Balance (The Divine, Book One) (15 page)

I got
a little bit punch drunk on my newfound ability to pulverize rock, and I spent
the better part of an hour blasting small chunks of stone out of the roof of
the Belmont. As time wore on, I could feel my concentration improving, my
control improving. I still failed to get results three out of every ten tries,
but it was progress, and I was happy with it. I felt alive, and strong! Better
than I had ever felt before.

I
picked up the sword again and charged toward the metal door to the stairwell,
racing forward and focusing my will along the blade, making it sharper,
stronger. I took a nasty hack, and laughed as the blade ripped through the
door, shredding it almost in half. Intoxicated, I threw a fist at the top half,
and watched as it knocked the weakened door off its hinges and over the edge of
the rooftop. A moment later I heard it crash onto the empty alley below. Power.
It was raw, unchained, and somewhat uneven, but it was there, and it was mine.

I
left the rooftop in ruins before I retreated back to my room. I didn't know how
much my display of rock-smashing would help me in a real fight, but if nothing
else I felt a little bit less like a piece of meat dangling from a large hook.
With any luck I'd at least be able to make myself look formidable, even if I
couldn't seal the deal.

I
stripped off my clothes and hopped into the shower. I didn’t need it to stay
clean or smell fresh, but I had always found the feeling of the water and the
small space of the stall helped me focus my thoughts, and I had a lot to think
about. First, there was the matter of the Chalice. I needed to find it, but I
had no idea where to look, or even where to begin looking.

I was
pretty sure that the demon Reyzl would have the intel I needed, but there was
no way I was in any shape to confront a major power like that. I doubted I ever
would be. Moving stuff around for a few seconds was a parlor trick compared to
what I imagined a major demon was capable of.

No, I
needed to start at the bottom, to find the lowest rung on the ladder that might
be able to point me in the right direction, and to stay near the bottom of the
barrel for as long as I could. Surprise was my only real advantage right now. I
had used it to the fullest against the Great Were, and I needed to do the same
here. I closed my eyes and let the water run down my body, listening to the
sound of it as it dripped off my limbs and landed on the chipped and scratched
porcelain below.

My
second problem was a little more complicated. Josette. She would be back to see
me at some point, I was sure of it. Whether it would be as a teacher or as an
inquisitor, I just had no idea. She confused me in so many ways. She could be
sweet, impulsive, playful, and light, and within an instant serious,
introspective, and frightening.

She
was good, and the goodness was beautiful. She had a sensitivity and empathy
that I admired, and from the moment she had connected her soul to mine I had
felt a bond to her that I couldn’t understand or explain. I wanted to be her
ally, her friend, her... I didn’t know. I had thought that could have been
possible, despite our differences in opinion. She seemed both open to it and
against it at the same time. She had agreed to teach me even though it was
against her laws. Then she had used my trust to try to wring information out of
me. Information I didn’t have.

What
would I do when she returned? I could call her on her deception, and she would
not be able to lie to me. That didn’t mean she would be honest. I was learning
the difference, and just knowing that there was one sucked. My other
alternative was to say nothing, pretend I didn’t know, and see what she did
next. She hadn’t gotten anything out of me, so maybe she would try again. If I
were ready the next time I could catch her at it, but wouldn’t I just end up
right back where I was now? Either way my shot at friendship was lost, and that
sucked too.

I
turned off the flow of water and pushed all of the moisture off my body with a
thought. I was getting pretty good at small pushes. As far as Josette was
concerned, I would make a game-time decision based on whatever emotions bubbled
up the next time I saw her. There was enough dishonesty going around to deny
the truth from myself too. With respect to the Chalice, I had an idea on that
one. It was a long shot, but long was better than none.

 I
finished dressing, altering my clothes into a simple black cotton collared
shirt and a pair of destroyed blue jeans. Slipping back into the bedroom, I
grabbed my iPad, hopped on the bed, tapped into the browser, and made my way
back to SamChan. I may not be a Collector like Mr. Ross, but I did have at
least one source to depend on for this type of otherwise insane information.

I
found the thread from the guy with the vampire video on the third page. It had
been posted a couple of days ago, and he swore up and down in his post that it
was legit, that he had stumbled across two vamps fighting each other in an
alley as he was heading home from work that night.

I
recognized his screen name, ‘Oblitrix’. He had been on the Chan for years,
working different hacking schemes for groups like Anonymous. There were a
couple of replies on his thread, and they were filled with derision and jokes
about random drug testing and drug-free workplaces. I spent some time staring
at the screen before I hit the personal message button. I needed to get a line
on someone who might have info about the Chalice, and vampires fit my decision
to stick to the bottom of the power ladder to a tee. Oblitrix knew where to
find them, or at least had a general idea where they might be found. I briefly
thought about tracking Rebecca down on Liberty Island, but I couldn’t come up
with any sane reason why she would help me with this. So, I started typing.

O
- GCT, 104 11 21 0900

The
message was short and cryptic, but I knew Oblitrix would be there. Getting a PM
from a dead guy’s account would be irresistible to a guy like him. With that
taken care of, there was little else to do but wait until morning. I had about
sixteen hours before the meeting, and I needed to take advantage of every
minute. I propped myself up against the back of the bed and ran through the
rain exercise three or four dozen times. False starts were one thing in this
environment. Failure in a tight spot could mean my end.

As
Dante had suggested, overexertion left me weary. I had continued my practice
non-stop for almost three hours, alternating between making it rain and sending
objects flying through the room. By the time my splitting headache and dead
tired body demanded that I call it a night, I figured I was getting a ninety
percent success rate on my efforts. During one attempt I had even managed to
keep the sword, the dagger, and my socks rotating above the bed for about
twelve seconds. Not too bad for a newbie.

My
mind was too tired to focus, too frenetic to sleep. Restless, I picked up the
iPad and made my way over to YouTube. In my tired, restless boredom, I decided
to check out some videos on sword fighting and martial arts. My own ability
thus far had proven to be pathetic at best, and at the very least maybe I could
learn to not be a greater threat to myself than my opponent.

I
spent the next couple of hours navigating the chain of clips from one to the
next, my mind vaguely aware of what I was watching as it began to settle into a
deeper state of rest. I wasn't sure I needed to sleep, but I closed my eyes
anyway. At some point soon after, the iPad slipped from my hand and landed on
the floor next to the bed.

I
woke up around eight thirty. Whether or not I needed to sleep, I felt so much
better for having done so. My body felt recharged, renewed, and full of energy.
My mind was clear, sharp, and focused. I had a plan, I knew what needed to be
done, and I was feeling good about doing it. For the first time since I had
died, or maybe even for the first time since my soul gained its first spark of
life, I felt like I was in control.

I
hopped out of bed, grabbed the sword and dagger, and headed out the door.
Punkmo was manning the front desk when I stepped purposefully past, his eyes
bloodshot and droopy as he came down from his morning high. The look he gave me
reminded me that I needed to disguise the sword. I glamoured it into an
umbrella before anyone sober took notice.

It
was a long walk from the Belmont to Grand Central Station, so I moved at a
brisk pace. As I walked, I paid extra attention to the world around me; to the
smell of coffee, donuts, and fried foods permeating the morning air, to the
sounds of cars driving by, people talking, high heels on cement, cellphones,
car horns, sirens, beggars asking for change... Every noise was a musical note
in my mind, and as I paid more attention to it I began to recognize the tune,
and then to anticipate it. This was my world, and in my Awakened state I could
understand it in a way that exposed every beauty it possessed, and appreciate
it for every nuance. To the untrained it would have seemed chaotic and disorganized,
but in it I was beginning to see the balance as much as I could innately feel
it. It was so much more complex than just good versus evil. It was in and of
everything, and it was incredible.

Grand
Central Station was a hub of activity, the famous main concourse thronged with
people. They moved smoothly with and around one another, effortless in their
negotiation of passage as they went about their daily lives. I spent a moment
admiring the controlled chaos of the masses before heading straight for the
lower concourse. I had told Oblitrix I would meet him near Track 104. He
wouldn’t know who he was looking for, and neither would I by sight, but I was
hoping I would be able to pick him out based on his body language. He was sure
to be on edge, filled with nervous, anxious anticipation. His heart would be
racing, his breathing shallow, and his palms sweaty and cold. As I navigated
the lower concourse towards Track 104, I paid close attention to all of the
people moving through the station, watching the vibration of their bodies,
listening to their heartbeats.

 I
found him sitting on a bench towards the outer fringe. His body was hunched
forward, his head resting on his hands, his right foot tapping at a rabbit’s
pace and his eyes darting back and forth to watch every person as they angled
by. He was African-American, with a wide nose, small ears, and a chiseled jaw.
He was wearing a black caddy hat, a heavy wool pea coat, black paratrooper
pants and combat boots. He also had a black nylon messenger bag draped over his
chest with a huge ‘O’ embroidered on the center.

I
stood behind him and watched for a minute, just to make sure I had my man. I
also did a quick scan of the rest of the crowd to make sure neither of us had
been followed. I was just about to go over and sit next to him when someone
else from the crowd approached him. The new guy said something to him, and then
Oblitrix stood up and held out his hand in greeting, a big smile growing on his
face.
So much for my private message.

The
newcomer wasn’t
Divine
, I was sure of it. That didn’t
mean he was innocent though. I watched the two exchange a few more words before
Oblitrix motioned to his messenger bag. I didn’t need to eavesdrop on the
conversation to know what was being said. I didn’t even need to try to spot the
bad guys when they started closing in.

I
looked around, taking note of how the crowded floor was thinning out as people
subconsciously decided to take a different train, stop to grab a bite to eat,
or otherwise move themselves away from the incoming demons. I avoided looking
at them in hopes of staying off their radar for as long as possible. Instead, I
started making my way past Oblitrix and the not-me, pretending that I was
vacating the area.

I was
six feet away from them when my fake looked up and caught my eye. His
expression changed immediately, from a warm friendliness to a fearful
animosity. His eyes shifted to glance at the demons coming toward us, trying to
judge his odds of survival. They weren’t good.

I
reached out and grabbed Oblitrix by the collar of his pea coat, pulling him
backwards with enough force to get his neck out of the way as a serrated dagger
flashed by. Without hesitation, I lunged forward and stabbed the man with my
umbrella-sword. The feeling of the blade sinking into his flesh was both
sickening and satisfying, but I didn’t have time to dwell on any of the
emotions. I could feel the demons’ eyes on me now, recognizing me as Divine.
There were four in total, approaching from each end of the concourse. Not vampires.
I knew that much by the feeling of fear that started encroaching on my
crumbling bravado. Whatever they were, they were higher up the ladder than I
had been looking to scrap with.

“What
the?” It was all Oblitrix had managed to get out during the whole maneuver. I
held him up to keep him from losing his feet, and then spun him to face me.

“Oblitrix,
I presume,” I said. “My name is Landon, and I need you to come with me right
now or we’re both going to be demon food.”

I
didn’t give him a choice. The demons didn’t give me a choice. There was one
direction they didn’t have covered, and that was down the steps into the train
tunnels. I moved my grip to Oblitrix’s arm and yanked him along. It was a bad
idea to be moving further away from daylight, but I didn’t see that I had a
choice.

“Let
me go man,” he cried as I pulled him.