The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (42 page)

Sheila barged into Farraway’s office, Nick
close behind, and she didn’t care if it got her in trouble. She
needed answers, and she needed them now, before it was too late.
Farraway glared at her at first, but thought better of it and
offered them seats, which neither took. Nick paced the rear of his
office, hands thrust in his pockets, side-eyeing him. Sheila
approached the chief inspector’s desk and towered over him,
glaring.

“I know what you’re going to ask,” he said
flatly.

“I don’t give a shit about Rieflin right
now,” she snapped, waving the comment away. “I want to know what
the hell is going on at Nulltech Alley! Is the Unit going to even
do anything about it, or are we just going to sit back and watch,
just like last time?”

Farraway slowly lifted from his chair and
leveled his eyes at her. “Tread carefully, Kennedy.”

She was not intimidated. “You know very well
what I mean,
sir
. I get why Nick and I were sent down there.
We get that something is going down, that something’s about to
explode in the next few weeks. We
get
that. But we’ve
received another request from Kindeiya Shalei to do a drive-by. Why
there? It’s a corporate park, and there’s shit-all going down as
far as the ARU is concerned. Are we looking for Saisshalé? Can
someone at least tell us that?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he
said.

She banged a fist on the desk. “Pashyo—! You
know that’s bullshit. We’ve spent weeks trying to keep the man from
hurting anyone else, and we’re doing a hell of a bang-up job of it
from what I can see. I'm ready to believe anything right now.” She
glanced over her shoulder. Nick stood at the opposite corner of
Farraway's office, leaning up against the side of a bookcase. “If
you don't tell us, we'll find out eventually anyway. We can ask
Team One —”

“Caren and Alec know nothing about this,”
Farraway growled, leaning over his desk and scowling at her. “And
they don't
need
to know until I say it's time. Do you
understand?”

Nick winced at him as he shifted his weight
from one foot to the other. “
Pashyo
, chief! We don't
understand anything around here, that’s the problem. Could you at
least tell us why Team Two in particular has been called over to
Nulltech Alley multiple times? Kindeiya could have asked for
anyone. Why us?”

Farraway glared at him. “In due time,
Slater,” he said. “Some days you're more stubborn than your
partner.”

Sheila bristled but kept calm. “With all due
respect, sir...”

“Kennedy, please,” he moaned, waving a tired
hand in the air. “Leave it alone for now. This is one of those rare
instances where the less you know, the higher the chance you'll
come out clean. Which means
leave it alone.
” He pushed
himself away from the desk, distancing himself from them. “I can
tell you there have been a number of Saisshalé sightings down there
in Nulltech Alley. I can tell you that the people down there think
he has something planned to counter the upcoming Season of
Embodiment, and they’re willing to do something about it. Not the
companies as far as I know, but the people who work and live there.
I can even tell you that Kindeiya Shalei specifically asked for the
two of you. No offense, but even that surprised me. But I can't
tell you what's happening down there, as I hardly know myself. For
everybody's safety, including mine, I can't say anything.”

“Okay...” Sheila said slowly. “That's new.
Someone actively wanting to take part in a Season? What could they
possibly do, especially once the ESD gets shut down? It feels like
it’s all a giant waste of time.”

Farraway stopped cold, working his jaw.
Sheila felt the room go cold, and instinctively dropped her hands
to her side, flexing her fingers. Nick had moved to her right side,
his eyes darting between her and Farraway.

Finally, he turned back to them. His eyes
were frighteningly dark. “
Hra dayen crahné…
” he grumbled.
“Those souls in South City are
not
wasting their time,
Kennedy. They are doing something none of us can do. They're doing
something none of us are going to
forget
. You have to figure
this out on your own. Is that understood?”

Sheila shivered. “Clear, sir,” she said
unevenly.

“Understood, sir,” Nick said.

Farraway nodded and sat back down on the
front of his desk. “Good. The two of you have the day's orders. Go
to them.”

“Yes, sir,” Sheila said for the both of them,
and hurried out of the office before her anger and confusion got
the best of her. Nick followed close behind, nervously snapping his
fingers. She said nothing until they were well away from Farraway's
office.

“Three visits to South City in as many days,”
she grumbled. “And again this afternoon. During the worst part of
the damn commute. I wish I knew what the hells Kindeiya has planned
for us.”

“Kiralla,” Nick said.

The word stopped her cold. “Excuse me?”

He kept walking towards the elevators at the
end of the hall. “Kiralla,” he repeated. “Let's go up to the patio
and I'll explain.”

Sheila caught up with him. Kiralla? They were
around, no doubt about that. She'd always understood those
benevolent spirits to be quiet and impartial souls who observed but
never took part. To take part was to influence, and they could not
risk that. They could analyze and predict, but they could not take
any action that could alter the natural evolution of the Mendaihu
and the Shenaihu. If the kiralla were growing in number and
amassing somewhere, not unlike the Mendaihu, Shenaihu and
cho-nyhndah in the Waterfront sector…

The kiralla were reality seers and
soulhealers...and they knew something was about to happen.

Nick saw the color fading from her face and
directed her into the otherwise empty elevator car. Once they began
to move he looked her in the eyes and shook his head ever so
slightly, pursing his lips. It was a signal of audio silence while
in this enclosed space, and a signal she hadn't seen from him in
quite some time. She complied with a brief nod.

The elevator dropped them off at the top
floor, where they unexpectedly ran into Christine Gorecki about to
jump into the next car over. Upon recognition and a keen eye for an
off the record meeting, she followed them quietly onto the smoker's
deck. Nick and Christine both went for their packs of cigarettes
and lit up. Sheila pulled up one of the metal chairs and sank into
it. She glanced up at Christine, frowning. “Weren't you just
here?”

“I needed to do more research,” she said.
“And as much as I hate coming here, I have no choice now. My access
to the DRL has been suspended, just like everyone else’s. This
place is the only place I can still find semi-confidential
info.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Sheila said.

She shrugged as if it hadn’t really affected
her all that much, and took a drag from her cigarette. “So what's
up? Nick here looks like he's about to explode.”

He responded with a quick nod. “What do you
know about the kiralla?”

Christine studied him for a moment, weighing
the answer. “I know a fair bit.”

“Something's happening in South City and
they're involved,” he said. “Sheila and I were sent down there just
a few days ago to do a bit of spiritsensing, and we’ve been sent
down there multiple times since then. Once more tonight.”

“Kindeiya Shalei is down there,” she said.
“He could have done that himself.”

“He was the one who asked for us,” Sheila
said.

“Saisshalé’s been hanging around down there,”
Nick added. “His presence was strong enough that Sheila could
describe him physically. It's the same guy from the Guyton West
incident.”

Christine took another drag, a long one. “So
what does this have to do with the kiralla?”

By now, Sheila had figured out what he’d been
hinting at and chimed in. “There's been a kiralla presence down in
the southern half of the Sprawl for a while now. It's been there
since before Denni's Awakening. Just like the Shenaihu in the Rain
of Light…we never noticed it because we weren't looking for
it.”

Christine nodded. “The kiralla signature is
notoriously hard to pinpoint. It's like a steel coldness, but with
none of the malevolence of the nuhm'ndah spirit. Are you thinking
they have something to do with everything that’s happened since the
Awakening?”

“I’m convinced they’re behind all the
tagging. That phrase was painted in as many places connected to the
attacks as they were painted near Mendaihu hangouts. Like the
Warehouse, for example.”

“That still doesn't mean anything, Nick.”

“I'm still working on the theory, but you
have to admit it’s a strong one.”

Sheila started to speak but halted midword as
a shiver ran through her whole body. She’d just felt something
brush by her, from within. The thread didn’t feel familiar. Was
someone trying to listen in? She continued again as she made a
cursory sweep of the immediate area. “On the other hand, the
kiralla have been sensed in large numbers in the Waterfront and
South City, in the same sectors where Saisshalé's attacks are
highest. They’re interested in what’s been going on, and you can’t
ignore that.”

“What do Kai and Ashan think about this?” she
asked.

“I don't know. I haven't been able to contact
them for the last few days. Poe heard from Kai the other day, but
they didn't talk about work.”

Christine nodded. “It must be tough for
them.”

Nick hummed in response, and clipped the butt
of the cigarette and threw it in the ashcan. “Does anyone else feel
as though Farraway is closer to this than he's letting on?”

Sheila bristled at his sudden change in
topic. “What's that got to do with the kiralla? Dylan's always been
like that. He's purposely vague to get us to figure it out for
ourselves.”

“True,” he said. “All the more reason to
explore the avenues he said not to. The kiralla have been around
for months, we’ve already figured that out. Preparing for something
but keeping it silent.”

“Preparing for the upcoming Season of
Embodiment,” Christine finished. “I reached that same conclusion
the other day. We’re all following the same exact path we went down
twenty-five years ago, studied indifference and all. Denni is
prodding everyone awake. Saisshalé is loose and possibly doing the
bidding of the Dahné Shenaihu nuhm'ndah. The kiralla are here and
acting like referees, waiting for the game to start. But —”

Sheila!

She yelped out in surprise and sprang out of
her chair. Someone
was
there! “Who did that?”

“Someone just call you from within?”

“Yes!” she said, shaking in anger. “Scared
the piss out of me!” She backed away, catching her breath. “Going
in.”

Christine nodded. “We’ll be here if you need
us.”

Sheila nodded and went to one of the plastic
tables and sat down, breathing evenly. She closed her eyes and
relaxed. Whoever this was, they weren't going away. She could sense
the voice as being from someone nearby, possibly in the
neighborhood, possibly even in the building. She didn't recognize
the voice, though. It was a man's voice, low and hoarse.

Sheila!

Settle down, whoever you are,
she
responded with equal volume. She felt the ripple of surprise in
response.
Do I know you?

You know of me
, he said
. Alec and
Caren know me well. I watch for them.

“Matthew...” she whispered, the recognition
of his voice making her shudder. She frowned; how had she not
recognized his voice or his thread of energy reaching out to her?
She’d talked with him in the past, knew enough about him to know
his quirks and habits, even recognized his voice now. He’d tricked
her somehow, and that didn’t sit well with her.

You're down in holding,
she said.
I
can't let you out, you know that.

Not what I want,
he responded. There
was a hint of fear to his voice.
What I do want is a link to
Shirai.

Sheila let out a quick snort of amusement.
Tall order, kid.

Well, not by conventional means, anyway.

“What the...” she growled. This guy could be
slippery if she didn’t stay in charge of the conversation.
I
highly doubt anyone here can hack into the Tower, kid. If we need
your technical help, we'll call, okay?

A sudden wash of anger hit her squarely in
her heart. She swore, clutching at her chest with one hand,
gripping the edge of the table with the other. She could hear both
Nick and Christine rushing to her side. She briefly sensed
Christine's gossamer thread touching her and recoiling just as
quickly, and a quick gasp escaping her lips.

His voice boomed within her skull.
You
need more than my technical help, Sheila! You need the One of All
Sacred. You need to get a hold of Denni. You need to tell her that
the Shenaihu will attempt to capture Shirai again. We cannot let
that happen!

Sheila gasped for air. “Wh-what...”

Do it! NOW!

And then his presence was gone, leaving a
sudden cold vacuum within, a nonspace where his voice had been. A
nonspace she hadn't expected, and it hurt like hell. Her lungs were
burning for air and her heart was racing at a dangerous level, and
she could do nothing to stop it or calm it down! She —

“Sheila!” Nick cried, his voice rushing in
from her right. Abruptly she felt his touch on her arm, his hand
against her cheek, wiping away tears. She was crying? “Sheila!
Goddess...are you okay?”

She felt his warm touch, his trembling hands
against her skin. She blushed and bit her bottom lip, ashamed. “I'm
okay,” she managed. She pushed herself up from the table, wavered
and caught herself, and tried again. “I've got to talk to
Caren.”