A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (61 page)

Ampryss did not answer, but instead sent a
ripple through Denni to let her know she was still there. Denni
found her silence disconcerting. Ampryss had never manifested on
Earth, not once during all the Embodiments. She would remain at her
Great Table on Trisanda, forever welcoming those who visited and
offering guidance, but never forcing it upon anyone. Ampryss was
the ultimate reality seer, knowing all three levels of history:
past, present and future. And yet she refused to become an active
part of it. Denni ached for her, wondering if she had ever wished
to participate, even once. Witnessing all, but never part of the
whole.

She reached out for a random thought from
the Light — from any of the thousands of people she was connected
with — and within moments she was able to find the two names she
wanted. They were from Saone Lehanna, the woman she had touched in
the warehouse. Saone had given her these names freely, as a
gift.

Natianos Lehanna and Janoss Mirades,
Denni said, keeping her anger in check.
They’ve visited you,
haven’t they?

Yes,
Ampryss admitted without guilt.
Yes, they have.

Denni nearly exploded in a tirade of curses
and accusations at the mere thought of Ampryss conversing with the
enemy, but found the strength to keep herself in check. There was
no reason to attack someone whose impartiality was the one thread
keeping this delicate situation from unraveling. Her anger was
dangerously misplaced, and the spirits around her were starting to
respond in kind. She took several deep breaths and calmed herself.
Peace, Love and Light,
she told them.
I have erred. Do
not judge those who may be allies in the future
.
They shall
trust you in time.

Well done,
Ampryss said.
You have
calmed storms using only words and love.

I have screwed up,
Denni replied
flatly, and grunted.
So…what am I to do now? Somehow I don’t
think a summit between us all will help matters right now, even if
it was at the Meeting Table.

My table welcomes everyone,
Ampryss
said.

Denni laughed bitterly. If only it were that
easy!
For that I thank you, Ampryss. Perhaps after everything
has calmed down some. Getting them all together in one place seems
like wishful thinking right now. It doesn’t seem like the right
thing to do just yet.

You may contact them at any time, you
know,
Ampryss offered.
They will listen.

It was tempting, but again her soul did not
sing out for it. It was not the right time. There were too many
variables, too many things that could still go wrong.
I may
eventually. The Cleansing Ritual is nearing its end, and I must
give my full attention to it. I will contact you when I can,
regarding this summit, however. Perhaps within the next few weeks.
I’m sure that we all will need time to heal first.

Ampryss laughed.
My Dearest One, your
intelligence knows no bounds.

That’s what’s so annoying about it,
she retorted.
Thank you, Ampryss. You’ve opened my eyes once
again. I shall call for you soon. Peace, Love and Light to
you.

…
and with you,
Ampryss said, sending
another ripple of Light through Denni’s spirit as she exited.

Denni floated in silence for a long time,
thinking and meditating, before she decided what the next step
would be. She nodded to herself, sent out her own ripple, this time
of Love, out to her newly awakened, faithful followers. Her
newfound friends. Her soldiers. Her Warriors of the One.

*

“Ashan…” Kai whispered. “I can feel
them…
all of them.
” Eyes blurry with tears, she couldn’t keep
from staring at the beam of light that shot up from the warehouse.
She reached out blindly and caught the sleeve of his shirt,
grasping it tightly. “It’s working…by the will of the One, it’s
working!”

“Yes, it is,” Ashan answered, his voice no
louder than hers. He watched the Light energy with his sharpened
sight as it condensed itself within the warehouse and soared
skyward into the heavens. The storm clouds had dispersed, leaving
nothing but an immaculately clear blue sky. All the dormant spirits
within the Rain were now part of the
cho-nyhndah.
It was now
up to Denni to lead them in the right direction.

Kai reached out again with her gossamer
thread of conscience to sense as many of the cho-nyhndah as she
could. She felt the ripples of excitement from the awakened,
sensing their eagerness to live, to take in all the knowledge of
spirit that they could, and to follow the One of All Sacred to the
ends of the universes. Their euphoric song touched at Kai’s very
soul, pulling her ever closer in. She loosened her inhibitions and
drank in the warmth. She felt anticipation; they were waiting for
Denni. They were waiting for orders.

“Can you feel her?” Ashan asked.

“She’s very distant…as if she’s assimilating
into all of the spirits around her. They’re just soaking her in.”
Kai let out a small laugh. “Goddess, she knows more than she’s ever
let on! She understands…
dehndarra Né hra nyhndah.
”

Ashan broke out of his stare and glanced at
her. “How old is she, anyway? Fifteen?”

Kai frowned in thought. “Yes, I think so.
Why do you ask?”

He shrugged. “Just an observation. There’s a
chance she may just remember what she was taught in services when
she was young…but it’s got to be more than that. She’s acquired so
much in so little time, and not once has it come back on her.
Everything she’s done is purely instinctual.”

Because it
is
instinctual,
Kai
said from within.
Though she was born Dennise Johnson, she was
reborn Denysia Shalei, the One of All Sacred. It is because of her
faith in her followers as well as herself that she does not stray
from her own heart.

The beam of Light caught Kai’s attention
again. It had begun to pulse, very slowly at once every ten or
twelve seconds. Her own instincts had picked the pattern up just as
she had caught the pulse in the corner of her eye. Her heart
quickened each time it happened. “Tell me you caught that,” she
said.

Ashan hummed in agreement. “That’s new.”

“What’s happening?”

He continued watching the beam, frowning. “I
honestly do not know. I have never seen or heard of a Cleansing
beacon pulsating before.”

“Nor have I.”

Ashan took a step back and shifted his focus
back to Lightseeing. It took him a few tries to focus in on the
spirit body rather than the spirit energy, as the former had almost
blinded him earlier. Once there he found it harder to stay focused
in this different view. He tried again and looked in the direction
of the warehouse.

What he saw was a delicate play of shapes
and hues, bobbing and weaving above the entire area of the
hrrah-sehdhyn in what had begun to resemble a spinning galaxy. Each
spirit signature, each aura shone in its own degree of color and
radiance. They intertwined with one another, creating a complex
rainbow of Light, the strength of which he had never seen.

“They’re not gathering anymore,” he said
unevenly. “They’re assimilating.”

“What?” Kai gasped. “That’s impossible!”

“See for yourself,” he said. “I have no idea
what she’s doing. None of the others in the same position have ever
pulled Warriors of the One together this quickly…let alone in this
fashion.” He exhaled, shaking his head and adjusting his eyes back
to normal. “It’s beyond my understanding now.”

Kai shuddered, realizing what that meant. It
meant that all the Mendaihu, all the Shenaihu…all psionic
sensitives here on this planet were on the verge of a new
awakening, one that would surpass those in the past. It meant she
had found a threat no one else, not even Nehalé or Natianos, could
have expected. It meant this was more than just a war between the
Mendaihu and the Shenaihu.

She had decided to awaken everyone on Earth
after all.

“By the Will of the One,” she said, and
found her voice wavering.
We have become enlightened, Ashan. The
division of souls is being reversed. She’s gone ahead and awakened
the Earth. Gharra will return to Trisanda.

Ashan did not answer. In the silence she
could see him quivering, and for the first time in many years,
there were tears in his eyes. He had come to the same conclusion,
and he was terrified.

*

As far as Poe was concerned, it was the end
of the world as he knew it.

Christine Gorecki had come to the same
conclusion, and in a bit of gallows humor she had pulled out a
number of folding chairs and set them up on the roof facing the
Moulding Warehouse, giving them front row seats. All conversation
had stopped once the beacon of Light appeared, and for Poe it meant
he could now wrestle his inner demons on his own, without
interruption. Caren had arrived with Anando minutes after she’d
signed off the comm, and Nick had just arrived as well. Poe
acknowledged their presence with a nod before taking the chair
closest to the edge. He got up again seconds later however, his
nerves getting the better of him.

Calm yourself,
he heard from within.
Caren silently walked up to him and took his hand.
This is just
a small step.

He felt a tickling sensation between their
touching palms, and immediately his adrenalin level decreased
dramatically from its peak just seconds ago. He had felt the same
relaxation just days ago on the Crest, when Kai had —

He stared at her. “Since when have you been
able to soulheal?” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

She gave him a satisfied grin. “It just
happened,” she said.

It just happened.
A hell of a lot of
things had “just happened” in the last few hours, come to think of
it. This was Caren, who had gone through soulhealing therapy five
years ago to deal with the death of her parents, who had trouble
falling asleep at night, whose emotions tended to be a jumbled
mess, just like his. This was his partner, who had taken the
awakening ritual personally and nearly drove herself towards an
emotional breakdown. This was Karinna, whose sister was just blocks
away, the source of that terrifying beam of Light.

This was Caren Johnson, calm and balanced,
for the first time in her life.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, and meant
it.

“It’s nearly over,” she said. “Once the
Cleansing is done, everything will be back to normal.”

He nodded, and laughed as a thought struck
him. “You know,” he said to her. “Farraway is going to be pissed
that we completely failed to apprehend the man who performed that
illegal ritual last week. I’m guessing we can kiss that raise
goodbye.”

A giggle escaped from Caren’s lips. “I came
so close, Poe! I was as close as you and I, and all I did was yell
at him!” The giggle turned into a laugh. “Seriously, I should have
kicked his ass!”

“You were under the influence of your
sister,” he said. “I’m sure she was holding you back for a good
reason.”

She elbowed him in the side. “Yeah, fat lot
of good that did. I nearly screwed it up.”

“It’s true, kid,” he said. “I’m serious. We
were all affected.” He smiled as he turned and looked back at the
warehouse. The Light had quickened its pulsation. “I mean that in a
good way,” he added.

Caren brushed a hand over his arm. “I know
you do,” she said. “Come on…let’s sit down.”

Poe let out a wavering breath. Relaxed
though he was, soulhealing would not deaden the anxiety he still
felt. He returned to his chair, Caren taking the seat to his left.
Anando sat on the other side of her, leaning forward with hands
clasped between his knees. The kid’s constant change of position in
his chair every thirty seconds or so betrayed his façade. His brain
must be on overdrive, trying to calculate what would unfold
next.

After a few quiet moments, he glanced over
at the two of them again. Anando’s presence had an extremely
positive effect on Caren, there was no doubting that. She’d been
fascinated by his name just days ago, but she’d never explained
why. There as a connection there, one he couldn’t quite grasp, but
he could sense it. It was comforting, seeing her at peace like
this…she deserved it. If he truly was her cho-shadhisi, then she
truly was blessed.

Anando sensed his attention and met his eyes
briefly before returning to the Light. Though Anando said nothing,
Poe could tell the man had anticipated questions. He shifted
slightly in his chair to face him.

You wish to know about the Light,
he
said from within.

Poe nodded. It hadn’t been his primary
thought at the moment, but that question had indeed been bothering
him ever since it had appeared.

This beacon functions the same way the
Rain of Light did,
Anando said.
We’re seeing this Light
because it is stronger than usual…it’s infused with the Light of
the One of All Sacred.

Poe nodded. “Where is it going?”

Anando grinned. “Funny you should ask that,”
he said. “Ever read Kelley James’ poetry?”

“No,” he replied. “The former CNF
Councillor, you mean?”

He nodded. “Great statesman, brilliant
peacekeeper…but also an extremely talented writer. There’s a line
in one of my favorite poems of his that I think nails it:
hitting the roof of heaven and raining right back down.
He’d
meant it as a reference to the early days of Earth’s new awakening
centuries ago, but in this case…” He nodded towards the warehouse.
“The Light is going to rain back down on us. All of us. The entire
planet.”

Poe winced at him. “The entire…from just
five thousand people and one teenage girl? I find that a little
hard to believe.”