Ascension (19 page)

“You don't need to apologize,” he responded. “I have my orders, and all I need to worry about is that they're followed.”

As he navigated the control panel and opened the door for them, he followed only as far as her bedroom door before he too departed and resumed his watch.

“I shall see you in the morning,” he said.

Katherine, still feeling rather pleased with how everything had transpired, waltzed into her bedroom. She scooped up the broken glass best she could, tossed her clothing to one side, and crawled back beneath the sheets.

Her guardian flopped down at the bed's end. “You seem different somehow, as if something inside you has changed.”

“It took me a while, but I now see things from a different perspective.”

“Master, you can't fool me so easily. You intend to escape when the ideal opportunity arises,” said the guardian. “And you know that such a feat is impossible for as long as you remain here.”

She frowned back at him. “Have you been reading my thoughts again Anzu? Why must you think the worst of me?”

“I dare not read your thoughts Master,” he replied, stretching his front legs. “But forgive me that I might suspect the sincerity of your sudden change in attitude.”

“Anzu, if you wish to continue being my guardian,” she said. “I need to be able to trust you.”

“As you please master, but I too need some assurance that I can trust you as well.”

Chapter 15

The gaunt figure of the Anabasis Police Chief loomed before his office window. With hands pressed against the cold glass to brace his body's frail foundation, Asag surveyed out and beyond the office balcony in search of those soon to arrive.

“I thought you were the ones sent to take care of these heirs of the Naacal,” he whispered, once he spotted the timely emergence of two roaming shadows beneath an old streetlamp. “With this new plot of yours, I could stand to lose my entire force…”

“There will always be casualties in war,” said Rabisu, his ghoulish red eyes piercing through the darkness. “To lose more of your golem brethren is a risk I'm willing to take.”

“I cannot understand why Lord Namtar would grant such permission for you to act as you see fit.”

Rabisu sat in Asag's chair with his legs rested outstretched on the desktop. “This diversion will provide me more than enough time to feed and grow stronger. We no longer have only one guardian to contend with…”

Although I have constantly found myself questioning in Namtar's motives
, Rabisu thought to himself.
I wonder, is he just testing me? Has this all been nothing more than a game?

Despite the strength shown by their water spirit, he'd deliberated over whether she'd be enough to make the dark lord anxious on her lonesome. But from what he'd earlier sensed, this new celestial bond recently formed was still in its infancy, and thus gave little cause for worry.

“I don't know why I feel so apprehensive,” said Asag, his nose twitching. “For he has bestowed a great honour on me, and I should be revelling in my good fortune.”

“Good Fortune?” Rabisu, scoffed, licking his fangs and clasping with clawed fingers behind his head. “This has, and will be never more than a game to him.”

“A game? You mustn't speak of our lord in such a way! What if he were to hear you?”

It came as little surprise to Rabisu' that Asag was fearful of the fate that could very well befall him. For he knew that Asag too was expendable in this plot. But Rabisu himself also felt cause for concern
.

Does lord Namtar speak of me in the same breath as this feeble earthen corrupted?
He wondered.
If only the roles were reversed…I shall just have to be patient a little while longer.

He kicked an old ornament from off the desk and directly toward the cowering Police Chief. “Let him hear me roar. And never tell me what I can and cannot say.”

Police chief mumbled. “I can sense they're close.”

The scent of two recognisable and paltry energies soon after pricked his senses, and he could tell they were approaching with haste.

“Asag do be a good sport, and let in the rabble.”

Two shadows surfaced atop the balcony. Asag promptly unlocked the sliding glass doors as requested and beckoned the pair to enter the poorly lit office. Fatigued and looking worse for wares, the sibling duo of Alu and Lilith stumbled forward. Rabisu noticed that Lilith was holding heavily bandaged arms, and the prideful Alu's cloak was mangled and his mask had partially cracked.

Upon their entry, Rabisu sneered at them while he rocked back and forth in the chair with delight. “You both look poorly.”

“You stand in no position to mock us,” Lilith responded. “Already we've confronted these heirs of the Naacal and secured a strong vantage point from which to operate. If I were to guess…all you've done is waste time preying upon weaker sources of celestial energy.”

“My dear Lilith…you are absolutely correct. I can also attest they proved such exquisite morsels of raw energy at that. And through this frivolity, this time you say I have wasted, I've been duly rewarded. Also, please don't presume yourselves more worthy of exerting greater efforts. After all, I was not the one who was bested by children.”

The masked Corrupted reached out at him with his gloved hands. “I'm tired of listening to your filth.”

“And still you underestimate my power. What gives you the nerve to challenge someone of my calibre?” He replied, raising his clawed fingers before both Alu and Lilith.

From out of Rabisu's open palms, vortexes of sharp coursing winds shot forth. The winds encircled the sibling pair, pinning them both against the far office wall, and ripping and tearing away at their ragged cloaks. With the pair disoriented, the winged Corrupted honed in on them and grasped at their necks, binding them in place and at his mercy.

“Soon, I alone shall become powerful enough to rid Namtar of both guardians and put an end to their entire organisation for good.”

Lilith squirmed, trying to wriggle free of his clutches. “Just words! All we hear from you are empty threats and mindless talk. It may serve you to know; even Namtar has grown impatient with your lack of progress.”

Rabisu released the pair; and he felt his zeal over his own power quickly fade and his dominant stature before the Corrupted siblings start to wane.

Why do I still buckle in fear at the mere mention of his name aloud
? He wondered.

“I'd intended to present you both with a chance of redemption,” said Rabisu, having collected himself. “You two are to assist Asag in his fight against the guardians” –

“You have wasted enough of our time.” Alu had been quick to cut him off, adjusting at the collar of his cloak. “We have more important objectives than to take part in your games…particularly since you'd only use us as a distraction to further feed.”

“Then why have you come?”

With a look of satisfaction, Lilith glared back at him. “To inform you that we've been summoned and now work under our Lord's own Indigo. He is to be our leader during what remains of this endeavour.”

“He has an Indigo?” Questioned Rabisu, bemused. “He has formed a celestial bond with a human?”

“His strength now grows greater by the day,” said Alu. “Of course, the boy is only his puppet. But even you can imagine the potential that a celestial bond might bring to his already inexhaustible supply of power. I suggest you change your ways Rabisu, for you will never be anything more than his lap dog.”

He looked on as both Alu and Lilith abruptly turned round and pounced atop the balcony's railing.

“You dare turn your backs to me,” Rabisu cried. “When I could so easily end your existence from right where you stand?”

“Just as your life shall soon end upon our Lord's choosing,” Alu coolly responded. “Believe me Rabisu when I say: nothing in this world would bring me more joy than to see you drown, immersed in shadows. But I will have to be patient.”

“You've mocked me time and time again, claiming my threats to be meaningless. Yet you offer the same in kind, promising that you'll one day supposedly put me in my rightful place. There is no time like the present. Once more I offer you the opportunity to redeem your lost pride, your self-respect. As a child of darkness, I implore you to punish me for my insolence.”

“Much as your offer might tempt me, I have my orders. We now work directly under our lord's own Indigo, and he knows of every move we make,” Alu responded, before he and Lilith leapt off the balcony and into the night sky.

Asag glanced back at him, failing to conceal of his pleasure. “So, even the great Rabisu has yet to become acquainted with our Lord's Indigo. What's worse is that you, a Reaper of Seth no less; has lost in his favour, and you now stand to lose so much more.”

“Most insightful, one might even go so far as to think you played a part in our little exchange,” Rabisu replied, his voice growing hoarse. “We shall proceed as planned. Don't forget that you carry a similar burden, and must work thrice the amount if you are to also redeem our lord's favour.”

But what I've learned this night could ultimately prove a real hindrance to my ambition
, he feared.
How could he stomach the thought of being bound with a human?

Having recently experienced it, he'd already grown aware of the power that forming a celestial bond brought its user. But he also knew that this came at a steep cost.

By joining with another, the lord of shadows must have sacrificed his immortality
, he realised; for a Corrupted's life was everlasting.
That is, unless it could be ended by another's hand. But by forming a celestial bond; both life forces become intertwined.

“He has finally made a mistake,” he proclaimed. “This is my chance.”

“Your chance for what…?” stammered Asag, shards of stone trickling down his chin.

“Never you mind, just make sure you follow my instruction carefully. I promise if you can do as much, you shall be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams.”

Chapter 16

Within the later hours of morning, Katherine found herself seated at the centre of the training facility before a plethora of broken pencils. She placed a new pencil down on the floor and positioned her hands outstretched over it. With her eyes closed, and straining to sustain her mind's focus, she raised her hand through the air and the pencil slowly followed. But while floating in mid-air, the pencil violently shook, and soon bounced heavily on the ground below. With her eyes opened, she wiped the sweat from her brow and picked up the pencil to try again.

“I think I'm slowly starting to get the hang of this,” she mumbled to herself.

Before she tried again, the sound of heavy paw pads echoed around the facility's walls and disrupted her concentration.

“Most impressive,” said Anzu, as her guardian squatted down beside her. “But why waste so much time and energy if you're going to leave at the first chance that presents itself?”

“I wish you'd just let it go,” she responded, believing he must still be reading her thoughts. “And I haven't made up my mind about anything yet.”

“Master, forgive me if I somehow betrayed your confidence,” said Anzu. “But there is just too much at stake for me to sit idly and say nothing.”

She briefly glared back at him, before she placed her full attention upon pencil. The pencil arose into the air; calm and still she succeeded in having it hover slightly above the ground, only to once more lose control over it and watch as it soared high up into the facility's rafters.

“Outstanding Katherine, to have progressed so far, and in such a short period of time is unprecedented,” Monica cheered, as she descended the control room's winding staircase.

“How long have you been watching?” Katherine asked, worried Monica might have witnessed or heard part of her and Anzu's prior quarrel.

Monica rubbed her eyes and glanced down at her wrist communicator. “I must have fallen asleep at the monitor. And it seems I must have also overslept. But what a pleasant surprise it is to find you already up and hard at work.”

Katherine looked at the array of broken pencils, and down at her own new wrist communicator.

Monica went about collecting up the broken pencil remnants that littered the floor. “I can see that Lance has also provided you with a communicator; it really suits you. As for these pencils, we now need to focus on maintaining your control.”

“See, that's where I continue to struggle. How do I keep the pencil under control and not force it too far in a single direction?”

“It's a matter of finding the perfect balance,” said Monica. “If you force your energy against an object upward and without counterbalancing, then the pencil will fly straight up and into the rafters.”

“The thing is, every time I've tried to find that balance the pencil does exactly that; crash into the rafters…, or it falls to the floor…, or just snaps apart in mid-flight.”

“You're still too tense,” Monica replied, passing her a new pencil. “Try to relax both your body and mind. Take your time. Let your energy course from within, then release of it from your fingertips.”

She did as instructed. She closed her eyes to avoid the sight of any potential distractions, and sought to calm her breathing and relax of her muscles. As she focused to clear her mind of any unwanted thoughts, she could feel the pencil swiftly rise through the air, an extension of her own being. The pencil glided through the air; smooth in its movements and slowly rotated in one place.

But soon she felt her focus suddenly wander.
I can hear the sound of running water
, she listened,
the dripping of a faucet.

With her concentration disrupted; the pencil splintered down its middle and plummeted toward the floor. She opened her eyes, gazing back at Monica with a look of disappointment.