A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe by Jon Chaisson
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The beacon of Light blinked out of existence, leaving such an ominous quiet in the air it screamed in Poe’s ears. Ten different thoughts immediately surged through his mind in a maddening blur; questions about the safety of the Warriors, about the Protectors…and most of all, questions about Denni.
Denysia, he called out, hoping to get a response. He did not get one.
Denni?
Nothing.
“Oh Goddess, no…” Caren gasped, a trembling hand covering her mouth. She reached out with her other hand and grabbed Poe’s jacket sleeve, pulling it tight within her fist. Those bastards, she growled within. Those fucking bastards! They did it!
“No, Caren,” he whispered in the silence. “You don’t know that.”
They did it… she repeated. He could feel the walls of her psyche crumbling all around her, the protective walls of her own soul, falling away like weak twigs in a strong wind, and she did not have the strength or the heart to defend herself. He reached out and put a hand over hers; her grip had already slackened enough that it was on the verge of falling dead away in defeat. He tried to send his own comforting energy over to her, and failed pathetically. He truly had no idea if he had actually done it, only relying on instinct and a nearly forgotten healing sequence. She halfheartedly tried to pull away, but it was too late. Her head dropped. She had given in.
“Don’t you dare give up that easily,” Poe said quietly but sternly into her ear, doubling it with the same inner voice he’d used earlier. “You’re not weak, Karinna. Don’t believe you’ve lost her until you know for sure.”
Poe heard her throw a weak curse at him, and ignored it. He kept it up until she returned to her true self again. Anando was useless right now; he continued to stare slackjawed at the empty sky above the warehouse. He couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed, had not expected it, and had no idea what would happen next. Poe sensed an overwhelming fear within him, and understood completely. Those within the warehouse were indeed safe, but spiritually…
…spiritually, he truly did not know if the One of All Sacred had survived.
“You come back to me, Karinna,” he said, raising his voice, but still close. “You give up now…?” He exhaled unevenly and closed his eyes. He knew she was going to despise him deeply after what he was about to say. He wouldn’t blame her if she never talked to him again, professionally or otherwise. He hated himself for having to take this step. But there was no other way now. He took another breath and opened his eyes again. He took Caren’s tear-stained face in his hands and pulled it towards him until they were eye to eye. They connected fully and completely, spirit to spirit, on equal grounds.
Forgive me, Karinna.
“Caren? Listen to me,” he said. “You give up now, Karinna, and you’ve given up on your entire family. Aram…Celine…and especially Denni. You can’t do this.”
Caren stared at him, wide eyed. “A-Alec…”
It killed him to say that, and he would never forgive himself. But he did not dare look away. He was the anchor now, the only one left.
Alec… she cried from within.
Finally he felt something stir in Caren’s spirit. Something harsh…something buried deep within, so hidden they had never known it was there before now. Something dark and sinister, something so black in devoid of Light that it terrified both of them. A solitary tear fell from her eye. Her lips started to quiver.
“Karinna —” he started.
In one quick move, she pulled out of his grasp and punched him in the face, sending him flailing backwards. She had not held back; in fact, she had used the strength of both her Mendaihu and Shenaihu power and had nearly knocked him senseless. The side of his face instantly went numb and he tasted blood. It took all his energy not to pass out.
“Go to hell!” she screamed, and let out a primal wail. She jumped out of her chair and headed towards the metal railing at the edge of the roof. She moved incredibly fast, determined to get past that barrier at any cost, even if she had to force her way through it. Instead she purposely crashed into it and doubled over, the metal bar hitting her squarely in the stomach. She let out a strangled gasp of pain. As if she hadn’t been satisfied enough, she backed up and did it again, hitting railing even harder this time. She let out a primal howl of physical and emotional pain.
Heartbroken, Poe ran dizzily to her, instantly at her side. He reached out a hand to touch her, only to have it violently swatted away. She was choking tears as she pushed herself against the railing, as if she were intent on breaking her ribs. He reached out again, this time with the threads of his spirit…and felt fire. A deep-seated, raging hatred that had never been released before, it consumed Caren’s spirit whole. It tore her apart viciously and relentlessly, and it horrified him. He backed away to a safe distance again. He glanced over at Christine, who only stared back at him with a vague, unreadable expression. She had lit a cigarette, and now took a very slow, long drag from it. He turned back to Caren, only to find her inching away from him, sliding further down the railing.
“Get away from me,” she hissed.
“Damn it, Caren!” he pleaded, stepping close again. “What the hell are you doing to yourself?”
“I’m not giving up, you damned D’haff Sshalé!” she shouted, whirling around again and pushing him away, nearly knocking him over again. “I’m not giving up! Are you fucking happy now?” She gasped for air as she trembled, tears still flowing. “I’m not giving up. I never said I was. Just…give me this, Poe, damn it all. Give me this one thing. I know you have faith in me. Please…let me have this. I need to…I need…”
Poe shuddered, the full force of her words and the revelation hitting him deep. It was not healing she had needed all these years…it was release! She’d held this energy for so long, this white fire and black energy, and had refused to ever let it escape. She had denied herself this one thing for five long years, and she could no longer hold it all in anymore. He knew exactly what was coming next. In the corner of his eye, he saw Anando stand up and move towards them. Poe held out a hand and he jerked to a stop.
“Sit down, you,” Poe barked. “This is between me and Caren.”
“It’s bigger than that, Alec. It’s between all of us,” Anando said, standing his ground. “This is Caren’s choice, and hers alone.”
“Her choice?” he frowned. “What choice are we talking about, Anando?”
Faith, he said from within.
Faith, Caren repeated. She wiped at her eyes and cheeks, and she was still in deep pain…but something had changed. Poe felt it now; there was some new, even stronger emotion that had hidden itself under all that intense anger and had finally surfaced, radiating within Caren as brightly as a supernova.
“I am Mendaihu,” she said to him, softly this time. So calm. “But I am also cho-nyhndah. Which means I am Shenaihu as well, Poe. Do you understand?”
“But…” he managed.
Faith in the Light, Caren said from within.
…and faith in oneself, Anando said.
All at once, it made clear, disturbing sense to Poe as well.
“Come,” Anando said, and took her hand.
“Where are —” Poe started. A flash of light and a near-silent whoosh of displaced air formed in front of him. He lifted up his arm by instinct, yet the flash had already disappeared. He stared, eyes wide, at the spot where Anando had once been, then where Caren had stood. They had stepped into the Light, into the otherwhere. Into the unknown middle ground.
Caren… he called out. He felt the lump in his throat and tried to force it back down, yet he could not. A tear formed in his left eye. He did not wipe it away.
Karinna… he said again from within. I am sorry. I should not have said—
No apologies, he heard, and shivered. Her inner voice, her True voice, was so clear, so calm and true to her spirit. It sang to him. You were right, A
In spite of himself and his swelling cheek, he laughed. His shame had been replaced by an intense pride for her. Where are you?
Within the Light, she said. Same thing my dad did. Ironic, isn’t it? Anando and I went in to find some answers. And maybe find Denni. I think I know where she is. Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon enough.
How— he bit at his lip and frowned.
I’ll explain later. And hey — remember this: you’re my sehnadha, Alec. Practically my spirit twin. I don’t know what I’d have done all these years without you.
The furrows in his face eased. Slowly, a smile crossed his face.
Peace, Love and Light to you, Karinna Shalei, he said.
…and to you, my dearest friend, she answered, and was gone.
“…Goddess,” he exhaled, and rubbed at his eyes. Fatigue tore at his body and his mind, but a tremendous weight had been lifted. A hard-earned sense of relief washed over him. The Awakening, the Cleansing, the corrupted Ascension…the case itself! It was all over, at least for the time being. All he needed to do now was go back to his apartment and wait for Caren and Anando to return. There was nothing more for him to do. Nothing but get some blessed rest.
Off in the distance to the southwest, the Mirades Tower shot up over the surrounding buildings, the eternal vigil. He watched it for a few seconds as a civilian instead of the profiler that he was, attempting to accept the behemoth as the center of commerce, for the economic shrine that it was. He wanted to accept it, but his conscience told him otherwise, without fail. It was an unexplainable dread he felt, something he’d dismissed so often in the past as nerves, which kept him from giving anyone in that building the benefit of the doubt. It ebbed and flowed within him now, pulling him towards the Tower. If he tried, he could ride those waves with ease, as he had been there before, to that spiritual darkness within.
That was something he did not want to remember.
Why now? Why did he feel this dread now? Was it because of the nuhm’ndah or the kiralla? Or because of his cho-nyhndah spirit?
He chose to ignore those questions, to ignore the dread, to ignore everything and go home and sleep. He was sure Caren would have agreed with this decision wholeheartedly. He exhaled again and headed for the roof access door.
Nick stood up and blocked his path. In the commotion, Poe had completely forgotten about him and that he sat just a few seats behind. He smiled at him crookedly, for lack of any other reaction to show.
“What…” he visibly shivered. “What the hell just happened?”
Poe shook his head and laughed. “Honestly? I have no clue.” He patted him on the shoulder. “Thanks, Nick.”
Nick frowned and cocked his head at him. “For what?”
Poe shrugged and shot him a lopsided smile. “For joining the team,” he said, and walked on.
“Hey, wait!”
He stopped and glanced at him again. “Sheila is fine,” he said with a smile. “I believe Anando was able to sense the people in and around the warehouse, and sensed that no harm at all had been done. She’s still there if you’d like to go see her. I know she’d be happy to see you.”
“I…uh…” Nick turned away, visibly relieved and feeling a little self-conscious. “Thanks, Alec. Maybe I will.” He gathered his uniform coat and shot past Poe, and dashed through the door.
Good kid, Poe thought. He watched him leave, started to move towards the door himself, and stopped, this time in front of Christine. He had not spoken to her for at least six months, yet he still considered her a great friend and an extremely gifted spiritworker that had helped protect Bridgetown from destruction. He believed she was not Mendaihu, nor was she Shenaihu—in fact, he was sure she had no direct alien lineage at all over the last two hundred years. She was only the brilliant and beautiful Christine Gorecki.
Wordlessly, he embraced her. It was his way of thanking her for all she had done today; all spur of the moment, all selfless. She moved into his arms instinctively, pulling him close, sharing a deep love and a profound respect. He kissed her on the cheek and slid out of the embrace. He gave her a genuine smile and a nod, and walked through the open door, lighting up a cigarette as he left.
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