A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe by Jon Chaisson
*
Sculler’s Crossing had always been a marketplace bustling with shoppers and tourists and vendors, but now it had become a cold and desolate crime scene. Kai and Ashan walked briskly past the southern entrance, a tall and elaborately carved marble archway beckoning locals and tourists alike onto its brightly set walkways. The attack had occurred three blocks in, close to the southern food courts and well out of view of the main street, but the resulting violence had deeply affected the marketplace. Kai sent out a thin sliver of energy down the deserted alleyway. She felt the lingering terror and pain, too close and sharp, and quickly retracted her Mendaihu senses. Ashan met her eyes but said nothing. He didn’t have to, his scowl said it all. He’d felt it just as deeply as she had.
Much like the attack at St. Patrick’s, it had been a cold, calculated move against the Mendaihu in the area by a violent nuhm’ndah mob. They had also been indiscriminate in choosing their targets here, killing twenty-three civilians in the process before Sentinels had arrived. This had been a smaller attack aimed at no certain person in particular, and smaller than at the church, yet it had claimed the most lives. It was heartbreaking…Kai could only hope the healing would come soon.
Ashan had turned away and was looking further up the street. The normally congested intersection of McCleever and Northern Avenue was eerily empty. “We can go anywhere past here,” he said, pointing at the six-lane cross street. “Then we’ll be out of the hrrah-sehdhyn. The coast is five blocks on.”
Kai checked her watch. They certainly had enough time to get on the other side of the avenue, but any farther than that would be pushing the timeframe they had set up. She motioned ahead and continued walking. She didn’t say anything to her brother, but she still felt that swell of fear she’d sensed moments ago, a fear that would stay there for some time despite the healing. She felt the pain of the loss, and the anger of the survivors and loved ones.
“We have twenty minutes,” she said. “One street past Northern is fine. We need a perch, though.” That had been in the back of her mind, ever since Alec had suggested it. In order to channel whatever excess energy and Light that might spill out of the Warehouse once they harnessed the Rain of Light, there was a chance they’d have to deflect it elsewhere, anywhere, in case the Benjamin Key would not be able to ground it. This would require at least a few minutes for them to access the tallest building they could find in the vicinity so they could direct it out into the ocean. Most of the offices and apartments past Northern Avenue were evenly built and no taller than six stories, and she hoped that would not present a problem. They would then need another few minutes to prepare themselves as Soulhealers. They would have a window of, at most, five minutes in which to contact Caren and Alec before anything else.
Kai noticed with interest that in the hundred yards they walked from the gate to Sculler’s Crossing to Northern Avenue, the unspoken sense of fear she’d felt had dropped away considerably. There had been a sudden release of tension in her shoulders and temples that she hadn’t noticed until that moment. Ashan had sensed it as well, looking over his shoulder.
Did you feel that? she asked.
Ashan nodded, his worry giving way to curiosity. It’s like…a barrier.
She looked back herself. Surely she wouldn’t be able to see anything…? But there they were, dark shadows falling across the sidewalk they had just traveled down, fading into light just a few yards away. She dismissed her thoughts just as quickly, knowing that made no sense. They were on the edge of the storm cloud, the late afternoon sun peeking just past the edge. She looked up into the sky, confirming the much more logical reason. The shadows along the sidewalk were just that, nothing more. Unless…
“The hrrah-sehdhyn,” Ashan said, mirroring her next thought.
She closed her eyes and sensed. She dared not use her Lightseeing, not after her brother had been nearly blinded looking directly at the Rain of Light. But standing this close, she did not need to see, because the difference in energies between where they had been and where they stood now was unnervingly stark. She could almost visualize a demarcation line cutting across the street. It is no longer cold, she said within. I no longer feel the dread, the anger…the pain. You’re right, Ashan. It is a barrier. It’s keeping the pain within. It’s gathering…which means…!
She hid a gasp, turning away from him before he could notice. “We have little time,” she said quickly, hiding her sudden wave of fear, and turned back ahead. She didn’t want to say anything, not right now. But they needed to get in position right away, before it was too late. They ran quickly to the end of the block and weighed the options in front of them. Ashan pointed to an eight story office tower a block and a half away. She nodded, already heading that way. “Can you sense Alec and Caren?” she asked.
“Checked in on them a few minutes ago,” he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “Caren’s close. Too close. Alec’s four blocks south.”
It took Kai a moment to catch what he’d meant. “They split up?”
Ashan shook his head. “Call it fate. Maybe she was meant to be at the warehouse…to be with Denni after all.”
There was nothing she could do or say to that. It was too late to adjust their plans. They had to make their way up to the roof of this building in the next few minutes and prepare themselves for whatever Alec threw at them. She had little worry in Alec keeping his part of the plan, she knew that much. He was making his way to the apartment of the former ARU agent they spoke of at the Crest, and presumably she was to be their Diviner. As for Caren…
Goddess…she’d never been able to accurately read her, so she had no idea what could happen with her. She held herself so close, so guarded, that no one had been able to pinpoint her true self. Not even Alec fully understood what she might be within. She felt a stab in her heart every time she thought of her like this. She could only hope…
Peace, Love and Light, Karinna, she said within, hoping she heard.