Graced (6 page)

~Plans~

Rafael listened, mostly in silence, as everybody took turns relaying him the previous weeks’ events. Everybody but Laura, that is. Whenever she tried to speak, she was hushed down as the others al upplayed her role in events – so much so as to make her uncomfortable. And every time she tried to correct something that Alexander, or Logan, or even Madison said and exaggerated, she got quickly cut off as someone else jumped in.

As it were, living through some of those memories proved unfamiliarly jarring for Laura. She shivered as she remembered. Fighting against the demonic creature. Caring for Alexander when he got il . Not knowing if he would survive, and feeling whol y responsible for it. Having Logan leave her. But they were only memories, now. And besides, knowing how everything turned out so far was reassuring. It was the
future
that was real y unnerving to her, the uncertainty of it al . How would they go about finding the elders, and how would they fight them? Would they even be successful? At least it wasn’t like the future of the entire world lay on her shoulders. But the future of
her
world definitely did. Only when the others were done speaking, finishing off with what Gabriel e said to them, did Rafael lean back and exhale.

“What you need to do… wil not be easy,” he began. “The fight against the elders wil take al the resources you have. More, even. They are wel protected, and keep their location hidden from al . Their entire existence is shrouded in mystery and deceit.”

“But you must know something about them?” Laura asked.

Rafael nodded. “I do. But believe me when I say they are formidable foes, and you need to take them as such.”

“Of course we know that!” Laura exclaimed. “But going against them is what we
must
do.”

“A strong sense of duty for someone so young,” Rafael said cryptical y. “I hope your spirit does not waver as you get closer to the fight. As it is, I… I wil help where I can.”

“You wil ?” Laura had been waiting to hear those words ever since they first identified Rafael as someone they would need to speak to to find the elders. She wasn’t taken by surprise, exactly, but it was stil final y…
reassuring
… to have someone that both Madison and Alexander spoke so reverently of support them and their mission. “Thank you!”

Rafael nodded gruffly. “Don’t thank me yet. We haven’t accomplished a thing, and there’s much to do. Besides, as it were, the elders are the ones who have made the first move.” He motioned towards the desecrated wal . “They are destroying al relics of the past, trying their best to hide anything that could even
hint
at a time before their rule. The hieroglyphs here, and the broken tower outside, prove as much.”

“That’s why we need to take the fight to
them
,” Laura pressed. “If we can break their rule, al the other
Vassiz
wil become free. They won’t be saddled by obeying the elders anymore. And they’l stop chasing us.”

“A simplistic explanation,” Rafael said slowly, “but one that might prove more true than you can imagine. It is a blessing, to have such innocence.”

Innocence? Was he
insulting
her? But something about the way his eyes remained on her, dark and heavy, reassured her he was not. He was weighing her, she decided, trying to get a gauge on what she was real y like. And, she realized, he hadn’t mentioned anything about her part in the prophecy yet.

“So what do you know about them?” Laura asked. “The elders, that is. Do you know how we can find them?”

Rafael barked a sharp laugh. “Find them? Why, you’d have more luck escaping from the underground maze in here with your eyes shut. No, I’m afraid you wil not be able to find them.”

“But then… what do we do?” Laura asked, feeling suddenly lost. If we aren’t able to even
find
the elders—”

“You let them find
you
, Laura.”

Laura cut off with a choking sound. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that your party of four—” he motioned around to include everyone, “—has access to a most unique tactical advantage when it comes to fighting the elders. Were it anyone else who told me they were searching for the elders, I would laugh them out of here before they could blink. But your advantage comes from the fact that the elders are coming after
you
. They want to find you – nay, they
need
to find you

– and won’t stop at anything before that is done. You can use that knowledge against them, to expose their location.
That
is the only way you get to them.”

“No.” Logan stood up and stared down at Rafael. “I wil not risk her life that way.”

Laura blinked, surprised at the vehemence in Logan’s voice. And a bit taken aback by his reaction.

“Logan,” she hissed, “sit down! We’ve not agreed to anything yet!”

He looked at her, and fire blazed in his eyes. “I wil not risk you for anything, Laura.
Anything.
To me, your life stands above al else.” Again, she was taken aback by the unexpected intensity of his words. “To suggest we use you as a… a… a mere
pawn –
it is unacceptable. It cannot be done. I wil not al ow it.”

“Logan.” Laura’s voice was smoother this time, and she stepped across to him. “Nobody is suggesting that right now.” She took his hands, and looked up into his eyes. “Rafael was simply explaining a way which we can use to find the elders. Right? And if we do decide to use it, I’m sure we’l find a way to make it safe. Besides, we can’t spend our entire lives on the run, can we?” He blinked, and shook his head. “And that’s why we have to take the fight to the elders. You
know
this.”

Abruptly Logan stepped away from her, and a dazed expression formed on his face. He looked momentarily confused, as if he didn’t quite recognize what was going on. His eyes regained their regular form, and he came back to himself.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, his voice much lower than before. “I… don’t know what came over me. I understand we haven’t decided anything yet.” And he eased himself back down on the rock he was sitting on before.

Laura came over to sit beside him. She hadn’t the slightest clue what had caused the outburst, but she felt the need to be close to Logan right now.

“Young love,” Madison whispered as Laura sat down, “it is a powerful thing.” She winked surreptitiously in Laura’s direction.

“Ahem.” Rafael cleared his throat brusquely, turning everyone’s attention back to him. “If we are quite done…?” At a curt nod from Logan, he continued. “Anyway, as I was saying: the elders wil be difficult to track. And I’m afraid my proposed method of doing so has ruffled some feathers. Stil , it is the only way I see anything you want to accomplish being possible.”

“What about the angels?” Laura asked him. “They’re free now. That must give us some advantage, right? Having them on our side?”

“It does,” Rafael replied, “but only if you take the fight to the elders in the dream realm.” Laura nodded. That had been the plan al along. “But you must have understood this before you came to me. The angels present another tactical advantage you possess. The dream world is ful y their domain, and they are the masters of it. No matter how advanced the elders’ dream walkers may be, the angels wil undoubtedly know more.”

“Wait a minute,” Laura broke through, a sudden though occurring to her. The way Rafael spoke of the angels did not show any uncertainty or hesitation. It was as if he knew of them already. “Does that mean you knew of the angels, Rafael? Before we told you?”

Rafael nodded. “Yes. I have heard of them. It was al very uncertain, mere whispers told in the back of dark places, but it was enough to piece together the truth of their existence. I did not know that any survived to this day, so your revelation was unexpected, to say the least. But I knew the history between the
Vassiz
and the angels, of the so-cal ed
brotherhood
that existed between our races. A growing suspicion entered my thoughts long ago that this sanctuary was not built merely through the powers granted to the
Vassiz
. I always thought there were something more to it, and what you have told me confirms it.”

“Confirms what?” Alexander asked.

“The sanctuary was built in col aboration with the angels, when they and the
Vassiz
worked together in great prosperity.”

“They worked together?” Laura asked, sounding surprised. “But… how? The angels can’t leave the dream realm, and this sanctuary is… wel ,
here
.”

“I’l show you. But first – I think I would like to meet with these angels of yours.”

“Of course,” Alexander said. “That can be arranged. Tonight, we can come upon them in the dream.”

“Good. We have time before then, though. What we can do in the interim – what we
must
do – is plan your assault against the elders.”

“Right.” At mention of that, Laura perked up, excited to be going on the offensive. She was tired of running, tired of hiding, and it was time to take the fight to the ones who have been chasing her. “Where do we start?” And before Alexander could interject, she held up a hand towards him. “And I know ful y wel that it is
my choice
, except that I would like to hear what Rafael has to say on the matter.”

“We start with what you know. Do you know your enemy’s numbers?”

“Uhh…” Laura looked to Logan, then across to Alexander and Madison. She felt ashamed she did not know the answer to such a primitive question.

“There are eight,” Alexander said. “At least, that’s what I have heard. You might know the truth of this, Rafael.”

Rafael nodded. “Eight there are. You are correct. Anything else?”

“Unfortunately,” Alexander admitted, “that is the limit of my knowledge. As you said, they cloud themselves in secrecy and deceit, and it is exceedingly difficult to procure even the smal est amount of information about their existence.”

“That is why we came to you,” Madison offered. “We trust you know more than others about this matter.”

Rafael nodded again. “That I do, although I do not relish the fact. But there is not much more I can add to your knowledge repertoire. Although I can tel you this, because I believe it to be true: the elders stay spread out throughout the world. That is what makes tracking their location so difficult. It is why I suggested earlier that you use their desire to find Laura against them, and get them to reveal themselves.”

“But if they’re spread out,” Laura said, “doesn’t that make them weaker? I mean, doesn’t it mean that if we find them, one by one, the numbers are on our side?”

“If does, yes, if you stumble upon them in the human world. But that wil be impossible to do. You have nothing to go by, no way of finding them here. You must take the fight to them in the dream, as previously acknowledged. It is there, as you wel know, that reality becomes mutable. So great distances in the human world mean nothing when one knows where to meet others. The elders congregate in the dream – they meet there. I would not be foolish enough to believe that they have seen one another in the human world for the last few centuries, at least.”

“How often do they meet?” Laura asked. “How often do they see one another in the dream?”

Rafael chuckled. “Not as often as you may think. The
Vassiz
are al a suspicious breed, and that fact does not change even when considering the elders. My belief is that they trust one another much less than they let on. They present a unified front to al of us, but behind the façade lies a web of betrayal and distrust. They al hold equal rein of power, but think! If one of them were to inexplicably suffer some sort of…

malady
… would the others come to their aid? I think not. For if their numbers grow smal er, wel , that just means more power for the surviving ones. Which means they have to watch their backs from each other as much as any other threat.”

“But you didn’t answer my question,” Laura pressed. “How often do they meet?”

“I did answer your question, girl, if you had the wits to listen.” Beside her, Laura felt Logan tense, and she put a hand on his leg to calm him down. “The answer, in simpler terms, laid out especial y for you, is that I
don’t know
. But I have given you what knowledge I can.”

“Wel , thank you,” Laura said, starting to feel frustrated. It seemed that for every bit of information Rafael revealed, there were a dozen more mysteries hiding behind it.

“There’s one more thing,” Rafael said, “that might aid you on your quest.”

“Yes?” Laura asked. “We’re listening.”

“In this sanctuary, I have come across… ancient artifacts. Magical remnants of an older time. I believe them to be made by the angels, before even the first
Vassiz
were created. These artifacts… they were taken from the dream world and brought here. I’d imagine that occurred within the vault you found – at the only place the dream and human worlds intersect.”

“Artifacts?” Laura asked. “What type of artifacts? What are they for?”

“They do different things,” Rafael answered cryptical y, “but I am certain if you find more, they wil help you in your fight against the elders. There are only a few here, but there should be more, spread throughout the world.”

“What are you talking about, Rafael?” Alexander asked. “I have not heard of this before.”

“Not many have,” Rafael sneered. “This is one thing perhaps even the elders are not aware of. Come with me – I’l show you.”

~Artifacts~

Rafael pushed himself up quickly, and set off towards the entrance leading deeper into the sanctuary. Laura looked to Logan briefly, who shrugged, and got up to go after him. Laura did the same thing.

“As I told you,” Rafael said while leading them down a twisting path Laura did not remember from last time, “I discovered these artifacts only within the sanctuary. I have heard passing mention of them in books, long ago, but it was only when I saw them with my own eyes did I believe in their existence.”

“Do you know what he’s talking about?” Laura whispered to Madison, who shook her head in reply.

“There are many different types of these artifacts, and al do different things. I anticipate the use of many of them wil be entirely unclear.
However
. The ones that are in here, I have learned to make use of.”

“Like what?” Alexander asked.

Rafael looked back at him. “Think! How else do you think I knew when you just into the caves?” He looked back to Logan, and then to Laura. “And how do you think I knew your progression through the caves the first time, knew exactly where to greet you?”

“Wait a minute,” Laura said, thinking. “Are you saying that these… artifacts… are like,
cameras
or something?”

“Hah!” Rafael barked a laugh. “Just fol ow me and you’l see.”

They kept after him as he took them down a side tunnel that broke off from the main one. It was much more cramped, and Laura was sure she had not been here before. Now that she could see past the darkness, the sheer
immensity
of the sanctuary began to dawn on her. Twisting and hiding pathways stood out everywhere, and caverns and entrances dotted the side wal s indiscreetly. The entire place seemed to twist and curve upon itself innumerable times, so much so that Laura imagined it would be impossible to discover everything in here unless you had, wel , generations.

She fol owed with the others as Rafael continued to lead them down the narrower tunnel. Eventual y, up ahead, the path split up, and they took the one leading right. They kept on for some time, until Rafael stopped abruptly, nearly causing Laura to walk right into him. He held one hand up, and turned to face the side wal . His hands moved in a blur, so fast that Laura had no idea what he did, but when he was done, she realized that the outline of a
doorway
had appeared in front of him.

“How did you…?” she began, astounded, but was cut off by another sneer.

“I have been in here for a very long time,” he said. “And I’ve gotten to know the secrets of this place.”

He pushed against the inside of the doorway to reveal a smal room. He ushered everyone in before him. When Laura stepped across the threshold, she felt an… unseemly… wave of shivers pass over her. It felt as if she had come into a different plane, a little nook of reality that had been tucked away and kept secret. She looked around her, and could guess that everybody else had similar reactions. Everybody looked a little bit unsettled. Everybody, that is, except Rafael.

In the middle of the room stood a single rock. It wouldn’t have warranted comment, usual y, but something about the way the angles of the room were carved drew your eye to it immediately. It was only a little higher than Laura’s waist, and – on second inspection – Laura found that the entire top of it had been cleaved off. It was a pristinely clean cut, with not a single ragged edge or imperfection visible on the top. Rafael took a step towards it, and as he came closer, Laura had to gasp. The top of the rock started to
glow
in the same greenish-blue luminescence of the vault door, the same eerily familiar color which lighted the writing on the smooth wal that once stood below the entrance to the sanctuary. Laura looked around her, and saw that the others – although maybe not quite as shocked as she was – were nonetheless impressed. Madison stood there with her lips pursed, while Alexander stared openly at the strange rock. Even Logan had his eyebrows raised.

“What is it?” Laura heard Alexander ask.

“A
torrial
,” Rafael replied.

“And what does it do?” This time, it was Laura who posed the question.

“Wel , it is what I said. A relic of an ancient time. An example of the artifacts I spoke of. This one in particular lets the user
see
the entirety of the caves.” He motioned his arms around him. “You can see if there is anyone here, and – in particular – you can see exactly where they are.”

“How does it work?” Madison asked.

“There are two components to it. One is the rock you see in front of you. But that is not the most important. The controls for it are. Come around.” He stepped around the side of the rock, and motioned for the others to fol ow. When they did, Laura saw that hidden behind the glowing rock was a complex grid carved onto a smooth glass-like surface. The surface was similar in texture and color to the crystals that grew in the entrance cavern. And on the grid itself stood two figurines – more like levers, actual y – that looked like they could be moved into a hundred different directions.

“This is the control ing mechanism,” Rafael explained. “The two handles can be positioned in thousands of different combinations, and each one al ows a glimpse into something different. You adjust the two controls, and the
torrial
adjusts to what you want to see.”

“But how does it do that?” Madison asked. “
How
does it let you see that?”

“I believe it to be a phenomenon of the dream realm,” Rafael began slowly. “The
torrial
– and not just this one, but al of them – taps into the
difference
between the essences of the dream realm and the human world. The one before you is but one example.”

“Is it how some dream walkers are able to sense your location in the human world?” Laura asked. Rafael raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Not many know that, but yes.” Laura looked to Madison, who winked at her.

“So what happens,” Rafael continued, “is that the dream world exists on a type of paral el
plane
to our world. The spot where you met the angels – while fascinating in and of itself – is one place where the two planes overlap. They intersect. And I believe they do so because the two planes, while nearly perfectly paral el to each other in most places, undergo a slight
tilt
there.” He put his two hands out in front of him, holding both of them flat and one a few inches above the other. “Imagine my lower hand is the human world, and the upper hand is the dream realm. Usual y, there is no overlap. To travel from one place to the other, you need to cross this chasm.” He looked at the space between his hands, and widened it for effect. “That is, of course, why everyone experiences that peculiar
ripping
sensation when they leave the dream. To jump between planes like that exhausts the very fabric of reality, and what you experience is the world mending itself back together.”

“Wait a minute,” Laura interrupted, “are you saying that by crossing over to the dream, and back again, we’re essential y destroying pieces of… reality?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Rafael confirmed. “Now, both of these realms – both of the planes –

are flexible, of course, but also very strong. They couldn’t support the sheer size and immensity of themselves if they were not. So, in most cases, they are able to repair themselves quite wel when someone jumps between planes.”

“But not always?” Laura asked.

“Right. I think that is what caused the overlap that you found behind that vault door in the mines. Based on what you told me, I have a much clearer picture of things, now. I believe that when the first angel stepped out of the dream, the disruption that resulted, it sent shockwaves throughout the entirety of the dream realm. And because of that the angle of the plane was changed. Like seismic activity underneath the continents, the entire plane
tilted
.” He moved his upper hand so that it sloped harshly towards the lower one. Now, the tips of his fingers were touching the top of his bottom hand. “Of course, the tilt has been corrected since then, ever so slowly…” he positioned his upper hand into a more gently slope, “…but the intersect stil remains. It is there where you found the silver pool, and there where you found the dark shadow. That is the crossing point between the two realms, and it al ows one to bypass the chasm to enter either realm directly.
But
. Neither plane was ever designed for such travel, and neither were our bodies. Which is why, perhaps, the sensation of crossing over was so much stronger, so much more visceral, when it occurred there.”

“Ok, I understand that,” Laura said, “as I think everyone else does.” She looked around quickly, and her inquiry was met with brief nods. “But what does that have to do with this artifact? With this…
torrial
?”

“More than you might suspect. For the
torrial
takes advantage of the distance between the planes to al ow its user to do things that would never be possible otherwise. Some may take advantage of the very nature of the differences between the two realms. But in essence, these artifacts, the
torrial
, they forge a connection between the user and the dream realm, each in their own way, to accomplish different things.”

“And what does this particular one do?”

“It al ows the user to transcend limitations of time and space that are so characteristic of the human world. The dream realm, as you know, has a much more… flexible… set of rules that apply to it. Not so here. Yet this
torrial
in particular makes use of that very difference. It works by checking for…

irregularities… between the dream and waking world. For things that exist here in the present time that are not mirrored there. Living beings, for example – like us – create another sort of
ripple
in the surface of the human plane. Like the barest hint of a feather gliding smoothly across a pool of water. No matter how smooth its passage is, there is
always
a disturbance of the water. And if something is tuned in careful y, properly, it might be able to… pick up on the disturbances and relay them to you. That is how this
torrial
works. Precisely because the two realms are so similar and yet so distinctive – sharing identical geography but not identical life – can the
torrial
transform that information of the disturbances and into something useable for us.”

“Fascinating,” Madison breathed.

“For example,” Rafael said, adjusting the two levers attached to the glass surface by the side of the rock, “if we want to see how our friends in the maze are doing, al we have to do is tune into that location…”

Laura watched, spel bound, as Rafael continued manipulating the two levers, shifting them to different position like two pieces on a chessboard. While he was doing that, however, his attention was ful y turned to the cleaved surface on top of the rock. His hands moved with the expert confidence of someone who’s done this many times before.

Laura continued keeping watch, wondering what might happen. Rafael’s gaze was directly only to the rock. The surface shone in that same luminance as before, when suddenly, a bright flash of light, overpowering in its intensity, momentarily blinded Laura’s eyes. She brought her arm up against it, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. She blinked a few times, regaining her vision, and when she could see again, her jaw dropped.

The surface of the rock that had been so perfectly smooth before had now
morphed
into a hundred jagged edges. There was no order to them, no type of arrangement that Laura could see. She glanced back at Rafael, who’s attention was stil only on the rock. She looked back, and saw that the edges had started to… shift. Ever so slightly, at first, and originating from the middle. It looked like ripples were moving across the jagged surface. She blinked, and saw that they
were
in fact ripples. Many of them, coming in massive waves, transforming the entire surface into something both liquid and solid at the same time. It was like watching some sort of living thing move and pulse to life.

“Have you ever seen such a thing?” Laura heard Logan whisper to Alexander, who shook his head. Just as suddenly as the ripples began, they stopped. And in their wake stood clearly definable wal s –

or rather, a miniature representation of wal s – curling and twisting against each other in a dizzying arrangement. But there was something familiar about their shape, about their structure… and then it hit her. They were the wal s of the maze below, deep underground, where she and Logan had sought escape from the
Vassiz
chasing them. But why was Rafael showing them this…?

Then her eyes picked up movement. Inside the wal s that made up hol ow pathways, smal dots of movement became visible. The dots grew larger until they became spherical… blobs. There was no other way she could think of them. They were amorphous, and al varying somewhat in size while seeming to waver in and out of existence. And she knew exactly what they were.

They were representations of the
Vassiz
stil in the maze. This rock – this
torrial
– was showing her, and everyone around her, a type of birds-eye view of the maze. But it was only a part of the maze, Laura thought – the entire thing would have needed a much larger rock surface to be displayed on. But what was more fascinating was that it was also showed her the movement of the living beings
inside
the maze –

exactly where they were going, exactly what they were doing, and exactly how many there were.

“Now you see, eh?” Rafael laughed jarringly. “This
torrial
al ows me to monitor the entire sanctuary against intruders, visitors, enemies, friends… anyone I want. Now… watch this.”

Rafael’s hands moved, shifting the levers ever so slightly, and the representation on top of the rock shifted in the same direction. The wal s and pathways of the maze flew by, until everything settled in another location, far to the right of the original. There, another group of those amorphous blobs was moving about. Rafael moved one of the levers, and the view of everything came much closer. The wal s became larger, reducing the overal scope of visibility, but as it got closer, the amorphous blobs became more defined. Laura could see vague representations of limbs, and an overal body shape. The
torrial
was
like a camera, panning and zooming wherever Rafael directed it.