A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (41 page)

Akaina Shalei,
she said.
You may
have heard my brother Asyhntoya calling you. I am here with
Karinna. Are you safe?

Karinna!
Denni gasped in horror.
Oh goddess, I’ve got to get to her…

Kai bit her lip.
Whoa! She’s all right.
She’s with me. Alec is here as well.

Karinna!

“She’s losing focus,” Kai said to no one in
particular.

Akaina? Are you still there?

Yes…
Kai was suddenly aware that she
had taken hold of Poe’s jacket sleeve. She softened her grip and
forced herself to breathe evenly. She closed her eyes again, trying
to get at least some sort of mental picture, a remote view of what
was going on. It took her a few minutes to get a complete scan of
the northern part of the Sprawl, now that she knew enough to narrow
down her focus to include only Denni’s voice and any trace of the
nuhm’ndah. She focused on a dimmer Light and called out once
again.

Denysia. Are you aware of what’s happening
to you?

A squeal of pain slipped out of Denni’s
voice.
I think…I think I do. I know I’m the One. The One of All
Sacred…but what’s happening to me? I feel…I feel like something’s
invaded my head! It…it doesn’t hurt, but it feels…I can’t focus,
Akaina, it’s making my head spin.

Nothing can harm you, child,
Kai
soothed.
Light is flowing freely through you for the first time.
It can feel disorienting. We’re coming. We’ll be there as soon as
we can.

Akaina! Don’t go! Talk to me!

I’m here, child,
she soothed.
I’m
here. I’m not going to leave you.

“I can hear her,” she heard Caren say behind
her. “She’s in trouble.”

“She’s confused,” Kai corrected. “She’s
fully awakened now. But she’s in no trouble.”

“What about…?” Poe said.

“The nuhm’ndah?” She let out a quick laugh.
“She’s holding them back herself.” Denni had no idea she was doing
this; it was the Spirit of the One’s strength putting a damper on
their sensing. Kai’s reverie was short-lived, however, as she
realized with a sudden fear that
that
had been the problem
all along — Denni was accepting it all, even though she did not yet
understand her own actions. She was acting completely on faith
alone.

“How close are we?” she asked Poe.

“About five minutes,” he said.

She nodded to him and closed her eyes again.
Denysia,
she called out.

I’m here,
the girl answered,
obviously tired but sounding more relaxed.
I’m okay now…feeling
better.

Good girl,
she said, and breathed a
sigh of relief.
Can you focus?

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

cho-nyhndah

The light faded to a calm, enveloping
darkness. The turbulent ocean of noise receded into near silence,
broken only by shallow breathing. Denni regained her sense of
balance and felt the ground slowly rising up to meet her again. She
felt cold tile on her back and the damp of a cloth on her forehead.
She felt a pain in her lower back, the remnants of the strain she
had exerted on it during flight. She lay there with a stupid
half-grin on her face, trying to figure out the logic of that — she
had
flown
.

Denysia? Can you focus?

The sound of Akaina’s voice shook her
completely awake. Where was she? Was she back at school? Was Amna
still with her?

“Ah…” she croaked. “Amna?”

“I’m here.”

She opened her eyes with relief. She had
moved from the third floor restroom to a small, darkened room
elsewhere in the school. A faint smell of bleach and mildew
lingered in the air. The door was open slightly, letting in fresh
air and a sliver of light that bounced against a large dented metal
cabinet. Definitely a janitor’s closet. She turned again and saw
the faint outline of Amna’s thin frame hovering over her, a wisp of
black hair hanging over her right shoulder. She was peeking through
the narrow opening, keeping an eye out for anyone coming.

“Thanks,” she managed.

“Scared the shit out of me, Den,” Amna said
in an exasperated whisper. “What the hell happened?”

Denni?

I’m awake now
, she said to Akaina.
Focused as I’ll ever be…
She frowned at the pain in her
joints as she attempted to push herself up.
Back at the
school.

“Who are you talking to now?” Amna asked. “I
can hear them.”

“Friend of my sister’s,” she said. “They’re
coming here. They’re picking me up.”

“Thought I lost you for a moment there,”
Amna said, and let out a quick snort. “You’re awfully heavy
deadweight, you know that?”

She gave her a feeble laugh. “I know. I’m
sorry.”

Amna pushed herself off her knees and sat
cross-legged on the floor. She took Denni’s hand and squeezed it
tight, her wordless show of affection and concern; the only way she
ever truly showed those emotions. She reached over and took the
damp cloth from Denni’s forehead, tossed it into the sink behind
her, and with her wet hand she pushed back the loose strands of
Denni’s hair from her face. Denni noticed, now that her eyes had
adjusted to the darkened room, that Amna’s eyes were moist from
tears.

So what happened?

Denni pursed her lips. “If it’s all the same
to you, I’d rather tell you out loud.”

Who was that?
Akaina popped into her
head. For the moment she’d forgotten she was still there. She held
up a hand at Amna to hold her thoughts.

Friend of mine, Akaina,
she said.
She’s keeping an eye on me.

We’ll be there in a few minutes,
she
answered.
Can she stay there with you?

Amna nodded quickly. Denni blushed in the
semidarkness, not used to such loyalty. She relayed the consent to
Akaina, adding a special message to send to Caren, telling her not
to worry, and heard nothing more.

“So?” Amna said, smirking. “Are we going to
stay hidden in here until your sister comes and picks you up?”

Denni sniffed at the tone of her comment.
“How long were we away?”

Amna checked her watch. “A good half hour, I
think.”

She laughed in spite of herself. “Oops. I’m
sure we can find a decent excuse by the time we get sent to the
office.” With a final grunt she pushed herself up until they were
both back on their feet, ready to escape the cramped closet. She
felt Amna by her side, arm around her waist, guiding her to the
door, leading them back into dull reality. Thankfully, no one had
been in this hallway either, so anyone entering now would have seen
a class rep walking an ill student to the nurse’s office. Denni
frowned, wondering why her friend was acting so out of character.
Showing flourishes of genuine emotion, going out of her way to take
care of her, making sure no one saw them, moving as quietly as
possible…on any other day, Amna would have done the same, but she
would have made a production out of it in her usual boisterous way.
She appreciated the attention, but it was just so unlike her.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Denni asked as a
way to fill the awkward silence. “When I fainted, I mean.”

“No,” she answered quietly. “Shaken, more
than anything else. Um…you didn’t tell me what happened.”

Denni nodded. “Just between the two of us,
okay? And aloud, because I don’t know who’s listening.”

Amna frowned. “Den, if I overstepped a
boundary —”

“No, no, that’s…that was fine,” she said
quickly, her face hot. “In fact, you pointed out something
important. If
you
could hear me, then anyone can.” She
paused again, letting out a long sigh. “And I don’t think that
would be a good idea right now, given the last few days.”

She told Amna all she could remember in the
conversation with Ampryss and where she had gone and what she’d
seen. In retelling the events, she tried to understand them
herself, wondering why she’d been able to do so many things she
thought impossible, even for a Mendaihu. Especially a Mendaihu with
her incredible lack of experience. She had understood exactly what
was going on and what she would need to do next…but how did she
know this? Had she come up with it herself, or had the spirit of
the One of All Sacred done that for her? Who had been in charge
then?

How had she been able to soar above the
heavens and into near space to look over the entire planet? And
what exactly did she do, once she returned to Bridgetown? It wasn’t
her, mentally, that had made the decision to stop the awakening
ritual; nor was it her idea to misdirect the nuhm’ndah that she
somehow knew were in the area, triangulating her spirit signature
in their attempt to kidnap her. Or was it?

What had happened? And why did her body feel
drained of energy when her mind and spirit were radiant and
overflowing with it? She wasn’t fully in control of her spirit, not
yet. Balance…she desperately needed to find that balance in
between.

Karinna,
she thought, wishing her
sister here as soon as possible. Perhaps Caren could explain this
duality to her.

“Denni?” Amna said after a long silence. “I
know it kind sounds weird, but…” She paused again and blushed. So
totally unlike her. “I…I need to come with you. No, don’t question
it. I can feel it, Den. I hear my soul singing, and it’s so loud
right now. I can’t…” She caught her voice, forcing back tears. “I
can’t lose you right now.”

Denni caught her breath…she knew. Goddess,
Amna fully believe she truly was the One of All Sacred, and she
wasn’t going to question it. A hell of a lot was happening to her
in a short amount of time, and Amna’s conviction only sealed this
fate of theirs. Neither had grown up second-guessing their own
Mendaihu spirits, so she wasn’t about to question what Amna’s soul
was singing. She obviously feared for Amna’s own safety, but she
also welcomed her.

“…
taftika iedha
,” she said quietly.
“You are always welcome.”

Amna did not respond, but only held her
tighter.

*

“We’re almost out of time,” Denni said to no
one in particular.

“We have more than we need,” Poe said and
craned his neck back from the driver’s seat. “According to
Kindeiya, we have another four hours.”

Denni snorted. “A lot can happen.” They had
been driving around aimlessly for two hours already, not really
searching for anything, not even trying to find a place to await
the inevitable…and she knew that she would eventually make her way
to the Moulding Warehouse, even if everyone else tried to prevent
it. She dared not show her thoughts to the others, let alone tell
them, but she’d immediately understood why she had to be there at
that time. It was all part of the delicate balance she had to
protect.

Should she tell them that keeping her from
her duties was pointless, that she knew she’d eventually fulfill
Kindeiya’s prophecy, by whatever means? She could go there now, at
least through this newly acquired ability of Lightwalking. This way
she would be present, at least spiritually. Just the idea of it
exhausted her, however. Her head was still spinning from the all
the travel. Even though she had regained her energy, her instincts
told her not to waste any more.

Denysia
.

She heard Caren’s soft voice calling within
her. She glanced around at the others in the car, wondering if
anyone else heard her. She was in the back seat, sandwiched between
Caren and Ashan. She half-smiled…it occurred to her that this car
was probably the safest place in the entire Sprawl right now.

Again, she wasn’t quite sure
how
she
knew this…just that it made sense. It was that unspoken soulsensing
that all Mendaihu had, of understanding the spirit and its intent.
She understood that most of all. After a moment, she decided that
it didn’t matter if the others heard them as they spoke within.
They knew well enough to honor their privacy.

Karinna,
she answered back.

She felt Caren’s hand reach over and take
hers, squeezing it once. She smiled softly, like she always had
done when she watched over her since she was small. Always
protective, always loving.
You may be the One of All Sacred, but
you’re still my little sister,
she said.
I can still kick
your butt if you get out of line.

A snort of laughter burst out of her before
she could stop it. She felt her face redden, and again wondered if
anyone else had heard that.
I’ll keep it in mind,
she said,
only half in jest. She knew that, underneath this grand spectacle
of religious fervor that would soon come to her unbidding, Caren
would always see her as her little sister and she would never stop
watching over her.

*

A half hour later they had made their way
north on Krieger Avenue when Poe made the decision to go to the
Crest. She was relieved to be going
somewhere
rather than
poking around the Sprawl for the next three hours, but she was more
than happy to be going up to Breed’s Hill Park. The change from
manmade buildings to natural surroundings would be quite
welcome.

Out of curiosity, she asked Amna if she had
ever gone up there; she had answered that she had driven by plenty
of times, as a cousin of hers owned a small summer house not too
far from the park. As for the Crest, she had never actually climbed
all the way up.

“It’s not so much a climb as a stroll,” Poe
said. “I go up there all the time to clear my head.”

Unexpectedly, Denni felt a connection, a
thin strand of spirit between him and the Mendaihu agent. Kai had
given him a warm smile that he’d returned. Nothing was said, but a
connection had been made, a fresh one, and a strong one at that. In
spite of herself, she smiled.
Bless you, Alec,
she thought,
only to herself. He certainly deserved it.
Bless the both of
you.