A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (49 page)

Kryssyna…
the woman said.

Another woman, brilliant auburn curls
framing her oval face, moved closer and took the woman’s left hand.
This woman looked absolutely terrified, yet refused to back away
from her friend. Denni sensed the ripple within her senses of the
second spirit moving in, giving this woman her strength. She had
given it selflessly, without question. Denni felt the second
woman’s fear, channeled through the first woman’s spirit. Denni
knew not to fight against these two together, for their combined
strength could obliterate that of a fifteen year-old girl. She did
not have to remind herself of her mortality. They were both
Shenaihu, and they were here to do something…something not
according to plan.

“You are Shenaihu,” she said. “You, Saone
Lehanna, are perhaps one of the strongest Shenaihu I’ve sensed yet.
Your energy knows no bounds. I commend you for that. And you,
Kryssyna Piramados, you are her anchor. You are her
shadhisi
.” The two women lowered their hands slightly and
stared at her in a mixture of disbelief and panic as she moved
closer towards them. “You two are blessed to be here. Your presence
here shall not go unnoticed.” She reached out and touched their
clasped hands. Another wave of energy rippled through of her own
emotions, mostly of love and acceptance of those around her. She
touched them, and felt everything align. Their spirits, their minds
slowed to a restful peace, their inner storms quelled for the time
being.

Saone gasped. “N…no…p-please, I beg
you…”

For the moment, Denni did not pay any
attention to the thousands of people circling them. They were all
still fixated on her, watching her every move. They would do
whatever she told them to. For now she just wanted them to wait.
There were some things here that she felt were more important.
Saone and Kryssyna had come so close in their attempt to undo what
Nehalé had started, that they commanded her attention.

“You are the duality,” Saone managed to
whisper. Her voice was speaking her anger through the tears, as
well as her faint hope that violence would not come after all.
“You’re the duality we seek…do you understand?”

“I understand your pain,” Denni said. “I
understand your misery, your feeling of abandonment…but what I do
not understand is why you have chosen the path you have. Why such
animosity?”

“We…”

The answer came to her in thousands of
growling, screaming voices, directed everywhere at once, within
her.
They are the Shenaihu!
Save them!
They are
the nuhm’ndah! The Nameless! Their violence knows no end!
The
crowd began to move. Something had shifted, and she felt it all
start to spiral.
They have refused to accept the Mendaihu… Save
them…! No, kill them! They have killed our own! Save them, Dearest
One…
I am Shenaihu…please, we need this peace…
Help
us! Show us the way!

More voices, more than she could count.
Saone’s answer had been drowned out by the unsolicited voices of
all those around her. They spoke within her, they spoke out
loud…and not one person had cared to listen to anyone else around
them. Denni staggered back from the force of the wave, and nearly
tripped on the bottom stair behind her. It was only by luck that
Amna caught her before she fell. The voices grew even louder,
everyone now shouting over each other, both aloud and within.

Stop…please,
Denni cried.

Save them first,
Saone said to
her.

Amna took hold of her arm.
Denysia, I’m
right here…are you all right?

“I…” Her own voice was lost in the din. She
looked up, saw Saone and Kryssyna backing away, a look of defeat on
their faces. No, that wasn’t defeat; it was
acceptance.
Acceptance of the fact that Denni was not going to be able to help
them after all.

“Stop!” she yelled, to no avail.
Saone!

Save them first!
Saone cried.

She tried to move forward to catch the two
women, but she had already lost sight of them.
Saone!
She
could feel her moving away, towards the western end of the
warehouse, towards the empty offices…she was retreating further and
further away, and she couldn’t reach her.

STOP IT, ALL OF YOU!

Something inside of her shifted. She felt
the glow of energy welling up inside her, pushing her backward
again. Tears of pain and anger welled up in her eyes, blurring her
sight. She twisted and darted up the mezzanine stairs. Below her,
the others had become lost in their own cacophony, their disbelief
that the One of All Sacred may just have let them down in so short
a time. They didn’t dare
think
that, Denni knew, but they
sure felt it, and she could feel it as well.

STOP! ALL OF YOU! In the name of the
Goddess, you WILL stop this foolishness!

Denysia,
she heard the voice
within.

“Damn it!” she cried, more at the voice than
at the situation, but at that point it didn’t matter. She chose to
answer. “Ampryss, what has happened?”

They hear, yet they are still deaf to your
words, child. They see, yet they are still blind.

Denni cursed again.
What should I
do?

Find Nehalé Usarai. He will help you.

Nehalé Usarai.

Denni shivered. The man that had started the
awakening ritual days ago…who had brought all of these spirits here
to this warehouse…the man behind her own Awakening. The man who had
brought Caren and Poe and Nick and Sheila together to solve a case
Denni now knew to be unsolvable. There
was
no case. It was
the Goddess’ Divine Plan.

Karinna…
she thought, fighting back
tears.
I am so sorry…
She wiped the tears away, and looked
at Amna. She was crying as well, her disappointment running deep.
They stood silently at the foot of the stairs, looking out at the
floor. The loyal followers, who had invited her here, who had
expected
her here at this time, had fallen back on their old
ways of linear thinking, of seeing the Mendaihu and the Shenaihu
only as polar opposites. They were arguing amongst themselves, some
quietly and some violently, at who was right and who was wrong.
They all ignored the fact that the One of All Sacred, their
supposed savior, stood among them.

Still others fell silent, kneeling before
her. They were near the back, the ones who understood. She felt the
peace within them, centering their own energies and attempting to
reach out and touch the others with them. They sacrificed their own
safety by opening their hearts completely to all those around them.
They radiated Love and Light in all directions.

Denni sensed Nehalé among them.

“Amna,” she said over her shoulder. “Can you
reach Nehalé Usarai from here?”

She nodded. “Not too hard finding his spirit
signature in this mess,” she said with a smile, wiping away the
tears. “I think I know what you have in mind.”

“Good,” Denni answered. “Find him and get
him here as soon as you can.”

Amna skipped back down the stairs two at a
time and plowed her way through the crowd. With her small frame,
she was able to slide through gaps in the crowd almost without
notice, and within minutes she had reached the far end of the
crowd. Amna stepped gingerly around the followers kneeling in
prayer until she found the one man who still stood amongst them.
Nehalé Usarai stared directly at her from across the warehouse,
hands clasped tightly in front of him and head cocked slightly
down, waiting.

Come, Nehalé
, Denni said to him.
Your work is not yet over.

From this distance she could see his
shoulders sag, his eyes close and his head lift up to the ceiling,
relieved by her words. He bowed in her direction, and took Amna’s
outstretched hand. He smiled.

As you wish, Dearest One
, he said.
After a moment she realized his reaction had not been relief but of
a closely guarded elation. The joy he felt shot through the crowd
and hit her squarely in the heart, making her laugh. They took two
steps towards her…

Gone. Their bodies blinked out of existence.
Denni grasped at the railing in front of her and gasped.
Where…?

A second later they reappeared at the bottom
of the staircase, both of them at a full run.

Where…?

Come, Dearest One,
Nehalé said.
Take my hand.

Before Denni could protest, let alone turn
to follow, Nehalé had grabbed her and pulled her into the maze of
half-collapsed readymade offices. She tripped over a metal runner,
lost her balance and went sailing on her right side towards the
concrete floor. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, but to
her surprise there was none. She opened her eyes, and All was
Light…

*

Caren ducked her head down and held the
collar of her jacket close as they made their way towards the
warehouse. An unseasonably cold wind pushed towards them, coming
from the storm front that had overtaken the city. She wondered
where her sister was, if she had made it to the warehouse, if she
was safe. She was old enough and smart enough to protect
herself…but from this?

Have faith in yourself, Denysia,
she
thought.
Stay safe. I’ll be there soon.

They had managed to ditch the car at a
nearly vacant police precinct house just a few blocks away from
Chapel Street. An officer just coming off duty offered them a ride
as close as they could get by car. The officers and the soldiers
were not forbidding people from crossing their lines, but they were
not advising it. Their safety measures were understandable. They
had also heard the low rumbling of thunder, and were now feeling
the occasional stray raindrop hitting their faces. Caren was
relieved that at least they were at least on McCleever Street so
they could get there as quickly as possible.

“Goddess,” Poe said, his pace slowing. His
head was up, looking at the storm front now nearly upon them.

“What?” she said.

“Rain,” he said, stopping in his tracks.

“Don’t stop now, Alec,” she said, frowning
at him. “It’s just a damn storm cloud. What’s the problem?”

“It’s not a storm cloud,” he said, and
turned to look behind her. He pointed at the darkness pulling over
the center of the city. “Kai…when was the last time you and Ashan
took at the weather in this sector?”

Goddess,
Caren thought to herself.
Now is not the time, Poe…

Kai squinted then frowned. “Maybe once after
our meeting. Ashan?” She looked at her brother, but he had already
closed his eyes.

“I’m checking right now...it looks like —
gahhh!
” Ashan clutched at his eyes and hunched over in pain.
“Ahhh….ah…Goddess, that
stung.
” He moaned deeply and bowed
his head. “Pashyo, we’re too damn close now.”

Kai immediately held an arm out over him,
pulling him close. He sputtered a few words of Anjshé, shook his
head, and opened his eyes. He looked up at her, blinking furiously
and attempting to focus on her face. He resisted temptation to
continue rubbing at his eyes and pushed himself erect. He’d reacted
as if someone had unleashed a cloud of pepper spray in his
face.

“We’re too close,” he repeated, his head
bowing down again in acute pain.

“Too close…?” Caren shook her head. “What
the hell are we talking about?”

“It’s a Rain of Light,” he muttered. “I
can’t look at it this close. It’s…” He groaned again, rubbing his
eyes with one hand and clutching his other hand in a tight fist in
front of him. “It’s almost too late,” he said. “She’s there
already, Caren. Denni’s already there. She can’t handle this Rain
alone.”

Caren did not want to hear those words, not
after the way she left things. She looked at Poe, who stared
transfixed at the cloud in front of them. He frowned at it, as if
trying to understand it somehow, and having no idea how to confront
it let alone combat it if it came to that. Eventually he turned to
the east, then back to the storm, measuring its distance.

Denysia…if only I could reach you,
she thought.

“Kai,” Poe said. “How do I know this?”

Kai looked at him from her hunched stance as
she tried to comfort her brother. She didn’t answer.

“We’re inside the
hrrah-sehdhyn
,
aren’t we?” he asked, and started pointing in several directions.
“Sculler’s Crossing is right down the street. Lexington Square is
south-southwest…I think we’re just on the inside. If we went to the
beach, I think we’d be outside of it.”

“Bring it home, Poe,” Caren said. She
glanced down the street towards the warehouse, then at him. She
decided that she desperately needed to hear what he had to say.

“If we split up…” he started. He glanced at
Caren, as if expecting her to object, but she remained calm enough
to hear him through. They both knew this was not just a matter of
getting Denni back. “You and I head toward the warehouse, Kai and
Ashan to the beach, I think we can ground ourselves.”

Ground…?
Caren threw up her hands. “A
little explanation please,” she said flatly.

Poe struggled with his words, and finally
turned to Kai. “I think you could explain it better.”

Kai frowned at them, or rather in their
direction, at the storm clouds, and huffed in frustration. She
nodded silently at an unheard comment from Ashan, and stepped away
from him. “Come,” she said, directing them back around the corner
and out of sight of the cloud. Caren thought that odd, wondering
what difference their moving could possibly make. Once safely on
the steps of a brownstone on a narrow side street, Kai continued.
She laid a hand on her brother’s shoulder as she talked.

“The Rain of Light,” she said, “is somewhat
of a spiritual limbo, I suppose you’d call it. The reason I chose
to move us out of its line of sight is that it is, in fact,
sentient. Its main nerve center is in its core, which looks to be
situated directly above the warehouse. It must be choosing to
anchor itself there. I don’t know how far their sensory reach is,
but being just out of its direct line of sight might help.
Especially now that it knows Ashan is here.