happen soon, though we don't know
what.”

“A downward spiral,” Poe said. “That's what
Councillor Kelley James called it. ‘A spirit out of control and
unhindered will only spiral further down into the abyss,' he
said.”

Kai smirked. “I've never known you to quote
someone before.”

“I've been reading a lot of him lately,” he
said. “He makes more sense than people let on. And Caren's still
trying to get some time with him, but I don't know if she's going
to succeed. He's hard to pin down.”

“Councillor James?” Kai said, glancing at
him. “That's because he's up on Tigua right now. You didn't know
that?”

Poe frowned deeply. “Tigua!” he exclaimed.
“Fine time for him to be up there. Is he part of the ESD shutdown
team?”

Kai shook her head and leaned forward,
resting her chin on her knees. “Maybe, I don’t know. I doubt it. Or
maybe he’s up there for when it gets turned on again.”

“Did they announce it yet?”

“Earlier today,” she said, and turned to face
him. “It was on NewsComm 9 just a few hours ago. I'm surprised you
didn't hear of it.”

Poe mouthed a curse and shook his head in
disgust. “They didn’t give out the truth, did they?”

“No.”

Poe raised an eyebrow. “But...?”

“Well...” Kai sighed, as if knowing she was
delaying the inevitable. “NewsComms were calling it an
'overhaul.'“

“For the whole month?” he mumbled.

“Six weeks.”

“They’re damned terrified then,” he growled.
“They all are. Phillips, Rieflin, all of them. They’re leaving the
ARU blind, dumb and deaf.” He pushed himself up before any more of
this aggravation surged within him. He forced himself not to grab a
cigarette from his inside coat pocket as he paced along the uneven
ground…he'd vowed never to smoke up here in this pristine
environment. He hated his cho-nyhndah mood swings, and this was one
he wasn't sure he could control. He let out another slow breath of
frustration and looked out over the city. It had gotten dark enough
for some of the brighter stars to come out over the ocean waters,
complementing the dotted threads of streetlights crisscrossing the
sprawl below. He felt disgusted and helpless at the same time, and
he didn't know what to do about it.