A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe by Jon Chaisson
*
Father, Saone whispered to herself. I shall not let you down.
Saone took a deep breath and slowly backed away from the edge of the crowd that filled the warehouse. She bit her tongue hard and shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, wanting so badly to contact her father at this very moment. He had to know about this Coming as soon as possible! If she could get as many nuhm’ndah ready as possible before the event, before the Mendaihu were ready, there was a better chance he would be able to win…that thought alone made her giddy with excitement!
Dahné Lehanna, she called from within. ...eilee fadayin.
A stirring of her heart. She felt her father answer her almost immediately, first without vocal acknowledgement. That stirring, a sudden jump of her heartbeat, heightened her awareness of the gossamer thread of spiritual link that they shared. The connection felt more distant than usual…perhaps he’d been traveling? Eventually she heard a humming sigh, a familial sign that she had his attention.
What is it, my daughter?
Saone’s nerves jumped excitedly. I have just heard. The One of All Sacred has indeed awakened, and will be here in the Waterfront District by this evening.
In that strange way, she felt his smile. Very good, Saone…I had heard rumors, yet no truths until now. I bless you for your vigilance.
She smiled inwardly as she moved farther away from the main crowd inside the warehouse. She was in a prime position to do anything she wanted or needed to do to further the nuhm’ndah cause; she did not want to get sent back to her father’s mansion on Sachers Island, nor did she want to hand this position off to anyone else. She would allow only one other person, her partner Kryssyna, to help her.
Shall I stay in position, Dahné? She continued to call her father by his Shenaihu title, rather than ‘father,’ to prove her point of being more than just his daughter. Kryssyna Piramados shall accompany me.
Without a pause, he answered. You shall prove your ultimate worth as a Shenaihu nuhm’ndah, Saone, with this simple task: take the child who is the One of All Sacred, and bring her to me.
Saone smiled. I shall, Dahné. Wordlessly but with a final rush of both fatherly love and pride, her father accepted and disconnected from her. The gossamer thread shrank, reeling back within her until she felt complete once more.
I shall, she thought, and left the warehouse. She fought back a shudder as she walked out the open dock door. She had tried not to let all the Mendaihu in this warehouse bother her, and her nerves had held out for this long, yet she had to release this tension she’d felt since entering the place. She had a score to settle with edha Usarai — a very personal score. By cruel fate, she had been just outside the Mirades Tower that night, having just clocked off of her late shift not fifteen minutes before. And when Nehalé Usarai released that damned ritual, he’d nearly killed her in the process. She’d heard him, of course…heard his words of warning before he let loose the Rain of Light, but by the time she could react, it was too late. The ritual hit her with full force, knocking her up against the glass of the north foyer.
The energy siphoned out of her…Goddess, she never wanted to feel that again! And the Light…Goddess, the Light…!
He had ruined her spirit. Of course, she dared not admit what had happened to her family, knowing they’d disown her on the spot. She was no longer pure Shenaihuza spirit, not anymore. He had changed her.
And damn it all, he was going to pay for that.
She walked around the smaller crowd milling outside near the entrance, and debated her next move. There was a possibility she could stick around the warehouse, out of range of the sensitives, but close enough for her to stay with what was happening. She could then lead a contingent of nuhm’ndah from there. She looked upwards at the roof of the warehouse, judging the distance from ground to roof, and guessed it to be between three and four stories tall. She separated herself from the crowd and began to circle the building, looking for any outside access to the roof.
“Hello,” she heard ahead of her.
She had been too busy looking up that she hadn’t noticed the young man standing a few yards away. He was not quite grimacing at her, but his body language suggested he meant no harm, he was merely curious. Perhaps he was security? After a moment she recognized him as the guy who’d been fiddling with the electronics in the warehouse for the last few hours, setting up the sound system both inside and out. He looked like a kid just out of university with his alma mater sweatshirt and faded jeans.
Bridgetown University, she thought. Must be a smart one.
“Uh…hi,” she said with a hint of feigned shyness.
“Looking for something?” he asked plainly.
“No, uh, not really.” She smiled at him, shrugging. “Just curious as to why this particular warehouse had been picked as a meeting place. I would have thought a…” A church, she had almost said. That wouldn’t have gone over too well. “...well, perhaps KJS Arena would have been a more suitable and comfortable place for this sort of thing.”
The man smirked. “Well, given the circumstances, I think an empty warehouse would be a lot safer.” He held out a hand towards her. “My name’s Anando Shalei.”
She took it and smiled. “Somfei, edha Shalei. I am Saone Lehanna.”
He studied her for the moment they shook hands, and Saone did her best to hide the shiver she suddenly felt. She had been trained to mask her visual and spiritual emotions from others, but rarely had the chance to use that ability, as most of the people her father had sent her to observe were ordinary humans and Meraladians with little or no sensitivity to such things. The moment passed and they continued walking around the perimeter of the warehouse, in the direction Saone had planned on going.
“You don’t see many of these warehouses in this district anymore,” Anando said. “Ninety-nine percent of import-export takes place over in West Brandenville near the Nullport now. Moulding TechWear was the last resident a few years back. That’s why this place is still in such good shape…they took good care of it. Nearly everything including the storage racks have been upgraded.”
Saone nodded as he continued on, pretending to be interested in the building’s history. Every now and again she glanced up, still trying to locate any secondary entrances for infiltration. There were countless fire exits from the main floor. Perhaps in the melee of the celebrating the One’s return, her people could get in undetected, but that would demand keys, or at least someone on the inside to let them in. Crashing through was out of the question, at least for now; a quiet, subtle inundation had been the main plan.
It wasn’t until they were on the western side of the building that Saone discovered the opening they would take. Her neck had gotten stiff from taking quick glances upwards as Anando continued his tour, and she had dropped her head down to rub the back of it, when she noticed the subway grates dividing the sidewalk. The East Sprawl Line shot directly up Holgate Street, stretching the entirety of the coastline, with older, disused lines branching off all over the city. No doubt some of the older buildings in the Waterfront sector had access, due to their proximity and convenience to its workers. She knew the BMPD and the ARU used these tunnels now and again for field training, and certainly the nuhm’ndah used it all the time as quick passage. A quick investigation in the back rooms of the warehouse would give her the answer. For now, though, she was satisfied at her discovery and the outcome of the mission so far.
Anando had been talking about the day’s festivities and had just finished giving his take on Nehalé’s plans, and was waiting silently for her response. She had only half-listened, too intent on her planning, but had picked up enough to carry the conversation on.
“Well,” she smirked playfully at him. “He certainly knows how to sell his message, that’s for sure.”
Anando laughed. “You’re not the first person to admit that.”
“From what I’ve heard about him, I sh
“It’s strange,” he said. “Here we all are, all us Mendaihu and Shenaihu, knowing in advance of the Ninth Coming of the One of All Sacred, knowing that it’ll be tonight, knowing it’ll be here at this very warehouse. It’s almost…”
“Preordained?” Saone said, grinning at him.
“Heh. Seriously, it’s as if it’s a blessing from the universes themselves.”
She nodded. “A bit profound there, Anando, but I understand the intent of your words. It is a little unnerving to be able to know exactly when your own personal deity is going to arrive at your doorstep.”
They walked in silence the rest of the way back to the main entrance, where they found themselves competing for space with a growing crowd and, across the now-closed street, a line of vendors offering food. The pleasant mixture of spicy aromas made her realize she was famished, and that she had not eaten since late last night. She wandered over to a noodle stall, surprised that Anando had followed her. She hid her irritation as she dug for money for the vendors.
The man behind the stall waved the money away and smiled. “On the house, emha. Compliments of KJS Corporation.”
Anando laughed behind her. “Kindeiya Shalei! I should have known he’d do this.”
Well then, she thought in frustration. Guess I’ll have to entertain this Mendaihu a little longer. She would have to wait for the next opportunity to go back inside and investigate the lower depths of warehouse. Cursed with an incredible amount of patience and tolerance, she pushed aside her plans and made her best attempt at enjoying the day. She grabbed two servings of ramen from the stall and handed one to Anando.
“Thank you,” he said, digging in. “I’ve been so busy tailing Nehalé that I haven’t eaten all day.”
“I get the feeling he’s a bit overzealous,” she said, more to herself than to him. His eyes widened, an expression only made sillier with strands of ramen noodle hanging from his lips, and she laughed. Had she just insulted a man he looked upon as some sort of holy figure? She shook her head at the thought. Nehalé was many things, and may in fact be a shepherd among the masses, but he most certainly was no messiah.
Anando gathered his words eventually. “Overzealous? Nehalé Usarai? Far from it! Zealotry is a far cry from a pure faith in the One, my dear Saone.”
“I know,” she said, giving him a genuine smile. “You’ll have to forgive me, my cynicism gets the best of me sometimes.” Her eyes lingered on him for a second; perhaps getting stuck with this particular Mendaihu wasn’t so bad after all. What better way for a nuhm’ndah to blend in than to be seen talking with the shepherd’s lackey himself?