The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (65 page)

“That's nothing to be ashamed of,” Denni
said, reaching out and touching her on the arm. “It's spiritual
love. It's
pure
.”

“I know,” she mumbled. “It's just...”

“What?”

She shrugged heavily as she finally lifting
her head. “It's just that it seems so...innocent. It’s stupid, I
know. I keep expecting more out of it.”

Denni smirked at her. “Don't expect anything
out of love, Karzi. It's something that evolves over time. All you
really need to do is nurture it, keep it alive.”

Caren shook her head in amusement. “Fine, you
win. I'll see if I can hunt the man down. I give you a half hour
before I kick you out of this little hellhole, got it?”

Denni giggled. “I'm gone already,” she said,
pushing herself up. “I'll be in my usual spot if you need me.”

“Like you don't infringe on my life already,
little shit,” she said. “Thanks.” She reached over and gave her a
tight hug.
Love you, hon.

“Love you too,” she smiled, and swung out
over the side to climb down the ladder.

She stopped at its base, looking back up. She
still felt her sister's presence up there, brimming with an
excitement she had never witnessed before. It had been too long a
time since Caren had any kind of happiness in her life. She had
become her legal guardian after their parents died, and her role
had become so similar to theirs that she’d begun to live almost
exactly the same — faithful to the ARU, a respected cho-nyhndah
dedicated to protect her fellow Terran, and ready to give her life
to protect her sister. Caren followed this road and did it
willingly.

She turned and began walking down the quiet
corridor of racks and thought about this. She wanted Caren to live
her own life as well, apart from being the Protector, apart from
being the big sister. Did Caren even know who she was, deep within?
Did she know much beyond the name
Karinna Shalei
, aside from
her cho-nyhndah strength? Did she even know her own spiritual
ancestry?

“Hey, Den,” she heard from her left. It was a
small boy, about nine, sitting cross-legged near the back of his
cubicle on the first level. She'd met the kid only once, but knew
him to be a strong cho-nyhndah. He'd been hunched over, poking away
at a game on his hardback vidmat, and had paused it to work out his
stiff neck.

“Hi, Bobby,” she said, offering a smile.
“Where are your brothers?”

The kid gave her an impish grin. “Jase is
upstairs,” he said, pointing upwards. “I don’t know where Kevin
is.”

“You behaving?” she asked, sitting down on
the edge of the kid's cubicle.

“Of course!” he said, and even gave her a
comical wink. He set down his vidmat and scooted up beside her,
immediately friendly.

She laughed and patted him on the back. Her
amusement was short-lived however, as reality sunk in. Nine years
old! Goddess, this kid was
way
too young to be here at this
time. “Bobby, can I ask you a question?” she said quietly. “You
don't have to answer if you don't want to.”

The boy frowned a little. “That's okay,” he
said. “I don't mind.”

“And don't answer because who I am, okay?
Answer as if I was a friend.”

He nodded quietly.

“Bobby...what do you think about the upcoming
Season?”

“Season?” he repeated.

Denni hid that pang of guilt as much as she
could, knowing that a good portion of the city could most likely
sense it. “There may be...something happening,” she said. “There
might be a fight.”

The boy's worry gave way to recognition. “Oh,
Season of Embodiment, you mean,” he said in a manner that suggested
he was looking forward to it. “Yeah, I know about it. I've been
hearing stuff around the warehouse.”

She shuddered. “What are your feelings about
it?”

Bobby hunched his shoulders. “I know it's
pretty serious. Some people are going to get hurt. Some might not
come back to the warehouse when it's done.”

Goddess...
Denni thought, the
heartache welling within her.
He's only nine...

“You understand this?” she asked, keeping her
voice from breaking.

“Sure,” he said, staring at her with his deep
blue eyes. “My brother Kevin told me all about it. Gave me
nightmares at first, but not anymore. I get it now. Like I know
what's going to happen to me, you know?”

Only nine!

“I know...” She hesitated before asking the
next question, not wanting to push the boy too far. “Are you a
reality seer?”

He nodded, beaming with pride. “Yeah!” he
said. “I knew you were walking down this way, so I climbed down to
wait until you came. You wanted to talk, but didn't know who to
talk to. Like you needed someone you didn't know.”

She shivered at his prescience. “I did...I
do
. I guess I just needed to know everyone's all right
tonight.”

“We’re in good hands. You should get some
sleep,” Bobby said.

This made her laugh. “I probably should,” she
said.

“We're fine,” he said. “Me, Jase, Kev, and
everyone else here. We're okay. Jase is actually more worried about
you, you know. Says you're going to burn out if you keep your
energy levels this high for so long.”

Denni stared at him.
Nine years old,
she reminded herself, yet she knew it, even before it registered in
her head. She felt it in her spirit, when she sensed him: Bobby's
was an extremely old soul. One that could probably be traced back
to Trisanda if she tried.

What's your name?
she said to him from
within.

Cantara Oktanis,
Bobby replied.

“Oktanis...” she whispered aloud. D'kami's
clan! She wondered if he knew who this D'kami was, but she didn't
have the nerve to ask. He must have understood, because he shrugged
silently.

“My dad was part of the ARU unit your parents
were in,” he said.

Another pang of guilt...this time draped in
sorrow. “Is he retired, then?”

“Retired,” he said. “He's proud that Jase and
Kev and I are here. He says he's too old, so he stayed back at the
house. We live across the river, about a mile from the tunnel out
of Swope Heights.

“He wants you to be here, in the thick of
it?”

Bobby bowed his head and forced himself not
to smile. “Never mind what my pop says. I want to be here, Dearest
One,” he said. “Never mind my youth. I know what I'm doing.”

Despite his use of the formality, she found
herself comforted by that. “Good,” she said, and reached out a hand
to touch his arm. He wavered for a moment, completely surprised
that she would touch him, just one of the thousands of Followers of
the One. He beamed at her.

“Thanks,” she said to him, and leaned over to
kiss him on the forehead. “May your strength never waver, Cantara
Oktanis. Peace, Love and Light to you and your family.”

His face turned a deep shade of crimson but
he didn't let on that he knew. Instead, he bowed deeper and clasped
his hand over hers. “And to you, Dearest One,” he said. “Peace,
Love and Light to you.” He lifted his chin ever so slowly, and
already he was stifling a giggle. “I'm sorry, Denni...just not used
to someone close to my age being the One of All Sacred.”

Oh, there's more to it than that,
she
thought, smirking at him. “Don't sweat it, Bobby,” she laughed.
“You've certainly helped clear my mind.”

“My intentions all along,” he said. “Go, get
some rest.”

“I will,” she said, smiling and shaking her
head. She climbed out of the cubicle and brushed herself off. She
ducked her head down and looked at him, feeling responsible for him
but trusting his words of survival as well. “Tomorrow, then, Bobby.
I hope I'll see you when it's all over.”

“You will,” he nodded.

“I'm sure I will,” she said. “Good
night.”

“G'night, Denni,” he said, picking up his
vidmat game.

“Nine years old,” she said aloud, lying in
her own cubicle. Denni had chosen one next door to Amna, three
aisles away from Caren, eight bays in and three up. She was
surrounded on all sides by Protectors — that is, all except the one
across the way, which still remained empty. That was to be Poe's
spot, if he ever decided to come back. She looked out at his
cubicle, watching its emptiness, sensing his absence. He was out
there, somewhere in town, still searching for a truth that may or
may not exist. He was trying to envision a life without the
Mendaihu, a life without the Shenaihu...a life without this
conflict. He, of all people, had the most intense passion to see it
end once and for all, to see Gharra as the beautiful, serene planet
that it was.

He was looking for Eden.

Then it hit her:

Trisanda. Eden is Trisanda!

“Goddess...” she whispered, shuddering. A
flood of memories and thoughts and emotions came rushing forth,
nearly drowning her. These were not her own, but those of Gharra
itself: this planet, this
living
planet understood, the way
the previous Dearest knew but not her, that it wasn't just a
life-bearing planet the Trisandi were looking for all these
years...it was spiritual compatibility! Gharra was
sentient
,
a heavenly body floating in space, carrying an untold number of
spirits with the same strengths, the same emotions, the same
intelligence as Trisanda.

Poe, all his life, had been looking for this
Eden, and he knew it was here on Gharra. Yet he wouldn't let
himself believe that, even when Crittiqila Nayélha had brought him
up to Trisanda—

How do I know that?

And now he was here, back on Gharra/Earth,
knowing the answers buts still unready to believe them. He'd found
what he was looking for, and he was afraid of what would come next.
He had no other choice but to move forward now.

“Damn it,” she whispered to herself.

Akaina,
she called out softly.

Kai answered a few seconds later, startled by
Denni's voice.
Y—yes, Dearest One?

I need you to find Alec and bring him
back.

She felt the shock of Kai's joy. It quickly
faded, however, when Denni's concern made itself known.
I can
probably get him to you within a few hours,
she responded.

No rush,
Denni said quickly.
He has
to come back on his own. I just need you to give him a little
push.

She felt Kai’s spirit calm itself.
Your
will, Dearest One. I leave in a few moments. Anything else,
then?

Just make sure he knows how important it is
for him to be here, Akaina. Thank you.

I understand,
she said.
He will
return.
Denni felt her spiritual presence fade then disappear,
and once again she was left alone. She stretched out on her futon
that she'd pushed into the corner, leaned up against her own pile
of pillows, and closed her eyes. Exhaustion was finally claiming
her senses. Whether Poe returned or not, she needed to sleep. She
would be awake when he came back.

“Come home, Alec,” she said to herself,
closing her eyes. “We need you, now more than ever.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Fate

A BMPD cruiser peeled out of the parking lot
with its tires squealing, lights flashing and sirens wailing, and
bolted down Baird Avenue towards Krieger Avenue. Poe hadn't seen
the driver or the car number, but he knew that Agent Michael
Gerrard from Security was behind the wheel, making a mad dash to
South City as backup under Farraway’s request. Gerrard was not
thrilled to be heading that way; in fact, he’d wanted to punch out
early, pack up the car and head out somewhere in the Wilderlands,
maybe up to Roanoke Outpost where his brother Doug lived...just to
get the hell away from Bridgetown before tomorrow.

How the hells did he know this?

Overload. His eyes hurt. His ears hurt. His
mind hurt.
Everything
hurt. What the hell was happening to
him? He was drawing in the spirit energy of everyone and every
thing
around him, had been doing so ever since he’d
returned, and realized too late that he could not stop it. It felt
like that time up at the Crest, sensing the entire city for the
first time with Kai, only this was a thousand times magnified. He
didn't even know who Gerrard
was
, for Goddess' sake...the
man was a rookie who started two days ago!

Poe was kiralla, that’s what was
happening.

But
how
was he kiralla? By birthright?
By reincarnation? By awakening? Why had he recognized Trisanda and
the Goddess’ Hall at Bann Dassah so easily? The avalanche of
questions only made his head pound more fiercely. It was a miracle
he’d made it across town. He’d managed to take the subway to his
destination without passing out. The only thing keeping him from
collapse was his stubborn will.

He stood outside the ARU Branden Hill
headquarters, gazing up at the oval-shaped building, sensing
everyone within. He felt Christine Gorecki, sitting on top of Nick
Slater's desk, talking quietly. He felt Sheila's discomfort as she
felt
his
presence from a few hundred yards away. He felt
Farraway inside, and he felt the man sensing him, waiting for him
to enter his office so they could have their inevitable
tête-à-tête. He felt the presence of a few dozen Mendaihu and
Shenaihu, some within headquarters and others in surrounding
buildings, all sensing
him
and wondering who he was, why he
was there, and what his next step might be.

Whatever step he took next would change
everything.

His comm went off and it sounded like
teeth-rattling feedback. He clenched his fists, wishing for it to
stop, but even his fingers protested. He spread out his fingers
again as the second ring hit him, muted now but no less painful.
His hearing was so acute that he could hear the machinations inside
the comm, the microchip deciding that it would switch to his
answering service after the next ring.