A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (33 page)

He nodded graciously.

*

There she is,
Poe thought.

Kai watched him with interest as he held
open the door to let Caren enter first. She smiled and waved, to
the apparent consternation of Ashan. He looked over his shoulder at
them and nodded, but his face was dark and sullen. They moved
deeper into the booth, making room for them. By habit Caren took
the seat closest to the front, which was next to Ashan, leaving Poe
offering Kai a nervous hello as he sat down.

“Sorry we’re late,” Caren said, eyeing Poe.
“It was a bit windy out there.”

He let Caren’s good-natured joke slide.
“Again, we appreciate that you’ve taken the time to see us,” he
said. “And we also appreciate the information you’ve given us so
far. But I have quite a few more questions to ask…more personal in
nature, shall we say. I’m hoping the two of you will be
forthcoming.”

Caren caught the sarcasm in his voice and
gave him a kick under the table.

He ignored her and continued. “We’ve pretty
much exhausted our end of the investigation of Nehalé Usarai. We
have everything — proof of his whereabouts, witnesses, motive…we
even know he’s at Moulding Warehouse at this very moment. But we
need to know why he did it, Ashan. Can you at least tell us
that?”

Ashan stared at him, long and hard, and
leaned over the table. “What are you accusing us of, Agent Poe?” he
asked.

Poe had no intention of physically
confronting someone who could easily harm him with just a thought,
and leaned back slightly, opening his hands at him. “I do not
accuse you of anything, although it may sound as such,” he said
with equal calm. “I’m merely asking about Nehalé’s motives. We have
thousands of Bridgetowners out there who were affected by the
ritual, directly or indirectly, and the count is growing. Caren and
I of course have theories, but come on — throw us a bone here.”

“It’s…hard to explain,” Ashan said.

Poe raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t coddle
us,
edha
Shalei. It’s doing more harm than good, and it’s
only serving to piss us off.”

The toe of Caren’s boot hit him squarely in
the shin again. A short gasp of pain escaped his throat as she
growled his name in shock. She grabbed at his hands. “What the hell
are you doing?” she hissed.

“Getting answers,” he responded, and turned
to the Mendaihu again. “Look, Ashan. I don’t know what else we need
to do here. Indoctrinate us, take us Lightwalking, give us divine
inspiration, whatever the hell you need to do. We might be ARU and
we might have latent Mendaihu traits, but we need to understand
what the hell is going on if we’re going to keep any of it under
control.”

“We have,” Kai said timidly. “But I agree…it
hasn’t been enough.”

“Akaina…” Ashan began, his voice just above
a whisper.

“No, you said it yourself,” she said. “They
deserve the truth.”

They gave each other a long blank stare and
Poe could only guess that they were conversing in their heads at
that point, which gave him time to calm down. Suddenly aware his
fingers were now clutching the edge of the table, he let go and
leaned back into his seat. He looked apologetically at Caren, but
she refused to acknowledge him. He had a nagging urge to light up
another cigarette, but fought it off. Instead he took out a pen
from his inner coat pocket and began tapping the end of it into his
palm in a slow even beat. Anything to take off the edge.

Eventually the two Mendaihu broke their
silence. Ashan took a very slow breath and turned back to him.
“Sa’im nyhnd’aladh, Agent Poe,” he said as evenly as he could. “I
had the wrong impression of what you are trying to ask.”

Poe accepted his apology as an honest one.
“I understand, Agent Shalei,” he said.

“This truth about the case is a hard one to
bear,” Ashan continued. “We were concerned about your ability to
grasp it.”

Grasp the truth?
Poe thought, anger
rising again like a rush of adrenaline surging up his spine.
Does he think we’re idiots?
“Ashan,” he said flatly. “If I
can handle being
inside
the Light, certainly I can handle
—”

“You are not yet aware of the changes,” he
snarled. “
Emha
Caren here may be to some extent, but you are
not.”

Poe slammed his fist on the table, startling
everyone. “For Goddess’s sake, Ashan! Just come out and
say
what you need to tell us. I’m about done with your damned
enlightenment bullshit, okay?”

Ashan did not speak. Instead he studied Poe
at a distance, breathing slowly but audibly. Poe met the stare and
refused to turn away. He hated being pitied like this, especially
by a Mendaihu! He felt like grabbing the man by the collar and
throwing him across the room…though what good would that do? He
exhaled, frustrated with himself again. He’d let his emotions get
the best of him once more today, damn it all! Time to calm down
before it got out of hand. He quelled his anger by matching that of
Ashan’s, until he finally looked away and let out a forced
breath.

We have all been Awakened,
Kai said
from within.
You have as well.

Poe shivered, the sound of her gentle voice
carrying through his spirit. She had spoken
within
him, like
she had done up at the Crest. He turned to face her. “What did you
say?”

She laid a soothing hand on his forearm.
You have Awakened, Alec. Though you do not yet
understand.

“But —”

Shhh. Don’t be afraid. We trust each other.
Have faith.

He did not feel the gentle, spiritual tug
that Kai had given him at the Crest. Instead he felt his conscience
sliding, his senses falling away then gathering together again,
stronger and more refined. He wanted to speak and got as far as
inhaling before he felt a twitch of his eyebrow and then a
sickening lurch as his eyes rolled and his head fell forward.

Come,
Kai said.

Then all was Light.

*

Alec!
Caren stared in shock at the
limp form of her partner. His head hung low and off to his left,
his jaw slightly open and his eyes twitching.
Alec! Oh Goddess,
Alec!

He’d gone Lightwalking again, but this
couldn’t have been the same as last time. Lightwalkers disappear,
they don’t go all catatonic. Kai had pulled him in again, before he
could refuse. Shock was replaced by anger, her hands balling into
fists and nails digging into her palms. Poe was right…they’d been
deliberately left out of the most important part of this
investigation. They neglected to confirm that she and her sister
had been affected by the Awakening. They held back information that
could have kept Sheila and Nick from danger at the church. And now
Poe was off in some elsewhere, against his own power. If she was
next in line, she would not go quietly.

Calm yourself,
Ashan said from
within.

Caren whirled at him, grabbed his collar.
“What the hell did she just do to him, Ashan?” she growled. She
added more pressure and pushed him up against the wall. She’d push
him out the fucking window if it came to it.

“I said calm yourself!” he said, grabbing at
her arm and pushing her back.

What the —

Instantly she felt a lurch. For a second she
was off balance, a wave of vertigo shaking her insides and spinning
her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and cursed. She pushed hard
off him and slid back into her seat. The black anger was still
there, but it had receded far into the background, just out of
reach, leaving her with little emotion to show save a deep yet
pointless irritation. Oh, damn it! Damn it all, he’d just crossed a
personal line and she was powerless to fight it now. She opened her
eyes again and glared at him.

“Don’t you
ever
soulheal me again
without my permission, Ashyntoya Shalei,” she growled.

He did not offer an apology. She did not
expect one, however, for he only looked at her with what had to be
pity, which only irritated her more. It was a short look however,
and he quickly turned to watch his sister across the table. Kai
still had her hand on Poe’s limp arm, and she had leaned forward to
touch her forehead against his temple. She breathed slowly and
evenly, her eyes shut tight. Her other arm had gone behind his
back; she had begun to pull him close to cradle him in her
arms.

A strange wave of contentment washed over
her, a reaction she knew she shouldn’t have had, so soon after her
anger had receded. Yet for an instant, she understood: Kai had
taken him, such as an angel might take the departed soul to a
higher spiritual plane, into the Light for his own protection and
ultimately all of theirs as well.

“He…” she started. Kai was right, he had
been Awakened. And for some time now, though completely unaware of
it, or refusing to believe it. His Spiritual Self had been brought
forth from the human chains that had bound it for so long. His
anger…his distance from her…his flashes of conflicting emotions…his
—

Oh Goddess.
She caught her breath,
staring at him.
Cho-nyhndah.
After all these years, only now
had she realized. How could she have not seen his dual spirit? How
often had she mistaken his inner turmoil for a cantankerous
personality? His anger had always been exacting, never misplaced,
and his compassion was complete but always earned. He was, despite
his outer shell, the most spiritually balanced person she’d ever
known.

“He…” she started again.

It all makes so much sense!

“I…” she said, and wilted back into her
seat. “Oh, Goddess…I had no idea, Ashyntoya…I really had no idea.”
She felt her face burning at her partner being held so close, so
lovingly, by Akaina. Her love radiated so strongly and purely that
she could not help but be pulled in by it herself. It was so rare
that she ever felt this happy for someone. She blinked and felt her
own tears falling down her cheeks. Oh, how Alec so deserved
this!

You are so close to him, Karinna,
Ashan spoke within.
You look past his Inner Self, past his dual
spirit. That is why you did not see it at first. You care so deeply
for him that the bond between you surpasses the ageless animosity
between the Shenaihu and Mendaihu that exists to this day. You are
his saving grace, Karinna.

“Oh, Alec…” She reached out a hand and
touched his, curling her fingers around his and squeezing. “What —”
Her voice faltered; she coughed and started again. “What’s
happening to him?”

He’s past the pain now.

“You can speak freely,” she said. “I’d
rather we did.”

Ashan complied. “Kai has taken him back in
again. He’s on a delicate edge, one that becomes more obscure as
the days go on. She is showing him his true Inner Self.” He looked
across the table at the two of them, and his features softened at
the sight. He was proud of his sister for being bold enough to take
him there, to that otherness, to heal his spirit. The corners of
his mouth eventually turned up in a quick smile as he turned back
to Caren.

“She cares for him,” he said.

“I sense that,” she said with a grin. She
wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and turned back to him. “So
where is Nehalé Usarai, anyway?”

“Moulding Warehouse in the Waterfront
District, as you surmised,” he said, and bowed his head. “We can
head over there once we’re done here.”

She nodded, and squeezed Poe’s hand again.
“Thank you,” she said.

Ashan tilted his head at her. “For
what?”

“For protecting us. I understand now. As
much…” she let out another shaky breath. “As much as I hate to
admit it, I see we’re a part of this, more than just agents working
a case. We’re a part of the Awakening, and whatever comes next. I
haven’t quite figured out how or why, but I’ve sensed it for a
while now, and I think Poe has too. It just took us awhile to come
to terms with it. You two did double duty by making sure we weren’t
lost in the process.”

Ashan smiled warmly. “It’s our Mendaihu
nature, you know that. You’d do the same for your sister.”

She thought about that and laughed quietly.
“Yes, I suppose I would.”

*

I am Awakened.

I am…?

I can feel you, Akaina. Where am I?

…he felt the warm breeze of the otherness
against his skin. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath,
savoring the clear air. He was sitting on an outcropping of rock at
the Crest, the same area he’d come to so many times in the past.
Clouds the color of soiled cotton filled the sky, a haze of distant
rain showers picking up off to the west, just past the outpost
mountain ranges. From this view he could see the storm making its
way towards the center of the city, its arrival imminent. Over the
ocean the sky remained clear, the light of the morning sun still
dancing off the rippling waves near the Waterfront.

Despite the imbalance, it was quite peaceful
here.

I am right beside you, Alec.

Kai was standing next to him, dressed as she
had been before in a black overcoat covering her Mendaihu uniform.
Her hair was tied back low, the tail resting over her right
shoulder. She was smiling at him, just watching him.

We’re past the first of the walls,
he
said.

Yes,
she answered, taking a seat on a
rock to his left and laying a hand on his shoulder as she did so.
She gazed out over the city, saying little but observing
everything. Within this Lightpath she was the pure Mendaihu, ever
the vigilant spirit.

He looked out as well. Focusing was easier
this time, knowing what he was looking at and how to process it.
His gaze landed on one of the larger warehouses to his left, deep
in the warehouse district of West McCleever. It was surrounded by a
softly glowing aura, as if it were itself alive with spirit. There
were indeed thousands of believers and followers there now, all
awakened and ready to act. He blinked again, turning back to Kai.
How did I get here?