A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (29 page)

Shirai’s holo gave him a wince that unnerved
him; she was not programmed, at least not to his knowledge, to
react with personal emotions. A second later she regained her
senses and leveled her eyes at him. “Yesterday’s events are still
being investigated, Governor. It is quite definite that the
nuhm’ndah were involved. They’re remnants of the old Meraladhza
spacefaring history, used now for, well…for lack of a better term,
black ops work — infiltration, assassination, terrorism. That they
were sent by the Shenaihu is yet to be proven, though recorded
evidence may point in that direction. The ARU are in possession of
a vidcrystal recording of the attack at St. Patrick’s
Cathedral.”

Anton shuddered at that revelation. Why
hadn’t anyone been told about it? The ARU would not have withheld
evidence from the governmental end of the investigation…not unless
the Mendaihu were involved, then it would more than likely become a
Crimson-Null Foundation problem.

He shuddered. That had to be the reason.
“Okay…” he said slowly. “I know there were security cams that
caught the other four attacks…”

“Yes, sir,” she offered. “But with limited
detail. The cams themselves were destroyed soon after the attacks
started. Witnesses with eyecam access came forward with their
recordings, and all footage was edited together to make a rough cut
for the five attacks. I believe BMPD Commissioner Tatreaux
contacted you earlier today to groundsend you a copy.”

“He did, but I haven’t had the chance to
view it yet. Getting back to the question…first of all, everything
we need to know about the nuhm’ndah we gleaned from history.
They’re dangerous souls, Shirai, inhabiting human and Meraladian
alike. But do these people choose to be nuhm’ndah, or do they have
it chosen for them?”

“I do not know, sir,” she said.

“Regardless,” he said. “They are still human
and Meraladhza, despite whichever way their spirit follows. But how
do you indict or incarcerate a spirit, Shirai? How do you
incarcerate or condemn a
soul
to death, when the physical
body may not be entirely guilty?” He sighed, unclenching his hands.
“Yeah, I know…like I said, this is all rhetorical. We have the
Mendaihu, the ARU, and the CNF to do the dirty work.” He growled in
frustration and waved the thought away quickly. “You know, forget I
even asked that. It’s a pointless thought.”

“It’s not pointless, sir, far from it.
Just…well, I don’t believe it’s the question you need to be asking
right now.”

“Indeed,” he said, and found he couldn’t
look her in the eyes. He shook his head, knowing that her eyes were
not real but part of the interactive holo program, and distracted
himself by getting up and moving towards the windows of his office.
He pulled one of the blinds aside, revealing the overcast sky and a
storm brewing somewhere in the northwest.

“One last question. No, make that two. Your
creator, Reimos Mirades. He was quite the scientist down in
EdenTree’s Biotech division. Sure, we lost most information during
the season of the Eighth Embodiment, and the techware terrorism
that followed soon after. However, I was able to contact the
research librarian at the ARU office in Branden Hill and he was
most forthcoming with information. Now…”

He stalled, trying to come up with the right
words and failing. What exactly could he ask? What could he say
without incriminating himself or others in the process? Glancing
over at Shirai, he noticed she had moved in her chair, swiveling
her position so she could still face him, but otherwise did not
reveal any other reaction. He cleared his throat to cover his
stumble, and continued.

“Reimos Mirades is, or was, a Mendaihu soul.
Mind you, I’m not holding that against him, or against you for that
matter. In fact, I personally know of many who made this city what
it is today, thanks to their dedication and assistance with the
aftermath of the Eighth. I’m sure you remember that.”

“Yes sir, I do,” she answered plainly. “I’d
been in beta for years, but I was finally activated January 22 the
following year, soon after the nuhm’ndah were defeated. Edha
Mirades made sure that I had as much information as possible.”

“Good,” he said. “Then I need two questions
answered. First, I need as much information as I can on
how
they were defeated. Dig as deep as you can. Find out how they were
driven back.”

“And the second question, sir?”

“I want you to find out how we can
keep
them from coming back.”

From across the room, he could have sworn
Shirai’s hologram had just turned pale. He retreated back to his
desk and sat down again in the span of time it took her to
answer.

“Sir…” she ventured, quietly and unevenly.
“I…can’t promise an easy turnaround. There are encrypted files,
secured files even I do not have access to. We — that is, edha
Mirades and myself — had not expected events like those over the
last few days to happen again, at least in the manner that it
has.”

“Take whatever time is necessary,” he said.
“And keep this research as quiet as possible. The last thing I need
is the unending whine of financial institutions cashing in.”

Shirai nodded and smiled again. “Levity
appreciated, sir. I understand. I shall report to you when research
is complete.”

“Thank you, Shirai,” he said, grinning back
at her. “I believe that is all for now. I will call for you if I
need anything else.”

“Of course, sir. Select private recording
complete. Wideband recording commences. Until next time, sir.” She
blinked at him, smiled, and disappeared, leaving him alone in his
office.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Alien Relations Unit, Branden
Hill HQ

“Too busy this morning,” Poe mumbled, more
to himself than to Caren. He attempted to leave the curb and pull
into traffic in what felt like slow motion, stopping and starting
and getting nowhere. She watched him look over his shoulder and out
the open window, watching for an opening in the steady stream of
cars. She could sense the tension welling up between his shoulders
and in his hands as he gripped the wheel. She tried to sense his
emotions for something deeper, but found nothing. As usual, they
were well buried and kept far away from everyone.

“Didn’t get much sleep last night?” she
asked.

“Huh?” He glanced at her, distracted by the
cars speeding by. “Oh — uh, yeah. I’m only a few blocks from St.
Patrick’s as it is. Just couldn’t relax.”

“I’m surprised they let you stay there,
considering the proximity.” With a sharp pull at the wheel and a
jab at the accelerator, Poe’s car lurched quickly and awkwardly
into the stream of traffic. Caren grabbed at the door handle and
swayed in her seat. She was tempted to complain but let it go.

“I was just outside the zone,” he said with
a hint of annoyance. “The next cross street is the farthest we can
go. Which means a slight detour to work this morning. Oh, that
reminds me: we’re meeting Kai and Ashan over at Yoshi’s Diner after
we punch in.”

“Oh?” She felt a quick pang of excitement.
“Have they found something?”

“You know…” Poe trailed off, and dug into
his inside jacket pocket. He pulled out his cigarette pack and
pulled one out with his teeth. “I, um...you know, I’m not sure. I
actually called this meeting myself. We’re not getting anywhere
looking for Nehalé by using the normal routes.” He lit the
cigarette and forced a plume of smoke out the open window. “I
believe we’re looking at this from the wrong angle.”

Caren frowned at him, confused at his
remark. She unreeled a thin strand towards him to read what he
might be thinking…and suddenly stopped, realizing what she was
doing.
A Mendaihu trait
, she thought, with a sudden burst of
misplaced pride.
Mendaihu…Denni and I are Mendaihu.
Turning
to him again, she reached out again…and felt determination. He’d
gotten a bead on an intriguing idea and he wasn’t about to let
anything distract him from it.

“Wrong angle?” she said. “The guy nearly
brainwashed the entire Main Street Sector, Poe. How wrong can it
be?”

He grinned at the off-color joke. “Yeah, he
did do that, didn’t he? But the reason for it was not an offensive
strike against the Shenaihu…”

“I think we’ve figured that out already,”
she interjected.

“…but it wasn’t necessarily a defensive move
either. It was literally a wake-up call.” He paused, taking another
drag. “And have you noticed that Kai and Ashan haven’t said
anything about finding Nehalé yet?”

She waved a flat hand at him. “Wait a
minute. Don’t change the subject, Alec. What do you mean, a wake-up
call? You mean the awakening ritual?”

“Yes, Caren, I do mean the Awakening Ritual,
capital letters. The Awakening of the One of All Sacred. I’m
convinced the Ninth is here now.” Anger emanated from Poe’s aura,
though not directed at her. “A sequence, really. Part of a bigger,
grander plan involving the One. I aim to have Kai and her brother
tell me what that plan might be.”

Goddess…was he thinking the worst possible
outcome? “A sequence? Poe, you can’t –”

He interrupted her, his anger barely held
back. “For all intents and purposes, Caren, I am seeing it as such,
despite what Farraway and everyone else has said. We can’t rule it
out.”

She shivered; his aura had radiated such
negativity it pushed against her own defenses…she’d never seen him
this furious. “I
know
that, Alec,” she pushed back, perhaps
a bit harsher than necessary. “No need to force it down my throat.
You think I haven’t thought that myself?” She turned away and
stared out the passenger window to cool off. Damn him…why was he
letting his anger get the best of him so much lately? And the most
frustrating thing was that he was right. She’d been leaning towards
another Embodiment as well, but she dared not put it on the table
just yet. It would just make everything more confusing. And more to
the point, with all those people out there, newly awakened,
including herself and her sister…she didn’t want to think about it
right now.

He broke the silence a minute later with a
loud sigh of resignation. “I’m just saying…” he said, his voice
much quieter. “It’s like I said, this is bordering on a
Crimson-Null Foundation case, Caren. The bigger this gets, the more
there’s a chance Jack Priestley or some other CNF member is going
to take this case from under us.”

“I know,” she said.

“Who knows what would happen once they got a
hold of it. Added to the fact that both you and I have some kind of
tie to this. Take it away, and it would kill us emotionally and
spiritually.”

She hid a shiver
.
“That’s exactly
what I was thinking, Poe.”

“Yeah, well…”

They stayed quiet for a long while after
that, each annoyed for their own reasons. Poe snuffed out the
cigarette and turned the car onto a side street going east, and
then caught Krieger Avenue going south, taking the more circuitous
route to ARU Headquarters. During the early part of the day the
thoroughfares of Bridgetown somehow looked cleaner and safer, even
on an overcast day like today, as if each citizen looked out for
those around them. Caren felt the guarded peace that hung above the
city like a vast dome. It felt like a city preparing for a war that
would be hard won, but won nonetheless.

“Sorry,” she said quietly, after they had
passed the McCleever Street intersection, their halfway point.
“Didn’t mean to blow up on you back there.”

“That’s okay,” Poe said, giving her a smirk.
“I started it.”

She laughed and punched him on the arm.
“Jerk! I’m serious. Listen, Denni…umm…” She trailed off.

Poe glanced at her for a long moment, then
back at the road. “What about her? Something wrong?”

“No, nothing wrong. Just…” She felt stupid
for bringing it up, and even more like an idiot for wanting to drop
it. “She’s exhibiting signs of Mendaihu sensitivity.”

She was completely surprised by Poe’s lack
of response. He glanced at her again, and then back at the road. He
had no reaction to that. No surprise, no elation, no concern.
Nothing at all. “What?” she frowned. “What’s that look about?”

“How long has it been since it started?” he
asked.

“Umm…it may have started last night,” she
said. “As far as I know, it started last night…she was sensing
voices. I heard them myself later on, after the both of us went to
sleep. Don’t know who they were, but they sounded damn
familiar.”

Poe paused before answering. “You heard them
too?”

“Yeah. Why —” She quickly stopped, covering
her mouth with her hand. She cursed inwardly, realizing what she
had just done; she had never told him she also had these abilities.
She’d never shared any of that with him…she never meant to, having
denied herself the truth for so long. He had suspected for a long
while that she had inherited these traits from her parents, but had
never shown them. Now he knew for certain.

“Poe…” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean —”

“What’s there to be sorry about?” he
growled. “So you and Denni have successfully inherited your
parents’ traits. Why should you be sorry about that? And it’s
certainly nothing to hide, least of all from me.”

Where the hell was that anger coming from?
“I’m not sorry about that, Poe,” she said, glaring at him. “To be
honest, I’m relieved that it’s finally out in the open, between me
and Denni, and between you and me. Knowing that I’ve inherited
something so important from my parents is one thing. I’m finally
accepting it myself, okay? That’s why I never told you. But now
that both Denni and I…Poe, you’ve no idea how good it is to know
that.”

Poe nodded slowly as he turned the car west
onto Baird Avenue, at last the home stretch to the ARU
Headquarters. She watched him for a second, though not daring to
sense anything else from him, lest he know she was doing so.
Instead she reached out her hand and laid it on his forearm.