The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (57 page)

“But honestly, Denysia? Yes, you
did
awaken the kiralla, as many of them are now losing that blinder.
Many of them are now making themselves known, as well they should.
I'm sure you've seen that graffiti.”

Denni shuddered. “Yes, I have.”

“Well, then,” he chuckled. “That would
explain their sheer number.”

She flashed a grin at him, not so much to
agree with him but to shut him up. She had come here thinking she
would be in charge, only to lose control of the dialogue so early
on! She had to remind herself that she was here to talk, first to
appease Saisshalé's wish for a parley, but more importantly to
prove her stance, to prove that the Mendaihu were here to protect
the Gharné at any cost, even if that meant fighting the Shenaihu to
the death. She was not about to let herself be swayed by this
man.

Not again.

“So where does this leave us, Saisshalé?” she
said, and began a slow pace around him. “If we are pawns in this
game of fate, what is the purpose of having two deities who cannot
be more different than each other? I do not dare question the Great
Goddess, but I do wish to know what She has in mind, as it
obviously concerns us. Perhaps you and I are
destined
to
fight every twenty-five years. Perhaps you are to die some times,
and I am to die others. This time is no different, Saisshalé. I am
no different from any of the other Dearest. I'm bound to them by
spirit, Saisshalé, but I am not their clone. I can use their
influence, but all of my plans are my own. They've taken their own
paths, most of which include destruction and fatalities I'd rather
not have to bear. You're right, I'm young to be the One. I'm only
fifteen, though my soul is ancient. The past Dearest and I are all
the same, yet we retain our individualities.”

“So Trisandi in your dedication,” Saisshalé
smirked. “One of Gharra's endearing qualities.”

“Quite,” she said. “Let me tell you another
endearing quality, Saisshalé. We spend most of our lives trying to
remember what we already know. It’s the respect and the quest for
knowledge. That's something the Trisandi spirit had been doing for
millennia, and will do so indefinitely. We're fascinated by what we
see; we want to know how it works, how it affects us, how it
becomes a part of our lives. This is remembering and learning about
life.
Some of us even move forward and learn something new,
and perhaps we'll retain it in our next iterations. And the
interesting thing?
We never lose this knowledge.
We may
think we've forgotten it when we're reborn, but that's not entirely
true. It's the
process
of remembering that we forget. As
infants, we have to learn it all over again. And those of us who
are lucky enough to find this process again? We become
enlightened...we achieve Light. And then we go for more.

“Me? I've acquired the knowledge of eight
other Dearest. So you may well think that I'm just rambling on and
wasting your time. What do I know about knowledge? Do I even know
what to do with it? Well, let me tell you: interrupting the
Ascension is probably the
best
thing you've done for me. I
retained both my Trisandi spirit and my Gharné self. I think, act,
and live like Denni Johnson, a teenager from Bridgetown. I may
force myself into these sorts of conversations, Saisshalé, and
that's when I ask for the help of the Ones. I am not their
mouthpiece, nor do I ask them to speak for me. I speak and offer my
own opinions and thoughts to you, because you deserve it.

“I won't lie to you, Saisshalé. I hope you
haven't lied to me, but I've already chosen not to lead you astray
in any of our conversations, now and in the future. I feel you have
earned this, despite your misdeeds and despite our disagreements on
many things. If I ask to be treated with respect, I am expected to
show the same.”

Saisshalé said nothing for the moment, only
crossing his arms and looking down at the nonground, at the
grayness that surrounded them. After a moment, he looked back up
and smiled. “I appreciate that,” he said quietly. “Honestly I do.
Because I wish to ask one question of you right now, and I believe
it's a question that's been asked here countless times. It's
something you and I have asked each other over the millennia, at
this point in time, when we've done all we can to avoid our
wars.”

“What is your question?” she asked firmly and
without a hint of anger or fear.

Saisshalé recognized the cue and laughed
quietly. “Jumping so quickly into the old routine again, Denysia?
Don't you want to know the outcome?”

“I know the outcome,” she said. “
I
know it,” she repeated, pointing at her chest.

“Suit yourself,” he snickered, and sat down
on the gray floor. He gestured in front of him. “Please, sit.”

She eyed him for a moment before doing so.
This was an unexpected request…what did he have in mind? She
trusted him, just as she’d promised, but she had also chosen to
remain fully aware of any questionable movements. She sat across
from him, cross-legged and clasped hands resting in her lap. She
looked him directly in the eyes, never wavering, never looking
away. “I'm sitting,” she said.

“As an equal,” he added. “Always a good sign.
So. This question I ask of you, Denysia Shalei, Dearest One. I ask
of you now.

“How much are you willing to sacrifice,
Dearest One, in order for Gharra to remain the spiritual offspring
of Trisanda?”

“I am willing to sacrifice myself in order to
protect Gharra,” she said. “That is the Code of the Mendaihu.”

“You're fifteen and human,” he countered.
“You're reacting with surface emotions, Denysia. Can you tell me
honestly, as you promised, that you've thought this through? That
you may end up forced out of existence on Gharra, in order for it
to retain its Trisandi spirit?”

“I have,” she said. “Many assume my sehna
lumia visits were to speak to the previous Ones, in order to gather
what information I could about you. And they’re not wrong. But I
also stayed there on my own. I weighed a lot of things in my mind
and in my heart as well, things I never spoke aloud or within. I
kept my link between myself and the Ones open, yet I only talked to
them when I chose to. This reaction, as you put it, is that of a
Mendaihu Gharra who has weighed the options in her head, has
conversed with her consort and her Protector, and has refused to be
influenced or swayed from her goals. I
do
know what I'm
getting myself into, Saisshalé.”

He nodded once and stood. “You have chosen,
Denysia Shalei. You are willing to sacrifice yourself in order to
protect Gharra. May it be so.”

“And what about you?” she asked, rising to
her feet. “What are
you
willing to sacrifice?”

“Me?” he said with a wolfish grin. “I plan on
winning.”

Denni laughed. “You always were the arrogant
bastard.”

“Someone has to be,” he said.

“May it be so, then,” she said. “You are the
arrogant bastard and I am the savior. I dearly wish we will not
resort to violence, Saisshalé.” She stepped forward and stopped
directly in front of him. He was a tall Meraladian and he towered
over her by at least a foot and a half. Despite that, she looked up
into his eyes and held out her hand. A little surprised by the
gesture, he held out his own hand and clasped it in hers. Her hands
were tiny and frail in his, but his grip was soft and kind. She
placed her other hand over his and shook it slightly.

“I wish you Peace, Love and Light, Saisshalé.
I wish we could meet on peaceful terms more often.”

“I wish you the same, Dearest One,” he said
quietly.

“Until next we meet,” she said, and let go.
“Safe journey, Saisshalé.”

He said nothing, merely bowing. Then his form
was gone and she was back in the brightness of Light. She would
meet up with Amna at her lumisha dea, but for now she was going to
just stay here, in this beautiful nothingness, in this encompassing
energy, in this galaxy of spirit, until she was ready to return.
She closed her eyes and felt the waves of love and compassion
washing over her, from the countless souls flowing by and around
and through her, and she knew from that sensation that she had done
the right thing.

“Peace,” she whispered into the Light. “Thank
you.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Reasons

Sheila sat in the same exact spot on the
seventh floor deck with Nick, only this time she slouched heavily
into her chair with her feet propped up on another, thoroughly
exhausted. She stared distractedly at the trees across the way,
watching the branches sway in the morning breeze. To her left, the
sun was rising over the city, peeking around the icy black shadow
of the Mirades Tower.

Nick sat off to the side, taking a drag off
his cigarette. She never knew him to smoke so much in so little
time. He looked gaunt and pale. His eyes were unfocused, his
expression blank. Nick was not a spiritual man at all, at least not
until recently. Awakening his own Mendaihu spirit and abilities had
clearly taken a toll on him. He'd said little when they'd arrived
here, and now he was saying nothing at all. She accepted his
silence. He only needed the comforting presence of a close
friend.

She was facing south for a good reason. If
Saisshalé was about to have his own Awakening, she wanted to sense
it, see it,
and
feel its effects on those around her. When
she'd warned Nick last night, she had no idea exactly
when
it was going to happen, just that it would be soon. And all anyone
could do now was wait.

“No more dreams,” Nick said quietly.

Sheila turned to him, surprised by his voice
and his choice of words. “We've always had dreams, Nick, you know
that.”

“No...” he said again, slowly turning his
sunken eyes to her. “
Dreams
, Sheila. Our own
prophecies.”

“Those dreams never fade,” she said.
“Sometimes you just have to detach yourself from them for a while.
See them in a new light when you return.”

That didn't sway him. “Fate's been chosen,
Sheila,” he said. “We know what's going to happen. You and I are
powerless. This is a war that will come down to two people:
Saisshalé and the One of All Sacred. The rest of us are just
pawns.”

Sheila shook her head at him. “I refuse to
believe that. Even the pawns can influence the outcome.”

“Yes, but would it make a difference?” he
said, and let out a heavy sigh as he rubbed at his eyes. “Sorry,
I'm just tired. And a little pissed off. There's only so far I can
take someone preaching to me, you know? I may be a
Sleeper
,
but I'm not about to perform some sacred duty while the rest of my
city gets the shit kicked out of it.”

“Are you plan on being on the front lines?”
she glared at him.

“If it comes to that,” he said.

“Good,” she said, a smile slowly crossing her
face. “I'll be right next to you.”

The office was just as quiet, even after
radio silence had been lifted. Sheila and Nick remained here,
certain that Poe and Caren would be arriving soon enough. It was
still early, just past seven in the morning, and those two were not
due to be in for another hour or so. Nick had chosen to catch a
quick catnap on the couch in the lounge just down the hall from
their office, and Sheila chose to stay awake, at least until
everyone arrived.

She chose to pass the time by making a few
calls. She called Christine and left a message, just checking in
and making sure everything was okay. She then called Caren, but she
couldn’t raise her on the comm.

Poe wasn't answering either, which was very
unlike him. He'd answer that thing at any point in the day, whether
he’d been sleeping or wide awake. She stopped short of calling
Chief Inspector Farraway. There were a few more people she could
contact, however. She hadn't heard from Kai and Ashan for a while.
She found their number in the roll call file and punched it up. Kai
answered.

“Good morning, Kai,” Sheila said. “Didn't
wake you, did I?”

“No,” she said quietly. “Ashan's still
sleeping, though. I gather you're calling about last night.”

“You gather correctly. Nick and I were down
in Nulltech Alley when it happened.”

There was an extended silence on the other
end before Kai answered. “Right in the center of everything, then?”
she asked.

Sheila frowned. “You could say that. He's
down the hall sleeping it off right now. We haven't heard from you
for a while now, and we're concerned. Is something going on we
should know about?”

Kai had paused again. “We?”

Calm yourself,
she thought, and took a
breath. “Okay,
I've
been concerned. With everyone else busy
in their appointed roles, people like Nick and I, who are
apparently
just observers, are bound to notice something.
Caren's got her hands full with Denni, Poe is tackling his own
demons, and we've even got a few outside people helping us. Which
begs the question: what are Kai and Ashan doing?”

Kai sounded hurt by the accusation. “Haven’t
you read our reports?”

“They're not telling me anything,” she said.
“Just observations of B-Towners in general, which I already know.
They don't know
why
they're suddenly hearing all these new
voices, using these new senses they've never used before. It's all
observation, Kai. Your reports are just that: observation, nothing
else.”

“Are you accusing us?” Kai asked curtly.

“I admit I am not,” she said. “But why are
most of the upper ranks here cognizant of something about to go
down, and not telling any of us? This is just like before, Kai.
We’ve had to piece it all together by ourselves. I get that,
though. The only way we’ll understand it is if our spirits
experience it. But for Goddess’ sake, what are we supposed to grasp
at?”