Warriors of the Way

Book 1

The Spiritual Warriors

Book 2

The Ascendants

Book 3

The Fallen Warrior

Book 4

The Warrior Ascendant

Book 5

The Master Warrior

The Warrior’s Creed

I will train my heart and body for an unmovable spirit.

I will pursue the true meaning of the warrior’s way,

so that in time my senses may be alert.

With true vigor I will cultivate a spirit of selflessness,

I will observe the rules of courtesy,

respect my elders and refrain from violence.

I will follow my spiritual principles, never forgetting the true virtue of humility.

I will look upwards to wisdom and strength, forsaking other desires.

All my life, I will seek to fulfill the true meaning of the Warriors Way.

BOOK 1

THE SPIRITUAL WARRIORS

PROLOGUE

A PORTAL OPENED and two figures stepped out. The younger of the two looked down at his master with reverence and care as they walked into the park. It was a cold winter morning and he gently adjusted the older man’s scarf.

“The lake has been poisoned for a long time, Wei,” said the old man as they walked down the path. The old man took slow measured steps as he held onto his student’s arm. His cane tapped the stones as they walked. His wispy hair blew in the slight breeze as he stopped to admire the trees.

“I know, Samadhi. I have a stone whose ripples will impact us all.” said Wei. “He will be the catalyst we need.”

“Sometimes it is better to cut down the tree than to fight to straighten it, especially when the roots have been twisted and corrupted.”

“The cost would be too great, Samadhi,” said Wei.

“Very well, the three align with you. Cast your stone and prepare,” said the old man.

PROMOTION

IT WAS 11:30p.m. The special promotion began at midnight. I found the small dojo almost by accident, walking by the entrance three times before locating the right door. Despite the fact that I had the address, it was almost as if the entrance was intentionally hidden. I didn’t discover until much later, that this was indeed the case. It was located in the basement of a nondescript building on Mott Street in lower Manhattan. The stairs leading to the entrance were an old steel set and creaked every time I stepped on them.

The dojo itself was the definition of minimalism. I had trained in other dojos over the years, with the mirrors, and the characters drawn on long scrolls adorning the walls. Most had modern reception areas with computers and seating areas for guests. It seemed to me that visitors were actually discouraged in this dojo, since there was no seating area for people. A large wooden wall blocked the view of the dojo floor from the entrance. There was a desk and behind it sat a young woman of mixed ancestry. Her jet black hair framed her face, which seemed to be a cross between East Asian and something else I could not identify.

She was thin and wiry, with a presence that radiated incredible strength. She was impeccably dressed in a white blouse that offset her bronze skin. She never spoke, at least not that I had heard and her face remained impassive as each person entered. What I noticed the most were her eyes. They were a deep green, which at first I figured for contacts. I didn’t know her name, and I got the feeling that I wouldn’t get that information anytime soon. She was stunning. I figured she was a gatekeeper of sorts and that she knew everyone who belonged or trained at the dojo.

Once past her, there was a narrow hall that led to the dojo floor. There was a door on either side of the dojo that led to small changing rooms. The dojo itself was a large room devoid of columns. There were no windows. The floor was a polished hardwood. After the repeated knuckle pushups and poundings I took on it, it was my impression that the wood was petrified. I took off my shoes at the reception area and headed to the changing room.

The changing room was as sparse as the rest of the dojo. There were no lockers, only small cubicles for your clothes. I dressed quickly; being late to a training session wasn’t an option. I changed into a white dogi, or uniform, which signaled my status as a beginner. It was made of a lightweight cotton material that absorbed sweat and became increasingly heavy as the training session progressed. In total there were eight students in the class that night. We lined up according to our ranks; those of us with white uniforms in the rear, and the most senior students in black uniforms in the front line. All of us were facing an older gentleman who must have been in his sixties, dressed in black with red trim. We bowed to each other. Then we stood and began the drills. The training session began like any other. We punched, kicked and moved in stances until my body felt it couldn’t move any more. Then we paired off. Those of us in white uniforms, the four of us, each faced a senior student dressed in black. It was customary to introduce ourselves prior to fighting, so we bowed to each other. The senior student extended his hand to me and I took it and we shook. It felt like gripping warm steel.

“I’m Devin,” he said and smiled.

I bowed. “Dante,” I said.

“Stay alert, Dante. Tonight the Master is selecting who will move to the next rank. Whatever happens, you must not give up. Understand?”

I looked at him with a question in my eyes. “Yes, I understand,” I said.

Even though I had no way to prepare for what came next.

The Master took a staff and tapped it on the floor: the signal to begin.

At six feet and 210 pounds, I towered over Devin, and clearly outweighed him. I figured with my size and weight advantage, I only needed to hit him a few times, to make it easy on myself.

I figured wrong.

One of the basic principles of fighting is to hit without being hit. Devin had mastered this principle. Barely reaching five feet, he was a small, muscular shadow. Every time I punched, he evaded and peppered me with two or three punches, which I shrugged off. Initially, my kicks—which I considered to be fast—appeared to be moving in slow motion as he sidestepped them, only to fire off kicks of his own. Each time he connected, it felt like I was getting hit with an iron bar. At three minutes, I was breathing hard. After five minutes, it was all I could do to keep my head from being removed from my body by his kicks and punches, which just kept getting faster. After ten minutes, I was prepared to reconsider my decision to train at all. The Master tapped the staff signaling to stop.

“Don’t quit, Dante,” Devin said.

All I could do was keep breathing. My gi was soaked and clung to me like a second skin. Out of the other three white-uniformed students, it seemed only one was doing badly. Robert was his name. Streaks of blood covered his uniform. One of his eyes had been punched shut, and he was standing gingerly on one foot. I took this all in in a matter of seconds and realized that if we kept fighting, he was done. Another of the students—I think he called himself Zen—seemed to be doing about the same as I was.

There was no clock in the dojo so I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. After what seemed like ten minutes, two students came out with staffs in their hands. Each of us was given a staff and faced our seniors. We all stepped back and only Robert and his senior remained. Robert looked about as bad as I felt. I didn’t think he would make it through the weapons portion of our particular torture. I made a move to go over to him but Devin gave me a look that rooted me to the spot. With an almost imperceptible shake of his head, I understood that each of us would stand or fall on our own.

“Focus, Dante,” Devin mouthed.

I took a moment to center myself and breathe. Forcing all my energy into my lower abdomen, my breathing slowed and I was able to focus. I felt the moisture of my uniform and the hardwood under my feet. The weight of the staff in my hand was familiar, comfortable. My awareness expanded to include the other students; I sensed each one of them around me, we were connected.

Robert stood in the center facing his senior. They bowed to each other and entered a fighting stance. Robert chose a stance that allowed him to compensate for his lack of vision in one eye. I could tell he was an accomplished fighter just from his stance. The senior facing him, I would later discover his name was Yoshiro or Yoshi as I heard him called often, stood about five-eleven. He was of average build and seemed unassuming—the type of person you would underestimate as an easy target. Yoshi assumed a neutral stance with the staff in his left hand. The master tapped the floor with his staff.

Robert yelled and attacked with an overhead strike. Yoshi stepped… no, stepped would be the wrong word. He glided to the right, which was Robert’s blind side, and thrust at Robert’s left side. Robert barely had time to deflect the thrust before Yoshi moved again. This time closer, Yoshi used a thrust to distract Robert. As Robert again deflected the staff, staggering back, Yoshi smashed Robert’s thigh with his shin. Robert’s left leg folded and he fell to one knee. It’s over. I thought. I moved to get Robert and felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look at who it was and saw it was Zen. He shook his head and pointed with his chin. It wasn’t over. Yoshi was still circling and preparing for another attack. It was at that moment that I understood that this was no regular promotion. Something deeper was going on here. Robert got to his feet as Yoshi unleashed a barrage of attacks. At some point in the attack, Robert lost his staff, and still Yoshi pressed on. Robert was done. Yoshi attacked and attacked until Robert could no longer stand. He collapsed face first onto the floor, his body making a wet, thudding sound as he crashed forward. Yoshi bowed and stepped back. Two students dressed in red uniforms came in with a stretcher and carefully placed Robert on it. They carried Robert out another door that I had not noticed earlier. The Master tapped the floor again and Zen’s senior student stepped into the center. Zen was a big man. He easily stood six-foot-four and weighed close to 250 pounds. His dark brown skin glistened with sweat. He wiped his bald head and smiled as he stepped into the center.

Zen’s senior, Marcus, was considerably smaller. Compared to Zen, though, we all were. I had learned by this time not to assume anything about the seniors. Marcus was heavyset, although nowhere near the size of the junior student facing him. He faced Zen and began a series of deep breaths that I knew were called Ibuki. With each breath it seemed his muscles tensed more and more. They bowed to each other. The Master tapped the floor and Zen slid in. Marcus stood still, waiting. Zen lunged in with a thrust and connected squarely with Marcus’ midsection. As I followed Zen’s staff, I noticed that it had indeed connected and was resting against Marcus’ abdomen.

Marcus flinched and sent the staff in Zen’s hand back towards him, a look of surprise and admiration racing across Zen’s face. He was no longer smiling, but had set his jaw. Marcus stood waiting for him.

“Tell me that is not your strongest strike,” said Marcus.

“It’s not,” Zen answered.

Zen began striking Marcus, Zen’s staff hitting Marcus time and again, hitting legs, arms and torso. One blow landed squarely on Marcus’ head, and I thought Zen had killed him. Marcus merely smiled but Zen was spent. More than the actual physical exertion, it was the knowledge that his strength was useless against Marcus, who was clearly stronger and impervious to his attack.

“Now we begin, junior,” said Marcus. He took a step forward and I could feel the vibration through the floor. Marcus moved slowly, but gracefully. His strikes were efficient and precise. Each time he hit Zen, I heard him grunt in pain. Zen wasn’t used to being hurt. Marcus, holding the staff one-handed, brought it down in an overhead strike. Zen raised his staff to deflect Marcus, who at the last second changed direction and crashed his staff squarely into Zen’s right side. I heard the crack of bone from where I stood. Zen inhaled sharply, fighting the pain. Zen took a step back and began to breathe deeply in Ibuki. His muscles began to tense like Marcus. Unlike Marcus, though, the tension rippled across his body, moving from area to area. I could see him try and concentrate the tension across his midsection, and for a few seconds it looked like he had done it. Still deflecting the attacks from Marcus, the ones he missed seemed to do little damage. Marcus smiled and then he intensified his attack. The air in the dojo was hot and had a sweet smell to it, like boiling honey. I must have been fatigued from all of the exertion because I could swear that the staff in Marcus’ hands began to glow a deep gold. At that sight, the fourth junior— I never got his name—dropped his staff and ran out of the dojo. I guess that confirmed I wasn’t imagining things.

There was no way to rationally explain it so I didn’t try. Marcus was attacking faster now and connecting more often. Zen began to show signs of exhaustion. Frankly I was amazed he had lasted this long for such a large man. That was the moment everything shifted. Zen rolled back, recovering his balance. Then his staff began to glow as well. It wasn’t really a glow, more like a flicker as if the connection wasn’t entirely complete. It was the same color as Marcus’ staff. The fight was now more of an intricate dance, each missing the other by fractions of an inch as they covered the dojo floor. They moved faster and faster until it was all a blur. I could see that Zen could not keep the pace for long. He was drenched in sweat, and he grimaced in pain any time Marcus connected with his midsection. Marcus, on the other hand, looked fresh and had barely broken a sweat. He was pressing the attack. As he stepped towards Zen, I saw a wave of gold energy travel from his feet, up his body, down his arms and into the staff. He placed the staff lightly against Zen’s chest and the room exploded in yellow light momentarily blinding me. Zen flew across the dojo and landed in a heap on the far side of the dojo floor. I ran over to him not caring what would happen to me. Where were the students in red? I made it to Zen’s body, he was unmoving. Marcus stood behind me.

“Excuse me,” he said.

I stepped aside in silence. It wasn’t enough he killed him, he had to gloat, too?

As he knelt towards Zen, Marcus’ hands began to glow. They were a warm orange, the color of the setting sun. He placed his hands on Zen’s chest and the glow travelled from his hands into Zen, who began to stir. That was when I was aware of the students in red with the stretcher.

“I’m okay, Dante,” said Zen with a half-smile on his face. As the students placed him on the stretcher, he winced in pain.

“That last attack really packed a punch,” said Zen. You be careful, Dante. I heard stories about your senior.”

“Indeed, he is the strongest of us all,” said Marcus.

I turned to see Devin waiting for me in the center of the floor. I made my way there, staff in hand. It no longer felt comfortable or familiar.

“Are you ready, junior?” asked Devin once I assumed my fighting stance. My head was screaming “No! You are not ready!” I took a deep breath, centering and grounding myself and eliminating every distraction. Only Devin and I existed.

“I’m ready,” I said and bowed to my senior.

The Master stepped forward to Devin. I couldn’t guess his age; he seemed made of a dark wood, hard and gnarled. He looked at me impassively, which unnerved me more than if he had dismissed me. He faced Devin and said something in a language I couldn’t quite understand, and then Devin bowed to him. Once Devin finished his bow, the Master stepped behind Devin and produced a silk sash that he tied around Devin’s eyes. The sash itself was beautiful; the colors it contained seemed alive and coruscated along the material. Deep reds and blues followed by greens and yellows chased each other around the sash. The Master with an imperceptible nod called Marcus and spoke to him in that strange language again. Marcus stood next to me and spoke.

“This is the dragon’s tail,” he said, pointing at the sash covering Devin’s eyes.

“Dragon’s tail?”

“Yes, this is as much a test for him as it is for you. He will not be able to use his eyes to attack or defend.”

“Why not just a regular bandana?”

“Because any other material would not have stopped the Senpai, your senior, from seeing.”

It never crossed my mind that the seniors were being tested as well. I looked down at the staff that Marcus was holding and noticed it was twice as thick as the one in my hand. He looked at me and smiled knowingly.

The Master looked at me and said,” You must have a strong spirit.” His voice was deep and resonant.

I bowed and readied myself as the Master stepped to the front of the dojo floor. Devin stood before me; a rainbow of color covered his eyes. Once again we bowed and waited. The Master raised his staff, looked at me, and brought it down, signaling the start of our fight and the end of life as I knew it. Devin stood still, and for a moment I contemplated not attacking—after all he was blindfolded. That moment quickly passed as Devin disappeared and reappeared behind me in the same time it took for me to blink. To my own credit, I reacted instantly and attacked with a rear thrust. I succeeded in deftly hitting the space behind me. Devin, now in front of me, tapped me a few times in my chest and abdomen. I breathed through the pain. Each time I attacked I was two steps behind, hitting empty air.

“You’re too slow, Dante.”

I said nothing, slowly seething at my inability to hit him. How slow could I be? I tried anticipating where he would strike, which didn’t work. I tried stepping back and creating distance, but nothing worked. I couldn’t attack. I couldn’t defend. As the seconds passed, I got angrier and angrier. I lunged in a rage, frustrated at fighting a wisp, humiliated by my lack of skill.

Devin stepped back and gave me a moment’s respite.

“I may be blindfolded, but you are the one who is blind.”

“What?!” I said, frustration and anger overwhelming me.

“Why are you angry? You can’t attack? So what? You can’t defend? So what? Let it go and things will slow down. It’s your anger that blinds you, Dante.”

Just what I needed, more fortune-cookie speak. Yet somewhere in the back of my brain, a small voice asked, “What if he is right?” I took a deep breath and re-centered. I let go of my attachment to the outcome of this fight. It didn’t matter if I won or lost. It didn’t matter if I could attack or defend. All that mattered was that I was here in this moment, now. I saw Devin smile as he began his attack. Everything was fluid, grace and power flowed and joined. I saw it all. He was no longer moving too fast, everything had slowed down. He thrust at my midsection, which I sidestepped, bringing my own lower attack at his right leg, which he easily avoided. He feinted at my leg and brought up the staff to my right shoulder with a spinning attack that caught me. The staff crashed into the nerve cluster in my deltoid, rendering my right arm dead weight. One handed, the staff was useless to me now, as it was too heavy and cumbersome. Holding the staff in my left hand and pressing down on it at an angle with my right foot, I stomped its midsection, creating a much smaller staff or jo. I parried Devin’s attack, mindful not to let him touch me. With a smaller weapon, I had to close the distance. No small feat when facing a skilled opponent. I feinted left and stepped right. Devin moved too slowly, or so I thought. It was a trap and I rushed right into it. As I brought my jo to crash into his ribs, he spun into my attack and smashed his elbow into my solar plexus. The air rushed out of my lungs and I doubled over. I knew enough not to stay there for more than a split second.

I barely avoided Devin’s staff and I stumbled back, forcing my body to breathe again. I re-centered myself, running down options in my head as I circled him. My right arm throbbed, Devin, eyes blindfolded, turned to face my position and attacked. His staff glowed a deep blue. What I couldn’t deflect, I avoided. I couldn’t close the distance to effectively use my weapon.

How was he “seeing” me? It wasn’t sight, so it had to be hearing. I stepped back and stopped moving. Devin stopped as well. He moved his staff as if searching. I had him. I slowly and quietly moved to his left side. I lunged with all the speed I could create. If I connected, this fight would be over. I watched in awe as he avoided my strike. He whirled his staff low, while I stood transfixed. His staff connected—more like crashed—into my calves. For a moment, I was briefly horizontal, and then I saw his leg coming at me. I barely got my arm down in time. He kicked through my jo and into my midsection. The impact sent me flying. I landed on the dojo floor, hard, certain I had broken something, but a quick assessment told me everything was intact. I looked around, noticing I was the only junior left on the floor. Weaponless, I racked my brain on how to attack. If it wasn’t hearing, could he sense my movement? It was crazy. It would mean he could sense the displacement of air as I moved around. How was I going to move without disturbing the air? It just couldn’t be done. I had seen enough tonight to know we had left the realm of what I thought possible a long time ago. I focused my breath and concentrated. I focused on all those months, years of training into this one moment. I moved without thinking, my only intention to strike Devin. Time slowed and I saw a surprised expression cross Devin’s face. I raced in and sent a side thrust kick to his ribs, fully expecting to hit air as he dodged. My foot struck him squarely in the side. My brain noted a few shared inhales of breath from the other seniors. I felt I had hit a steel beam. Devin turned towards me. Too late, I realized my error. For a moment, he couldn’t sense me. Rather than utilize that advantage and strike with a head blow, I kicked him instead. It was the last technique I recall. Then everything went black. I awoke with a splitting headache, lying down on a cot in a room that was sparsely decorated. For a moment I had no sense of time or location. There were other cots in the room, most of which were empty.

The students in the red uniforms walked around the room tending to cots that were occupied. I thought I recognized Robert. His face—and come to think of it, most of him—was a mess. I looked on the left side of the room, and had to close my eyes while the room resettled and stopped swaying. I saw Zen, who appeared to be sleeping. After a moment, I realized he wasn’t sleeping. His eyes had swollen shut.

“How do you like my new look?” he said. Most of his upper body was bandaged. One of the students in a red uniform stood next to his cot. He looked like he had been hit by a truck, repeatedly. I tried to sit up; my body immediately vetoed that idea. As I lay there, the room spun on a lazy axis, slowly swaying to and fro. I got the uneasy sensation of being on a ship at sea.

“What kind of promotion was that, Zen?”

Zen laughed or at least attempted to, before the pain brought him up short.

“I heard you actually kicked Devin.”

It came back, flooding in. I remembered the kick and then he turned and hit me with something that shut my body down instantly.

“Yeah, it was a setup though. I kicked him and he put my lights out.”

“You don’t get it Dante. No one has ever laid a technique on him as a senior.”

“Well, he was blindfolded, Zen. He had that dragon’s tail thing over his eyes.” This time Zen did laugh. I liked him more by the minute.

“What you did hasn’t been done in a long time, Dante. I’m sure they will want to speak to you.”

“Who are they?”

“You’d better get some rest, D.” I have a feeling we are going to need it.”

“Okay fine, tell me one thing, though.”

“What do you want to know?”

“What were you doing with the staff? How did you make it glow like Marcus?”

Zen sat up and opened his eyes as much as he could. It looked like he was squinting against a noon sun, searching my face as if looking for something.

“Holy shit, you really don’t know? You were right to ask what kind of promotion this was.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Let me ask you first, Dante, How long have you been training, not here, but in total?”

I thought back. No easy feat considering the throbbing in my head. I remembered my training in the various martial branches. I remembered the years, the sweat, the tears and the blood. Friends found and brothers lost.

“A long time, Zen. So long, I don’t remember when it wasn’t a part of my life,” I said.

“In all that time, you have never heard of a group called the Warriors of the Way?”

I stared at him blankly.

“Damn,” he whispered. The student in the red uniform moved closer to Zen, effectively stopping our conversation. He whispered something I couldn’t catch.

“He has to know, I can tell him,” was Zen’s response.

“It is not your place to tell him,” the student answered. His hands were glowing a deep blue.

“But he doesn’t even—-” The red uniformed student had placed his hands gently on Zen’s chest. Within seconds Zen was sleeping deeply. The student turned to me, his hands still glowing.

“Hey, really, I’m okay. No need for the sleep assist, really.” I wasn’t in any condition to stop him; a two-year old could have had his way with me in my condition.

“You need your rest, warrior.” He placed his hands on my chest and the deepest sense of calm and bliss suffused my being. I floated on that ocean of peace, until I left consciousness.

THE MIRROR

I OPENED MY eyes and lay still. I half expected the room to pitch and shift, but it remained motionless. I was in a different room; it was small and furnished simply. In one corner of the room was a small desk, and some books were neatly placed in one corner. I couldn’t make out the titles from the bed. The walls were bare with the exception of one scroll that read, “Ren Ma-keep polishing” in an older style of calligraphy. There was one window, which let in a soft light. It seemed to be just after dawn. I sat up, testing my body. I marveled at what a good night’s sleep could do. Someone, I figured the red gi student, changed my clothes in the night. I was now wearing a dark grey uniform, the color of slate. It was heavy weight cotton that felt surprisingly soft against my skin. There was a chair at the desk, and a small wooden chest at the foot of the bed. I wondered if I was still in the dojo. If I was, it was much larger than I thought. The hardwood floors were bare and felt cool against my feet. As I was getting my bearings, one of the red gi students entered silently. He saw I was awake and stepped out before I could say anything. Moments later my door swung wide open and the doorway was completely filled by a mountain of a man. I quickly realized it was Zen with a huge grin on his face.

“Dante!” he yelled as he gave me a bear hug. With the air rapidly escaping my lungs and my ribs creaking under the pressure of his hug, I barely managed to answer him.

“Zen,” I managed to gasp. He looked down at me and let me go. “Sorry about that, D.”

“Zen, what is all the fuss? I just saw you yesterday.” Zen looked at me and then looked off to the side a gesture I would become familiar with, whenever he had to say something difficult.

“Dante, you’ve been gone for five days.”

“Five days?” I asked not quite believing him.

“C’mon Zen, stop playing, that’s not funny.” One look at his face told me he was serious.

“They were real concerned, D. Even the Master came in to look at you.” I could tell he was holding something back.

“What else, Zen. Just tell me.” I looked him straight in the face.

“Dante, when they brought you in, I could tell you were banged up bad. They just kept saying you were healing in the mirror. Funny thing is, if you notice, no mirrors anywhere in this whole building. Do you remember anything?”

“Zen, I have no idea what this ‘mirror’ is. Who was saying this?”

“I overheard the seniors talking.” I tried to remember the last five days. All I remembered was the night of promotion, my last conversation with Zen, the red gi student placing his hands on my chest and the feeling of bliss. Nothing else surfaced.

“They said no junior had ever done that before,” said Zen. “You sure you don’t remember anything?”

“Nothing Zen. Maybe it will come back later?” I was unsettled by the five day gap in my memory.

“Anyway D. This—” and Zen spread his arms around to indicate the room— “is now your room.”

“My room?” I asked. What about my place in Queens?”

“Oh you mean that hole in the wall you called an apartment?” Zen looked around and laughed. “I would call this a considerable upgrade. All your belongings will be shipped to the school. Besides, it’s too dangerous out there for you right now.”

“Why? What do you mean?”

“You remember when I made mention of the Warriors of the Way?”

I vaguely recalled the very short conversation. “Yeah, briefly before we were cut off.”

“All I can tell you is that they are real and this is one of their schools.”

“Excuse me? Look, all I came here for was my promotion, not any of this ‘Warriors of the Way’ mysterious secret society, Zen.”

“Well, that’s all I’m allowed to share with you. Actually I don’t know if to pity you or congratulate you. Remember Marcus?”

“Yes, wasn’t he the senior that put you out?”

Zen chuckled. “Yeah, well he is now my senior.”

“What do you mean?”

“Each senior is paired to a junior – indefinitely. I’ll give you three guesses who your senior is.” It was just a tickle at first, and then the sense of dread quickly blossomed into a full-fledged gut check.

“Devin?”

“Got it in one. Don’t feel too bad. I hear some of his students even survive his training!”

“Not funny, Zen.” I wasn’t looking forward to this except that a small, very small part of me did look forward to it.

A moment later a shadow crossed the doorway. Zen turned around to see Devin looking at him with the hint of a smile on his face.

“I believe your senior is looking for you, Zen.”

Zen bowed, shot me a wink and made his way to the door.

“Thank you Senpai,” said Zen as he jogged down the corridor, moving with effortless grace for someone so large.

Devin turned to look at me.

“I see you seem to be feeling better.”

In truth I felt great. Somehow though, volunteering that information seemed dangerous.

“I’m feeling better,” I said.

Devin smiled and then turned serious.

“Do you remember anything from the time you were unconscious?”

Memories like wisps of smoke hovered in my head, but nothing was clear.

“No, Senpai. Nothing.” He looked directly at me as if willing me to remember.

“The moment you recall anything, let me know.”

“What happened? Where did I go? What is the mirror?” Devin looked at me as if assessing if I was ready to hear what he had to say.

“Let’s go for a walk.” And he turned and headed out the door with me following him. As we walked down the corridor, I began to realize the immense size of the school. It seemed we were another level underground. The corridor stretched on for about three hundred feet with corridors leading off the main one. It was a veritable maze and as I followed Devin, I realized that without him I would be lost inside five minutes wandering down here. The corridors were well lit with sconces that appeared to be ancient lanterns. The walls and floor were the color of a warm cherry wood. It gave the impression and presence of solidity. Every ten or so feet, there were circles with symbols carved into the ceiling that glowed faintly. After a series of turns that left me completely disoriented, we came to a large courtyard that had a large reflecting pool in the center. In the center of the pool was a wooden structure, with a bridge leading to it. Around the pool grew trees. In short, the scene was idyllic.

“What is this place?” I marveled because I thought we were underground.

“Before I tell you what this place is, I want you to look in the water and tell me what you see.”

I looked into the water. I saw what I usually saw when I looked into water. The water reflected the image around it.

“I see a reflection,” I said.

“Look again, this time, look closer.”

I figured this was some kind of ‘exercise’, so I looked again, fully expecting to see the same thing, a reflection of all that was around me.

Initially that was what I saw: the trees, the bridge, the small house in the center. Then the scene shifted, a sense of vertigo rocked me as I looked at Devin in amazement.

“It’s – it’s not the same? The reflection is different?”

“Keep looking,” I was instructed. As I looked, the reflection shimmered and shifted, showing me countryside, with rolling hills. Then it shifted and changed into a city, very much like my own New York. I looked directly into the water, but didn’t see my reflection. The scene shifted again to some type of caverns. I was about to reach out and touch the water when Devin pulled me back sharply.

“I don’t think that is a good idea, considering what has happened to you recently.”

“What is this place, what is that?” The shock crept into my voice.

“This place, Devin said, sweeping his hand around, is called a nexus. Think of it as the hub of a wheel, and each spoke leads to many other places.”

“Like the places I’m seeing in the water?”

Devin nodded.

“If I jumped into the water…”

“I would imagine you would get wet? To answer your question, no, you can’t get there from diving in.”

“Where is there?”

“It has been given many names. We simply refer to it as the Mirror.”

“I know what your next question is. Why the mirror? As far as we have been able to determine, every place you see ‘reflected’ is a representation of our world.”

“You mean—?”

“Yes, what you are seeing is another version of this reality. There is only one exception. In the mirror, time flows differently.

“What do you mean differently?”

“In the mirror, there are areas of time that are accelerated or decelerated compared to our time here.”

“You mean time is not constant.”

Devin smiled at me.

“Dante, time, our time at least our construct of time, is never constant. We just choose not to see that.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, truly perplexed.

Devin began walking to the bridge that led to the structure at the center of the lake.

“Let me see if I can explain. We both agree that a minute is sixty seconds, correct?

I nodded.

“If I was to say let’s sit down for exactly a minute, it wouldn’t feel very long, would it?”

“No, it wouldn’t.” We walked on in silence for a few moments. After what felt like five minutes, Devin spoke again.

“How long were we silent?”

“It felt like five minutes.”

“But I only counted to sixty.”

We had reached the structure, it was a training hall. I looked over the edge of the railing into the water where images played themselves like out of a movie. It was disconcerting, but mesmerizing at the same time.

“Now to the reason we are here, Dante. I know you have a lot of questions, and I promise to answer them all at some point. Right now I just need you to listen and accept what I am going to share with you.

“Throughout the world there are schools like this one. Some larger, some smaller, the one thing they have in common is that they select and train spiritual warriors. Every few years, a promotion is held, to select those who will replace the fallen or those who have, because of age, retired from service. Sadly there are very few elders. Each school is unto itself a neutral area for the spiritual warriors. It’s quite a paradox that no deadly combat can occur where we train to be deadly.” As he spoke I looked around the training hall. To say it was sparsely furnished would be an understatement. The walls and hardwood floor were worn with age and use. It was the simplest of structures, but it contained strength, permanence.

Devin continued. “Each school is responsible for a designated area, and has a specific name. Not every school is fortunate enough to have an elder presiding as we do.  Most schools are being run by senior students. Not every school has access to a hub. In fact we are the only school in this area that is directly linked to this hub.” He stopped speaking and looked at me as if expecting a response.

“Seems to me,” I said, “that would make this school coveted as a target.”

“Correct, Dante. The ‘promotions’ that were most recently held, were for the purpose of filling our ranks. We have lost many of our own in the last year.”

I was about to ask a question, well, several actually— but he raised his hand to stop me.

“I promise all your questions will have answers. Let me finish.” I remained silent.

“Right now, a war is brewing. Some of the smaller schools have been attacked, and it’s only a matter of time before we are attacked here.”

“Who would attack us?” I wondered.

“Those who want more power, who want chaos. Those who we are sworn to fight against. It’s the monsters of your nightmares and those who would control them.  It is those who would destroy us all, simply because they can. Take your pick. The reason you are here” – as he swept his hand around to mean the training hall – “was your performance at the test and after it. Although you feel you failed, no junior has had the skill to touch me with or without a weapon, in many years. More importantly no one has been able to cross to the mirror untrained and unassisted, since I can remember.”

“What does that mean?” I couldn’t resist asking.

“It means you have a very rare ability. It also means you are a spiritual warrior, one of the Warriors of the Way.”

I sat there silently, trying to take in all that Devin had just said. I shook my head. There was no way I could wrap my brain around all of this.

“With all due respect, I think you have the wrong person,” I said.

Devin smiled.

“That’s what we are here to find out today. You are here because I accepted the responsibility of being your senior. It is also my duty to find out if you truly belong here. Having a rare ability is meaningless if you cannot use it. Let’s begin.”

He walked over to one of the corners of the structure and reached down into the floor. A panel slid on the wall above, revealing dozens of weapons, swords, staffs, a multitude of bladed and blunt edged weapons. He handed me a bo, —a long wooden staff.

“You just need to repeat what you did at the test. Touch me.”

“No blindfold?” I asked half-jokingly.

“I have something better than the blindfold.” He laughed as he walked over to another section of the floor. As he pulled on a lever, every open section of the training hall was covered by wooden panels about a half inch thick. The training hall was in complete darkness.

“Now, hit me.” I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

“Understand that a spiritual warrior is all about balance.” The acoustics of the hall gave his voice an eerie quality.  ‘When you complete this stage of your training, you will be balanced with another warrior who will complement your strengths and weaknesses. As brothers, you will sharpen each other, always striving for perfection. Right now though, all I want you to do is to hit me.”

I held the bo in my hands, my palms all of a sudden, sweaty.

How was I supposed to hit him a second time when I didn’t know how I did it the first time?

“We are all connected. Everything is one and everything touches and affects everything else.” The acoustics of the space made his voice bounce in strange ways. I looked quickly from side to side to allow the rods of my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Focusing on my breath, I stilled it to almost nothing. Remembering my training, I sought to find him by his displacement in the hall. It was as if he didn’t exist. He left no wake, no footprint. Sight was out of the question. A sudden pain flared up my right side, causing me to gasp for breath.

“Thinking too much, Dante.” He was right of course. I started moving around the floor, careful not to make any sound as I stepped. Another sharp pain raced up my left leg starting at my thigh and radiating up and down my leg. I limped quietly to a wall, minimizing the angles of attack. That was when it happened. I don’t know how. All I knew is that I wasn’t going to get hit again. I began to sense him, no not him, but his intention. It was as if I knew he was coming to my right side. I moved to the left, swinging the bo to intercept his strike. The clash of wood reverberated in the hall.

“Good. You are finally learning to ‘see’.” At that moment, the window shutters flew open, the immediate blast of light blinding me for a few seconds. In the center of the floor stood a figure dressed in a dark blue uniform. The uniform was unlike any I had seen at the school. The trim and border were done with ornate gold embroidery. The color itself, which appeared dark blue at first, was interlaced with flecks of gold. The material appeared to be fine silk on the cuffs and in the material there were owls in flight. Devin walked over to the figure. I had no way of telling if it was a female or male, since the other interesting feature of the garment was a large hood. In its gloved hand, the figure held a scroll.

“Welcome, Meja. This must be urgent, for you to interrupt a training session.”

“It is,” said the woman. Devin looked over to where I was standing and motioned me over.

“Dante, this is Meja. Meja, this is—”

“I know who he is, Devin.”

Devin smiled. “Of course you do. Meja is one of the senior monitors, Dante. Her job is to know just about everything.”

She pushed back the hood revealing her piercing green eyes. It was the woman from the front desk. She gave me a slight bow and turned back to Devin, handing him the scroll. Devin opened the scroll and read. His face darkened.

“Are you certain as to the truth of this?” he asked. She said nothing in return, only stared back, hard.

“Very well. Where?”

“The South Watch.”

A look of incredulousness briefly crossed Devin’s face. “This happened at a Watch?”

Once again she remained silent.

“Meja, gather the others. We will need to meet at once.”

“They have already been summoned,” she said.

“I see, let’s go. There is no time to waste. Dante, come with me. It seems your training will have to be on the field.”

Meja looked at Devin.

“He will be fine, Meja. I won’t leave him alone, I promise.”

RITUAL OF TWO

THE MAIN MEETING room was on a lower level. I felt like I was in a maze. This place felt endless, like a never ending rabbit warren. We traveled down corridors, which after ten minutes all began to look alike. Devin looked back at me and smiled.

“If you look carefully, you will see that each hallway is carefully marked,” he said.

I stopped for a moment to see if I could read some kind of marking on the wall. It looked like every other corridor we had walked down. We finally came to a polished wooden door. For a moment I thought I saw a wave of deep violet energy coruscate across the face of the wood. The center of the door bore a symbol I did not recognize. It looked vaguely familiar and alien all at once. Devin must have picked up on my confusion and answered my unasked question.

“It’s the symbol of our school. It means Warriors of the Way.”

He placed his hand on the symbol which caused the surface of the door to ripple once. The door instantly slid downward, disappearing from view. Devin walked in and as I followed him, I noticed Meja stayed behind. Once we entered, she put her hand on a matching symbol and the door slid back into place with a resounding thud. No one was going to break into this room. The room was circular with the largest round table I had ever seen. The table seemed immensely heavy and ancient. On its surface, symbols were inscribed. Around the table must have been forty chairs and in each chair a person was seated except one. To the right of the Master of the school, one chair was empty. Behind each of the seated seniors stood a junior. Along the wall of the room, what I first took for statues were actually more people dressed like Meja. It was then that I noticed the thin lines that ran from the center of the table, down the stone floor and into the wall. Straddling each line stood a monitor. I saw Zen standing behind his senior and he gave no indication of having seen me, until I saw a barely perceptible nod. Several of the seniors were speaking at once.

“This is an outrage! They attacked a watch! We should hunt them down and erase them!” yelled one senior.

Several of the seniors around the table agreed. Devin took his seat and I was careful enough to stand the same distance behind as the other juniors. Another senior stood and I recognized him from the promotion. His name was Darius.

“And what do you propose we do, Michael? Go in guns blazing? Kill everyone in sight?”

“Hell yes, Darius, it would be a welcome change from the way we normally operate!”

“Where exactly should we strike, Michael? Do you know where they are? Do you have a line on Sylk’s whereabouts?”

At the mention of Sylk’s name, I saw Meja’s jaw clench.

“Darius, that’s what monitors are for, to provide us this information. This is why we are in the state we are in: because we focus so much on the Way, that we have forgotten that we are warriors!”

“Extermination is not the answer to everything, Michael.”

“When it comes to Sylk, I don’t think having a conversation is going to work. Ask those around this table who have faced him, Darius. How many wounded? How many dead? How many here bear scars from our ‘conversations’ with him?”

Darius remained silent. It seemed that whoever this Sylk person was, he was dangerous. The seniors had gone silent, each thinking of their own personal battle with Sylk and his allies. The master placed his hands on the table. using the simple gesture to silence any senior that was about to speak.

“It would seem,” the Master said in a quiet voice, “that this is a situation that merits our undivided attention.”

His voice although quiet was crisp. He spoke with a conviction that lent weight to his words.

“The problem of Sylk and his allies must be confronted. It has been a year since our last direct encounter with him,” —some of the seniors stole glances at Meja— “and we nearly lost a senior monitor. The difficulty we face is that Sylk was one of us. He knows how we operate. He knows how we think. We must then do something he would not anticipate.” He paused as if giving his next statement thought. “Begin the ritual of two.”

I didn’t know what the ritual of two was, but I could tell many of the seniors thought this was a bad idea.

“Master,” said Darius, “they aren’t ready for the ritual. Many are still recovering from the promotions.”

Devin looked at me, the hint of a smile crossing his lips. It wasn’t exactly comforting.

“Darius, we have been waiting too long,” said Michael. “This last attack on a Watch demands that we act.”

Many of the seniors nodded their heads while others still looked concerned.

Devin stood. “I understand all of your concerns. The fact of the matter is that we must act swiftly and decisively. How long before Sylk attempts an attack here? No, he must be stopped. We will enact the ritual and create a group of warriors that can face this threat.”

I had a feeling I didn’t want to know what this ritual was.

The master stood. “It is decided, then. Let us prepare those who are able in every location.”

Everyone around the table stood and bowed. The master turned to Devin. “You have two months to get them ready.”

Devin bowed. “Yes, Master.”

The Master turned and headed to another door in the room and half of the monitors followed him out. I was pleased to see that Meja had remained in the room. The remaining monitors spread out around the room to re-establish the balance of the ones that had left with the Master.

Once the Master left the hall, the seniors began to argue in earnest. The only one that remained silent was Devin. I realized at this point it wasn’t about the ritual being carried out. That was established. This was more about who needed to be heard and who was aligned with whom. It seemed like Michael and those of the same mind were about half the group. Roughly the other half supported Darius. After about ten minutes, the discussion began to lose steam and Devin stood and turned to Michael. “Get me the names of those who are ready and nearly ready.” He then turned to Darius and said, “Darius, you have two weeks to get the ritual in place. Whatever resources you need, they’re yours.” Darius didn’t look pleased but nodded.

Devin made his way back to the door we had came in through. As he passed Marcus and Zen, he stopped and whispered something into Marcus’ ear. I wasn’t close enough to hear but I thought Zen was. Marcus nodded but remained seated. As we arrived at the door, I noticed Meja was behind us. She touched the same wall panel and the door slid from view. I looked back into the room as we entered the hallway and saw Zen standing behind Marcus. The room had once again fallen into a heated discussion. Zen gave me another nod and then I turned to follow Devin.

DIVIDED FALLEN

“YOUR ASSESSMENT MEJA?” Devin asked as we walked the winding corridors.

“It looks like the factions are more pronounced and entrenched than earlier thought.”

“Yes, I noticed.”

“We believe that there is a traitor in our midst,” said Meja.

“Within the monitors?”

“I use the term ‘our’ rather broadly.”

“Ah, you mean within the warriors.”

“Obviously.”

“Couldn’t there be a traitor among the monitors?” I asked.

Meja gave me a look that dropped the temperature of the corridor we were standing in by several degrees.

“That would be impossible for several reasons, Dante, but mostly because of the readers,” said Devin.

“Readers?”

Meja turned to me. “Readers are monitors that can ‘read’ auras but more importantly they can sense intention.”

I looked at her. “Are you a reader?”

“Even if she were, she wouldn’t and couldn’t tell you, Dante. No one but the most senior monitors know who the readers are—they and the Master of the school.”

It seemed like a flawed system to me but I didn’t say anything.

“Do you know who it is yet?” asked Devin.

“Not yet, but we are getting close.”

We continued down the corridor.

Devin rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“We must find a way to unify these two camps,” said Devin. “Perhaps with the ritual of two we can create some common ground.”

“Or cause a greater rift,” said Meja.

“Have I ever told you how cheery and uplifting it is to speak with you?”

“I’m not the one you come to when you want cheery and uplifting, we both know that.”

Devin laughed and then grew serious.

“You are right, Meja. I’d better get this junior ready”

Meja took an appraising look at me.

“Do you think he is ready, Devin? You know what you condemn him to if he isn’t.”

Devin looked at me. “I would stake my life on it, Meja”

“I hope you are prepared, if it comes to that, Devin.” We walked together, the silence embracing us like a warm blanket.  She turned off at the next junction without a word.

“She seems a bit… serious” The word I was thinking of was ‘depressing’.

“She has reason to be. I think the word you’re looking for is dour, by the way.”

Not really, I thought.

“Why is she that way?” I asked.

Devin led me down another corridor and into a small room. This warren seemed endless or I was just hopelessly lost. I was leaning towards lost. The room seemed to be a small sitting library. The walls were lined with books, none of which I recognized. Devin looked around the shelves.

“The monitors are as old as the Warriors of the Way. At any given time there are seven senior monitors,” Devin paused, “but these are not normal times Dante. Right now we only have five and two of those are MIA, which effectively leaves three senior monitors to oversee over two thousand. Out of those three, Meja is clearly the strongest and most capable. The other two lean closer to Michael’s point of view and want to launch a counter attack. You see not only are we divided, but the monitors as well, which leads me to believe there is an outside influence.”

“The traitor?”

Devin nodded. He stopped in front of an old book. The cover was deep amber and the pages were yellowed with age.

“This is it, the book on the ritual of two.” He dusted it off as he set it on the table.

“If the monitors are divided,” he continued, “then it makes all of us weaker. Meja is the only one of the remaining three to have faced Sylk and is still here to talk about it.”

“Is she that skilled?” I asked.

I had a hard time picturing her going up against Sylk, whom it seemed everyone either feared or at least respected.

“When she met him, she barely escaped with her life. I was the first to find her and I thought she was dead… so much blood.” Devin looked into space for a moment as if reliving the scene.

“Now, even I wouldn’t want to face her in combat.”

GUARDIAN AND WARRIOR

DEVIN OPENED THE book and took some notes while I thought about Meja and Sylk.

“Why is everyone so scared of Sylk?” I asked. “Who is he?”

Devin stopped writing for a moment and then looked at me. “Sylk,” he began, “was one of the most skilled warriors —one of the first to go through the ritual of two. In fact he was so naturally talented and inherently powerful, he was one of the few given the rank of Karashihan, which meant that he did not require a guardian. In essence, he was a sword and shield, and a devastating one at that.”

“Does every warrior need a guardian or vice versa?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a matter of need but more of complements of each other. Each warrior is considered as such because their talent deems it so. The guardians exist to make sure the warrior fulfills his duty and the same goes from the other side. In the pairing, the roles blend into each other.”

“So the guardian becomes the warrior and the warrior the guardian?” I asked.

“Something like that,” he said.

I still didn’t see why this ritual was so dangerous and said as much.

“A pairing is the forming of a bond. If either of the two being paired is not ready mentally or physically, the outcome can be quite disastrous. Usually it ends in some kind of psychotic break and is almost always fatal.”

“How long does it usually take to get a person ready?” I asked, realizing we had two months.

“Usually a year.” Devin looked at me, as if assessing what he should say next. “You don’t have to do this, Dante. You can always help in another capacity. You know we always need good instructors.”

I sat there for a few moments in silence, giving it thought.

“I feel like this is what I’m supposed to do,” I said.

Devin sighed. “I’m glad that was your answer.”

“Why?” I looked at him.

“Maybe one day I’ll tell you, but right now we have to cram a year’s worth of training into two months, so we have no time to waste!” Devin said with a smile.

TRAINING

THE TRAINING WAS grueling. Each day we awoke at five in the morning, regardless of how late we were training the day before. The first week we drilled basics, relentlessly,  and when I thought I could go no further, Devin would find a way to push me even more. The second week, Devin began introducing training partners.

“I know you are used to having partners to spar against,” Devin said. “That is not what we are trying to achieve here. You will learn to use your guardian as a shield, so that together you can be a devastating force.” Together with my partner, Devin would put us through drills. The first was a sense drill, where I had to know where my partner was at all times, especially in the heat of battle. Needless to say I failed this drill repeatedly.

“You can’t just focus on what’s going on in front of you, Dante.” I turned to see my guardian getting swarmed by opponents. Once again I had gone off to fight my own battle, leaving my training partner alone.

“You do this out there and you get to see him die, right before you do,” said Devin. I ran over to my current partner only to find that he had been ‘killed’ by his opponents. “You never leave your guardian alone, Dante. That is the first tactic that will be used on the both of you. It’s the reason for more deaths in the first year of being a warrior, than anything else. Remember, it’s not divide and conquer. It’s divide and destroy.”

After three days of that, I had gone through six training partners and was pretty disgusted with myself. Devin must have seen my look of disgust and woke me extra early on the fourth day.

“Let’s go, Dante. I know you think you are doing horribly, but I hear your fellow students aren’t doing too much better.”

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“We are going to the guardians’ training arena. Marcus will be heading the training. Now you will see the other side, where the guardian tries to position him or herself so that the warrior can do what he or she does best.”

We entered a large training arena, very similar to the one I had been training in for the last week and a half. The wooden floors gleamed with sweat.

“You see, Dante. Their job is to keep you alive. If they fail, they know that death is certain. Even though they can withstand immense amounts of damage, they are not invincible. Sooner or later, every guardian falls without a warrior.”

The guardians were being drilled in protecting their respective warriors. At some point, each guardian was making a fatal error, which left their warrior exposed and eventually dead as a result.

I saw Zen fighting off a group of five opponents while his warrior ran off to meet another threat. It was the same trap I fell for several times. While the warrior met the ‘threat’, another group was working its way towards Zen. I looked at Devin, “That guardian is going to get swarmed and killed.”

“You’re probably right —if only he had a warrior who could help him—.” He looked at me. “You know anyone?”

“Yes, I do,” I said as I ran towards Zen.

I noticed Marcus looked towards Devin. Devin’s nod was almost imperceptible.

I fought my way to Zen, dodging blows as best I could and “dispatching” my enemies by attacking the vital points that registered on our uniforms. When we received enough attacks, our uniform would switch color to indicate death. White was undamaged, blue was slightly injured, yellow was moderately injured, and red was dead. If you ‘died’, you were instructed to remain where you fell to create a sense of realism and an obstacle for the remaining fighters. My uniform was white, because I had not trained yet this morning. Zen’s uniform was a light blue indicating he had taken some damage. He saw me and grinned as he evaded one strike and sent another student flying with a side kick.

I stood out like a white splash of paint in a rainbow. This made me an immediate target. I sidestepped a kick aimed for my chest and responded with three rapid short fist strikes, which effectively disabled my attacker.

Zen sidled up beside me. We were one of the few remaining pairs left.

“Think sword and shield, Dante. Remember I’m here to make sure you stay in one piece.”

“If you fall then we both die, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve seen so far. I can take more damage than you pretty-boy warriors.” He laughed.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Okay big guy. What’s the objective?”

“Take a look over there.” He motioned with his head. I turned in the direction only to see a lone monitor dressed in blue. She was surrounded by an impressive group of students. It looked more like a wall than a group of students.

“You mean the great wall of students around the monitor?”

“Yep, we are to liberate and deliver the monitor over there.” He pointed to an archway and a circle on the far side of the arena. In the doorway, stood one figure, waiting.

“Who’s that?” Somehow the one figure seemed more intimidating than the human wall guarding the monitor. He was dressed in black looked like a shadow.

“Oh, that’s just Michael.” He grinned. Knowing the answer before I asked, I asked anyway.

“Are we delivering to Michael, or through him?”

“Look around and tell me what you think.”

“I’m guessing through. It’s through, right?

“Got it in one, D.”

We were getting more attention as we dispatched several more groups. Two pairs had made a run at the ‘wall’ only to be crushed mercilessly. There were only eight to ten pairs left. A group of five attackers came at us. I stood in front of Zen.

“Let’s change this up Zen, you be the sword. I’ll be the shield.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to pick your body up from the ground, cold and lifeless.”

I laughed. “They won’t kill me if they can’t touch me. Besides I’m the one protecting you.”

“Okay, I’m with you, this should be fun.”

“We use them to get through the wall. Follow me!” We both ran towards the protected monitor with five attackers behind us. Two of the other pairs were free and were running ahead of us. As I got closer to the wall, I stopped in my tracks and dropped into pushup position, creating a horizontal obstacle. Two of the attackers tripped over me and because I was so close to the wall, into the students protecting the monitor. This created the opening we needed. Zen rushed in and kicked one student into another causing a confusion, which I was able to exploit. I leapfrogged over another student and reached the monitor. Getting her out would be much harder.

Zen grabbed another student and flung him away from us.

“Over here!” he yelled. I ran for the opening he created with the monitor in tow. The good thing was that she was fighting alongside us, the bad was that we would soon be overrun by the other attackers. I needed time and a distraction.

“Zen we need a diversion! Get me one of the women from the other teams!” Zen whistled a high piercing sound that filled the arena. I thought, Great, so he can whistle. How is that going to help us?

No sooner did I have that thought did I hear a commotion in front of us on my right. Attackers were dropping at a rapid pace. In the center of it all were two diminutive women who looked like dancers. One had jet black hair, the other shockingly white, so much so that her hair almost glowed. They stood barely five feet tall; their thin bodies barely filling their uniforms which I noticed were white as well. What really made me pause was their speed. I could barely follow their hands and legs as they struck. One moment they were in front of an attacker, the next, the attacker went flying or crumpled to the ground. They ran over to Zen, who towered over the two.

“This is Kalysta and Valeria. I call them Kal and Val,” said Zen. They both smiled at me, and it was then I saw that they were indeed twins. Aside from the hair, they had the same tan skin and subtle Asian features, though it was apparent they weren’t entirely Asian. I took off the monitor’s blue robe and gave it to Kal or Val – I wasn’t sure. “I need you to go in any direction that isn’t near us.”

They both laughed. “We can do that,” said Kal.

“This will be fun,” said Val.

The monitor stood in a white uniform and blended in with the rest of us. Kal and Val ran away from us, drawing a large group with them, including most of the wall. Zen and I headed towards Michael. The monitor was a young woman with piercing blue eyes and long blonde hair, tied into a ponytail. She was about my height and I could tell from her physique she trained often. She had a strong jaw line and high cheekbones.

“What’s your name?” I didn’t want to keep referring to her as the victim or monitor.

“My name is Anna,” she answered as we ran to where Michael stood. I thought I caught a slight Russian or Eastern European accent.

“Okay Anna, I’m Dante and this is Zen. Can you tell us anything about this Michael?”

“Very dangerous warrior. It’s a good thing he is alone.” Then she cursed under her breath, in a language I didn’t need to understand, to get the sentiment. In the archway where Michael stood, a figure emerged. I stopped short. This figure loomed over Michael and stood behind him. He had to be around seven feet tall and he filled most of the archway.

“Who or what is that?” I asked incredulously.

“That is Mouro. He is Michael’s guardian,” Zen answered.

“Can he even move? The guy is so huge.”

As if to answer my question, a pair of the surviving “Liberators” made it to the archway. Before I could blink, Mouro was on them, having had produced a staff as if from thin air and batted away the pair with what seemed little or no effort.

“This mission just became much harder, Dante,” Zen said.

“As long as I make it through the archway alive and to the circle, your mission is a success,” said Anna.

“What we need are weapons,” I said.

“Conventional weapons will not work for long against those two,” said Anna. “Both their weapons are chi weapons.”

My face must have held a look of “What?” I was about to say as much when Zen spoke.

“If I create a chi shield can we get close enough to get you through?”

Chi weapons and chi shields, I felt like I had stepped into some kind of martial arts fantasy.

“How long can you hold it intact?” Anna asked.

“On a good day, about ten seconds. This is not a good day, so I’m going to say five seconds max.”

“Will this shield stop every attack?” I needed to know how effective it would be.

“Yeah, it will. But once it’s down so am I, D. You will be on your own.”

“Can you guarantee me five seconds, Zen?”

“Yeah, no more though. I just learned this technique.”

“Fine, we can do this.” I turned to Anna. “Our only criteria is to get you through the archway and to the circle alive, right?”

“Correct.”

“Okay, let’s go. Zen, when Mouro attacks, you hit the shield, got it?”

“Then what?”

“I’ll take care of the rest. Anna, you stay close to me, got it?”

“Got it.”

My plan was simple. We would rush Michael and Mouro, use Zen’s shield to get us to the end of the archway and make sure Anna got through somehow. Hell of a plan. As we approached Michael and Mouro it seemed as if we had crossed a threshold. The other students were no longer intent on attacking us. I felt we had a breather.

“Be wary of Michael, he is the more dangerous of the two,” Anna whispered as we made our way towards the archway. In the distance, I could see Devin and Marcus standing side by side focused on us. I took a deep breath and signaled to Zen and Anna.

“Go!”

We broke into a dead run, moving fast, faster than I had ever moved. Adrenaline coursing through my veins made my vision tight. Zen ran beside me, his face drawn in concentration. Anna kept pace with us. It felt like we were flying. The archway loomed ahead. Mouro, standing in it and filling the space, faced us. A smile crossed his lips. He readied his staff, as it slowly hummed with his chi. An orange glow faintly enveloped the staff and travelled up his arms, as if connected to him. In a strict sense it was, since it was a weapon created of chi energy. I wondered what would happen if that circuit was broken. As we got closer I could hear them speaking to each other.

“These are mine, Michael,” Mouro rumbled.

“I don’t know Mo.” Michael used the nickname that usually resulted in something being broken for anyone else but him. “They got past everyone and they have the monitor.” Mouro’s eyes narrowed, as realization crept in.

He laughed and it filled the arena.

“Yes they do. I didn’t recognize her.”

“It doesn’t matter, Michael. They may be clever, but now they are mine.”

“Are you ready, Zen?” I asked as we headed straight for Mouro. “They know we have the monitor.”

Realizing the greater threat came from Michael. We would create a diversion with Mouro and use the ensuing chaos to get Anna across. Like I said, hell of a plan and the best I could come up with on the fly. We were ten feet from Mouro when I signaled Zen.

“Now!” I yelled.

Zen uttered a word under his breath and time shifted into slow motion. There was an audible whoosh and it felt as if the air had been sucked out and away from us. We were surrounded by a violet blue sphere as we slammed into Mouro. Despite his size, he was not prepared for the sudden impact of the chi shield.

“What the—a chi shield?  He said as he was launched to the side by the impact. His smile was gone. I looked at Zen, who was drenched in sweat. There was a collective gasp from the bystanders as they saw Mouro flying sideways. He recovered quickly, landing on his feet on the far side of the floor, without a sound, which surprised me considering his size. I turned to Michael who was now smiling. “Very clever: separating us.” I nodded, conscious of the fact that Mouro was heading back. Then I realized he couldn’t cross the threshold without the monitor; now that she had passed the designated area, it was sealed off. I sighed a breath of relief, which was short lived when Zen collapsed to one knee.

“Zen!”

“I… think… I’m about done, D,” he panted. Each step he took, harder than the last. Michael simply stepped back, giving the shield a wide berth. I don’t know why it had launched Mouro as if he were a feather but I sort of wished it would do the same to Michael. Michael, clearly impressed, examined the dwindling chi shield…

“Not only a chi shield,” he said admiringly, “but one with a repulsor component interlaced? Quite advanced.” Michael gave the shield some extra space.

Zen had stopped walking, falling to the floor. “Who is your senior, Guardian?” Zen almost unconscious, muttered, “Marcus” then passed out. We were about four feet from where we needed to be. I cursed silently under my breath. “Well, that makes sense,” said Michael.

“Don’t be disappointed, Dante, is it?” He knew my name? “No one has gotten this far, ever. And no junior has ever passed the archway with the monitor to complete the objective.”

That’s when it hit me, like a rush.

“You may be right, Michael,” I said, checking my anger at being spoken down to. I felt the adrenaline surge mix with my anger. It coalesced in my hands and when I looked down I held a short staff. It looked and felt real enough. When I moved it, it felt unnaturally light. I didn’t know how I was doing it, only that I needed some kind of weapon.

“You are full of surprises.” He smiled but his eyes were serious.

I really didn’t like where this was going. I had no extensive experience using a short staff or jo. The last time I held one I ended up unconscious myself.

“How long do you think you can keep it intact, I wonder?” He was goading me.

“Long enough,” I hissed. Even as I said the words, I felt my strength ebbing from me. I had only one chance. Anna was next to me as I inched closer to Michael, a new respect in his eyes as the staff gleamed a dark red. I had no clue what I was doing, I only knew Anna had to get across and to the circle, and Michael was in the way. This was falling apart fast and the floor began to tilt beneath me.

“Let’s go, Anna,” I said.

“I don’t think so.” He stood to block our path just as I expected.

With my remaining strength, I lunged at him, which he parried effortlessly. The clash of our weapons sent jolts of electricity up my arm. Almost dropping my short staff, I brought my right leg up in a circular round house kick, but as I kicked in an effort to remove his head, he simply ducked. I smiled. Since I had not connected, I kept my leg going, which increased my momentum. I continued turning into a back kick. My foot landed squarely on Anna’s back. She had anticipated the kick and was moving forward, my kick adding the push she needed to cross the threshold. She flew the remaining two feet past Michael. Michael yelled as he slashed at me. His blow broke through my staff and into my side. The pain was excruciating as I crashed to the floor, momentarily losing consciousness. As I lay on the floor, I turned my head to see Anna safe on the other side in the circle. The room was in an uproar as students ran towards us, now that the threshold barrier had dropped. Michael, sword now gone, looked down at me with a smile that held something more— respect, maybe?

“Well done, warrior.” He turned and left the arena, Mouro joining him. It was the last thing I saw as the world turned on its side and became black.

THE PAIRING

AFTER THE TRAINING event, Devin took measures to keep me focused. The fact that I had accessed the mirror and now manifested my chi meant my training became specialized. I rarely saw any of the other students since my training was almost exclusively with Devin. The sessions were getting increasingly frustrating. Apparently my focusing my chi was not supposed to happen for another few years. The fact that I did it without training meant I was more of a danger to myself and my fellow students.

Devin was also being sensitive to the “mole” problem. He felt I could be attacked or worse, for having these abilities, and had me moved to a different wing every week for my safety. It was  getting aggravating. The only constant was the upcoming pairing. I wondered who my guardian would be. I knew Zen and I were a good team, but Devin kept telling me that it wasn’t that simple. The pairing linked the chi of the people involved. It created a bond that was only broken by death. And so the remaining month had been brutal in terms of my training. The only respite came at night, when I could have an hour to myself and then fall asleep. As each day passed, I became better at controlling my chi. By the third week of the second month, I was able to create my staff again without the anger. It felt different.

“When you manifest your chi from a point of calm, it will not drain you,” Devin explained. “Acute negative emotions like anger, hatred, and fear will also facilitate chi manifestation, but the downside is that it will siphon off your own chi.” As he spoke, a blue-white orb of energy began to take shape in front of him, floating in midair. I could feel the pressure in the center of my forehead and temples.

“Catch,” he said and smiled. I mentally “caught” the orb of energy and held it in space before me by creating a barrier of my will.

“Careful, I laced a detonation component into it. If you mishandle it, it will explode and there will be little bits of you all over.” He smiled. He was bluffing, wasn’t he? Sweat began to form on my brow as fear crept in.  The sphere began to rotate a little faster, the blue becoming darker.

“Calm down, Dante, take deep breaths.” I did as he suggested and the sphere became light blue, almost white.

“There you go, see? Wasn’t that easy?” It was taking all I had just to keep the orb centered. My full focus was on the sphere of energy. I didn’t realize what Devin was doing until he said, with a malicious smile, “Catch.” We were sitting cross-legged from each other about twenty feet away. He smiled as another blue-white orb came floating towards me. Its muted glow illuminated the training floor as it floated towards me, a promise of destruction wrapped in warm light.

“Don’t let them touch,” he said. I willed the second orb to stop short of the first one by pushing my chi in between them, acting as a cushion.

“Catch,” he said once again, but this time he was serious. The third orb was coming slowly towards the other two.

“Dante, do not let them touch,” he said pointedly. It was like watching a train wreck. You knew what was going to happen but you couldn’t tear your eyes away. At the last moment I sent a strand of chi to stop it but it was too little, too late. The third orb came to a stop. I thought I had caught it in time, but it was still sliding forward and gently kissed the other two orbs. My ears popped as the pressure of the impact sent me flying across the floor, on my rear. I stopped sliding on the hardwood floor thirty feet away. Devin stood over me as I tried to regain my composure and hearing.

“At the pairing, they will be live, Dante.” His tone held every implication of what the outcome would be if I didn’t exercise the control and focus needed.

“Let’s start again,” he said as I took my place cross-legged away from him. I lost track of time as we practiced over and over. Each time I thought I had them under control, he would send one more orb and I would end up a human projectile, careening across the floor. I was at the point of exhaustion with four orbs in front of me when I saw him begin to form the fifth. I couldn’t move the four in front of me as part of the exercise, but I was tired and fed up with being sent across the floor like some oversized rag doll.

He sent the fifth orb over and in my head I saw myself flying back after the impact.

“No,” I said to myself, “no more.” Something in me snapped. I don’t know if it was from the exhaustion or just not wanting to be airborne again. I stopped the fifth orb midway in its trajectory. Devin arched an eyebrow but remained still. I sent the other four orbs at the one in the middle. Just before they touched, I drained them of their chi. As I drained them they became one large orb about the size of a beach ball. I was trembling with the exertion.

“Catch,” I said as I shoved it back at him. He merely sat and watched the orb glide toward him. He lifted a hand and the orb crashed into it. Once again my ears popped. His uniform fluttered but he remained where he was as the orb slowly vanished into his palm. I looked, dumbfounded and he just smiled. “You are almost ready, Dante. Let’s take a break.”

I was still silent, not finding the words to express my frustration or the unfairness of it all. What I wanted was to lie down and sleep but I knew that was hours away. “The pairing is in a few days,” he said as if reading my mind. “You will be rested for it, don’t worry.”

Anna came into the training area and approached Devin and bowed. Devin bowed.

“Yes, Anna?” Devin asked.

“Senpai Michael would like to speak to you privately, Senpai.” Monitors rarely used the honorific of senior, meaning this was a delicate matter of importance. Devin allowed a moment of concern to cross his face.

“Where is he?”

“He is with Senpai Mouro in the West Hall.” It would take Devin twenty minutes to get there and that was using the shortcuts.

As he turned to leave, he looked at Anna again.

“Did he say what this was about?” She bowed again.

“No Senpai, only that it was urgent and it concerned him.”

Devin pressed his lips together and looked at the both of us.

“Guard him with your life, Anna.”

She bowed, but said nothing. Satisfied, Devin left the training area.

“Hi there, Anna, how have you been?”

“Pretty good. I haven’t seen you around much.”

“Yeah, you know Devin’s pretty insane with the training, pairing coming up and all.”

Anna had walked over to take a protective stance near me and kept looking around as if someone might attack me.

“Really, Anna, that isn’t necessary. Who is going to attack us in here?”

She stood her ground to my right and just behind me. It was starting to creep me out.

“Anna, really. No need, okay?” As I turned, I saw the knife in her hand and then in my abdomen. The knife burned as it slid effortlessly into my midsection. She grabbed me, knife at my neck as the voice came through the door.

“Anna, I ran into Michael—”  Devin stopped mid-sentence as he saw the scene. The air around him began to shimmer.

“You won’t get very far, Anna. Let him go and I promise you mercy.”

“Mercy!” she spat. “Where was your mercy when my sister begged for her life?” The look of confusion on Devin’s face was too authentic to fake.

“Your sister?” he asked.

“Sylk said you wouldn’t remember. He said to ask Owl. He would help you remember.” At the mention of Sylk’s name, Devin’s face darkened.

“Anna, you don’t want to do this.”

“Oh, but I do, Senpai,” the last word dripping with scorn and hate.

Devin took a step. Anna pulled me back, the blade of the knife biting into my neck, leaving a thin trail of blood. The knife is incredibly sharp, I caught myself thinking over the hum of noise in my ears.

“Where are you going to go? There is no way out Anna.”

“I think he and I will make a wonderful pair.” Anna smiled. She pushed her hand into the small of my back and I felt a small pinch. The training area started to go grey, and I thought it was an effect of the knife wound until I saw the look on Devin’s face.  It was a mix of surprise, rage and disbelief.

“Retrievers?” I heard him yell as he sped to us faster than I had ever seen anyone move. It wasn’t fast enough. He moved right through us as if we were ghosts. Anna laughed at the look of rage and helplessness in his face and then we were gone.

PROPOSITION

“ARE YOU CERTAIN you used the sequence correctly?” The voice was low and slightly accented, though I couldn’t place it.

“Yes sir,” a female voice responded.

“Excellent,” said the male voice. “Look, he’s waking up.” I opened my eyes. I guessed they meant me. As I turned and swung my legs off the bed to take in my surroundings, a wave of nausea and vertigo slammed into me, making me pause. I remained still until the room slowly righted itself.

“It’s the effect of multiple retriever use. I’m afraid it was unavoidable, Dante.” My midsection lurched and burned simultaneously but no wound was evident. “Devin is a clever adversary so I had to take precautions. How is the old alma mater, by the way?”

I was in no condition to answer as the room slipped slightly off axis.

“Annika, bring something to settle his, um stomach.” And the man smiled.

Annika? I thought. Then it all came back in a flood. Anna stabbing me, becoming ghost-like, Devin trying to grab us and the hopping – we moved so many times until I was completely disoriented and nauseous.

When he saw that the realization was on my face, he smiled.

“Welcome Dante. My name is Sylk.”

He was a tall man with elegant features. His face was chiseled with a prominent jaw line that held strength. His eyes were a pale grey that burned with intelligence. He had a swimmer’s body, tall and thin. Wearing a pale white dress shirt and black slacks, he looked like a male model. His hair was a shocking white and was cut close and cropped on the sides. What caught my attention were his hands —they emanated power, it was the only way I could describe it. As I shifted to take in my surroundings, my midsection screamed at me. I winced and he noticed.

“What you are feeling is the effect of being stabbed or cut with a weapon of manifested chi.” He smiled.

I looked around, careful not to move too suddenly. I was in a loft space. The walls were exposed brick, painted white. The ceiling was a series of skylights that let in the natural light. In the center of the space was a raised training area, equipped with heavy bags, lifelike training dummies with pressure points delineated with red circles. A weapons rack stood on a far wall holding some weapons I recognized and many I didn’t. In the center of the area on the floor were circles etched into the wood. They were concentric and were of metal. The largest must have been at least thirty feet across. I saw that the living space and training area were clearly separated by a series of screens. He saw me take it all in and waited patiently for me to recognize the obvious. It took a while for me to notice, and then I realized there was no door. I saw no way to enter the space and —more importantly— to exit. I tried to stand and paused.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Disregarding him, I tried to stand anyway. The room shifted on its axis again and I felt the floor tilt away from me. I sat down again, sweat forming on my brow, my stomach doing somersaults. Anna or Annika came from the kitchen with a damp rag and went to place it on my forehead. I flinched. She smiled and placed the rag on my forehead then went to the other end of the floor.

Sylk sat in one of the lounges opposite the bed, and crossed his legs as he took me in.

“Being stabbed by a chi weapon disrupts the natural flow of chi in your body.”

“So my chi is what, blocked?”

He stood with an economy of motion that demonstrated grace, power and strength as he walked over to me. It was like watching a tiger stalk prey —beautiful and deadly.

“In simple terms, yes. Chi weapons introduce disruption to your chi field or flow. While the wound itself leaves no physical trace, the blockage or interruption can cause a multitude of physical ailments. Some are fatal. Of course all it needs is to be released and the flow is reestablished.” He grabbed my right elbow and pressed hard in my forearm, causing blinding pain. I tried to pull away but his grip was like steel. I felt like I was caught in a vise. After about thirty seconds of agony, he let go.

“Stand up.”

I hesitated, not wanting my world to twist and flip again.

“Go ahead, it should be fine.”

As I stood, I suddenly felt much better.

“There,” he said. “Good as new.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to make you an offer —a proposition of sorts.”

“What sort of offer?”

“What would you say if I could prove to you that I’m not the villain I’m being portrayed as by your teachers at the school?”

“I would say why do you need to prove anything to me?”

He appraised me with his grey eyes and remained silent as if considering what to say next.

“You are correct, I have nothing to prove to you nor do I need to, except for one thing.”

“What?”

“I want you to join me in my mission.”

“And what mission is that?”

“We need to prepare for a greater enemy than we have ever faced.”

“You mean greater than you?”

He laughed then. “I am not the enemy, Dante. I am merely the catalyst for greater transformation. The enemy I speak of has immeasurable power, enough to wipe out every warrior from this and every other plane of existence.”

“From what I understand, you are public enemy number one, the reason every warrior is preparing and training.”

He looked at me expectantly.

It dawned on me slowly. “That is what you want?”

“Yes, by becoming the common enemy, there is a slim chance they will be ready when the real threat emerges.”

“That is quite the long game you are playing and you are killing warriors,” I said slowly.

He walked over to the kitchen area and brought back two mugs. “Dante, this is a war. I regret the lives that have been lost, but when you get to my age, all you see is the long game,” he said, handing me a mug. The tea was a combination of ginger, lemon and some ingredient I couldn’t place, giving it a distinct sweetness followed by the sharp bite of ginger and calmed by the tartness of the lemon. It was delicious. He must have seen my reaction.

“It is my own creation and it is a medicinal remedy as well.” He lifted his mug and took a sip, basking in the steam.”

“It is very good,” I said, meaning it.

“Thank you.”

“How are you justifying killing warriors and monitors?”

He looked away for a moment, pensive. He turned to me, his grey eyes piercing me.

“Let me tell you a story, Dante.” He rose and walked/glided over to a far wall covered entirely in books. I followed him and saw that many of the books were classics, and if they were authentic, the collection was priceless. I walked over to where he stood, facing a section of books whose spines I couldn’t decipher. He ran his finger along a few of them almost caressing them. I looked at him and wondered how old he was. There was no real way to tell just by looking.

“About three hundred years ago, a group of warriors joined together to form a society dedicated to protecting the planes from evil. When we started, there were twenty-six of us. We were still in Europe then, England to be precise.”

“We?” I looked incredulously at him.

“Are you saying you’re three hundred years old?”

“I’ll be four hundred and ten this December.” So I was standing here with a man, if he was a man, that was over four centuries old.

“My age is irrelevant, Dante.”

Like hell it was.

“Pay attention.” The way he uttered those words snapped me out of my reverie. Either he was over four centuries old or he was insane. I wasn’t sure which yet, so I listened.

“What you know as the Warriors of the Way was known by a different name back then. Throughout history we have been in every group and so-called secret society. We were Templars, Free Masons, Rosicrucian. We belonged to every religion practiced in the world. We were part of these groups and yet transcended them. Our calling knew no race, religion, creed, or belief system. I won’t be so cliché as to say we shaped history.”

“What calling was that?” I was beginning to lean towards the insane side of my evaluation. I sipped some more of the delicious tea.

“We were tasked with preventing the destruction of the planes of existence.”

“Meaning there are others?”

He looked at me as if I were a simple child.

“Yes, Dante, there are others. I’m sure by now even you have been exposed to the Mirror?”

I debated telling him of my short and unremembered journey there, but figured I had nothing to lose and said, “They told me I went there when I was injured.”

“Really?” He looked genuinely interested.

“Do you have any recollection of your time there?”

I shook my head and he nodded. “The first time is usually like that, especially if injury was the catalyst.”

“So the different planes are just different versions of us?”

“That would be a simple and arrogant assumption, but for now let’s use that.”

My face reddened and he smiled at my discomfort.

“Consider that all these planes coexist. No one knows which the original is or if there even was an original. These planes or worlds or dimensions, whichever helps you understand it, never interact directly. They are like parallel lines going into infinity.”

“So no crossing over, ever?”

“Except by a select few, throughout our history, gurus or enlightened masters.”

“So how do the warriors…”

“I’m getting to that,” he said after he finished his tea.

“Imagine that these planes were accessible and that you didn’t need a state of enlightenment or any other transcendental state.”

“Wouldn’t everyone be crossing over, then?”

“The path we discovered was through our martial training, perfected to such a level that we were able to achieve zanshin at will.”

I had heard of zanshin as being in the state of mind where everything and anything was possible. It wasn’t nothingness, empty and void, but pure potentiality.

“So by achieving zanshin, you cross over?”

“Not exactly. By achieving the desired state, the doorway becomes available to you. You can choose to use the door or not, but there is a choice.”

“Why wouldn’t you take the door?”

“Eventually you will find out and then you get to make the choice. One thing I can assure you, no one is going to find you,” and he extended his arm to take in the loft,” in this place.”

“Why not?” I had to ask since my noticing the lack of a door.

“I know you think there is no form of egress but you would be wrong.”

I looked around again. He beckoned to me to search further. The space was expansive with hardwood floors tying the living areas together. I discovered an actual bedroom off to the side which must have been the master bedroom judging from the king size bed. All the furniture was done in an old wood so brown it was almost black. Everything looked solid and sturdy. I looked everywhere and saw no door. I walked back to the common area and it was then that I noticed the mirror. It stood at least ten feet tall and I missed it initially because I thought it was a window. As I stood before it, I recognized the view. It was the training hall on the lake, at the school. Sylk stood beside me admiring the view.

“I spent many hours training on that lake.”

“We’re in…?”

“The Mirror? Yes, in more ways than one I would say.”

“But I wasn’t in a zanshin state, how did I?”

“No, but before travelling, Annika injured your chi, setting for your automatic response to trauma and injury. The rest was a matter of sequential jumps using retrievers.”

“How long have I been here?” My world, the world I was used to, born in, was on the other side of that mirror. My stomach lurched.

“Time is not a linear concept here, Dante. Here there are eddies and whorls. It may only feel linear because you perceive it that way.”

Annika was in the kitchen area preparing food for what I assumed was going to be dinner. My body took over, informing me that I was starving.

“You mean you can travel in time?”

“No, Dante, time travel as far as I know is not possible. What I meant by nonlinear is in relation to the plane you originate from.”

“Excuse me?”

“Think of it this way – the Mirror is a plane that is like a very long river. Parts of this river flows slowly, other parts though, flow quickly. There are rapids and falls, whirlpools and the like. If you enter the mirror from your plane without knowing exactly where you intend to go, you can find that upon returning to your plane much time has passed ‘or none’.”

“What about here, this place?”

He smiled then and looked at what passed as a watch, but was unlike any watch I had ever seen. “Well, according to this you have been gone exactly one hour of your time to two days of our time here.” The smell wafting in from the kitchen sent my stomach into overdrive, making it growl.

“Anna is a fantastic chef, among other things.” As he looked at her I could see that there was a deeper dimension to their relationship. “And before you get any ideas, he walked over and kissed her on the forehead, “she is my daughter and one of my personal guards.”

I looked at Anna, wondering how old she was, if her father was over four hundred years old.

“I’m twenty-eight,” she said as if reading my mind.

“The longevity factor won’t become apparent until her fortieth birthday, and even then it can skip a generation or two from what I have seen.”

So far he hadn’t tried to kill me, even though I knew he was capable of it.

“So, my proposition. Stay here, train, and allow me to teach you to become the warrior you are meant to be. When you are ready to leave, I will not stop you.”

“But why me?” There are many at the school better than me.”

“Anna tells me that you have the skills I am looking for.”

“Why not one of the seniors?”

“Those you call seniors, blindly follow their master and would not be open to what I have to say.”

“It may be because you have killed some of them?” I answered.

“You do have a point.” He crossed his arms and waited.

I thought over my situation. The only way to get back was to go through the doorway/Mirror. There was no way I could take on Sylk on my own, much less him and Anna. It didn’t appear like I had much of a choice and he knew it. Somehow I knew I would regret this.

“Fine,” I said. “It’s not like I have much of a choice here.”

“Of course you do.”

“I do?”

“Certainly, you could have refused my invitation.”

“Sure I could have and then?”

“And then I would have killed you.” It wasn’t a threat. He said it so matter of fact that the words chilled me to my core.

“I see,” I said slowly.

“Not yet you don’t but you will,” he said as he smiled.

SEARCH

DEVIN WAS LIVID. The traitor was a monitor? How did she get ahold of retrievers? This had Sylk’s hand in it, he was certain of it. He also knew that recovering Dante would not be the priority. Weeding out any other potential moles would take precedence, as would the ritual of pairing. The Master would not stop or delay the ritual no matter how talented one student was. He would have to find Dante on his own.

“Are we going to find him?” Devin turned to see Meja flanked by the twins Kalysta and Valeria, and behind them stood Zen. Devin looked at them, his face serious, inwardly he admired their courage.

“It’s very likely Sylk has him.”

Meja’s face became hard.

“Are they ready for something like this?” said Devin as he looked at the trio.

“I wouldn’t have chosen them if I didn’t think they were capable,” Meja answered with an edge to her voice.

Devin smiled at Meja but it was without mirth.

“I found your mole, by the way.”

“She knew we were onto her, which is why she acted when she did,” said Meja.

“If we do this, it’s very likely we will have monitors after us. I want to know that you are doing this out of your free will,” said Devin.

Meja narrowed her eyes at Devin, clearly displeased. Devin didn’t care; he was not going to have them on his conscience.

“We are here because we want Dante back, it’s that simple,” said Zen. The twins nodded in agreement.

“Very well, then. Let’s go find us a warrior.”

TRANSFORMATION

THE TRAINING WAS unlike any other I had ever endured. I took solace in the fact that I was training for my escape but it comforted me very little. Sylk made my time at the school feel like a vacation. We awoke each day at six a.m. Every day was the same.

“Let’s begin,” were his first words to me every morning. And we would start. Dressed in a loose fitting shirt and pants, standing barefoot on the training floor, he would drill me over and over on the most rudimentary techniques and forms. The days blurred into each other until I had no track of how long I had been in that place. It was another morning when he woke me—Doesn’t he ever sleep?

“Good morning, Dante,” Sylk said, looking at me over a cup of his golden tea. The pleasant aroma filled the space. I was wary. We never started our days this way.

“Uh – good morning,” I said, still a bit groggy.

“Today will very likely be the most difficult of your life.” He sipped some more of his tea. I knew better than to ask why and remained silent as I dressed into my training clothes, which were very similar to Sylk’s. I wore a very loose fitting top that resembled a gi top. but it was much thinner and more resilient. It felt like silk but it allowed me to breathe, dealing well with the copious amounts of sweat I produced in my training. My pants, made of the same material, were also loose fitting, but not so much that it was a hindrance. It felt like training in very comfortable underwear. I stood in the center of the training circles. Something was different today. The circles hummed with power and were glowing faintly.

“In your time here, Dante, I have stripped away all your incorrect techniques and bad habits,” Sylk said evenly. “It has not been easy,” he continued.

I remained silent, knowing it was the correct thing to do.

“Today you will determine if you progress to the next level in your training.”

It can’t be!  I thought. I’m going to have to fight him? There was no way I could face him and win. As he spoke, three women approached the circle. “These are women from my personal guard and they are here to kill you.”

They stood outside the outer circle. The surprise evident on my face, I said nothing. I had no doubt that they would make good on their instruction. Each of them wore tight fitting pants and a top similar to mine. They wore soft sandals on their feet that made a soft shushing sound as they side stepped the tré. Each of them had their black hair in a braid that ended in a metal pin, which led me to consider that even the hair may be a weapon. Their faces, expressionless, were dangerous and beautiful. Asian features which betrayed no emotion, their almond shaped eyes looked not at me but through me. I thought it couldn’t get any worse when swords materialized in two of the three women’s hands.

“I have some business to attend to,” he said as he approached the mirror. If you are still among the living when I return then we will continue your training. If not, well then…” he nodded towards me and stepped through.

“Watch the one that is unarmed, Dante. She is the most dangerous of the three.” His voice faded away as I stood facing imminent death. She looked at me and smiled. “I am Mara, and I will be your assassin today.”

I gathered my chi and kept it stored in my lower abdomen. I knew I would need it if I was to survive this. Whatever happened I would do this without taking a life. I would not become Sylk. The outer circle stopped glowing and all three stepped in as one. Once inside, it began glowing again. I realized that I was sealed in with them. I put my foot on the glowing circle and felt a jolt of energy shoot up my leg followed by excruciating pain. It felt like someone had reached in and pulled out every bone in my leg. “Ahh!” I screamed in agony. As if that were the starting signal, they moved in to attack.

TAPPING DARKNESS

THE TWO WITH swords began to move to flank me. A subdued turquoise glow emanated from the swords. They stepped slowly to my sides, while the third —remaining motionless— looked at me. My leg still throbbed but the pain was quickly subsiding. Now it just felt as if it had been asleep, complete with the pins and needles. I moved into the center of the tré, as the three circles were called. The two with swords were now equidistant from me, almost anxious to attack. I realized that it was the third unarmed one that was controlling them. I looked closer at their faces and realized that they weren’t similar —they were identical, down to the clothes and facial features. I was either facing triplets or something else was going on. Mara smiled at my dawning awareness.

“We are all the same but I am the original.” I remained silent, hoping to find a gap in her offense. “Finish him,” she said so softly I almost missed it. The one on my left ran in, sword trailing behind her. The one on my right mirrored her. If I didn’t do something within the next two seconds, I had no doubt they would slice me in two. I felt the chi in my lower abdomen and expanded it to encompass the inner circle, which was five feet in diameter. I felt it expand from my body and solidify around me like a cylinder. Lefty slammed into it first and I felt the impact across my left side as if I had gotten kicked in the ribs. Righty, seeing what happened, stopped short and prodded my chi field with her sword. Her sword was instantly absorbed into my cylinder. Mara raised an eyebrow. She gave them an unspoken instruction and they stood just outside my circle, waiting. I knew I couldn’t keep this up indefinitely. Fatigue was already creeping into the edges of my awareness. Mara stood in front of me and placed a palm on my energy field. She drew her arm back and slammed her palm into the field. It was a devastating strike that would have broken several of my ribs had the field not been there. It felt like I had been gut checked. She looked at me and said,

“It would seem that this manifestation of your chi is still very much connected to you.”

I looked at her darkly, too winded to reply. It was taking all I had just to keep the cylinder intact.

“Foolish neophyte, you are supposed to disconnect the chi from yourself, or fall prey to the consequences.”

Disconnect my chi? I had no way of doing that. It was something alien to me.

She laughed then.

Her doppelgangers began attacking the cylinder around me. At first tentatively, then with greater intensity. I knew I had moments left. It was then when I felt the tug of power. It was hard to describe, like that feeling you get, a bass sound rocking your abdomen. It was a rumbling, pulling at my midsection. At first it felt off, like something was wrong, tainted, but considering my options, I didn’t have much choice. I drew on it. I opened myself to this strange power filling me. The cylinder around me grew reddish black at the edges. I no longer felt tired, in fact a surge of energy coursed through me. I touched the cylinder and it vibrated under my hand. I concentrated, pushing it out. It expanded almost immediately. I stopped at the second circle of the tré. The twins began striking it but I felt nothing. Mara had moved back to appraise the situation, her face serious. The anger in me, which had been a constant companion, took over. It was a rage that infused my entire being. I didn’t ask for any of this. My life as I knew it was over. The rage and frustration that I had kept under control shook off my restraints as if they didn’t exist. How dare these women threaten me? I looked down to see a small staff, a Jo, in my hands, about four feet long, covered in ornate markings. I knew it was a manifested weapon, at the same time I knew it was real and independent of me. It felt solid. Around an inch and a half in diameter, capped at each end with what looked like steel. In each cap, designs were etched into the metal. Along the shaft of what appeared to be ebony wood were characters and markings I could not decipher, etched in a deep red. The staff thrummed as if it had a life of its own.

“I am called Maelstrom, for I come from your inner chaos to unleash destruction on your foes,” a voice said. For a moment I thought it was me, but I knew I had not said a word. It was then that I laughed. I didn’t even recognize my voice, my laugh. It wasn’t me, yet it was.

“Impossible,” said Mara. “It is a foci.”

“Oh no, bitch, very possible,” not-my-voice answered.

I slammed my staff on the floor and the protective field around me was sucked into the staff with an audible whoosh. The twins stood perplexed for a moment then lunged at me with swords newly drawn.

“No!” screamed Mara.

Too late they realized that instead of rushing to cut short my existence, they were ending their own. It was moving in slow motion and at an accelerated pace all at once. The twin on my right brought her sword down with a cut designed to cleave me in two. I sidestepped the attack as the twin on my left lunged with her sword at my mid-section, which I parried with Maelstrom or it parried using me. It was as if the staff was using me and not the other way around. The staff whirled in my hands as if alive. I slammed the twin on the right in the chest with the broad end of the staff. She skidded to the edge of the tré. With grim satisfaction, I knew I had broken at least four ribs. She didn’t move. The left twin yelled and redoubled her efforts, cutting and slicing at me. Every time she thought she had me, she only cut air. I was everywhere and nowhere.

“Enough of this,” I said in not-my-voice. “Corrompio,” I whispered and the end caps of the staff began to glow a sickly green. As she attacked again, slashing at my legs, I blocked with my staff and lightly touched her arm with the other end. Immediately the area touched by the staff began turning black and decomposing. She moved back, fear in her eyes. In moments her arm was black and lifeless. I could see the death spreading across her shoulder to the rest of her body. She would be dead within minutes. I turned my attention to Mara.

“Come, Mara. Let us see who the foolish one is.”

Mara stepped back to the edge, knowing the agony that awaited her if she attempted to cross the threshold of the tré. She looked at the edge of the circle and decided that she could defeat me.

Her hands began to glow a deep purple.

“I smell your fear, bitch. Don’t worry, your suffering will be different from your sisters’. I will make sure yours is longer and infinitely more painful.”

She came at me then, hands blurring. She attacked my face only to miss by a fraction of an inch. She would kick only to find me in another location. I was toying with her—or rather Maelstrom was. I had to stop this or lose myself completely. The only thing was I didn’t know how. It was like a hurricane. You let it run its course and marveled at the devastation left in its wake. I began to attack. At first it was a feint here and there, and then the attacks escalated. I lunged at her head when she parried. I shifted position mid strike and brought the staff crashing on her left thigh. To her credit she didn’t cry out but I was going to remedy that. I would make her scream before I was done. I kept pressing the attack until she was at the edge of the tré. I had struck her several times. She could barely stand and was unable to put weight on her left leg. Still she fought. That was when I pushed her over the threshold.

She screamed then.

I walked through the threshold of the tré and felt a slight buzzing in my body. Her eyes grew wide as she backed away. “Infierno,” I whispered as the staff grew hot in my hands.

“No, this can’t be.” And she crumpled to the ground, defeated.

The large mirror showed my plane. As I looked down at Mara, Maelstrom jumped in my hands, hungry for destruction, for death. I raised Maelstrom to deliver the killing blow. It whistled as it cut through the air, only to be stopped inches from Mara’s head. It was Meja. In her hand she held a sword that seemed to be forged from ice, cool and blue, covered in symbols like Maelstrom. It held Maelstrom from crushing Mara’s head. “Now, Zen!” Meja yelled. I briefly registered that Zen was behind me, before I was pushed into the large pane of glass that led back to my plane of existence.

SUSPICION

WHEN I ARRIVED on the other side, I was surrounded by monitors, weapons drawn. Maelstrom was nowhere to be seen. To be honest, I could barely remember what had occurred. It came back to me in pieces, nothing coherent.

“Take him to the detention area,” I heard one of the monitors say. A pair of bracelets was placed on my wrists and I immediately felt suppression on my chi. No matter how much I tried to gather it, it was like trying to grab smoke.

As I was led to the detention area, the monitors around me cast sidelong glances at me. No one spoke. I could see Meja up ahead of the procession and as I counted the monitors, seven in all, excluding Meja and Zen, I wondered if I was that much of a threat. Zen looked back at me and I held his gaze, knowing that things looked bad for me. How could I explain it? It wasn’t me, yet it was? Would Sylk come and speak to my innocence? Somehow I didn’t think so. We walked down several corridors, our footsteps echoing against the walls. The lamps cast their golden glow against the roughly hewn walls and I realized that this part of the underground facility was not meant for guests, students or luxury. After what seemed twenty minutes, we arrived at a door that looked like it would take five or six people to open. As I counted the latches, I realized why there were seven monitors. Each of them grabbed a latch on the huge door. It opened slowly at first. I had no doubt as to its weight. The seven monitors opened it enough to create space for two people walking abreast. Meja and Zen walked in first. She turned and looked at me. I got the message and followed them in. The seven monitors began closing the door once again. Now I was confused. How would Meja and Zen get out? Why were they being locked in here with me? I turned to see the immense door gliding to a close, sealing us in.

I looked around the cell. As cells went, this one was on the large side. Maybe it was a cell for a giant at one time. It was lit with a subdued glow coming from some of the stones. I calculated that it was roughly thirty by thirty and the only way out was just closed behind me. With the exception of a stone slab that protruded from the wall, the room was bare.

“What the –”

“Silence,” said Meja. The tone in her voice meant she was all business. I looked at Zen, but his face was a stone mask.

From the corner, a figure emerged. It was Devin. “You have no idea what we went through to get you.”

“What you went through? What took so long? Are you telling me it took months before you could find me?”

The sarcasm was heavy in my voice. Devin, Meja and Zen looked at me oddly, so I decided to ask the obvious question.

“How long have I been gone?”

“From the moment Anna took you until this moment has been four days and a half.”

I sat on the stone slab. It had been months with Sylk – at least six if not more. I had no real way to tell. The days had blurred into each other. One thing I knew for sure —it had not been four and a half days.

“It was at least six months. I thought you had all given up on me.”

Zen came over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“We were told to forget you, D., that no one student is worth risking the entire school. You were considered a casualty of war.”

“It was Devin who organized a group and had us violate every rule to search for you,” Meja said. It was clear Meja didn’t approve of what Devin had them do.

Zen smiled. “We broke a lot of rules, but we figured if someone wanted you bad enough to snatch you, then we should get you back.”

“Who was it?” asked Devin.

“Anna is a personal guard to Sylk.”

Devin turned away, pensive.

“His aura is tainted, Devin. He could be under Sylk’s control and we wouldn’t know it. Look at what he did with Anna. She was a monitor and we weren’t aware of her until it was too late.”

“Well, there is that, Meja,” said Devin.

“It may be simpler if we just kill him now,” Meja, my fan, said. I could tell from the look on Zen’s face that this was a real consideration, so I remained quiet. With the bracelets I had on, I wasn’t going to focus my chi into anything but an idea. Even if I could, I doubt I could summon Maelstrom again and stand against both Devin and Meja.

“I’m going to take your advice into consideration, Meja, and keep him alive for now. We may actually need him.”

Meja looked away, clearly upset, then she turned to me, anger in her eyes. She stepped close to me and spoke: “If I so much as suspect that you are a traitor, I promise you, your death will not be swift. Devin may think that you are with us but I can see the taint that permeates your aura and being. I will be waiting and watching.” With that she stepped off to one side.

Devin drew closer.

“Meja tells me that you were able to manifest your chi weapon?”

“Yes and I also told you it was malevolent and radiated death. Ask Zen,” she said.

Devin stayed focused on me.

“You mean Maelstrom?” I answered.

“Maelstrom, hmm? Did you name it or did the name pop into your head? Did it speak to you? Think carefully before you answer, Dante.”

Did it speak to me? Had I imagined the entire thing? There was no way I could have; even Meja and Zen saw it.

“It spoke to me and told me its name was Maelstrom.”

Meja looked disgusted. Zen was surprised. Devin was pensive still and looked at me, his stare unnerving me. “Were you controlling Maelstrom or was it controlling you?”

“I tried to control it, but I couldn’t. It wanted to kill and destroy. If Meja hadn’t shown up when she did, I would have killed—”

“It’s a good thing you haven’t killed anyone with it yet.”

“But the twins?”

“Fortunately for you,” Meja turned to me, “those were projections of Mara’s chi. Had you killed Mara, Maelstrom would be bonded to you and your dark aura and every time you used it, it would get worse until one day, no more you. Only Maelstrom, only the weapon.”  She turned to Devin, her intention clear.

“I still say we kill him and save ourselves the grief, Devin.”

“Enough, Meja. No one is dying here today.”

“That weapon jeopardizes every—” Devin gave her a look.

“His life is preserved —swear it, on your word.”

Meja clenched her jaw and remained silent.

“Swear it.” Devin’s face grew hard.

Meja, not flinching from Devin faced him, “On my word, I swear his life is preserved.” A palpable tension left the cell.

“Good, now that the situation of Meja trying to kill you is resolved, let’s see what we can do to get you out of here.”

ESCAPE

I HAD NO idea what Devin meant. I saw no exit out of the cell. He went over to one corner to discuss details with Meja, who still looked like a sword in my stomach was a good idea, leaving me alone to speak to Zen.

“You don’t have to worry about her, ever,” Zen said as he got close.

“Why? It looks like she wants to erase me first chance she gets.”

Zen laughed. “That may be true, but she swore an oath on her word, so she would die before letting harm come to you.”

Now I looked back at Meja, having a hard time believing she would defend me at the cost of her life. “Why would she do that, swear that oath?”

“Because Devin asked her. She owes him her life. Also he is her big brother.”

Now that Zen said it, I noticed the resemblance.

“Still, Zen, just because he asked? Come on.”

“Dante, a life debt is no light thing among the warriors. Even if he weren’t her brother— which by the way would have been enough— the life debt is serious business.”

“So what does this mean?”

“It means you have your own personal bodyguard. Hey, you could do worse.”

He laughed then, I didn’t join him.

Devin walked over to where we stood.

“It’s been established that you can’t stay here. If someone were to see you, specifically a gatekeeper, they will kill you on sight.”

“What about the monitors that brought me in?”

“They can be trusted.”

“Can they?”

Meja stared daggers at me with her gaze. “I’m just saying, after Anna, can you trust any of your monitors? Or anyone in the school? How was Sylk able to put one of his people in the monitors?”

Devin looked pensive.

“You have a point, but that’s for me to worry about,” he said.

I looked around the cell noticing the lack of exit.

“So how do we get out of here and where am I going?”

Devin walked over to one corner of the room.

“In a moment a portal will appear, right here.” I examined the wall, surprise on my face.

“This cell was for the last giant rogue we had. They have long since left this plane. The doorway was a way to circumvent opening that massive door, and its existence was only known to a few.”

“That handles the how. What about the where?”

“That’s a little trickier. The moment you leave, you will be fugitives from the school.”

“And that means?”

Devin paused a moment and turned to Zen.

“You have a choice, Zen. You can go back to your room and you won’t be implicated in any of this. I can keep your involvement away from the attention of the monitors.”

“Can’t do that, with all due respect, Senpai,” Zen said, bowing. “It’s not who I am —besides he is going to need a guardian.” He said the last with a smirk. “No offense meant,” he said as he bowed to Meja.

“I can’t ask them to place themselves at risk, Senpai,” I began.

Devin raised his hand silencing me. “Do not dishonor what they are doing. It is out of their free will that they choose this path. Meja is bound to you by her word and Zen has chosen to go with you. Honor him.”

I couldn’t understand why they would risk it all to be with me. Zen would be cast out of the school and Meja would be turning on the monitors, the group she led. As if reading my mind, Devin spoke. “Sometimes the paths we choose seem like the wrong one or the most difficult. Many times it is the only path that can take us where we need to go.”

At that moment a low rumble followed by a deafening crash slammed against the door. Devin calmly walked over to the door. “That will be Darius and the monitors. Move over to the side so they won’t see you.” I moved to the corner of the room where the doorway would appear. A small section of the door slid back and a face appeared.

“I can’t say I’m surprised, Devin.” It was Darius. Behind him, it appeared there were twenty to thirty monitors. “Open it,” he said to the monitors. The monitors grabbed the handles and began to pull and the door began to open. This was not looking good. Devin closed the section in the door and locked it in place.

“Meja knows where to go. In that bag, you have enough money to keep you moving for a while. You will have monitors and Sylk’s people after you. Trust no one.”

The doorway appeared in the wall as he said those last words.

“Go!” he yelled as the monitors began opening the door even further. “I will keep them busy.” The monitors began pouring in. Zen grabbed my arm as I saw Devin flinging monitors back out into the hallway.

“Let’s go. They cannot harm him,” said Meja. “I cannot say the same for you.” She pushed me through the portal.

FUGITIVES

THE DOORWAY LED to a tunnel that was dimly lit. After a brief moment, my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Meja set off at a dead run and I followed her while Zen brought up the rear. The tunnel itself was of carved stone. It felt like we were still in the school, in some unused portion, long abandoned. The tunnel quickly veered left and Meja quickened her pace. I looked behind us to see if anyone was in pursuit. Apparently she wasn’t taking chances. I matched her pace and Zen, for all his size, kept up with us. We ran this way for about five minutes. If it had not been for all my recent training, I would have been exhausted by now. It felt like we had run a mile or more. As we reached the end of the tunnel, a large door loomed before us. The door looked ancient, the wood stained with age in several places, and the hinges were as long as my arm and made of iron. The door itself was etched with markings I didn’t understand with the exception of one. In the center of the door was the symbol of the monitors: an owl in flight, backed by a crescent moon. Meja approached the door. She was breathing as normally as if she had just taken a stroll and not run more than a mile in five minutes. My respect for her physical fitness went up a notch.

“Stay back. This door is keyed for monitors,” she said.

As she drew close to the door, a shimmering wall of blue light coalesced about ten feet behind Zen. He turned around to look at the wall that effectively trapped us here.

“What happens if you can’t open the door?” I asked.

Her attention focused on the door, she answered, “See that wall of energy back there?” Like I could miss it?

“In about three minutes, it will start closing in on us – its sole purpose to destroy anything between it and this door. Seeing as how this is a complicated lock, you may want to let me focus.” I bit my tongue to cut off my answer I was about to give. Zen took a few steps away from the wall, a concerned look on his face.

Meja placed her hands together in what looked like the universal gesture of prayer. She began taking a few deep breaths. I thought that prayer was a fantastic idea if it would get us out of there. I wisely kept my suggestion to myself. Meja’s hands began to glow a deep magenta. She touched the monitor symbol and it seemed as if the symbol absorbed the energy. For a few seconds, the symbol glowed with the same color and then I heard the bolts slide back and the door opened inward. As she pushed the door I noticed it was at least six inches thick. No one was going to knock that door in any time soon. The door led to a kind of circular chamber with many other doors. The chamber had six doorways in it including the one we entered through. Above each doorway was a plaque with symbols.

“What do they say?”

“They are destinations to other places.”

Something about the way she said places set off alarms in my head.

“What do you mean places? Like where Sylk took me?” She looked at me calmly.

“This room is called a hub. Each of these doors leads to a place in this plane.”

“What do the plaques say?” It was Zen, who up to that moment had been silent.

“Two of the doors lead to watches, the Eastern and Northern,” she said as she pointed. “I suggest we avoid those. These two,” she said, pointing again, “lead to other schools, again not a good idea.”

“This one,” she said pointing to the remaining door, leads us to the street in New York, where Sylk will have his followers and where teams of monitors will be hunting you.” She turned to me as she said the last word. “Are you ready?”

Zen and I both nodded. She placed her hand on the symbol and pushed. The door opened and much to the shock of pedestrians, we stepped into a warm summer night in New York City, the city that never slept.

BLACK LOTUS

“WE NEED TO get off the street.” I couldn’t have agreed more.

“If you see a mirror, don’t linger and stay close.”

It suddenly dawned on me that every mirror was a ‘window’ for monitors or Sylk. We were going to be extremely vulnerable.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I’d rather not say, considering that we may have monitors who can overhear us around us even now.” We made our way down Fifty Seventh Street, crossing Eighth Avenue. I turned to see we had exited the newly redone Hearst Building. Half a block away was Columbus Circle and beyond that Central Park. The street was vibrant with activity as only New York can be. People going to and fro, some at a pace just short of a run, others were languishing in an evening stroll. It was why I love New York; it’s alive, warm and unforgiving at the same time. No other city could compare, now that night held another menace: hunters.

“This way,” Meja said, as she led us to Central Park.

“When they begin tracking us, we will lose them in the park, without bringing danger to innocents.”

“Central Park at night?” Not a good idea as every New Yorker knew. As we crossed Columbus Circle, I noticed a man following us. He was tall, and stood out somehow. His blonde hair cut short to his head, he wore worn out jeans, what looked like construction boots and a plain white oxford shirt. There was something about the way he moved that set him apart from the throng of people on the sidewalk.

“Umm, Meja—” I began.

“I saw him, Dante. The one behind us is called Rory, leader of the Monitors Wolf Pack.”

“Wolf Pack?”

“It’s the group of monitors that is not openly acknowledged: think of them as black ops. They don’t exist and they are here to make sure we don’t either.”

Zen grunted and turned back to look at Rory.

“Can we take him?” Zen asked.

“Meja kept speaking as we stopped before the Maine monument at the Merchants gate.

“If it was just him, yes but the wolves always travel in threes and his team is the best.”

“The best at what?” Zen just had to ask.

“They are the best at extermination. The reason I know this is because I was the one who trained them.”

“So what do we do now?” I asked.

Meja turned to me. “You keep that tainted weapon of yours sheathed. You let me do the talking and fighting. Whatever happens, do not separate from each other, guardian and warrior, split up, you die. Got it?”

Zen and I both nodded.

“Let’s go.” And we headed into the park. Being summer in the city meant that there was still activity in the park, even at night. As we progressed further into the park, the amount of people thinned until finally we were alone. Or so I thought.

“When the fighting starts, you take him where we discussed. Give Owl this.” She handed a silver coin to Zen. “He will know what to do.”

“Hello, Meja, I see you have been keeping yourself well.” The female voice came from behind a nearby tree.

Meja turned to face the woman, surprise, shock and anger, all fighting for expression on her face.

“Diana, it has been a while.” Meja’s voice could have cut stone.

“Yes it has. I normally wouldn’t accept these types of assignments, but seeing as how it was you, well how could I resist?” Diana smiled. She stood under a street lamp with her hands on her hips. Her long black hair was done in a long braid that hung down to her waist. Dressed in a body length dark blue body suit, she looked alluring and deadly.

“Who is she?” I whispered to Meja.

“Remember when I said that the Wolf Pack was after us because I saw Rory?”

“Yeah. Is she part of his pack?”

“Not quite. Sometimes, very rarely, they take the leaders of the three shadow groups to form one more group. Rory from the Wolves, Andres who I’m sure is close by, from the Ravens and Diana, here, from the Widows.”

Diana bowed and semi curtsied. Her bodysuit, which was open backed, revealed a tattoo of an Asian dragon crushing a tiger across her entire back, in vivid detail.

Zen whistled. “We must have really pissed them off.”

“That and more,” said Meja. “They are sending a message. Not even Sylk would think of going up against these three: the Black Lotus.”

“I don’t get it. Meja you trained Rory. Isn’t Diana just another student of yours?”

Meja looked at me and I saw fear in her eyes for the first time.

“No, child,” said Diana, “I’m afraid you have it backwards, she is my pupil. She was good but still a pupil.”

Meja stepped back to stand next to Zen. “You two need to run, now.” Zen grabbed my arm.

“We won’t be having any of that,” another voice with a slight Latin accent said from behind us.

“Andres, I’m flattered,” Meja said calmly.

“Senorita,” he said as he nodded his head slightly.

“Andres, make sure those two don’t run off while I deal with my pupil,” said Diana.

“Of course madam.” Andres stood behind us and placed a hand on each of our shoulders, holding us in place.

“Meja, I give you my word to end their lives swiftly, right after I have taken yours,” said Diana

“That is what it will take for you to touch them.”

“It doesn’t have to come to this, Meja. You can walk away.” It was Rory.

“No, I can’t. I gave my word no harm would come to him.”

“That was always your weakness, child,” said Diana. “Very well, then, let us begin.”

Rory stepped back, a grim look on his face as if he disapproved of the turn of events. Diana walked slowly over to Meja.

“I must say that I’m disappointed. All those years of training and you can’t evade a simple triad.”

Meja, her jaw set in anger, turned to angle slightly away from Diana.

“This is no simple hunting triad, Diana. The Master set the Lotus on us.” Diana waved dismissively in the air while shaking her head.

“How many times have I told you, shown you, that it is all the same? Where it really matters, there is no difference.”

I looked over to Zen and whispered, “What is with all the talking?”

“You have much to learn and precious little life to learn it in,” Andres answered.

His melodious voice reminded me of an old ad that described Corinthian leather.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Look closely and you will see two masters waging a battle.”

I couldn’t see anything except Meja slowly stepping in a circle, mimicking Diana as they spoke.

“Do not look with your eyes.” Andres said.

It was not the first time I had heard that. It brought back memories of Devin and I wondered how he was. I took a deep breath and focused my inner sight on Meja. Her aura was blazing, extending at least three feet from her in every direction. Streaked with red and gold, she looked like a phoenix reborn. Diana’s aura was equally active, the colors a more subdued blue and violet. I turned and looked at Zen and realized he saw it too, from the look on his face.

“Meja, our mission is to bring him back,” Rory said, pointing at me, “alive or dead. Let us do what we need to do.” He was almost pleading with her.

“Don’t waste your breath, Rory. Her mind is set. You cannot reason with her and tonight she will forfeit her life to protect his,” Diana answered.

Meja stopped circling and I could see her draw her energy inward. Her aura grew tight, almost like a second skin. I looked around with my inner sight and I saw the flow of energies around me. The trees, leaves, even the grass gave off energy signatures. The air itself held a kind of energy that ebbed and flowed. When I turned back to Meja, a gleaming sword was in her hand. I recognized it as the sword that stopped Maelstrom from killing Mara. It was about three feet long and straight. The double edges glowed in the night and the energy flowed from Meja to its point. Meja moved the sword through the air with amazing speed and dexterity. Diana’s aura had drawn close to her as well. In her hands she held two sai or short swords that were a little longer than usual. They emanated a violet energy that flowed from Diana. She stood with a sai in each hand, points down.

“Come, pupil, let us end this.”

Meja moved so fast I could barely follow. She lunged for Diana’s midsection. Diana sidestepped and parried easily. As Diana parried, Meja turned, bringing her sword in an arc, slicing down at Diana’s knees. Diana back flipped to avoid the slice, landing gracefully four feet away. Again, Meja attacked —thrusting, lunging, whirling around us. It felt like being in the center of a hurricane. Each time, Diana either blocked or stepped away just in time to have Meja’s blade miss her by a fraction of an inch. At this rate, it seemed Meja would tire herself out before Diana would attack.

“Enough, child. I tire of this game. I see you have not improved much since my tutelage,” Diana said as she ducked under Meja’s blade, in a slice meant to decapitate.

“Your moves are slow, predictable and lacking intention. I can assure you I will not show such mercy Meja.”

“I am aware of this, Diana, no quarter given, none taken. I know I can’t beat you in a fair fight which is why I did this!” At that moment, Meja slammed her sword into the ground almost to the hilt.

Diana’s eyes opened in recognition. “It can’t be. I never taught you the –“Diana froze along with Rory and Andres.

“No Diana, you never taught me the Widow Skein, but I wasn’t just good, I was your best student. Did you think I would be unprepared for you?”

As I looked with my Inner Sight, all around us more lines of red and gold energy formed what seemed to be a giant web. Everywhere Meja and Diana had stepped created a part of the web. What Meja did with her sword was complete the web, making it a whole and trapping the Black Lotus.

Diana, with great effort of will, turned to Meja.

“Well played, child,” she said and smiled. “I won’t underestimate you the next time we meet.”

“I look forward to it, Diana,” Meja said and bowed slightly.

“We need to go now. This won’t hold them long. Anyone else would not have been able to speak much less move,” Meja said. My head was still spinning. We were facing certain death and now we were free.

“Why aren’t we stuck as well?” I asked as we ran out of the park and back to Columbus Circle.

“The widow skein is the most complex of all the black widows’ kata. I had to disguise it or she would know what I was doing. The skein allows you to trap enemies while leaving allies free, once you master it.”

“How does it know the difference?”

“It doesn’t, I do.” One miscalculation and we all would have been trapped or worse, dismembered,” she said calmly. I sighed realizing that while I had learned so much, it was the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The wave of heat that greeted me as we descended into the subway brought me back to my present situation. We paid our fares and made it to the platform.

“We need to go into the tunnel. Walk to the front of the platform.” The platform itself was sparsely populated. As we walked down, a train came into the station, sending a blast of warm air into us, as it screeched to a stop. We waited for it to pull out of the station and the station to clear out before we jumped down to the tracks and headed into the darkness.

SAFEHOUSE

WE WALKED FOR a good twenty minutes before Meja signaled us to stop.

“Whatever you do, no sudden moves.”

I looked around. Who were we going to threaten? The only people around us were homeless men and women who had made the subway tunnels their home. As we moved off the main tracks, we began to venture into an unused part of the subway. The rats, which were the size of Chihuahuas, and much more dangerous, looked at us with their impassive eyes. The air was stale and warm. It felt like a summer afternoon, without the sun.

A stumbling figure walked towards us. Something about him set me on edge. He stopped about ten feet from Meja.

“Hold, monitor,” the figure in rags and old clothing said. As if on cue, several other figures emerged from the shadows. I looked around to see that we were surrounded by a good ten to fifteen ‘homeless’.

“We need an audience with Owl.” The first sentry paused as if to consider Meja’s words.

“You are pursued by the monitors of your school, the servants of Karashihan and the Black Lotus. Our master has taught us that a warrior’s power is measured by the strength of his enemies.”

“Truly your master speaks wisdom,” said Meja. “It is also said that the warrior’s true power lies in the hands of allies.”

“Well spoken, monitor. Proceed along the tracks, please do not stray from them left or right. They will take you to our master’s meeting chamber.”

We walked on as the sentries faded back into the shadows. I could sense they were still there, watching, ready to act. I drew a little closer to Meja, as we walked, careful to stay in the center of the track.

“That’s it? It seemed pretty simple to get past them.”

“If I had answered out of protocol, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“After what I saw you do, I think you can take ten homeless guards.”

“Ten?” Meja stopped and turned to face me and Zen.

“Listen carefully. At any given moment there are anywhere from forty to fifty of these homeless guards around us.” I opened my mouth to speak and then decided against it.

“Finally, you are learning that silence is often more valuable than a witless retort. This is Owl’s territory and he is a leader among the Samadhi. Anyone of these ‘homeless’ would give me a hard time after the skein I just executed. They would easily defeat you and him.” The last she said pointing her chin at Zen. From my studies I knew that the Samadhi were the strongest and fiercest of the Warriors of the Way. I also knew that each discipline had three Samadhi so that the information would never be lost to next generations. It also meant that Owl was powerful, but whether he would help us remained to be seen.

“Do you think he will help us? Or at least hide us until we can figure this all out?”

Meja looked pensive as she walked.

“I don’t know, honestly. His discipline is chi manifestation, which is why we are going to him, to see if he can help with that thing you call a weapon.”

“You mean Maelstrom?” I asked, not liking how she said ‘thing’ in reference to it.

“Yes I mean Maelstrom, your tainted weapon. You would do well not to share its name so easily. Names have power.”

It seemed like every time I opened my mouth, it was so I could shove my foot in it.

“I’ll remember that, thank you.”

“Make sure you do.” She turned to Zen.

“Have you manifested your weapon yet?”

“No not yet,” he answered quietly.

“If Owl decides to help us, then he can help with that as well. In the meantime, think about what it might be.”

We reached two large doors. that appeared to be rusted shut. They reminded me of huge furnace doors or blast doors with tracks leading directly to them. As we drew closer, they swung in silently. The track kept on for a few more yards and then came to an abrupt stop. We stood in a room that reminded me vaguely of Grand Central Terminal. It felt cavernous and because of the lack of lighting the ceiling was obscured, which only made the room feel more spacious. Spaced at even intervals along the walls were doorways. In the center of the room was a large circular area that was sunken in and was covered with what appeared to be expensive rugs. Pillows were arranged all throughout the area and I took these to be the seating arrangements. As I continued to look around, I did get the impression we were being watched. Meja stepped forward into the circle and Zen and I followed. In the center of the circle was a statue of a man in simple robes. The statue seemed carved of a very dark wood.

“I will do the speaking,” Meja whispered.

“Fine. Who will you be speaking to?”

Meja shot me and icy glare and that was when the statue began to laugh. Meja, her hands in prayer position, bowed.

“Greetings, Samadhi.”

The statue/man stood up and walked towards us.

“Greetings, Meja, of the House of Aumera.” He bowed, his hands mirroring Meja’s. His dark skin glistened and I could sense the power beneath the poise and grace. “I see he is as impertinent as I have been told.”

He turned to face Zen. “You are the Guardian. We will have to coax your weapon out if your charge is to survive this ordeal.” Zen bowed.

He turned to face me with the hint of a smile in his eyes.

“Are you Owl?” I wasn’t taking anything for granted anymore.

Meja gave me a withering look and was about to speak but he raised his hand. He outstretched his hand and I took it. It felt like old solid wood laced with steel and he gripped my hand tight in a handshake that felt more like a vise. Meja was in shock. “Hello warrior, I am Owl. Welcome to my house.”

OWL

MEJA WAS STILL in a state of surprise, so I asked Owl the only question on my mind. “Can you help us?” Meja recovered quickly, then gave me a look that suggested I keep all questions to myself. Owl chuckled at Meja’s discomfort.

“Come now, surely I am not that stuffy that every question must be trapped in protocol? We can speak freely here,” he said as his arm swept the circle. It seemed that Meja relaxed a bit.

“Samadhi, as you know we are being pursued.”

He nodded his head. “Pursued would be stating the matter lightly, no? Let’s call it what it is. You are being hunted. While you focus on the small triad, monitor, you are losing sight of the larger triad.”

Meja looked pensive as Owl waited for her to answer.

“Monitors, the Black Lotus and Sylk’s followers.”

Owl’s smile was grim as he nodded at Meja.

“I can’t believe I missed that,” said Meja.

“Well, when staying alive becomes a priority, occasionally our vision narrows,” said Owl.

“So what does this mean that we have three groups after us? Why is that so important?” asked Zen.

Meja remained silent, fuming.

Owl turned to Zen, “For the Warriors of the Way, the triad is the number of power. The fact that you have three groups hunting you means that this is being orchestrated by someone who can influence all three groups.”

“Sylk,” spat Meja.

“You let anger cloud your perception. You must see without seeing,” he said as he tapped the center of her chest.

“Who else could it be, Samadhi? We are in this because of him. It was he who took Dante, who forced a taint on him. Because of him, Dante now has a dark weapon and a tainted aura!” Her voice echoed in the room. Meja stood outraged.

“Please, sit,” he asked but somehow it didn’t come across as a request. Meja sat down slowly, the pillow making a fluffing sound as she sat.

“It is true, that the Karashihan took the warrior, but how did he know to take this particular warrior? It is also true that the warrior has a taint but aren’t we all tainted in some way? And while he may possess a dark weapon, even darkness serves a purpose, does it not?”

Meja remained silent, still angry.

Feeling awkward at the silence, I coughed to clear my throat.

“Sir, so what you are saying is that it may not be Sylk behind this?” I looked from Owl to Meja.

“What I am saying is that the Karashihan is being guided into certain actions, by someone who knows him well.”

“When I was with him, I mean trapped by him, he made mention a few times of a larger threat, something we are not ready for.”

“He is not mistaken. I am aware of a threat on the fringes of this plane. As soon as I try to pinpoint it, it eludes me.”

“Eludes you?” Meja said, surprised.

“Yes, even I have my limits, monitor.”

“But if it can elude you this means—”

“That means that whoever or whatever it is, is immensely skilled, at my level or above.”

“How can that be, you are Samadhi?”

“It is true, we Samadhi are skilled and some would say powerful but we are not all powerful, and while many of us are long lived, all of us are human and someday must perish.”

“Of course, Samadhi,” Meja said, “I meant no disrespect.”

“I know, but in regards to this entity, it may be we have one of the keys to its discovery here.”

“A key here? How?” I asked.

“Your dark weapon, warrior, is it sentient? Does it speak to you, do you hear a voice?” I looked at Meja and she nodded at me.

“Yes,” I said, “it sounds like me, only deeper.”

“Hmm, does it have a name?”

“Yes, his name is—”

Owl held up his hand. “Do not tell me, warrior. I will discover it in time.”

Meja turned to me. “It speaks to you?”

“Yes, almost like speaking with me and through me. It’s difficult to explain.”

Meja looked at Owl. “Samadhi, I don’t trust this weapon. How is it a key?”

“Tell me, monitor, have you noticed how everything in the Way is based on the triad? Monitors are sent in triads. The Samadhi are always three for each discipline. It is always a Master and two seniors. And yet in the pairing, we join only guardian and warrior?”

“Yes, it has, Samadhi. It has always struck me as odd but I thought considering the conflicts, it was a matter of using resources wisely.”

“Yes, that is what we tell each other now.”

“You mean that isn’t true?”

“Not entirely. Long ago even before the time of Samadhi, it was always the triad, two guardians and a warrior.” Then he paused and looked at us. It took a moment to sink in, then it dawned on me that even though Meja was a monitor, she had also given her word to protect me, give up her life, if need be to keep me safe.  We were two guardians, one warrior.

“In that time,” Owl continued, “a warrior arose who was the first Karashihan, but rather than take the title of Karashihan, he accepted the status of warrior, which meant he would be paired with two guardians. His name was Lucius.”

“Lucius, as in Lucius the Destroyer?” said Meja.

“He wasn’t known as the Destroyer in those times, just Lucius the First. Do you know the House he came from?”

“Yes, I do but only because my brother shared this with me. He came from the House of Iman.”

Owl nodded in agreement.

“But wasn’t the House of Iman cut off and extinguished?”

“If you mean, weren’t all of the relatives of Lucius hunted down and killed, then yes. We could not risk another Karashihan from the same bloodline.”

“Why?”

“Their discipline was twofold; they were chi amplifiers and wavedancers.”

Meja looked stunned. “No it can’t be—no.”

“What’s a wavedancer? I’m guessing we aren’t we talking surfing here?” Zen looked serious.

Owl smiled. “Of a sort guardian. You are aware of the mirror, yes?” Zen nodded. “Well, a wavedancer can use almost any highly reflective surface to enter and exit the mirror.”

“You mean a pane of glass?”

“A pane of glass, a mirror, a clear lake, a still puddle, anything that reflects an image can be used by a wavedancer.”

“That’s an amazing ability,” I said.

“It was and we deliberated for days before eradicating it. In the end it was decided the threat outweighed the benefits and the bloodline of Lucius was destroyed. Or so we thought.”

“Sylk,” Meja said. The name carried a weight all its own.

Owl nodded. “Some of us believe that he may be the last of Lucius’ bloodline. It would certainly explain how elusive he has been and it also explains the warrior’s weapon.”

“Chi amplification, of course, if he can amplify chi he could accelerate Dante’s ability into manifesting his weapon before he was ready,” Meja said as she looked at me.

“Why destroy the bloodline? What did Lucius do?” I asked.

“Lucius amplified the chi abilities of his guardians to the point that they were for all intents and purposes, invincible,” said Meja. “Then he began to kill the warriors, saying that they were weak and unskilled. His guardians, corrupted by his abilities and their own lust for power defended him and he slaughtered thousands of warriors.” “His true crime was much worse,” Owl said. Meja turned, questions in her eyes.

“It is true he killed many on this plane. What is not shared any longer is that he went across planes to eliminate entire populations in his bid for power and dominance over the planes connected to this one.”

“I’ve never heard of this,” said Meja.

“And after today you never will. The order of the warriors will never admit their moment of weakness. They still call that act the great betrayal, rather than what it really was the great complacency.”

“Wait a minute sir.” I said.

I shuffled around on my pillow. As large as it was, my ass was still beginning to hurt.

“You said all the planes connected to this one. How many is that?”

Owl looked at me and smiled.

“How many planes of existence do you think there are, including this one?”

“I don’t know. I’m not even going to guess.”

He turned to Zen.

“How about you?”

“I would say ten?”

“You will make a good guardian, willing to risk even when you do not know the outcome.”

“After the great betrayal, it was decided that warriors would never be part of a triad. It took an untold number of warriors to stop Lucius and his followers. Some of us believe that he managed to escape somehow. His body was never found.” Owl stood up, his pillow barely holding an impression. “My old bones are tired and we have a long day before us tomorrow. One of my sentinels will take you to your quarters, where you can rest and bathe. There is also food if you are hungry. Tomorrow we will meet your dark weapon.” We all stood and bowed as he bowed to us. He stepped out of the circle, which I noticed had three levels. As we stepped out, a sentinel silently approached us.

“This way, please.” It was the ‘homeless’ man from the subway. Except that now he was wearing a silk robe that barely contained his muscular torso. His head, shaved bald, glistened in the low light. His hands were large and powerful, his wrists were wide as my forearms. For all his size, he moved silently towards one of the doors.

“Hey,” I said, “he never answered my question about the planes.”

Meja was walking beside me, deep in thought. I looked at Zen.

“I can’t even guess, at least we know it’s not ten, right?”

Meja, snapped out of her reverie, answered. “It’s the most important number in our Way, Dante. The answer is three.”

MAELSTROM

OUR QUARTERS WERE sparse but very comfortable. I had not realized how hungry or tired I was until the aroma of food wafted by me. I was ravenous. It seemed Zen was as hungry as I was, matching my mouthfuls. Meja looked at us and announced she was going to bathe.

“And I expect there to be food when I get out of the bathroom.” I looked around at all of the food.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think Zen and I can eat all of this,” I said as I pointed to the fruits, breads and carefully cut portions of meat.

She entered the bathroom and closed the door. Once I heard the water running, I turned to Zen.

“You think she’s okay?”

“What do you mean? She seems okay.”

“Zen, she just faced her teacher, which we barely escaped. And she has monitors after her.”

“Dante, I think she will be fine. She gave her word to protect you. And you heard Owl; something is going on behind the scenes.”

“Yeah, I really hope it’s not that Lucius character. He sounded like a nasty piece of work.”

Zen nodded, his mouth full of food. I looked around the room and noticed that it seemed to be part of a larger room that was divided.

“Who knew this place was down here?”

“From what I understand, there are a lot of places like this: old abandoned stations or hotels, even some bunkers that no one remembers.”

“True, like that whole setup under the Waldorf that Roosevelt used.”

Zen was looking at me, staring, actually.

“What? I have food on my face?”

“Hey D., are you ready for tomorrow?”

I stopped to think about how I would have to manifest Maelstrom, and my appetite quickly left.

“I don’t know, Zen. I don’t know if I can manifest it again. Don’t know if I want to.”

Zen grunted in assent.

“I get you. When I saw you at Sylk’s place, I barely recognized you. I knew it was you but it was also not you.”

“It’s hard to explain, one thing I can tell you, it feels wrong.”

“Good, it should feel wrong.” It was Meja who had stepped out of the bathroom noiselessly.

“It should always feel wrong. The moment it feels good, you are lost.” She wore a white robe laced with flecks of blue, which complemented her bronze skin. Her hair, which was usually in a ponytail or bun, was loose and flowed around her face, framing it. It dawned on me that she was exceptionally attractive. Zen bumped into me when he caught me staring.

“Shouldn’t you go shower, long day and all that?” He looked at me and smiled mischievously pointing at the bathroom with his head as Meja busied herself with the food, oblivious to us. Or so I thought.

“Yes you should bathe. The stench is starting to become intolerable,” she said as she placed some portions of food on her plate.

Zen laughed. Meja turned to face me, her face all business.

“I’m going, I’m going.” I entered the bathroom, which was immense. As I ran the water for a shower, I could hear Meja speaking to Zen, but I couldn’t make out her words. I guessed it had something to do with my dark weapon and the threat it posed. The water crashed to the floor further drowning out the voices. I made it as hot as I could take it and then a little hotter. It felt good on my aching muscles. I was exhausted and it was finally catching up to me. I had no idea if I could manifest Maelstrom or if I could control it if I did. And how was Maelstrom a key to stopping whatever was coming?  My thoughts wandering, I let the hot water wash away the soreness. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Meja was fast asleep. Zen headed to the bath.

“Try not to make too much noise. I get the feeling she is a very light sleeper.”

I nodded as I walked over to my bed. The robe felt cool against my skin and sleep was overtaking me.

“What were you guys talking about?” I asked Zen.

“Contingency plans in case something happens, to one of us.”

I lay down on my bed, barely able to keep my eyes open.

“Contingency plans?” I yawned.

“Nothing to be worried about right now, so get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Hey, Zen,” I said, “Thanks for everything.”

He faced me, placed his right fist in his left hand, and bowed.

“You’re welcome. See you in the morning.”

My last image was of him entering the bathroom as I feel asleep. I dreamt in fits and starts. At one point, I found myself in a vast desert. The sun was blazing and the heat was oppressive. Everywhere I looked I saw sand. I knew this was a dream. I had the surreal sensation of being outside looking at myself, knowing it wasn’t real.

“Hello, Dante,” a voice behind me said. I turned to stare into myself, albeit an older, scarred and noticeably stronger version of myself.

“Who are you?” But I knew the answer even before I asked the question.

“I am you and I am not. I am the chaos, the anger, the power that resides in the deep dark places.”

“Maelstrom.”

“Yes, and we have much to discuss, you and I.”

“What can we possibly need to talk about?”

“You know, Dante, as far as vessels go, you can prove to be one of the strongest.”

“Excuse me?”

“Let me explain. I am you or rather a manifestation of you. I am also beyond you and all mortal life. I have always been in one form or another. After you perish, I will continue.”

“That’s encouraging. What are you?”

“I thought I told you. I am the chaos—”

“No, what are you – are you alive? Are you a being, a spirit, what?”

He looked at me a moment, pensive. “I apologize, this form of communication, words, is so limiting. Permit me.” He drew close to me and placed a hand on my heart and another on my forehead. A flood of images cascaded into me, war, strife, death, anger, hatred; vision after vision of battles, duels, power plays, murders flooded my mind. I fell to my knees, overwhelmed, holding my head. It felt as if it were about to burst.

“Do you understand now?”

“I do, but using you would kill me.”

“What is the death of one when an entire plane of existence hangs in the balance?”

I always hated that argument. It always sounded like the right argument, unless of course you were the one called to make the sacrifice.

“Is there any other way that doesn’t involve you completely taking over?”

“It has always been so. The moment you take a life with me, and I am bonded to you, it is your life’s energy that directly gives me my manifestation.”

“That is the only way?”

“Well, there is another way that you can wield me but the cost is higher and none accepted the burden for very long.”

I figured it couldn’t be worse than being possessed by some ancient weapon. I was wrong.

Maelstrom/Dante looked at me as if assessing if I could handle what he was about to offer.

“Very well, my vessel, I will tell you. In order for you to wield me, I must absorb life. If I bond to you and your essence is closed off to me, I take the essence of your adversary.” It didn’t sound too horrible but it felt like there was a catch.

“What happens to the person?”

“The physical being perishes.” He stood quietly as if waiting for my next obvious question.

“And their spiritual being?”

“Becomes a part of me and therefore you.”

This sounded bad.

“You mean I you— absorb who they are?”

“Yes, it means your life is prolonged in a considerable fashion.”

“Stop talking in circles. What does it mean? What happens when you absorb an essence?”

Maelstrom smiled at me but it was a cold, empty smile, haunted and alone.

“It means everything that person is, good or evil becomes part of you. You acquire their knowledge, their desires and dreams. You are given access to their innermost being. It is an opportunity to achieve great power.”

“Stop it,” I said, knowing full well that I was having a conversation with myself, but not with me.

“What happened to the last person who agreed to this arrangement?”

“After several years of dispatching his enemies, he went quite mad, not being able to distinguish who he was amidst the accumulated essences. In the end, he killed himself. It was actually for the best.”

“Is there another option?” I had a feeling there wasn’t but it didn’t hurt to try.

“Well, yes, but no one accepts it.”

“What is it?” I asked, hope in my voice.

“Well, you simply surrender your will and I take control of your body and mind.”

“I become a puppet?”

“You become a very powerful puppet.”

“Is there any way to rid myself of you? You know, make it so you are never a part of me?”

“No, once I am manifest, I am with that vessel until he or she dies.” He cocked his head as if an idea struck him.

“I would imagine that is one way to get ‘rid of me’, as you say.”

“Not an option,” I said.

“You did manifest me, not the other way around.” He crossed his arms as he looked at me.

“I know.”

“When do I have to decide how you do this, my life or my enemies?”

“When you take your first life, you will have to make the choice and I never said enemy.”

A strong wind began to kick up sand, obscuring him from view.

“The choice will be in your heart and then I will act. You cannot lie to me for I am you as much as you are me.”

It was only his voice now, the sand blocking my view in every direction.

When I opened my eyes, I was alone in the room.

MANIFESTATION

IT WAS MORNING. Zen and Meja were nowhere to be seen. I got out of bed, stretched and got dressed. I helped myself to some of the fresh fruit and bread that was prepared for us. Last night’s dream had me shaken. Did I imagine it all? Somehow I knew that what Maelstrom had said was true. This meant that all I had to do was avoid killing anyone with it, ever.

I really doubted that was going to happen. I knew that today Owl was going to try and have me manifest Maelstrom. I just didn’t think I would be able to do it. It wasn’t like I could just think about it and summon it up. Or was it really that easy? The last time it appeared, I was in a fight for my life. Maybe it only appeared when I was in danger? I had no way of knowing how this was going to work. I was lost in thought when a shadow crossed before me. It was Zen.

“Hey there D., sleep well?”

“Not really, had the craziest dream.”

“Hmm. I guessed as much. Who did you see in your dream?”

How did he know I saw someone?” I hesitated. “Why do you ask?”

“Dante, this is me, okay? I’m here to make sure you stay safe.”

He was right of course and I was being wary for no reason. Even though the events of the last few weeks left me with little desire to trust anyone.

“You’re right, Zen, sorry. I had a dream or vision, I don’t know. I was speaking with Mael- my weapon.”

“You mean the dark staff? You were talking to the staff?”

“No, he, it looked like me, an older more dangerous me.”

“So you were talking to yourself?” A hint of smile crossed his face.

“This isn’t funny, Zen. That weapon is dangerous.”

“I know, D. It’s just you know what they say— one of the signs of insanity, having conversations with yourself.” He chuckled.

“Okay. Okay. Dante,” he said when I didn’t join in the laughter. “What did it say?”

“The bottom line is that I’m stuck with it.”

“Meaning?”

“That unless I’m dead, it’s going to be a part of me.”

“Kind of a harsh deal there.”

“Yes I know. Hey, where’s Meja?”

“Owl sent me to see if you were awake and to ‘collect you’ as he says. They are in the main training areas.”

“Areas?”

“Yeah, this place is extensive.  I don’t know how they have been able to stay down here and not be discovered. They have extended the abandoned station into living quarters, training areas, an armory and some other areas I didn’t get to see.”

After using the bathroom which was interesting without a mirror – it made shaving an adventure – “Okay, let’s go do this,” I said.

Zen walked ahead of me through the corridors. He was right; the place was a labyrinth of corridors. He led me down several passageways which as I followed the pattern seemed to lead ever inward. Don’t ask me how I knew that, it was the impression I felt from the space, like we were going ever deeper and in. We finally arrived at a large door. It seemed that everything was done in extra-large down here.

“Here you are, Dante.”

“You’re not coming in?”

“Not this way, no. Owl said that this was your way in and your path to walk, only you.”

“I see.”

“I trust him, Dante. I don’t know why but I do.”

“I wish I shared your conviction.”

He stood back as if deciding something then stepped forward, encasing me in his arms with a tremendous bear hug. “Zen, I need air.” He laughed then turned serious as he released me and my ribs sighed in relief.

“Dante, do what you need to do but don’t allow them to force you into anything.”

“Thanks, Zen.”

He turned and walked down the corridor. Pulling open the door revealed a large training area. Around every wall were racks containing weapons of every type. In the center of the room was a large tré. It was easily twice the size of the one Sylk had. Around the outer ring were symbols inscribed into the floor. Each symbol had a faint golden glow to it. Each ring of the tré was a deep red material that looked like ruby. I couldn’t imagine how difficult or costly it would be to create three ruby circles of that size. And in the center of the tré stood Owl. He was the only other person in the training area. He beckoned to me to enter the tré, of which I was wary, since the last time I entered a tré, my life was in danger shortly thereafter. I crossed the threshold of the outer circle and felt the rush of energy close around me. I looked back and saw that the symbols now flared a brighter gold. I turned to look at Owl, my stomach clenching.

“Let’s begin,” he said.

I stepped into the innermost circle of the tré, facing Owl.

“In the past, you needed to feel threatened or in mortal danger in order to manifest your weapon.”

“How did you know?”

“Fear is one of the most powerful emotions involved in chi manipulation. It is also the most dangerous.”

“Why is it so dangerous? Not that I’m disagreeing.” The memory of what I almost did to Mara flashed in my mind.

“When a weapon is manifested out of fear, it becomes almost impossible to control.” That sounded about right as I thought back to the control Maelstrom exerted when present.

“So rather than threaten you with death, let’s pursue a different method,” said Owl.

Anything that didn’t involve my death —perceived or otherwise—was great in my opinion. I looked around for Meja or Zen or anyone else for that matter. Owl must have sensed my apprehension.

“We are alone here, and the tré is sequenced to obstruct any curious eyes.”

I nodded.

“Now focus, control your breath.”

I did as he said. “Now, carefully look. You will see that your weapon lies just beneath the surface, in this case, in your fear or anger. Take a look.”

It felt like forever before I sensed the energy that was Maelstrom. Once I touched on it, it recoiled at first. Then it embraced me like a lover. I was completely enveloped by this presence that was me and not me.

“There, Dante, that’s it. Surrender to it, let it fully manifest.”

I dove headlong into the sensation; it was raw with power, primal, feral. It coursed through my body. I gave myself over to it, but this was different than the last time, I had control. I looked down to my hands as the short staff materialized, a slice of ebony covered in blood red symbols. My voice however was deeper, raspier. Two voices, one overlaid the other. Maelstrom was fully present but I retained control. How was this possible? Then I looked at Owl and saw that sweat  covered his brow and I knew he was making it possible. He smiled and spoke with some effort.

“It is quite the formidable weapon you possess, Dante.”

He was going to get himself killed! For what? As if reading, my mind, he said. “I’m in no danger from you or your weapon. Dante, banish your fear, it has no place here.” He swept his left arm in a semi-circle in front of his body. As he finished his arc, a faint glow took shape and coalesced into a long sword hovering before him. The hilt was in front of his face, while the blade itself reached almost to the floor. A golden light ran the length of the blade. Maelstrom leapt in my hands, anxious to attack.

“Unleash it, Dante, I know you want to attack, let it.” In an instant I was on him, driving Maelstrom in what I thought was surely a killing blow: an overhead strike descending directly on his head. His sword angled just enough to deflect the strike. A shield! Owl looked at me and a smile danced in his eyes.

“Good I see you are serious. Let’s see if we can harness that weapon, Dante.” I had no idea what he was talking about; it was all I could do to not lose rational thought to this thing in my hands. Owl brought his hands together in a universal form of prayer and closed his eyes. Too late for prayer, I thought. Slowly I stepped around him, looking for an opening. Every time I shifted, the sword protecting him shifted. Slowly, imperceptibly, the air quality shifted. The hair on my arms stood on end and the tré felt charged with energy. Owl remained motionless and then I saw them. The orbs. At first it was two slowly rotating around Owl, then four, then eight. each time dividing and multiplying, until Owl was the center of a small universe. They had started out large and gradually gotten smaller with each split and now were the size of small grapes. I couldn’t count how many floated lazily around him. Then he opened his eyes and they stopped moving.

“These orbs are not explosive; they are what I would call percussive. I suggest you avoid them, if you can.”

It was like saying I should dodge a bullet.

A swarm of the small orbs raced towards me as I held Maelstrom before me. This was not going to end well. The first one hit me with the force of a truck. Immediately I was glad the orbs were the size of grapes. It knocked the wind out of me and doubled me over.

“Dante, you must see with your entire being. Stop relying on your eyes.” Easy for him to say, he didn’t have a mob of mini explosive grapes – sorry non explosive – percussive, grapes flying at him.

“You’re getting hit because you still haven’t surrendered to the weapon. You are fighting on two fronts, internal and external and it’s costing you,” he said as more orbs came my way.

The orbs buzzed by my head like angry bees. I was getting a solid peppering and the bruises were starting to show. He wanted me to surrender to Maelstrom but not lose control. How was I supposed to do that?

“Thinking too much, Dante,” Owl said as a group of five orbs smacked into my left side. It felt like my ribs were cracked as I brought Maelstrom too late, to defend myself. I was getting angry. Angry for being in this situation. Angry at my Sensei for sending me to this school and crazy promotion. What was Sensei Wei thinking? Angry at being hunted like some animal. Angry at the constant tests. I was done. Something in me let go and released.

“Finally, child,” said the voice in my head.

I ran to the edge of the tré, orbs in hot pursuit. I stopped short of the edge and turned. Maelstrom glowed in my hand.

“Cesare,” I heard my voice overlaid by another. Everything stopped. The orbs floated a few inches from me, pregnant with the promise of pain. I walked past, careful not to touch any. As I stopped past the last of the group, they sped up and slammed into the edge of the tré. I had dodged them!

“Very good, Dante.”

I knew it wasn’t me, but Maelstrom.

“I know you think that you had nothing to do with that. Remember your weapon can only function within the context of you as its vessel. This is its greatest strength and greatest weakness. It is only as powerful as you allow it to be.”

I was beginning to understand. Even though the energy of what was Maelstrom existed independently of me, it required my energy, my chi, to manifest. Without me as a conduit, there was no way it could manifest. Once manifest, its expression, power and intent were subject to my level of control. As this realization dawned on me, I felt a shift occur within. Maelstrom glowed and all the red symbols transformed to a deep gold. The anger was gone. In its place there was stillness, a peace.

“Now you are ready, Dante.” Owl grabbed his sword and stepped towards me, a cloud of orbs trailing him. He was grinning fiercely and I found much to my surprise that so was I. He was a blur. As his sword sliced through the air, I could swear the air itself split and made room for the blade. It was that sharp.

Barely blocking his first lateral slice, I felt incredibly outclassed.

“Excellent!” he roared. With a thought, another swarm of orbs raced to pummel me, followed close behind by Owl. How would I evade both?

“Stop thinking, Dante! Let yourself feel what your weapon wants to do. Listen to it.”

Easy to say when you aren’t the one being attacked. Wait, he could be. I could use the orbs as a distraction. Rather than run from them, I could run towards them and Owl! I changed tactics and direction and headed towards the impending swarm of pain. At the last second, I rolled forward to come face to face with Owl, who was still smiling. He lunged with his sword and I, with Maelstrom’s help, parried sending him slightly off balance. As we locked weapons, I was conscious of the orbs coming at my back. As I shifted right, I allowed him to step forward into the swarm. He released his sword, which immediately reverted to shield duty and deflected the orbs. That gave me about two seconds.

It was all I needed. I lunged forward with Maelstrom, hitting Owl in his ribs. For a split second, the thought of consuming him crossed my mind, and then it was gone.

The word vortejodairo that escaped my lips was unintelligible to me but Owl’s eyes opened wide. He encased himself in what appeared to be a golden sphere and then pulled me in with him. Then he looked up expectantly, sweat beading on his forehead. The orbs all vanished.

“Owl, what—”

He silenced me with his hand and began creating symbols in the air that glowed then faded.

“You summoned a vortex that will devastate this area very shortly.” He shook his head. “You are full of surprises!” I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary and told him so.

“We are in its eye. Would you like to see what’s happening?”

“Yes, I would.”

I was about to step out of the sphere, when the first large block flew by me and slammed into and opposite wall disintegrating into dust.

“Still want to see?”

“No,” I said, visibly shaken. “I think it’s safer in here.”

“In that assessment, you are correct.”

“What is going on out there? You said there was a vortex.”

“Yes, but what you created, is something I have not seen in many years, since I was learning my basic skills and my master summoned this. I still don’t know how you knew – Ah yes, it makes sense, your weapon. It is called Maelstrom, is it not?”

I remained silent; stunned that he had guessed its name.

“How did you - ?”

“Dante, never reveal that name to anyone.”

He looked so serious I took a step back and almost stepped out of sphere.

“Promise me, Dante, on your life.”

“On my life?”

“Yes, you must never reveal this weapon’s name to anyone, ally or enemy.”

“But some of them know it already.”

“I will take care of that. Can you give me your word? I realized what he was asking, he was asking for a word of bond.”

“I promise, Owl, to never reveal the name of this weapon even if it means my life.”

He visibly relaxed the slightest bit.

“Okay, so what’s going on? What’s out there and how is this vortex with no air?”

“What you see, or rather don’t see, is an energy vortex swirling around made up of chi that would shred us completely.”

“But the tré –“

“Cannot withstand that kind of power, look.”  He pointed to the floor and I saw the symbols of the tré were getting dimmer by the second.

“In seconds, the tré will fail and then we only have this,” he said as he pointed to the sphere.

I looked around; all of the symbols were not only going out but slowly being erased.

“Will it hold?”

“I don’t intend on finding out. Come, help me.” He placed both his hands on the floor beneath us.

“Focus your chi downwards, through the floor. When I tell you, release it. Understand?” I nodded. With the tré failing, a hum was growing louder and louder outside the sphere.

“Now!”

I unleashed my chi that had been gathering like a coiled spring, towards the floor. Owl seemed to have caught it, amplified it and directed it, creating an opening in the center of the tré.

“In you go.” He pushed me in and I fell for what felt like ten to fifteen feet before landing in something soft. Owl landed beside me and I saw we were in the sunken circle he first greeted us in. I noticed it was roughly the same size as the tré above us.

“Now what?”

“Now we wait. That type of vortex is notoriously hard to stop, since it feeds on energy, much like a hurricane needs warm water. Once it exhausts the latent energy in the tré, it should dissipate.”

“How long will that be?”

Owl thought for a moment. “Well, it’s a practice tré, so not too much energy is stored in it. So I would guess four or five.”

“Hours?” I asked hopeful.

Owl looked at me and then sealed the opening we had created through six feet of concrete with what looked like a golden bubble.

“Days.”

I sat on the floor – stunned.

“How? I’m sorry.”

“Nonsense!” He sat down next to me and got comfortable. “You have been given a great gift, or curse. It all depends on your point of view. Your weapon is one of the weapons thought lost, one of the three wielded by Lucius and his two guardians.”

I didn’t want to ask, but I had to, even though I knew the answer before I asked the question.

“Which weapon did Lucius wield?”

Owl looked at me and the staff in my hand. “Well, in his day it had a blade on the end and it was considerably longer, but I will never forget that vortex. The name of his weapon was Maelstrom.”

BIRD IN HAND

THE DAYS PASSED and the vortex dissipated. Owl, to facilitate my control of Maelstrom, trained me in chi control.

“You won’t be able to stay here long, Dante. Eventually they will come here for you. You pose too great a threat.”

I knew he was referring to the Black Lotus.

“At some point, you will take a life.” He raised his hand as I started to protest.

“It will happen and when it does, you will need this.” Suspended on a silver and gold chain hung what looked like a mini tré.

“What is it?”

“It’s called a soul catcher. If you are wearing this when you take a life, the essence flows into this.”

I looked at the pendant. The outer ring was red, the middle ring, a deep blue, the center ring was a deep gold and in the center was a clear gem like quartz. They seemed to hang suspended without any form of attachment or structure to hold them in place.

“If the center ring ever turns black, touch it to Maelstrom. It will do the rest.”

“What happens if I take a life—”

“Not if, but when, Dante.”

“Okay, what happens when I take a life and I don’t have this on?”

“Then you must decide what kind of bond you will have with your weapon. This will allow you some time before having to make that choice. Mind you, the choice will have to be made, Dante, eventually. Do you understand this?”

“I do.”

“You must travel to the Akashic records  to find a syllabist. You need one to help you master the words of power so you don’t repeat the vortex, unintentionally.”

“Where do I find the records?”

“The entrance is rumored to be on the lowest level of the South Watch.” Owl was nodding his head. It was Meja.

“So it would seem, but first you must navigate the defenses there and I only know of one warrior who has been able to bypass them and survive.”

Meja turned away, her jaw clenched. By this time, Zen had joined us. I looked from Owl to Meja.

“Who?”

Owl sighed. “It was one of my brightest and most promising students. He was manipulated and twisted.”

I didn’t like the sound of this. “And we want this person to help us, really?”

“It is not a matter of want, Dante. You need a syllabist. The records are the only way to find one, which means you need him to get you to the records.”

“Fine, who is it, then?”

Meja turned to face me, anger and something else —fear, bright in her eyes,

“Only one person can navigate the watch because it was abandoned then sealed over 150 years ago. The defenses were left in place to present anyone from being too curious.”

“Only one person I know is old enough to be around that long ago,” I whispered to myself.

Meja turned away “Sylk.”

“Are you kidding me?” I said, barely able to contain the surprise.

“Not only is he the only one that can put you past the defenses, he was part of the team that installed them,” said Owl.

“This is just great. I don’t need to tell you how bad an idea I think this is.”

Meja looked at me, resigned. “We don’t have a choice in this, Dante.”

“There is always a choice in this! Someone else must know how to get around these defenses. Hell, I’m willing to try it without him.”

Owl stared hard at me. “Are you sure you’re willing to take that risk? Not just for you, you now speak for three. These two,” he said pointing at Meja and Zen, are sworn to you. They will advise you but ultimately you have the last word.”

When had this happened? I turned to face both Meja and Zen.

“He’s right, D.  You’re the warrior. We can advise you but you have to make the choice.”

“The hell he does!” burst Meja. “As a warrior, he has no experience; he is going to get us killed.” She turned to Owl, “You know I’m right, Samadhi!”

Owl remained silent.

“Meja, I don’t pretend to know what I’m doing. I know I have no experience. But I have you and Zen. I’m not so full of myself that I can’t admit I need help, but if that help has to come from Sylk, I’ll take my chances on my own.”

“You wouldn’t last five minutes out there on your own,” she said.

“I know. Will you help me?”

She exhaled sharply. Turning to Owl. “We are going to need plans of the Watch.”

Owl smiled. “I think I may have an old set you can take with you. You should be leaving soon. The Lotus will be here within a day or so.”

“I’ll get our things,” said Zen.

“Okay, do what you need to do and meet back here in an hour,” said Meja.

“Got it. See you two later.” Zen headed off. Meja accompanied by one of Owl’s men went off to get the plans of the watch. Owl sat down and for a brief moment looked very old.

“Are you okay, Samadhi?” He waved away my hand and smiled.

“Don’t let her rub off on you too much, Dante,” he chuckled. “I have never seen anyone turn her mind so quickly; she is usually as stubborn as a mule.”

“Yes… she usually is.”

“Do you know why she agreed to your idea?”

“She said it was suicide, and then agreed to go with me.” It was suddenly clear. “Sylk.”

Owl nodded. “She hopes he will be after the same information.”

“You must remain in control when you face him next. He has his own twisted ideas about our fate and what needs to be done.” I recalled the conversations I had with him.

“Twisted is right.”

“When it comes to him, she only sees revenge; this is her blind spot and a weakness he will exploit. He will attempt to divide you, turn you against each other. Do not let this happen or everything is lost.”

“How do I prevent that from happening? She sees red even at the mention of his name.”

“When you think she is on the verge of losing her reason, remind her that a bird in the hand must be released in order to fly free.”

Cryptic much? I thought to myself.

“And this means?”

“She will know what it means, you must say this to her only when you have exhausted every other argument.”

“Why?”

“If you don’t, then she will deceive you. You must be certain she is heading towards irrational behavior, that her anger, fury and rage have her under control. Only then can you tell her the words I have given you. Under no circumstances can you say those words, in any other context.  Is that understood?”

I wanted to know what would happen, but I knew he wouldn’t tell me. “I understand.”

“You should help Zen pack your things.”

I was about to answer when the world exploded.

HOUSECALL

THE BLAST DOORS that were the entrance to Owl’s compound flew off their hinges and tumbled inwards. Each door was two feet thick. The power required to unhinge the doors with that much force was staggering. As the smoke cleared, a figure appeared in the opening.

“Hello, Samadhi.” It was Diana. Flanking her were Rory and Andres.

“Oh shit,” escaped before I even realized the words had left my mouth.

“It would seem the Black Lotus is here sooner than I anticipated,” said Owl as if nothing had occurred.

“And my sentinels, Diana?”

“I spared a few, Samadhi, but some actually thought to detain and question me – me, can you believe the arrogance? Naturally I taught those their last lesson.”

She picked up a body and flung it towards Owl. It was the sentinel who met us initially in the subway tunnels. His body was broken, bleeding from the eyes, ears and mouth. Both arms and legs were shattered and in several places the bone protruded through the skin. The fact that he was still alive was a testament to his force of will and strength.

“We tried to—”  he gasped.

“Be still, child,” said Owl. His hands glowed for a moment and he placed them on the sentinel’s chest. The sentinel became still but was still breathing. Two other sentinels silently took his body away.

“That was unnecessary but you never did know restraint, even as a child.”

Diana placed a hand on her hip.

“That was long ago, Samadhi and I exercised restraint. Isn’t he alive?” She smiled an icy smile and strode into the compound.

“Our orders have been modified, Samadhi. We are to execute Dante Black upon sight, as a person of utmost threat. Any who aid or in any way protect and or defend said person will be considered a threat, and in violation of the decree to carry out this judgment. Thus they are subject to the same penalty —death.”

Owl’s jaw hardened.

“What will be your course of action, Samadhi?” Behind the Lotus, other figures emerged dressed in the same black clothing.

“Before you reply, I want you to understand that we are merely carrying out our orders,” more figures emerged from behind the Lotus, “and that this time we are prepared to carry them out.” A total of thirty figures stood behind the Lotus and began to divide into three groups of ten.

“You may have him, Diana—.” I turned, shock registering on my face— “as soon as I breathe my last breath.” he finished. I exhaled not knowing I was holding my breath.

“I see, very well, Samadhi. So be it.”

Was she strong enough to fight Owl? Did she have that kind of power?

“This is not a battle you can win, Dante. Go find Meja and Zen. I will keep them occupied here.”

As I turned to move to an exit, I saw Zen carrying Meja, running towards us.

“There was an explosion. She was caught in the blast as we were heading to another part of the compound.”

This was getting worse by the second. Zen put Meja down on one of the cushions. My heart lurched to see the cuts and bruises on her face. She was hurt because of me. They would kill her, kill Zen, and kill Owl and anyone else who helped me.

“Dante, no—” I could hear Owl far away. I heard the thump of energy as a circle closed around us. I forgot the sunken chamber was really just another tré, disguised as a reception area. I walked to the edge of the tré and stepped through barely feeling a tingle. I turned and saw a grim look on Owl’s face but it was too late. Maelstrom was in my hands, its symbols black on black. Around me, the air was charged. Maelstrom throbbed in my hands. “You want me,” my other voice said, and I could see the surprise register on Diana’s face. “Come get me.”

CARNAGE

“DIANA! NO! DO not approach him!” I heard Owl yell. I laughed, or was it Maelstrom? I couldn’t be sure. I walked slowly to where Rory and his group of ten stood. Death was on my mind and in my hands.

“Diana, if you value your life and those of your brothers in the Lotus, you would keep away from him!” yelled Owl.

I stood on the edge of the sphere Owl had created, the anger in me coursing through my veins growing, expanding.

“What’s going on, Owl?”  It was Zen.

“It’s the rage. It triggers a darker, powerful weapon. Manifested like this, he won’t be in control.”

I turned to face Owl but it was Maelstrom who spoke.

“He doesn’t need to be in control, Owl of the House of Gana, now long since gone.” Surprise, then anger filled Owl’s face. “You have no right to do this.”

“No? You who were still a babe when I was beyond years know that as I chose him, he chose me.”

“This is truth, but he is the Master of the weapon not the opposite.”

“Let me pose a question, young Owl: Who is the weapon?”

I felt myself slipping, giving in to the rage, feeding Maelstrom.

“Enough talk, there are lives to be taken.” I turned to face the Lotus.

Owl approached me and spoke softly. “Remember, Dante, you know your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. You are not just a vessel; you are the conduit through which the energy flows. Do not lose yourself,” he whispered.

“Do not worry, he is not lost. I know exactly where he is,” answered Maelstrom.

“You know you want this. We can end this here and now. This is the only way if you kill them you send a clear message that you are not to be trifled with.” Maelstrom spoke within my mind.

“Not like this, not with death, there has to be another way.”

“Of course, perhaps you can convince them with reason? The female looks especially open to conversation. Let’s say we go over there and find out?”

I/we walked closer to Diana, turning from Owl and Rory’s group. We stopped thirty feet from Diana and her group. Maelstrom cleared my throat. “It would seem this pup, this vessel, thinks you can be reasoned with. I explained to him that the only language you understood was that of blood, pain and death.”

Diana’s eyes opened briefly, surprise showing on her face, then vanishing just as fast, replaced with grim determination.

“I have my orders. You are to be executed,” she answered.

“You cannot say I did not try,” said Maelstrom.

“Can we do this without killing them?”

“I don’t think they will show you the same courtesy, vessel. They will attack you and your friends with the intent to end your existence. This is not acceptable. What shall it be—you or them?”

I hesitated for the briefest of moments, “Them.”

“Splendid, then you must truly unleash me or you and your comrades are lost.”

I removed any restraint, however small I had on Maelstrom.

“Yes,” he sighed.

“We won’t need this.” I felt my hand go to the soul catcher and rip it off my neck, tossing it to one side.

“No!” yelled Owl.

Maelstrom laughed and I laughed with him feeling free, primal and powerful.

“Take him.” Diana signaled to her group. They advanced as one unit. I could tell they were highly trained. I also knew they were all dead. It was only moments away. From the group, three separated and came right at me. They each had short swords with black blades. I guessed this was the signature weapon of the black Lotus. I felt my hands move along the symbols etched into the shaft of the staff. For a moment, nothing happened then I noticed the balance began to shift slightly as Maelstrom grew to six feet. On each end, a foot long blade protruded making it eight feet in total. All three attacked at once, I ducked under the first slice, sidestepped a second slice and leapt above the third slice. I whirled Maelstrom around, waiting for the next attack.

“Enough, you will not be able to avoid their attacks indefinitely.”

“I know.”

“Then why play at this exercise in futility?”

“Because killing is not always the answer.”

“We shall see which of us is right, in the end, my vessel.”

Another group of three attacked. I blocked or parried each attack. As each attack came, I knew that I would need to attack or I would be overrun. The leader of the group advanced wielding a much longer sword. As he advanced, the other groups of three closed in. Maelstrom almost leapt out of my hands as I maneuvered around thrusts, cuts and slices.

“You have to cut, before you are cut.”

“No.”

“You must or you will die.”

“No.”

The leader with the longer sword had moved within range to attack. As he cut downwards, I lifted Maelstrom to block. He changed direction at the last second. I turned with Maelstrom and buried the blade in his throat.

“It begins.” The voice was satisfied and smug.

The other nine stepped back, wary of Maelstrom, as their leader lay dying on the floor before me.

Beside my foot was the soul catcher. I grabbed it and put it on.

“Confound you boy. You are only prolonging the inevitable.”

“I know, but I would rather not make that choice right now.”

“You are a most difficult vessel.”

I smiled a truly genuine smile of my own.

“You said cut, then let’s cut, but not kill. No carnage, just chop them.”

“Very well, vessel. Let’s cut.”

Maelstrom in my hands, I became as precise as a surgeon wielding a scalpel. All nine suffered injuries that ended their ability to fight but not their lives. Diana looked on with growing consternation on her face.

“Enough of this play. I will end this here and now.” In her hands materialized her sai.

“Diana, listen to me. You must not engage him!” It was Owl.

“Surely you see the threat he poses, Samadhi. He must be put down like the rabid dog he is.”

Owl turned to Zen and whispered something to him I couldn’t hear then I saw him approach.

“If you attempt it, Diana, you will die as surely as this one here.” Owl pointed to the now dead leader of the small group.

“What would you have me do, Samadhi? I have my orders. If I don’t carry them out, you know the consequences.”

“I expect you to honor my home and my position as Samadhi. I will deal with him. If I fail, you may do as you are ordered. If I succeed, you will honor his status as my charge and I will bring him before your Master.”

Diana lowered her sai and stepped back.

“Very well, Samadhi. It shall be as you have said.” In a louder voice, “Everyone stand down!”

From every doorway emerged figures clad in black. As I looked around a rough estimate was about one hundred members of the Black Lotus and those were the ones I could see.

Owl turned to face me, whispering. “It is time for you to finish your training.”

I looked at him, part of me confused, most of me enraged that he would get in my way from finishing Diana. As much as I didn’t want to kill, my hold on Maelstrom —what little there was— was slipping. I sensed it and I know he did too. The air around us grew thick with energy. I ran at Owl with Maelstrom a blur in my hands. I lunged and Owl sidestepped. I thrust and he would be a fraction of an inch out of reach. Each time Maelstrom’s blades just missed him.

“You are going to die here, vessel, unless you surrender to me. You cannot even touch him much less dispatch him.”

“What? I can’t kill Owl!”

“Finally you understand me. Of course you can’t. But I can if you let me. What do you think he is doing out here anyway? He has come to give you his knowledge. The only way possible now.”

“I can’t believe he would do that.”

“I have spoken truth, vessel. Look into his eyes and see for yourself.”

I looked across at Owl as we circled each other. In his eyes, I saw the truth.

“There is no other way now, Dante. You must surrender.”

Anyone overhearing would only think he was trying to convince me to surrender but we both knew he meant surrendering to Maelstrom.

“I can’t, Samadhi.”

“You must if you wish to leave here alive. Do not forget those who have pledged themselves to you.”

It happened suddenly like a rush. One moment I was in the forefront of my mind, the next I was a spectator in my own body.

Owl’s sword materialized barely in time to parry a thrust. I followed with a kick that connected to his left side. The compound was silent but for the slicing of blades through the air and our footfalls as we danced a dance of death. Owl whirled his blade and stepped in with a feint. Disregarding the distraction of the feint, I took the opening and sliced with Maelstrom. He stepped back with unnatural speed. It wasn’t until I saw the blood soak his top that I realized it wasn’t fast enough. As he bled, I saw the blood coalesce into orbs around him

“Blood orbs!” I heard Diana hiss. “Everyone back!”

The orbs swirled around Owl.

“An act of desperation Owl, one you will never see fulfilled,” said Maelstrom.

My hands began to touch symbols on Maelstrom and the energy shifted again. It felt like a blow to the chest, and then I saw the orbs fly off in every direction. All around us people were exploding and dying. Anywhere an orb touched, there was an explosion. In the midst of these explosions and confusion, Owl attacked. I sidestepped his lunge and buried Maelstrom in his stomach. He smiled and reached for my neck.. In his hand, as he lay dying on my weapon, was the soul catcher. He crushed it with what strength he had left.

“Make sure you choose wisely, Dante,” he said and crumpled forward.

Simultaneous screams echoed from Diana and Maelstrom.

“That old bastard, that old and crafty bastard, he knew, he knew!”

Even as Maelstrom spoke, knowledge poured into me, threatening to drive me insane. Slowly I felt the rage subside. Owl’s essence was with me, a part of me. Maelstrom’s symbols began to change to a deep gold. My control returned and I felt the comforting presence of Owl. A hand clamped on my shoulder. It was Zen.

“We need to go! This place is coming down around us!”

“Zen, Owl—” My voice caught in my throat.

“I know, D. But we have to go now!”

Tears streamed down my face as we ran through corridors. I followed Zen reflexively as he carried Meja. In that moment I realized I could never know love or friendship: the risk was too great. As we headed back into the subway system, I promised myself I would make those responsible for this pay. Deep within, I could sense Maelstrom waiting, eager for release.

THREE-TWINS

“WE SURFACED NEAR 42nd Street and Times Square, which was perfect for us to blend in. We still had to be careful about not being followed by Sylk’s people. I tried not to be overly paranoid and didn’t look over my shoulder every three seconds; I kept it more to every five seconds. As I turned around to check for a tail, I felt a sharp object pressed against my side. I looked down to see a slip of a woman look up at me and smile.

“If you want to survive the night, you’d better come with us.” The smile never left her face.

“Uh, Zen?”

“What D.? We have to keep moving—Kal!”

“You know this girl?”

“That’s no girl. That’s Kalysta. Kal, where’s Val?” I didn’t recognize the twin through her disguise.

“We have a place but we have to get there, now,” Kalysta said.

“You knew about this?” I asked, amazed.

“Kal and Val are Meja’s. This is her doing.” The woman never ceased to amaze me.

“Is Val close?” asked Zen.

“She’s running interference: you have some nasty tails.”

“Okay, we need to get off the streets. Even in New York, my carrying Meja around is raising some eyebrows.”

“Follow me,” said Kal.

“Hey, was a weapon really necessary?”

Kal pulled out her empty hand. “What weapon?” she said and smiled.

We stepped off Broadway at 47th Street and walked into the Macklowe Hotel. Kal led us past the front desk without as much as a raised eyebrow, so I guessed she had paid the front desk reception to look the other way. The lobby was marble and gave me a feeling of being inside some ancient Greek palace. In the center of the lobby floor was a symbol that looked vaguely familiar. It took a moment to register, and then it hit me. It was a variation on the symbol of monitors. Then it became apparent and I saw motifs of it everywhere. Was this a trap? Did Zen know? I decided to wait and see how this would play out. I would be ready if this was a trap and Kal and Val were betraying us.

We got off on the third floor and walked over to room 300. Kal produced a key card and opened the door. She entered the room first.

“All clear. Come on in. All my seals are intact.”

The room was spacious without being too large. I noticed the lack of mirrors anywhere as I examined the room. Even in the bathroom, not a mirror was to be found.

“No mirrors,” I said almost off-handedly.

“None. Meja was clear about that and about this place. This building is owned by the Warriors.”

Zen and I both said, “What?”

Zen put Meja down in the bedroom where she stirred but still lay asleep. I turned to Kal.

“What? Why would she want us here?”

Kal shrugged. “Those were her instructions. Do you question her?”

I had to admit Meja was not the type to take questioning well.

“She is sleeping. Whatever Owl gave her was pretty powerful to keep her out this long,” Zen said as he entered the room.

The mention of Owl brought back a flood of memories. Suddenly I was exhausted. As I sat in one of the wingback chairs, there was a knock on the door. The door opened and I saw the threshold glow blue for a split second. It was Val.

She looked tired. There were cuts and scratches on her hands and face. She was wearing a matching leather outfit with Kal, and it was torn in some places with a gash along the outside length of her left leg. She limped slightly towards the bathroom.

“You guys have pissed off some very nasty people,” she said looking at me then she smiled.

“Are you okay?” Zen asked.

“This?” she said pointing at the gash. “This is just a scratch. You should see them.”

“Valeria, this is not a game,” said Zen. He looked at Kal, an unspoken message in his eyes.

Kal’s face was serious. “Let me take a look at that,” Kal said as she pushed Val into the bathroom.

“We have a day, two, tops, before they find us here,” said Val from the bathroom.

I don’t know how she managed it and I was too exhausted to ask at the moment.

“We’d better get some rest, Dante. I’ll crash out here. Kal will keep watch. Why don’t you go in and crash on one of the beds?”

“You sure?” I asked.

“Yes, plus I have to figure out how we get to the Watch and not get killed in the process. You heard Val. We have at least a day. Meja picked this place so I’m guessing she has a reason for it. She will be waking up soon, I hope.”

I headed to the bedroom. Could we trust the twins? Though at this point we had no choice. If Meja trusted them, so would I for the time being. I left Zen looking over maps. Kal was bandaging Valeria’s leg in the bathroom and I could hear them arguing lightheartedly, Val finally giving in to the older sister’s attention. As I entered the bedroom, I could see Meja’s figure on one of the beds. She looked peaceful. As I made my way to the other bed, she stirred.

“Ugh, where are we?” she said groggily.

“A hotel on 47th. Kal brought us here.”

She sat on the edge of her bed. Even in the dark, her beauty radiated. Her long black hair framed her face, and her lithe dancer’s body masked her true strength. In that moment she looked small and vulnerable.

“Kal. That means her sister is not far away.”

I nodded. “Val was getting rid of some people following us. I didn’t ask for details.”

“Why not? It doesn’t matter that they may be monitors. You cannot trust implicitly, Dante. What if they are really part of the Lotus?” She got up and would have fallen to the floor had I not caught her.

“I must still be recovering from the explosion. Oh no! Owl!”

“Why don’t you try and get some more sleep? Zen told me Owl gave you something to help speed recovery.”

“That would explain this feeling,” she said as she lay back down. She was unconscious seconds later.

I didn’t look forward to telling her that Owl sacrificed himself for us, for me. That would have to wait, though. I was exhausted and needed sleep.  I laid down fully appreciating that I may not have another opportunity like that for a long time.

EXIT

I WOKE UP unaware of how much time had passed. Meja still lay sleeping. As I got up, I made my way quietly to the living room.

“The safest way to the South Watch is through the Mirror,” one of the twins said.

I couldn’t tell if it was Kal or Val – they sounded so alike. I heard Zen grunt in response.

“I don’t like it. The Mirror is a tricky place and time is quirky there.”

“I know. You have a better idea?”

I stepped into the living room and saw Kal and Zen pouring over maps and routes.

“Why can’t we just drive out of here? New York is a big city.”

“The funny thing about this big city is that it has few points of egress, easily covered by the Lotus, Sylk and the Monitors,” said Kal.

“If it were any one of those groups, maybe—” said Zen.

“But not all three. We will be stopped at some point because we are heading south,” said Kal.

“Then there is the matter of you being a beacon.” The voice came from behind me, Meja.

I turned to face her.

“Not another word. I need tea, strong tea.”

“Brewed and kept hot, just like you like it, Senpai. I’ll get you a cup,” said Kal.

Meja looked at Zen when Kal entered the kitchen area. “As far as I can tell, they are clean,” he said.

Meja nodded, “Agreed, for now. Keep an eye out for anything that seems out of place,” said Meja as she sat in a large chair.

“What do you mean about me being a beacon?” I asked.

“It’s your weapon. Every time you manifest it, it’s like sending a flare into the sky and broadcasting your location,” said Meja.

“What? How?”

Meja sighed when Kal returned with a steaming mug of green tea. She took a sip. “Thank you, Kalysta,” the pleasure evident in her voice.  Kal stood behind Meja and placed her arms behind her back, in a smooth practiced motion. The scent of the tea filled the room.

“Every chi weapon resonates with its own frequency, just like we all do. Over time, the frequencies merge and become one. Usually this process takes months, sometimes years.”

“But that’s not the case here, right?”

Meja looked at me with a serious expression. “No, in your case it was almost simultaneous, which creates a dissonance. You and your weapon clash which creates a type of ‘noise’. It leads me to believe that this is not your true chi weapon, but was somehow imposed on you by Sylk.”

“I see.”

“This means that every time you manifest your weapon, we will have company.”

“How far can they track me? Is there any way to mask it?”

Zen turned to face me from the maps. “From what I’ve been studying, if the person looking for you is of a high enough skill level, then you’re looking at about a two-mile radius. There is one exception, though.”

“What?” I asked, figuring that putting as much distance as possible between me and the city seemed like a good idea that got better by the second.

“Well, if you are dealing with a very high level ability, then the range is unknown.”

“You mean the Kriyas?” said Meja.

“Or groups like them. The leaders of the Lotus are a close second.”

“Kriyas?”

“Nasty pieces of work. They get to higher spiritual levels by devouring chi. They’ve been around forever —the closest thing to a vampire you will come up against. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were the reason the vampire mythos was created,” said Zen.

“They are no mythos,” said Kal.

“Well, my information says they are extinct,” said Zen.

“Your information is wrong,” said Meja. “They are dwindled in number but some still remain.”

“So what now? It’s one more group after us?” I said.

“No. think of them as bloodhounds who can attune to chi. Chances are they are being used by the Lotus to track us,” said Kal.

“So how do we avoid them when we don’t even know how far we need to be?” I asked.

“We don’t avoid them. We use misdirection and make them think we are going somewhere else,” said Meja.

“How do we manage that?” asked Zen.

“We need an exit strategy,” said Meja.

“What about the mirror?” I couldn’t believe I was suggesting the last place I wanted to go into. Everyone remained silent, and I could hear the thoughts going through our brains. The rich leather creaked as we shifted in the large sofa.

“It’s risky but no less risky than any other option,” said Meja.

“I don’t like it. Time isn’t linear in the mirror and we can end up any when,” said Zen.

“I agree, Senpai,” said Kal, “The mirror could put us at the mercy of other eyes, that we would prefer to avoid.”

Meja was pensive. “It’s the fastest way to the South Watch and if we don’t get there as soon as we can, I fear we will not find the information we are seeking,” said Meja.

“When I was with Sylk —in the mirror,” I corrected quickly, “one of his followers was able to replicate herself using chi. I think I can do that now,” I said.

Kal’s eyes were open in surprise. Meja looked at me darkly.

“Zen, Kal, can you excuse us for a moment?” she said, her voice carrying an edge that would not tolerate argument.

“I’ll go check on Val,” said Kal quickly when she saw Meja’s expression.

“I’m going to make a supply run,” said Zen. “There are a few things we are going to need before we attempt this. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Meja sat across from me, looking as if she could incinerate me on the spot.

“Before you say anything more, I know you didn’t spend enough time with Owl to learn such a technique. For you to even suggest you can attempt chi clones, means you will use that abomination of a weapon, which if you have forgotten, will let everyone who is after us know exactly where you are.” She was seething, her cheeks were slightly flushed and she looked as beautiful as ever. I checked those feelings immediately, knowing I could never let anyone that close or risk losing them to Maelstrom. Still, her bronze skin and exotic features stirred something in me I couldn’t explain. I also realized I was sitting in front of a woman who was as deadly as any of the assassins after us, probably more so. I chose my next words carefully.

“I think I can do it,” I said softly.

“Oh, the arrogance! What makes you think you can execute a technique that takes years to learn, much less master!” she said in a rush, as she stood. “Do you plan on going back to Owl and dragging him here, because that would be one short trip to death!”

“We can’t go back to Owl’s compound,” I said. “Obviously, the explosions took care of that.”

“What aren’t you telling me, Dante?”

I took a deep breath, “Meja, Owl is dead. Kind of.”

She sat back down.

“What! What do you mean kind of?”

I explained what happened and how he had sacrificed himself so that I could have access to his vast knowledge. That it was the only way he saw that would give me what I needed to be prepared for what was coming. She sat still, silent, looking at me.

“Did you kill him, Dante?” she said after a few minutes had passed.

“No, —yes, I mean his body is dead but a part of him is part of me. I don’t know how to explain it!” I said, frustrated, angry and exasperated.

“I believe you,” she said after some time had passed. “If it were otherwise, you would be dead by now.” She was eerily calm, which made her seem even more dangerous. “This means that your abilities in controlling chi have increased at least tenfold. I daresay you may surpass most of us now.”

I remained silent.

“However, having access to Owl’s experience does not make you a proficient practitioner of chi techniques. You are still a novice.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. It’s like having an encyclopedia in your hands but you can’t open it, except randomly or—”

“While your weapon is manifested,” she finished.

“Exactly. When it’s in my hands, everything is clear, but I know it’s not just me.”

“We need to find a syllabist and fast.”

“The door burst open and Zen ran in slamming it behind him. His clothes were torn and his face was bruised and cut.

“We have trouble,” he said, his expression serious.

ROGUE

“AND YOU LED them here?” I asked.

He gave me a withering look. “Give me a little more credit than that, D. Really?”

Embarrassed, I changed the subject, “What happened to you?”

“What does it look like, Dante? He was attacked,” said Meja her voice on edge. “Where, how and how many?”

“Five, well two now. They were shifting in and out so I couldn’t touch them. About ten blocks from here due north. On the plus side, I manifested my weapon. Something like an axe/mace.”

“Excellent, Zen. You didn’t think it was relevant to tell me what happened to Owl?”

Zen looked at me with a pained expression. “You were hurt, Meja.”

“Excuses, from him,” she said as she pointed at me, “I expect, but not from you.”

Zen looked away. “It won’t happen again,” he said.

“Make sure it doesn’t, Zen.” Meja turned to me. “Everything I said about you being a beacon no longer applies. If you absorbed Owl’s essence, you may as well be standing on the highest mountain screaming at the top of your lungs. There is no way to handle this until his energy has merged with yours and that will take time.”

“Which we don’t have,” I added as I looked at Zen. He nodded, silent.

“It will take them some time to find us. I made sure they have a few dead ends to follow,” said Zen.

“How long do we have?” said Meja.

Zen looked in his knapsack. “I was able to get most of the supplies we need before they attacked me. We have about five hours if they have a good tracker, less if these Kriyas exist,” said Zen.

“Pack your things, get Kalysta and her sister ready to move,” said Meja.

“Are we taking the Mirror?” I asked.

“We don’t have much of a choice. We will try to go in through one of the lesser known areas and not alert any of the Watchers,” said Meja.

“Watchers?” I asked as we assembled the bags.

“Hopefully we won’t see one,” said Kal, but her voice told me that the chances of running into a watcher were high.

“Are we ready?” asked Meja. We all nodded with identical bags slung over one shoulder.

“If we get separated, we will meet at this location.” She pointed to Grand Central terminal on the map. “You wait at the information clock at exactly one o’clock day or night. If no one shows, assume we are captured or dead and head to the Watch,” said Meja.

“I can’t navigate the Mirror or know how to get to the Watch,” I said.

Meja turned to me. “Then it would be a good idea if we stayed together, don’t you think?”

I nodded as we headed out of the room, thinking this was a plan that was shaky at best, but knowing it was the only plan we had at the moment.

CRACKED

WE WALKED AS a tight group, with Kal and Meja leading. Val and Zen brought up the rear with me sandwiched in the middle.

“We are heading to Grand Central to find a specific entrance,” said Kal.

“Why?” I asked, feeling like the only one who didn’t know.

“This entrance will allow us to skirt the edge of the Mirror and then arrive at the Watch. Think of it as a crack in the Mirror. This way we avoid Watchers,” said Meja.

“What’s the downside? I know there is some catch,” I said.

“The only problem,” said Val from behind, “is that it is very likely that the monitors, Sylk and the Lotus know of this unofficial entrance, which means any one or all three groups can be there waiting for us to use it.”

“Which is exactly why we are going to use it, to draw them out,” said Meja.

“We want to face them —why?”

“This way we know who is where and we don’t have to guess about who is after us.”

“I thought we had that established,” I said.

The walking traffic along 42nd was congested as usual. At any moment, I expected some kind of attack. As we walked east on 42nd St, I was acutely aware of mirrors and window panes, realizing how any of these could serve as a point of attack from Sylk and his group. As we entered the terminal, I was impressed as usual by its size and scope. It was clearly a functional work of art.

It had undergone extensive restoration a few years earlier and a large quantity of brand name stores had been enticed to take up residency on the concourse level. It made the terminal feel modern and sleek with a touch of old world architecture. We walked past the stores on the concourse level and headed to the track level. That was when I sensed the first tail. I looked back to see a tall man with olive skin, his black hair combed back, sunglasses covering his eyes. He was dressed in a dark blue suit that contrasted the crisp white shirt. He looked like a power broker more at home on Wall Street.

“Meja—,” I began.

“I know. Don’t let him distract you. He is the one they want you to see, to force you into running. It’s a monitor tactic. Let’s head to track nine,” she said calmly.

As we made our way down the stairs, I felt the shift in pressure. Too late I realized what it was as I saw Kal get slammed into a column. She crumpled to the floor unconscious, the wind knocked out of her. Val ran to her side as Zen moved next to Meja, who had drawn her ice blue sword. As we looked down the platform, I saw Rory standing with what seemed to be a whirling mass of energy in his hands.

“Rory, still using amateurish tricks?”

Rory’s face reddened. “Hello, Meja. You would be surprised at the tricks I know now.”

I wondered where the rest of the Lotus was, since I didn’t think Rory would be there alone.

“Where is your mistress, Rory? Did she let you off your leash?”

“Bitch.”

“Still eloquent as ever. I wondered why Diana kept a useless lapdog like you around but I’m beginning to understand now. Someone has to run errands and do the menial tasks, right?”

Rory’s face grew dark and I could see anger twist his features.

“I’m going to show you who the lapdog is. Then I’m going to kill you and your excuses for warriors.”

I noticed that the platform was strangely empty of people. When I looked around, I noticed all of the adjacent platforms were empty as well. How was this possible? Then I saw the suits on every stairwell entrance.

“If Diana sent you here, she must have considered this the lowest priority.” Meja laughed then, and something snapped in Rory. The energy coalescing in his hands went from a pale blue to deep ochre, bristling with the promise of pain.

“Move to the end of the platform. Keep an eye on Dante,” Meja said to Zen.

“You don’t need us here to deal with him? He looked a little—”

“Imbalanced?”

“I was going to say crazy, but imbalanced fits,” said Zen.

“That’s exactly how I want him. Go to the end of the platform and look for a door hidden in an alcove that has a monitor symbol over it. Do not try to open the door. Take the twins with you. Go, now, we don’t have much time.”

“Got it.” Zen moved over to where Kal lay and picked her up effortlessly. Her shallow breath was ragged and I was pretty sure she had some broken ribs from the impact she withstood. I could see the worry and anger on Val’s face. She wanted to attack Rory. It was in every gesture, in every fiber of her being.

“Val, no, don’t. Let Meja handle this. She can take him,” said Zen as he put a hand on her shoulder.

“I swear, Zen, if she doesn’t, I will,” she answered through clenched teeth.

“Let’s go and find this door. I have a feeling we are going to need it,” Zen said as he ran to the other end of the platform.

I stood where I was, riveted to the spot.

Something was off. I felt it all around me.

The energy Rory was manipulating was different, somehow familiar. As Meja raced towards him, I knew something was wrong. It was a trap and she had fallen into it. I had to stop her, but I was too far away. I knew she was running to her death. Rory being here was no accident or coincidence. They expected us. They knew the history Meja and Rory had, they knew she would taunt him, we had been played the moment we set foot on the platform.

“Meja! No! It’s what he wants!” But my voice felt muffled and dim even though I was yelling at the top of my voice. Something or someone was dampening the sound and energy on the platform. I looked up the stairs to see Mr. Blue Suit in what appeared to be a trance. I raced up the stairs, Maelstrom in my hand, glistening like a strand of night.

“Dante, don’t! It’s too dangerous!” Zen’s words came to me like a whisper.

The energy around the rogue monitor was a deep violet with shards of red flashing. I didn’t want to kill him but I needed to stop him.

“Consume the energy, my vessel,” Maelstrom’s voice echoed in my head.

“Assimilare,” I whispered as I placed my staff against the monitor. In a rush, the aura of energy surrounding him entered the staff, taking my breath away and sending me to my knees. No longer in a trance, the monitor recovered faster than I would have liked.

“What the hell —you!” he said as he lunged at me. The energy was still there, under the surface. I felt like a balloon at the bursting point. I barely ducked under the blade swipe as I placed my hand on his chest. Immediately I knew this was a bad idea. All the pent up energy rushed through my arm and slammed into him with percussive force. I saw him lift into the air and slam into a wall with a sick crunching sound. He fell to the floor in a heap. I was certain he was dead. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard laughter. It took a moment to realize it was my own. I ran down the stairs to see Meja suspended in a cylinder of amber light. From her expression and flailing I could see she was being strangled slowly.

“It’s too late for her,” said Rory as he grinned a smile full of malevolence. “She is going to die a slow and painful death, but you, your death can be swift if you surrender now.”

The anger had reached a fever pitch in my head. My vision became crystal clear. I don’t know if it was Owl’s abilities or the effect of Maelstrom but I could see the weak links in Rory’s defenses as I sank into my inner sight. I walked over to where Meja was trapped.

“Dante, don’t come close! Head for the door and forget me,” she gasped with what little air she had left.

“I can’t do that.”

“It was a trick. He is much more powerful than he used to be and I walked right—” she gasped as the circle drew tighter around her. I could see that it took all she had just to say those few words.

I looked down and saw the markings that had created the trap. They shimmered in and out, there but not. Rory was coalescing energy in his hand again. I didn’t want to find out if I could withstand his attack. I slammed Maelstrom into the circle, that was trapping Meja.

“Dante! No!” but it only came out as a strangled whisper.

“Desolver!” I shouted and the circle collapsed. I didn’t know where these words were coming from. On some level I knew this was Maelstrom but it was also heightened by Owl or rather Owl’s essence. I didn’t feel the energy rush into me like with the monitor. It had simply ceased to exist; there one moment and gone the next. Meja fell to one knee, murder in her eyes.

“I’ll deal with him, Dante. Get to the door.”

Rory took a defensive stance. “Come on.”

“No!” Don’t you see that’s the point? He’s a diversion to keep us here until the rest arrive.”

Realization raced across Meja’s features. “You bastard,” Meja spat as she began to back up.

I really hoped Zen found the door. I had a feeling we were going to have a lot more Lotus on the platform very soon.

“We need to go now,” I said as Rory headed to us. I touched Maelstrom to the platform and whispered, “Mura.” A shimmering blue wall of energy sliced across the platform cutting Rory off from us. He was punching holes in it as we turned to run to the far end of the platform.

“How did you —? Never mind,” she said as we made it to the end of the platform and to the others. Zen still held Kal and she wasn’t looking good.

“Is he dead, Meja?”

“No, Val, he isn’t. Please don’t distract me. We don’t have much time. It was a trap.”

“What?! What do you mean —?”

Val grew suddenly quiet as Zen gave her a look, silencing her. Meja faced the door and placed her hand on the monitor symbol that I hadn’t noticed earlier. The door frame glowed with a soft blue light and the door opened with a quiet rush of air.

As I looked around and out of the alcove, I saw that Rory was almost through the energy barrier.

“We should get moving,” I said as I saw more and more of the barrier disappear. On the other side, I could see the rage in Rory’s face.

“We will. I just have to set this entrance to destroy itself once we are through,” said Meja as she touched some symbols on the inside of the door.

“You what?”

“It’s the only way we can be sure they won’t follow us.”

“Let’s go!” I said as I saw that Rory had made his way through. We ran into the doorway and pulled it shut behind us. A few seconds later we heard a muffled thump and the screams of an angry and hopefully hurt Rory. I turned around to take in our surroundings. It looked like our plane with the exception of a silver patina if I moved my head too fast.

We were in the Mirror.

REFLECTION

“WE NEED TO get moving,” said Meja. “Even though this is the outskirts of the Mirror, given enough time, we will attract attention.” “Watchers?” I asked.

Meja nodded. I looked around and except for the surreal aspect, it felt just like where we had come from.

“What are all these people? Are they dead?”

“No more dead than you or I. I am certain Sylk explained the workings of the Mirror to you?”

“Some things he did but I never went out and so I never met any people from this side.”

“Don’t think of it as this side. There are several planes of existence.”

“So this is just another plane of existence or an alternate version of ours?”

We walked down the street and I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t my plane of existence.

“No, you aren’t going to run into yourself on this plane. It’s not an alternate plane. It’s an entirely different plane. One in which time flows differently,” said Zen. “For us, because we are not native to this plane, time can be… strange.”

“Yes this much I know from my time with Sylk.”

“Yes, I recall,” said Meja.

I didn’t want to think about my time of incarceration at Sylk’s place in the Mirror. The thought soured my mood. Changing the subject I asked, “Where are we going?”

“We need to avoid the Watchers and find an exit near the Watch. There is a nexus not far from here. That should lead us to the Watch entrance,” said Meja.

“I have a question, Meja,” said Zen.

“Ask it.”

I looked at the people and noticed that no one was really paying us any attention, which I thought odd, since they had a distinctly different colored aura to the rest of us. I guessed not everyone possessed the ability to use their inner sight.

“Where was the rest of the Lotus? I mean they knew of the entrance. Why weren’t they there in force? It’s what I would do. Overcome us with superior numbers.”

Meja stopped walking and thought aloud, “Something that Dante said has been with me for a while. About Rory being a diversion. What if his role was not to stop us, but to force us into the mirror, into the real trap?”

“That sounds like something the Lotus would do. Is there another way we can go to avoid the nexus?” I asked. I was getting a little self-conscious just standing on the sidewalk.

“No, not without alerting the Watchers.”

“So it seems we have to take this risk. Let’s minimize it as much as possible.”

“Good idea, Dante. Let’s find a place we can scout out the location,” said Zen.

“How far to the nexus?”

“A few blocks south. It’s a plain building on the south-west corner. In our plane this building is a FedEx office. Here it may be something else,” said Meja.

“What about Kal? We can’t get into a fight with her like this.”

“That is why we need the nexus. I can get her some place safe where she will be seen to.”

“I’m going with her,” said Val.

“I wouldn’t expect any less from you, Valeria,” said Meja.

“Fine, it’s settled. Dante and I will scout the building and see if we have the Lotus waiting for us.” Meja nodded. “Be careful, Zen. Remember that they have the ability to sense us from quite a distance.”

“I didn’t plan on getting too close. Just close enough.” With that we headed off.

“No chi use, Dante, or else we’re done.” she said.

“Understood.”

As we made our way to the location of the nexus, I began to sense a growing electric charge in the air.

“Zen, something’s wrong. This feels familiar.”

“What do you mean?”

“Can’t you feel it in the air, like being too close to power cables?

“No, what are you talking—”

The air shimmered and a blinding light obscured everything. It was like being in front of the largest camera flash in existence. When I was finally able to see, Zen was gone.

“Hello, Dante.” I recognized the voice and realized that things had gotten exponentially worse. I turned around as my vision grew clearer. Clad in brown skin-tight leathers, a large knife in one hand, another strapped to her thigh, her hair in a long ponytail and wearing dark glasses, stood Mara.

“Hello, Mara,” I said knowing that Sylk was not too far away.

“If you go any closer to the nexus, you will meet your death. It is in your best interests to come with me.”

“Where is Zen?” I asked, not moving a muscle, controlling the flow of chi so as not to alert the Lotus.

“He is safe, for now. If you wish him to remain that way, come with me.”

I had no choice, it seemed.

GAMBIT

SHE LED ME through some back alleys and cross streets. I kept track in case I needed to make a hasty retreat back to Meja and the others. I knew Sylk had several locations in the Mirror. How he went undetected by the Watchers was something that I wanted to know. How did he avoid them for so long? Mara led me into a nondescript office building, with a lobby that was all glass and marble and looked very modern. Some abstract paintings hung on the wall, bringing the only jolt of color to an otherwise bland space of blacks and greys. As we walked to the elevator bank, Mara produced a key card, a silver rectangle that seemed to have circuitry embedded in it. She slid it into a slot beside the elevator call buttons.

One of the elevator doors quietly slid open in silent invitation. As we stepped in, I noticed the lack of floor buttons. In fact there were no buttons at all. The elevator itself was brushed silver and nondescript. The floor was the same marble as the lobby. The doors closed as we waited. I barely felt the motion and couldn’t tell if we were ascending or descending into the building. After about two minutes, we came to a stop and the doors sighed as they opened onto a dimly lit corridor. Mara stepped into the hallway and the elevator closed behind us. I examined the hallway for a stairwell and found none. The hallway was painted a sky blue with a dark blue accent running the length of the wall. At even intervals hung a decorative mirror, directly across from its twin. The floor was covered in a slate grey carpet that complemented the blue on the wall. The lack of light was due to the fixtures, which weren’t the usual fluorescents but decorative track lighting which snaked across the ceiling. It was the mirrors that caught my attention.

“We must step through this hallway quickly or risk triggering the Detention system,” Mara said.

She pulled out the silver card she used to call the elevator and paused as she turned to me.

“Look straight ahead and do not stop to admire yourself in any of the mirrors. If you do, you risk being trapped in an infinite loop and it will be very difficult to extract you from it.”

I understood. The mirrors created a kind of holding cell if you were curious or vain enough to look into them while they were active. The door at the end of the corridor was similar to the elevator doors. As I looked closely, I realized the doors, like the mirrors, were a mirror image of each other.

“Remember —stay close and keep your eyes fixed on the doors, no matter what you hear or see in your peripheral vision.”

She slid the card into the slot that was meant for it and started walking. Initially I didn’t hear anything, then the voices started. It was a whisper at first, gradually increasing into a cacophony of voices. I couldn’t make out most of it but I caught snippets here and there: “let me out!” or “help me!” would quickly be drowned out by the din. I made sure to look straight ahead not realizing how difficult that simple action would be. As we approached the doors, Mara stopped.

“He is waiting for you,” she said.

“Sylk?”

She gave the slightest of nods.

“Listen to him before discounting what he says. You may actually learn something of use.” She turned to enter another door that was receded. “Don’t attempt the corridor. You won’t make it to the elevator, and even if you did, you couldn’t it without this.”

Walking away, she held up the metallic card I had seen earlier and entered the smaller door. I faced the brushed steel doors that led to Sylk and I hoped some answers. I placed my hand on the doors and they slid apart like an elevator. The room inside was cool. I had the distinct feeling this wasn’t the Mirror and yet it was. One wall of the room was covered in floor to ceiling windows that let natural light in. The sunlight slanted in and shone on the black marble floor, making it seem like a bottomless lake. The opposite wall was covered in bookcases, each shelf full of books. At the far end of the room were several wingback chairs, four in a cross configuration and four more in no apparent order. In the center of the first set of chairs sat an ornate table with four dragons acting as legs. The top of the table itself was inlaid with symbols that I couldn’t make out from where I stood. The shades were partially drawn and the light filtering in gave the room a timeless quality. Sitting in one of the center chairs, facing me, was Sylk. Along the windowed wall was a long sofa-style bench and in a corner of the sofa, still as a statue sat, Anna. I walked towards where Sylk sat. He was currently reading a sheet of paper in his hands.

“Welcome back, Dante. Please be seated. I’ll be right with you.”

I sat in the chair on his right.

“Anna, please take this message to its intended recipient.”

Anna seemed to glide over as she removed the paper from Sylk’s hand. “Yes, Karashihan,” she said as she bowed.

Sylk then turned to face me. “It would seem you are in need of some assistance.” His deep baritone words filled the air.

Not one to give away any information, I skirted the situation. “What makes you say that?” I asked.

Sylk smiled. “Aside from the fact that your guardian is, let’s say, indisposed, you have one of your party gravely injured. The Black Lotus is currently searching for you, quite vigorously I might add and it’s only a matter of time before the Watchers are alerted to your presence here. Does that sum it up for you?”

I looked down at the table and recognized the symbols; the table was a replica of tré. I said nothing. “I will take your silence as an affirmation that I have correctly assessed your situation.”

“Yes, you have,” I said.

“As I stated earlier, you need help, specifically my help.”

“Where is Zen?”

“Don’t be trite or cliché, Dante. It is beneath you. You know I haven’t harmed him or we wouldn’t be here speaking. He is merely a way to get you still enough to listen.”

“Fine, I’m listening.”  I didn’t really have a choice.

“Very well, I can help you achieve your goals provided I join you in your attempt to enter the South Watch.”

“Excuse me? You want to come with us?” Obviously I was losing my mind because I thought I heard that he wanted to come with us.

“You heard correctly, Dante. I want to join your little group. In turn I will get you past the defenses of the Watch.”

It didn’t add up. “Why? What do you get out of this?”

“I get some information I require and to resolve some unfinished affairs.”

“You realize that I can’t trust you and certain members of my group would rather see you dead, right?”

“Yes, the monitor, Meja, is it?”

There was something I wasn’t seeing, something that was nagging at me. “Wait a minute, I don’t understand. Why do you need us to get to the Watch? You can easily get there on your own without us.”

“Normally you would be correct, but in this case, there are extenuating circumstances, namely the Watch has been moved to an undisclosed location and no one thought to tell me. Can you imagine?” he said, the smile masking the steel in his voice.

A whole Watch moved? Now I was beginning to see: he didn’t know where the Watch was and we didn’t know how to get past the defenses he helped create.

“First show me Zen is safe.”

“Of course.” He touched one of the symbols on the table and one of the bookcases shifted and slid to the side. Anna stepped forward with Zen behind her.

“Zen!” I stopped when I saw him unresponsive.

“He can’t hear or see you in this state.”

It was then that I noticed that he was walking strangely, taking stilted steps. His face was impassive. Around his arm I saw a metal band that gave off a soft green glow. Anna wore a matching band.

“As you can see, he is perfectly safe. Those bands compel him and bind his mind. If the link is shattered or disrupted incorrectly, he will remain trapped in a world of his making in his own mind. As we both know, the imagination is a powerful thing.”

“I understand.” I was in a position without leverage. If I said no to Sylk, I lost Zen. If I said yes, then Meja would kill me right after she was done with Sylk.

“I need to speak to Meja and the others,” I said, trying to buy myself some time.

“Perfectly understandable. I will give you two hours to arrive at a decision. If after that time I don’t hear from you, I will assume our agreement is void and I will eliminate your guardian. You can contact me with this.” He handed me a card similar to the one Mara had. “I suggest you make your decision quickly. Two hours is about how much time you have before Watchers close in on your position as well.”

I put the card in a pocket.

“Mara will take you back to your people.”

He pressed another symbol on the table and Mara appeared at the door. “Please escort Dante back to his group. He has pressing business and little time to resolve it in.”

Mara bowed, “Yes, Karashihan.”

I headed back to the doors, looking back at Zen.

“I’ll be back for you, Zen,” I whispered as I exited the room.

ALLIANCE

WE WALKED THROUGH the streets, Mara beside me.. I felt like I had been gut checked. I kept my anger in check, though, realizing that giving in to the frustration would only bring the Lotus closer to me. She must have sensed my anger and turned to look at me as we walked by to the surreal Grand Central terminal.

“Focus that emotion, Dante. It can be a great asset,” she said.

I looked at her, realizing that being angry at her served no purpose. It was Sylk I needed to direct my anger at. Reacting to this situation was going to get me nowhere. I had to be proactive. I looked at her and took a breath. “I understand, Mara that you serve Sylk. I also understand that he is the cause of what happened to Zen. I don’t blame you.”

Surprise briefly crossed her face. “You have matured much in a short time, Dante. Do not underestimate him. He will kill your guardian as easily as you and I take a breath.” She looked around and stopped walking. “I must leave you here.”

I recognized the street as the corner we were standing on when Zen disappeared. We were a block away from the terminal.

“Your people are there,” she said as she pointed to the terminal. “The Lotus is there,” she said, pointing to the nondescript building Zen and I were to scout. “Make your decision with haste; you do not want to face the Watchers.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t know of them?”

“Only that I should avoid them.”

“Perhaps that is best. Know that you cannot reason with them. They exist for one purpose only and that is to purge this plane of everything that does not belong.”

“Wouldn’t that include you, Sylk and all his people?”

She smiled then, a sad smile. “It may include his people but it does not apply to Sylk. Choose wisely and quickly, Dante. I hope to see you again for your guardian’s sake.”

Before I could say anything else, she walked away. Standing on the corner of 42nd and Park Avenue, I was left with more questions than answers. I crossed the street fully conscious of the fact that time was against Zen, against Kal, against us all. As I made my way through the terminal, its vastness slowly snuck up on me. I walked to the information kiosk and saw Meja standing there with a strained look on her face. Clearly she didn’t like being this exposed. When she saw I was alone, her expression shifted and became darker.

“Are you okay” I asked.

“Not here, it’s too exposed. Let’s go.” She headed off to one of the side passageways that ran through the terminal, like a series of catacombs.

“Where are Kal and Val?”

“They’re safe. I don’t want to risk that you were followed,” she said as we stopped in one of the many corridors.

“Where is Zen?” she asked, her face neutral.

“Sylk has him.”

“Sylk? I thought for sure the Lotus-—”

“No, it’s Sylk,” I said as I shook my head.

“What does he want?”

I told her. and she grew pensive a moment. “This can work to our benefit. We can’t trust him but we can surely use his knowledge. Also, we have no choice. We can’t rescue Zen without tipping our hand or our location to the Watchers.”

“I agree, but I don’t like it.”

“I like it less, Dante, but if we don’t get Kal some help and get Zen back, they will both die. We will make this uneasy alliance and work it to our benefit. Contact him and tell him we will agree to his terms, provided Zen is set free and Kal is attended to.”

“Don’t we need a nexus for Kal?”

“No, Sylk should have someone who can treat her at his location.”

“Are you sure of this?” I asked, hating the feeling of being backed into a corner.

“No. I’m not but right now, I don’t see an alternative, do you?”

I took out the silver card because, like Meja, I didn’t see any other choice.

WATCHERS

I PRESSED THE silver card with my thumb. Immediately an image of Sylk appeared before me.

“You have come to a decision, then?”

“We have, with some conditions.”

His image seemed to be solid. If I had not known this was some kind of hologram I would have sworn he was there.

“You are not exactly in a position to make demands but I will hear your ‘conditions’.”

“We have a member of our group that needs medical attention, and Zen needs to be free from whatever hold you have on him.”

He turned to look at Meja, and then faced me again.

“Done. Mara and Anna will be there shortly to help with your injured associate. The guardian will be released when you arrive here. Now a condition of my own.”

It felt like dealing with the devil, somehow. I knew his condition would end up backfiring on me.

“What is it?” Meja looked upset but said nothing, clearly not wanting to escalate the exchange.

“Your word, that neither you nor any of your party will attack or betray me in this alliance of ours.”

I thought about it a moment. If I agreed, it meant no one from my group could attack Sylk while we worked together, especially Meja. Sylk was ensuring his safely from attack at least an attack from us. I looked at Meja but she gave me no indication, meaning I was on my own.

“We will agree to those terms, provided you and your group adhere to the same condition.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Meja nod just slightly. Sylk paused a moment before responding. Unclasping his hands from behind his back, he spread his arms wide.

“Very well, I agree.” As he said the words, he traced some symbols in the air that glowed crimson and faded away slowly. As the symbols faded, I felt a tug in my lower abdomen.

“Mara and Anna will be there shortly. Be prepared to move.” And with that, the image disappeared.

“What was that, with the symbols and the feeling in my gut?” I asked Meja.

“He created a bond with your words. If you or he violates the conditions you agreed on, there will be a blood debt.”

“Which would be collected how?” Something told me I didn’t want to hear the answer.

“It’s pretty self-explanatory, Dante. You violate your word, your blood is spilled. That is the essence of a blood debt. I didn’t know he knew how to invoke one or that it was possible without being actually present.”

“But this goes both ways, right?”

“Yes, but you have to be careful. If you violate your word, the debt will most likely kill you.” Her words hung in the air, their implied meaning filling the silence. If he broke the agreement, chances are the debt wouldn’t kill Sylk.

“We will deal with this as it progresses. For now, let’s get to Kal and Val and get ready to move.”

We headed to another part of the terminal. As we walked among the people, we started getting more and more looks.

“This is not good,” Meja said under her breath as she picked up the pace. Before I knew it, we were running.

“What’s going on?” I said as I ran beside her. She stepped to a secluded corner of the terminal.

I turned around to see a dead end. “Where are they? Why are we running?”

Meja dashed to the end of the hallway and pressed her hand to a section of the wall. A section of it recessed and moved to the left, revealing a small alcove. Inside were Val & Kal. Kal looked pale, ragged breaths escaping her. Val sat beside her, face drawn with worry.

“She’s not doing well,” said Val.

“We are getting help but we may have a bigger problem,” said Meja. “Watchers.”

Val cursed under her breath then looked up. “What do we do?”

“We need to stay on the move. No place is safe from them. They can see into the fabric of this place. We have nowhere to hide.”

“If we can get to Sylk’s building, we can.”

“Sylk?  You’re joking, right?” said Val.

“No time to explain. Dante, contact Sylk,” said Meja.

I took out the card and pressed the raised surface. Sylk’s image appeared but not entirely solid. It was as if the transmission was weak or the signal was being jammed.

“We have a problem –” I started.

“I am aware of your predicament. Watchers are closing in on your location. You must leave now and come to my location. Mara and Anna will meet you en route. Do whatever you can to avoid the Watchers, Dante. They are not to be trifled with.”

“Can we fight them in any way?”

“No, not even your weapon would help you in this case. Avoid them.”

“How – if they can track us everywhere?”

“Think of them as white blood cells, this plane as a body and your group as a virus. We will fool them into thinking you are a part of this body or convince them you have left the body, but that can only happen here, you must come to me. If I leave here, the Watchers will be the least of our concerns.”

What could be worse than Watchers? I wondered to myself.

“How soon before Mara and Anna arrive?”

“Three minutes. The moment you open that door, you cannot stop for any reason. Do you understand?”

“We got it.”

His image flickered and faded out.

“Three minutes. Can we wait that long?”

“These walls appear to hide us partially,” said Meja. “I think we can. Let’s get Kal ready to move.” The seconds ticked by interminably as we waited. Any second I expected Watchers to show up and eliminate us. Not knowing what they looked like or what they were capable of was the worst of the wait.

“Do we know what they look like?” I said.

“I have never seen them. I have been told they are formless, which I find difficult to believe, since they would require some form to effect a change on this plane.”

“Good point.”

“The records I have read —and they are few —say mostly hooded figures dressed in grey.”

“Well, let’s not be too specific.”

“Remember those who do run into Watchers are usually eliminated or purged from this plane, which means inaccurate accounts. Those who do survive are usually fleeing for their life, which makes eye witness accounts unreliable.”

“I understand,” I said, understanding nothing.

After a moment there was a knock on the wall.

“That would be our escort. Dante, you take Kal. I will take the lead. I don’t trust them for a moment.”

I picked up Kal in the makeshift harness Meja created. Val stayed close to me while Meja opened the door. Mara and Anna stepped inside. Meja looked at the women with thinly veiled disgust, looking especially hard at Anna. Mara and Anna were both dressed in casual clothing – dark pantsuits with white shirts, and around their necks hung identical pendants. On each pendant was the symbol of a monitor overlaid with something else I couldn’t decipher. They handed each of us a pendant – all except me.

“As a warrior,” Mara began, “this would not work for you. Your weapon is manifested.”

“And it would only bring us more attention,” said Anna.

“You are the reason we must move swiftly or rather your weapon is.”

“We must go now. Are we ready?” said Mara.

It seemed we were ready to go. Meja opened the door and there was an immediate shift in the air pressure. Both of my ears popped as I looked at Meja. Her jaw clenched against the pressure, and then she nodded. This was not going to be good. Fear filled her eyes as she looked back at me. I looked past her and into the corridor. Beside me, Val cursed and pulled out her blades, and Meja’s sword materialized into her hand. Anna held what appeared to be a metallic whip in her hand that glowed a faint green. Mara’s hands took on a violet glow I was all too familiar with. I felt the fear course through my body but there was no way I could wield Maelstrom while carrying Kal.

Outside the door, as I followed Meja’s gaze, I saw three figures. They were dressed in what seemed to be long grey cloaks. The figure in the center was taller than the other two. His cloak had a silver trim, which meant either he or she (were there female watchers?) had more fashion sense, or was a higher rank, which usually meant more dangerous than the other two. I was going with the latter. Their faces were hidden but I could sense they were looking directly at me.

“We cannot confront them in here,” said Mara.

“I thought we couldn’t confront them at all?” I said.

“It would seem we no longer have that option.”

I put Kal down. Things were going to get ugly fast. I could hear Maelstrom laugh within, and fear, cold as ice, raced down my spine. When I looked down, I held Maelstrom in my hands, jet black with symbols a pulsing red.

FUTILITY

WE STEPPED OUT of the room, leaving Kal out of what may be the line of fire.

“You cannot defeat them, vessel. They are part of the fabric of this plane of existence. If you surrender to me, I may be able to contain them.”

“You mean some things are even beyond your power?”

“Don’t be foolish. I never claimed to be omnipotent, nor did I say I would make you a god.”

“Why can’t you defeat them?”

“I thought I explained myself on that matter.”

“Pretend I didn’t understand.”

“Very well. The beings you know as Watchers are part of the fabric of this plane, which means it would require more power than I possess to undo them. If it were possible to destroy them, a rift would be created in this plane that would have a cascading effect, the end result of which would be the undoing of this plane of existence. Was that clear enough for you, vessel?”

“Very well, so how do we stop them?”

“They can be contained for a very short amount of time, enough time for you and your friends to escape to the place of nothingness, near here.”

He was referring to Sylk’s location. The only question was getting there.

“How long can we hold them off?”

“At most, fifteen of your minutes and I will not be available to you for twenty-four of your hours hence.”

So doing this would deplete Maelstrom to such a degree that it wouldn’t be available for a day.

Tell your friends to step back or they too will be trapped, which would be most unfortunate for them.

I stepped forward in front of Meja. “I think you should all step back a bit,” I heard myself say in a voice not quite mine.

Mara immediately stepped back. Meja was more reluctant. “Dante, these are Watchers, you can’t pretend—”

“Child, if you value your life, you will step back.” Meja joined Mara and the others. “When I am done, you will have fifteen of your minutes. Do not waste them,” Maelstrom said.

I saw myself step closer to the Watchers. The center one stepped forward and pushed back its hood revealing an angelic face androgynous in its beauty. The features were soft with a hint of angularity. The skin was flawless, a porcelain white. The golden hair was long and fell to its shoulders. It was the eyes that threw me for a second. They weren’t a fixed color, but rather shifted along the spectrum from black to white, slowly getting lighter until there appeared to be no iris and then getting darker again. He, it, looked directly at me. And then it spoke. It felt like being caught by an ocean wave unawares. The force buffeted me, sending me several steps back. Behind me, I could hear the screams of pain.

“You do not belong here,” the Watcher continued. A look of disbelief briefly crossed its face when it saw I still remained standing. “You must be purged.”

Once again I felt the force of its words rock my body. I knew that it was only because of Maelstrom that I wasn’t deaf and curled up in a fetal position on the floor. Every fiber of my being wanted to run screaming from this place. As I walked closer, I heard Maelstrom speak.

Prepare yourself, vessel. This will be quite unpleasant for you.

When I reached about three feet from the Watcher, Maelstrom broke into four equal parts and embedded itself into the floor equidistant from the Watchers. As the last piece entered the floor, a circle of symbols materialized there. I recognized them as Maelstrom’s symbols. The Watcher looked at me with distrust and began to reach for me, when a dome of energy materialized. I stepped back to the room, not taking my eyes off the Watchers. Every time the Watcher struck the dome, it exploded in a burst of bright orange and then faded back to clear. One of the other watchers dematerialized only to reappear again seconds later.

“That means that this is a sphere, not just a dome. How did you?” asked Anna. “Never mind, let’s get moving. They can still contact other Watchers.”

I moved to grab Kal. By the time I was ready to go, everyone was moving quickly past the Watchers. The one that spoke was sitting in a Lotus position, floating slightly off the floor, his eyes closed as if in deep meditation.

“We need to get to Sylk’s now!” I yelled. That seemed to mobilize the group and we broke off in a run.

SACRIFICE

WE RACED OUT of Grand Central, Mara taking point. My abdomen felt as if I had gotten punched repeatedly. I couldn’t worry about that, though. Val was right beside me, with Meja behind us both. Behind her was Anna bringing up the rear. We drew looks as we ran onto the street, caution thrown to the wind. The harness, though effective, placed most of Kal’s weight on my back, and still required arm strength. My shoulders, biceps and triceps screamed at me. All I could think about was that we were moving too slow. I didn’t want to face Watchers, on any terms. How did you outrun a plane of existence? And how was a plane of existence sentient?

Questions best saved for another time as we avoided people and traffic. I flanked Val, her face drawn, her breath coming in short cycles. That was when I saw them. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement. The next moment something stood the hair on my neck on end. It was the lead Watcher, the one that looked like paintings of the Archangel Michael. I suppose it was fitting we were being hunted by ‘angels’.

“Meja!” I pointed.

She didn’t pause a second. “I saw them, Dante. It seems like an extension of the Watcher to keep track of us, or to—”

“Direct others to our location,” said Anna. “Mara, continue to the master’s location. I will deal with this.”

Mara nodded as Anna ran over to face the specter of the lead Watcher. We were about five blocks away from Sylk’s location. I felt the pressure in my abdomen ease, which could only mean one thing: we were out of time. I turned to call Anna back, but it was too late. Michael the Watcher was no longer ghostlike. He was very solid and was moving towards Anna. There was nothing I could do, nothing any of us could do, but run. Anna veered off and ran in a different direction, with Michael the Watcher in tow. He didn’t run as much as appear to glide, which was eerie and disconcerting to watch. My heart was going into overdrive and fear was forcing adrenaline into my system. We headed for Sylk’s building without pursuit. I was guessing that the proximity and the diminished presence of Maelstrom is what made Anna a target until I saw Mara wearing two pendants. Anna must have slipped her the one she had on. As we rounded the corner, Sylk’s building came into view.

“We must hurry. The building is phase-shifting.”

“It’s what?!”

“It won’t be there very soon, is what it means,” said Meja.

We made it to the entrance of the building. I remembered the lobby, now empty. Mara stood outside.

“What is she doing?” asked Val. Around the perimeter of the building, symbols began to take form on the ground.

“This must be a failsafe system, which means it can only be activated from outside to protect someone inside.”

Mara turned and held the pendant that was Anna’s in her hand. It pulsed a deep orange, very similar to the sphere that contained the Watchers.

“She did this to protect us. Once I cross the threshold, we will be locked in.”

“That means –”

“Yes, she will be locked out.”

Anna turned the corner then, with Michael not far behind. The fear on her face transformed to anger when she saw Mara outside. She turned to face the Watcher, her whip in her hand. Michael stopped as if taking in the situation. When he saw the state of the building, he looked perplexed, a question on his face. It was then that Anna wrapped her whip around his neck.

“Mara!” she yelled. Get inside!”

“Anna! No!” Mara took a step to Anna but Meja held her.

“If he enters the building, all is lost!” Anna raised a hand as if telling Mara to stop, and released a burst of energy. “Get inside.”

Mara flew inside the lobby, landing on her back. She had crossed the threshold. The symbols on the ground flared a deep red. Around the building, the air shimmered, like the horizon in desert heat.

Michael faced Anna fingering the whip around his neck. His face was impassive as he spoke.

“You do not belong.”

A blast of energy washed over Anna. The glass in every pane of the lobby cracked, creating spider web designs. Somehow Anna was still standing even though I could see blood trickling from her ears. Michael looked at the whip as if seeing it for the first time. He put his hand on it and pulled, and Anna slid forward as if she were on ice. Her body was shaking uncontrollably and we could feel the vibration inside the building. Michael placed a hand around Anna’s neck. For a moment, she became still. She turned to us, tears in her eyes.

“Go!” she was able to say before Michael lifted her into the air, preventing any more speech.

He looked at her, his eyes shifting color and whispered, “Disipar.” What happened next couldn’t register in my brain. Anna was simply undone. She disintegrated into nothingness.

Michael turned to face us and walked to the building, stopping at the symbols. He looked down and studied them and then stood very still with his eyes closed.

“What is he doing?” asked Val.

“Calling others to create a breach. We need to get upstairs now,” said Mara.

INTERSTICES

WE RAN TO the same elevator I had taken earlier with Mara. It was waiting for us. As we got in, I looked at Kal who was looking worse.

“Meja, we need to get Kal some help.”

“I know, Dante, but we have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.”

The doors opened a moment later. The hallway with mirrors was untouched, except for the mirrors; they each had a dim red glow to them, very similar to the symbols surrounding the building.

“Whatever you do, do not look directly into the mirrors, no matter what you hear or think you may see,” said Mara.

“An infinite loop trap,” whispered Meja. “I only heard of these. Are these –?”

“Functional?” finished Mara. “Frightfully so, yes. Let’s go.”

I remembered walking down that hallway and the eeriness of it. Now it was different though. I felt a tug, and was almost compelled to look into the mirror, if only for a second. An instant later my face stung.

“Don’t look into the mirror, or you will be lost.” It was Mara. We made it to the door without further incident. Inside, Sylk was packing what looked like a large knapsack.

As promised, he pointed to a side door.

“Your guardian.”

I turned to see Zen standing there, realization slowly coming back.

“Zen! It’s good to have you back.”

“Dante, I didn’t realize I had been gone.”

“Yes, you were quite gone. Trust me.”

Sylk looked over to Meja, and Meja looked at Sylk with impassive eyes.

“It would seem we need to work together to avoid those things out there.”

Sylk nodded. “Watchers are quite formidable. I have yet to see one injured, much less destroyed.” Sylk turned and picked up his knapsack.

“Sylk, she needs help,” I said as I laid Kal down on the sofa. Sylk with an expression of impatience on his face, said. “This will take time you realize, which is a luxury we do not have. You could leave her here, where she should be safe.”

“No deal,” said Val before I could answer.

Sylk looked from Val to Kal. “Very well, I will honor my word.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Sylk bent over Kal and extended his hands over her body, and sweat began to form on his brow. Kal cried out in pain. Val moved forward. “He’s killing her.”

Meja held her back. “Be still, Val.  If he is, his life is forfeit.”

Sylk continued, oblivious to the activity behind him. The sweat was flowing freely now. I could hear Kal’s bones knitting themselves together. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably closer to fifteen minutes, Sylk dropped his hands, and his palms looked as if they had been stripped of flesh. Sylk smiled ruefully as he looked down at them.

“Part of the cost of wielding that much energy without a channel is that the body must pay the price. It looks much worse than it really is.”

Kal sat up and Val ran to her, tears in her eyes.

“Don’t you ever do that again, Kal!” said Val, relief in her voice.

“I have kept my word, Dante. I trust that when the time comes, you do the same. Now please follow me, we are almost out of time.”

He led us to an adjacent room that was completely bare except for a tré on the floor.

“This is a special room,” he began when the building began to shake. “It would seem our visitors are growing impatient. Please enter the tré. It, like the building, is keyed to the interstices. Once active, we will cease to exist in this plane, having entered the space in between planes. A word of warning: do not step out of the tré.”

We were all in the circle. Sylk bent down to touch the center and I felt the air pressure increase around us. Then everything went black.

NO TIME

WHEN MY EYES adjusted to the lack of light, I was able to discern a hallway of sorts, which appeared to have no end.

“What is this place?” I asked no one in particular.

“This is the space in between planes. If you can imagine the planes we inhabit as four dimensional constructs, this passage is the three dimensional connection between them.”

“Three dimensions… You mean time—”

“Is not part of this particular place,” said Sylk

I looked around again at the corridor we stood in and let it sink in. We were standing in a place of no time.

Sylk began walking ahead of us, with Mara behind him. “Once we re-enter the Mirror, the Watchers will find us now that they are keyed in to our—your— particular aura,” said Sylk.

“Why me?”

“For the same reason the Lotus wants to erase you. The weapon you manifest is a threat not only to your plane, but to every plane of existence.”

“I didn’t ask for this,” I said.

“Nevertheless, if Mara described your weapon accurately, there are some who believe it would be better if you and this manifestation of the weapon did not exist.”

I looked at Meja, whose face was unreadable.

“Hey don’t worry D.,” said Zen. “There are a few of us that want you around.”

“Indeed. It seems that while there are certainly formidable forces aligned against you, there is much to be said about a small force overcoming a much larger one.”

We kept walking for what felt like thirty minutes when Sylk stopped and turned to face the wall.

“Once this connection is open, we will have no time to spare. We will arrive at another nexus that can lead us to the last known location of the South Watch. From there, it is in your hands, Head Monitor Aumera.”

I had never heard anyone refer to Meja so formally but the title fit.

“I can locate the Watch,” said Meja crisply.

“I have every confidence in your abilities. Just be aware we will not have the luxury of time as we enjoy here,” he said, sweeping his arm around.

“I am well aware of that fact. There is no need to belabor the obvious. Let’s get on with it.”

Sylk nodded and began to trace symbols in the air before the wall. His hands shone a faint blue, leaving symbols as after-images in the air before him. I didn’t recognize the symbols, but it seemed as if Meja was familiar with them. When Sylk had finished, he placed his hand on the wall and a faint blue line crept up from the floor. Meja turned to him.

“Where did you learn these symbols?” she asked. The line kept creeping up.

“Before the monitors were created to be the bearers of balance, there were others who held that same office. The monitors did not arise out of a vacuum. Granted, this may be a slower method, but more secure, a lower expenditure of energy means less chance of detection.”

The line had crept up about seven feet and was now travelling horizontally. Sylk stood, watching its progress. For a moment he looked tired and old. Then he quickly recovered and began to look through his bag. The line had crept along about four feet and was now headed towards the floor. Sylk pulled out several small coins from the bag and handed one to each person except me.

Meja looked at the coin in her hand, testing its weight.

“Are these –?”

“Retrievers? Yes, in case anyone gets lost. They won’t work with you now, Dante, because of your weapon. My advice is not to get separated from us.”

The thin line had touched the base of the wall and now was making its way to connect the rectangle. As the lines met, the wall section took on a glassy composition. As I looked closer I realized it was –

“A mirror, but not just any kind of mirror. This one will allow us to travel through a passageway unused by most.”

“This can’t be—” started Meja.

“Yes it is. I’m afraid it is.”

“This is Aurora’s passage?” asked Meja.

“Yes it is, although most have forgotten the way to creating it. As you can see, some still recall the method,” said Sylk.

“This is impossible,” said Meja.

“No, it is improbable, not impossible,” said Sylk as he drew closer to the wall.

THE WATCH

I HAD NO idea what Aurora’s passage was but it seemed to make Meja pause. If it made her pause, I paused as well.

“What is Aurora’s passage?”

Sylk turned to me and pointed at the now- mirrored surface of the wall.

“This is Aurora’s passage.”

“Let me ask the next obvious question. Who was or is Aurora?”

“She was one of the first to navigate the mirror. She documented the passages and where they led.  The rumor is that her travels drove her insane. No one knows for sure. Her body has never been found and I daresay she has chosen to remain hidden from all except the most daring, insane or persevering. Perhaps we are a bit of all.”

Symbols had formed around the mirrored area on the wall shifting a faint yellow to red. They looked vaguely familiar.

“So what, she’s dangerous?  Is this another threat to worry about? We don’t have enough people chasing us? Now, we are going to use some insane woman’s passage?”

“Not dangerous, elusive,” said Sylk. “She was one of the first to travel the mirror, documenting what existed where. She was also a wavedancer.”

“Wait a minute, she was related to Lucius?” Sylk raised an eyebrow and nodded. “His sister, although between the two of them, I would say her skill surpassed his.”

“Wasn’t she killed when they eliminated the bloodline?”

I was fully aware that Sylk may have been the last living relative or member of that bloodline. The fact that I stood before Aurora’s portal only lent credence to that.

“By the time the elders,” he said the word with disgust, “decided to wipe out the entire Iman bloodline, Aurora was already presumed lost.”

“And no one was going to go looking for her, I’m guessing?” I said.

“Aurora’s passage is not like this place. The closest approximation you would understand would be a maze or labyrinth, made of mirrors.”

I let that sink in a moment and looked at Meja. “Are you kidding me?”

Sylk stood in front of the entrance to the passage. He lightly touched the symbols along the edge, which became violet.

“Did I mention that she was also thought to be quite insane by the time she disappeared?”

“Yes you did,” I said

“Insane with a vicious sense of humor or so I am told, since I have never met her.” As I followed his hands, slowly touching symbols, it came back to me where I had seen those symbols before. Many of them were the same symbols along the shaft of Maelstrom. This was getting better by the second.

AURORA'S PASSAGE

SYLK PUT HIS hands on the wall. The symbols flared for a second and then returned to their dull violet pulsing. The wall was not an entrance. I knew there were rules to mazes and labyrinths. The story of Theseus came back to me, and somehow I felt that a minotaur would be the least of our worries. As I looked in, I could see the reflective surfaces of the mirrors—even the floor and the ceiling were mirrored. Prolonged exposure was a guaranteed trip to madness. I wondered if Aurora went crazy because she had to walk this labyrinth. It seemed plausible. I didn’t like this idea for a second.

“Is this the only way we can make the run to the Watch?” I asked.

Sylk turned to face me, his face serious.

“It’s the only way to ensure that we are not followed, especially by your Black Lotus. There is not one among them that can open this passage,” Sylk said as he pointed to the mirrored hallway.

“We have to take it, Dante,” said Meja.

I realized that on some level they were waiting for me, that I was influencing their decision. Sylk looked at me knowingly.

“It hinges on you, warrior. I can open the door but I cannot force you through it.” I knew I was going to regret it.

“Let’s go, then,” I said as I stepped into the mirrored passage. The effect was immediate. Once the last of the group stepped in, Sylk turned to seal the entrance. Once done, it was reflection upon reflection.

“Stay close,” said Sylk, “and focus only on the person in front of you. I will try to lead us out of here as swiftly as possible.”

“What do you mean try?” said Meja.

“As I said, Aurora was considered unbalanced, and this labyrinth changes every time it is entered, making it impossible to map. Those that have tried have ended up dead or worse, roaming these passages endlessly. Trust no one you may see.”

Nice of Sylk to omit that little detail of a shifting labyrinth. We continued single file with Sylk taking point, and the rest of followed.

“Can the Watchers enter here?” Zen asked.

“In theory, yes, but since we are not a threat to anything here and this is not an area that requires watching it is unlikely we would encounter them in this place.”

Somehow his answer was less than reassuring. He must have seen the look on my face.

“There are no guarantees, save that one day we will die. Embrace that fact and life will be worth living.”

We spoke as we walked, our voices hollow and muffled as if in a padded room. Sylk stopped at an intersection, extending his hands into each corridor and choosing the right one.

“Why not the other passage?” I asked as we walked the corridor.

“I’m surprised you can’t sense it, warrior. That corridor held certain death. This one, on the other hand, provides us with an opportunity at survival.” We made our way to a fairly large room.

I don’t know how he sensed certain death, since it felt that way the moment we entered. In the back of my mind, Maelstrom whispered something indiscernible, and I felt his presence increase.  Before I realized it, Sylk was beside me. “Keep your power in check and do not lose yourself or you doom us all,” he whispered.

Ahead of us was a figure, and even from this distance I could tell it was female.

“Is that –?”

“No, it’s not Aurora. Just one of the lost who cannot find their way out of this place. If she is still alive, it means she is quite formidable in power.

“Do you know the way out?” the woman asked.

“I can lead you out if you let me,” said Sylk.

“Really, you know the way?” she asked almost childlike. She was young, around mid-twenties and very attractive. Her waist long hair fell loosely, framing her face. She wore a loose-fitting robe, covered in some kind of emblem I couldn’t make out.

“But if you know the way out, why are you here?”

“We are merely journeying to another place.”

“Those symbols,” whispered Meja, “I recognize them, they are ancient monitor symbols.”

“How old?” I asked.

“About 100 years ago, but that can’t be. It would mean she is—“

“Very old,” I finished.

“Where are you going? Can you take me?” she asked.

“We can lead you out but we cannot take you with us,” said Sylk.

“I want to go with you. Take me with you,” she said a little more earnestly.

“You can come with us and we will lead you out,” said Sylk evenly.

“You are a liar!” she suddenly screamed.

All the while during the short conversation I noticed Sylk tracing something with his foot on the floor. When she screamed, he stomped his foot down, creating a wall of orange energy just in time to catch the blast that was launched at us. Even with the barrier, it sent us flying back.

“Now you will all die,” she said.

Her robes flowed and fluttered as if caught in a strong wind.  I realized that it was her power that was creating the change in air flow around her, like a wind tunnel.

“Stay back, all of you,” said Sylk. He approached the ancient monitor with measured steps.

“You don’t want to do this. We are no threat to you,” he said easily with his arms outstretched.

“You lie! We came in here because you sent us. They all died horribly. I’m the last one left.” She hugged herself as she whispered those last words. I had no doubt now that she was clearly operating in a very different reality. Sylk’s hands were glowing white. When she saw his hands, she seemed to snap back to the present.  Sylk clapped his hands together and a white band of energy enveloped the ancient monitor. It looked like she was subdued, at least I thought so, until she started laughing hysterically.

“Fool! You think you can hold me with this?” she screamed. With a flick of her wrist, she bisected the energy holding her and stepped toward Sylk, who was clearly surprised.

“Do you know who I am? I am Mariko the last.” Meja gave a sharp intake of breath.

“It can’t be, —not her,” said Meja.

“Sylk! You cannot let her touch you,” said Meja.

“I am aware of the rumors surrounding the infamous Mariko,” said Sylk. As he spoke, a blade materialized in his hands. It appeared to be a slice of emptiness. It was a black so intense that it seemed to absorb light. It emanated darkness and a feeling of unease crept into my abdomen. As I looked closer, I could now see the slight Asian features in Mariko’s face. Her hair flowed with the energy she expended, creating a black halo around her head. Her almond shaped eyes glistened with madness.

“Who is she?” asked Zen. I was still transfixed by Sylk’s blade to ask the obvious. Meja answered without taking her eyes off Mariko.

“It’s in all the historical texts. She was one of the first monitors. Her ability was to siphon energy by touch. She was known as the monitor of Death. In her time, she was without peer in ability. Most believe the Mikai are her descendants.”

Even I knew who the Mikai were. A covert group of assassins that made the story of ninjas seem like a welcome nightmare. I wouldn’t be surprised if ninjas were an expression of the Mikai. From the look on Meja’s face, we were in serious danger.

MARIKO

MARIKO STOOD STILL, facing Sylk. A red sickly glow enveloped her hands.

“Let me put you out of your misery. I promise it will be delicious,” she purred.

“I have grown rather fond of my misery, but thank you for the offer. You won’t be terribly offended if I refuse?” answered Sylk.

She moved like a blur of energy. Her attack a lethal dance. We were in a fairly large room, mirrors all around replicating our images over and over. Mariko was graceful and lethal. She lunged forward, attacking with a velocity that made it near impossible to see her hands. All I could follow was the red energy trail. Each attack was parried or avoided entirely by Sylk. Every time Sylk attacked, his blade would miss by a fraction of an inch. After about ten minutes, sweat began to bead on Sylk’s forehead. Mariko began to laugh.

“I can see your demise. Can you see it?” she purred.

Sylk remained silent, realizing the taunt for what it was, a distraction. The energy in her hands grew slightly and disconnected, floating around her. Sporadically a smaller sphere of energy would detach and launch itself at Sylk with blinding speed. Things were not looking good. Mariko continued to evade every attack as she drew closer to Sylk. The color in her hands shifted from red to black. As she drew closer, Sylk launched an attack of energy spheres. Mariko reached into her belt and pulled out a long rectangular object. She flicked her wrist and the rectangle in her hand opened into a fan. As Sylk’s spheres bore down on her, she stood perfectly still in a crouched position. On the fan was an image of a dragon devouring a tiger. As each sphere was about to impact she would step slightly to the side and allow the fan to take the impact. Each time the fan was hit, a small shockwave would emanate from Mariko. Just enough to cause a stirring of air.

“The fan is absorbing the energy of the spheres, which means at some point she will release all that trapped energy,” said Meja.

“We need to move, now!” said Mara.

“Are you quite finished?” said Mariko, growing serious. Sylk looked tired but ready for anything. Sylk again did not answer.

“Very well, I tire of this game, let us end now.”

We were moving away from them when I felt a thump in my lower abdomen followed by a shockwave that sent us all flying across the floor. Only Sylk stood his ground, his sword cutting through the shockwave. His face, arms and any exposed skin was lacerated, as if he had been dragged across a rough surface. Mariko raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Very well, then. I have yet to meet a warrior worthy of my weapon. Perhaps you will fare better than those who have fallen before you.”

Sylk, clearly in pain, clenched his jaw. We all stood up slowly. Mariko placed the fan in her belt and placed her hands together as if in prayer. As she separated her hands, a sword hilt appeared in her left hand. The rest of the blade appeared to be withdrawn from the palm of her right hand. The blade wasn’t long—maybe thirty inches. It was a straight sword coming to a point, and the edges looked razor sharp. Each side of the blade was covered in symbols but unlike Maelstrom, the symbols on Mariko’s blade shifted and moved, travelling up and down the length of the sword.

“What the hell is that? I’ve never seen a weapon with moving symbols, “said Zen.

We were backing up as a group. Clearly, the blade Mariko wielded made Meja and Mara uneasy.

“No one knows its name, just what it’s been called,” said Meja.

“What?”

“If that blade touches any live flesh, it immediately kills it, not just the area it touches. There is a delayed effect, after some time, days, weeks, months in some cases, the person dies as death courses through the body. No one has been able to defeat that weapon, that’s why it’s called Death’s Finger.”

Mariko now had the fan in her right hand, open, and Death’s Finger in her left. She was a blur as she approached Sylk. For the first time, I realized that Sylk was outmatched. As he parried and evaded, I think Sylk realized it as well. Mariko advanced, lunging with Death’s Finger as Sylk raised his own blade to deflect the lunge. Mariko turned in a circle, bringing the fan around in a deadly arc cutting Sylk across the right cheek. The fan was so sharp that the wound across Sylk’s face didn’t bleed for the first twenty seconds. Sylk didn’t have a moment to think about the cut since Mariko kept attacking.

“It is only a matter of time, warrior. You will fatigue and commit an error —your last.”

Mariko was right. It was only a matter of getting Sylk tired. Then she would find an opening and exploit it. Sylk was going to die unless I could stop Mariko. Against my better judgment and every instinct, which screamed at me to run in the opposite direction, I headed towards Mariko and Sylk.

“Dante, no!” It was Zen. “That’s suicide. If Sylk can’t handle her, you sure as hell can’t.”

I grew angry and quickly channeled it. There was no purpose in getting angry at Zen. I quickly ran towards Sylk and Mariko. In my head, Maelstrom stirred and whispered.

“Are you rushing to your death, vessel?”

“No. I have to keep Sylk alive.”

“You do not possess the skill to defeat his opponent. In addition, she wields an envenomed blade.”

“I realize I don’t possess the skill but you do.”

“I do.”

I opened up and let Maelstrom take over, he/it rushed in and I had the sensation of being inside and outside of my body at the same time. As I approached, I saw Mariko slice Sylk just below his right shoulder. She ducked a lateral swipe and was about to cut Sylk again when her blade was blocked by Maelstrom. Sylk was pale. His right arm hung at his side lifeless.

“Go with the others, boy,” I heard Maelstrom say.

Sylk retreated quietly, holding his arm in obvious pain. Mara rushed to his side to see what she could do. I sensed rather than saw these things. My awareness was nowhere and everywhere at once.

FRIENDS

“LET US DANCE,” I heard myself say. It was my voice and wasn’t at the same time.

“It has been some time since we last danced, widow,” I said.

Mariko’s eyes opened in surprise.

“How do you know that name?”

I heard myself laughing.

“You are a grain in the sands of time compared to me, little girl.”

Mariko’s eyes narrowed and she took a step back. “Tell me who you are now!”

“You do not need to know that information.”

Mariko lunged faster than I thought possible, stepping to the right. My left hand shot out and grabbed Mariko’s sword hand.

“I was ancient when you were still being forged,” I heard Maelstrom say. As I turned into Mariko, a blade appeared at the end of Maelstrom. I saw myself stab her once, twice and finally a third time. A look of peace came over her face as I gently eased her to the floor.

“Thank you, warrior. I have wandered these halls for far too long. Now finally, I can rest.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Nonsense. I would have done the same to you, given the chance.” I remained silent as she looked in my eyes as if searching for something. Her breathing was becoming labored and I could see she did not have much time left. She reached into her sash. For a moment I tensed, wary of some last attack. She laughed then began coughing. She motioned for me to draw closer, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Take this,” she said, handing me her fan.

“It is quite valuable and will bring you respect among my children.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you, warrior. The journey that lies before you is filled with death and sadness.”

I turned away to look at my friends, people who had sworn to protect me with their lives.

“You will lose them all one day.” I turned to her, shock and anger on my face.

She smiled knowingly. “When that happens, and it will, do not surrender to the weapon, do not become like me. Find another answer.”

She closed her eyes and died, her body lifeless.

TIME

THE SITUATION WAS bad. Mariko’s broken body lay at my feet. As I turned to look at the group, I saw in their eyes something that chilled me to the bone —fear. The only exception was Meja, who looked at me with concern. I turned back to look at Mariko. She seemed smaller now, the energy that was her life, now gone. The weight of her fan in my hand reminded me of her last words. Was she like me? Was I like her? Was this my destiny, to become insane, wrapped up in some reality created by my own imagination and the deaths caused by Maelstrom? I needed to become better. I needed to relegate Maelstrom to just a weapon; not a weapon that could wield me. At this point, I was the weapon. Looking down at Mariko, I could see how well that worked out for her. These weapons were cursed —at least I felt that way.

Owl showed me a different side, though. They could be harnessed, controlled to a degree. Of course that required skill and training, training I lacked. I’m not going to say I was a complete amateur or novice, only because there was no need to say it out loud. It was evident I was way out of my league. I’d survived on luck, lots of luck and the skill of those around me. The thing is, I knew that at some point I would have to confront something or someone on my own. I wasn’t ready. I turned to walk back to the group. With Maelstrom gone, a weight was lifted. The air no longer held that charged feeling. The acrid smell of death hung in the air and I scrunched up my nose, turning away from the odor. It smelled like rotting flesh. I followed the odor to Sylk, who sat calmly with his back to the wall, Mara at his side tending to his wound. Her jaw was clenched; she knew there was nothing she could do. Sweat glistened on Sylk’s face and I could see that he was in pain. Mara had cut his sleeve off to get to the wound. If I had eaten, I would have lost whatever food was in my stomach at that moment. As I drew closer to Sylk, the stench intensified. I didn’t know how Mara was able to be so close without retching. The arm at the wound had turned black. Mara was removing maggots that were eating the dead flesh. As I watched, I could see the black area grow incrementally. It was moving up and down his arm, slowly but surely. I turned to Meja who was standing some distance away.

“Is there anything we can do?”

“Aside from letting him die, you mean? No. We could kill him quick, which would be better than the death that awaits him.” Meja, a pillar of compassion.

“No other alternative?”

“There is no cure for a touch from Death’s Finger, Dante.”

“The arm, remove the arm.” It was Sylk’s voice, calm but laced with pain.

“There is no guarantee that will work.” said Meja. “The venom has reached your blood. It is not confined to the arm.”

“You would be amazed at what I could do with a small opportunity, Monitor. I prefer to have this slim chance than certain death.”

“I will do it, Karashihan,” said Mara with wet eyes.

“No, Mara, you cannot. It must be done with a weapon that will absorb the venom into it, along with any negative energy residue.”

In other words, Maelstrom. Everyone remained still, the silence filling the space around us.

“You must do this, warrior,” Sylk said through gritted teeth.

“I can’t.”

“If you don’t, my death is certain.” The implication in his voice was clear. I needed him alive to get into the Watch. I looked at the wound again, noticing how it had grown even in this short time.

“Don’t be squeamish, boy. Besides, I’m certain you have ached for an opportunity like this.”

“No, not like this.” He smiled then and set his jaw.

I looked around at the group and saw that it was my choice alone to make.

“Fine.”

“Make haste, warrior. We race against time. Sever the arm and I will deal with the wound.”

Maelstrom appeared in my hands, hungry, eager. Mara laid Sylk down.

“A clean cut at the shoulder, right next to the deltoid. Make sure you don’t miss.” He tried to laugh but it came out as a raspy cough.

As I held Maelstrom in my hand, I could feel the weight shift as a blade extended from one end. It would be so easy, just a few inches to the right. No! I knew that was Maelstrom and I could hear a low laugh confirming my thoughts. Coward. I need him alive. Do you? You can get into the Watch, you don’t need him. I need him alive.

You want him alive. It is a vast difference, vessel. A decision you may live to regret. Very well, let us remove his cursed flesh.

I brought the blade down, whistling through the air. I cut through flesh, muscle and bone, crashing into the floor beneath. It was as if the arm was not there. Sylk’s right arm, now separated from the body began a rapid decomposition. Sylk, his left hand glowing a deep indigo, pressed the deep blue energy into the wound. The smell of charred skin wafted into the air. The left arm had gone completely black now, the flesh rotting.

“Thank you,” said Sylk with genuine gratitude in his voice. I looked once more at the arm now turning to dust. I turned back to Sylk who had become unconscious and I hoped I wasn’t prolonging the inevitable.

ENTER THE WATCH

WE NEEDED TO get to the Watch as quickly as possible. Zen picked up the now unconscious Sylk.

“Can you get a way to the Watch open?” I asked Meja.

“From this place it will be a challenge but it shouldn’t be impossible.”

“Let’s try it. I’m getting sick of this place.” Zen grunted in agreement.

Meja stepped to a mirrored wall and placed her hands on the surface. Her reflection fell away from the wall, replaced by blurring images. It was like looking at a movie in fast forward. Except in this case none of the images seemed related. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the effort, then the images stopped blurring and a large castle-like building came into focus.

“I can’t find any points inside the Watch. This is the closest I can get us. I can’t hold this open long. Go!”

I was already moving, the sensation of being pulled against my will and stretched, screamed across my senses. We all materialized at pretty much the same moment, which gave me pause. Meja was last and then I saw the shimmering rift seal itself and vanish. We were in a desert plain. Everywhere I looked, I saw sand. Sitting in the middle of this plain, loomed the Watch. It was a squat, rectangular structure, the walls the color of sand. The air was dry and I felt the change in temperature immediately. I started walking towards the Watch, sweat forming on my brow. Spaced around the Watch were trees. Large palms which provided some shade from the blistering sun. I headed to the closest tree —trees meant water. I estimated that the closest tree was about five hundred meters away. That was when I heard the howls.

“Wolves? In the desert?”

“No, not wolves, you have never seen an animal like this. This is the first defense of the Watch.”

“What are they?”

We had started moving towards the Watch much faster now.

It was Mara who spoke. “They are called the Rah Ven. They make full grown wolves look like a child’s pet.” The howls were still in the distance.

“I’m sure between all of us, we can fend these Rah Ven off, right?”

Mara looked at me as if I could not truly be that stupid.

“You have never faced a Rah Ven or such foolishness would not escape your lips,” said Mara. “Aside from being ferocious hunters, they have the ability to camouflage. They are also near impossible to dispatch because they serve as Watch guardians, which lends them even more power.”

“So we have no chance?”

“We do.” It was Sylk. He still looked weak. His face was pale. “Put me down, guardian. We must approach the west wall.”

The howling was getting closer. Zen put him down. “The howling is a good sign, as long as they howl, we have a chance. Once they stop, the attacks begin,” whispered Sylk.

The west wall? I had no clue where we were much less where the west wall was. The howling continued, creating an expectation of impending attack. It was surreal, hearing the chorus of animals no longer so distant.

“Over here,” said Meja. “This should be the west wall according to the sun.”

The squat building had no apparent entrance. Each corner held a turret-like structure and the blocks that made up the wall were immense. In between each block, the seams appeared air tight. Whoever constructed this Watch had longevity in mind. It reminded me of the Great Pyramids. “Where are we?” I asked.

“Right now somewhere in the African Sahara,” Meja answered.

“What do you mean right now?” I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer.

Sylk answered, his voice a rasp. “What the monitor means is that in a few hours, this entire structure will relocate to another desert on the earth. It could be the Gobi, Death Valley, the Arctic or Antarctic.”

“Those last two aren’t deserts.”

“But they are deserted.”

“True.”

“I believe they were going for desolate wasteland, frozen or boiling doesn’t seem to make a difference. The emphasis was desolate.”

“So how were we able to find it, if it’s shifting so often?”

“The answer to that question lies with the monitor. If you’ll excuse me, I have a door to find before we get ripped to shreds and we don’t have much time.”

The howling had stopped.

“Shit,” said Mara.

“Zen, stay with Sylk,” said Meja. “Make sure nothing interrupts him.” Zen nodded and stepped closer to Sylk, turning to face away from the Watch wall.

“The rest of you, fan out. Rah Ven attack in packs, so give them a wide target to disperse the pack.” Meja had her weapon in her hand. It radiated a blue light that enveloped her in the midst of all the brown surrounding us. Kal and Val were on my left. Meja was close to me on my right and Mara was a few feet away from Meja. I felt a tug on my lower abdomen, and I knew what it was. In my hands materialized Maelstrom. It was getting easier and easier each time. I had a feeling that was not a good thing.

The sun beat down upon the sand, sending waves of heat, shimmering in the distance. Sweat began forming on my brow. I looked back to see Sylk working some intricate sequence of designs on the blocks. Zen, jaw clenched, held his axe/staff loosely in his hands, across his body. I turned back to look into the distance.

“Vessel,” he said and chuckled. “You do find yourself in the most interesting positions. If I didn’t know different, I would say you are deliberately looking for ways to end your existence.”

I remained silent while I studied the horizon. It was always unsettling when it spoke and I could understand how wielders of these weapons went crazy: constantly hearing a voice that isn’t yours doesn’t contribute to long term sanity.

“It isn’t funny. I’ve never faced a Rah Ven before or ever.”

“Rah Ven hmm. Are you prepared to die?”

“Not today.”

“Will you release me to do as I must?”

“No. Each time it seems like I lose a small part of myself to you.”

“I see, one of your comrades must have a plan, the monitor perhaps?”

“I don’t know. We just hold them back until Sylk can get the door open.”

“Outstanding plan, no more than two or three of you should perish then.”

“Tell me about the Rah Ven.”

“Certainly, my soon to be dead vessel. The Rah Ven exists as an extension of a Watch. They cannot be killed conventionally, since there is nothing conventional about them. As long as the defenses of the watch are intact, the Rah Ven will give pursuit. Their appearance is that of a very large, ferocious wolf, standing four feet at the shoulder. They have the ability to camouflage perfectly with their surroundings and in the heat of battle have been known to exhibit some type of temporal displacement.”

“They can teleport.”

“Not truly. What they do is exhibit a sphere or area of space around them that distorts time.”

“They can warp time?”

“Not deliberately. It seems to be a response to a serious threat. Something akin to your little group, which is formidably armed, should be just the catalyst.”

“How do we fight them?”

“Running is always a good option, providing you can run fast enough.”

“How fast? You know what, never mind. I don’t think running is going to be an option.”

“Wise choice, since no one in your little group is fast enough.” A comedian staff, amazing.

“So how do we stop them, at least long enough for Sylk to open the door?”

“While they can’t be stopped, you can certainly slow them down.”

Exasperated and scared, I asked again. “How. Do. We. Stop. Them?” in my most serious “get to it” voice.

Maelstrom paused and instructed me to draw a circle. This should keep you safe at least from the Rah Ven for a few moments. “You must attack them from a distance. That should allow you to escape the effects of the temporal shift. When they get close, remain in the circle and give me free reign.”

“No. No way.”

“Well it’s either that, or swift death for your friends. Your choice.”

“Have any of you faced a Rah Ven, ever?” I asked the group.

No one answered, which I took to mean seriously bad news. I turned to see Sylk still tracing designs in the air. Every time he finished with a design, it imprinted itself into the wall, forming part of a larger design, it seemed. I didn’t dare to ask how much longer when Meja did.

Sylk, without turning or stopping his hand movements, answered. “If I had another hand and maybe weren’t poisoned, I could move faster.”

Meja clenched her jaw. That’s when I saw the first one. Off in the distance a patch of the horizon shimmered and solidified. To say that they looked like large wolves was a gross simplification. These looked like wolves the same way a dachshund looked like a wolf. Both have four legs, a set of teeth and are canine. The similarities pretty much end there. These creatures, yes that was the word for them, trust me on this, were the type of things that made your legs go weak. My body instinctively only wanted to flee as fast as possible.

They were large —huge by any canine standard. Their coat was short and brown, which allowed them to blend in well with the sand. Their teeth, if you could call them that, more like fangs, were a brilliant white. The most unsettling part was their eyes. They were a deep yellow. It wasn’t the color but the intelligence that lay within. Two more appeared beside the first one and they were walking slowly towards us. Two more materialized as they drew within thirty feet. The lead Rah Ven continued walking towards us, while the others remained where they were.

“State your purpose,” it/he growled. Meja stepped slightly forward.

“We seek safe passage into the Watch.”

I couldn’t believe they spoke. I must have had a shocked look on my face because Meja looked at me sharply, which meant get it together.

“On whose authority?” he growled in answer.

“I am Meja of the House of Aumera. First among the monitors of the Way.” The Rah Ven paused and looked at Meja as if weighing her words or credentials.

“There was a time long ago when that would have been enough, but no longer. Are you prepared to die, Meja, of the House of Aumera?”

Maelstrom flared to life in my hands and the Rah Ven’ hackles went up.

“The one beside you carries a cursed weapon, monitor. How did it come to be in his possession?”

“I am the one responsible, Ancient One.” It was Sylk who had stepped forward. I really hoped he had that door open at this point. The Rah Ven turned its head slightly. In my periphery, I noticed several more Rah Ven materialized. I realized then that fighting them was not going to be an option. A quick glance let me count about fifteen and those were just the ones I could see.

“A Karashihan. Are you aware of the destruction that vessel can unleash, not only on this plane but on countless others?” asked the Rah Ven.

“I am aware and it was necessary to take the risk.”

The Rah Ven scrutinized Sylk, smelling the air around him as he circled Sylk. “You are not long for this world, Karashihan. Poison courses through your body this very moment.”

Sylk only nodded.

“Do you seek to destroy this poison?” The Rah Ven stopped circling Sylk and peered at him.

“I have lived a long time, Ancient One. It would appear that my time draws to an end.”

“Contained within these walls, lies a cure if you are willing to pay the price it demands.”

“I would be grateful for the opportunity,” said Sylk.

“One of my pack shall lead you to the entrance of the Watch proper. Have you prepared the door?”

“I have.”

“Very well, Karashihan, may you find what you seek.”

“Run long, run fast, Ancient One.”

“Long days to you, Karashihan.”

The Rah Ven turned away and faced me. It took all I had to stay still as it drew closer.

“Discover who is the vessel and who is the weapon before it becomes your undoing.” I could only swallow hard. I did however notice that it had easily crossed over the circle I had traced into the sand and made a mental note to ask my homicidal weapon about that when I got a chance.

The ancient one turned and started to shimmer. As if on cue, every other Rah Ven turned and merged into the background, effectively disappearing, except one

The Rah Ven that remained was smaller than the rest of the pack, which led me to believe it was younger. It stepped towards Sylk and the symbols he had placed on the wall.

“Greetings, Karashihan,” it growled. Its coat glistened a deep blue black and it looked like an oversized wolf with the exception of the deep yellow eyes. Oh, and the talking.

“Greetings, gatekeeper.” It was obvious Sylk knew more about these creatures than any of us. It didn’t seem like the time for a history lesson on talking wolf-like beings.

Sylk stepped to the side, allowing the Rah Ven access to the wall. The Rah Ven drew close, sniffed the air and seemed to inspect the symbols.

“This will suffice,” it growled. The rest of the group drew close and unconsciously gave the Rah Ven space, forming a loose semi-circle around it. It sat back on its haunches and for a moment nothing occurred.

“What’s going on?” I asked Meja under my breath.

“I think you’re asking the wrong person, Dante,” Meja whispered back.

After what seemed like five minutes of sitting completely still, the Rah Ven’s eyes glowed, which seemed to activate the symbols on the wall. After all of the symbols were glowing, it let out a growl, more like a rumble that started low and began increasing in volume. It continued the growl/howl until I could see the ground start vibrating. Even with my hands on my ears, the sound was piercing. The only one that seemed unaffected was Sylk. In ten more seconds I was sure my eardrums would burst. That was when I noticed the wall, which had taken on a gelatinous quality. Sylk walked over to it and touched it. The wall raced away from his hand exposing an opening. The Rah Ven walked in first, followed by Sylk. We quickly followed. Past the wall awaited a stark contrast to the desert exterior. Lush grass surrounded the entrance to what only could be described as a keep. The entrance to the keep was a solid wood set of double doors that stood twenty feet high. The keep itself was comprised of huge blocks. There were no windows to speak of but I noticed several arrow loops. The roof of the keep was the true sight. It looked like a giant geodesic dome. The dome was enclosed on four sides by turrets that towered over the dome. Sylk turned to the Rah Ven.

“Thank you Gatekeeper. Will you wait for us?”

The Rah Ven sat facing the entrance of the keep. “I shall await your return here. My position does not allow me entrance to the Watch.”

Sylk nodded. “I understand.”

“A word, Karashihan. There are several dangers within. The greatest of these lies within each of you.” The Rah Ven ended his last sentence looking at me. A cold sensation gripped my abdomen.

“Understood,” said Sylk and he made his way to the entrance. The Rah Ven remained so still I wondered if it had reverted to a statue. The only thing that moved was his eyes. As I walked by it, I drew closer to see if it was breathing.

“Do you have a name?” I whispered more to myself than to the Rah Ven. It turned its head then, with a suddenness, and I could almost swear, a grin.

“If you return alive, warrior, perhaps you will learn it,” it said as I made my way to the huge double doors.

DISCOVERY

AS WE DREW close to the door, I noticed the emblem of the monitors on it. I remembered that the Watches were run and populated by monitors. Sylk, who looked pretty bad at this point, turned to Meja.

“Monitor, I have done my part, you must now do yours.”

“What do you mean your part? What about the inner defenses?”

“They won’t mean anything if we cannot get past this door.”

He had a point. It seemed that Meja came to the same conclusion and went to inspect the door. I turned back and looked at the Rah Ven, which sat motionless. The scent of fresh cut grass permeated the air and the day felt cool —quite the change from sitting in a desert. Meja drew close to the symbol with a confused look, then she started to look around the doorway.

“What’s the matter?” I asked. I had never seen her anything less than secure and confident. “The symbol, it’s correct, but the lock is missing there.” She pointed to the symbol and I saw what she meant. It looked as if the lower third of the symbol had been erased.

“It’s usually close by somewhere nondescript and usually inverted to hide its meaning.”

I looked around and couldn’t find anything that remotely resembled the emblem.

“Here!” she exclaimed. I couldn’t see it but I took her word for it. She was crouched on the lower right hand side of the doorway. “Inverted and mirrored, I have never seen this before.”

“Can you open it?” It was Mara. She had a worried expression on her face. I looked at Sylk and saw why. He looked paler than before, if that was possible. He was no longer sweating but if I looked carefully I could see him trembling slightly. He didn’t look like he would last much longer. I turned to Meja. If he died out here, we had no chance to get to the records, which meant this entire trip was in vain. We had to move fast.

“Meja—”I began.

“I’m on it.” She had seen me look at Sylk. “It just means I need to reverse and flip the order of the sequence.”

“Are you sure? What happens if you’re wrong?”

I had this image of some failsafe falling into place flash in my head. Something like an extra door or some kind of fence sealing the door.

She answered without turning to me. “You see the gatekeeper?”

“Yes, he hasn’t moved from that spot. May as well be a statue.”

“If I fail, that will be the last thing any of us will ever see. They are the failsafe of the Watch. To this day, no one has ever defeated a Rah Ven, this close to a watch.” Now it was my turn to sweat.

Meja began to draw symbols in the air. Her hands moved slowly at first and then increased in velocity, until they were a blur. Blue trails followed her fingertips as she outlined the entrance symbol in the air. It seemed to require more than one application as I saw her repeat a sequence several times. I would ask her about that later. After the last sequence, she placed her hand on the emblem of the monitors. A blue glow suffused the emblem momentarily as if being absorbed. Nothing happened. I kept my eyes on the Rah Ven who was slowly disappearing. “No!” I yelled. Everyone was focused on the door as the Rah Ven seemed to evaporate.

“It’s okay, Dante. If I had failed, I would have been the first attacked,” said Meja with audible relief.

What sounded like counterweights and a very large locking mechanism began to move and shudder in the wall beside the entrance. Slowly the doors began to open. The stench hit me first. It was horrible—burnt flesh and something else, something rotting. The doors opened more rapidly presenting a view of the interior of the Watch. Inside the entrance was a courtyard, with an obelisk in the center of  it. At the apex was a crescent moon with what appeared to be a silver owl in the center. The obelisk stood thirty feet high. Its sides, the ones that I could see, were covered in some brown liquid. As I followed the liquid up, I saw the bodies. Impaled on either end of the crescent moon was a body. The points of the crescent protruded through the abdomen of each.

“Who could have done such a thing? Why?” The keep doors closed behind us with a slow sigh as if weeping for the victims.

I was still looking up when I heard a sharp intake of breath from around me.

“You,” said Meja through gritted teeth.

Stepping around the obelisk, clad all in black a sai in each hand stood Diana.

“Yes, me. Their deaths will seem like mercy when I finish with your group,” she said softly, her words carrying in the still courtyard. Around us, from the shadows emerged figures. The Black Lotus.

“Time to die,” she said as she leapt towards Meja.

COST

TIME SEEMED TO stop. I saw Diana leap and wondered how anyone could ever leap so high. The figures around us stood motionless, apparently under orders not to interfere. It felt like time itself was holding its breath. Meja drew her sword just in time to deflect a double sai attack. The deep violet of Diana’s sai vibrated in the air, seeming alive. Meja’s sword flashed with a blue glow.

“You will not be able to draw another skein, Meja.”

Meja didn’t answer but circled around her opponent. Kal and Val made a move to enter. Diana looked at them, rooting them where they stood.

“Explain to them, Meja, how quickly they will cease breathing if they take one more step.”

Meja looked at them, signaling them to back up. I wondered what she meant when I looked down at the ground around us. What appeared to be a lattice work of violet energy surrounded us. Now I understood what she meant about Meja not being able to draw another skein: we were in the middle of one. As I looked around, I saw that we were roughly in a large circle of energy. The figures in black surrounded the circle. We were trapped for the time being. Meja and Diana stood in what seemed to be a clearing, a circle within the circle, which was devoid of the energy lattice. We had walked right into this, like amateurs.

“This is simple, Meja. You kill me; you may enter the Watch proper. You fail, I kill them all. Either way, you must fight, my dear.”

“I will not kill you, Diana,” said Meja.

“Do you really think you even have the skill to face me? Compared to me, you are a neophyte, wet behind the ears. I have forgotten more than you will ever learn.”

I could see the words stung; Meja’s expression hardened.

“Very well, Sensei,” whispered Meja. Diana smiled and threw a sai. Meja parried with her sword and deflected it, sending it on a trajectory to her left. The sai kept travelling and then stopped as if on a tether. It slowed and then snapped back into Diana’s hand, barely missing Meja on the way back. As I looked carefully, I saw what appeared to be a filament running from the sai’s handle to each of Diana’s wrist guards. Diana lunged forward, sai in hand. Meja stepped to the side, blocking with her sword. Diana was fast; she almost stabbed Meja with that move. A flurry of attacks followed: lunges, slices, pommel attacks and throughout it all Meja managed to defend against each. Every attack missed her or was blocked and parried by a fraction of an inch.

“I know what you are doing, girl. And you can’t keep defending forever. Sooner or later, you will tire and I guarantee it will be before I do.” Diana was right. I could see the strain on Meja’s face. Sweat ran freely down her face now.

“It seems you need incentive. I will provide it.” Diana jumped into a forward roll and came out of it beside Valeria.

“You were eager to join us before,” she said as she grabbed a handful of Valeria’s hair.

“This is our fight; she has no part in it. Leave her alone!” said Meja.

“I disagree, Meja. They all have a part in this fight. Some are more pivotal than others, but all of them important. Take her, for example,” she said as she slid a sai across Valeria’s cheek. Her part is to make you realize your true potential.” With that, she took her sai and buried it into Valeria’s midsection. Valeria crumpled to the floor with a look of pain and surprise on her face. The grass beneath her began to turn crimson as blood rushed out of her wound. It had happened so fast no one reacted for a full second.

“No!” screamed Kal and Meja in unison. Kal launched herself at Diana, only to be flung back as if smashing into an invisible wall. She hit the ground hard. Meja ran towards Diana, anger transfixing her features.

“Now you are ready to fight? Good.”

Diana joined her sai and they merged into a short sword. Meja was attacking, every thrust, cut, had the intention of removing Diana from existence.

“Your friend, your pupil, is dying, Meja. Is this the best you can do? Have you learned nothing? You cannot defeat me. Especially not in your state.” That was when I felt the shift. The air around Meja shimmered briefly and her face changed. She no longer appeared angry. In fact, she appeared almost – peaceful?

Diana saw it and a flicker of worry crossed her expression. With each attack, Meja drew closer until their crossed swords were inches from each other’s faces. I felt another shift and looked around; no one else seemed to have noticed it. Meja’s left hand began to glow a deep indigo.

“You’re right, Sensei. It may appear that I have not learned much,” she said in a soft whisper, “but you were not my only teacher.” Meja placed her palm on Diana’s chest. The indigo from her hand spread across the width of Diana’s chest almost instantly.

“What? No!” Diana staggered back.

“You should have left us alone, Diana,” Meja said, sounding almost sad.

Diana fell to her knees. As she fell, the lattice work around us disappeared. Zen ran to Valeria.

“What have you done, you bitch!” Diana’s voice sounded strangled as if she couldn’t get enough air.

“I told you I would not kill you and I will keep my word. That –” she pointed to Diana’s chest, “is a soul siphon.”

Diana’s eyes opened in fear. “How could you know… you are not skilled enough…” She fell back with her eyes open.

“I do know and it’s evident I am skilled enough. I told you, you were not my only sensei. You will remain alive but without any power until the siphon has run its course.” Meja looked genuinely sad.

“How long does a siphon last?” I asked her.

“It varies. Usually one or two,” she said as she rushed over to Zen.

I ran behind her. “One or two days, months, hours, what?”

I did not want to run into Diana anytime soon. I was hoping for years. Actually I was thinking—driving a blade through her right now was not such a bad idea. Preemptive nightmare avoidance.

Meja was bent over Valeria. I touched her shoulder.

“How long?” She looked up at me, tears in her eyes.

“Centuries, Dante. One or two centuries, which is more mercy than she showed Valeria.”

“No.” I said looking down at Val.

Zen looked at me and nodded.

“She’s gone,” he whispered.

Meja stood and faced the circle of shadows. With steel in her voice, she spoke, “Go and tell your Masters what occurred this day. Tell them that if they want us, they will have to send someone much stronger or come themselves.” The shadows faded into nothingness, leaving us alone. When I turned, Diana’s body was gone as well.

“Kal, oh no. Zen, tend to her. This will be devastating for her. I fear for her survival,” said Meja.

I looked over to where Kal lay.  I was certain this was going to crush her; she just lost her sister to psycho bitch from hell. But her life was in danger? Meja must have read my face and turned away from Valeria’s body.

“They were more than twins. They shared a life bond.”

“Life bond…Their lives were joined?”

“In a loose sense, no. They did however share a chi bond which allowed them to be conscious of the other anywhere on the planet. They knew how the other felt without needing to express it in words. When that bond is severed, especially violently, the twin that survives is greatly affected. In rare occasions, the bond is so close that the death of one can signal the death of both. That is what we are making sure of in this case – that Kalysta survives.”

We walked over to Kal’s body, where she lay breathing. Zen was gently bringing her to.

“Ugh —what the hell. Val! Where is Val? Where is she?” She looked around frantically until her eyes landed on her sister’s body. “Nononononono  it can’t be. Val!” She stood up and nearly collapsed. Zen held her steady. “Take me to her.” She looked up at Zen.

“Kal, are you sure?” Zen said, before he got a chance to look at her face.

“I said, Take. Me. To. Her.” She was determined to see Val’s body. She knelt beside her sister and took her hand into her own. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t protect you.”

Tears flowed freely from her eyes. We all stood around Kal paying our last respects to our fallen comrade. I knelt down beside Kal. She stood shakily. I bent down and picked up Val’s body. It was so light, as if life had lent it weight and now lifeless she would float away.

“Put her here, Dante.” She stood before the monitor’s obelisk. I gently placed her body at the obelisk. I stood back and gave her some space. “I promise you, Valeria, you will not have died in vain,” she whispered softly. After a few moments, she stood with a new resolve on her face.

“Let’s go, Dante, she is at peace now.”

We made our way to the entrance of the Watch proper.

KEEPER

THE FIRST THING I noticed was the immensity of the Watch. Having never been in a Watch before, I didn’t know if this was the typical design. It felt like being inside a giant cathedral. The ceiling was vaulted and ornate. Each of the walls depicted murals of large scale battles or vistas that seemed to go on forever. Many of the columns had statues carved into them. The floor was polished to a high gloss. The red marble, at least it resembled marble, was a rich, deep color. Our footsteps echoed in the atrium and I got the impression we weren’t alone. At the end of the atrium was a pair of brass doors that were intricately designed. On each door, the monitor’s emblem was etched in a deep blue, almost black. Sylk walked over to the doors and whispered some words I couldn’t hear, causing the doors to begin to hum. I saw the crescents shift and turn to form a circle with interlocked owls. Looking nothing like the monitor’s emblem, the circle shifted from blue to red, outlined in white.

“These doors predate monitors by about a hundred years. Beyond this point, touch nothing unless instructed,” Sylk said, his voice raspy. A look of concern crossed Meja’s face. Once we were inside, I could immediately sense the difference. The space was still cavernous but it felt lived in. We entered what appeared to be an antechamber. Around the room were spacious sofas or lounge chairs. In some areas were wooden benches. Sitting on one of the benches was a very old man. He appeared to be at least eighty or ninety years old. In his hands was a large mug of steaming liquid. It reminded me of how long it had been since I had eaten anything beyond our provisions of dried food and water. The old man didn’t look up at us. He sat there with his eyes closed, as if savoring the aroma of the liquid. We drew closer and Sylk stopped before him. After some time the old man sighed, as if interrupting a reverie. He had been perfectly still up to that point. He opened his eyes, which to my surprise were pupil-less. His eyes were a deep blue. There was no discernible difference between what was usually the iris or the white of the eye. Everything was a deep blue. It was unsettling to say the least.

“Welcome,” the old man said, his voice deep and robust. Sylk bowed as best as he could in his state. We took this as a cue to follow suit. The old man stood slowly as if feeling his years. He looked intently at Sylk as if gauging his words. He wore a simple blue robe that matched the color of his eyes, and in his left hand, he held a simple wooden staff that he used to stand. The staff also served as a walking stick as he stepped closer to Sylk. I could feel the power emanating from him. He placed his mug down on one of the tables and placed one hand on Sylk.

“One more sunset and one more sunrise, that is all that is left to you, Karashihan.” Sylk remained silent. Judging from the way he looked, I guessed the old man was pretty accurate.

“Do you seek the end of your days? If so, then you need to do nothing. It will happen soon enough.”

Sylk shook his head.

“Then you seek to remain here?”

“Yes, yes I do,” whispered Sylk.

“Are you prepared for the cost?”

“Yes, I am.”

“We shall see, walk with me.” The old man turned to exit the room and walked down one of the dimly lit corridors. The corridor was one of four facing what I could only describe as a rock garden. Within the garden were large boulders with lines of gravel and sand surrounding them. Trees grew throughout the space. At first it seemed the trees were placed randomly, but after a moment a pattern emerged, or so I thought. We wound our way around the garden as I wondered where everyone else was. Aside from the monitors killed by Diana, I saw no one else but our group and the old man. In the center of the garden ran a stream that deposited into a small lake that was crossed by several wooden bridges. At the edge of the lake were three stone benches side by side. The old man made his way to the center bench and beckoned Sylk to sit beside him. The rest of us filled the other benches, except Zen who remained standing.

“What will you do if I return your life to you, Karashihan?” asked the old man. A smile played upon his lips.

“I will prepare him,” he said, gesturing to me, “for the threat that is coming,” said Sylk. The old man turned to look at me as if for the first time. I couldn’t tell if he saw me or not, but I got the distinct feeling nothing went unnoticed by him.

“I see he bears a named weapon, one of the three. Is this not preparation enough?”

“He has no skill in its use. He is not ready and we need a syllabist.”

Well, thanks for the glowing review, Sylk.

“Do you realize the threat that this weapon presents, Karashihan? Do you remember the last time it was unleashed?”

“I do.”

“And you still feel it is the answer to the upcoming threat?”

“Yes, we were fortunate to have one of the three.” The old man nodded as if agreeing to something.

“Very well, then, the cost. What are you willing to give as payment?”

“I pledge my life to the Watch,” said Sylk. Meja, who had been serious throughout this exchange, gave a sharp inhalation. The old man looked out over the lake, saying nothing.

“This is no small thing, Karashihan. Once pledged, you will be bound to the Watch. Are you certain?” The old man turned to face Sylk, his expression serious.

“Yes, I am.”

“What does that mean?” I asked Meja, who was looking at Sylk in disbelief.

“It means that once he is done with what he considers preparing you, he must come back and live here, permanently.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“For someone like Sylk, it would be like putting you in a box or a cell. Yes, it is a bad thing.”

“What if he doesn’t do this?”

“Then he dies,” she said.

Life imprisonment or death, didn’t seem like either was a good choice. I stood and was about to head to Sylk but Meja grabbed me by the wrist. “Watch your words. That old man is an embodiment of the Watch. He could kill you with a blink.”

That made me pause. I headed over slowly. Sylk and the old man turned to face me and I asked the most burning question first.

“Why?”

The old man answered. “The Karashihan feels you will be enough of a deterrent to the entity that seeks the destruction of all.”

Sylk looked at me, with a lopsided grin and said, “Not much of a choice. If I don’t do this, I have about a day left. At least this way, I can help prevent the imminent destruction of this and other planes of existence.”

“But you will be a prisoner here, won’t you?”

“That’s a very strong term. I wouldn’t say prisoner, more like caretaker or executor.”

“Would you be able to leave this place?”

“Not in the conventional sense, no. This does not mean that I will be trapped.”

I remained silent. It didn’t seem like there were many options. He appeared to be getting weaker by the hour.

“It doesn’t appear like I have much of a choice at this point,” he said echoing my thoughts. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Meja stand and walk over. This didn’t look good.

“Why don’t you just accept death?” she asked. Sylk looked at her and then turned to look at the lake the still surface reflecting the garden and trees.

“I still have a few things left to accomplish, things that I cannot do if I am dead. Rest assured, monitor, that when my time comes, I will face it as I am called upon to do so.”

Meja didn’t seem satisfied. She turned to the old man, a little less indignantly. “Why, why are you letting him do this? He deserves to die. He has slain many, whose only offense was to stand against him.”

The old man stared at her with those bottomless eyes.

“Before monitors and warriors, I was. Before Karashihan past and present, I was. I have seen countless ages come and go. Your life is but a passing thought in the scheme of all things. If I allow this, it is because it serves a purpose you may not see, and may never be able to see. I sense that this is not enough to quell the rage within you, so perhaps another answer will suffice. Give me your hand.” Meja slowly extended her hand to the old man. He clasped it in his gnarled hand and pulled Meja a little closer. As he pulled her hand, I noticed that his eyes shifted across the spectrum of color. “This is one of the most probable outcomes if the Karashihan is removed at this time.” He looked into her face closely and I knew she was seeing something horrific from the way her face contorted in pain and disgust.

“No more, no more,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

“Was that answer sufficient, monitor?” She nodded.

“Very well, let us do what must be done.” The old man stood and began walking to the lake. Sylk followed him. When they were both at the edge, the old man pointed with his staff.

“In the center of the lake lies a chest. In the chest lies the medallion of Sacrifice. If you manage to locate the chest and if you are allowed to wear the medallion, then your offer will be accepted, your pledge will be valid and you will be restored.” He swung the staff at all of us. “They cannot assist you in any way whatsoever.”

He grasped the staff with both hands and stood facing Sylk. “If your offer is rejected, this will be your final resting place. Not bad as resting places go.” And with that the old man disappeared.

Mara began walking towards Sylk but he stopped her with an upheld hand.

“No, I must do this alone.”

“But you cannot! Not in your condition.”

“I must. Sylk was intractable and his voice indicated that the conversation was over. He jumped head first into the lake.

REBIRTH

WE ALL STOOD beside the lake. All of us except Meja. She had moved over to stand beside one of the trees that encircled the lake. I walked over to her.

“Hey, you okay?”

“No, not really. The things I saw, the death and destruction,” she choked up, her eyes watering anew. I had no way of knowing what she saw, but if she was this shaken up, it had to be bad.

“Dante, imagine the most horrific expression of Hell on Earth. Take that and magnify it one- hundred fold. That image will seem like a vacation compared to the visions shown to me.”

I remained silent a moment, thinking.

“So what are our options?”

“If he doesn’t return, we will have very few options,” she said, looking at the lake.

At the edge of the lake stood Mara, silent and expectant. The day was starting to wind down and at least an hour had passed since Sylk entered the lake. From the other side of the garden approached a young man. He was dressed simply in a blue robe with white accents. His shaven head glistened in the afternoon light. He was of average height and wiry and his hands gave the impression of hidden strength. His tan skin contrasted well with the colors of the robe and I wondered how old he was, since he didn’t look a day over twenty. As he made his way over to us, I noticed that he didn’t so much step as glide to where we were. Everything about him indicated that he was considerably trained. I was suddenly glad we were not meeting as adversaries. He stopped a few paces from us, placed his hands together before him in prayer fashion and bowed.

“Hello, my name is Rin. I have been instructed to show you where you may lodge while the Karashihan undergoes his trial.”

“Do you have anything to eat?” asked Zen. I’m starving.”

Rin smiled and outstretched his arm. “If you follow me, I will show you where you can leave your things and eat.” His voice gave no indication of his age.

Mara turned to Rin. “May I stay here?”

Rin bowed to her. Did he know her or was she someone special?

“You are welcome to keep a vigil if you desire,” Rin said.

“How long do these trials take, usually?”

Rin shook his head as he turned to Zen. “That is impossible to say, Guardian. Each trial is unique. What appears as a lake on the surface is very different beneath it. I will say this: the only other attempt at the medallion lasted two days, but he did not return.”

“How long ago was that?” I asked. He turned to me.

“That was fifty years ago.” So he was much older than he seemed. Although his eyes were not completely filled in like the old man, I wondered if it was a gradual process.

“Are you like the old man?” I ventured.

“Do you mean the keeper of the Watch?” His eyes opened in surprise. “You have seen him?”

I nodded. Controlling his surprise, he answered. “No, I am not like him; I am very much like all of you, flesh and blood. You have indeed had a special privilege to meet the keeper. Some of us live out our entire lives here and only catch brief glimpses of him. He usually only appears to the most senior of us.” He shook his head in genuine amazement and looked at us again, as if seeing us for the first time. “This way, please. I will take you to your rooms.”

We followed him to a path in the garden that I had not noticed before. Mara remained behind and sat on one of the benches. I looked at the lake again and wondered what was happening to Sylk. Our rooms were palatial along the same line of the antechamber —each room cool but not uncomfortable. All of the rooms were adjoining. In the central room, which was a common meeting room, there was a table with a variety of bread, cheeses and fruits. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I saw the food. I noticed that each of the rooms was connected to this central room. The common room itself was a pentagon, each side being formed by one wall of our rooms. I realized that the pattern was a pentagon inside of a pentagon. Zen made a beeline for the food as I noticed the absence of any meat. Meja saw the question on my face. “Most monitors abstain from eating any kind of meat,” she said.

“Really, why?”

“It was thought to enhance their abilities as monitors. It’s no longer required to give up meat, but a place like this, I’m sure would adhere to the old ways.”

I walked over to the table with the food, helping myself to ample amounts of bread, cheese and fruit. In pitchers around the table was what appeared to be water. I filled a large glass and was about to drink when Rin put his hand on my wrist. “You may want to drink that in small amounts. Think caffeine that’s super concentrated without any of the ill side effects.”

I noticed that the others were taking very small sips with their food. I took a small sip and instantly felt revitalized. I felt as if I had slept an entire night and was well rested. I was still hungry but only slightly so.

“What is this drink called?” I asked.

“The original name has been lost over time. Thankfully we still retain the means to make it. I fear we are the only Watch that still produces it. At one time this was present in every Watch. We call it manar and it is best taken in a small dose, that is if you want to sleep,” he said and laughed. “We brought it out because we knew your path ahead will be long.”

“Hmm, manar,” said Zen as he sipped his glass. I took another sip and my hunger vanished. “You should still eat. You will need the nutrients. Manar is excellent but it will not replace food indefinitely,” said Rin. I forced myself to eat and then made my way to where Meja was.

“What’s wrong?  Are you okay?”

“Not really. Part of me wishes he never gets out of that lake, but what I saw, Dante, the things I saw.” It was rare for Meja to be so frank with me so I did the smartest thing I could think of – I remained silent. The silence stretched out between us. I tried to give her some small comfort.

“The keeper did say it was probable, not certain,” I said quietly.

“If there is a slight chance of that ever coming to pass, I would rather die first.” There was nothing I could say. I looked into her emerald eyes and saw fear, anger and determination in them. I noticed just how beautiful she was. I also recalled just how dangerous. I decided it would be wiser to keep my feelings to myself.

“We will be ready, don’t worry,” I tried to assure her. Too late I realized that I had allowed my testosterone to cloud my brain function. I could see the walls go up immediately as she pierced me with a look.

“I am concerned, as you should be. As for getting ready, I don’t need to be ready —you do. I am going to bed.”

She headed to her room and Kal followed her. I hadn’t heard a word from Kalysta since her sister died earlier. I wondered how she was doing. What a group we were. Not for the first time I thought about how we were going to accomplish saving not only our plane but every one that was connected to ours. Zen headed to where I was sitting, food being his primary focus.

“I’m worried, Zen,” I told him as he sat down with the largest piece of bread I had ever seen.

“About… what?” he said in between mouthfuls.

“If Sylk doesn’t come back, if my weapon takes over, if Kal decides life isn’t worth living without Val. What the threat I’m supposed to be ready for is? You know, little things like that.”

He looked at me a long time without answering. So long in fact that I was beginning to think I stunned him into silence.

“Dante,” he said after a while. “You are worrying about things and events you cannot control or influence, at least not yet. All this energy you are putting into worrying about this stuff, you can divert into learning about your weapon, and getting ready.”

He had a point.

“Listen, why don’t you sleep on all of that? I’m sure if Sylk decides to surface, while we are asleep, someone will come get us. Mara is at the lake and I’m sure she will be the first to say something when he comes back.”

“You said when not if that time,” I pointed out “You know something we don’t?”

“The only thing I do know is that if he doesn’t come back, this whole expedition just became much harder. He may be creepy but something tells me we need him on our side.”

“I’m not sure he is on any side, but his own, Zen.”

While we were speaking, he had finished his food.

“Why don’t you go to bed? I think I’ll be up a while longer, see if I can convince Rin about the importance of meat in a guardian’s diet.” I looked at him and we broke into laughter, his huge frame shaking.

“You should have seen your face! I’m kidding, D., really, so get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” I headed off to my room, which was directly opposite Meja’s. As I undressed and got ready for bed, I had serious doubts about actually getting any sleep, partly due to the manar. I lay on the bed wide awake, looking at the ceiling.

At some point, exhaustion must have taken over because I found myself in a large green field. Everywhere I could see there was grass. Somehow I knew this was a dream. Interspersed on this field were immense boulders the size of houses. I walked over to the nearest boulder and ran my hand over it. Parts were worn smooth while others had the rough texture of heavy grain sandpaper. On the boulder farthest from me sat a figure. I couldn’t make out the face. As I drew closer a sense of familiarity washed over me. The figure leapt from the boulder and landed gracefully on one foot a short distance from me. He was dressed in black. —black leather pants topped off with a black silk shirt. A black long coat finished the ensemble. The coat itself had red brocade that ran the entire edge of it. His hair was salt and pepper and cut short. He looked to be in phenomenal shape. The most striking feature was his face. His piercing eyes looked into mine as he took me in. “You look like shit.” And then he laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. His face was my face, aged several years.

“Hello, Maelstrom,” I said as coldly as I could.

“We really need to keep meeting like this, Dante. What’s this place? Your field of dreams? It’s quaint,” he said as he looked around.

“What do you want?”

He turned to me. “Now that is a most interesting question, don’t you think?”

“You almost got me killed with the Rah Ven,” I stated matter of factly.

“It would have merely precipitated the most probable outcome of our relationship. Face it, vessel, you can’t handle this, can’t handle me. The sooner we resolve this, the better it is for both of us.”

“By resolve, you mean my death.”

“Well, yes. It’s the fastest way to extricate myself from this uneven yoke. Truly I don’t know how this occurred when I think of the warriors I have been joined with. You are but a pale shadow of them.”

“You are right. This was thrust upon me. I didn’t ask for it,” I said slowly.

“Exactly, you were not adequately prepared. You have very little training and next to no proficiency in the words of power.”

I remained silent, looking at the older image of me, realizing for the first time that this was the true battle. Maelstrom’s purpose was aligned to whoever wielded it. It was neither good nor evil; it was a weapon completely in the control of the person it was bonded to. This was why it was on this campaign to get me killed. It wasn’t that I wasn’t ready or couldn’t control it —even though on many levels this was true, the real reason was that it chafed at being subjected to another will other than its own.

“When was the last time you were bonded to a vessel, that you deemed worthy?”

He glared at me for a moment then turned away and looked off into the distance.

“How long?” I asked again softly, knowing the answer.

He turned to face me again. I stood there feeling a soft breeze blow against us. The grass waved to and fro and I had to remind myself that this was a dream.

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and looked to my right to see Owl standing there.

The shock must have registered on my face and Owl smiled. He was dressed in white robes with gold trim.  He turned to face a snarling Maelstrom.

“You have no call to be here. This is between the vessel and I,” said Maelstrom.

“I am as much a part of him as are you.”

“You are not the weapon and have no right to be heard.”

“I have every right to be here. Why don’t you answer his question?”

“Because it is of no consequence!” spat out Maelstrom.

Owl clasped his hands before him and looked to the sky. “I disagree. That question above all others is the most relevant. Normally you are quick to action and here you hesitate. Shall I answer the boy?”

“You pretend to know me? I who have existed for millennia? Who saw the birth and death of countless stars? Who has seen the rise and fall of man as I have?”

“All that means is that you are old —very very old. Wisdom is not a condition of age, nor is age a prerequisite of wisdom,” said Owl. Maelstrom crossed his arms and glared. I had gotten over my shock at seeing Owl here. Somehow it wasn’t so surprising and made sense in a strange way.

“I will tell you the answer he cannot, because he knows it will be his undoing.” Owl looked at Maelstrom with something like pity in his eyes. “Every vessel this weapon has possessed has died an untimely death shortly after bonding with it. Just as you would have had you attacked the Rah Ven, causing your death and the death of your comrades.” Even in a dream I felt my throat close and my mouth go dry. I had been so close to total destruction.

“Why?” was all I could manage.

“This existence is a punishment for the being that he once was. He who controlled multitudes must now surrender to control. Throughout all this time that one trait was allowed to persist. And so although he may no longer have any recollection of what it was to be as he was, he still remembers what it is to be free. Being bonded robs him of that and so he plots and schemes his vessels death to be free once again.”

“It’s not so simple but I don’t expect you to understand, vessel. Suffice it to say that your death eases this curse I call being. So what say you now Dante? Now that you know the answer to your question, what is your reply?”

Owl looked at me. The wind was blowing stronger now and clouds had gathered on the horizon. Somehow I knew this meant the dream was coming to an end.

“Maelstrom, I know you can’t be free without my death and I have grown fond of living as of late. I can assure you that if there is a way to attain your freedom and my life, then I will find it. Until then, can we establish a truce?” I extended my hand towards him. “Will you really do this, do I have your word as bond?” he asked.

“If I do not honor my word, may my life be forfeit.” Maelstrom smiled a smile that turned my stomach. “This is agreeable.” he said above the ever-increasing wind. “A truce for now and let us see where this takes us, vessel.” He clasped my hand and I awoke. From the light streaming in, I could tell it was morning. I felt refreshed but I attributed that to the manar, not my dream. I made my way to the common area. It must have been very early since the area was deserted. The others were probably sleeping still. As I sat down to think about the dream and what it meant, the old man appeared next to me. As much as I have seen and experienced, that still startled me and I jumped, my heart beating rapidly. I think he did it on purpose because he was chuckling at my reaction , at least I thought it was chuckling since it sounded like rubbing two stones together.

“My apologies. I did not mean to startle you.” Yeah right. I could see the mischief in his eyes.

“It’s fine, still getting used to everything.”

“Sometimes our dreams can be quite unsettling, no?”

”How did you? – no, never mind.” He waved his hand as if dismissing my words, then moved closer. “When Rin approaches you today,” he angled his head and looked up, “and that should be shortly, tell him you need Samir to teach you.”

“Who is Samir?”

“He is the worst syllabist we have in the Watch. Or so everyone thinks. He has talents that are not easily seen.”

“How do I know Rin will honor my request?”

“At first, he will not and will try to push you off to accept one of the other syllabists. Do not let him dissuade you. Insist for Samir and you will attain what you need. Accept another and you will receive what you want.”

“Do I tell him you told me to ask for Samir?”

“There will be no need if you remain firm. He will honor the request.  If you refrain from mentioning my name, then he too can learn from the moment. That, I leave to you. The path you are upon will be altered if Samir is not your syllabist.”

I let the words sit with me as I absorbed them. As I turned to ask the old man another question, I realized I was alone in the room. As I sat wondering how he disappeared so effortlessly, Mara came rushing in, her face flushed with excitement.

“He’s back! He just surfaced!” she gasped, out of breath.

“What? Where?” I asked.

“The lake, he’s there and he’s been changed somehow. I don’t know, something’s not the same.”

“Let’s go.” And we ran off to the lake, Mara and I, without alerting any of the others. As we approached the lake I saw a figure near one of the benches. It seemed to shimmer like heat in a desert. After a moment, it seemed to coalesce.

“Karashihan, is that you?” Mara asked.

It looked like Sylk, except now his hair was silver; his face looked the same, maybe a few more lines, as if he had aged. His right pectoral was covered in silver lines forming ornate symbols. The most surprising change was his missing arm. It wasn’t missing any longer.

SYLLABIST

“YES MARA, IT’S me.” She looked dubiously at him for a moment then bowed at his feet.

“Karashihan for a moment I wasn’t sure, forgive my doubt.”

“No forgiveness is required. I myself had a few moments to be concerned, but as you see, I have returned. Please stand.”

“It would seem that you have.”

I turned, startled, to see the old man leaning on his staff. He smiled at my expression and I swore he got some hidden enjoyment from making me jump.

“Well met, old one.” Sylk bowed.

“Well met indeed. I see the medallion has accepted your pledge. What are the terms?”

“I will be granted leave until such a time as the warrior no longer requires my presence.”

The keeper nodded as if considering the terms.

“Gifts bestowed?” The keeper drew close to Sylk and narrowed his eyes.

“Life, restoration of what was lost and wisdom.”

“Very good,” said the keeper. Mara and I stood to one side as this exchange took place. We were both unprepared for the keeper’s next move. Standing three feet from Sylk, the keeper began to walk away leaning heavily on his staff. If I had blinked I would have missed the motion. Even as I saw it, I couldn’t believe anyone could move that fast. As he took a step away from Sylk, he thrust the staff behind him. The weapon was a blur. Sylk must have sensed something or been on his guard because he stepped to the side in a fraction of a second, the staff missing him by a hairsbreadth. The keeper, who looked about a hundred years old seconds earlier suddenly began moving like a young man in his prime. He swung the staff around in a descending arc; Sylk leapt back at the last possible moment avoiding having his knee shattered. The keeper now facing Sylk began to close the distance, walking slowly. I looked around. No one was close. The lake was quiet, resembling glass. Around us everything was still, even the birds that were singing earlier had gone silent, as if watching in anticipation of the outcome. The sky was a clear blue with the sun rising on the far side of the lake. The setting could not have been more serene, except for the keeper intent on striking Sylk. It was almost perfect. Sylk who emerged topless from the lake, stood still as the keeper approached. The symbols on his body began to shift and run, like liquid mercury. They began to travel down his right arm, encasing his entire right side from the waist up in what looked like silver skin. The keeper drew close and thrust. Sylk parried with his right arm. I half expected to hear a metallic clang, but it was as if sound had been muffled. The keeper ducked and swept his right foot across to catch Sylk unaware. Sylk did a hop step, avoiding the sweep, ducking in time to miss the staff from crashing into his temple. The keeper leapt, much higher than I thought possible. Staff in both hands, held overhead, he reached at least twenty feet. As he came down, I saw that the staff was radiating a dull blue green. I began to back up, pulling Mara with me. She looked askance and I pulled her faster. Something told me we didn’t want to be close when that staff connected with Sylk’s enhanced arm. Maelstrom reflexively reacted to my heightened level of anxiety and appeared in my hand.

“I see the Karashihan has returned with the medallion of sacrifice in place.” It was always disconcerting to hear my voice being used by Maelstrom.

“You are still too close. In fact even if you left the Watch you would be too close. Place me in the ground quickly.” I did as he said “Now focus on a sphere, an entire sphere surrounding you. Make it wide enough to encompass both of you, unless you no longer wish to see her among the living.” I could almost see his smile. “Vessel, I would do this quickly, or you will no longer be a vessel.” I focused on a sphere surrounding us. In my mind’s eye, I placed Mara and me inside a large ball. “That should do, now hold that image, do not let it waver.” I took the suggestion seriously and found myself encased in a shimmering sphere of violet energy. “Maintain your focus, it should be any moment now.” I felt the impact as I saw the keeper bring the staff crashing down into Sylk’s arm. It felt like getting kicked in the stomach, hard. I almost lost the sphere but regained focus right away. The light was blinding. I heard the staff splinter and felt the ground shake. When I opened my eyes, it looked as if we had been transported to ground zero of an immense explosion. We were in an impact crater. The ground sloped up away from us at least four feet. I looked and saw Sylk and the keeper facing each other, smoke wafting from their bodies. It seemed like they were speaking, but my ears felt like they were full of cotton. Maelstrom was gone but Mara and I were intact and that’s what mattered. We started to walk back cautiously and as we drew closer, the landscape behind us began to shift and alter, returning to a pristine state. By the time we were close enough to hear Sylk and the Keeper speaking, it was as if nothing had occurred.

“What just happened?” I asked.

“The Watch is self-regulating. Any damage done to it is immediately repaired,” said the Keeper.

“Not that,” – even though it was interesting to note that the Watch could do that. “I mean between you two.”

“Oh that,” the Keeper said dismissively. “A small test to measure the commitment of the pledge made. Had it been found wanting, the Karashihan would not be here to partake in this conversation on such a pleasant day.”

Sylk bowed. The Keeper looked at me and chuckled.

“It’s good to see you were aware enough to protect yourself. It would have been a shame to lose you.”

I was speechless. I looked to Sylk but I couldn’t read his face. Before I could say another word, the Keeper moved his hands and a new staff formed in them. “I believe you have more pressing matters to attend to, like procuring a syllabist? Ah, here comes Rin now, perfect.”

I turned to see Rin walking to us. He bowed, and the Keeper returned the bow.

“Is everything well? We heard an awful sound,” said Rin.

“Everything is as it should be,” said the Keeper. Rin bowed in response. The Keeper looked at me pointedly, with a smile on his lips, as if waiting to see how it would all play out. I got the underlying feeling we were all just pieces on an immense chess board. I cleared my throat. “Good morning, Rin,” I said and bowed. He bowed in return. “We need a syllabist.”

“Ah! I have just the one! His name is Eric and he is our top syllabist. You will not—”

“How about Samir?”

I could swear the Keeper was enjoying this entirely too much. Rin, who had stopped mid-sentence while extolling the virtues of Eric, looked as if he had bitten into a lemon.

“Samir—” He drew out the name as if I had been mistaken. “How do you—”

“It’s the syllabist I want,” I said as I cut him off.

“Surely you realize this is no light task. The training of a warrior of your caliber requires, no, demands the very best. Are you certain you want him?”

The last word was uttered with such disdain that I almost reconsidered. I took a deep breath and exhaled, hoping I didn’t regret listening to the Keeper.

“Yes, I am certain. Please have him meet us in the common room.” Rin hesitated a while longer.

“Rin, you did say he is a syllabist, yes?”

“Well, yes, technically.”

“Well, does he hold the title or not?”

Rin, defeated, sighed. “I suppose he does,” he said dejectedly.

“Excellent. Please give him the news and have him meet us in the common area.”

Rin headed off to get Samir. Mara looked at me with a question on her face. A question I didn’t have the answer to. I looked at the Keeper, who I could say with near certainty was suppressing laughter. “I hope you’re right about this.”

Finally he let out the laughter, full of mirth. It was a pleasant sound, and even Sylk smiled, caught by its contagious nature.

“Me too!” he replied. Shocked, I looked at him.

“But this was your idea! You told me to pick Samir—”

The Keeper held up his hand. “I know my words, warrior and stand by them. Come let us see to your syllabist.” He headed off in the direction of the rooms.

I looked at Sylk who shrugged and followed the Keeper, trailed by Mara.

“I can’t believe this,” I muttered to myself. And I followed them.

BOOK AND COVER

WE ARRIVED AT the common area as everyone was stirring. There was food arranged on one of the tables, plenty of everything, except meat, much to Zen’s dismay.

“Really? Would a little meat kill them? I mean, come on.”

“No, it wouldn’t kill them but it would violate their way of life,” said Kal quietly. Everyone turned in our direction as they heard us approach, most looked shocked to see Sylk again and whole. Only Meja remained reserved. She looked him over as if assessing the changes and then nodded, returning to her breakfast. Everyone began to fill their plates with breads and cheeses and other assorted cereals and fruits, of which there was an abundance.

“Good morning,” I said as I sat next to Meja. She clearly didn’t want to speak but I trudged on anyway.

“Morning,” she said. An arctic winter was probably warmer than she was at this moment. Undaunted, I forged ahead.

“Did you see Sylk, and his arm?” Someone of course needed to state the obvious and of course that someone was me. She looked at me as if I had smacked my head against one of the marble floors, repeatedly.

“What do you want?” she asked tersely.

“I just wanted to know if you’re doing better, than yesterday that is.” I stood to walk away realizing that I was daring, but not insane. As I stood, she looked at me with a look I had never seen from her. Something close to concern crossed her face. “Dante?” I turned to look at her. Once again as it always did, her beauty threatened to make me say something I would definitely regret.

“Yes?” I said, hoping for a slight thaw in her reaction. I was disappointed.

“You need to stop worrying about me, about any of us, and focus on what you need to get done. It’s the only way we have a chance of coming out of this alive.”

If she had put up walls the night before, they were now surrounded by an electrified fence, patrolled by guard dogs and covered in concertina wire.

“I got it, thanks.” I turned to walk away to minimize the chance of frostbite from being in proximity to her.

“And Dante?” I turned again bracing myself for some other comment laced in pain and designed to embarrass me.

“Thanks for asking.” She smiled, a real smile that reached her eyes. In that moment I knew without a doubt that I had given her my heart. My brain however didn’t get that memo. As I was about to speak, Rin entered the area with a frail looking tan man in tow.

“Good morning.” He bowed in our general direction. “I trust you all rested?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “Before your journey to the Akashic Records, which are traversed through this Watch, I have been informed you required a syllabist. It was the warrior’s request that this be your syllabist.” He stepped aside and we were able to see the small man more clearly.  He had jet black hair and looked fairly young. Even though I learned long ago not to judge books by their covers, he was rail thin with a muscular body. He seemed to be able to handle himself.

“I thought that is what we were heading to the Akashic Records for, to find the location of a syllabist?” Zen whispered to Meja.

He bowed to us. Then he spoke and the only word I could make out was his name. We all had the same look on our face. It was a collective “Huh?” moment.

“He says, it’s a pleasure to meet you all and he hopes to be of service, his name is Samir,” I turned to Rin. “He doesn’t speak English?”

Rin bowed in answer. “This is the syllabist you requested, and there is only one Samir in this Watch in the capacity of syllabist.” I looked at the Keeper who was conveniently looking away at that moment.

“You can’t be serious. How are we supposed to communicate? Sign language?”

Somehow it felt like a cruel joke. Samir stood there as we spoke back and forth with an easy smile on his face. I could see he was paying attention, because his eyes were sharp, following each speaker in turn. I could tell Rin was rubbing it in for my not accepting his choice of Eric, the super syllabist. I walked over to the Keeper and with all the respect I could muster, I lost it. “What is this, some joke? Were you just trying to unload a defective syllabist on us? This is ridiculous!”

So sue me I have a death wish. Rin’s mouth had dropped open at the way I was speaking to the Keeper. Sylk looked amused as did the Keeper, which only pissed me off more, because now I thought they are amused at my outburst and fail to see the gravity of the situation.

“He is always this way?” the Keeper asked Sylk.

Sylk looked at me and nodded. “He has a strong spirit, maybe it won’t get him killed.”

The Keeper turned to Samir and spoke to him in a language I couldn’t grasp. Judging from the looks on everyone’s faces, including Rin, no one else seemed to understand either. Except maybe Sylk, who smiled with Samir at whatever the Keeper said. “Samir has a very rare gift, one that has been overlooked in this Watch, partly because of our isolation, but more because of arrogance.” The Keeper looked at Rin who turned away, flushed. “What say you Samir?” the Keeper asked him and I prepared myself for another round of gibberish.

“My apologies,” he said in halting English. “I must first be exposed to a language for some time before I can acquire correct speak? This is correct, yes?”

Rin’s eyes were wide as saucers. Samir’s diction was flawless and he had no trace of an accent. Except for his one mistake, he sounded like any of us.

“Correct speech,” I say to him. He nodded and bowed.

“Thank you, I will remember.” At this point I’m not far behind Rin in the amazement department.

“How is this possible? A few minutes ago, I couldn’t understand a word he said and now he speaks as well as I do?”

Samir comes from a long line of syllabists. With each generation their gift gets stronger provided both mother and father are syllabists. As you can imagine this is a rare occurrence as the gift of tongues is rare. Samir’s family however was an exception. They managed to continue the blood gift of tongues for seven generations.”

Rin, still in shock, spoke. “He is a master syllabist,” he said in awe.

“All this time and no one knew,” Rin said quietly to himself.

The Keeper coughed. “I knew,” the Keeper said quietly. “When I suggested he be evaluated, what did the Council declare?”

Council, I thought to myself. So there is a ruling body, here in the Watch.

“They decided to, umm, pursue other avenues and other candidates.”

“Yes, they brushed off an old man in favor of counsel from newer, fresh blood.” The Keeper was serious now.

“Surely we can’t let him go with them. He is a treasure!”

The Keeper looked at him silently, sighed and put his hand on Rin’s shoulder.

“A short time ago you were secretly relieved to get rid of what you considered a burden. Now you consider him a treasure. He is still the same man, is he not?” Rin was red-faced and bowed. The lesson was not lost on me since I shared in Rin’s opinion of Samir and thought he could not possibly be of any help to me or to the group. In other words I judged this particular book by its cover and found it wanting. “Now go tend to the necessary preparations, they must leave for the Records as soon as possible, and as we both know it is no easy journey.”

Rin bowed and left the common area trailed by at least five monitors much younger than he.

“Come, we must prepare, there are others who would see you fail and we must not give them the satisfaction.”

The Keeper shuffled off through a doorway looking very much like an old man. I had many questions whirling in my head. Who wanted us to fail? Who was this Council? Why did we need to go to the Records if we had a syllabist? Zen thumped me on my arm.

“Wake up and focus, D. We need to get moving.”  I saw that we were the only two left in the common room. I had drifted off with my questions. Zen smirked at me. “Stop being a space cadet.” I laughed to shake off the embarrassment. “Let’s go.”

THE AKASHIC

I HAD A lot of questions and few answers. The most important of them was, why go to the records if we had a syllabist and not only a syllabist but a master syllabist at that? As we headed down the brightly lit corridors, I glimpsed other monitors moving to and fro. It seemed we were approaching a more populated area of the Watch. Up ahead, I could overhear the Keeper and Sylk discussing something but I couldn’t make out the details. Behind me Kal and Meja brought up the rear. I noticed once again how I seemed to be protected by placement in the group. We turned a few times more making lefts then rights, until I was convinced we were in some kind of maze. Finally we reached a door and the Keeper pushed it open to reveal a small courtyard dominated by what seemed to be an onyx obelisk. In the midst of the sunlight and bright colors, it appeared to be a sliver of night. No light reflected off of it. Each side was covered in symbols, some I thought I could make out, others were beyond me. Sylk and the Keeper reached it first. As the Keeper began walking around the obelisk, he started touching some of the symbols.

“This is an interstitial doorway. I’m assuming you are all familiar with what that is?” said the Keeper.

I raised my hand as if in school. “Not really.”

The Keeper nodded at Sylk and I was almost certain that Sylk was some kind of public school educator at some point in his life. He turned to me and everything from his stance to his voice said Teacher.

“An interstitial doorway,” he began and paused to see if I was paying attention and seeing that I was, he continued, “is a doorway that leads to specific places between the planes. The Records are priceless, so access to them is limited to this doorway and of course this Watch.” I looked at the obelisk again. The air around it had begun to thrum in vibration.

“So you are saying the only way to get to the records is through this doorway?” I said pointing at the obelisk as the Keeper kept circling and pressing symbols. The vibration grew in intensity and I was feeling it in my lower abdomen. Sylk looked at me as if I just enjoyed stating the obvious.

“As I was saying, the Records are irreplaceable, and extremely valuable. We need to find a particular book,” said Sylk

I looked at him, “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, he is not. This book is instrumental for Samir to teach you to be an ascended warrior to meet the threat that seeks to engulf us all. To answer your question as to why the journey must be made if you have a syllabist, the book is as essential as the syllabist.”

It was the Keeper, who it seemed had finished with the symbols on the obelisk.

“I do not subscribe to the notion that this is the only doorway to the records. I have lived too long and have seen too much for that to make sense,” said the Keeper.

He looked at Sylk. “Karashihan, although the title no longer fits, eh?”  Sylk nodded. “Do not believe the old wives tales or in this case the stories of old men. You do not know what awaits you in the Records, so you must be prepared.” He turned to me. “You are the greatest threat, and so will be the greatest target. Keep your wits about you and remember, upon you much hinges. Each of you plays a part in what is to unfold— this is only the first step.”

The Keeper stepped aside and struck his staff on the ground. The obelisk shimmered and shuddered. When it stopped it looked different. Sylk walked up to it, placed his hand on the surface and vanished. One by one, we each did the same and left the Keeper and the Watch behind.

SHERFYM

I FLOATED WEIGHTLESSLY for what seemed like ten minutes. All of a sudden gravity re-established itself and I found myself in a very large corridor. I looked around and could have sworn I was in the New York Public Library. The walls were a white stone, it looked like marble.  The floor was polished to a high sheen, the green stone highly reflective. The doors that were visible were of a deep brown oak, immense, and weathered with age. Each door was easily ten feet in height. This gave me pause since I have learned that large doors usually meant large beings to walk through them. Suddenly around me, I heard a series of low pops like bubble wrap being burst and found myself surrounded by children, at least I thought they were children, at least until they spoke.

“You, remain where you are!” said the one who appeared to be the leader. There were five of them and they stood phalanx style, the speaker in the center. They each had a rod in their hand, the ends of which had a dull red glow. Each of them was fair with blue eyes and long blond hair, even the males. They reminded me of a smaller version of the Watchers. Each was wearing a pair of rough leather pants and a crisp white top. The leader’s pants had a gold stripe down each leg.

“State your purpose,” the leader said as he took a step forward. I wondered where everyone else was, and how those rods looked painful.

“I asked you a question. Do you understand what I am saying?”

“I do,” I said, trying to buy some time. Maybe the others would arrive any moment?

“Good, what are you doing here?”

I figured honesty would be the best way to approach this. “I’m looking for a book.”

The leader narrowed his eyes. “Is this a jest?” He took another step forward, unsure of the threat I posed. He didn’t seem the type to have a sense of humor and I wasn’t about to start telling jokes.

“No, my group and I are looking for a specific book.”

He looked around me for a few seconds then looked directly at me, clearly displeased. “What group?”

What group indeed, that was my last thought before he hit me with his rod. Then everything went black.

I woke up feeling pain, everything ached. Whatever that rod was, it was serious in the pain department. I looked around. I was in what appeared to be an infirmary of sorts. As I tried to sit up, I realized I was strapped in. This was not good. After a few futile attempts, I realized I wasn’t going anywhere. I took in the room. There were ten beds—all of them empty, except mine. The room was bathed in natural light, or what I guessed passed as natural light. The design of the room, floor and door matched the corridor I was in earlier, so I assumed I was still in the same building. The room had a faint lavender smell to it and come to think of it, so did the hallway before I encountered what I decided to call the hallway monitors. Since I was strapped in with nowhere to go, I tried to connect with Maelstrom.  There was nothing, just a large hole, a void where I always felt it to be. Had I rid myself of the weapon? Strangely, I missed its presence.

“What you are feeling is an effect of the auric flail,” said a female voice. I turned to look and found her across from my bed. She was the same height as the hallway monitors, same blond hair, and same blue eyes. I wondered if they were all related. She was also strikingly beautiful. She was dressed in white and I guessed she was some kind of doctor. After my initial shock at seeing her by my side, I tried to get my mouth to work.

“The what?”

“The flail is designed to disrupt chi flow in a target. The effect is unpredictable. It can be hours or days before your flow is restored, without assistance.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Mia and I am the director of this area.” She spread her arms wide to indicate the infirmary.

“Maybe I should ask the most pressing question—where am I?” She looked at me seriously for a moment.

“Don’t you know?” I gave her a blank look to indicate that at this point I didn’t know much of anything.  “This is most odd,” she said. “You are in the medical facility of the complex that houses the Akashic Records. You are the first visitor we have had in one hundred years.”

I let that sink in for a moment. At least now I understood the hostility. But where was everyone else, did something go wrong? Were they lost somewhere?

Thoughts raced through my head. “I have to go. I need to find the others.” Though how I was going to do this escaped me. “You have been found trespassing. I can treat you but I cannot release you.”

“Oh, I think you will find that his release will be very possible.” It was a voice I recognized, but never expected to hear. I turned my head in the direction of the voice and there stood Devin.

For a moment, I swore I was imagining him. He strode over to the bed and made a quick gesture with his hand. I felt the straps undo themselves and Mia gasped. “You can’t!” she said.

“I must,” answered Devin. I was still in shock so I had no words to express my surprise. I’m pretty sure it was evident on my face though. “We need to go, now.” And he grabbed me by the wrist. He was dressed all in black. It looked like silk. Every time the light hit his clothing, it danced and rippled as if on water. There were flecks of gold interwoven into the fabric that glittered every time he moved. He still looked the same and I mentally recalled the last time I saw him; he was fighting for his life.

“How did you -?” I managed, before the scent of lavender permeated the room.

“They’re coming,” he said and turned to face the door. He looked briefly at Mia, who held her hands up. “I had to. I would be tortured if I didn’t.”

Devin approached her then. “I understand.”

He placed a hand on her forehead and she passed out. He placed her gently on a bed.

“She called them?”

He nodded. “All the Sherfym have the ability to communicate telepathically, it makes them very difficult to fight.”

“Who are the Sherfym?” I asked.

“Later, right now we need to leave this area.” He headed for the door as I stood there. Something seemed off. Why would Devin appear now, and how did I know this was really Devin?

“I know you have a lot of questions right now. I can assure you I’m here to help you. You can come with me or take your chances with the Black Lotus on your own. Its your choice.” I figured it was better than being strapped to a bed, so I followed him.

“Stay close to me, we won’t be invisible, but we will be very hard to see.”

I stood next to him as he clasped his hands together and said something under his breath. As I looked at my hands, I saw they were transparent. I looked up to see, or in this instance to not see, Devin beside me. He was a vague outline, and I was able to see the wall behind him, well, through him.

“Let’s go,” he whispered. The smell of lavender filled the hallway and I thought I heard footsteps. We stopped suddenly at an intersection and hugged the wall. Two groups of five ran past us, headed I guessed to the infirmary. We went down several corridors that way, moving quickly at times and coming to dead stops at others. After a while I was completely disoriented and hoped that Devin knew where he was going. He stopped walking and looked around, placing his hand along the walls. “It should be here somewhere,” I heard him mutter. Faintly I detected the smell of lavender.

“Devin?” I whispered.

“I smell them too, Dante. One moment.” I didn’t think we had many moments left.

“Ah! There it is!” He pressed on a wall and it slid in and to the side silently. “Come on!” He stepped in and I followed. The wall/door slid back into place silently. “We just bought ourselves some time. I don’t think they will check the storage areas for a while, no one outside the Records really knows about these rooms.” The words came rushing out. “How, what, how did you?” He held up his hand.

“First things first, we need to restore your balance, that is what Sherfym are tracking, the trace of the flail.” He sat on the floor and motioned for me to do the same. He closed his eyes and placed his hands, palms in as if praying.

“Focus your chi, Dante.” I tried. It felt like falling into a vast open area and said as much.

“Keep trying.” I reached inward again for what seemed an eternity, I felt nothing and was about to give up, when something tugged at me.

“Yes! That’s it, focus on that,” he whispered.

I focused all my awareness on that sensation. The only way I could describe it is like finding an island after hours of swimming in the open ocean. It felt solid; it felt like peace, like home. I grabbed onto it with all my will and felt an explosion of energy within, unlike anything I had felt before. “That should do it.” He smiled but he sounded exhausted. I felt different as well. I felt whole. When I reached in, I found the familiar sensation of Maelstrom deep within, stirring.

“We have some more time, now that you aren’t a homing beacon,” he said, the tiredness creeping in to his voice. I looked around. We were in what appeared to be a large closet. It was mostly empty, save except some carts and ladders I assumed were for the Records area proper.

“How did you find me?”

“What makes you think I ever lost you?”

“What do you mean?” He gave me a look as if I missed some important lesson at some point. “It means that outside of death, I will have knowledge of where you are, as your Senpai.”

“But that means —” The realization dawned on me.

“Yes, I am being hunted as you are. Apparently you are too much of a threat to be allowed to live.”

I tried to think of this logically and then another thought hammered into me. “Devin, don’t you have a Senpai?”

His face darkened for a moment. “I did. He is no longer alive on this or any other plane.” For a moment, he looked grim. Then his expression changed. “I sense your weapon has manifested. Have you learned to control it?”

I shook my head. “That was the whole purpose of coming here. Samir was looking for a book.”

He looked at me and asked, “Who is Samir?’

“The others! Devin, we have to find the others! Meja, Zen, Kal, Samir, he’s the syllabist, Sylk and Mara!”

“You found an actual syllabist? What kind of weapon did you manifest?” Then as if dawning slowly, he clenched his teeth and grabbed me by the shoulder. It felt like my arm was in a vise. “Did you say Sylk?” He must have seen me wince because he let up on my arm slightly.

“Yes, Sylk the Karashihan. Although he isn’t that anymore,” and I explained what had happened since I last saw him. He was sitting quietly as if analyzing all I had told him.

“Truly you have been in the midst of some very interesting circumstances. Someone went through great pains to separate you from the group.”

“What do you mean? I got here to the Records. It’s the group that never made it.”

“Actually, have you considered that the Akashic Records would not have a need for an infirmary?” He let the question hang there until the realization hit me.

“But Mia, the doctor, she said —”

“They have a limited ability to read non-Sherfym minds, she merely picked up thoughts from your mind. Anything that would keep you docile. Her job was to keep you there until you were picked up. The question is, by whom?”

“So where are we?”

“This is a Sherfym stronghold. It’s not even on your plane, at least not often. The Sherfym are distant relations to the Watchers you ran into, nowhere near as powerful but dangerous in their own right. Even more so in their own stronghold and plane, which I’m guessing we aren’t in yet, or we would have been overrun.”

“How do we get out of here?”

“We can’t —that is, we can’t just yet. We have to wait until whoever wants you comes and gets you. Then leave with them.”

“But that means –”

“Yes, we need to wait. I will have to mask your flow so it seems as if it’s still interrupted or else they will hit you again. Then we see who will visit you.”

“Won’t Mia remember?”

“She shouldn’t, not if I did it right,” he said more to himself than to me. We made our way back to the hallway that led to the infirmary, when the smell of lavender encircled us. We both looked at each other and ran. As we entered the infirmary, I noticed Mia was still in the bed where Devin had placed her.

“Quickly!” he whispered. I jumped into the bed and he readjusted the straps.

“Don’t say anything,” he cautioned, “and whatever you do, do not manifest your chi.” I understood the implications. He turned and looked towards the door. “I’ll be close, don’t worry.” Every time I heard those words they had the exact opposite effect.

CAPTURE

“MY MASTER WILL be most displeased if he is not here.” I overheard the voices in the hall as I feigned sleep. Mia was stirring and I heard her get up.

“Oh my head,” she moaned. She came over to my side and gently shook me.

As I opened my eyes I could see she was struggling with a headache.

“Wake up. They have come for you.”

“Who? Who has come for me?”

“I do not know. I was only instructed to keep you here. Oh my head. Please excuse me a moment.” I sensed rather than saw the group enter the room. A tall dark figure dominated the group. He stood at least six feet tall, which meant he dwarfed the Sherfym. His jet black hair hung straight and framed his face. He seemed to be of average build but his movements spoke of an underlying strength that rested beneath the surface. He wore a form fitting garment that was similar to what monitors wore, except his were black. Something about him reminded me of Sylk. It had to be his composure and carriage. If he wasn’t royalty, he was the closest thing to it. He turned away from the Sherfym he was speaking to, the same one that hit me initially.

“Is this the one” the Sherfym asked.  Tall, dark and scary looked me over, the same way a wolf might look at its next meal.

“Yes, yes I do believe it is.” He handed over a small satchel to the Sherfym leader. The Sherfym bowed and left the room. The leader however turned at the door. “Be wary. Great power resides in that one.” He bowed and left the room.

REASONS

“I CAN SENSE you’re awake, so let’s just stop the pretending.” I opened my eyes fully.

“Let’s keep the straps on for a moment, shall we?” He sat at the foot of my bed as if he were a relative visiting an ill member of the family.

“I’m certain you have many questions, yes?”

“You could say that.”

He looked at me expectantly. “Well?” he said, fixing me with a look that meant I should be asking my questions.

“Who are you?” He waved his hand at me as if waving the question away. “Surely you can do better than that.”

I remained still and thought. “Why me? Why are you chasing me?”

“Excellent! A much better question, don’t you think? Why you, indeed. It had been the question I had been asking myself from the beginning. You were sent to the warriors because you are unique. So unique in fact that many prefer you dead than alive.” He paused.

“Which group do you belong to?” I asked warily.

“Right now I belong to the group that prefers you breathing; the interesting part is that there are a few of that same group that would rather you stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Breathing, am I not being clear? Never mind, suffice it to say you are to remain among us for the time being.”

“So, what makes me so unique?” I asked, trying to stall the inevitable.

“You see, Dante, I may call you Dante? It’s not just the fact that you can manifest a powerful weapon, one of the three foci. It’s what you will be able to do with that weapon once you have ascended.”

“Ascended, ascended to what?”

“Hmm, they didn’t tell you? I swear, these warriors of the Way are getting sloppy.”

“I didn’t have much time for training, what with being hunted.”

“Well, there is that. Very well, to truly master your weapon, you have to become completely merged with it, no barriers, and no compartments. You and your weapon are one, an extension of each other.”

I didn’t like where this was going but I remained silent. “So does this require some special training?”

“You could say that.”

“What do you mean?” He stood up and started removing items from his pockets and placing them around me on the bed. They were small spheres, opaque and grey. “This should make your trip a bit easier and prevent any detours —know what I mean?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I know, Dante, and frankly I’m not certain you are going to like the answer. Are you sure you want it?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation.

“Of course you would,” he said. “Very well but before I continue, understand that this is what I have learned from research and not first hand. Be that as it may, it’s very reliable.”

I nodded. He sat on the bed directly across from me so I had to turn my head right to look at him.

“Long ago, and I mean hundreds of years ago, there were many Ascendants, both guardians and warriors. Over time, it was being noted that the number of Ascendants were diminishing, nothing great at first but after many years, it became more and more pronounced.”

“What caused it?”

“No one knows for certain. Some say bloodlines were involved, others say it was a scheme of the first Karashihan. Whatever the cause, the end result was less and less Ascendants.” I looked at him quizzically.  “Oh yes, you wouldn’t know —well without enough Ascendants the barriers of a plane, any plane, collapse. Which means easy access, no need for portals or mirrors, basically the front door is open, so is the back door, the side doors too.”

“That can’t be good.”

“No it isn’t, at least for the inhabitants of the plane in question. So a plan was formed to create ascendants, sort of breed them. Whenever a warrior or guardian exhibited the correct traits or abilities, he would be a candidate for Ascension. Many never overcame the first part of the process and after some time it was stopped once a stabilizing number of ascendants were created.”

“Why start again?”

“Well, ascendants are notoriously hard to kill. They aren’t immortal, just long lived, not to mention incredibly skilled fighters. Lately someone or something has found a way to kill Ascendants. This is not a good thing, considering the entities that would enjoy your plane.”

“And that first part that many failed to overcome?”

“Oh that, yes, you have to die.”

ROMAN

“I HAVE TO what!?” Panic began a little dance in my stomach.

“Obviously it’s not permanent. Think of it as a reset of sorts.”

“A reset of sorts? You mean I have to die, be dead? And this is a reset of sorts?”

“Hey, you asked. I was quite content to just deliver you, ignorance intact.”

“Deliver me where?” I asked off-handedly.

He smiled. “That’s not for me to divulge at this moment, I’m afraid.”

“Fine.” I didn’t think it would work but it was worth a try. “Let’s get back to the dying part. Why do I need to die, and how is this done?”

He checked his watch and nodded to himself as if making certain of something. “Throughout time and cross culturally, this component of ritual death has existed. You are familiar with the concept, yes?”

I nodded, too stunned to even form words.

“Good, well it turns out they were on to something. The entire process of death and revival, under the right circumstances can create or at least trigger Ascension.”

This had to be some twisted nightmare. “How many Ascendants are needed to keep the barriers intact?”

He narrowed his eyes and looked at me. “That is the best question you have asked so far.”

“The answer being?”

“Well from what I have heard, it’s 100 per plane, although I have other numbers, 100 comes up more often than not.”

“What happens if it falls below that number?”

“Ah, this is the interesting part. After the threshold number is reduced, things go crazy. Instability becomes rampant and the plane barriers are diminished enough to allow unrestricted access. We start getting visitors we would rather not have, mostly unpleasant visitors.”

“What does any of this have to do with me?”

“I was getting to that. Every so often the warrior or guardian being ushered into ascendancy develops a special quality. They are able to facilitate ascendancy in others. Those are called Core Ascendants. You could imagine how pivotal it would be to have an Ascendant of that caliber on your side.”

“So a core Ascendant can basically create or help create other Ascendants?”

“Well that’s a gross oversimplification, but something like that.”

“So there you go I’m sure there are core Ascendants left, right?

“Of the hundred or so Ascendants on your plane, a number that I am certain has decreased, only five were Core Ascendants. Out of those five, three are dead; one is missing and is not even on the plane.”

“What about the last one?”

“She is the one that sent me.”

“Why?”

“Surely you aren’t this obtuse. She thinks you could be an Ascendant, more importantly she thinks you may be a core.”

“Me? A Core Ascendant? I don’t think so.”

“It’s no longer up to you to decide. You have many people counting, depending on what you could become.”

“I think you are leaving some things out, Roman.” It was Devin. Was that his name or was he at some point an actual Roman?

Roman turned to where Devin stood at the rear of the room. “Devin, I was wondering when you would show.”

“Tell him, Roman; tell him the part you left out.”

Roman turned to face me. “It’s inconsequential really, considering the greater good.”

“Tell him or I will.”

Roman sighed. “Very well, there is a small matter, actually a small chance that the Ascension will suppress your persona to the extent that your weapon, not you, will remain in control.”

“And?” said Devin.

“And there are quite a few interested parties that would like this to occur.”

“So aside from having to die and be brought back, somehow I also run the risk of completely being controlled by my weapon.”

“See? He understands and I daresay he is facing it rather well,” said Roman.

They both turned to look at me.

“No, I don’t think that is something I am going to take rather well,” I said

Roman stood and walked over to the doorway. He turned to face me. “I’m afraid I’m not offering you a choice. You will have to come with me.”

“This is not going to happen,” Devin said as he undid the straps holding me down.

Roman looked on with a pleased expression. “Are you saying that you are going to stop me?”

“Roman, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“You realize I’m here under Aurora’s request and that if I fail it only means she will be angry and more determined.”

Devin said nothing.

“You know you are no match for me. We have established this countless times.”

“Maybe I’m just hard-headed.”

Roman shook his head as he pulled his sleeves tight to his forearms. “Devin, Devin, Devin, you would throw your life away today?  We aren’t sparring, I will show you no quarter.”

“None expected, Roman.” Devin’s face was grim.

“Let us see if you have improved from our last meeting.”

Devin stepped into an open space on the other side of the room.

“I will finally put you out of your misery Devin, and I will enjoy this,” whispered Roman.

“Roman, you talk too much,” Devin said as his hands began to glow.

FINAL GAMBIT

I MADE A move to get closer to Devin, but he stopped me with a stare downwards at the spheres on the bed surrounding me, and shook his head. As he drew closer to Devin, Roman removed his outer cloak, revealing a defined physique. It was obvious Roman trained, very hard. He paused a moment to speak to me. “I would suggest against any sudden movements. The spheres around you are keyed to your chi energy. They function as a type of retriever, in the extremely unlikely event of Devin defeating me, you will be sent to Aurora immediately. Just sit tight; this will be over soon enough.” He turned to Devin, looking almost bored. “Are you ready?”

The glow that was around his hands now coursed over Devin’s entire body. It looked as if he were in the middle of an electrical field.

“Is that new, Devin?” Devin remained silent and then disappeared. He reappeared slightly behind Roman as a blur, disappearing an instant later as Roman turned to swing his arm where Devin was only moments before. Devin reappeared again, slamming a palm into Roman’s chest. Roman managed to get his arm up in time, but only barely. The blow sent Roman sliding back four feet. Roman shook his arm as if shaking off the strike.

“That was impressive. Seems you have been making good use of your time, Devin.”

“I have,” Devin said as he prepared to launch another series of attacks. This time Roman was prepared and evaded or blocked each of Devin’s attacks, with a greater margin of ease. I could see Devin begin to sweat, while Roman looked as if he were engaging in some leisure activity. That was when I felt the shift. I sensed something subtle change within Devin. It seemed like Roman sensed it as well. He was no longer taking Devin’s attacks lightly. The flow that surrounded Devin had disappeared but I could feel the energy roiling the air around him. His hands were glowing blue and Roman was having a difficult time staying out of range.

The first clean strike was a knife hand to Roman’s inner thigh. He grunted in pain. Devin followed the strike with a percussive set of strikes to Roman’s body. I could hear the ribs break as Devin struck Roman. He finished his attack, evading a lunging strike by ducking and spinning a back fist into the side of Roman’s head, sending him across the floor to land sprawled on his back. Roman stood up. I could see the blood in the corners of his mouth, indicating internal damage. His face was bruising rapidly where Devin had struck. He spit on the floor, a mixture of blood and saliva. Then he started laughing.

“I haven’t felt this good in years! This is excellent! Allow me to return the favor!” In his hands a double headed hammer coalesced. It looked like a long dumbbell but rather than the ends being round, each was a rectangular block. Symbols covered each of the hammer’s heads. Each head was black and seemed to siphon the light around it. The symbols were a deep blue. The shaft between each of the hammers was silver and reflected the light as if it was glowing. Getting hit by that weapon did not seem like a good idea. Roman wiped the blood from his face and with a smile lunged at Devin. Devin clasped his hands together as Roman smashed into him. A bluish green light filled the room, blinding me. I turned my face to avoid the glare. When it subsided, I saw both Roman and Devin were sweating freely now. Devin however was breathing heavily as if he were exerting himself..

“A shield Devin, how quaint. You know this can’t last,” Roman said as he struck at Devin. Each time the hammer struck an invisible barrier, I noticed the light from each strike grew dimmer and it seemed Devin became weaker. When it seemed that Roman had broken through and his barrier was gone, Devin ran to where I sat.

“Time for you to go!”  he said with difficulty, in between breaths.

“What about —” I turned to see Roman moving slower than normal.

“What he thought was a shield was really a temporal catalyst. Each time he hit it, it displaced time around him in very small increments. With each strike that amount grew exponentially.”

“Is he stuck?”

“No, he will come out of the temporal trap in about sixty seconds or so. That’s plenty of time to get you out of here.”

“What about you? You’re coming?”

“I can’t. If I release the trap too early it will unravel and envelop me.”

“How are you holding it intact?” He gave me a grim smile. “The temporal trap is a last ditch effort, Dante. Right now, my chi is what is keeping him in place. Once time runs out, I’m done. I’ll be lucky if I could stand, much less fight him.”

“There has to be a way, there is always a way.”

“There is, the way is to get you back to Meja and the group. My journey along this path is complete, Dante. You on the other hand, have much to do.”

I couldn’t believe this. I refused to believe it. While speaking, Devin had disabled the spheres around me and had manipulated one so that it became a dull blue.

“This one will take you to Meja. The instant the trap winds down, you press here.” He indicated a slight depression in the sphere. “I’ve already set the other spheres to destroy themselves. You must do this, Dante. Don’t worry about me. I’ll find a way out.” We both knew it was a lie. He went back to where Roman stood and put both hands on the hammer. “Remember, Dante, as soon as the trap runs down, not a moment before.”

I nodded my head, my voice caught in my throat.

“I’ll see you soon, Dante.” He didn’t look at me as he spoke. I felt the air around us charge and then thump as Roman emerged from the temporal trap.

“Very elegant Devin, a temporal trap, disguised as a shield. Surely you didn’t make that one on your own.”

“Go to hell, Roman.”

Roman chuckled. “Devin, it’s where I vacation, didn’t you know?”

Devin sagged against Roman. “Now you die.” Roman pulled the hammer, and Devin, in a semi-circle. Twisting the hammer, he wrenched it free from Devin’s grip. He rotated with blinding speed driving the hammer into Devin’s midsection. I heard a sickening crunch as I knew several ribs were broken. Devin bent double as he coughed up blood. Roman slammed the hammer into his back, crushing it. Devin’s legs crumpled beneath him. He looked up at me, fire burning in his eyes. “Now!”

As Roman brought the hammer down for the final blow, I pressed the sphere. I felt the air around me compress. I turned to see Roman, his face livid with rage. He brought the hammer down on Devin’s broken body several times, and then he turned to me.  He was becoming indistinct. “I will find you, Dante. On that you can rest assured.” Then the spheres detonated and everything became white.

REUNION

“HE’S COMING TO.” For a moment all I could see was the hammer coming down over and over again. The image burned into my brain. A face came into focus: Meja.

“For a moment, I thought we lost you.”

“Where are we?” Meja looked at me quizzically. “What do you mean, where are we? We have just arrived at the Akashic Records. Where did you think you were?”

“I saw Devin.” I couldn’t have dreamt that.

“Devin? How, when? You never left my side.”

“I did. Some guy named Roman –”

“Did you say Roman?” It was Sylk.

“Yes, he…” I couldn’t look at Meja. “He killed Devin, said something about some woman named Aurora and Ascendants. It’s all jumbled at the moment.”

Sylk looked apprehensive. “If Aurora is involved we have just attracted the wrong kind of attention.”

“Is this the same one from the passage? Who is she?” I asked.

“I can’t go into more detail. Not now, we really don’t have time. Samir, did you find it?”

“I found it, extricating it will be another matter,” said Samir, running his hands through his hair.

“Leave that to me. We must make haste. Time has become our enemy now. Guardian, gather up the Warrior. Everyone else stay close. The Akashic Records are more treacherous than what appears on the surface.”

I tried to stand and found that my legs were no longer receiving signals from my brain, “What the hell?”

“It can be a side effect of wave ride, an unforeseen detour can sometimes cause shorts in the electrical system of the brain. Your body just needs some time to readjust. Unfortunately, time is the one thing we have precious little of.” Sylk looked down at me, sadness in his eyes. He turned to Meja. “My sympathies, Monitor. If Devin was facing Aurora’s enforcer, his was a path destined to end. No one has defeated Roman’s infernal hammer.”

Meja, tears in her eyes, turned away.

“We’d better get moving then,” she said thickly.

Zen picked me up like a sack of potatoes. “You okay, D?” he whispered. I couldn’t answer. How would I ever tell Meja that Devin sacrificed himself for me? Even now the truth of it pressed heavily on my chest. I had to tell them what was going on with the Ascendants, and what we were up against. How would I explain it all? More importantly how would I keep them safe, especially Meja? All these questions plagued me as we entered the hallway that led to the Akashic Records. I looked at Meja, my heart breaking with her pain. I knew I would die before I let anything cause her any more pain. I vowed to end this and get her away someplace safe. Deep within, I heard a laugh. It was Maelstrom.

“Let’s see what it will take to keep that vow, vessel. I look forward to it.”

BOOK 2

THE ASCENDANTS

ONE

THE DOJO SMELLED of sweat and old wood. The morning sun glistened on the hardwood floor creating pools of brilliance. In the center of the floor stood a figure. His white hair was cut short. His gnarled hands clasped gently in meditation rested on the knot of his obi the belt that designated him as the sensei of the school. His uniform hid his frame, muscled from years of extreme training. His breaths were so measured it seemed he wasn’t breathing.

Every morning he stood there, waiting for the sun to rise. As the sunlight touched his feet, he exploded in movement. His body moved with grace and power. Each strike was precise and deadly. He did this kata a prearranged set of movements every day since he learned it three hundred years ago. It was in his body now. He no longer needed to think about the movements. They flowed of their own volition. A dance of life and death. He finished his last move facing away from the entrance as another figure entered the dojo.

He was taller than the sensei. His long black hair was tied into a ponytail. Two swords were strapped to his back, the hilts of which protruded past his shoulders, giving the impression of horns. He stepped onto the dojo floor, his leather boots creaking softly. His every step spoke menace.

“I see you haven’t lost your ability, sensei,” said the figure.

The sensei spoke without turning. With his senses expanded he knew it was Rael.

“That title is no longer applicable to you. How did you escape?”

“Funny thing, that. It seems ascendants are dying, sensei,” said Rael.

The sensei remained motionless.

“Dying or being killed?”

“Does it matter? The end result is the same and here I am,” said Rael with a mock bow.

“You will go back, Harbinger,” said the sensei in a quiet voice.

“Are you going to send me? Are you strong enough?” said Rael as he unsheathed his swords. Dark blue energy enveloped the blades, crackling with power. The smell of burning metal filled the dojo as he extended his arms to the side.

“Our strength does not diminish with age. You most of all should know that.”

The sensei turned to face Rael. He held a folded metal fan in each hand.

“Where is he, sensei? The one who carries the weapon?”

“He is not here.” The sensei flicked his wrists, opening the fans.

“But you know where he is,” said Rael. “All of you are connected on some level. You know where he is.”

He brought his swords to his sides and the energy arced between them, setting off small lightning strikes across the dojo floor.  Rael approached the sensei, gliding forward with unnatural speed, his fans giving off silver light as he advanced. Rael slashed with both swords, crossing them. Flicking a fan closed as he ducked, the sensei stopped the attack, immobilizing Rael’s forearms. Energy bathed them as Rael twisted back, out of the hold.

“Stop this, Rael,” said the sensei as he stepped back. “You cannot help your master. It would be the end of everything.” Rael took a defensive stance, his swords burning the air around them.

“Help him? You say that like I have a choice. He owns me, sensei. Just tell me where Dante is. I know you know.”

“I cannot.”

“Before you die today, you will.”

Rael stepped back and sheathed his swords as three figures entered the dojo. Standing seven feet tall, their muscular bodies rippled with dark energy as they stepped onto the dojo floor. Two of them held metal spheres attached to a chain, the third held a little girl.

“Grandpa, are these big men your friends?” said the little girl.

“Her parents?” asked the sensei.

Rael walked over and took the little girl’s hand and squatted down to look in her eyes. A chain and bell materialized in the giant’s hand as she let go.

“They didn’t make it,” said Rael. “Did you know her father was an ascendant?”

The sensei narrowed his eyes.

“Gyrevex,” said the sensei. “You dared to summon them?”

“I wonder if she is an ascendant?” said Rael as he stroked her hair. Rael walked over to the Gyrevex nearest him, tapping him on the chest as he spoke.

“Turns out I didn’t need three of these,” said Rael. “One of them is like an army, unfeeling, uncaring. Practically impossible to stop. He gave me three—talk about overkill.”

“She is not part of this. Let her go,” said the sensei.

“If she was an ascendant it would be too early to tell. What’s your name, sweetheart?” Rael said as he crouched down to speak to her.

“Nina,” answered the girl. “Are you going to hurt my grandpa?”

“Well, Nina, here is the thing. Your grandpa has a secret, but he doesn’t want to share it with me. You like secrets?”

Nina nodded slowly. Rael looked at the sensei as he spoke.

“Well, if grandpa tells me his secret I promise to let him go.  How old are you, Nina?”

“Four.”

“Do you like ice cream? I love ice cream. Do you want to get some while grandpa plays with my friends?”

At the mention of ice cream, Nina’s face lit up with expectation. Rael stood up and spoke to the Gyrevex.

“He has information I need. Extract it.”

The sensei took a step forward. The three Gyrevex turned to the sensei. Rael spoke without turning.

“I wouldn’t. Innocent eyes shouldn’t have to see bloodshed. Don’t you agree, sensei?”

The sensei stood still. The three Gyrevex remained facing the sensei, their attention fixed.

“All you had to do was tell me. You caused this, remember that. Let’s go, Nina. Do you like chocolate?”  Nina grabbed Rael’s hand as they left the dojo. The Gyrevex fanned out and began to spin their metal spheres.

“Very well, then,” said the sensei. “A life for a life.”

The sensei opened his fans with a flick. The metallic sound echoed through the dojo over the whirr of the spinning spheres. The sensei focused his chi and his fans flared bright silver. The first Gyrevex let his sphere go. The sensei twisted his body sideways. The sphere, called a bell flew past him. He immediately bent forwards to avoid the second bell that came from behind. The third Gyrevex stayed back, observing. With a tug, both Gyrevex pulled their bells back. I need to get rid of these bells, thought the sensei. The first Gyrevex was spinning his bell overhead, while the second spun his to the side of his body. They attacked simultaneously. The first aimed for his head, while the second came in low trying to break his legs. The sensei leapt into the air, avoiding both attacks. The third Gyrevex attacked then, sending his bell directly at the sensei. Too late, the sensei realized the tactic. He brought up his fans to shield his body from the bell. The bell struck his chest. The force of its impact was dispersed by his fans. Two, maybe three ribs broken, he thought as he was flung back across the dojo floor. He stood slowly as they closed on him. The first attacked, sending his bell straight at the sensei. The sensei turned around the attack, allowing the bell to pass behind him before he brought his fan down and severed the chain. The bell continued its trajectory and smashed into a wall, cratering it. Blood trickled from the sensei’s mouth. He wiped it away using his sleeve. Have to end this quickly, he thought. He closed the distance on the first Gyrevex, who stood momentarily confused at the loss of his bell. It was all the time he needed. His fans a blur, the sensei attacked. The Gyrevex fell, dead before hitting the ground. He sensed the second bell before he saw it. Closing a fan and tucking it into his top he slid back, narrowly avoiding the attack. As it reached the end of its chain, he grabbed hold and sliced through. He let the bell fall several feet before rotating his body and returning it to its owner. It hit the Gyrevex with a sickening crunch. One more, he thought as a bell crashed into his side. Moments later the dojo door opened.

*****

Rael walked in to see the sensei on the floor. The last Gyrevex towered over him, spinning his bell.

“Stop. I told you I needed information from him.” The Gyrevex stepped back, the bell disappearing.

“Unstoppable, but not too bright.”  Rael looked around the dojo and took in the scene. “Seems like I needed three after all,” he said.

He crouched down near the sensei. The damage was extensive and he cursed under his breath.

“Where is Dante, sensei? Where is the weapon bearer?”

The sensei, barely conscious, looked at Rael.

“Nina.”

“A life for a life, sensei. No harm will come to her if you tell me, on my word.”

The sensei sighed and closed his eyes. Too late, the old man is gone, goddammit, thought Rael. He stood with venom in his eyes and looked at the last Gyrevex, who stood impassively to the side.

“Rael…” whispered the sensei.

Rael turned back to the broken body of the man he once knew as his teacher.

“On your word…”

“She will be safe until she comes of age and into her abilities, on my word. Where is he?” Lucius is going to kill me for this, he thought.

“The records, the Akashic Records,” said the sensei. Moments later the sensei breathed his last. Rael stood looking at the Gyrevex.

“Well, damn. I’m going to need more than three of you to get in there. Let’s go, we have a warrior to kill,” he said as he walked to the exit. The Gyrevex trailed close behind.

Rael left the dojo and his past behind him.

TWO

“HE’S COMING TO,” said a voice behind me.

For a moment all I could see was the hammer coming down over and over. Everything was blurry, and then a face came into focus: Meja.

“I thought we lost you,” she said.

“Where are we?” I asked as I looked around at the group. Closest to me was Meja. Standing behind her were Zen and Kal. To the side stood Sylk and Samir looking over what appeared to be a map. Beside Sylk stood Mara at guard as usual.

“What do you mean where are we? We just arrived at the Akashic Records. Where do you think we are?”

“Devin, I saw Devin.” Did I dream that? It was too real, I thought.

She grabbed my hand. “Devin? How did you see him? You never left my side,” she said.

“I did. We were attacked by someone named Roman. He had a huge hammer,” I said.

“Did you say Roman?” It was Sylk.

“Yes, I saw him attack Devin.”  I don’t want to say he killed him. Can anyone survive that many blows?

“He mentioned someone named Aurora and kept saying something about how the ascendants were in danger,” I said.

Sylk looked apprehensive.

“If Aurora is involved we have attracted the wrong kind of attention,” he said.

“Who is she?” I asked. I was still shaken up from my trip. Sylk turned to face Samir.

“Not now—we don’t have time. Samir, did you find it?”

“I found it,” said Samir. “Extricating it will be another matter entirely.”

“Leave that to me. We must make haste. Time is our enemy now. Guardian, gather up the warrior. Everyone else stay close. The Records are more treacherous than they seem.”

I tried to stand and found my legs unresponsive. Sylk stood over me.

“It can be an effect of a prolonged wave-ride,” said Sylk. “An unforeseen detour can sometimes cause shorts in the electrical system of the brain. You just need some time to adjust. Unfortunately, time is the one thing we have precious little of.

Sylk turned to Meja. “My sympathies, monitor. If Devin was facing Aurora’s enforcer, his was a path destined to end. No one has defeated Roman’s infernal hammer.”

Meja, her eyes wet, turned away. “We’d better get moving, then,” she said thickly.

“Guardian, if you would be so kind,” said Sylk. “We need to make haste.”

Zen picked me up like a sack of potatoes and placed me over his shoulder.

“You okay, Dante?” Zen asked.

I couldn’t answer him. Devin had sacrificed himself for me. The image of Roman’s attack kept replaying in my head. How could I be a Warrior of the Way if I couldn’t keep them safe?  I looked at Meja, her pain piercing my own. Before us lay the entrance to the Akashic Records and the key to ending this. The master syllabist text held the answers I needed to control Maelstrom and face Lucius. I promised myself I would stop Lucius and keep my world safe. Even if it cost me everything.

Deep within me, I heard a laugh. It was Maelstrom.

Let’s see what it will take to keep that promise, vessel.

Sylk pushed open the door that led to an immense polished marble hallway. It was reminiscent of ancient Greek architecture with vaulted ceilings and large columns spaced along the hallway.

“What are these Akashic Records?” asked Zen as he looked around in wonder.

“This hallway will lead us there,” said Sylk. “The Records are the repository of all knowledge.”

“All knowledge, really?” said Zen. “How is that even possible?”

“Yes, really.  All knowledge is stored here, if I can even use the term ‘here’,” said Sylk.

The feeling was coming back into my legs, an extreme version of pins and needles. I grunted in pain as Zen put me down.

“What?” asked Zen.

“Feeling’s coming back,” I answered as I walked around.

“Are we in the mirror? Is this another plane?” I asked.

“Yes and no,” said Sylk. “The Records don’t exist in any fixed point in space or time. This place”— he swept his arm around—”is merely a construct, a placeholder, something to keep our minds from snapping at the vastness of information.

“So this is all an illusion?”  I placed a hand on the very real- feeling columns that towered above us.

“No, it exists like my location in the mirror. It is in-between.”

Sylk turned to Samir who was looking at a map. The diagram on the map shifted and wavered.

“Where is it?” asked Sylk.

Samir pointed to a location on the map he held. “There, through that area for the next few hours.”

Sylk grimaced. “Of course it would be there. Anything else would be easy,” he said.

Meja stepped over to Samir and looked at the map.

“What’s wrong? Where is this place?” she said.

Sylk turned to her. “To understand that is to understand the records itself. In this manifestation, we cannot just access any information. Some information, for example knowledge of future events, is beyond us,” he said.

“Is that where this is?” she asked.

“No, the syllabist master text we need has been lost for centuries, which makes it part of the past. The difficulty arose when we arrived here seeking it. By doing so we altered its state and made it part of the present of this place.”

“And that means?”

“As part of the present, the eternal now, so to speak, it falls under the dominion of Raja, the records keeper,” said Sylk.

“What, like a librarian?” asked Zen.

Samir put the map away, folding it neatly and carefully storing it in his pocket.

“Not merely a librarian,” said Samir. “Raja is a formidable deterrent for anyone who would attempt to remove information without being granted permission to do so.”

“So what is this Raja, a beast?” said Zen. We can handle this.”

Samir tightened his lips. “It is clear you do not understand, Guardian.”

“That…is very clear indeed,” said a voice from behind them. The voice was like gravel and sandpaper, and carried through the hallway with ease. Everyone turned to face the direction of the voice.

“This is Raja,” said Sylk.

Dressed in a charcoal grey suit, Raja looked like an older executive on his way to the office. His bronze skin contrasted with his white shirt, which was unbuttoned at the top. It gave him an air of casualness. His black hair, shot through with streaks of grey, was trimmed short. Ice blue eyes gleamed from behind silver rimmed glasses, which he pushed up the bridge of his nose.

I noticed that something was not what it appeared and was about to use my inner sight.

“No,” said Raja. His voice was laced with steel. “I strongly urge you to reconsider that course of action, warrior.”

The group turned to look at me.

“I just wanted to take a closer look,” I said.

“Using your inner sight on me would cause that delicate organ you call a brain much harm, resulting in what you call a psychotic break, splintering your mind. A condition I am certain you do not desire.”

“You can use your inner sight?” asked Zen.

“Yes, can’t you?”

Zen remained silent but shook his head as he looked at me with disbelief.

“What?” I asked.

“The acquisition and use of the inner sight takes approximately fifty to sixty years of a warrior’s life,” said Raja. “Since you are not close to that chronological age, your ability to do so is an anomaly. Hence the surprise from your companions.”

I looked around, confirming Raja’s words. Even Sylk looked somewhat surprised.

“Fine then, no inner sight. Who are you in relation to this place?” I asked.

“I am not a ‘who’ but a ‘what’. I, like this place you stand in, am an embodiment to facilitate your use of the records. I am information manifest.”

“You know everything?” asked Kal.

Raja turned to face Kal. “No, Kalysta, I am not omniscient, even though the amount of knowledge I do possess surpasses all of yours by several orders of magnitude. I am the eternal present, and as such, future events are beyond my sphere of influence.”

Samir cleared his throat and stepped forward. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke. “We seek the tome of language, the master syllabist text.”

“To what purpose, syllabist?”

“I must instruct the warrior in the use of the words of power, in order to restore balance and prevent the undoing of our plane.”

Raja stood still a moment as if considering Samir’s words.

“This is an acceptable request,” said Raja.

Samir exhaled slowly.

“There is, however, one condition,” said Raja.

“Yes?” said Samir as he winced.

“Once balance is restored, the warrior must spend one cycle with me.”

“How long is a cycle?” asked Zen.

“Ten years according to your time,” said Raja.

“Ten years!” shouted Zen. Sylk looked at him and he calmed down.

“This is Dante’s choice,” Sylk said. “We all will pay a price, some more than others.” Sylk looked at his arm.

“Are these terms acceptable to you, warrior?” said Raja.

I didn’t look forward to spending ten years with Raja in this place.

“Do the years have to be spent consecutively?” I asked. Maybe I could stretch this out over time.

“A valid question and the answer is yes. It is to be ten years sequentially given in exchange for the master syllabist text.”

I took some time to consider everything that was at stake. If I didn’t get that text I wouldn’t be able to control Maelstrom. Ascendants would be killed, and I wouldn’t be able to stop Lucius from taking over and destroying everything. Ten years seemed like a small price to pay.

“Yes, I accept this condition,” I said.

“Very well. Once balance is restored and your plane is no longer under threat, you will be brought here,” said Raja with finality.

Raja turned and walked down the hallway, his passage silent. He led the group to a very large door. Around the edge of the door were inscriptions that were foreign to me. I turned to Sylk and pointed.

“What do these symbols mean?”

He shook his head. “These symbols are beyond me.”

“Through this door lies the text you seek. Only the warrior can enter. If he is found worthy, he will return.”

“Found worthy by whom?” said Sylk. I could tell Sylk wasn’t pleased by this turn of events.

Raja stood still for another moment before answering.

“You have other matters to be concerned with,” said Raja as he pointed down the hallway. In the distance stood four figures and they were walking toward us.

“Dante, I think you’d better go get that book,” said Zen. “We will handle this.” I stepped to the door and grabbed the handle. Rather than open, I felt myself being pulled in until everything was black.

THREE

I FLOATED FOR what felt like an eternity until I landed on what seemed to be solid ground. In the distance I could see some light and headed in that direction.

So you would give ten years of your life to this being? It was Maelstrom.

If it means getting this book and learning to use you without sacrificing myself in the process, ten years is a bargain, I thought.

You do know I could teach you, vessel.

Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.

Perhaps in this place you can find out how to remove me, vessel. Think of it, no need for a book or risking your companions. Who knows what dangers they are facing right now, because of you. You know my words are sound.

No, we are getting this book to confront a greater threat. This isn’t about you and me.

Naïve little vessel, of course it is. You just haven’t realized it yet.

Before me stood another door. It was glowing in the dark, a soft hue of blues and greens. It stood there in the middle of the space I was in, not exactly inviting. I turned the handle, half expecting it to explode, and found myself in an immense library. Books covered each of the walls as far as I could see. Skylights were spaced along the ceiling and allowed a soft light to fall upon the books. I turned  and took in the entire space. The rows seemed endless.

“Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” I recognized the voice. It was my own and yet it was subtly different. Maelstrom.

I turned and saw an older version of myself sitting at a table with two books on it. He was dressed in a black cloak with red motifs. I looked closer and realized that the symbols were the inscriptions on the staff I wielded.

“Hello, Dante. You are here for this, I assume,” said Maelstrom. He placed his hand on an ornate book no larger than a paperback. From the writing on it that I could see, it was the master syllabist text.

“You,” I said.

“Yes, me. I’m the older, wiser version of you. The one that thinks this is a fool’s errand. I am the one tempered by time who knows that I should be looking for another book, perhaps this one?”

His hand rested on the other book on the table, roughly the same size and just as ornate.

“This book will rid you of that nasty voice inside your head. You know the one that keeps telling you to kill, destroy and maim others all in an effort to shorten your life. That way you and I can both be free.”

“I can’t,” I said.

“Can’t or won’t? It’s not complicated, Dante. You free yourself from the weapon and there go all your problems. Let someone else handle this world-saving business. You don’t need the stress.”

He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms as he looked at me.

“Don’t you want to be free?” he said. “You don’t deserve any of this. You didn’t ask for it— it was thrust upon you, unfairly I might add.”

“I’m a warrior.”

Maelstrom laughed.

“Don’t tell me you bought into that fairytale. Wake up, Dante!”  He slammed his hand on the table, startling me.

“I am awake. People need me. My world needs me,” I said, my voice lacking the conviction I felt in my heart.

“Do they need you? You the coward? You let Devin die for you.  You who can’t control his weapon? They need the you that is a menace to everyone and everything around him? You’re a failure before you’ve even begun. You’re pathetic,” he said.

He pushed back from the table and stood. The library disappeared and we stood in an open field.

“It seems like words alone won’t do this. Very well, I will show you how unnecessary you are.”

A black blade materialized in his hand.

“Time to end this, Dante.”

FOUR

THE DOOR CLOSED with a whisper behind Dante. Sylk turned to face the group approaching. As they drew closer, his face grew dark.

“What is it?” asked Mara, concern in her voice as she drew closer to Sylk.

“Those are Gyrevex, and the one leading them is…”

“Rael,” whispered Meja.

Sylk looked at Meja for a brief second.

“He is known as the Harbinger. You know him?” asked Sylk.

Meja nodded, her face grim.

“Blood Sylk, so good to see you again,” Rael said as he bowed. “Meja, you are keeping strange company these days.”

Meja manifested her sword, saying nothing.

“I see. Still beautiful and angry,” said Rael as he turned to Sylk.

As Sylk turned to face Rael, under his cloak his right arm glowed faintly.

“Harbinger, you are not welcome here.” If he is here, it’s only a matter of time before his master is free. If that happens, we have lost it all, thought Sylk. “How many did you kill to arrive here?”

“Who’s keeping track? You of all people know how that is,” said Rael.

“Those days have passed,” said Sylk.

“Come now, it wasn’t that long ago, was it? You forgot how you earned your name, Blood Sylk.”

“How? How did you manage it?” Sylk insisted.

“Enough ascendants die and the barrier grows weaker. I’m here to make sure it’s weak enough for him to get through,” said Rael.

“Consider your actions, Rael. You don’t have to do this. He will destroy us all, including you,” said Sylk in a measured tone.

“What makes you think I have a choice? Now, where is he? Where is the weapon bearer?”

“He is undergoing a trial, which must be completed,” said Sylk.

“Irrelevant. My task is to bring back the weapon bearer, alive. The rest of you” —he motioned with a hand—”are obstacles to be removed. Kill them, but leave the old one alive. Him, I want to speak to,” said Rael as he pointed to Sylk.

Raja stood off to the side observing as the Gyrevex began spinning their bells. Everyone except Raja backed away.

“What the hell are those things?” said Zen.

“Gyrevex, and the bells they are spinning weigh close to fifty pounds,” said Sylk. “They are chi weapons. Don’t let them hit you.”

“You forgot the part where you describe their unstoppable nature, how they don’t feel pain and are almost impossible to kill,” said Rael.

“We can do this without needless bloodshed, Rael,” said Sylk.

Rael held up his hand and the Gyrevex stopped spinning the bells.

“I’m listening,” said Rael.

“You defeat me and you can have the warrior. If I best you we leave here with safe passage,” Sylk said.

Rael remained silent a moment before a smile crept onto his face.

“If you beat me, I will allow you safe passage. When I defeat you I will take the warrior and maybe let my friends play with yours. If they try and save you or interfere in any way, I unleash them,” he said pointing to the Gyrevex. “Do we understand each other?”

“Perfectly,” said Sylk as he threw off his cloak and manifested his blade.

Rael drew his swords as Sylk approached, energy coursing through the blades.

“The last time we did this it didn’t go so well for you,” said Rael.

“That was a long time ago. I have learned a few things since then.”

Sylk sent his chi down into his sword and caused it to turn transparent. Around him small orbs materialized, circling his body.

“Why fight the inevitable? You know my master will triumph in the end. Don’t throw your life away. Join us,” said Rael.

Behind them the group had moved to the periphery of the hallway. Mara stepped over to Raja.

“Are you going to let them fight, in here?”

“Yes, regardless of the outcome, what Dante has begun must run its course. Whether he survives it has no bearing on this conflict,” said Raja.

“And if the Harbinger wins?” said Mara.

“That would be most unfortunate for your lord, I think.”

Mara remained silent.

FIVE

“THIS WILL BE over quickly, vessel.”

We were in an open field and he began circling me. It was ironic that at that moment I almost called on Maelstrom, but I felt empty. Even if I tried I knew what would happen.

He smiled at me then.

In that moment I remembered I wasn’t completely unarmed. I reached into my side for the hard rectangle, Mariko’s fan. I didn’t know how to use it properly, but anything was better than going up against him empty-handed. The black blade in his hand gave off wisps of dark energy. I knew I didn’t want to be cut by it.

Don’t give in to the fear, Dante.

It was Owl.

Easy to say, not so easy to do, Samadhi.

If you give in to the fear, then you will lose yourself.

How can I fight him?  I have no weapon except this fan.

You are a warrior of the way. The weapon does not make the warrior, it is the warrior that makes the weapon.

With those words Owl was gone. I no longer sensed his presence.  Maelstrom came at me then. I managed to parry the first thrust on instinct alone. Mariko’s fan was a lot stronger than it appeared. Something Owl said nagged at me, but dodging a sword intending on splitting me in two kept me from giving it much thought. I stayed out of reach as he circled me.

“You can’t hope to defeat me with a fan,” he said.

I didn’t answer, not trusting my voice. He was right— I was no match for him. No, that was the fear talking.

“What happened to our truce?” I asked as we circled each other.

“You are weak and a coward. I would rather roam the void than remain within such a vessel,” he said.

He slashed downward at my legs, a feint. Using the fan I blocked the slash and drove a palm heel at his solar plexus before he could execute the real attack, an upward strike meant to disembowel me. My strike unbalanced him, but he recovered instantly. He brushed the front of his cloak with his free hand.

“Why use a sword? Why not a jo?” I asked.

“Good question. Remind me to answer you as you lay dying,” he said as he lunged.

I backpedaled as the sword sliced through my shirt, cutting me on the left side. He pressed his advantage, slamming the side of my head with a back fist. My vision exploded with light. A series of punches followed and I knew he was toying with me. In the midst of the pain and helplessness, Owl’s words came back to me. It’s not the weapon that makes the warrior. It’s the warrior that makes the weapon. I make the weapon. Then it dawned on me. I rolled back away from the flurry of blows and directed my chi inward, calling Maelstrom. In my hands materialized my weapon, white and golden. I understood now. I was facing my darker self, the part of me Maelstrom wanted.

“That won’t help you,” he said.

“You mean it won’t help you,” I said as I ran toward him.

I slammed my jo down, intending to crush his skull. He brought up his sword in time to stop my attack, but left himself open to my secondary and real attack. With our weapons locked, I flicked open Mariko’s fan and sliced across his neck. Its razor sharp edge cut through him with ease. He fell back, grabbing his neck, but I saw no blood.  He fell to the ground and disappeared along with my weapon as I found myself in the library again. Two books sat on the table before me.

“Choose wisely, warrior. Even now your companions face death,” said Raja as he materialized beside me.

“What do you mean?”

“You can save them by removing the weapon, thus rendering you a non-threat and allowing another to shoulder the burden.”

“Or?”

“You can choose that book,” —he pointed at the master syllabist text— “ensuring that one or all of you may die in these halls.”

I grabbed the master syllabist text. It felt heavy, given the choice.

“Very well, the choice has been made,” said Raja. As he slowly faded away, his voice drifted over to me. “Prepare yourself ,warrior.”

The library filled with a fog and in a few moments all I could see was the nebulous white all around me. Several feet in front of me I thought I saw the outline of a door. I headed in that direction and found myself before the same door that led me here. I turned the handle and felt that same pulling sensation. Then everything went black.

SIX

I FELT LIKE I was being stretched in every direction. Then in a moment every sense felt heightened and I snapped back, finding myself in the hallway. Sylk, sword drawn and surrounded by flying orbs, was squaring off with a swordsman with two blades. The swordsman looked experienced. I could see in his movements and posture that fighting was a way of life for him. There was an edge to his voice, sharper than any sword.

“Dante, so good of you to join us,” he said, never taking his eyes off Sylk.

“Do I know you?”

“I am the Harbinger. You have something that belongs to my master. I need it back,” he said.

The next moment Maelstrom was in my hands, gleaming white and golden.

“No!” yelled Sylk as Rael turned and signaled to the Gyrevex.

“Get the weapon.  Kill everyone. Sorry, old man, orders are orders.”

Sylk sent the orbs flying at Rael as the three giants headed my way.

“Don’t let them get that weapon,” yelled Sylk. “Keep Dante safe. Go!”

The rest of the group ran behind the giants as Sylk faced the Harbinger. I felt the vibration travel along the floor as they approached. In their hands, large kettle bells attached to thick chains swung with each step.

Do not allow the bells to touch you-, Owl whispered in my mind.

That was the plan. Can I face these things? I thought as I headed toward the trio. Maelstrom pulsed in my hands.

Not alone, do not take the Gyrevex lightly.

The Gyrevex started spinning their bells as they drew closer. The whirr of displaced air held a quiet menace. I realized that the group would be too late to intervene in the first attack. So much for not taking them on alone, I thought as the first bell came at me. I held up Maelstrom half expecting the bell to shatter it on impact.  As the bell hit, the buildup of energy was immediate. I could feel the surge within Maelstrom as it absorbed the blow. Those are chi weapons? I looked around for the others but couldn’t see past my attacker. Another bell sailed past me, just missing my head as the second Gyrevex converged on me. Things were getting bad in a hurry.

“I got your back, Dante,” said a familiar voice behind me—Zen.

“I can’t take these things on alone, Zen,” I said.

I didn’t know how he got behind me, but I was glad he was there.

“You don’t have to,” he said.

He concentrated a moment and I saw his halberd materialize in his hands. Meja and Kal managed to intercept the third Gyrevex, which left two for me and Zen. All around me all I could sense was motion.

You must see without your eyes, Owl whispered.

I took a deep breath and deliberately sent my chi inward, slowing everything down. In the space of a breath I could see what I needed to do.

“Back me up here,” I told Zen as I stepped closer to the Gyrevex nearest me.

Zen, who towered above me, was dwarfed by these giants. I could take it all in. Sylk was facing the Harbinger. Mara was drawing closer to Sylk. Meja and Kal were dodging the bell from the third Gyrevex, looking for an opening. Samir and Raja stood off to the side away from the deadly exchanges.  A bell came at my chest. I could sense the displaced air as it rushed toward me. At the last second I slid to the side, exposing Zen who stood behind me. As the bell reached the end of its chain, Zen let it wrap itself around his weapon and then tugged using the momentum of the bell. The Gyrevex was larger, but Zen had leverage on his side as he pulled. The Gyrevex lost his footing and stumbled forward.

“Devolver,” I whispered and touched the bell with Maelstrom. It was instantly absorbed into my weapon. I half expected another bell to form in the Gyrevex’s hands but it fell forward, landing on all fours, a surprised look on its face. Zen sent his halberd through its back, dispatching it. The second Gyrevex caught me with a back hand that sent me sailing as the world exploded in a bright light. I turned in time to see Zen take a bell to the leg and heard the sickening crunch of metal on flesh. I was still off balance when I heard the whirr of the bell. I wasn’t going to be able to dodge this next attack. I couldn’t even see where the bell was.

As long as I hear that whirr it means it’s not coming at me, I thought. It was a small consolation. Behind me and to the side I could hear Zen grunt in pain as he tried to move into position for an attack. I took a few steps and the floor tilted. Everyone is going to die here unless I can get it together. The word came to me then. It was the word I had used when I last fought Owl. If I used it I could eliminate the Gyrevex. I didn’t know what it would do to Rael. He seemed almost as powerful as Sylk. There was only one downside: if I used it, it would kill everyone around me. The Gyrevex were after me, after Maelstrom. I let my anger take over and slowly the weapon turned from white and gold to black and crimson.

“This is what you want. Come and get it,” I said. The remaining two Gyrevex shifted and ran toward me.

“Meja, get them safe!” I yelled. The word was already forming on my lips when Samir covered my mouth.

“Please, warrior, do not say something you will regret,” he whispered. “In this place every word of power you use is magnified.”  He placed a hand on Maelstrom as the Gyrevex bore down on us. “Tempus repit,” he said as everything crawled to a standstill.

“What did you do?” I said.

“I have bought us seconds only, long enough for us to be away,” said Samir.

I was stunned. Samir had slowed time.  “How? How did you manage this?”

“If you could do this why not do it from the beginning?” I said.

“This is not my doing alone. He helped,” Samir said as he looked at Raja.

I turned to see that Raja had not been affected by the words of power. He gave me a slight nod as if to say, Remember our agreement. Samir shook me by the shoulder, fear clear in his eyes.

“Focus, warrior! Fix us in your mind. You will only be able to take three with you. Say with me: regreseo.”

It meant I would have to leave three of them behind. I needed to take Zen since he was injured. Meja could get us back, I hoped, and Samir knew the words I needed. It would mean leaving Sylk, Mara and Kalysta. I couldn’t do this. He must have seen the reluctance on my face.

“You must do this, warrior. If they get you and the weapon, all is lost,” he said.

I knew he was right. I closed my eyes as time began to resume its normal flow. I could feel Samir’s hand clench my arm. The vibrations of the Gyrevex resumed as they closed on us.

“Warrior…” Samir’s voice rose with fear.

“Regreseo,” I said and the world faded away.

SEVEN

SYLK SENSED THEIR absence the next moment and smiled. He could see Mara going to assist Kal with the Gyrevex she was now facing alone. Avoiding a slash and stepping back from a lunge, he put distance between himself and Rael. He needed to know how they were followed.

“Give it up, Harbinger,” said Sylk. “He is gone. Even I don’t know where they are.”

“How did you think I found him here, of all places?” said Rael.

Sylk remained silent a moment and then it hit him.

“The weapon, you are tracking the weapon.”

“There is nowhere, no plane where your warrior goes that I can’t find him, eventually,” Rael said as the energy coursed through his swords.

Sylk surrounded himself with orbs as Rael attacked. The orbs coalesced to form a shield, stopping one of the swords as he parried the other with his own sword.

“You’ve grown stronger, old man. It’s good to see you haven’t wasted your time all these years,” said Rael, sidestepping the shield and lunging at Sylk.  As Sylk turned, allowing the lunge to go past, he traced symbols with his right arm, leaving a silver trail behind him.

“All the pretty symbols in the world aren’t going to save you now.”

“I don’t need them to save me, I just need them to hold you in place,” said Sylk.  In moments the marble beneath Rael liquefied and he sank into the floor. Sylk took advantage of the distraction to press his attack, getting past Rael’s defense and driving his sword through his midsection. Rael doubled over, grasping the wound. Sylk backed up slowly as the ground solidified around Rael. Then Rael began laughing, chilling Sylk to the bone.

“You still don’t understand, Blood Sylk,” said Rael. “I am the Harbinger. You are going to have to do more than stab me with your sword, if you plan on stopping me.”

Rael thrust both swords into the marble around his feet and began channeling energy downwards. In moments he would be free of the trap Sylk set.

“I didn’t think that would end you. I just needed you to be still while I did this,” said Sylk as he ran over and grabbed Rael with his right hand. Energy began siphoning into Sylk.

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure you can’t follow us for some time. It takes a large amount of energy to enter this place. It takes even more to leave. I’m guessing you have quite a bit of chi stored within you if you can keep those two going,” said Sylk as he looked at the Gyrevex. As he said these words, Rael dropped to his knees.

“Clever, but that won’t help you. I will find the warrior and take the weapon back.”

“I may not be able to stop you, but I think he can. By the time you find us again I will make sure he is ready.”

Sylk siphoned more energy as the lines in his arm began to grow bright. He stepped back, not daring to take any more. Rael looked at him with a sad smile. Behind them, the Gyrevex stopped moving and fell forward, immobile.

“You can’t kill me—no one can. Do you know how many times I have wished it? Each time I thought it was the end, he brought me back. This is the price of my betrayal,” said Rael.

“That was the path you chose, Rael,” said Sylk.

Mara and Kal came up behind Sylk. Rael began to grow incorporeal.

“Enjoy this small victory, since when we meet next I can assure you the outcome will be different,” said Rael, and he disappeared.

“Did you—?” began Mara.

“No, he isn’t that easy to kill. I just made it very hard for him to remain in that form,” said Sylk.

Mara and Kal were both bruised from their fight with the Gyrevex.

“Can you kill him? He looked like one of those ‘make sure you kill and scatter the ashes’ types,” said Kal.

“I don’t think I can. With all the energy I siphoned from him, he was still present. It would have been enough to end anyone else.”

Sylk looked down at his arm and the energy coursing through it. “I have to expend this energy before it does more damage than good.”

“Where did they go?” asked Mara.

“I don’t know, but I do have an idea who does,” said Sylk as he looked at Raja.

EIGHT

ZEN GRUNTED IN pain when we arrived. His leg was broken.

“What did you do, Dante?” asked Meja.

“I got us out of danger,” I said.

“No, you gave them a death sentence. Did you stop to think what would happen to them?” She let the words hang in the air. “Rael will kill them without mercy.”

“You know him?” I said.

“I knew him, before—before he became what he is now.”

“And what is he now? What is the Harbinger?” I said, anger creeping into my voice.

“He serves Lucius now. He used to be a good man, a good monitor and a friend…” She didn’t elaborate further, but I could tell there was something else—something more.

“And now?”

“And now it doesn’t matter. He is an enemy and will be dealt with as such,” she said, her words clipped.

I thought back to what had happened at the Records. At the time I hadn’t stopped to think. I only wanted to get everyone out of danger. Except I didn’t get everyone out.

“If they got my weapon it would be a death sentence for all of us,” I said as the edge of anger rose. Would a simple ‘thank you’ be too much to ask?

She stepped close to me then. “My weapon? Since when is it your weapon? That abomination you call a weapon belongs to Lucius and will end up getting us all killed,” she said.

Samir came between us, his presence a calming influence. Meja made her way over to Zen and began working on his leg.

“Where are we?” I asked Samir, anxious to change the subject of my weapon’s ownership.

“The last place we were before we entered the Records. That is what that word of power does,” said Samir.

I took in the courtyard and the black obelisk at its center. It was covered in symbols and I could feel the energy it was giving off.

“We are back…” I began.

“In the South Watch,” said a voice. We all turned to face the Keeper. Beside him stood one of the Rah Ven, a Watch guardian. Dwarfing most wolves by several feet, it padded over silently to a spot and sat, its deep yellow eyes fixed on us.

The Keeper stepped over to where Zen lay and placed a hand on his leg. A soft light travelled from his hand to the leg. Zen lost consciousness the next moment as several young men came and carried him off.

“His leg will heal. He just needs some time,” said the Keeper.

Meja looked at me as they carried Zen away. “Why are we here?”

Samir spoke before I could answer. “It was I who gave him the word to speak. That word— do you remember it, warrior?” I nodded in response. “That word will return you to the last place you have been. Remember it but use it wisely. It only works once a day,” he said.

The Keeper sat on a bench that materialized under him.

“My old bones need rest. I see some of your group is missing?” said the Keeper as he rested his staff beside him. A small smile played on his lips.

“We were in danger and had to leave. Someone called the ‘Harbinger’ attacked us while in the Records,” said Samir.

“The Harbinger, did you say? Did you manage to get the text?” asked the Keeper.

Everyone looked at me as I checked the inside of my cloak and pulled out the small book the size of a paperback. The cover was dark leather and the pages were edged in gold. Each page felt fragile, as if the book would disintegrate if handled too much. I gave the book to Samir.

“The master text. I did not think I would see this in my lifetime,” he said as he held the book in his open hands. “We must begin your training at once.”

“What about the others?”  I said.

“Yes, Samir, what about the others? Who are most likely dead by now,” said Meja as she looked at me.

“You have my sympathies, monitor, but my purpose is to prepare the warrior. He must be ready when he faces the Harbinger again. We are all secondary to that purpose,” Samir said, his voice low.

“Sylk and his thrall mean nothing to me, but Kal was one of mine,” she said as she continued looking at me.

“The syllabist is right. There is nothing to be done in this moment. The Records will have shifted location and will not be accessible from this doorway for several days. It would be best to use that time in rest and training,” said the Keeper.

Meja clenched her jaw and squeezed her hand closed until the knuckles popped.

“You can stay here and train. As soon as that doorway is open I have a monitor to find. With or without you,” she said as she stalked off.

“We do not have much time, warrior,” said Samir. “Let us begin.” He gripped my shoulder for a moment and then headed off to another part of the Watch.

I looked back over my shoulder to see Meja heading out of the Watch into the desert.

“You do well to be concerned, warrior. Anger is a great weapon and a great weakness,” said the Keeper.

I followed Samir, not knowing if those words were for Meja or for me.

NINE

“WHERE DID THEY go?” said Mara.

Raja stood still as if accessing some information, his gaze blank and out of focus. He returned and focused his gaze on them.

“They are currently in the South Watch, which is inaccessible from here at this moment.”

“What do you mean ‘inaccessible’?” said Kal.

“I apologize, was I unclear?  You cannot return to the South Watch from this location until the planes align again,” said Raja.

Kal shot him a dark look. If Raja noticed he gave no indication.

“How long until they realign?” said Mara.

“It doesn’t matter. Without the monitor, we can’t get there. Only Meja knows how to locate the Watch,” said Sylk.

“We are standing in the largest information center in this and any other plane, and we can’t figure a way there?” asked Kal. “Are you kidding me?”

“I do not kid,” said Raja. “However, there is another way to reach the Watch.”

“How?” said Kal. “You have a door here that will take us there?”

“I do not, but he does,” said Raja, gesturing at Sylk. “You are bound to the Watch, are you not? You can use that bond to open a pathway, in three days. When the planes align once again.”

“I had not considered that to be an option,” said Sylk as he looked at his arm. “The theory is sound, but I have never done it before.”

“Wait. What happens if you are wrong and we can’t get to the Watch?” asked Kal.

“Then there is a good chance we will be stuck in between somewhere, like Mariko,” said Sylk. “ I need to read on this process, Raja. Is it available?”

“What about those things?” asked Kal. She pointed at the immobile Gyrevex. “Are we going to have to deal with them again?”

“They are inert for now, at least until Rael draws enough chi to return,” said Sylk.

Kal gave them a wary look.

“Please follow me. There are quarters for you to wait in until the alignment,” said Raja.

“Oh great, a three-day layover in the twilight zone. This is going to be a blast,” said Kal as they followed after Raja. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the movement.

Kal grabbed Mara’s arm as they were walking away.

“Did you see that?” said Kal.

“See what?”

“I swear one of those things moved,” Kal said, pointing at the Gyrevex.

“They can’t. Sylk removed Rael from this plane. They have no volition of their own,” Mara said as she walked away after Sylk.

“I know what I saw,” said Kal.

TEN

“DO NOT THINK of them as words, Dante,” said Samir. Rather see them as vehicles for your chi. Vessels that carry your intention.”

At the mention of the word ‘vessels’, I cringed. It was how Maelstrom saw me.

“You do not like this analogy? I’m sorry, my English still needs polishing,” said Samir.

“No, no, that was fine, I get it I think,” I said and read the next word.

I extended my hand and whispered luminare, and a miniscule, inadequate orb of light appeared in my hand.

“There are several types of words,” said Samir. “Some are fixed in their results and no amount of emotion will change the outcome of their use. There are others that are dependent on the emotion used when spoken. More emotion means more chi used, less or no emotion means minimal to no effect. Try the same word again but now with feeling.”

“Luminare!” I said, louder than before.

The same orb appeared in my hand.

“I did not say louder, I said with feeling. Use your chi and let it flow through you. The word merely captures the chi that is flowing in and around you.”

I gathered my breath  and felt my chi flowing within. I channeled it and spoke.

“Luminare,” I said. A white flash blinded me instantly.

“That was much better,” said Samir as he removed a pair of sunglasses.

“A little warning would have been nice,” I said as I blinked my eyes several times.

“Ah, but then you would not have appreciated the difference in intensity,” he said with a smile.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” I said, still seeing spots.

He handed me a short staff to match his own.

“Now that you understand intensity and intent, you must learn to use the words while under stress,” he said as he turned his staff slowly.

“Do you know how to fight? I didn’t think—,” I started when his staff came whirling at my head. I ducked as he just missed me.

“That is good— don’t think, just do,” he said as he lunged at me again.

The sound of wood clashing filled the room as he pressed his attacks and I parried.

“I sense you are not fighting me, warrior,” he said as he stopped attacking.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I said.

“That is a noble sentiment. Please, do not hold back,” he said.

He bowed and entered a fighting stance. I recognized the stance from my own training.  He slid in and attacked a feint at my legs. I stepped back, sending my staff forward to stop his momentum. He executed a sharp shift at the waist and trapped my weapon with his own. It was elegant in its deception.

“You are still thinking, warrior. In the heat of battle you will not have time for this. Thought is too slow.”

He handed me my staff and again assumed a fighting stance.

You want real? Fine, let’s see how skilled you really are, I thought as I started my attack. I came in with a low attack that suddenly switched to mid-level. He met my staff on the rising arc as he turned his body into my ‘hot side’. I expected him to go the other way and was out of position when his fist connected with my nose. My eyes teared up instantly, making it hard to see. He followed that with a palm-heel strike to my chest that sent the air out of my lungs and landed me on my ass.

“You must do better than this, warrior,” he said as a small smile played on his lips. Sweat drenched us both by this time, but he seemed full of energy.

Who is this guy? I stepped in and attacked, a downward strike designed to shatter the collarbone. He parried the attack by making it glance off his staff as he crouched down. I delivered a knee kick to his midsection, which doubled him over. I followed with a staff strike to his back that he stopped, and rolling forward and to his feet, he turned to face me.

“Much better— now we are getting somewhere,” he said as he launched himself at me again. He was a flurry of attack. He came in close and we locked weapons.

“Now you must use the word you have learned today in the midst of this, warrior. Use it,” he said between grunts as he tried to push me back.

“Luminare,” I said and then the world shook.

ELEVEN

KAL WALKED OVER to the inert Gyrevex and prodded them with her boot. Nothing.

“Maybe Mara was right. I must be seeing things.”

It was the whirr of the chain that saved her life. On instinct she rolled to the side, avoiding the bell that cracked the marble where she stood moments before.

“You’re fast for one so young,” said Rael.

He stepped out from behind one of the pillars, swords in hand.

“I thought he—I saw you disappear,” stammered Kal. Oh, shit.

“Sylk was always a bit on the arrogant side. I just showed him what he wanted to see,” he said.

Kal drew her sword knowing it was a futile gesture.

“You, however, have seen more than you should have. I want him to think I am gone. I can’t have you telling him I’m still here,” he said as he sheathed his swords.

“So, you surrender? Smart move, I would hate to have to kick your ass,” she said.

He laughed at her as he walked away as one of the Gyrevex trailed behind him. “I don’t think so,” he said turning to the remaining Gyrevex. “Kill her and then catch up to me.”

The Gyrevex approached, bell spinning. Kal felt the sweat running down her back. I wish Val were here, she’d tell me to bring my A game and stop this thing, Kal thought.

“Fine, let’s dance, then,” she said as she channeled chi into her sword.

The bell came at her, the intent clear. She dropped back to the floor and rolled to the side, avoiding another smashing blow by inches. Every time she tried to get close the Gyrevex would pivot and send the bell at her. It forced her to dodge attack after attack. I can’t keep doing this, she thought.

What she lacked in size and strength she made up for in speed and agility.  I need to get closer, inside the circle. She drew a small blade and leapt at the Gyrevex, twisting mid-air to avoid a bell strike. She landed beside the Gyrevex, exactly where she wanted to be. Working her way up from the bottom she began slashing at the vulnerable points of the Gyrevex.  She slashed the calves and then the knees and ducked under the haymaker that would have caved in her skull had it connected. She rolled back and stepped to the side and rolled back in. The Gyrevex was waiting for her and kicked her in the side, sending her sprawling. She managed to get her arm down in time to deflect the impact of the kick, grunting as the kick just missed her ribs. Damn it’s fast. Thing hits like a truck— don’t want to do that again. Think Kal or it’s over.

She channeled her chi inward, giving her the ability to heighten her reflexes. The Gyrevex unleashed another attack, sending the bell at her head. She leapt straight up, timing the release of the bell to miss her by a fraction of an inch. At the top of her jump she threw her dagger, burying it in the Gyrevex’s eye and blinding it. If it felt pain it didn’t show it. It pulled out the dagger and tossed it to one side. It moved its head left and right to find her. Once it saw her it roared, a scream of anger and frustration. The sound chilled Kal to her core.

The bell disappeared in the Gyrevex’s hand and it charged at her.  She stood still and materialized two daggers as her sword disappeared. This was what she wanted. She wanted it close and furious. It was where she lived inside the circle, the circle of death. The Gyrevex lunged at her. She slashed down, cutting the hand. Spinning around the giant she buried a blade in its chest, but it didn’t even slow. A fist crashed into her midsection as it grabbed her hair with the other hand. She cut above her, leaving it with a handful of her hair. It reached with the other hand to grab her arm. She ducked under the grab and stabbed into the armpit of the extended arm. The Gyrevex took a step back and then spun with its arm extended, the blow catching her and sending her across the floor. She managed to roll out of the fall only to see the Gyrevex charging at her again. She jumped back and avoided a stomp that would have broken her leg. Attacking from the blind side, she lunged at the Gyrevex, tucking her legs in under her to change trajectory mid-flight. Landing on its chest she buried both daggers in its neck. The Gyrevex reached up and grabbed her by the neck and squeezed. She snapped its thumb and fell to the floor as it took several steps toward her before falling as well.

Goddamnit, these things don’t quit. Glad it was only one, she thought as the Gyrevex lay still. She took stock of her injuries. At least one—no, two ribs cracked. Knee is twisted and wrist hurts like hell, but I’m still here, Val. I’m not done yet, she thought before she passed out.

*****

Mara came rushing in to the hallway and saw Kal’s battered body slumped against one of the columns. The body of the Gyrevex lay next to her, lifeless.

“Kal, what did this?” she said, more to herself than to Kal. She looked around and saw that one of the Gyrevex was missing. “Impossible, but that would mean…”  She never finished her sentence as she looked down to see the sword protruding from her chest. She fell off the blade to the ground beside Kal.

“It would mean that I’m still around,” said Rael as he wiped his sword.

He buried his swords in the body of the Gyrevex on the floor and absorbed the energy, causing it disintegrate.

“Never good to waste. Let’s go, the weapon bearer is at the South Watch,” said Rael as he opened a portal leaving the Records behind.

“Do you think he believed it?” said Mara as her duplicate on the ground vanished.

“We showed him what he wanted to see and now we know just how powerful he has become,” said Sylk. “Please tend to the monitor. Meja would never forgive me if more harm came to her.”

Mara began tending to Kal’s injuries. “It would be better if we could move her somewhere else.”

“I know just the place,” said Sylk.

TWELVE

I WAS STILL seeing spots from the word of power when Rin appeared.

“We are under attack!” he yelled.

“Where is the Keeper?” I asked.

“He is dealing with the attackers. He instructed me to find you and to escort you out of the Watch.  It would seem others are alerted to your presence here. You were asked for by name,” said Rin.

“Rael,” I said.

We were running toward one of the inner rooms, away from the fighting.

“Where are we going? Take me to the fighting,” I said, pulling Rin’s arms and stopping him short. He turned quickly and escaped my grasp while twisting in a circular fashion and trapping my arm.

“Sorry, reflex,” he said as he let me my arm go.

“No problem, but why aren’t we going to the fighting?  I can help,” I said.

“You are going to help the Keeper and the Rah Ven?” said Rin, “Forgive me if I offend, but I don’t think your abilities are required.”

“If someone is crazy enough to attack a Watch, you want me there, where the fighting is.”

“I was instructed to get you out of the Watch, not put you in danger,” said Rin.

“Zen is in there,” I said.

“We will keep him safe, you have my word,” said Rin.

Samir nodded. “This is the wisest course. We must keep you away from the Harbinger at all costs. You are not ready to face him.”

“This is insane, if the Watch is in trouble then they need my help,” I said.

Samir grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side as Rin began preparing a doorway out of the Watch. I could see him tracing symbols in the air and red trails of light following his hands.

“Are you sure it would be help? What if you or your weapon fell into their hands?”  He had a point, even though I didn’t want to admit it.

“I won’t let them have it,” I said.

“Better not to give them the option,” said Samir.

“The monitor will be here shortly. Another was instructed to bring her here,” said Rin.  He finished tracing the symbols when two figures came running our way. One I recognized, Meja. The other I couldn’t place.

“Who is that?” I asked Rin.

“Ah, that is your guide. She is Rah Ven. Her name is Luna,” said Rin.

“She is what?”

“No time, she will take you through this portal. You will need her on the other side. I am sending you to the safest place imaginable.”

Meja drew up short and stared at us. It seemed she was up to speed and began assisting Rin. In the distance I could hear explosions. Tremors shook the ground, again causing us to stumble.

“Where is this? Where is this safe place?” I asked.

The portal was open as the symbols traced the circular outline roughly ten feet across and just as wide.

“We are going to my home plane,” said Luna as we ran in.

THIRTEEN

“THIS SHOULD SUFFICE for the time being,” said Sylk.

“What is this place?” said Mara, looking around.

They were in a large home constructed in a traditional Japanese style. Furniture was minimal. The floors were hardwood, although some areas were covered with tatami mats. Mara could see a small shrine in the rear of the space. Most of the windows were covered with wooden slats and they were open, looking out to an open field and a small lake.

“This is one of my homes,” said Sylk. “Take her upstairs, you should find everything you need to treat her injuries and make her comfortable.”

“Bandages and first aid kit?” said Mara.

“Yes, a full medical kit and a safe room should you need it. Do not leave the property for any reason,” he said and described the location of the safe room and how to access it.

“I thought you said this place was safe?” she said.

“Sometimes the safest place is actually the most dangerous. This place is shielded from Watchers but only as far as the house.”

“What happens if I go outside? Wait, where are you going?”

Sylk remained silent as he traced the symbols for the portal to the Watch.

“Dante and the rest are at the South Watch. I’m going to try and get to him before Rael does. Going outside of the house will invite Watchers and death.”

“But Raja said the doorway wasn’t ready,” said Mara.

“From the Records. This place is quite different. I should be able to access the Watch from here.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“There is only one way to find out,” he said and extended his right arm, creating a silver portal that seemed to coalesce from the energy in his arm. He fell to one knee as sweat covered his face.

“Master?” Her voice was full of concern.

“Hmm, that wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be,” he said through gritted teeth.

“I should return soon with the others. Remember, don’t go outside,” he said as he entered the shimmering portal. It lingered for a moment longer then vanished.

FOURTEEN

THE SOUTH WATCH smoldered as the attack increased in intensity. Sylk arrived as a Rah Ven took down one of the attackers shredding an arm and leg only to be bisected by energy of some kind.

Who or what could wield this kind of power? He saw a pack of five Rah Ven chase down a larger group of attackers. They were dressed in what appeared to be dark blue monitor fighting garb, which belonged to the elite unit. As they entered the desert, the Rah Ven camouflaged as soon as they hit the sand, shimmering into nothingness. The screams and blood came soon after as the Rah Ven dropped their camouflage, covered in gore and blood.  He ran into the courtyard unnoticed in the chaos and found Rin who was fighting two attackers at once.

“Where is the Keeper?” said Sylk as he parried an attack and plunged his sword in an attacker’s throat.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him in some time,” said Rin as he dodged several short thrusts from his attacker and delivered a killing blow with an elbow strike, crashing against the attacker’s skull.

These aren’t Gyrevex. Which means this is not the Harbinger’s doing. Then who? If I didn’t know better I would say they were some kind of rogue monitors, thought Sylk.

Then Sylk heard the sound.

He grabbed Rin by the shoulder, practically spinning him in place.

“You must gather all who are here and leave now. Find the Keeper if you can and get him away,” said Sylk. “The Watch is lost. Save all you can. Go now!”

Rin, visibly shaken, ran off to begin the evacuation as Sylk headed deeper into the Watch. He saw as a Rah Ven leapt into the air, only to land in several parts scattered around the courtyard. All around him were scenes of death and destruction. It was clear the Watch had suffered the greater losses.

The sound came again, closer this time. Sylk had known it only as the sound of certain death. It was the sound of a muffled explosion followed by slicing wind. It was the sound of Roman’s hammer unleashed.

In the center of the courtyard, beside the obelisk covered in symbols, stood the Keeper. He was bloodied, and his robe was torn in several places as he leaned on his staff. In front of the Keeper stood Roman, dressed like the attackers only in black. His jet black hair hung straight and framed his face. He had a thin but muscular frame. In his hands, he held a double-headed hammer that was almost as large as he was. Sylk stood behind a wall in direct view of the Keeper.

“Tell me where he is, Keeper,” said Roman.

“You know I cannot.”

“You will bear witness as I reduce this Watch to rubble?”

“Do what you must,” said the Keeper. “Your mistress must know that it will not remain rubble for long.”

“If you know her, then you know she does not suffer failure,” said Roman. “One last time, ancient one, where is the core ascendant?”

Sylk stopped in his approach. He was certain Roman had not seen him yet. He knew the Keeper knew he was there. Was Roman referring to Dante?

“He is no longer on this plane. That is all I know,” said the Keeper.

“Do you understand what is at stake here?” said Roman as he swung his hammer at the attacking Rah Ven. The hammer struck the ground before the Rah Ven sending a shockwave in all directions. The Keeper raised his staff to deflect the energy, but the Rah Ven, was not so lucky. The energy from the shockwave caught it full on, slicing it into smaller pieces.

“The question is, do you?” said the Keeper.

As the Keeper leaned on his staff, Sylk could see that he was barely hanging on. He was about to move out of his position when the Keeper looked at him and gave a small shake of his head.

“More riddles,” said Roman. “Pathetic. Your so-called guardians are useless against me.”

“They too do what they are sworn to do,” said the Keeper.

“Very well, old one. My patience is at its end,” said Roman as he struck the obelisk, shattering it. “Tear it down. Don’t leave one brick sitting atop another,” he said to several of the attackers standing behind him. They ran off in different directions at the instruction given.

“I will find him and he will do what needs to be done to keep the balance,” said Roman.

“Even if it costs him his life?” said the Keeper.

“What is one life in comparison to billions?” said Roman as one of the attackers came next to him. Roman nodded as the attacker said something.

“Do it,” he said to the attacker. “We continue the search until we have him.”

“Each life is precious,” said the Keeper.

The attacker nodded and headed off into the Watch.

“You have only prolonged the inevitable,” said Roman as the walls of the Watch began to vibrate and crumble. The Keeper slowly faded as Roman opened a portal and stepped through, leaving destruction in his wake.

Sylk ran over to where he last saw the Keeper. He could sense his presence, but it was faint.

“You cannot face him alone, Karashihan,” said the Keeper from behind him. Sylk turned to see the Keeper looking weary as he sat on a bench that formed itself under him. His robe was intact and the blood was gone.

“The Watch?”

“Is safe. This was not a true attack--merely a show of force. Aurora knows the Watch cannot be destroyed so easily. This structure is only a portion of the actual Watch. Most of it is underground. It does take its toll, however. So many lost today, senseless,” said the Keeper.

Sylk looked around, taking in the devastation. “It has the appearance of an attack. Why didn’t you let me…?”

“Roman has grown in power. More than you can imagine. It would seem that Aurora has elevated him.”

“He is ascended?” said Sylk.

“No, this power is not his. It has another source.”

“What source?”

“This is what you must discover, in order to defeat him.”

“Where are Dante and the others?” said Sylk, looking around at the destruction and bodies strewn around the courtyard. The smell of fire and flesh filled his nostrils. He wished it were an unfamiliar scene.

“Look to Grawl of the Rah Ven, he will know,” said the Keeper as he headed into what remained of the Watch.

FIFTEEN

LUNA GUIDED US through the streets of her city. It felt like any other small city. There was the bustle of activity with people going to and fro. I had a hard time imagining that every person I saw was a Rah Ven.

“This feels just like New York, only smaller,” I said.

She smiled and then it faded. “This is one of the last cities of my people. We are spread out all over the planes,” she said. “Once this is gone we will be on our way to becoming extinct.”

“Gone, why would it be gone?”

“Rah Ven are hunted. We make excellent guards when we are bonded to a location. Some have discovered that this process can be forced upon us. Making us no more than guard dogs,” she said.

“At the Watch?” I asked.

“We serve the Watch willingly. One of the few places where we are honored as what we were and are.”

“Come, we must not stay out in the open long, even here there are eyes and ears that would betray us,” said Luna.

We headed down winding streets and through alleys. She would go down one side street, only to double back and then cut into an alley. In the alley she would find a door, which would take us into a business. We would exit the business after a few minutes and begin the process all over again. After an hour of this she led us to the side of a building that looked like a cathedral.

“In here. We should have lost any spies by now.”

“What’s in here?” said Meja.

“We are making a small stop to pick up someone you know and then we are heading back to your plane.”

We entered the dark of the large building. The vaulted ceilings gave an impression of space. Our steps echoed as we made our way across the floor.

“It’s good to see you guys again,” said a voice I recognized. It was Zen.

“Zen! Damn, it’s good to see you,” I said as he gave me a bear hug and forced the air out of my lungs for a moment.

“The Watch?” said Meja.

“Has fallen,” said Rin as he stepped out of the shadows. “I must go back, but I wanted to make sure I kept my word to you, warrior. You must go back to your plane. Ascendants are dying and things will only get worse.”

“How could a Watch fall? Who could attack a Watch? What about the Rah Ven?” I asked.

“All good questions, warrior. I only know the leader of the attacking force wielded a very large hammer and asked for you by name,” said Rin.

At the mention of a large hammer, my blood ran cold. I only knew of one person who used a hammer as a weapon. It was Devin’s killer, Roman. Meja visibly blanched when she heard the description.

“Are you certain it was a hammer?” said Meja.

Rin nodded. “I am certain. It had the power to stop, to destroy the Rah Ven.” He looked over at Luna who had remained still at his words.

“I am sorry,” said Rin.

“There is no need for apologies,” said Luna. “If my people fell they did so with honor in service to the Watch.”

“Describe this weapon to me,” said Meja. Rin gave her the description and Meja’s face grew dark.

“You know this weapon?” said Rin.

“Our lives just got much worse,” said Meja. “If Aurora is involved, the Harbinger is the least of our problems.”

Luna led us to the back of the cathedral where a set of doors held ornate carvings depicting the Rah Ven in both human and canine form. It looked like the scene of a hunt until I looked closer and saw that it was something more… intimate.

“What is this place?”  I asked.

“This is a fertility temple. My people are very open about our relations, unlike other species,” Luna said as she smiled at me.

“We can use this doorway?” said Meja, changing the subject.

“I must take you through,” said Luna. “Only a Rah Ven can keep this portal stable enough for you to use it.”

“Fine, the sooner the better. We need to stay on the move, and I need to find my monitor. I don’t want to run into Roman as we do this.”

“Can he really find us, even here?” said Samir. “It would seem we are quite safe.”

“When Aurora was sane and heading the monitors, Roman was her second. He was in charge of bringing in any monitor that went rogue.” She paused a moment as if reliving the memory. “It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it usually means a loss of life. Rogue monitors are dangerous and deadly.”

“Did this Roman stop them?” asked Samir.

“Once Roman was tasked with dealing with the rogues, we didn’t lose another monitor. He would find them wherever they hid, even across planes, and use his hammer. No one escaped him once he started looking for you. He was relentless and ruthless. He earned his name.”

“What did they call him?” asked Samir.

“They called him the Death Stalker,” Meja said as Luna opened the door that led back to my plane.

SIXTEEN

MARA DRESSED KALYSTA’S wounds and made her as comfortable as possible. Sylk had been gone for most of the day and she had begun to worry. She made her way down to the lower level to get something to eat when she heard the voices.

“Fan out, and search the property. He used to come here often thinking he was safe. Make this quick, it won’t be long before the Watchers arrive.”

It was Rael.

She almost dropped the bowl she held. She crept back upstairs to where Kal lay.

“Kal, Kal,” she whispered. Kal came to and opened her eyes.

“Wh—What is it?” she said “Where are we?”

Mara placed a hand over Kal’s mouth to silence her.

“Rael is here, we must hide before the Gyrevex find us,” said Mara.

She could hear the footsteps outside of the house. In moments they would be inside. She found the panel that accessed the safe room and helped Kal out of bed and into the small room. As the door closed behind them, a Gyrevex entered. It stood still for a moment, taking in the scene, and then left the room. In the safe room Mara let out a breath as the Gyrevex went downstairs.

“We should be good here until they leave,” said Mara.

“How did they know about this place? Isn’t this some kind of secret house Sylk has?” said Kal.

“I thought as much, but it seems Rael knows more about my master than I do. In any case we should be safe now.”

*****

Downstairs, Rael gathered the Gyrevex and began to create a portal.

“Nothing?” asked Rael.

The Gyrevex shook their heads.

“I didn’t think he would be here, but fortune favors the thorough.”

The Gyrevex stared back at him, silent.

“Try not to speak all at once. I know how to flush out our warrior. We kill two birds with one blade. I think it’s time for more ascendants to die, but first we must pay someone a visit.” He looked around the house as the portal formed itself before him.

“This is actually a cozy home. Burn it down,” he said and then stepped into the portal.

SEVENTEEN

NEW YORK CITY was a hive of activity.  I loved and hated my city in equal measure. For all its size, I realized that it was small compared to the planes I had visited in the last few days.

“We must be careful, Dante. The Lotus will be waiting for us,” said Meja.

The Black Lotus. I hadn’t given them much thought since we left for the Records. They were an assassin team sent from the Warriors of the Way. They thought I had gone rogue. After what Meja did to Diana, I didn’t think they were too far off base. At first they wanted to bring me in, to control Maelstrom. Now it was kill on sight. Not just me, but anyone who helped me.

“Will they be pissed after Diana?”

Meja gave me a withering glance.

“They won’t be pleased. She will be replaced by her second, Monique. They will keep the triad intact.”

“Great, because we don’t have enough to worry about,” I said.

“Actually, we can’t pay attention to that right now. Hopefully we can remain under their radar, but we have to focus on the Harbinger and avoid Roman at all costs,” said Meja.

We blended into the crowds in midtown Manhattan, just another group of New Yorkers going somewhere in a hurry.

“Why him? It would seem Roman is as much a threat as Rael,” I said.

“Roman probably wants you alive for some purpose Aurora has planned. Rael, on the other hand, just wants the weapon. That does not require you to be alive for very long. In fact he probably prefers you dead.”

“That’s comforting,” I said.

“Those are the facts. We focus on the greater threat first, and right now that threat is Rael and the Gyrevex,” she said.

We turned on 42nd Street and headed to the public library.

“There are some old spaces in there we can use to stay off the Lotus’s radar,” said Meja. “We need to stop Rael and that means finding the ascendants of this plane.”

“How are we going to do that?” I said. I had no clue how we were supposed to find an ascendant. I knew they were important and that I may be one. That didn’t mean I knew what one looked like.

“We are not going to do anything. Since you have the use of your inner sight, you are going to use that to point us in the right direction,” she said.

“Can’t you locate them another way?” I didn’t look forward to using my inner sight. It always left me feeling out of sorts and disoriented.

We reached the front of the library. The sun blazed down 5th Avenue as we walked around to the side of the building. The doors on the 42nd Street side had been sealed for decades. I recognized the bas relief on the old brass doors and saw the owls in flight. It was the symbol of the monitors. Meja pushed several of the non-descript decorative elements in a particular sequence. The door whispered open and we entered a cool dark room. Diffuse light filtered in from the large windows. We were in some kind of meeting room.

“Your inner sight is the fastest way. Any other method we can use will alert Rael to our position,” said Meja. She began to arrange the furniture and seemed to be looking for something in one of the desks.

“This should help. It’s a focus,” she said as she handed me a small prism. “It should help mitigate the disorientation and keep you under the radar. We don’t want Rael knowing where we are.”

“Which is bad for us,” said Zen.

“Not for us, unless Kriyas are involved,” she said as she looked at me. “Then it’s bad for us. Sit down here.” She motioned me to a chair, and the rest of the group moved off to the side while Zen stood by the door.

“When you use your inner sight, make sure your weapon doesn’t manifest. We just want to know how many ascendants are left in the city. If your weapon appears we may as well stand on the tallest building and scream for Rael,” she said.

“We just need a count? What’s the point of this?” I said.

“All ascendants are connected on some level. This will help us determine how many are left. You won’t have to count, you will just know.”

“Then what?”  I still didn’t know why she wanted to know how many ascendants were left. I knew she wasn’t telling me something.

“Make sure your weapon stays within, warrior,” she said as she stepped to the side.

I didn’t have much practice using my inner sight. It allowed me to see the true nature of things and most of the time that was unpleasant. Using it like this was new for me. I sat back in the chair holding the prism and closed my eyes, letting my mind be still. I felt my chi flow around me and pool in the center of my forehead. With my eyes still closed I was able to ‘see’ in a different spectrum. I kept still and felt for the ascendants. I didn’t know what to look for— and then I felt the tug. I felt a tether in my center that connected to something.

“I feel something,” I said.

“Follow that feeling. It should be your connection,” said Meja.

I mentally traced the feeling. It felt like a latticework of strands going in every direction. I knew how many strands there were as sure as I knew my name.

“Fifty,” I said. It was the number that came into my head. I opened my eyes and saw her shake her head.

“Shit, are you sure? There’s no time,” she said.

“I’m sure. Time for what?”

“Focus again. This time find the closest one to us.”

I closed my eyes and repeated the process. “He is close— about ten blocks away, south from here. I don’t have an address but I can show exactly where he is,” I said.

“How do you know it’s a he?” said Zen.

“I just do.”

“That’s good. Let’s get ready to move,” said Meja.

“Why are we doing this?”

“Do you know what an ascendant is?”

“I have an idea—”

“They are what stand between us and this plane falling into Lucius’s hands. Some of them know they are ascendants, many have no idea. Once the number falls below one hundred ascendants on any given plane, the barrier between planes weakens.”

“That explains the Harbinger,” said Samir.

“Exactly. If that number falls below twenty ascendants, this plane falls.”

“This is a hub plane—if it falls…” started Luna.

“Then every plane connected to it falls,” said Meja. “Unless this plane is sealed off.”

“We can seal off three planes?” I asked.

“Nine planes. Three connected to this one and two connected to each of those. This is the hub,” said Meja.

“That would mean—” began Samir.

“No more portals, no more travelling, no more threat,” said Meja

“No, you cannot do this. It would strand the other planes. It would mean no warriors to assist in times of crisis. We do not know if the process is reversible after the last time,” said Samir.

“The last time?” I asked.

“At one point it was twelve planes, until the hub closed off the access to one of the triads,” said Samir.

“To prevent destruction to all. The plane had been overtaken by disease that we had no cure for,” said Meja.

“The disease was never proven and the triad still stands stranded. The hub was never able to reestablish a connection,” said Samir. “We do not know what happened to a countless number of beings.”

“This is ancient history,” said Meja.

“The lesson still stands, monitor. We cannot abandon the other planes.”

“It would mean each triad stands alone, without the hub. It has been done in the past,” said Meja.

“And resulted in civil war as the planes warred against each other,” said Samir. “The hub is the stabilizing force.”

“We are down to fifty ascendants. I would say this is a crisis,” said Zen.

“We are not going to let that number fall any lower than it is right now. But we can’t stop the Harbinger on our own,” said Meja.

“We must try. I can teach the warrior the words—”

Meja exploded. “His weapon is tainted! It belongs to an entity we are trying to stop. Don’t you understand we don’t have another choice?”

“Monitor, there is always a choice,” said Samir.

Meja gathered her things and stuffed them in her pack.

“This plan of yours; teach him the words, and then what? He defeats Lucius with his own weapon? Why not just kill him now?” she said as she looked at Dante. “You would be doing him a favor.”

“When you say it like that it doesn’t sound like such a good plan,” said Zen.

“How would you like me to say it? I’m not going to sugarcoat it just so you can feel like heroes on your way to save the plane. The best outcome of this mission is suicide.”

“We cannot abandon them, monitor,” said Samir as he placed a hand on hers.

“I’m trying to save them, don’t you see?”

“You must have faith in your companions, in the warriors around you. We are not so weak. Perhaps we can make the difference.”

“Can we put the ascendants in the mirror?” I said. “A place like where Mariko was that would keep their connection to this plane, but keep them out of harm’s way and not drive them psycho?”

Everyone looked at Meja and I realized that she was the emotional center of our group.

She paused a moment. “It’s possible, but it would be the same as imprisoning them. How is that any better?” said Meja.

“It would buy us time, not much I admit, but maybe enough for us to stop Rael,” I said. “We could ask them to help us. The alternative is to be hunted down by Rael.”

She nodded. “I know of a place that can serve this purpose, where they would not feel uncomfortable. This is a temporary measure at best. We will have to prevent Rael from killing more ascendants,” said Meja.

“Let’s go save some ascendants,” I said. The words had just left my lips as the large windows shattered, sending glass in every direction. The Black Lotus had found us.

EIGHTEEN

SYLK APPROACHED A Rah Ven. It was one of the few that remained. This one was older and some of its coat was covered in gray hair.

“Peace, old one,” said Sylk.

“Peace, Karashihan. I am Grawl,” said the Rah Ven.

“You have lost much today. My heart is with you.”

The Rah Ven remained in canine form as he padded closer to Sylk. He looked into Sylk’s eyes a moment before speaking.

“Your words are true. We are saddened by the loss, but we do not mourn. They died in service to the Watch. It was an honorable death, one befitting one of our kind.”

“I cannot bring them back, but I can try and prevent more of this death,” said Sylk.

“Make your request. I have many to tend to.”

“The Keeper said to look to you for the location of my companions,” said Sylk.

“Did you know we are hunted, Karashihan? Like dogs we are pursued. We are enslaved and bonded against our will across the planes. They steal the little ones from their families and slaughter us with no remorse.”

Sylk remained silent. He knew of the plight of the Rah Ven.

“You will do something for me, Karashihan. You say you want to prevent more of this”—Grawl looked around at the bodies of the slain Rah Ven lying in the courtyard—”then you will stop those who hunt our young, ripping them from their homes and enslaving them.”

“Who is it, old one?” said Sylk.

“You may know of them. They call themselves the Mikai,” said Grawl.

Sylk looked into the eyes of the Rah Ven, his jaw set. “What you ask is no small thing, old one. These are the most deadly assassins in all of the planes.”

“It is why I ask it of you. That is my condition. Do you accept?”

If Sylk agreed he would be sworn to bring those responsible for hunting the Rah Ven to justice.  If they were part of the Mikai, it could mean his life.

“You have my word, old one. I will find those responsible and bring them to justice,” said Sylk. “The sword or the scroll?” He was giving the Rah Ven the opportunity to mete out the type of justice to the accused. One was swift and final—death. The other would bring those accused before their accusers.

Grawl fixed his yellow eyes on Sylk. Then he growled.

“A hundred years ago I would have said the scroll. There are far too few of us now because we avoided the sword. Take them the sword, Karashihan,” said Grawl.

“As you wish,” said Sylk. “My companions?”

“They are with one of my pack mates. She is called Luna. They are in the hub plane.”

Sylk looked at the destroyed obelisk, which would have given him a portal to the hub.

“I cannot travel there directly,” said Sylk.

The shortest path is through my home,” said Grawl. “You cannot travel there alone. You are not Rah Ven.”

“Will you accompany me, old one?”

“I cannot. I have been bound to this place for too long. Perhaps this will help you,” said Grawl as he shifted to his human form and gave Sylk a pendant that had been hanging around his neck.

The pendant was in the shape of a Rah Ven fang.  As a human, Grawl looked like an older man with grizzled features. His wiry frame was covered in hair. He stood a head taller than Sylk. Only the eyes remained unchanged, glowing a deep yellow, the color of honey in sunlight. He was dressed in flowing robes that denoted his position as pack leader among the Rah Ven.

“This should allow you passage. It says you are part of my pack. If you are stopped, present this pendant,” said Grawl.

Sylk bowed. “Thank you, old one.”

“Call me Grawl. You are part of my pack now. Remember your words, and let your actions match them, Karashihan.”

“Run long, run fast, Grawl.”

Grawl nodded and shifted back to canine form. He headed back to the Watch, leaving Sylk alone.

“Time and circumstance change us all,” said the Keeper as he strode beside him.

“The cost of his help was steep,” said Sylk.

The Keeper placed a hand on Sylk’s shoulder. His grip was a vice.

“You should leave here now. I am afraid we will have more violence before the day is done,” said the Keeper. “Keep your wits about you in their plane. That pendant can bring you trouble if used against you. Before you go to the hub, you are needed elsewhere. My apologies for your rapid departure.”

“What do you mean, more violence?” said Sylk as the Keeper shoved him back and out of the plane.

*****

The Keeper had forced Sylk out of the plane with a thought. He had sensed his new visitor.

“I love what you’ve done with the place. Renovations?”

The Keeper turned to face the speaker.

“Harbinger, as you can see you are too late. The one you seek is not here and I do not know where he is.”

“I noticed,” said Rael, looking around. “Seems someone was very upset.”

“The warrior is not here and I cannot help you,” said the Keeper.

Rael drew his swords. The energy arced between them as he held them in front of his body.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I think you can help me,” he said.

The Keeper brought his staff before him, his eyes focused on Rael.

“You and I share a similar trait. I heard you can’t die as long as the Watch stands,” said Rael. “We both know this is not the true Watch.” He swept an arm around the courtyard.

“You must not do this, Harbinger,” said the Keeper.

“I know that the real Watch lies beneath our feet.” said Rael.

The Keeper remained silent, his face grim.

“I can’t die either,” said Rael. As long as my master lives, he will keep me alive, but maybe you are powerful enough to test that theory. What do you say, sensei? Can you kill me?” said Rael as he attacked with both swords.

NINETEEN

MARA SMELLED THE smoke first. Not daring to open the safe room for fear this was ruse to draw them out, she stayed back. The heat was next followed by panic—Kal’s.

“They’re trying to burn us!” said Kal. “We need to get out of here. We need to get out. Need to get out.”

Kal got up and headed for the door on unsteady feet.

“Can’t die in here. Won’t die in here, let me out, Mara,” said Kal as she tried to get past Mara.

“Wait, Kal. This could be a trick. This is Rael we are dealing with. Take a breath and let me check outside,” said Mara in a measured tone. Each word was deliberate and she kept eye contact with Kal as she sat her down on the makeshift bed.

“Let me check if this is a real fire,” said Mara. “I promise to come back for you.”

Mara slid open the door and was greeted with searing heat. The flames had taken over the lower level and were engulfing the upper level.

Those are real. How the hell do we get out of this?

She reached back in and grabbed Kal.

“We need to leave, now,” said Mara.

She took a blanket from the bed and wrapped Kal in it. Dousing it with water they made their way to the window. The wooden slats were weakened by the fire. Mara’s hands were surrounded with purple energy as she broke the slats.

“We are going to have to jump from here, Kal,” said Mara.

Kal was unresponsive. Her eyes were fixed on the flames.

“I don’t want to burn. Don’t let me burn. Don’t let me burn,” Kal whispered as Mara lifted her up and dropped her outside of the house. Mara looked one last time around the room. The flames were licking up the walls and the heat was becoming unbearable. She jumped out of the window landing bedside Kal, who was moving away from the house and the fire.

“Are you hurt?” said Mara.

Kal stood up and started running. Mara kept pace behind her.

“Kal, stay close. It’s dangerous out here,” said Mara, looking around.

“I’m not going near that,” said Kal as she slowed.

This is bad. We need to get out of here. We need Sylk, before the Watchers arrive and erase us, thought Mara. Master, where are you?

“You’re right, we need to keep moving. We can’t stay here. Let’s go, but stay close to me,” said Mara.

It seemed Kal had returned to her senses as they headed into the forest that surrounded the still-burning house.

“What happened to you?” said Mara.

“I don’t want to…I can’t talk about it—thank you, though. If I had been alone I don’t think I would have made it out,” said Kal.

“We are all pursued by demons. I understand,” said Mara. If we don’t get out of here soon we will be pursued by something much worse. The image of Anna reduced to nothing flashed in her mind and she picked up her pace.

Behind them a pair of eyes followed their progress. The figure leapt silently from branch to branch, staying close.

TWENTY

GLASS WAS EVERYWHERE as black-clad bodies rappelled into the space. I was still disoriented from using my inner sight, but I knew this was bad. We were surrounded in seconds. She came in through the door. A tall blonde dressed in a black body suit covered in knives. She held a dagger in each hand and stopped just inside the door, letting her eyes adjust to the change in light.

“You let him use his inner sight ,Meja. Why would you do that?  You had to have known we would be waiting for something like that,” the woman said as she entered the room.

“Monique, how’s Diana?” said Meja.

“You bitch,” said Monique as she blurred her hands and threw her daggers.

Meja’s sword appeared instantly. She deflected one of the daggers and side-stepped the other.

Two more daggers appeared in Monique’s hands.

“I can do this all day,” said Meja.

Monique smiled. “I’m sure you can. What about them? Can they do this all day?” she said as she began to rapid fire daggers at all of us.

Several of the daggers found targets. I managed to stumble out of the way as my sense of bearing returned. Zen and Luna were not so lucky. Zen caught a dagger in the thigh and Luna had one in her arm when Monique was done.

Meja advanced on Monique, sword in hand.

“Stop where you are or I will kill you all,” said Monique.  She had her hand raised. All around us the members of the Black Lotus aimed pistol crossbows at us.

“I won’t make the same mistake Diana made, Meja,” said Monique.

Meja stopped. My head finally cleared as I realized the situation we were in. Samir was standing next to me whispering something I couldn’t make out. Inside of me I could feel Maelstrom struggling against my control.

Let me out, vessel. I can take care of this upstart. I only need a few moments, said Maelstrom. The anger rose. We were trying to save not only our plane but every plane connected to ours. How could they not see this? Why would they stand in our way instead of helping us?

Maelstrom appeared in my hands, its black and crimson symbols shining with light.

“Dante, no!” yelled Meja.

Time slowed as I saw the expressions change on those around me. I could hear the others. They were far off voices, a noise hovering below the roar in my ears. Part of me knew this was wrong. I knew this would only make matters worse, but I had lost control and it was too late now. Monique had given the order and the arrows were on their way. Instruments of death coming to claim our lives. Because of me, because of who and what I was. Because I wielded a cursed weapon.

Do what you must, Maelstrom, I thought.

I felt myself recede from my body as it took over, slamming the short staff to the ground. My voice took on that strange dissonance when it spoke through me.

“Repelare,” I said in that strange voice. A shock wave spread out from the impact of the staff on the floor. The arrows were sent off course. Some of them hit other members of the Black Lotus. Most careened off the walls and bounced harmlessly on the floor. Most but not all. Meja had an arrow buried in her side and Samir had several arrows in his leg. I had been too late and now they were suffering for it.

“You cannot keep them safe, warrior. You failed. Look around, only you remain,” said Monique.

I didn’t need to look around. I could sense where each of them lay.

“You should have killed me first,” I said.

Monique threw several more daggers at me. I swatted them away as I closed the distance.

“Fire at will!” she yelled.

I could hear the fear and panic in her voice and it made me glad. Arrows were flying at me from every direction. I could sense the displacement of air around them and avoided or deflected them. She kept throwing daggers at me, forcing me to move or roll to avoid being hit.

“You have neither the skill nor the expertise to stand before me, child,” I said as I slid into melee range.

I jabbed forward with Maelstrom, she parried with her daggers. As I brought the staff back, blades formed on the ends. I swung back. Too late she realized that the blades existed. She blocked the staff as I buried the blade in her leg.

“Ungh,” she cried out as I ripped the blade out of her leg sideways doing as much damage as possible. That was when the first arrow hit me. A few seconds later my vision became blurry. More arrows followed the first, burying themselves in my back and legs.

Poison, goddammit. Not fair, I thought. As if fairness had any part in this situation. I collapsed to the ground as hands grabbed me and a second explosion rocked the building.

“Let’s go!” yelled Monique. “We have what we came for.”

I was picked up as the world tilted around me.

“And the others?” a voice said.

“Let the poison do its work. They are finished,” she said.

Once we were outside she grabbed me by the front of my cloak. My eyes focused on her knuckle knives as they glinted in the sun. Rage danced in her eyes. She punched me once, twice and once more. I saw the desire to end me in that moment. It would be a simple thing, a twist of the wrist and she would plunge the blade in my throat instead of hard metal against my head. I felt my face begin to swell. For once I was glad I was poisoned. The pain of the blows came a distant second to the raging pain in the rest of my body as the poison ate away at me.

“Monique,” said a voice.

“I’m fine. That was for my leg,” she said as she spat on me and limped off. “Bring that trash. We still have much to do.”

I felt the now familiar weightlessness of portal travel, and then the world went black.

TWENTY-ONE

SYLK SAW HIS home burning and knew if Mara and Kal were still inside, they were dead. He looked around the edge of the house and found the blanket used to exit the inferno he used to call a home. He stilled his mind and reached out. The house was empty and he breathed a sigh of relief. He walked back to where the blanket lay upon the grass.

Where did you go, Mara? Who did this? he thought. He knew it was only a matter of time before the Watchers arrived to investigate and erase this place. They were ruthless in their efficiency. Anything that was not native to the plane was removed from existence. He reached out again as he stilled his mind, this time farther into the forest and felt her presence.

Found you, but where are you going? There is nothing but forest here and the beings that live in the forest will not welcome this intrusion.

He headed off after Mara, aware that he was being watched and followed.

*****

Mara found a clearing and stopped to orient herself.

“What are you doing?” said Kal. “You said there were Watchers here. We have to keep moving.”

“We need to know where we are going. All I see is forest. It’s too damn easy to get lost in here and not even know it,” said Mara.

“Do you have a map? Do you know this place? Have you been here before? Does anything seem remotely familiar?”

“No, I don’t have a map and this is my first time here.” She’s right, this is futile. Without a map we have no idea where we are going, thought Mara. Master, where are you?

“Then we only have one choice. Put as much distance between us and that house. My guess is that the Watchers will go there first,” said Kal.

“You’re right, let’s keep moving, “said Mara.

They headed off at a run. The figure followed, keeping the same distance as before.

“Wait, I think I hear something,” said Mara as she stopped again.

“Yeah, it’s called a forest.”

“Quiet, let me listen,” said Mara. The forest had grown still. All Mara could hear was her rapid breathing.

“I don’t hear anything,” said Kal.

“That’s just it. There should be some kind of--”

In the distance she heard a faint roar.

“What the hell was that?” said Kal as she turned around, startled.

“That is the sound of trees being torn down.”

From the distance a voice boomed across the forest.

“YOU DO NOT BELONG,” said the voice as a tremor raced across the ground and leaves feel off the trees.

“Oh, shit. Is that—” said Kal.

“Watchers,” said Mara as the blood drained from her face and ice entered her veins.

*****

Sylk heard the voice and began tracing symbols in the air as he moved. He needed to find Mara before it was too late. The Watchers would start at the house and move outward. He had some time. He ran in the direction he felt Mara was. Once at the house the Watchers would attune to their chi signatures. He would need to mask them before that happened. He kept tracing the symbols as he ran. In the distance he thought he saw them. As he made his way around some trees they disappeared again. He felt her close now but could not see them.

“Mara!” he yelled. There was no point in being subtle since in moments the Watchers would be in pursuit.

“Master?” He heard her response not far from his location. He ran toward her. Trees were all he saw.

“Mara, where are you?” he said.

“I’m right here,” she said. Her voice sounded right next to him.

Then he realized what was happening. He was in the midst of an audible tunnel. The forest dwellers, the Onoi, used them to communicate over long distances.

“Are there any landmarks near you? Something distinct,” he said.

“It’s all trees, Master, in every direction,” she said.

His brain raced. They were running out of time. By now the Watchers would have left the house and would be on their trail. The sun was setting and he could see the smoke from the house in the distance. At least nightfall will offer them some measure of cover, he thought.

“Mara, listen carefully. The Watchers will be coming soon. I can mask us but we need to be together or it won’t work for you or Kal. You need to summon eight of your duplicates and have them run in every direction and then back to you,” said Sylk.

“I don’t think I have ever controlled more than three, Master.”

“You have to try. It is the only way I can find you in time.”

“Yes, Master,” she said as she materialized eight copies of herself. She trembled as sweat covered her face. The copies were semi-transparent.

“I have them,” she said.

“Good, now send them out.”

The eight Maras ran off in every direction, each with glowing hands as the forest plunged into darkness. Mara fell to her knees, her hands gripping the ground as she struggled to maintain the copies intact.

Sylk saw a figure running toward him. It looked like a phantom of Mara.

“Have them run back now. Mara?”

The phantom copy grew fainter with each second.

“She is nodding her head,” said Kal. “I don’t think she can speak right now.”

The phantom began heading back and Sylk followed. As he followed, it began to fade into the night. He kept running straight and hoped they weren’t too far away. He had no way to gauge how long Mara could hold a copy, much less eight travelling in different directions. He reached the clearing and saw Mara unconscious on the ground.  He saw Kal standing a few feet away.

“How did we hear you? I thought you were right over—” said Kal.

“Sit next to her, now!” yelled Sylk.

Kal jumped at the sound of his voice and sat next to Mara. He traced symbols and his hands left trails of gold and silver. As he finished the last symbol he placed his hand on the ground. A twenty- foot circle of symbols erupted to life around them. Each of the symbols pulsed with energy and flowed with color going from red to blue to green to white.

“Can’t you just, you know, ‘poof’, make a portal?” said Kal.

Sylk sat down and then lay on his back, breathing heavy.

“Portal would attract them,” he said in between breaths.

“So what, once we’re through the portal, we’re history.”

“These are Watchers. They travel all of the planes. A portal would only slow them down. The best way to fight them is not to,” said Sylk.

“Is that what this circle is? Not fighting?”

At that moment the trees around the clearing were flattened as a Watcher approached. This one was different from the one they had faced in the mirror. Standing nearly ten feet tall and wearing a long gray cloak, it strode into the clearing knocking down trees. It stopped several feet away from them.

“Do not make a noise,” whispered Sylk.

It pushed back its hood revealing its face. It was an angelic beauty, androgynous in its features with a hint of angularity in the jaw. The skin was a flawless porcelain white framed by the deepest golden hair. Its eyes were two pools of white that made it seem blind.

“YOU DO NOT BELONG,” it said as the force of its words uprooted trees across the clearing. It pointed a finger past the trio, into the trees.

“DISIPAR,” it said. A figure dressed in forest greens fell from the trees and landed in the clearing, convulsing. The Watcher opened its hand and the figure froze.

“YOU MUST BE PURGED,” it said as it closed its hand. The figure on the ground disintegrated in a cloud of dust, leaving only the clothing behind. After a few moments the clothing disappeared.

The Watcher stood still a moment and then floated away into the forest.

Sylk let out a long breath as the Watcher faded from sight.

“Who the hell was that, in the trees?” said Kal.

“If I had to guess, I would say Mikai,” said Sylk

“Mikai. As in the worst nightmare you can have, Mikai?” asked Kal. “That Mikai?”

“Is there another kind?” said Sylk. “The real question is what were they doing here following you?”

“It’s not like we can ask him,” said Kal as she looked at the place the Mikai had landed and then been erased.

“Not any longer, no. I know somewhere we can ask,” said Sylk as he placed a hand on Mara’s forehead. She was still unconscious.

“Where?”

“Get comfortable, we will spend the night here. Tomorrow we ask the Rah Ven,” said Sylk.

TWENTY-TWO

THE KEEPER STEPPED back and dodged the double-bladed attack. He swung his staff in a circle as he retreated. Rael brought up both swords to block the staff and was sent back several feet from the impact.

“Excellent,” said Rael. “You are more than I hoped for.”

“Stop this madness, Harbinger,” said the Keeper.

Rael laughed as he attacked again.

“Madness is all I know. Kill me or die.”

Rael lunged with one sword and then the other. The Keeper blocked one sword and allowed the other to lunge past him. An electrical discharge left the sword. The Keeper swung the staff in front of him to let it act as a makeshift lightning rod. The bolt hit the staff and arced away.

“You don’t have to live like this,” said the Keeper.

“I stopped ‘living’ long ago, Keeper,” said Rael as he slashed with a sword, forcing the Keeper to shift right then left. “It’s just survival now.”

“There is still hope for you,” said the Keeper as he pushed Rael back with a wave of energy from his staff. Rael crossed his swords to deflect the blast as he redirected the energy. The wave hit one of the remaining walls of the Watch, punching a large hole in it.

“Hope,” said Rael with disgust. “Hope for what?  Everything and everyone I cared for was ripped away from me. The only thing I can hope for now is death, and even that is denied me.”

Rael turned and wrapped both swords around him as dark energy enveloped his body.  The Keeper advanced and struck with his staff. Rael let him. The staff became trapped against his body. Energy raced down the staff and surrounded the Keeper. Still the Keeper did not let go.

“You have a choice, Rael,” said the Keeper as the energy from the swords consumed him.

“No,” said Rael as the Keeper disappeared.

“I made my choice long ago. There’s no going back now.”

The Gyrevex drew close to Rael as he sheathed his swords. His body still vibrated with the essence of the Keeper.

“The weapon bearer is in the hub plane. Let’s go erase some ascendants— that should draw him out,” said Rael.

TWENTY-THREE

WHEN I REGAINED consciousness I found myself in an empty room. A pair of thick metal bands were around my wrists. Each black band was inscribed with several silver symbols designed to prevent access to my chi. I had seen something like this before. Suppressors. My body felt like one large bruise. Everything ached. I managed to get to a seated position and waited for the room to right itself as I shifted next to a wall.

I tried to reach my center and access my chi. The symbols on the bands flared and the pain was excruciating. Every nerve in my body was on fire. I screamed until my throat was raw, and then I screamed some more. The tears flowed freely as I sought relief and found none. At some point I know I lost consciousness because the pain subsided.

As I opened my eyes again everything was dark except for a rectangle of light I guessed was the doorway. Several figures stood in the middle of the room. I couldn’t make out details through the haze of pain that racked my body, but I could breathe. I lay on the floor in a fetal position not daring to move for fear of setting off the pain again.

“I wouldn’t try that again,” said a female voice.  The voice was familiar but the pain was making recollection difficult. Without visual cues I couldn’t place it. A boot moved me to a sitting position, setting off new flares of pain in my body. Then it all came back to me—Monique and the Black Lotus. A figure limped toward me using a cane as I shielded my eyes from the light.

“The others,” I said, my voice a rasp.

“By now the poison that is merely burning through your body has killed them.”

She had a bandage around her leg where I had stabbed her and was dressed in the robes of a monitor. Underneath the robes I could see the glint of the knives attached to her thighs. She crouched down to where I sat, using the cane for support. I saw her wince in pain at the motion. Waving a hand in front my face, she stopped when I reacted.

“Blindness is usually a side effect of the toxin,” she said.

“Water,” I said.

She laughed then.

“You think you are a guest here?” she said as she waved an arm around and grew serious.

“Water, please.”

“Did you know Diana was my teacher? Do you know what a soul siphon does?  My teacher, my friend, is a statue for next hundred years or so. She can hear and see but cannot react. She is a prisoner trapped inside her body,” she said and anger laced her words.

“Please.”

She signaled to one of the figures next to her and a small cup was placed in my hands. My hands trembled as I brought the cool liquid to my cracked lips. It burned on the way down and I spit some of it up: manar.

“I wouldn’t waste it. That will keep you alive,” she said.

I tried drinking it again. My throat was sandpaper.

“Our initial orders were to kill you on sight,” she said.

I coughed and choked on the manar. The pain flared up again bringing fresh tears. She stood up and looked down at me.

“Why…why didn’t you?” I rasped.

“If it were up to me, I would end you right now, but it’s not up to me,” she said. I could see the hatred and contempt in her eyes.

“How long…how long will you keep me here?” I said. I knew this was a cell of some kind.

“You are more useful alive. If we killed you, the weapon you hold would pass to another warrior. We don’t want that. I hear warriors live a long time. You are going to be here for the rest of your pathetic life, however long that is,” she said.

“My friends…”

“Won’t find you. No one knows where you are. Those suppressors were made for you. The pain will never completely fade. If you try to access your chi, well, I can only hope that you try,” she said with a smile that never reached her eyes.

“You don’t understand. The ascendants are in danger. The Harbinger—”

“Is a myth. There are no ascendants and no Harbinger. How do you think we found you? Who suggested you use your inner sight? Didn’t it seem strange to you? You trusted them and they used you.”

“You’re wrong,” I said. “I felt them, the ascendants.”

“What you felt were people with latent energy. There are no ascendants protecting our plane. We do that—the Warriors of the Way. Warriors, guardians, the monitors and the Lotus. You have been told a fairy tale and you believed it.”

“No, can’t be true.”

“Ask yourself, would we really leave the safety of our entire plane to individuals who may not even know they are tasked with doing so?”

I remained silent.

“You were lied to. Those who helped you were judged, convicted and treated as we do all rogues. They were trying to take over this plane and were using you to further their plans.”

“No.” My thoughts were racing. Could she be right? Could Meja and the rest be rogues using me?

“I’ll leave you to get comfortable. One last thing, warrior, we depend on our connection to the other planes for survival. It is only through those connections that we have been able to keep our enemies at bay and peace in the planes. These traitors have been trying to cut us off for decades now. It has been their driving mission. Once we are cut off they can strike without fear.”

“No,” I said, looking away. My mind was reeling.

“Yes, at some point I’m sure they suggested closing off the plane. Didn’t they? Maybe even Meja herself?” she said as she grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her. “Did you care for her? Entertain thoughts about her? How could you be so naïve? She doesn’t care about you. You are just a tool to be used. A means to an end.”

She limped out of the room with the two figures trailing her. I heard the door slam shut cutting off all sound from outside, but I couldn’t silence her words.

*****

Monique walked out of the cell. The pain in her leg reminded her with each step of how close they came to losing this fight. She stepped over to the waiting men, members of the Black Lotus.

“Do you think he believed you?” said Rory, the second member of the triad leadership of the Black Lotus.

“He doesn’t need to believe me, he just needs to doubt them,” she said.

“He’s right about the ascendants, they are in danger—”

“And they will be relocated somewhere safe by us. No more interference. No more talk of a Harbinger. We handle this my way. Do you really think the first Karashihan is lurking somewhere ready to come back? How old is he, around five hundred? Spare me the nonsense.”

“Well, there are stories,” said Rory.

“And that’s exactly what they are, stories. Here are the facts. That warrior has an artifact that can undo us all. We keep him suppressed and out of commission. We took down a major threat but that was just a battle in this war. There are other rogues that need to be put down. I’m just glad we finally got that bitch Meja. Sylk is still out there somewhere.”

“We were lucky,” said Rory.

“When I bury all who have fallen, I’ll remember how lucky we were,” she said as she walked away.

TWENTY-FOUR

MEJA PULLED THE arrow out of her side. She could feel the poison burning through her. She needed to act fast. In moments her vision and reflexes would be compromised. The Black Lotus used a specific toxin with nasty side effects. One of them was chi suppression. If she didn’t stop the effects of the poison soon, it would be too late. She wouldn’t be able to access her chi to cause a stasis, stopping the poison. Tracing symbols with her hand, she began. The first time, she missed the sequence.

“Shit,” she said and began the sequence again. The edges of her vision were going dark, tunneling in.

The second time she forgot a symbol causing the trail of colors to fade midsequence. Goddammit Meja, focus. You can do this. You must do this, she thought. She did the sequence again, forcing herself to go slowly. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, she thought to herself as her throat started to constrict, making it hard to breathe. She was glad she had paid attention in her symbology class. It was why she was a senior monitor. She never understood why it would be important to put her body in stasis, until now. The third time worked and she felt herself being able to breathe as the effects of the poison were lessened.

Holding her side, she went over to where the others lay and repeated the sequence for each. This will buy us some time, but not much, she thought as she cleaned and bandaged her wound.

“Monitor, how bad is it?” said Samir.

She treated his wounds, pulling out the arrows and doing her best to clean out the poison. The Lotus always used poisoned weapons. No one knew the antidote, and she wasn’t sure there was one. It was what made them so fearsome.

“It’s bad. I stopped the poison for now, but it’s not an antidote. I don’t know if there is one,” she said. “I can’t open a portal, much less manifest my weapon. The poison is too far along for that.”

She felt for the short sword she carried on her thigh. Monitors were trained not to rely solely on chi weapons. Its presence calmed her somewhat. At least I’m not totally defenseless, she thought as she adjusted the thigh straps holding it in place.

“How are the others?” asked Samir.

Samir appeared to be doing better than the others even though he was covered in sweat and his speech was slurred. He moved to a seated position on the floor.

“Luna is in the worse shape. It could be because she’s Rah Ven and her body is reacting differently to the poison, I don’t know. Zen seems to be doing better. Maybe Monique uses less poison on her daggers.”

“How long do we have?” he said.

“Does it matter? I don’t know the antidote!” she said. How could I have been so stupid? Of course they would be waiting for him to use his inner sight. It’s what I would have done. I underestimated them. That won’t happen again.

“I understand our situation is dire, monitor.”

“I’m sorry. I just can’t believe I didn’t anticipate that ambush. Now Dante is gone. They have him god knows where and the ascendants and Rael...” said Meja.

“Let us deal with the immediate, monitor,” said Samir.

“You’re right, we need to stop this poison or none of that will matter. We have about two days with our bodies in stasis then things start to break down,” she said.

“The effects will get worse?” said Samir.

Meja nodded. “Yes, stasis only slows the poison. It doesn’t stop it. In two days stasis won’t be effective and the poison will run its course.”

“Perhaps the Karashihan can assist?” said Samir.

“Well, if you can bring him here with a cure before the authorities show up to investigate the damage, that would be great. Help me move the others to the next room.”

They stood up slowly and pulled the bodies of Luna and Zen to an adjacent area away from the meeting room.

“I will try and find the Karashihan. If he is on this plane I can find him,” said Samir sitting in a meditation pose. He slowed his breathing and closed his eyes.

“You are full of surprises for a syllabist,” said Meja. How can he even access his chi? The poison seems to be affecting each of us in different ways.

“The cover does not always tell the story of the book, monitor. I was not always a syllabist, even though it is my primary calling. Please give me a moment.”

Meja remained silent while he continued his breathing exercises. You and I may have unfinished business, but I really hope you know how to reverse this, she thought as Samir searched for Sylk.

*****

Sylk had remained awake all night. It was the only way to maintain this type of circle. He thought he had heard the Watchers several times in the night. The image of the Mikai being undone was enough for him to stay awake for several nights.

“Master,” said Mara as she opened her eyes slowly. He had her head cradled in his lap.

“You did well. You saved us from the Watchers,” he whispered. Most of his focus remained on maintaining the circle.

“Thank you, Master,” she said.

“We need to go,” he said.

“Didn’t you say they could follow us across planes?” said Kal who had woken up.

“Yes, but Mara will leave a chi projection behind. It should serve as a distraction long enough for us leave unseen,” he said as he looked at Mara. “How do you feel? Are you up to the task?”

“One projection?”

“Yes, but with enough chi to last after we are gone.”

She nodded. “I think I can do that.”

“In case we are followed I would rather be someplace I know than having them chase us in unfamiliar territory. We are going to the hub.”

“We aren’t going to the Rah Ven? What about the Mikai?” said Kal.

“Mikai? How are they involved?” said Mara.

“I don’t know yet. Let’s get to the hub first, then we can travel there and ask,” he said.

Sylk began to execute a different set of symbols. It was a difficult process requiring various levels of focus.

“Can he do this? Keep the circle and open a portal?” Kal asked Mara.

“It is difficult. He once told me it is like trying to play the piano, read a book and count backwards all at the same time.”

“That doesn’t sound difficult, it sounds impossible.”

“He has had a long time to practice,” said Mara as she sat down opposite him and began to focus her chi. A projection appeared beside her, seated in the same position.

“Mara,” said Sylk. His voice was strained.

“Yes, Master.”

“I will undo the circle. The Watchers, once activated, remain vigilant for several days. They will appear once the circle is gone. You send your projection into the forest as soon as the circle is gone. I will open the portal in the next moment and we will leave this plane. Do you understand the sequence of events?”

“Yes, Master.”

Sylk undid the circle. In the distance they could hear a roar of destruction.

“Send the projection now. Make sure it will remain after we leave,” he said.

The projection of Mara ran into the forest, heading toward the sound. The next moment a portal opened.

“Inside now,” Sylk said as he saw the image of a Watcher begin to materialize.

They entered the portal as the Watchers followed the projection of Mara.

TWENTY-FIVE

“I HAVE FOUND him. It appears he has just entered this plane,” said Samir.

“Can you get a message to him somehow?” said Meja.

“I can try, but this poison. It is interfering with my ability to focus.”

“I know, but try, Samir.”

“I will do my best, monitor.”

She could only hope it was enough.

“He is close now. Beneath us? How can that be?” said Samir.

“The subway. He must be in the subway. There is an old entrance to the subway not far from here. We can access it from here.”

“I have attempted to place an image of our surroundings in his mind. I do not know if I was successful. I need to rest,” said Samir, his voice tired.

“It’s the poison. I’m going to try the subway entrance and see if I can see him. Wait here,” said Meja.

Samir nodded as he rested against a wall. Meja rested a hand on her sword as she made her way into the library proper. She headed down the south passage and found the old subway entrance that led directly into the building. Without access to her chi she couldn’t operate the mechanism that would open the door. She looked around, making sure she was alone and removed her sword and wedged it in the space between the door and the frame. She managed to open it. Good thing this is an old door. The passageway led to the old unused portion of Grand Central-Public Library station that had been closed decades earlier. She saw several figures on the platform.  That can’t be right. This platform hasn’t been used in years, not even by us, she thought. The next moment the figures were gone. The poison. It’s getting worse.

“Meja!” She heard a voice but couldn’t see anyone. The platform had gone pitch black.

She held her hands out before her, feeling around. She didn’t want to fall off the platform. Without her chi she couldn’t sense her surroundings.

“Kal?” she said.

“And Sylk and Mara. We found you!” said Kal as she hugged Meja.

“What’s wrong, monitor?” said Sylk.

Meja turned to face the voice. “Dante’s been taken by the Lotus.”

“What’s the matter with your eyes?” said Kal.

“We’ve been poisoned, and it seems I’m blind,” said Meja.

TWENTY-SIX

I DON’T KNOW how much time passed before the door opened again. I was in total darkness. My only companion was the constant thrum of pain that accompanied every movement.  I tried to access my chi in degrees and found that below a certain threshold I could access some of it. It was enough for me to ‘see’ in the dark. It didn’t mean much since the room was empty.

I tried to reach out with my sight to see if I could get an idea of where I was being held. At first I didn’t feel any pain and then it was upon me. It felt like a hot poker shoved into the base of my neck and pulled out through the top of my skull. I doubled over in agony, dry heaving as nausea took over my body.

Nothing came up since I hadn’t been fed anything except manar. I wasn’t hungry, but I could tell I wasn’t being nourished. Manar gave you a false sense of fullness. I was slowly starving to death.

The door opened. The rectangle of light filled the room.

Unless her leg had healed since our last talk, I knew it wasn’t Monique.  Judging from the build this was a male. The figure had a small cup in his hand— more manar. He placed the cup on the floor beside me. I stood up to get a better view of who was serving me. The pain threatened to knock me down again.

“Hello, warrior. Here is your meal,” said the figure. That voice. I know that voice.

I used what little chi I could to try and get an impression of him. He punched me in the stomach, sending me to the floor.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said.

The haze of pain fell on me as I looked up from the floor.

“You will rot in here,” he said. He drew close to me and pretended to be sitting me up so I could drink the manar. They made sure I drank every cup. If I spit it up they would bring more and convince me to drink it usually with repeated blows. I learned to drink the first cup.

I tried to focus on his face but he kept his hood down.

“You must try to get past the defenses of the bands. Only you can remove them,” he whispered. “That is your only hope of getting out of here.”

He straightened me up and handed me the cup. I sipped the liquid while trying to get a look at his face, but he kept his back to me.

“Who…who are—” I started.

He backhanded me across the face. “You will not address me unless ordered to do so,” he said. I could feel the blood running down my nose, but I was in too much pain to care. He handed me a napkin for the blood.

I spilled some of the manar, so he took the cup and left the room, coming back a few moments later with another cup.

“Drink it,” he said.

I drank it with trembling hands. As he drew close to get the cup he brought his face to my ear.

“I told you I would see you soon. Now find a way to get out of the bands, I left you a tool. I won’t be able to get back here again without drawing suspicion. It’s up to you now,” he whispered.

I slumped over on my side, trying to keep the manar down. He pulled back his hood slightly and I saw his face, but I didn’t trust my eyes. He left the room and I still had the napkin. They never left anything with me. Inside the napkin there was something solid. I stayed slumped over and held the napkin to my chest. I don’t know how they could see me in total darkness but I had a feeling they could. I felt around the napkin and a small stone fell into my palm.  As I felt around it I could tell it was a prism.

I couldn’t believe it. I saw him take several blows of Roman’s hammer. I saw him die, but in my hands I held a prism. A tool that would allow me to focus my chi.

I had just been served by Devin.

TWENTY-SEVEN

“TAKE US TO the others, monitor,” said Sylk.

“Do you know of an antidote for Lotus poison?” said Meja as she led them back to the entrance. “I came through here. We are two passages down and one to the left. The room is sealed from the inside. Samir can open it, I hope.”

“I didn’t know an antidote existed,” said Sylk.

Meja accepted this news in silence. She knew it had been a slim chance. No one had ever recorded an antidote to the poison. They arrived at the door and Samir opened it after a few tries. He had grown weaker since Meja had left.

“Welcome, Karashihan,” said Samir. “I fear we are in most unfortunate circumstances.”

“How did you find me? I saw this room in my mind although I have never been here before,” said Sylk.

“It was him,” Meja said as she pointed in Samir’s direction. “He used one of his abilities.”

“It was my limited ability. The poison is doing much damage.”

“You managed to put them in stasis? How long?” said Sylk.

“I thought we had two days, but I went blind on the platform so it would seem to be much less than that.”

“It could be just the way the toxin is affecting you. Samir can still see,” said Sylk.

“So there is no antidote to this Lotus poison?” said Samir.

“None that I know of. It’s what makes the Black Lotus so feared by their enemies. The effects vary but it always starts with chi suppression, then loss of motor skills, blindness and usually asphyxiation.”

“Master, the guardian is not doing well,” said Mara. She had gone to each member, assessing how far the poison had advanced. Sylk went over to where Zen lay. He was cold to the touch.

“The guardian doesn’t have much longer. It looks like he may be in the final stage,” said Sylk.

Luna stirred behind them and mumbled something. Kal went over to her.

“What is it?” Kal said as she propped her up.

“We have an antidote. The Rah Ven have encountered this toxin before and we have defeated it,” said Luna.

“Where is the antidote? Can we make it here?” said Meja, her hopes rising.

“In order to make it we must go to my plane,” said Luna. “There is a blood healer there that can do this. We will need what we call a blood change. Blood from a healthy Rah Ven will need to enter your system.”

“A transfusion? This will work? Will it reverse the effects?” said Meja.

“I don’t know,” said Luna.

“We do not have much of an alternative,” said Sylk. “We do not have the luxury of time. Luna, I need to put us as close to this healer as possible. I need you to fix this place in your mind and give Samir your hand.  Can you do what you did before, Samir?” asked Sylk.

“I will try,” said Samir as he took Luna’s hand and closed his eyes.

“Do you have it?” asked Sylk.

“It is a faint impression, but I think it can be enough to take us there, “said Samir as he projected the image to Sylk.

“That should be enough,” Sylk said as he opened a portal to the Rah Ven plane around them.

TWENTY-EIGHT

RAEL STOOD OUTSIDE the dojo. He found that most ascendants practiced a form of martial arts. It was usually the older styles, the more traditional and obscure arts that were out of favor with the modern students, that attracted the ascendant. It also helped that he could sense an ascendant once he got close enough. He sniffed the air as the Gyrevex stood around him. It was late and the last class would be ending soon. It was almost always the sensei or head instructor. He noticed there was no sign outside of the school.

“Perfect. Let’s go take a class,” he said to a Gyrevex. “You two stay here and make sure we are not interrupted.”

He headed up the stairs to the dojo where he could hear the sounds of solitary practice.

“I’m pretty certain that when you woke up this morning you did not imagine that this is how your day, and life, would end,” said Rael as he stepped on to the dojo floor.

The sensei, his uniform covered in sweat, turned to face Rael and assumed a fighting stance. He was a short, muscular man with strong features. His dark eyes glistened at this challenge. There was some grey around the temples framing his black hair. His knuckles were gnarled from years of conditioning. He extended a hand to the side and a long staff, a bo flew off the rack against the wall and into his hand with a resounding thump. The sensei tapped the bo once on the floor and raised it in a defensive stance.

“I like that, no denial, no excuses, just right down to business,” said Rael.

“Harbinger,” said the sensei. “You are not welcome here.”

Rael drew his swords and assumed a fighting stance that held both swords low.

“Oh, I know that. I am not welcome anywhere, sensei, but this isn’t about you. I need a certain warrior to come out of hiding. The only way I can do that is if I— what’s the term I’m looking for? — dispatch ascendants.”

“You will never succeed in releasing your master. The Warriors of the Way will not allow it.”

“Allow? Allow? Who are you to allow anything? Who appointed you as the lords of the planes? This is the problem with your group. Too self-important. It’s time for a change in management,” said Rael.

The sensei stepped forward, thrusting with his bo. Rael stepped back, avoiding the attack. Moving to the side, he threw one sword at the sensei while closing the distance. The sword sliced the arm of the sensei as he rotated away from the blade. He brought the staff in a low arc in a strike designed to shatter knees. Rael leapt over the attack. The sensei anticipated this and lashed out with a side thrust kick, connecting with Rael midair. Rael was sent back and landed on his feet, one of his ribs broken.

“Excellent. I am going to enjoy this more than usual,” he said. He took a deep breath, focusing his chi and knitted the bone in his side. The pain made him catch his breath. The Gyrevex began to move forward.

“No, this one is mine. Stand by the door,” said Rael.

The Gyrevex moved to the entrance and stood there, a silent sentinel awaiting a command.

The sensei took a deep breath and focused his chi. The staff took on an orange glow as he moved it into a defensive position.

“Finally, a challenge,” said Rael as he extended his hand to bring his fallen sword back to him. As the sword travelled back to Rael, the sensei launched an attack. Intercepting the sword and sending it flying across the dojo, he lunged at Rael. Rael parried the attacks as the sensei pressed him with a flurry of thrusts and downward strikes. Rael backpedaled as the attacks intensified. The sensei slid back and launched his staff at Rael’s head. Rael slipped the strike, letting the staff rest on his shoulder and slid in, stabbing the sensei. The sensei grunted in pain as the sword entered his abdomen. Rael summoned his other sword to his hand. The sensei brought his staff across, striking Rael in the temple. Rael stepped back, stunned, as the second sword entered his hand. He shook his head as he redirected chi into his swords. Energy arced between the blades and they took on a dark blue hue.

His uniform was soaked in blood and still the sensei attacked. He seemed to pay no mind to the wound as he ducked a sword slash and raised his staff to deflect the energy lancing at him from the swords. The force of the bolts made him take several steps back. Rael advanced as the sensei sidestepped a lunge and then a downward slash. The wound hampered his movement and Rael connected with the next attack, a horizontal slash across the chest. The dojo was filled with the smell of burnt metal and charred flesh as the sensei was hit with repeated attacks of arcing energy. The last bolt of energy caused the sensei to drop his staff. Rael stepped in and kicked it away.

“You lasted longer than most,” said Rael.

“My death will not bring you victory, Harbinger. In the end you will fail,” said the sensei through clenched teeth.

“I saw this great movie once. Immortal warriors were going around removing each other’s heads. They were fighting for a prize and only one of them could have it. They kept saying ‘in the end there can be only one’. I’m not fighting for a prize—” he stabbed the sensei in the chest—”but in my version of this story everyone dies. In the end there can be none,” said Rael as he removed the sword. The sensei fell to his knees, his blood pooling on the floor beneath him.

“The Warriors of the Way will fight you,” said the sensei as he fell on his side.

Rael stood over the sensei as his life flowed down the dojo floor. He crouched down and wiped his blades on the sensei’s uniform, leaving a trail of blood and gore.

“Their time has passed. I am here to usher in a new rule,” said Rael.

“No one will submit to your master.”

“There won’t be a choice, sensei. It’s submit or die.”

“They will stop you,” said the sensei with his last breath.

“How can you stop something you don’t believe exists?” said Rael as he stood and left the dojo. The Gyrevex followed silently behind.

“One less ascendant standing in the way. We remove a few more and I’m certain we will be paid a visit from the Warriors of the Way. Won’t they be surprised to find out I’m real?” said Rael.

The Gyrevex remained silent.

“The next ascendant is not too far from here. Let’s go pay him a visit,” he said as he sheathed his swords.

TWENTY-NINE

I COULDN’T BELIEVE Devin was still alive.

Time was an alien concept to me in my cell. I had no way of marking its passage. It could have been days or hours, I didn’t know. The only thing that helped me keep track of time were the regular doses of manar.  They seemed to know when I would get hungry and then bring my small cup filled with the clear liquid.

I started accessing my chi in small increments. The prism allowed me to circumvent the suppressor bands to a large extent by focusing my chi. The bands seemed to react to the internal buildup of chi use. Once past a certain threshold, they kicked in the same way a circuit breaker trips when there is too much current flowing. The difference being that the bands didn’t interrupt the flow of electricity but the flow of chi. They suppressed the flow while engaging all the pain receptors of the body. It was a perfect design if you needed to control someone who could use their chi. Once the bands were on, the flow of chi was cut off and the pain insured there were no further attempts to access it.

The prism allowed me to bypass the design of the bands by acting as a focal point for the flow. As long as I held the prism I could focus my chi through it and not exceed the threshold controlled by the bands.

I started building a tolerance to the pain. I had to escape. As long as I was being held, the ascendants were in danger of being wiped out. I couldn’t let Meja cut off the other planes either. Something told me that would have far-reaching repercussions. The negative kind. I needed to get out before it was too late. I didn’t know who to trust, but I knew ascendants existed and had to be protected.

I gradually increased the amount of chi I could use until I could get a feel for where I was. It seemed to be a free standing cube, unconnected to anything else. Where on earth was I?

With the prism I was able to expand my awareness even further and found nothing. I went over every square inch of my ‘cell’ and found that no door existed. It was then I realized that the rectangle of light I saw when they brought me the manar was not a door. It was a portal. I was in the mirror.

Monique’s comment made sense now. There was no way anyone could find me here. I didn’t even know where ‘here’ was. My only hope of escape was the manar. They needed to open a portal to bring me the manar.

I needed to escape this cube. The problem with my plan was threefold.

First, I didn’t know if I was strong enough to stand. A steady diet of manar kept me alive, but didn’t strengthen me. The bands prevented too much motion because our bodies use chi as the driving force of life. Too much activity meant pain. I kept having to tighten the drawstring on my pants, which meant I was losing weight.

Second, the haze of pain was still there. I needed to get the bands off before I tried anything.

Lastly, I didn’t know where I was ‘escaping’ to. I could jump in that portal right into Monique’s arms for all I knew.

With the prism, I started by siphoning chi back into my body. I needed to get my strength back. Once I knew I was in the mirror I didn’t have to worry about being seen. I tied the prism to the inside of my pants and kept it in close contact with my skin at all times. Taking off the bands was going to be difficult and painful. If my circuit breaker theory was right I would need to overload the bands with the use of chi. I could only think of one way to do that.

I would have to manifest Maelstrom.

THIRTY

SYLK OPENED THE portal across from the home of the healer. Only Zen had to be supported. The rest of the group were able to walk on their own. Luna approached the door of the small home and knocked. A shuffling step came close to the door.

“Who’s there?” said an elderly voice.

“Peace, grandmother. We are in need of your services,” said Luna.

“Come back later, it’s too damn early,” said the voice.

“I’m afraid we will not be able to come later.”

The door opened a crack and an elderly woman peeked out from behind it.

“That you, Luna?” said the old woman.

“Yes, grandmother, it’s me.”

“Well why didn’t you say so? Come in, come in. Who are your friends, Luna?” The old woman sniffed the air and then grew still. “These are not Rah Ven.”

They stood in her kitchen, which was full of jars of every sort. Vials sat on shelves and the table. It seemed every available empty space had some kind of container on it. They sat Zen down in one of the chairs. His head lolled to one side. Samir took a chair next to him to keep him propped up.

“No we are not, but we need your help,” said Sylk. The old woman noticed the pendant around his neck. She drew close to Sylk and reached up. Her yellow eyes glistened as she spoke to him.

“How did you get this?” she said as she held the pendant in her hand. “This is Grawl’s mark.”

“He gave it to me,” said Sylk.

“Did he now? Or did you take it from his cold, lifeless body? Do you know about this, Luna?”

“I do not, grandmother,” said Luna looking at Sylk, urging him to explain.

“Grawl told me to show this pendant to all who would question me in my search for those who hunt the Rah Ven,” said Sylk.

“They take the little ones, you know,” the old woman said, mostly to herself as she let go of the pendant. She fussed around the kitchen, moving jars and vials as she spoke.

“You will do this thing?” said the healer. “You will find them? Stop them?”

“I gave Grawl my word,” said Sylk.

“You word, bah! What is your word to me? Why do you bring these two-leggers into my home, Luna? They reek of arrogance.” She turned to face Sylk, craning her neck at him as she spoke. “Your word is nothing to me. I am not Grawl, I need more than your word,” the healer said.

“Grandmother…” began Luna. The old woman pointed a finger and silenced her.

“Quiet, pup. He may look young, but this one is old like me. I can smell the years on him. We will do this the old way,” she said as she pulled a large knife from one of the drawers.

Sylk stood still, not knowing if this was an attack or some strange ritual. She stepped close to Sylk and pulled the knife across her left palm, cutting a deep gash. She handed the knife, handle first, to Sylk. He grabbed the knife and repeated her action, cutting a deep gash in his left hand. The knife was so sharp he didn’t feel the cut for several seconds. When the blood began to flow, the old woman grabbed his hand with hers, mingling the blood. Her grip was a clasp of steel.

“Now you tell me what you will do for the Rah Ven,” she said.

“I will hunt those responsible for taking your young and I will bring a reckoning for their actions,” said Sylk.

As Sylk spoke the joined hands began to glow red. A fine red mist formed around their hands, and Sylk could see it was their blood infused with chi.

“Your word is your bond, our blood is one now. You are one with the Rah Ven. Our sorrow is your sorrow, our joy your joy,” she said.

When she finished speaking, the glow flared for a few seconds, sending warmth through Sylk’s hand. The mist dissipated and she let go. Sylk looked at his hand and found the wound had healed, leaving a red scar that seemed to pulse.

“This is a blood scar,” she said showing him her palm. “It weighs more than your word to Grawl. Put that thing away,” she said, pointing at the pendant. “It will bring you more trouble than it’s worth; don’t know what Grawl was thinking. If you are stopped you show them this,” she said, and pointed at the scar on his hand, which matched hers. “Every Rah Ven will know you are a friend of the pack and show respect.”

Sylk bowed to the old woman. “Thank you. Will you treat my companions?” he said.

“Don’t thank me just yet. There is a good chance you won’t survive your hunt. You are after the night shadows, after all. They are the ones who steal the young,” she said.

“The Mikai,” said Sylk.

“You may be old, but not old enough to correct me. We know them as night shadows,” she said.

“Yes, grandmother,” said Sylk.

The healer turned to Luna. “Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take care of you and your friends.”

“Yes grandmother, they are afflicted with—”

“I know what they are afflicted with. It’s the blind death. What kind of healer would I be if I didn’t know?” She turned to Sylk. “You aren’t afflicted. I don’t smell it in you. You will be my hands.”

Sylk nodded as she handed him vials filled with different liquids.

“This is an evil poison, made by you two-leggers. We call it the blind death,” said the healer.

She walked into a room adjoining the kitchen that had a large sink and more tables covered with mortars and pestles. She grabbed a powder from one shelf and put some in a bowl. Grabbing two powders from another shelf she put it in the same bowl. Taking one of the vials she poured the contents into the bowl.

“Mix that, careful not to get any on you. You will be no use to me asleep,” she said.

Sylk began mixing the ingredients until they were a thick paste. The room next to the one they were in was full of beds. The healer pointed to it.

“Get your friends in those beds. We need to do a blood exchange and they can’t be moving about while it’s happening,” she said.

Sylk nodded as he left to get the others.

“Get the large one first— he’s the worse of the lot,” the healer yelled after him as he went to the next room.

Sylk came back carrying Zen and placed him in a bed, and in a few moments every member of the group was also lying in one. The healer had jars filled with a viscous red liquid.

“This here is Rah Ven blood, freely given and freely taken,” she said, making a guttural sound that was half growled and half spoken. The liquid in the jars took on an incandescent glow.

“What is this process? This blood exchange?” asked Sylk.

“For the warrior there is blood in life and life in blood. With the blind death the blood is tainted and must be replaced or strengthened to fight the poison. That’s what these beds are for and this is why you need a blood healer.”

She placed one jar in one of the openings at the head of each bed. For Zen she placed two jars of the blood. Over Meja’s bed she placed a jar of blood and a clear liquid.

“We will bring back your sight, young one,” she said as she patted Meja’s arm.

All the beds had channels running alongside the edges. Each jar had a spigot on the bottom. Once the jars were in place she turned the spigots, releasing the blood. The blood flowed into the channels and surrounded the body of each poisoned member of the group. She handed Sylk a brush.

“Put the paste on them. Careful not to get any on yourself. You’re too big and heavy for me to have to move,” she said. “The rest of you” —she looked at Mara and Kal—”can wait in the other room.”

Sylk applied the paste to each of the group, and within seconds they were in a deep sleep. The healer stood at the foot of the first bed, which was Zen’s.  She put her hands in the blood. Nothing happened for a few moments and Sylk began to wonder if there was any truth to this healing process. In seconds, tendrils of blood shot out from the channels and embedded themselves in Zen’s body. She repeated the process with each one and then sat in a chair beside the beds, visibly tired.

“The process has started. No stopping it now until it’s run its course. A few hours and your friends will have the poison out of their bodies. There is nothing you can do now. You may as well wait with the others.”

Sylk turned to leave the room and she grabbed his arm, stopping him.

“You have much conflict in you. I smell darkness around you, fighting the light. You must get rid of this taint or it will destroy you and those around you.” She let go of his arm and turned to watch the flow of blood over the beds.

Sylk remained silent as he left the room to join the others.

It was then that the growls started.

THIRTY-ONE

I FELT STRONGER with each passing day. I don’t know if there were days that passed or not. I counted by manar servings.  I expected I would get one cup of manar daily. It was enough to sustain me the entire day but then I would feel hungry come the next day. If I was being given one cup per day, it had been ten days since I had gotten the prism and began redirecting my chi.

I was exercising and I could feel my strength returning. I started pushing on the bands, drawing more and more chi until the pain was too much to bear. Then I would stop and rest. Each day I was able to hold out a little longer. Being on the manar diet didn’t help much but I thought I was ready to test the bands. I waited until the manar was given for the day.

I sat in the center of the room and slowed my breath until it was completely under my control. I focused my chi and began to project outward. The pain was intense, but manageable until the prism literally shattered. A wave of pain washed over me. I was in and out of consciousness a few times when I stopped. My breath was ragged and I was drenched in sweat.

I gathered up the pieces of the prism and joined them together. I tried focusing my chi through it but it wouldn’t work as a focus. I threw it against the wall in frustration, realizing what a bad idea that was after the fact. Pieces of the prism would be all over the floor when the next delivery of manar would arrive.

Compartmentalize the pain. Separate yourself from it. Focus your chi and summon your weapon, Owl’s familiar voice said.

Owl? No response. Now I’m hearing voices. Great. I had to try it. This was the strongest I was going to get. Without the prism my strength would degenerate to where I was before, slowly wasting away.

I centered myself again and began to focus my chi. The pain rushed up immediately. I took the pain and put it aside. I mentally stacked each wave of pain in a box and put that box somewhere else. The waves were coming harder and faster, rocking my body. The symbols on the bands glowed bright silver.

Vessel, what have you done?  Maelstrom.

I never thought I would be glad to hear that voice in my head.

I have suppressors on and they inhibit my ability to access you. Even now. I need you to manifest fully, I said in my thoughts.

You do not know what you ask. A full manifestation can kill you. And while I may be amenable to that as a solution it would not benefit me in this place. It would mean surrendering your free will.

I could feel my body giving way to the pain. The glowing symbols were so intense I could feel them burning into my skin. My body began to convulse and I could feel my chi slipping away.

Do it. Do it now. I won’t have another opportunity. You will be trapped here with me for as long as I live, I said as I felt my chi slip away. Too late. The symbols on the bands did not diminish in intensity.

“What the hell?” I said as the bands began to crack.

I smelled cooking flesh and was instantly hungry and horrified at the same time. It was the smell of my arms being branded by the symbols.  Along the cracks I could see crimson lines of energy form. I held my arms away from my body and as far away from my face as possible. The lines grew brighter and brighter until the bands shattered, sending shards in every direction. For a second I thought I had lost both my arms below the elbows. I couldn’t feel anything. When I looked I saw the symbols from the bands burned into the skin. The next moment I felt myself recede but not completely.

I will take your offer at another time. For now I will assist you in exiting this place, said Maelstrom.

The weapon didn’t manifest in my presence, but I could feel the power coursing through me. Was it the symbols on my arms? I would have to investigate that later, but for now I needed to prepare. They would be bringing manar and I would be ready.

THIRTY-TWO

THE HEALER’S HOME was surrounded by Rah Ven, some in canine form. The growling grew worse by the second.

“Send them out, grandmother,” said one of the Rah Ven in front of the mob.

The healer opened her door with force and stared down the mob.

“I will not. You are welcome to come in and try to remove them,” she said.

“How could you heal two-legged scum? They are the ones that steal our young and enslave them!” said another from the crowd.

The healer gave the speaker a hard stare. “You dare speak to me with that tone of voice? I wiped your bottom before you were off your mother’s teat.

“Who speaks for this group? Or are you just a bunch of stray dogs too afraid to face me and would rather bark from the shadows?” she said.

One of the Rah Ven stepped forward from out of the mob. He was taller than the rest. His muscular body, covered in scars, rippled as he walked. His long brown hair was cut short, the opposite of most Rah Ven that wore their hair long. His yellow eyes shone with malice as he locked stares with the healer.

“I speak for this group, old one,” said the muscular Rah Ven.

“Of course you do, Cane, I should have seen your hand in this,” said the healer.

Behind the healer, Sylk stepped into view.

“There he is!” yelled someone from the crowd. “Give him to us. We will have justice for our young!” said another.

“He is my guest,” said the healer.

“He has no right to be here,” said Cane.

Behind the healer, Sylk raised his left hand showing it to the crowd. A murmur raced through the Rah Ven.

“He has a blood scar?” said a voice.

“How can he have a blood scar? It must be a trick,” came another voice.

Cane narrowed his eyes at the scar. The healer smiled at him. Then Cane smiled back.

“I invoke the rite of acceptance,” said Cane.

The healer frowned. “He is a friend of the pack. The rite holds no merit. His status has been established, by Grawl,” she said as she pulled out the pendant holding Grawl’s mark.

There was more whispering among the crowd. Cane raised his hand to calm them down.

“Is Grawl here? Can he confirm this? The rite still holds. I invoke it as a member of the pack and as Rah Ven. He must accept it. You know the alternative,” said Cane.

The crowd began murmuring as they grew uneasy. Sylk could see the unease on many of their faces. They did not want to challenge a blood scar and the mark of Grawl. However many of the faces were twisted by their hatred. They wanted revenge for the ones they had lost to the Mikai.

“We accept the rite. He needs time to prepare. We will meet in one hour at the appointed place,” said the healer and slammed the door.

“Curse Grawl, and curse this pack,” she said under her breath.

“Why curse Grawl?” said Sylk.

She drew close to Sylk as she spoke. “Because he left this pack without a successor. Cane has been trying to take control of it ever since he came of age and I fear today he may have found the opportunity he was looking for.”

“What is this rite?”  Sylk was not as familiar with Rah Ven culture as he would have liked to be in that moment.

“Since you bear a blood scar and wear Grawl’s mark, it makes you a candidate for pack leader. The rite determines if the pack will accept your membership into the pack. It also establishes where you fall in its hierarchy.”

“Where do I fall now?” said Sylk.

“Right now you are seen as a threat. If the rite is not completed they will attack as a group. And be within their right to do so,” she added.

“Does everyone in my group have to pass this rite?”

She looked away. “No, you act for the group. If you succeed they will be safe.”

“If I fail?” said Sylk.

He knew where this was headed. He realized that Grawl had maneuvered him into this position—first, by securing his promise to deal with the Mikai and then by giving him the pendant. The old pack leader knew what would be set in motion the moment Sylk set foot in the Rah Ven plane.

“The rite of acceptance is a fight,” she said. “Victory can be determined in several ways. It can be first blood, concession, or death. The challenger picks the method.”

“If I succeed, the pack will leave us alone?”

“Yes, but if you fail your group shares your fate. Cane always picks death.”

THIRTY-THREE

THE TIME PASSED as I sat and evaluated where my strength was. Maelstrom would not manifest, even though I tried several times to bring it forth. However, I felt stronger than I ever had. The glyphs on my arms were red and angry but healed. I managed to pick up most of the prism parts and hid them in my shirt. My chi flowed and I was able to sense everything around me. It was a lot of nothing.

Focusing my chi, I summoned small orbs to float around me. I practiced sending them off into the walls until I could penetrate the stone.

Getting out of the cell was my priority, but I had a larger problem. Could I return to the group?  Who could I trust? Were they just using me as Monique said? I had no way of proving it. Monique had every reason to lie. Her words were suspect at best. I still needed Samir to master the words of power. But why did Meja want me to use my inner sight? How many times did she suggest I was better off dead? It seemed I was better off alone. If Monique was telling the truth, I was alone and the group was dead, except for Sylk, Mara and Kal. At least if I was on my own I wouldn’t be vulnerable to anyone manipulating or using me. I wouldn’t be hurt again. That would have to wait. First I needed to get out of this cell. If I could find Devin maybe he would have some answers. It seemed like hours had passed before I felt the surge of energy that signaled a portal was opening. I didn’t shield my eyes from the glare as that would have shown the bands were missing.

I sat with my back to the portal. The shadow of the figure loomed over and passed me as he drew closer to bring me my manar. I moved to the shadows, shuffling as I usually did when the pain had control of my body. They considered me a minimal threat and never sent more than one monitor at a time.  I could understand the reasoning. Before the bands had come off, I was a minimal threat. I could barely stand, much less put up a fight. With the bands off, I would be a real threat. I had created several orbs as I felt the time for manar approach. I kept them in the shadows as the portal emerged.

“Time for your meal,” said the figure. He took several steps toward me and then stopped. “Wait a minute, that can’t be right—”

Readers— that’s how they knew my state. By reading my aura and intentions they knew I was harmless. He must have picked up on the change in my chi level right away. I didn’t give him time to react and sent the orbs at him with a thought. I didn’t kill him, even though every cell in my body wanted to destroy those who had put me in this place. He was most likely given a shift to attend to the ‘prisoner’.  It was Monique I wanted.

The cup of manar fell to the floor and shattered. He followed as the orbs pummeled him senseless. I took his robes and put them over my own clothes. The hood cast my face in shadow. As long as I didn’t speak to anyone, I should be able to pass for a monitor. Unless I ran into another reader.

“It’s not right, it’s perfect,” I said as I stepped into the portal.

THIRTY-FOUR

HAVE YOU EVER faced a Rah Ven in battle before?” said the healer.

Sylk shook his head. “I have never had the occasion to fight Rah Ven. It is not something I would have attempted alone.”

“Smart man,” said the healer. “We Rah Ven are ferocious fighters. Our ability to camouflage makes it nearly impossible to see us and the ability we have to skip time makes it almost impossible to hit us.”

“Are there any rules to this fight?” said Sylk.

“He must not shift to canine form because you are not Rah Ven. No time skipping or camouflage. You cannot use any special ability outside of your wits or natural ability with the weapon of choice. You will decide the weapon,” said the healer.

“I am trained in many weapons.”

“Pick the one you are most comfortable with,” said the healer.

“What if he is skilled with it as well? Shouldn’t I pick something that puts him at a disadvantage?”

“It doesn’t matter what you pick, he won’t follow the rules. As soon as he feels threatened he will shift to canine form. You must defeat him as a canine. Once he shifts you can use whatever you know, but you must beat the Rah Ven,” she said.

“What are my chances?” said Sylk.

“Not bad. The blood scar will give you the strength and reflexes you need if you don’t fight for too long. The important piece is the pendant. As long as you stay close to him, Grawl’s pendant will stop the camouflage and time skip.”

“How close?”

“In the circle of claws,” she said as she drew close to Sylk. When she was close enough to touch him with an outstretched finger, she stopped.

“This close,” she said.

“Close enough to kill,” he said.

“Close enough to die.

“None of your group may interfere or you will unleash the mob and we may all be lost.” She said these words looking at Mara and Kal.

“I don’t like this, Master,” said Mara. “Can’t you just make a portal so we can leave?”

“We are not leaving them behind,” said Kal, her arms crossed and her jaw set.

Mara shot her a dark look and turned back to Sylk, pleading with her eyes.

“We can come back for them, after things calm down,” said Mara “Please don’t do this.”

“Your master cannot leave. He has given his word and his blood. Bonds that cannot be broken,” said the healer.

“They are right,” said Sylk, looking at Mara. “I must do this or we put everything in jeopardy.”

“What if you fall?”

“Then it wouldn’t matter anyway. I will do my best not to fall before Cane,” said Sylk.

He turned to the healer. “Any last words of wisdom?”

“I’ll not be at the ritual. Someone has to watch the flow of blood to your sick ones. No one but me can do it proper. If Cane finds himself on the losing end of things he may send some of his pack mates to visit your friends. It’s not beneath him,” said the healer as she looked at Kal and Mara. “Your friends and I will be here to greet them good and proper if they come.”

“Thank you,” said Sylk.

“Don’t thank me. I do this because of the blood scar. A lone wolf is a dead wolf. You heed me?” said the healer.

“I understand. I’ll be on my own when things get deadly,” said Sylk. It would not be the first time.

She nodded and pulled him close.

“Dead never saved anyone. When it’s kill or be killed make sure you be the one doing the killing. No hesitation—hesitation is weakness to the Rah Ven. Be swift and be certain,” she said as she opened the door and led him to the meeting place of the Rah Ven.

THIRTY-FIVE

I DIDN’T RECOGNIZE where I was at first. Everything was dim and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the lighting. It looked familiar, the way most dojos will look after you have been in enough of them. Then it hit me. I was in the nexus dojo, where all this began. I was in the home of the warriors, monitors and Black Lotus. Things just went from bad to nightmarish.  I pulled the hood a little lower over my face and looked around. It appeared I was in some kind of supply room and kitchen. Surrounded by food, my stomach grumbled.

I grabbed a large piece of bread, and some assorted meats.

“Hungry, huh?  Yeah, that poor bastard can’t eat any of that,” said a voice. “If you ask me it’s criminal what they are doing to him. You can’t live on manar for long, no matter how powerful it is.”

I froze.

Keeping the voice behind me, I nodded. I couldn’t let anyone realize I had escaped—not until I was ready. I didn’t know my way around this dojo well enough to navigate the miles of passageways alone. I backed up a few steps as I summoned orbs in front of me. They were small, the size of marbles. I packed them with enough chi to make them solid but not deadly. I wanted to avoid any senseless death. My killing would be precise and surgical. The Black Lotus and specifically Monique were my targets.

I turned to face the speaker. He was one of the kitchen staff. I could tell from the white uniform and the food stains across his chest.

“Sorry,” I said. My voice sounded odd. It had that strange dissonance when Maelstrom took over, but I felt in complete control. The glyphs must have something to do it. He startled and began to get closer.

“Hey, are you okay? You don’t sound so good. Did he do something to you? Should I call the boss? She said to report anything strange. I’m gonna call her,” he said as he was reaching for something just out of my field of vision.

I raised my hand, signaling I was okay and sent the orbs at him. They each had a small percussive force. Enough to stun but not enough to do major harm. The first one caught him by surprise and sent him off balance. I used two more to knock him out and caught him before he hit the ground. There was a pantry area in the back and I put him in there. Hopefully he would remain out of sight long enough for me to get out of this place.  As I turned to leave the pantry I saw the glowing red light. He had flipped a switch before I put him down.

Shit, that can’t be good. I looked for the exit and was walking toward it when I saw the figures heading my way. There were three of them. They were dressed like monitors but only two of them approached. I guessed the third for a reader since he was the one who spoke first.

“There he is. Stop him or Monique will have our heads,” said the third.

I created more orbs and flung them at the two who were approaching. These men worked for or with Monique, which meant all bets were off. I made the orbs dense but non percussive. It was the equivalent of getting shot with a twelve-gauge shotgun at point-blank range. They both went flying back past the third, dead before hitting the floor. I wanted the third one alive. Grabbing a large knife from the counter, I walked over to the reader.

“You’re a reader, aren’t you,” I said.

He nodded.

“Good. You are going to get me out of this place. If you do this I promise you won’t die like these two,” I said.

“No, I can’t. Monique will kill me if I help you,” he said and started to step back.

“I can do much worse than Monique, trust me,” I said, my voice sounding alien to my ears.

“You don’t understand,” he said as he turned and ran. I sent several orbs after him slamming him into the wall. He fell to the floor unconscious.

I stood in the kitchen with two bodies on the floor and a large knife in my hand.  This didn’t look good. I put the knife in one of the robe pockets and left the kitchen through the same door they had come in. She had a real hold over those who worked for her. The readers would be able to find me if they were in proximity. I needed to steer clear of everyone. As I walked down the passageway I noticed how deserted the areas were. The hallway I was in led to a larger junction, connecting to three more hallways. I had no way of knowing which hallway to pick. I was about to take the middle one when I saw the figure walking toward me.

“I don’t know how you got out, traitor, but you are going back,” he said as he drew a sword.

I sent orbs flying at him and he deflected all of them with a wave of his hand. This was no ordinary monitor. It was a member of the Black Lotus. I would recognize that clothing anywhere.

Maelstrom, I need you to manifest now.

Vessel, I have been manifested since those infernal bands came off. How do you think you are walking around? Do you think your liquid diet was sufficient? I am keeping you upright.

That was a revelation. I need a weapon.

Vessel, you are a weapon.

I am a weapon? I was answered with silence. The cryptic answer Maelstrom gave me resonated with something Owl had said. The weapon does not make the warrior, the warrior makes the weapon. I am the weapon. It was starting to make sense. I sent chi in to my hand. Focusing it, channeling and directing it. A staff formed. It wasn’t Maelstrom, but it would be enough.

The swordsman came at me, lunging. I could see a black aura surrounding his sword and knew it was covered in poison. I created more orbs and sent them. I knew he would deflect them. In fact I counted on it. I followed the orbs in and closed the distance. He would either deflect the orbs and get hit by me or parry my attack and let the orbs hit. I didn’t think he could do both. I was right. He chose to let the orbs hit and deal with my attack.

I hadn’t put much energy into the orbs because I had the staff in my hand. They were strong enough to knock him off balance, which I used to my advantage. I rotated my body sideways, avoiding a slash as I struck with the staff, shattering a collarbone. His sword arm was useless. He switched hands but I could see the awkward hold on the sword. He wasn’t used to fighting with his off-hand. He attempted a horizontal slash. I stepped in before he began and struck him twice with a spear hand in the throat, crushing his trachea. He fell to the ground grabbing his throat and gasping for breath. He would be gone in a few seconds. I heard footsteps approaching and headed down another corridor. I didn’t have time to move the body. I could hear the commotion behind me as I headed down the corridor.

“Sound the alarm. Keep him contained to this section of the dojo grounds. Do not let him get to the main area. Is that understood? Goddammit, how did he get out? Go find him before she gets back and I have to explain how he got loose,” said a gruff-sounding voice.

That confirmed that this area was restricted. It could be it was only for Black Lotus. Who was giving the orders?  I didn’t have time to consider that for long. I needed to get out. At least now I was armed. This presented its own set of problems. How many monitors walked around with weapons in their hands? I could hear footsteps coming my way and prepared myself for a fight when I was grabbed from behind and pulled backward.

THIRTY-SIX

RAEL STOOD BEFORE the dojo on Mott Street. Everything looked quiet from the outside. He had sent the Gyrevex to another location to find a nearby ascendant. They would report back when they found him. Really it was a ploy to be alone. He knew what they were, besides being nearly indestructible weapons of mayhem and chaos. They were Lucius’s eyes and ears. Watching him and insuring that he fulfilled his mission. He was tired of being watched.

Long ago he had trained at this dojo, back when he was free and life had meaning. He knew there were ascendants here. He could feel the concentration of power and something else. Hesitating at the door, he cocked his head to one side, homing in on the sensation.

Could I be that lucky? A core ascendant is in there?

He pushed in the door and entered. The fact that the door was open at this hour didn’t surprise him. It was a challenge just to find the entrance. The nexus dojo existed partially in the mirror, which made it hard to pinpoint its exact location. If you did manage to find the door by accident there were enough safeguards inside to convince you to leave. Unless you were there to kill ascendants. He had no illusions about completing his mission.The alternative was unthinkable. He passed the reception area. The large wall behind the desk obscured the dojo floor. Walking around the wall and down the narrow hallway, memories flooded back. He remembered the first time he had heard about the Warriors of the Way. He recalled his excitement at being asked to join.

Entering the dojo proper, he could sense something was off. There was an undercurrent of activity. He saw several students running down one of the hallways that led away from the dojo. One of them hung back and Rael caught up to him.

“What’s going on?” said Rael.

“Where have you been? There’s been a general alarm. Everyone  must stay in their areas. Monitors are being summoned to the west wing of the complex,” said the student. The student looked at Rael and noticed the swords and the rest of the clothing. “Wait, who are you, again?”

“I’m a visiting instructor, and I’m a little lost,” said Rael.

“Yeah, that happens. This place is huge. Lost instructors happen all the time.”

He looked around the corridor as if confused. “Can you point me in the right direction? I need to get to my quarters,” said Rael.

The student looked at him and sighed.

Rael nodded. I see not much has changed since my time here.

“Could you show me where the west wing is so I can avoid it? I don’t want to get in anyone’s way my first week here,” said Rael in a pleasant voice.

The student stopped and showed him the area to avoid.

“If you go down those doors make sure you stay on your right--that will take you to the instructor quarters. Don’t head down the left side,” said the student and headed off at a brisk pace. “Good luck, I’d better go.”

“Thank you again,” said Rael. My luck has been good, indeed.

He headed down the corridor past the doors and turned left. The activity died down and the corridor was empty for the most part. Rael could sense the increase in chi. It permeated the air. He reached a junction in the corridor where there seemed to be some activity. Two men were standing over a body.

“What happened here?” said Rael. Using an air of authority worked with those lower in the order of the monitors. As long as neither of the men were ranking monitors, Rael could get answers without raising suspicion.

The men answered without turning around. Rael could see they were some kind of forensic team. One took samples of the victim’s robe. The other made a point of not touching the sword that lay by his side. Rael could see the Black Lotus poison along its edges.

“Traitor came through here and killed” —he flipped some papers on a clipboard—”it says here ‘Geoff’ and I can’t pronounce this last name,” said the first as he pointed at the body. “Where do they find these guys?”

“Usually the bottom of the warrior barrel,” said the second.

“Was he skilled?” said Rael.

“He was Black Lotus,” said the second. “Those guys are part of the elite team. Yes, he was skilled.”

Rael noticed the difference in clothing from the forensic team and the dead man on the ground. The Black Lotus had not changed much since his time. Still wearing black and using poorly trained thugs. The Lotus actually took the dregs from the warrior and guardian groups. They weren’t superior fighters but there were enough of them to overwhelm any enemy.

“Obviously not skilled enough. Who is leading the retraction team?” said Rael.

“It’s all Black Lotus now. Started with the monitors, but after this…” said the first as he put his samples in a small case. The second put on some gloves and was going to reach for the sword. Rael stopped him.

“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you,” said Rael.

“I have gloves on, it should be fine,” said the second.

“It won’t be fine, not unless you prefer going blind right before you die,” said Rael. “The entire weapon is covered in poison, even the hilt.” He pointed to the Black Lotus on the ground. “They are made immune to it over a long and painful process. It will eat right through those gloves and get in your skin in seconds.”

The second forensic team member went back to his pack and grabbed a pair of tongs.

“A much wiser decision. Can you tell me who is heading the Lotus team?”

The first team member answered. “Monique.” They both shook their heads. “She gives me the creeps, ever since Diana she’s been on a rampage.”

“Is this Monique dangerous?”

The two forensic members looked at each other.

“You don’t know her?” said the second member. He placed the sword in a metal case.

“It’s my first week here…visiting instructor,” said Rael.

“If you can help it, steer clear of her,” said the first member.

“I’ll do that, thanks,” said Rael as he left them in the junction.

In moments the Gyrevex would join him. They never stayed away from him for too long.  He moved down the corridors looking for more activity.  If I dispatch a core ascendant, it will have an excellent ripple effect that should bring the weapon bearer out of hiding.

The area was less populated but he managed to see a group of the Lotus gathered ahead. It was another junction. The group was getting orders from a woman. Rael approached as several of the Lotus turned to face him. He didn’t need to sense the Gyrevex getting closer, he could hear the screams of those who encountered them.

“Search these halls again. This was his last known position. I don’t need to tell you what will happen if he isn’t found,” said Monique. “And someone go find out what all that screaming is about.”

Rael walked up to the group. He could sense the core ascendant was close.

“You have a core ascendant here,” said Rael as he drew his swords. Dark energy crackled around him. Some of the Black Lotus that were close to him were hit and sent flung back. Monique’s daggers appeared in her hand.

“And you are?” she said as she took a fighting stance.

“My name is Rael, but all my enemies call me the Harbinger.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

A HAND KEPT my mouth closed as I was pulled back into a tunnel. I ducked down and threw the person over my hip, holding my staff in front of me. The figure landed gracefully and rolled. He turned to face me, hands up in front of him.

“Dante, it’s me,” said the figure.

I recognized the voice. It was Devin.

“How do I know you are the real Devin? You could be a trick,” I said as I kept the staff in a defensive position.

“I gave you the prism, remember? Think, why would I do that and attack you now? You can’t believe the things they told you about us. The box, it wears away at you. They give you manar so you are weak mentally and physically. Everything is true, Dante. Right now Rael is here somewhere looking for you. I can feel him,” said Devin.

“How the hell did you survive Roman? I saw you die.”

“You saw me get hit repeatedly. I still had enough energy to deflect his hammer. I knew he couldn’t unleash its full force in such a closed space, so I only had to deal with the raw impact of the weapon. It was no picnic, trust me,” said Devin. “Took me weeks to recover from that fight. He is definitely stronger.”

“How did you get away from that place? I don’t even know where it was,” I said.

“The hall of Sherfym, it’s one of the in-between planes. I used retrievers. I had to let him think he had me. It was the only way to get you out of there. Once I saw you were gone I used one of the retrievers on your bed to get myself back here.”

It was Devin.

“Senpai,” I said and sagged against the wall.

He grabbed me and held me up.

“No time for that now. Rael is here and he is looking for you.”

I caught my breath as I leaned against the wall. I realized that even Maelstrom had its limits.  I shook my head and focused.

“The others, Meja—”

“Are off-plane and you need to get out of here. I don’t think you are ready to face the Harbinger yet. Here, take this.”

He handed me a small metallic rectangle the size of a business card.

“That is keyed to Meja. Wherever she is it will take you to her,” he said.

“They aren’t dead?” I said as relief and disbelief overwhelmed me.

“I would know if she were— she isn’t, at least. I don’t know about the others. You need to get to her.”

I nodded. They were alive? I thought I had lost them all. I thought I was alone again.

“That is an area wide retriever. It works within a fifty-foot circle. Do you know what that means?”

“I should be alone when I use it?”

“Unless you need to move a group, yes you need to be alone to use it,” said Devin.

I fingered the small rectangle. It had a small depression in the center just the right size for a fingertip.

“You can’t use it in here, too many energies dampening it. Need to get you out of the dojo. Once you are clear you put your thumb in the space and don’t remove it, understand? Don’t take your finger off of it once in transit.”

I heard the words but they didn’t register right away. He shook me once.

“Yeah, yes, I got it, finger in depression once I’m out of dojo,” I said.

“We need to get out of here. Monique and Rael are about to get at it and I don’t think this area of the complex is going to survive that confrontation,” said Devin.

He headed down the tunnel and I followed.

“Can she take him?” I said.

“She’s strong. He’s stronger. He also has Lucius giving him power and an unlimited supply of Gyrevex and those things are impossible to get rid of, you kill one and he gets two more. There must be ten in the complex and they are all heading for Rael now,” said Devin as he took several turns and the tunnel dipped and then rose. We came to a dead end.

“I’ve seen them,” I said as the memory of the giants flashed in my mind.

“If you ever have to fight them, remember the neck, throat and eyes are their only weak points. It won’t kill them outright but it should make it easier to take them out,” he said. “Oh and don’t get hit by the bells they carry. It’s not pretty.”

He was feeling around the surface of the wall as he spoke, until he found the notch he was looking for.

“I haven’t used these tunnels in years,” he said as he opened a door that led to the dojo complex.

“You go out this door and keep right. It will take you to an exit from the dojo,” he said.

He took off a small backpack he was carrying and handed it to me.

“Here you go. Some clothes, money and something you might need,” he said.

I changed into my clothes and felt around the backpack until I found the rectangular object at the bottom, Mariko’s fan. I tucked it into one of my side pockets.

“I would suggest heading to an open area to use that,” he said, pointing at the retriever. “Central Park would be good. Should be far enough from here to avoid any interference and mostly empty at this hour.”

“You aren’t coming with me?” I said.

“I have to go back. Monique is outclassed. She may be deluded and twisted, but I can’t let Rael kill her.”

“Why not?” I had no problem with letting Monique get erased by Rael. “She attacked us, poisoned Meja and the rest of us,” I said. I could sense the anger surfacing.

“She’s been tricked and lied to just like you were. She thought she was hunting and stopping traitors who want to destroy the Warriors of the Way and take over the plane. Can you blame her?”

“Yes I can,” I said.

“Moments ago you weren’t sure if you could trust me, would you have attacked?”

I thought about it and he was right. I would have attacked him if he hadn’t spoken and convinced me.

“I thought so,” he said and smiled. “There is one more reason I can’t let her die,” he said as he pushed me out of the doorway and into the dojo complex.

“What?”

“I’m a Warrior of the Way,” he said. “And she’s my wife.”

“She’s your what? Are you insane?” I said, incredulous.

“It’s complicated. No time to explain now. Get to the others, I’ll see you soon,” he said as he closed the door.

I could hear him running back. I was in the hallway wearing a reader’s robes. I stayed to the right and saw the corridor that would lead to the exit. There was only one small problem. Not all of the Gyrevex were heading toward Rael. The door was blocked by three of them.

THIRTY-EIGHT

THE HEALER LED Sylk to the clearing. It was a large stone circle surrounded by trees. In the center of the circle was the mark of the Rah Ven. It looked similar to Grawl’s mark, a fang ending in the head of a Rah Ven. With this mark being more intricate. Upon closer inspection Sylk noticed two concentric circles inside the larger stone circle. This is a tré. Is it still active? It looks intact. He examined the tré to make sure that each of the circles remained unbroken. How did a tré get here?

One of the older Rah Ven stood in the center of the circle. He called both Sylk and Cane to the center of it. His arms and face were covered in scars.

“My name is Arnas and I will be the center of the circle for this ritual,” said the old warrior.

He turned to face Cane. “What are the conditions? First blood, concession or death? As challenger it is your choice.”

Cane took a moment to assess Sylk. His eyes shone with malice as he spoke. He turned to the assembled Rah Ven.

“I did not wish this outcome, but Grawl, our leader, has left us no choice,” said Cane. “He dared to insult us by sending a two-legged as his proxy.”

Many in the crowd growled their agreement.

“He has a blood scar, and yes, he bears our mark, but he is not Rah Ven!”

The voices in the crowd were growing louder, agreeing with Cane.

Cane turned to Arnas.

“To uphold my family’s honor and the honor of this pack, I choose death,” said Cane.

“Death it is,” said Arnas. “Let it be noted that this ritual will be to the death. Only one can exit this circle alive,” said Arnas.

Arnas turned to Sylk. “What say you, what shall be the weapon?”

Sylk turned to the crowd. Most looked at him with hatred or disgust, some however seemed sympathetic.

“I was sent here by Grawl.” The crafty old dog. “Because my companions suffered from a poison only the wise Rah Ven had the cure to. He made me give him my word that I would bring the sword to those who hunt Rah Ven young and bind them against their will across the planes. Even if it costs me my life I am sworn to hunt the night shadows,” said Sylk.

There were murmurs in the crowd and Sylk could see his words had turned some to his side. Cane looked at him darkly.

Arnas coughed, but looked at him with thinly-veiled admiration. “The weapon?”

“I choose the sword,” said Sylk.

“Let it be recorded that the weapon of choice is the sword,” said Arnas as two swords were brought to the center of the circle.

“Are you sure you want this weapon, two-legger? I have had many years to practice with a blade,” said Cane, grabbing one of the swords from Arnas and executing intricate thrusts and parries. Several in the crowd cheered him on.

“I may not be as old as you, but I have had ample time to learn the craft of fighting with a blade,” Sylk said and took the sword that was offered to him.

Sylk took a deep breath and centered himself. He sent his chi deep into the circle beneath him to see if it still had any life. Inside a tré I have a chance, but he has to try and use his abilities first. He could feel that the tré was merely dormant from years of disuse. It would take a large expenditure of chi to make it active again, more than he could expend on his own.

Arnas held up his hand to quiet the crowd down.

“Swords to the death,” said Arnas. “There are two conditions. Do not leave the circle.” He waited until Cane and Sylk acknowledged him. “Neither of you may use a special ability, aside from your wits. Violation of these conditions” —he looked at Cane—”frees the opponent to act as they wish.”

Cane looked at Sylk with a smile, and turned his head from side to side, cracking his neck and flexing.

“It’s not too late to turn tail and die,” said Cane with a grin that exposed his large fangs.

Sylk smiled and faced Cane. He needed to get him angry and unsettled. He wanted him to shift to canine form. It would be enough to reenergize the circle.

“Tell me, Cane, where were you when they were taking the young? A strong fighter like you, I would think you could take several of the night shadows on your own,” said Sylk. “Unless of course you fear them?”

“I fear nothing,” said Cane with a growl.

They were circling each other now. Sylk could see his words were having the desired effect.

“If you don’t fear them and you didn’t stop them that only leaves one explanation. You’re working with them. You are helping the night shadows take the young. How much do they give you?” said Sylk. He could see the anger reach Cane’s eyes.

“I’ll kill you, you filthy two-legger,” said Cane as he leapt forward.

Their swords clashed as Sylk barely managed stop the downward slash.

He’s relying on his strength and speed. Can’t match him in that.  Sylk twisted his body and wrapped a foot around Cane’s causing him to stumble past.  Have to make him lose face. “Did they promise you the pack?”

The crowd had gone silent at hearing Sylk’s words. Many were wondering silently what Sylk was voicing in the circle.

“No one gives me the pack, I take what is rightfully mine!” yelled Cane.

He lunged at Sylk, slashing. Sylk could see the skill and avoided one slash by a fraction of an inch. The second slash caught him in the arm and drew blood. Cane grinned. It was a feral, malicious thing.

Sylk ignored the cut. “How are you going to lead the pack? You can’t even protect the young. Why should they trust you? You’re nothing but a mangy half-breed,” said Sylk.

Cane screamed and tossed the sword to one side. Sylk had never seen the human form to Rah Ven transformation occur. Cane’s bones popped and cracked as they elongated to shift into the new form. His spine lengthened and his legs and arms changed to support the increase in weight. His hands changed into paws with large claws. His face grew longer and his fangs elongated. Hair grew in an astounding rate all over Cane’s body, covering him completely. In human form Cane was impressive— as a Rah Ven he was frightening. He stood taller than any Rah Ven Sylk had encountered. His yellow eyes shone with hatred and promised violence.

“Let’s dispense with the pretense, two-legger. I’m going to rip you in two and feast on your entrails,” said Cane.

Sylk could feel the circle thrum beneath him. The tré was active again.

“Anywhere else, I would agree. But here, today, in this circle, you have met your end,” said Sylk.

With a thought Sylk sent his chi into the outer ring of the circle, causing a barrier to shoot up, enclosing them.

THIRTY-NINE

THE CORRIDOR WAS deserted. It would seem the Gyrevex were there to make sure no one left the complex. I need to get outside. They hadn’t noticed me yet. Maybe I could just find another way out. I turned to head in the other direction. My body jerked to the side as a bell crashed into the wall where I stood a second before.

Vessel, you cannot fight them like this and I cannot help you more than I am. Your only recourse is to run.

I was tired of running.

I’m not running any more, I said.

You’ve grown tired of living, then? I trust my new vessel will live a longer life than you, said Maelstrom.

I turned to face the Gyrevex.

I’m not dying here either. We need to get outside. Ascendants are dying and I have to stop it, I said. Give me everything you have.

I told you, that would kill—

Give it to me now.

Very well. It has been my greatest displeasure knowing you, said Maelstrom.

I felt the increase of energy in my body as a swirling black vortex of chi surrounded me. I still held my staff, but it was smoldering. Red energy wafted up from it as the glyphs in my arms pulsed a deep crimson. My nostrils filled with the smell of burning clothes. My vision grew tight and it felt like my skin was too tight on my body.

Maelstrom was right. If I didn’t stop this soon it would kill me. I could feel the damage to my body as I remained in the vortex. It was unmaking me, swallowing me into itself. I was dying as I ran at the Gyrevex.

*****

Rael turned suddenly. The weapon bearer, here?  He turned back to face Monique, his attention divided.

“I would love to dance with you, but it seems the person I’m looking for is calling me,” he said as he stepped back from her.

Two Gyrevex stepped in between them.

“I would hate to leave you without a dance partner. Accept my apologies. If you survive, we will meet again, I’m sure,” he said as he signaled the Gyrevex.

Monique moved back, keeping a defensive stance as the Gyrevex materialized their bells.

“What the hell is that?” said Monique under her breath.

“Kill her. I don’t want her or the Black Lotus interfering. Make sure they don’t,” he said as he ran off toward the sensation that was tugging at him.

*****

The first Gyrevex came at me. This had been the one that tried to turn me into paste a minute ago.  Another bell came at me. I rolled under it and closed the distance with the first Gyrevex. Sidestepping a swipe of its large hand, I buried my staff in its chest. On its way down I materialized a blade in my hand, leaving the smoldering staff buried in the Gyrevex and removed its head.

Two more bells came at me, but the vortex was strong enough to throw them off course and they ended up going past me. As the chains came in contact with the vortex they disintegrated, allowing the bells to continue their trajectory and they crashed into the walls behind me.

I stepped to the second Gyrevex. This one was expecting me. It launched a flurry of attacks. I jumped back, away from a kick and dodged punches that would have done serious damage had they connected. My sword seemed to not affect it even though I cut it many times over. A bell appeared in its hand. I could hear the whirr of the second bell being spun by the third Gyrevex. They were going to attack at the same time.

Those are chi weapons. Let them come, said Maelstrom.

I stood still as the Gyrevex launched both bells at me. The vortex flared with hints of red in the black. As the bells entered the vortex, I could see them disintegrate. I leapt up higher than I should have been able to and catapulted off one of the side walls past the second Gyrevex, slicing its neck as I did so. The third Gyrevex charged. I feinted a dodge left and slid right. I was fast, much faster than it. When it tried to correct its direction of attack I was there waiting. I sliced across its neck and watched it fall to the ground.

Behind me, someone was clapping.

FORTY

THE BARRIER CLOSED the circle, creating a semi-opaque dome that enclosed the space and rose fifty feet in the air. The crowd stepped back in surprise. A few of Cane’s pack mates attempted to push against the barrier. Sylk could hear the screams and smell the burning skin.

“This will only make your death swift, two-legger,” said Cane as he circled Sylk. Sylk stood in the center. He had no need to turn and face Cane. Inside a tré his senses were heightened and he could ‘see’ every inch of the circle without his eyes. He summoned a shield of orbs. Each one was an inch in diameter and floated in lazy circles around him.

Cane shimmered and disappeared using his camouflage. Sylk expected this. He spread out the trajectory of the orbs and sped them up. The first one collided with Cane as he tried to attack. The impact rocked him back into view. He landed on his hind legs, lost his balance and fell into the barrier. Cane stepped away from the barrier, his fur singed where it had touched him.

“Your cheap tricks won’t stop me,” said Cane.

“Tell me, Cane, what were you offered?” said Sylk.

“Shut your filthy mouth,” growled Cane.

Sylk stepped close and the pendant around his neck began to glow with a subdued white light. Cane swiped at him and missed, hitting an orb. The explosion threw him on his side. Sylk could see the blood flowing from the paw. Sylk ran in and stabbed him as he lay on the ground. Cane howled.

“You will tell me before I end you. What was the nature of your agreement with the night shadows?” said Sylk as he stabbed again.

Blood flowed freely into the circle now. Cane shimmered but did not disappear, Sylk was too close and the pendant interfered with the camouflage.  Sylk avoided a lunge and a snap of the jaws that would have removed his leg. He brought down his sword on Cane’s head and sent more orbs into him. These didn’t explode, but punctured Cane’s body. None of the orbs exited his body. Cane lay on his side by the edge of the circle. His breathing was ragged and drool flowed from his jaws.

“You thought I was defenseless like the young you sold,” said Sylk as he walked to the center of the circle.

“You think you can stop them? They are the night. They will kill you,” said Cane. He stood up and began running at Sylk and froze time. Sylk with a thought detonated all of the orbs inside Cane’s body.  A few seconds later Cane’s bloody body crashed to the ground, missing a leg and gasping for breath.

Sylk approached the dying Rah Ven as he dropped the barrier around the circle. There were gasps from the crowd but no one moved as Arnas stepped into the circle.

“How did you know?” said Cane.

Cane turned his head and looked at Sylk. The metallic smell of blood filled the air.

“I didn’t know,” said Sylk as he raised his sword. “I said those words to provoke you.

Cane laughed and coughed up blood.

“Well done, two-legger,” he rasped. “Finish it.”

“My name is Sylk,” said Sylk as he brought the sword down, ending Cane’s life.

“The rite of acceptance is complete, said Arnas, grabbing Sylk’s arm and raising it. “The victor!” There were cheers. Sylk looked into the crowd and noticed that not all were cheering. One group looked ready to jump into the circle and attack. Those would be his pack mates. Will have to keep an eye on them.

“That was impressive, Blood Sylk,” said a voice from the crowd.

Sylk knew the voice and turned to face the speaker. A wave of energy preceded the speaker as he drew closer. The Rah Ven parted as the figure strode into view.

“While you’re here playing with these dogs, the Harbinger is killing ascendants in the hub and the barrier between planes is failing,” said the figure.

The speaker stepped forward to hard stares from the crowd and entered the circle. Sylk took a step back. He could feel the overwhelming flow of chi as it left Roman and flowed into the circle beneath them.

“Roman. What do you want?” said Sylk.

“Balance, Sylk, My job is to restore balance and in order to do that I need the core ascendant. I thought he would be with you or the monitor but it appears she is indisposed and he is not here,” said Roman. His large hammer hung from his back. He’s been to see the healer.

“Did you kill them?” said Sylk.

“What kind of monster do you take me for? I only need the core, alive. Of course I didn’t kill them,” said Roman.

“I don’t know where he is— as you said, I have been busy here,” said Sylk. He kept his voice calm. I don’t want to set him off. That would mean a massacre.

Roman nodded and murmured something under his breath.

“Aurora will not be pleased, Sylk, if she gets directly involved in this…”

“Please convey my apologies to your mistress. Once I find him I will be certain to communicate that to her or you,” said Sylk.

“No need, Sylk, I will find him. I found you”—he turned to face the Rah Ven—”even here. I will find him. Stay out of my way, Karashihan. I would hate to have to kill you,” he said as he opened a portal and vanished from the circle.

FORTY-ONE

I TURNED AROUND to see the Harbinger giving me a golf clap and blocking the exit.

“A core ascendant and the weapon bearer, you are full of surprises,” he said as he drew his swords.

“Stay away. I don’t think I can control it anymore,” I said.

The vortex continued to swirl around me, red and black. I could see that it was dissolving the wall to either side of me.

“That’s because it’s not yours— you need to return the weapon. It doesn’t belong to you,” he said.

“It’s mine now,” I said.

Energy arced from his swords into the floors and walls causing scorch marks wherever it hit. The dim light of the hallway made it hard to make out his expression.

“Are you strong enough to kill me?” he said. “Before it kills you?”

“I need to get outside. I need to get to the others. Get out of my way,” I said.

“You’re dead anyway. Why prolong the inevitable? Let me end you and take the weapon back to my master. That way we all win,” he said as he closed the distance. I could see he noticed the glyphs on my arms. They were hard to miss, glowing the way they were.

“What the hell are those?” he pointed at my forearms. “Wait, don’t tell me. They put suppression shackles on you, didn’t they?” he said, incredulous.

“Custom made,” I said as I raised my arm.

“And you got free how…oh no. You used the weapon, didn’t you,” he said.

“It was the only way,” I said.

“The only way? You idiot! The weapon is bonded to you now. I can’t remove it from you now even if I wanted to, even if death came and claimed you herself. I couldn’t help you. Only he can take it from you now,” he said.

“Who?” I said.

“I can’t let you die. Goddammit, things can never be simple. Fine, I can take you to him near death— alive is all that matters,” he said as he attacked.

I still had the sword in my hand and brought it up to protect myself as his swords came at me. The arcing energy from his swords was being absorbed by the vortex around me. I could feel the surge in power as it drained the swords of energy.

“You can’t stop me,” I said as I felt myself losing my grip on everything. “No one can.” I started laughing.

“I don’t need to stop you, I just need to give you enough energy and you will do it for me,” he said as we locked swords.

The vortex swirled on, unmaking me. It seemed to have little outward effect on him. He must have seen the surprise register on my face as he stepped into the destructive force.

“I’m harder to kill than most,” he said as he let one sword disintegrate and grabbed my hand.

He began to send energy in every direction as the vortex grew around us. His other sword was being dismantled by the vortex. In seconds, it too would be gone. I could see him begin to trace symbols with his free hand.

Behind me I could sense Devin getting closer. Behind him I could ‘see’ Monique and a group of monitors closing in on us. I pushed back and tried to break contact with Rael.  His grip was too strong. I managed to push his sword to the side. He was so focused on the symbols he was tracing he didn’t see my attack until it was too late. My sword entered his neck as a portal opened beneath us.

“Dante, no!” yelled Devin. It was too late.

“That should do it,” said Rael as he fell to the ground.

He wasn’t distracted. He let me attack him. My attack unleashed more chi than I ever thought possible. The portal flared and I began falling. I turned in time to see Devin and the rest flung to the walls by the backlash of the chi wave. Then my vision went white.

FORTY-TWO

“HOW LONG BEFORE they are ready to move?” said Sylk.

He had gone straight to the healer’s home after Roman left the circle. Fearing the worst, he entered and found the group undisturbed with the healer tending to the beds. Mara and Kal were standing guard as he came in. He told them about the ritual and was anxious to get back to the hub, especially after seeing Roman.

“This is not a fast process. Blood flow must be controlled. Too much and they can become part Rah Ven, too little and they die,” said the healer.

“Humans can become part Rah Ven?” said Kal.

“It’s where all the stories of werewolves come from,” said Mara. “Rah Ven are the source.”

“Werewolves, bah! Pretty name for an ugly creature. Rah Ven blood mingled with human, it creates one of those— things. Not human and not Rah Ven. Something in between,” said the healer.

“Does that mean…” said Kal as she looked at the beds.

The healer slammed her hand on the table. The sound filled the small room, bouncing off the walls.

“I be here to control the flow. No one can question that. I be the one to make sure the flow is correct and no harm comes to them as best I can,” said the healer.

“We do not doubt your abilities, grandmother,” said Sylk. “I just feel we have been here too long. We have urgent matters in the hub.” How are we going to stop Roman and Rael? Where are you, Dante?

She seemed to calm down after Sylk spoke to her.

“More urgent than your friends surviving?” said the healer.

Sylk remained silent as he looked out the window.

“What about Zen?” said Kal. “He doesn’t look good.”

“The large one?” said the healer, nodding. “Yes, the poison is running fierce in him. Even with extra blood, his outcome is a question. Only the flow can help him now.”

“And the others?” said Sylk.

“One more day, one more day should suffice,” said the healer.

“We can do one more day if we have no choice,” said Sylk.

“None. Come with me, alpha,” she said as she went to the back room where the beds were. She closed the door behind them, keeping the others out.

“We need to talk private. The big one is worse off than the rest. The flow won’t help him,” she said.

“You said—”

“I only said what I said because the girl is fond of him, but it’s not going well for him.”

“Is he going to die?”

“The poison did too much damage. I can’t bring him back to the way he was before, but I can let the Rah Ven blood mix with his, making him one of those things…”

“A werewolf,” said Rah Ven.

She waved a hand dismissively at his comment.

“We have a place for them here where he can live until he accepts his new blood,” she said.

“Will he be safe?” said Sylk.

“He will be part Rah Ven and he will have life, but he must stay here for his first year to manage the change. It’s that or death. This is your choice as alpha.”

“I choose life,” said Sylk. The warrior will need a new guardian.

She pressed her lips together and nodded, adjusting the vials and flow of blood in Zen’s bed.

“It’s best if they think he has passed from the poison. He will not be able to be part of that life again,” said the healer.

“You mean lie to them,” said Sylk.

“I will do it. You are the alpha now. This is not your task. This life will be soft lies to hold back the hard truths for the good of the pack,” she said.

“Grandmother,” said Sylk. “What of the pack now? Not all were pleased with the outcome of the ritual.”

“Cane’s dogs.” She spat to the side. “You speak wisdom. They will want revenge. You must deal with them soon or they will splinter the whole. They won’t act so close to Cane’s defeat in the circle. Cowards like that will wait until you are not watching, striking when they think you are weak. You must not show weakness in dealing with them. Like bad blood they must be removed before they poison the whole,” she said.

“Like Cane,” said Sylk.

“I will shed no tears for that one. Rotten to the core. I don’t know about this night shadow business they tell me you accused him of, but he was a bad one, evil. We’re better off with him gone,” she said.

“Grawl is a crafty one,” said Sylk. His eyes were feeling heavy.

“That he is. You are the leader for Grawl now,” she said, pointing at Sylk. “Duly done by ritual and blade. Until Grawl comes back and takes his rightful place, you speak and act as leader of the pack.”

Sylk nodded. Did Grawl see this far ahead? I will have to ask him when we meet again. He sat down on one of the unoccupied beds, and rested his head, letting it sink into one of the pillows. The healer stood and put a hand on his lap.

“Rest a moment, I will do this,” she said as she left for the other room. The smell of blood permeated the room, coppery and pungent. Even after all this time he could smell a capful in a large room. Rah Ven or human, it was the same. The smell was familiar, like an old shirt. So much blood in his lifetime, on and off the battlefield. I am never far away from the blood.

He could hear the healer in the other room and Kal’s cry.

“No, no, you said he would pull through,” said Kal.

The pain and loss were clear in Kal’s voice. She had lost her sister and now this. He could hear the healer’s soothing voice and Kal’s sobs.

Soft lies for hard truths. Life is blood and blood is life.

He was just closing his eyes when Samir awoke with a yell, startling him. Sylk went over to the syllabist as the healer entered the room.

“What is it, Samir, are you in pain?” said Sylk.

The healer began to adjust the liquids and Samir began to drift off. He gripped Sylk’s hand with surprising strength.

“Karashihan, the warrior— the warrior is gone,” said Samir as he drifted back into unconsciousness.

FORTY-THREE

THE VORTEX WAS gone. I stood in a rock garden. I could just make out the details of the garden as my eyes began to adjust when a fist crashed against the side of my head, sending me reeling.

“That was for the sword in the throat. Be thankful I don’t just return the favor,” said Rael. “I brought him here. He’s all yours now. I have ascendants to kill.”

I found one of the benches at the edge of the garden and sat down, rubbing my face.

“You’ll have to forgive him,” said the figure that appeared next to me causing me to jump off the bench. “He hates it when I bring him back. I think one day I will give him his wish and let him die, just not today.”

The old man sat very still and looked at me. His storm-cloud gray eyes pierced right through me. His white hair was long and drawn back into a braid. His slender build radiated strength and power. He wore a simple gray robe that matched the color of his eyes. His hands were lost in the folds of his sleeves. I was looking at Sylk’s ancestor, Lucius.

“Are you Lucius the destroyer?” I said.

He laughed. It was a pleasant sound that filled the garden.

“You have something that belongs to me, warrior,” he said.

I searched within to see if I could feel Maelstrom, but felt nothing.

“Don’t bother. You won’t feel any chi in this place,” he said.

“Who are you?”

“The real question is, who are you? Haven’t you ever wondered how you ended up with your weapon? A weapon designed to cause massive death and destruction?”

“The weapon doesn’t make the warrior, the warrior makes the weapon,” I said.

“Ah, my old friend Owl. He betrayed me in the end, when I counted on him the most. I see he has moved on and yet a part of him remains, in you. If you believe that, what kind of warrior are you? Did you pick the weapon or did it pick you?”

“Sylk accelerated the process of my manifestation. That was the reason Maelstrom picked me,” I said, my words uncertain.

“Sylk. Did you know he is my distant relative and yet even now plots against me? Where is the family loyalty? No, warrior, he facilitated your manifestation but you picked. He opened the door but you walked in. You picked the weapon— my weapon.”

“Who are you?” I needed to hear it.

“I am the owner of the weapon you possess or that now possesses you. My name is Lucius Iman, first in the house of Iman, chief among the wavedancers and first of the Karashihan,” he said.

“Are you removing your weapon?” I felt it was an important question given the circumstances.

“My weapon is bonded to you, which makes extricating it difficult. If I kill you it will merely return to the void and await another vessel. I cannot access the void from here. Which means I must remove it from you while you are alive,” he said.

“How?”

“I will coax the weapon out by threatening your life,” he said.

We began to walk the garden. I could hear birds singing in the trees. Along the path, the cherry blossoms were in in bloom, their petals a soft pink against a blue sky. The aroma wafted over us, reminding me of roses.

“Why do you need it?”

“Maelstrom is a tool, one of three foci my family created. With it I can locate the other two and continue what I started before I was exiled here. Before the order of warriors betrayed me and my family.”

“I was told you betrayed them,” I said. I don’t know who to believe.

“By Owl, no doubt. History is written by the victors, warrior. Did he tell you why they were so determined to wipe out my family?”

“He said you were the first Karashihan but decided to be a warrior with two guardians,” I said.

“Decided? I was assigned two guardians to be my ‘escorts’ wherever I went. The abilities of my bloodline were deemed too powerful. Wavedancers do not need to enter the mirror to use their ability. We can listen through surfaces as well. At the very head of the Order I uncovered corruption. The Warriors of the Way were being led by corrupt Samadhi. Do you know this term?” he said.

I nodded. “Samadhi are the masters of the respective disciplines within the order of the Warriors of the Way.”

“Correct. Each discipline must have three masters to ensure the knowledge is never lost,” he said. “I was beyond the Samadhi in my discipline. When I uncovered their plan to subjugate the planes, I took action.”

“Subjugate the planes? How?”

“How many planes have a Watch now?”

“Every plane has a presence of the order. We keep the planes safe from our enemies.”

“Which enemies?”

I remained silent. So far the enemies I had were the Black Lotus and the warriors sent after me. Even Roman wasn’t out to kill or imprison me like the Lotus had done.

“I saw with my own eyes the atrocities committed by the Order on the outer planes, the ones not directly connected to the hub. When I confronted my peers, I was called unstable. The power had gone to my head, they said. They secretly sent the newly formed Black Lotus after my family, murdered them in their sleep. In their beds. My wife. My children. They tried to eradicate my entire bloodline. They took everything from me, men and women I had trusted with my life. That was when I began to kill Samadhi.”

His voice had grown thick as he recalled the memories.

“How did you end up here?” I said.

“Some of the Lotus had fled to these outer planes. I gave chase. My hatred knew no bounds. They had killed my family, warrior. I did not know this was a trap. Once in the outer plane, they severed the connection to the hub plane, stranding this triad. Once I was stranded, my abilities diminished. They placed suppressor bracelets on me and purged me of my chi, causing me to lose my weapon. You now sit in the lost triad,” he said.

“How did they sever the connection?” The longer I keep him talking the longer I have to figure a way out.

“The hub is the source of chi to the planes. It radiates outward from there. Each plane has its own source of chi that is augmented by the hub source. As long as you are connected to the hub you will feel no measurable difference in your ability. Once cut from the hub, it will feel like you have lost your chi,” he said.

He turned to face me then, his gray eyes measuring me. His face was tranquil. A man at peace with his decision.

“Have you made your peace? It’s probable you will not survive the purging,” he said.

I dug deep, searching for any sensation of Maelstrom or chi.

“It’s futile, warrior. It took me many decades to reconnect to my source of chi in this place.  Bring him to the tré,” he said.

Two Gyrevex appeared beside me and grabbed my arms. I couldn’t resist them as they half dragged me to a clearing on the other side of the garden. In the center of the clearing was a tré about thirty feet across. A deep golden glow emanated from the three concentric circles. He waited for me in the center as the Gyrevex dropped me beside him. They wafted into smoke as a barrier rose up along the outer circle.

“This is unfortunate. Like the ascendants. They must die to reestablish the connection to the hub. You must die to return my weapon. I wish there were another way, warrior.”

I realized there was no point in trying to convince him otherwise. He had spent decades trapped in this place. His plan was set and there was no deviating from it. I stood before him, realizing how powerless I was. There was nothing I could do to defend myself. He extended an arm toward me as if signaling me to stop, and my world exploded. The center of the tré was bathed in golden light. I was suspended midair in the light.  The first sensation was heat, unbearable heat, burning me inside and out. Then came the lancing pain. It felt as if my intestines were being ripped out inch by inch. I doubled over, screaming in agony. The pain travelled up my chest and into my throat, suffocating me.  My screams were cut off as I struggled to breathe.

“He is ready. Position him,” I heard Lucius say.

My arms were grabbed and extended to the sides. I could see the Gyrevex out of the corner of my eyes but I couldn’t turn my head. Lucius had his arms raised and brought them both down to his sides. A bolt of energy hit the top of my head. The impact was staggering. I could feel the blood run down my eyes, nose, ears and the metallic taste filled my mouth.  The vortex formed and flowed out of me. The Gyrevex were dissolved in seconds, but I remained in place, their job done.

I could see the energy coalescing in front of Lucius. A sphere around two feet in diameter coruscating black, red and gold floated before him. The gold was tethered to me.

“Still you try and thwart me, Owl?” said Lucius.

With a downward slice of his hand he cut off the gold tether and it raced back into my body.

“Pointless, old friend. He is going to die and I have the weapon,” he said

He raised a hand and absorbed the sphere in front of him. The black and red energy entered his body and he arched his back as it enveloped him.

“I am whole,” he said.

The energy flared around him once and disappeared. A double-bladed short staff appeared in his hand the next moment, Maelstrom. My body remained suspended in the light as he drew closer to me. The crimson and black of Maelstrom radiated in his hand. His gray eyes now had flecks of crimson and black in the irises. He stepped toward my broken body. I felt the waves of chi wash over me as he closed the distance.

“This was your purpose, warrior. You existed to bring this back to me,” he said as he lifted Maelstrom to my face. “And now your usefulness has ended.”

He pulled back the staff and began to deliver the killing blow when the tré was converted into a crater, flinging me across the garden into the trees. Lucius leapt back, holding Maelstrom before him, bisecting the energy wave and landing on his feet untouched. A huge hammer rested in the center of what used to be the tré.

“Not yet it hasn’t. My mistress has a use for him,” said a voice. “Go tend to him,” he said to the blue clad figures surrounding the crater.

It was Roman.

FORTY-FOUR

“WHAT DID HE mean ‘gone’, Master?” said Mara.

Sylk turned to the healer who was still adjusting the liquids in the other beds.

“Bring him back,” said Sylk.

“No, he needs to heal and he can’t take the blood while awake,” she said.

“This is important,” said Sylk.

She moved close to Sylk and poked his chest with her gnarled finger.

“You may be the alpha. In here I am the last word. You heed?” she said, punctuating the end of each sentence with a poke.

“I understand. In that case I need to go see someone,” said Sylk.

“Go see whoever you need to see.” She went back to her vials. “Just don’t bring disturbance to this house,” she said added.

Sylk stepped outside and made his way to the clearing with the tré. He needed to form a portal to the Watch. He was still fatigued from the ritual and the added power of the circle would help. He stepped into the circle and traced the symbols. A light silver trail followed his hands as they formed before him. A portal opened a few seconds later. He stepped through, leaving the plane of Rah Ven behind.

In the trees a pair of eyes watched.

Sylk appeared in the courtyard near the obelisk, which had been repaired but was still nonfunctional. He could see the reconstruction had begun. In one of the clearings he saw Rin and made his way over to him.

“Karashihan, it’s good to see you,” said Rin.

“Where’s the Keeper?”

“I don’t keep track of his movements—”

“Where is he?” said Sylk. He was growing weary of the manipulations.

“What’s this about?” said Rin.

“I can answer that — isn’t that why you came, Karashihan?” said the Keeper from behind them.

Rin jumped back but Sylk remained unfazed as he turned to face the Keeper.

“What happened to the warrior?” said Sylk “The syllabist said he was gone. Is he dead?”

“Walk with me, Karashihan, we have much to discuss and these words are not for all ears,” said the Keeper as he headed off, staff in hand. Sylk caught up to the old man in a few strides.

“I hear you are a pack leader now,” said the Keeper.

Sylk remained silent.

“Grawl will want to speak to you before you leave.”

“Leave? Leave where?” said Sylk.

“It would seem that the warrior has been taken to the lost triad,” said the Keeper.

Sylk stopped midstride. “Impossible. That triad has been disconnected for over a hundred years. The energy expenditure required to open a portal there would be immense.”

“Much longer than that. And yet there it is. The warrior is there and you must go there as well.”

“How? The obelisk is destroyed. I used a tré and it took all I had to get here,” said Sylk.

“Come see me when you are done with Grawl,” said the Keeper as he headed back to the construction.

Sylk searched the area for the elder Rah Ven, knowing the Keeper bringing him this way was not a coincidence. He found him on the edges of the Watch tending to the graves of the fallen.

Sylk walked up to the Rah Ven and waited while the group laid their brethren to rest on a series of pyres. Grawl in human form took a torch and lit each one. Sylk counted twenty. After each one was blazing, Grawl came over to Sylk, his face somber.

“Peace, Karashihan,” he said.

“Peace, Ancient One,” said Sylk.

“I am afraid there will be little of that in the coming days. The destroyer has regained his instrument of death,” said Grawl.

“And the warrior?”

“He lives still, for how long I cannot see.”

“Are you certain?” said Sylk. If this is true it means Dante is stripped of Maelstrom. He should be dead and yet he is alive somehow?

“I am Rah Ven. This is not a soft lie. We speak plain among the pack leaders,” said Grawl.

“You used me,” said Sylk.

“I set you on a path.”

“A path you knew would lead to a meeting with Cane. In a tré. How did a tré get there?”

“The circle of claws does not belong to any one people. Many planes have circles like this,” said Grawl. “I knew one day the Rah Ven too would need this circle.”

“I cannot lead Rah Ven. I am not Rah Ven,” said Sylk as he began taking off the pendant.

Grawl stopped him, placing his hand on the pendant and keeping it in place.

“You are my voice and my hands while I remain here. You are Rah Ven, by blood and blade. No one will contest that. Do not forget your purpose. Stop the hunters of our young. Root out the cancer that lies in my people. I am too old now. My fangs and claws are not as sharp as they once were.”

Grawl paused and looked out into the endless sand.

“Soon I will head out into the desert for the last time. When the time comes, a new pack leader will arise and my people will be strong again. You will make sure of this, I have seen it,” said Grawl.

Sylk remained silent a moment and then faced away from the pyres to look out into the desolation of the desert.

“I cannot escape the blood, Ancient One,” he whispered.

“You cannot escape what you are. Accept it and be free,” said Grawl. “You must go now. Run long and run fast, Karashihan.”

“Long days to you, Ancient One,” said Sylk as the Rah Ven shimmered and disappeared.

Sylk continued looking out into the desert as the Keeper materialized beside him.

“Are you ready?” said the Keeper.

“How is the warrior still alive? Everything is lost if the destroyer has regained the weapon,” said Sylk.

“And yet we are still here. Go and make sure it remains that way,” said the Keeper.

His staff began to glow with a white light, matching the lines in Sylk’s arm.

“Time to go,” he said and touched the staff to Sylk’s chest, sending him to the lost triad.

FORTY-FIVE

I DON’T KNOW how I didn’t break every bone in my body as I rag-dolled across the garden. I saw three figures in blue come at me and was helpless to do anything. Any signal I gave my limbs to move was short-circuited by intense pain. They carried me over to another part of the garden and began to heal me. I could see the crater and Roman as he picked up his hammer.

“It’s only a matter of time now,” said Lucius. “My Harbinger will destroy the remaining ascendants and the barrier will fall.”

Maelstrom pulsed in his hand. The blades had grown in size and were almost the size of the staff.

“The barrier hasn’t fallen yet. Perhaps he can’t find them? It appears your Harbinger is failing you,” said Roman.

“What have you done?” said Lucius.

“The remaining ascendants are under Aurora’s protection. Your Harbinger will not find them such easy targets.  Or it could be his heart is not up to this task. Perhaps the yoke is too tight,” said Roman.

“No tighter than yours, and yet you serve your mistress willingly,” said Lucius. “Why not join me? Together we can purge the planes of this infestation of warriors.”

“I serve my mistress by choice. Did you give your Harbinger a choice?” said Roman as he began to spin his hammer.

“Choice? Choice is for the weak. Where was my choice when my family was butchered? My little ones’ broken bodies cast across my home like so much discarded rubbish? My wife murdered protecting them? What choice was given to them?” said Lucius as a vortex formed around him.

“All must pay for the crimes of few?”

“The corruption still exists, enforcer. The Order of the Warriors will be erased,” said Lucius.

Even from this distance I could feel the energy emanating from the both of them. The figures had restored my body and I felt almost normal again. I couldn’t feel my chi, but my body didn’t feel like a raw open wound either. I started to make my way toward Lucius. One of the figures grabbed me by the arm and stopped me.

“You cannot,” she said.

“I have to,” I said. I feel different somehow.

“You will die.”

“What’s your name?” I said.

“Adra, daughter of Aurora.”

“Adra, if I die here, you tell them I tried,” I said.

She stepped back and nodded as I ran to the crater.

What the hell am I doing? This is certain death.

Behind me I could hear footsteps matching mine. Are Roman’s people following me?

I turned and saw a familiar face. Gray eyes took me in, assessing me in seconds. He held a gleaming white sword in his left hand. His right arm was laced with silver lines that shone brightly.

“It looks as if you are racing to your death, warrior. Would you mind some company?” said Sylk.

“Not at all,” I said as we headed to the crater.

“Make sure you stay in the crater. It may be partially destroyed, but it is still a tré. There is latent power there,” he said as five Gyrevex materialized around us. “Go, I will deal with these.”

I rolled under a bell that would have removed my head. Sylk unleashed a barrage of orbs that drew their attention. How is he accessing chi?

Then I understood. The circle Roman had partially destroyed had released its power. That was the source of chi in this plane. I reached the edge of the circle and power coursed through my body. It wasn’t my chi. This was raw power flowing in every direction. I let it fill me and time slowed. Behind me Sylk was moving in an intricate dance of death as bells flew by him, missing him by fractions of an inch as he dispatched the Gyrevex. One would fall only to have another take its place seconds later.

“Dante, I will deal with the shadow, but you must cut off the source of its power. I cannot do both.”

It was Roman. He had joined me at the edge of the circle as vortices spun off from the main one surrounding Lucius.

“Shadow? That isn’t Lucius?” I said, unbelieving.

“The destroyer is two planes away from this one. This is his shadow. We could not stand before the first Karashihan so easily.”

I looked around at the destruction. I remembered the power of the tré as he stripped Maelstrom from me with a gesture, and this was his shadow.

“He is fearsome, yes? Even as a shadow his power eclipses most,” said Roman and then he began laughing. He turned serious and looked at me, putting an arm on my shoulder. “I don’t wish to die today. Go to the center of the circle and tap into the power. Cut off the source or this will be the last day any of us see.”

He launched himself into the air to avoid the vortex and dove for Lucius’s shadow.

He is insane. I ran to the center of the circle without a clue about what I needed to do.

You need a focus. Use the power from the circle to manifest a weapon. Hurry, warrior.

It was Owl.

I stood in the center and the power coursed through me. I stilled my breathing and focused. In the air above me I could hear Roman and the shadow of Lucius clash. Behind me Sylk dodged a bell, cut the chain and removed a Gyrevex while another materialized behind him. Beyond that I could feel the sun on my skin and the wind in the air. I could sense the trees in the garden and the soft blooms of the cherry blossoms as the petals fell to the ground. A golden staff formed itself in my hands and I drove it end-first into the center of the circle.

“You insignificant mote of dust, what are you doing?” said shadow Lucius as he came at me. Roman intercepted him, cutting off his attack. He swung his hammer as shadow Lucius planted his feet next to mine and met the hammer with Maelstrom. It sounded like a tuning fork amplified a thousand times.  The force of energy around me was overwhelming.

From the center of the circle a rush of wind gusted, threatening to sweep me off my feet. I gripped the staff with both hands, my knuckles white. The roar was deafening. All of the energy initially dispersed by Roman’s hammer strike began to coalesce in the staff, making it glow.

Don’t let go, warrior.

The Gyrevex began to fall and disappear. The last Gyrevex disintegrated and Sylk ran over to where Roman was attacking shadow Lucius.

I held on, but had to look away as the wind buffeted me. The intensity of the light from the staff kept increasing. My face felt sunburned and it blinded me even with my eyes closed. It wasn’t just the chi from the tré that was filling the staff. All the chi from the plane was being siphoned in. I sensed when all the trees around the garden began to wither and die. The once fertile soil turned to dust and began to swirl around, lifeless. The relentless wind uprooted them and flung them away. In moments I was in the center of a wasteland, and still the energy flowed in.

Prepare yourself, warrior.

Sylk had closed the distance, his gleaming sword thrusting in while Roman slammed his hammer to the ground. The amount of energy they sent my way didn’t register compared to energy flowing from the staff I held onto.

Shadow Lucius thrusted with Maelstrom, burying it in Sylk’s leg and driving him to one knee. Lucius laughed and I could hear the familiar dissonance in his voice.

“I will make sure you suffer. You will beg me for death, progeny, and I will deny you,” said Lucius.

Roman brought his hammer around for a killing blow and Lucius stopped it with his other hand. He was still laughing as he began to force Roman’s hammer down to the ground while driving the blade of Maelstrom in to Sylk’s leg.

Now, warrior. You must strike.

I removed the staff from the ground and thrust it into the back of shadow Lucius. The end of the staff penetrated his body and protruded from his chest. I could see Sylk tracing symbols in the air. Shadow Lucius stepped back and tried to remove the staff. The moment his hands touched it, I felt a thump hit my chest. The wind stopped blowing and there was a silent pause. For a brief moment everything stood still. Then a rumbling started deep in the ground and Sylk pulled me down as he traced the last symbol, enclosing us in a cylinder of silver light. It wasn’t enough.

“Brace your—” he began.

The blast cut the cylinder of light, shredding it and throwing us back out of the circle and past what used to be the tree line of the garden. I could see Roman kneeling behind his hammer as the blast washed over him. Somehow he remained in place, but the blast scorched his skin raw. The chi of the plane was rebalancing.  A convex shield of silver light had formed before us and I could see Sylk with his arm extended keeping it in place. The blast died down and I was about to stand up when he pulled me behind the wall of light.

“It’s not over yet. Stay behind the wall,” he said through gritted teeth.

Sweat was running down his face as he maintained the wall. Another thump punched me in the abdomen and sat me down. A stronger wave of energy and fire rushed past us. His robes fluttered behind him. It felt like sitting in a wind tunnel with hurricane force winds swirling around you. I threw myself on my stomach and stayed there. When the second blast stopped I could see that Sylk held his right arm to his chest.

“It’s broken,” he said matter of factly.

We had just managed to survive the equivalent of a small-scale nuclear explosion and he had a broken arm. Note to self:do not piss Sylk off. I looked around us and noticed the earth was scorched. In some places I noticed patches of glass.

We headed back to the circle and I realized we were much farther than I thought. It took us a good two minutes before we reached the edge of the circle where Roman stood. His hammer was on the ground next to him and he looked into the center of the circle where a figure lay.

“The shadow lingers,” said Roman.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Shadow Lucius had not been destroyed by the blast. When we got closer I could see he had a gaping hole in his chest and he wasn’t moving.

“Is he dead?” I said.

“He was never alive,” said Roman. He moved the figure with his boot and the shadow’s eyes fluttered.

“You cannot hide the ascendants indefinitely. They will need to return to the hub or the barriers will fall. When they do, my Harbinger will destroy them,” said the shadow.

“We will stop Rael and send him back to join you,” said Sylk.

“He cannot die. I have ensured it. You will fail and then I will be free. I will find you. Your pain will be of the highest order, my child, and I will bathe in your agony,” said the shadow.

“We will create more ascendants, more than your Harbinger can kill. We have a core ascendant now. You have failed, destroyer,” said Roman.

The shadow began to laugh. “He is useless to you. I seared his ability to access his chi. He is a fallen warrior now, good for nothing except a quick death.”

The shadow began turning transparent.

“What you have done can be undone,” said Roman.

“Not by anyone alive today — not even the Samadhi can undo my work. Not even you of my bloodline,” he said, looking at Sylk.

“We shall see, destroyer,” said Roman.

The shadow was almost gone now. I could see the ground clearly under its body.

“The next time we meet, warrior, I will be merciful and make your death swift,” said the shadow as it disappeared.

“We must leave this place. He will regain his strength in time. I do not look forward to facing him again,” said Roman.

“How do you propose we do that? The tré is gone. Even if it weren’t I can’t make a portal until my arm is healed,” said Sylk.

I looked back and only a vague outline remained of what was the golden tré. The two inner concentric circles had vanished and the third outer circle was in broken sections.

“I don’t have the energy to get us back. That blast took all I had left,” said Roman.

“Can we use this?” I said as I fished out the area wide retriever.

Sylk held out his hand and I placed it in his palm.

“How did you get this?” he said.

“Devin gave it to me in the dojo, right before Rael brought me here.”

“Devin? I thought him dead,” said Sylk as he looked at Roman.

“I gave him a good pounding, but I didn’t kill him. He left the hall of Sherfym before I could hit him further. I always did enjoy our fights,” said Roman as he swung his hammer over his shoulder. “Will this work? Devin was always a clever one.”

“Who is it keyed to? I don’t want to end up in the middle of another fight for my life. One group of ever-spawning Gyrevex is an experience I would not like to revisit,” said Sylk as he handed the retriever back to me.

“It’s keyed to Meja. Where is she?” I said.

Sylk moved me to the center of what used to be the tré.

“Use it here. The latent energy should give it the boost we need. I hope,” said Sylk.

“You hope?” I said.

Behind Sylk, Roman nodded.

“This is the lost triad. The connection to these planes has been severed. The energy needed…” said Roman.

“We need a lot of energy to get in and even more to get out of this place. I don’t know if that has enough in it for all of us. I still don’t know how the Keeper did it,” said Sylk.

I had to ‘kill’ Rael before the portal worked before.

Two of the blue clad figures joined us in the circle. I saw that one of them was Adra. She nodded at me.

“Felix?” said Roman.

Adra shook her head. “The Gyrevex, sir.”

Roman nodded, his face grim.

“Hand it to me, warrior,” said Sylk. “Gather close and maintain contact.”

We stood close to each other making sure we touched one another. Sylk placed the card in his broken right hand pressed his thumb down on the depression. He sent his chi down his arm and the lines flared silver as the rectangle flashed blue once and transported us.

FORTY-SIX

THE HEALER WAS adjusting vials when the group appeared. She gave a curt nod to Sylk. “Alpha. Who be these?”

She eyed the hammer that Roman carried and stepped close to him.

“This is the warrior, Dante, and this is—”

“You be the hammer?” she interrupted. “Many of my people have fallen before that weapon.”

“Only in battle, and many times it was chance that spared me from the dreaded Rah Ven time skipping,” said Roman.

She snorted. “You have been lucky. Death in battle is honorable. I’ll hold no grudge if my people died as warriors should.  There are others with kin in the Watch who are not as forgiving. Do not tarry here. Not even the alpha can prevent a drawing of claws for the fallen,” she said, looking at Sylk.

“I’ll not abuse your hospitality and I do not wish to bring you any trouble. I can reach my plane from here. The warrior and I will take our leave,” said Roman.

“Give me a moment,” I said as I walked over to Meja’s bed.

I looked over at the others and saw Luna, Samir, Zen and Kal all getting the same treatment. Kal wasn’t with us when the Lotus attacked.

“When did Kal get injured? The Lotus didn’t hit her with poison,” I said.

The healer threw her hands up in exasperation.

“Grandmother…” said Sylk.

“She forced my hand, alpha. Said she wasn’t leaving without his body.” She pointed at Zen. “I had to tell truth. Not used to twisting stories. My words are straight, like blood follows the cut,” she said as she fussed with her bottles.

“What did you do?” said Sylk.

“She chose. I explained it all, down to the last drop. She chose to become like him to stay with him,” she said.

“Like him? What happened to Zen?” I said.

“The Lotus poison was too much for his system. It was either let him die or turn him,” said Sylk.

“Into what?”

“He is part Rah Ven now. So is she. They don’t belong to your world anymore,” said the healer in my face. “They will have to stay here until the change is complete.”

Zen and Kal, part Rah Ven?

She stood still and began to sniff the air.

“Cane’s dogs, alpha. If they find the hammer here they will attack.”

“Understood. Let’s go, warrior,” said Roman.

I turned to Sylk. “Thank you. If you hadn’t—”

“I was saving my life. You just happened to be close by, warrior.  No thanks are needed,” he said.

“Will you tell her that Devin is alive? I’m sure she will want to know that,” I said.

“I will,” said Sylk.

“We will meet again in a few days. I will organize a group to pursue Rael. He won’t be able to hide for long, not from me. Where can I find you?” said Roman.

“I have some questions to ask the Mikai. I will meet you in Aurora’s passage in five days,” said Sylk.

“Agreed. In five days, then.”

Roman touched his hammer to the floor several times and a portal opened in front of us. Adra and her companion stepped through, disappearing from view. I turned to walk through and felt the rectangle in my outer pants pocket.

“Here, you may need this more than I will,” I said as I handed Mariko’s fan to Sylk.

He took it and nodded to me.

Roman stepped through, I took one look back and I followed him into uncertainty.

FORTY-SEVEN

SYLK OPENED A portal into the nexus dojo. He placed Meja and Samir in beds and waited. Mara stood behind him and to the right, daggers in her hands. Her body was a coiled spring ready to attack.

“Relax, Mara. I don’t expect Devin will launch an attack as we deliver his sister and the syllabist to him. His wife, on the other hand…”

“Yes, Master,” she said.

Moments passed and the door opened. Mara tensed until she saw it was Devin. She let out a breath and held it when she saw Monique. She took a step closer to Sylk, ready to strike. The tension between the women was palpable. Monique had her daggers in hand as well, their edges glistening with poison.

Sylk raised his hand signaling to Mara. She lowered her weapons but didn’t sheath them. Sylk removed a book from the inner pocket of his robe and handed it to Devin.

Devin nodded as he accepted the book. “The master syllabist text?” he said.

“As agreed. A dangerous text in the best of times. Do you think you can keep it safe? We will need it soon,” said Sylk.

“How are they?” said Devin ignoring the gibe as he looked at Meja and Samir in their beds.

“They will recover. Zen and Kal will stay with Luna, a Rah Ven, until their period of adjustment is over.”

“She really chose to turn?”

“He didn’t have a choice, but she did. I hope being by his side will ease the transition into his new life. Dante will need a new guardian,” said Sylk.

“And Dante is?”

“With Aurora. Lucius, or rather his shadow, seared his access to his chi.”

“He’s fallen? Can she help him? I have never heard of anyone recovering from something like that in the past,” said Devin.

“If anyone can help him, she can. She is skilled in her ability, perhaps only second to Lucius himself. He didn’t receive expert instruction here.”

Devin bristled but remained calm. Monique came up on the balls of her feet. Mara did the same as the temperature of the room dropped a few degrees.

“He wasn’t here long enough to learn much before your disciple kidnapped him,” said Devin with a smile that never reached his eyes. “How is Anna these days?”

“Dead. Watchers erased her,” said Sylk with a hard edge.

“I wish I could say I was sorry. You forced him into a manifestation before he was ready.”

“I tried to help him manifest his weapon so we could meet the threat of Lucius prepared, unlike the Order of Warriors.”

“And yet he manages to manifest one of the deadliest weapons in existence. How did that happen, Karashihan?”

“That wasn’t supposed to happen. I don’t know. I don’t know if he picked the weapon or it him,” said Sylk.

“What about the weapon?  Where is it?”

“With Lucius.”

“How, I thought Dante was fallen?”

“Lucius, or rather his shadow, stripped it from the warrior.”

“I see,” said Devin.

“There is still much to be done. The Harbinger is still loose. Aurora secured the ascendants, but not before the Gyrevex brought their number close to causing a barrier failure. She cannot hide them off-plane for too long before the connection is severed, causing the barrier to fall.”

“They will have to come back to the hub eventually. We are trying to locate other core ascendants, but I’m afraid Dante may be the last one on this plane,” said Devin.

“Much depends on the warrior, it would seem.”

“Everything,” said Devin. “Try not to get him killed.”

“The last time I checked it was the Lotus that was doing the poisoning,” said Sylk.

Monique took a step forward but Devin touched her arm, stopping her.

Sylk began to trace symbols in the air, his hand glowing silver as a portal opened behind him.

“I have some business with the Mikai. In a few days I will meet with Roman to discuss the Harbinger.”

“Mikai, nasty business, that. I’m going to skip the meet with Roman if you don’t mind. We didn’t exactly end on a good note the last time we spoke.”

“I wasn’t inviting you, warrior. I would like this meeting to be productive. We have greater enemies to confront,” said Sylk.

Sylk bowed to both of them. Mara stood beside him as they stepped back.

“Find him a guardian or train the one he has to do her job effectively,” said Sylk, looking at Meja.

Devin remained silent as Sylk disappeared in to the portal.

Monique turned to Devin. “You should have let me cut him!” she said as she threw her dagger, burying it in the stone wall where the portal had been moments earlier.

“Ruining daggers is not the answer. Get that before someone else tries and ends up dead. We will deal with him later. Sylk and I have much to settle. Right now we have a Harbinger to hunt down,” said Devin.

FORTY-EIGHT

WE EXITED THE portal into a training area. Around us men and women engaged in different methods of combat. Some using weapons, others unarmed.

“Send word to Aurora we have arrived,” said Roman to Adra. “Let me show you to your quarters, warrior. While here you will obey the rules of conduct. You will train as every other warrior does and you will have special training.”

“Special training? What kind of special training?” I said.

He stopped walking and turned to face me.

“Let me explain something, in case you’re confused about your purpose here. You can’t access your chi. If you can’t create other ascendants or manifest a weapon, what good are you?”

“I didn’t need to access my chi against Lucius,” I said.

He shook his head in disbelief.

“Do you think that was you? The only reason you were able to do what you did in the lost triad was because of the energy of the plane. That was not your chi. We got lucky. I don’t depend on chance to carry me, despite what you may have heard,” he said.

Adra came back and found us.

“She is ready for you, sir.”

“Thank you. Go to debrief and I will meet you there in ten,” said Roman.

We continued walking down several wide corridors. The space reminded me of the nexus dojo, only these corridors were well lit.  We stood before two large metal blast doors. Each door could have secured a bank vault.  The doors whispered open, revealing a thickness of three to four feet.

We walked past the doors into an expansive room. In front of an immense picture window sat a large mahogany desk covered in papers and documents. The other three walls were covered floor to ceiling in bookshelves. There was a plush burgundy and gold flecked carpet covering the floor. An intricate design filled the center of it but was covered by the desk. The room smelled of old paper with a hint of wood and citrus.

Beside the desk stood a tall woman in blue monitor robes holding a clipboard and jotting down notes. Her face was obscured by her hood. She didn’t look up as we entered.

Behind the desk sat a woman who exuded strength. I could tell she was used to a position of authority by her posture. She sat ramrod straight in her chair with an air of quiet confidence. Around her, assistants came and went while she handed papers to one and took sheets from another, making notations and handing the sheet back. I couldn’t sense her level of chi or any chi for that matter, but I could tell she had power. It radiated from her.

She looked up from her papers, removed her glasses and scrutinized me.

“Is this he?” she said.

“Yes ma’am, it took some doing but here he is. He has been seared. Lucius has made him one of the fallen,” said Roman.

She sighed in response and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“A fallen warrior. Goddamn you, Lucius,” she said under her breath while she stood, placing both hands on the desk. She wasn’t a tall woman. Her muscular frame gave me the impression of size. Her black hair, pulled back in a bun, gave her a severe look. She wore a simple sleeveless blue robe patterned after the monitors of the nexus dojo. It reminded me of a hadajuban—the clothing worn under a kimono. We stood before her desk as she looked at me. What stopped the air in my lungs were her eyes. They were gray, like storm clouds pregnant with rain. Exactly like Lucius.

“My inner sight tells me you have potential. It also tells me that to undo this will take time— time we do not have. Are you certain he is a core ascendant?” she said to Roman.

“Yes, ma’am, he manifested one of the three foci with little to no training,” said Roman.

“Impressive, but that alone will not be enough. You met the shadow, yes?”

I swallowed. My mouth had become a desert. “Yes, ma’am,” I said.

“What you encountered was not one tenth of his power. I don’t think anyone has or ever will reach that level of power again. Did you explain the training?” she said to Roman.

“No, ma’am. I felt that would be better left to you,” he said.

She looked at me then, as if gauging how much she could say. Her eyes looked right through me.

“Very well. We need ascendants. Specifically, I need you to create more ascendants. I don’t have the time it takes to undo the searing the way it should be done. That would take months, years. That is time we don’t have. Done my way, it will be painful. It will be agony. When you think the pain is about to subside it will be even more pain, more than you have ever withstood in your life. If you thought the searing was difficult, the undoing will make that feel comfortable in comparison.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I managed. I remembered being suspended in that light and the unbearable pain.

“Now you have a choice, ascendant. You can have me reverse the damage done to you while experiencing soul-crushing pain. You will wish you were dead many times over while you undergo this process. Or, I can kill you now and save us both the trouble. What will it be?”

Roman had stepped away from me as she spoke her last words. I turned to see him standing across the room, looking at me. When I looked back at Aurora her eyes were glowing with a deep golden light.  For a moment I stood there dumbfounded, until Roman coughed and brought me back.

“I will undergo the process, ma’am,” I croaked. My voice had betrayed me.

“Speak up, ascendant,” she said.

“I will undergo the process, ma’am,” I said with force.

She looked at Roman and handed her assistant a sheet of paper. The glow had left her eyes.

“Get him prepped within the hour. We have no time to lose.” She turned to face me. “Welcome to your unmaking, ascendant. I hope you survive it,” she said and turned back to her assistants.

FORTY-NINE

RAEL STOOD OUTSIDE the dojo. It had been difficult to find ascendants the last few days. Most of the dojos were stranded. He had unleashed the Gyrevex to hunt and kill as many as they could find. He could sense an ascendant in this one.

“Maybe this one will be a challenge. What do you think?” he said to the Gyrevex beside him. The Gyrevex remained silent. “Why do I even bother?”

One Gyrevex remained behind as he climbed to the second level. The second followed him with silent menace. When he reached the top of the stairs he unsheathed his swords. He pushed open the door and stood in the middle of an empty dojo floor. In the corner a figure slept. Dressed in rags and old clothing, the old man snored while Rael crossed the dojo floor, oblivious to the noise.

“Hello? Anyone home? I’m here to kill you,” he said as his voice echoed off the walls. “Hmm, maybe they left recently. I could be sensing residual chi.”

He looked around, finding nothing else of importance and turned to leave as the doors slammed shut.

“Oh look, a trap. Now I’m really in danger. What will I do now? Really, this never gets old,” he said as he turned to face the ‘homeless’ man, who had been sleeping in the corner, sheathing his swords.

“Hello, Harbinger — or should I call you Rael?” said the old man.

Rael squinted in the dim light trying to make out the features of the man in front of him.

“That voice. I know you. Sensei Wei. Sensei Wu Wei. You aren’t an ascendant.  I barely sense any chi from you at all. What are you doing here? Have you grown tired of life?”

“I’m here to stop you. Your master will not be free.”

“You can’t kill me. Those more powerful than you have tried, and failed. The only way you are going to stop me is to kill me, which can’t be done. Do I need to go on?”

“I can see you have not changed with age— still impudent, arrogant and short sighted,” said Wei. “Let me open your eyes.”

He cast off the rags and old coat and was dressed in a simple silk uniform.

“Not seeing much, except a quick change. Well done, by the way,” said Rael.

Rael gestured at the Gyrevex.

“He wants to fight, give him one. Make it fast, we have ascendants to kill.”

The Gyrevex closed in, spinning the bell.  It took two quick steps and launched the bell at the sensei. Wei bent backwards and allowed the bell to ride his arms as he redirected it back to the Gyrevex. It was the last thing it expected as the bell slammed into it, causing it to stumble back and impact a wall. Wei ran up to the off balanced Gyrevex and placed a hand on its chest. The Gyrevex tried to step away as Wei absorbed its essence, causing it to vanish.

“A prime ascendant. I thought you were all wiped out with the purge of the Iman line?” said Rael as he drew his swords. Their energy filled the dojo around him.

“I still remain,” said Wei, taking a defensive stance.

Rael advanced, letting the energy flow free from his swords. Wei stood still and let him come. Rael lifted both swords and slashed on a diagonal. Wei ducked the slash and stepped around Rael, touching him a number of times. Each time he touched Rael, less energy escaped the swords. Rael thrusted forward with one sword while holding the other back. Wei slapped the flat of the blade, shattering it. He followed the hilt down to Rael’s arm and struck his wrist, causing him to drop what remained of his sword. Rael attacked with the other sword and Wei slid to the side and trapped Rael’s arm, forcing him to miss and toss the remaining sword.

Wei began to drain Rael of chi. Rael collapsed to the floor as Wei held his arms.

“Are you strong enough to kill me, sensei?”

“I’m not going to kill you...now,” said Wei.

Three members of the Black Lotus came from the side and placed suppression bands around Rael’s forearms.

“I will inform Roman of our success,” said Wei.

“No need,” said Monique as she entered the dojo. “We have just the place for him. Take him to the box,” she said to the members of her group.

A portal opened beside Rael as he was transported away.

“That was not the agreement,” said Wei.

“The Warriors of the Way will hold this threat. We are not at cross purposes. Our goal is the same,” she said.

“I advise against this, monitor,” said Wei as he put on his old clothes and headed out for the door.  “He would be better contained among Roman and his mistress.”

“Those rogues are not equipped to deal with a threat of this magnitude. We will handle it and I will explain it to Roman,” she said.

“I must go. I cannot linger in any one place for too long. Consider my words. I urge you to reconsider,” said Wei as he left.  She stood facing him, her expression hard.

“The decision has been made,” she said.

Wei vanished into the night.

FIFTY

RAEL SAT IN the box counting bricks as dark smoke wafted in. The smoke travelled to the center and solidified. A shadow of Lucius stood in the box with Rael.

“Did you locate him?” said the shadow.

“Yes, a prime ascendant lives. Just as you predicted,” said Rael.

“With him I can locate the second foci and be one step closer to our goal.”

“Your goal, Master,” said Rael.

“Yes, my goal. Once my work is complete I will grant you release. Until then you must play this ruse a little while longer. I have a question for you. Not too long ago you saved a girl. Young, maybe three or four.”

Rael’s chest tightened and he remained still. “Yes, a child was in the dojo when I dispatched the Fan.”  Little Nina. I gave you my word, sensei. A life for a life.

“What became of her?” said the shadow looking at Rael intently.

“I took care of her,” said Rael.

He let the words remain between them. The shadow looked at Rael for a long moment as their eyes locked.

“Nothing and no one will be allowed to deter my purpose. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” said Rael.

With a shift and a twist he took off the suppressor bands and put them to the side and rubbed his forearms.

“This chafes, Master.”

“Once I have the three foci, I will erase the Warriors of the Way and bring a benevolent rule to the planes. They will see that my way is the better way. They will accept it or die,” said the shadow as it drifted into nothingness, leaving Rael alone.

“I’ll choose death,” said Rael.

BOOK 3

THE FALLEN WARRIOR

ONE

HER LITTLE LEGS PUMPED as fast they could. She ran faster than any child should have been able to. Her simple dress was torn and soiled from running through the undergrowth of the forest. Her hair was loose and trailed behind her, whipping about as she turned in sudden changes of direction. Around her neck, a heavy steel collar dug into her skin, leaving red welts as tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked back several times, pausing as if listening to something on the wind. Then she would take off again at a dead run. She could hear them—they were getting closer. She crossed a small river, slid down a ravine and took off running as fast as she could, fear etched on her features.

Twenty seconds later, two figures appeared at the river.

“How did she get free, Hin?” said the first. He crouched down and touched the soil, lifting a pinch of it to his lips and tasting it. Nodding with satisfaction, he looked in the direction the little girl had run. They were dressed in black, tight-fitting gear. They wore masks that covered their faces, leaving only their eyes visible. Strapped to their thighs were short swords in their sheaths.

“I don’t know, Fen,” said Hin. “What I do know is that we have to get her back. Dead or alive.”

“She’s smart for one so young, almost threw me with her last switchback,” said Fen as he crouched, his back turned.

“Can you track her?”

The crouching figure narrowed his eyes and stared into the distance.

“I find it strange, Hin, that you wouldn’t know how she got free,” said Fen. “You know how important these Rah Ven dogs are to us. The young ones bring in the highest price.”

Hin looked away, taking his eyes off Fen and looked across the river.

“Maybe I will ask her after we catch the little dog,” said Fen. “You think she would share?”  He sniffed the air. He had her scent locked in again.

“She is Rah Ven. You can’t trust those dogs,” said Hin.

“At least those words I know are true,” said Fen. “Let’s go before it gets light.” He took off running with Hin not far behind.

She was so intent on getting away that she didn’t hear the steps coming toward her. Some instinct warned her and at the last possible moment she veered away from the stranger that stood before her.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” said the stranger.

She stopped and took several steps back. Her deep yellow eyes shone with a feral intensity. She bared her teeth, showing tiny fangs. The stranger put his hands up in a symbol of surrender and slowly reached in his shirt to pull out a pendant. The silver fang glistened in the night. The little girl’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Rah Ven?” she said, sniffing the air.

“Friend,” said the stranger, placing his hand on his chest as he crouched down to her level.

His right arm was covered in silver lines which pulsed with a subdued light. She abruptly turned her head to look behind her, causing the stranger to look up and back from where she had come. His eyes lingered on the collar for several seconds. He recognized the glyphs that would prevent her transformation to canine form etched into the collar.

“Have you had any food?”  he said.

He reached into his pack and showed her some meat. She snatched it so fast he barely had time to register the movement. She smelled it for a second before tearing off a piece. She started chewing as the stranger stood.

Placing a hand on his chest once again he looked at the little girl.

“Sylk,” he said pointing to himself. Then he pointed at her.

“Bree,” she said around a mouthful of meat.

She grew still and looked behind her.

“Someone coming, Bree?”

“Night man,” she said and pointed at her collar.

Sylk nodded. “You hide? Over there”—he signaled behind the trees—”you go there.”

She looked at him for a moment and then nodded. She entered a dense copse of small bushes and disappeared from sight. He could still sense her there and he knew her pursuers would find her if they were given enough time. He didn’t plan on giving them that time.

He stood still and waited. Two figures were silently running to his location. He could sense them before they came into view. They slowed when they saw him. They appeared to be two shadows in the night. The Mikai were masters of blending into the darkness.

Fen approached first. Behind him, Hin stood off to the right, his hand lightly resting on one of his swords.

“Peace, traveler. We are looking for my niece, who managed to wander away from our camp. Have you seen her?”

Sylk, who at that moment had been looking away, turned to face Fen.

“No, I’ve been travelling this road all night and I haven’t seen anyone,” he said.

He sensed the attack before it came, his sword materializing in his hand in time to parry Fen even as Hin came around the other side, drawing his swords. Fen stepped back and circled Sylk. Sylk turned keeping both Mikai in view as he palmed a dagger into his off hand.

“You are a poor liar, stranger,” said Fen.

“As are you,” said Sylk. “There is no ‘niece’.”

“He has it,” hissed Hin as he drew close. “Give us the little dog and we will make this fast.”

“What are you going to do with her?” said Sylk. He knew, but he wanted to make sure before ending them.

In response, Fen jumped into the air and disappeared as Hin slid forward, lunging with both swords. It was an attack designed to confuse and distract. On anyone else it may have worked. Sylk saw through the ruse, and realized the real attack came from above. Rushing forward to meet the lunging swords, Sylk threw the dagger at where he thought Fen would be. The grunt of pain let him know he hit his mark. Fen crashed to the ground behind him as he stopped Hin’s frontal attack from cutting him in two.

“What we do with our property is none of your concern,” said Hin as he locked swords with Sylk.

“I disagree,” said Sylk. “It is very much my concern.”

He turned and let Hin continue past him as he slashed at his legs. Hin leaped forward and landed in a roll avoiding the attack. Fen pulled the dagger out of his shoulder and began to advance, drawing his swords.

“You know who we are. You have just made this the last night you draw breath,” said Fen. “Only a fool would face us alone.”

Sylk took several steps back, keeping Fen and Hin in his line of sight.

“You are Mikai,” said Sylk. “The fearsome warriors of the night.”

“You know this and still you stand against us alone?” said Hin. “Have you grown tired of living?”

“I never said I was alone.”

Too late, Fen looked around only to see a sword punch its way through Hin’s chest. The next moment a sword was around his neck as a figure stepped out of camouflage. Hin spasmed on the ground as he drew his last breath. The night air was filled with the metallic scent of blood as Hin died. Sylk took a deep breath before looking at Fen.

“Luna, I need him alive,” said Sylk in a measured tone.

“How old was the Rah Ven you were chasing?” she hissed into Fen’s ear.

“Killing me will solve nothing. Others will come and the little dog will be—,” His words were cut short as Luna dug her blade into his neck, drawing blood. Fen remained immobile.

“Who is overseeing this?” said Sylk. “Who is ordering the capture of Rah Ven young?”

“Do you think the Mikai do this for sport?” answered Fen. “This is done to prevent the Rah Ven from destroying us.”

“Who? Who is leading this?” said Sylk.

“We have heard of you, silver arm. The Mikai have eyes and ears everywhere. You are looking for answers in the wrong places. Go ask your precious Order of Warriors who is behind this. Even the Mikai bend to his will,” said Fen.

“The Warriors?” said Sylk. “Tell me who.”

Fen remained silent, looking into Sylk’s eyes.

“He won’t answer, Sylk. Let me end him,” said Luna.

“There is a way,” said Sylk. “Just hold him still and I can find out.” The lines along his arm began to glow in the night.

Before Sylk could draw closer, Fen bit the inside of his cheek and in moments foam and blood erupted from his mouth, eyes and ears. Luna jumped back, letting him go. His body fell to the ground, rigid, every muscle straining.

“What the hell?” said Luna. She checked herself to make sure none of the blood had fallen on her.

Fen began convulsing and spewing more blood. A few seconds later, the snapping of his bones filled the night air. It was the last effect of the toxin and it broke his body into unnatural angles. He stopped breathing after that.

“That was unexpected,” said Sylk.

“Why did he mention the Warriors of the Way?” said Luna.

“Take Bree and see if you can find where they are holding the others, then return her to her parents. I will meet you at the circle of claws by nightfall.”

“How are the Warriors involved?” said Luna as she managed to get the young Rah Ven girl from her hiding place.

“I don’t know, but I will find out,” said Sylk as he opened a portal.

TWO

IT FELT LIKE A GAPING WOUND was in my chest. Except that it wasn’t my chest, but my entire being. Part of me felt cut off, crippled. Every time I tried to access my chi I felt an endless void within. It threatened to swallow me in an unending nothingness.

Aurora faced me as we entered a healing chamber. She was dressed as usual in a simple white robe, her small frame lost in the garments. Her snow-white hair, pulled back into a bun, gave her a severe, school teacher appearance. The room we were in was empty except for a tré in the center. The dim light cast the room in shadow. She stepped into the three concentric circles and they flared to life, an indication of her power, her connection. Her gray eyes settled on me, rooting me to the spot. Her voice was a caress sheathed in steel.

“A spirit-searing will sever your connection to—well, everything,” she said as she gestured around her. “You will feel adrift, lost. Like this room, you will feel empty. You will despair, filled with an emptiness you cannot describe. You will want to end it all as this emptiness overwhelms and destroys you from within. Life will have no meaning. Is this an accurate description?”

I nodded in agreement, not trusting my voice.

She stood still and took several deep breaths. Assuming a fighting stance, she began to move. It was slow at first, linear and sharp. Then she flowed into an intricate, circular form of movement. It was beauty, grace, and power as she closed the distance. I stood transfixed until the last moment when my brain realized the threat and I tried to react and dodge. I was too late—her palm slammed into my chest and sent me sprawling out of the tré.

“My purpose is to give your life meaning, or to end it,” she said.

I stood up and staggered back into the tré.

“You feel it, don’t you?” she said. “The energy all around you.”

“No,” I lied.

“Try again, warrior. I’m old enough to know when someone is lying to me. Denying it doesn’t make it any less true, Dante. You have to face the loss and embrace it. Then you can work past it,” she said as she assumed a fighting stance again.

“Yes, I feel it. It’s like standing in an electrical field except I can’t access it,” I said.

She nodded. The next second she was on me again. A spear-hand strike aimed for my throat narrowly missed as I leaned back. Off balance, I saw the spear hand transform into a knife hand attack to my inner thigh. I moved my leg out of the way, avoiding the strike. I didn’t see the real attack coming. My world exploded into white-hot pain as she buried a fist into my side, causing me to double over, gasping for breath.

“Being connected to that energy can be an advantage, or it can be a crutch,” she said, stepping back into a relaxed pose. “You were exposed to it too early and without enough training. Your body and mind, instead of utilizing it like a tool became dependent on it,” she said.

“Like an addict,” I gasped.

“Precisely. Now you don’t know how to function without your ‘crutch’, and that inability will get you and those around you, those who depend on you, killed.”

The pain in my side had subsided, and I twisted my body around. I assumed a fighting position, facing her and covering my hurt side.

“How do I make it a tool?”

She leaped in for another attack.

“The fastest way to undo what was done to you is pain.”

She lunged in with a series of fists, peppering my body with lightning-fast strikes. I blocked and avoided several, but found myself overwhelmed.

“You are still reacting,” she said, each word punctuated with a strike. “Stop thinking about what to do and just do.”

She’s too fast. Blows coming in too hard. Can’t think, can’t react, I thought.

I backpedalled out of the tré under the barrage of fists. She turned and walked back to the center.

“This is the only way?” I asked, trying to catch my breath. I was standing at the edge of the tré, reluctant to enter the circle of pain again.

“No, it’s not. The other method I know can reverse the searing but is fatal in a matter of months. This method won’t kill you, but it will feel like it will.”

I entered the tré and felt the energy all around me, just out of reach, taunting me.

She’s right: I’m too dependent on something external, I thought. I entered a fighting stance as she glided over to me. I dodged a fist that would have broken my nose had it connected. It was followed by an elbow that attempted to break my jaw. Closing my guard I countered with a knee to her midsection, which she deftly evaded. She followed up with a kick to my thigh. My leg collapsed under me, unwilling to obey any of my commands to bear weight.

“Warrior, we do not have the luxury of time. I can’t keep the ascendants here forever. Even now the barrier is getting weaker. Once we send them back, Rael will hunt them again. If you can’t access your chi, we can’t create more ascendants. No new ascendants means we are done—we will be in the endgame. It will only be a matter of time until we face Lucius, and you will have outlived your usefulness,” she said.

I limped over the edge of the tré and sat. My robe was damp with sweat and my body hurt everywhere. She stood next to me for a few seconds and then sat on her knees in seiza. She was still for a moment, with her eyes closed. When she opened them again they were glowing. She leaned over and placed her hands on my thigh. A wave of warmth ran though my body and I felt better, the pain gone.

“That was amazing,” I said.

“It’s not enough to have the power to harm—, you must hold the power to heal as well,” she said. “There must be balance. That lesson was never taught to you.”

“I thought Rael was captured?”

“He is being held in the same cell that held you, and yet here you are, free. You met him. He has many more resources at his disposal than you did. How long do you think they will be able to hold him?”

The next thought came with a sick realization.

“Then that means— he wants to be there?”

“Where else will he be able to find out when the ascendants are back? He is in the perfect place to gather information. They think they are holding him. Once the ascendants return it will be a bloodbath, and it will start with the Warriors of the Way,” she said as she stood.

“I have to warn them. He is going to kill them all.”

“They will not listen to you. You are a fallen warrior and your word holds no weight any longer. Even if you tell them the truth, they are too blind to see it,” she said. “The only way to save them is to restore your connection to your chi.”

I stood up beside her.

“I’m ready. Let’s continue,” I said, assuming a fighting stance.

She raised her hand. “No, you’re not. Your body may feel whole but it needs to heal. What I did will accelerate the process, but fighting now will only hinder what we are trying to achieve. We will continue later today,” she said and headed to exit the room. She stopped at the door and spoke, her back to me.

“What Lucius did to you is sever the connection between the spiritual and the physical. The spiritual damage you have is extensive and is best dealt with by someone better equipped than I am. Wait here and sit for a moment. I will send Kenji. He is one of our elders and can help restore your spirit.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Don’t thank me yet. The pain Kenji will bring you will make anything I have done seem like a favor. The day may come when you ask me to end you,” she said, walking away and leaving me alone in the room.

THREE

RAEL SAT IN the center of his cell in a meditation pose. Within moments a portal opened and four figures entered with drawn weapons. A fifth figure entered last, holding a gun in each hand. She aimed them both at Rael’s head.

“I’m flattered by all the attention, but really, you shouldn’t have gone through all this trouble just for me,” said Rael. “Wait a second—since when do the Warriors of the Way use guns?”

“I will not hesitate to shoot you if you so much as flinch in the wrong direction,” said the female. “Give him the manar and let’s get this over with.”

She wore a dark blue monitor’s robe over black tight-fitting fighting gear, identifying her as one of the Lotus. Her short black hair was cut into spikes and the sides of her head were shaven. Her square jaw was set and she motioned to the monitor to move with one of her guns, keeping the other one aimed at Rael.

“Wait, I’ve heard of you. You’re Monique’s second, Raquel. Those are chi weapons, aren’t they? Interesting. I wonder if those bullets would hurt.”

Raquel stood still, both arms outstretched as one of the monitors gave Rael his daily ration of manar. Rael took a sip and closed his eyes in mock pleasure.

“Mmmmm, nothing like manar in the morning— or is it the evening? I lose track in here,” he said as held the cup up, admiring it.

“All of it, now,” said Raquel unmoving.

“And if I refuse?” He fixed his gaze on her. “Are you going to shoot me?”

The cup exploded in his hand, sending shards everywhere.

“Nothing would give me more pleasure, Harbinger,” said Raquel. She spoke to the monitor while keeping her eyes on Rael. “Pick up every piece of that cup and give him his manar, again.”

The monitor did so and produced a second cup and poured more manar, giving it to Rael, who was smiling at Raquel.

“I’m going to remember you when I leave this place. I will make sure to visit you first,” he said, and then drank the rest of the manar. The smile on his face never reached his eyes.

“Get comfortable, Harbinger, you aren’t going anywhere soon,” she said. “But if you do get out, I’ll be waiting.”

Behind her, a monitor opened a portal and they filed out. Raquel never lowered her weapons or took her eyes off Rael as she stepped back into the portal.

“I think I will see you sooner than you think,” said Rael as he took off the suppressor bands and chi arced between his hands.

**********

The portal led them to a cell lined in titanium with no apparent exit. After several minutes a large door hissed open from one of the walls. The monitors quickly exited the cell and left Raquel to greet the lone figure waiting outside the door.

“How did it go?” said the figure as he stepped inside the cell. It was Rory.

“It went the way it always goes. He is a threat that needs to be put down, and he scares the monitors senseless,” she said.

“Only the monitors?”

Raquel sat at one of the desks and placed her hand on one of the panels, logging her visit.

“I’m not stupid, Rory. I know enough to be scared and to know that he should be dead.”

“Except he can’t die, at least not by any conventional means.”

“My guns are unconventional enough.”

“They are, yes, but I’m not willing to take that risk, and neither is Monique.”

“We should have gone with the original plan and given him to Aurora. Something feels off. It’s like he wants to be in there,” she said.

Rory looked at her, concerned. “Why, did something happen? Did he do something? Was he able to take off the suppressors?”

“How did the warrior escape a sealed box?” she said.

“We think he had help—someone gave him a prism. We found a piece of it after he got out. That’s still being investigated. Did Rael demonstrate a use of chi?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just a feeling and his…”

She looked away and stood to leave.

“His what, Raquel? What is it?”

She looked at Rory and then headed for the door. She stopped in the doorway, absorbed her guns, and looked back at him.

“His eyes. His eyes are full of death,” she said as she left the room.

FOUR

I SAT IN the center of the tré and tried to focus on my breathing. Thoughts raced in, distracting me

“Let the thoughts come in and let them go,” said a voice behind me.

I opened my eyes and looked behind me. In the doorway stood a man who could have been no older than forty. His black hair framed his slight Asian features. He must have been as tall as I was and I could tell he trained from the way he moved. He was dressed in a simple white robe with gold brocade around the edges. When he entered the room, the tré began to vibrate beneath me.

“You’re Kenji? An elder?”

“I am. Wisdom and maturity are not a product of age, as I am sure you have discovered,” he said. “You seem preoccupied.”

He paused after each sentence, giving the impression that each word was being given thought before being spoken. His voice, a gravelly bass set against the thrum of the tré, echoed in the small room.

“I am. How can you help me? Lucius cut me off from my chi and now he has Maelstrom. The ascendants are still in danger because of the searing. I don’t know what has happened to the others, and the last thing Aurora told me is that she may have to kill me at some point, because I will ask her to. I don’t see how this is a ‘spiritual’ matter, but at this point I’ll take all the help I can get.”

“I see. That certainly is a lot to think about. It would seem your role in these events is pivotal. May I share this space with you?” he asked as he sat before me in a lotus position.

I nodded and felt the weight of the situation on me. If I couldn’t access my chi, the remaining ascendants would be hunted down and eliminated. Lucius would be free—the real Lucius, not just his shadow, which itself had nearly killed two of the most skilled warriors I knew. I didn’t know anyone who could stand against that kind of power.

“I think you need a shift in perspective,” he said. “You are out of alignment and so you can’t see that everything has a spiritual dimension. It is the same as the relationship between a warrior” —he made a fist with one hand—”and a guardian.” He cupped the fist with his other hand. “One without the other creates imbalance. Not only are you fallen, you have no guardian. This disrupts harmony and brings your focus inward.”

Around us, the tré hummed as he closed his eyes. I remembered the feeling of grounding my energy and knew that he was gathering his chi around him.

“I can’t see it. No matter how hard I look or try, it’s like grabbing smoke,” I said, frustration creeping into my voice.

“Who is Owl?” asked Kenji.

The question took me by surprise.

“He is—was a Samadhi of chi manifestation I met a while back. He sacrificed himself for me. I didn’t know what he was doing until it was too late. For a while I could hear him, but not anymore,” I said. “The searing cut that off too.”

“Owl is one of the reasons you are still within your right mind. A searing usually renders the victim insane or vegetative. You may not sense him, but he protected you when it mattered most.”

“Protected me for what? I can’t access anything. Haven’t you heard what I have been saying?”

“I heard your words, but that’s not what I’m listening to. Why don’t we take a trip?”

“I don’t think Aurora wants me to leave—”

“Who says we are leaving?” He reached over and touched me on the forehead. A white light blinded me, reminding me of a flash when taking a picture. Spots danced in my vision as I took in my surroundings. We were on a bridge that crossed a large lake. At the other end of the bridge I saw a familiar structure.

“This place. I know this place. Wait, are we—?”

“In the mirror? Yes, we are. This place is a nexus outside of the planes and yet connected to them all. When you were here last, did you finish your training?”

“No, there was an emergency and then everything happened so fast. I never came back,” I said.

We crossed the bridge and entered the structure. The shutters were open and gave a view of the lake surrounding the building. He placed his hand on a section of the wall and plunged us into darkness.

“Now we can begin,” he said.

FIVE

MEJA OPENED HER eyes and found herself in the infirmary.

The first surprise was that she could see at all. Then it all came rushing back. The Black Lotus attack, getting poisoned and losing her sight. She remembered going to the Rah Ven to find the antidote. It was a blank after that. She tried to stand but the suppressor band attached to the bed prevented her from doing so.

What the hell?

One of the attendant monitors stepped out once she regained consciousness, and the other began to check her vital signs. Meja looked at the monitor. She didn’t recognize her, but she seemed competent.

“Where are the others?” said Meja.

No answer. The monitor kept checking her vitals. Once she was satisfied, she made some notations on a chart and then left Meja alone with her thoughts. A commotion outside her room brought her back to the moment.

“Move, or I will move you,” said the voice.

“But Monique said no one was allowed—”

“Now.”

A grunt followed and then silence. The door to her room opened but Meja couldn’t see who it was due the angle of her bed.

“Get him down the hall. He’s only stunned, but he’s going to wake up in pain.”

That voice—could it be?

“Hello, Meja. It’s good to see you up. Welcome back,” said Devin.

“You’re alive?”

He laughed at the look of surprise on her face.

“Last time I checked.”

“It’s not funny! I thought you were dead. How did you survive Roman?”

He waved her question away and grew serious.

“This isn’t a social visit. I need to get you out of here before the Lotus sends someone to relocate you,” he said.

She lifted up her arm to show him the suppressor chained to the bed.

“How are you going to get me out of this?”

“I’m not, you are,” said Devin. He handed her a small prism and stepped back.

“A focal prism? These are banned, how did you get one?” she asked as she turned it over in her palm.

“I’ll explain later. Use it now or things will get even more complicated,” he urged.

She put the prism back in his hand. “I can’t, Dev. I’m a senior monitor. I’m supposed to enforce the laws of the Order, not break them.”

“You were a senior monitor, Meja. They considered you rogue once they sent the Black Lotus after you. This isn’t about upholding laws, the penalty of betraying the Order is death.”

“I have served the Order faithfully my entire life, I will see this through,” she said.

“There is corruption in the Order, Meja. I can’t prove it yet, but I will. You can’t trust your life to them. They see you as a threat now. Helping you will be difficult if Monique has you in custody.”

“I’m no threat. If I can’t trust the Order and its laws then I can’t be a monitor,” she said. “There are still honorable people in the Order.”

Devin used his index finger to rub center of his forehead while taking a deep breath, his eyes closed.

“Stop being so stubborn and use the prism. Do you think they care about your service? Who do you think declared you rogue to begin with? Once you were seen helping Sylk and Dante, your entire group was done,” he said.

“Where are the others?”

Devin placed the prism in her hand again, forcing her to take it. She closed her hand around the small crystal, but didn’t use it.

“We don’t have time for this. Use it and I will tell you once we are out of here,” said Devin.

“Where exactly are you going?” said a voice from behind them. Devin looked down at Meja’s hand and saw her slide the prism into her gown. Devin placed a hand over hers.

Shit, she got here fast, thought Devin.

“Raquel, good to see you,” said Devin without turning around.

With one hand resting on a holster she stepped into the room. The two guards that accompanied her were members of the Black Guard. These were not castaways from the warriors or guardians, but trained elite members of the Black Lotus. Devin looked at them and was treated to an icy stare. He stepped out of their way. A fight here would put Meja in harm’s way.

“Wish I could say the same. What are you doing here? Monique gave specific instructions: no one was allowed to see her. Where is the guard that was stationed outside this room?” said Raquel.

“I don’t think those instructions applied to me,” said Devin.

“Especially you.” She pointed at his chest, while keeping the other hand on her gun. “So I’m going to ask one more time, what are you doing here?”

“Visiting my sister who has been ill. Is that a crime?”

“When that sister is a rogue monitor who threatened the leader of the Black Lotus and was seen cooperating with a known enemy of the Order, Sylk, then yes, in case I’m not being clear. It makes me wonder why her brother and a high-ranking member of the Warriors of the same Order would be in here alone.”

“He was just leaving,” said Meja. “He just came to see how I was.”

Raquel stared at Meja for a long moment before turning back to Devin.

“Are you satisfied?” said Raquel.

“Far from it. Make sure her health doesn’t deteriorate suddenly,” said Devin. He gave Meja’s hand a squeeze as if to say remember the prism, then he left the room.

“Get dressed. Monique wants to see you, now.”

Raquel undid the chain that held the suppressor to the bed.

“Do you intend to watch me get dressed or do I get some privacy? Doesn’t matter to me either way,” said Meja.

Raquel looked around the room. She checked the bed and under Meja. Noticing Meja’s closed hands, she pointed with her gun.

“Open them, slowly.”

Meja did as asked. Her hands were empty. Raquel continued searching her, but found nothing. Satisfied, she nodded to one of the Black Guards who placed a set of clothes on the edge of the bed.

“Two minutes. We’ll be outside,” said Raquel.

It was gamble. If Raquel didn’t leave she would have been forced to leave the prism. Absorbing it made her queasy. It was a vast amount of raw power, barely contained in a fragile crystal.

What the hell was Devin thinking? If I use this, I could easily kill myself, she thought.

Manifesting the prism, she put it inside her shirt where it would be in touch with her skin. She knew it was wrong to have it, and she didn’t want to know how Devin got his hands on one. Having it made her feel more secure, though. She could take off the suppressors if she needed to. She hoped it didn’t come to that.

She stepped out of the room and was immediately bookended by the Black Guard.

“I’m ready,” said Meja.

“That’s what you think,” said Raquel.

SIX

“STOP TRYING TO use your eyes to see,” said Kenji.

The room was completely dark. I could hear his voice but the acoustics in the space didn’t allow me to determine where he was. The last time I had been in this space, I had faced Devin with a staff in my hands. This time I was unarmed and defenseless. A rustling to my left caught my attention. Too late I realized the trap. Turning left to face the noise I felt the impact smash my leg, knocking me down. I stood up and put weight on my leg, testing it.

“Why are you here, warrior? Do you understand what hangs in the balance? As warriors go, you aren’t very competent.”

“I do.”

From behind I was pulled and thrown across the floor. I landed hard on my side, the breath knocked out of me. I took a moment to gather myself and then stood.

“I don’t think you do. The ascendants will have to go back to the hub soon, where they will be hunted.  Because you can’t access your chi. Because of you, many will die at the hands of the Harbinger.”

That’s not my fault, I thought.

“You’re probably thinking that you are not at fault. Am I right?”

I placed my back against a wall to prevent another rear attack. I didn’t answer, not wanting to give away my position, but he was right.

“Did you think it was an accident? Did you never ask why you were sent to that particular promotion? Of course you didn’t. You probably thought it was all some kind of mistake.”

Every day since, actually.

“If Lucius succeeds in creating a bridge to his plane we are all dead. He has lost all reason and is only focused on vengeance. He will kill us all because of you.”

The rage began to form, a hard tightness in my chest making it hard for me to breathe.

“You’re angry?” he continued in a whisper. “You should be. Angry at yourself. You are the reason Lucius now wields his cursed weapon. A weapon that was lost for over a hundred years is now in his hands once again, because of you. You gave him the means to destroy us all.”

“It’s not my fault. I didn’t cause this. I didn’t ask for Maelstrom or any of this!” I screamed. I didn’t care if he could find me. The rage was taking over.

“I’ll remember to carve that on your grave, near the end when everything and everyone you know is gone. This poor excuse of a warrior would like everyone to know: it wasn’t his fault,” said Kenji.

Something inside of me snapped. Calm descended over me, enveloping my white-hot rage. Kenji slid over to me and lunged. I moved to the side and avoided the lunge. My hand whipped around striking to the side. I hit the wall, cracking it, missing his head by a fraction of an inch. Ducking under my strike he drove the tips of his fingers into my arm, numbing it from my forearm down. I hopped back and avoided another attack aimed for my midsection. I could sense him and the space around us.

The moment I took to acknowledge this gave him the opening he needed. A fist slammed into my solar plexus followed by several strikes to the rest of my body. I crumpled to the floor, in shock at the ferocity of the attack. Gasping for air, and finding none I folded into a fetal position. The first wave of pain crashed into my body. I gritted my teeth until I felt one of them crack.

This is how it ends, I thought as I started to lose consciousness.

“You don’t get to die here, today.”

The words washed over me and I felt the pain subside. Kenji reached down and brought me to my feet. He massaged my arm for a few seconds and I felt my hand again, the numbness gone. He placed a hand on the side of my face and it was instantly warm. There was no trace of any pain in my body.

“What happened? I felt you. I could sense where you were.”

“And then instead of focusing on me, you focused on the feeling of sensing me,” he said.

I nodded. “Is the searing undone?  Does this mean I can access my chi?”

He smiled at me and shook his head.

“This means that there is hope. The searing wasn’t complete. If I had to guess, I would say Owl preserved you somehow. It means we can undo what was done to you.”

“You mean more sessions like this?”

“No, not like this, warrior,” he said and placed a hand on my shoulder.

I sighed in relief—I hadn’t been looking forward to going through that again.

“Today was just to determine what lay ahead. The next sessions will be much worse,” he said, smiling. “I will tell Aurora not to kill you today. In the meantime you will have to accept being a fallen warrior.”

“I don’t know if I can. Without access to my chi, how can I stand against Lucius, or protect the ascendants?” I said.

“You can’t. Still you must learn to reconnect with your chi in another way. The energy hasn’t disappeared, just your method of connecting to it. You must find a different way,” he said and touched me on the forehead again.

Another flash of white and we left the mirror. When I was able to see clearly we were back in the healing tré.

“How did we do that, travel to the mirror without a reflective surface?”

“One path, different ways. Just like you must find a different way to access your chi, I had to find a different way to access the mirror,” he said. “Right now you are using anger and rage. Effective, not efficient. We need to shift that to something less destructive.”

He stood gracefully from the lotus position and extended a hand. I took it and he lifted me up from a seated position without apparent effort.

“Let’s go see Aurora. She will want to know if we made any progress,” he said and left the room.

The healing tré hummed around us and I could feel the energy. This time it felt closer, almost in my grasp.

SEVEN

“WE CAN’T APPROACH this directly,” said Sylk. “If we do, we risk revealing ourselves before we can find out who is giving the orders.”

“If we kill or capture enough of them that will lead us to the same person or group,” said Luna.

“You saw how well that went last time. They won’t be captured. Dead Mikai give us no answers.”

“The only Mikai I want to discuss are dead Mikai. They are taking my people, our people. Alpha,” she said pointing to the pendant around his neck, “we do not have the luxury of time. We need to be more direct,” said Luna.

Mara stood off to the side and watched the exchange. They sat in the blood healer’s home. It was where Sylk usually stayed when in the Rah Ven plane. He declined the option of going to the ancestral pack leader home, looking to prevent more friction with some of the members of the pack. It was bad enough that he wasn’t a Rah Ven. To take the home of the Rah Ven leader would be seen as an insult. Cane’s faction within the pack would use it as an excuse for violence, no matter how proper it was.

“The last Mikai said something about the Order. Let’s pursue that. Instead of going after the foot soldiers, let’s find out who the general is,” said Sylk.

“How are you going to do that?” said Luna. “You can’t get near the hub plane without having the Order after you. The Black Lotus never forgets and never forgives.”

“He can’t, but maybe I can,” said a figure in the doorway.

“Kal!” said Mara hugging her. “It is so good to see you.”

“That’s brave of you, Kalysta,” said Sylk. “But it won’t work. They know what you look like. Besides, I thought you had to wait a year before your complete transition?”

“That was Zen. I wasn’t injured like he was. My transition is happening much faster than his. Plus, I can do this now,” she said and camouflaged out of sight.

“How did you do that?” said Mara, looking around for Kal.

Kal came back into sight.

“That’s not all. I can also do this,” she said, closing her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them again, her hair began to grow longer and change color, going from black to gray to white with streaks of brown. Her eyes went from brown to hazel to blue. As Kal finished her transformation, the healer walked in.

Sylk turned to the healer. “How is this possible? She isn’t even Rah Ven. She shouldn’t be able to control her body this way.”

The healer shook her head.

“I don’t right know, Alpha. Many Rah Ven can’t do what she can. I did give her the old blood though—I think that be the reason.”

Luna gasped in surprise. “You gave her the old blood, Grandmother?”

The healer waved the question away. She began fixing and rearranging her vials and jars which occupied every flat surface in the home.

“Old blood? What does that mean?” said Sylk.

“The blood of the house of Winter Wolf is in her. That’s what it means,” said the healer.

“Grandmother…” whispered Luna.

Sylk looked at Luna for an explanation.

“The house of the Winter Wolf is one of the oldest lineages of Rah Ven. I don’t even know how she still has their blood,” said Luna. “Did you give this blood to Zen as well?”

“Don’t be a thick pup. This one”—she pointed at Kal—”made her choice free and clear and I made mine. Things will be hard enough for them, not born Rah Ven. Made her strong, stronger than most. Stronger than all but the oldest. The other was ill and on his death bed. This blood is too strong for him. The blood I gave him is special, rarer still.”

“This is forbidden, Grandmother! If they are discovered they will kill them.”

The healer laughed at Luna’s concern and fixed some more of her vials.

“They can try, won’t be too easy. Cane’s pack is still running wild. They be quiet now, but I can smell the plotting,” said the healer.

“That is exactly what I mean. How could you do this?” said Luna, throwing her arms in the air.

The healer narrowed her eyes and stopped arranging her vials.

“When your father was a wet-behind-the-ears pup, I was old. I did this because no one gives me commands. Not even the Alpha— those be more like suggestions, which I heed out of respect for your father. But no one in this pack has the right to question me. You heed?” said the healer.

Her eyes bore into Luna, who stood transfixed and silent. After a few moments, Luna cast her eyes downward.

“I’m sorry, Grandmother, I didn’t mean…” began Luna.

“I know what you meant, now hush.” She turned to Sylk. “Can this one help or not?”

Sylk looked at the transformed Kal, who was unrecognizable from a few moments before.

“Will she attain any new abilities?” said Sylk.

“I don’t right know. She should be dead right now, as potent as that blood is. I can’t right tell you but we will know in the next few days.”

“Why in the next few days?” said Mara.

“She will go through the blood moon in two days. Then we will see what we can see.”

“Blood moon?” said Mara.

“In two days there will be a full moon, and Kal will go through her first real transformation since her transfusion. We call it the blood moon because—well, you’ll see in two days,” said Luna.

The healer began to sniff the air.

“We may not have that long,” said the healer.

“What is it, Grandmother?”

“Cane’s pack is done waiting. They come looking for blood.”

EIGHT

“HOW MUCH LONGER can we keep the ascendants out of the hub?” said Aurora.

Roman looked down at the stack of papers. He knew the answer. It wasn’t good. They needed more time.

“Two weeks, three on the outside before the barrier fails completely and we have a very pissed-off relative on our hands. Yours, not mine,” he said.

“Yes, I am aware of whose relative it is, thank you.”

Roman nodded but remained silent.

“Let’s say two weeks. Are we keeping an eye on the Harbinger? The Order has no idea what they have in that box.”

“We get occasional flare-ups of energy. My guess is that he is there because he wants to be. It’s the perfect place if you are hunting”—the door burst open and one of Aurora’s assistants ran in— “ascendants,” said Roman, facing the assistant.

“Sir, the ascendants…” the assistant, red-faced and short of breath, tried to speak but couldn’t form the words.

“What is it?” Roman grabbed the handle of his hammer. He knew the answer before the assistant spoke and he headed out the door, followed by Aurora.

“They’re gone. All of the ascendants are gone.”

***********

Rael sensed their arrival the moment it occurred. The ascendants had been returned to the hub.

This is earlier than anticipated. Seems like more players than I have been made aware of. Typical Lucius. No matter. It only means I can end all of this sooner.

He held the suppressors and watched them turn to dust in his hands. He manifested his swords, electricity crackled around his body. With a sharp intake of  breath he absorbed them. Sitting in the center of the room, he closed his eyes and waited. It was almost time for his manar.

***********

“Was this the most prudent course of action, Master?  They are the key to keeping the barrier in place,” said the young man.

Wei looked at the young man. He reminds me of myself at that age. Full of idealism and innocence.

“They are one of the keys, Snow,” said Wei. “If they should fall, there are other fail-safes, other methods to keep the barrier in place.” Other more dangerous and risky methods.

The boat docked and Wei disembarked. He looked around the Gantry Plaza Park and expanded his chi, making sure it was deserted. When he was certain they were alone he gave the signal to the boat’s captain and headed to the nearest gantry.

A group of people numbering close to fifty followed Wei. They entered the restored gantry and settled in. Most of them moved with purpose. Some looked tired but no one complained. Inside the gantry waited another group of armed men and women. Wei looked at the armed group and spoke.

“You are my shield and now you are theirs,” he said as he motioned to the ascendants. “They must be kept safe. Take them and go. Arrangements have been made for them to disappear. Do not leave the hub plane, but spread out. You are to keep them safe at all costs, even if the price is your life. There are two of you for every ascendant here. I will wait here for the Harbinger. You must not be here when he arrives.”

He turned to the ascendants, clasping his hands before him.

“I know you are tired, and now I am asking you to continue moving. All of you know what is in the balance. Do not use any ability that will call attention to you. Do not visit family or friends or make any calls. Now go.”

They began to disperse, whispering words of thanks as they passed Wei.

“Master, must you do this?” asked Snow as the group began to leave. “Why will you face the Harbinger alone? I will remain here with you.”

“No, Snow. You must go and make sure they are safe. I am counting on you to keep the shield intact. The Harbinger is the least of our concerns. Tetra has been unleashed and he will be coming for me,” said Wei.

“Kriyas? Weren’t the ascendants safer with Aurora?” said Snow.

“She would have held them longer, thinking she had enough time,” said Wei. “Once they returned to this plane the barrier would be too weak. Even now I fear it may be too late. The ascendants cannot be kept in proximity for an extended period of time. Their energy fields would merge, weakening the very barrier we seek to protect. Aurora would have kept them together. It would have made sense to her, easier to protect them in one place.”

“But the Kriyas?”

“Tetra will come for the Fangs, and for me. He will want his revenge. No, if the Kriyas have been set free in this plane then the ascendants must be scattered. It’s their only chance at survival. That and you, Snow.”

“The last triads are getting ready now,” said Snow.

“Good. Go make sure they leave right away and then keep them safe. I will deal with the Harbinger and the Kriyas,” said Wei as he left the gantry.

**********

“Who could have done this? Who has the ability?” said Roman as he kept pace behind Aurora.

“I only know of a few beings powerful or capable enough to do this. Only one would dare to do this in my own complex without me noticing. The prime ascendant.”

“Wei?” said Roman.

“Find him now. Bring him to me alive,” said Aurora.

NINE

THE PORTAL OPENED and several monitors stepped in. As usual, they had their swords drawn. Sitting in lotus position, Rael kept his hands folded in his robe and looked at the group as they entered.

He counted ten in total. He looked around and didn’t see Raquel. He turned to the monitor that seemed to be in charge of the group.

“Where’s the gunslinger?” said Rael.

“She had important business to attend to,” answered the leader.

“More important than me? Impossible, we have a date I’m dying to keep. What’s your name?”

“That information is not pertinent to my duty here.”

“I’m going to take that as the ‘I have a hideous name and I do not wish to share it and shame myself or the parents who named me’ answer.” said Rael. “Now I’m curious.”

The leader of the group remained silent and signaled the reader holding the manar. Readers always made up part of the group in the event the prisoner began to manifest a surge of power.

The reader came forward and poured the manar. “That was funny,” he whispered. “He does have an ugly name, too.”

The group leader backhanded the reader, causing the manar to spill. The reader fell to the side, grunting in pain and surprise. The rest of the monitors laughed at him.

“You will not speak with the prisoner. He is not your friend, he is not an ally. He is a coldhearted killer whose only purpose is to kill so that a greater threat can enter our plane. Is that understood?”

The reader rubbed the side of his face and remained silent.

“Is that understood?” said the group leader.

“Yes, sir. Understood, sir,” said the reader as he began to pour more manar.

“They say you can tell a lot about a person from their name. You hear that names have power. You know what I have learned over the many years I have lived? Actions. It is the actions we take that reveal so much more than names,” said Rael.

The reader finished pouring the manar and placed it in front of Rael. He quickly stepped back to join the rest of the group.

“Drink it. All. Now,” said the group leader, pointing at the cup.

“I may be a coldhearted killer, the Harbinger. A monster to some, the stuff of nightmares. This was not by choice. That one”—he pointed his chin at the reader—”treated me like a person. This is why he will survive today. The rest of you”—he shook his head from side to side—”not so lucky.”

“Stop talking and drink,” said the group leader.

Rael bent forward and picked up the cup before him and drank the manar slowly.

“Sir,” said the reader.

“What is it now?”

“The suppressors…” said the reader as he pointed at Rael’s wrists.

“Oh, you noticed that, did you? Sharp, that one. I really wish the gunslinger were here,” said Rael as he manifested his swords. “She would have made this interesting.”

Electricity arced between both swords and around his body.

“Close the portal!” yelled the leader. The portal behind them disappeared.

“What do you think is going to happen when you don’t return?” said Rael.

“They flood the box with toxins, enough to stop even you,” said the leader.

“Unlikely, but don’t worry, you won’t be here to find out,” said Rael as he stepped forward.

The group leader lunged forward with a thrust. Rael parried the lunge and ducked avoiding a swipe from behind. Thrusting behind, he impaled one of the monitors while kicking the leader in the midsection.

“I’m going to leave you for last,” he said to the leader as he jumped back.

Two monitors closed on him, attacking simultaneously. He spun into the attack of the one on the right, avoiding the left attack. Embracing the attacker on the right he let the energy in his swords envelop them both. One monitor fell lifeless to the ground. The remaining attacker slashed down. Rael lifted the lifeless body of the monitor and flung it. The monitor caught the body before he realized his error. Rael ran him through with his sword.

The group leader advanced again, locking swords with Rael. In melee distance, the group leader punched Rael in the face several times. Rael began to bleed from his nose and cheek.

“So you can bleed,” grunted the leader as he pushed against Rael.

“Oh, I bleed just fine. It’s the dying that’s the problem.”

Rael absorbed his swords and stepped to the side. He drove an elbow to the leader’s head as he fell forward and knocked him unconscious. Three monitors came at him in unison.

“Is that a triad attack?” he said as the three monitors moved in sync, closing the distance. “I taught the person that created that attack.”

The monitors attacked, three blades aiming for one point and missed.

“The best defense is to not be there,” said Rael from behind them, swords in hand. He had leaped over the attack and the monitors. He thrust through two of the three, kicking the legs out from under the third before stabbing him on the ground. He shifted quickly to the side and evaded a dagger meant for his neck.

The remaining three monitors each threw daggers. He deflected two of them and caught the last, returning it to its owner. Absorbing his sword and forming daggers, he ran over to the remaining monitors and lunged. He turned the lunge into a roll and hamstrung the one on his left as he severed the femoral artery of the one on the right. He reversed the dagger in his left hand and drove it into the monitor’s chest as he fell forward.

The reader stood still as Rael approached the group leader. He grabbed him by the chest and smacked his face a couple of times, bringing him to. The group leader began to struggle but Rael formed a dagger and held it to his neck.

“Make it quick, Harbinger,” said the group leader.

“Where is the gunslinger? She and I have a conversation to finish,” said Rael.

The group leader spit in his face. Rael let him fall as he sliced his neck open.

“Completely uncalled for,” he said as he wiped the saliva off his face. He looked down at the body of the leader. “I never did get his name. Not that it matters now.”

Rael approached the reader, who stood near the wall with a sword in his shaking hand.

“You killed—you killed them all,” said the reader, his voice cracking.

Rael stopped and looked around, his face grim.

“It’s what I do. It’s who I am.” He pointed at the body of the group leader. “He was right. I am a killer, but I keep my word. You will survive today.” At these words the reader lifted the sword in a defensive posture as if to ward off Rael.

“Stay back. Stay back!” screamed the reader.

“Do you know how to open a portal?” said Rael.

The reader shook his head.

“That part about flooding the box with toxins, I don’t think you will make it through that.”

“You just stay away from me. Stay away.”

Rael gestured with his hands and a portal opened behind the reader. He took a quick step forward and the reader fell back and through the portal.  With another gesture he closed the portal. He moved the bodies of the monitors to one side of the cell. He didn’t want to trip over them when he fought the gunslinger. He sat in the center of the floor and waited for the toxins to fill the room.

Who knows, maybe they’ll get lucky and end me? He laughed quietly as the hissing began. I’ll make sure not to hold my breath. Let’s go, gunslinger girl, the clock is ticking, he thought as the room filled with smoke.

TEN

THE TENT FLAP blew in the midst of the desert storm. The wind whipped about the edges of the tent, threatening to blow it away as it strained against the ties holding it in place. Inside the tent, two figures sat facing each other, undisturbed by the storm raging outside. Despite the wind, none of the sand or noise entered the tent.

Each was dressed in the robes of Samadhi, the gold brocade on the edges of the sleeves denoting their station. Their robes were identical with the exception of the symbols over the left side of the chest. On one rested a phoenix, bathed in fiery glory. The other bore an intricate design of circles overlapping each other forming a larger circle and set inside a wheel. Both of the men were advanced in age, but the one with the wheel design on his robe gave off an impression of strength. His callused hands rested on the table lightly. His white hair flowed about his shoulders and framed his chiseled face.

The phoenix spoke first.

“You released the Kriyas?  Do you know what you have done? Once they have begun, there is no stopping them. You play a dangerous game and put everything in jeopardy, Master Wheel.”

“That is the reason for our meeting here, in this plane. The Kriyas have been exiled long enough. It was time they were let loose to do what they do best,” said Wheel.

“They are uncontrollable. Without the second foci they will take over whatever plane they are in, converting it to wasteland. This plane was once a lush garden. Now it is an empty desert. That is what the Kriyas do,” said Phoenix. “They devour and consume.”

“I did what needed to be done. The Black Lotus has proven ineffective. The prime ascendant still roams the planes and the First has regained of one of the foci. If he retains control of either of the other two foci, all is lost, Master Phoenix,” said Wheel.

“Wheel, this is the same action that led to us sealing three of the planes.”

“Lucius was becoming a threat. Do you question my motives? Is your life terribly difficult now?  Or would you like to return to the way it was?”

“It was simpler then…” said Master Phoenix.

“Don’t be a fool. We wield power none have seen since the beginning of the Order, and it grows. Soon it will not matter if Lucius escapes. We will eclipse his ability. He may have been the first, but we will be the last,” said Master Wheel.

“And what of his Harbinger? He too is free and it is said death evades him. He cannot be taken lightly.”

“The Kriyas devour chi, and without chi there is no life. I have set them on a path to meet,” said Wheel. “Once Wei is removed we will retain the Fangs—the second foci and the only weapon the Kriyas fear. With the Fangs in our hands, we will control the Kriyas.”

“I have set in motion the plan concerning the Rah Ven. Very soon they will be an extinct species,” said Phoenix.

“Excellent we can’t let those dogs interfere. What of the Mikai? I trust you have obtained their cooperation.”

Phoenix nodded. “They will do as told or we will exterminate them. They were very cooperative after a brief demonstration on one of their villages. I think it is still burning.” Phoenix smiled as he said this.

“Everything is falling into place, Phoenix.  All we need to do now is locate the third foci and make sure it can’t be wielded. Then our victory will be certain.”

“I am still uncomfortable about the Kriyas. It is an extreme weapon, unmanageable and difficult to control. They will turn on us at the first opportunity,” said Phoenix.

“The same can be said of fire, which you are intimately familiar with. The Kriyas will do what they were intended to do.  They will purge the planes and our enemies. I don’t expect you to see all the intricacies of this plan, only to follow through on your end. When I’m done we will control all the planes. All will bow down to the Order and to us,” said Master Wheel.

“Who will lead the Kriyas? Surely you are not considering Tetra.”

“Would you prefer I released Ravia alone? He is the only one who can lead them effectively and control her.”

“The last time they were free we needed Wei to stop them.”

“They lacked a focus last time. This time they have a purpose and we will have the means to control them,” said Master Wheel.

“This will be our unmaking, Wheel,” said Master Phoenix.

“No, Phoenix, the Kriya will do what I have tasked them with, eliminating the prime ascendant and the Harbinger. You will ensure that the Rah Ven are gone. Then it will be our rebirth.”

Master Wheel made a gesture with his hand, and the storm intensified until the tent was obscured from sight and had disappeared.

ELEVEN

“SOMETHING IS WRONG,” said Kenji.

We were heading back to Aurora’s main meeting room when Kenji was pulled aside by one of Aurora’s assistants. He whispered something into Kenji’s ear and I could tell by the look on his face that  it was bad news. The assistant left us and headed back the way he came at a quick pace.

“What is it?” I said.

“Not here, it’s not secure,” said Kenji.

We walked down the corridors of the complex until we came to a series of doors. Kenji pushed through a door which led to a narrow hallway. At the end was another door requiring him to place his hand on a wall panel to open. The door hissed and opened. He went through almost at a run. Down another set of stairs we stood before an open archway. I began to walk through when he grabbed me by the shoulder, pulling me back.

“Wait, one moment.”

He performed an intricate series of gestures and the archway glowed a deep violet before returning to normal.

“Your searing prevented you from seeing the threat there,” he said.

I didn’t want to imagine what would have happened if I had walked through that archway while it had been active.

We walked through the now-inactive archway and found ourselves in a large, spacious area outfitted to accommodate a large group of people.  Several rows of beds were along one side of the space. On the other side a makeshift kitchen and seating area was located. It had the feel of a large military barracks. There was only one thing missing: the people.

In the center of the room stood Aurora surrounded by several assistants.

“Where is everyone?” I asked Kenji.

“That appears to be the matter at hand,” he said. “This space housed the ascendants and they seem to be”—he looked around at the various items scattered around—”gone. This is very problematic.”

Aurora turned to face us. I could see the anger in the set of her jaw.

“Problematic? No, finding that I misplaced a file would be problematic. Finding myself off-plane and surrounded by enemies would be problematic. This”—she gestured around the room— “is catastrophic. There are only a few people with enough power and ability to do this. I sent Roman to find Wei. I need you to go make sure Rael is still in that box. I don’t trust the Order to keep him contained.”

“The other?” said Kenji. “Could he be free?”

“If the First were free, missing ascendants would be the least of our problems. Besides, he would have killed them where they stood, turning this place into a graveyard. Everything indicates that he is still in his prison several planes away,” she said.

Kenji nodded.

“What is the status of his searing?” she said, looking at me.

“He has promise. The searing wasn’t completed, so he has partial access to his chi. Not enough to create an ascendant at this time, however,” said Kenji.

“How long before he is restored?”

“Aurora, you know how these things are…”

“Look around you, Kenji. Any time we thought we had has vanished along with the ascendants. If he can’t create ascendants right now, then he is of no use to us. We will seek alternate methods. Take him with you when you check on Rael. It should be safe enough. He is fallen, after all.”

“Isn’t he wanted by the Black Lotus?” said Kenji.

“His fallen state should keep him off their radar. Besides, they really want Sylk he was just convenient. I trust you can keep him intact while you visit the hub?”

Kenji nodded. “Of course. We will leave immediately.”

Kenji motioned me to follow him and we left the barracks.

“There is another way, a dangerous way to access your chi, but I dare not have you attempt it until we return,” he whispered.

“How dangerous?”

“It requires an immense amount of raw power. A mistake will prove fatal, for both of us.”

I remained silent. I didn’t enjoy going through the agony of the searing, but it didn’t kill me. This new way didn’t sound attractive.

“Arm yourself. I don’t know what we are going to encounter at the hub and they may not honor that you are under Aurora’s protection. Meet me in the healing tré in ten minutes. I should have everything prepared by then,” he said.

I headed off to the armory and chose a sword. I was skilled in its use and it felt more comfortable than a short staff, which would only bring me memories of Maelstrom. Memories I didn’t wish to relive. I made it to the tré in less than ten minutes. Kenji was standing in the center waiting for me. He was dressed in combat gear. Several knives were attached to his legs and a sword was strapped to his back. In his hand he held an iron staff.

“Are we heading into a war?”

He looked down at his gear and smiled. “Better to have it and not need it. It will also dissuade anyone from making any sudden moves against you. Are you proficient with that?”  He pointed at the sword. “I thought you would have picked a staff.”

“I am. No more staffs of any kind for me.”

“Understood. Let’s get under way. This tré will take us to its twin in the hub. We should arrive in the medical area, which is manned by a small group at this time,” said Kenji.

He stepped close to me and placed a finger on my forehead. A bright flash filled the room.

TWELVE

“THEY WOULD DARE attack the Alpha?” said Sylk.

“You be no Alpha to them,” said the healer. “They listen to the howling of their minds. You cannot face them. You will lose face and the whole pack will be in danger. You must appoint a second to meet them.” She said this last part looking at Luna.

“Luna, you are the most qualified to…” Sylk began.

Luna bowed. “I would be honored, Alpha.”

“Not that simple. There must be blood,” said the healer as she drew a long knife from the folds of her skirt.

Sylk hesitated at the mention of blood and then extended his hand. The healer smacked it away.

“Not your blood, hers. She must pledge her life to the pack and the Alpha,” said the healer.

Luna folded her sleeve and exposed her arm. The healer took the knife and cut a symbol into Luna’s forearm. It was a symbol of the fang that hung on the pendant around Sylk’s neck. The blood began to flow and the healer began to mutter words under her breath over Luna’s arm. The blood floated above her arm and remained motionless.

“Your life for the pack,” said the healer.

“My life for the pack,” answered Luna.

“Your life before the Alpha’s life.”

“My life before the Alpha’s life,” said Luna.

The blood fell on the symbol carved into her arm and glowed red briefly before disappearing.

“You are the second to the Alpha. You are his voice and arm. If he falls, you will serve as Alpha until a new Alpha is chosen. Are you in accord?”

Luna nodded. “I am in accord,” she said.

The healer placed a hand on the symbol she had cut into Luna’s arm and muttered some more words. The wound became scar tissue instantly. A faint violet light surrounded the scar.

“It is done,” said the healer.

Outside the house, a group of Rah Ven approached. They were in human form, but some of them had begun the transformation to canine.

“Best go outside, before they burn down my house trying to get to the Alpha,” said the healer to Luna.

Luna left the symbol exposed and walked outside with Kal next to her. She faced the group of Rah Ven, which numbered close to thirty.

“By what right do you come to this home?” said Luna.

The Rah Ven were all in canine form now and formed a loose semi-circle in front of the healer’s house. One of the older Rah Ven came forward and stood in the center.

“Where is the false Alpha?” said the Rah Ven.

“Measure your words, Kort,” said Luna, her voice low.  “Being the eldest of Cane’s pack does not give you right of challenge. The Alpha bested Cane in combat, which you witnessed,” said Luna.

“He is not Rah Ven. I will not recognize him as my Alpha.” said Kort.

Inside the healer’s house the healer began clearing an area of the infirmary. She changed sheets and adjusted the beds.

“What are you doing?” asked Mara.

“Getting ready,” said the healer. “That be Grawl’s daughter out there. They would do well to recollect who they speak to. Many of them standing in that group will be in my beds or ashes before nightfall.”

“I should go out and help her,” said Sylk.

“You cannot. If you do, you give their words weight. No, you take the one bonded to you,”—she said, pointing at Mara— “and you find the dark ones responsible for taking our people. Leave this matter to your second. As it should be,” said the healer.

Sylk made several gestures with his hand and opened a portal.

“I will be back soon, Grandmother,” said Sylk.

She nodded her head and continued fussing with the beds. She waved them off, muttering under her breath. Sylk and Mara stepped through the portal, leaving her alone. The healer looked out of the window and could sense that things were spiraling out of control. She opened the window so she could hear the exchange.

“It was determined by battle and blood. Sylk is the new Alpha,” said Luna.

“You adhere to the old ways when we are living in a modern time. I am taking over the pack,” said Kort.

“Over my dead body,” said Luna.

Kort bared his fangs as he smiled.

“That is precisely what I was thinking,” he said as Luna entered the semi-circle.

THIRTEEN

RAQUEL LED THE way. Meja, surrounded by members of the Black Guard, walked slowly, analyzing the group around her for weaknesses. She still felt the prism in her shirt, its low thrum a counterpoint to the energy of the suppressors around her wrists.

Monique is not taking any chances, she thought.

“What does Monique want?” said Meja.

“You are under the impression you get to ask questions. If I were you, I would lose that impression,” said Raquel.

They continued walking down the corridors and Meja realized they were heading to the Black Lotus’ wing of the hub. It was off limits to all but the most senior of the Order. She never had occasion to visit the area and found herself in unfamiliar territory.

After several more turns and picking up another contingent of guards they faced two large steel doors with a black lotus emblazoned in the center of each. The guards opened the doors and Meja stepped into the immense tribunal chamber. The symbol of the Black Lotus dominated the center of each of the walls. Filling most of the floor space in front of the far wall sat a large semicircular table made out of the same black marble that covered the floor and walls. The black stone gave the room a cold and sterile feel. The bright lights in the chamber did nothing to dispel the shadows she felt inside. The entire design of the room was to make those who stood before the tribunal judges feel small and insignificant.

The guards filed off to the side of the room with only one guard and Raquel staying by Meja’s side. In the center of the tribunal table, with her hands steepled in front of her face, sat Monique. On each side of Monique sat two older men, seniors of the Black Lotus making it five at the large table. Each wore a black mask displaying symbols signifying a venomous creature. Only Monique’s face remained visible.

This is a tribunal of death, thought Meja. Around the room were other members of the Lotus. Unlike the five at the table, these had their faces exposed. Meja recognized some of them and filed their faces away for future reference. The fact that their faces were visible gave Meja a greater sense of unease than the tribunal itself. Identities in the Black Lotus were secret. Raquel and the guard walked her to the center of the semi-circle to stand before the tribunal table. Every judge wore black silk robes with red accents along the sleeves. The first judge leaned forward and spoke, his robes whispering menace with every motion of his body.

“Where is Sylk, rogue?” said one of the men next to Monique. He wore a dragon mask and his deep voice filled the room.

Meja remained silent. The guard beside her flinched and sent an elbow into her side. Meja grit her teeth at the pain.

“I don’t know,” said Meja.

“Do you know why you are here?” said another member of the tribunal. This one wore the mask of a scorpion.

“I have served the Order and upheld its laws my entire life,” said Meja.

“You are here on the charge of treason to the Order you proclaim to have served,” said Scorpion.

The prism pulsed in Meja’s shirt, reminding her of Devin’s words. The Order is corrupt.

“I have fulfilled my duties as a monitor of the Order and have in no way betrayed its laws,” said Meja.

“I beg to differ. You attacked members of the Black Lotus and prevented the apprehension and capture of an enemy of the Order, Sylk Iman. I would consider that act alone treasonous,” said Dragon. “In addition, the previous leader of the Lotus—your teacher, Diana— lays in state of stasis due to your direct actions.”

“This is a waste of time,” said another member of the tribunal. His mask depicted a toad. “She isn’t going to cooperate.  She has gone rogue. Why are we even discussing this? I move to sentence.”

“She may have information we can use,” said the last member. His mask depicted a snake. “Information we could use against him.”

“Even if she did, she will not share that with us. Sentence her and let’s end this,” said Toad.

Monique held her hand up and the room grew silent. She looked at Meja with undisguised contempt.

“Your outcome is determined, rogue. I will allow you to say words in your defense, out of respect for our teacher. It is possible you can regain the honor you lost and die a death befitting your previous position and rank,” said Monique.

Raquel raised an eyebrow at Monique’s words but said nothing.

Meja took a deep breath and allowed the power of the prism to flow, focusing her chi. You were right, Devin. I was a naïve fool to think I could find honor here, she thought. She let the flow build inside the prism as she sent it into the suppressors with a thought.

In a final burst of power the suppressors shattered. The outflow of energy caused the prism to splinter and explode, filling the area where she stood with smoke and sending Meja flying back across the room and into the far left side. Her body impacted with enough force to crack the wall. She fell to the ground, barely conscious. Monique stood and looked at Raquel, who shook her head.

“What happened?” said Monique. “Bring her here.”

“I’ll tell you what happened,” said Meja between gasps. “You have opened my eyes.”

Raquel’s hands flew to her guns. All the members of the tribunal, except Monique, were escorted out through a side exit by some of the guards. In the haze, a blue glow could be seen coming from Meja’s direction.

“This Order is rotting from within. I didn’t want to believe it. I was blinded by idealism and a naïve belief in the integrity of those who lead us. I can see how mistaken I have been,” she said.

Monique leaped over the table and stood next to Raquel, who had her guns drawn. She removed her daggers from their sheaths and kept her eyes fixed on the blue energy crackling in the back of the room.

“Don’t do this, Meja. The system may be damaged but it’s not broken,” said Monique. She motioned to Raquel to move to the left while she moved right. Several of the guards that remained blocked the main exit. The others fanned out to surround Meja.

“You were a monitor, Meja,” said Monique. “You know the importance of adhering to our laws. Without them we would descend into chaos.”

The blue light grew brighter as Meja spoke. Raquel had her guns pointed in Meja’s general direction as she walked closer in the haze.

“That descent has already started, Monique. You just refuse to see it,” said Meja.

Raquel fixed her aim on the voice and closed the distance. Monique, a dagger in each hand, approached from the other side. She looked at Raquel. After that one glance, no words were needed. When you have the shot, take it.

“You see what is happening out there in the planes,” began Monique, wanting Meja to focus her attention on her. “If we let it continue, a deranged madman will kill the ascendants in order to let a supposedly greater threat free. Tell me where Sylk is and we can end this.”

“You think Lucius is a lie? A story made up to scare children and weak warriors?” said Meja. “How could the Harbinger exist without his master?”

Raquel stood still and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She aimed her guns low and high making sure she would deal a killing shot. After a moment she nodded to Monique.

“Don’t be a fool, Meja. Have you seen him? Has he attacked us with all his fearsome might? No, Lucius is long dead. His Harbinger is a twisted soul who has lived too long, but his master no longer exists,” said Monique, bringing her hand down and signaling to Raquel to take the shot.

“I pity you for the awakening you will go through,” said Meja.

Meja began to channel her chi when the doors to the room exploded inward, crushing one of the guards and cleaving another before heading straight for Raquel. Without thought, Raquel crouched down and pushed back with both legs, firing her guns at the doors. Airborne, she twisted her body to avoid the oncoming slabs of steel. Her shots sent one of the doors off its trajectory, allowing her to dodge it. The second door clipped her in the side and sent her careening to the other side of the chamber. She righted herself, getting her feet under her and landed in a roll. She grunted in pain when she stood. Touching her side, her hand came away wet with blood.

“Goddammit,” she said, ripping off one of her sleeves to tie around her waist in a makeshift bandage. She headed back to Monique’s position when she noticed that the blue light was growing in intensity until it was blinding. Monique was closing on Meja’s location when a second explosion rocked the chamber, knocking everyone back and off their feet. When they stood, the blue glow and Meja were gone. In the side wall where Meja had stood, a large gaping hole had been formed through the marble wall. Raquel looked out of hole, touching its edges. The sides were smooth, giving the impression of being carved.

“Since when could she do this? Her file makes no mention of this kind of power,” said Raquel.

“She was wearing suppressors. How did she access any of her power?” said Monique.

“She must have had a prism of some kind,” said Raquel.

Raquel signaled to some of the guards to follow her. She headed to the hole and looked at Monique.

“Alive or dead?” said Raquel.

Monique looked at Raquel’s side and pulled her back.

“You’re hurt. Let a medic look at that.”

Raquel stared at Monique until she let go of her arm.

“Alive or dead?” said Raquel again.

“Find her and bring her back. Alive or dead,” said Monique. “Just make sure she doesn’t leave the hub.”

**********

Samir grabbed a nearly unconscious Meja and ran down the corridors away from the Black Lotus chamber. Two warriors ran behind him as he carried her. He noticed that the robe around her right shoulder was gone, disintegrated from the explosion of the prism. Her shirt was seared and tattered. Where the prism had touched her skin, a blue latticework of energy pulsed. He stopped at an intersection for a moment, getting his bearings and reading the directional plaques. In the chaos of the explosions he was momentarily disoriented. The hub was a network of rooms and passages resembling an intricate maze. Without the plaques they would become lost within minutes.

“I thought we were only supposed to blow the door. Where did the second explosion come from?” said one of the warriors.

Samir looked down at Meja, but remained silent.

“We need to get out of these corridors before the Lotus catches up to us. You, what’s your name?” Samir said, looking at the warrior who had spoken.

“Stephen, sir,” he said.

Samir looked at the other.

“Charles, sir.”

“Very well, Stephen, relay the message to Devin. We have her. I will meet him where we agreed. Do not delay. Our window is small and is closing rapidly. Charles, with me.”

Stephen ran down one end of the intersection, leaving Samir alone with the remaining warrior, Charles.

They headed off down the other corridor which led to the senior living quarters.

“Can’t we just use a portal?” said Charles.

“No, we are still too close to the Black Lotus. This area has a low-level suppression field permanently installed.”  Which is why the prism exploded the way it did. We were lucky to survive that, thought Samir. That second explosion should have killed us all.

Charles looked at the blue energy running across her shoulder.

“Is she going to be okay? That looks like a nasty piece of work,” he said.

“This was unexpected. She managed to overload the prism, and then her body absorbed the energy expended. Something that is supposed to be impossible,” said Samir.

They made several turns and headed down a lesser-used and darker corridor. Meja cast a blue glow in the center of the corridor as Samir stopped in front of a section of wall. Samir removed his outer cloak and covered her glowing shoulder, throwing them into darkness.

“She needs to get rid of the excess energy contained in her body,” said Samir.

He placed Meja on the floor and began to feel the wall while Charles stood looking down both ends of the corridor.

“What happens if she doesn’t, you know, get rid of the excess energy?”

Samir looked at Charles for a moment, and then returned to the wall until he found the stone he was looking for. Without looking at Charles, he answered.

“Do you remember the second explosion?”

Charles nodded.

“Think of another explosion, only stronger. Strong enough to reduce us to ash, being this close.”

“I’ll be damned,” whispered Charles, looking down at the unconscious Meja.

“Indeed we will be if we don’t deal with this quickly,” said Samir as he pressed the stone and then turned it, opening a section of the wall. The opening led to another, darker corridor. Samir picked up Meja and headed in. This one was narrower than the previous corridor and forced them to walk single file.

“Here, let me carry her,” said Charles, offering to take Meja from Samir.

Samir shook his head. “It’s not safe. I am using my ability to keep the energy in check. If you carry her she may react to your chi and that can have catastrophic consequences.”

“Where to? I mean where to that’s safe,” said Charles.

“We need a healing tré. This way I can bleed off some of the excess energy. As far from the Black Lotus as possible.”

Charles read the wall plaque that directed them to different parts of the hub.

“There’s a medical area close by that should have a healing tré. Let’s use that one.”

The passageway widened enough to let them walk side by side, and then branched off in several directions. Charles led the way to the healing tré.

“Can we use the tré to create a portal out of here?” said Charles.

“Theoretically, yes. After we siphon off the excess energy we should be able to transport her out of here using the tré,” said Samir.

“The medical area is around that corner. Let me go ahead and make sure it’s clear. Be right back,” said Charles as he sprinted ahead.

Samir was beginning to sweat. The exertion of carrying Meja and using his ability to keep the growing power within her in check was taking its toll. He looked down to see the latticework of energy on her shoulder pulse brighter. He saw Charles turn the corner. After a few moments Charles staggered back into view. He looked ashen.

“What is it, Charles? Is the area clear?”

“Run, sir,” whispered Charles before he collapsed to the ground.

Samir saw several arrows in his back and cursed under his breath. He looked behind him and saw several of the Black Lotus in the corridor heading his way. Around the corner two more appeared, blocking his way. They had their crossbows trained on him.

“You will come with us, or die,” said one of the Black Lotus at the corner. The two behind him were close now, cutting off his exit.

“Let me get to the healing tré or we all die,” said Samir as he covered his eyes and removed the cloak covering Meja’s shoulder. The corridor was bathed in a blinding blue light. Covering Meja, he ran past the Black Lotus blocking his path and into the medical area. He cast a few glances behind him to see if they had recovered their sight enough to give chase. No one was there.

That’s odd. They always travel in groups of five, he thought as turned into the medical area. In the center of the tré a figure waited for him. He stopped short, realizing a crossbow was pointed at his chest.

“Hello, syllabist, you can hand her over now.”

It was Rory.

“If I do, all is lost,” said Samir.

“I’ll take my chances,” said Rory and fired.

FOURTEEN

IT HAD BEEN many years since he had smelled fresh air. Tetra looked around and filled his lungs. Standing at a little over six feet, his muscular body was wrapped in the gray garments of his clan. His hair and face were covered, leaving only his eyes, cloudy and sightless, exposed. The leader of the Kriyas—the subclass of exiled spiritual warriors who devoured chi— took in his surroundings. The hub had changed little since his last visit. Around him he could feel the chi permeating the air, feeding him and increasing his strength. Soon he would be fully restored.

Only three of us remain, he thought.

Beside him stood his second, Ravia, the most fearsome Kriya warrior he knew other than himself. Her smaller stature disguised the ferocity within. It was a mistake her enemies made only once. In the distance stood Nerav, scanning the area. He lacked the ferocity of Ravia, but possessed a keen tactician’s mind. Dressed in similar garments, they seemed more at home in the desert than in the hub. Ravia too, felt the effects of a plane where chi was abundant. He sensed the shift in her and could feel her growing stronger. After so many years in a lost plane devoid of all but the most basic life, the hub was intoxicating.

“Have you found him, high one?” said Ravia.

“I never lost him, Ravia. He is on this plane not far from here. We leave within the hour,” he said.

“After this is done must we return?”

“Once the prime ascendant is removed, there will be no one left who can stop us. We will not be returning,” said Tetra. “This will be our new home.”

“And the Samadhi? Are they a threat?” said Ravia.

He could hear the anger in her voice.

“Our only threat lies with Wei. He alone wields the weapon that can stop us. Once we are restored he can be eliminated and we will be free,” said Tetra.

“I will tell Nerav. He will be pleased,” she said and bowed.

Tetra nodded as she left him. Today we settle accounts, Wei, my old friend. You will suffer for all my years of exile and hunger. After you are gone I will have words with our captors and show them the error of their ways, he thought as the film cleared from his eyes, revealing red irises glowed faintly.

**********

Roman tracked the ascendants to Gantry Park. The residual energy was strong enough to pinpoint their location.

You used water to throw off any hunters; smart, Wei. Well, any hunters less skilled than me.

He stood at the edge of the shore and let his senses expand. He found himself turning toward the restored gantry.

They must be in there. Why would he keep them all in one place?

Making his way over to the gantry he noticed the figure in the open field to his right. He stopped walking and faced the figure. His eyes told him a man stood there, but his senses, the ones he trusted most, told him it was an empty space.

The figure began walking and closing the distance between them. Roman waited until the figure was ten feet away before removing his hammer.

“Hello, Roman. How is Aurora these days?” said Wei.

“Angry, Wei. Very angry. She wants the ascendants and she wants to see you, now.”

“That won’t be possible. The Kriyas will be arriving shortly and I’m certain Tetra is angrier than Aurora.”

“Kriyas? Who would be insane enough to release them?”

“Apparently someone who wants me removed. Someone foolish enough to think they can be controlled,” said Wei. “In any case, you don’t want to be in the midst of this.”

“I have yet to meet an enemy that can stand before my hammer. I have my orders. She wants to see you. I have to bring you. I will see what the Kriyas have to say before I act,” said Roman.

“Tetra has never been one for conversation. Your hammer is useless against them. Only the foci can stop them. You would do well to tell Aurora about this development,” said Wei.

“How did you manage to move them—the ascendants from the complex?”

“One or one hundred. It’s all a matter of perspective. The better question is how I did it without you noticing. We have company,” said Wei, looking past Roman.

Walking across the field were three figures wrapped in gray garments covering them from head to toe. Only their eyes, red points of light in the afternoon, were exposed.

“There are only three of them?” said Roman to Wei.

“One can lay waste to an entire city. They are chi devourers. As long as they are around the energy of life, they grow stronger and are virtually impossible to kill,” said Wei.

“Then it is good there are only three of them,” said Roman under his breath.

“If you see them removing their garments you must attack without hesitation. They absorb chi through their skin. The more skin they expose the stronger they become.”

“Weaknesses?” said Roman.

“The eyes are their only known weakness. If I fall today, you must make sure that they do not get the Fangs of Gren. Do you understand?”

Roman nodded but said nothing.

The Kriyas stopped several feet away from Wei and Roman.

“I have pictured this moment ten thousand times, Wei. The day we finally meet again. The day I end your existence,” said Tetra. He looked at Roman and his hammer and nodded.

“That day is not today, Kriya. You will go back to your plane or die here. The choice is yours,” said Wei.

Ignoring Wei, he outstretched his arms and turned, taking in the air and the surroundings before turning back to face Wei and Roman. “I think I will enjoy this plane for some time. Where are the Fangs of Gren, Wei?”

“You will not have them,” said Wei.

“Who is your friend that has grown tired of living and stands by your side on your last day?” Tetra said, pointing at Roman.

“I am Roman, second to Aurora of the house of Iman,” said Roman.

“I have heard of the lineage of Iman, but not of you. You stand with Wei?”

“My mistress requires him alive. He has much to answer for,” said Roman.

“On this we can agree. You fight by his side, with that?” said Tetra, pointing at the hammer.

Roman nodded.

“Then you will die here today with him,” said Tetra.

“Who released you?” said Wei.

“The Wheel opened the doors to our prison. The prison you put us in, Wei.”

“The Wheel,” said Wei as his jaw tightened.

Tetra began undoing the wraps around his arms. The other Kriyas began doing the same. Their skin began to glisten as it became exposed. Wei manifested the Fangs and lunged.

FIFTEEN

RAEL SAT IN the toxic haze that filled the room. After several minutes, vents opened, clearing the room.

Time to check out, he thought.

A portal opened and several heavily armed warriors ran in. On the other side of the cell, Rael stood and waved. They weren’t expecting much resistance after the poison, so they were unprepared for the attack. Rael had placed his swords on either side of the cell and had been waiting at the far end opposite the portal. He had counted on them opening the portal in the same place they always did. He wasn’t disappointed. The swords bisected the room and created an invisible energy barrier.  As they rushed him the barrier stopped them short, shocking them. They fell to the ground, convulsing. Rael kept the energy flowing for several more seconds until they were unconscious. He absorbed his swords and headed for the portal.

“Never let it be said that I’m completely heartless,” he said as he stepped into the portal. Once through, he found himself in a circle of swords and crossbows.

“Where are the men I just sent through, Harbinger?” said the Captain of the guard. Rael counted no less than twenty-one men.

“Still alive. If you want to remain the same way, let me pass,” said Rael.

“Kill him,” said the Captain.

“You must be new, or very ambitious,” said Rael as he backed up and manifested his swords.

Three of the guards attacked. Rael ducked under sword of the first and slid to the left to avoid the lunge of the second. The third attacker slid forward and attempted to bury a dagger in Rael’s leg. Rael shifted to the right, avoiding the dagger and thrusting his sword through the third attacker’s chest. The other two backed off. Rael looked at the Captain.

“I can tell you how this is going to end,” he said, pulling the sword out of the guard’s chest. “You and your men will die here. You will never see your families again. Is that what you want?”

“We have our orders,” said the Captain, drawing his sword.

“Those of you who wish to live to see another day should leave now,” said Rael.

Several of the guards looked at each other before dropping their swords and stepping back. The Captain turned to the men who were leaving.

“Traitors and cowards! I will kill you myself after I deal with him,” said the Captain.

“No, you won’t. You men leave now or end up like him,” said Rael pointing at the body of the dead guard at his feet. Several more guards dropped their weapons and ran down the corridor. When Rael looked at the group, only four men remained with the Captain.

The Captain stepped in and slashed with his sword.  Rael backpedaled away and into the remaining four men, who surrounded him to prevent his escape. Throwing a dagger, he dropped one of the four guards around him. He extended his swords and let the energy envelop the remaining three, electrocuting them where they stood. Stepping over the charred bodies of the guards, he walked toward the Captain.

The Captain moved back, his eyes wide with fear.

“Now you understand. This is what death looks like,” said Rael. The energy arced between his blades. He let it run down his arms before absorbing his blades.

“What—what are you?” said the Captain.

“I don’t really know anymore. I used to be like you, full of blind loyalty. Doing what was asked of me. Back then I had a choice, but not any longer. Now I do what I must. In fact we are very alike,” said Rael.

“You are nothing like us. You’re some kind of abomination!” yelled the Captain as he rushed forward, sword in hand.

Rael had let the energy build as he had spoken, and now a sphere of crackling power sat in his palm. As the Captain closed in on him he released the energy and it jumped on the Captain, rooting him to the spot. Arcs of electricity ran up and down the Captain’s body.

“I am an abomination, but like you I’m just following orders,” he said as he closed his hand. The energy around the Captain focused into one point and then exploded, disintegrating him.

Rael turned in a circle and let his senses expand. The ascendants were in the hub again. The energy of the hub was affected slightly by their presence.

It’s only a matter of time now. First, let’s find the gunslinger girl, he thought as he headed down the corridor.

SIXTEEN

KENJI AND I arrived in the tré just in time to see an arrow impale Samir in the chest. The attacker was standing in front of us preparing to fire another arrow when he sensed us and turned. It was Rory.

Kenji ran to intercept him before he fired again. I ran to Samir, who was holding Meja and staggering.

“You,” said Rory, looking at me. “What happened to you? Your chi is gone—no, not gone, different. No matter, this just makes it easier. Surrender the rogue and come quietly.”

“No,” said Kenji, blocking his path.

I turned to Samir and saw the relief in his eyes.

“Samir, don’t move, I’ve got you,” I said as I made to remove the arrow.

“Don’t touch it!” he hissed. His pale face was covered with sweat. I pulled back my hand.

“That wound is bad. I can take it out, let me just get something to grab it with,” I said as I tore a strip of fabric from my robe.

“No, warrior, we have more pressing matters. The monitor has absorbed too much energy from a prism. Her life, our lives hang in the balance,” he said.

“But the arrow,” I said.

“It’s poisoned. Here, take her. I don’t think—I can’t stand much longer, can’t feel my legs. You have to—you have to release the excess energy or we will all perish,” he said, handing Meja to me before collapsing to the ground.

I took Meja and placed her on the floor beside him. Her right shoulder was covered with lines of energy that were getting brighter by the second.

“This needs to come out,” I said and wrapped the cloth around the shaft of the arrow and pulled it out slowly. He clenched his teeth against the pain but remained silent. I tossed it to one side.

“Samir, I have been seared. I can’t— I don’t know how to access my chi anymore. How do I—”

He took my hand and placed it on Meja’s shoulder.  “Take the energy. Do it now,” he said, squeezing my hand.

I could feel the power. I opened myself and let it in. A bright flash filled my vision and I felt the familiar sensation of travelling through a portal. My hand was still on Meja’s shoulder. The power was increasing. Whatever energy that was within her was now filling me. After a moment, my vision cleared and I could see we were still in a tré, it just wasn’t a tré I recognized. The contact must have released enough power to activate a portal.

“Do not fight it, warrior. Let it flow through you,” Samir said.

I could hear him close by—he had travelled with us. The light from Meja increased and obscured my vision to the point where I couldn’t make out his features, but I could sense him there next to us. A small voice in the back of my mind noted that I could sense him, without seeing him. I put that aside for now.

“It’s too much, Samir. I can’t take this much,” I said as the energy began to burn me. The sensation travelled up my arm and into my body. I tried to remove my hand but couldn’t.

“You must, or she will die. And we will follow. Harness the energy, let it enter. Surrender to the flow,” he said.

Every cell of my body was on fire. As the flow increased so did the burning and the pain. I tried to detach from it, put the pain aside and let the power wash over me. For a moment it worked and I felt a momentary relief. Then the flow increased and there was only agony. That’s when I heard the sound. It took me a moment to realize that it was my own scream filling my head.

Samir kept saying something but I couldn’t make out the words.  He kept repeating the same phrase over and over and I latched on to the rhythm and cadence of his voice. I lost track of time. There was only pain.

“Now, warrior, prepare. This will make the previous agony seem comfortable. The excess is absorbed, but I must now sever the connection,” said Samir.

Some part of my brain must have registered the words as meaning that more pain was coming, and I braced as best I could. I felt him grab the arm that was touching Meja.

“Disipare!” I heard him yell. I didn’t think the pain could get any worse. I was wrong. I felt my eyes roll back in my head. My back arched as every muscle in my body flexed and contracted.

“Imprende,” he whispered. The agony bloomed within me. Dying, I’m dying. Good, at least it will be done, no more pain, I thought.

I fell back and away from Meja and the world went black.

**********

“Where did you send them?” said Rory, drawing a short sword.

Kenji held his staff before him in a defensive position. He had sensed their absence the moment Dante, Meja and Samir had left the plane.

“I didn’t send them anywhere, but considering the circumstances it is for the best,” he said.

Rory thrust forward with his sword and twisted to avoid Kenji’s strike. Kenji swept across with the staff and slammed it to the ground. Rory ducked under the staff and rolled to the side and then back, executed a backflip and landed gracefully on his feet.

“You’re a bladedancer,” said Kenji, a trace of surprise in his voice as he stepped back. “I thought that discipline was no longer taught.”

Rory gave a short bow and manipulated his sword so that instead of one blade he now held two, one in each hand.

This went from interesting to deadly in a hurry, thought Kenji.

“Where did they go? Last chance,” said Rory.

“I don’t know. You must have felt it the same as I,” said Kenji. “Neither of us formed the portal that they used.”

Rory waved his swords in an intricate pattern and a barrier of energy enclosed the tré. Kenji could feel the chi surround them. It seemed only one of them was leaving the tré alive.

**********

I opened my eyes and the sudden light forced them closed again. The pain was subsiding but my body felt like it had been used as a punching bag. I tried to sit up and was pushed back to the floor.

“You can’t move yet,” said Samir.

Off to the side I could see Meja resting. Her breathing was even and her arm no longer gave off the bluish white light I saw earlier.

“What happened to her?”

“While wearing suppressors, she shattered a prism full of latent chi. It was more than she expected or could handle, and rather than absorbing the energy, it tried to absorb her.”

“She was in suppressors? How did that happen?”

I remembered my experience with suppressors. I had shattered my prism as well but most of that was Maelstrom’s doing. I told Samir about my experience in the box and my escape.

“The difference is that she was in a suppressed area while wearing the suppressors. The Black Lotus chamber is designed to prevent any use of ability. The prism was to give her enough ability to break out of her bonds and defend herself if needed. We did not anticipate this result. Clearly she is stronger than we thought.”

“We?” I said.

“Her brother provided the prism and the means for her escape. I was to bring her to him. One of the men with me was killed. We had nearly made it to the tré when I was injured by that Black Lotus leader.”

“Rory. He is a nasty piece of work,” I said, looking around.  It was the first time I noticed our surroundings. I sat up slowly and Samir kept looking at me. We were in large room with the tré being its center. The dust on the floor indicated it wasn’t used often. I felt Samir’s stare as I slowly stood.

“What is it?”

“How do you feel?” he said.

I let my senses expand and took stock. Something was different. I had changed somehow but I couldn’t explain it.

“I feel different, connected. That’s the best way I can describe it. For a moment I thought I was going to die.”

He nodded. “It would seem you have undone what was done to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your arms,” he said pointing at me. “When did you acquire those symbols?”

I looked down at my arms. The glyphs that were inscribed on my suppressors had burned themselves into my skin. They pulsed with a faint blue glow.

“Can you read them?”

“I am a syllabist among many things. Language is my gift. Of course I can read them. Can you access your chi?”

“No, I told you I was seared. Lucius—I mean his shadow—took Maelstrom and cut me off from my chi.”

“Please try now,” he said gently.

I sat down and stilled my breathing and focused, turning inward and expecting nothing. The intensity of the power that washed over me took my breath away.

“We should be dead right now, warrior,” he said. “Those glyphs are the only reason we survived. Somehow they must have allowed you to channel and control the energy of the prism. You would do well to keep that ability hidden, warrior. It is quite formidable.”

“How? How did this happen?”

“The glyphs are actually designed to redirect chi, not suppress it. You say they were on your bonds?”

I nodded, still trying to take it all in.

“These were made specifically for you, yes?”

“That’s what they told me.”

“These glyphs are very old. I didn’t think anyone knew of them any longer. The design is to take chi and harness it for a secondary purpose. In the case of your bonds it was meant to hold you captive. The more chi you tried to access the stronger the bonds became.”

“But now they’re a part of me.”

“It means that now your capacity to wield power has increased by several orders of magnitude. You need training now more than ever.”

I thought back to the power that I accessed moments earlier. It was greater than any amount of chi I had felt in the past, with one exception: Lucius.

“If I try and access it I feel like I can barely contain it,” I said. “It’s too much power. What if I lose control?”

“That is always a danger. You must keep your emotions in check or you risk being at the mercy of the power. At least until it harmonizes to your body.”

“Harmonizes? Are you kidding me? There is no harmonizing with this much power running through me. We could have someone do what I did and bleed off some of the excess,” I said.

He shook his head slowly.

“I am sorry, my friend, the glyphs on your arms prevent this action. When it becomes too much for you to wield it will spill out of you into your surroundings.”

“Like a pressure valve venting a line?” I said.

He nodded. “It explains why there is no poison in my body. The energy from the prism must have healed us both. Chi is life and balance. It sought out the imbalance and corrected it. In your case it was the searing. In mine it was the poison.”

I couldn’t believe it, but he was right. I could feel the energy in and around me. I felt connected. At that moment Meja began to regain consciousness and stirred.

“She’s waking up,” I said.

Meja opened her eyes and stood up, taking a defensive position. She reached for her sword but found her thigh bare of any weapon.

“Who are you? Where am I?” she said.

**********

Kenji felt the thrum of energy enclosing the tré. It would take too long to break through to avoid fighting the bladedancer. It would have to be the bladedancer. Let’s try diplomacy before bloodshed, he thought.

Rory took a defensive stance.

“Do you know why I am here?” said Kenji.

“You mean aside from impeding the capture of an enemy of the Order and permitting them to escape?”

Kenji took his iron staff and held it before him, covering his center to prevent any sudden attack.

“I am here on behalf of Aurora. The ascendants have been taken and she suspects the Harbinger may have a part in it. Is he still secure in your prison?”

Rory changed his stance somewhat. He didn’t lower his swords but he stepped back to the edge of the tré.

“As far as I know, yes,” said Rory. “I told them that was a mistake. That cell couldn’t contain the Harbinger unless he wanted it to.”

“I need to make certain this is the case. If he is aware the ascendants are on this plane…”

“He will continue his hunt,” finished Rory. He put his swords away and dropped the energy around the tré. “I still have to bring in the rogue, but this takes precedence. If the Harbinger is free, things will be complicated. Come with me.”

They headed out of the infirmary and down a corridor.  Several of the Black Lotus approached and fell into formation around them.

“I cannot assist you in hunting a rogue. My orders are very clear. Assess the threat the Harbinger poses and return with the warrior,” said Kenji.

“What happened to Dante? He seemed different—I couldn’t sense him. He felt empty somehow.”

“He has been seared. In his state he does not possess access to his chi.”

“I can’t imagine what that must feel like,” said Rory.

“Hope that you never have to find out.”

Groups of Black Lotus ran past the group toward the detention area. Not a good sign, thought Kenji.

“Exercises?” said Kenji.

“Not this close to detention,” said Rory. He pulled one of the men in his group aside and gave him instructions. The Black Lotus ran down the corridor and disappeared around the corner.

Moments later the man returned to the group and spoke in hushed tones with Rory.

“Damn, how long ago?”

The man answered in a low voice.

“How many down?”

“Twenty, sir.”

Rory clenched his fist at the answer.

“Find Monique. Don’t stop for anyone or anything. This takes priority. Go now.”

“What is it?” said Kenji, fearing the worst.

“The Harbinger is free.”

SEVENTEEN

“THE AMNESIA IS temporary,” said Samir. “Monitor, my name is Samir and this is Dante, a warrior. We are your friends.”

“I don’t know you. Either of you,” she said.

“You have suffered from transference of chi on an extreme scale. One of the effects of this is memory loss. We will not harm you.”

Meja stepped back and gathered her chi, manifesting her weapon. A blue-white sword materialized in her hands. It was larger than the sword I had seen her manifest before.

“I will make certain of that,” she said, holding the sword in front of her. The sword gave off waves of energy. I could see her begin to sweat and I felt the heat from where I stood. She wavered slightly as she stood holding the weapon. Her jaw was locked tight and I could see the muscles in her neck strain against the energy coursing through her body.

“Samir,” I said under my breath. “What the hell is that? That is not her weapon. At least not the weapon I remember,” I said.

“You must get her to stop. It’s too soon after the event. If she continues wielding this weapon she will cause herself harm. Use the glyphs before it is too late.”

“Meja—” I started.

“Silence! Who sent you?”

“Devin, Devin sent me. Your brother. He wants you to come back,” I said as I closed the distance between us one step at a time.

“Devin?” She looked dazed for a moment and then snapped back and pointed the sword at me.

“Yes, Devin. He sent us and wants you safe,” I said as I managed to grab one of her hands. Her sword disappeared and I felt a rush of power shoot up my arm. She tried to break my grip but was too weak. After a momentary struggle she collapsed. I caught her before she hit the floor. I placed her as gently as I could in the center of the tré.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Samir looked pensive and checked her vitals before answering me. “This is beyond me, but I think it has something to do with the Rah Ven transfusion she was given. It seems the event caused some reaction to occur. We must see the blood healer.”

“The blood healer in the Rah Ven plane? Great, do you know how to open a portal there? Because I don’t,” I said.

“No, I do not have that ability, but I can show you how if you are willing to learn.”

I looked down at Meja. She shivered slightly and I covered her with my robe. I won’t let you die. Not while I’m still breathing.

“How can you know this and yet not be able to do it?” I demanded.

“My primary ability is to be a syllabist. My power lies in languages and words of power. However, I am also a scholar and have acquired much information about a great many subjects.”

“Isn’t there a word you can use to open a portal? There has to be one.”

“It is not that simple. To open a portal requires using a portion of your chi to create a pathway between planes. The access to my chi does not allow this. I cannot infuse my chi into something outside myself.”

I looked at him with a blank stare and then realized he was telling me he couldn’t do it.

“We’re wasting time. Show me,” I said.

He grabbed my hands and walked me through the gestures I needed to make. I had seen Meja and Sylk make similar gestures in the past so it wasn’t completely unfamiliar. Still, even with help it took several attempts before I felt confident enough to try the entire sequence.

“Again, do it again, warrior. Make it seamless and connected. When it arrives without thought, send chi into it and think of the Rah Ven plane,” said Samir as I practiced the gestures repeatedly.

“I’m ready,” I said, not feeling ready at all.

“Remember to use the power of the tré beneath us in addition to your chi. Focus on the Rah Ven plane and the portal will form before us,” he said.

This time I made the gestures and sent my chi into the motions. Golden light trailed my hands as they moved through the air. When the final gesture was finished a portal opened in front of us. I picked up Meja.

“Let’s go,” I said.

“You followed the instructions exactly?” he said, looking warily into the portal.

“I did exactly what you said. We’re running out of time and she’s burning up. Stay or go, it’s your choice, but I’m going.” I stepped into the portal and the world went white.

EIGHTEEN

THE SEMI-CIRCLE of Rah Ven stared down at Luna as she stood in the center with Kal by her side.

“Very well. As second of this pack and voice of the Alpha I decree you lone wolves and no longer part of the pack,” said Luna. Several of the Rah Ven bristled at her words, their hackles rising.

Kort laughed and then grew serious.

“You have no authority over us, pup. I will be the new leader of the pack. If you submit now I promise to kill you and your mongrel quick,” he said, looking at Kal.

“You align yourself with a traitor to the pack. Cane knew the Mikai were taking our young, killing and enslaving them for profit. A profit he shared in,” said Luna, the anger rising in her voice.

“Don’t be naïve. Cane was thinking of the future of the pack. As I am. There are forces here beyond your comprehension. What is the death of a few Rah Ven to keep our species alive?”

“We have nothing more to discuss. What are your terms?” said Luna as her body transformed. She was a large gray wolf whose coat was streaked with silver hairs along her sides.

The other Rah Ven stepped back, leaving her alone in front of Kort. Kal stepped back but kept her hand on her sword. The healer stood next to her.

“Since you enjoy upholding the old ways we will do this in the old manner. Blood for blood and from two, one,” said Kort.

The healer approached Kort.

“If this be in the old ways then its place is in the circle of claws,” she said, standing in front of Kort. “No blood will be spilled on this sacred ground.”

The next moment Kort and his group shimmered and camouflaged, disappearing from sight.

“In the circle then, ‘second’. Do not keep me waiting,” said Kort.

Luna growled a low sound full of menace.

When they left, the healer let out her breath in a long sigh while shaking her head. Luna reverted back to human form.

“What does that mean, Grandmother?” said Kal. “All that blood for blood and the rest?”

The healer spat on the ground next to her. She was cursing under her breath.

“Blood for blood and one from two. This fight be to the death.  The kin of the loser shares the same fate. The whole bloodline is cleansed. We stopped this to save the pups that had no quarrel or fault,” she said as she walked to where Luna stood and put a hand on her shoulder.

“He is insane, Grandmother. One from two I can accept, but blood for blood? That hasn’t been done in ages,” said Luna. “I will not kill innocents.”

“No, you won’t,” said the healer her voice hard. “He knows that and fear he be using against you. You are the second and must deal with this. Do not forget who you are, daughter to Grawl. This must happen and it must happen with blood. If any others think you are weak they will join with Kort.”

Luna nodded. “Summon the pack, even the pups. An example must be made today and I want them all to see,” she said. “Grandmother, if I fall today…”

“You will not,” said the healer. She headed back into the house, and moments later, she came back out with a bag.

“The pack will wait for us at the circle. It be time to go.”

The three headed to the edge of the city where the circle of claws— an old, unused tré— sat as part of the town plaza. The last time it had been used, Sylk had killed Cane in it. Today another Rah Ven would die in it. In its center was the mark of the Rah Ven—a stylized fang ending in the head of a Rah Ven etched into the stone.

Kort and his group waited at the circle. Around them the pack began to gather until the circle was surrounded by Rah Ven in both human and canine form. The healer held Luna back and approached the center of the circle.

Kort, in human form, turned his head slightly and looked at the healer.

“This must not be,” said the healer. “You want to kill yourselves? I heed. You will not touch the—,”

Kort cut her off with a growl. “Quiet, bitch. Once I am done with her you will be next. You defile our race by mixing with two-legged scum. You helped create that mongrel”—he pointed at Kal—“and gave her the blood of the old ones! How dare you? Your death will be slow, old one, to pay for your crimes against the Rah Ven,” said Kort. “You are old and have outlived your usefulness.”

The healer stood unmoved by Kort’s words. She turned to walk back where Luna and Kal stood and then stopped mid-stride and faced Kort again. She spat on the ground before speaking.

“Yes, I am old, one of the oldest. I’m old enough to know when the howling madness has taken over one of our kind. So be it. Life and death are in the blood. On my word, you will sleep before I do,” said the healer as she pulled out a knife and cut her arm, allowing the blood to fall to the ground. The blood pooled at her feet and evaporated. A collective gasp was heard from around the circle.

“Illusions and tricks are the reasons we are such easy prey for those who would destroy us!” said Kort, raising his voice. “We have no need for a blood healer,” said Kort. “I will end that today. Once I am done with this ‘second’ I will deal with the false Alpha and with her father, who turned his back on all of us. It is time for a true pack leader.”

Luna entered the circle. In the center between her and Kort stood another Rah Ven, taller than most, with scars covering his arms and face. In his hands he held a large broadsword which he placed tip down before him as he spoke.

“I am Arnas, and I will be the center of this circle. This is a fight in the old tradition. The terms are blood to blood and one from two. Interference by any other than the two who are to meet in the circle will be dealt with swiftly and without mercy.” He twisted the hilt of sword while turning and looking at the crowd. “Are you in accord?” he asked looking at Kort and then at Luna. Each nodded their agreement.

“Very well. This is a Rah Ven ritual. No weapons, but otherwise no rules. Two Rah Ven enter, only one may exit. The kin of the loser will suffer the same fate through the entire bloodline. Life and death are in the blood. Are you in accord?”

Kort nodded as a smile crossed his lips. Luna, her lips set in a line hesitated.

“Are you in accord?” said Arnas facing Luna.

Luna hesitated a moment longer before nodding. Kort, still smiling, gave Luna a mock bow.

“I will take great pleasure in erasing your bloodline,” he said.

“Or I yours,” said Luna.

Kort laughed and entered the circle.

“Not today. Today begins a new day for this pack,” he said.

Arnas stepped back to the edge and raised his sword. The tip of the sword pointed to the center of the circle.

“Begin!” he said, dropping the tip of the sword to the ground. When it touched the ground, Arnas stepped back and out of the circle.

They circled each other in human form, looking for a weakness. It was the rare Rah Ven who could camouflage or time skip outside of canine form. Each wore the traditional leathers of the Rah Ven, giving them the mobility and flexibility needed in battle.

Behind them the outer circle came to life. It flared for several seconds and then dimmed. Followed by the second circle. It flared for longer and then dimmed. Luna and Kort were too focused on each other to notice. A distraction could be fatal. The third circle flared to life. This time they both noticed and jumped back.

**********

The first thing I noticed when I stepped through the portal was the large group of faces around us. I felt relief when I saw that many of them were Rah Ven.

“We did it. These are Rah Ven,” I said.

We were standing in the middle of a large tré with some kind of design in the center. Around us everyone wore an expression of surprise, fear or anger. I found Kal standing next to the old healer and headed their way when a growl shook the tré.

I turned to see a Rah Ven behind us. Its large black coat bristled with anger. Drool slowly escaped the side of its mouth and its yellow eyes pierced me. It took one step forward and stood still. Everything was silent for a moment.

“This ritual has been violated!” said the Rah Ven. “Even in our traditions she deals with two faces. You summoned them!”

Four Rah Ven entered the circle behind the speaker. In the center of the tré stood a woman. She stood as more Rah Ven entered the circle. Her silver hair whipped around her face as she turned to face the large black Rah Ven.

“Did you fear to face me on our terms? Is this how a ‘second’ behaves when dealing with pack matters?” said Kort.

“This was not my doing, I had nothing to do—” The black-coated Rah Ven jumped over us and landed next to the woman in the center, knocking her down. “Kill them all!” he yelled.

“Samir, what did we just do?” I said under my breath as I ran to Kal and the old healer. Next to us a large man held a broadsword and struck a Rah Ven down before it could reach us.

“It would seem we interrupted an important Rah Ven ritual. Perhaps there is someone we could explain this all to,” he said as we reached Kal and the healer. The large man with the broadsword caught up to us.

“The time for explanation has passed. They just needed a reason to attack and you gave it to them,” he said as he swung his broadsword and caught a Rah Ven with the flat of the blade, sending it to the other side of the tré.

“Most of these are confused and easily dealt with but those four” —he pointed with his sword at a group of Rah Ven—“will not be convinced with words.”

Meja stirred in my arms. The last thing I needed was her coming to and wielding her chi. I ran over to Kal and the healer.

“Kal, Meja is hurt. We didn’t know where else to take her,” I said as the healer took her from my arms.

“I think she may be having a reaction to the blood she received while poisoned,” said Samir to the healer.

“I be the judge. You leave her with me,” she said as she smelled the air around Meja. “You have bigger troubles right now,” she said, pointing behind me. She stepped back into the crowd with Meja and several Rah Ven gathered around the healer in a protective circle. Kal stepped over to where I was.

“Is Zen around? We could use the extra help,” I said.

“He is in isolation, outside of the city in a special camp. He won’t be helping us any time soon,” she said.

In the center, the silver-haired woman fought with the large black Rah Ven.

“There is no easy way out of this now. Blood must be spilled. I’m Arnas, by the way,” he said with a curt nod. “Kort will try to use this to kill you all, not that he needed much excuse.”

“Who are the other four?”

“You mean the ones coming this way with the intent to visit harm upon us?

I nodded, not taking my eyes off the four Rah Ven getting closer to us.

“Kort’s pack mates, used to be Cane’s. They act like rabid dogs. All they want is control of the pack. This must not happen,” said Arnas. “We will all focus on one. Trying to face them alone is not wise. If we bring down the second, Tren”—he pointed at the Rah Ven leading the four, a large creature with a long brown coat covered in dark lines—“the others may lose their will to fight. Or they may all attack, it depends.”

“On what?” I said.

“How ferocious our attack. Rah Ven only understand one thing in battle: power. It is the only thing that will make them pause or pounce,” said Arnas with a faint smile.

“Are you going to, you know, transform?” I asked.

“As we get older the change gets harder. I will stay in this form so I can use this”—he swung his sword in front of him—“as sharp as any Rah Ven fang or claw.”

Note to self: give crazy Rah Ven plenty of space when swinging a sword twice as long as your own, I thought.

“We’re ready,” said Kal. She and Samir each had daggers in their hands.

“You are full of surprises,” I said to Samir, noticing how well he held the daggers.

“In battle even a scholar must be a warrior. I was not always a syllabist,” he said.

“Show no mercy. Strike fast and strike hard or this will be your last day,” said Arnas.

With a loud growl he ran forward, taking Tren by surprise. We followed his lead and jumped at Tren.

It was the one thing they didn’t expect. Our strategy threw Tren off for several seconds as he didn’t know what to make of our attack. Those seconds made all the difference.

NINETEEN

“MASTER, ARE YOU sure we did the right thing, leaving them back there?” said Mara. “Shouldn’t the Alpha be fighting for the pack?”

Sylk stood still and expanded his awareness and took in their surroundings.

It’s been many years and lifetimes since my last time here. Different, yet the same, he thought.

“Master?” said Mara.

Sylk raised a finger as he continued to scan the area. When he was finished he began walking.

“This way,” he said. “To answer your question, let me ask you another. Do you think I make a good Rah Ven?”

They began walking through the forest, the noonday sun above them cutting through the trees. In some places the tree cover was too thick to allow any light and the forest was cast in shadow. Sylk avoided those areas.

After a few moments Mara answered. “No, Master, you are not a Rah Ven. You would not make a good pack leader. Your prolonged presence among them would only cause strife and splinter the pack.”

Sylk nodded as they continued walking.

“Who then?” he said.

“The most logical choice would be the current pack leader,” she said.

“Who cannot leave his post at the watch,” said Sylk.

“Then the next logical choice would be…”

“Like you said, the Alpha should be fighting for the pack,” said Sylk as he stopped before one of the largest trees in the area. He sat down in lotus position and waited. Mara stepped off to the side and sat down as well.

“Will they come?”

“They have been following us since we arrived. She will come.”

TWENTY

LUNA FACED KORT, dagger in hand. She was bleeding from several wounds.

“The end is close. Why not just give me your throat and we can end this,” said Kort.

She smiled as she wiped the blood from her face with the back of her hand.

“It’s not my throat that will bleed this day,” she said as she leaped forward and disappeared. She reappeared seconds later behind Kort who recovered and rolled to the side before she buried her dagger in his side.

“You can skip in this form. Impressive, but pointless. The outcome is determined. You and your line will end today,” he said as he lunged forward and fell on his face. His rear legs gave out mid-jump causing him to land face forward and slide on his stomach.

“What did you do? What did you do, you traitorous bitch!” he yelled as he tried to stand but couldn’t.

“Literally, I severed the ligaments allowing your legs to function in this form. Choosing to transform was your first mistake.” She slid forward and buried her dagger in his throat and pulled it sideways. It parted skin, muscle and cartilage with ease. “Underestimating me was your last,” she said as he fell on his side, lifeless. Wiping the blood from her dagger on his coat she turned to several of the pack around the circle.

“Take his body off the circle. He was insane but he was still a part of this pack. Begin assembling the pyre, and get enough wood. There will be more than one,” she said as she ran to Kort’s pack mates.

***********

We managed to surround Tren. Arnas drove his sword forward, but Tren evaded and swiped. Arnas shifted his weight to avoid the attack. Too late, he saw it was a feint when Tren lunged forward and ripped out his throat with one bite. Arnas fell to the side, clutching his throat, as Kal jumped forward and buried both daggers into Tren’s neck. He shook violently and threw her off. She landed gracefully on her feet, still holding her daggers, and raced back. Samir attacked from the other side, throwing one dagger and burying it in Tren’s side as he advanced. He slashed at Tren’s neck with the other, but Tren saw the attack coming and jumped back—right into me. I thrust forward and buried my sword in his back. Tren howled in pain and turned, swinging wildly. His claws raked my chest, sending me sliding back, dazed and in pain. Kal attacked again. Her hands were a blur. She stabbed him several times, moving faster than he could react. After a few moments she stopped and stood back. The damage was done, bleeding from multiple wounds, Tren fell to the ground and died. Kort’s remaining pack mates stood still and transformed back to human form.

“We submit to the Alpha and his second,” they said, getting on their knees.

Luna had drawn close by this time. An angry intensity filled her eyes.

“Blood for blood and one from two,” she said as she stood before the three. “You were in accord to these terms.” She motioned to some of the Rah Ven around the circle.

“Remove the body of Arnas the sword bearer. Treat him with the respect his station deserves. I will deal with these three,” she said.

Two Rah Ven picked up Arnas’ body and carried it out of the circle with reverence.

“You three were Kort’s pack mates, his family.”

She let the words sink in before continuing. Their eyes opened wide in realization.

“We submit. We submit! It was Kort. He was the one who wanted to remove you,” they began.

“And you followed. Blood for blood demands the kin of the loser share the same fate. I will not kill innocents or children. You three are neither,” she said.

Before anyone could move, she time-skipped, disappearing from my view. When she returned, all three lay face down on the ground, their throats cut.

“Remove them from the circle and set the pyres,” she said.

She looked around and into the crowd of Rah Ven still gathered at the circle.

“Is there anyone else who would like to challenge the Alpha and his second?” she said sheathing her dagger. “Present the challenge now or embrace silence.”

There were several hundred Rah Ven gathered and as one they knelt down on one knee. The ones in canine form got down on their fore legs. All had their heads bowed, even the children. Silence filled the circle. In that moment I realized I was looking at the true pack leader.

“I, we, lost a dear friend today,” she began. “Arnas the sword bearer will be missed, but not forgotten. We will honor his memory. As for Kort and his pack mates, we will give them a proper death rite as befitting a member of this pack.”

“What about the blood for blood?” said a voice from the crowd.

“Yes, the terms were blood for blood. Today we have spilled enough of it. Kort’s pack mates were his kin and they shared his fate. Please go to your homes while we prepare the death rites,” she said.

The crowd began to disperse. Many of the Rah Ven approached Luna to show their loyalty, others to thank her for taking care of the pack. I approached the healer who had placed Meja on a makeshift bed near the circle. Beside her knelt Kal and Samir. From the looks on their faces I knew something was wrong.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

The healer pulled me to the side.

“She be fighting a powerful battle right now. Her body held power, too much of it too soon.”

“What does that mean? Yes, she held a lot of power. A prism exploded next to her skin. Most of the energy went into her,” I said.

“This is not blood sickness. My hands have no place here. It’s too deep for me.” She looked down at Meja and touched her brow. “She be not long with us. This sickness be caught up in the ropes of her energy,” said the healer.

“Is there someone else someone who can help her?” I said, frustration and anger creeping into my voice.

The healer shook her head slowly and looked back at Meja.

“She be fighting for her life. A fight we cannot enter. If she loses, we will honor her as Rah Ven. If she wins…”

“If she wins?” I said.

“She may not be who you remember—part of her be dying. The part of her that be most important will remain. This power be burning from the inside, unmaking her. She be strong, stronger than most” —she spat to the side—“just don’t know if she be strong enough.”

She took my hand in hers and looked me in the eyes.

“My words are clear, warrior. She be safe with me. The pack be balanced now with Grawl’s pup running lead. My nose tells me your path be full of darkness ahead.”

She sniffed the air around me and grabbed my wrist as if feeling for my pulse. She put her hand on my chest and the wounds healed.

“There be darkness in your blood. Light, too. Some of what be in her be there too. Bonded to her, I see. Step careful, warrior. This power be like poison. A small dose can be fought. Large dose will kill.”

She let go of my wrist and walked back to Meja. Two Rah Ven picked up the makeshift bed and carried it behind her. Luna stood close to me. Her wounds were looking much better.

“If there is anything that can be done for her, Grandmother will do it. She will be cared for and comfortable,” she said putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Thank you. She can’t go back to the hub. The Order wants to kill her. No one can know she’s here, at least until she recovers,” I said.

Luna nodded. “The pack will protect her.” One of the Rah Ven who carried the makeshift bed returned and stood next to Luna.

“If you will excuse me, I better go get these wounds treated before Grandmother comes and gets me herself.”

“Thank you, for everything,” I said.

“I’m the one that owes your group thanks. With this faction broken we can focus on who is taking our young and wiping us out,” she said as she was escorted away.

“We need to get back to the hub, but before we go I need to see Zen. Is that possible?” I asked.

“The hub? Are you sure that is a good idea?” said Samir.

“I left Kenji there. I don’t think Aurora will be pleased if she finds out I left him alone. Can Zen have visitors, Kal?”

“Not usually, the isolation is necessary for his transition, but I will ask. They may make an exception for you,” said Kal. “Let’s talk and walk,” she said as she led the way out of the circle and onto a road that led out of the city.

“How far is this special camp?”

“Not far, but far enough from the city to be isolated. It’s about two miles from here, in that direction,” she said, pointing to some mountains in the distance.

“Is there a tré there?”

“A what?” she asked.

“A circle like the one back there,” I said, pausing to point back at the circle of claws.

“I’ve never heard them called ‘tré’ before. We always called them ‘circles’. Yes, there is one there, but it doesn’t work, or hasn’t worked in ages. That’s what they told me when I asked,” said Kal.

“Maybe we can get it functioning, Samir?”

“I will look at it and see if the words of power will affect it, but I cannot promise it will work.”

“What did the healer mean about darkness in you and you and Meja being bonded?” said Kal. “What did you do? I thought Lucius took your weapon and made it impossible to access your chi?”

“It was never my weapon,” I said.

Memories of Maelstrom flooded my thoughts, none of them good. Even when I tried to use it to help others it felt like fighting against myself. The weapon was evil.

“The warrior has undone the searing,” said Samir.

Kal stopped and looked at me for a long moment without speaking.

“I heard undoing that is worse than having it done. It’s usually fatal. How did you survive?”

“Samir,” I said, looking at him. “Without his help I don’t think I would have made it.”

“I see. Well the whole ‘darkness’ thing makes more sense now. Did you manifest a weapon yet?”

I shook my head no.

“I think you better get on that considering who we are going to face,” she said as she began to walk again.

“These things cannot be rushed,” said Samir. “He needs training. He just regained access to his chi. To manifest a weapon of power requires time.”

“Time we don’t have,” said Kal.

We reached the complex in silence. It was an imposing structure. A ten-foot-high fence surrounded the entire grounds. Two Rah Ven guards stood at the entrance of the gate. The walkway that led to the building proper had guards every ten feet. At the large entrance doors stood four more guards. All the guards were covered in light chainmail and wore swords in addition to other weaponry.

“They’re serious about keeping people out,” I said.

“About keeping them in. The people in here are in a state of transformation. Some to full Rah Ven, though that’s rare. Most of them transition to an in-between state. What you and I can understand as werewolf.”

“And the guards are for?”

“There can be moments when it gets out of control—the transition. You lose control of your body and your thoughts. The guards are there to make sure you don’t hurt anyone, including yourself,” said Kal.

“Is that what Zen is becoming? A werewolf?”

“I’ll let you see him for yourself, if they let us,” said Kal. “Remember that he is in a state of change—so don’t be alarmed when you see him.”

TWENTY-ONE

SYLK REMAINED MOTIONLESS. Mara sat close by. His expanded awareness told him they weren’t alone in the forest. He could sense the Mikai that were close. A few were in the trees right above them. They gave no indication of being aware of Sylk or Mara, but he knew the truth. They were waiting for her.

“Mara, it’s time,” said Sylk.

“Is she here?”

“Yes, they will let us know in the next moment or so.”

Several Mikai landed beside Sylk and Mara, falling to the ground without sound. They bowed to Sylk and motioned for them to follow. Sylk and Mara followed the Mikai into a clearing where the Mikai were gathered. In the center sat a woman. Her jet-black hair was pulled back in a bun. She was dressed in green leather with an assortment of blades sheathed along each leg. Strapped to her back was another sheath carrying a sword.  Her muscular body seemed at ease as she sat in the clearing. She stood with seemingly no effort to greet her guests.

Sylk bowed. “Mariko, thank you for seeing us.” He presented the fan to the woman, who took it as her eyes opened slightly wider.

“Can this be?” she said, holding the fan and turning it in her hands. “I have seen images, but is this…?”

“That is Mariko’s fan. Given freely by Mariko herself,” said Sylk.

“The Mikai are in your debt, Master Sylk,” said Mariko bowing. “We thought this lost to time.”

“Mariko?” said Mara. “That’s not the same Mariko we met in the”—the woman laughed, a short melodious sound that filled the forest—“never mind.”

“No, I am not the same Mariko you speak of,” said the woman. She made a small gesture with her hand and the Mikai around them dispersed into the trees, leaving them alone. Sylk could still feel the presence of several hundred Mikai around them. The leader of the Mikai was in no danger.

“Every leader of the Mikai takes the name of Mariko in honor of the first. My birth name is Yune and I have known your master since I was a very young girl. Although he does not seem to age,” she said, touching his cheek.

Mariko turned to Sylk and bowed, extending her hand. Sylk took it and they began to walk through the forest. Mara stepped in behind Sylk.

“Master Sylk, it is good to see you again,” said Mariko.

“I wish it were under different circumstances,” he said.

“As do I.”

“How is your father?”

“He is well and will be pleased to see you. I am sure he will scold you for not visiting enough,” she said.

“My life now is—complicated.”

She raised a hand and smiled.

“I understand a life of duty and obligation, and as I understand it, you are not only Karashihan, but Alpha to Rah Ven?”

“The ears of the Mikai are as keen as ever,” said Sylk. “It is about the Rah Ven…”

“Not here. Let us go see father and then we will discuss the cancer that has infected the Mikai.”

They made their way through the forest until they were in the deepest part. The foliage was so dense that it blocked out most of the light. In the shadows were several large dwellings.

“Are these their homes?” asked Mara.

“No—for the Mikai, the forest is home.”

“Who lives here?”

“Only the elders of each clan live in one place. They function as a clan resource. Elders are revered by the Mikai,” said Sylk.

“Our elders are our greatest treasure. They hold the knowledge of our past, passing it on from one generation to the next. This way,” said Mariko as she guided them to the largest structure. It was a home that merged with the forest around it, creating the perfect camouflage.

“He will be in the back most likely, practicing,” said Mariko with a smile.

They entered the house and were greeted by several Mikai.

“Sylk! It is so good to see you,” said a woman as they crossed the threshold into the house proper. She hugged Sylk and then stepped back, looking at him.

“You are not eating enough. You will stay for the evening meal.”

“Mother, Master Sylk is here on important matters. I don’t think he has the time…” started Mariko.

“He will stay for the evening meal.”

“It will be my honor to join you, Lady Ono. This is my disciple, Mara,” said Sylk.

“Yes, I know. She will join us as well.”

“Can he see us, Lady Ono? I have some urgent matters to discuss with him.”

She waved away his words. “There are no titles under this roof, Sylk. You know that. He is in the back. He will be pleased to see you. Be ready, he is working the sword today,” said Lady Ono.

They walked through the house and were led into a large garden at the rear of the home. In the center of the garden was a large square of stone worn smooth by years of training. Inside the square there was a training circle. The circle touched each corner of the square. Eight lines radiated outward from the center of the circle in every direction. On either side of the square there were racks of weapons. In the center of the circle was an old man holding a sword. He was standing perfectly still with his eyes closed. His gray hair hung loose, down to his shoulders. His sinewy arms held the sword in a loose grip. He was thin and his robe hung on his frame loosely. Although he was medium height, he gave the impression of being much taller. His brown eyes gleamed with energy as Sylk entered the circle.

“I was just about to enter the dragon-tiger form. Come join me, if you still remember it,” said the old man.

Sylk walked over to one of the racks and chose a practice sword. The edges of these swords were blunt, allowing them to be used for teaching. He picked one up and checked its balance. He gave a few practice thrusts and swung it once or twice. He could feel the old man looking at him, measuring him.

“Now that you’re warmed up, grab a live blade and let’s begin,” said the old man, pointing at another rack.

Sylk walked over to the different rack and took hold of one of the blades. Each sword was both a work of art and a deadly weapon.  He paused while holding the sword and reflected a moment on the dual abilities of every warrior: to create and to destroy.

“It is not a koan, Sylk. It’s a sword. That one is named Shadowstrike,” said the old man as he entered a ready stance.

“After the third focus?”

The old man nodded. “Good to see all those lessons didn’t go to waste. Yes, after the balancing sword. It is a good copy but nowhere near the original.”

“Was Shadowstrike ever found?” said Sylk.

“Do you remember why it was called Shadowstrike?”

“It allowed the bearer of the sword to skip time like the Rah Ven and to ride the mirror like a wavedancer. It was forged to answer Maelstrom’s power,” said Sylk.

“Correct. It gave the bearer a great advantage in a battle, but like all weapons, they are only an extension of the person wielding it.”

“So it is lost?”

“Not lost, hidden. A weapon of that magnitude is safeguarded until it is needed.”

“I think it will be needed soon,” said Sylk.

“Indeed. Are you ready?”

Sylk stood behind him and entered the same ready stance.

“I shall be dragon,” said the old man.

Sylk nodded and remained still as the old man began a series of intricate movements around him. When it appeared the old man would thrust through his midsection, Sylk leaped in the air, avoiding the attack. He landed beside the old man and responded to every attack he made without making contact. It was an intricate dance of timing and precision.

“My father has never taught that form to an outsider, except your master. It is one of our most difficult and complex forms. Most Mikai go their entire lives never learning it,” said Mariko.

“I have seen my master only do this alone. Seeing it now with your father…amazing,” said Mara.

Sylk lunged, then leaped. The old man slid to the side and avoided the leap. Bending low, he brought his sword low in a scooping motion, which Sylk rolled around to bring his sword to lock with the old man’s. It was the end of the form. Both men were sweating and breathing hard.

“You have been practicing. That is good,” said the old man.

“That is as close as you will ever hear to a compliment coming from my father,” whispered Mariko to Mara.

Sylk bowed his head. “Thank you, sensei.”

“I am certain Ono spoke to you about titles in her house.”

The old man walked over to Mariko and Mara with Sylk trailing behind. He bowed deeply.

“I am Zanshi, head of this clan and father to Mariko, leader of the Mikai.”

Mara bowed. “It is an honor, sensei.”

Zanshi turned and looked at Sylk with a smile. “She is going to get you in trouble.”

“Yes, sensei,” said Sylk.

“I know this is not a social visit, though it wouldn’t hurt you to visit more often,” said Zanshi. “Some of your stances need polishing.”

“Thank you, sensei. You are correct. This is not a social visit. I believe the Mikai are being coerced into kidnapping and killing Rah Ven. Do you know anything about this?”

“Are you asking as Alpha to the Rah Ven or as Karashihan?”

“Does it matter?” said Sylk, his tone short.

Zanshi gave a small sigh. “Yes it does, Sylk. Let’s go inside. Ono will have the evening meal ready by now. We can discuss this after we eat,” said Zanshi.

They entered the home and were seated at a large table. Zanshi sat at one end and Mariko at the other. At his right hand, Ono was seated followed by Sylk and Mara. Their proximity to Ono and Zanshi spoke to the esteem in which they were held.

At the other end sat Mariko with her attendants to either side of her. The center of table was the dividing point: the youngest were seated near the center with the age increasing upward from there.

The food was served and everyone waited for Zanshi to begin. Once started, the table was a hive of activity. When the meal was done, Zanshi stood.

“As usual, Ono, you have surpassed my expectations. I do not deserve you.”

“I know, husband, and yet here I am,” she said with a small smile and bow.

Zanshi smiled and then grew serious.

“Mariko, Sylk, Mara, please do me the honor of joining me,” he said and left the dining area.

They followed him to a small sitting room with comfortable furniture. In the center of the room two chairs sat facing each other. A small sturdy wooden table occupied the space between them. On the table sat a game of Go in play.

“I will give you two answers to your question based on the position you are asking from. If you are here as the Alpha I will tell you that the Mikai are being coerced to perform acts against their will. They are being made to target the Rah Ven young.”

“For what purpose?”

“The most logical outcome is the eradication of the Rah Ven. To what purpose I have not discovered, yet.”

“And if I am here as Karashihan?”

“Then I would tell you a story of the Samadhi and how a group of them banded together to exile a perceived threat. This threat discovered their plans to infiltrate the planes. He discovered how they were organizing to keep the planes under their control. They killed his family, his wife and children. Then they accused him of treason against the newly formed Order of warriors.  He forged the three foci and waged a one-man war on the Order. He nearly succeeded, too. Finally, because he was too powerful to kill outright and they were cowards, using subterfuge they trapped him in one of the outer planes and severed the connection to the hub, stranding him.”

“Lucius Iman,” said Sylk. “I have heard this account.”

Zanshi raised his hand. “I’m not finished. The plane he was on was devoid of chi. Lucius grew weaker by the day, especially severed from the hub. They waited until enough time had passed and they came back with prizes. They had purged his entire line. The Imans were wiped from existence and the three foci were gone.”

“Except…” said Sylk.

“Except they missed two. Your mother and her younger sister, distant relatives, but still Iman and capable of wielding the foci. Understand that we are talking a scope of centuries. Your line ages slowly but it isn’t immortal.”

“That would explain much of the persecution. I am a threat like Lucius was.”

“Is. He has regained Maelstrom. I heard you were there for that one.”

“I arrived too late to prevent it. His shadow is quite powerful and knew my ancestry. It wasn’t a warm family reunion.”

“The loss of his family and isolation have driven him to the brink of madness, if not past it. With Maelstrom in his possession he will work on repairing the severed connection to the hub.”

“If he manages that…”

“Maelstrom is entropy given form. He will undo everything. It is his purpose. The only thing that can stand in its way is the third focus, Shadowstrike.”

“Only an Iman can wield the foci. That means I must…”

Zanshi shook his head. “Not you. Your agreement with the Watch is tangled up in your energy, your chi is compromised. Any of the foci would deny you and probably end your life in the process.”

“Then who?”

“I understand there was a warrior who held Maelstrom briefly. Before Lucius reclaimed it,” said Zanshi.

“But that would mean that Dante is…”

“Your kin. Somewhere along the tangled branches of your family tree you two share blood.”

“Impossible.”

“And yet he held Maelstrom and survived?”

Sylk nodded a silent yes.

“No one has been able to hold that weapon besides Lucius, much less bond with it without becoming a homicidal lunatic.”

“How can this be?”

“There is more on the board than you are seeing. Hidden stones that have been put into play.”

“He has been seared,” said Sylk. “Lucius wanted to make sure he couldn’t wield the third focus. I didn’t understand the action at the time, but now I do. He was being preemptive. Somehow he knew about Dante.”

Zanshi nodded. “That searing needs to be undone and you need to find Shadowstrike.”

“The undoing is possible. As for Shadowstrike, I wouldn’t know where to begin looking,” said Sylk.

“If only you knew of a repository of knowledge. Then you could go there and ask. Possibly even speak to the librarian— what’s his name again, Mariko?”

“Raja,” said Mariko.

“Yes, Raja,” said Zanshi. “He may know where it is.”

“What of the Mikai and the Rah Ven?” said Sylk.

“You leave that to me and the clan heads. With Mariko by my side we will remove this cancer from our midst. We have no interest in wiping the Rah Ven out.”

“Who are the Samadhi?”

“How are you asking? Alpha or Karashihan?”

“Karashihan. The names.”

“Very well. No one knows their true names, only that they go by Master Phoenix and Master Wheel.”

“I will find them,” said Sylk.

“Do not underestimate them. These are men of power in search of greater power. Nothing is beneath or beyond them,” said Zanshi.

“The Records—and then I will hunt them down,” said Sylk.

“Make sure you find them before they find you.”

TWENTY-TWO

RAEL WALKED THROUGH the hub. The ascendants are in this plane, which means the prime must be involved. Except that I don’t sense any near.

He turned several corners and headed down one of the narrow corridors. He made sure to get further away from the Lotus area of the hub. In one of the corridors he found an empty room. He locked and barricaded the door and sat.

This is going to take some time, but it should be easier outside of the box and away from the Lotus’ suppression.

He sat and closed his eyes. Manifesting his swords, he let the energy envelop his body. Once his breathing was under complete control he expanded his senses again. He felt the energy of the hub, the bustle of activity in the area he had just left. He sensed the power fluctuations of the area around the hub. Expanding his senses even further, he could sense one strong fluctuation overwhelming the others.

Hello, Wei, feels like you’re busy. I hope this isn’t a bad time.

He absorbed his swords and allowed the energy to run its course over his body. The first bullet ripped through his neck as he opened the portal, turning him around. The energy around his body changed the trajectory of the bullet enough to make the wound superficial instead of critical. He righted himself against the wall as he turned to face his attacker. She stood between Rael and the portal. Both guns were drawn and aimed at his face. She lowered them several inches.

“You were on my to-do list. I just got a bit side tracked,” said Rael.

“Side tracked killing guards. Where is the rogue?” she said.

“You must have me confused with some other killer. I don’t know about any rogue. Did you lose one? By the way, that was some excellent masking. I didn’t sense you there until you pulled the trigger.”

He put his hand to his neck, pulling it away full of blood.

“You should have taken the head shot, gunslinger girl,” he said.

“I did,” said Raquel as she fired. Behind her, the light of the portal dimmed with each shot.

Bullets punched through his body as she kept firing. The impact slammed him into the wall. After several seconds he collapsed to the ground. Energy still raced around his lifeless body. She limped in close and aimed at his forehead. The blood from her wound had soaked through her makeshift bandage, covering the front of her pants. She was pale and breathing hard.

“Not so immortal after all,” she said with a ragged breath, pulling the trigger.

She turned and looked through the portal. “Where the hell were you going?”

She looked down at the blood seeping from her wound. Need to get this looked at before it gets infected—what the hell was that?  She turned in time to see Rael lunge at her.

“Let’s go on a trip,” said Rael grabbing her as they both fell through the portal.

TWENTY-THREE

“DON’T LET THEM disrobe!” said Wei as he thrust at Tetra.

Tetra twisted his body and avoided the thrust. Ravia and Nerav spread out and closed on Roman.

“When the Wheel told me to eliminate the prime ascendant, I couldn’t believe my fortune.”

Tetra kicked low and slid forward to deliver a knife-hand strike to the side of Wei’s neck. Wei leaped over the kick and ducked under the strike. Touching one of the daggers to Tetra’s exposed skin, he caused him to step back. Pain transformed Tetra’s features as a thin layer of scale formed where the dagger’s blade had touched.

“He is only using you. Once you fulfill your mission he will imprison you again,” said Wei.

Tetra ripped off more of his garments as he charged at Wei. He grabbed Wei’s wrists.

“He will try to imprison us again. Once we have the Fangs of Gren, no one will lock us up again. We will lay waste to this plane,” said Tetra.

“You will never get the Fangs,” said Wei, jerking his arms down.

Twisting his wrists and breaking Tetra’s grip, he slashed his arm. No blood spilled but Wei could feel the chi escape Tetra’s form.

“You will pay for that,” said Tetra, wrapping the wound and preventing the loss of chi. “I have used my time away to push my limits. I think you will be pleased, old friend.”

Tetra paused a moment and the garments around his body dematerialized, leaving only a thin layer covering his skin. Wei stepped back, clenching his jaw. The grass around Tetra’s feet turned brown and wilted. Wei touched the Fangs together. Each of the blades began to glow a dull orange. Wei focused his chi inward and used the power of the Fangs to mask himself.

“This is much better. Let us drop all pretenses and end this,” said Tetra.

**********

Ravia ducked under the hammer blow, laughing. She crouched and rolled to the side as Nerav closed the distance and unleashed a flurry of attacks. Roman avoided or parried most of the barrage. Too late he realized it was a distraction. Behind Nerav, Ravia had undressed to reveal most of her skin. Her body glistened in the sun.

That can’t be good, thought Roman.

She walked slowly toward Roman. Around her even the air grew lifeless as she devoured chi. She left a trail of dead grass behind her as she advanced. Roman could feel her siphoning chi from everything around her, including himself. He pulled his hammer back and slammed it to the ground. Nerav leaped back, avoiding the impact, but Ravia closed her eyes and stood still as the shock wave washed over her.

Once it had passed she opened her eyes again. Her body had filled out. Her long muscles rippled with strength as she continued approaching.

“That—was delicious. Didn’t Wei tell you what we are? We are Kriya,” she said licking her lips. “We live off chi, and right now your energy is exquisite.”

“I know what you are,” said Roman. “I just needed to get a feel for you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his ear. “Can you feel me now?”

“Ravia, careful. I’m sensing that his hammer is giving off a peculiar energy,” said Nerav, standing back.

“His hammer is harmless. You saw it do nothing, except feed me,” she said. She ran a finger along Roman’s cheek.

“I promise to make your death pleasurable, warrior. You only need to surrender,” she purred.

“As deaths go, this one would be better than most,” said Roman.

Each word was a struggle as he felt his chi being absorbed by Ravia. Her proximity made it hard to focus. He grabbed his hammer and lifted it off the floor, keeping the head pointed down.

“Ravia…” said Nerav. “This is unwise—we are not at full strength. Kill him and be done with it.”

Roman slammed his hammer into the ground.

Nothing happened.

“See? What did I tell you?” she purred. “His hammer is useless against us. I do like his spirit. He will make a wonderful meal. Come feast with me, Nerav.”

“No, Ravia, step away from him. Something is not right,” said Nerav.

Roman grabbed her by the waist, keeping her close to him.

“I am going to have to decline your offer today, Kriya,” whispered Roman through clenched teeth. Sweat drenched his face as he held on to her.

A vortex formed around them.

“What are you doing!” she yelled as she tried to push back and away from him.

“Taking back what is mine,” said Roman.

The vortex increased in intensity, absorbing chi from Ravia.

“No! Stop this!” she said.

She broke free of Roman’s grip and delivered a palm heel strike to his chest. It had no effect. She struck again and again, but she was growing weaker by the second.

“Didn’t you say something about surrender? I can’t promise it will be pleasurable, but it will be final,” said Roman.

Ravia fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

“Ravia! No, it is too soon,” said Nerav.

Tetra, we must retreat!

Impossible, Nerav. I will kill Wei and take the Fangs.

And lose Ravia in the process. She is dying, do you not feel it?

How? How is this happening?

The hammer. Somehow he is using it to siphon chi. I cannot stop him, Tetra, but you can.

Very well, Nerav. Prepare a portal.

**********

“It will have to be another time, Wei,” said Tetra, putting his hands together. Wei raised the Fangs in a cross block and stepped back to brace himself.

Tetra shimmered and slammed into Roman, knocking him down and breaking the hammer’s connection with the ground. The vortex began losing force. He bent down and picked up the unconscious Ravia.

“I will see you again, hammer.”

Tetra stepped out of the vortex unaffected and into a portal followed by Nerav. Wei ran over to where Roman lay on the ground.

“A reversion attack. How did you do it?” said Wei. He extended his hand and brought Roman unsteadily to his feet. “I thought only the Fangs could withstand the Kriyas siphoning attack.”

“It wasn’t easy, Wei,” said Roman holding on to his hammer for support. “My hammer can adapt to almost any enemy. It just needs to be exposed to the energy signature first.”

“That explains your initial attack.”

Roman nodded. “Once exposed, I can formulate a counter. It comes at personal risk. If my attack is late or wrongly executed…” He made a gesture with his hand.

“It could mean your death,” said Wei.

“Yes, it’s a calculated risk. One that worked this time. I prefer not to meet them again, or not soon. That Ravia…”

“You are the only one I have ever seen survive her embrace. She is dangerous and deadly.”

“I’m feeling a little jealous here,” said a voice behind them.

Roman and Wei turned to face Rael, who has holding Raquel by the neck.

“Harbinger,” said Roman.

Rael opened his hand and let Raquel fall to the ground unconscious beside him. He looked at Wei.

“You have something my master needs: the Fangs,” said Rael, manifesting his swords.

TWENTY-FOUR

KAL LED THE way into the complex. We passed the guards and headed to what seemed to be a reception area. A large desk dominated the space. Behind the desk sat a large man. His bald head gleamed in the light. Kal walked up to the desk.

“Hello, Vane. Can we see him?” she said.

“Hello, miss Kalysta. Let me check,” said Vane.

He picked up a phone and spoke in a lowered voice while keeping his eyes on the three in front of him. Putting the phone in its receiver, he nodded his head.

“You know the way. Thirty minutes,” said Vane. “No weapons allowed. You know the drill.”

I unstrapped my sword and placed it in the receptacle alongside Samir’s daggers. Kal placed daggers, a short sword, several throwing knives, weighted gloves, a belt sword and two palm knives. I looked at her in silent awe.

“What? I believe in being prepared,” she said.

Vane put the weapons in a strong room behind him and handed her a claim check.

“Thanks, how is he doing?”

“Today is a good day. He just transitioned to the next phase. Blood moon in a few days so we have to keep him under observation,” said Vane.

We walked down the corridor away from reception and headed to the stairs. Kal led us up several floors and veered right.

“What is a blood moon?” said Samir.

“A time of transition for the young Rah Ven. Full moon. It’s called the blood moon because—well, it’s messy,” said Kal.

“I have not happened upon this in my studies,” said Samir. “Have you undergone this transition?”

Kal shook her head. “Not yet, no.”

“Are you going to transform into some creature we are going to have to fight?” I said half-jokingly.

“Not funny. I don’t turn into a werewolf during the full moon,” she said her tone serious. “The blood I was given was much older and stronger than what Zen got. Plus, I wasn’t dying from poison and he was.”

Samir nodded as if making a mental note.

“I recall your choice. What I don’t understand is why you made it,” he said.

“This is his room. Are you ready? He won’t look like you remember him, but he is still the same Zen.”

We stopped in front of a door. Standing next to it were two men dressed in hospital whites.

“Nurses?” I said.

“Rah Ven. Trained to deal with this kind of case.” said Kal.

One of the men produced a key and opened the door for us.

“Hello, Kal, he’s doing well today. Half hour okay? We’re too close to the blood moon for extended visits,” said the other Rah Ven at the door.

“Got it, he will want to see them as well”—she pointed back at us while entering the room—“and we will keep it short.”

We entered the room and the door was locked behind us. For a moment I had a brief disconnect. The room could have been any accommodation in a five-star hotel. Plush, cream-colored carpeting covered the floor. One wall was covered in cherry wood bookcases and filled with books. The windows provided a view of the grounds and the forest beyond it. The door to the bedroom was slightly ajar and I could just make out the king-size bed.

In the living room lounge sat a figure I mistook for a bear. After closer examination I realized it was Zen.

“Hello, D. Like my new look?” said Zen.

Hair covered every inch of his body I could see. He put down the book he was reading and stood. He was taller and larger than I remembered.

“Zen? You look different…” I said.

He stepped close and I could feel the vibration from his footsteps on the floor. I fought every instinct I had to run. He grabbed me and squeezed, forcing the air out of my lungs.

“Gives…new… meaning… to…bear…hug… Zen, can’t breathe.” He was much stronger than before.

“Sorry, D.  I don’t know my own strength these days.”  He laughed and let go. The air rushed back into my lungs. “You okay?”

He clapped me on the back a few times. His hand as gentle as a sledgehammer.

“Maybe a few cracked ribs, other than that I’m good, thanks,” I said. He laughed again at my pain and sat on the lounge.

“Hello, Samir, it’s good to see you.”

“And you as well, guardian,” said Samir and bowed.

“Not doing much of that in here. How are you, Dante? Tell me what’s going on. I’m so out of the loop in here and she won’t share much,” he said, glancing at Kal.

“I tell you what you need to know,” said Kal as she held his hand sitting next to him.

“Which is close to nothing,” he said with a smile. “What’s going on, Dante?”

I did my best to bring him up to speed. Some of the details I was hazy on and I told him as much.

“Is Meja going to make it?”

“That would be your first question. I don’t know,” I said. “She’s with the healer, so she’s in good hands— the best I think— but I don’t know. She shattered a prism full of chi next to her body.”

“She what?”

“Shattered a prism full of chi, which magnifies it close to a hundred times what it is.”

“I always knew she was powerful, I just didn’t think she was that powerful. It takes some serious energy to shatter one of those crystals,” said Zen.

“I know. I did the same thing, but it was Maelstrom who had the energy. She did it without an ancient evil weapon of mass destruction.”

“I heard about that and the searing. You okay?”

“The searing was undone. I can access my chi, but it’s sporadic. It feels off somehow. It’s present around me most of the time, yet I feel disconnected,” I said.

“You have to accept where you are and work from there. Look at me. They tell me it was this or death. First few days were rough. I was looking hard at death as a choice…”

“I’m glad you chose to stick around,” I said.

“I didn’t make it alone, she helped me,” he said, looking at Kal. “I think she would have killed me if I tried it. Have you manifested a weapon yet? I mean besides Maelstrom. Something not insane?”

“He has not. It is promising that he has undone the searing. However, the situation requires the warrior to regain his spiritual weapon,” said Samir.

“What about the Records? Maybe there is something there that can help you?” said Zen.

“I don’t think…” I started.

“No, the guardian presents an excellent solution. Perhaps there is a text that can reference your state. We must try every option, warrior,” said Samir.

“I have to give the Records ten years as it is. I’m not anxious to give him more years of my life.”

“If Lucius escapes, what kind of life do you think you will have? How long do you think it will be?” said Kal quietly, looking down at the floor.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that… I wasn’t thinking…”

“Dante, this is much bigger than you, now. Too many lives depend on us, on you,” said Zen.

“I didn’t ask for this, Zen, any of it. I was living my life. Hell, I had a life! Then Wei sends me to that crazy promotion and it’s over.”

“Did you ever wonder why Wei sent you to that promotion? It’s possible he saw something in you, something extraordinary. I do not think it was an error on his part,” said Samir.

“Kal, Samir, could you give us a moment?” said Zen as he stood and motioned for me to follow him.

We headed into the bedroom and he closed the door. He walked over to the window and looked out.

“Great view, huh?”

I nodded without really looking.

“Look at us. Here I am turning into something I don’t understand and you in way over your head,” he said.

“Look, Zen. I just…I just wanted to see how you were.”

“Sit down.”

I sat on the lounge beside the bed.

“You notice something missing in my cell?”

“Cell? This isn’t a cell, this is a great…”

“Don’t. Don’t you dare. The doors are locked from the outside. I can only leave when they let me out. And then only with an escort. The glass is shatter-proof. I know. Tell me what’s missing,” he said, looking at me.

I noticed it the moment we entered.

“Mirrors. There are no mirrors in this space anywhere.”

“Do you know why?”

“I can guess.”

“Can you? Really? You mean you will take time out of your pity party to consider why I may hate what has happened to me? How I didn’t have a choice and how this was decided for me? It doesn’t matter that it was either this or death. I was not asked. You will give actual thought to how every day is a reminder of what I have lost. That the only person I care for and love decided to join me in this nightmare existence. That she can never go back to being normal.”

“I was being…”

“I’m not finished. What about Meja and all she has sacrificed? Even Sylk lost an arm and is bound to the Watch. What have you lost? What have you given up, Dante? The ability to live a ‘normal’ life? Join the damn club! That ship sailed without you the moment you started training with Wei. Get over it.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“Damn right you’re sorry. Get your head out of your ass. This isn’t some fairy tale. This is as real as it gets, and you need to get with the program or a lot of people are going to lose their lives because of your narrow-minded focus. This stopped being about you long ago. Can’t you see that?”

“I can. I do, it’s just that sometimes it’s too much. The burden is too much. Everyone depends on me. Everything depends on me.”

“Dante, there is no one else that I would trust with everything. You have to start believing that. Everyone who is in your life now depends on you, but more than that they trust you to do the right thing.”

“I don’t know what that is anymore, Zen.”

“I would say stopping an all-powerful warrior with a crazy sentient weapon trying to erase existence as we know it is a good start.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

“I can’t go with you. Not like this. I’d be too much of a risk. But I want you to know that if I could…”

“I know, in a heartbeat.”

He nodded and grabbed me again and squeezed.

“Thanks, Zen. Sometimes you just need to hear the words.”

“And sometimes you need a swift kick in the ass. Go to the Records and find out what’s possible. I would like to live to a ripe old age with Kal. Only way that’s going to happen is if you make it happen.”

“I will,” I said and headed back to the living room. He trailed close behind me, hand still on my shoulder.

“I know you will. Remember you aren’t alone, especially when it feels that way.”

One of the Rah Ven opened the door and poked his head in. “Ten minutes. Then I will have to ask your guests to vacate the room, sir.”

“Understood and thank you,” he said.

Zen looked at Samir and me and smiled, beckoning to Kal.

“If you will excuse me I need to have some alone time with my lady.”

Kal blushed slightly and stood. She walked to the bedroom and Zen closed the door behind him. Samir and I left and waited outside with the Rah Ven.

“I take it your talk was productive?” said Samir.

“It shifted my perspective a bit, yes. He always had a way to help me see the larger picture.”

“What are your plans now?”

“I need to go to the Akashic Records. Do you know of a syllabist that could join me?”

Samir smiled and nodded.

Ten minutes later there was a knock from the inside. The Rah Ven at the door unlocked it and Kal stepped out. She hugged Zen one last time and then joined us. Zen stood at the door and gave me a brief nod.

It is a cell. Gilded, but still a cell.

“I’m trusting you with what’s most precious to me, D. Keep her safe.”

“I think you have it backwards. She doesn’t need me to keep her safe. I need her.”

“I told her the same thing about you.”

“Now you have it about right,” I said as we made to leave.

He laughed. It was an infectious sound which brought a smile to all our faces.

“You’re probably right. Run hard, run fast, Kal,” he said.

“Run fast, run hard, love,” she said.

He closed the door and she turned to face us. Her eyes glistened in the light and fresh tears made their way down her cheeks. She wiped her face and looked at me.

“You okay?” I said.

“No, but I’ll get over it. I hear we are going back to the Records.”

“Well, I was just telling Samir that we need to… Wait, how did you know?” I said, confused.

She tapped her ear. “Rah Ven blood. Let’s get moving. Can you open a portal?”

I nodded. Samir had taught me the gestures and it was easier to remember this time.

“We need to go back to the South Watch. It’s the only way I know how to get there, and maybe the Keeper can help us.”

“Good. I need to grab my weapons and then we can leave.”

She started walking away.

“She is quite formidable. I am pleased she is on our side,” said Samir.

“I couldn’t agree with you more. Let’s go before she leaves without us,” I said, catching up to Kal.

TWENTY-FIVE

EXPLAIN TO ME how you failed,” said Master Wheel.

“We are not at full strength. We underestimated our adversaries. It will not happen a second time,” said Tetra.

The sand whirled around the tent. The dust storm pushed against the tent, intent on knocking it down and failing. On a cot lay Ravia, still unconscious. Nerav knelt by her side, his head bowed. Tetra knelt before the seated Master Wheel.

“When I released you I expected results. These are not the results I had in mind.”

He looked over to where Ravia lay.

“Are three of you necessary for this? It seems she is dead weight.”

“She was overzealous in her desire to fulfill the mission. She expended too much energy too soon and it resulted in our retreat.”

“So it was her fault,” said Wheel.

“No. The fault is mine as leader. I should have planned our first encounter with the prime ascendant with more care. He was accompanied by a warrior wielding a large hammer. This too was unforeseen.”

“Roman,” said Wheel. “He is insignificant. The lapdog of Aurora Iman, who will soon be rendered powerless against me.”

“Can one from the line of Iman be taken so lightly?”

“You question my ability, Kriya? Do you forget who it was that gave you your freedom?”

“No, my lord, I do not,” said Tetra.

“It would seem that you do. Are you at full strength yet?”

“I am the only one who has achieved our full potential. Ravia is recovering and Nerav is close,” said Tetra. His head was bowed as he spoke.

“It would seem you fancy the woman, and from what you tell me she is a fierce warrior. I need you to get this task completed. Which leaves him—Nerav, is it?”

“Yes, my lord, he is an excellent tactician and a master strategist.”

“And yet you still failed to produce the Fangs. I would say his tactics and strategy failed. Let me give you some incentive.”

Wheel stood and formed a gesture with his hand. The storm began to force itself inside the tent. Sand swirled around and surrounded Nerav. Wheel looked at Tetra and made a final gesture, tracing golden lines in the air.

“My lord, no,” said Tetra.

The sand solidified around Nerav and collapsed in on itself. A muffled sound followed and then the sand dispersed, once again exiting the tent on the wind. Nerav was gone. Tetra fell to the ground, holding his head. Even unconscious, Ravia moaned.

“Oh, that’s right, you share a psychic link. Then you must have felt his last thoughts. Was it fear, I wonder? Do the near-immortal fear death?  Do not fail me again, Kriya, or you will not find me so merciful. Return to the Watch, tend to your wounded and wait until you are summoned.”

“Yes, my lord,” said Tetra.

He picked up Ravia and opened a portal, disappearing from sight.

“Was that necessary? Did you not sense his rage?” said Phoenix as he entered the tent.

“It was necessary to spur him to greater action. That rage will serve him when he faces Wei and the Harbinger,” said Wheel.

“This is a dangerous game you play. An angered Kriya is no trifling matter.”

“Precisely. The next time they meet I am certain Tetra will return with the Fangs. In order for us to complete our plan he must believe I can destroy him with a thought,” said Wheel.

He made another gesture and the unconscious body of Nerav appeared in the tent.

“And when he discovers this subterfuge? What then, Wheel?”

“By that time we will have the Fangs and my power will be without question.”

“Our power. Our power will be without question,” said Phoenix.

“Of course, my brother, our power. Now take the Kriya and keep it in stasis. Use one of the null planes or the mirror itself to keep him this way until it is needed.”

“Yes, brother.”

“What of the Rah Ven? If they interfere at the wrong moment all will be lost,” said Wheel.

“I have destroyed their homes and sowed dissension…”

“This is not about sowing dissension! They have to be wiped out,” screamed Wheel, slamming his fist on his chair.

“If one of those time-skipping dogs interferes with my plan, death will be a kind mercy, do you understand, Phoenix? You must take direct action.”

“The Mikai…” began Phoenix.

“Are too slow. Use the Gyrevex. Summon an army and wipe out those dogs,” said Wheel.

“No greater than one hundred Gyrevex have ever been summoned at one time, Wheel. Only the First has that kind of power.”

“You underestimate yourself. I would say it’s time to push the limits. Call forth an army, Phoenix. A thousand—no, ten thousand strong and remove the Rah Ven from every plane of existence. Do not leave one of them breathing.”

“No one can control that many Gyrevex. It is suicide, Wheel.”

“Use the scythes and form the Reapers, brother.”

“The scythes? That way leads to madness. Everyone who has used them in the past has been driven insane.”

“None were as powerful as you, my brother.”

“I cannot. This is too much,” said Phoenix.

“You can and you will. I have every confidence in your ability, Phoenix. Now go destroy the Rah Ven,” said Wheel.

TWENTY-SIX

ROMAN STUMBLED BACK and leaned against his hammer to keep his balance.

“I fear I cannot help you in this fight, Wei,” said Roman.

“This has nothing to do with you, hammer. Why don’t go you back to mommy Aurora and tell her the Harbinger sent you?” taunted Rael as he formed a portal behind Roman.

He slid forward and kicked him. Roman tried to regain his balance and failed. He stumbled and fell back into the portal, disappearing from sight.

“Where did you send him?” said Wei.

“I’m not a monster. I sent him back to Aurora, I think. Now, let’s not make this more complicated than it needs to be. Give me the Fangs and we can each go our way, Wei. Did you see what I did there?”

Wei formed the Fangs and took a defensive position.

“You have not changed at all. You are still the petty, trite child I knew all those years ago. I thought with time you would have matured. I was mistaken,” said Wei.

Rael grew serious. Electrical energy formed around his body arcing to the ground and caused small fires around him.

“I have matured, sensei. In fact I can say I have lived countless lifetimes since I left your tutelage.”

Rael formed his swords and allowed the energy to arc between them.

“Time to die.”

***********

Snow sent the last of the triads on their way and walked back to the park. I cannot leave the master alone to face the Harbinger.

He manifested two short staffs— tambo. Each was about two feet in length. Their lengths were covered in glyphs that glowed a dull violet. Once he reached the grass he stood still for a moment and expanded his awareness outward.

Across the park—he is not alone. It must be the Harbinger. I’m coming, master!

Following his senses, he ran across the grass until he saw Wei, daggers drawn, facing Rael. Energy arced all around them. The Fangs were a deep orange, appearing molten. Both Wei and Rael bled from multiple small cuts and wounds around their arms and face. Rael’s left cheek was bruised and his eye was swollen. Wei limped slightly and Snow could see a cut along his right thigh. Off to the side lay Raquel, still unconscious.

“The Fangs will not serve you, Harbinger, or your master.”

“I don’t need them to serve me, Wei. I need to deliver them to him. It’s that simple. Tell your disciple not to interfere if he wants to keep breathing. I find myself in a less pleasant mood all of a sudden,” said Rael without shifting his attention from Wei.

“Snow, I gave you instructions,” said Wei without taking his eyes off Rael. “Why aren’t you following them?”

“My place is here, master, with you,” said Snow.

“Well, that’s admirable and stupid,” said Rael. “The last place he should be is here, with you.”

Snow stepped closer to Raquel as Wei and Rael circled each other.

“At least let me help her. She is injured and bleeding. She will die without attention.”

“Snow, please step back,” said Wei as he dodged a sword thrust and jumped back to avoid a lightning strike arcing off Rael’s swords. He rolled to the right and slid forward under Rael’s guard.  Rael brought down his swords a second too late to avoid a dagger in his abdomen. Wei buried the dagger and pulled to the right. Rael screamed in pain and slammed the hilt of his sword against Wei’s head.

Dazed, Wei backpedaled as Rael fell to one knee, grabbing his midsection. Blood ran down one side of Wei’s face.

“You may not be able to die, but I can bring you to the edge,” said Wei. “I will make sure you feel pain.”

Rael grunted in reply. He shifted back and to the side, keeping a sword in front of him in a defensive stance. Snow, now next to Raquel, absorbed his tambo and placed his hands on her side. A soft violet light covered her. The bleeding slowed and then stopped as the wound closed. In moments all traces of the injury were gone.

“This is not pain, Wei. This is what I call a stimulating exercise. Now what she did to me a little while ago was painful. I still have the headache from her bullet to the brain.”

Rael leaped from his crouched position and slashed with his sword. Wei saw the attack and cartwheeled over the sword while striking with a Fang, cutting Rael’s arm. Wei landed in a crouch just in time to see an orb of energy race toward him. He lifted the Fangs in a cross block in front of him. The orb hit him dead on and flung him back. He landed on his back, gasping for breath. His clothes were smoking and his arms were singed from the impact.

************

Next to Snow, Raquel stirred and regained consciousness, opening her eyes. She turned her head slowly and grimaced. After a few seconds she turned back and looked at Snow who was transfixed by the fight.

“Are you armed?” she said. Snow nodded. “I have weapons, yes.”

“Then what the hell are you doing?” She sat up and braced herself against Snow. “Watching your master die?” she said as she materialized her guns.

“Miss, you have lost much blood, I do not suggest…”

“That bastard can’t die. Do you think your master has a chance against him alone?” she said. “I shot him at least ten times and put a bullet in his head, point blank. Does he look dead to you?”

“My master instructed me to stay out,” said Snow.

Violet energy formed around his arms as he manifested his tambo.

She lifted both guns and took aim.

“You want those to be his last words to you?” she said.

She was focused on the fight, her eyes tracking Rael, looking for a shot.

“No, but you are in no condition…”

“Stop talking.”

Her arms trembled as she held them out. She dropped her arms and muttered a curse under her breath.

“Damn, it’s no good. I can’t get a clear shot. You’re going to have to open them up. Give me some space so I can put some shots in him, slow him down,” she said. “I’ll mask so he doesn’t sense me until the last second.”

“I don’t think…”

“Stop thinking and act, before it’s too late. Go now!” she hissed.

Snow stood up with a tambo in each hand and jumped into the fight.

************

Rael turned clockwise leaping in the air and flung several small orbs of energy at Wei. Snow jumped in front of his master and deflected them.

“Snow, what are you doing?” said Wei.

“What you trained me to do, master.”

“Very well,” said Wei through clenched teeth as he shifted to the side. “Perhaps this is the wisest course.”

“Where do I strike?” said Snow.

He stood in a defensive stance as Rael advanced.

“He has no weak points. The only thing that will slow him is damage. We must overload his nervous system into shutting down.”

Wei took a step forward and stumbled.

“Master, you’re hurt.”

“Never mind that. Focus or we die. Can your friend use her guns?”

“Yes, but we must give her a clear shot.”

“She will have her shot. Let’s hope her aim is true.”

Rael closed the distance and spun into Wei and Snow with both swords. Snow parried and trapped one of the swords but missed the second. Wei saw the second attack and lunged in between the two, taking the thrust meant for Snow in his back.

“Master, no!” yelled Snow.

“Now, girl. Do it now!” shouted Wei as he grabbed Rael’s arm and twisted to the side.

Rael stood with his arms opened wide, providing Raquel the shot she needed. She took both her guns and pressed them together. They merged and transformed into a larger gun. She wiped the sweat from her brow, took aim, and pulled the trigger. The recoil sent her flying back. Rael stood still for a moment, looking down. A gaping wound six inches across stared back at him. Wei and Snow let go of his arms as he collapsed to his knees.

“Should have taken the head shot, gunslinger girl,” he said.

“Harbinger, tell your master I’m on my way,” said Wei. “If he wants the Fangs he will need to get them himself.”

“You look like hell,” said Rael. He coughed up blood and spit it on the ground. “I don’t think” —he coughed up more blood—“you’ll be around much longer, Wei.”

Raquel walked over and pointed a gun at Rael’s head. Wei gently pushed her hand away.

“It’s no use. You cannot kill him any more than he has been,” he said.

Rael became transparent and faded until gone.

Wei sighed and collapsed forward. Snow caught him before he hit the ground. He lowered his master to the ground. Tears ran down his cheeks. Raquel stepped back out of earshot.

“What are you doing? Do not shed tears for me.”

“Yes, master,” said Snow.

“Your tambo, let me see them.”

Snow materialized his weapons. Violet light surrounded them as they appeared in his hands. Wei materialized the Fangs and pressed them against the tambo. For a brief moment, an orange light blended with the violet and then the Fangs were gone.

“You must keep them safe now, my disciple. Do not let the Kriyas or the Harbinger take them from you. When you find one who is worthy, pass them on.”

“How will I know? I don’t…I can’t…”

“The Fangs will let you know. Trust your judgment, it will not fail you,” said Wei.

“I’m sorry, master. I should have listened. I should have stayed back…” began Snow.

“And I would have been dead sooner and the Harbinger would have the Fangs. No, you did right in disobeying me. We have stopped him for now. I am proud of you. Keep the ascendants safe until the threat passes.”

“Yes, master.”

“Girl, come here.” Wei motioned for Raquel to come closer.

Raquel knelt beside Wei. He placed his hand on the nape of the neck and pulled her close.

“Everything is not as it appears. There are those in the Order who seek power above all things. This corruption taints all it touches and seeks only to serve itself. Search out the Wheel and end its influence. Look to the Samadhi.”

“Where is this Wheel?” said Raquel.

Wei didn’t reply. He stared into the sky, breathing his last.

“Do you know about this Wheel? Is it a person or a thing?” she said looking at Snow.

“I do not know. Master has never mentioned it before now,” said Snow. “I do know of the Samadhi. They are powerful teachers of the various disciplines within the Order of warriors. They are reclusive and hard to find, usually living in secret.”

“I need to get back. Monique will be losing her mind. What are you going to do?” she said.

“I will lay my master to rest and then I will destroy the Harbinger.”

“Didn’t you just see what happened? That thing can’t die. Are you in a hurry to join your master? Get as far away from here as you can and stay gone.”

“It does not matter, they will be after the Fangs,” said Snow. “There must be a way to destroy him and I will find it. You can help me. I saw what you did with your guns.”

Raquel was shaking her head.

“Not my fight,” she said. “I need a portal back to the hub. Do you know how to, you know…” she gestured with her hands.

Snow looked at her in silence and then looked down at his hands.

“I will open a portal for you. My master would have wanted me to.”

“Thank you,” she said relieved.

“Before I do I want you to consider some things. The moment you stood against the Harbinger, it became your fight. He is now your enemy as well. My master spoke to you about the Samadhi. He felt you were capable, or he would not have burdened you. He has set you on a path as he did me with the Fangs.”

“Both those paths look fatal to me. I like breathing,” she said.

“Search out the Samadhi. Either they are causing the corruption or can help end it. I will focus on ending the Harbinger.”

She grabbed his arm and looked into his eyes.

“Listen to me. Forget the Harbinger. Take the Fangs and go somewhere they can’t find you. Go to the mirror and hide there. I will look into this Samadhi thing but I’m not making any promises.”

Snow smiled at her patiently and began making gestures with his hands.

“I will see you again, gunwoman. Sooner than you think,” he said and opened a portal back to the hub.

“The name is Raquel,” she said as she stepped through the portal and vanished.

Snow knelt next to his master’s body and opened Wei’s hand. He removed the strands of hair, Raquel’s hair. He let the strands sit in his hand. Moments later, violet light consumed them leaving no trace.

“Wherever you are, Raquel, I can find you now,” he said as he lifted Wei’s body and stepped into a portal.

TWENTY-SEVEN

MEJA OPENED HER eyes and found herself in a small dojo. The hardwood floor glistened with the morning sun. The walls were covered with a variety of weapons and the ceremonial center, the back wall, held a small shrine with running water. In the center of the floor where she sat was a tré thirty feet across—the size of a training circle. It hummed with latent energy.

“Where am I?” she said, looking around.

The last thing I remember was channeling chi into the prism.

“Where do you want to be?” said a voice behind her.

Meja turned to face her old teacher and enemy, Diana.

“Hello, Meja,” said Diana.

Meja tried manifesting her sword and found her hand empty.

“You’ve transcended that weapon. It was a cumbersome thing in any case. You possess too much energy for that vessel now.”

“Who are you? The Diana I know is in stasis,” said Meja. “I know because I put her there.”

“Good, at least you kept your wits. So many lose their minds when confronted with that much power,” said Diana.

“You’re…me?” said Meja.

“Yes and no. I am the chi that is trying to find expression in your body now. You tried manifesting your weapon but it could not contain me. Your body shut down and now you have two choices and little time. I am the personification of that reaction. Your fear and admiration for this person gave me this expression.”

“What choices?”

“Find a way to channel me or die.”

“Do you have a name?” said Meja.

“Clever. Names are power. I will not give mine away. If you survive this trial it will be revealed to you.”

Diana walked over to the wall and picked up a pair of sai. These sai had sharp points at the end. Exactly like the ones Diana wielded.

“You chose this place. It seems this setting suits you best,” she said as she stepped into the circle, remaining at the outer edge.

Meja stood and looked around slowly. “It is my first dojo. The one my father built when I was a little girl.”

Diana nodded while hefting the sai in her hand, testing the balance. It was an act Meja had seen her teacher do thousands of times before training.

“It’s fitting. Not a bad place to die,” said Diana, tapping the sai together. The weapons from the wall disappeared. “A dojo is a sacred space. As such it should be a place of convergence of self.”

“Body, mind and spirit becoming one. Yes, it is the one place where I feel the most whole, most myself,” said Meja.

“Except that you aren’t. You are out of balance. Unless you can restore that balance you will die here. This as I said, is not a bad place for your final moments.”

Diana bowed and assumed a fighting stance. Meja looked around but the walls were bare.

“You are looking outside for something that you possess. That is an error.”

Diana stabbed forward with both sai. Meja bent back, avoiding the stab. Diana reversed the sai in her hands and struck downward, smashing both of Meja’s thighs with the ends of the handles.

Meja cried out in pain and surprise as she rolled to the side, avoiding an axe kick as Diana stomped the floor.

Diana turned to face her, walking the outer edge of the circle.

“The pain is real and so is the damage,” said Diana.

“This is all in my mind,” said Meja.

“Are you attempting to refute the power of thought? Everything is an expression of thought. Before materializing into what you consider ‘reality’ it must first exist as a thought. So what is more ‘real’: the thought or the expression?”

“If I die here…”

“You die, period.”

“I’m not dying here,” said Meja.

“That remains to be seen,” said Diana, lunging forward.

**********

“Is there nothing we can do for her, Grandmother?” said Luna.

The healer motioned for Luna to move away from the bed Meja lay in.

“You have pack dealings, second. This be healing business. She must do this on her own. We have done all that can be done. The rest be in her hands.”

The healer ushered Luna to the door.

“But, Grandmother, we should…” started Luna.

The healer opened the door and looked hard at Luna until she stepped outside the threshold.

“Go. I will send for you the moment there be a change in her. From what my nose can tell she has all the help she needs. Nothing you or I can do now except wait. It be on her to choose life over death,” said the healer, closing the door on Luna.

The healer made her way back to Meja’s side and held her hand. She wiped a cool damp cloth across her forehead.

“She be burning up,” she muttered to herself. “Choose life, young one. Choose life.”

**********

Diana swung a sai at Meja’s head. Meja ducked under the strike and drove a hammer fist into Diana’s bicep. Diana dropped the sai. Meja made a move to grab the sai but it disappeared the moment she touched it. It reappeared in Diana’s hand.

“Not your weapon,” said Diana.

Diana let go of the sai and jumped forward. She unleashed a barrage of punches. Meja blocked and parried them with ease.

“This is what you always do. You are closed off. You block it all. Emotions and feelings, you don’t let anything in, not friends or family. Nothing gets past your defenses.”

“It’s a liability. I’m a warrior. I don’t have time for feelings or relationships. My family knows this and friends are only targets for my enemies. My life is simpler without them.”

Meja launched an attack of her own. She kicked Diana’s thigh and then drove an elbow at her head. Diana checked the kick and ducked under the elbow strike. She threw a short punch from the crouched position that took the wind from Meja’s lungs. Forming the sai in her hands she stabbed Meja in the left thigh and drove the right sai to her midsection. Meja gasped at the pain and intercepted the right sai to her abdomen. Diana pushed against Meja while twisting the sai in her leg. Meja could feel the power increasing within and around her.

“Simpler, perhaps. Lacking in any real connections makes your life empty. What does it mean when at the end you have no one to share the victories or the failures with? You are an empty shell, lacking substance,” said Diana.

“I will have served and fulfilled my duty with honor. That is all that matters,” said Meja.

She gritted her teeth against the pain and drove a palm heel at Diana’s face. Diana twisted and stepped back, avoiding the strike.

“Is it? How did the Order reward your selfless service? Weren’t you declared rogue? They turned their back on you. You are worthless to them, something to be discarded.”

“No, that’s a lie,” said Meja.

“A lie?” You have no one. If you die here, no one would mourn you. You do not matter. Why not just surrender and end it all? You have no purpose. You yourself said it—opening yourself up is a liability. Just end this meaningless existence.”

Diana closed the distance with a side kick that doubled Meja over. She followed up with spear hand to Meja’s throat. Meja stopped the spear hand and realized it was a feint as Diana thrust a sai into her chest. Meja fell to her knees, gasping.

“You will die here, child. Forgotten, alone and without honor,” said Diana.

“I have my honor,” said Meja between breaths.

Diana prepared to deliver the killing blow. She grabbed Meja’s hair and pulled back, exposing Meja’s neck.

The space around Meja crackled with energy. Below her, the tré hummed into a high-pitch whine as the air around her became charged. Each of the circles in the tré was suffused with a deep blue light.

“It’s for the best, really. Power such as this would have consumed you,” said Diana. “You were never worthy of it. Never worthy of being a monitor. How could you protect anyone? Your word is meaningless and empty, just like you. Dante and the rest will die regardless. Not that it’s your concern any longer.”

Diana drove the sai downward.  A rapier-thin sword materialized in Meja’s hand and deflected the killing blow. She twisted out of Diana’s grip and drove her sword forward. Diana parried the thrust and slid to the side, gaining an angle on Meja. She threw a sai aimed at Meja’s side. Blue energy coalesced around Meja, forming a shield. The sai struck the shield and was absorbed.

“I will fulfill my duty,” said Meja. “No one can strip me of my worth. My word is my bond. Once given, never broken.”

The shield reconfigured and flowed back into her sword. She drove forward and thrust at Diana. At the last second, she whipped her sword around and through Diana’s back, driving it into her. The sword flared brighter than before and Diana began to disappear.

“Well done. You have faced yourself and overcome. You have established balance once again. This is a proper vessel for the expression of my energy. Use it wisely,” said Diana as she vanished. The energy around the sword flared once more and became subdued. Meja looked down at her sword.

“Truth—an apt name,” she said holding it out in front of her.

The sword flared again, sending energy in every direction. The tré began to shake beneath her as the walls of the dojo collapsed. The sword escaped her grip and floated several feet in front of her. Blue light filled her vision and blinded her. The sound of the tré was deafening. The dojo walls fell away and she stood in an open expanse of nothing. The light raced back into the sword. She reached out to touch Truth and it slammed into her body and disappeared. She collapsed moments later.

**********

The healer was wiping Meja’s forehead when she noticed the blue light. Stepping back, she made some gestures. Around her, several dozen orbs of blood materialized. They whirled in lazy orbits around her. She stepped closer to Meja and the light grew brighter, then dimmed and disappeared. After a few seconds Meja opened her eyes.

“Where am I?” she said.

“Where you need to be, warrior,” said the healer.

TWENTY-EIGHT

“HE’S GONE,” SAID Kenji. “The Harbinger is not in the complex; or the hub, for that matter.”

“How do you know? You can sense that wide?” said Rory.

“Yes. I need to get back and inform Aurora and find Dante. She will not be pleased.”

“About Dante?”

“About the Harbinger. Dante is seared and so he poses no threat, however she also sees no use for him. This means she will not give him much thought. The Harbinger is a known entity and threat. He will begin eliminating ascendants once he locates them. Except that now he has left the plane. Why would he do that when the ascendants are in the hub?”

“I need to get this information to Monique. Where the hell is Raquel? She was supposed to be following up on the rogue with me.”

They headed back to the infirmary. The tré hummed to life and a portal formed. Rory grabbed his daggers and Kenji brought his staff to bear in a defensive position.

Raquel stepped through the portal and looked at them.

“Where were you? The rogue escaped,” said Rory.

“The Harbinger is dead, at least for now,” said Raquel.

“The Harbinger? What are you doing facing off against him?”

“That would explain the absence of his energy in the hub,” said Kenji. “In any case, reports of his death are usually premature.”

“I know this is the second time I’ve killed him. I need to tell Monique before this gets out of control.”

“What are you doing fighting him? He’s too dangerous,” said Rory.

Raquel turned on Rory. Her face was calm and her voice measured. A hand rested on one of her guns.

“You mean too dangerous…for me? Is that what you mean?”

“For anyone. How did you open a portal? I don’t remember you having that ability,” said Rory.

“I don’t. The people that fought with me did. Long story,” she said and began walking away.

“Let her go. It’s clear she doesn’t want to discuss it.”

“She faced the Harbinger.”

“Not alone, it seems.”

“He’s dangerous. She could have been killed,” said Rory.

“Except that he was and she wasn’t. Right now I’d say that makes her the more dangerous of the two. I need to find Dante before I return to Aurora.”

“How will you find him? That portal formed…wait, you’re a chi tracker?”

“Of a sort. I need to go now. I’ve waited long enough and the trail will go cold,” said Kenji.

“I understand. I’d better go speak to Monique. I have a feeling she won’t be pleased with the news the Harbinger is free and that Meja got away.”

Kenji opened a portal. “Next time I hope we can fight alongside each other and not against. I will see you soon, bladedancer.”

Rory bowed and headed down the corridor after Raquel.

Kenji walked back to the infirmary and stood a moment where Dante, Samir and Meja had disappeared.  He stilled his breathing and opened his awareness. What made him special was not his ability to track chi. He and Roman both shared that trait. It made them fearsome hunters. Unlike Roman, who could track anyone in the same plane, he had the ability to track chi across planes. He felt their presence and focused on Dante. It was an essence he was familiar with. The Rah Ven plane appeared in his mind.

Rah Ven? This gets more interesting by the moment. Why would you be going there, Dante?

He opened a portal to the Rah Ven plane and stepped through.

**********

Raquel had entered the Black Lotus meeting area and found Monique in her office. Her desk was bare except for a few papers and a crossbow she kept close by. She was going over the papers and giving orders to several Lotus members around her. She didn’t look up when Raquel came in. Raquel waited just inside the door. After a few seconds the Lotus members left hurriedly.

“Stop scaring the staff. How did she get away, Raquel? This was a simple retrieval,” said Monique. “She was not to leave the hub.”

“Excuse me? Simple?” said Raquel. “Did you not notice the explosion?”

“That sounds like an excuse. You heard me. I’m holding you responsible for her escape.”

“How did she get a prism, Monique? Come to think of it, how did that warrior Dante get out of the box?

“He had help. We are still investigating that incident.”

“The Harbinger I can understand,” said Raquel. “That thing won’t stay dead. He played us, played you. Why didn’t you follow procedure on that one? I read the orders. He was never supposed to be in that box to begin with. Aurora was supposed to get him.”

“What are you saying?” said Monique.

Raquel closed the distance and came up to the desk. Monique stood up, her hand resting close to her crossbow.

“Let me spell it out. Meja and Dante both had the same kind of help. Only one person had unrestricted access to both of them: you.”

“Nonsense, they were both visited by people other than me. You even escorted Meja to the chamber,” said Monique. “Should I assume you gave her the prism?”

“You gave the order for the Harbinger to be put in the box against better judgment and the advice of the prime ascendant. Why?”

“He was too much of a threat to leave out there. Ascendants were dying and the barrier was at risk. Wei, the prime ascendant, helped us contain him. I used my best judgment and made the call.”

“Wei is dead. The Harbinger killed him.”

“Dead? How do you know this? What about the Harbinger?”

“Also dead, for now. I had to use my hand cannon to stop him,” said Raquel.

“You what? You know how dangerous that is!”

“No choice. It was either that or die. Wei passed his weapons to some apprentice or assistant named Snow, and then he died. Right after he told me not to trust the people around me. The people who I usually trust with my life,” said Raquel. “Now why would he say that?

“The second focus is in play…” said Monique under her breath.

“The what?”

“His weapons. Two daggers, both the same?”

Raquel nodded. “I asked you a question.”

“Wei wasn’t what I would call sane. Too many years living alone fighting battles. It takes a toll. What did he say to you?” said Monique.

“He mentioned the Samadhi. Does that make sense to you?”

“No,” Monique lied, her face deadpan.

You always were a bad liar, thought Raquel.

“I’m off the rogue. I think Rory has a lead on her. I think I need some time off,” said Raquel.

Raquel turned to walk away. Monique grabbed her arm to stop her.

“No, you’re not. You will find her and bring her back.”

Raquel twisted out of the grip and manifested her guns. Both were aimed at Monique’s head. Monique had the crossbow pointed at Raquel’s throat.

“Don’t ever touch me again,” said Raquel. “You may be leading the Lotus, but that doesn’t give you the right to tell me what do. Something is off here and I’m going to find out what it is. You better pray I don’t find you in the middle of it.”

Rory walked into the office.

“What the hell is going on?” he said.

“Exactly what I’ve been wondering. Why don’t you ask her?” said Raquel.

Rory stood between the two women. “Stop this. You’ve known each other for years.”

Monique put down her crossbow. Raquel kept the guns aimed at Monique for a few moments longer before lowering them.

“You’re dismissed. I’ll discuss the rogue with Rory. He can take over her capture. Why don’t you take some time off? Facing off with the Harbinger can take it out of anyone,” said Monique sitting back at her desk.

“I think I’ll do that,” said Raquel.

She left the office and Rory closed the door behind her.

Monique made a gesture and the walls took on subdued orange glow.

“The second focus is in play,” said Monique.

“The prime ascendant…?

“Is dead. Snow has them now.”

“That won’t be much easier than dealing with Wei.”

“I know. Wei said something to her about the Samadhi. We have to tell him.”

“He said never to contact him. I don’t think this a good…”

“This can undo everything. He has to know,” said Monique. “Send a message.”

“Do you think she knows?”

“No, I think she is just going by her instincts. She is a liability now.”

“She put down the Harbinger. This won’t be easy,” said Rory.

“She had help. When you go out to bring down Meja, take her with you. Make sure she doesn’t return. I’m sure taking down a dangerous rogue will have its casualties.”

TWENTY-NINE

THE SOUTH WATCH was bustling with activity. Many of the structures that had been damaged were being reconstructed and repaired. The central obelisk thrummed with power as several Watch monitors worked on the defenses surrounding it. A circle of glyphs surrounded the obelisk. Around the glyphs were a series of semicircular walls also covered in symbols. Around the walls, twenty armed guards stood at the ready. At regular intervals Rah Ven were sent to be stationed on the outer perimeter, reinforcing the armed guards.

The Keeper sat on a bench and viewed the added security with concern.

“Will this really stop another attack?” he said.

Rin, who was close by overseeing the reconstruction, turned to the Keeper.

“This is one of the only known points of access to the Records. The others are lost or too difficult to gain entry to. It is a necessary precaution.”

“That was not my question,” said the Keeper with a smile.

Rin put down his clipboard and sat next to the Keeper.

“Yes, no, I don’t know. The glyphs were from the ancient texts and designed to stop any unwanted intrusion. The glyphic walls are shaped to obstruct the flow of chi. The elite guards are armed with the weapons of power from the vault. The Rah Ven are the first or last line of defense depending on where the attack originates. The glyphs also route every portal formed on the plane to the obelisk. We now control the only exit and entry point to the plane.”

“Circumstances relevant to the Rah Ven have changed. They must be informed and I must remain here,” said the Keeper.

“The Rah Ven? Shouldn’t we send one of their own?  The security here requires that I…”

“We have guests. Tell your security not to attack,” said the Keeper.

A portal formed near the obelisk, The Rah Ven camouflaged and disappeared from sight. The guards readied their weapons and took defensive positions. Each of the monitors working on the central defenses manifested their weapons.

The Keeper stood and leaned on his staff a moment before heading to the obelisk with Rin in tow.

“Keeper, it would be safer…”

“This is no threat. Are the rooms in order?  I have a feeling we may be getting a few visitors today.”

“Keeper?”

“Rin, this is a sincere gesture, really. If the Harbinger or Roman were to attack, these defenses would slow them down, but not stop them. It wouldn’t stop the one coming through now. My message to the Rah Ven is near the circle. Please take it to them now, time is against us. I will attend to the guests.”

“Yes, Keeper,” said Rin as he headed off into the Watch.

At the center of the obelisk Sylk and Mara came through the portal. Sylk looked around and realized he was in the center of the Watch grounds surrounded by armed monitors and not approaching the Watch from the desert.

“This is new,” said Mara as she looked around.

“Indeed. It would seem the Watch is readying their security earlier than expected,” said Sylk.

The Keeper entered the circle and greeted them both.

“Welcome, Karashihan, I did not expect to see you so soon.”

Sylk and Mara bowed.

“It would seem events are conspiring to have my presence here, if only for a short time,” said Sylk. “Is Grawl available? I need to speak with him.”

“He is on the outer wall, as is his custom. He is looking to take his last walk into the desert. I think he is waiting for you.”

“I will need to travel to the Akashic Records. How soon will that be possible?”

“Three days until the time of alignment. In the meantime we have much to discuss,” said the Keeper. “Your rooms are ready. Please go eat and rest. We will speak soon.”

Sylk turned and began to head towards the Watch, but hesitating, he stopped and looked at the Keeper.

“Did you know about Dante?”

“His ability to wield the First’s weapon and still maintain his sanity was a strong indicator of his lineage. The real question is not if I knew, but why didn’t you?

“If you will excuse me, I have some matters to attend to. Rin will attend to anything you need and then we will meet. Grawl is on the southern side if you wish to speak to him before the evening.”

The Keeper disappeared, leaving them alone.

“That is always unsettling,” said Mara.

Sylk nodded and walked on in silence.

“I will meet you at the rooms. I would like to speak to Grawl first.”

“Yes, master,” said Mara as she headed to the keep.

Sylk approached the southern side of the Watch and opened his awareness.

“There is no need for that here, Alpha. We are not enemies.”

Grawl stood in human form along the south wall of the Watch. He looked out into the desert as the sun began to set. Its light transformed the landscape into an orange sea of sand.

“Greetings, old one,” said Sylk, bowing.

Grawl bowed and looked back over the wall.

“How are things with the pack, Alpha?”

“I would say your plan is being executed flawlessly,” said Sylk.

“”What do you mean? What plan?”

“Luna will be an excellent Alpha.”

Grawl nodded. “She has been made second?”

Sylk nodded. “The healer is part of this as well?”

“She is the only one outside of you that knows of my motives.”

“I had my suspicions. She can be quite convincing.”

“Grandmother can be a force of nature. She is a powerful ally and a ruthless enemy,” said Grawl.

“I spoke with Mariko, the leader of the Mikai. They will put a stop to the abductions.”

“The shadow men have stopped attacking my people. I am in your debt,” said Grawl.

“What now? Am I supposed to die?” said Sylk with a smile.

Grawl laughed. “No, Karashihan. Your part in this plan is done. Now that Luna is second I only need to visit my plane once more before my last walk. I will pass leadership to her and then I can rest.”

Sylk took off the fang pendant and held it out to Grawl.

“No, you keep it. You are still a friend of the pack. Thank you for everything you have done. You have ensured the safety and future of my people.”

Sylk put the pendant on and looked out into the desert alongside Grawl.

“It has been my honor, old one.”

“Grawl, call me Grawl, in the manner of friends. It is something I have not experienced in a long time.”

Sylk felt the energy buildup before the wave hit. Grawl, sensing it as well, transformed to canine form. That act saved Sylk’s life.

“It’s coming from the center of the …” said Sylk.

Grawl took the brunt of the blast broadside, shielding Sylk. The blast rocked the wall and sent them both over and into the desert sand below.

**********

Master Phoenix looked out over the last city of the Rah Ven and smiled.

Soon this city will be a memory, ground to dust and obliterated. I will destroy every Rah Ven in every plane. First the South Watch: a thousand Gyrevex should take care of it. Tonight I destroy this city and all the vermin in it. Nothing and no one can stand before me now. I am unstoppable and all will kneel before me, even Wheel. Especially Wheel.

THIRTY

“IT DOESN’T WORK, Samir. I did it exactly as you showed me.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t work? Is your chi broken? How can it not work?” said Kal.

“Try it again, warrior. Perhaps you are missing a gesture or are doing it incorrectly,” said Samir.

I redid the gestures that would open the portal to the South Watch. Golden light surrounded my hands. Once I infused the gestures with chi and thought of the South Watch nothing happened. No portal.

“We must get to the Watch. There is another way but it is dangerous. Every Watch is connected to its polar opposite to facilitate a form of rapid transit from one to another. If we can access the North Watch we can then travel to the South.”

“I almost hate to ask. Why is this dangerous?” I said.

“The North Watch?” asked Kal, turning to Samir. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am certain,” said Samir.

“This just keeps getting better,” she said.

“Tell me,” I said.

“The North Watch is thought to have been destroyed or captured,” explained Samir.

He was hesitating, trying to read my reaction. I motioned him to continue. I knew it was going to be bad. May as well get it over with.

“No one has heard from it in over a century. Several attempts were made to re-establish contact. No one ever returned. Many brave warriors disappeared.”

“And this is the Watch you want to go to? Are you insane?” I asked.

“There is only one known access point to the Akashic Records, and that is from the South Watch. The obelisk is keyed to the Records. I know of no other way to get there,” said Samir. “If either of you know of a different method of entry to the Records, please share it now.”

Kal and I both remained silent.

“As I was saying, the North Watch is our best chance. Warrior, please come here.”

I stepped close to him and he placed a hand on my head. Images flooded my mind.

“That should suffice to create a portal there,” he said.

I ran through the gestures and infused them with chi. Golden trails followed my hand movements. At the last gesture I let the images Samir gave me flood my mind’s eye and a portal formed before us.

“Are you ready?” I said.

Samir and Kal nodded. Kal had daggers in both hands. Samir held a staff. I unsheathed my sword and led the way through. The world became white and a sense of vertigo hit me. It was stronger than any portal I have been through.

We came through on the other side. We were in a courtyard of some kind. The Watch looked identical in construction to the South Watch. The only difference being that this one was in a state of neglect. I looked around and found that we stood in a tré. It hummed under us.  Parts of the circle were cracked and overrun with weeds.

The first thing I noticed was the absolute silence of the Watch. Nothing stirred. It felt like the Watch had been frozen in time. Foliage covered everything. Many of the stone walkways were cracked with roots running through them. This Watch had no obelisk in the center of the garden.

“Kal, can you hear anything?”

“Let me check.”

She stood still and listened. After a few minutes she shook her head.

“Nothing. If there is someone here they are too far away or too quiet.”

“Samir, where do we need to go?”

“The connecting circle is in the lower level of the Watch. It was placed there to make it easily defensible or, in case of a compromised Watch, it could be sealed off.”

“Great, a creepy dead Watch and we need to go into the basement. There is nothing that could go wrong with that scenario,” said Kal.

“No choice, we’re here, let’s get it done,” I said.

Behind us, footsteps approached. We turned as one, weapons ready. An elderly woman appeared around a corner. I lowered my sword slightly. Kal kept her daggers in a defensive position and looked ready to leap any moment.

“Could it be?” said Samir.

“Could it be what? Is she a threat?” said Kal.

Samir, using his staff as a walking stick, approached the old woman. She appeared to be blind but turned in Samir’s direction as he got closer.

“Who’s there?” said the old woman.

“My name is Samir. I am a syllabist. Are you the Keeper of this Watch?”

“Yes, I am. What are you doing here? It’s too dangerous!” she hissed.

She cocked her head, listening to a sound only she could hear.

“We must use the Watch circles. We need to get to the South Watch. Why are you blind?” said Samir.

“The circles haven’t been used in years. He severed the connection. He blinded me and then trapped my essence. This is but a small part of who I am. You must leave now before he returns,” she said.

“We must travel to the South Watch. Can you help us restore the circles?” said Samir.

“I don’t know. He would know and then he would destroy another part of me.”

“Please,” Kal pleaded. “Please, we need to get there.”

I didn’t think Keepers could be hurt or harmed, but it made sense. Destroying the Watch would be the same as destroying the Keeper’s body. The Keeper began rubbing her hands together and looking to the sides.

“Very well, yes, yes. We must move with haste. Follow me. Do not use any ability. This Watch is dormant. Any use of chi will alert his watchers.”

“Did you say watchers?” said Kal, alarmed.

We stopped walking and looked around.

Images of the creatures came to mind, relentless beings of immense power. A shiver ran down my spine. I didn’t want to see them again.

“Not those watchers. These are not the plane guardians.”

We let out a collective sigh of relief.

“These watchers are smaller versions of those. They react to the use of energy. As long as no chi is used you should be fine. Come, come, follow me,” she said as she led us to the Watch.

We looked at each other uneasily. Any kind of watcher was bad news. Who could have smaller versions of the most powerful being in the planes as his personal security force?

I didn’t want to stick around to find out.

We approached the massive doors of the Watch and she waited a moment. For a few seconds nothing happened but then the doors began to open.

“Hurry, you must hurry. They will sense you in time,” said the Keeper. We headed down large stairs to another smaller level.

“Through here, the circles are at the end of this corridor.”

The temperature inside the Watch was bordering on freezing. I could actually see my breath on each exhalation. Frost formed on some of the walls.

“Why is it so cold?” I said.

“Because the Watch is dormant, maintaining an ambient temperature that would be comfortable for you is not possible. We must hurry, the watchers will arrive soon,” said the Keeper.

“I thought they only detect chi use?” said Kal.

“They are designed to react to any use of chi, but they will sense your chi over time. It will take them longer to react to your presence if you do not use your ability.”

“So they know we are here?” I asked, liking this idea less by the second.

“They will be aware of a shift in the chi level of the Watch. My dormant state allows for the slightest fluctuation to be observed and detected. Think of it like a human body. A small cut will get one kind of response. A large wound another. Right now you are a small cut, an itch easily ignored. Once we restore the circles, you will be a large wound requiring immediate attention.”

“That sounds comforting,” said Samir.

“My apologies, it was not my intention to disturb you. Only to provide a context for you to better understand the situation at hand.”

“Thank you. I think it’s clear now,” I said.

She led us down the corridor to a large door. I recognized some of the symbols. I saw owls in flight and a crescent moon.

“This was meant for the monitors as a way for them to get from one Watch to the other,” I said.

The Keeper placed her hand on the door and the owls began to circle around the moon.

“It has begun. The watchers will be on their way. Quickly, inside.”

We entered the room and she closed the door behind us. The same symbols were on this side of the door. She placed her hand on the door and the owls returned to their original configuration. The room itself was covered in dust. It was once what appeared to be a comfortable lounge. Seating areas were placed in between large bookcases. Almost every surface was wood. It reminded me of a train station waiting area. In the center was a circle about ten feet across. I sensed no energy coming from it.

“That door will not keep them out for long. I can establish the connection and then I will be gone for a short time. The expenditure of energy will not allow me to maintain this state. Which one of you will open the portal?”

“He will,” said Samir pointing at me.

“Very well, you must stand here. When you sense that the connection is established you must create the portal from inside the circle. Not before then. Do you understand? Your portal must coincide with the activation of the circles.”

“How long will it take for the connection to form?

“Three minutes from the moment I begin to the actual connection.”

“These watchers. Can they be killed or destroyed?”

The Keeper nodded. “Yes. They are difficult to dispatch but they are not immortal.”

“How many can we expect?” I said.

“The last group that attempted to use chi here faced five of them.”

“How large was that group?” said Kal.

“It is irrelevant. We must do this. There is no other way,” said Samir.

“I need to know what my odds are,” said Kal.

“The other group was twenty strong. Mostly monitors. None survived,” said the Keeper.

“Thank you,” said Kal as she laid out her weapons on the floor in front of her.

“Are you ready?” said the Keeper.

We nodded.

“Remember, do not open a portal outside the circle or before it is active, or he will come directly. He is a greater threat than any watcher.”

“Goddammit! Who is this guy?” said Kal.

“I do not know his name, I only know what he is called.”

“What is he called?” said Samir.

“Those who have dealings with him call him the Wheel,” said the Keeper. “You must not confront him if he appears. Your only hope of survival is to escape.”

The name didn’t sound familiar. I prepared myself as the Keeper joined me in the circle.

“I wish you the best fortune,” said the Keeper and disappeared. Beneath me, the circle began a low hum as the connection was being restored.

It hasn’t been good so far, I thought.

“Okay, we have three minutes before we can get out of here,” I said.

“I’ll keep the time. Make sure you’re ready to open the portal,” said Kal.

She stood to the right of the door. Samir stood further back and to the left.

“Kal, you take the door. Samir, you stay at the midpoint. I will keep the portal open until everyone is through.”

I expanded my senses, trying to feel the area around us. The Keeper was right—the Watch was dormant. I only felt the essence of Samir and Kal. Other than them it was pretty much nothing. Then it came.

At first it was small sensation like a nagging headache, enough to be noticed, but not debilitating. The presence began growing in intensity. That’s when the pounding on the door started. The booming sound filled the room. I could see the door shake and shudder with each blow. Dust fell gently from the frame surrounding the door.

“That door won’t take much more of that,” I said.

I drew my sword and held it in one hand. I would need both hands to open the portal, but I had a few minutes until then. The pounding stopped.

“You think they gave up?” said Kal, not taking her eyes off the door.

The next moment the door flew off the hinges and fell into the room, sliding across the floor. In the doorway was a human-sized version of the watchers. Three figures in white robes entered the room. They were identical in appearance and dress. Angelic features took in the room impassively. Flawless porcelain skin and piercing blue eyes framed by hair so blonde it glowed looked at us. They each held a flaming sword in their hands.

My first experience with watchers came back to me. I could feel the sweat run down my back. My heartbeat pounded inside my head and my vision started to tunnel in. Panic squeezed me and I couldn’t move. A part of my brain, the rational, intelligent side, was screaming at me to run. My primitive brain, the one responsible for fight or flight, was curled up in the fetal position and drooling.

I’m scared. I’m going to die here and I’m scared.

That’s when I saw Kal intercept the lead watcher. The second watcher veered off to face Samir. The last watcher stood at the door, looking at me. He looked down at the circle and then back at me. He came at me in a dead run, his flaming sword trailing behind him. For a moment the fear was so absolute I forgot I held a weapon, I forgot everything and all I wanted to do was lie down and surrender to the inevitability of death.

Kal must have seen the expression on my face. She parried a slash and threw a dagger at the watcher coming at me. The watcher turned and swatted the dagger without breaking his stride as he closed on me. For a moment he took his eyes off me. A moment was all I needed.

“The fear is how they attack,” said Kal. “Don’t let them control you.”

The watcher turned his attention to me. Somehow he knew I was no longer afraid. He brought his sword before him and entered the circle. The fear didn’t paralyze me now. Part of me still wanted to run away screaming. I just closed off that part of my feelings and held my sword in a defensive stance.

He looked at me quizzically.

“You do not fear?”

“Of course I fear, but some things are bigger than my fear.”

“You do not belong here,” he said.

“We don’t plan on staying.”

“You presence upsets the balance. You must be contained.”

“Two minutes!” yelled out Kal.

Contained? Since when do they contain anything? Two minutes. We just need to hold out for two minutes.

The watcher slashed at my legs. I stepped back and parried the attack.  He turned sideways, blading his body, and kicked. I stepped inside the kick, slashing down with my sword. He stopped my slash with his blade and delivered a right cross. I ducked under his fist and aimed a low kick at his knee. He skipped back, causing me to stomp the ground and lean forward, compromising my balance. Grabbing me by the arm he yanked down and threw me. My world turned upside down as I slammed into the ground. I rolled to the side and avoided a downward slash. His sword left scorch marks where my head had been a second before. I rolled to my feet and lunged forward. I looked and saw Kal and Samir were holding their own against the watchers. Something seemed off. The circle was at full strength under my feet. The watchers were attacking but their intent seemed to slow us down, not to kill us.

“I’m forming the portal!” I yelled.

“No, it’s too soon. The Keeper…” said Samir.

“The Keeper lied. They’re stalling us. I’m forming the portal now.”

I closed the distance with the watcher and slashed downward. At the last possible moment I reversed direction, slashing upward and cutting the watcher across a leg. He fell to one side, bleeding. Three more watchers appeared in the doorway.

What the hell are these things?

I stepped off the circle and formed the portal.

“What are you doing? Use the circle!” said Samir.

“No, this whole thing stinks. Let’s go!”

Three more watchers appeared at the door. Kal broke off her attack and sprinted to the portal. The intention of the watchers shifted. I sensed it the moment I opened the portal.

“They won’t be stalling now. Time to go, Samir.”

Samir tried to break off his attack but couldn’t. Several watchers flanked him. He was surrounded. His staff hit a watcher across the side of the head sending it flying. Another watcher filled the gap. Three more watchers appeared at the door. Nine watchers closed on Samir.

“We need to go, Kal.”

“We are not leaving him.”

“I don’t see another option. I can’t hold this portal open forever. Even now it’s trying to close on me,” I said.

“Ten seconds. I need ten seconds. If this doesn’t work it won’t matter…we’ll be dead,” she said.

“Go,” I said.

The strain of keeping the circle open was becoming too much. Sweat poured into my eyes, blinding me. I wiped the sweat and saw her skin ripple as she ran toward the watchers. In the center of the group Samir held his own but I could see his strength failing. The watchers were beginning to get through his defenses. They were so focused on him that they didn’t notice Kal rushing at them like a bullet.

She leaped in the air and transformed. Coarse black fur covered most of her body. Claws stretched out from her fingers like daggers. Her eyes gleamed red. The watchers never stood a chance. She ripped out the throat of the first watcher and dismembered a second before the first one hit the floor. She cut through the group which such speed I barely had time to register the fact that she was racing back to the portal with something in her arms. After a moment I realized that something was Samir. She ran past me and jumped through the portal.

The watchers turned to my direction and regrouped. As one they began running at me. Behind them in the doorway stood another figure. It wasn’t a watcher—he was dressed in a white robe, but I couldn’t make out his face. I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. I stepped into the portal, closing it behind me.

**********

“My apologies, I thought they would adhere to the time table,” said the Keeper, bowing low.

“Summon the Kriya. I have received word that the prime ascendant is dead.”

The Keeper stood still and closed her eyes. A shudder went through her body, accompanying the tremor that shook the ground.

“It is done. What of those three?”

“It is irrelevant. Soon the Rah Ven will be wiped out and I will have the second focus. Those two acts will clear my path. Only a few loose ends left to tie. However I would be curious to discover how they arrived here in the first place. I thought the Watch was dormant.”

“It is, Master Wheel.”

Without looking, he grabbed her by the neck and squeezed. He lifted her off her feet and brought her face close to his.

“That is what confuses me. If it was dormant, like you say, they would not have been able to open a portal here without a staggering expenditure of energy. No one could. Either they are powerful beyond measure or you are lying to me.”

“I have no need to deceive you,” said the Keeper, gasping.

“I have no need to believe you,” he said.

He threw her to the ground and the watchers surrounded her.

“Subtlety and misdirection are the Keeper’s hallmarks. You will tell me what I want to know. Bring her.”

The watchers grabbed the Keeper and followed him as he left the room.

THIRTY-ONE

AN IMAGE OF the Keeper appeared before Tetra. He sat in a meditation pose, cross-legged with both hands before his chest, palms together. He allowed the residual chi around him to flow through his body. He sensed the presence before him and opened his eyes.

“What is it, woman?” he said.

“Your presence is required,” said the image, which then disappeared.

I am reduced to nothing but a lapdog summoned at his whim.

Ravia slept soundly behind him. She had recovered from her encounter with Roman. He turned and touched her forehead gently, whispering words under his breath. He finished his meditation and stood slowly without waking her. He stretched his muscles and felt the power coursing through his body. He had regained his strength.

I am strong again after so many years of weakness. I will never be weak again.

With a minimal gesture he created a portal and stepped into it. Moments later he stood before Master Wheel. The room was devoid of furniture. Stone walls enclosed a circle etched into the stone floor. No doors were visible in any of the walls. Master Wheel sat in the center of the circle. Tetra went down on one knee, looking down.

“You found me with little effort, I assume?” said Wheel.

Tetra gave a brief nod. “I did not know you were hiding. You requested my presence?”

“I did. How is your companion? Has she recovered from your meeting with Roman?”

“She has. He will be dealt with. After I kill Wei,” said Tetra.

“Wei is dead. He was killed shortly after you left him. You could say you facilitated his death,” said Wheel.

Tetra placed his fist on the ground beneath him. The stone cracked under his fist. His jaw flexed with anger.

“Who? Who has stolen my vengeance?” said Tetra

“Do you know what this circle was called when it was in use?”

Tetra remained silent and unmoving. A statue of rage.

“It was called the circle of reflection. Only the most skilled found entry into this room. As you can see, there are no doors, so a portal must be used. The circle itself was hidden from detection by these glyphs here.”

Wheel pointed at a series of glyphs around the edge of the circle.

“It is no longer active, given the state of the Watch, but every Watch had one. It served a unique purpose.”

“What purpose?” said Tetra.

“Getting in was only half the task. Upon sitting in its center the circle was designed to present your greatest weakness in a series of tests. If you passed these tests you then had to find your way out of the circle and back to the Watch. Those who succeeded became formidable warriors— some even became Samadhi.”

“How is this relevant to my destruction of Wei, which has been taken from me?” said Tetra.

“Right now you are sitting in a circle of reflection. Your desire for vengeance is your weakness and it is blinding you to the greater task. Your only task. Bring me the Fangs of Gren. That is your only focus.”

“I understand.”

“When you have completed this task I will give you the one who took your vengeance.”

“You can do this?” said Tetra.

“It is within my power, yes.”

Tetra remained silent and then nodded.

“Who has the Fangs now?”

“Wei’s apprentice, Snow, is carrying them. He will be laying his master to rest. I can tell you where this will occur. Bring me the Fangs and you will have your revenge.”

“The name. The name of the one who killed Wei.”

“He is of the house of Iman.”

Tetra looked up at Wheel. His eyes flared with red light.

“His name,” whispered Tetra.

“Sylk. His name is Sylk Iman.”

“Finally, a challenge,” said Tetra.

THIRTY-TWO

SYLK LOOKED UP and saw the light from the explosion fill the sky. He looked to the side and saw Grawl in human form. He ran over to him. Grawl lay in a pool of blood. His left side had a gaping wound where he had taken the brunt of the blast. Sylk knew the wound was bad. The amount of blood around the old pack leader only spoke of death. He knelt down next to Grawl, ripping parts of his robe to use as bandages.

“Grawl, can you hear me?”

Grawl’s eyes fluttered and then opened fully.

“I am here, Karashihan, but not for much longer, I am afraid.”

“We need to get you some attention,” said Sylk, putting pressure on the wound, trying to stop the flow of blood.

“I have lost too much. My life is more in the sand than in this body.”

“I owe you my life,” said Sylk.

“Keep Luna and the pack safe. Protect the Rah Ven and I will consider your debt paid.”

“I will.”

Grawl grabbed him by the wrist and looked at Sylk in the eyes fiercely. He pulled himself close to Sylk’s face.

“On your word as Karashihan and Alpha,” he wheezed.

“On my word as Karashihan and Alpha,” said Sylk.

Grawl let go and sank back to the ground.

“Tell my Luna I love her. Make sure my pyre burns bright.”

“Run hard, run fast, old one.”

There was no response.

Sylk picked up Grawl’s body and headed back to the Watch.

Approaching the wall he heard a familiar sound; the whirring of bells attached to chains.

“Gyrevex.”

***********

The Watch was in chaos. The circle at the center of the Watch was cracked and broken. The obelisk was shattered into several pieces. All of the glyphic walls were destroyed, broken, with parts scattered everywhere. The bodies of the monitors lay around the central circle. Many of the elite guard were gone, killed by the blast. Their weapons of power were no defense against the explosion. Only the Rah Ven remained. In the center of the circle a raging portal remained open, a storm of energy in the midst of the destruction. Through it Gyrevex entered the Watch by the hundreds. The Rah Ven attacked. They were outnumbered ten to one. Sylk approached the Watch with Grawl’s body in his arms.

“I will take him, Karashihan,” said a voice from behind. A Rah Ven stepped out of camouflage in human form. She stood taller than Sylk with long blonde hair. She wore armor made of a flexible metal that conformed to her body. A red emblem of a wolf in mid jump and snarling sat over her left breast. Sheathing her sword, she took Grawl’s body from Sylk.

“How long were you following me?” said Sylk.

“One of us is by his side at all times. The explosion separated us,” she said. “I was beside you at the wall.”

“I didn’t sense you.”

“I would not have been doing my job if you did. I am Ferra of the Rah Ven Guard.”

She started walking off to the side of the Watch proper, a series of building to the north of the main keep. She followed the wall for a hundred feet and then veered off to the buildings. Two more Rah Ven materialized. They had long blonde hair and were dressed the same way as Ferra. They took Grawl’s body from her and disappeared.

“The Rah Ven Guard, I have never heard of it.”

“That’s because we don’t exist. We are the shadows of the Rah Ven. We are in every plane that is inhabited. One of us has been with you since you became Alpha; actually, before that.”

“Are they all…?”

“Female? Yes, the female Rah Ven possesses greater abilities for stealth than the males. But we have more pressing matters to deal with. Gyrevex have come through the portal.”

“We have to close it, and then we can deal with them,” said Sylk.

“This is no ordinary portal. It is a vortex of energy larger than I have ever seen. They are coming in by the hundreds.”

“Gyrevex?  By the hundreds? I have never seen more than ten gathered in one place at any time.”

And that was fighting Lucius’ shadow. Who can wield this kind of power?

“Do we know what they are after?”

“They are killing the Rah Ven and anyone that tries to stop them from doing this,” said Ferra.

“Is anyone else being attacked?” said Sylk.

“Only the Rah Ven.”

“This may be tied into something I was dealing with earlier. We need to get to that portal. What is the most direct route?”

They stepped outside of the building. Sounds of fighting could be heard all around them. The smoke-filled air made it impossible to see very far.

“That way,” said Ferra, pointing to the southwest. “The keep is on your right and the center will be behind that. The obelisk and circle are there. That is where the portal formed. If you keep to the shadows you should make it there undetected.”

“What are you going to do?”

“We are removing all essential personnel from the Watch,” said Ferra. “Evacuations have already begun. The one bonded to you will come with me. We do not have time to bring her here. Is this acceptable to you?”

“Yes, tell her I will rejoin her when I can. How are you leaving the plane?” said Sylk.

“We will use a few of the old circles outside the Watch. Do you know these?”

“Yes, about a mile outside of the wall.”

She nodded. “The Rah Ven will be the last to leave. We have never abandoned a post before, but we have never faced something like this. I will send one of the Guards with you if we can spare it. Good luck, Karashihan,” she said and disappeared.

Sylk headed to the keep, avoiding most of the fighting.

It seems they are targeting only the Rah Ven. This is an organized strike. I just need to find out who is doing the organizing, he thought.

Approaching the circle, he saw the portal raging at its center.

The portal is providing the energy for the Gyrevex. What is providing the energy for the portal?

Staying out of sight, he began to channel his chi.

This is going to get their attention.

He made several gestures and attempted to close the portal. For a brief moment the portal diminished in size. The Gyrevex in the area turned to face him, manifesting bells. Sylk formed his weapon. The black blade of his sword absorbed the light around it. He dodged two bells aimed at him and removed the arm of a Gyrevex that got too close. Only one other option. Have to close the portal at the source, he thought as he began to run.

He cut a swath through the Gyrevex and leaped into the portal.

**********

Night fell on the Rah Ven plane. Phoenix kept watch on the city. Its silhouette loomed in the evening sky. Behind him a portal raged. He had created a thermal portal, something only he was capable of. It would burn the energy of the Watch until it became dormant. It was the only way to keep it open long enough to send a force of a thousand Gyrevex through.

Ten Gyrevex stood before him. These were different from the Gyrevex assembled behind him. They were taller and stronger than their brethren.  Instead of wielding bells, these held scythes in their hands.  Phoenix admired the Gyrevex with pride.

I can do this. I know I can, he thought as a smile crossed his face. “Kneel.”

The ten Gyrevex knelt before him.

“You are my lieutenants, my Reapers. Each of you controls a thousand of your brothers, but I made you special. You will destroy this plane and every Rah Ven in it. Wherever they are you will hunt them down and destroy them.  After this plane is done you will go to every other plane and do the same. Then we will conquer…everything. Go, now,” said Phoenix.

The ten Reapers stood. Nine of them headed to the army amassed behind Phoenix. One of them walked into the portal and disappeared. The Gyrevex headed to the city.

***********

Sylk appeared in the circle outside the city. It was the same circle he had fought Cane in. Opening his senses he searched for the portal and Gyrevex. A wave of energy brought him to his knees.

How can there be so many of them?

He raised his mental defenses and shut out the Gyrevex.

Where are they headed?

He lowered his defenses just enough to determine what direction the Gyrevex were travelling in.

They’re headed to the city. This is eradication. Someone needs the Rah Ven out of the way. But why?

He ran to the city.

**********

I tumbled onto the ground as the portal closed behind us. It was one of the rougher portal trips I had taken. Kal and an unconscious Samir were in front of me. She had reverted to her normal self. Samir lay on the ground.

“Is he okay?”

“He’s hurt, but it doesn’t look too bad. Those watchers were trying to finish him. Where are we? Wait, don’t tell me,” she said.

She sniffed the air and looked around.

“You opened a portal to the Rah Ven plane. This is the circle where Luna fought a few days ago. Something smells familiar. There is a scent that I recognize.”

“How did you do that? The way you saved Samir, how did you change?”

“The Rah Ven blood I was given lets me do some strange things. I didn’t know if it would work. Why are we back here?” she said.

“It was the only place I could think of where we wouldn’t be hunted,” I said.

“We need to get to the healer. She can take care of Samir. The city is that way,” she said, pointing off into the night.

I picked up Samir and put him on my shoulders. I followed her until we arrived at the city. She noticed the same thing that was bothering me. I put down Samir and tried to make him comfortable. The streets were deserted.

“Where is everyone? I don’t smell any Rah Ven,” she said.

I opened my senses and was ambushed by an onslaught of energy. I managed to raise my defenses before my brain shut down from the overload.  It took the breath from my lungs and doubled me over.

“Dante! Hey, what happened?”

She came over to my side while I took a few moments to catch my breath. I leaned against the nearest building and got my bearings.

“The healer’s house is that way, I think. Let’s see what’s going on there,” I said, pointing down the street in front of us.

“Close, it’s over there. Just around that corner and down a block,” she said, pointing me in the opposite direction. “What happened to you? What did you sense?”

I didn’t want her to panic so I remained silent.

“Dante?”

“He sensed an army of Gyrevex,” said a voice behind us in the shadows.

Kal had a dagger in each hand as the figure came forward.  I recognized him immediately.

“Sylk, what are you doing here?” I said.

“You’re the scent I smelled. What do you mean an army of Gyrevex?” she said.

She put the daggers away but still looked on edge.

“Close to one thousand Gyrevex are converging on the city. Am I accurate in that assessment, warrior?” said Sylk.

I nodded. I couldn’t believe it but the surge of energy I felt earlier could only be that.

“One thousand Gyrevex? How can someone control that many?” asked Kal.

“I don’t think they are being controlled in the usual sense. I think they have been given an order and unleashed. That however is not our main concern right now. We need to get out of this plane,” said Sylk.

“Can’t you just create a portal?”

“No, the thermal portal created to transport the Gyrevex is interfering with the energy across the plane. The only way to create a portal with any certainty is to use a circle. There is one just outside the city.”

“We just came from there,” said Kal.

“And we must return. I don’t know where the Rah Ven have gone, but it’s safe to say that they have left the city,” he said.

“We were headed to the South Watch but got detoured. Have you ever heard of a Master Wheel?”

Sylk turned to face me.

“Where did you hear that name?”

“At the North Watch. The Keeper there mentioned it.”

“The North Watch, how did you…never mind, explain later. We have to get off this plane.  It would seem the syllabist has regained consciousness.”

Samir stood up slowly. He was covered in cuts and bruises.

“Can you walk, syllabist? Are you injured?” said Sylk.

Samir looked himself over quickly.

“I have sustained no major injuries, Karashihan. Thanks to her,” he said looking at Kal. “She removed me from the grasp of the watchers before it was too late.”

“The what? Did you say watchers?” said Sylk, confused.

“Let’s get somewhere safe and I’ll bring you up to speed,” I said.

“Agreed,” he said.

We ran out of the city and headed to the circle. I looked out into the distance and used my inner sight. My stomach clenched into a knot. The Gyrevex army was not far away.

“Are we close to the circle?” I asked.

“Yes, we are. Follow me,” said Sylk. “This way we can reach the circle before the Gyrevex do. I would prefer not to encounter them tonight.”

We arrived at the circle with no time to spare. Sylk began to make gestures. I didn’t recognize any of them, but Samir did.

“Karashihan, are you certain of this course of action?”

“No, I’m not, but it will provide us a measure of security until we can determine our next move.”

Sylk continued making the gestures then I realized what they were.

“Those are glyphs. You’re tracing glyphs in the air,” I said.

“You’re learning. Yes, the glyphs pertain to the different planes and different locations in the plane. These glyphs, however, are special.”

A portal formed in the center of the circle. It was a dark and swirling mass, unlike any portal I had seen.

“How?” I asked, not liking the idea of stepping into that portal.

“This portal leads to a plane in the mirror.  Unconnected to any other. This plane is the home of the Sherfym,” said Samir.

Flashbacks of being strapped to a bed flooded my memories.

“The Sherfym. Is that a good idea?”

“I won’t ask how you know of them. If any of you have a better alternative I am open to suggestions,” said Sylk.

“It’s better than waiting here for Gyrevex,” said Kal as she stepped in. With the threat of Gyrevex looming behind us, we stepped into the portal.

***********

Two figures materialized after the group entered the portal. Both were dressed in black armor with a leaping wolf over their left breast.

“Go inform the second of what is happening here and at the Watch. I will stay with the Alpha. The plane of the Sherfym is not to be taken lightly,” said the taller of the two.

“Yes, Ferra. Any other instructions?”

“After you have reported to the second, return to the Watch and keep his bonded one safe. I gave him my word, Noga.”

“No harm will come to her while I still have breath,” said Noga.

Ferra nodded and jumped into the swirling dark portal.

THIRTY-THREE

MEJA COULDN’T BELIEVE a city was capable of mobilizing with such efficiency. In a matter of hours the majority of the Rah Ven had scattered across several planes. She looked at Luna, who was giving orders to several Rah Ven around her. They were in a large group of subterranean rooms connected by tunnels. The room they were in had a large table covered with maps and documents. A diagram of the known planes was hanging from one of the walls. Each of the planes on the diagram had peculiar markings and designations unfamiliar to her.

A diagram of the known planes? Makes sense if you need to leave in a hurry. Some of these are new, at least to me.

“How did you manage this? Emptying an entire city should take weeks, months even,” said Meja.

“This is not the first time someone has tried to wipe out the Rah Ven. Once we received Rin’s message it was only a matter of contacting the other packs,” said Luna. “We have circles situated in strategic locations throughout the city. In an emergency like this each pack is on its own. We scatter to the planes and abandon our home.”

“That’s one hell of an exit strategy,” said Meja.

“It works. It’s one of the reasons there are still Rah Ven today. We have learned to live unattached. It’s also the reason you can find Rah Ven on every plane.”

“Speaking of which, where are we?” said Meja.

“We are on one of the outer planes south of the hub. I can’t tell you the exact location, for your and our safety.”

“I can’t stay here. I need to find Samir and Dante.”

“You realize how difficult that is going to be? Do you know where they were going?”

“It’s a jumbled mess,” Meja said. “I was in and out of consciousness. I remember standing before the Black Lotus.” What a farce, she thought. “I recall the prism exploding and fighting for my life against Diana, which is impossible. They were both there but somehow I didn’t know them. Then I woke up on the Rah Ven plane at the healer’s home”

A Rah Ven dressed in armor appeared before Luna. She placed a fist over the red wolf on her left side and bowed.

“I was wondering when you were going to show yourself,” said Meja. “I don’t enjoy eavesdroppers.”

“My apologies, I didn’t want to startle you,” said the Guard, flustered.

“Do I look startled?” said Meja.

“You could sense her? The Rah Ven Guard is undetectable to all except skilled Rah Ven,” said Luna. “Your abilities must have been enhanced considerably.”

Meja nodded and looked at the Guard.

“I figured she was one of yours or she would have attacked by now. Her masking ability is excellent. I only know one other person on that level, and she wants me dead.”

“You have some formidable enemies, Meja,” said Luna, turning to the now red-faced Guard. “Her masking was obviously not good enough.”

“What is your name and what do you have to report?”

The Guard straightened and composed herself.

“I am Noga of the Rah Ven Guard posted at the South Watch. I served with your father for many years. The South Watch is under attack by a force of several hundred. The Rah Ven plane is completely compromised. Estimates are close to ten thousand.”

“Who are the attackers?”

“Gyrevex, ma’am. Hundreds came through a strange portal that would not close. It is drawing energy from the plane itself.”

“My father?” said Luna.

Noga paused a moment before continuing.

“He fell in the initial attack. The portal formed with an explosion that killed most of the circle guard. I’m sorry,” said Noga.

“The portal—is it surrounded by flames? Does it still burn?” said Meja.

“Many have tried to close it, but no one can.”

“What is it, Meja? You know about this portal?”

“Yes, it’s not supposed to exist. It’s called a thermal portal. It’s only used during wartime to transport thousands of warriors at once. The level of skill required to open one and keep it going...” said Meja.

“Who could open this portal?” said Luna.

“Only a Samadhi could open a portal of this magnitude and keep it open.”

“A Samadhi?” said Luna.

“Like your pack leaders. They are incredibly powerful teachers of the many disciplines within the Order. To open this type of portal requires one to be a master of thermal chi. I thought they died long ago,” said Meja.

“It appears one survived,” said Luna.

“The portal was not formed at the Watch. This is why they couldn’t close it.”

“A matching portal exists in the Rah Ven plane. I have seen it with my eyes,” said Noga.

“That is where the Samadhi will be. That is where we have to go.”

“I must return to the Watch. My commander gave her word to keep the bonded one safe.”

“Who?” said Luna.

“The one bonded to the Karashihan and Alpha. The one you call Mara.”

“Mara is at the Watch,” said Luna.

“Yes, and I must return. My commander gave her word,” said Noga.

She placed a fist across her chest and bowed. Luna returned the bow and Noga disappeared.

“I cannot leave the pack in this moment. To do so would undo everything that has been done,” said Luna. “The pack would fall into chaos.”

“I understand,” said Meja. “I wasn’t asking. Better if I do this alone in any case. If a Samadhi is involved there is a good chance it’s a one-way trip, but maybe I can get the portal closed.”

“Won’t this Samadhi just open another one?” said Luna.

“I don’t intend on giving him the chance,” said Meja.

Meja materialized her sword. Its blue light filled the room, causing the Rah Ven around her to stare. She made the gestures to open a portal to the Rah Ven plane. It flickered a few times before solidifying. She absorbed the sword and turned to Luna.

“I’m sorry about your father. It has been an honor to fight with you by my side,” said Meja.

“How are you going to close this portal?”

“I’m going to kill a Samadhi,” said Meja.

She stepped through the portal and vanished. The portal remained opened as Luna walked around the table.

“Go with her. I will take on your commander’s vow as my own,” said Luna. “Once I have stabilized matters here I will go to the Watch.”

Noga appeared before Luna. “She did not detect me that time, second.”

“She may have been distracted. Take care she does not sense you until it is necessary. Do not let her throw her life away. If this Samadhi is too great a threat I want you to intervene. Her life is the priority. That being said, if you see a way to eliminate the threat, do so.”

THIRTY-FOUR

THE SHERFYM PLANE was quiet. We left the portal and found ourselves inside a large building. I remembered the building. It reminded me of the New York City Public Library. Definite Greek architectural influences were on display with the marble floors and white stone walls. Twenty-foot columns protruded from the wall every ten feet. The four of us walked down one of the corridors in silence. At every corner I expected Sherfym to appear. I must have looked anxious because Kal kept sneaking looks at me.

“What is it? Every time we get to a corner you look ready to climb a column. What gives?” she asked.

“The Sherfym and I have an understanding. They are what you consider brokers,” said Sylk.

“Of what?” I said.

“Of anything. If you need something difficult to obtain, they can be your best resource.”

That makes sense. I remember when they ‘delivered’ me to Roman. It was for a fee.

“So you’re saying we’re safe?” said Kal.

“No, I’m saying the danger is minimal. We are never completely safe. Especially if they have an order to deliver us to someone,” said Sylk.

“Warrior, is that why you are nervous?” said Samir.

I shook my head. It was a feeling I couldn’t pinpoint. It was the same feeling you get when the hairs on your neck stand on end and you turn around to find someone staring at you.

“No, I keep feeling another person here with us. I know it sounds crazy but it feels like we’re being shadowed,” I said.

Kal materialized her daggers. Samir released his staff and gripped it defensively. Sylk stood absolutely still. I could tell he was opening his senses to examine the area.

“I sense nothing,” he said. “This does not mean Dante is wrong. Stay alert.”

We walked down another corridor. As we turned the corner, three Sherfym blocked our way. They stood in front of a large door covered in glyphs.

“It is a dimensional passageway. It can take us to any plane we request,” whispered Samir.

“Greetings, Karashihan, to what do owe the honor of your presence here?” said the female in the center.

They were dressed in leather pants with a white top. The speaker had a long scar down one side of her face. Her pants had a gold stripe running down each leg. I was surprised at how similar they were to the watchers of the North Watch. The only difference was their shorter stature.

Could they be the same species? I wonder if they are some offshoot of the Watchers of the planes. She looks familiar.

They each had rods attached to their sides. The tips of the rods pulsed a dull red. Then it came back to me. Auric flails. A better description would have been rods of immense pain that leave you helpless. Her hand rested loosely near the flail attached to her leg. The smell of lavender filled the air, followed by the sound of bubbles popping. Three more Sherfym appeared behind us.

Sylk bowed low and kept his hands in front of him.

“Greetings, Mia. The honor is mine.”

Mia—she was the one assigned to keep me tied down until Roman came to collect me. She didn’t have a scar then.

She looked at me and recognition briefly crossed her eyes.

“What is your purpose here?” she asked, her tone cold as she looked at me.

Sylk looked between the two of us.

“Is there an order out on him?” said Sylk, looking at me.

“His order was fulfilled. The Sherfym were compensated.  However his escape was facilitated by another. Restitution was demanded and I was given this,” she said.

She pointed to the scar on her face. Then she opened her top and showed us another scar that ran down the center of her chest to her navel.

“There are more I shall not reveal,” she said, closing her top.

I remained silent. There were no words I could say that would undo what she had gone through.

I’m so sorry, Mia. The last thing I wanted was you to be hurt because of me.

“Save your apologies and state your business,” she said, turning to Sylk.

Telepaths—they are telepaths.

“We seek passage to the Akashic Records. Our normal means of travel is currently inaccessible,” said Sylk.

“Passage for all five?” she said.

“Yes, for the entire group,” said Sylk, before anyone could speak.

Five? There are only four of us.

“What payment do you offer?” said Mia.

“What payment do you require? I have the accepted gold.”

“No, I will not accept gold. I want something from him.”

She was pointing at me.

I could see Sylk wasn’t happy where the conversation was going.

“I am sure I can provide…” started Sylk.

“These are the terms. Accept them or decline and leave our stronghold. While you can,” she said.

“May we have a moment to discuss?”

“You have exactly three minutes,” she said, fingering the handle of her flail.

Sylk walked over to me. Samir and Kal drew close. We stepped around the corner and into the next corridor from the Sherfym to speak.

“Keep calm,” said Sylk in a low tone. “Strong emotions make your thoughts easier to read. They have limited telepathic ability with non-Sherfym.”

“What does she want from me?” I said.

“We can find another way to the Records. It’s incredibly dangerous but possible,” said Sylk.

“Can you guarantee we will all make it using this alternate way?”

“It is not without its risks.”

“Sylk, will we all make it there? Simple yes or no,” I said.

“I can’t say yes with certainty,” he answered. “The path is through the mirror. We will have to contend with watchers, the real ones, in addition to other threats. We would be going through a null plane.”

Samir visibly blanched and said something in a language I couldn’t understand.

“That sounds bad,” I said.

“It is impossible!” hissed Samir. “No living thing can travel the null planes.”

“It is possible. I have done it,” said Sylk.

“Can we all make it through this ‘null plane’?” I asked.

“I have never taken more than one with me, but the theory is sound. I should be able to transport you all through.”

His tone said it all. He didn’t think it was possible.

“But you can’t guarantee we will all make it, correct?” I said.

“It is no light thing to accept a request from a Sherfym. There is no plane where you can hide from them. Whatever it is you agree to you must uphold. Or forfeit your life.”

“I understand. I’m not going to risk all your lives if we can use their passageway. Let’s head back. Our time is almost up,” I said.

We walked back in silence. Mia was waiting for us with flail in hand.

“Your decision?” she said.

“We accept your terms. What payment do you require from him?” said Sylk.

“You may use our passageway. In return I will be compensated one favor from the warrior,” she said. “At the time of my choosing.”

It wasn’t the words but the smile that followed that turned my blood to ice. It was Sylk’s turn to go pale.

“Dante, are you certain—” began Sylk.

“I accept your terms. When can we use your passageway?” I said.

“It is available to you now,” she said.

The Sherfym moved aside, allowing us access to the door behind them. Sylk stepped close to the door and pressed on several of the glyphs. They flared with a white light as he pressed on them in sequence. Before pressing the last one he looked back at us.

“This will happen rather quickly. Do not delay entering the passageway.”

The three of us nodded and he pressed the last glyph. The entire door flared white and then opened.

“I will see you soon, warrior,” said Mia.

Sylk stepped through and we followed.

THIRTY-FIVE

KENJI ARRIVED IN the Rah Ven plane and found stillness. He opened his senses and caught his breath.

That is a large amount of Gyrevex. More than I have ever sensed in my life.

The next moment he found a dagger blade across his neck, forcing him to remain motionless.

“Who are you and how did you get here?” said a female voice behind him.

“I find it somewhat difficult to speak with the threat of a blade at my throat,” he said.

“Find a way around the difficulty, or die.”

Honesty is always the best policy. Besides, she is good enough to sneak up on me without my sensing her. I would like to know who this warrior is.

“My name is Kenji. I am in the service of Aurora Iman and I am here looking for a warrior. His name is Dante.”

The blade was lowered.

“Turn around, slow,” said the female.

Kenji turned around and gazed upon the woman that had almost ended his existence.

“My name is Meja. I know Dante, but he isn’t here. What do you need with him?”

“He is currently my responsibility. I must return to Aurora and he must be with me when I do so. He is fallen and he may be in danger. I was able to track him here,” said Kenji.

“Fallen? What do you mean, fallen?”

They stepped off the circle and moved into the trees surrounding the area.

“He has been seared. He no longer has access to his chi. Without that access he is vulnerable to attack.”

“You can track across planes? Do you know of the Sherfym?” she said.

“I do, but what do they have to do with Dante?”

“That’s where he is. If you want him, that’s where we need to go.”

“Getting there is another matter entirely. That plane is disconnected from any other. I would need the specific glyphs to open a portal there,” said Kenji. “Wait, ‘we’?”

“Yes, ‘we’. You aren’t getting close to Dante without me and I know where to find him, but first I have to deal with this situation here.”

“You plan on taking on an army of Gyrevex singlehandedly?” said Kenji with a smile. “I like a challenge, but that seems more like suicide.”

“No, not alone. I have you two with me and we are going for the Samadhi that controls them.”

“Two? I don’t see anyone else,” said Kenji looking around.

“You can come out now, Noga. I know you are there,” said Meja.

Kenji looked at her. For a moment nothing happened.

“Who is Noga? Is this some spirit you pray to? Not a bad idea if you are facing that army,” said Kenji as he stood to leave. “Thank you for the assistance in pointing me in the right direction. I will return to Aurora. I am certain she can gain access to the Sherfym.”

Meja just stared of into the distance.

“Noga, I know you are there. Did Luna send you?”

Noga appeared next to Meja. Kenji took a step back and raised his staff. He looked at Noga carefully and then lowered his staff.

“Rah Ven Guard—no wonder I didn’t sense you. That I understand.”

He squinted at Meja. “You, on the other hand are perplexing.”

“As I was saying. We are going for the Samadhi that controls the Gyrevex.”

“And you consider that easier than the Gyrevex army? Whoever he is, he must wield a breathtaking amount of power,” said Kenji.

“He’s right, ma’am. To control that many of the creatures is impossible. He is too strong,” said Noga.

“Exactly. No one can control that many Gyrevex. Not even a Samadhi. This means he is using something else to control them. Weapons of power would work.”

“They would, but he would need a vast amount to control an army that size. Unless…” said Kenji.

“Unless he has the scythes. If he can form the Reapers, he can control them and they would control the army.”

“Cut the head of the snake and the body withers. If he has called forth the Reapers he is mad or on his way. The three of us cannot stop a Samadhi of this caliber,” said Kenji.

“We have no choice. If we don’t stop him, the Gyrevex will spread to every plane. Right now they are after Rah Ven. What happens when the Rah Ven are wiped out?”

“We kill him now and save my people,” said Noga.

“Or die in the process. Do you have a plan?” said Kenji.

“Simple. You two attract the Gyrevex while I deal with the Samadhi,” said Meja.

“Oh, that’s all? Well, this should be a short attack.”

Meja moved to the circle and began to trace glyphs in the air.

“Right now this plane is empty of Rah Ven, except you, Noga.  I’m going to use a duplicating chi to make it seem like the city is populated. I can only start it. You must sustain it, Kenji.”

“It will give the appearance of Rah Ven in the city. Ingenious,” said Kenji.

“It will only appear to create Rah Ven but they will all have Noga’s energy signature. This should be enough to draw them in since they are after Rah Ven. Noga, you must project your life force into the circle. Kenji, my glyphs will amplify her force. It won’t fill the city but it should be enough.”

“My life force. How long will I have?” said Noga.

“I should be able to locate and take out the Samadhi in plenty of time to get you off the circle. He will have to control the Reapers while they chase down your signature. The strain should be enormous on him,” said Meja. “I’ll get in close and eliminate him. That should shut down the Reapers and the Gyrevex in a cascade effect.”

“This could actually work. Very well, warrior, let us begin,” said Kenji.

He sat some distance from the circle. Meja finished tracing her symbols. Once done she nodded to Kenji, who began performing the same glyphs while Noga sat in the circle and projected her essence downward.

The effect was immediate. In the distance a roar could be heard. Thousands of Gyrevex advanced on the city. Kenji looked at Meja. His hands were a blur as he traced glyphs in the air.

“How long? How long do we have before her essence drains in to the circle and she dies?” said Kenji.

Sweat was pouring down his face but he refused to wipe his brow for fear of breaking the glyph pattern.

“Not long enough. When you sense she is close, stop the glyphs,” said Meja.

“But that means you will be in the middle of the Gyrevex. They will focus on the nearest energy signature, yours.”

“I know. I’m hoping the fact I’m not Rah Ven will buy me some time. She wouldn’t have agreed if I told her. I’m sure Luna sent her here with some nonsense of keeping me safe.”

Meja formed a portal.

“I understand. Good luck, warrior. I will keep going for as long as I can without jeopardizing her life.”

Meja entered the portal and vanished from sight.

She reappeared several miles away near the center of the Gyrevex camp. She sensed the Samadhi’s presence almost immediately. It was a beacon of energy in the center of the camp.

He’s close. I have never felt this much power in one person. Too late to stop now.

She masked her chi and ran to the center. Seated in lotus position, Master Phoenix cocked his head to one side. Meja stepped inside the tent. Master Phoenix turned his head in her direction, his eyes still closed.

“Did you really think you were going to sneak up on me?” he said, opening his eyes. The whites of his eyes had become black, giving the impression of looking into two pits of night.

He raised a hand and sent a blast of energy in her direction. She manifested her sword. A sphere of blue energy surrounded her. The blast crashed against the sphere and began to break through it.

“Who sent you? Wheel? I knew he would try something like this. Unfortunately for you I was expecting an attack,” he said.

Meja drove her sword into the ground and began a series of glyphs. Blue lines of energy began to weave their way across the ground, heading for Master Phoenix.

“A skein? Impressive. At least he sent me a challenge. Not much of one, but this should help me pass the time. Tell me, how did you attract my army? This plane is empty, unless you have help. Of course. Someone is being a distraction—clever.”

He placed his hands together and traced a series of glyphs in the air. Orange lines formed in the ground and broke through the skein Meja had created. The orange lines weaved their way toward her. The blast had dissolved half of her sphere.

I underestimated him. He is blasting me and sending a skein at me while controlling the Reapers. He is too strong.

“About now you are realizing your mistake. Oh, and I saw through your ruse. I only sent a fraction of my army. The main force is being readied to be dispatched to every plane, even as you die here. Goodbye, assassin.”

He turned his back on her and headed for the tent entrance.

The orange lines converged on Meja and crashed into a silver sphere. Phoenix turned in time to see a silver-coated Rah Ven absorb the impact of the blast.

“Noga! No,” said Meja.

Noga collapsed to the ground. “Kill him. Save my people,” she said.

Meja jumped at Phoenix. He manifested a flaming sword and parried her downward slash. She thrust and he sidestepped, causing her to miss by a fraction of an inch. Tears coursed down her cheek.

“You mourn that dog? You are pathetic. They are worthless and deserve extinction. Just like those who would help them.”

He slashed upward and rotated, switching hands mid-slash. He changed direction and thrust. Meja stepped back to avoid the slash but didn’t see the hand switch. Too late, she realized the feint. Instead of burying itself in her chest his sword went high and to the side. Noga had transformed to canine form and had bitten down on Phoenix’s leg. He turned, enraged.

“You dare to touch me!” he screamed as he stabbed downward into Noga.

In that moment Meja slashed across and removed his head.

His body crumpled to the ground, His head rolled to the side of the tent, laughing. She stopped it with her foot.

“Foolish girl. You think you have stopped me? My army continues forward without me. They will destroy everything Wheel desires.”

She looked outside the tent and saw the Gyrevex disintegrating. Energy flooded the plane in a massive burst as the Gyrevex disappeared.

“Your army is nothing without you. Who is Wheel?” said Meja.

Phoenix began laughing again.

“I fused the scythes. I fused the scythes. Nothing will stop them now, nothing.”

“What did you do? Where are the scythes?”

“My Reapers will bring destruction to everything. First the Rah Ven and then the Order. Finally Wheel himself will feel their blades and know that I brought about his destruction,” said Phoenix.

Flames surrounded his head and body. Meja lifted her foot quickly. She grabbed Noga, who had reverted back to human form, and ran out of the tent. The flames burst into the air and consumed the tent and everything around it, leaving nothing but ash.

Moments later, Kenji arrived.

“Once they started disintegrating I came here,” he said.

Meja was kneeling next to Noga.

“Please take me to the circle. I would like it to end there.”

Meja nodded and picked her up. At the circle, Meja gently placed her in the center. The circle flared with energy. Tears filled Meja’s eyes.

“Thank you, guardian. You have kept my people safe. This death is an honor,” said Noga.

“You will be remembered, Noga of the Rah Ven Guard,” said Meja, putting a fist on her left breast.

Noga lifted her arm and returned the salute.

“Run hard, run—” Her arm dropped before she could finish. Noga stared lifeless into the dawning light.

“He fused the scythes into the Reapers. That was his army. Ten Reapers with scythes fused within. They will be unstoppable,” Meja whispered.

“We will need help,” said Kenji. “The powerful kind.”

“I know where we can start looking,” said Meja, opening a portal.

THIRTY-SIX

THE PORTAL OPENED in the sand. Several miles away, the South Watch shimmered on the horizon. Tetra took a moment to absorb the latent chi in the plane.

“This plane sates me, my love. What is our purpose here?” said Ravia.

“Wheel tells me the one Sylk holds close to his heart is here.  She is bonded to him. We will find her and she will bring him to us.”

“May I dine on her?”

“He took my vengeance. I will take her. Once she has served her purpose, she is yours.”

“What is her name?”

They started walking toward the Watch.

“She is called Mara.”

Ravia licked her lips in anticipation.

THIRTY-SEVEN

THE AKASHIC RECORDS looked the way I had remembered, which made sense. It was a place that existed in the eternal now. We entered a large courtyard full of stairs. Some of them led nowhere. Another doubled back on itself.  Some started and phased out, continuing in another part of the courtyard. It was enough to give Escher nightmares. In the center of the chaos stood Raja.

His silver hair was perfectly cut. The light glinted off his glasses. They gave him a scholarly air, which fit, considering he was the embodiment of a repository of knowledge on a scale my brain couldn’t comprehend. His gray suit gave a new definition to the words “tailor made”. He held a silver cane as he waited for us.

“Are you here to fulfill on your time with me, warrior?”

I shook my head but Sylk spoke.

“We need the third focus,” said Sylk. “If we are to stop the menace that is Lucius we must be able to face his weapon. Only the third focus can do that.”

“I see. Will the warrior pay the price required? It is he that will wield the weapon, yes?” said Raja.

“Yes, he will wield it. Can someone else carry the cost?” asked Sylk.

“No, only the bearer of the weapon may pay the price. It is fitting. The cost is two cycles or twenty of your years,” said Raja. “In addition to the first cycle. You must serve the total, which is three cycles given concurrently.”

Thirty years? I’ll be an old man by the time I leave this place.

“I know it seems like a long time. If Lucius gets free…” said Sylk.

If Lucius gets free with Maelstrom I won’t have thirty years.

“We won’t have thirty days, much less thirty years. I accept the cost,” I said to Raja.

“Your access to your chi is limited. In order to wield the third focus you must be restored,” said Raja.

“How do I do that?” I said.

“You must enter a circle of reflection. Once the reflection is complete you will be ready to face the third focus. If your attempt fails then your cycles of service will be void.”

“Why would he void the cycles if he fails?” said Kal.

“In the event that he fails in his attempt, the cycles cannot be fulfilled. It will mean that he no longer lives,” said Samir.

Kal remained silent.

“Is there a circle of reflection here or must we travel to a Watch?” said Samir.

Raja pointed behind us. One of the stairways turned and twisted. It bent at right angles going up several levels until it ended at a door.

“Through that door is a circle of reflection. Overcome its trials and you will be ready to face the third focus. Fail and the focus will be denied to you. Are you ready?”

I nodded my head. Sylk held his hands out and I looked at him.

“No weapons are allowed in the circle. You have to use your chi to overcome the trials,” he said.

I handed him my sword, feeling naked without it. I headed up the stairs and arrived at the door. The door was covered in glyphs and reminded me of the door we used at the Sherfym. These glyphs began to glow without my touching them. After a moment the door disappeared. A hallway waited for me. I took a step inside and then another. When I turned around there was only a stone wall. I walked down the stone hallway. It led to a larger room that was completely empty, except for a large circle etched in the stone.

This was not a tré. It consisted of only one circle. I stepped inside and sat in the center. The walls faded away and I floated in a dark space.

In the distance I could make out a light. The light became a tunnel. I followed it until it opened onto a large field of grass. The smells of summer filled my nostrils. The sun was shining bright in the sky and a soft breeze blew the grass. I could hear crickets in the distance. Somewhere off to my right I could hear a river flowing. In the field I saw a small stone house. I could see that the door to the house was open. Inside there was a table and two chairs. Someone sat in one of the chairs with their back to me. As I got closer I thought I recognized the figure siting in the chair.

I came around the table and my world shifted as I lost my balance.

“You may want to sit down. You look ill, vessel.”

It was Maelstrom.

THIRTY-EIGHT

“YOU CAN REVEAL yourself,” said Sylk. “I know you’re there.”

Ferra came into view and bowed. Samir and Kal stepped back, weapons ready.

“What the hell? A little warning next time?” said Kal.

“Dante said he felt shadowed and then Mia added one to our number. I ascertained that one of your Guards was with us. I didn’t think it was you,” said Sylk.

“You are still the Alpha of Grawl’s pack. A guard must be with you at all times,” said Ferra.

“I will have to change that once I see Luna.”

“Until such time, you will be treated as Alpha.”

“Are there any more of you ghosts?” said Kal.

“I am the only one assigned to the Alpha. In time more may come to relieve me. Will the warrior succeed?” asked Ferra.

“He succeeded once and managed to wield a terrible weapon of destruction. I only hope he can find it within himself to hold another terrible weapon,” said Sylk.

Sylk stepped away from the group with Ferra close by. He appeared to be lost in thought.

“What troubles you Alpha?” said Ferra.

“You need to go back to Luna,” said Sylk. “The pack is being targeted.”

“I must stay with the Alpha,” said Ferra.

“We both know who the true Alpha is, and she will need your help,” he said. “Go to her. This is my wish as your acting Alpha.

Ferra bowed while placing her hand across her chest in the Guard salute.

“Thank you for what you have done,” she said. “You will always be a friend to the pack.”

Sylk returned the salute and Ferra disappeared.

***********

The hub was quiet as Meja and Kenji walked down the hardwood hallways.

“What are we doing here? I was under the impression they wanted your capture on this plane.”

“Yes, but I need to see my brother, he has something I need,” she whispered.

“What could he possibly have that would warrant a trip to this plane? This is insanity.”

“Only if we get caught. Here, this way.”

They turned down a corridor and headed across two intersections.

“He should be in here. If he isn’t and we have unwanted company we leave and try another place. Agreed?” she whispered.

“Agreed. I would prefer to avoid any conflict if possible,” said Kenji under his breath.

They entered the room and found Devin in seated meditation.

“Why did you come back? After you were safe, you came back?” he said.

“I need the text, the master syllabist text,” she said.

“You shouldn’t have come back,” said Devin.

Black Lotus converged on the room, followed by Raquel. They all trained their crossbows on Meja.

“I knew you would come back. They tried to get me off plane, but I knew you would come back here, to him,” said Raquel.

She had both her guns drawn on Meja and Kenji.

“We have a greater threat to deal with. Reapers have been summoned. Tell her, Devin. Tell her what Reapers are.”

Devin turned his back on Meja.

“It’s over. Meja of the house of Aumera, you are convicted of treason against the Order of the Warriors of the Way and are sentenced to death. This sentence is to be carried out immediately,” said Raquel.

THIRTY-NINE

THE CHERRY BLOSSOM petals fell slowly to the ground. In the meditation garden an old man walked around the flowers and stones. His long braid of white hair was cast over one shoulder. He kept his hands in his sleeves, hiding them. His gray eyes looked over to the center of the garden where a figure lay. He walked over to the figure and placed his hands on its chest. Bright light escaped his palms as he pressed down on the figure.

“There is much work that still needs to be done. You have not earned your final rest. There are several people that need killing, and you are my agent of death,” said the old man.

Tears ran down the figure’s face as he lay on the ground, unmoving.

“I will give you a moment to mourn your life. Then you will bring them to me. All of them. Bring them to me alive.”

“Every time you do this I lose something that makes me who I am.”

“Your life stopped being yours after the first time. The time of self-pity is over. Go—bring them,” said the old man.

Rael stood and manifested his swords. Energy arced between the blades.

“Your Harbinger serves the First of the Karashihan, Lucius of the house of Iman, bearer of Maelstrom the terrible,” he said and bowed. “I live to serve. My life is yours to command.”

“Go and do not fail me,” said Lucius.

Rael opened a portal and disappeared.

BOOK 4

THE WARRIOR ASCENDANT

ONE

WHITE-HOT PAIN blossomed in my right side as I staggered back. I looked down to see a dagger buried to the hilt in my right shoulder. I reached over to pull it out.

“I wouldn’t do that just yet, vessel,” said Maelstrom. “The pain you will undergo will be exquisite.”

I pulled it out and bit back a scream. I could hear him, his laughter a distant sound I barely registered through the haze of agony.

“I give you a piece of sound advice and you refuse to listen,” he said, chuckling and shaking his head. “Others tell you to throw your life away and you blindly leap. Why is that, Dante? Are you in a hurry to die?”

“Because it’s the right thing to—”

The slap came so suddenly I didn’t have time to register his movement. My face burned from the impact.

“No. Wrong. Right or wrong has nothing to do with it,” he said, rolling up his sleeves as he walked around the room. “You say you are a warrior, but all you have been doing is following orders like a good dog. Are you a dog?”

“I am a warrior,” I said.

“You are a liability. Do you even know why you are here?”

“I’m in a circle of reflection…”

“Were in a circle of reflection,” he said, now smiling at me. “Now you are here. Do you know where here is? Did they tell you what the circle does? Of course they didn’t.”

“It will help me restore access to my chi and lead me to the third foci.”

“The trials of this circle will restore access to your chi,” said Maelstrom. “A circle of reflection shows you who you really are. It shows you the part of you that must be overcome. Only then will you have access, if you succeed. It will not, however, lead you to the third foci. That is something you must discover on your own. Do you know the cost of the third focus?”

He stepped into the light and I saw his face clearly for the first time.

“You’re blind,” I said.

Maelstrom looked at me with eyes that were blank and out of focus. Gray film covered the irises, two pools of milky white holding me in their gaze.

“Not as blind as you,” he said, sitting back at the table.

Around us, the small house was quiet. It was plain and sparsely furnished. Maelstrom was dressed in simple clothing, a black shirt and black slacks. His feet were bare and he rested his hands lightly on the table as he looked at me. The rolled-up sleeves of his shirt allowed me to see he had identical glyphs burned into his arms. It was unnerving, looking at an older version of me. I sat in the chair opposite him and rested my hands on the table, placing the dagger between us.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“You invited me,” said Maelstrom.

“I what?”

“I am only here because of you. This is a circle of reflection. Did you think you would be able to avoid me, vessel? Here, of all places?”

“Lucius, his shadow, removed you,” I said.

Maelstrom laughed then. It was a cold and hollow sound, lacking any warmth.

“You stupid fool, I am you,” he said. “I am the darkest parts of you. The parts you refuse to accept. I am the small, still voice in the height of the night that whispers truths to you.”

“No, you’re wrong. You are not a part of me,” I said, as the anger rose in me and I manifested a sword in my hand.

He looked down at the sword and smiled. It was a twisted thing, full of malice.

“Really; where did that come from, then? Your loving nature?”

I looked down at the sword as the anger rushed through me. I removed my hand and it disappeared. He laughed again. I pushed back from the table and stood up. I could feel the anger in my blood rising.

“What, you thought this was going to be all chants and seated meditation?” he said as he manifested a short staff. “That doesn’t apply to you, vessel. You were a warrior. Now you’re just useless.”

“I am still useful,” I said. “I can still help.”

He stood and smashed the table with the staff, shattering it and sending splinters in every direction. I covered my eyes with an arm. When I lowered it, the small stone home had disappeared. We stood beside a large reflecting pool. White, marble steps descended into the pool from where we stood. The water itself was still and deep blue, and reflected nothing. Green grass surrounded us on all sides as we stood in the middle of a vast field.

“We are going to do this in a manner you understand,” he said.

I manifested the sword in my hand and took a defensive stance. The staff in his hands thrummed with power.

“Prepare to reflect,” he said as he lunged at me.

He brought the staff down, attempting to crush my skull. I raised the sword and parried, driving the staff to the ground. He bent over, reversed direction and slammed a back kick into my midsection. I fell back, gasping for air. My shoulder throbbed in pain.

“Pitiful. You are a disgrace,” he said.

He swung the staff around at my legs and I jumped back, causing him to miss me by a fraction of an inch. “Why are you here? To reflect? What do you have to reflect on?”

“I need Shadowstrike. I need to stop Lucius before it’s too late,” I said.

“Who told you to do this?” he said. “Why does it have to be you? Did you even ask?”

He slid in and dodged my slash. He slammed his staff into my right leg. Pain burst across my vision as I fell to one knee.

“This is what you do, Dante,” he said. “You react and stumble around trying to feel your way while all around you people die.”

He brought the staff down in another crushing blow. I barely managed to get my sword up in time. I rolled to the side, the lancing pain making me clumsy.

“How many more have to die before you understand? How many more have to sacrifice themselves to your ignorance?”

I stood and put weight on my leg. The muscles screamed in protest, but I shut out the pain and faced him.

“I know people have died for me, because of me. I wasn’t strong enough to protect them,” I said.

“And you never will be,” he sneered. “The third focus, Shadowstrike, do you know the cost of wielding it? You thought I was bad; wait until you meet her.”

He lunged and swiped sideways. I heard the familiar click and raised my sword in time to stop the blade protruding from the end of the staff. He stepped in and twisted the blade in an attempt to remove my fingers. I let go of the sword and let it drop several inches, catching it before it hit the ground. Sword in hand, I slashed in an upward arc which he deflected to the side, giving me enough momentum to turn and slash his opposite leg. The wound was deep, but no blood flowed. He looked down at his leg and smiled at me. For the first time since meeting him, here in this place, I felt fear.

“You think you are strong enough now?” he said. “Shadowstrike will kill you. She will devour your chi and leave you as an empty shell. You are not strong enough for her. You barely held your own against me, and in her final form she eclipses my power.”

“I have to try,” I said.

He feinted left and moved right. I realized the deception too late. His fist crashed into my face and I felt my world tilt. He grabbed my shirt and kept me upright.

“Try? There is no room for you to try!”

Several more blows rained into my body. Each impact rocked me to my core. He shoved me and I fell on my back. The blue sky over us held a few clouds that drifted by lazily. A slight breeze danced over the grass, filling my nostrils with the scents of summer.

Maybe he’s right. It might be better for it to end here, I thought.

I felt him dragging me to my feet. He brought me face to face with him. “This is your destiny,” he said as spittle landed on my face. “You will die here, alone and forgotten. Your friends, everyone you cherish and everything you hold dear, will be destroyed as Lucius ushers in a new era under his rule.”

Images flooded my mind as everyone I knew died a horrible and painful death.

“They will die because you are weak,” he said. “You have failed them. I will end you now.”

He brought the staff close and pointed the end at my chest. With a twist of his wrist, a straight blade materialized. Red glyphs covered it and it gave off a pale yellow glow. The glyphs pulsed as he brought the blade close to my face. He ran the edge along my cheek and drew blood. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the glyphs. They were important somehow. As he brought his arm back for the final blow, the realization hit me.

“I invited you,” I whispered.

“Yes, you did, and now I’m going to finish what should have been done long ago,” he said, as he thrust forward.

“No, I don’t think so,” I said.

The glyphs on my arm flared to life. The burning sensation ran up my arms and nestled in my chest. With one hand, I grabbed his arm, stopping the staff. I manifested my sword in the other and thrust it into his chest, burying it to the hilt. He stumbled back with a surprised look on his face.

He looked down at his chest and then back at me. Anger raced across his features. He grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it out. It disappeared before it hit the ground.

“You can’t stop me, vessel,” he said. “Nothing you do or say will prevent your death.”

“I understand now. I don’t need to stop you.”

The fear left me. I finally understood what was before me. The fear of dying had me twisted and confused for so long, but in that moment, I surrendered. I manifested my sword and readied myself. The glyphs on my arm were the color of the setting sun. The warmth filled my entire body.

“That won’t save you from me, vessel.”

“I’m ready now,” I said. “No more words.”

He lunged and thrust with the staff. I parried to the side, avoiding the blade and at the same time I back-fisted him across the temple, sending him past me. He rolled into the strike, switching hands on the staff, and swiped at me. I fell back, bracing myself with one hand and letting the staff bisect the space I stood in moments earlier. Getting my legs under me, I jumped at him, trapping his arms by his sides.

For a few seconds we were immobile. He struggled and tried to break my grip, but I held him in a clinch.

“Do you intend on holding me indefinitely?” he said as he tried to shift his weight away from me.

I reversed the flow of chi back into my arms. The glyphs that had been a dull orange flared bright, blinding me. I felt the shift. It was subtle at first, and then it grew in intensity. Around us, the ground began to shake. Maelstrom started struggling in my arms.

“You hear that, vessel?” he said, laughing. “That is the sound of your friends dying. Are you going to let them die? They need you.”

I expanded my awareness but sensed nothing. I intensified the flow of chi and Maelstrom began to fade. The ground stopped shaking.

“Remember what you learned here,” he said as he disappeared.

I stood there, looking at the glyphs on my arms fade, when an orb crashed into me, sending me flying. I landed on my back several feet away. I looked up and saw my attacker approaching. It was Owl.

“You?” I said, confused.

“Yes, me,” he said and bowed slightly.

He was wearing a simple white robe. His ebony skin glistened as he stepped close and stretched out a hand. A smile crossed his face as he looked down at me. I took his hand warily and he lifted me to my feet. And threw me. Airborne, I could see him running at me, closing the distance. I landed and rolled into a fighting stance. Owl stopped short, three feet away. Too close for me to feel comfortable. He stood absolutely still, smiling at me.

“That was much better the second time, Dante,” he said.

I stayed in fighting stance and moved back several feet. He didn’t follow.

“Thank you,” I said. “Why you?”

“Who did you meet first?”

“Maelstrom.”

“Incorrect,” he said, shaking his head. “You did not encounter that foul weapon. If you had, we would not be speaking right now. Who did you meet, then?”

I took a second to consider his question. “Myself, my darker nature,” I said. “The part I deny. My rage and anger. The part of me that kills.”

He nodded, his face serious now.

“Yes, warrior,” he said, entering a fighting stance. “Even though it is dark, this is a part of you now.”

A dozen orbs came flying at me. I had a feeling these weren’t the usual orbs he used against me. I focused my chi and tried to manifest a sword, but nothing appeared.

“That weapon is inadequate, warrior,” said Owl. “You must reach deeper. You must attack without attacking.”

I focused the chi into my arms, raising them in a cross block to meet the oncoming attack. A shield formed in front of me, deflecting the orbs away from me. A memory of Wei flashed in my mind, his words clear: There are no blocks, Dante.

I closed on Owl, his orbs close behind me. I didn’t know how to shift the shield behind me, but I could sense the orbs now. I placed the shield in front of me again and pushed. Owl resisted my push for a split second. It was all the time I needed. I dropped the shield and rolled right. It left him in the path of the orbs. They slammed into him and exploded. He walked through the explosion unharmed.

“Deeper still, warrior,” he said. “What lies before you will be the real challenge. Do you know who I am yet? Do you know why you are here?”

I nodded. I had a good idea of who he represented.

“You are the balance. The light to my dark.”

He nodded. “She is coming, Dante. I fear you may not be ready.”

“How do I get ready?”

Several orbs raced at me, followed by Owl. He held a long sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. This was not really Owl. It was part of me; it was me. I focused my chi and expanded my awareness. Using my chi, I took control of the orbs as they arced around me in a tight orbit. I knew what I had to do. I closed the distance. I slipped to the side to avoid his sword thrust and grabbed the other wrist to prevent his dagger from meeting my midsection. He absorbed his weapons and rolled his hands, trapping me. I bent under his forearms and locked his movement. I let my chi flow and the glyphs pulsed a deep purple and gold. The orbs crashed into us, throwing him off balance. I stepped around him and continued his downward momentum and slammed him into the ground.

He placed one hand on my chest and my glyphs flared.

“Now you will be ready,” he said as he faded from sight. “The cost is high, Dante. Remember what is at stake. You must understand why you are the one to wield her or she will destroy you. Remember: you are the weapon.”

He disappeared and I found myself back in the circle of reflection.

“It would seem you have overcome the trials presented to you,” said a voice behind me.

I turned to see Raja standing just outside the circle. I nodded. My body felt like one large bruise. I ached everywhere.

“I have to find Shadowstrike,” I said.

“A weapon of that magnitude is not found,” he said, pointing his cane at me.

“What do you mean? It’s not here?”

“It never was,” he said, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “If you recall my words, I was very explicit. The circle of reflection would restore your access and then you would be ready to face the third focus. I did not say it was contained here.”

“I just assumed—”

“Assumptions like that can be fatal,” he said. “You are restored and in balance. Your chi has changed due to those” —he pointed at the glyphs on my arms— “but they will not hinder you in the wielding of the third focus.”

“Where is it? Where do I find—locate— the third focus?” I asked.

“You do not.”

I didn’t understand what he meant. He said I was ready, in balance. I felt my chi as it connected me to everything around me. I was in harmony. He stood there and looked at me, a small smile on his lips. Then it hit me.

“You said a weapon of that magnitude cannot be found, correct?”

“Correct.”

“It can’t be found because it’s not hidden,” I said.

“Also correct.”

Can this weapon be that powerful? Do I want it if it is?

“Only a person who meets the requirements can wield it.”

“Yes, and you do fulfill them,” he said.

“What are the requirements?”

“The wielder of the first and third foci must be of sufficient power, which you do possess even if only in potentiality,” he said, looking me over.

It didn’t sound like a ringing endorsement.

“What else?” I asked, not really wanting to know but needing to.

“The wielder must also descend from the lineage of the creator of the foci.”

“Wait, what?” I said, confused.

“Was I unclear?”

“No, no you weren’t. You’re saying I’m—”

“You are a descendant of the house of Iman.”

“And only a descendant from the house of Iman can summon the weapon,” I said, more to myself than to Raja.

“The ritual of summoning can be provided to you if you so desire,” he stated. “You have agreed to the cost of two cycles.”

“Can the ritual be performed here?”

“No, it cannot,” he said. “These are not the ideal conditions to summon a weapon with that much power.”

“Why not here?”

“The third focus has particular elements that shape its power. Those elements would be disruptive to the stability of the Records, something I cannot permit.”

“Then where can I go to do this?” I asked.

“You must travel alone to a Watch and enlist the aid of a Keeper for the initial summoning. Once the weapon is bonded to you, if it bonds to you, a Watch will no longer be necessary.”

“Why alone? I think it would be better if I could take the others with me,” I said.

“You must perform the ritual alone,” he advised. “Taking others into the summoning will only risk their lives. You must do this alone. Do you wish to know the ritual?”

Do I want to know this ritual? Once I do, there is no going back. How the hell am I a descendant of Iman? More importantly, did they know and not tell me? Am I just a pawn in all of this? This can give me a semblance of control, but at what cost?

“Yes,” I said. “Tell me the ritual.”

“Once learned it cannot be unlearned,” Raja said as he stepped closer. “Once on this path, the other paths open to you will be closed. The summoning will be rather sudden once you possess the information.”

“What do you mean, sudden?” I said warily. “Can’t I summon Shadowstrike when I want to?”

“Yes and no,” Raja answered. “If you had more experience, more power, perhaps you could hold off the ritual. In your case it will be like my saying don’t think about the pink elephant. Your next thought is about a pink elephant. The ritual will be the same. Once you possess it, the ritual will commence, or it will kill you.”

“Kill me?”

“In many cases this focus has destroyed the summoner,” explained Raja. “You meet the criterion to initiate the summons; completing it is another matter.  Are you certain you wish to know this information?”

I nodded my head, not feeling certain at all. He stepped closer to me and placed a finger on my forehead, and images flooded my brain. I grabbed my head as a sharp pain crushed my skull. Glyphs began to coalesce in the air around me, glowing various shades of gold to red. Beneath me a circle formed, etched into the ground and filled with more glyphs. I felt liquid on my upper lip and wiped—my hand came away bloody. What felt like tears filled my eyes, but it was only more blood. The pain threatened to split my skull. I fell to my knees in the center of the circle. With my vision blurred by bloody tears, I saw the world shift and change around me. I was no longer in the circle of reflection. I could feel the floor tilt under me right before I lost consciousness.

TWO

MEJA LOOKED AROUND the room. Around her the Black Lotus converged, swords drawn. Raquel stood with her guns ready. Kenji stepped back and adjusted his staff.

“It’s over. Meja of the house of Aumera, you are convicted of treason against the Order of the Warriors of the Way and are sentenced to death,” said Raquel. “This sentence is to be carried out immediately.”

“We have a greater threat to deal with,” said Meja. “Reapers have been summoned. Tell her, Devin. Tell her what Reapers are.”

“That’s impossible, Meja,” Devin whispered. “Reapers can only be summoned by Samadhi and none of them are insane enough to unleash them.”

“She speaks truth,” added Kenji. “I have seen them with my own eyes.”

Raquel’s jaw flexed. “I don’t care if the Grim Reaper himself is loose,” she said. “You are coming with me. I don’t know how you escaped last time, but it won’t happen again.”

She signaled to one of the Black Lotus, who produced suppressor cuffs.

“Put those on and then we can speak,” said Raquel, motioning to the cuffs with her chin. Her guns never wavered from Meja and Kenji. “Don’t give me a reason, rogue.”

Meja slowed her breathing and expanded her awareness. She let her eyes close slightly, making it appear that she was squinting. Devin sensed the shift in energy. Can she really be that strong?

“Raquel, I think you need—” he started.

“I’ll tell you what I think,” interrupted Raquel. “I think she is your sister and you will do whatever it takes to make sure she is free, even if that means betraying the Order. I think you are just as guilty as she is, and that I just haven’t been able to prove it.”

Raquel looked at the Lotus with the cuffs.

“Cuff her, now.”

Devin raised his shield tight to his body and grabbed Raquel, placing them both behind it. Kenji whispered a few words and was surrounded by orbs.

The Lotus approached Meja with the cuffs in hand. Meja exhaled and compressed her chi. “I don’t have time for this,” she said, unleashing her chi. The room burst with energy and light.

When the light subsided, the Lotus were gone.

“What the hell? You killed them, you killed them all!” yelled Raquel.

“I told you,” said Meja, lowering her voice. “There are greater threats upon us.”

Devin let his awareness expand and found the Lotus. Meja had relocated them to the other side of the hub. He sighed in relief.

Okay, she hasn’t become some deranged murderer, but that power is incredible, he thought.

“From where I’m standing, I only see one threat,” said Raquel, holstering her guns. “Who the hell are you?”

“I need the master syllabist text, Devin,” said Meja, ignoring Raquel while turning to face her brother. “I need to find Dante before it’s too late.”

“It won’t help him,” said Devin, who produced a thin leather- bound book. “He’s been seared. He can’t access his chi. This book would be useless to him.”

“I need to try.”

He handed the book to Meja.

“Samir may be able to find something in here that can help him,” she said, putting the book in a pack.

“Are you certain about the Reapers?” Devin’s voice was tight with emotion.

“You need to prepare, Devin. Use her, she is pretty good with those guns,” said Meja, looking at Raquel. “I’m not your enemy. You need to find out why you’re being given this mission.”

“Only a Samadhi can summon Reapers, Meja, and even then only under special circumstances,” Devin said, moving back from his sister, who was creating glyphs with her hands. Glyphs he had never seen before.

“I know,” answered Meja. “This is why I need to find Dante. I’m leaving the Order to you. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.  You were right, they are corrupt. Find the Samadhi responsible, Devin. Before it’s too late.”

She finished the glyph and formed a portal, then turned back to face Raquel and Devin. “I’m the one who’s going to set things right. That’s who I am,” she said, and entered the portal followed by Kenji.

And I’m the one who’s going to bring you down, thought Raquel.

THREE

SNOW FELT THEIR presence long before he saw the first one. Inside the small temple lay the body of Wu Wei, his master and bearer of the second of the foci, the Fangs of Gren.

Reapers! How did they find me here? I was certain to cover my tracks. It must be the Fangs. This is much worse than master thought. It’s too soon. I’m not ready.

He looked around. The temple was empty, everyone who had come to pay their respects now long gone. The smooth wooden floor reflected the light of the candles. The presence of the Reapers remained just outside the entrance to the temple. A lone figure entered and stood at the entrance, fingers interlaced in front of him. Snow adjusted his black robes and turned to fully face the figure. Standing at average height and dressed in black, he looked like another mourner coming to pay his respects to the fallen master. Behind him, Snow could see other figures dressed the same.

“Hello, Snow,” said the figure in a quiet, almost melodious voice. “You know why we are here.”

“Which one are you?” said Snow, as he manifested his tambo. The two short staffs gave off an orange light, illuminating the temple.

“Does it matter which I am?”

“I would prefer to know the name of my attacker,” said Snow.

The figure gave a short bow. He extended an arm and produced a long staff with a curved blade at the end. The black blade of the scythe threatened to absorb the dim light of the temple.

“I am Erio, first of the ten,” said the figure.

Snow caught his breath and returned the bow, his jaw tight. He absorbed one of the tambo, freeing his hand. He began tracing glyphs in the air.

“You know who I am?” asked Erio.

“I have read of you and the ten,” Snow said, finishing the glyphs and opening a portal. Sweat glistened across his brow.

“That is pointless, warrior,” said Erio, resting his scythe on his shoulder. “There is no place you can go that I cannot follow. Why prolong the inevitable? You cannot escape death, only delay it.”

“Then I will delay it for as long as possible,” said Snow, and entered the portal, disappearing from sight.

“Why didn’t you finish him?” A female entered the temple and walked up behind Erio. She rested both hands on Erio’s shoulders. Her pale skin shone with a dull light and contrasted with her black dress. Her hair, long and black, flowed behind her, moving of its own volition. She stood slightly taller and looked at Erio, a small smile playing on her lips.

Erio turned to face her, his scythe evaporating as he exited the temple.

“Iza, the outcome has been determined,” he said. “He has the Fangs, but is not the bearer.”

“All the more reason to strip the Fangs from him,” she said.

“There is no honor in that battle,” he said.

“The cat does not ask the mouse for a battle worthy of honor. It crushes and devours its prey.”

“We can locate the Fangs at any time. Better to let him pass them on to the rightful warrior,” said Erio as he opened a portal. “Then we can strip the Fangs in proper battle. I will let the mouse run for a bit longer. Let us see where he takes us.”

He turned to look at the temple as several Reapers entered the portal he had formed.

“We still have time, Iza. Let us enjoy this while we can. Come; the Rah Ven wait.”

She entered the portal and he followed.

FOUR

RAJA APPEARED BEFORE Sylk, who was standing alone observing the staircases, which changed and shifted every few seconds. Some led to doors ornate in design and covered with glyphs. Others led nowhere and doubled back on themselves, an endless loop. Samir, Ferra and Kal were off to the side, eating.

“You knew about his lineage,” said Raja.

“No. I had my suspicions, but they were only confirmed recently.”

“Before you came here looking for the third focus.”

Sylk nodded.

“And yet you kept this information from him. Why?”

“It would only serve to distract him. I take it you told him?” said Sylk. “Where is he?”

“I gave him the ritual of summoning and it has begun,” said Raja. “He must make the rest of this journey alone.”

“What have you done?” said Sylk, the anger evident in his voice.

“What you would not and could not do,” Raja answered as he stepped closer to Sylk. “I gave him a choice.”

“You have sentenced him to death,” said Sylk. “He cannot complete this ritual on his own. Shadowstrike is too powerful.”

“He can and he must,” said Raja, adjusting his glasses. “The ritual demands it. These events have been set in motion partly by your hand. Their fulfillment must come from his. Unlike the first time he manifested a weapon.”

“I had no idea he would bond to the first focus.”

“The fact is that he bonded and wielded Maelstrom, first of the foci,” said Raja. “Now you ask him to wield Shadowstrike, easily the most potent weapon of the three. He survived a searing and managed to undo it. These acts have only served to reaffirm his path and should have given you sufficient information to determine his lineage.”

“The third focus is too powerful for him, Raja. If the ritual doesn’t kill him, it will.”

“Yet you chose to keep this from him. Perhaps you envy him?”

“I expected to be there with him!” said Sylk, raising his voice. “I could have kept him safe. At least I could get him through the ritual.”

“By safe, you mean until the moment where he had to risk his life facing Maelstrom,” said Raja.

“One life is everything and nothing where this threat is concerned,” whispered Sylk. “Lucius will use Maelstrom to destroy everything in his twisted desire for vengeance.”

The others looked up from where they sat. Ferra stood but remained where she was when Sylk motioned to her to sit down.

“You have greater concerns to address in this moment,” said Raja, moving to a wall. He touched it and it became translucent, showing a temple. “Dante will succeed or fail and he will have to do so without your assistance.”

“He must succeed or everything will have been for nothing,” said Sylk, looking at the wall. “What is this?”

“Look carefully,” said Raja, pointing with his cane. “This is the final resting place of Master Wei, one of the bearers of the second focus: the Fangs of Gren. It was recently visited by his disciple, Snow, who now holds the Fangs.”

“Is he the new bearer of the Fangs?”

“No, he is merely the repository until a new bearer can be found,” said Raja, while shifting his hand near the wall. Another figure came into focus, dressed in black and holding a scythe. “He was confronted by this entity. Do you know what that is?”

Sylk’s face hardened as he inhaled. “Yes. A Reaper.”

“Out of all the beings that exist across the known planes, there is only one race that can manipulate time with ease. There is only one race that can stand effectively against them,” said Raja, waving his hand and turning the wall opaque. “This ability to time skip as they call it makes them a powerful ally or a fearsome enemy.”

“The Rah Ven,” said Sylk with sudden realization.

“The Reapers are tasked with eliminating that threat.”

“By whom? Who is controlling them?”

“You know the answer to that. The same group that called them forth has given them free will.”

“Free will? Gyrevex cannot operate freely, not even Reapers,” said Sylk. “They depend on the summoner or they cease to exist. How many have been called forth?”

“Ten of them. They have been fused with their weapons,” answered Raja. “Unlike typical Gyrevex, Reapers can function without a summoner. It was done once before with catastrophic results.”

Two hands; only a Samadhi can call forth that many. To fuse their weapons and set them loose? This is madness, thought Sylk. “They will destroy the Rah Ven.”

“I believe that is one of their goals. It would seem that whoever gave them free reign also desires the Fangs.”

Sylk turned to the table where the others sat. They had finished their meal and were looking in his direction, questions on their faces. Raja came up and stood next to him, resting both hands on his cane as he looked at the group. After a moment, they approached the table.

“You will need assistance, and I know of one powerful enough to stand against the Reapers and succeed in defeating them,” said Raja.

“No. There must be another way,” Sylk said as he looked at his group. “Together we can face this threat. I will enlist others who wield power. Unleashing him would destroy us all.” I will not be responsible for the destruction of everything.

“Unleashing who?” said Kal.

“Perhaps it will,” said Raja. “Consider that you will have to stand against him in time. This situation is merely a precursor to that time.”

“He is secure where he is,” said Sylk. “I would prefer he remain that way indefinitely.”

“No prison contains a prisoner forever,” Raja said, looking at Sylk. “You cannot run from this, only prolong it. When you are ready to reform the bridge, I can provide the method, for a cost.”

“We must go,” said Sylk to the group. “The Rah Ven are in danger.”

“What about Dante? I thought we needed to wait for him?” said Kal.

“I will inform you of the warrior’s outcome. You cannot help him where he is now,” said Raja.

“Sylk—” started Kal, looking at him.

“He’s right, we can’t help Dante, but we can help the Rah Ven,” said Sylk, looking at them. “Someone has summoned Reapers and set them free.”

Samir gave a sharp intake of breath and visibly blanched.

“I have studied these creatures, Karashihan,” said Samir. “We are no match for their power. We cannot stand against them.”

“We are not,” said Sylk. “Someone must remain behind to wait for Dante. You are his syllabist and would best serve him here.”

“I don’t think—” began Samir.

“Come, let me show you the glyphs to where we will be once you have Dante,” said Sylk.

He pulled Samir to the side and spoke in a low voice as he began to trace glyphs in the air.

“It would seem Raja has plans of his own, especially when it concerns Dante,” he whispered. “I want you to stay here and see if you can find out what those plans are.”

Samir nodded. “I understand,” he said in a low voice.

“Right now we are the Rah Ven’s only hope,” said Sylk, this time out loud. “Ferra, Kal and I will return to the Rah Ven. You stay here and learn what you can about the third focus. Wait for Dante and join us when you can.”

Samir bowed and stepped back. “I will make sure he is ready when the time comes.”

Ferra and Kal entered the portal. Sylk turned to Raja.

“The First Karashihan was able to repel the Reapers with the Rah Ven’s help,” said Raja matter-of-factly. “You should consider enlisting his assistance.”

“I’ll take my chance with the Reapers,” said Sylk and entered the portal.

FIVE

I OPENED MY eyes and regretted it immediately. My head felt three times its size and pulsed with a dull throbbing. A blazing sun shone in my eyes. I focused and looked around. I sat in a large circle. Around me, etched into the stone, were several glyphs. Some I recognized, but most of them I found indecipherable. On a small stone bench just outside the circle was a young woman I didn’t recognize, sitting cross-legged.

She was dressed simply in a white dress. Flaming red hair cascaded from her head and framed her face. She was beautiful in a way that stole your breath and made you self-conscious. Her piercing blue eyes rested on me, her gaze showing no fear. I could feel her power from where I lay and it was staggering.

Where am I? I thought as I sat up. I looked around and saw that the circle I was in resided in a large stone courtyard. The courtyard was surrounded by several squat buildings. At the far end was a large structure that resembled a Watch but was unlike any Watch I had visited.

“You summoned me?” she asked. “How did you summon me? You lack the power to wield me.”

Her voice was melodious and tinged with disbelief.

“I was given the ritual and it sort of happened,” I said. “What is this place?”

“Sort of happened?” she said, mostly to herself. She unfolded her long legs and walked into the circle. Her steps were slow and measured. It reminded me of a lioness stalking prey. “This place is the East Watch; who gave you this ritual?”

I saw no need to lie. Somehow, I thought she would know if I did.

“Raja, in the Akashic Records,” I answered.  “He told me I met the criteria.”

She squatted down next to me and placed her face next to mine. For a second I thought she was going to kiss me—she was that close.

“For the summoning, yes you do,” she whispered as she sniffed the air around me. “But you cannot wield me. I would kill you. Your chi is not sufficient. Surely Raja told you of this.”

“He did. I wielded Maelstrom and survived,” I said and knew it was bad idea the moment the words escaped my lips.

She narrowed her eyes. A look of anger crossed her face and I felt an energy spike within her. The next second it passed like a wave receding from the shore. She laughed then and sat down in the circle opposite me.

“You did not wield Maelstrom,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “It wielded you.”

“Yes, that is what it felt like most of the time,” I agreed.

“I can see the traces it left in you,” she said, pointing at my chest. “You were fortunate to escape with your life. How did you do it?”

“It was removed, by the shadow of Lucius Iman. He seared me and took it back.”

The energy spike returned. This time it was stronger. She moved faster than my eyes could register and slapped me across the face. I flew back several feet and rolled out of the circle. The glyphs in the circle flared to life. I could taste the blood inside my mouth. My face was on fire from the impact and my jaw ached. And that was only a slap. I made my way back into the circle and sat across from her.

“Never mention that name in my presence again if you value your life,” she said.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Clearly,” she answered. “Now I can see why you were sent here. The situation must be dire if they sent you.”

“I have to stop him. He has Maelstrom and he is going to destroy everything. Can you help me?” I asked.

“He is still the same. After all this time nothing has changed,” she replied. “Let me see your arms.”

She extended both hands and motioned me forward. I extended my arms and she grabbed them, turning them to expose the glyphs on my forearms.

“I am still too much for you and your current level of chi,” she began. “However, these can help.” She traced some glyphs with her fingers.

“How?” I asked.

“You will not be able to wield me completely,” she said. “I am not Maelstrom and do not wish you dead. It is not my purpose. With these”—she touched the glyphs on my arms—“you will be able to manifest me in weapon form and have limited access to certain abilities without dying instantly.”

“Will it be enough?”

“To face Maelstrom and his master? Not at first, no,” she answered. “You have potential, but it will require time and training. Two things it seems that are in short supply.”

“I have a syllabist who is willing to train me.”

She smiled and shook her head, giving me a look reserved for those with no hope.

“The training you require goes beyond what a syllabist can offer you.”

“I see. Will you help me? Can you?”

“I can, but there are conditions you should be aware of,” she said. “Attempting to complete the ritual has proven fatal in the past. The pain you will experience will surpass anything you have encountered thus far. It has killed many stronger than you. Once bonded, if we bond, there will be no separation. To remove me is to remove your life.”

She stood and looked down at me.

“Doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice,” I said.

“Incorrect. You must always remember that you have a choice,” she replied with an edge in her voice. “You can walk away from this and let another carry this burden. Surely, there are others who can meet the criteria. Others of the lineage.”

“I wish I could just go back to my old life,” I answered. “Ever since Sensei Wei sent me to that promotion—”

“Stop making excuses,” she interrupted. “You have not been forced into this. Even now you waver. That wavering will kill you. What was your old life?”

“It was simpler,” I said. “I didn’t have to worry about warriors or guardians or keeping this plane or any other plane safe. I didn’t even know of any other plane but my own.”

“A life of ignorance is no life at all, warrior,” she said.

“I don’t know what to do,” I said. “How can I walk away? Everything is at stake. They depend on me to do this and I don’t know what it is I’m supposed to do!”

“Now you are being honest,” she whispered. “There is only one thing you will be required to do, warrior. You must not allow Maelstrom and his master to undo all that is, even if the cost is your life.”

I was about to answer when a tremor shook the ground. A crack formed and ran through the circle. The glyphs flared to life and then went black.

“The ritual has been disrupted,” she said and turned her head to the side. “It would seem someone with considerable power does not want you to succeed. You must return or risk being lost here.”

I looked around and saw the squat buildings begin to fade. Shadowstrike began walking back to the main structure and then stopped. She turned to look at me, her expression serious.

“Find an active circle of reflection,” she said. “The last known functioning circle lies at the North Watch.”

“Can I start it anywhere else?” I asked. I wanted to know if I had more options.

“Yes, but you risk alerting Watchers if you attempt it outside a circle,” she answered. “Form a portal and return. Your companions are in danger. Here, take this.”

She extended her hand and formed a straight, doubled-edged sword about three feet long. The blade was transparent. She handed it to me hilt first.

“Is this…?”

“A sliver of who and what I am,” she answered. “It will act like any sword, though with some additional properties that will reveal themselves to you as you grow in strength.”

I took the sword and it vanished in my hand. I felt its presence within me.

“I am with you as you are with me,” she said, touching my chest lightly. “Do not delay the ritual too long or that sliver will end your life.”

“How long before that happens?”  I said.

“That would depend entirely on you,” she answered, which was no answer at all.

I traced the glyphs in the air and formed a portal. I stepped through to find myself in the reflection room. There was a crater where the circle of reflection once was. The door leading back to the Akashic Records was charred, but intact.

“Hello, Dante. You have been busy, I see,” said a voice behind me.

I froze in place.

It was the Harbinger.

SIX

THE SUN CAUSED the image of the Watch in the distance to shimmer. Tetra soaked in the latent energy of the plane.

“Time skippers inhabit this plane, my lord,” said Ravia.

“I sense them,” said Tetra. “They are still some distance from us and pose no threat.”

“And the one we seek—is she close?”

“She is with them,” he said. “It will make this interesting.”

“Will he come? The one whole stole your vengeance, will he come?” she said.

Tetra looked into the distance. The Watch sat on the horizon, beckoning.

“I will make it so he has no choice,” said Tetra. “I will kill what is his. He will feel my pain and then this Sylk from the house of Iman will die for taking what was rightfully mine.”

**********

“Is there a text regarding the foci?” said Samir.

“There is, Syllabist,” began Raja. “But perhaps you would be better served by asking me your questions.”

He doesn’t want me to see the book, thought Samir.

“I could, but I prefer to study in my own fashion. May I see the book?”

Raja looked off into the distance and remained silent for a few moments.

“You have not returned the master syllabist text,” said Raja. “I cannot permit you access to this book. You can, however, ask me questions regarding the foci.”

Something is wrong. Knowledge is rarely denied here unless…

“I understand, and you will answer all of my questions?”

“All that are relevant to the present moment, yes,” said Raja.

The book is gone. Someone has removed it and he does not or cannot reveal this information, but why? thought Samir.

“My first question,” said Samir. “Who has the book now?”

“That, Syllabist, is an excellent question,” said Raja.

**********

“I’m amazed to see you alive,” said Rael. “Especially after the treatment my master gave you. Most would be gibbering idiots by now.”

“I managed to recover,” I said.

It was difficult to form the words— my mouth had gone dry. My heart was beating double time and I could feel the sweat trickle down the center of my back. Fear was doing a dance in my stomach.

“This would be the moment where I threaten your life, but my master has different plans. I have to bring you back to him; well, you and a few others.”

“I know your master’s plans, he—”

“No one knows his plans,” interrupted Rael. “Whatever you have been told is a guess. Besides, how can you hope to stop him? He won’t let me die. Do you understand the power involved in that act alone?”

“No. No, I don’t,” I said. “What I do know is that Lucius seemed intent on destroying everything and everyone close to me.”

“He is so far beyond you and your friends that I’m surprised he is taking the time to eliminate you,” said Rael.

“Why? Why destroy us if we are no threat to him?”

“Ah, but there is the crux of the matter, warrior,” he said. “You do pose a threat, especially with the third focus. If you possess it, then you become a significant threat. One that needs to be eliminated while it is still just an annoyance.”

He manifested his swords as the air around him crackled with energy.

“What happened to bringing me back alive?” I asked.

“Nearly dead is still alive.”

SEVEN

MEJA STEPPED THROUGH the portal, followed by Kenji.

“That woman with the guns,” said Kenji, “seems to dislike you a great deal. What did you do to her and where is this place?”

“Raquel is part of the Lotus. They held me; I escaped,” said Meja, looking around. Several buildings were grouped together around open fields. It always reminded Meja of a large college campus. It was her college, of a sort. “This place is a monitor training plane. It’s where they are trained in several forms of combat and the use of their abilities, among other things.”

“This means that we are vulnerable here,” said Kenji. “If monitors know of this place we should leave immediately.”

“We aren’t staying,” said Meja. “I just needed a place for us to regroup. You said you can track across planes. Find Dante.”

Only the most senior monitors know about this plane. Not even my brother was given the glyphs to get here. Still, it doesn’t mean we are safe, thought Meja.

“It’s not that simple,” said Kenji.

“I’m not asking you to explain the intricacies of how you do it,” answered Meja with an edge in her voice. “Just do it. Something is happening. Something we are not prepared for, and Dante is at the center of it.”

Kenji sat down on the ground and centered his breath. Meja moved to the side and kept her awareness expanded. The air around Kenji shimmered as he sent his chi outward. After several moments he opened his eyes and shook his head.

“I can sense him, but it is as if he is behind a veil,” he said. “I cannot pinpoint his exact location.”

“So he is being hidden?” asked Meja.

“That or he is simply in a location that makes it difficult to track,” said Kenji.

“Can a repository of power do that?”

Kenji rubbed his chin in thought. “It’s possible, if the repository were large enough,” he said. “It could act like a mask and diffuse his energy signature even from someone like me.”

“I think I know where he is,” said Meja. “Getting there is going to be problematic, though.”

“Let me save you the trip, rogue,” a voice said in front of them.

Around them, members of the Black Lotus materialized. Rory stepped forward to face Meja.

“Rory, you don’t need to do this,” said Meja. She moved into a defensive position and let her chi flow.

Rory manifested his blades.

“I know I don’t need to. I want to,” he said. “Monique and the Lotus would like to have a few words with you. It’s a shame you resisted and had to be killed.”

“Monitor, he is a blade dancer,” said Kenji.

“Since when, Rory?” asked Meja. “Blade dancing hasn’t been taught in ages.”

“The days of you being my teacher have long passed, Meja,” Rory answered with smug look on his face. “You would be surprised at what I know now.”

Meja manifested her sword and caught Rory’s expression of surprise.

“Is that a new sword?” asked Rory.

“You aren’t the only one who has learned new things,” said Meja. Around her, small red orbs coalesced and whirled in lazy orbits. Kenji stepped back, giving her space. Blood orbs. This monitor wields a dangerous power, he thought.

“Why don’t you come and show me your blade dancing?” she said.

Rory closed the distance. His blades whirled in his hands as he attacked.

Have to focus on him, not the blades, thought Meja.

Rory slid in, slicing. Meja parried one blade and dodged the other. Rory smiled at her and lunged. She released the orbs and they homed in on him. He changed his trajectory and struck his blades together, and he was instantly surrounded with chi. The orbs impacted and flung him back several feet. Other than being thrown, he was unharmed. He absorbed his blades and stood as he dusted himself off.

Damage mitigation. Those orbs should have killed him, she thought.

“You should give up now,” he said. “I promise to kill you with mercy. By the way, nice touch with the blood orbs. I didn’t think you could wield those.”

“Generous of you, but I haven’t grown tired of breathing yet,” she said. “You would be surprised at what I can wield.”

Rory turned to Kenji. “If you leave now, I’m sure we can work out some sort of arrangement where you don’t die. I’m only here for her.” He pointed at Meja with his chin as he manifested his blades once again.

Kenji flexed his jaw and entered a defensive position, holding his staff in one hand and his sword in the other.

“It seems that this time we will be able to finish what we started, blade dancer,” said Kenji.

“Look around you,” said Rory. “Don’t be a fool. There is only one way this can end. Don’t make this more bloody than it needs to be.”

“If you leave now,” said Meja, her voice low, “you will walk away with your lives. If you stand with him, you die with him.”

None of the Black Lotus moved. Their crossbows were trained on Meja.

“Was that your ‘scary voice’?” he said, mocking her. “These are elite Lotus. They would rather die than disobey an order from the council. You can’t scare them with your empty threats.”

Meja centered her breath and pulled her chi tight. Truth began to glow a deep blue in her hand and started to vibrate. She let it go and it floated in front of her. She placed a hand on the hilt and the sword shattered into shards too numerous to count. Each of the shards floated before her. They rotated and twisted in every direction, each as sharp as a razor.

“The threat wasn’t empty, Rory,” she said, and unleashed her chi in an explosion of light. In that moment, Kenji slammed his staff down and encased himself in a protective shield. Rory slammed his blades together to protect himself using his chi. The Lotus surrounding them were not prepared. Shards of Truth shot off in every direction. When the light dimmed, the entire group of Lotus lay dead or dying. Rory was cut in several places. Several of the shards had penetrated his blade dancer defense.

“I’m glad to see you’re still standing,” said Meja. “I have a few questions for you before you go.”

He laughed in response. “I’m not going anywhere. What the fu—” he started, and began coughing. “What did you do?”

His blades disappeared and he staggered back a few steps, grabbing his chest.

“I’ve killed you,” she said. “Pieces of my sword are inside of you right now. Once I manifest it, what do you think will happen to you?”

“You bitch,” said Rory, falling to his knees. His breathing was labored and ragged. “Just kill me and get it over with.”

Meja stepped over to where Rory knelt. She squatted down and faced him eye to eye.

“Who summoned the Reapers?” she asked. “The sword that is in you is called Truth. Once your blood is on its blade, you can’t lie to me, so please don’t try. It will only make it worse.”

“I don’t know who summoned—” His scream filled the space around them and continued for several seconds. Then he grew silent and lost consciousness.

Kenji stepped closer to Meja and looked down at Rory.

“Is he dead?” he asked.

“Not yet,” she answered, not looking away from Rory. “He tried to lie.”

After a few moments, Rory regained his senses and opened his eyes.

“Just kill me,” he croaked.

“Answer my questions and I will.”

“A Samadhi, named Wheel. He is controlling everything. He isn’t alone, but he is the one.”

“Who else is working for him?” asked Meja. “Is the council working with him?”

Rory shook his head. “They are, but they don’t know it,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Only Monique knows. We can’t resist him. He is a Samadhi.”

Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth.

“One more question, Rory. Stay with me,” she said.

“Monitor, this may be too much for him,” said Kenji, concern on his face.

Meja locked her eyes on Kenji and he remained silent. She turned back to Rory, who was pale and drifting in and out of consciousness as the shock took over his body.

“Where is he, Rory?” she asked. “Where is this Samadhi?”

“Watch…North Watch is where he stays most of the time,” he gasped. “Please, Meja, end this.”

She stood and stepped back. Kenji did the same. His face wore a grim expression.

“Goodbye, Rory,” she said and manifested her sword. His chest heaved and then exploded as the shards broke free and rejoined the others, forming the sword in Meja’s hand.

Kenji looked at the carnage around them with awe and something else, something that sat in the pit of his stomach—fear.

“Monitor—”

“Don’t call me that,” she said, cutting him off. “I no longer hold that title. I am what they call me now, a rogue.”

“A question,” he said.

“Ask.” The edge in her voice gave him pause.

“What if I had not erected my shield when you unleashed your shards?”

“Then I would have had to explain to Aurora how one of her people died due to a fatal lack of awareness.”

“Understood,” he said.

“Let me make it absolutely clear in case it isn’t already,” she said. “I don’t owe you or Aurora any kind of allegiance. Right now the Order is trying to kill me and I plan on staying alive. I will do whatever it takes to do that.”

“Even if that means facing Reapers?” asked Kenji.

“I have no intention of facing them alone,” she answered. “We find Dante and the others and we deal with this Samadhi. We took one down; we can do it again.”

“He was deranged and still proved formidable,” said Kenji.

“I know, but I don’t have much of a choice,” she said, her voice tired. “We find Dante and the others, remove his searing, and maybe we can stop this before it’s too late.”

“Or die trying,” said Kenji.

“Or die trying,” she said. “Let’s go. I think I know where Dante may be and that’s a start.”

“Where?”

“The place you described reminded me of the Akashic Records,” she said as she began to trace glyphs in the air. “I don’t have a direct route to them but I know a way there.”

She formed a portal.

“Last chance,” she said. “You can still go back to Aurora and tell her what happened.”

“It is clear you have never met her,” he answered. “She wants him back for the potential he represents. This means I return with him, or not at all.”

Kenji entered the portal. Meja took one last look around at the bodies on the ground.

There will be more senseless death if we do not stop them. I can’t—we can’t fail, she thought and entered the portal.

Once the portal closed, a figure materialized. Dressed in all black, she matched the dead Lotus on the ground around her. She bent down and touched Rory, and pulled her hand back rapidly as if burned. She stepped over to where Meja had opened the portal and placed her hands in the air as if feeling for a wall. After a few seconds, it seemed as though she grabbed on to something and slipped out of sight.

EIGHT

I FELT THE air around me charge with electricity and chi.

“This will be over soon enough, warrior,” the Harbinger said as he walked toward me.

I extended my hand and focused my chi, willing it into my arm. Nothing happened. No sword or weapon manifested.

“Performance anxiety?” he said and slashed downward. I sidestepped the attack and backpedaled out of range. My mind raced. What happened? Why didn’t Shadowstrike manifest? I’m going to die here, defenseless.

“I know my master seared you,” he said. “You shouldn’t be able to access anything. You should be dead. The fact your brain still functions amazes me. This energy I feel in you—it’s different somehow. This is not the latent energy of life. This is more, much more.”

He paused midstride and narrowed his eyes at me. I needed to access my chi and form Shadowstrike or this was going to be the shortest fight of my life. He pointed his swords at the ground as he stared. I saw several emotions flash across his face.

“How?” he said with what seemed to be genuine surprise. “How did you undo it? No one has been able to do that and survive, much less walk around. Not to him. You are full of surprises.”

“I had help,” I said quietly. I kept trying to access Shadowstrike but nothing worked. Did the searing leave some lasting damage? Maybe he is right, maybe I am still seared somehow.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said, raising his swords and rushing at me. “You need to die. Don’t worry, it won’t take long, trust me.”

He was ten feet away when I felt it. Shadowstrike surged in my chest and the energy flowed down my arm. He must have felt it too because I saw him change his angle of attack. At the last second, he stepped to the side and brought both swords across in one swift move, designed to cut me in half. His swords never reached me. In my hand, Shadowstrike vibrated with the impact. Its transparent blade gleamed in the light and I felt the energy rush in my body. It filled and surrounded me, expanding my awareness even further than usual.

“The third focus,” he said. “Apparently I was too late in interrupting the ritual.”

I pushed back and took a defensive stance.

Fear still gripped me. This was the Harbinger. He didn’t die. There is no way I can face him alone, I thought.

You will never be alone again, vessel.

It was Shadowstrike.

NINE

THE SOUTH WATCH was still recovering from the Gyrevex attack. Many of the Rah Ven were tending to their dead and wounded. Several monitors were injured and many more were dead. Mara assisted with the recovery efforts, helping them where she could. She disliked being apart from Sylk, but understood the necessity. She just wished he would return soon. A sense of foreboding loomed over her and she feared for his life. Behind her, Noga remained close; the Rah Ven never left her side. She understood it had something to do with her connection to Sylk and his position as Alpha. The Keeper appeared beside her as she headed to the infirmary. She bowed when she saw him.

“Good morning, child,” he said. “It would seem the worst has passed.”

Mara nodded. “Why would they attack a Watch?”

“The Watch was just a means to an end,” said the Keeper. “The real targets are the—”

He turned his head suddenly, his expression growing serious. Several feet away a portal formed. Meja and Kenji stepped through. Meja walked over to the group and bowed to the Keeper, who returned the bow.

“You seek passage,” said the Keeper. “The gateway is destroyed for now.”

Meja looked at the Keeper and drew close.

“I think the gateway is still very much operational. Don’t you agree, Keeper?” she whispered.

He smiled then.

“Very good, monitor. First, we need to speak about what you think you are going to do. Come with me.”

Meja and the Keeper walked off away from the others. Kenji approached Mara and Noga.

Meja walked beside the Keeper. He is so powerful. Is he even alive? Or just an expression of the Watch?

“I would say a combination of both,” he said.

Meja raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“You were wondering if I am alive or just part of the Watch,” he said answering her expression. “I know that look all too well. I was once a human just like you. All the keepers began that way,” he said.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Over time, the energies of this place transform us; we become something other than human, something more,” he said. “But that is not the reason you are here and we are not here to discuss history. You plan on finding the warrior, Dante.”

“Yes, I need his help to face an enemy, a Samadhi,” said Meja. “A Samadhi that goes by the name of Wheel.”

The Keeper looked at Meja as if gauging how much he should tell her and then sighed. Leaning on his staff, he looked tired.

“Perhaps you and your group will be enough. Perhaps not. He has begun the ritual of the third focus,” he said.

“How?” she asked. “He is seared and can’t access his chi. Starting that ritual will kill him.”

“The process was started and was interrupted,” he answered. “In order to complete it you must find a circle of reflection and there is only one that is viable now.”

“Where?” she asked.

“The North Watch has the only remaining circle now.”

“I need the glyphs to get there, and Dante,” she answered.

The Keeper touched her forehead lightly. “You will have what you need when the time comes,” he whispered. “For now you must take the bonded one with you.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Death is coming for her,” said the Keeper. “She is no longer safe here.”

“Here? I have to say I’m surprised to see her here without Sylk,” said Meja. “I thought she would be safe here. What do you mean, death?”

“The last incursion by the Gyrevex should have dispelled any illusion of safety, here or anywhere else,” the Keeper said, looking around. “Especially for those of your kind.”

“My kind?” she asked.

“Ages ago the ability to manipulate chi and wield weapons made of your life energy and will was called magic and witchcraft,” he said. “Discovery meant death or deification, which is why your order of warriors is secret. Today, in the modern era, no one would accept what you are capable of.”

“People destroy what they do not understand,” she answered.

The Keeper nodded. “The world hates change and yet it is the only constant.”

“Some change should not be allowed,” said Meja. “Some change comes at too high a cost.”

“This is why you are here,” he replied. “You seek to stop this Samadhi. In order to do so you may have to unleash a threat just as great.”

Meja looked at the Keeper. She couldn’t believe what he was suggesting. He can’t possibly mean the Destroyer.

“Why am I taking Mara?” she said, trying to change the subject.

“Kriyas have entered the plane,” he answered. “I fear she is their target; or rather, the one she serves.”

“The Kriyas are unleashed?” she asked.

“Yes, and they approach us,” he said. “You must leave before they arrive. I will provide you with passage. Are you ready?”

“Who would do such a thing? Unleash the Reapers and the Kriyas?”

“You must look beyond the immediate threat,” said the Keeper. “Discover the motive behind the threat.”

“I can’t see past the threat,” she said. “Kriyas and Reapers unleashed on the planes is madness on a scale I have never encountered.” Can Truth be enough to deal with this? Am I?

“This new weapon you have,” he began gently clasping her arm and leading her back to the group. “Remember that you are not the weapon, but its wielder.”

Meja nodded. “I will remember.”

They joined the others and interrupted a conversation.

“Reapers have been unleashed and are in the planes,” said Kenji.

They turned to face Meja and the Keeper. Their faces were grim.

“Kenji was explaining that Gyrevex unlike any other are out there,” said Mara. “What do they want?”

“We need to go, now,” said Meja. “The sooner we can catch up with the others, the better. You’re coming with us, Mara.”

“Sylk told me he would—” began Mara.

“If she goes, then I must go as well,” said Noga. “It is a bond of word.”

“Fine, both of you, then,” said Meja as she looked at the Keeper. “Are they close? Close enough for me to sense?”

“Yes,” he said. “If you do this, they will sense you in return.”

“Can’t be helped, then,” she answered. “I want to know what is coming and how to avoid them if I have to.”

She focused her chi and centered her breathing. Her awareness expanded across the plane. She noticed it immediately. Her range was greater and more precise. Must be an effect of Truth, she thought. Within moments, she located the Kriyas and bit back a curse. They are powerful, too powerful. Seconds later she felt a tendril of energy reach out and touch her mind, gauging her. She raised her defenses and withdrew her awareness.

Now that we know who’s who, it’s time for us to leave.

“Open the portal, Keeper,” said Meja, visibly shaken. “We need to get to the Records as soon as possible.”

The Keeper nodded. “I will send you where you need to go.”

He waved his hand in the air and a portal formed before them.

“Remember my words, guardian,” he said and waved his hand again. The group disappeared.

Rin ran up to the Keeper, then halted panting. The Keeper turned and waited for him to catch his breath.

“There are two powerful entities out there and getting closer!” said Rin.

“Yes, they are Kriyas. Implement the Solus suppression protocol,” said the Keeper.

“Keeper, are you certain?” asked Rin. “The Watch will be cut off and inaccessible for its duration.”

“That is the plan,” replied the Keeper. “It won’t stop them indefinitely, but it will hold them here for a while.”

“Secure the lower Watch and evacuate everyone else, including the Rah Ven,” said the Keeper.

“The Rah Ven will not leave, Keeper,” said Rin. “They will not abandon their posts.”

“Tell them they stand on scorched earth and that the Watch is lost,” he said. “They will leave after that. Now go! We have little time.”

“What about the Kriyas?”

“I will greet them when they arrive. Under no circumstance is anyone to attack them. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Keeper,” said Rin as he ran off again to prepare the Watch.

The Keeper looked around at the activity in the Watch. This would be the last day the Watch would see this level of activity. Once the Solus protocol—a failsafe procedure to completely isolate a Watch in case of an emergency—began, the Watch would be closed off and anyone who remained would be trapped inside with no way of leaving.

TEN

SYLK TRACED A counter glyph as he entered the portal. A portal within a portal. It meant separating from Ferra and Kal, but he felt it was worth the risk. Something was off about Raja. Sharing information was one thing, but isolating Dante under the pretext of choice was something else entirely. The glyphs he traced were some of the oldest he knew. He only knew it as the blood glyph. It allowed the user to create a portal to the location of their closest blood relative. That meant Dante.

The portal warped and stretched his consciousness. It was a risky maneuver. Executed incorrectly he could end up like Mariko, wandering forever in some interstitial space until he lost his mind. He kept his focus on the glyphs and, as he entered, the glyphs found Dante. Dante is in there somewhere but Raja would not let me help. Could the Records be corrupted? Could someone be manipulating or controlling Raja? I didn’t think that was possible until our conversation.

The portal opened and Sylk entered the dark reflection room. He noticed the crater where there used to be a circle. He let his awareness expand and found Dante. He had started the ritual; he could sense that much. The change in his chi was apparent. He was fighting. That chi signature. It can’t be. On the other side of the crater, he sensed Dante stop an attack by—the realization hit him suddenly— the Harbinger. He leaped over the crater and manifested his sword, its black blade gleaming.

**********

Shadowstrike moved of its own accord with me as an extension. That’s what it felt like in my hands.

Let go of the fear. It will only slow you down. Acknowledge it and then let it go, it said in my mind.

Facing an immortal who was bent on killing you kicks that fear into overdrive. I had no trouble acknowledging the fear. The letting go part escaped me. Rael slashed at my legs and unleashed a wave of electricity. Shadowstrike absorbed the wave like a lightning rod as I dodged the slash. The surprise must have shown on my face since Rael laughed as I backed away.

“You clueless fool,” he said. “You have no idea what is happening, do you?” he said as he closed the distance. “Did it tell you the cost?”

“My life,” I said.

“Wrong, warrior,” he answered shaking his head. “It will be your immortal life. That sword will keep you alive indefinitely once the ritual is complete.”

He lunged with one sword while bringing the other down in an overhead slash. I parried the lunge and sidestepped the slash. My leg shot out and I kicked his knee. The impact made a sick crunch as he fell to the ground, laughing. I backed up, realizing he was insane.

He grabbed his leg, now bent at an unnatural angle. Another sick crunch filled the space as he pulled the knee back in place. Tears filled his eyes as he screamed. His leg returned to normal and he stood up. He tested the knee and took a defensive stance, still chuckling softly.

“You don’t want to end up like this, warrior,” he said quietly. “Everyone you know will die. Life will have no meaning. You will end up alone and touched.” He touched the side of his head as he smiled at me.

“Your master wants to destroy everything, me included,” I said.

“You have been fed lies, warrior,” he said. “Have you asked yourself, why you? Why haven’t any of the other warriors— clearly more powerful than you—why haven’t they tried this?”

I remained silent. I keep asking myself that same question.

“Let me solve that mystery for you,” he said. “You’re being played. To them you are just a weapon, a pawn to be controlled. A powerful pawn, but still expendable. Once the ritual is complete, there is no going back. Don’t let them take your life from you. Don’t end up like me.”

A blast of energy hit Rael in the chest, knocking him back.

“Enough, Harbinger,” said Sylk.

“Enough of what, Karashihan, the truth?” answered Rael as he began to fade. He looked down in mild amusement and saw himself become transparent.

“You think you can plane-shift me that easily, Sylk?” said Rael. “I’m hurt. Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“With extreme prejudice, yes, I am,” said Sylk.

Rael began tracing glyphs in the air as he looked at me.

“Nothing quite like family to betray you in the most painful way,” said Rael. “Ask him why he didn’t take the third focus.”

With a blast of electricity, he disappeared, leaving scorch marks on the ground.

Sylk looked at the scorch marks and rubbed his chin. “That will only slow him down for a few minutes,” he said. “Long enough to get away from here.”

I turned to Sylk. The fatigue hit me suddenly and I sat on the ground. Shadowstrike disappeared. Is Rael right? Are they turning me into another Harbinger? Some half-crazy immortal they can control?

“Why didn’t you?” I said.

“Warrior…Dante, it was not my place—” began Sylk.

“Bullshit, Sylk,” I said, pointing at him. “You are from the same lineage as Lucius. Why didn’t you go for the third focus? Or Maelstrom, for that matter?”

“Maelstrom was a mistake,” he said. “You were never supposed to manifest that weapon.”

“And yet I did and it almost killed me, no thanks to you,” I said, my chest growing tight. I could feel the anger rising in me. “Now you want me to carry another weapon that’s going to turn me into what—another Harbinger? Some lunatic who can’t die?”

“Don’t you see, Dante, this is what he wanted,” said Sylk. “For you to doubt. Don’t let him win.”

“Is it true?” I asked. “The things he said, are they true? Once I complete the ritual, what happens to me?”

I stood up and manifested Shadowstrike. It happened effortlessly this time. I looked at my hand, at the sword and what it symbolized—the end of my life, as I knew it.

“Dante—”

“Goddammit, Sylk, just tell me!” I yelled.

“It’s not that simple.”

“Make it simple,” I said through gritted teeth. “Is it reversible?”

“No, it’s not,” he said. “Another searing will kill you. I still don’t know how you survived the first one.”

I wasn’t going to tell him that Owl had saved me from Lucius and had probably sacrificed the last of his being in that act.

“If I don’t complete the ritual?”

“You will die,” he answered. “That sliver will destroy you over time with every use if the ritual is not finished.”

“How long before that happens?” I said.

“I don’t know. No one does, only that it does happen.”

“You bastard,” I said. “You knew and you let me do it anyway.”

“Yes, Dante,” he said. “My intention was to let you bond to the third focus in the hopes of preventing the destruction of everything else. Initially, I was going to bond to the third focus myself, but not everything goes according to plan. We all have sacrificed. For some of us there is still more to give. Given the circumstances, our lives are inconsequential.”

He extended his right arm and the silver lines glowed faintly.

“Am I going to turn into him?” I asked. “Will I become another psycho immortal?”

“That depends on you,” he said. “If I see you turning into a crazed sword bearer, I will do my best to end you.”

“Well, that’s comforting,” I said.

“Shadowstrike is not Maelstrom, even though they were forged by the same hand,” he continued. “Maelstrom is corrupted, but even you managed to keep it from killing indiscriminately.”

“It wasn’t easy,” I said.

“Exactly,” he answered. “It wasn’t easy for it to turn you to kill. The few times you gave it free rein, your life or the lives of others were in danger.”

“It was evil,” I said. “All it wanted was death. Starting with mine.”

“Bonding with Shadowstrike will not be as easy as Maelstrom,” he said. “The ritual is in three parts. Each one is dangerous.”

“Why is it so difficult?” I asked. “With Maelstrom it was only a matter of letting it have control.”

“Maelstrom is a weapon of complete destruction,” said Sylk. “It only requires a vessel to fulfill this role, usually consuming the vessel in the process.”

“And Shadowstrike?” I asked.

“Is different,” he replied. “It will give you the ability to time-skip and wave-dance once its abilities are fully realized. This is no small thing. I have heard it has other properties as well.”

“You don’t know?” I asked, incredulous.

“I only know what has been recorded,” he said. “The fact that you have begun the ritual is amazing enough. I understand that you didn’t want any of this, Dante. Many times, we don’t seek out greatness or adversity. Many times it is thrust upon us.”

“Dumped on is more like it,” I said bitterly. “Before all of this, my life was my own. I trained and managed it. My life was simple and quiet. Hell, I had a life.”

“You still do,” he said. “It just serves a greater purpose now.”

“I didn’t have to worry about anyone but myself; now, everyone depends on me. I’m not some savior, Sylk. Half the time I don’t know what I’m doing!” I said, the anger and frustration getting the best of me. “I don’t know what Sensei Wei was thinking.”

“It is obvious he saw something in you beyond the average,” he answered. “He may have even known your ancestry. Being the bearer of the Fangs, the second focus, he probably knew more than most about our family history.”

“It feels like I don’t have a choice,” I said.

“There is always choice, Dante. Even when it appears like none exists. You can choose to walk away and let Shadowstrike end you. If not the weapon, Lucius will eventually find you and attempt another searing; this will kill you.”

“Sounds great,” I said. “Those sound like excellent choices.”

“I’m not finished,” he said. “You can finish the ritual, which can also kill you. However, if you succeed, you will be able to stand against those that threaten the very fabric of reality. In the end you may still die, but you will do it on your terms.”

I gave it some thought. In the end, I chose life because I’m stubborn that way and I had become used to breathing. If I was going to die, it was going to happen fighting for every breath. No one and nothing was going to steal it from me.

“Let’s go finish this ritual,” I said. “Shadowstrike said something about the North Watch being the only one with a working circle now.”

“Are you certain it said the North Watch?” he said warily. “It wasn’t Raja who mentioned the North Watch? Think carefully, try to remember.”

I looked at the crater and scanned my memory.

“No,” I said. “I didn’t know about the North Watch until after this happened.” I pointed at the crater. “Why do you ask?”

“Raja said you had to do the ritual on your own,” he said. “That is not what I had learned from the records about the foci.”

“He told me the same thing when I wanted to bring the others along,” I said. “Something about it being more dangerous and that I had to do it on my own.”

“I didn’t think it was possible…” He went silent, lost in thought.

“What?” I asked. “You didn’t think what was possible?”

“Either Raja doesn’t know…” he replied, snapping out of his reverie. “That is highly unlikely, being a repository of knowledge. The alternative is that—”

“He’s lying,” I said as the implications dawned on me.

ELEVEN

WHERE ARE WE? Meja looked around and noticed the tre they were standing in. Inside the tre was a stylized claw. The nighttime air was cool. Meja recognized the Rah Ven plane.

“This isn’t the Records,” said Mara.

“This is my home,” said Noga. “I have not seen it in some time.” She took a deep breath and immediately grew alert.

“What is it?” asked Meja.

“The others are here,” said Noga pointing. “Headed in that direction, to the city. To the Rah Ven.”

“You mean…?” began Mara.

“The Reapers. They are going to kill the Rah Ven,” said Meja.

Mara looked in the direction Noga was pointing. A cold shiver ran through her. She turned to Noga. “We have to warn them before it’s too late,” she said.

“Can you contact more of the guard?” asked Meja.

Noga shook her head.

“The guard stays with the Alpha, most of them are at the South Watch. Or were, when I left,” Noga answered. “Some came here when the new Alpha was chosen. They would be with the Alpha.”

Why would the Keeper send them here? He knew we had to go to Dante, to the Records. This makes no sense.

“Let’s head to the city and see what we can find out,” said Meja.

Behind them, she heard a sound and avoided the curved weapons at the last second as they flew by her. Why didn’t I sense that?

“What do we have here?” said a voice.

A figure emerged from behind them, concealed in the dark. Dressed in black, it looked a like a shadow among shadows.

“Reaper,” whispered Meja.

The figure bowed with a flourish. In his hands, he held two semicircular blades.

“I thought this was going to be a waste of time, guarding this circle,” he said. “Now it looks like I will have some entertainment.”

Meja manifested Truth. A bright blue light filled the area.

Kenji drew close to Meja. “This is no ordinary enemy,” he said. “You will need assistance.”

“What’s the matter?” said the Reaper. “Are you scared of the dark?”

“No,” said Meja. Her voice took on a deeper timbre. “It is the dark that fears me.”

The Reaper opened his eyes in surprise as Meja moved forward and thrust. The Reaper blocked with his blades.

“You move fast,” he said, breaking her attack. “Let’s see just how fast you are.”

He leaped back and slid into the darkness, disappearing from view.

“Fan out and keep your guard up, he’s here,” said Meja. “And watch for those blades, they move” —a blade grazed her face as it whistled by, cutting her, and she put her hand to her cheek, feeling the blood— “fast.” And silent. This is a game. It’s toying with us. She centered her breath and expanded her awareness. The energy signature astounded her. These creatures are ancient and powerful.

“I know why they made you guard the circle. Surely you must be one of the weakest creatures I have faced,” she taunted. “Come face me, Reaper, if you dare.”

She absorbed Truth and cast the area into darkness. She could sense the Reaper and the rest of the group. She moved to the center and felt the Reaper get closer, stalking her. She felt it pause. It’s going to jump. She manifested Truth and sent her chi into the blade, creating a blazing light. The Reaper screamed as it leaped at her, shielding its eyes. For a brief moment, she saw its pupil-less eyes and understood.  The light. They don’t like the light.

She rolled to the side as the Reaper threw its blades. The group loosely surrounded them now. The blades flew by her as she dropped to the ground. She felt their arcing trajectory as they returned to the Reaper.

They act like boomerangs. Deadly boomerangs.

She stood, holding Truth out in front of her. Advancing on the Reaper, she thrust forward. The Reaper slid left and cut her arm. “Not fast enough, no, you’re not,” he said. Meja slashed in front of her, forcing the Reaper back. The Reaper disappeared from sight, his laughter echoing in the night.

“Time to die, yes it is,” he said. “The four-legged one first, then the rest.”

I can’t sense him. Four-legged one?

Meja sensed the Reaper and turned in time to see him appear behind Noga.

“Noga!” yelled Meja. It was too late.

The Reaper moved fast and cut across Noga’s neck. She dropped to the ground. Her hands clenched her throat as blood escaped her fingers.

“She was too slow, too slow,” he whispered. “Time to die. All the four-legged ones will die tonight.”

I am not dying here tonight. I hope this works. She centered herself and controlled her breathing. Channeling her chi internally, she opened herself to Truth and let the energy cascade over her. It threatened to overwhelm her. Her eyes blazed with blue light and she could feel the energy within consuming her. Can’t keep this up for long.

“Reveal him,” she said aloud.

The night blossomed in light. She could see everything clearly now. She saw the Reaper crouching behind Mara, ready to attack. She dove forward, shoved Mara out of the way, and stabbed the Reaper in the midsection, driving it down to the ground. It slashed at her with its blades, but she was out of its reach. Its body was an explosion of light and chi.

“Kenji, it’s too much!” she yelled. “I don’t think I can contain it!” It’s too old. So much power.

The energy of the Reaper washed over her. Her sword absorbed much of it and still it threatened to drown her. Her vision began to narrow as the Reaper started laughing.

“Not strong enough,” he cackled. “Not enough. You die with me tonight!”

Kenji brought down his sword and removed the Reaper’s head. He began to trace glyphs and absorbed much of the energy that escaped the Reaper’s body, redirecting it away from Meja. The light flared for a few seconds and then died down. Meja staggered back and sat on the ground, barely conscious. Her body glowed faintly. Mara crouched beside her.

“What happened?” said Mara, checking Meja.

“The chi of that—thing—is wrong somehow,” said Meja, shaking her head. “It’s not entirely alive, yet it’s connected to something. I can’t explain it.”

“It seems you absorbed some of the Reaper’s chi,” said Kenji looking her over. “That sword of yours is dangerous.”

“Your sword is different from before,” said Mara. “It felt stronger, you felt stronger. How is this possible?”

Meja stood unsteadily as the glow subsided. Kenji put a hand on her shoulder. “Be still for a moment.”

“The Reaper?” asked Meja, shrugging off his hand as she regained her balance.

“Dead,” said Kenji. “You nearly joined it. You must not use your sword this way.”

“Didn’t have a choice,” she answered. “It was either that or let it kill us.”

“It would seem your weapon requires more study; you need to train in its—” began Kenji. Meja raised her hand and stopped him short. They turned at the scraping sound behind them.

Behind them, the body of the Reaper began to move. In seconds, the body and head were one. The Reaper began to crawl closer to them.

Stepping back, the trio gathered their energy.

“Kenji form a portal and get out of here,” said Meja manifesting Truth. “Warn the others.”

“No, monitor,” said Kenji, drawing his sword. “You will not face this enemy alone.”

“It’s their connection,” said Meja. “These things don’t stay down.”

The Reaper was becoming more animated as it fixed its gaze on them. Then it smiled—a hideous expression of malice gripped its features.

“I am open to suggestions, if you have any,” said Kenji as they stepped back.

Mara shook her head. “I’ve never dealt with something like this,” she said. “Usually when you remove something’s head, it stays down.”

“A chi erasure,” said Meja, her voice grim. “It should remove whatever energy is animating it.”

“No!” said Kenji. “That would be suicide with this creature. The energy would kill you. I can’t let you do this.”

“I don’t see that we have much of a choice,” said Meja as she began tracing glyphs. “You two will have to—” Meja fell back, unconscious, as Kenji caught her. With his free hand, he formed a portal and handed Meja to Mara.

“I can’t let you do this,” he said quietly. “Once I begin,” he said, looking at Mara and then at the Reaper. “you must leave the plane or your chi will be destroyed, and with it your life.”

“But that means that you…” said Mara

“It’s the only way we are going to stop them,” said Kenji. “I have no intention of joining it in death. Now go. That portal will take you to the warrior, and hopefully your master.”

He traced glyphs as he approached the Reaper.

“You have come to die, have you?” said the Reaper as it brandished its blades.

Kenji’s hands left black trails in the air as he moved closer. The Reaper advanced, slashing with his blade. Kenji sidestepped and placed a hand on the Reaper’s chest. The black trails became tendrils that attached themselves to the Reaper. The Reaper screamed in rage and pain, renewing its attack. Kenji skip-stepped to the side and into a forward roll, touching the Reaper again as he passed it. More tendrils formed around the Reaper followed by another howl of pain. The tendrils now connected Kenji to the Reaper. He closed on the Reaper again; behind it, he could see the awestruck Mara cringe as he embraced the Reaper. With one last gesture, the black tendrils grew taut. Mara flinched at the heightened screams of the Reaper.

The Reaper’s body became desiccated and started to fold in on itself disappearing after a few moments. Kenji remained, his body growing thinner by the second. She took a step toward him.

“No, stay back, it’s too dangerous,” he said. “Take her and leave now!”

“Let me help,” pleaded Mara. “It’s killing you!”

“The erasure has to run its course and I can’t stop it,” said Kenji, his voice strained as the tendrils wrapped around his body.  “You have to warn them about the Reapers. Tell your master what occurred here.”

“And you?” asked Mara. “What about you?”

Kenji gave her a tight smile. “I’m not done yet,” he said. “I will join you when I can—now go.”

He made another gesture and Mara felt herself being pushed back into the portal. She grabbed Meja and turned, letting the energy envelop her. She looked back and saw Kenji disappear into the tendrils. The tendrils hung still for a moment and then began advancing on her. She ran into the portal carrying Meja and disappeared from view.

**********

Several miles away, Erio crouched down and looked upon the Rah Ven city. He turned sharply and looked behind him.

“What is it?” asked Iza.

“Yago has fallen,” he said. “His connection is gone.”

“The monitor?”

Erio nodded as he stood.

“It is her chi I sense the strongest.”

“How could this be?”

“It would seem that Meja of the house of Aumera is more resourceful than anticipated,” said Erio. “She has proven herself formidable. I do look forward to meeting her soon.”

“She defeated him?” said Iza looking out into the distance.

Erio nodded again. “I can no longer feel his scythe,” he answered as he paused a moment. “It has returned.”

“How is that possible?” asked Iza. “She is not powerful enough to overcome one of us.”

“Of course not,” said Erio. “She had help. This does not make her any less dangerous.  She has powerful allies. Powerful enough to perform an erasure.”

Iza clenched her jaw as she narrowed her eyes. Her hair lashed around furiously around her head.

“Iza…compose yourself,” said Erio. “We have other matters to attend to tonight.”

He turned back and motioned for the remaining seven Reapers to join him. Together, the nine Reapers headed down to the Rah Ven city.

**********

At the circle, a lone figure materialized from a rift in the plane. She scanned the circle with her hands outstretched, before her sensing the area. She lingered in the area where Kenji and the Reaper had disappeared. Crouching down, she touched the floor of the circle and brought her fingers to her tongue. She spat on the floor in disgust.

She turned her head and paced slowly to where Mara and Meja had gone through the portal. Moving her hands slowly through the air, she found the remnants of the portal they had used. Whispering some words under her breath, she opened another portal and stepped through.

TWELVE

RAQUEL HAD GROWN tired of the games. She made her way to Monique’s office after she received a message that Rory had gone missing. She opened the door and knew something was off. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she looked around. Seeing nothing, she turned to Monique.

“Where have you been?” said Monique. “You were sent to bring the rogue in. She infiltrates the Hub and here you stand without her. Explain this to me.”

“She’s changed somehow,” said Raquel. “This isn’t the same woman we had before. She’s stronger now, dangerous.”

“This is your excuse?” said Monique. “She’s stronger? Why didn’t you bring in her brother? I’m certain he is just as guilty as she is.”

“But he is your—” started Raquel.

“I don’t care what he is to me,” hissed Monique. “If he violated our laws then he deserves to be punished. Have I made myself clear?”

“Crystal,” said Raquel. “I will apprehend him now.”

Raquel turned to leave the office.

“Wait,” said Monique, motioning for Raquel to sit. Raquel remained standing.

“You don’t want him apprehended?” said Raquel.

“No,” said Monique. “He is up to something. Let him plan and plot. We will take him when the time is right. I need you to look into Rory. He hasn’t reported in and that’s not like him.”

“Doesn’t he report directly to you?”

“Yes, but he was doing your job, hunting down the rogue,” said Monique. “I don’t think she is strong enough to stop him, but I need to make certain. Do you think you can handle this?”

Raquel turned to leave once again. “What do you want me to do when I find his body?”

Monique raised an eyebrow. “If you find a body, bring it back here, find the one responsible and end them,” she said.

Raquel nodded and left the office. Monique waved a hand and the room became unnaturally silent. Moments later, a figure materialized. He wore a blue robe with the emblem of a wheel on it.

“Her senses are sharp,” said the robed figure. “For a moment I thought she would discover me.”

“She’s good, but not that good,” said Monique.

“You underestimate her,” he said. “That would be a mistake. She is dangerous. Why haven’t you killed her yet?”

“She still serves a purpose,” said Monique. “Once that purpose is fulfilled, she will be terminated.”

“What is this purpose?” asked the robed figure.

“She is a gunslinger,” she said.

“A gunslinger?” asked the robed figure. “I thought they were all eliminated and the teaching banned as too dangerous?”

“She was given a special dispensation,” said Monique.

“Does that mean she is his daughter?” he asked.

“Yes, and this will further serve to implicate her.”

“You plan to use her to—” began the robed figure.

“She and her guns are going to spark the destruction of the Order,” said Monique. “It is only fitting, given her heritage.”

“It will be interesting to see how you arrange that,” he said.

“Leave that to me,” said Monique. “What of the Samadhi? We can’t move until we know where their loyalties lie.”

“The master will convene the Samadhi soon,” he said. “Is the Lotus ready?”

“The Lotus is ready to strike once the command is given,” she said. “We will start with the seniors and move down the ranks. Anyone not loyal to the Wheel will die. Who will deal with the Samadhi?”

“Master Wheel will give them a choice,” said the robed figure. “They will join him or cease to exist. You said the seniors. Does that include Devin?”

“All of the seniors,” answered Monique.

“I will inform the master that everything is in place,” said the robed figure. “Make sure you do not fail.”

“I have no intention of doing so,” said Monique.

The robed figure opened a portal and left Monique to her thoughts.

THIRTEEN

THEY ARRIVED AT the Watch wall. The blazing sun baked the sand under their feet. A hot wind blew small dust devils around them. Tetra felt none of it; his concentration lay elsewhere.

He had felt the shift in the plane and realized something was amiss.

“What’s wrong?” asked Ravia.

“We must find the Keeper,” he said. “The energy of the plane has shifted. Can you feel it?”

Ravia closed her eyes for a moment and then nodded her head.

“The connection is gone,” she answered, her eyes still closed. “It feels like our exile. Are we trapped?”

The Keeper approached them. His staff glowed as he walked slowly in their direction. Behind the Keeper stood three Rah Ven.

“What have you done?” said Tetra.

“What needed to be done,” answered the Keeper. “You will remain here until the Solus protocol runs its course.”

“You dare deny me?” asked Tetra. “Do you know who I am? What I am?” Tetra began undoing his garments. Beside him, Ravia did the same. The Keeper remained still as they disrobed. He raised his staff and held it horizontally across his body.

“I do,” said the Keeper. “You are Tetra of the Kriyas. You are beings of great power, capable of siphoning chi from any living thing.”

“Where is the bonded one?” asked Tetra. “If you give her to me, I may let you live.”

“She is no longer here. Why do you seek her?” asked the Keeper. “She has done you no harm.”

Tetra’s skin glistened as he tried to absorb the energy in the plane. His red eyes focused past the group in front of him. Down below the surface, he could see the entanglement of chi. He did not feel her presence.

“You speak truth, old one,” said Tetra. “I will speak the same. I seek her master, Sylk, of the line of Iman. He is the one who stole my vengeance.”

“How did he accomplish this?” asked the Keeper.

“Enough talk,” said Tetra through clenched teeth. He placed the palms of his hands together and the air around him became lifeless. Behind the Keeper, the Rah Ven transformed into canine form.

Tetra lunged forward at the Keeper. Ravia smiled and walked slowly to the Rah Ven. The Keeper held his staff before him as Tetra swung a chi-enhanced fist. Tetra hit a barrier and was sent flying back. Ravia turned with a look of surprise on her face.

“Impossible,” whispered Tetra as he got to his feet. “You are using chi. I can feel it. How can you repel me?”

The Keeper leaned on his staff and looked at Tetra.

“I was old when you were still being formed, Kriya,” said the Keeper. “The Solus protocol reverses the flow of energy in the plane. If you were to siphon this energy, it would undo you. Aside from that, this Watch is the first Watch.”

“It is you who will be undone,” said Tetra through clenched teeth. He closed his eyes for a moment and then advanced.

“This is futile, Kriya,” said the Keeper.

“You will not trap us here, old one,” said Tetra. “We still have time.”

Ravia, do not engage the Rah Ven. I will create a rift. We must leave this place before it is too late.

But they taste delicious. I can feel their life.

This protocol is not complete. He is trying to delay us. We must leave now.

Tetra traced a glyph and tore a hole in the fabric of the plane. A ragged portal formed behind him. Now, Ravia! Tetra stepped back to the edge of the portal.

Ravia ran for the portal. The Keeper sent a blast of energy that caught her and brought her to the ground, immobilizing her.

I will return for you.

Tetra, no! Do not leave me!

They will not harm you.

“You will not stop me, Keeper,” said Tetra as he stepped in front of the portal.

The Keeper pointed his staff at Tetra and sent a blast of energy at him. Tetra crossed his arms and absorbed the blast. The impact sent him back and through the portal.

“Go after him,” said the Keeper to the Rah Ven. “He will be incapacitated for several hours after absorbing that attack. Bring him back here before the protocol is complete.”

Two of the Rah Ven bounded through the portal and disappeared. The Keeper looked down at the immobile but conscious form of Ravia. Her eyes flashed in anger and defiance.

“You are merely a blunt instrument in this war,” he said, looking down at Ravia. He turned to the Rah Ven beside him. “Bring her. We will make sure she can cause no harm.”

The Rah Ven transformed back to human form, lifted Ravia off the ground, and followed the Keeper.

FOURTEEN

SOMETHING IS WRONG. Raja has never demonstrated personal interest in the past, thought Samir.

“The text on the foci,” said Samir, “who possesses it now?”

“If I give you that information, I will be placing your life and the lives of your companions in considerable danger,” said Raja. “Are you certain you wish to know?”

“Yes. Considering the alternative, we need that information.”

“Very well. The last person to possess the book of the foci was the bearer of the second focus, Wu Wei,” answered Raja after a pause.

How is this knowledge dangerous? thought Samir.

“Where is Wu Wei now?”

“I cannot say,” said Raja. “I am a repository of knowledge. I am not omniscient.”

“Understood,” said Samir. “What can you tell me about the third focus? What are its properties?”

“Its known properties are allowing the wielders of the weapon to time-skip and wave-dance,” replied Raja with some hesitation. “The purpose of the third focus is to act as a check and balance to the first.”

What isn’t he telling me? Why is he pausing? It’s as if he is struggling to give me the information.

“Why are you reluctant to share this information?”

Raja looked at Samir and fixed him with a serious stare. He stepped back and assessed Samir, looking at him entirely.

“This line of questioning is not pertinent to learning about the focus and can prove detrimental to your wellbeing,” said Raja. “Please center your questions on the foci.”

Samir took a step back and hesitated. “Is there a ritual regarding the third focus?” asked Samir.

“Yes, the ritual consists of three parts,” answered Raja.

“Can you elaborate on the three parts?”

“Certainly,” began Raja. “The first part consists of the initial binding. The wielder must demonstrate compatibility and possess the power sufficient to wield the focus.”

“Did Dante meet this criterion?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Please go on,” said Samir.

“The second phase of the ritual consists of a trial of ability,” continued Raja. “The wielder must defeat an embodiment of the focus.”

Is Dante strong enough to do this? “What is your assessment of Dante in this regard?” asked Samir.

“It is in this phase that most have perished,” answered Raja. “At his current level of power and ability, the probability of Dante joining those who have been killed by the focus is quite high.”

“And the third phase?”

“The third phase of the ritual is the most dangerous of the three,” said Raja. “It requires the wielder to assimilate the focus and let its energy intertwine with their chi. This is the final bond and unlocks the properties of the focus.”

“That sounds permanent,” said Samir. “Can it be undone?”

“Not while the wielder of the focus is alive,” said Raja. “Once bonded, every focus stays with its wielder for the duration of the life of the wielder.”

“How did Dante survive being separated from the staff?” asked Samir. “He should be dead now.”

“Agreed,” replied Raja. “I don’t know how he survived the removal of the first focus. My assumption would be that he had help. An outside force assisted or protected him while the extraction took place. Regardless of the method, it is quite impressive that he is alive.”

“I have one more question,” said Samir.

Raja nodded and waited for Samir to continue.

“Who is Master Wheel?”

Raja’s expression darkened as he shifted his position into a fighting stance and drew a sword from his cane. Samir stepped back.

“That is the wrong question,” said Raja as he advanced.

FIFTEEN

WHEEL SAT IN the circle with his eyes closed, his body held in a meditative pose. His folded robe sat neatly to one side of the circle. Shoulder-length black hair cascaded around his face. The muscles of his body rippled with anticipation. Everything had proceeded as he had expected.

He felt their presence close in but remained motionless. He controlled his breath and waited. The intermittent candlelight illuminated his exposed torso and revealed the multitude of circular designs across his back and chest. In the center of his chest, several circles intersected and combined to form a circular design comprised of many smaller circles. Each of the circles on his body contained a glyph that pulsed faintly with power.

He sensed the tension in the arm, the draw on the string and its release. The disturbance of air caused him to shift his head slightly to the left. An arrow, on a silent trajectory of death, missed his eye by several inches. He kept his breath low and centered, connected to the circle and the earth beneath it.

Turning his head to the right, he avoided another arrow as it flew through his hair. He brought his right hand up suddenly and caught the one that had been heading for his chest. He placed that arrow across his lap. Thank you for the weapon. Eyes still closed, he waited. Five figures holding short swords approached the circle from every direction. They were covered from head to toe in black wraps, leaving only their eyes exposed, resembling the Mikai. The glyphs on his body flared to life, each one giving off a deep violet glow. He grabbed the arrow in his lap and snapped the shaft with one hand.

Throwing himself flat on his back, he caused two of the attackers to miss their lunges. He shifted and rolled to the side as they quickly reversed the direction of the blades and stabbed downward, burying the tips of their swords in the hard stone of the circle. He grabbed the closest attacker and jabbed the arrowhead into his neck twice in rapid succession. He left the arrow in his neck as he slid to the side and under another blade swipe. Behind him, he sensed intention and rotated his body just out of the way of a rear-sword strike. He brought his hand across in a crushing knife-hand blow and broke the rear attacker’s larynx, which released the attacker’s blade into Wheel’s waiting hand.

Wheel, now armed with a sword, stood in the center of the circle. Turning his body to the side, he presented a profile to the remaining attackers as he slowly turned. His eyes were open now.

Three on the inside, five outside, he thought. He crouched low, assuming a defensive stance.

He sensed them all. The remaining three with the blades were the inner circle. The five farther back with the arrows were the outer circle. He smiled to himself. A wheel within a wheel, perfect. He leaped straight up several feet and avoided the two arrows that buried themselves where he had been crouched. With a gesture, he manifested two daggers, too small to deal with the swordsmen but perfect for throwing. Landing again in a crouch, he threw them in the direction the arrows had come from. Each found their mark as he sensed two of the bowmen drop to the ground.

His glyphs shifted from violet to black as the swordsmen attacked. In unison they lunged, and he dropped down and landed flat on his stomach to avoid the attack. A triad attack, how quaint and pointless. Immediately he sprang up and slashed and removed the leg of the attacker in front of him. He continued the arc and slashed down. He buried his sword in the neck of the attacker on his right. Letting go of the sword, he rotated out of the thrust from the attacker on the left. He grabbed the swordsman as he missed and twisted him in front of his body to receive three arrows meant for him.

He advanced on the bowmen, manifesting daggers as he closed the distance. Two of the bowmen missed. He could sense their fear. The third, however, was calm. He fired his arrow and caused Wheel to shift direction. The arrow cut a groove in Wheel’s cheek as it grazed him. This one has promise. Wheel released the daggers and dropped the two bowmen to the side. The last bowman had fired two more arrows in that space of time. Wheel slipped to one side and then shifted his body sideways to avoid the incoming arrows. It was at that moment that the last arrow buried itself in his shoulder. A masked third arrow, excellent.

He pulled the arrow out of his shoulder and faced the bowman.

“What is your name?” asked Wheel.

The bowman placed the bow on the floor and knelt on one knee.

“My name is Kono, my lord,” a female voice answered. “My life is yours.”

A woman? This is interesting…despite the mandate of no females in my guard, here she stands. “You managed to mask that you were female,” said Wheel. “Reveal yourself and show me.”

Kono nodded and undid her wraps, showing her face. Short, black hair spiked up. Her face was soft but angular with a strong jaw line and high cheekbones. She centered herself and focused her breath, allowing her chi to flow. After a few moments, she refocused the energy and Wheel narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“I understand,” said Wheel, looking at her. “You made a subtle shift in your chi signature. The rest is all in my perception— clever.”

“It is more a suggestion than a transformation, my lord,” said Kono, wrapping her face again.

A portal formed and a figure approached Wheel from the other end of the room. Dressed in a long blue robe with circle designs covering it, the figure bowed when he drew close.

“I have news,” said the robed figure. “From the Lotus and the Watch.”

Wheel turned to the figure. “Before any of that, have him prepped and ready,” he said, looking back at Kono. “He managed to land several strikes today.”

The robed figure opened his eyes in surprise, but remained silent.

“Yes, sir,” said the figure scrutinizing the black-wrapped figure before him.

“Don’t look so surprised,” said Wheel. “It has been known to happen.”

“Yes, sir,” answered the robed figure. “Shall I have him join the White Lotus?”

“Yes, make sure they know what he did today,” answered Wheel as he gave him the arrow that pierced his shoulder. “He managed to mask this” —he handed the robed figure the arrow that had pierced his arm—“and the fact that she is female.”

Wheel looked at Kono and nodded. She took a measured breath and let her chi flow naturally.

The robed figure gave a sharp intake of breath. “I see,” he said. “She will make an interesting addition to the White Lotus.”

“Yes, she is quite talented. Talent that I can use. Have the rest of these bodies removed and meet me in the main chambers.”

Wheel walked away, putting on his robe before he resumed his place in the circle of reflection in the center of the room.

“Come with me,” said the robed figure to Kono. The robed figure opened another portal, leaving Wheel alone after they had exited.

Wheel sat in the circle and closed his eyes once again.

I think it’s time you and I spoke, Lucius.

SIXTEEN

“I THOUGHT RAJA couldn’t lie,” I said. “I thought he was an entity without a personality. An embodiment of the Akashic Records. Is he even human?”

“He clearly can. Lies of omission are still lies,” answered Sylk. “If he was ever human, it was long ago. This only complicates things further. I didn’t think it was possible to influence him, but everything is pointing in that direction.”

“Who could do this?” I asked.

“Just as important as who is how,” said Sylk. “The Akashic Records are a repository of knowledge. If knowledge is power, the Records are an immeasurable source of power.”

“Are we facing someone with that much power?” I said, not wanting to hear the answer.

“Unfortunately, we must be,” he said. “Lucius, with Maelstrom, could wield the kind of power that could affect the Records. He may not be the only one.” A Samadhi can also wield this kind of power, if he is strong and old enough.

“We need to get to the North Watch,” I said. “I need to complete this ritual.”

Sylk walked around the destroyed circle of reflection. He examined the some of the glyphs, stopping to crouch down and look at them.

“I don’t know how to get to the North Watch,” he said while brushing off one of the glyphs. “I do know someone who might.”

“I have the glyphs to the North Watch,” I said.

“Show me,” he said.

I traced the glyphs I remembered and let him examine them as their after-image floated in the air before us.

“These glyphs…are questionable at best,” he said. “I would rather not end up lost on some plane. You have been learning to glyph from Samir?”

I nodded.

“You need more practice,” he said. “I do know someone who can get us access to the North Watch.”

“Who?” I asked.

“He is the clan leader of the Mikai,” said Sylk. “One of my old teachers, Master Zanshi.”

“The Mikai?” I asked. “Can we trust him?”

“With our lives,” he said, looking at me. “He is one of the few I still trust. He will know how to get to the North Watch, or know someone who can.”

He stopped by one of the glyphs and motioned me over. I drew close to him. Crouching down he pointed at the symbol.

“Do you recognize this symbol?” he asked.

I looked at it. It appeared to be an inverted letter Y with a horizontal line through the upper part.

“No, is it important?” I asked.

“Alone, it doesn’t stand out, but taken in context of this circle, it is significant,” he answered. “Here in this circle it is newer than the others around it. See, look here.” He gestured to where the symbol joined the other glyphs surrounding the circle. “It was placed here deliberately to undo the ritual.”

“What does it mean and why is it around this circle?”

“Both good questions, but I can only answer the first,” he said. “This symbol alone represents transformation, ascendancy. Here, however, it sits next to other symbols that change the meaning somewhat. I’m certain Samir would be better at this.”

“Samir isn’t here,” I said. “Your interpretation will have to be enough.”

He began tracing glyphs in the air.

“In this context, I believe it means the death of the transformed,” he said. “Specifically the one that undergoes this ritual. I will have to check the North Watch to see if this symbol is duplicated there. It is an ancient glyph, which narrows down how many would know of it.”

“So it was meant to kill me,” I said, feeling a pit form in my stomach. He nodded as he completed the glyphs and opened a portal for us.

“It would seem that way,” he answered. “It was fortunate that the process was interrupted.”

“Interrupted? By who? It’s just us here.”

“Let’s go see my teacher and see if we can get some answers,” he replied. “The Mikai are always well-informed.”

He waited for me to step through the portal. I entered and the world disappeared.

**********

Sylk turned around at the sound behind him. The portal closed suddenly, vanishing from sight. A figure stood in the shadows, hidden from view.

“Greetings, Karashihan,” said the voice. “You lied about the glyph. You know exactly what it means.”

“Your attempt to kill him failed and your earlier performance wasn’t very convincing,” said Sylk. I can’t let him know I saw through his mask, not yet.

“I will have to work on my acting. Duplicity was never my strong suit, unlike some,” said the figure.

“He doesn’t need to know its meaning. Besides, you’re too late,” said Sylk. “He is already gone.”

“Tricky things, those lies of omission,” said the figure. “They always come back to bite you in the ass. I know you sent him to your shadows. It will be easy enough to locate him now that he has the sliver of the third focus. I will find him. And end him.”

“You will have to kill me first, Harbinger,” said Sylk manifesting his sword. The black blade gleamed.

“That was the plan,” said the figure. The figure manifested a sword in each hand and stepped out of the shadows. Electricity began to arc between the blades.

SEVENTEEN

RAQUEL SENSED THAT something was off. She headed back to the area where she had left Devin. She was about to disobey a direct order from the commanding officer of the Black Lotus Council—an act punishable by death in the Order. As she walked the corridors of the hub, she started to connect the dots. The more she did this, the angrier she became. Virtue and honor were not part of the Black Lotus, but there was a code, unspoken but still present—you don’t betray your own. They existed in the shadows, doing the things no one else would or could. It meant getting your hands dirty. She understood and accepted that. What she didn’t understand was this obsession with Meja. Why didn’t they just execute her when she stood before the Council? Now Rory is missing. What the hell is going on?

She found Devin in one of the lower levels of the hub. He was meeting with several monitors and giving them instructions. They were sitting at a large conference table covered with maps and diagrams. The room they were in was an old storage room converted into an office. A large desk sat to one side of the room covered with papers. In the center of the room, the large rectangular table dominated the space. The old wood shone in several places, revealing its age. Out of the nine chairs around the table, only six had occupants.

“This is a private meeting,” said one of the monitors as Raquel entered the room.

She ignored the monitor and sat at the far end of the table opposite Devin, looking directly at him. “We need to talk,” she said.

Devin looked at Raquel and stood, prompting the others at the table to stand with him.

“You have your instructions,” he said. “Report back to me once you have fulfilled them.”

The five monitors nodded and left the room silently.

He sat back down and steepled his fingers as he looked at Raquel.

“How can I help you?” he said.

“Your wife is a bitch,” answered Raquel.

“You didn’t come here to tell me something that is common knowledge,” said Devin. “Besides, I can’t help you with that.”

“She and the Lotus are coming for you,” said Raquel. “She thinks you are up to something and is planning to take you down.”

“I am aware of what she is planning,” he said. “I am also aware that this Order is corrupt. Are you aware she is going to set you up for a fall?”

“She’s what?” said Raquel. “Where is your proof?”

Devin produced a prism and traced a series of glyphs in front of it.

“Where did you get that?’ said Raquel, her eyes narrowing.

“Before I answer that, let me show you something,” he said. “Listen closely. Let me know if you recognize the voices. This conversation took place a short time ago.” Devin placed his hand on the prism.

“She’s good, but not that good.”

“That’s Monique,” said Raquel.

“You underestimate her,” he said. “That would be a mistake. She is dangerous. Why haven’t you killed her yet?”

Devin removed his hand and the voices stopped.

“Yes, and I want to know who she is speaking to. I don’t recognize the voice. Do you?” asked Devin.

Raquel shook her head.

Devin placed his hand on the prism and the voices resumed.

“She still serves a purpose. Once that purpose is fulfilled, she will be terminated.”

“What is this purpose?”

“She is a gunslinger.”

“A gunslinger? I thought they were all eliminated and the teaching banned as too dangerous?”

Devin removed his hand again. “Is she referring to you?” he asked.

Raquel nodded and gritted her teeth. The muscles of her jaw flexed before she spoke. “How did you do this?” she said. “Her room is secure from this kind of intrusion.”

“Every time she creates her security field, the twin to this prism is activated and acts as a recording device,” said Devin. “This is not happening real time, but it was the last conversation that occurred.”

He placed his hand back on the prism. The voices continued.

“She was given a special dispensation.”

“Does that mean she is his daughter?”

“Yes, and this will further serve to implicate her.”

“You plan to use her to—”

“She and her guns are going to spark the destruction of the Order. It is only fitting, given her heritage.”

“It will be interesting to see how you arrange that.”

“Leave that to me. What of the Samadhi? We can’t move until we know where their loyalties lie.”

“The master will convene the Samadhi soon. Is the Lotus ready?”

“The Lotus is ready to strike once the command is given. We will start with the seniors and move down the ranks. Anyone not loyal to the Wheel will die. Who will deal with the Samadhi?”

“Master will give them a choice. They will join him or cease to exist. You said the seniors. Does that include Devin?”

“All of the seniors.”

Devin took his hand off the prism.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” began Devin. “Power has always been her prime motivator.”

“But you married her,” said Raquel. “Are you a masochist?”

“It’s complicated, and the marriage was arranged long ago when our families were allies.”

“I would say that alliance no longer exists,” said Raquel.

“It looks like she is coming after you, too,” he said quietly. “I need to know who she is speaking with. He can lead me to whoever is going to deal with the Samadhi.”

“I’m going to kill her,” she said.

“No, not yet,” said Devin. “What did she mean about your father?”

“Nothing,” she lied.

“Who is your father?” asked Devin. “What did she mean, given your heritage?”

“I prefer not to discuss it,” said Raquel. “I don’t see how it’s going to help our current situation. It’s in the past.”

“Except that she plans on using that past to influence our future,” he answered.

She hesitated and then sighed. “My father was Arthur Cross, one of the first gunslingers,” she said. “He was the leader of the Deadeyes, the elite gunslinger unit.”

Devin remained quiet for a moment.

“This is the same Cross who betrayed and then sacrificed himself for the Order. That Cross?” he asked. “I never knew he had children or a family. I thought he died before…”

“Before he could have children?” asked Raquel. “I never met him; and he didn’t die, they killed him.”

“What do you mean?” asked Devin. “The archives record that he turned against the Order during the time they tried to imprison Lucius.”

“The archives are wrong,” she answered. “He betrayed the Order when he discovered their plan of conquest. When they took my mother, he surrendered.”

“He became their weapon,” said Devin. “The Order used him.”

“They sent him against Lucius, with the order to kill him or die trying. He found Lucius and faced his forces. They abandoned him when he needed them the most. He managed to escape back to the hub with a handful of the Deadeyes.”

“A setup,” said Devin. “Either way, they won. If he succeeded, they removed Lucius and, if he failed, he would be dead. They didn’t count on him escaping Lucius. And your mother?”

Raquel nodded. “When he failed, they said they killed her to give him incentive,” she answered. “They miscalculated. The thought of her death drove him over the edge. He loved her more than life. He stormed the hub and used the one technique gunslingers are forbidden to use.”

“A soul cannon?” whispered Devin. “I thought that technique was removed from the teachings?”

“It is,” she said. “He was the only one to ever be able to do it and it killed him. No one has attempted to do it since because of that final side effect.”

That’s some side effect. “How did you escape their notice?” asked Devin. “Your mother wasn’t dead. She was pregnant with you.”

“No, but she was of no use to them after he died,” she said. “I was born off-plane and raised by my paternal grandparents,” she continued. “They raised me in secret and I managed to stay off the radar until I manifested my first guns at twelve. A few years later the Order swooped in, claiming it was safer to train me at the hub. I didn’t learn much about my family until I was much older and my grandfather, Nicholas, told me everything. He told me to stay close to my enemies. Learn everything about them and then erase them.”

Her father is Arthur Cross, probably the greatest gunslinger who ever lived. Now it’s starting to make sense, thought Devin.

“Who else knows about your father?” asked Devin.

“The council and any of the others old enough to have been around at the time,” she replied. “I’m sure the group is small.”

“And Monique,” added Devin. “She must have been given the information about you by an outside source.”

Raquel nodded. “After the Deadeyes, gunslingers were purged—they were considered to be too dangerous.”

Like the house of Iman. Someone was cleaning house and removing obstacles, thought Devin.

“Yet, here you are,” said Devin. “Someone has a plan for you and your guns.”

“I’d like to see them try,” she replied. “No one controls these guns but me.”

“Where are you headed now?” said Devin.

“You aren’t concerned about your wife?” asked Raquel. “She seems to consider you expendable.”

“We never did care for each other,” he answered. “I’m more concerned about what she wants you to do.”

“I need to go find Rory,” she said. “He went after your sister. I find her, I find him. Simple.”

“Nothing is ever that simple with Meja,” said Devin.

“I noticed,” said Raquel. “What I don’t understand is why the Lotus wants her so badly.”

She looked at the prism sitting on the table.

“How are you going to find her?” asked Devin.

“I’m not,” she said. “You are. I strongly suggest you locate her before Rory does.”

“I have too much happening right now,” said Devin. “I need to be here. Besides, Meja can take care of herself; I would be more concerned about Rory actually finding her.”

“You need to be where your sister is,” she said. “I have a feeling this runs deeper than we can see. Let’s go find her and get some answers.”

Devin gave it some thought. He placed the prism in a section of the table where it would be hidden. Once it was secure, he nodded and traced some glyphs in the air.

“Let’s go,” he said and entered the portal. She followed behind him, taking one last look behind her.

EIGHTEEN

SNOW COULD SENSE the power of the Fangs in his tambo. He closed his eyes and expanded his chi. He channeled his chi through his weapons and felt the ascendants in the plane.

It was a technique taught to him by Wei. They are still alive, which means the Harbinger must be distracted, he thought.

He absorbed his tambo, conscious of the fact that their use attracted attention. He needed help.

Why would you give me the Fangs, Master Wei? This is too much.

He narrowed his focus and found her. As he roamed the streets of lower Manhattan, he kept a close eye on the crowds around him. Using both his natural senses and those heightened by the Fangs, he located his target.

She must be in the hub. I will have to be careful. Master Wei warned me about this place.

He made his way to the entrance of the hub, which was under reconstruction. One of the workers turned when he entered, the surprise evident on his face. Only the Warriors of the Way could perceive the entrance to the hub. To most, it looked like the entrance to a little-used shop, abandoned by its owners long ago. The metal stairs leading down echoed his steps as he entered the space.

“Can I help you?” said the worker. From his tone, it was clear that help was the furthest thing from his mind. Snow could sense unease in the worker’s chi.

“I have been sent by Master Wei,” said Snow. “I am here on urgent business and need to speak to one of the seniors.”

“Did you say Master Wei?” asked the worker.

Snow nodded. “Would it possible to speak to a senior?”

“Please wait inside,” said the worker. “I will locate someone who can help you.”

Snow felt that the one he sought was still in the hub. With some focusing, he could locate her. He left the waiting area and began walking through the passages of the hub.

If they stop me, I will explain that I am lost and here on urgent business, he thought.

He sensed the portal open. She’s close. He ran to the area where he had sensed her, but it was too late. She was gone. Taking a few moments more to orient himself, he confirmed that she had left the plane. As he turned, a wave of energy surrounded him. Members of the Black Lotus materialized around him with bows drawn.

“You have something I need,” said Monique. “Hand over the second focus and I promise your death will be swift.”

NINETEEN

I FOUND MYSELF in a forest, alone. Around me, I could hear the sounds of the forest. Birds flew overhead, followed by the rustling of something in the underbrush. The smell of the grass and the trees filled me as I took a breath. I centered myself and expanded my awareness. I felt the sliver within. Its power pulsed rhythmically, a second heart beating deep inside of me. What I didn’t sense was Sylk. The portal I had come through was gone. I felt movement around me, but I couldn’t pinpoint a location. Moments later, three figures stood around me with swords drawn.

Dressed in tight form-fitting black wraps, with only their eyes visible, one of them motioned me to follow. We began walking through the forest. Around me, I could sense that there were more Mikai hidden in the trees. After letting my senses expand, I realized that several dozen Mikai filled the area around me at all times. Never revealing themselves, but never far away. I looked closely at my three guides. Their footsteps were silent and their movements efficient as I followed them around trees and over roots thicker than my legs.

They communicated with a series of gestures and what seemed to be an unspoken understanding of the surrounding area.  I noticed all three had an emblem of two intersecting swords on their shoulder.

We came to a clearing. The presence I felt earlier swelled and I realized that here there were closer to several hundred Mikai around the clearing. I could barely distinguish their chi from the forest around us.

Masking en masse? How is that even possible?

I noticed only a few of them wore black. The others, the ones I could see, wore greens and browns and blended in with the colors of the forest around us in a form of incredible camouflage. A woman stood in the center of the clearing. Her jet-black hair was pulled back in a tight braid. She was dressed in green leather with an assortment of blades sheathed along each leg. On each arm, I saw several small push-knives fitted into the sleeves. Around her waist, I counted no less than three daggers attached horizontally. Strapped to her back was another sheath carrying a sword.  She was speaking with several of the black-clad warriors around her when I entered the clearing with my escort. As one, they all turned and faced me.

“Where is Master Sylk?” she said as she rested her hand on one of the blades attached to her waist. I noticed the subtle shift of weight followed by the slight blading of her body, and realized that I faced a practiced warrior.

“I don’t know,” I said. “He formed the portal and sent me through first.”

She turned to one of the black-clad figures next to her and said something in a language I couldn’t understand. The figure ran off in the direction we had come from.

“Why are you here?” she asked me. Her stance had not changed and I felt the tension around us. My escorts still had their swords drawn.

“We need to see Master Zanshi,” I said. “There are things happening and Sylk felt he would know.”

At the mention of Zanshi’s name, I saw her visibly relax. She nodded once and my escorts sheathed their swords. She narrowed her eyes as she looked me over. For the briefest of moments, I saw surprise register on her face. She drew close to me, placed a hand on my chest, and then nodded again. Around us, the rest of the Mikai vanished. My escort remained next to me.

“I am Mariko. You will come with me,” she said. “If Master Sylk sent you ahead and alone, he must have had his reasons.”

We headed deeper into the forest. I noticed that the tree cover blocked the sunlight as we headed farther away from the clearing. After a few moments, my escort disengaged and blended into the surrounding trees. In the darkness, I sensed that they were close.

“He isn’t big on sharing his reasons,” I said as I caught up to her.

She smiled and her face transformed, revealing her beauty. “He never was,” she said. “You can tell Master Zanshi how you came to have the weapon you hold now.”

How did she know? I’m doing my best to keep Shadowstrike hidden.

“You cannot hide its presence for long,” she said. “A weapon of that level cannot be hidden.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“It is far too powerful for that,” she answered. “You are trying to stop a wave with one finger, and failing. You will have to learn to blend its power with your own. That will be the only way you can mask it.”

“Is that even possible?” I asked.

“If you do not learn this you will be tracked by every enemy you have,” she said. “I am certain that they are not few in number.”

We came to several dwellings that seemed more a natural part of the forests than anything manmade.

“Is this where you live?” I asked, taking in the homes. They were large and expansive. Rather than remove the trees to make space for the homes, the trees were actually part of the homes. It almost seemed organic. The largest structure sat in the center of several dwellings.

“No, the Mikai do not dwell in fixed homes,” she said. “We learn to live from the land and our surroundings. It makes us very difficult to find or track.”

“Who lives here, then?” I asked. I could see several Mikai enter and leave the homes, with the greatest traffic in the center dwelling.

“Only the elders of each clan live in one place,” she answered. “They function as a clan resource. We revere and value our elders. For us, they are our greatest treasure and hold the knowledge necessary for our continued survival. They are the link to our past.”

The center dwelling rose before us as we approached. I could see how it incorporated the nature around it to make it seem a natural part of the forest. If I had not been travelling with her, I would have missed it. It blended perfectly with its surroundings, rendering it invisible. Several Mikai greeted us as we entered the house. Mariko walked down a hallway and led me to a foyer. The room was spacious, with several chairs and lounging chairs placed around low tables.

“Wait here,” she said and left the room. I sat on one of the loungers. My escorts spread out around the room, keeping me equidistant from each of them. The foyer was inviting and warm, designed to make visitors feel at ease. A large brown rug dominated the floor space. I could see glyphs glowing faintly in the rug, embedded in its design. I had never noticed glyphs glowing before. I looked around the room and saw more of them giving off a faint glow. They were on the doorframe and the ceiling. It was the same pattern repeated in every location. They were subtle elements, easily overlooked. How am I seeing this? It must be Shadowstrike. Moments later, Mariko returned with an older version of herself walking beside her.

“This is Lady Ono,” she said, gesturing to the woman beside her. “And you will—”

“Nonsense,” said the woman, cutting her off. “There are no titles in this house. I am certain this warrior understands the rules of courtesy and respect, yes?”

I nodded. Lady Ono, though older, held an inner strength in her speech and manner. Her long, black hair reached her waist. I could see where Mariko’s beauty came from. Lady Ono was stunning. Underneath it all, though, I could sense that she was dangerous, like a coiled spring, as if she could strike at any moment. She sat next to me on the lounger and looked at me. It was unnerving, until she smiled and patted me on the knee.

“You can see the glyphs, can’t you?” she asked.

She smiled and patted my knee again. “They are there to ensure harmony when entering this house, among other things,” she said. “This is why you were brought here,” she said, gesturing around the foyer.

“Yes, they seem to be everywhere in the room, even in the weave of the rug,” I answered, looking down at the floor.

“You will have much to discuss with my husband, I think,” she said as she stood. “I will prepare the evening meal and you will join us as an honored guest.”

“Mother, we still don’t know—” began Mariko.

Lady Ono raised her hand, silencing her daughter. “It has been decided, Mariko. He will join us after he speaks with your father.”

Mariko bowed. “Yes, Mother,” she said. I could tell she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of my staying.

“Your father is in the back; please take Dante. It is Dante, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yes, yes it is,” I answered, taken by surprise. I never told her my name.

“Mariko, please show Dante to the back so he can meet your father,” she said as she held me in her gaze. “After you speak with him, Dante, you will do something for me.”

It wasn’t a question. She glided out of the room without waiting for my response.

Mariko led me to the back of the house and into a large garden at the rear of the home. In the center of the garden was a large square of stone worn smooth by years of training. Inside the square, there was a training circle. The circle touched each side of the square. Eight lines radiated outward from the center of the circle in every direction. On either side of the square, there were racks of weapons. In the center of the circle was an old man holding a sword. He was standing perfectly still, with his eyes closed. On the other side of the circle was a small garden with another man hunched over it pulling out weeds and tilling the soil. The old man in the circle began to move through a series of techniques I vaguely recognized.

“That is a dragon form,” I said. “It looks familiar but I have never seen this variation.”

She nodded. “Very few people outside of the Mikai have seen this variation. This is a family form and only taught to those of our clan.”

The sword gleamed in the light as he moved. He flowed through lunges and parries, crouching low one moment and springing up into the air the next. He landed with his legs crossed and then stepped into another low stance. I stood there, transfixed at the power and grace being demonstrated. His form was extraordinary, the sword an extension of his body and intention as he moved. Then I felt something. I turned to look at the gardener, who had his face covered with a large straw hat to shield himself from the sun. He was working the soil with his hands, turning it repeatedly.

I looked back at the man in the center of the circle who had not stopped his practice. I couldn’t explain the sensation I was experiencing, except to say that I felt drawn to the gardener. Mariko stood beside me and kept looking at the man in the circle. I made my way over to the gardener, not knowing what I would say. I didn’t want to disrespect Mariko’s father, but I needed to speak with this man, except I had no idea what I was going to say. I could see Mariko had not moved from where she stood. I hunched down, feeling foolish, and looked at the gardener’s hands. They were powerful and callused. I couldn’t see his face around the brim of the hat that cast it in shadow.

“Amazing sword work, isn’t it?” said the gardener. “He practices that form every day.”

“It is,” I answered looking back at the man in the circle. Mariko was still standing where I had left her, but I knew she could sense where I was.

“Why aren’t you looking at him?” I asked. “I mean, how do you know it’s amazing if you can’t see him?”

The gardener remained silent for a few moments as he kept tilling with his hands. I must have offended him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. It’s just that you can’t—”

He began laughing. It was a small chuckle, and then it transformed into a full laugh. What the hell is so funny? I still couldn’t see his face, so I crouched down to get a better look at him. He slid back and turned the other way, keeping his face hidden. He did it so effortlessly that it took me off guard.

“Why did you come over here?” asked the gardener. “Is dirt more interesting than the form he is executing? You plan on giving up the sword for the soil?”

“No, I don’t. I can’t,” I answered.

“Can’t or won’t?” asked the gardener. “Two very different things,” he said, holding up two fingers while still looking down at his work and turning over the soil.

“Can’t and won’t,” I answered. “I have too many people counting on me.” Why am I explaining this to a gardener?

I started to walk away. “I’m sorry if I bothered you.”

“Because I taught him, that’s how I know it’s amazing,” he said.

“Excuse me?” I said, turning around. “You taught who?”

Mariko stepped over to my side. She handed the gardener a glass of water. He stood as he began to drink from the glass.

“Thank you, daughter. Where is Sylk?”

She looked at me, smiled and then turned to her father. “Dante arrived alone at the designated place,” she said. “He says Master Sylk was with him, but that he sent him first.”

Master Zanshi looked me over, tilting his head to one side. He handed the glass to Mariko and removed his hat, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. Long gray hair fell down around his shoulders. He stood a little taller than I did and I could sense the chi emanating from him. I could feel myself being measured as he looked at me.

“You just began the ritual?” he asked.

I nodded. I had stopped being surprised at how they knew things.

“It was interrupted and Sylk thought we should come to you,” I said.

He scratched his stubble-covered chin. He walked over to the man in the circle, who was still practicing his forms.

“Excellent work today, Chen. I will see you tomorrow,” said Zanshi.

The old man in the center of the circle bowed and placed the sword back in a rack. Zanshi turned to me and motioned me to come over. He was still scratching his chin.

“Interrupted, you say? Do you know by whom?” he asked.

“I’m pretty sure it was Rael, the Harbinger. He works for Lucius,” I answered.

“No, the Harbinger is powerful, but not powerful enough to stop this ritual,” he said. “No, it was someone or something else. Did you find a glyph? Did it look like this?”

He traced an inverted Y with a horizontal line through the vertical.

I nodded and he shook his head.

“Mariko, call a meeting of the Mikai. I will summon the clan heads. We will need to gather them tonight,” he said.

I could hear the concern in his voice. He stood quietly for a moment as if lost in thought.

“What is it, Father?” she asked. “What does this glyph mean?”

He kept looking at me as he answered her. “If I’m correct, it means the end of everything.”

TWENTY

WHEEL STEPPED INTO the circle and prepared himself. Traveling to the abandoned planes took an immense amount of energy and chi. Next to him sat two figures in blue robes. They would provide the energy required to create the portal. As they entered the circle, they removed their robes, revealing their exposed torsos. He sat in the center of the circle and began to trace glyphs. Red trails followed the symbols as he traced them in the air before him. Moments later the same glyphs appeared on the upper bodies of the two men beside him.

He focused his chi and spoke. The words were ancient and full of power. The two men fell back and arched their backs. Wheel began to draw a different set of glyphs, his hands moving slowly and methodically. Each glyph was slower than the last. Beside him, the men screamed. He knew without looking that their chi was being ripped from their bodies. He traced the final glyph, an inverted Y with a horizontal line through the stem. The circle erupted in energy as the two men were consumed, leaving nothing behind except their clothing.

Wheel stood and basked in the raw power around him. He stretched out his arms and inhaled. In front of him, a dark, swirling mass appeared. It was the portal to the forgotten planes. He took another moment to savor the energy around him before stepping in. He arrived in what appeared to be an ancient garden. A stone walkway snaked through the garden. Cherry trees with their blossoms in full bloom followed the curves of the walkway, creating a canopy of pinks and reds. In the distance, a still lake reflected the sky, a liquid mirror. Next to the lake stood an old man. He wore simple black robes and stood motionless, except for his bare feet, which grabbed at the grass beneath his toes. His long, gray hair, tied in a braid, hung down his back. He didn’t turn around as Wheel approached, keeping his gray eyes fixed on the lake. Wheel stopped several feet away and leaned against the cherry tree that stood between them.

“You took a risk coming here alone,” said the old man.

“A calculated one,” said Wheel. “Hello, old friend. I thought it was time we spoke, you and I.”

Wheel stepped around the tree and looked at his reflection in the lake.

“You betrayed me. We have nothing to discuss,” said the old man.

“I disagree. You have something I need.”

“Have you grown tired of living?” replied the old man. “If it is death you seek, I can give it to you. I am not without the means to end you, even here in this shadow form,” he said still looking at the lake.

“You would not find me so easy to dispatch,” said Wheel. “The third focus will be in play soon. I only managed to delay the ritual. One of your progeny managed to obtain the sliver.”

“Who? Who would dare?” said the old man. He grew pensive and then the realization hit him. “Sylk—he is the only one who could.”

“Wrong. As usual, you let your emotions and arrogance get the best of you. That has always been your downfall,” answered Wheel. “Sylk is not the only one who can wield the focus. It is Dante, the former bearer of Maelstrom.”

“Impossible! I seared him,” said the old man as he narrowed his eyes at Wheel. “You lie. He should barely be able to hold a conversation, much less the third focus.”

“He has undone the searing and has begun the ritual,” said Wheel. “If left on his present course he will hold Shadowstrike.”

The old man turned around. “That is no concern of mine,” he said. “If he undid the searing and began the ritual, I will face him soon enough and put him out of his misery.”

“He will not be that easy to kill, especially if he binds with Shadowstrike,” said Wheel.

“Is that fear I hear in your voice, Samadhi?” The old man fixed Wheel in his gaze. His gray eyes shone with latent energy.

“Fear? No, what you hear in my voice is the finality of your end,” said Wheel as he released some of his chi. The old man smiled in response.

“Is that your display of power?” asked Lucius. “You insult me. Why are you here? You waste my time.”

“No, Lucius. You have no idea what I am capable of—my power eclipses even yours, now,” said Wheel. “But I didn’t come here to impress you. I know what you are planning. I know about the Harbinger and how you are trying to rejoin the lost planes to the hub. I can’t let you continue.”

Lucius placed his hands behind his back as he looked down into the lake. He spoke without looking at Wheel, his words laced with anger and sadness.

“Not a day passes without their lifeless eyes staring at me, blaming me, accusing me, for not protecting them from you and the others,” he said. “You may have power, but it will not be enough to stop me from killing you.”

The air around the shadow of Lucius crackled with energy as he spoke. The water of the lake began rippling as energy came off Lucius and spilled around him.

“You pathetic fool,” said Wheel. “You still cling to your long-dead family? You were weak and stupid then and time has done nothing to remedy your condition.”

Lucius’s eyes began to glow white, obscuring iris and pupil. Around him, small clumps of earth detached and began to float like lazy satellites. “Why are you here?” said Lucius quietly, each word a clipped staccato as he turned to face Wheel again.

“I came to see what kind of threat you were,” said Wheel. “I have to say, I’m not seeing much of one. Oh, and one more thing. You have something I need—the first focus.”

“Impossible. You do not possess my blood, you cannot wield it. The weapon is useless to you,” said Lucius.

“I don’t need to wield it, Lucius,” answered Wheel. “I just need to make sure you can’t. I know how you desire to leave this place. I want you to stay in your precious garden, at least until I’m done.” Wheel materialized a sphere of charged energy in his hand. Lucius bladed his body as he focused his breath, centering himself.

“You came to kill me?” said Lucius as he began to trace glyphs in the air. “You should have finished the job when you had the chance.”

“Kill you? No, not kill you. If you recall, I did want to finish the job,” replied Wheel. “No, killing you would be too much work. I need you…contained. Plus, I’m not suicidal enough to go to your plane and face your full form, not yet.”

“Contained?” said Lucius through gritted teeth. “You fucking bastard. You think this was a mercy. Cutting me off, leaving me here stranded, and then delivering the body parts of my family?”

“I wanted you dead,” said Wheel. “The others feared you. I have to admit I did too, back then we all did. The First Karashihan. Oh how we revered you.”

“I never asked for your reverence,” replied Lucius. “You were a group of naive sycophants. Easily manipulated and controlled.”

“Which you used until it didn’t suit you any longer,” said Wheel. “Do not play the martyr, Lucius. You didn’t expect us to act against you. We deceived you like you were a rank amateur.”

Lucius looked away for a moment. “I was arrogant, full of myself,” he said. “You should have just killed me. Once I leave this place, I promise you I will not be merciful.”

Wheel looked over at the lake, the sphere of energy rotating slowly in his palm as he spoke. “You were too powerful to kill, too influential with the council. They suggested this” —he gestured at the space around him—“this ridiculous response to your position. I’m not here for your mercy,” he said as he turned his hand and launched the sphere at Lucius. In an instant, the shadow of Lucius took a step back and manifested Maelstrom.

Perfect, thought Wheel.

The sphere hit Maelstrom and was absorbed. The shadow of Lucius froze in place. Wheel walked over to where the shadow of Lucius stood. “This is something I have been working on for quite some time. I call it a stasis sphere.”

“You—” said Lucius, under strain.

Wheel looked at Lucius, surprise on his face. “I am impressed that you can even speak,” he said. “I don’t need to hold you here forever. I just need you to stand still long enough for me to do this.” Wheel placed a hand on Maelstrom and began speaking under his breath. With his free hand, he traced glyphs in the air.

Lucius grunted with exertion but could form no words.

“Your downfall has always been pride,” replied Wheel. “Unlike you, I know my limitations. I knew this sphere could never work against you in your full form. I also know that without this weapon you can’t free your true form and create the bridge between planes.”

Lucius narrowed his eyes and began to draw energy. Sweat poured down his face as he struggled against the effect of the stasis sphere.

“I have placed you in a pocket of time, a pocket of time that is slowing down as we speak,” explained Wheel as he took a finger and wiped the sweat from Lucius’s brow. “Even though this is a shadow of your true self, it still exhibits physical qualities; fascinating.”

“Do not do this! You…don’t understand…the forces—” said Lucius.

“Wasn’t that your grand plan, Lucius?” asked Wheel. “Break free from this place and destroy it all? Starting with the Order?”

“No, not destroy… everything,” said Lucius as he fell to his knees. “Reestablish… the Order, remove…corruption.”

“With you at its head, ruling them all, I’m certain,” said Wheel. “We are the same, you and I. We both want the same thing: power.”

“Not power…” Lucius trailed off before collapsing to the ground.

“It’s always about power, my old friend,” said Wheel. “In the end it always comes to that.”

Wheel pulled Maelstrom free from Lucius and began to absorb the weapon. The weapon vibrated in Wheel’s hand as if fighting the process. Wheel drew another glyph and spoke under his breath. Maelstrom flashed red and then disappeared. Lucius managed to get up on one knee.

“You…you should…kill me,” said Lucius.

“I know exactly what I am doing; and as for killing you…” began Wheel as he started opening a portal. “I see no need in expending the energy to eliminate a shadow—perhaps if you were a threat. The sphere will run its course, and you will be free to enjoy your garden once again.”

Lucius tried to get to his feet but couldn’t. The stasis sphere siphoned his energy, keeping him drained. He looked on helplessly as Wheel left the plane with Maelstrom.

TWENTY-ONE

SYLK MANIFESTED HIS sword, the ebony blade absorbing the light around it. Rael slashed downward with one sword while executing a sidekick designed to shatter anything it touched. Electricity arced from his blades and raced toward Sylk.  Ducking low in a hook stance, Sylk avoided the kick while thrusting his sword out to intercept the arc of electricity trailing behind Rael’s sword. The energy arced and travelled down the length of his sword, blistering his hand. He switched hands as he sent chi down into his burned flesh and healed it.

“That looked like it hurt,” said Rael, smiling. “We don’t have to do this. You can just surrender and let me finish you.”

Sylk slid to the side, avoiding another strike of electrical energy. He took a deep breath and focused his chi. The lines along his right arm began to glow. He allowed his chi to flow and expand around him. Several small red orbs materialized around him, floating in erratic orbits around his body. Some of the orbs were the size of marbles and some were the size of golf balls. All of them gleamed with silver lines covering their surfaces. Rael stepped back wary of the orbs.

“Blood orbs?” asked Rael. “You are full of surprises, Karashihan.”

“You have no idea, Harbinger. Let’s see if I can’t make you die today.” Sylk unleashed the orbs. Rael dodged the first one, dropping to the floor and rolling to the side as several more orbs impacted the ground where he had been seconds earlier. Each orb left a foot-long crater where it hit. Jumping to his feet, he stood in time to see several of the marble-sized orbs rushing toward him. He crossed his swords and created a barrier. The orbs hit the barrier and sent him flying back. He landed on his back, but quickly recovered into a crouch as Sylk closed on him. More orbs trailed behind Sylk as he slashed at Rael’s legs. Rael jumped back, avoiding the slash, and absorbed one of his swords. Electricity arced wildly around him and his sword as he stepped to meet Sylk. The swords complete the circuit, thought Sylk. The electrical field stopped the orbs from reaching Rael, destroying them midflight.

“You added percussive elements, Karashihan, clever,” said Rael. “You know that can’t stop me, or kill me. I’m disappointed, really.”

Sylk stepped back, giving him space and keeping out of the range of the arcing electrical strikes.

“I didn’t expect them to,” said Sylk. He manifested more orbs. These were smaller, the size of peas. Several hundred floated around Sylk.” I just needed you to come in contact with them.”

“Doesn’t matter what size you make them, Karashihan, they won’t get through my field.”

“I know,” said Sylk as he launched the swarm of orbs at Rael. The electrical field vaporized the orbs and created a fine mist of blood and silver around Rael. Sylk traced a glyph as he lunged forward. Rael saw the lunge and moved to deflect it, but not before Sylk managed to cut across his arm. The mist coalesced and entered the wound.

“One cut and you think this is over?” asked Rael. “You must have me confused with some other Harbinger.” Rael stepped forward to attack and stumbled. He managed to regain his balance instantly and held his sword defensively.

Sylk stepped back and absorbed his sword. “Why did Lucius bring you back the last time?” he asked. “What does he want?”

“What he always wants,” said Rael. He coughed and blood sprayed from his mouth. “You poisoned me.” He looked down at the cut on his arm—it was oozing blood. “No; better yet, you have killed me.” His sword disappeared and with it the electrical energy that had been arcing around him.

“I don’t know if that is possible, Rael,” answered Sylk. “I think this is as close as you will get. The blood that entered your system will shut you down. It acts like poison and will attack all the important parts, but you will be alive, just barely.”

“How could you do this?” gasped Rael. “Only a blood Kriya possesses that kind of knowledge and they were all eliminated ages ago.”

“Almost all of them were, yes,” said Sylk. “Some of the Kriyas still exist. Many were exiled and even more killed. The blood Kriyas, being the rarest, hid.”

Rael began laughing as he clutched his midsection and fell to the ground. “You bastard,” he said. “You know he will find me and undo this. He is relentless and singular in the pursuit of his goal.”

“Why does he need you?” asked Sylk. “What is that goal? Tell me.”

Rael collapsed coughing up more blood. “Don’t let him escape, Sylk,” said Rael between gasps. “If he gets out, he will undo everything. The only thing on his mind is revenge. He wants the planes to burn. He calls it his great purification.”

“Revenge, against whom?” asked Sylk. “The Samadhi that killed his family are long dead by now.”

“Not all of them,” said Rael. “Some of them are still in your Order, pulling the strings, and he knows this.”

Could he be referring to the Wheel? Can those Samadhi really still be alive?

“And he needs you for this?” asked Sylk.

Rael started to laugh but again began coughing. “Need?” said Rael once the coughs calmed down. “No, I wouldn’t say need. I don’t think he needs anyone, not really. What he is doing with me is my punishment, my torture. He denies me death and kills me with life.”

“You have a choice, Harbinger,” said Sylk. “He cannot force you to do the things you do. You kill and destroy. That is your choice.”

“You do not know who or what you are facing,” answered Rael quietly, “or those words would never escape your lips.”

Rael became pale as the blood poison raged through his body.  Shivers racked his body as he struggled into a sitting position.

“I need to get Dante to finish the ritual for the third focus. Is there anything you can tell me regarding its completion?” asked Sylk. “The ritual you interrupted—how do I complete it?”

Rael looked around, confused, not fully registering Sylk’s words. “What do you mean, interrupted? I didn’t interrupt anything.”

If he didn’t interrupt the ritual, then who did? How did they find that glyph?

“I would say kill me, but we both know how that ends,” said Rael. “You’d better hide me someplace where it will take him a long time to find, and be prepared when he does.”

“I know exactly where to put you,” replied Sylk as Rael collapsed back to the ground, unconscious.

Sylk opened a portal as the questions raced through his mind. He bent down, grabbed Rael, placed him over one shoulder and entered the portal. Holding him up with his right arm, he turned and closed the portal behind him. He found himself in a corridor made of obsidian. Every surface was reflective and gave the impression of a house of mirrors. Sylk walked down several corridors until he came to a large door. The door was ten feet in height and half as wide. It contained three large bolts on one side. Glyphs covered the door, making it look more like stylized design than functional. Sylk knew the purpose of the glyphs. He put Rael down and touched three of the glyphs in sequence. Each of the bolts unlocked and slid to the side, opening the door. Inside was a large and spacious living space. Rael began to stir. Sylk entered the room and placed Rael on a large futon in the center of the living space. Shoji screens separated the room into several sections. Rael opened his eyes and tried to sit up. Sylk pushed him back down.

“Where are we? What is this place?” asked Rael.

“This is one of my safe spaces. Living room, bathroom, and library is back there. Behind that is a small bedroom,” answered Sylk. “There is no kitchen, but I’m guessing you won’t starve to death, correct?”

“No, food is not a big concern. In my…condition…I don’t really need to eat.”

“I didn’t think so,” replied Sylk. “This place is an interstice between the planes and the mirror. It will be difficult to pinpoint your location.”

“Like Aurora’s passage,” said Rael. “I understand. As hiding places go, this is good, but you know he will find me eventually.”

“That can’t be helped, only delayed,” said Sylk. “This place should delay him, unless you die first.”

“Why are you doing this?” asked Rael. “Aside from the obvious you can’t kill me aspect of the whole scenario. Why not just leave me there?”

“Because I know you want to end it,” said Sylk. “You want to end your bondage to Lucius.”

Rael nodded slowly, momentarily lost in thought.

“I have tried,” said Rael. “I won’t be able to stop next time, you know. The next time I see you, one of us is going to die. You want to guess whom that will be?”

“It will take him a long time to find you here,” answered Sylk. “The glyphs on the wall and doors will keep out uninvited guests and keep your presence masked. Essentially, you no longer exist. Each of those seals works like a dead man’s switch, so activate them out of sequence and it sets off a cascade effect.”

“The glyphs are suppressors as well, it seems, I can’t access my chi.”

“Try to open the door with the wrong glyph and the door and entire space will become a distant memory after the explosion of chi,” said Sylk. He paused a moment and looked at the door “Don’t try the door. I don’t think it will be enough to kill you, and if I remember correctly you still feel pain.”

Rael looked at the door and the bolts.

“It may just slow him down, but not by my much,” he said. “Once he casts out trying to find me, he will see I am missing and send out a wave of Gyrevex. Those things are disposable to him.”

“They will not be able to enter here, even though they will know where you are.”

“Then he will send his shadow,” answered Rael. “I seem to remember you faced his shadow not too long ago. How did that go? Not too difficult, no?”

It was Sylk’s turn to nod. “Like I said, it won’t stop him, but it will slow him down. Any chance of him forgetting about you?”

“After what I did to him, no. He will never let me go even though he says he will every time.”

“What did you do?’ asked Sylk.

“Find whoever has the most to gain by Dante’s death and you will find the one who interrupted the ritual,” replied Rael, avoiding the question.

“That’s not a short list,” said Sylk.

“I know,” said Rael. “You had better leave. Your poison is beginning to wear off and when it does…”

“Understood,” said Sylk.

Sylk left the space and closed the door, sealing Rael inside. He touched three of the glyphs and the bolts slid into place. Once the bolts had secured the door, he touched another three glyphs and the door disappeared. He opened a portal and saw the forest of the Mikai appear on the other side. He entered the portal, leaving the obsidian hallway in silence.

TWENTY-TWO

SAMIR LOOKED AT Raja and the sword in his hand.

This is impossible, thought Samir as he entered a defensive position, drawing his own sword.

“I thought you were a neutral party?” said Samir. “I have never heard of the keepers of the Records attacking anyone.”

“You haven’t been listening closely enough,” said Raja as he lunged forward.

Samir jumped back and shook off the shock of his situation instantly.

“You will not be able to open a portal and your abilities as a syllabist are meaningless in this place,” said Raja, gesturing around to the Akashic Records with his free hand. “I am the embodiment of knowledge. I am older than your mind can possibly comprehend.”

“You are the embodiment of present knowledge,” said Samir. “You have made it clear that you are not omniscient.” For which I am grateful, he thought.

They circled each other, their swords drawing closer as they looked for openings.

“Your position is untenable,” replied Raja. “Your clearest course of action is to die here today.”

“I am not dying here today,” whispered Samir.

Samir began whispering words under his breath as he attacked. At first, it seemed to be just nonsense, gibberish and nonsensical sounds strung together. When Raja opened his eyes in surprise, Samir knew he had the right words.

“Impossible. You cannot possess that knowledge,” said Raja. “The words of unmaking have been lost to time, for good reason.”

“Not entirely lost,” said Samir. “Just hidden.”

Samir took a breath and mentally prepared himself. The syllabists had deliberately hid the words of unmaking because they had the power to undo and unbind matter and reality. These were the words that Samir began speaking now.

Raja closed the distance and they locked swords. With his free hand, he attempted a spear-hand strike to Samir’s throat. Samir brought his head down and took the blow on the chin. He brought a knife hand down on Raja’s collarbone, but Raja disengaged his sword, shifted to the side and turned it into a glancing blow on his shoulder. Still Samir continued to speak. Around them cracks appeared in the floor.

“You will not do this,” said Raja through clenched teeth. “You do not understand what you are doing.”

Raja turned his body and slashed, cutting Samir in the leg. Samir stumbled back, glancing briefly at the wound. The blood poured down his leg. This is bad.

“Which will it be, Syllabist?” said Raja. “Save yourself and close the wound or continue speaking and bleed out? You can’t do both.”

He’s right; if I don’t stop the bleeding, it all ends here, thought Samir. A burning sensation crept up his leg. The intensity of the pain was overwhelming. Sweat broke out across his face and he began to taking shallow breaths.

“You should be feeling the poison about now,” said Raja. “I’m told it feels like liquid fire coursing through your body. I told you, Syllabist, you die today.”

Raja stepped back and sheathed his sword. Samir stumbled back. He stopped speaking the words of unmaking and whispered words of healing. The wound closed but it was too late, the damage was done. He clenched his jaw and bit back the scream that threatened to erupt. The pain clouded his vision and the floor began to tilt.

“To my knowledge there is no known antidote to this poison. It’s called the dragon’s breath,” said Raja matter-of-factly. “And my knowledge, as you know, is extensive.”

Or you could be lying, you bastard. Something I never thought possible before today. Think, Samir! There has to be an answer, there is always an answer. The words of unmaking! I can use them on the poison.

“Why, Raja?” asked Samir as he limped closer to one of the doors, hoping it was an exit. “Why are you doing this?”

“I am fulfilling my purpose: to safeguard knowledge,” said Raja. “Your questions triggered a failsafe. Specifically, your question about Master Wheel.”

“Master Wheel did this?” asked Samir.

“That is not what I said. It was your question about Master Wheel that became the catalyst for your current, soon to-be fatal, situation.”

Samir’s mind raced. Someone is powerful enough to influence the Akashic Records. They knew the protocol and set the trap along the lines of Raja’s main purpose, keeping knowledge safe. Is Master Wheel this powerful? Could he do such a thing?

“That is not an exit,” said Raja as Samir reached a door. Raja stood motionless in the center of the floor and watched impassively as Samir grabbed for the handle and turned. He opened the door and faced a dark swirling portal.

“We will stop you,” said Samir turning to Raja.

“You will stop no one. Inside of an hour, the poison will begin to break down your vital organs and you will cease to exist. The pain will be excruciating.”

Samir jumped into the portal.

TWENTY-THREE

THE FULL MOON illuminated the silent Rah Ven city as the Reapers approached. From their vantage point, Erio looked down on the city as they got closer.

“It seems very quiet, Erio,” said Iza.

The Reapers stepped into the city and onto its streets, encountering no one. Not one Rah Ven was walking around.

“Is it possible they have fled the city?” asked one of the Reapers behind Erio.

“Anything is possible,” said Erio without turning. “But that is not the case here. I sense something. Its faint but it’s here, around us.”

The Reaper turned around and looked. “I don’t sense—” The words were cut off along with the Reaper’s head. Black tendrils wrapped around the fallen Reaper, disintegrating its head and body. Around them, several Rah Ven materialized, with Luna at their center.

“You attack without provocation?” said Erio. “That was not honorable.”

“We can smell an enemy when it gets close, and we have dealt with your kind in the past, Gyrevex,” said Luna.

She held a long blade in one hand and a small dagger in the other. Both weapons gave off black trails as they moved through the air. The trails looked like viscous liquid that hung in the air a few seconds too long before following the weapons. Erio slammed the bottom of his cane into the ground, converting it into a scythe.

“You have never dealt with something like me, dog,” said Erio. “Your weapons, however, look interesting. Where did you get them?”

“Once I bury them in you, I will tell you how I got them,” answered Luna.

Erio gave a mock bow. “Fair enough,” he said. “Are there enough of you? I would hate for this to be over too quickly.”

Luna nodded and more Rah Ven materialized around them. They numbered close to one hundred. Another of the Reapers stepped back and Erio turned on him. His scythe arced around, too fast to follow. The Reaper fell to the ground, his torso not far from his legs. Moments later the body became dust. Anger flashed in Erio’s eyes for a brief moment. Too many of us summoned at once has come at a cost: doubt and weakness.

“Does anyone else wish release from his constraints?” he said.

The remaining Reapers drew their weapons as Iza laughed and began undoing the ties in her hair. Erio turned to face Luna again. Several of the Rah Ven around her wore expressions of fear and disgust. Erio smiled at them.

“A minor difference of opinion. Forgive me for keeping you waiting,” he said and leaped forward.

Luna met Erio’s slash with her sword.  Black trails flowed from her sword and tried to envelop Erio. He disengaged and swept his scythe in front of his body. His blade absorbed the black trails.

“Did you think it was going to be easy?’ he said. “You are going to have to work a little harder to eliminate me.”

Luna gave an imperceptible nod. The Rah Ven around her advanced on Iza and the remaining Reapers. Luna closed the distance, measuring each step as she looked for an opening.

“Who sent you?” asked Luna. “The planes have not seen Reapers in over a hundred years; why now?”

“That doesn’t matter,” he said, smiling. “What does matter is that we are here now. You really should learn to live in the present.”

Erio threw his scythe. The blade and handle transformed as it left his hand, becoming smaller yet still lethal. A curved blade whistled through the air, headed for Luna. She rolled out of the way, realizing at the last moment that it was a distraction. She came out of the roll right into Erio’s fist as he buried it in her midsection, doubling her over.

Staggering as she coughed up blood, she took few steps back and tried to catch her breath. Can’t believe I fell for that. Too arrogant. No time to dodge or block—shit. With his free hand extended, he caught the blade as it flew toward him. In his hand, it became a scythe again. He swung it down to remove her head. Several knives buried themselves in his arm and side as Luna was pulled back and out of the blade’s trajectory, causing him to miss her head by a fraction of an inch.

“Goddammit, I told you two to stay back unless necessary,” said Luna between gasps.

“Keeping your head seems pretty necessary to me,” said Kal’s voice. “Besides,” she whispered, “I’m not the Rah Ven Guard. I can’t hold a mask as long as they can.”

Kal and Zen shimmered into view next to Luna. Erio looked at the daggers in his body and arm. He stretched out his arm to the side and held his right hand out, palm up. He made a fist and the daggers exited his body and fell to the ground. The wounds in his body began to close, leaving only the holes in his shirt as reminders of the damage he had sustained.

“Can you fight?” asked Zen, not taking his eyes off Erio. “I don’t think we can take him alone.”

Luna straightened out and wiped the blood from her lips. “No choice here,” she said. “If we don’t stop them here, they will wipe us out.”

“I have to say I am pleased, Rah Ven,” said Erio, looking at Luna. “I have not enjoyed myself this much in years.” He cocked his head to the side and pointed at Kal and Zen. “You are not Rah Ven, yet you have their blood— interesting.”

He turned his scythe and held it across his body in a horizontal stance. Kal readied more knives.

“He is the key, I only need to cut him with these blades,” said Luna. “They will do the rest.”

“If you manage to defeat me, I will reveal my true purpose to you, Rah Ven,” said Erio as he turned his scythe in his hands and closed the distance.

Zen focused his breath and centered himself, manifesting a large, golden double-bladed battle-axe. Luna looked at the weapon and then back at Zen, surprise in her eyes. “That weapon…” she started.

“I’ll explain later,” he said. “If there is a later.”

“Let’s do this, then,” said Kal, throwing knives as she ran at Erio.

**********

Iza let her hair loose. Every Reaper had a blade. For Iza, her hair was her weapon. It hung down to her waist and moved of its own volition. Three Rah Ven surrounded her with weapons drawn. They attempted to close in. Once they were close enough, Iza’s hair shot out and impaled them. The strands were as strong as steel when she willed them to be. After a minute, many Rah Ven lay dead or dying. Iza, her clothes stained with her enemy’s blood, only grew more ferocious. The Rah Ven managed to separate her from the other Reapers.

“Divide them!” yelled a Rah Ven that materialized in the midst of the group. It was Ferra. She turned to face Iza. At the sound of her voice, Luna turned and gave her a sharp look.

“My place is with the Alpha,” she said and gave a small nod before she turned her focus on Iza.

“You should have remained unseen, dog,” said Iza. “That was an impressive mask, and you just gave away your greatest advantage.”

Iza pulled her hair close to her body. It acted as a shield, protecting her from attack.

“That was not my greatest advantage, Reaper,” said Ferra. “I do not attack from the shadows like a coward.”

“Those words will be your last,” said Iza as she disappeared from sight.

Ferra shifted form and the Rah Ven around her did the same. The other Rah Ven pounced on the Reapers while Ferra circled around the area where Iza had last stood. She snarled and jumped back as strands of hair impaled the ground where she had stood seconds earlier. Iza laughed. Ferra shimmered and blended into the background. Moments later a yelp of pain filled the area as Ferra materialized. Several strands impaled her side. She growled as she made a quick turn, pulling Iza to her in a one fast motion. Off balance and caught, Iza stumbled forward, realizing Ferra’s plan. Ferra snapped her head around and buried her fangs into Iza’s throat.

“Well played, dog,” gasped Iza. “You know you cannot—”

Ferra clamped down and ripped Iza’s throat from her body. Iza’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground, followed by Ferra, who transformed back to her human form, bleeding from several large wounds. The remaining Reapers were overrun by the Rah Ven and destroyed, leaving only Erio. Two Rah Ven rushed over to Ferra’s side. All around them bodies of the Rah Ven lay.

“The remaining Reapers?” asked Ferra.

“Dead, ma’am,” said the Rah Ven closest to her.

“The Alpha…protect the Alpha,” said Ferra between breaths. “Your name?”

“I’m Dena,” said the Rah Ven. “Lay still, we will get you to the infirmary.”

Ferra grabbed her hand and pulled Dena close.

“It’s too late for that,” she whispered. “Keep the Alpha safe. Promise me, on your pack.”

Dena narrowed her eyes and nodded. A promise on the pack was an oath until death.

“I promise on my pack that I will do my best to keep the Alpha safe,” said Dena.

“Thank you,” said Ferra and breathed her last.

“You two,” said Dena to some of the Rah Ven standing around her, “take her back to the infirmary. She was Rah Ven Guard and deserves to be honored. The rest of you come with me—the Alpha still needs us.”

Only twenty Rah Ven remained and they moved to join Luna.

**********

Erio deflected the knives Kal threw. He slashed at her and she leaped over him, pulling out two short blades mid-jump from thigh sheathes. She landed in a crouch and jumped up again to avoid a lethal slash from behind. Luna stepped in and parried a downward strike.

“Your Rah Ven have been dwindled to insignificance. Even now they race to their deaths,” he said as he stepped back to avoid a lunge from Luna.

“There are more Rah Ven ready to stop you,” said Luna. “Even Reapers can be stopped. Those who arrived with you are dust.”

“Child, you still don’t understand,” said Erio. “You cannot stop us. You can only delay the inevitable. We are a concept given form. We are endless, infinite.”

He transformed his scythe into smaller circular blades and threw them at the approaching Rah Ven. Before Luna could warn them, Dena and her group faced a swarm of glowing blades. Dena saw the swarm and dropped to the ground and into a roll. The rest of the group were struck by the blades and stopped in their advance. The blades pulsed with a sickly green glow as they burrowed into their bodies. One by one, the group fell to the ground, convulsing. Only Dena remained and advanced as the blades disappeared and coalesced into a scythe once again in Erio’s hands. He stood with the scythe in a defensive stance and smiled at Luna.

Behind Luna, Zen raised his axe. Around them a swirling mist formed. Inside the mist, the ephemeral faces of Rah Ven in canine form were visible. Luna looked around, her jaw clenched.

“Do you know what you are doing?” she asked. Her voice was tense with fear.

“Yes,” said Zen. He was visibly pale as he held the axe up in the air. Luna placed the short sword in his off hand. The black viscous trails seemed shorter in the mist that was forming around them.

“Make it count,” said Luna. May the Great One help us if you can’t.

Luna ran over to Kal, grabbed her and moved back away from Zen and the mist. It was much thicker now and getting thicker each second. Zen was barely visible in the swirling white cloud of images.

“What are you doing?” said Kal as she struggled to get out of Luna’s grip. “He can’t face him alone. We need to help him, not run. Let go!”

Luna’s grip was like iron. She pulled Kal close.

“How did he get that weapon?” said Luna. Her words were clipped, the fear and anger mixed as she spoke. Her eyes were dark as she looked back to where Zen stood.

“I can’t see or sense him,” said Kal. “Where is he?”

“Answer me,” said Luna. “The weapon. Where did he get it?”

Kal stopped searching for Zen as the mist grew thicker. She turned to face Luna.

“The healer gave it to him,” she answered. “What’s wrong?”

“That weapon belonged to Braca, the leader of the warwolves,” said Luna. “It’s called Braca’s Balance. Each blade has a special property. He was the only one that could wield it. Right up until he lost control and it killed him and thousands of Rah Ven.”

“Is that what’s doing this?” asked Kal. She gestured around them at the mist.

Luna cursed under her breath. You may have killed us all, Grandmother. What were you thinking?

“This mist is part of the Balance,” said Luna as she pulled on Kal. “It’s one of the few things a Rah Ven will fear. The stories of this mist are used to frighten children.”

They were moving faster now, away from Zen and the center of the mist.

“You mean like fairy tales and fables?” said Kal. She looked around, sensing danger, but saw nothing except the white of the mist.

“Just like those from your childhood, except the monsters in our stories are real,” said Luna.

The face of a Rah Ven drew close to them in the mist. Its eyes glowed red as it floated near them. Luna froze and held Kal in place. “What the—” started Kal as Luna clamped a hand over her mouth. The face hovered near them for a few seconds before floating lazily away.

“Sound and fear,” whispered Luna. “They are drawn to both. I don’t sense fear in you, so we may have a chance to escape if we remain quiet.”

“What the hell was that?” said Kal in the same whispered tones.

“That was a monster from my childhood,” said Luna. “We need to get out of here, out of this mist before it gets worse.”

“Worse, what do you mean worse?” asked Kal. “I need to get to Zen.”

Luna wheeled her around, their faces inches away. “This is called the rending mist,” said Luna. “In a few moments those floating Rah Ven will become harder to avoid and a lot more solid. When that happens anything living in this mist dies.”

Kal looked back the way they came. “Zen,” she said.

“He is bearing the Balance, a weapon that was never supposed to see use again,” said Luna. “He should be protected as long as he retains control.”

I can’t time-skip in here or even convert to my canine form. This mist, Grandmother—how could you do this?

“Should be? What do you mean, should be?”

A low growl erupted around them.

“Your fear for his life will end ours,” said Luna. “We need to run now or die here. Grab my hand and, if you want to see Zen again, don’t let go.”

Kal grabbed Luna’s hand and they ran.

*********

The Balance vibrated in Zen’s hand, threatening to escape his grip.

“You think a little fog and your axe are going to deter me, you…” Erio trailed off as he narrowed his eyes and looked at Zen. “What are you?” he asked.

“I’m what’s going to end you,” said Zen through clenched teeth. The vibration of the Balance travelled through his entire body.

Erio laughed and held his scythe in a low defensive position.

“Aside from creating bad weather, I don’t see how you are much of a threat,” he said. “You should leave now while you still can. I can find and kill you later when I’m bored. Besides, it seems like you can barely hang on to your weapon.”

The vibration of the Balance increased. Zen dropped the sword Luna had given him and wiped his eyes as the sweat threatened to blind him while he held on with both hands. His body rippled as he transformed. His muscles grew and hair covered most of his body. A howl erupted from his lips.

**********

In the distance, Luna increased her pace. Kal wrenched her hand free and stopped. She turned and ran back toward the howl, toward Zen.

“Kal, no!” yelled Luna as she turned and looked for her. The mist swallowed Kal and made it impossible to locate her.

“I’m not going to leave him!” shouted Kal, somewhere in the distance. “Even if it means I die here. I’m going to die next to him.”

“Don’t do this, don’t throw your life away,” said Luna. “That howl signifies the change, the Rah Ven in this mist will tear you apart!”

Silence was her only response. She stepped back and found herself looking up at the clear night sky. She transformed into her canine form and ran to the center of the city.

**********

Sound and fear. They respond to sound and fear, thought Kal.

“I swear I’ll kill you if die on me, Zen,” she whispered to herself.

Around her, figures moved in the mist. She stood still for a moment and focused. Everything in her body resisted as she camouflaged and disappeared. She held it for several minutes until it dropped suddenly, taking her by surprise. Sweat drenched her face and she could feel the muscles in her calves begin to cramp.

Must be this mist. Making it difficult to use my abilities. Have to focus, she thought.

She clenched her jaw and camouflaged again, willing her body to obey. Another scream pierced the night and she headed for it with her blades drawn. As she ran through the mist, she realized she could sense the Rah Ven around her and give them a wide berth. She also found that with some focus she could sense the energy signature at the center of the mist. It wasn’t Zen, but it wasn’t Rah Ven either. She headed in that direction.

**********

Zen closed the distance and pulled Balance across his forearm. It cut deep and, for a moment, the blood flowed and then it disappeared. The focus of the Rah Ven in the mist shifted and centered on him. He could feel it. The mist was alive, full of power and energy: he only had to use it, surrender to it. The power flowed through him as the Balance stopped vibrating and settled into a low-level thrumming. Everything and everyone in the mist was known to him now. A low growl escaped his lips, matched by the Rah Ven in the mist.

Zen swung his weapon down, a blow designed to crush his opponent. Erio met the blow and parried with his scythe. Zen pulled his weapon down. It caused both weapons to crash to the ground in a shower of sparks that illuminated the mist and the hovering Rah Ven.

Erio disengaged and slashed behind him, cleaving several of the Rah Ven in two. The Rah Ven separated and disappeared into the mist.

“It would seem this is no ordinary mist,” said Erio. “But it is still subject to the laws of nature.”

Erio blurred his hands and rotated his scythe, creating a wind. The mist began to dissipate, and Erio smiled. Around him, the Rah Ven gathered, surrounding them both. Zen jumped forward with an angular slash that started at the ground and aimed to slice Erio from his hip to his opposite shoulder. It forced Erio to defend or be cut in half. With their weapons locked, the mist enveloped them immediately. Erio kicked forward, a crushing strike that connected with Zen’s midsection. Zen doubled over and staggered back. He recovered the next second and blocked the next kick with the shaft of Balance. Erio swung his scythe in a horizontal slash, fast, in an attempt to remove Zen’s head. It wasn’t fast enough. Zen crouched under the slash and rotated in a tight circle. He whipped Balance around and buried it in Erio’s side.

“Now, Kal!” he yelled. “Do it now!”

Kal dropped her camouflage and thrust both her swords into Erio’s back. Their blades protruded from his chest. He looked back at her, a look of mild annoyance on his face. He flung his arm back and backhanded her back into the mist. The muffled sound of her body hitting the ground filled Zen’s ears. Erio looked down at the swords and made a gesture. Within seconds, the weapons dissolved from his body.

“Your weapons are useless against me,” said Erio. “It was a valiant effort, and for that I will make your death fast.”

He reached down and grabbed Zen by the throat. Zen tried to dislodge Balance, but it refused to budge. Around the edges of his vision, he began to see spots as the world closed in. A scream filled the area as another blade punched its way through Erio’s midsection, missing Zen by a fraction of an inch. Dena had driven the sword Luna had given to Zen into the Reaper. Erio looked down and dismissed the attack as he returned his focus to Zen. When the black viscous trails started creeping up his body, he looked at Dena. He swung his arm around and struck her against the side of the head, sending her and her weapon flying. She died before she fell to the ground.

The black trails were moving faster now. They travelled all along Erio’s body, enveloping him. He let go of Zen, who fell to the ground gasping for breath, his hand still grasping his weapon. With one last pull, he managed to remove Balance as Erio fell to his knees.

“You have achieved nothing,” said Erio. “The desired outcome has been accomplished.”

Zen turned to face Erio after regaining his breath. He squatted down next to him.

“What outcome?” asked Zen. “What are you talking about?”

Erio rolled onto his back and laughed. “I will answer your question with one of my own. Now that the threat I posed is gone, who will the mist attack now?”

As the realization dawned on Zen, he turned to look into the city. “The Rah Ven,” he whispered. Erio laughed harder. “You gave it your blood. It will want more,” said Erio.

“But I was told—” began Zen as he held Balance.

“…That this was the only way to face the oncoming threat,” said Erio. “That only with this weapon, with the rending mist, could the Reapers be stopped, yes?”

Zen nodded silently. The mist had begun to move now. It was flowing slowly into the city and away from Zen. Balance pulsed quietly in his hand. He looked down at the weapon, feeling the power course through his body.

“It wasn’t the healer that gave you that weapon,” said Erio. “That old bitch should be dead by now. It was one of mine that found and gave you the weapon.”

He grabbed Erio by the collar and pulled him close. Erio groaned in pain, but smiled.

“How do I stop this?” asked Zen. “How do I make the mist stop?”

“You can’t. The mist will run through the city and destroy every living thing. It will fill this plane until nothing alive is left and then it will remain, waiting. Even now it has left you.”

The clear night sky greeted him as Zen looked up. The mist had gone.

“No…” said Zen in disbelief.

“Your legacy will be greater than the original bearer of that weapon,” said Erio through forced breaths. “You will be remembered as the one who destroyed the Rah Ven.”

The scythe beside Erio began to disintegrate, and he smiled. “My time here is done. I think you will be joining me soon. I look forward to our next meeting,” he said as he collapsed in Zen’s grip.

Zen dropped Erio’s lifeless body. The black trails fully covered it as it disintegrated along with his scythe. Kal limped back, holding one arm, clearly broken from the impact of her fall.

“Kal,” said Zen as tears streamed down his face.

“I’m here,” she said.

Zen walked over to where Dena’s lifeless body lay. He knelt down beside her. “What have I done?” he said, as he took Dena’s hands into his own. “The mist can’t be stopped.”

“I heard,” she said. “There has to be a way. We will find it no matter what it is.” She reached up and placed a hand against his face.

“So many lives sacrificed,” he said, “the Rah Ven are going to die because of me.”

Kal gently removed Dena’s hands from his and placed them down across her abdomen. She brushed the hair away from Dena’s face and closed her eyes.

“There is one way to stop this mist,” said a voice behind them.

It was Luna. Ten of the Rah Ven Guard accompanied her. They all had their weapons drawn as they approached.

“How?” said Kal, drawing a blade with her good arm.

“He has to die,” said Luna.

TWENTY-FOUR

TETRA ARRIVED IN the hub, wounded and powerless. The Keeper had suppressed his ability to absorb chi with that blast. He was growing weaker by the second and running out of options. He needed energy, life. He looked around and found himself in a deserted Gantry Park. Behind him, two Rah Ven entered. They were in human form and held blades in their hands.

“You need to come with us,” said the one on the left.

Tetra brought his wrist to his mouth and bit down, removing a part of his flesh. The Rah Ven opened their eyes in surprise.

“What are you doing?” said the one on the right.

Behind them, the portal closed. They looked down at Tetra’s arm. No blood flowed.

“I’m doing what I need to do,” said Tetra. “I have someone I need to kill.”

“You won’t survive long like that,” said the Rah Ven on the left.

“Long enough to do what I must,” replied Tetra.

Power began flooding his body as he devoured his own chi. Running out of time, he began to open another portal. The Rah Ven on the left tackled him before he could finish. Tetra rolled with the Rah Ven and kicked him off. The other Rah Ven attacked and Tetra leaped out of the way, avoiding the attack. He opened a portal and jumped through it, sealing it behind him.

“Do you think he knows?” said the Rah Ven on the left.

“He will. In a few seconds, when he meets the Keeper,” said the other Rah Ven. “Let’s head back.”

TWENTY-FIVE

MARA CARRIED MEJA through the portal and found herself in a forest. She recognized it immediately. This is the home of the Mikai. Why would Dante be here?

She could sense the Mikai in the trees. She knelt slowly and placed Meja gently on the ground.

“I am Mara, bonded to Sylk of the house of Iman,” she said to the trees around her. “I seek sanctuary in the home of Master Zanshi.”

For a few moments, nothing happened. Then all around her activity filled the forest. Three green-clad Mikai approached her. The camouflage they used made it seem like they materialized in front of her. Each of them bore an insignia of crossed swords on their left shoulder. The center Mikai, taller than the other two, stepped closer to Mara.

“I am Cer, and your request for sanctuary will be honored,” she said.

Mara let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. She bent down to pick up Meja but Cer stopped her.

“We will do this,” said Cer. “You are our guests and will be treated as such.”

Two of the green-clad Mikai brought a makeshift stretcher made of fabric and placed Meja in it. Rope attached to each end was then pulled tight, lifting Meja off the ground. They walked to the same home Mara remembered from her last visit here. At the threshold, only Cer and two Mikai remained. Seconds later the door opened, revealing Lady Ono. Cer bowed and Lady Ono frowned at her and let it turn into a slight smile.

“I will have to speak to Mariko about this show of loyalty,” she said.

“Yes, my lady,” said Cer, barely suppressing a smile herself.

“Who do we have here?” asked Ono.

“They arrived at the far end of the forest,” said Cer. “It was not an appointed location. She sought the sanctuary of this house and Master Zanshi, my lady.”

Ono looked at Mara and smiled. She opened her arms and took her into a warm hug.

“You, I remember—Mara, is it not?” said Ono. “Her sanctuary is granted. Thank you, Cer. You may return to Mariko. You two can bring in Meja,” she said as she turned and headed inside.

Cer bowed and disappeared into the forest.

Mara followed Ono into the house, bowed her head. “Thank you, Lady Ono, we—”

Ono held up her hand, silencing Mara, and turned to face her. Lifting her head up by the chin, she said. “In this house you will address me as Ono and only Ono. I will not be some puffed-up figurine.”

“Yes, my—yes, Ono,” said Mara.

“Good,” said Ono, smiling. “Your master and the warrior holding death by the tail are in the back with my husband.  I will tend to your unconscious friend. You may go join them.”

A Mikai appeared beside Mara and led her to the rear courtyard. She saw Sylk and Dante speaking with Master Zanshi.

**********

I had sensed Mara and Meja when they were some distance away, but I didn’t say anything, certain that the two men beside me possessed powers greater than my own and that I would only be stating the obvious. Meja was unconscious but otherwise unhurt; Mara looked a bit frazzled, but not physically hurt. I was surprised Kenji was not with them. Those questions would have to wait for later. I turned my focus back to the conversation. We sat at a large mahogany table that was low to the ground. The cushions under our knees kept the cold stone floor from being unbearable. In front of each of us, small, delicate cups held steaming tea. Zanshi finished, pouring his cup as he spoke.

“I convened a clan meeting for tonight,” said Zanshi. “They will come.”

“Not all the clan leaders are your allies, master,” said Sylk.

Zanshi waved the statement away. “None would dare attack me,” he said. “Besides, this concerns the entire clan if not all the Mikai.”

“Why is this glyph so important?” I asked. “What does it mean?”

“It is an ancient glyph of inversion,” said Zanshi. “A Mikai glyph. Few know of it. Even fewer can wield it. If this glyph appeared at your ritual, it was put there either by a Mikai or someone who knows our ways.”

“So this meeting is for what?” I asked.

“This meeting is a way of shaking the forest,” said Zanshi. “And seeing which leaves fall loose. They will gather here tonight with smiles and praises. Do not let your guard down. One of them serves the one that wants to end your life.”

Zanshi bowed and excused himself to prepare for the meeting, leaving Sylk and me alone. Mara stepped closer until she was next to Sylk. She knelt at his side and refilled his cup.

“Tell me what happened,” he said as he gently touched her hand, signaling her to stop. She recounted what had happened in the Rah Ven plane, how she Meja and Kenji had fought the Reaper.

“Are you certain it was a chi erasure?” asked Sylk.

Mara nodded before speaking. “Kenji hit Meja and made it so she couldn’t complete it,” she said. “Then he did it. Black tendrils connected the Reaper to him and then it just dried up. The life was taken from them. He was the last one.”

“Aurora won’t be pleased about this,” I said. “I’m going to miss that old man.”

“I understand, but we have more pressing matters besides Aurora and your feelings,” said Sylk, standing. “For all we know there could be a massive slaughter on the Rah Ven plane even while we sit here.”

“Which is why you will remain here,” said Zanshi, putting a hand on Sylk’s shoulder and sitting him down. “I will not risk your going to the Rah Ven plane and walking into that.”

“That?” asked Sylk. “What do you know?”

“I will tell you, on one condition,” said Zanshi. “After I tell you, you will not go and try to rescue the Rah Ven. It is not your place.”

“As a friend to the pack I cant ignore—”

“That is my condition, yes or no?”

“I accept your condition,” said Sylk. “But I don’t like it.”

“I never said you had to,” said Zanshi. “First things first. You are not Alpha and never were. Is this clear?”

Sylk nodded.

“You are a Karashihan that is bound to a Keep. You could never be Alpha.”

“I had to…” Sylk let the words trail off under Zanshi’s stare.

“Second, and more relevant than the first, is that I’m told the rending mist has been let loose on the Rah Ven plane.”

“Impossible—they would never use that weapon again, not after last time,” said Sylk. “I thought it was lost.”

Zanshi placed both hands on the table and spoke in a measured tone. “It was lost in the same way Shadowstrike was considered lost. Weapons of that caliber always attract those who think they can use them.” Zanshi looked at me as he said this. “The reality is something different.”

“I can’t believe they would unleash that weapon. This is madness,” said Sylk.

Zanshi kept looking at me, his gaze impassive. When he spoke, I could tell that Sylk had ventured into dangerous territory. He turned to face Sylk as he sipped his tea.

“Several of my people died to deliver that message,” said Zanshi. “I think it is more than possible if the Rah Ven thought they faced an unstoppable enemy.”

“My apologies, master. I meant no offense,” said Sylk. “Do we know who wields Balance?” asked Sylk. “Who would be willing to sacrifice his life this way?”

“You have not given me any offense,” said Zanshi with a slight smile. “That information did not arrive with the messenger. As soon as I find out, I will inform you.”

Sylk looked into Zanshi’s eyes, who returned his gaze without flinching.

“Thank you, master,” said Sylk. “It would help to know who they used for this.”

“The better question is, who profits from this?”

“Wheel?” asked Sylk. “If so, he is playing a long game. What does he gain by removing the Rah Ven?”

“Long indeed,” said Zanshi. “They key lies with the inversion glyph. In the meantime, my daughter would like to speak to you about your friend.”

“Mara, please take Dante on ahead to meet with Mariko,” said Sylk. “I need to discuss something with my teacher about tonight.”

I nodded and left them alone. I wanted to find out about Meja’s condition.

Mara and I made our way to the other side of the courtyard, where I saw a group of Mikai around a younger version of Lady Ono. Where Lady Ono possessed a beauty refined by years, Mariko’s beauty stole your breath and left you wondering what your name was. I did my best to remain composed, about as easy as not sweating while standing next to the sun. She spoke to the Mikai around her, giving them instructions. When she caught sight of us, she motioned for us to come closer.

Mara and I bowed in greeting,  a gesture that she returned. She sat at a table covered with papers and diagrams and some assorted weapons.

“Hello again, Mara,” she said. “It is good to see you.”

“Is something wrong with Meja?” I asked.

“Why would there be something wrong with her?” she replied. “She is resting and recovering from her most recent battle.”

“Your father said you need to speak to us about her,” I answered.

She looked at me as if confused for a second and then smiled. “It would seem Father needed to speak to Sylk privately,” she said. “I do, however, have some news for you, Dante. I have discovered a way to continue the ritual here with the Mikai on this plane.”

“Without a circle?” I asked. “How is that possible?”

She shuffled some of the papers in front of her and handed me a sheet. I saw diagrams for a circle along with a series of glyphs. I could just make out what the glyphs meant.

“This looks dangerous,” I said. “How are you going to contain the energy released?”

“We aren’t,” she said. “Those glyphs are not placed around a circle.” She looked down at my arms and I understood.

“You mean…?” I began.

“We will add these glyphs to the ones you possess,” she said. “You will contain the energy released.”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“Your death will be spectacular and the third focus will be lost,” she said without a trace of a smile.

**********

Sylk sat in silence and let his teacher drink tea. Neither spoke while they drank.

“You have progressed much since you were a student here,” said Zanshi as he placed his cup on the table and looked over to where Mara and Dante sat. “And I see your student is coming along quite well.”

“I owe most of that to you and your teachings, chief among them being clarity of mind and purpose,” said Sylk.

“As well as subterfuge and deception where and when needed,” said Zanshi.

“You also taught me to listen to what is said in the spaces between words,” replied Sylk. “Who is wielding the Balance?”

“The one that is a guardian to your warrior, who goes by the name of Zen,” said Zanshi. “There is a complication.”

“A complication would be welcome. This has surpassed that by several orders of magnitude,” replied Sylk. “How is this possible? I thought only a Rah Ven could wield that weapon?”

“As you know, he was given Rah Ven blood; it appears that whatever their healer did made it possible.”

Sylk remained silent for a moment. “When Dante hears about this he will want to go,” said Sylk.

“You will make sure he doesn’t,” answered Zanshi. “He must stay here and complete the ritual or his life is forfeit. Aside from that, it is physically impossible now. The Rah Ven plane is under the influence of the rending mist. It would be suicide.”

“Complete the ritual here?” asked Sylk. “There is no circle on this plane strong enough to contain the energy of the ritual. We need a Watch and I don’t think the danger of the mist will be a deterrent.”

“Regardless, he must stay here until it is done,” said Zanshi. Keep him here.”

“I don’t see this without a circle, master. When I found him at the last circle, the energy signature it possessed was immense,” said Sylk. “And it had been destroyed.”

“Mariko thinks she has that solved. Her idea is risky but worth it, if it works,” said Zanshi. “As for the rending mist, I am afraid the Rah Ven must deal with this alone while it is in place.”

“There is only one way to stop that mist,” said Sylk. “The weapon bearer must sacrifice his life.”

“Only if he lacks the strength to control the weapon,” replied Zanshi. “It is the same with any weapon of power. Your ebony blade—did you forget the first time you held it in battle?”

Sylk nodded as he remembered. “I nearly lost myself to it the first time,” he said. “I had help in overcoming it.”

“Yes, you were fortunate that we were able to assist you,” said Zanshi. “The weapon and the wielder must become one; but if the wielder loses control, he becomes an empty vessel and many lives are lost. This is what occurred to Braca with Balance and why they hid it. He was not strong enough to hold it.”

“The timing of its use is suspect, master,” said Sylk. “This is not a coincidence.”

“I agree, but we can only hope the guardian is strong enough and disciplined enough to resist and control Balance,” said Zanshi as he stood. “The meeting for tonight is prepared. Let us go see what Mariko is planning.”

**********

Sylk and Master Zanshi approached our table as we were discussing the chances of my spectacular death.

“Without a circle you will have to contain the energy for the ritual,” said Mariko. “The sliver you possess along with the glyphs we will give you should make this possible.”

“Why not just go to a Watch?” I asked. “That sounds simpler with less of a chance of my dying during the ritual.”

“A circle could minimize the risk, however travelling to the North Watch to complete the ritual increases that risk considerably,” said Zanshi. “The fact that someone interrupted it means that you are being watched. Someone went through great trouble to prevent you from completing it.”

“Do we know who?” I figured that was the most important question.

“We have an idea,” said Sylk. “A Samadhi called the Wheel, and if he can use this glyph, you can’t face him at your current level of power.”

“How strong is he?” I needed to know who or what I was facing.

“You remember Lucius’s shadow?” asked Sylk.

I nodded, keeping silent. I remembered the searing, the pain and agony his shadow inflicted on me.

“Whoever used the inversion glyph is ten times stronger than Lucius’s shadow,” said Sylk.

“The only way you can face him is to complete the ritual, here with us,” said Zanshi.

“Has this ever been done before?” I asked. “Or am I to be the test subject?”

“There has never been a need to do it this way in the past,” said Mariko. “We can’t be certain of the outcome. However, what is your alternative?”

“So I have no choice is what you’re saying,” I said.

Sylk put a hand on my shoulder. “I know we haven’t always been allies, but in this our purposes align,” he said. “You always have a choice even when that choice looks bleak. You can opt not to complete the ritual.”

“And Shadowstrike kills me,” I answered.

“The sliver of Shadowstrike will kill you if you don’t complete the ritual, yes,” said Zanshi. “It will undo your chi if you don’t bond to it through the ritual, which would result in your death.”

“And if I bond to it?”

“The potential power available to you can put you on equal footing with the Samadhi,” he answered. “Like any other weapon of power, it will prolong your years.”

“Isn’t this just like Maelstrom? “ I said, looking at Sylk. “Eventually it will want to destroy everything, starting with me?”

“Although Shadowstrike was created by the house of Iman, it has a very different purpose,” said Mariko. “Maelstrom is  entropy given form. Its purpose is chaos.”

“Shadowstrike,” continued Zanshi, “was created as a check to that power; the existence of one requires the other. I am certain you experienced this in your initial encounter with the weapon.”

I nodded, remembering my brief conversation with the weapon that now had the potential to kill me.

“Enough conversation,” said a quiet voice full of steel. “You will do this because this is what you must do. No one else can and so it falls to you, warrior.”

Meja unmasked behind Sylk, who remained unstartled—unlike Mara, myself and some of the Mikai around the table who were part of Mariko’s group.

When did she learn to mask like that? I couldn’t sense her at all. She’s transformed somehow.

“It is good to see you up and about, monitor,” Sylk said without turning.

“I no longer hold that title and probably never will again, Karashihan,” she said. “‘Meja’ will suffice.”

Sylk bowed his head in acknowledgement. “Noted,” he said.

I noticed something different about her. Physically she was the same. She wore loose black pants and a form-fitting top. She kept her hair pulled back in a tight braid, and her deep green eyes pierced through me as she spoke. She didn’t possess the beauty of Mariko, but she stopped my breath regardless.

I used my innersight and examined her. A white flash filled my vision as the table receded from me. It took me a moment to realize that the table wasn’t moving. I flew across the courtyard and landed unceremoniously near the garden where I encountered Zanshi.

That looked painful, vessel, said Shadowstrike with a small laugh. She possesses a weapon of considerable power. Not as powerful as I am, but formidable in its own right. Do not provoke her.

Meja glided over to where I sat. As I dusted myself off, she stood there and looked down at me a second before she extended her hand. The right side of my face throbbed from the impact of her slap.

“You used your innersight on me without my consent,” she said. “I told you once never to do that, to me or anyone else. How did you get past my defenses?”

“What defenses?” I answered.

She looked at me long and hard for a moment. “No one has been able to get through my masks, until now,” she answered. “Are you saying you did this without thinking?”

“I apologize,” I said as I took her hand and she hoisted me up. “I’m done trusting just what my eyes can see. I needed to make sure; and I was right, you’ve changed.”

“You could have asked,” she said. “The changes you saw…you can’t share that, with anyone, ever.”

“I won’t and can’t,” I said.  I barely understand what I saw. Only that she has become stronger, much stronger. “Would you have told me if I did?”

“No,” she said. “But asking is the proper thing to do for a warrior. You have to do this ritual, you know that.”

“I know, except I don’t even know what the ritual is,” I said.

“Then isn’t that the question you should be asking?” she said. “Instead of worrying about dying, accept that death is part of the equation.”

We walked over to the table where the group had remained seated. I noticed no one felt the need to rush to my aid as Meja had launched me away from them.

“The use of your innersight can have serious consequences,” said Sylk. “You must learn to use it with subtlety. As a tool, it is a scalpel, not a sword.”

“In my day,” began Zanshi, “what you just did would have earned you more than a small slap. Consider yourself fortunate.”

“Come with me and we will get you prepared,” said Mariko. “You will not attend the meeting tonight.”

We stepped away from the table with several Mikai in tow. I noticed that Meja had also joined the group as we walked away. When we had walked some distance, I spoke.

“Is using my innersight that dangerous?” I asked.

“Innersight, for those who can use it, is a powerful ability,” said Mariko as she gave Meja a sidelong glance. “You perceive the deepest parts of a person, with no barriers. They are laid bare to you.”

“That, I understand,” I replied. “How is that dangerous to me, though?”

“It’s not one way, warrior,” she said. “You are being seen the way you are seeing, completely open. Strengths and weaknesses exposed.”

I looked back at Meja who appeared to be speaking to one of the Mikai. I could see how that would pose a significant risk.

“Let me share something with you,” said Mariko. “When Meja appeared back at the table, you were startled.”

“”Yes,” I said. “I didn’t even sense her there.”

“You noticed that I was not surprised, nor was my father or Master Sylk.”

“You all knew she was there,” I said. “I still need to learn how to do that.”

“No, you’re mistaken,” she answered. “We didn’t know she was there. Because of our training, our senses are always aware on some level. She registered as emptiness, as nothingness. Do you understand this concept?”

“She was void?” I asked.

“Yes, exactly; so when I sensed that void, I subtly tried to use my innersight and was stopped by a formidable mask,” she said. “It let me know someone was there and that is all.”

“When I used my innersight…I didn’t sense a barrier or mask,” I said. “I just saw…I saw all of her.”

She nodded as we entered the house. Several more Mikai waited for us. “Did she swear an oath to you?”

“Yes, a while back she gave her word to protect me with her life,” I said. “She is my guardian.”

“You are well protected, warrior,” she said. “That oath is the foundation, yes, but it doesn’t explain the depth,” she said. “The manner in which you circumvented her defenses only points to one thing.”

“What? That she has a vicious backhand?”

Mariko smiled. “You deserved that,” she said. “Your approach was a bludgeon when it should have been a caress. Had it been anyone else attempting it, I doubt her response would have been so gentle.”

“Right, gentle,” I said as I rubbed my still hot cheek.

“Your ability to get past her defenses means that you share a soulbond, though I don’t think she is aware of it yet, or if she is she is resisting it.”

“What is a soulbond?”

“It is the reason you received a slap and not a sword through your midsection,” said Mariko as Lady Ono joined us.

When Lady Ono entered, she brought a sense of harmony and peace to the room.

Her steps were measured and unhurried. She smiled when she saw us. Behind her were two Mikai: one carried                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                a tray with inks and various small cutting tools that reminded me of X-Acto knives. The other tray held an electric razor and various shaving implements. Meja entered silently behind the Mikai, her eyes fixed on me.

“Mother will be writing the glyphs for the ritual,” said Mariko. “The clan meeting will begin soon and I must attend. I will leave you in her capable hands and we will begin the ritual once she is done.”

Mariko bowed to Ono and then to me before leaving. Ono had the Mikai behind her set the trays down and then leave.

“Everyone except her will leave now,” she said pointing at Meja. “The rest of you may return to your duties.”

The Mikai that came in with us bowed to Ono and filed out. The room cleared out until it was just the three of us.

Ono began to prepare her inks and knives as she spoke.

“Outside this house stand a thousand Mikai ready to lay down their lives for me and my family,” she began. “We will not worry about outside threats.”

“What threats will we worry about?” asked Meja. “We are the only ones in here.”

“True but we are not the only ones who will be where we are going,” she said. “Once I begin, I cannot be interrupted. This process will take several hours. In that time you will stand at the ready.”

“I will,” said Meja.

“Do not waver no matter what you see,” said Ono. “Use your weapon to see the truth in all things.”

Meja looked at Ono with an expression of mild surprise. “Understood,” she said as she focused and manifested her blade. It looked different from the blade I saw her use in the past. Rapier-thin, its blue light filled the room with a soft glow.

“As for you, we will begin by adding glyphs of protection to your five centers,” she said as she grabbed the electric razor. “Starting at the top of your head. Please take off your shirt.”

Several minutes later, I was bald and Ono was poised with a knife above my head. “Once the five glyphs are in place we will shift planes, guardian,” said Ono. “There I will begin the ritual etching.”

Meja remained silent with her jaw set. In that moment, I realized as she stood there, sword in hand, protecting us that she was indeed my guardian, fierce and fearsome.

Ono touched me on the forehead and brought my attention back to her. “Stay here,” she said. “This will cause some pain.  A concept I am certain you are familiar with by now.”

She said some words under her breath and dipped the knife in the ink. The knife and the ink began to glow a deep orange. For a moment, I heard sizzling and then the smell of cooked meat reached my nostrils. When I looked, I saw the smoke rising from her hand. The knife she held was burning her.

“Pain is a concept I am familiar with also,” she said with a forced smile. “Today we share this pain so that tomorrow we can share joy.”

She brought the knife to the top of my freshly shaven head and began to trace a glyph. The tears flowed freely as the pain lanced the top of my head. I swore that I would see my skin melting off my skull in the next few seconds.

“You must stay present, warrior,” she said. “Feel the pain and then close it off. You have had this training, yes?” She held my head steady as she spoke. Her grip felt like a vise around my temples, crushing my skull.

“Yes,” I said. I understood the concept of compartmentalization. If I took the pain and just placed it elsewhere, I could continue to function without the pain stopping me. It’s a simple concept, in theory; in practice, it’s almost impossible.

“Good, the first one is the easy one,” she said, dipping the knife again. “The actual glyphs of the ritual will be like bathing in liquid fire.”

“Something to look forward to,” I said through clenched teeth.

“A little pain is good for tempering the spirit,” she said.

Behind her, I thought I caught the hint of a smile on Meja’s face.

I think she’s actually enjoying this.

I lost all concept of time. Each glyph was worse than the previous one. From the top of my head, she went to the center of my forehead. After that, it was the center of my throat and then my solar plexus region. By the time she started on my abdomen I thought I would burst into flame and disintegrate into a pile of ash. A thin sheen of sweat covered her forehead, but other than that, I could see no evidence of discomfort on her features. Even the red-hot knife had cooled to a dull glow. I could feel the heat come off it in waves but she never switched hands or gave any indication that it bothered her.

The glyph on my abdomen proved to be the most intense. As she traced the symbol on my midsection, for a brief moment— a second or two—I considered getting up and running. At this point, I had to lie down on a small bed brought in by some of the Mikai. I think she sensed my intention because she placed her free hand on my chest and whispered some words in a language I couldn’t understand, which calmed me and strengthened my resolve.

She finished the fifth glyph, but I couldn’t tell you how long the process took. She turned to Meja, who in all that time had not moved, which led me to believe it couldn’t have been that long.

They exchanged a brief look and both nodded. Ono traced glyphs in the air with her free hand and the world shifted under and around us.

TWENTY-SIX

KAL HELD HER weapon before her body. Her broken arm hung limply at her side. Behind her, Zen gripped Balance with both hands as it began to vibrate again. Above them, the crescent moon sat as an impassive witness.

“The mist has moved and will kill everyone in the city unless he can stop it,” said Luna. “From what I’m seeing, he’s losing control, not gaining it.”

The Rah Ven guard fanned out around Kal and Zen, forming a crescent to match the one above them. Kal focused and straightened out her broken arm, resetting it. She screamed into the night as tears filled her eyes. She grabbed another blade with her now healed hand.

“You don’t want to do this,” said Kal in a half growl.

“Impressive, but even with the old blood in your veins you are outmatched,” said Luna. “If we don’t stop him, thousands will suffer. He has to die.”

“”You’re going to have to kill me first,” said Kal.

She took a step forward when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Zen was holding her back.

“She right, Kal,” he said. “I don’t think I can stop this. My life is not more important than the lives of the Rah Ven.”

“It is to me,” said Kal turning to face him. “I’m not going to lose you, too.”

A low growl filled the area as three Rah Ven shimmered into view and padded into the area. Everyone froze in place and watched them advance. They stood taller than any other Rah Ven and placed themselves around Kal and Zen, sitting on their haunches. Their yellow eyes gleamed in the night and gray fur bristled as the center Rah Ven growled again. Luna and the Guard sheathed their weapons.

“What the hell is this?” said Kal as she looked around her in surprise. “Who are they?” she said, looking at Luna.

Luna bowed and went down on one knee. The Guard beside her did the same.

The Gray Rah Ven looked at Kal but remained immobile and silent. Behind her, she heard shuffling steps getting closer and someone muttering.

“Always black and white with these pups, always only one way,” said the healer as she stepped into the area. “Too quick to take a life is what they are.”

“Grandmother,” said Luna through a clenched jaw. The edge in her voice cut through the night as she tried to contain her anger.

The old healer bowed, smiled, and then grew serious.

“Don’t take that tone,” said the healer, pointing a finger. “You be the one in the wrong here.”

“You summoned the Grays? How could you?” said Luna.

The old healer walked up to the three Rah Ven surrounding Kal and Zen. She touched Kal on the chin and drew close to Zen, putting a hand on his chest.

“Yes I summoned them, because of this,” she said pointing at Balance. “The mist will destroy us all if he doesn’t get it under control.”

“Grandmother, I don’t think I can—” said Zen.

“Hush,” she interrupted. “There is no choice here. She thinks killing you will stop the mist” —she gestured at Luna—“but she be wrong. The blade has fed on your blood, and only you can stop it now.”

“When Braca unleashed the mist, this is how it was stopped,” said Luna. “By killing him.”

“Do you see Braca before you now?” said the healer. “Braca had lost his wits by the time the mist was prowling. There be no other choice but death with him.”

She turned to Zen, looked him in the eyes, and slapped his cheek. “Have you lost your wits, boy?” she asked.

“No, Grandmother, I’m all here, but—”

The healer raised a hand and silenced him. She walked over to the center Gray and placed a hand on its neck.

“He has your blood; he be your kin now, help him bring back the mist,” she said. “Show him how.”

“You gave him…Gray blood?” said Luna, shocked.

The healer turned to Luna, her face hard. “I gave him what I thought he and this pack needed, pup,” she said. “Alpha you be, but I be the healer of the pack. Older than you and older than most.” The healer shuffled over to where Luna knelt and stepped close to her ear. “Are you challenging my place?” she whispered.

Luna became red-faced and looked down immediately. “No, Grandmother, never,” said Luna.

The healer patted Luna on the head and then caressed her cheek. “That’s good,” she said. “I gave your father my word I would see you raised right and it would break my heart to have to kill you.”

“Yes, Grandmother,” said Luna, her voice a whisper. The healer turned her back on Luna and spoke to the Grays.

“The mist is prowling; show him how to bring it here, bring it back into Balance,” she said. She turned to Luna. “Alpha, this be Gray business. You can stay. Your Guard must be on their way.”

Luna stood and gave the Guard a nod. As one, they disappeared from view and left the area, leaving Luna alone. The healer stood still and sniffed the air a moment.

“Good, they be gone, now come here,” said the healer. “Bring it out.”

She spoke into the darkness and for a few seconds nothing happened. From the same direction the healer had come from a Rah Ven in canine form shimmered into view with an unconscious body in its jaws. The body was dressed as one of the Rah Ven Guard.

“What is this?” said Luna, perplexed. “That is not one of my Guards.”

“I know. First the mist,” said the healer, moving close to Zen.

She stood in front of a heavily sweating Zen. He held Balance as it trembled in his hands. A low growl rumbled from the three Gray Rah Ven as they stepped closer to Zen. The growl increased in volume until Kal covered her ears against the sound.

“Focus or die here, pup,” said the healer. “That is your choice. Bring the mist back. You control it, not the opposite.”

Zen closed his eyes and let the rumbling fill him. The sound washed over his body and shook every part of him while it keeping him rooted. He noticed that Balance grew still and then realized that it wasn’t that it had stopped vibrating, but that he was moving with the same frequency as the weapon.

“Call it back, call the mist,” said the healer. “Bring them here.”

Zen dropped to his knees. The Gray Rah Ven continued their growling. Yellow light filled the night as the three Rah Ven kept their gaze focused on Zen and their eyes began to glow. Kal and Luna looked around while the healer stood in front of Zen. Howling soon joined the growling of the Rah Ven and the mist returned.

“Bring them here to you, to the weapon,” said the healer.

The mist was thicker now, making it impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction. Kal and Luna stepped closer to the Gray Rah Ven as canine forms ran around them. The light of the Gray was a beacon in the night and seemed to attract the Rah Ven floating in the mist the same way an open flame attracted moths. In minutes, a swirling mass of gnashing and howling Rah Ven circled the light of the Gray. Out of the mass, a lone figure appeared and approached Zen. He was tall and muscular with long hair falling to his shoulders. His face and chest were covered in scars. He stepped close to the Gray but remained just outside the light.

“His life is forfeit. Release him to me,” said the figure, looking at the Gray Rah Ven.

“No,” said the healer. “His life belongs to the pack.”

“Who dares?” said the figure, turning to face the healer. The howling around them grew louder.

The healer stepped forward to stand in front of the figure.

“I be the one who dares, Braca of the warwolves,” she said.

Braca looked down at the healer and crossed his massive arms in front of his chest. The howling quieted and only the rumbling growl of the Gray continued.

“Well met, Grandmother,” he said with a nod of his head.

“Well met, Leader of the Hunt,” said the healer, returning the nod.

“He summoned the mist with his own blood,” said Braca sniffing the air. “Half-breed blood at that. He is not strong enough to wield Balance. Better I take him now before he repeats my error.”

“No,” whispered Kal. “He can’t.”

The healer gave her a brief look before turning back to Braca.

“He did what you could not. He is strong enough,” she said. “Half breed holds no weight here. His blood can control Balance.”

“You forget your place, Grandmother,” said Braca. “The mist is the home of all our dead. We have one purpose—to destroy the enemies of the Rah Ven.”

“That includes Rah Ven, does it?” she asked. “You would kill your kin?”

“I am the Leader of the Hunt,” growled Braca. “He summoned with blood. You know the risks. Let the mongrel speak if his voice is strong enough.”

Zen opened his eyes and stood. Braca stood a foot taller and looked down at him.

“I am Zen of the pack and I am strong enough,” said Zen.

Braca tossed his head back and laughed. Around them yelps and howls joined in his laughter.

“You are a whelp, half breed,” said Braca, still laughing. “You do not possess one tenth of my strength when I held that weapon. You could not have done this without the help of the Gray.”

“I won’t let you kill Rah Ven, or anyone else tonight,” said Zen.

“You do not know what you are holding, half breed,” said Braca as his voice switched timbre, becoming deeper. “You do not want this curse.” He extended a hand. “Release it and let me ease your burden, and join the hunt. Stand at my right hand.”

Zen stood silent, his eyes glazed for a few moments, looking at the hand before shaking his head.

“No, this is my burden to bear,” said Zen. “I will carry it. This mist needs to end now.”

Braca lowered his hand and turned to the healer. “He did not succumb as I did,” he said, his voice now returned to normal. “He will be worthy, but he must be taught.”

He put his head back and howled. Around him, the mist responded with howls and began to dissipate. The howls around them diminished until there was only the silence of the night. Even the rumbling growl of the Gray was gone. Braca stood in the night, his presence no less intimidating without the mist.

“Guard yourself, half breed,” he said. “Learn to master the hunt and it will be your greatest weapon. Fail to do this and you will end up like me.”

Zen nodded. “I will,” he said.

“One more thing,” said Braca. “The pack will challenge a half breed bearing this weapon, no matter what blood runs in your veins.” He looked at the healer. “I will give you something for the loose tongues of the pack.”

He stepped close and placed a hand on Zen’s chest. A golden light spilled over Zen as he screamed and grabbed Braca’s arm. Kal moved to help, but Luna held her in place with a shake of her head.

“You now bear my mark,” said Braca. “The weapon is rightfully yours until you breathe your last. No one else can wield it while you live.”

Zen stepped back and looked down. The image of Balance was now branded over the left side of his chest.

“Thank you,” said Zen.

“Do not thank me. The time will come when you will curse both that mark and me,” said Braca with a grim smile.

The last trails of the mist began to disappear. Braca grew ephemeral as he looked at the healer. “Run long and run fast, old one,” he said. “He is in your hands.”

“Your hunt be always fruitful, Braca,” she said and nodded.

Braca disappeared along with Balance. For a second, Zen looked around and then realized that he had absorbed the weapon.

“Will he appear every time I use it?” asked Zen.

The healer placed a hand on his chest. The angry pink mark healed in seconds, leaving it raised and scarred.

“That would depend on you,” said the healer. “You belong to the weapon as much as it belongs to you now.”

In the silence of the night, the healer looked around at the three Gray Rah Ven. She bowed her head and whispered something into the night. The three looked at the healer, bowed their heads, and two of them shimmered into the night, disappearing. The last Gray looked at Zen and placed a paw on the mark, nearly knocking him down. It gave a low growl and padded off to stand a few feet away, a silent witness.

The healer reached into a pouch she carried and tossed something to Zen. “Put on a shirt and cover that thing,” she said. “No need for unwanted attention.”

“What would have happened if he had taken the offer?” Kal asked Luna under her breath.

“We wouldn’t be having this conversation now,” Luna replied. “All of us would have been part of the hunt.”

“Even the healer?”

“All of us,” said Luna as she walked up to the healer.

“Why didn’t it leave with the others?” asked Kal. “What’s it waiting for?”

“I don’t know,” said Luna. “You took a great risk tonight, Grandmother.”

“It needed to be done,” she said. “Times for blood and times for talk. This was not a time for blood.”

Luna sniffed the air before tracking the smell back to Zen.

“What about him?” asked Luna. “He can’t stay with the pack, not smelling like that.”

The healer nodded and patted Zen on the chest. “He will stay with the Gray, until his blood is settled,” she said and nodded to the large Gray Rah Ven standing in the distance.

“With the…is that even possible?” asked Luna.

“It will be difficult, but they can show him what needs to be shown. They be in accord with this.”

“I’m going with him,” said Kal. She walked over to Zen and took his hand in hers, looking at the healer as she did so. “I am going with him.”

The healer gave a sly smile. “Those be my last words to the Gray,” she said. “Those two be as one, I said.”

“And they agreed to this, Grandmother?” said Luna, shocked. “How could they? They aren’t even full Rah Ven—” The healer shuffled closer to Luna and clasped her hand, pulling her closer. Her words were just above a whisper.

“An Alpha is measured by the strength of the pack,” said the healer. “A wise Alpha knows only one thing matters.”

“Only the blood matters,” said Luna as the healer nodded in approval. “I apologize, Kal, Zen—I wasn’t thinking. It’s just that it’s only happened twice before in our history and never to someone who wasn’t a full-blooded Rah Ven. I meant you no offense.”

“None taken,” said Zen. “My question is: who gave me this weapon if it wasn’t Grandmother?’

“That be her concern now as Alpha,” said the healer looking at Luna. “You two best be on your way. The Gray are not the patient kind.”

Zen and Kal held the healer’s hands. “Thank you, Grandmother, for everything,” they both said.

She waved away their words. “Don’t be thanking me, I did what I must. Now go,” she said, waving them off.

Zen and Kal stepped over to the Gray Rah Ven who turned to the healer and growled once more. The healer nodded and said something under her breath. The Rah Ven shimmered and the three of them disappeared.

The healer gestured to the Rah Ven who had the body in its jaws. It opened its jaws wide and dumped the body on the ground. “Who indeed,” she said. “That be the best question of this night. This pup tried to kill me and take my place after giving Balance to the guardian.”

“He can shift forms?” asked Luna.

“Yes, who be this and how be he dressed as part of your Guard, Alpha?”

“I will get the answer to those questions even if they are the last answers he gives,” said Luna.

TWENTY-SEVEN

“THIS WAS THE last place she stood,” said Devin as they exited the portal inside the Mikai home of Master Zanshi.

“How can you do that, find her across planes?” asked Raquel.

“I’m keyed to her on several different levels, so I can find her pretty much anywhere,” said Devin, looking around. “It looks like we are in someone’s home.”

“Do you know whose home this is?” asked Raquel.

“Judging from the décor, rustic and natural, and the pictures from some of my studies, I almost want to say the Mikai.”

“The Mikai? What would she be doing with them? Why would she be here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” said a female voice from behind them.

Around them, five Mikai appeared with drawn blades. Devin held his hands up and looked at Raquel, who reluctantly did the same. A tall female dressed in green leather stood in the center of the room.

“I am Mariko, leader of this clan of Mikai,” she said. “You have five seconds to tell me who you are before I make your answer irrelevant.”

Devin spoke first, while Raquel narrowed her eyes at the threat. “We meant no disrespect. I am Devin of the house of Aumera,” he said. “I’m looking for my sister, about this tall”—he motioned with his hand—“looks upset most of the time, my complexion, long black hair, green eyes, and an abrasive demeanor. She was here recently in this very room.”

“And you are?” Mariko said, looking at Raquel.

“Pissed,” she said, lowering her hands. “Have you seen Meja or not? We don’t have time to waste here.”

Mariko smiled and gave a slight nod. The five Mikai around her vanished. “You are the one they call the gunslinger, yes?”

“You know me?” asked Raquel.

“We are Mikai, we know of everyone who is a potential threat to us,” said Mariko.

“That’s some camouflage,” said Devin, looking around.

Mariko raised one eyebrow at Devin. “It’s impressive you can still sense them,” she said. “Most would consider them invisible.”

“I’ve had some training. How long ago did Meja leave?”

“In a sense, she never left,” said Mariko. “She is with my mother and the warrior holding death. They are in a special place known only to Mikai.”

“The warrior holding death?” asked Raquel. “Who is that?”

“The one who is holding the third focus. You call him Dante,” said Mariko.

“He undid a searing,” said Devin. “Did you say the third focus?”

“I am certain Master Sylk could explain further,” replied Mariko. “We are in a clan meeting, at which I must be present. You will wait here and we will answer your questions. Your sister will return when the ritual preparations are complete.”

“Wait, Sylk is here as well?” asked Devin.

“I will send Master Sylk to address your questions,” she answered as she left the room.

“Guess she didn’t like your tone of voice,” said Raquel.

“No, not the tone, the informality,” said Devin. “Titles and ranks are important to the Mikai.”

“I don’t like that they have been watching me. I don’t like being spied on,” said Raquel. “Especially not by them.”

“You know that old saying about keeping friends close and enemies closer?” asked Devin as he sensed around the room. The five Mikai were still in the room with them. “The Mikai take it a step further. Anyone they think can be an enemy they keep under observation. For the Mikai, it’s a compliment.”

“A compliment, really?”

“It means they consider you a worthy opponent. Someone powerful enough to threaten them, gunslinger.” He said the last word with a smile.

Raquel looked at him, hard. “Don’t, just don’t,” she said.

“I wasn’t implying… I’m sorry,” said Devin.

“I don’t like the title and it makes me twitchy, okay?” said Raquel.

A figure came to the doorway. “Your father didn’t like the title either.” It was Sylk.

“You knew my father?” said Raquel. “I doubt that.”

“I knew someone close to him. He and I weren’t friends,” said Sylk. “Or enemies.”

“Something is happening within the Order and I need to find Meja,” said Devin.

“The Order is corrupt. You of all people should know this. Why do you need your sister?” asked Sylk.

“She may have the pieces of the puzzle I need.”

“She is helping Dante at the moment. Have you seen her lately?” asked Sylk. “She has changed somewhat.”

“I noticed her energy signature increased from the last time I saw her,” said Devin. “She almost read like a Samadhi.”

“She has surpassed that by now,” said Sylk. “Keep that in mind when you see her next. In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable: it will be a few hours before they are done.”

“We’re just supposed to wait here while she finishes whatever she is doing?” asked Raquel. “Are you kidding me?”

“You are looking for the blade dancer. I can tell you he is dead,” said Sylk. “The one who possesses the second focus, Snow, is currently lost to me. Samir, our syllabist who we may need for the last part of the ritual, is somewhere on the Akashic plane, which is infinite.”

“How did you know about Rory…?”

Sylk held up a hand and continued.

“A Samadhi named Wheel may be behind all of this and I can’t locate him,” said Sylk. “It’s like he doesn’t exist.”

“Wheel,” said Devin. “What does he have to do with this?”

“Everything, nothing, I don’t know—and what’s worse is that even if I could locate him, his power is probably greater than everyone on this plane, including the both of you,” said Sylk.

“Excuse me?” said Devin. “He is only a Samadhi. He can’t be that powerful. What you are describing sounds like the…the First.”

“If I am right, he was able to use a glyph of inversion to interrupt a ritual,” said Sylk. “He surpassed the Samadhi state long ago.”

“Impossible,” whispered Devin. “Only Lucius had that kind of power.”

“It would appear that now so does he,” said Sylk.

“This is where I ask for the translation,” said Raquel.

Devin sat down with a stunned look on his face. “The translation is simple, we wait,” he said. “If half of what he said is true we are going to need a lot of help.”

“We wait?” said Raquel.

“Yes, you wait because our best chance lies with Dante and his weapon—if the ritual doesn’t kill him first, that is. Unless you have something better to do for the Black Lotus who would betray and kill you sooner than you could draw your weapons and fire, gunslinger,” said Sylk.

Raquel glared at Sylk as he left the room.

“This is deeper than I imagined,” said Devin. “I thought the Order was rotting from within, but this puts it in a different context.”

“Then Monique must know what’s going on and who this Wheel is,” said Raquel. “Send me back to the hub and I’ll find out.”

“They asked us to wait,” he said.

“You wait. Open a portal and send me back or I’m going to shoot the five Mikai standing there like statues, and then won’t they be pissed?” she answered.

“I can open a timed portal keyed to your chi—it will give you a two-hour window,” he said. “After two hours it closes and you are stuck there.”

“Two hours will be plenty of time to find her and ask some questions,” she said.

“She never did well with interrogations. You may just have to shoot her.”

“I can do that too,” she said as she manifested her guns. “Do it.”

Devin opened a portal and Raquel stepped through. None of the five Mikai moved.

**********

Snow manifested his weapons as the Black Lotus closed in on him. The tambo glowed orange as a portal opened next to him, allowing Raquel to step into the room.

“You?” he said. “You are the one I was looking for.”

“You found me,” she said as she took in the scene. “Looks like it’s going to get bloody in here. What’s going on, Monique?”

Ten of the Black Lotus surrounded them with crossbows aimed.

“Did you find Rory?” asked Monique as she stepped closer to the door. “Or did you fail at that, too, like everything else?”

Raquel raised her guns. “Rory is dead, but I’m guessing you knew that, didn’t you?” she said. “What was the plan? Frame me for it somehow and make it look like I killed him? Start a war?”

“Close, but I don’t have time for that now. I’m working on a simpler plan,” replied Monique. “Kill them both, and get his weapons and her body.”

Monique left the room and more members of the Black Lotus immediately blocked the doorway.

“Well, that answered one question, bitch,” said Raquel under her breath. They were in one of the smaller training areas. The Black Lotus put their crossbows away and drew their blades as the closed on the pair.

“Can you open a portal or doorway or something we can use?” she asked.

Snow shook his head. “Too dangerous to do while so many around,” he said. “I would be open to attack.”

Raquel cursed under her breath. “They have their orders and they don’t negotiate,” she said.

“I am prepared. You wish to pursue their captain, the woman?”

“Yes, I need to get to her. Can you handle this if I thin this group out for you?” asked Raquel.

Snow nodded. “Leave me one or two.”

“Don’t get cut by these blades,” she said as she shot the first Lotus who leaped at her. She ducked under the next attack and shot a second Lotus. Seeing her guns, the Black Lotus retreated. They grabbed their crossbows and began firing. Raquel stood in the center of a storm of arrows, dodging and firing as one by one the Black Lotus fell to the floor. She didn’t see anything or anyone. Her senses were attuned to the disturbances in the air. She moved a spilt second before a bolt would penetrate her body, sending a bullet back to drop her current attacker.  When she was done, eleven bodies lay on the ground. Her guns disappeared as she crouched down on the floor beside Snow. Several arrow bolts protruded from his chest.

“Goddammit, no,” she said. “What did I tell you?”

Snow coughed as he gave a short laugh. “You warned against getting cut” —he coughed blood as he spoke—“but you said nothing about getting shot.”

She tore a piece of his robe and started to grab the arrow bolt.

“It’s too late, gunslinger, the poison is in my blood,” he said. “Come, I have something to give you.”

Raquel drew close and Snow closed his hands around hers. In his hands, he held the Fangs. “Take them and stop her, stop them,” he said.

“I can’t,” she replied. “This is not part of my fight.”

She tried to remove her hands but his grip was iron, holding her in place. He held her until the Fangs disappeared, absorbed by her. Then he let go, his strength gone.

He looked off to the side. “I have found one who is worthy of them, Master Wei,” he whispered and closed his eyes. With one last gasp, the poison took his life.

Raquel looked down at her hands in disbelief. “What have you done?”

She stood up, still looking down at her hands, still unbelieving. “I told you it wasn’t my fight, you stupid idiot. Why, why would you do this?”

She made a mental note of the training area and manifested her guns. Looking down at her wrist, she noted the time. Ninety minutes, plenty of time to end her, she thought. She ran out the exit Monique had used. In the corridors, she eliminated all of the Black Lotus she encountered.

You wanted a war. I’m going to burn your Lotus to the ground.

She headed for the main quarters of the Black Lotus and saw Monique surrounded by five of the Black Lotus elite. When she entered the large room, the door slammed shut behind her, casting the room into darkness.

“You didn’t think I was going to make this easy for you, I hope?” said Monique. She turned to the five guards around her as she unsheathed her weapon. “This one is mine. I will take her down. No matter what happens to me, you deliver her alive to him. She has the Fangs.” The Lotus elite fanned out, giving Monique room, but keeping Raquel in their sights.

“Deliver me to whom?” asked Raquel. “You’re working with Wheel?”

“How do you know that name?” she asked, surprised. “It doesn’t matter. There is nothing you can do to stop him.”

“Then it’s true,” said Raquel. “Is it just you or the whole council?”

“The council? Those backward fossils don’t know the meaning of change,” said Monique. “They want to keep their power intact, not realizing that this whole place, this Order, is rotting around them.”

“And you’re going to do what? Bring in a brand new era?” asked Raquel. The orange light of her enhanced guns flared and bounced off the black marble walls, bringing light into the darkness of the space.

“I am going to make the Black Lotus what it is supposed to be, a force to be feared,” she said. “Without a council of addle-brained old men to stop me.”

“Wheel promised you this? In exchange for what?”

Monique twisted her blade and separated a second blade from the first. Both blades gave off a bluish light as she rotated them in her hands.

“You’re a blade-dancer?” said Raquel, taking a step back.

“Who do you think taught Rory?” replied Monique.

“Aren’t you full of surprises,” said Raquel under her breath.

Raquel, with both guns raised, began shooting. Monique dropped to the ground and rolled to the side, throwing one of her blades at Raquel. Falling on her back, she dodged the blade and let it fly past her. When she stood, Monique had a blade in each hand again.

“Blade-dancers never lose their blades,” said Monique with a smile as she advanced and slashed. Raquel back-flipped out of the attack and landed in a crouch. That was too close, she thought. Then she felt the burning in her leg. Shit, not good. One of the blades had cut her as she had tried to avoid the attack. She placed her guns together and they merged, forming one larger gun.

“We rarely miss, too,” said Monique. “The poison will finish you before you can fire that handcannon. Besides, your chi isn’t strong enough to both fire that gun and deal with the poison.”

Raquel could feel the fire running through her body. Beginning to lose feeling in my leg, poison is fast. Six shots, all I need are six shots.

“I thought you needed me alive?” said Raquel.

“Recently dead works too,” said Monique. “Give it up. Raquel, you can’t—” A bullet hole six inches across blossomed in her chest. It punched through the steel of her blades, her ribs and heart along with part of her spine and lungs as it blasted through her body and into the wall behind her, leaving a small crater. Monique fell to her knees, looking down at her chest as she dropped her ruined blades —she looked up at Raquel in disbelief as she fell forward.

“Don’t tell me what I can’t,” said Raquel.

The Lotus elite were trained to be the best and they lived up to their reputation. Monique’s body had not hit the floor before they were in motion. They moved fast, just not fast enough. Raquel dropped the two closest to her and dodged a slash from behind by rolling forward. In the roll, she turned and took down the one behind her. Three down, three to go.

Two attacked simultaneously and jumped at her. She dove forward and under the attack. Turning mid-jump, she managed to shoot one but missed the other. She only had one shot left. Her breath came in ragged gasps. The two Lotus elite closed on her. The one on her left lunged with his blade. She parried the lunge with a circular block and trapped his arm. She kept going with the momentum and finished the circle. This caused her attacker to twist in front of her body and face the remaining Lotus. Driving with her legs, she pushed and closed the distance as she pressed herself against them both and fired.

They fell to the floor, lifeless. Her gun vanished along with all sense of balance as she fell next to the Lotus she had just killed. Her reflexes allowed her to break her fall and not shatter her face by getting her hands under her in time. For a few seconds, she just lay there.

Get up, get up, get up! You are not going to die here. Get back to the portal.

She pulled herself up to her feet and made for the exit. She limped back to the training area and to the portal. She fell a few times. The poison had progressed to the point that she had to drag her wounded leg. She turned one corner and had a moment of panic when the door she expected to be there wasn’t. She turned around and saw the training area. She looked down at her watch. Five minutes. I can make it in five minutes. She made for the portal and fell forward. The world went black for a few moments. She regained consciousness, shook her head and gathered her strength. She dragged herself on the floor, getting closer and closer. Only a few feet left. She looked up and saw the portal close as her world went black.

TWENTY-EIGHT

SAMIR FOUND HIMSELF in a brightly lit and endless corridor of pink marble. He continued speaking the words of unmaking. The poison from Raja’s blade had stopped attacking his body, but now he was lost. The door he had entered through was gone.

This is not an exit. I will have to make one. How did someone do this to the Akashic Records?

He had managed to catch the poison on time despite Raja’s prediction of death. The words of unmaking were a double-edged sword. He had to be careful to attack the poison and not his body or these would be the last words he would utter. It took some time but he managed to remove the poison from his system.

If the words work here then I should be able to make a portal.

He looked around the corridor and only saw the columns lining the walls of pink marble. He made the gestures with his hands and a portal formed. It lasted a split second before collapsing.

The words work but portals don’t; curious. That can only mean one thing.

He removed a pen from his pocket and dropped it on the floor. Turning his back on the pen, he began walking down the corridor. After twenty minutes, he saw the pen a few feet in front of him.

I’m inside of a loop. A portal can’t function in here because it folds in on itself. If I unmake this reality, there is a good chance of unmaking myself with it.

He picked up the pen and tapped it on the wall as he thought.

What did Calabi and Yau say about the planes?

He could hear his instructors’ voices as he thought back to his classes as an apprentice syllabist.

The interstices between the planes exist because they must. The same way music is only music because of the rests and pauses between the notes. Without these spaces, it is all just noise. If you can learn to harness the interstices of your words, both spoken and thought, then you can attain the highest level.

“Use the interstices,” he said to himself. “The spaces in the space.”

He began making gestures and speaking words of unmaking. The first portal failed as before. He tried again with no success. He did again, but this time he interlaced the words of unmaking in the gestures. A portal unlike any other formed before him.

Can’t be worse than this place, he thought, and stepped in.

TWENTY-NINE

THE SOUND OF birds filled the garden. The cherry blossoms swayed slowly in the breeze as the shadow of Lucius stepped free from the spent stasis sphere. He looked over the still lake and sat down by its edge in a meditation pose. After a few moments, he disappeared.

He reappeared in an obsidian hallway. He looked at the glyph-covered door and placed his hand on it. The glyphs flared to life and vanished along with the door.

“That didn’t take very long,” said Rael with a roll of his eyes. “I thought you forgot about me.”

“I never forget, or forgive,” said Lucius. “You know this.”

“This is not a revelation,” said Rael as he coughed.

“You’ve been poisoned by a blood Kriya? That is creative,” said Lucius. “This was the handiwork of Sylk, from the looks of it and this place. I thought the Kriyas gone by now.”

Lucius narrowed his eyes and looked at Rael. He traced some glyphs in the air. They remained in the air, silver symbols hanging in space. With one more gesture, they floated over to Rael and entered his body.

“That should take care of your contamination.”

Rael stretched his arms. “Feeling better already,” he said.

Lucius looked around the room. “This looks comfortable,” he said. “Did you enjoy your stay here?”

“It wasn’t five-star, but it was quiet. Not much maiming, fighting and killing on site,” said Rael. “Tranquil actually. I expected you sooner.”

“I was…detained with another matter. I have a new task for you,” said Lucius. “You will need considerable power to carry this out, more than you currently possess. “

“I’m off the ascendant disposal unit?”

“For now, yes. This is more important,” said Lucius.

“Now I’m curious,” said Rael. “What could be more important than reforming the bridge and joining the planes?”

“Wheel took Maelstrom.”

Rael shook his head slowly in disbelief.

“That nothing Samadhi took Maelstrom away from you?” said Rael. “I find that hard to accept.”

“From my shadow; and yes, he did,” said Lucius. “Do not underestimate him. He has increased his energy signature at least tenfold and he knows an inversion glyph.”

Rael whistled under his breath. “That would clearly put him in the supreme badass category,” he said. “How do you want me to get Maelstrom back if he’s that powerful?”

“Prepare yourself,” said Lucius. “I will give you what you need.”

Lucius bowed his head and traced glyphs in the air. Black and red trails followed his fingers as they moved faster and faster. When he was done, he placed his hands on Rael. An explosion of light filled the space. Rael flew back several feet and landed on his back. Lucius walked over to where he lay and lifted him to his feet.

“You now possess the means to find him and return what is mine. Do so now.”

“So…much…power,” said Rael. “How did you do this?”

“Wheel did the one thing he accused me of,” said Lucius. “He underestimated me. I gave you a fraction of my power, which this shadow cannot hold. However, it can act as a conduit. Go now and get my weapon and bring it to me.”

“What do you mean, bring it to you?” asked Rael as his blood ran cold. He knew what the shadow meant. “Not to your shadow?”

“No. I will end this,” said Lucius. “You will come to me with Maelstrom and I will give you the release you have desired for so long. Then I will show my enemies true power.”

The words chilled him. It wasn’t the words themselves. He had heard them many times before. It was the certainty behind them. If he possessed a fraction of Lucius’s power—and the power that coursed through him now was incredible—the full measure of Lucius’s power was incomprehensible. For the second time in his life, he had the same simple and clear thought:

Lucius must die.

THIRTY

“PICK HER UP,” said a tall thin figure looking down at Raquel’s body. “We need to move fast, Snipe.”

“Ugh…she smells, Rico! Something bad in her blood,” said Snipe. The large form covered his face with one massive hand.  “Her guns are too bright, Rico. Not like yours.”

If it weren’t for those guns, we never would have found her. What have you been doing, little rock? I have never seen gunslinger guns with that energy, thought Rico.

“Stop that,” said the thin figure as he smacked the hand away from Snipe’s face. “Do you know who this is, Snipe? This is Arthur Cross’s daughter. We have been watching her for a long time now.”

“Deadeyes don’t miss, Rico,” said Snipe. “She needs help?”

“No we don’t, and she does,” said the thin figure. “You know I hate it when you call me that. What’s my name?”

“Sorry, Rico,” said Snipe. “Can we clean her blood?”

Rico sighed in resignation. “Not here, back home. I thought we lost her, but those guns don’t lie,” said Rico. “Gunslingers can’t hide from family. Pick her up, Snipe, we need to go fast. This place feels like an explosion waiting to happen.”

Snipe, who stood a foot taller than Rico, picked up Raquel in his gigantic hands. Despite his size and bulk, he carried her gingerly as Rico activated a device on his belt and opened a portal.

“We need to get her to Franca, and she can clean her up, if it’s not too late,” said Rico. Last place I want to go, but this is way out of my league.

“Franca scares me, Rico. She has those eyes,” said Snipe. “Scary eyes.”

“Franca scares everyone, big guy,” said Rico, patting him on the shoulder. “But she knows the medicine and this is Arthur Cross’s little girl. We have no choice.”

They stepped into the portal and left the hub.

THIRTY-ONE

TETRA STEPPED THROUGH the portal and found himself in a desert. In the distance, shimmering in the desert heat, sat the South Watch.

“That was a short trip,” said a voice behind him. “I didn’t send them after you to apprehend you, but to warn you.”

Tetra whirled at the voice, ready to attack and faced the Keeper.

“What have you done?” he said. “I can’t feel the chi. Where am I?” he asked.

“You are tethered to this plane,” said the Keeper. “Any portal you open will only lead you here”—the Keeper gestured around him—“back here.”

“I will destroy you,” said Tetra, stepping into an attack stance.

The Keeper leaned on his staff and sighed.

“Destroying me, even if you could, would accomplish nothing,” said the Keeper. “I cannot undo the tether until the protocol has run its course. Once the Solus protocol has begun, I cannot stop or alter its progress. This plane has been sealed.”

“Lies. You fear your destruction,” said Tetra.

“In that case, please unleash your power,” said the Keeper. “I am ready.”

Tetra took a step forward and stopped.

“My power is diminished,” he said. “You have imprisoned us again to starve.”

“No, not to starve,” said the Keeper. “There is energy here available to you, just not the kind you are accustomed to. Do you not sense it?”

“There is energy here, but it is closed to me,” said Tetra. “How can this be? Energy is all the same.”

“I think it’s time I explained a few things to you about those who released you and why they did so,” said the Keeper. “In the meantime, I am certain Ravia would want to see you.”

“Ravia…yes, I would like to see her,” said Tetra. “She is unharmed?”

“Aside from scratches and bruises, she is fine,” said the Keeper. “She is learning the way to absorb energy in a different way, as will you.”

“And if I do not wish to learn this different way?”

“Then you will starve for as long as the protocol is active,” said the Keeper. “That is of course your choice.”

Tetra stood still for a moment and then opened a portal. The Keeper made no move to stop him. Tetra stepped through the portal only to reappear moments later in the same desert.

“Welcome back,” said the Keeper. “Are you ready to return to the Watch now or would you like to attempt again?”

“I needed to be certain,” said Tetra.

“I understand. Are you ready to go back?”

“For now, yes,” said Tetra as they walked in the desert.

THIRTY-TWO

SAMIR TURNED AROUND to find himself—nowhere. He stood on a featureless plane of black sand under a night sky full of stars. In every direction he looked, he saw the same thing: an empty horizon and star-filled sky. He tried to open another portal with no success. He began to speak the words of unmaking and nothing happened.

I was wrong, this place is worse. I’m trapped. This must be one of the null spaces Professor Yau discussed. A dead interstice. Makes sense if I used the words of unmaking for the portal. Stupid, should have thought of that!

Beside him, a portal opened and a young woman stepped through. She was of medium height with dark brown hair and vibrant eyes. Around her neck, she wore a chain attached to what appeared to be a large prism. She looked at him, searching his face, and then closed her eyes for about two minutes. She opened her eyes, looked at him again and made to turn around, back to the portal.

“Wait!” yelled Samir.  The young woman stopped and turned around, staying close to the portal.

“Yes?” she said. She looked at Samir with distrust. She angled her body away from him, ready to jump in the portal.

“Who are you? How did you find me?” he asked.

“Who are you?” she asked and paused. “You feel like her. I thought she was here but I’m not looking for you.”

“Of course not,” he said.  The universe does not revolve around you, O great syllabist. She can’t be older than eighteen but she possesses such chi. I can sense her power from here.

“I apologize, my name is Samir,” he said. “May I inquire as to who you are looking for?”

She squinted at him, uncertainty on her face. After a few moments, she took a deep breath and let it out.

“My name is Nina,” she said. “I’m looking for Meja of the house of Aumera. I’ve been following, but she moves so fast. I’m always behind and now I can’t find her at all.”

The way she says ‘Meja of the house of Aumera’...that part is rehearsed.

“You can sense her even on different planes?”

Nina nodded. “Doesn’t matter where. I can find her, except now,” she said. “So I’m trying the in-betweens.”

A wavedancer? So young. I wonder how this is possible, thought Samir.

“You can’t sense her if she is in the in-betweens?”

“Not from outside, no,” she said. “Not like the other places. So I come in.”

“Why are you looking for her?” asked Samir. “Is she in trouble?”

“She can help me; he told me so,” she said. “Plus, I have to give her something.” Her eyes flicked down to the prism on her neck.

“Who told you?” said Samir slowly. He sensed she didn’t like his line of questioning and she was stepping closer to the portal as she spoke.

“He was my friend, took me out for ice cream when he talked with Grandpapa,” she answered. “Then he left me in a nice place with nice people, after Papa got sick and couldn’t take care of me.”

“Can you tell me what you have to give her?” asked Samir.

Again, with a quick look to the prism, she shook her head no.

“Sorry, that’s a secret only for her,” she said.

“Nina, how old are you?” said Samir.

“How old do I appear to you?” she said. “I grew up in a special place where time”—she cocked her head to one side, remembering—“fluxed? Is that right?”

She must have been on a plane with an altered flow of time. It still doesn’t explain her abilities.

Samir nodded. “I know Meja of the house of Aumera,” said Samir, with caution in his voice. He didn’t want to scare her away.

“Nice try. You’re stuck here and want to get out,” she said. “I know you are. Everyone in the black in-betweens is stuck. These places don’t work. Except for me.”

“Meja has green eyes and long black hair,” he started. “Her skin is a little darker than mine and she looks very serious all the time.”

Nina was nodding with his words and then caught herself before shaking her head. “Lucky guess,” she said without conviction.

“Meja is my friend and maybe that’s why you came in here and found me,” said Samir. “Maybe you sensed our connection?”

“Maybe,” said Nina.

“If you can take me out of here, I can take you to her,” said Samir.

After a moment of indecision, she nodded to herself, making up her mind about something.

“Okay, I can take you out, but if you are lying to me I can bring you back and I promise I will leave you here forever,” said Nina.

“I believe you, Nina,” he said. “Can you tell me the places where you followed her?”

Nina told him about all the places, their smells and tastes and how they made her feel. Samir thought a moment.

“The last place you felt her,” he asked. “What did it feel like?”

Nina’s brow furrowed in thought. She sat on the black sand a moment and gathered her thoughts.

“It was like a rubber wall,” she said. “I could open it and push, but it moved away. I could feel her, but it was very hard to get in, too hard. It hurt my head and then she was gone.”

“Can we try that place again?” asked Samir. Nina started to shake her head no. “This time I will help you and it won’t hurt your head.” He reached out and took her hands in his.

“Please?”

She nodded her head and released his hands. She spread out her arms as if feeling for a hidden wall. A few minutes later, she gripped the air in front of her and pulled her hands apart. A rift in the plane opened up. Through it, Samir could see the forest. The greens and browns were an explosion of color against the backdrop of black sand and dim starlight.

“Is that it?” he asked, dumbstruck.

Without glyphs or speech, she just ‘felt’ for it. What is this girl?

“Yes, but I can’t get through, watch,” she said as she pushed against the portal. It moved under the pressure of her hand, giving way and then springing back.

“I see,” he said, not seeing at all. “Let me try something.”

He began speaking the words of unmaking and made the gesture for her to push. At first, she pushed and the same spring effect occurred. He signaled her to push again. When she pushed this time, instead of springing back, she fell through. Samir followed before the portal closed and found himself in the green forest of the Mikai.

THIRTY-THREE

SYLK AND MARIKO returned to the area where Devin sat surrounded by five Mikai.

“Where is your companion?” asked Mariko. “You were instructed to remain here.”

“And here I am,” said Devin. “She, on the other hand, is not a big fan of sitting still and waiting.”

“And where did she go?” asked Mariko. She gave each word emphasis, looking at each of the Mikai surrounding the room as she spoke.

“Back to the hub, our home plane,” said Devin. “That was just over two hours ago.”

“How? From what I sensed she didn’t possess the means to open a portal unless—” said Sylk.

“Guilty,” said Devin. “I opened it for her, but she should have been back by now. I keyed it to stay open only two hours.  Normally, I would be concerned, but this is Raquel. That being said, I should go look for her.”

“Why did she feel the need to go back there?” asked Mariko. “I told you to wait. I was specific about this, was I not?”

“Clearly you have not dealt with Raquel before,” said Devin. “She thought Monique knew more about Wheel than she let on and she was going to find out.”

“Do people fear this Raquel?” asked Mariko.

“Only the wise ones,” said Devin.

“Why hasn’t she returned?”

“It means she did what she wanted to do and left the hub or that Monique ended her,” said Devin. “Either way, I need to go investigate. I tried to open a portal after the two hours were up, but—”

“You can’t,” said Mariko. “The plane has been blocked. The elders, after learning about the inversion glyph, closed the plane. Moments ago someone forced their way into our plane and through our defenses.”

“I didn’t seem to have any trouble,” said Devin.

Mariko looked at him and waited.

“Because I was allowed to enter, wasn’t I?” he said.

“Yes, you were,” she said. “Whoever just entered our plane was not expected and possesses considerable ability to bypass our defenses.”

“Wait, that sounds like the Mikai are closing ranks,” said Devin. “What was the outcome of the meeting?”

Mariko turned away, upset.

“The clan heads agreed not to pursue this matter,” said Sylk. “They agreed it was not a Mikai concern.”

“I thought you were the leader of the clan?” said Devin looking at Mariko.

“I am the leader of my clan,” said Mariko. “The Mikai are made up of nine major clans and countless minor ones.”

“And all the major ones decided it was a bad idea to go after Wheel, who is quite possibly the greatest threat to our existence?” asked Devin. “Even after knowing about the inversion glyph?”

Sylk nodded. “The Mikai are set in their ways,” he said. “They don’t feel this is a threat to them or their way of life.”

“Not all of the clans feel this way,” said Mariko. “Our clan dissented. As did many of the minor ones, but they are not strong enough or large enough to sway the clan elders.”

“Only Master Zanshi agreed to look into the matter,” said Sylk. “Which means the other clans will use this as an opportunity to act against him, and you.”

“I will not abandon my father or my clan, Master Sylk,” said Mariko with an edge in her voice.

“It was not what I was implying, but as clan leader you can speak to him, convince him that this course of action can destroy the clan,” said Sylk.

“Have you met my father?” said Mariko with a grim smile. “Once he has made a decision he believes is right, it would be easier to stop the sun in its path than change his mind.”

Master Zanshi walked into the area and sat down. “Our clans are led by fools,” he said.

“Father—” began Mariko.

“No, Mariko,” he interrupted. “We will not be led by blind men living a fantasy. Our clan will act. Gather your leaders; we will be ready to move once the ritual is complete.”

“And if he fails?” asked Mariko.

“Then we will lose it all, daughter, but we will fight,” said Zanshi. “He has a guardian and your mother with him. They are not without their own abilities.”

“What happens to the guardian and your mother if he fails?” asked Devin. “That guardian being Meja, just to be clear, correct?”

“If the warrior fails, Shadowstrike will claim them all,” said Zanshi. “She is a vicious and twisted sword. She will come after Dante in the most unexpected ways imaginable.”

“What do you mean?” said Devin. “I thought the ritual was just a physical battle, and then the joining?”

“No,” said Zanshi. “Not just physical. She will attack his mind first and then the body.”

“The body follows the mind,” said Devin.

“Correct. She has been within him for some time now as the sliver,” continued Zanshi. “She knows him better than he knows himself at this point. She will use that against him and if he fails or shows weakness, she will exploit that weakness and attack where he is most vulnerable.”

“If he makes it past that?” asked Devin.

“If he manages to overcome the second part of the ritual, then he must join with Shadowstrike,” said Sylk. “I understand the pain is so extreme it has driven many of the past wielders of the sliver to kill themselves in search of relief.”

Devin sat down in silence.

“Can Dante do this?” he asked. “This sounds impossible.”

“I don’t know,” said Sylk. “He survived a searing, which usually leaves most victims incoherent.”

“I still don’t know how he did that,” said Devin. “I thought that was impossible.”

“He isn’t alone,” said Mariko. “Lady Ono, my mother is a fearsome warrior, and his guardian, your sister, is a warrior in her own right.”

“She is there because I forced her to be,” said Devin. “I made her give me her word no harm would come to him.”

“You did no such thing,” said Zanshi. “If she gave her word she did so of her own free will. She made a choice and now she is honoring it.”

Devin didn’t answer.

Zanshi turned to Mariko. “What of this incursion?” he asked. “Have we found those responsible for making the clan react with such an uproar?”

“Father, the defenses were breached by force,” said Mariko. “Did you expect a different reaction?”

“You would think they were babes sucking on their mother’s teat, not hardened warriors, from their reaction,” said Zanshi.

“Our scouts found them in the north woods,” she said. “They are on their way. One is the word wielder Samir, but the other is unknown to us. She is quite the puzzle.”

“Samir?” said Sylk. “That is good to hear. I thought he was lost in the Records. It will be good to see him again.”

“We will move to the planning room and wait for Ono,” said Zanshi. “Have them bring our…guests…from the woods there.”

“Yes, father,” said Mariko, and left the room with the five Mikai trailing behind her.

“I thought she was the clan leader?” said Devin. “It seems like you are still quite active in clan business. I mean no disrespect. I am new to the inner workings of the Mikai.”

“Your question is without guile, so I will answer with truth,” said Zanshi. “You wish to know the inner workings of the Mikai?”

“Yes, as far as I am allowed to know,” said Devin.

“Then I will speak plainly,” said Zanshi. “She is the clan leader. Any who question that must do so in a formal challenge. Mariko is a fearsome warrior. She is alive because she has not lost a challenge, and there were many.”

“The challenges are to the death?” asked Devin. “And the clan accepts her leadership?”

Zanshi nodded. “She is an excellent leader,” he said. “There is no question on that point. The difference between our clan and the other eight lies in this: while I still breathe, I am the clan head and father to all in my clan, not a figurehead or puppet.”

“And the other eight clan elders?” asked Devin. “They don’t feel the same way?”

“The other eight?” said Zanshi. “They would rather bow and retain riches than stand and lead.”

THIRTY-FOUR

WHEN THE WORLD came back into focus, I realized we were back at the East Watch. We stood in the same circle where I first met Shadowstrike.

“Welcome back, vessel.” I recognized the voice.

“Shadowstrike,” I said. Beside me stood Lady Ono and Meja.

“You are here to complete the ritual,” said Shadowstrike now from behind me. I turned as she pushed her red hair to one side. It wasn’t a question. As she sat there on the stone bench, I could imagine that she had waited for me to come back. She was dressed in a simple white slip. Her bare feet grazed the stones beneath the bench she sat on. She looked ageless. Her beauty was unlike any other: it possessed a hard edge. It was the beauty of a sword. In her, I saw the dichotomy personified. She could take a life or save it. Her blue eyes took us in. I saw no emotion in them except for a mild curiosity.

“There is no circle here for you to complete the ritual,” she said. “Or have you come here to lay down your life?”

“Show her,” said Ono.

I focused my chi and let it run through my body. The glyphs Ono had inscribed on my body flared to life in violet. Shadowstrike looked amused.

“And the rest?” she asked. “This is the beginning. Where is the end?”

The rest? What rest? I stood there, confused.

“Your arms,” said Ono. “Turn them.”

I turned my arms, exposing my forearms. They glowed a deep violet to match the rest of my designs. I looked down in surprise.

“What the hell?” I said.

Intricate designs, circles containing glyphs connected to other circles with lines and inside of even larger circles, interlaced with the glyphs from the suppressors. The designs started at my wrists and covered my both of my forearms up to my biceps. I tried but couldn’t remember when Ono had done them.

Shadowstrike stepped close to me and grabbed my arms, inspecting the designs. She looked at Ono. “This is your hand?” asked Shadowstrike. “It is exquisite.”

Ono nodded. “This should be sufficient to complete the ritual,” said Ono.

“Sufficient to commence the ritual, yes,” said Shadowstrike. “Completion is another matter entirely and depends on him.”

Ono nodded her head and stepped back out of the circle. Shadowstrike turned to Meja. “And you are?” she asked.

“Here to make sure the ritual is not disturbed,” said Meja.

“You cannot fulfill your function from inside the circle,” said Shadowstrike. “Any interference will cause his death. Once we begin, I will not cease. Is that understood?”

Meja stepped outside the circle and manifested her weapon. Her weapon filled the space with its blue light.

“Truth has always been a worthy opponent,” said Shadowstrike, looking at me. “You have chosen well, vessel.”

Shadowstrike extended her arm and a three-foot sword manifested. The blade was transparent and the hilt was made of red-tinged steel, the only difference in our swords. She stepped into the center of the circle and waited. I focused my chi and the circle beneath me flared to life. Every glyph around the edge of the circle pulsed from red to violet to white. I extended my arm and manifested an identical sword with a gray hilt.

Do you really think you are worthy to stand before me, coward? How many have you let die because of your inability to act?

The thought came at me with such force that I barely had time to react to the sword slash. Ono had warned me of the mental attack, but nothing prepared me for its intensity.  I parried the attack with a sloppy dodge and shift.

Pathetic. I am doing you a favor by killing you here.

She closed the distance and feinted with a left lunge. I took the bait and felt my world explode in agony as she smashed the right side of my head with a circular elbow strike. My vision blurred as I stumbled back several steps.

Have you told her your feelings yet? Should I? What do you think she will say when you lie in this circle dying? Do you think she could love someone like you? Does she know why she risks her life?

Another elbow strike came at me. This time it was a downward strike aimed at the top of my head. I managed to step back out of the way and brought up my sword. I felt slow and sluggish. My sword took seconds, hours, to get to the target. She danced back out of range and smacked the side of my face with the flat of her blade.

Isn’t this where you get angry and let that rage loose? It worked so well with Maelstrom. Everything depends on you. Are you going to disappoint everyone, again?

I felt the rage inside me and swung at her. She ducked under my swing and laughed at me. She took one step and slammed her leg into my thigh. It was a crushing blow and my leg crumpled beneath me. Only my grip on the sliver kept me upright. Using it as a cane, I backpedaled away from her.

Fear, that is what drives you. Useless, spineless, worthless is what you are. That sword is not a weapon in your hands, it is a crutch made for you to hobble to your death.

I was at the edge of the circle when it happened. I felt the weight of the burden on my shoulders, the rage that screamed inside of me and the frustration of my incompetence. I felt my lack of skill and ability, and how unfair I thought this all was. It all rose up at once, a wave that threatened to drown me. In one crystalline moment, I gasped for breath and I saw my death. Shadowstrike was going to kill me in this circle in the middle of nowhere, away from everything. Everything would be destroyed because I couldn’t do what I needed to do. What needed to be done. Her words washed over me. I was weak. She was right.

She was right, and then it clicked. Before we began, she had given me the key. ‘Truth is always a worthy opponent.’ Everything she had said was true, but I couldn’t and didn’t accept it. I knew I had to. No more false pretenses. I wasn’t scared of death—I was scared to live.

The next moment it all surged and vanished. Something snapped and my rage flat-lined. She came at me with a direct attack and lunged at my heart. I slipped to the side, avoiding her thrust. She lunged again and I rolled to the side out of a downward slash.

Just like a coward—run away, that is all you are good for. Why not just surrender and let me end you?

“I’m not running,” I said. “But you are right, I am weak. That is why I’m here. I need you.”

I jumped forward with a quick step and slashed across her midsection. She leaped back, but I closed the distance and grabbed her wrist. She was pinned close to me. She buried her sword in my stomach as I did the same to her. The blade entered my body, but I felt no pain. I looked down and saw her sword buried to the hilt in my stomach.

Now you are ready: you have accepted death as an outcome. It is time to rejoin the sliver to the whole.

My sword vanished as her body absorbed it, and her sword disappeared as I absorbed it. When I looked up, she was gone and then my world ended.

“You must endure it, warrior.” I heard Ono’s voice from miles away as hot spikes of pain punctured my body. Everything was on fire. I felt my skin melt away from my bones. I felt every bone break, mend and break again repeatedly. My chest was tight—I couldn’t breathe, and I gasped for every breath. Each breath that I managed felt like swallowed glass had ripped my throat to shreds. I tried to scream only to discover a new level of agony when my own voice set off a new level of pain as hot nails of sound shoved themselves into my ears.

“If I wanted to disrupt this ritual,” said Ono, her voice was near and far as I writhed in mind-numbing pain, “I would attack now when he is vulnerable, guardian.”

Ono caressed my head in her hands. Each caress was a handful of razor blades as they flayed my skin.

“Kill me,” I croaked to her.

“I cannot,” she whispered as her words cut through me sending me into another paroxysm of pain.

I heard a rumble behind me and I must have blacked out for a moment because when I regained consciousness, Meja was gone and I sensed it was only Ono next to me.

Where did she go? I thought as the pain drilled into my teeth and exposed every nerve. The tears that streamed out of my eyes were acid. They burned valleys of torture on their way down my face. I was blind even though my eyes were open. The light made my eyes two beacons of suffering.

“How much longer?” It was Meja.  Her voice crashed over me and caused my body to spasm. There was no response from Ono.

Only a few moments more, vessel. A lifetime of agony. Remember this pain. Remember every second of this. You will not experience anything that can compare to this again in your life.

It was Shadowstrike.

You have succeeded where many have failed, vessel. You still have much work before you, but know that the worst of this ordeal is past.

The pain unclenched its grip and released me. I fell limp against Ono and lost consciousness.

**********

“Is he dead?” asked Meja. “I don’t know what those things were. I do know that I don’t want to face them again, ever. One of them managed to enter the circle, but I stopped it before it could reach him.”

“He is alive and should recover from this,” said Ono. “Those things are kindred to the Watchers you have encountered.”

“They are related to Watchers?” said Meja. “Thankfully on a smaller scale.”

“Yes, Watchers are the plane guardians that expel what they consider foreign to the plane they guard. These appeared to be under control by someone or something.”

“I’m glad it was only two,” said Meja. “Any more and it would have ended for us. Who could control those things?”

“Sending more than one requires an immense amount of power,” said Ono. “The fact that two were sent speaks to how serious his adversaries are. One should have been enough to complete their purpose, had Dante been here alone,” said Ono. “If he had been, they would have succeeded in killing him in the third part of the ritual. Fortunately for him, and us, he was not alone.”

Ono opened a portal beside them. “We must return before they are missed,” she said. They picked up Dante’s prone body and entered the portal.

**********

“The third focus has found a vessel, Master,” said a voice.

In a circle sat Master Wheel. Wearing only pants, the glyphs across his upper body pulsed with color as he remained with his eyes closed.

“You witnessed this,” said Wheel. “And the two I sent?”

“Yes, Master, he was close to perishing and we attacked at the time you appointed,” said the voice. “The two were destroyed by his guardian, but not before the taint could be placed.”

“Excellent. Everything is proceeding according to my design,” said Wheel. “Return and do not let them discover you.”

“Yes, Master,” said the voice.

Wheel remained motionless for several minutes more before standing and putting on a robe.  As he tied his belt, he looked to his side. In the dark stood Kono, silent and watchful.

“Your part will begin soon. Are you ready?” he said as he walked out of the circle.

“Always, Master,” she said. “I live to serve and die.”

BOOK 5

THE MASTER WARRIOR

ONE

THE FIRST THING I felt was the power. My entire body pulsed with a barely contained energy. The second thing that I felt was the pain and with it came the memory of what I had gone through. Every part of me ached, making any sudden movement a vivid reminder of my ordeal. All of my senses were heightened. The too bright sunlight filtered in through the windows and blinded me as the room came into focus.

I moved my head slowly and took in the room. An earthy scent filled my nostrils, like wet grass after a rain. The bed I lay in held me tight, convincing me that the best course of action was to remain in it indefinitely. I was in a Mikai home. Deep browns and reds made up the colors of the simple furniture. Beneath it all, I could see the glyphs floating just beneath the surface. I felt the power, a lazy cushion of energy that enveloped the entire space.

I could sense others close by. I tried to focus and the pain crashed into me, snatching my breath. Drops of sweat formed on my forehead as I tried to sit up.

Seems like I survived the bonding.

Indeed. It has been some time since I bonded to a vessel.

Shadowstrike.

Were you expecting another? a female voice responded.

Dante—my name is Dante, not vessel.

Don’t ask me how I knew, but I could sense her smiling.

Dante, then. You must leave this place. By remaining here, you place yourself and those you care about in danger.

The voices of the others reached me.

How can I hear them?

Your abilities have been enhanced. There is still much for you to learn.

“Is he dead?”

I recognized the voice but couldn’t place it. The throbbing in my head kept a steady pace with the promise of continued moments of agony. I closed my eyes again to shut out some of the discomfort, hoping it would allow me to focus. Then it clicked. Devin was wondering if I was dead.

“Not yet,” answered a voice I knew to be Mariko. “But it’s still early.”

“How long before we know if the bonding was successful?” It was another familiar voice, different from the first.

Sylk. I heard the inflections and subtle nuances. He was worried.

“Well, he isn’t dead and that is a good indicator. We don’t know if the bonding was accomplished or if we have another threat before us—a greater threat than any of us could comprehend.”

Lady Ono. She was the one who had walked me through the agony of Shadowstrike. I remembered wanting to die and begging for it. The funny thing about pain is that it’s never as vivid in recollection. I knew the scars were there, invisible to the eye but etched into my psyche. Every part of me protested as I moved. It was a sharp reminder of what I had just gone through.

You do not have the luxury of rest. Time is our common enemy and we have precious little of it.

What are you talking about? You almost killed me.

Yet here you lie. What are you waiting for? The pain has subsided by now and you have full use of your faculties. Those around you cannot help you to achieve the mastery required.

What do you mean?

In order to wield me fully you must learn two very important skills. You must learn to wavedance and timeskip—skills that take time to learn. None of those surrounding you now is equipped to teach you these skills. We must leave this place.

And go where?

In addition, you have not learned how to keep my presence hidden. Enemies will arrive soon—powerful ones.

The voices were approaching me now.

I opened my eyes and looked around. Those who had stood by me ever since my life had been turned on its side still surrounded me. I made to get up and several hands pushed me back on the bed.

“I need to go,” I said. “It’s too dangerous. I need to—”

“Get enough rest,” said Sylk. “Welcome back, warrior.”

“He can’t stay here,” said Mariko. “Mother, his energy signature—”

“I know, Mariko,” answered Ono. “He cannot mask it yet.”

I sat up and was rewarded with a tilting of the room that made me thankful for an empty stomach. Ono placed a hand on my shoulder and pushed me back down. So much for having full use of my faculties.

“What do you mean he can’t stay here?” said Sylk. “Where else is he to go?”

Zanshi entered the room and looked at me for several seconds before giving his wife a short embrace.

“Are you well?” I heard the concern in his voice.

Ono waved away his question but blushed. “Of course I am, Husband.”

“This was no small matter,” he pressed.

“We were well guarded,” said Ono, looking at Meja.

Zanshi nodded and sat on the edge of the bed, next to me.

“What she means, Karashihan,” Zanshi said, turning to Sylk, “is that he contains the third focus and does not know how to mask it yet.”

“So he is now a beacon to all who would be attracted to this power,” said Ono. “Especially among the Mikai.”

“Do you not sense it?” asked Mariko.

“It is too soon. They would only sense the transformation if they were Mikai or if they were—” began Zanshi.

“I sense it,” said Meja, looking at me and speaking barely above a whisper. “You feel the way you were when you held Maelstrom without the taint of corruption.”

Ono nodded. “The same hands forged both so they would feel similar. However, they each have a different purpose.”

“Without the ability to mask the focus, it’s only a matter of time before it will be more than just the Mikai who can sense it,” said Mariko. “You need to be gone before then.”

“Why can only the Mikai feel this?” asked Devin. “A weapon with this much power should be impossible to mask on any level.”

“He is not the one masking it right now,” said Sylk. “We are in a glyphed room, correct?”

Ono nodded and stepped closer to me.

“The glyphs here diffuse his energy signature, which makes him difficult to read for you and any who are not Mikai or bonded,” said Ono. “They will not be enough to hide him indefinitely. We need to move him to another location.”

Zanshi placed a hand on my chest and closed his eyes.

“Once out of this room, this power will draw them to you,” said Zanshi. “They will know where you are. We must prepare.”

“I can take him to the mirror,” said Sylk. “I can place him in one of the interstices.”

Zanshi shook his head. “Not even there would he be safe,” he said. “The Watchers would find him. It’s too risky. You would need a dead zone.”

“I may have a solution,” said a voice from the doorway.

It was Samir, and behind him was a young woman. She was of medium height with dark brown hair and vibrant eyes. Around her neck, she wore a chain attached to what appeared to be a large black prism.

“Samir!” said several voices in unison.

Sylk and Meja walked over to greet him. Samir touched his hand to his forehead and then his heart in a return greeting. I waved from the bed and he approached.

“It’s good to see you,” I said. “Who’s that?”

“This is Nina, and she is looking for you,” he said, looking at Meja.

“Me? Why?” Meja asked and she took a step back as Nina closed the distance.

“I have to give you this,” said Nina as she removed the black prism from her neck and held it outstretched to Meja.

“A prism? Who told you to give this to me?” asked Meja warily.

“He was my friend,” said Nina. “He said to give it to you.”

“Does this friend have a name?’

Nina shook her head slowly. “He never told me his name, only to give this to Meja of the house of Aumeera. That’s you—I can feel it.”

“You can what?” said Meja with an edge in her voice. She began to focus her chi. It was a subtle shift in energy but I could sense it. I sat up in the bed.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “She’s no threat.”

“No one is supposed to ‘feel’ me,” said Meja. “For all I know she could have been sent here to kill me—to kill us. That prism could be deadly. You of all people should know how dangerous they are.”

I remembered my experience with prisms. Both times I almost died. I opened my senses and looked at Nina with my innersight. I sensed no malicious intent, but what I did see surprised me: she had immense power, layered in various ways.

She is a wavedancer, Dante. You need her.

“You’re a wavedancer?” I asked, barely understanding what I was saying.

Nina held the prism out to Meja, who stood next to my side of the bed. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. “I don’t understand. You are Meja of the house of Aumeera. This is for you,” she said.

The pain must have clouded my thinking because I reached out and grabbed the prism, saying, “I’ll hold it for her until she’s ready to take it from you.”

“Dante, no!” yelled Meja too late.

The prism flared to life. Black light spilled from my hand as I sought to stop the power from escaping.

This power cannot be yours, Dante. You must release it.

What is it? What kind of power is it?

This is a sliver of Maelstrom. You cannot absorb it.

A sliver of—?

Your interaction with it has rendered the glyphs in this room ineffective. We are now vulnerable.

“Mother, the glyphs,” said Mariko. “I can’t sense them.”

Lady Ono turned to look at me. “They’re gone. What did you do?”

I handed the prism back to Nina. “That thing is a part of Maelstrom. It must have reacted to me somehow.”

“Maelstrom?”  Meja manifested Truth a moment later and had it at Nina’s throat. I barely had time to register what she had done when Lady Ono moved. The next thing I saw was Meja flying back across the room. Everyone froze as she walked over to where Meja had landed, and extended a hand.

“You are not Mikai so I do not expect you to understand our customs,” she said, her voice holding the menace of a drawn sword. “However, I will not allow you to spill blood in my house against my consent.”

Meja took the hand and stood. She bowed to Ono.

“My deepest apologies to you and your house, Lady Ono,” she said. “It was not my intent to cause you offense. It won’t happen again.”

Ono returned the bow. “I know it won’t. We will deal with this prism business in a moment. Right now we have more pressing matters,” she said as she turned to Samir. “What was the solution you were presenting?”

Samir paused for a moment without saying a word.

“Word wielder?” said Ono.

“Yes, yes. Nina is a wavedancer,” he said, recovering. “She found me in a null plane. Perhaps we can move Dante to the same plane?”

“A wavedancer?” asked Sylk. “She’s too young to be a wavedancer. Even among the Imans, wavedancers trained for decades before being allowed to open portals much less take someone with them. You can’t trust her ability.”

“Her ability found me in a null plane and brought me here,” said Samir.

Nina tied the prism around her neck again. She looked at Meja for a long moment before turning to Sylk.

“I can do it, and have done it since I was little. Who are you?” said Nina.

You must leave now. Enemies approach, Dante.

I don’t sense anyone.

Focus on your connection to me and expand your awareness.

I did as instructed and let my awareness flow outward. All around us were Mikai advancing on our position.

“We have trouble,” I said. “Mikai are closing on our position.”

“That would be the other clans,” said Mariko. “They will attempt to kill you.”

“Cowards,” spat Zanshi. “You, wavedancer,” he said while pointing at Nina. “Take him with you. We will deal with this filth.”

Nina was slowly shaking her head. Meja came over and stood next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You were looking for me, right?”

Nina nodded. “Right now we need you to help this man to get to a null plane,” she said. “Then we can discuss this prism you have to give me.”

“Okay, I can do that,” said Nina. “Two people? I don’t think I can do three. I’ve never tried more than two.”

“Yes, just me and Dante,” said Meja. “Can you do that?”

Nina bit her lip but nodded. She didn’t look confident, but I didn’t see we had much of a choice. It was either this or go outside and face eight clans-worth of Mikai.

“Nina, do you think you can take them to the in-between place you found me?” asked Samir.

Nina closed her eyes for a moment and then nodded her head.

“Please take them there now,” said Samir as he drew a short sword.

The sound of fighting could be heard outside the room now. Lady Ono placed a hand on my arm.

“A word, warrior,” she said. “Time is against us, but you alone must know this.”

We walked across to the other side of the room. She held both of my hands in hers and looked into my eyes. The glyphs in my arms began to give off a deep orange light. Behind us, I could sense the portal Nina had opened.

“You bonded to the third focus,” she said. “No one has been able to do that in centuries.”

“It still feels—” I began.

“This weapon will kill you,” she said. “It’s not a matter of if, but when. Remember, you are the one who wields the weapon. You possess choice.”

The door began to crack under the strain of the Mikai attacking.

“Now go, learn what you must, but do it quickly,” she said. “The destroyer will not rest until he achieves his goal, and only you stand a chance of stopping him.”

Meja had already entered the portal and Nina was waiting for me. I looked around at those gathered there. What Ono had told me made me realize I may never see them again.

“I will stop him, or die trying,” I said as I jumped into the portal.

TWO

CANDLES FLICKERED IN the dim room as Wheel sat in the center of the floor. The smell of citrus incense filled the air and the smoke from the candles created a lazy fog that rested on the stone floor. He wore thin linen pants under a loose-fitting robe. Beneath the robe, his torso was covered in intricate designs of circles within circles that pulsed a deep violet as he sat motionless. Etched into the floor around him were similar designs all interconnected by lines. He and the designs sat inside three concentric circles—a tre. A large door whispered open on the far side of the room, allowing a shaft of light to fall upon his face. The violet light from his glyphs obscured his upper body and seemed to absorb the light coming from the open door.

“Enter,” said Wheel as he opened his eyes.

In the doorway stood a hooded figure. He remained outside the threshold of the room for a moment before placing a foot inside. With one foot in, he waited a moment before continuing. Making sure to avoid the edge of the tre, the hooded figure stepped around the circle and into the relative safety of the corner.

“Master, the Samadhi are ready,” said the robed figure as he bowed deeply.

“How many times have I told you, Perth?” said Wheel with a gesture that pushed the hood off Perth’s head and uncovered his face. “It is not the circle that is dangerous, but the one who sits within it.”

Perth stood taller than Wheel, his muscular frame barely hidden by his robe. His black hair fell down to his shoulders. The scar that started at his right temple traveled down his face diagonally and ended on the opposite cheek. He made no move to replace the hood but fastened his hair out of his face.

“That would make this a dangerous circle indeed, Master,” said Perth.

“Was that humor?” asked Wheel as he stood and walked over to the door. “Are you even capable of humor?”

“No, Master, I am not,” said Perth dryly. “I was merely stating the facts.”

“I think the scar gives you character. Stop hiding it.”

“Yes, Master,” said Perth.

Wheel exited the room with Perth, who was careful to avoid any part of the tre as he followed in tow.

“The arrangements have been made?” asked Wheel.

“Yes, Master,” said Perth. “The portal is in place as you instructed and will take you to the desert plane.”

“All of the Samadhi answered the summons?”

“They are in the main meeting area, but there was a complication,” said Perth as sweat formed across his brow.

Wheel stopped in his tracks and turned to face him.

“Who dared?” he said as a brief smile flitted across his face, never reaching his eyes.

“Samadhi Smoke has refused the invitation, Master,” said Perth.

“Smoke? Really?”

Perth only nodded.

Wheel began walking again. “I can’t say it’s much of a surprise,” he said. “He was always stubborn and full of himself. What is it with these Fire Samadhi?”

“Shall I—” began Perth.

“Yes, I want you there,” said Wheel. “Send the Lotus. Start with his family. All of them. Then erase anyone they knew and their families.”

“The children?”

“An example must be made, Perth,” said Wheel, his voice hard.

“Yes, Master.”

“All of them. Leave Samadhi Smoke for last,” said Wheel. “When only he remains, bring him to me and I will put him out of his misery.” Wheel entered the main meeting area and left Perth outside.

THREE

RAEL OPENED A portal and found it blocked. The swirling mass of energy that formed collapsed on itself in seconds.

That’s a first. Seems I’ll have to take the long way. This space must nullify certain portals.

He looked around the space that Sylk provided. He didn’t see anything he needed from the place. Lucius’ shadow had left only moments before, leaving him with explicit instructions to confront Wheel, retake Maelstrom, and bring it to him. This was after increasing his power with a fraction of his own. He looked down at his hands as energy ran along them. Small arcs of lightning erupted from his hands and arms that left small scorch marks wherever they touched. He formed a fist and held it as the energy coalesced around him.

This is only a fraction of his power? He can never get Maelstrom. He’s too powerful. I wonder if she got the prism and if she did, will she use it? Somehow, I doubt I’ll be around for that face-off.

He walked to the door that had been disarmed by the shadow and placed his hand on the wall beside it.

He shook his head in surprise. He erased the glyphs as if they didn’t exist. Should be able to form a portal outside after that little feat.

Stepping outside of the room, he formed another portal and stepped through.

FOUR

FRANCA OPENED HER door to the presence of a giant of a man carrying a young woman. She blocked the doorway with her body.

“Snipe, what fresh hell have you brought to my doorstep?” she asked as she rested a hand on one of the guns holstered around her waist.

Snipe tried to step forward but she held her ground, keeping him outside. She stood halfway up to the giant’s chest and looked up at his face. Her irises, clouded over from age and disease, held him in place. Black hair that was tied tight in a braid fell to her waist.

“She’s sick, Franca,” said Snipe. “Her blood smells bad.”

“Obviously or you wouldn’t be here.”

“Can you help her?” he asked.

Franca stepped closer to Snipe and placed a hand on the woman’s body. After a few moments, she drew it away and shook her head.

“You’re holding a corpse,” she said. “You just don’t know it. It’s only a matter of time, but I doubt she’ll last the day.”

Snipe shook his head. “We have to help her,” he said. “Please, miss.”

“You’re better off finding a place to bury her,” she said. “Call her family and let them do it.”

“We can’t,” said Rico from behind Snipe. “All her family is gone.”

“She’s been poisoned,” Franca said. “It means someone wants her dead. I don’t need or want that in my life. Let her join her family.”

“We have to help her,” said Snipe. “Please, miss.”

Franca sighed. “I don’t have time for every stray you find, Snipe.”

Rico stepped out from behind Snipe and stepped close to the doorway. He looked to the left and right before speaking.

“He told us to come to you,” said Rico. “Mentioned you by name. Said if she was hurt, to bring her to you.”

“Who mentioned me by name?” she asked, wary.

“Hiram—it was Hiram, miss,” said Rico. “He was the one who told us to find her.”

“Hiram is insane and he knows I don’t do this anymore,” she said. “Those days ended with the Deadeyes. Now go away.”

“You have to help her, miss,” said Snipe. “You have to.”

She stepped close to Snipe and put a finger on his chest as she spoke.

“You know what I like less than poisoned half-dead people at my door in the morning? Being told what I have to do.”

Snipe looked down at Franca, his gaze calm. He gently pushed the body at Franca. “You have to,” he said again.

Franca crossed her arms, her expression hard. “No, actually I don’t. Now leave.”

She started closing her door when Rico placed his foot in the way. She narrowed her eyes, and in a blur of motion had a pistol at Rico’s throat. He was pinned in place.

“Don’t make the mistake of letting my eyes fool you,” she whispered in his ear. “I see better than the both of you put together.”

Rico could only move his head a fraction of an inch to nod.

“I’ve killed for less,” she continued, her voice steel. “But I like you so I’m going to let you explain to me why you should continue breathing.”

Rico looked down at the gun but didn’t answer. After a moment, Franca moved it enough to allow him to speak.

“It’s Arthur Cross’s daughter,” said Rico as the words rushed out.

Franca holstered her weapon and grabbed Rico by the collar.

“Say again? And don’t you dare lie to me,” she said. “Who is this?”

“On my life,” said Rico, his voice shaking as he answered. “This is Raquel—Arthur’s daughter.”

Franca looked again at the body Snipe held in his massive arms. She turned her head to one side and exhaled. Snipe nodded.

“Well, shit,” she said. “Bring her inside, Snipe.”

She pointed at Rico. “You go tell Hiram I’ll do this because Cross saved my life more times than I’m comfortable admitting, but this goes no further,” she said. “The Deadeyes are long gone and better for it. You understand?”

Rico nodded as he stepped back and wiped the sweat from his face. “Yes, miss,” he said.

Franca took hold of Raquel’s wrist and let go after a moment.

“She wasting away,” she said. “Snipe, close the door and come with me.”

Without turning, she spoke to Rico who was still standing at the door.

“And Rico?”

“Yes, miss?” he said, startled.

“After you deliver the message, you tell Hiram he needs to come see me,” she said. “Go. Tell no one else what takes place here.”

“But the others will want to know that—” he began.

She turned to look at him and he froze mid-sentence.

“If I hear that someone besides Hiram knows about this, I can promise you that those will be the last words you chose to share,” she said. “Do we understand each other?”

“Yes, miss, only Hiram will know,” he said as he left.

She closed the door and turned to Snipe as she placed her hand on a panel and a section of the floor slid away, revealing stairs.

“Downstairs, Snipe. She doesn’t have much time left.”

“Yes, miss,” said Snipe as he descended the stairs carefully, feeling his way one step at a time.

What have you gotten yourself into, child?

FIVE

“WHAT IS THIS place?” I asked as I came through the portal into a barren space devoid of—anything. Everywhere I looked I only saw black sand and a starlit sky.

“This is an in-between space,” said Nina. “No one can find you here.”

I found that hard to believe considering who was doing the looking.

“This place is a null plane—an interstice,” said Meja with some surprise. “I can only sense each of us but nothing else.”

At her words, I let my awareness expand. For as far as I could sense, there was nothing. We were the only living things in this plane. It was disconcerting and I quickly brought my awareness back.

“Does time even flow here?” I asked. “I just sense emptiness. It reminds me of—”

“Aurora’s passage,” said Meja. “This isn’t the mirror. It’s more like a place between the planes and the mirror.” She looked around at the barren landscape.

She was right. I let my awareness expand again using Shadowstrike this time.

You should have done this the first time, Dante.

I’m still getting used to being bonded to a weapon that isn’t trying to kill me.

In the distance, I could sense something—a structure of some kind. The energy signature it was giving off was faint, but it was there.

“There,” I said and pointed in the direction where I felt the structure. “There is a building or something over there.”

Nina shook her head. “There is nothing here,” she said. “This place is in-between. Nothing lives here.”

I saw Meja take a breath and close her eyes. I knew she was letting her awareness expand as I had done moments earlier. I also knew she wasn’t going to find anything.

Her weapon is strong but not that strong. She will not be able to see it as you have, said Shadowstrike.

“I don’t sense anything,” she said, opening her eyes. “Are you sure?”

“”Yes, I’m certain,” I said and met her gaze.

She looked off to where I had pointed and then looked back at me.

“Doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice,” she said and gestured forward. “You take lead and find this place.”

I headed off in the direction where I felt the faint tug of chi and hoped I wasn’t leading us into a trap, or worse.

SIX

“THE HARBINGER IS loose again,” said Aurora.

She sat at her desk in her office. A fire raged in the fireplace, keeping the drafty room warm. Around her in a flurry of activity, different assistants in robes attended to stacks of paper on her desk. She pushed her chair back and stood, walking around the desk and the assistants.

“What do you mean, loose?” asked Roman. “Was he contained?”

“For a short time I couldn’t sense him in the hub,” she said. “For a brief moment I dared to hope he was finished. Now he has reappeared.”

Roman adjusted his hammer and rubbed his chin. “What do you want me to do?”

“I need to speak to him,” she said. “If he is free that means the ascendants—”

“Are in danger,” Roman said, finishing her thought. “Do you think he will go after them again?”

“There is nothing to indicate that his purpose has changed. He is the Harbinger: he exists to make a way for the Destroyer. I need to convince him otherwise.”

“What will speaking to him accomplish?” asked Roman. “Our best course is to destroy him.”

“So far any attempts to do that have been unsuccessful,” she answered with an edge to her voice. “The creature does not die.”

“He is powerful,” said Roman, looking down at his hammer. “Perhaps if I can use my weapon—”

“You will be dead before you can learn anything,” said Aurora. “And your death does not serve me or our purpose.”

Roman nodded silently. He remembered his last meeting with Rael.

“He doesn’t seem like the type you can convince, and I don’t think I can face him alone,” said Roman. “Even at full strength I don’t think I can match him.”

“You won’t face him alone,” said Aurora.

“You have an army hidden somewhere that I haven’t seen?”

Aurora remained silent as she looked at Roman.

“I forget my place. Forgive me,” said Roman, bowing his head.

She looked to the side and motioned with her hand.

“If I had one, you would be leading it. Besides, an army would be pointless against someone who cannot die,” she answered. “However, there may be a way.”

A masked figure entered the room. The mask—a white face with red symbols—covered the man’s face as he limped closer to them. Roman unslung his hammer and held it tightly. Waves of energy radiated from the masked man, charging the air around him as he leaned on his staff.

“There is a way,” said the figure, his voice a rasp. “But I don’t think you will like it.”

“Don’t you recognize him?” asked Aurora. “Remove the mask.”

The masked figure bowed his head and removed the disguise. Half of his face was disfigured and raw. Red welts crisscrossed one side of his face, making it almost unrecognizable.

Roman took a step back in surprise, keeping his hammer in front of him.

“Kenji?” said Roman in disbelief.

“In the flesh, or mostly in the flesh,” answered Kenji as he covered his face again.

“What happened? Last I heard you were killed by the Reapers.”

“A chi erasure against a Reaper that did not go as planned left me with some…lasting scars,” said Kenji. “But we are not here to discuss my adventures.”

Roman remained silent for a moment. “You are different somehow,” he said. “Your energy signature has changed—stronger, it seems.”

Kenji nodded. “The erasure is based on an ancient glyph, a glyph of inversion,” said Kenji. “You could say this glyph is the framework for the erasure, which as you may know negates energy.”

“Negates energy?” asked Roman. “Any kind of energy?”

“Every kind of energy,” said Kenji.

“And you know this glyph?” said Roman.

“No, that knowledge has been lost. I know a segment of it,” said Kenji. “While I was in the midst of the erasure, I was able to unravel part of the glyph. It wasn’t complete, but it was enough to save myself from being completely undone.”

“Will it be enough to stop the Harbinger?” asked Roman.

“I don’t know,” said Kenji. “He is notoriously difficult to kill.”

Turning to Aurora, Roman slung his hammer over his shoulder again. “Do we even know where he is?”

“He’s in the hub. I’ll show you where,” she said and made her way back to her seat. “Find him and bring him here. If he resists, use what you know of the glyph and erase him.”

SEVEN

SAMADHI SMOKE KNEW he was running out of time. By refusing the invitation, he knew he had signed his own death sentence.

Invitation? More like command. Wheel is deranged if he thinks I am going to join him.

He looked down at the sleeping form of his granddaughter. She had just turned four and was sleeping in his arms fitfully. He ran a hand across her forehead to calm her down and she settled into a deeper sleep.

“Father, the preparations are made,” his only son, Aron, said. “Are you certain we must flee? There must be another way. We can fight them.”

Aron stood by his wife, Cara. Both looked reluctant to leave their master.

“Not now you can’t,” said Smoke. “You are both highly skilled Samadhi in your own right, but it will not be enough against them. Their numbers are too great.”

“We are masters of smoke, Samadhi. Numbers mean nothing to us,” she said. “They cannot harm what they cannot touch.”

Smoke shook his head slowly. “No, Cara. You and your family must leave this plane until this threat is removed and you hear from me,” said Smoke. He placed his granddaughter in her mother’s arms. “I will deal with this.”

“Yes, Father,” said Aron.

“I know you don’t like this, son, but it is the only way for now. Promise me you will not return until you have heard from me.”

“But I—”

“Promise me. On your word and family.”

Aron hesitated and sighed. “On my word and family, Father. I will wait until you contact me before I return.”

“And if you don’t hear from me?”

Aron’s gaze hardened, his hands becoming fists.

“Aron…” Smoke put his hands on Aron’s shoulders.

“If I don’t hear from you, I’m to assume the worst and remain hidden,” said Aron.

Smoke nodded. “That’s good, my son. Now you must go,” he said. He opened a portal, gave his granddaughter a kiss on her forehead and hugged his son and daughter-in-law, the last masters of his discipline, one last time.

“Now go, and remember your word,” said Smoke. “Keep them safe, Aron.”

He watched in sadness as the last of his family left the plane and his life, knowing in his heart that he would never see them again.

EIGHT

WHEEL LOOKED AROUND the large tent at the gathered Samadhi. Seated at the edge of a large tre, he took in the scene:  twenty old men who were once important, clinging to the memory of power. Most were only Samadhi in title, earning their position by being the student of a revered master. Very few wielded real power and, out of those, none posed a threat to him.

Outside, a desert storm raged, blowing some of the flaps in. No sand entered the interior of the tent, with large rugs and comfortable cushions remaining undisturbed by the howling wind. Its sound remained a muffled whisper as the Samadhi spoke to each other in hushed voices. Contempt filled Wheel as he looked at the masters of their respective disciplines. For a brief moment, anger and hatred flitted across his face. Soon I will be rid of these fossils, he thought. He composed himself and stood before the gathered assembly. They had come to the plane at his summons. He knew many of them despised and feared him, and the power he wielded.

“Brothers, you honor me with your presence,” he said as he bowed.

Many of the Samadhi bowed in response to his words. Some remained rigid, unwilling to bow.

“You say that like we had a choice, Wheel,” said one of the Samadhi who had refused to return the bow. Wheel looked up at the voice and made a mental note. Samadhi Earth—strong but not strong enough, alone.

Samadhi Earth was a stocky man. His graying hair was cut short, which gave his round face an even rounder appearance. Despite his frame, his movements were fluid and graceful as he stepped toward Wheel.

“Samadhi Earth, I merely felt the need to be convincing,” said Wheel. “We’re facing dark times and it will require all of our skills to face them.”

Some of the Samadhi murmured assent. Samadhi Earth remained looking at Wheel. He sipped some of the liquid from the wineglass he held in his hand.

“What dark times, Wheel?” said Earth. “We are not at war. Is there a threat to our existence or to any of our planes? I don’t think so. This is just a pathetic attempt to force us to join you.”

A small show of force is needed, as usual. Wheel bowed and gestured, sending a mass of flowing tendrils of dark energy at Earth. Samadhi Earth spit out the liquid and formed it into a makeshift shield. It wasn’t strong enough, though, and shattered as the dark tendrils smashed against it.  Tendrils enveloped Earth as he struggled.

“This is exactly what I am referring to, my brothers,” said Wheel as he entered the center of the tre. “We must work together. I do not wish to force you. I much prefer your cooperation. We should be in harmony.”

Earth gathered up the remaining liquid in his glass and shaped it into a blade, cutting through the tendrils and escaping their grasp. However, it was too late. Violet welts appeared all over his body.

“This is how he would like our cooperation,” said Earth, showing his arms to the others. “You don’t want us to help you.”

“There have been reports of Kriya loose in the planes,” said Wheel. “And if that were not enough to concern us, Reapers have been summoned as well. Do I lie about this? Is this not a threat?”

The murmuring of the Samadhi became louder and more agitated.

“And you stand there and claim to have nothing to do with this?” said Earth.

“Have we forgotten that the Destroyer still lives?” answered Wheel. “His Harbinger has attempted to reform the bridge to his plane of incarceration.”

Earth shook his head. “Lies and half-truths,”  he said. “You want us to serve you. You brought us here to remove any threat. We’ve been fools.” Earth made a gesture and found that his ability to form a portal had been nullified.

“What have you done to me?” asked Earth.

“I would prefer you remain here with us,” said Wheel.

“You prefer? You do not lead us, Wheel. Your arrogance knows no bounds.”

Wheel smiled for a moment and then turned to face the rest of the gathered Samadhi.

“Earth is right,” he said. “I don’t need your assistance, but I am asking for it. The threats that face us now are greater than any we have seen.”

“We will never follow you,” said Earth. “You’re almost as delusional as Lucius was when we stopped him. We dealt with him and we can deal with you.”

With a thought, Wheel manifested Maelstrom. The staff thrummed in his hands, resisting him. Earth narrowed his eyes at the sight of the dark weapon and took a defensive stance. Several of the Samadhi recognized the staff and whispered its name in fear.

“I don’t think I made my point clear,” said Wheel as his smile hardened. “What I need is your obedience. This will be your one and only opportunity. If you come with me, join me, I promise you real power, or you can die here, now.”

Eight of the Samadhi stepped closer to Earth in a show of solidarity. Earth began coughing, as the welts grew darker. The other Samadhi backed away from Earth and his supporters.

“When I procured this weapon,” said Wheel as he brandished Maelstrom, “I was told I wouldn’t be able to wield it. Some nonsense about being part of a bloodline.”

“How did you…How did you get that weapon?” asked one of the Samadhi, standing next to Earth.

“Don’t be naïve,” said Earth as he summoned a staff of his own. “He stole it and intends to use it against us.”

“Borrowed it, actually,” said Wheel matter-of-factly.

“Semantics, Wheel,” answered Earth. “You may have power, but you have clearly overestimated your abilities this time. Just like Lucius.”

“I am nothing like him,” said Wheel. The air around him charged with power.

“In that, we can agree. His justification—though twisted—is understandable,” replied Earth. “You just want power. Smoke was right.”

“Smoke,” said Wheel. “He will regret defying me.”

What began as laughter ended in a paroxysm of coughs as Earth clutched his chest. He spit out a thick, black, viscous liquid before speaking. “You may have killed me, but you will not beat him so easily,” said Earth, regaining his breath.

“Enough talk, old man,” said Wheel as he attacked again.

Earth stepped to the side as Maelstrom crashed down where he had stood just moments earlier. Wheel whipped a leg around in a devastating kick to Earth’s legs. Earth, with a word, sheathed his legs in stone. Wheel kicked through the stone and into the older Samadhi’s legs, shattering one of them. With a grunt of pain, Earth fell to the ground and rolled to the side, avoiding another crushing blow from Wheel. He slid back out of Wheel’s reach.

“Let me show you what real power is,” whispered Wheel. He absorbed Maelstrom and began to trace a glyph in the air. A collective gasp could be heard from the Samadhi. In Wheel’s hand, an orb of dark energy formed. Violet light arced away from it and collapsed back into it. The energy it gave off radiated in every direction and filled the tent, causing some of the Samadhi to step back as they were buffeted by its power.

“When did you learn an inversion glyph?” said Earth. “The ancient glyphs have all been lost.”

“Not all of them,” said Wheel as he looked down at the orb in his hand. It was slowly dividing and separating into smaller orbs. They floated lazily in his palm.

“Some of the best things in life are simple,” said Wheel. “Wouldn’t you agree, Samadhi?”

Earth straightened himself against the power flowing in the tent and around him. He remained motionless and silent, holding his staff in his hands. He focused on Wheel.

“I’m sure you would agree,” continued Wheel. “Take this orb for example. It only has one purpose: entropy.”

Wheel released the orbs and they impacted their targets—the Samadhi that stood with Earth. Within moments, small vortices formed and began to absorb them. In seconds, they were gone. One orb remained in Wheel’s hand.

“You will never defeat your greatest enemy, Wheel,” said Earth as the orb closed on him. The orb slammed into him and sent him sprawling to the ground. Wheel walked over to where he lay, watching as the vortex of energy began to coalesce.

“What enemy would that be?” asked Wheel.

“Hubris,” said Earth as he disappeared into the vortex.

Wheel turned to the remaining Samadhi, who were all on their knees.

“Now, that’s more like it,” he said as he gestured with his hands to create a portal. “I have pressing matters elsewhere, but I expect your full cooperation. You have made the right choice. I will return in several days to discuss your new roles by my side. For now your first task will be to prepare your respective planes for my arrival.”

“Yes, Master,” they said collectively.

Wheel finished opening the portal and stepped through.

NINE

WE WALKED FOR what seemed like an hour, though I had no way of gauging time in this place. The starlit sky had no constellations I could recognize.

“Are you certain you felt something?” asked Meja.

I nodded. Whatever it was gave off a small amount of energy, which in this place of nothingness made it easy to detect.

“It’s a structure of some sort, but I can sense chi coming from it,” I said. “There is some kind of energy there or someone in the structure.”

We kept walking, when I saw the silhouette in the distance. A glow came from the structure. As we got closer, it began to look familiar.

“Over there.” I pointed to the building which, as we got closer, was much larger than I thought.

“How can that be?” asked Nina. “This place is in-between. Nothing is supposed to be here.”

“We’re here, aren’t we?” I said.

“Yes, but that…” she said as she pointed at the structure. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I may be wrong but it looks just—” I began.

“Like a Watch,” finished Meja.

“How did a Watch get in here?” I asked.

“Only one way to find out,” said Meja as she approached the entrance.

TEN

DEAD MIKAI LITTERED the room. Ono wiped her weapons down, removing blood.

“Get this cleaned up, Mariko.”

“Yes, Mother,” said Mariko, leaving the room as some of her guard began to remove the bodies.

Ono looked around the room and clenched her jaw. “They have let fear rule their actions, the cowards,” she said as she gripped her swords tightly. “They dared to attack us here. In our home?”

“We will deal with them in accordance to their actions, my love,” said Zanshi, trying to calm her down. “First we must see to our own wounded and then to the glyphs.”

“I can help with the wounded,” said Devin. “Then I need to return to the hub.”

Ono nodded and composed herself. “Yes, you are right, Husband,” she said. “Please tend to the wounded, Sylk and I will see to the glyphs.”

Zanshi nodded and left the room with Devin. Samir began to arrange the bodies for easy removal.

“How long does he have?” asked Sylk.

Lady Ono looked at Sylk and then away.

“How did you know?”

“I saw his chi signature when he returned,” said Sylk. “He bonded to it, but something is wrong. There is an imbalance and it’s killing him.”

“I don’t know how long he has,” said Ono quietly. “The bonding went well but at the last moment something shifted. I think it may have to do with his previous weapon.”

Sylk remained silent a moment, pensive.

“What are you saying?” asked Samir. “I thought Dante bonded successfully with the weapon?”

“He did and then he didn’t,” said Ono. “Except now it is too much a part of him to undo what has been done.”

“There must be a solution to this,” said Sylk. “The Records should have something on it.”

“The Records will be of no use to us for some time, I think,” said Samir. He told them of how Raja had attacked him and his escape from the embodiment of the Records.

“Impossible,” said Sylk to himself.

“I would have thought the same thing right up until the moment I was attacked,” said Samir.

“The only other alternative is the South Watch,” said Sylk. “Perhaps the Keeper there can get us access to the information we need.”

“What information, Sylk?” asked Ono. “No one living has seen the third focus bonded to anyone.”

“I am not going to just let him die,” said Sylk, his voice hard. “Is that what you are suggesting?”

“I am suggesting you not pin all of your hopes on one solution,” said Ono. “You know there is an alternative.”

“Reform the bridge?” said Sylk, incredulous. “Are you suggesting we release him? That would be the end of us all.”

“Tell me, Karashihan, what do you think we will face if the inversion glyph has been rediscovered?”

ELEVEN

RAQUEL OPENED HER eyes in unfamiliar surroundings. A clean bandage was tied around her leg. Around her, the non-descript walls were bare. From the damp smell, she could tell she was in a basement of some kind. A chair was the only other furniture in the room and it sat across from the bed she lay in. She felt weak but tried to sit up and failed.

The door opened and a woman walked in. The first thing Raquel noticed was her eyes, and the guns. She counted at least five. The woman was older, with slight crow’s feet crinkling the skin around her eyes. Her milky gaze held Raquel in place as she sat in the chair and leaned forward, both feet on the floor. Her arms rested on her thighs as she took Raquel in. After a few moments, it seemed she came to a decision and sat back.

“Do you know who I am?” asked the woman. Raquel counted the guns strapped to her waist and thighs. Another smaller gun was strapped to one of her ankles.

This woman is a walking arsenal, thought Raquel.

“No, I don’t. Should I?” asked Raquel.

“The name is Franca, and you were counting my guns. Won’t do you any good, since there’re at least two you can’t see.”

“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to—” began Raquel.

“Just like your father, always sizing up potential threats,” said Franca. “Nearly got us killed a few times too.”

“You knew my father?”

Franca smiled for a moment, lost in a memory, and then nodded. “Yes, you could say that.”

“Where is this place?”

“Before I answer that, tell me why you appeared at my doorstep half dead,” said Franca with an edge to her voice.

The memories flooded back and Raquel clenched her teeth against the flood of anger. “That bitch,” she said under her breath.

“Is the bitch still alive?”

Raquel remained silent and then shook her head.

“Good, I can tell this is going to bring untold hours of excitement to my dull life,” said Franca.

“How did I get here?”

“It appears someone has been watching you, closely,” said Franca.

“Watching me?”

There was a knock at the door and a tall man entered the room. Outside of the door, there were two more people. Raquel could barely make out the second person behind the giant of the man who blocked the doorway.

The tall man was graying but still retained an air of grace about him. He wore loose-fitting clothes and, like Franca, carried an abundance of guns. Over the clothes, he wore a poncho-style wrap that covered most of the weapons.

“Hello, Raquel, I am Hiram Montez.” His voice was a deep baritone that filled the room. “I trust Franca has been taking good care of you?”

“I kept her alive,” said Franca, standing. “My job in this is done.”

“Franca—” began Hiram.

Franca held her hand up, stopping him mid-sentence.

“I told you I was done and I’m done,” she said. “If you had any sense left in your head you’d be done too.”

“We can’t just let them keep killing. We have to do something,” said Hiram.

“You are getting involved in a fight that isn’t yours,” she said. “ And that always ends with someone dead. Trust me.”

“Which is why we need your help,” he answered. “With your skills—”

“Not my fight,” said Franca, and she looked at Raquel. “If you are really your father’s daughter, you’ll say no to whatever he’s offering.”

Not my fight, thought Raquel. Those were the last words I said to Snow before he gave me his weapons.

She closed her eyes and felt for the Fangs. She touched upon them and both Franca and Hiram stepped back.

“What did you just do?” asked Franca, alarmed. She was fingering the holster of one of her guns.

“Nothing,” said Raquel, lying. “Just making sure everything is still in place.”

“Don’t do that again,” said Franca. “Power spikes like that can get you killed around here.”

“I told you,” said Hiram. “She can help us. You need to reconsider, Fran.”

“Don’t you call me that, ever,” said Franca as she stepped close to Hiram. Her hand still rested on her gun.

Franca moved over to Raquel and placed a hand on her arm. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Seconds later, she gasped and pulled back her hand fast, as if she were being burned.

Can she sense the Fangs? thought Raquel.

“You can’t do this, Hiram,” said Franca. “It’s too dangerous.”

“We have to—there is no other way,” said Hiram. “We need the Soul Cannon.”

“Soul Cannon?” asked Franca. “Now I know you have lost your senses. That technique is lethal. No gunslinger has used that and lived to discuss the aftermath.”

“One has,” said Hiram.

“Then go find him.”

“No one knows where Cross is and you know that,” said Hiram. “But you were there and you saw what he did and how.”

“Wait—what did you just say?” asked Raquel. “Is my father alive?”

“We don’t know,” said Franca as she turned to Hiram. “My having been there doesn’t mean I can do it or teach it to her, no matter how much power she has.”

“All this time I thought he was dead,” whispered Raquel to herself.

“I think she can do it and she is a Cross,” said Hiram. “We need that weapon.”

“It will kill her and I won’t be a part of that,” said Franca. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”

“Franca, I know this is difficult,” began Hiram.

“You know absolutely shit, Hiram,” she said. “You’re asking me to sacrifice her for your cause.”

“We aren’t doing anything until you tell me who you are,” said Raquel. She sat up in her bed, grimacing against the pain of the exertion as her leg throbbed at the movement.

“I apologize. I am Hiram, leader of the Deadeyes, and we—I—need your help.”

TWELVE

“LADY ONO, WITH all due respect, what you are proposing sounds just as bad as the inversion glyph being in the wrong hands,” said Sylk. “Releasing him is like releasing a tidal wave. Everything and everyone in his path will be crushed and destroyed.”

“I am open to alternatives, if you have any,” said Ono. “An inversion glyph in the hands of someone willing to destroy creates a formidable enemy. Are you certain you can negate it?”

“Master,” said Mara, “is there a way to neutralize this inversion glyph?”

Sylk rubbed his chin as he thought. “It is one of the ancient glyphs,” he said. “I don’t know if I possess that kind of power, even at my strongest.”

“How did someone acquire this glyph?” asked Mara.

“That, my child, is the question,” said Ono. “However, as important as that may be, it is not the question we need to be asking.”

“There is no record of this glyph in any of my studies,” said Samir. “If it exists it must be in the oldest of the syllabist’s texts.”

“And those texts would be located where now?” asked Sylk. “The Akashic Records?”

“Most certainly there would be copies there,” said Samir. “Perhaps we could have found out if the Records were accessible, but now… it would be too risky.”

“Master… I know that look,” said Mara. “You can’t. You heard Samir. Raja attacked him.”

Samir nodded, his face serious.

“If there is a way, the Keeper would know,” said Sylk quietly as he looked at the silver lines gently undulating across his right arm.

“Sylk, whatever you are scheming, and I know you,” said Ono as she stepped close to him, “you must tread carefully now. You have bonded to the Watch. It gives you power yes, but it also limits you.”

“I can navigate the Records without Raja. I just need to know where to look,” said Sylk. “I have done it before.”

“You want to return to the Records?” asked Samir. “This is not a wise course of action.”

“Maelstrom,” said Ono. “That is how you knew of its existence.”

Sylk nodded. “I didn’t expect Dante to bond with it, but it was in the Records where I found the information about it.”

“How did you get around the gatekeeper or this Raja?” asked Ono.

“I used an interstice and spliced it into the Records, which allowed me access without encountering him,” said Sylk. “I was able to retain it in the past by several seconds and he is in the constant now.”

Samir opened his eyes wide. “Yes, yes—that could work,” he said more to himself than the others. “Amazing. That would mean that Raja would not be aware of your presence. Wait, this is no ordinary skill. This is something that—”

“That only a wavedancer could do,” said Ono, looking at him hard.

Sylk returned the stare unflinchingly.

“You would risk your life this way? Why?” asked Ono.

“My reasons have not changed,” said Sylk. “The Destroyer is still the greatest threat, and his Harbinger is free. If Lucius manages to reconnect the bridge to his plane, an inversion glyph will be the least of our worries.”

“Which is why you must form the bridge,” said Ono. “Do you not see it? It is the only way. Lucius clearly possesses enough power to negate the glyph.”

“And once he is done with Wheel?” asked Sylk. “Who will negate him?”

Everyone remained silent.

“Exactly. We will be at his mercy,” said Sylk. “Every glyph had a twin or counter. I’m certain the inversion glyph must be subject to this as well. But I would need someone who could read ancient texts and decipher them.”

“You need the word wielder,” said Ono, looking at Samir. “And you plan on masking your way into the Records and trying to find it without being discovered by its gatekeeper and being destroyed in the process?” asked Ono as she shook her head.

“I am going to assume that choice is not a factor here?” asked Samir. “You are going to attempt this with or without us?”

Sylk nodded. “I think I can find the glyph without you, but it would be better if you accompanied me.”

Samir shook his head. “I think this is insane, but I will go with you if I can be of service,” he said. “And see the ancient texts.”

“I’m going with you too,” said Mara.

“This is too dangerous,” began Sylk. “I don’t know if I can join the interstice after bonding to the Watch. I don’t know who or what we will run into.”

“Which is why you will need me with you,” said Mara, crossing her arms. “I am going.”

Sylk attempted to speak, but Ono placed a hand on his arm.

“She is bonded to you,” said Ono. “Her place is by your side. Besides, I think you can use all the help you can get.”

Mara smiled slightly as she nodded at Ono’s words.

“Don’t look so smug,” he said. “There is a good chance we won’t return from the Records.”

“More of a reason for me to be with you, Master,” said Mara, becoming serious. “As long as I am by your side.”

“If you do not return,” said Ono, “Dante and Shadowstrike remain our only option.”

“If I don’t return, there are no options,” said Sylk. “Dante can’t stand against both Wheel and Lucius. I don’t think anyone is that powerful.”

“If he can face them individually, there is a chance,” said Ono. “The Mikai are accustomed to powerful enemies.”

“These are not Mikai we are discussing,” said Sylk.

“When are you leaving?” asked Ono.

“I have one stop to make before I”—he looked at Mara and Samir— “before we attempt this.”

Ono grabbed him by the hands, embraced him, and then placed her right hand over his heart. She did the same to Mara and Samir. Sylk bowed, followed by the others.

“I will see you again, Lady Ono,” said Sylk.

“I am certain of that. It only remains to be seen if it is in this life or the next,” said Ono. “Peace be with you, Karashihan. Do not forget where your roots lie.”

Sylk made a gesture and opened a portal. He looked back one last time as he entered it followed by Mara and Samir.

THIRTEEN

RAEL WALKED THE streets of the hub. Power coursed through him. Wheel was not in the hub, but a part of him could sense him and it was tugging at him. The fastest way appeared to require that he go through this plane. As he walked, he expanded his awareness and felt the presence of the ascendants all around him. They were here in the hub. He could feel them all over his skin like spider webs clinging to him.

Well, that will make reforming the bridge easier, if I was going to reform it, that is.

He followed the direction of the tug. It led him to the giant expanse that was Central Park.

Central Park at night? This could be dangerous, he thought as a smile crossed his lips. As he walked through the park, he could sense other forms of energy trailing him. He didn’t look back but continued deeper into the park until he saw a bench. Sitting down, he waited. He didn’t have to wait long before two figures emerged over a large boulder, a remnant of the schist that made up the island.

“Harbinger, you need to come with us,” said Roman as he hefted his hammer off his shoulder.

“Hello, hammer-boy. Did mommy Aurora let you out to play?” said Rael. “Who’s tall, dark and scarred? Oh wait, I think I recognize you—well, the part of you that isn’t disfigured. Nice mask, by the way.”

Kenji bowed. “Our mistress requires your presence, Harbinger. We would prefer to do this without violence.”

“Did you see that, hammertime?” said Rael. “Manners, etiquette…He is asking me instead of barking commands at me.”

Roman unslung his hammer and held it in front of him. “I don’t need to ask when I can let my weapon speak for me.”

“If I recall, I kicked your ass the last time we danced,” said Rael.

“The last time you found me ill prepared,” said Roman. “That won’t happen this time.”

“True, you didn’t put up much of a fight the last time we met,” said Rael. “Are you saying you can keep it up this time?”

“I have more than enough for you,” answered Roman through clenched teeth.

“You always were a good little attack dog,” said Rael. “Good at obeying orders, following your mommy around blindly. Either of you even ask why she wants to see me? I doubt she needs my advice on anything.”

“She would like to speak to you,” said Kenji. “It seems she is concerned about your presence in the same plane as the ascendants.”

“She wants to know if I am going to erase ascendants again, go on a rampage, reform the bridge and let out the bogeyman?” asked Rael.

“That would be her concern, yes,” said Kenji. “Will you come speak to her?”

“Well, here is my answer: no, not killing ascendants and no, I’m going to have to decline the invite,” said Rael. “I have another pressing commitment. You can tell her that the ascendants aren’t a priority anymore.”

“She was very explicit in her instructions, Harbinger,” said Kenji. “She requires your presence.”

“Let me guess, she said bring me back or kill me?” said Rael.

Kenji gave a slight nod.

“Typical. She is as subtle as a brick,” said Rael. “You do realize that has been tried? Doesn’t quite stick.”

“I am aware of your particular durability, yes,” said Kenji. “I think you will find things a little different this time.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” said Rael as he manifested his swords. The earth around him was showered with arcing bolts of energy as the ground cracked. The large boulder of schist behind Kenji and Roman shattered, sending projectiles in every direction as several bolts of energy cascaded over it.

Roman looked behind him, surprise on his face. “What the hell was that?” he asked Kenji as he faced Rael. “He wasn’t this powerful the last time I faced him.”

Rael took a mock bow. “How do you like the new-and-improved Harbinger?” he asked. “Greater destruction in the same amazing package.”

Roman swung his hammer as Kenji began to execute the glyph.

Energy crackled all around Rael, bathing him in blue light as he walked toward the pair.

“Time to die,” he said and started laughing.

“You are going to have to keep him busy while I execute this glyph,” said Kenji. “Can you?”

“Not for very long,” said Roman. “His energy signature is almost on par with Aurora’s.”

Rael closed the distance. Roman brought his hammer down in a crushing blow. Kenji moved back and started the glyph first with the gestures. Rael deflected the hammer with one of his swords. He followed the deflection with a lunge aimed at Roman’s midsection. Rather than resist the deflection, Roman allowed himself to follow the force of the blow. Rael stabbed empty air, while Roman recovered and swung his hammer again at Rael’s back and connected.

For anyone else it would have been a killing blow. Rael was thrown forward, arcs of lightning trailing behind him as he fell. He recovered and tucked into a forward roll, covering some distance before he stood, unscathed. He dusted himself off and walked to Roman.

“I almost felt that hammer,” said Rael. “You have no idea what you are up against. You are a child playing in the realm of gods.”

“Gods,” spat Roman. “You are no god. You are just some twisted abomination that should have been destroyed long ago.”

Rael paused a moment and absorbed his swords. “I agree, I should have been, but it’s not going to happen today or here with the two of you,” he said.

Rael formed twin orbs of energy in his hands. The blue orbs floated lazily in his hands as energy and lightning coruscated around him.

“Kenji…I hope you are ready,” said Roman as the orbs floated from Rael’s hands and came speeding at them.

Kenji stepped close to Rael and lifted his staff. He made a final gesture and the orbs disappeared midflight.

“Now, Roman!” he hissed. “Attack him now or we won’t get another chance.”

Rael cocked his head to one side in confusion as all the lightning arcing around him evaporated. “What the hell did you—?”

Roman’s hammer crashed into him the next second, the sick crunch of bone filling the night air as Rael doubled over from the blow. Roman spun in a circle and delivered a rising blow to Rael’s head that lifted him off his feet and crushed his skull in the process. He came around for another blow when Kanji stepped in and stopped him.

“I don’t think she wants him dead,” said Kenji as sweat broke out on his brow. “Let’s deliver him in one piece.”

“Are you still executing the glyph?” asked Roman.

Kenji nodded. “I managed to infuse most of the glyph into this”—he lifted his staff and showed Roman the intricate designs—“but it still requires a large amount of chi to keep it going.”

Roman looked down at the broken body of the Harbinger and prodded it with his foot.

“I don’t think he is dead,” said Roman. “I don’t think he can die. Maybe if you had the complete glyph.”

“It may be possible, but I have no way of getting the full glyph that doesn’t involve my death,” answered Kenji. “And unlike the Harbinger, if I die I stay dead.”

Almost as if in response, Rael began to stir and cough. His head wounds were healing at an accelerated rate. A groan escaped his lips as he moved.

“Fuck,” croaked Rael. “That hurt.”

“Open a portal and let’s get him to Aurora before he recovers,” said Kenji. “I don’t think we will be able to stop him a second time.”

Roman gestured with his hammer and opened a portal. He picked up Rael and he and Kenji stepped through.

FOURTEEN

WE CAME UP to the entrance of the Watch and found it inaccessible. Inaccessible is the wrong word. It was closer to impregnable. What I thought was a door was just the outline of a door. We searched around for a way in and found none.

“Can you form a portal, maybe bypass the wall?” I asked Meja.

“The use of my abilities is limited here,” she answered. “This place—it drains off my ability.”

I knew how to form a portal, but not one designed to go through a wall while I remained in the same plane.

I felt along the edge of the wall. “This place feels solid enough,” I said. “The question is what is a Watch doing in a null plane?”

“Nothing is supposed to be here,” said Nina, perplexed.

“And yet this structure stands,” said Meja, touching a wall. “Nina, can you get through this wall without taking us in?”

Nina looked at the wall and then around her, shaking her head. “I see it with my eyes but can’t see it to use my ability,” she said. “It’s here but it isn’t.”

“I’m going to use my innersight,” I said. “I’ll make sure to focus on the Watch.”

Innersight allowed me to see things as they really were. Used on a person it revealed the deepest parts of that person and their chi. In most cases it was overwhelming and a huge invasion of privacy when used that way. Meja and Nina stood behind me and out of my line of sight. I took a deep breath and let Shadowstrike course through me freely.

I have to look at this structure in its true form. Can you help me?

I can. Do you wish to remain in possession of your senses afterward?

I would like that, yes.

In that case, I will create a filter for you to observe what lies before you.

“Can you do it?” asked Meja.

“I think so,” I answered. “I don’t think it’s a real Watch.”

“Be careful,” she said. “Nina is right. Something like this shouldn’t exist on this plane. There isn’t enough latent energy for a structure like this to function and it serves no purpose.”

“What do you mean?”

“Watches exist to safeguard certain points in the planes. They usually sit on a nexus point or a confluence of energy,” said Meja. “None of those exist here.”

“Which makes no sense in a null plane, since it’s empty,” I said.

“Exactly, so whatever this place is, it’s not a normal Watch.”

“Is it possible there is energy here we can’t detect?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t walking into some mind-destroying expression of null energy.

“By now you should know, anything is possible,” said Meja quietly. “But if that energy does exist we can’t sense it from here.”

I’m on my own, I guess.

Not entirely, Dante, said Shadowstrike. If you want to see, you must allow me in beyond our bond.

I sat on the ground and deepened my breathing. I allowed my chi to expand until it filled me. I felt the bond between us. Shadowstrike felt distinct, sharp and dangerous. I let the distinction blur and opened myself up completely to it. The power cascaded over me. It threatened to undo me and I tried to pull back.

Do not resist me. You will only make this more difficult. Besides, we are one now. For as long as you exist, I will exist alongside you, until you are no more.

I exhaled, and found myself suddenly adrift on an ocean of energy. More than I had ever felt in my entire life. I was connected to it and yet it felt separate from me. In this vast ocean, I was a speck of flotsam lost to the tides and waves of energy. I surrendered and let go. The energy enveloped me.

I’m ready.

I heard a soft laugh come from Shadowstrike. You only think that because you do not know the scope of that which you face.

When I opened my eyes, I thought I had gone blind. I only saw white. I could feel my breath becoming short as the anxiety set in.

Breathe, Dante, said Shadowstrike. You have not lost your sight. You will learn to see in a different way.

After a few moments, the Watch came into view, but it was different. All of the stone was a white marble and on each surface, I saw glyphs etched in the stone. I was inside the Watch.

What is this place?

This is not just another Watch. This is one of the original Watches. And like all Watches after it, it too has a Keeper.

What do you mean original Watches?

“Greetings, warrior.”

I recognized the voice. It wasn’t Shadowstrike. I looked around the Watch and saw a figure approach. His ebony skin shone with a subtle light. A large sword rested in a scabbard across his back.

It was Owl.

“This can’t be,” I said. “I saw you die.”

“You are correct,” said Owl. “I am not the Samadhi you knew as Owl. I have taken this form to make this easier for you to understand.”

“Is this why you’re speaking to me instead of…you know, the whole mental thing?”

He nodded. “Between you and your weapon, I think your head is crowded enough, don’t you?” he said. “Besides this way is easier for now, even if it is somewhat cumbersome.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder and we walked down the corridor. The Watch seemed to be empty. All around us on every surface glyphs pulsed with energy. On some surfaces they were fluid, shifting from one form to another. On others, they pulsed with an intensity that made it difficult to look at.

“If you’re not Owl, who are you?” I asked. I had an idea, but it seemed I had crossed over the realm of what was possible and what wasn’t. The light from the glyphs glistened off the top of his head as we walked through the Watch, and the memories of Owl and his sacrifice flooded back.

“I am the Keeper of this Watch,” he said. “Actually, every Keeper that exists derives a small measure of power from here,” he said as he gestured to the Watch. “And from me.”

“Right now I am inside the Watch on the null plane?” I said, looking around.

“Yes and no,” he said and smiled. “This Watch is called the Source Watch and doesn’t exist in any fixed plane. The glyphs you see make sure it remains in flux at all times.”

“That is how the South Watch operated,” I said as I remembered the first time I went there. “We had to be there at the exact time or we would have missed it.”

“Yes, every Watch operates in a similar fashion,” he said. “The difference is that they are fixed within a plane. This Watch is not.”

“Then how did it appear on the null plane?” I asked.

“It didn’t appear,” he said. “It has always been here, but you were not capable of seeing it before.”

“Before I bonded with Shadowstrike, you mean,” I said.

“Exactly,” said the Keeper. “You are learning to see without your senses.”

“Why am I seeing it now, here?” I asked.

“Because your actions will impact every plane,” he said. “I would prefer not to leave that to chance. You have a choice to make,” he said. “And not much time to make it in.”

“What do you mean, not much time?”

He waved the question away. “That will answer itself soon enough,” he said. “The choice is what matters.”

“What choice?” I didn’t like where this was going, but I needed to know.

“You will have to choose which enemy to face and how,” he said.

“That is a long list,” I said.

“No, again you are using the wrong sight to see. You only have a choice of two,” he said. “One desires retribution, the other desires dominion. Both must be stopped and you must stop them, but can face only one.”

“You’re talking about Lucius and the Wheel,” I said. “I don’t think I can face either of them.”

“You must choose one and you are going to need help. I can only provide so much,” he said and placed a finger in the center of my forehead. The glyphs Ono had inscribed on me flared to life, violet light spilling away from me in every direction. My chi expanded until the concept of limits was lost. I dove back into the ocean of energy and drowned. As soon as it happened, it was over.

“What was that?” I asked between breaths.

“That was help, he said. “You need to return before your companions begin to worry.”

“Why only one if both have to be stopped?”

“Because once you make that choice, it will set events in motion that cannot be reversed,” he said.

“Wait, what did you mean about time?” I asked.

“Look again at your bond,” he said. “Your answer lies there.”

“My bond?” I asked. “You mean Shadowstrike?”

The light coming from the glyphs grew in intensity until everything was white again. This time I didn’t panic, but it was still unsettling. I felt the ocean of energy all around me. I took a deep breath and focused on Shadowstrike.

Some things are best left unknown, Dante.

Every time I hear that, I discover it usually means I’m better off knowing. What are you not telling me?

Look and see. I do not wish to taint your perception.

I expanded my awareness and then focused it inward. I directed it at the bond I shared with Shadowstrike. We connected on every level. It was inextricable. I couldn’t see where I began or it ended and then I saw it. Deep within the connection at my center, I saw the unraveling. It was a small thing, almost insignificant, but I saw it spreading slowly. I knew what it meant.

How long?

I can’t say. This is a unique situation.

Can’t say, or won’t?

Can’t. I have no need to deceive you, Dante. I am not Maelstrom. This is a new context for me. I can only say that it would be dependent on your use of me.

I felt myself return to the null plane. Beside me, Meja and Nina appeared startled as I stood up.

“Where were you?” asked Meja. “Your body was here but it wasn’t. Did you enter the Watch?”

I nodded. I didn’t know how to form the words.

“Something is wrong,” she said. “Tell me what is it? What did you discover?”

“When I was completing the ritual for Shadowstrike, did anything go wrong?”

“Wrong?” she asked. “You mean besides you begging for your death and two kindred Watchers attacking us?”

“Kindred Watchers?” I asked. “I don’t remember them. Tell me.”

“I’m surprised you can recall anything about the ritual,” she said. “They are smaller than the ones we have faced, powerful and fast. One of them got past me and entered the ritual circle.”

“Did it do anything odd in the circle?” I asked. “Did it disrupt the ritual?”

“It died in the circle,” she said quietly. “It almost killed you and Ono, but I stopped it.”

“And the second one?”

“I killed that one before it could get close,” she said, concern in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

“The bond between me and the weapon,” I said. “It’s corrupted somehow.”

“What do you mean, corrupted?”

“At the deepest part of the bond where my chi and the energy of the weapon blend, there is a corruption,” I said.

“What does that mean?” she asked. “Can you remove it?”

“It means he is becoming like this place,” said Nina, looking around the plane.

That would be an apt description. The corruption I saw in the bond reminded me of the null plane. It was a presence of nothingness. It made sense. Is that why the Watch appeared to me here in this plane?

“I can’t remove it,” I said. “The bond is too strong. Shadowstrike is killing me.”

FIFTEEN

SMOKE KNEW THE White Lotus would be after him. It was why he chose this location. Disobeying a direct order from Wheel was a death sentence no matter how he disguised it. It was only a matter of time before they located him. He would face them on his terms. The invitation was a transparent ploy.

Wheel is consolidating power and removing obstacles. I must find the third focus.

He sat in the rear of a quiet restaurant as he let his thoughts race. A large man sat down in the chair across from him. The suit he wore did nothing to hide the muscular frame beneath it. The man looked at Smoke and then placed his hands on the table. A scar, a vivid reminder of an error in judgment, ran across the man’s face.

“Hello Samadhi,” said the large man. “My master is disappointed you refused his invitation.”

“Perth,” said Smoke, not taking his eyes off the menu. “Have you come to have lunch with me?”

Perth placed a large blade on the table. It was white and covered with glyphs, and gave off a faint vibration as it sat on the table.

“The White Lotus, then,” said Smoke. “What of the Samadhi who did accept the invitation? Do they all still breathe?”

“Those who joined the master will be rewarded,” said Perth.

“And the rest?”

Perth looked down at the blade.

“Eliminating the competition,” said Smoke. “Your master won’t succeed, you know.”

“He already has,” said Perth as he made a subtle gesture. “I am just here to make sure every detail is taken care of.”

Smoke looked around the restaurant and now noticed several other well-dressed men at some of the tables close to his. He counted four of them.

“I was instructed to bring you last,” said Perth. “Are you going to tell me where your family is or do I have to extract that from you?”

Smoke looked hard at Perth and then smiled. “You are never going to get that information from me, boy,” he said as the table shattered in front of him.

Perth and the White Lotus around him leaped back and away from Smoke.

“Wheel only sent a hand?” asked Smoke. “I’m insulted.” The area around him began to fill with a thick smoke, obscuring vision. One of the White Lotus on his left attacked, lunging with his blade. Smoke stepped inside the attack and brought his hand up, crushing the larynx of his attacker. The man fell to the ground, holding his throat for several seconds before he died. Smoke took a few steps back and disappeared into the haze that now filled the restaurant.

“Step back,” said Perth. “Avoid the smoke.”

“This isn’t smoke, Perth,” said Smoke as he caught another of the Lotus at the edge of the mist and dragged him in. The sound of screaming could be heard as Smoke broke bones. Seconds later the scream was cut short. “This is a killing field.”

Perth made a gesture and created a blast of air. Chairs and tables flew in every direction, but the smoke remained in place.

“You still don’t understand, Perth,” said Smoke. “Didn’t your master tell you about my discipline?”

Perth and the remaining two Lotus backed away from the unnatural smoke. A tendril of fog shot out and caught another Lotus, enveloping him and dragging him back into the rear of the restaurant. More screams and then silence. Laughter, low at first, and then rising in pitch filled the area.

“There is nowhere to hide,” whispered Smoke. “You can’t hit what you can’t touch. You can’t kill what you can’t catch.”

The last Lotus disappeared from view, filling the space with more screams and then silence. Perth put his hands together and spoke under his breath. A glow surrounded him and burned through the smoke that was slowly approaching him.

“If you surrender now, I promise your death, and that of your family, will be swift, Samadhi,” said Perth. “Do not make this more difficult than it needs to be.”

Smoke closed the distance, but Perth was ready. He sidestepped, avoiding several tendrils, and placed both hands on the Samadhi’s chest, sending him back. The area where he hit him gave off a dull orange glow.

“Burning palms,” said Smoke, coughing. “Didn’t think anyone remembered them.”

“My master did inform me about your discipline, Samadhi, and he prepared me,” said Perth. “My companions were an expendable distraction.” He executed another gesture and the dull orange glow flared to a bright orange.

Smoke screamed as he collapsed. The air in the restaurant cleared. On the floor, he tried to extinguish the burning on his chest. The fire of the burning palms had spread and covered his entire chest with a viscous gelatin that resembled napalm.

“Now let’s discuss the whereabouts of your family, Samadhi,” said Perth as he stepped closer.

SIXTEEN

SYLK EXITED THE portal and saw the glyphs erased from the doorway. He examined the door and placed a hand on the wall. The glyphs that should have activated were gone.

“Stay back,” he said to Samir and Mara. “I don’t know if he is still in here, but that doesn’t look good,” he said as he pointed to the area on the wall where the missing glyphs once had been.

He placed his hand on the door and unlocked it. He waited a moment before opening it and entering. Once inside, he gestured for the others to enter with him.

“Who was in here?” asked Samir. “What is this place?”

“This is a safe space and, until recently, I thought it was very difficult to find,” said Sylk. “It would seem my most recent guest has left.”

“And that was?” asked Samir.

“The Harbinger,” said Sylk as he made his way from room to room.

“The Harbinger was here?” said Samir. “Why was he here? Was he injured?”

“I sought to offer him some solace from his life if only for a short time,” answered Sylk. “It seems he was discovered and my glyphs undone.”

“Undone?” asked Samir.

“No matter,” said Sylk. “We are here to access the South Watch and speak to the Keeper. I just need some items first to facilitate our trip to the Records.”

Sylk moved to the bedroom and left Mara and Samir in the large living space. They sat in one of the large lounges as they waited.

“I don’t like the idea of going to the Records, but I understand the need,” said Samir. “If I can look at those ancient texts even for a moment…the things we could learn.”

“I belong at his side,” said Mara. “It doesn’t matter where he goes, I will be there.”

Samir nodded. “This interstice he speaks about…the concept is unlike anything I have ever heard, but the theory is sound.”

“It is sound, Samir,” said Sylk from behind him. “I just don’t know if it will work in my altered condition.”

Startled, Samir jumped as he heard Sylk’s voice from behind him. Sylk shimmered into view as he came around the lounge to stand before them. He was dressed in a thick black robe covered in glyphs. The hood of the robe obscured his face. Silver brocade ran along the entire edge of the robe.

“That is an interesting robe,” said Samir as he stood to examine it closer. “It is patterned after the Samadhi robes. These glyphs, from what I can determine, confuse your energy signature, yes?”

“They allow the wearer to diffuse his energy signature, yes.”

Samir rubbed his chin in thought. “That would render you effectively invisible,” he said.

“Yes, but unfortunately I only have one of these robes,” said Sylk. “Which means—”

“Which means we will have to remain in the interstice or risk being discovered,” said Samir. “Is this possible? How long can we remain in the interstice?”

“Not very long,” answered Sylk. “It’s not designed to sustain long-term occupancy. It serves as a passage and then is designed to collapse.”

“Can we extend its duration?” asked Mara.

“Yes, Samir can once I give him the glyph, but there is a complication,” said Sylk.

“By extending the duration of the interstice, we will no longer be invisible to Raja,” said Samir. “Once I use the glyph it will alert him to our presence.”

“If he discovers you, I don’t know what his response will be, but in light of the fact that he attacked you, I am certain it will not be pleasant,” said Sylk.

“How long do we have before we need to use the glyph?” asked Mara. “How long does the passage stay intact?”

“Thirty minutes and then it’s gone,” said Sylk. “I don’t know if that will be enough time to recover the text and make it back to you.”

“Recover the text?” asked Samir. “What do you mean, recover the text? You told Lady Ono…I thought I was going to the text to…You’re going to steal a text from the Records?”

“I told her what she needed to hear, but she knows the truth,” said Sylk after a moment. “This is the only way.” “It’s too dangerous to take you in and I have no way of cloaking either of you. Your only other option is to remain here.”

“I am going,” said Mara. “Where you go, I go.”

Samir remained pensive for a few seconds. “I suppose we can return the text when we are finished with it if the Records are restored,” he said. “This is another mystery. Who could influence the Records to that magnitude?”

“I only know of one person with that much power,” said Sylk. “And he is in the forgotten planes.”

“I will accompany you,” said Samir. “It appears you need me to complete this task.”

Sylk nodded. “First we see the Keeper, then the Records,” he said as he opened a portal.

The lines in his arm glowed bright silver as the portal formed and he felt a tug, which forced him to take a step forward into the portal.

“Master?” asked Mara, alarm in her voice. “What’s wrong?”

“The portal,” said Sylk. “It’s acting strangely. Something seems to be happening on the plane.”

The portal grew in size and transformed into a vortex, dragging them all in. Furniture winked out of sight as the vortex claimed it. It grew stronger by the second.

“I can’t close it!” yelled Sylk. “Hold on!”

There was nothing to hold on to as the vortex grew in size and swallowed them.

SEVENTEEN

THE SHADOW OF Lucius stood at the edge of a still lake and looked out into the water. His long gray hair, which was tied in a braid, was hanging down his back. He stood barefoot in the grass at the edge of the lake and looked down. A forest of cherry blossoms in full bloom occupied the space behind him. He crouched down and peered deeper into the water as a robed figure approached.

“It is time to abandon this plane,” said Lucius. “Alert the others. We will return and concentrate our efforts on the reformation of the bridge.”

The robed figure bowed and disappeared. Lucius traced a glyph in the air before him. Around him, the ground became black as he siphoned the chi out of the plane. Behind him, the cherry blossoms withered and died, dropping their petals softly to the ground.

Lucius stood and kept his gaze on the lake as the water receded and disappeared. All of the energy from the plane began to flow into him. Everywhere he looked, it became lifeless and devoid of energy. The chi of the plane suffused his body with power as a golden light erupted from him. He floated several feet from the ground as it, too, began to disintegrate and disappear. In the course of several minutes, everything in the plane was undone. He floated in the midst of a void, a beacon of light in the heart of darkness. He traced a glyph and opened a portal. Through the portal, he could see the large structure that kept his body prisoner.

Soon every plane will be as pure as this one. Then I will establish what is rightfully mine and restore what was taken from me, he thought as he entered the portal and disappeared.

EIGHTEEN

“YOU NEED MY help with what?” said Raquel.

Hiram looked at Raquel again before speaking.

“Have you ever used a handcannon?” he asked. “One you have manifested from your guns?”

Franca stood behind Hiram, her jaw set and arms crossed. She gave every indication she wanted to put a bullet in Hiram, but restrained herself.

“Yes, why?” said Raquel. “Why is that important to you?”

Hiram nodded as if checking off some mental list.

“Have you ever heard of the White Lotus?” he asked.

“The White what?” Raquel’s head spun for a moment. There’s a White Lotus? What the hell is going on?

“Stop,” said Raquel. “Tell me who you are and where I am.”

“My name is Hiram—”

“Yeah, I got that part,” interrupted Raquel. “Hiram, leader of the Deadeyes. My question is who made you leader and why am I here, where ever here is?”

Behind Hiram, Franca gave a small smile.

“Tell her, Hiram,” said Franca. “Or should I?”

“We have been watching you for some time now,”  he said.

“You have been watching me?” asked Raquel. “Why?”

“You’re Arthur Cross’s daughter,” said Hiram, as if that were reason enough.

“Do better,” said Raquel. “I don’t like being watched or spied on no matter who my father is.”

“I realize how this will sound, but we have good reason to believe that the White Lotus will attack the hub plane within the month,” he said.

“You mean the Black Lotus?” said Raquel.

Hiram shook his head. “No, the White Lotus,” he said. “Your Black Lotus has been infiltrated and taken over by the White Lotus.”

“Who heads this White Lotus?”

“We have never seen him. We only know that he goes by the name of Wheel,” said Hiram. “Have you heard of him?

Wheel again. This would explain how Monique was able to control the council.

“I’ve heard the name,” said Raquel with an edge to her voice.

“The White Lotus existed before the formation of the Black Lotus but they were exiled or killed for trying to wrest control from the council,” said Hiram. “That is when the Black Lotus was formed.”

“Seems like they missed a few,” said Raquel. “So what do you want with me? I heard the Deadeyes were unstoppable, at least that’s what the stories say.”

“They were,” said Hiram. “In Arthur Cross’s time the Deadeyes were feared across the planes.”

“How many are there?” asked Raquel. “How many Deadeyes?”

Hiram looked away for a moment and cleared his throat. Before he could say anything, Franca stepped close to Raquel and spoke while holding up her fingers.

“Three,” said Franca.

“Tell me you mean three hundred or at least three dozen,” said Raquel.

Franca shook her head and barked out a bitter laugh. “Three as in one, two, three,” she said, counting off her fingers as she spoke. “Three fools intent on ending their lives.”

“We have had many successes,” said Hiram. “We were able to stop—”

“You have been lucky,” interrupted Franca. “I know because I am the one who has stitched you up when you return from your escapades.”

“At its height, the Deadeyes numbered no more than two hundred,” said Hiram. “Yet they were able to stop the planes from being destroyed during the purge.”

“Five hundred,” said Franca, “is the number you are looking for.”

“I’ve never heard that number,” said Hiram. “I think you are mistaken, Franca.”

“That is your problem—you don’t listen,” said Franca. “There were two hundred public members, in addition to many sleepers and covert members who were never discovered. Five hundred is being conservative. Only Arthur knew the true numbers.”

“We have to start again somewhere,” said Hiram. “Our sources have not failed us yet. The attack—”

“Wake up, Hiram,” said Franca. “The Deadeyes were trained, battle-hardened men and women. When Cross disappeared, the Deadeyes went with him. He was the one who held us all together. What do you have now?”

Hiram looked at Raquel. “We have her. She is his daughter,” said Hiram. “We can reorganize. Start a new era of Deadeyes.”

“No, you don’t have me,” said Raquel. “This is not my fight. Besides, this is suicide. If the White Lotus has taken over the Black Lotus…four of us? Shoot me now and get it over with.”

“If you join us I’m certain many of the older members would come back—right, Franca?”

“No, Hiram,” said Franca. “It’s time to let this go. I don’t want to see you run to your death.”

“You don’t understand,” said Hiram. “If my source is right, the White Lotus isn’t going to stop at the hub. That is just the beginning.”

“Who is your source?” asked Raquel. “How do you know this isn’t a trap? Something to round up the last remaining Deadeyes and wipe them out completely?”

“Because she wouldn’t lie to us, or to me,” said Hiram. “I trust her with my life.”

“She?” asked Franca. “Does she have a name?”

“We never used names,” said Hiram. “But we have a meeting in two days. Come with me and see I’m telling the truth.”

“I don’t want to see you end up dead,” said Franca. “I think you are being played. I will go with you and prove it.”

They both looked at Raquel.

“It’s not like I have any pressing business,” said Raquel. Besides getting rid of these Fangs before someone comes looking for them. “Fine, I’ll come.”

NINETEEN

“WHAT DO YOU mean Shadowstrike is killing you?” asked Meja. “The bonding was successful.”

“It was,” I answered. “But when that kindred Watcher died in the circle, it tainted the ritual somehow.”

“This is my fault,” she said. “I should have dispatched those Watchers away from the circle. How long?”

“It’s not your fault,” I said. “You had no way of knowing what the intent was.”

“Whoever sent them must have known this,” said Meja. “How is it doing the damage?”

“Through the same bond,” I said. “Every time I use the weapon the damage advances. You had no way of knowing they would taint the ritual.”

“I should have known it was their goal,” she answered, her voice on edge. “How long do we have?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s not something I can gauge with time. There isn’t a way to measure it. All I know is how far it has progressed.”

“There must be a way to reverse it,” she said. “What happened in there?”

She gestured to the now silent Watch. I didn’t sense any energy emanating from it. The structure had gone dark. The glow I had witnessed earlier was gone. I let my senses expand and felt it there on the fringes of my reach. The energy wasn’t gone, it was just muted.

“This is a Source Watch, or at least that’s what it’s called,” I said. “I met the Keeper.”

“What did he say?”

“Said I had a choice about who to face,” I said. “Once I make that choice there is no going back.”

“Anything else?” she asked. “Did he know about your ‘condition’ with the weapon?”

“I think he did but he wanted me to find out for myself.”

I explained what happened when he had touched me. I tried to describe the explosion of power I felt and how the glyphs Ono had etched into my body responded.

“What was it for?”

“He said it was help,” I said. “But I don’t think he meant it as help with my weapon.”

“It doesn’t matter. We have to get you to someone who can help,” she said. “You need a healer.”

Nina was slowly shaking her head. I had a feeling what she was going to say before the words left her mouth.

“What is it?” Meja snapped. “Stop shaking your head and just say it.”

“I couldn’t sense it before,” said Nina as she jumped at Meja’s outburst. “But here in this place I can feel the taint in his bond.”

“And you’re stating the obvious because?” said Meja.

It wasn’t like her to respond this way.

I put a hand on her arm. “Listen, Meja, this isn’t your fault,” I said. “There was no way—”

She pulled her arm away.

“Of course it’s my fault, Dante,” she said barely above a whisper. “I gave my word to protect you and I have failed. I killed the Watcher in the circle, tainting the ritual.”

“You also saved my life in the process,” I said.

“No. Don’t you see?” she answered. “They were never there to kill you. They were sent to taint the ritual and I helped them.”

“I think there’s a way to stop the taint from spreading,” said Nina. “But…it’s dangerous and will probably kill you.”

“It’s not like I have much of an option,” I said. “What do I have to do?”

“You have to complete a purifying wavedance through your weapon,” said Nina.

“What does that even mean?” asked Meja. “How can he wavedance through his weapon? He doesn’t even know how to wavedance.”

“The process will be easy,” said Nina. “He doesn’t need mastery, just basic skill for this.”

“And this purifying wavedance?” I asked.

“I have only heard of it,” said Nina. “This wavedance was used to purify weapons and enhance their power. It should work with your weapon, I think.”

“You think?” asked Meja. “Dante, don’t do this—we can find another way to remove this taint.”

“My weapon is no ordinary weapon, Nina,” I said. “Will it work on something that powerful?”

Nina shrugged her shoulders. “I can sense the energy of your weapon,” she said. “It’s greater than any I have sensed before. I don’t know. I can take you through the beginning of the wavedance, but you must complete it.”

“Meja, if you feel something going wrong or the weapon taking over, you know what to do,” I said.

“I know what to do right now,” she said. “Let’s find another solution.”

“Give me a moment,” I said. I sat on the ground, took a deep breath, and pulled my awareness inward.

Can this taint be removed?

I don’t know. I have never been in this situation. Usually I am the taint that my vessel wants to remove.

Is it possible? Have you heard of a purifying wavedance?

Yes, it was an ancient ritual performed before battle that granted warriors immense power and binded them to their weapons. I don’t know how effective it will be on a weapon of my caliber.

I don’t see much of a choice here.

Dante, there is always a choice. You can do nothing and live a very long life as long as you don’t use me. Conversely, you can face your enemies and make your life substantially shorter.

I opened my eyes and stood. “Let’s do this,” I said.

TWENTY

“IT FELT TOO easy, Roman,” said Kenji. “Something is off.”

“It didn’t feel all that easy on my end,” said Roman. “In any case, Aurora will have things handled by now.”

They walked away from the fourth subterranean level of Aurora’s complex. The walls on this level were eight feet thick and covered with glyphs.

“I’m going upstairs and getting out of this forsaken basement,” said Roman. “I never did like it down here.”

“Go get some medical attention while you’re at it,” said Kenji. “I’m going to stay here in case she needs assistance.”

“Look around you,” said Roman. “Those glyphs are not ordinary. I don’t know how or where she found them and I don’t want to know, but even I wouldn’t want to try and breach past them.”

“I agree, but this is no ordinary prisoner,” said Kenji. “You go ahead. This is just for my peace of mind.”

Kenji entered a room off the hallway that led back up to the main complex. Inside the room was a small tre, half the usual size. Each of the concentric circles consisted of a precious gem. The outer circle was ruby, the middle circle was sapphire, and the smaller inner circle was diamond. The room vibrated with latent chi, and once Kenji stepped into the center of the circle a deep thrum filled the space.

Roman peered into the room and whistled under his breath.

“A battle tre?” he said. “This is new. At least you will be safe in here.”

“I will be able to monitor what is happening in the cell from here and take action if needed,” said Kenji. “If something goes wrong I can contain him here on this level. He will never reach the main complex.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” said Roman with a tight smile as he swung his hammer over his shoulder. “If you sense anything do not hesitate to send for me.”

**********

Roman closed the door, activating the glyphs and sealing it from the outside. If something went wrong, the power contained within the tre could obliterate the entire level. He looked down the hallway at the large steel door at the end. The door stood ten feet high and half as wide. Glyphs ran along its face and covered the walls next to it. He could see the glyphs were designed to contain whatever was behind the door.

Aurora, I really hope you know what you are doing, he thought. He headed out of the level and back to the main complex.

***********

Kenji slowed his breathing until it appeared he wasn’t breathing at all. Once there, he allowed his awareness to expand. The diamond circle encased him in a cylinder of light as he felt himself explore the hallway. He felt the door and sensed the glyphs. They were designed to keep things in, not out, and his passage inside the cell was unobstructed. As he entered, he saw Aurora sitting in front of a manacled Rael. The manacles were similar to the suppressors he had seen in the past. These contained the partial inversion glyph he gave her. The cell was empty except for a solid wooden table and chair. Across from the table, Rael stood manacled to the wall. His injuries were nonexistent, but he appeared to be unconscious.

“Harbinger, let’s stop the charade,” she said. “I know you are conscious.”

Rael opened his eyes and he smiled.

“Never miss an opportunity for beauty sleep,” said Rael. “How can I help you? Nice bracelets, by the way, where did you get the glyph?”

“Something I had lying around,” said Aurora. “I’m glad you like them.”

“I know someone who would kill to get his hands on this, literally,” he said. “It’s not complete, is it?”

“No, it isn’t,” she answered. “If it were, you would be disintegrating even as we speak.”

“I figured as much,” he said. “Still, even partial it managed to let your puppies thrash me. Remind me to return the favor when I leave.”

“Leaving is not part of the equation for you, Harbinger,” she said. “You aren’t leaving this cell until I consider you a non-threat.”

“I see,” answered Rael. “You do realize he will find me, in time.”

“I suggest you study the glyphs on the wall a little more carefully,” said Aurora as she sat back. “Please, take your time.”

Rael looked at the glyphs, analyzing them. After a few moments, a smile crossed his lips and he laughed.

“That is clever,” he said. “You’ve made this cell a moving interstice.”

“Which means your master won’t be able to find you because you will never be in the same place twice,” she said. “Now, I have some questions for you.”

Rael laughed again. “You still don’t know what you are facing,” he said as he composed himself. “This isn’t going to stop him. All you are doing is delaying the inevitable. When he does find me, and he will, he will be…displeased. Which, I can guarantee you will not be pleasant.”

“Let me worry about that,” said Aurora. “What does he want? Did he task you with killing the ascendants?”

“Like I told your puppies,” he answered, “I’m off ascendant-removal duty. There is a different priority now.”

“What is more important than reforming the bridge to the hub?” she asked.

“You don’t want the answer to that, trust me,” replied Rael. “I’ll die before I give you that information. Oh, wait, I can’t do that.”

He started laughing again. Aurora waited until he calmed down. She walked up to him and formed a sphere of energy in her hand.

“I am aware of your particular ability to evade death,” she said. “It’s still a possibility I’m willing to explore. However, I do know that you feel pain, and everyone has a breaking point, Harbinger, even you.”

She placed her hand on his abdomen and let the sphere enter his body. The backlash of energy filled the cell, accompanied by Rael’s screams.

“It’s only a matter of time, Harbinger,” she said once the screaming subsided. “I will take you to that breaking point and you will answer my questions, or you will wish you were dead.”

Blood trickled from the side of Rael’s mouth. His head hung as he gasped for breath.

“You still don’t understand,” he said, his voice a rasp. “I wish for that every moment of my so-called life.”

He spat blood on the floor as he looked down at her. Around him small arcs of energy jumped to life. They traveled across the manacles and down the length of his body. He gave her a crooked smile before more energy arced away from his body.

She drove another sphere into his chest. More screams filled the cell.

“I don’t know how you are accessing any energy, but it won’t help you,” she said as she prepared another sphere.

He gasped for breath as he strained to look at her. His eyes were now covered in the blood that flowed from them and it obscured his vision.

“What is his plan?” she asked, letting the sphere dance lazily in her palm.

“Do you really think you can stop him?”

“Yes, I do,” she answered after a moment. “And I will not hesitate to use every means at my disposal.”

“I don’t know what’s worse,” he said between gasps. “The lie you’re telling me or the fact that you believe the lie.”

“Do not pretend to know what I can do,” she answered. “I will undo this plane if it means destroying him.”

“Now that sounds familiar,” said Rael. “It doesn’t matter anyway. You have run out of time.”

**********

Kenji felt a tremor of energy along the floor of the cell. The glyphs covering the walls fluctuated and then disappeared leaving the walls bare. A mist filled the cell behind Aurora. From the mist emerged a figure—an old man—his gray hair braided into a long ponytail that hung down to his waist. Dressed in simple black clothing, he stood just inside the door, his gray eyes impassive as he took in the room. Kenji snapped his awareness back to his body and made his way to the lock. He made the gestures and opened the door when a second tremor raced across the floor, knocking him back several feet. He scrambled back up and looked down the hallway. The steel door had crumpled inward. It looked like a giant had taken the door in his hands and squeezed it. The mangled door effectively sealed the cell. All of the glyphs around the door and the surrounding walls were gone.

Who or what could do such a thing?

**********

Inside the cell, Rael looked up and behind Aurora.

“That was faster than last time,” he said. “You have to admit she had a good plan.”

“A fluctuating interstice—yes, it did take me a moment to locate it,” said the old man who still stood behind Aurora.

Aurora turned around and faced the old man with spheres of energy in both hands.

“Destroyer,” she said, “you have no business here.”

“I disagree, Aurora,” answered Lucius. “The Harbinger is currently engaged in my business and you are detaining him.”

“He is not leaving here,” she said. “Not while I am still breathing.”

“A situation I can remedy if you insist on this course of action,” said Lucius.

“I know you are only a shadow,” she said. “I am not a door you can easily crush. You will not remove him.”

“Let me show you how mistaken you are,” said Lucius as he closed the distance.

TWENTY-ONE

“IT’S POINTLESS TO resist, Samadhi,” said Perth. “Once the palms have touched you, there is no counter. You will burn until I stop them.”

Smoke writhed on the ground. Grunts of pain escaped him as he clenched his teeth against the onslaught.

“You can end this,” said Perth. “Just tell me where they are, where you sent them, and I promise to make it swift for them.”

Smoke rolled into a fetal position. He whispered something, but it was too low for Perth to hear.

“What was that?” asked Perth as he crouched down.

Smoke mumbled again. It was unintelligible, forcing Perth even closer. Perth grabbed Smoke by the shoulder. “Tell me, old man,” he said. “Don’t make this agony last longer than it needs to.”

Around them, tendrils of smoke crawled along the floor, walls and ceiling. Smoke managed to assume a sitting position. “Enough. I will tell you,” croaked Smoke.

Perth smiled in satisfaction. “After you tell me, I will end your pain,” he said. “Where are they?”

The tendrils all around them burst into flame, engulfing them both. Smoke held on to Perth with a vice-like grip as the blaze burned all around them.

“I wanted to tell you that your master ill-prepared you,” said Smoke. “There is one counter to the palms.”

“Impossible,” said Perth in shock. “They will consume you with me.”

“You cannot have smoke without a fire,” said Smoke. “You wanted to know where my family was. They are here with me.”

Perth began to scream as his flesh blistered and blackened.

“But the palms?” yelled Perth. “How could you resist?”

“I am the Samadhi of my discipline,” answered Smoke. “Did you think a little fire was going to stop me?”

The flames around them intensified until they were white-hot. Perth screamed one more time before being consumed and turning to dust. The flames continued to rage around Smoke. His skin took on a white and waxy appearance.

Time for one last message.

He gestured with his hand and emblazoned a glyph in the air. It flared with a light of its own and then faded from sight. The flames continued to burn until nothing was left of the Samadhi.

TWENTY-TWO

THE VORTEX WAS too strong to resist. Sylk found himself alone, standing on the sand about a mile away from the South Watch. He could see the structure of the outer wall shimmering in the distance.

“Welcome back,” said the Keeper. “You have managed to do something I thought impossible.”

Above them, the sun beat down with midday heat.

“And that was?”

“You have entered a plane in the midst of a solus protocol,” said the Keeper. “This has not been known to happen in the history of this Watch.”

“What is a solus protocol?” asked Sylk.

“The plane is closed,” said the Keeper. “The energy signature of the entire plane has been placed in a state of stasis, dormant.”

“That would explain some things,” answered Sylk. “The portal I created became a vortex.”

“Yes,” answered the Keeper. “Your companions are safe. We discovered them several miles from the Watch.”

“If the energy of the plane is dormant, how are you here?” asked Sylk.

“There is latent energy that allows this manifestation, but not much else,” said the Keeper. “My abilities are quite diminished in this state.”

“I need to discuss a matter with you,” said Sylk. “It pertains to the Records and Ra—”

The Keeper held up his staff and Sylk stopped speaking.

“I must warn you,” he said. “I believe you are in danger by remaining here. I do not think the Watch would be a prudent place for you at this time.”

“Samir and Mara?” asked Sylk. “Where are they?”

“We have them hidden for now,” said the Keeper. “You recall the Kriyas?”

Kriyas? Here? This just gets better by the second.

“Yes. I do recall,” said Sylk. “It was not pleasant the last time we faced each other. Tetra blames me for stealing his vengeance.”

“An opinion he still holds,” said the Keeper. “If he encounters you here, he may try to exact that vengeance.”

“How?” asked Sylk. “His power must be as diminished as yours if the plane is dormant.”

“In the same way your bond to the Watch allows you to tap into the latent energy in the plane, I showed them how to access that energy in the hopes it would assuage their hunger for violence,” said the Keeper.

“You gave him energy?” asked Sylk. “I don’t think that was the most prudent course of action.”

“I thought that by showing them an alternate way to obtain energy, that they would reconsider violence,” answered the Keeper. “I was wrong. They used the latent energy to strengthen themselves, but could not escape the plane due to the protocol. This situation only angered them.”

“Wait, them?” asked Sylk. “How many are there?”

“Two,” said the Keeper. “Tetra and Ravia. “If they discover you here, they will attempt to destroy you. You should not have returned.”

“No, you shouldn’t have, but now that you are here I will finish what needs to be done,” said a voice from behind them.

Without turning around, Sylk manifested his sword. Its black blade gleamed in the noon sun.

“Tetra,” said the Keeper. “Do not do this. As I explained to you, you have been manipulated. He did not steal your vengeance.”

“Silence,” said Tetra. “This does not concern you. Your lies will not convince me.”

Tetra’s skin glistened with energy. He was bare from the waist up and his eyes pulsed a deep crimson.

“If you want the one bonded to you returned whole, you will have to kill me,” said Tetra. “I cannot promise that Ravia will be patient and wait for me before taking her life.”

“You do not have her in your possession,” said the Keeper. “Do not allow him to goad you into this, Karashihan.”

Tetra manifested a blade and assumed a defensive position.

“It was child’s play to locate you, Karashihan,” he said. “The energy of this plane is diminished to the point of non-existence. Imagine my surprise when I sensed a burst of energy and then three chi signatures. You lied to me, Keeper.”

“What have you done?” asked the Keeper. “Where are they?”

“It was simple to remove them from your hiding place,” said Tetra. “The word wielder is irrelevant in a plane with dormant chi. He is where you hid him. Besides, the bonded one has proven valuable.”

“We do not need to do this,” said Sylk.

“Search and see if my words are true,” said Tetra. “I will allow you the moment to find your companions before I end you.”

Sylk, keeping his eyes on Tetra, allowed his awareness to expand. Almost instantly, he sensed Mara several miles away and another energy signature in close proximity to her. He probed farther and found the second energy signature to match Tetra. Within a few moments more, he found Samir as well, in the opposite direction. Both were alive.

“You speak truth,” said Sylk. “Let her go.”

“If you defeat me, Ravia will bring your bonded to you, and she will be released,” said Tetra. “Those were the instructions she was given.”

“Tell her to let Mara go,” said Sylk.

“I will inform her that you have chosen to face me, Karashihan,” said Tetra and he closed his eyes.

Ravia, if I fall before him, make sure she is released.

No, my love! You must not sacrifice yourself. We can still escape this place.

No, I am tired of running. In this regard, they were right. Wheel has manipulated us, me. We cannot escape this plane, but I will not wither and die here. I will not be his lapdog any longer.

If your life is to end, then mine is as well. Let me devour his bonded and join you. Together we can defeat him.

No, he must sense she still lives or he will not face me.

“Are you ready?” asked Tetra.

“Are you in a rush to die?” asked Sylk. “You have no access to the chi in this plane. You can’t stand before me.”

“The Keeper tried to help us by showing us a different way,” said Tetra. “The energy is not accessible to all, but to a Kriya? It is only a matter of time.”

Tetra lunged forward and forced Sylk back as he parried the attack. Sylk slashed downward as he slid forward, forcing Tetra to avoid the strike. Tetra reversed direction the next moment and slashed Sylk’s right arm. The silver lines flowing through it flared as it deflected the blow. For a split second, Tetra remained open as he looked in disbelief at Sylk’s arm. Sylk, seeing the opening, whirled around and buried his sword in Tetra’s side.

“I have heard stories of this blade,” said Tetra, bleeding, as the wound in his side remained open. “I did not think they were true, but I see they are.”

He looked down at the wound in his side and fell to his knees. Sylk knelt down beside Tetra. The silver lines in his arms still pulsed.

“This—this is what you wanted,” whispered Sylk. “Why?”

“It was time,” said Tetra. “A life of vengeance is no life at all. I had become nothing—a weapon to be used against enemies.”

“You could have left,” said Sylk. “Lived your life in seclusion.”

Tetra coughed and blood escaped his lips. He brought his fingers to his face and touched the blood. He pulled his fingers away and stared at them, transfixed.

“Blood,” he said in wonder. “I have not seen my own blood in ages. No, Karashihan, there was no living for me. He would have found us again and forced us to do his will.”

“Wheel,” said Sylk. “His hand is always in motion.”

Tetra grabbed Sylk’s arm as he coughed again. “You must find Nerav,” he said, his voice hoarse. “If you wish to defeat him, you will need Nerav.”

“Where is he, this Nerav?” asked Sylk.

“He sought to frighten me with his illusion, but the bond Kriyas share runs deeper than sight. Nerav is alive on the desert plane we once inhabited. I can show you.”

He placed a finger on Sylk’s forehead and an explosion of images flooded Sylk.

“Do you have it?” asked Tetra. “Do you see it? Once there, you will find his location. Release him and tell him what happened here.”

A portal opened behind Sylk. Ravia and Mara stepped onto the sand. Ravia stood behind Mara and held a dagger to her throat.

“My love, no!” said Ravia, as she pressed the dagger closer to Mara’s throat.

“This is for the best,” said Tetra. “Do not think me a coward. I am just weary of this life.”

“Get away from him,” she hissed. “Do it now or I remove her head.” She cut Mara and drew blood to make her point.

Sylk stepped back and gave her space. He held his sword in a reverse defensive stance with the point facing the ground behind him. Ravia shoved Mara and ran to Tetra where he still lay in the sand.

“Do not leave me,” said Ravia. “My life is meaningless without you, love.”

“No, my anger and madness has twisted you,” said Tetra. “You are free to live your life now.”

Moments later, his body lay lifeless as his skin glistened in the sun. The wound Sylk had inflicted had turned black. The blackness was spreading throughout Tetra’s body until he was covered in a latticework of dark lines. Ravia howled in despair as tears streamed down her face.

“No, you are my life,” she said as she grabbed Tetra’s lifeless body and hugged it close. She whipped her head around and looked at Sylk. Her eyes were wild and darted left and right.

“How? How did you injure him? He is a Kriya. Your weapon should have had no effect on him.”

She focused on his sword and hissed. “You hold an ebonblade? A life stealer? What are you?”

“This is what he wanted,” said Sylk, not taking his eyes off her.

Ravia grew still and closed her eyes. “Liar,” she whispered. “He never would have left me. First Nerav and now my beloved. I am alone.”

“Nerav lives,” said Sylk.

“More lies,” she said as she pulled out a second dagger and stood slowly. Sylk raised his sword as she ran at him.

“You took him from me, you took what was most precious to me, so allow me to do the same,” she said, as her eyes became a deep crimson. She leaped at him, flipped her body, and threw a dagger. Sylk prepared to deflect the dagger, but it never arrived. Behind him, Mara fell to her knees as the dagger buried itself in her neck. Still holding a dagger, Ravia lunged at Sylk, impaled herself on his sword, and buried the dagger in his leg.

“Now you can feel my loss,” she said as she fell back. Blood flowed from her wound and stained the sand around her, filling the air with a metallic smell. She took a deep breath as she touched it. She raised her blood-soaked hand to the sky. “Beautiful—I will join you soon, my love.” The same latticework of lines covered her as she died.

“Master…?” said Mara as she held her neck and fell back.

Sylk, forgetting the dagger in his leg, went to her and tried to remove the weapon from her neck. The Keeper stood next to him. “The dagger is poisoned. You will only accelerate her death, Karashihan,” he said as he placed a hand on his.

Sylk cursed under his breath and pulled his hand away from the Keeper. “Mara, I’m here.” He held her gingerly, taking her head in his hands.

“Are they gone?” she asked. “Did you stop them? She was too fast…I couldn’t, I didn’t have time.”

Sylk nodded and blocked the sun from her face. “Don’t speak, I will try and seal this wound,” he said.

He pulled the dagger from her neck and placed his hand on the opening. The blood rushed through his fingers for a moment and then stopped.

“Master, thank you, thank you for everything. I love—” she whispered.

Her words were cut off as the muscles in her body tensed one last time and she breathed her last.

“No,” whispered Sylk as he placed her head gently on the ground.

Around him, the ground trembled and then turned to glass as a shockwave raced from his body. The lines in his arm flared until they were blinding. His eyes became twin beacons of light as he looked up. The glass shattered and floated lazily around him as energy crackled and raced along the ground in every direction.

“I promise you, Mara, your death will not be in vain,” he said as he plunged his sword in the ground beside her body. The energy that had raced away now rushed back to the sword as its focal point. The Keeper created a sphere as the ground trembled and cracked. An explosion rocked the area where Sylk stood.

When the sand settled, Sylk stood in the middle of a forty-foot-wide crater that was just as deep. In the center of the crater, covered in black crystals, lay Mara’s body.

Moments later the Keeper reappeared.

“I am sorry, Karashihan,” he said. “There was no way to alter their course.”

“I know,” said Sylk. “I think I am going to need some assistance. The energy I expended seems to have compromised my ability to fight off the poison.”

Sylk stumbled forward a step and fell, unconscious, on the ground.

TWENTY-THREE

“ARE YOU CERTAIN she will meet you?” asked Franca. “How do you know she won’t betray you?”

“You can trust her,” said Hiram. “She has proven herself.”

“You trust her,” said Franca. “I’ll trust my guns.”

“Where are you supposed to be meeting her?” asked Raquel. “How much advance notice do you get?”

“We meet outside the city,” said Hiram.

“Who chooses?” said Raquel. “You or her?”

“I always pick the location and we agree on the location no more than three days out.”

Three days is not great. She can have a small force waiting in ambush for us, thought Raquel.

They were headed to a cave complex on the outskirts of the city. Raquel remembered a similar cave network from her days exploring as a young girl. After leaving the city, it took them less than an hour to reach the mouth of the caves.

“How large is this network?” asked Raquel while looking around the cave walls. In the distance, she could hear water, which meant there were underground pools.

“This network hasn’t been completely mapped,” said Hiram. “It’s too big. Even I don’t know the whole network, and I grew up here.”

“About that…” said Raquel. “Where is here again?”

“This is an outer plane,” said Hiram. “It’s where some of the Deadeyes retired to after they disbanded. Not much traffic out here, not much of anything.”

“Which is the way I like it,” said Franca. “And I’m certain the others feel the same way.”

“Others?” asked Raquel. “What others?”

“The other Deadeyes. Some of them live on this plane,” said Hiram as he looked at Franca. “But I haven’t been able to locate anyone else besides Franca.”

“And you won’t find them,” she replied. “You have to know when to let things go, Hiram.”

Raquel looked around the cave entrance for points of attack. She kept her back to a wall and made sure she had a clear line of sight to the entrance and the interior of the cave. In the distance, the network of caves plunged into darkness. The caves are a perfect place to meet if things go south. I’ll give him that. I just don’t like the variables, she thought.

“She should be here any moment,” said Hiram. “She is never late.”

As he finished speaking, a portal formed inside the cave and a thin figure stepped through. Raquel tried to look through the portal, but it faded out as soon as the woman appeared.

She was dressed in a tight-fitting black jumpsuit. A hood covered most of her face. Strapped to her back was a large bow beside a quiver of arrows. Along each leg rested no less than five daggers in sheaths.

“Who are they?” asked the woman. She took a step back into a defensive position. “What is this?”

She’s trained and dangerous, thought Raquel. Something familiar about her. I recognize that energy signature.

Hiram held his hands up. “No, no—it’s okay,” he said. “They are with me and this is—” He gestured at Raquel.

“A friend,” said Franca. “Who are you?”

“No names,” said the woman. “It’s safer that way.”

“Safer for whom?” asked Franca. “This smells, Hiram. I don’t like it. How did you even meet?”

Franca rested her hands on her holsters.

“Franca,” said Hiram. “You can trust her.”

Raquel shifted in place and then stepped closer. The woman shifted her stance and kept herself equidistant from the others.

“You’re Mikai, aren’t you?” said Raquel, drawing a gun and then was followed by Franca doing the same. “I thought I recognized your chi.”

The woman pushed back her hood to reveal her face. Short, black hair spiked up. Her face was soft but angular with a strong jaw line and high cheekbones. Her blue eyes pierced the gloom of the caves.

“Yes, I am Mikai,” said the woman. “You are the one known as the Gunslinger. Well met.” She gave Raquel a slight nod.

Franca and Hiram looked at Raquel with mild surprise on their faces.

“That’s you?” said Hiram. “I‘ve heard of the Gunslinger but I never thought it was a woman.”

“I hate that name and if you use it I will make sure to shoot you where it never stops hurting,” said Raquel, looking at Hiram and then the Mikai. “You know who I am, but who are you?”

“My name is Kono and I have information for you.”

“Why are you doing this?” asked Franca. “Why are you giving him this information? Why not do something yourself?”

“The time for me to act has not yet arrived,” said Kono. “I will strike at the right moment. He has proven himself to be a challenge to the White Lotus.”

“What you mean is a diversion,” said Franca. “What is it you want?”

“I don’t have much time,” said Kono.

“What is it?” said Hiram. “Tell me.”

“The White Lotus will attack the hub nexus tomorrow night,” she said. “The Council and the Black Lotus are to be removed, permanently.”

“How do you know this?” asked Franca. “Who is leading this attack? How many?”

“I do not know,” said Kono. “Only that Wheel has ordered it.”

“Wheel,” whispered Hiram. “The Deadeyes will be there. We can stop them.”

“I must return,” said Kono. “You will not be alone. Many of my clan will be there. If we lose the nexus—”

“Then this Wheel will have unobstructed access to any of the planes, including this one,” said Franca. “He can go to the planes portals can’t reach.”

Kono nodded and created a portal behind her. “You can help stop him or you can wait here for your death,” she said. “The choice is yours.” She stepped back and disappeared into the portal.

Raquel and Franca holstered their guns.

“I never did like waiting for someone to kill me,” said Franca. “Even with advance notice.”

“I still have some things to take care of in the hub,” said Raquel. “Especially with the Council.”

“I’ll get Snipe and Rico,” said Hiram. “Franca, can you—?”

“I’ll send the word, but no guarantees,” she said. “Most of them won’t come, even for Cross’s daughter.”

“But some will, won’t they?” asked Hiram his voice hopeful.

“Yes, some will,” said Franca, nodding her head. “The Deadeyes may have some life left in them after all.”

TWENTY-FOUR

KAL SAT CROSS-legged and calmed her breath. She let her awareness expand until she was at her limit. Next to her sat one of the Gray. They were in a large clearing surrounded by immense trees and large stones that peppered the area around them. The clear blue sky was devoid of clouds and the sun shone brightly upon her, warming her face. A cool breeze rustled through the leaves and she could smell the distant sea carried on it. She sensed the Gray, the trees and the stones. She felt connected to everything around her. In the distance, she even felt Zen. Once her awareness settled on Zen, emotions flooded her and she felt the strength of their bond and love. A smiled crossed her face as she thought of him.

The next moment, a whistling filled the air and she rolled to one side to avoid the downward slash of the sword intent on slicing her in two. A large man easily twice her height shimmered into view. Thick black hair covered his arms. Scars too numerous to count lined his face. He smiled as he pulled his hair back out of his face. He was dressed in black combat gear and his dark eyes shone with mischief. The Gray sat watching the scene unfold, giving no indication of concern. The man moved with a grace that indicated years of training and combat. He circled around, looking for an opening.

“Goddammit, Bear,” said Kal as she circled around him. “I can’t get a moment’s peace around here?”

“Not my fault,” he said, cocking his head at the impassive Gray. “Orders.”

Kal looked at the huge RahVen, who sat motionless.

“Really?” she said, exasperated. “It wasn’t even five minutes.”

“It was the sweet, sweet scent of your undying love that caught my attention,” said Bear as he dodged several dagger strikes from Kal. “Really, it was touching. I’m surprised you aren’t covered in honey.” He laughed as he leaped to one side and parried several daggers away.

Kal looked at him darkly and brandished several more daggers.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said. “Where do you keep all those blades? It’s as if you have a never-ending supply. You can’t possibly have that many pockets.”

He ducked as three daggers buried themselves in the tree behind him.

“Why don’t you stand still and I will show you exactly where I keep them?” answered Kal.

“Tempting, but no thanks—sounds painful,” said Bear as he shimmered and disappeared. “I’ll see you later, furious one. Keep your guard up.”

She walked over to the Gray, who looked down at her. Its bright yellow eyes gleamed with an inner light. She saw the intelligence behind them, took a breath and calmed down.

“Why the ambush?” she asked. “It’s not like I couldn’t smell him a mile away. He reeks.”

The Gray looked down at her and then shimmered into a human form. Before her stood a tall woman dressed in gray body armor. The armor covered her body from her neck down with reinforced sections around the neck and other vital areas. Several parts of the armor were covered with daggers. A thick leather cloak covered the rest of her attire. Her face appeared young, but her eyes, which remained a glowing yellow, exuded wisdom beyond her youthful appearance. Her blond hair was cut short. It gave her a boyish appearance as she stood with her hands on her waist in front of Kal.

“You let yourself get distracted,” said the Gray. “Every time you focus on Zen in your meditations, you lose yourself. You let your emotions control you.”

“My emotions do not control me,” said Kal, looking away. “I just…I can’t lose him, Ji.”

“And if you did?” asked Ji. “What then? Will you lay waste to all around you?”

Kal remained silent as the muscles of her jaw danced.

“You are angry,” said Ji. “This is what I mean, Kalysta. You cannot let your emotions rule you. It will be your undoing.”

“He is my everything,” said Kal quietly.

“No, he isn’t,” replied Ji. “You only believe that, but that is not truth, not reality.”

“Didn’t you say belief shapes reality?”

I said perception shapes reality,” answered Ji. “Your belief limits your reality to thinking that your entire life is based around another. This is false.”

“I disagree,” said Kal. “That belief and my love for Zen is what gives me singular purpose. Are you saying my love for Zen is a weakness?”

“When combined with your emotions, yes,” replied Ji. “It diffuses your focus and scatters your energies, making it impossible for you access your true strength.”

“The love we share is my true strength,” answered Kal. “Can we agree to disagree?”

“Of course,” said Ji. “Right after we practice your belief regarding the sharpness of my daggers.”

This…is going to hurt, thought Kal.

Ji withdrew several daggers from her thigh sheaths. The glow from her eyes grew in intensity as she smiled at Kal. She shimmered and disappeared from view. Kal back-flipped and dodged a dagger aimed for her chest. She landed in a crouch and rolled to the side and right into a kick that Ji launched at her ribs. Blindsided by the pain, she fell back against a tree and tried to catch her breath.

“You have to remove emotion from the equation,” said Ji. Her disembodied voice floated among the trees. “Emotion will cloud your judgment. It will cause you to make mistakes.”

“Emotion is also what gives me strength,” said Kal as she bladed her body and missed being impaled by a fraction of an inch as two daggers appeared in the tree beside her. A right cross connected with the side of her head and sent her reeling. She recovered and crouched in a fighting stance. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and listened.

“You’re distracted, angry, and frustrated,” said Ji. “This makes you an easy target.”

“I’m not Gray,” said Kal. “I can’t disconnect my emotions like you. And, yes, I’m angry—angry that I let you tag me twice.”

Kal shimmered and disappeared. Moments later she reappeared and two more daggers came her way.

Found you.

She parried the daggers away with one of her own as she leaped in the air past Ji and threw the dagger behind her, aiming at Ji’s back. Before she landed, she twisted and threw another two daggers that appeared to miss as they hit a tree instead. Ji materialized and sheathed her daggers. Kal walked over to the last daggers she had thrown.

“You lost your focus,” said Ji as she approached Kal. “You are a formidable warrior and have learned much from us, but this lesson eludes you. Your anger will undo you.”

Kal said nothing and continued to work the daggers free from the tree.

“You’re right, for a second I did lose my focus,” answered Kal. “Then I realized what you were doing.”

She pulled the daggers out of the tree and caused some pieces of debris to fall to the ground. She bent down to pick them up with a slight smile on her face. Ji had closed the distance and was standing a few feet from her.

“The difference between life and death can sometimes be measured by a hairsbreadth,” said Ji as she twirled a dagger between her fingers. “You know this since you have become a bladedancer.”

“I agree,” said Kal as she sheathed her recovered daggers. “I guess we can call it a draw today. You tagged me twice.”

“I do not recall you hitting me today, Kalysta,” said Ji. “This is not a draw.”

Kal handed Ji two small pieces of leather.

“These are yours,” said Kal. “Sorry about the damage.”

Ji looked down in surprise at the two pieces in her hand. She searched herself but didn’t see the cuts.

“A little higher,” said Kal as she pointed at Ji’s neck. “It’s a good thing I was angry or I might have lost my focus.”

Ji put a hand to her neck and felt the cuts on either side of her body armor. Any deeper and she would have bled out on the forest floor.

“How did you—?” asked Ji.

“I told you, I’m not Gray,” said Kal. “My emotions serve me, not the other way around. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to spend some time with Zen, unless you have another attack scheduled.”

Kal started walking away and headed for the Gray compound. She left Ji in the center of the clearing, still feeling the cuts in her armor.

“Our training is concluded for the afternoon,” said Ji, still distracted. “But you know my saying.”

After a moment, a small smile crossed her lips and she threw the dagger she held at Kal. Twisting her torso, Kal rotated her body away from the incoming dagger, caught it by the hilt, and sheathed it in one smooth motion.

“I’ll remember to keep my guard up,” said Kal as she shimmered and disappeared.

**********

“You do that,” said Ji to the empty forest around her.

“She has become quite skilled,” said a voice behind Ji.

“She is as good as any of us now,” said Ji. “Will it be enough to face the threats, Yan?”

Another figure shimmered into view. This one remained in Gray canine form as it padded closer to her.

“It will have to be,” said Yan. “Will she be able to fight without her partner? He is not ready and the enemy moves sooner than we thought.”

“He is what motivates her and her skill surpasses his, even with Balance,” said Ji. “Yet she is attached and this attachment may inhibit her.”

“She stood against you and even struck two killing blows,” said Yan, looking at the armor around Ji’s neck. “I would say it is a good thing she held back in this case.”

Ji touched the armor around her neck once more.

“She will be called upon soon, I can sense it,” said Ji.

“Then she will have to go alone. The question is, will she?”

“The survival of the planes depends on her facing the Destroyer, Yan,” said Ji. “This has been foreseen.”

“I never placed much stock in those ramblings. I just think they have a better chance with her there,” said Yan. “I know I would want her on my side in a fight.”

“Agreed. She is formidable.”

“She just has to detach from the bearer of Balance and use her full potential,” said Yan. “Do you think she can?”

“When the call comes, she won’t have a choice,” said Ji.

TWENTY-FIVE

“WHAT’S IT GOING to take, Nina?” I asked. “I’m ready.”

I didn’t feel ready at all.

“A wavedance is not like opening a portal,” she said. “In a wavedance you become the doorway and then step through.”

The confusion on my face must have shown because she took a deep breath and started again.

“This is going to involve some pain,” she said. “You understand how to open a portal?”

“Channeling energy through a glyph and infusing it with chi as a catalyst,” I answered. “This opens a portal using the glyph as a directional way point, like a map marker.”

She nodded. “Yes, that is the basic workings of it,” she said. “Wavedancing takes it several steps further. You form the glyph but instead of infusing it with chi, you use your chi to absorb the glyph. This makes you the conduit for travel.”

“So the glyph denotes the destination, but I become the portal?” I asked, still confused. “Where does the pain come in?”

“They told me you endured pain during the ritual of your bonding,” she said. “Was it very bad?”

I thought back to the ritual and tried to remember the pain of bonding. I remembered wanting to die, begging for it. The pain was so intense that there were no words to describe it.

“I remember it,” I said. “I wanted it to end, or die—whichever came first, I didn’t care.”

She gave me a tight smile, which I didn’t appreciate at all since I took it to mean that the pain was going to be substantial.

“Then you should be fine,” she assured me. “I don’t think this pain is anything like that. This is more like having a hot knife stab you in the stomach and twist over and over.”

“Oh, that’s it?” I said. “Nothing too severe, then. Good to know.”

“You’ll get used to it after the first few tries,” she said. “I will start the wave, but you must pick it up and continue it. It takes some practice.

“And if I can’t?” I asked.

“That’s where the pain comes in,” she said. “At least until you adapt to the glyph passing.”

“I don’t think you should do this here,” said Meja. “What if something goes wrong?”

“Actually, this is a perfect place to do this,” said Nina. “A null plane has no latent chi, so you won’t have any interference during the glyph passing.”

She sat down on the ground. She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. I looked up at the starlit sky and let my awareness expand but found no active chi signatures outside of our own. The plane really was devoid of energy. I sat down across from her and slowed my breathing to match hers. After a few breaths, our breathing patterns were coordinated. She opened her eyes and looked at me.

“I’m going to trace a glyph and send it to you,” she said. “You catch it and continue it. Once you have it, you will know the pattern. Ready?”

“Yes,” I said, still feeling anything but.

She traced an intricate glyph and left it hanging in the air between us. A few seconds later, it drifted over to me. I remembered the orb practice with Devin and tried to catch the glyph. It wavered in the air for a moment and then slammed into me. Judging from the slide mark, it must have sent me back ten to twelve feet. I felt like someone had tap-danced on my stomach with heavy boots, and my ribs ached. I rubbed my sides as I walked back to where she sat.

“You okay?” asked Meja.

I nodded. “I’ve felt worse,” I said. “Let’s try that again.”

I sat down opposite Nina and calmed my breathing until it matched hers.

“Don’t think of it as a physical thing,” she said. “Use your chi to embrace the pattern. Does that make sense?”

“Not really,” I said. “How do I use my chi to embrace something that isn’t physical?”

“Your chi isn’t physical, is it?” she asked. “Yet you use it to affect the physical. This is just like that. Use your chi to affect the glyph.”

It made sense when she explained it and then it became utter nonsense when I tried to understand it. She traced another glyph and released it between us. It hovered in the space as I let my chi envelop it. For a brief moment, I felt the rest of the pattern.

“I can see the pattern,” I said.

“Good. Now use your chi to trace the entire thing,” she said. “Make sure you don’t—”

The next second, I was airborne. The air in my lungs rushed out as I slammed into the ground. For a few seconds the world spun on a twisted axis as Meja filled my vision.

“That looked painful,” she said. “Do you need help?”

The tap dancer had switched to much heavier boots with the intent on breaking my ribs. I made a move to stand and sat back down, breathless. I opted for crawling back over to where Nina sat.

“Thanks for the concern,” I said as I sat across from Nina again. “ ‘Don’t break the flow of chi’ is what I’m going to guess you were going to say.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier,” she said. “Oh, one other thing: the more complicated the glyph, the worse the backlash if you drop it.”

“What glyphs have you been working with?” asked Meja. “Are these the purifying glyphs?”

Nina opened her eyes wide and took a deep breath before composing herself.

“You want to kill him?” she asked. “He has to be able to deal with these basic glyphs before we try something that dangerous.”

“Basic glyphs—right,” I said as I sat down in front of her. “Again.”

It took close to a dozen more attempts before I could catch a glyph successfully without being catapulted away. We kept at it until she was satisfied that I had acquired the ability.

“Now you are ready,” she said. “This glyph will shift you into the bond you share with your weapon. If you drop this one…Make sure you don’t drop it, please.”

“I won’t drop it,” I said.

She traced the glyph and I sensed the difference the moment she released her chi. The fact that it blazed in front of me and gave off a tremendous amount of heat may have been clues too.

I let my chi receive the glyph, and the light and heat diminished by several levels. I saw the rest of the pattern and traced it. Light exploded in my eyes and for a moment, I thought I had dropped the glyph. I didn’t have the sensation of flight or pain so I knew it hadn’t launched me away. I looked around and saw I wasn’t in the null plane. Something crashed into me, knocking me, on my back. Dazed and disoriented, I looked into a clear blue sky as the world tilted around me.

“Hello, vessel,” said a voice that froze me in place.

It was Maelstrom.

TWENTY-SIX

“AURORA IS IN danger,” said Kenji as Roman joined him in the hallway. “The glyphs are gone, but I can’t open a portal.”

“That door is no longer in working order,” said Roman. “If the glyphs are gone I think I can remove it, but you may want to stand back.”

Roman held his hammer in front of him as he spoke under his breath. The hammer grew bright orange, filling the hallway with its light as it trembled in his hands. His arms shook as he raised it. Taking a few steps back, he aimed it at the ruined door and let it go. The hammer rushed out of his hands and slammed into the ruined steel, punching a hole in the door with a deafening crash. Kenji formed a shield of energy to deflect the shrapnel headed their way. Pieces of the door bounced off the shield and embedded themselves in the wall next to them. Once clear, Roman ran forward. He reached the doorway and picked up his hammer, then removed the ruined door and ran inside the cell.

“Roman, wait! We don’t know—”Kenji began. Roman’s body cut his sentence off as it flew past him, followed by his hammer. He landed at the far end of the hallway, unconscious.

Kenji looked at the cell but heard nothing. He approached with caution until he was near the entrance. He stood on one side of the ruined door and looked in. The cell was empty except for Rael, who remained manacled to the wall.

“I don’t suggest coming inside, unless you want to end up like hammer-boy,” said Rael from the wall.

Kenji took a breath and felt for the energy in the room. He doubled over and stumbled back. He leaned against the wall for support.

“Impossible,” he gasped. “That can’t be.”

“Oh yes,” said Rael. “It’s possible. Welcome to the big boys club.”

“But how can she stand against him?”

“She’s no slouch, but she can’t keep it up for long,” said Rael as he shifted in his manacles. “Plus, I think he’s taking it easy on her.”

“Taking it easy?” asked Kenji. “Can you sense the power emanating from them?”

“First,” Rael said, holding up a finger, “that thing she is fighting is not Lucius, but a manifestation of his power—a shadow.”

“A shadow,” said Kenji as he straightened up, using his staff.

“Second,” said Rael holding up another finger, “even as a shadow he could have erased her where she stood. This means he is just enjoying himself, until he isn’t… and then she’s done.”

“I can’t let him kill her,” said Kenji as he wrapped himself in a chi sphere and entered the cell.

Rael laughed. “You don’t have much of a say in the matter, so if I were you, I would be gone by the time he returns.”

Kenji started tracing glyphs in the air. “He may be powerful, but everyone has a weakness.”

“Your funeral,” said Rael. “Your glyphs aren’t going to work on him. In case you hadn’t noticed, they don’t have much of an effect on him.”

“But he is only a shadow,” said Kenji. “Which means the real Lucius is still imprisoned.”

“Yes, but only because the bridge between planes is gone.”

“As a shadow, he can be undone,” said Kenji. “It means he doesn’t possess all of the power of the original.”

For a few seconds Rael just stared at Kenji with his mouth open. “I thought I was insane, but you’re crazier than I am,” he said. “There’s no way you can undo his shadow unless you have a glyph of apocalyptic world-ending destruction handy?”

“No, I don’t have one of those,” said Kenji as he continued tracing the glyphs. “What I do have are these.”

“You have partial inversion glyphs…Wait a minute, those aren’t partial,” said Rael, the surprise evident in his voice. “You know the entire glyph? Since when?”

“Since I lost half my face to a chi erasure,” said Kenji as he traced the last of the glyphs. They floated in the air and then were absorbed into the walls and floor of the cell. “This situation has accelerated my plans somewhat, but I’m sure you understand, needs must,” said Kenji as he removed the manacles from Rael. “Aurora has something I need and she has to be alive for me to get it.”

“Those glyphs…” said Rael, looking around the cell. “You rigged this whole place. Rael rubbed his wrists and stepped back from Kenji. “What are you going to do?”

“Simple, I’m going to kill your master’s shadow and then get what I need from her, said Kenji. “ If you interfere, I will kill you.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

“IS HE DEAD?” asked Rin. “What happened?”

Two RahVen carried an unconscious Sylk to the Watch. They placed him in one of the infirmary rooms.

“His body is in stasis, fighting off Kriya poison,” said the Keeper as he held his staff over Sylk. “We will need to bring a healer who can deal with his particular situation.”

“Kriya poison…you mean they…?” said Rin, looking around.

“It was Tetra who initiated the attack,” said the Keeper. “Sylk facilitated their escape, permanently.”

“They’re free?” asked Rin. “How did they escape the plane? We are in the protocol.”

“They used Sylk as a means to escape the plane. He killed them both,” said the Keeper. “And if we don’t act with haste, he will join them.

“He faced them both, alone?” said Rin with admiration in his voice. “I didn’t think he could wield that much power on a dormant plane.”

“He is quite full of surprises,” said the Keeper while he traced a glyph that emitted a golden light as his hand moved through the intricate sequence.

“How are we going to bring a healer here?” asked Rin. “The plane is locked down and inaccessible.”

“We aren’t bringing anyone,” said the Keeper. “You are. There are fail-safes in the protocol that will allow entrance for situations like this.”

“You lied to the Kriya?”

“No, I merely omitted disclosing that I had the means for them to escape this plane, but everything I told them was truth,” said the Keeper.

“How long does he have?” said Rin as he looked down at the pale Sylk.

“You will have to leave now,” said the Keeper as he traced a glyph with his staff. “This glyph will take you to the RahVen plane.”

“Who is the healer?”

“The RahVen plane has one who they call Grandmother,” answered the Keeper. “Bring her.”

“And if she refuses?”

“We are running out of time. His body can hold the Kriya poison at bay for a short time but without a blood healer, I don’t think he will survive this attack,” said the Keeper. “Tell her it’s a matter of life and death. Be convincing. Take this.”

He handed Rin the chain from Sylk’s neck. Attached to it hung a claw, a symbol of his status as a friend of the pack. He opened a portal and stepped back as it became a vortex.

“How did he even get here?” asked Rin, looking warily at the portal.

“I don’t know,” said the Keeper. “He should not have been able to access the plane. It may have something to do with his bond to the Watch.”

The portal allowed a view of the RahVen plane. The Keeper held his staff in both hands as it vibrated against his grip.

“You can ask him when he awakens, but for now just bring her here,” said the Keeper with a strained voice as he fought to keep his staff from flying away.

Rin stepped through the portal and disappeared.

TWENTY-EIGHT

DEVIN AND ZANSHI dealt with the attack on the family and removed all of the Mikai, living and dead, from the clan leaders’ home.

“Are you expecting more attacks like this one?” asked Devin.

“Like this one?” said Zanshi. “No. This will be their only frontal attack. The rest will be subtle attacks aimed at dividing and destroying us from within.”

“Their chances of success?”

“Slim, since the other clans only have figureheads as leaders,” said Zanshi. “Our clan is stronger than all of them combined and they know this, which has prompted this attack in an attempt to unbalance us.”

“That and their fear of the third focus being bonded to a warrior,” added Devin. “Let’s not forget that.”

“And that,” said Zanshi with a grim smile. “Mariko and our clan will deal with them.”

“Good, but I need to return, sensei,” said Devin. “I’ve been away from the hub too long and I need to get back.” He traced glyphs in the air. With a concerted effort, he opened a portal.

Zanshi looked at the portal in surprise. “You are stronger than you let on,” said Zanshi. “You are not supposed to be able to do that right now.”

“Better to be underestimated and surprise your opponent than the opposite,” said Devin.

“Spoken like a Mikai,” said Zanshi and then he bowed. “I look forward to our next meeting. Perhaps you will honor me with some light sparring on your next visit.”

“The honor would be mine,” said Devin as he returned the bow and stepped through the portal.

Devin arrived in the hub to a pervasive silence. Hallways that were usually used by the students to travel from the living quarters to the training areas were now empty.

Where is everyone?

As he neared the center of the hub, he sensed the latent energy build-up near the lake.

No reason for anyone to be there unless…an attack is imminent.

He heard voices as he approached one of the main training floors.

“The outer barriers have been weakened,” said one of the students. The robe he wore designated him as part of the Monitors. “It’s only a matter of time before they attack the nexus directly.”

“Who is attacking the nexus?” asked Devin as he joined them. The Monitor in the robe jumped, startled by Devin’s words and presence.

Must be new. A seasoned Monitor would have sensed me earlier.

“Sir!” said the Monitor and then composed himself. The other student faced Devin and bowed.

“Where are the seniors?” asked Devin. “And where is everyone?”

“All of the seniors have moved to the nexus, sir,” said the Monitor. “Anyone not of senior rank is to remain in the outer areas.”

“Who gave these instructions?” asked Devin. “What are your names?”

The Monitor bowed again as he spoke. “I’m Tyler, sir, and this is Andrew.”

“Tyler, who instructed that the seniors go to the nexus?” said Devin.

“The Council, sir. They were the ones who closed the school,” said Tyler.

“And everyone else is where?”

“They have spread out along the outer perimeter of the hub, to the points, sir,” said Andrew. “Every area except the Black Lotus. We were told that was off-limits except to Black Lotus only.”

The strongest warriors and guardians are in the nexus, where they won’t be able to fend off an attack until it’s too late, and the outer perimeter is lightly defended. Did no one see this?

“Here is what I want the both of you to do,” said Devin. “Go to the outer areas and tell them the Council gave new orders. Everyone is to move to the inner defenses.”

“But the Council?” said Tyler.

“Let me deal with the Council, but both of you go, now,” said Devin. “Make sure no one remains behind.”

Tyler and Andrew headed off to the outer perimeters of the hub as Devin headed for the nexus.

One stop first. Why would they want the Lotus area off limits?

He turned down several corridors and found the one he wanted. He looked down the corridor and back the way he came to make sure no one could see him. Once he made sure it was clear, he pressed several panels in the wall and accessed a hidden door. It opened without a sound into a dark passage that was half the size of the hallway he currently stood in.

Let’s see what the Lotus is doing.

Making sure the door closed behind him, he took the passage down to the Lotus area. He let his senses expand just enough to sense what was on the other side of the wall. It wasn’t enough. The suppression field the Lotus used in their area made it impossible to distinguish anything with accuracy. It was usually kept at a minimal setting, but he could sense it was a full power.

At least I know I’m in the right place.

He placed his hand on the door and opened it just enough to look into the room. What he saw drew him up short and caused him to catch his breath. The rage rose as what he saw registered. All of the seniors were manacled to the far wall. Even from his hiding place, he could see the glyphs on each of the manacles. They were suppressor cuffs.

Shit, this is bad. How did they manage to get them all?

He peered out of the passage again and saw that the large room was full of Black Lotus. He counted at least forty of them armed with crossbows and blades. Only five of them remained close to the wall where the seniors were manacled. The rest appeared to be idle, their job done.

Forty-to-one odds. No room for error or compassion.

He looked closer at the seniors and noticed that many of them weren’t moving. Only two showed signs of life. Michael shifted as his head hung limp. The bruises on his face made him barely recognizable. From their coloration, the beating had taken place some time ago. Next to Michael, and towering over the Black Lotus around him, stood Mouro. The veins in his arms bulged as he pulled against the manacles. His hair was matted against his head as sweat poured down his face and chest from the effort. He continued to strain against the suppressors as the Lotus beat him, but it was futile—he could not break them.

They have them in pairs. All the senior warriors and guardians.

Devin reached down and pulled on the chain that hung around his neck. Attached to the chain, a large clear prism pulsed. This prism was twice the size of the one he had provided Meja and it was shaped into a solid glyph configuration. He put the prism against his skin and stepped into the room. He inhaled and spoke several words under his breath as he exhaled. The glyph became crimson and appeared to absorb all of the light that surrounded it. With the prism acting as a conduit, he let his chi flow around him. Black orbs manifested around him, crackling with crimson energy. The first ten Lotus dropped to the floor as the orbs hit them and killed them where they stood. The orbs absorbed their chi and redirected it to Devin, giving him increased power. The remaining Lotus drew their weapons and focused on him.

He expanded his awareness and checked the seniors manacled to the wall now that he was closer. Only Michael and Mouro were alive. The rest had succumbed to the torture and beatings. Reaching into a side pocket, he placed a prism in Mouro’s hand.

“Shield yourself and Michael,” said Devin. “Use the glyph I taught you.”

Mouro grunted his assent as he clenched the prism and created a sphere large enough to cover Michael and himself. The sphere, once formed, remained translucent for several seconds before becoming opaque and hiding the seniors from view. Devin removed the prism from his neck and crushed it in his hand. Crimson light escaped the prism and bathed his body as the prism shattered. Each shard exploded outward for several feet and then returned to hover around him. Devin traced a glyph with both hands in the midst of the shards that floated in front of him. Once done, he clapped his hands together around the shards. Dozens of small cuts began to bleed from the shard cuts. The blood flowed and his hands emanated light as a large crimson orb formed around him. The Lotus retreated, sensing danger, but they were too late.

“Siphorusso,” whispered Devin.

The orb exploded. Crimson light filled the room, bathing the room in an unnatural glow. The Lotus closest to him died instantly, their bodies disintegrating as the light reached them. Those farther back suffered a chi extraction as their bodies crumpled to the floor. Screams and whimpers crashed into each other as Devin crouched low in the center of the explosion. When he stood, the room was silent. Crimson energy raced all over his body he took a step and stumbled.

Too much energy. Can’t contain this much…need to bleed it off.

He put his hands together and faced away from the solid sphere Mouro had created. A beam of energy escaped his hands and blasted through the wall, leaving a gaping hole five feet wide and just as tall. He walked over to the opaque orb and placed a hand on its surface. It became clear and then disappeared.

In the corner, he heard coughing. He made his way over to the Lotus member who lay on the ground, coughing up blood. He crouched down and examined him.

“I don’t know how you survived, but it doesn’t look like you have long,” said Devin. “Who did this?”

“White…White Lotus,” said the man on the ground. “We will overcome our enemies. We live to serve and die.”

“Looks like you are doing the dying part now,” replied Devin. “Whom do you serve? Why kill the seniors?”

The man smiled at Devin. “He commands us,” he answered. “The Wheel commands us and we live to die and serve.” With those words, the man breathed his last breath.

The White Lotus? Wheel is behind this, but why kill everyone?

He left the White Lotus where he lay and made his way over to the wall of seniors.

“You look like hell,” said Devin. “What happened?”

“Devin,” croaked Michael. “Glad you could join the party. Was that a red siphon I felt? You are insane. It could have killed you.”

“Chance I had to take, as I didn’t feel like dancing with them,” said Devin. “Have you ever heard of the White Lotus?”

Michael shook his head slowly and winced at the action.

“Council, Black Lotus—all dead. I don’t know what the White Lotus is, but this was an inside attack. They had infiltrated the school. They were dressed as Black Lotus and took us by surprise.”

“How did they get the seniors?” said Devin as he grabbed both their manacles and shattered them. “Did they get the Master?”

“The food,” said Michael. “Somehow they poisoned the food. Those that survived found their abilities suppressed. Once we ate, they attacked us. We killed many, but they had greater numbers. They killed the Master first.”

“He posed the greatest threat,” said Devin as he struggled to speak. “It makes sense to remove him first.”

“I’m sorry, Devin. We could do little without our abilities. The poison weakened us. Many died right after eating.”

“It’s not your fault,” said Devin as he composed himself. “Someone went through a lot of trouble to remove the seniors, the Council, and the Black Lotus.”

“They want the nexus, whoever they are,” said Michael while rubbing his wrists.

“If they get control of the nexus, all of the planes are in danger,” said Devin. “We aren’t going to let them have it.”

TWENTY-NINE

A MUCH OLDER version of me filled my field of vision as he looked down with a slight smile on his face.

“It has been too long, vessel,” he said. “I like what you have done with the place.”

He looked around at the surrounding area with a nod of approval.

“She is so much more pleasant than I am,” he said as he crouched down and grabbed my shirt, pulling my face close to his.

“Figured it out, have we?” he said. “It did take some doing, but here we are.”

“How?” It was all I could manage before he lifted me off my back and threw me.

I landed and tumbled for several feet before coming to a stop. Everything ached as I got back to my feet. He walked over casually and stood with his hands behind him.

“You are going to need her for this, I think, vessel,” he said as he manifested a staff and smiled at me.

I let my chi expand and felt for Shadowstrike.

I think I need help. It’s Maelstrom.

Do not let the illusion cloud your sight. See without your eyes. That is not the first focus. This is a manifestation of the taint. Why would it take this expression?

I was hoping you could answer that.

You know the answer.

You were not the catalyst, but you are the cause.

It’s how I view my darker side—evil, destructive, and homicidal.

Isn’t that your description of the first focus?

Yes. Can I remove this taint? Will you help me?

You can and you must, but you cannot remove this part of yourself. Only control it.

I took a deep breath and manifested Shadowstrike. That was when I felt it. Sweat began to pour down my back, and my hands became clammy. I tried to take a step forward and found myself frozen in place. My stomach did somersaults and I lost control of my breath, only able to breathe in short gasps.

**********

Meja and Nina looked down at Dante’s body with concern. Meja had a hand against his neck. He had fallen out of his cross-legged position and now lay on his back.

“His pulse is racing and his breath is ragged,” she said. “He can’t last much longer like this.

“A wavedance can’t be stopped once it has begun. It would kill him,” said Nina. “He has to see it through to the end.”

“I told you this was a bad idea,” said Meja. “Can he be moved in this state?”

Nina shook her head. “Not until it is finished. If you move him he could become lost in the dance, trapped there.”

“So we wait,” said Meja, looking again at Dante’s prone body. “I hate waiting.”

“You must take this now—they are coming,” said Nina, looking around the plane with a worried expression. She held out the prism to Meja. It gleamed in the darkness with an inner glow of its own.

“I told you, I don’t want anything to do with that thing,” answered Meja as she made to swat it away. “What do you mean they are coming?”

Nina grabbed her wrist and placed the prism in it. Portals surrounded them as the ground shook and knocked them down.

**********

“What’s wrong, vessel?” mocked Maelstrom. “Are you having second thoughts?”

Words escaped me. All I could think about was getting away. He moved closer with each step, and the feeling intensified. I wanted to run, hide—anything except face him.

What the hell is going on? Why am I feeling this fear?

Use your innersight.

I fought the overwhelming desire to run and focused my chi. I used my innersight and saw Maelstrom enveloped in darkness. Waves of energy flowed from him in every direction. I looked closer and saw that a slim tether of dark energy connected us.

That is what is causing your fear. Sever the tether or perish here.

I saw where the tether connected my body to his and sliced through it with Shadowstrike. The sensation of mind-numbing fear left me and the shaking in my hands calmed down as it subsided. I was able to get my breath under control and slowed it as I focused on him.

“That’s a nasty little skill,” I said through clenched teeth. The rage was rising, but I clamped it down and redirected it.

“I just wanted you to know how much a part of each other we are,” he said. “How did it feel? Being so scared you can’t think. I can tell you it felt exhilarating on my end.”

“I’m not scared of you,” I said as my voice trembled.

“Is that so?” he said and laughed. “Why don’t you come show me?”

“I know what you are, and if you have power it’s because I gave it to you.”

I raised Shadowstrike and let my chi flow.

“You think you know me, but you barely know yourself,” he said as he assumed a defensive stance. “Are you willing to do what must be done? Will you make the sacrifice that is demanded of you?”

“I will do whatever it takes,” I said.

“Bold words, vessel. I don’t think you know what you need to do,” said Maelstrom. “As usual, you are still flailing around in the dark.”

Shadowstrike hummed in my hand as I stepped in. I kept my body bladed and my awareness expanded. I chose not to answer the taunt, knowing it was what he wanted.

“This isn’t like you. Where is the rage? The abandon?”

He lunged at me and I parried the attack while I stepped off at an angle. He feinted to my right and came left, but I saw it and reacted to the real attack with a sliding block that put me in range of his fist. His right cross crashed into the side of my head. It caused me to backpedal away to clear my head and my vision. I rolled to the side to avoid a downward slash that would have shattered my collarbone.

You must engage it or it will grow stronger as you use me.

I forgot what the taint was designed to do. The longer I used Shadowstrike, the stronger it would get and the larger it would grow, until it overwhelmed everything. I did not have time to waste.

“What are you doing here, vessel?” asked Maelstrom as he ducked under my slash and leaped at me, driving his staff at my midsection. I managed to rotate my body in time and smashed an elbow into his face, though no damage registered as I struck him. “If you submit, I promise to make your death fast and painless.”

Nothing can hurt him.

You are not using the right weapon.

I executed a vertical slash designed to remove his arm. He stepped to the side as I switched directions and hands and slashed downward at his leg. Shadowstrike bit into his leg and he grimaced. I saw no evidence of blood, but the wound didn’t close. He moved out of range and gave a mock bow.

“First cut to you, vessel,” he said as he closed the distance. He whirled his staff at my head and I moved out of the way. He brought up his leg to smash my face as I ducked, but I jammed it with an elbow. I spun away from another lunge and let Shadowstrike slice behind me as I turned. I heard his grunt as my sword connected. Pressing the advantage, I slid forward and lunged, but he was ready for me. He slammed his staff into Shadowstrike. The force of the blow propelled me to one side and exposed my side. He saw the opening and attacked.

No. Can’t recover in time.

You will. Let the strike come and move with its energy.

The staff impacted my side and broke several ribs. Blinding white pain filled my world as I followed the momentum of the strike and rolled forward with the attack. The pain caused my vision to blur for a few seconds. I recovered and found myself behind and to his side. I slid Shadowstrike into him, feeling the power of my weapon envelop him. He dropped his staff and collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees. I pushed him back with my foot and he fell back. I kicked the staff away from him as I stepped closer, wary of another attack.

“You will never be rid of me, you know,” he said as he lay on his back, looking up at the sky. “I am a part of you.”

I looked down at him, watching as he grew transparent.

“I know,” I said as I absorbed Shadowstrike and crouched down, bringing my face closer to his. “I know the taint is gone, but the darkness remains and it always will.”

“Your choices are lethal, vessel,” he said. “Even now someone close to you is paying the ultimate price.”

“What do you mean?” I said, the alarm clear in my voice. “Tell me!”

I grabbed him by the shoulders and he started laughing. “You thought you were safe in a null plane,” he said as he coughed and gasped. “But no one is safe around you.”

No—Meja.

You must end the wavedance if you wish to return to them. I cannot sense them from here in this form.

Is it safe? Is the taint gone?

I cannot sense it within our bond. You have removed the taint.

How do I end the wavedance?

This knowledge is yours now. You need only will it and it will end.

I searched internally and realized that the knowledge of wavedancing came to me as if I had known it all along.

“Better hurry, vessel,” said Maelstrom as he disappeared. “You won’t be able to save them both.”

I focused my chi, ended the wavedance, and found myself lying on my back in the null plane. Around us, several dozen members of the Black Lotus stood. Someone was speaking but I couldn’t make out the words. The wavedance left me disoriented. I tried to stand and found I couldn’t. A boot came down on my chest and forced me back down on the ground. I looked around and saw Nina’s body lying face down on the ground in a pool of blood. She wasn’t breathing. I didn’t see Meja, and my heart dropped.

“You looking for your bitch?” said the Lotus with his boot on my chest. “Don’t worry. She’s not dead…yet.”

“What did you do with her?” I said.

“That one tried to escape so we had to deal with her,” he said, looking at Nina’s body. “But the other one? She has fire. I’m going to enjoy her and then I’m going to gut her for killing my men.”

I looked around and noticed the bodies of the Black Lotus that were scattered across the landscape. There must have been at least twenty. I smiled inside.

“Where is she? Who are you?”

“No more questions.”

I saw him pull back his foot and I tried to raise my arms to block the kick I knew was coming. My body didn’t respond as his boot connected with my head and sent me rolling across the ground.

“Carry him into the portal,” were the last words I heard before losing consciousness.

THIRTY

“YOU PLAN ON taking down Lucius and Aurora all alone?” asked Rael. “With one glyph?”

“The shadow of Lucius, yes, and Aurora will cooperate once I explain the situation to her,” replied Kenji.

“As plans go—that one seems entirely suicidal,” said Rael. “You realize he will vaporize you the moment you try something against him? That’d better be one hell of a glyph.”

“It is sufficient,” said Kenji as he finished placing glyphs around the cell. “I would prefer not to obliterate everything in the immediate area, so I suggest you remain outside this confrontation,” said Kenji.

“You know, I’m not a fan of obliteration, unless I’m the one doing the obliterating, but he’s not going to give me a choice,” said Rael. “You should leave before you find yourself dead. It’s not pleasant. Take my word for it.”

“I have no intention of dying today,” said Kenji as he made a gesture. Next to him, several portals opened and three kindred Watchers stepped through.

“Watchers,” said Rael as he stepped back. “Okay, whomever you work for has power, I’ll give you that, but not enough—trust me.”

As Rael finished, another portal formed and the shadow of Lucius stepped into the cell. He carried the limp form of Aurora in one hand and placed her on the floor gently.

“You killed her,” said Rael.

“Don’t be foolish, I do not kill indiscriminately,” answered Lucius. “She sought to stand against me and failed. Besides, one does not pick family and she is, for better or worse, of my blood.”

“And Sylk?” asked Rael. “You planning on letting him live too?”

“Him, I will kill once we cross paths again,” said Lucius. “He has earned it.”

“For a moment, I didn’t recognize you,” said Rael. “Good to see you are still you.”

“She possesses information I require—information about the third focus and a certain number of glyphs.”

“Now I understand,” said Rael. “Well, you have someone here who is dying to meet you. Seems like he wants to speak to her too.”

“Why are you still here, Harbinger?” said Lucius. His voice cut through the cell with menace. “You have a task to complete.”

“I thought you would want me to—I don’t know—pitch in?”

“Pitch in? Why would I need your help?” replied Lucius. “Go complete your task. I will deal with him.”

Rael bowed and formed a portal. “Don’t think I will get the chance to see you again,” said Rael to Kenji. “Enjoy the conversation.”

Kenji returned the bow and Rael stepped through the portal and disappeared.

“You can tell me what you want before I end your life,” said Lucius. “Unlike the Harbinger, I have no doubt you will remain dead.”

Kenji gestured with his hand and unleashed the inversion glyph. Every glyph that Kenji placed around the room exploded with energy. A whirlwind of power formed and enveloped the cell, creating a vortex at its center. With another gesture, the vortex tightened around Lucius. Debris and dust filled the cell, obscuring Lucius as the vortex disintegrated everything it touched. Kenji backed up out of its range as it increased in velocity. He made another gesture, but nothing happened. The vortex grew in size and forced him back until he was outside the cell.

“You work for Wheel,” said Lucius above the rushing of the vortex. “I recognize his handiwork in your glyphs.”

Kenji made another frantic gesture, tracing several glyphs in the air before him, but it was futile. The vortex continued unabated.

“This is an ancient glyph,” said Lucius. “You do not possess the power to wield it. Not even your master can do this unaided.”

The vortex disappeared. It didn’t dissipate. It simply ceased to exist as if it were never summoned. The kindred Watchers were also gone. The silence that filled the cell was deafening. Lucius stood in the center of the cell, unscathed. A sphere of energy covered the unconscious Aurora. The cell around Lucius lay in ruins. Gaping holes covered the walls and sections of the floor were gone. Only the area he stood on was untouched.

He stepped forward and motioned to Kenji. “Was that it?”

“How could you? How did you?” stammered Kenji.

He began to trace another glyph when his arms were pinned against his body.

Lucius reached forward with a small gesture of his hand and Kenji screamed as the pressure around his body increased. With another gesture, he dragged Kenji back into the cell.

“I’m going to be the one asking the questions,” said Lucius as he traced a glyph in the air and sealed the cell behind Kenji, locking them in.

THIRTY-ONE

RIN THOUGHT HE would be torn to shreds as he flew out of the portal and landed unceremoniously several feet from the tre in the center of a plaza. Carved into the stone sat a claw in relief. In the center of the tre, under the claw, a group of symbols pulsed with energy as he stepped back into the circle to examine them further. This tre sat on the outskirts of the town, which meant no one was around to witness his less-than-gracious entrance to the RahVen plane. In moments, he looked into the faces of five heavily armed RahVen that were carrying swords and firearms as they shimmered into view.

“I need to see the healer,” he said quickly. “This is a matter of life and death.”

He held up the chain with the claw, and four of the RahVen visibly relaxed. The leader of the group, who stood in the center, still kept her weapons trained on Rin.

“Where did you get that?” she said as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“I’m from the South Watch. The Keeper sent me because Sylk is in danger. He needs your help,” said Rin, the words rushing out.

“Sylk?” she asked. “Who is Sylk?”

“Akita, stand down,” said another voice. Luna stepped into the circle. “He is referring to our previous Alpha. The man responsible for my being your current Alpha, and a friend of the pack.”

“Yes, Alpha,” said Akita. “I did not know.”

“Understood. Let’s see what news he brings before we shoot or stab him, hmm?”

Akita’s face flushed red as she lowered her weapons. Luna stepped forward to address Rin.

“Welcome. You will have to forgive my guard,” said Luna. “They are under strict instructions to question anyone using the circles. Your entrance tripped the alarms and marked you as an intruder.”

“I’m afraid it couldn’t be helped,” said Rin. “My plane is dormant and the Keeper facilitated my journey here.”

“What has happened to Sylk?” asked Luna. “Why did you not bring him?”

“He fought the Kriyas and was struck by their poison, and it is attacking his blood,” answered Rin. “The Keeper said it was too dangerous to move him in his current state.”

“I can take you to Grand—our healer, but I don’t know if she will join you, said Luna. “ She has a tendency to follow her own counsel. She is currently with the Gray.”

“Thank you, Alpha. The Keeper said she was Sylk’s best chance,” said Rin. “I will try and convince her.”

“I will lend weight to your words as Alpha, but she is currently working with the Gray to help Zen with his weapon. She may not be able to leave his side.”

“Is there another healer?” asked Rin. “Someone who can join me in her place?”

“There may be, but let’s go see Grandmother first,” answered Luna. “Akita, take the guard and secure the outer perimeter. Afterward, meet me at the Gray.”

Akita bowed and placed her right fist on the left side of her chest. The five RahVen shimmered and disappeared.

“The Gray compound is not very far from here,” said Luna. “We can be there within the hour if we move quickly.”

Luna headed in the direction opposite the city and deeper into the forest that surrounded it. Rin followed, being careful not to trip over roots and fallen branches.

“Please excuse her. She is new and somewhat overzealous,” said Luna. “Reminds me of me. She meant you no offense.”

“None taken,” said Rin. “I don’t recall RahVen ever using firearms in the past. Is that new?”

“RahVen are fast,” said Luna as she ducked under some low-hanging branches and made her way through the trees. “We can also shimmer out of sight and those who are advanced can timeskip, though it seems the ability is being lost among the younger generation.”

“That would make for a dangerous enemy,” said Rin.

“And it does,” said Luna as she stopped on a barely visible trail and sniffed the air. “This way.”

She pointed to the right and walked down another trail.

“And the firearms?” asked Rin as he stepped carefully down the virtually nonexistent trail that Luna navigated with ease.

“I have found that no matter the speed of the RahVen, they cannot outrun a bullet,” said Luna with a sense of finality. “It would have helped make the transition to a new Alpha easier and with less bloodshed.

“Please wait here. Don’t move from this location or they will think you are here to attack,” said Luna. “The Gray does not take kindly to strangers, especially those who they perceive as threats.”

Rin sat down on the ground and watched Luna shimmer and fade from sight. For a few seconds he heard her progress into the forest and then he was alone. A few moments later, she reappeared with a large RahVen behind her. The RahVen towered above them both. It had a dark brown coat and looked like a giant wolf. Its piercing yellow eyes rested on Rin. A low growl rumbled from its chest and it headed down the trail with Luna and Rin in tow.

“This is Yan,” she said. “He will take us to the compound and the healer. You can make your request there.”

“Why did he growl?” asked Rin.

“He read your energy signature and let me know you posed no threat.”

“What if he thought I did?”

She gestured behind her. “They would have killed you,” she said matter-of-factly.

Behind them, two more Gray shimmered into view and startled Rin.

How can they hide their energy signatures so completely?

They walked down the trail for another twenty minutes before stopping. Yan gave a higher-pitched growl than before and a wall appeared.

“The compound is hidden?” asked Rin. “How do they know where it is?”

“How do you think the Watches transition from plane to plane?” asked Luna. “The knowledge comes from the RahVen.”

A large door opened and allowed them entrance to a sprawling courtyard. A structure sat farthest away from the door. The courtyard was a large garden with smaller structures situated at different points within the massive walls that enclosed the property.

“This place looks just like—”

“A Watch, yes,” said Luna as she took point, leaving the Gray behind and walking to the building that sat squat against the wall. “They will be in the central complex. This way.”

Rin followed her to the main structure. It was identical in design to the South Watch, on a much larger scale. At the entrance sat two more Gray flanking a massive wooden door. Each of the Gray gave Luna a slight nod as she climbed the stairs to the door. Their yellow eyes shone briefly as Rin passed.

“Another measure of security?” asked Rin as he noticed the scrutiny of the Gray while he climbed the stairs after Luna.

Luna placed a hand on the door and it whispered open. “You will find several more as you enter this place,” said Luna. “The Gray is reclusive and private, even among the RahVen.”

They walked down a large corridor, which dwarfed them both. The interior of the building was designed to accommodate the Gray in both human and canine form. Some of the doors in the corridor stood eight feet tall while others were twice that size and just as wide.

“They will be in the far wing,” said Luna. “At least that is the information I have.”

She headed down the left corridor and walked to the end. Three Gray sat before this door, all in canine form.

“Is she available?” said Luna to the Gray in the center. “We have a situation.”

The door opened and a RahVen in human form stepped into the corridor. The RahVen put her fist to her left side and bowed to Luna. Luna returned the bow and grabbed the woman by the shoulders, smiling. Before her stood a tall woman dressed in gray body armor. Her short blond hair peeked out from the cloak she wore.

“You have grown, Ji!” said Luna, pleased. “What are you doing here?”

“I was on patrols and then heard the Alpha was visiting us, so I came right away,” said Ji. “I have missed you.”

“And I you, but I’m afraid this is not that kind of a visit,” said Luna. “I need to see her.”

Ji looked around Luna and saw Rin. Disappointment flickered briefly across her face. It was replaced by a genuine smile the next moment.

“No matter,” said Ji. “You are here. Let me ask. Please wait here.”

“You can’t just go in?” whispered Rin. “I thought as the Alpha—”

“I am the Alpha of the RahVen, not of the Gray,” said Luna in the same whisper. “My authority doesn’t extend to them. We operate on the basis of mutual respect, very much like my Grandmother and everyone else.”

“I apologize—I didn’t mean to infer—” started Rin. “It seems complicated.”

“It is to anyone that is not RahVen,” said Luna.

The door opened and Ji returned. “She will see you, but she is in a blood trance,” said Ji. “Her responses will be somewhat different than you may be used to.”

“I understand,” said Luna as she and Rin followed Ji into the room beyond. The chamber had very little furniture. In the center sat a circle surrounded by the same symbols Rin saw in the circle upon entering the plane. In the center of the circle was the healer. She floated several feet off the ground, with her eyes closed. In the circle beside her lay Zen. He appeared to be unconscious. Around them both, red orbs moved through the circle in strange formations.

“Hello, Grandmother,” said Luna as she approached the circle and bowed. “You are looking well.”

The healer opened her eyes, but her stare was blank.

“Welcome, Alpha,” said the healer with a small nod of her head. “The answer is no.”

Her voice sounded across several frequencies, giving it the effect of several people speaking at once.

“You don’t know the question,” said Luna, clearly taken aback.

“We do and the answer is no,” said the healer with a smile. “You want to know if we can go with him.”

She pointed at Rin with her chin.

“Well, yes. Sylk needs help. He’s been poisoned.”

“We can’t break the blood trance,” said the healer as her voiced echoed in the room. “You can take the Fury. She has learned bloodwork from dealing with her own.”

The healer closed her eyes and bowed her head. It was clear the conversation was over.

“The Fury?” asked Luna. “Ji, who is the Fury?”

“We must leave now,” said Ji. “I will take you to her, although I think you know her by another name.”

They left the chamber through a different door and descended several ramps to a deeper level of the compound. As they neared the bottom of the last ramp, the sounds of fighting could be heard.

“An attack?” asked Rin.

Ji shook her head and led them to a steel door. In between the clashes of weapons, voices could be overheard. Around the door, glyphs gave off a faint light as they pulsed with energy.

“Why does this door have containment glyphs?” asked Luna. “Who or what is in there?”

Ji placed her hand on the glyphs in sequence and they winked out. The door opened as the last glyph went dark.

“Whatever you see in here, do not intervene or interfere,” said Ji. “Is that understood?”

Luna and Rin nodded their assent. They stepped into the dimly lit room.

“What is this place?” asked Luna.

“This is an advanced training area. Follow me, quickly,” said Ji. “It’s not safe to stand here.”

In the center of the room stood a giant, the large man easily ten feet in height. Topless, he shimmered in and out of view like a mirage in the desert. Thick black hair covered his arms. Scars too numerous to count lined his face and torso. He held two swords, one in each hand, as he pivoted around the center of the room. A smile was fixed on his lips, but his eyes shone with deadly intent.

Ji had taken them to an area of the room that was removed from the main floor by physical barriers and glyphs—an observation area.

“We should be safe here, but I would not stand near the edge,” said Ji. “This is the third observation area we needed to construct because of those two.”

“Two?” asked Rin. “Isn’t that the Fury? That large man there?”

“That large man, as you put it, is Bear, leader of the Gray guard,” said Ji. “He is fighting the one we call the Fury.”

“Where?” said Luna. She stepped closer to the edge of the barrier and Ji pulled her back gently. “I can’t see or sense anyone.”

“I know. The Fury is on par with any of the Gray in everything except time-skipping.”

A figure shimmered into view and launched a barrage of daggers at Bear, disappearing as the swarm of blades raced at him. He brought up his swords and deflected them, sending them in every direction. Several of the daggers hit the barrier and exploded. The explosions destroyed parts of the barrier along with some of the floor around the observation area. The explosions forced the group to move farther back as parts of the barrier, dust, and small bits of stone filled the observation area around them.

“Glyphed blades. Nicely done,” said Bear, the mirth evident in his voice. “Seems like you were paying attention. That was clever. You keep doing this, and I’m going to think you’re serious.”

“I’m always serious when I face you, Bear,” said a voice.

“Prove it, furious one,” said Bear. “I’m getting old here.”

Again, a figure shimmered into a view. This time she appeared close to the edge of the observation area. Her face was masked and she wore black combat gear. Her movements were fluid and graceful as she threw ten daggers at once, all aimed at Bear. She removed a larger blade from her thigh sheath and chased the daggers. She faded into nothingness as she closed the distance.

“How can she move so fast?” asked Rin. “I can barely keep up.”

“Honestly, I don’t know how she is still alive,” replied Ji. “She was given blood by the healer—old blood, older than the Gray. It has had some interesting effects on her.”

Luna looked closer at the training area. “It can’t be,” she whispered. “Kal is the Fury?”

“Yes, said Ji. “ She acquired her name from her first days fighting here. We all thought she fought like a fury. She never gave up, never relented. Even when she was clearly outmatched and outclassed, nothing stopped her.”

“What can she possibly do against Bear?” asked Luna. “I have seen him in action. He will crush her.”

“Yes, I have stood here and thought the same thing…many times,” said Ji.

Kal shimmered back into view as Bear deflected the daggers.

“You know this won’t work,” he said and swatted the daggers away.

“I don’t expect it to, but I do expect you to do exactly that,” she said as she crouched a few feet in front of him.

She leaped in the air and landed boots-first on his chest. He slashed upward in an attempt to remove her but she placed a hand on his head and pirouetted over and behind him. She brought up her short blade across his neck. It was over in a matter of seconds.

“Is this serious enough for you?” she whispered in his ear. “Yield or die.” Her voice was full of menace as they stood in the center of the training area. Luna made a move to enter, but Ji held her back, shaking her head.

“They need to do this,” said Ji. “Watch.”

“I think today you’d better kill me, Fury,” said Bear as he slammed his head back into Kal’s face. Her nose erupted in blood as she fell off Bear. He whirled, kicked her in the midsection, and sent her across the floor with a grunt.

“How many times have I told you?” he said as he drew his hand across his neck and checked the thin wound where her blade had been. “If you mean to take a life, you take it and then speak.”

“More than once,” she said and faded out of sight. “I’m not going to kill you, Bear.”

“I don’t think you can,” he answered and wiped his hand on his pants. “All I hear are big words from a little girl. What I need to do is to take your weakling of a mate and end his pitiful existence.”

“You will not touch him,” she said, her voice cutting through the training area like a knife.

“Who is going to stop me, you?” mocked Bear. “It’s not like you are much of a thre—”

Bear looked down and saw her short sword buried in his abdomen. She held the sword as she pushed it in deeper and twisted it. Bear grimaced but made no sound. He grabbed her arm to stop her thrust.

Luna pulled away from Ji and tried to enter the main floor. She was stopped at the edge by glyphs. She looked down and saw the obstruction.

“Disable them,” said Luna. “She’s going to kill him if we don’t get to him right now.”

“He is Gray and not so easy to kill,” said Ji. “Besides, if he were in any real danger she would have been stopped long before this. We are working with her to get past this particular challenge.”

“So what’s it going to be, little one?” said Bear through clenched teeth. “Do I drag your mate out here and finish him or are you going to stop me?”

“I know what you are trying to do, and it won’t work,” said Kal. “I’m not going to kill you.”

She twisted the sword and pulled it sideways. She cut a huge gash in Bear’s midsection and watched him fall forward into a pool of blood.

“That fucking stings,” said Bear as he turned over on his back. The wound had closed. He put his hand on the newly formed scar tissue as she stepped closer to where he now sat. Crouched low with a sword in one hand and two daggers in the other, she smiled at him.

“I’d say that makes us even for the face smash,” she said and wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve and grew serious. “You threaten Zen again and I will forget how close we are and I will kill you.”

“Promises, Fury,” said Bear as he stood and faded out of sight. “One day I’m going to make you keep that promise.”

She stood and walked over to the observation area. She sheathed her weapons as she stepped over the glyphs and into the area proper. Her presence caused the glyphs to flare brightly for a few seconds before dying down to a dim glow.

“I swear one day he is going to piss me off enough that I will kill him,” said Kal as she looked at Ji. “It’s good to see you, Luna.”

“You keep letting your emotion control you,” said Ji. “We have discussed this, but that is not why I am here today.”

“You’re the Fury?” asked Luna. “I still can’t believe what I saw. How did you get that close to him?”

“The blood Grandmother gave me changed me more than we thought,” said Kal. “And no, I’m not the Fury. It’s something that huge pain-in-the-ass, Bear, came up with, and they all followed him—even Grandmother.”

“You certainly looked furious in there to me,” said Rin as he bowed to Kal. “Greetings from the Keeper and the South Watch, Kalysta.”

Kal returned the bow. “Hello, Rin,” she replied. “I wasn’t furious. Just don’t threaten the people close to me and we will get along fine. Bear does it because he knows it sets me off.”

“Precisely, and each time, you react,” said Ji. “But that is a matter for another time. Rin needs you to accompany him to the South Watch. Your bloodwork skills are needed.”

“Bloodwork? Wouldn’t Grandmother be better at this?” said Kal, confused. “I’m much better at spilling it than healing it.”

“I am aware of your particular skill, but the healer is in a blood trance with Zen,” said Ji. “ She has entered the melding state and cannot stop it.”

“But me?” asked Kal. “I’m no good at bloodwork. Isn’t there someone else? Besides, what is so urgent you would come down here to tell me this?”

“The healer mentioned you by name, so she must have had her reasons,” said Ji. “As for the reason—”

“Sylk is dying,” interrupted Rin. We need your help.”

THIRTY-TWO

“I CAN’T BELIEVE no one else answered the call,” said Hiram. “I thought surely one of them would join us.”

“People get set in their ways, and some don’t want to go back to that way of life,” said Franca. “They put it behind them.”

“But this is the Deadeyes,” said Hiram. “How could they refuse?”

“This glamor you have associated with the Deadeyes only exists in your head, Hiram,” said Franca. “It’s not glamorous. The Deadeyes were about killing. We were a cold-hearted group who were good at killing. It’s that simple and that complicated.”

“How are we going to stand against an army of White Lotus?” asked Hiram, exasperated. “There are only five of us.”

“You wanted a war,” said Franca. “I told you to stay away from this, but you insisted. You can still walk away, you know.”

“I can’t.”

“I know,” said Franca. “Just thought I’d put that out there, just in case.”

“We don’t have to take on the entire Lotus, we just need to stop them from their objective,” said Raquel.

“You don’t know the White Lotus,” said Hiram. “The moment they see us as an enemy, we will be fighting for our lives.”

“If we get a portal that drops us close to the nexus we can create choke points and stop them,” said Raquel. “Force them to take the passages we want them to take.”

“One problem with that plan,” said Hiram. “The nexus is in a state of flux at all times. You can’t open a portal near it or you won’t know where that portal will lead.

“So then what do we do?” asked Raquel. “How are we going to get there if we can’t even open a portal without being spotted or sent who knows where?”

“The portal has to be outside the nexus influence,” said Hiram.

“How far is that?” asked Raquel. “I’m guessing you have the answer?”

Hiram shook his head. “I only know that we can’t open it in or near the nexus.”

“I have a better question,” said Raquel. “Who is going to open this portal?”

“I am,” said Franca. “I may be a little rusty, but I still know how to use glyphs. Why don’t you?”

“Never had the time to learn and no one took the time to teach me,” said Raquel.

“I’m going to have to fix that before we go,” said Franca. “This is a skill you need. Much more practical than a soul cannon, don’t you think, Hiram?”

“We still need the cannon,” said Hiram. “You don’t know what we will be up against.”

“You only say that because you have never seen one used,” replied Franca. “Raquel, here, let me show you a simple return glyph.”

“Return glyph?” asked Raquel. “Return where?”

“This glyph will return you to the last plane you were on, so you have to be careful if it’s a plane that is dangerous,” said Franca. “It can be useful in tight situations and takes little thought to execute.”

She showed Raquel the sequence and had her repeat it several times.

“Good. Now when you are ready to use it you infuse it with chi,” sad Franca. “You have used a handcannon, yes?”

“Yes, a few times,” said Raquel.

“This will be just like that, just without the cannon,” said Franca. “Let’s put that aside while we get the others. I have a feeling you may need that glyph in the future.”

“What if I want to get somewhere that is not the last plane I was in?”

“That would take in-depth study of the plane glyphs, which we don’t have time for now,” said Franca. “If we survive this I will make sure you learn them and can use them.”

Snipe and Rico approached the trio.

“Did you bring everything I asked?” said Franca.

Snipe nodded as he pointed to the large backpack strapped behind him.

“Good. We are going to need it all,” said Franca. “There is a good chance some of the old ones will join us once the action gets started. They know where we will be and how to get there and some of them could never resist a fight.”

“That would help our chances, since I don’t like the odds of five against everyone,” said Hiram.

“I would have preferred more as well, but five Deadeyes is a considerable distraction,” said Franca as she traced a glyph in the air. “Let’s go get some attention.”

She opened a portal and Raquel could see the entrance to the hub in the distance.

“That’s outside the hub,” she said.

“I know,” said Franca. “This is as close as it’s letting me create the portal. It’s the best we have.”

The five Deadeyes stepped in and disappeared.

THIRTY-THREE

“WE WILL NOT stand by and just accept this fate,” said Mariko. “We must help them, Father.”

“And we will, but you cannot help them if your home is in disarray, and right now we are facing the eight clans.”

“What will it matter if Wheel is successful?” said Mariko. “All of the clans will fall. The Mikai will be destroyed.”

“We are not so easily destroyed, Daughter,” said Ono. “But she does have a point, Husband. We cannot allow this to fall to chance.”

“And whom do you suggest we send?” asked Zanshi. “All of our forces are engaged with those cowards who chose this moment to attack.”

“That is not a coincidence,” answered Ono. “Not all of our forces are engaged. We still have the house guards.”

“Who will protect you?” asked Zanshi. If something were to happen to you—”

“They will,” said Ono. “Mariko cannot leave, but I can. I will take the house guards and go to the hub and help them.”

“No,” said Zanshi. “I cannot risk you in this.”

Ono remained silent and looked at Zanshi with understanding in her eyes.

“You do recall who held Mariko’s place when we met, my dear husband?” said Ono quietly.

“It’s too risky,” answered Zanshi. “The variables are too many. You don’t know what you will be facing.”

“I am Mikai,” said Ono. “I was raised on the edge of a sword like all Mikai.”

Zanshi turned his back on Ono. “I can see your mind is made,” he said, looking into her eyes. “You will do something for me then.”

“Yes, my love?”

“You will take the fan,” said Zanshi.

Behind Ono, Mariko gave a short gasp.

“The fan?” said Ono. “I cannot imagine the danger is that great?”

“You insist on going, then you will take the fan,” said Zanshi. “This way I know you will be safe.”

“Father, no one has used the fan since… the original Mariko,” said Mariko.

“If there is anyone that can use it and retain her senses it’s your mother,” said Zanshi. “Those are my conditions. What say you, Wife?”

Ono drew close to Zanshi and caressed his cheek gently.

“I will listen to your counsel, Husband,” said Ono. “Mariko, please get the fan from the family vault and summon our guard.”

“Yes, Mother,” said Mariko and then left the room.

“You make sure that you return to me, Ono,” said Zanshi as he placed a hand on her cheek, returning her earlier gesture.

“Husband, I will return with my sword or beside it,” said Ono with steel in her voice.

THIRTY-FOUR

THE GLYPH BURNED in the air before Aron and he reached out and touched it. Images flooded his mind, but his hand did not burn.

The third focus has found a vessel.

“Father is gone,” said Aron. “I know what his last wishes were, but we will not remain here hiding like cowards.”

“I agree with you but we can’t,” said Cara. “If Father is gone we are the last of the Smoke Samadhi.”

“All the more reason to avenge his death,” said Aron.

“Was that his last request? Vengeance? What would you like me to tell our daughter?” said Cara. “Her father disobeyed her grandfather’s last wishes and rushed to his death for vengeance, alone.”

“Alone?”

“Do you wish us to carry her into battle with us?”

“Of course not,” said Aron. “There was a message in the glyph.”

“Did he say who killed him?” asked Cara with an edge to her voice.

“No, the third focus has found a vessel.”

Cara’s expression changed as she absorbed this news. She moved to the other side of the room and picked up one of the three packs that rested on the floor and handed it to Aron.

“Then it’s time. You must go,” said Cara. “We will remain hidden, but you must find this vessel. Do you know where to look?”

“I have an idea, but it’s only a guess,” said Aron. “I received the image of the nexus, so I will start there.”

“Be careful. The nexus has never been friendly to our family and less so after Father refused the summons.”

“I will tread carefully, but I don’t like the idea of leaving you here alone.”

“No one will find us here. Only we know the glyph to this place,” said Cara. “Father wouldn’t send you that glyph if he didn’t want you to act on it. It means that…he can’t.”

Tears came to her eyes as she spoke. She wiped them away with the back of her hand as Aron came close.

“Cara—”

“Stop it,” she said. “There is no place safer than right here. Father saw to that. Go find the vessel, show him what you must, and then find who killed him.”

Aron made a gesture and formed a portal. He kissed Cara and then bent down to kiss his sleeping daughter.

“I will be back,” he said and stepped into the portal, leaving them. “Stay safe and wait here.”

**********

Cara looked off into the portal as it closed. When she was certain it was gone, she packed her things and grabbed the other two bags.

She traced a glyph and formed another portal.

“I will stay safe, but I can’t wait here, my love,” she said to herself.

Father, I never thought it would come to this, but I will do as you asked, she thought. With her daughter in her arms, she stepped in and disappeared.

THIRTY-FIVE

ROMAN REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS in the hallway. He shook his head slowly as he took in his surroundings. At the far end of the hallway, what was once a steel door was now solid stone.

“How the hell did that happen?”

The memories rushed back as he got to his feet.

Lucius is in there with Kenji and there is no sign of Aurora. Did he kill her? No, I would have felt that.

He walked up to the door and placed his hand on the cool stone. Glyphs raced across its surface. He swung his hammer beside him and prepared to strike at the stone.

“Yeah, not your best idea there, hammer-boy,” said Rael from behind him. “You’re about to open a whole room full of pain if you bring down that door.”

“Aurora—is she still alive?”

“Mommy?” asked Rael. “Oh yes, mommy is still very alive. Something about her being family and all that.”

Roman sighed in relief at those words.

“Not that he hasn’t erased his own family in the past, but for some reason he likes her…for now.”

Roman felt around the stone, looking for a weakness.

“And Kenji?” he asked as he searched for a way in.

Rael shook his head. “Not so lucky. Turns out he works for someone else. Not your mommy.”

“For someone else?” asked Roman. “Kenji serves another?”

“Wheel, it would seem is pulling his leash,” said Rael. “This is bad news for him because right now the shadow in there has a serious bone to pick with Wheel. See what I did there?”

“You can be quite irritating, Harbinger,” said Roman. “What do you want?”

“I’m just giving you a warning. Don’t go in there if you want to stay alive,” said Rael. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to hop over to this circle and go meet someone about a staff.”

“I can’t leave her,” said Roman as he lifted his hammer.

“Any moment, this whole level is going to be ground zero for some serious destruction.”

“All the more reason to stay and protect her,” said Roman. “You can help me.”

“Help you?” said Rael. “Do you know what you are asking? Are you insane?”

“No more than you,” replied Roman.

“You aren’t seeing it, hammer-boy,” said Rael as he headed to the room with the battle tre. “That shadow—or echo or whatever you want to call it—is powerful, but it’s not even close to the power the real Lucius wields.”

“And this means?”

“It just withstood an inversion glyph and erased three mini Watchers without blinking,” said Rael. “And you intend to do what with your hammer? You can’t face him or stop him.”

Rael let the words hang there for a few seconds.

“I have to try,” said Roman as he swung at the stone door. The stone remained unchanged.

“Good luck with that,” said Rael. “I will drop flowers on your grave, if there’s enough of you left for a grave, that is.”

Rael entered the circle and formed a portal.

“Stupid idiot is going to get himself killed,” he muttered under his breath. After a few seconds of hesitation, he closed the portal and walked back to Roman.

“I thought you had to meet someone?” said Roman as he paused his hammering to catch his breath.

“That isn’t going to be half as interesting as this,” said Rael as he manifested his swords and aimed them at the stone. “I would step back if I were you.”

With a few words, he unleashed a torrent of energy that arced across the hallway and into the stone, destroying it.

“Why did you do this?” asked Roman as they headed for the door. “He will kill you.”

“I can only hope,” said Rael as they entered the cell.

THIRTY-SIX

I CAME TO and found myself lying down on the floor. The cool marble felt good against my skin and I laid there for a moment, just enjoying the sensation. I finally opened my eyes, looked around, and took in the room. A musty aroma drifted over me and filled my lungs. It was a familiar and pleasant smell. It reminded me of every library I had ever visited. My breath was suddenly forced out of my body by a sudden and sharp pain, which clamped down on my entire left side.

In an instant, I felt myself disconnected from my chi. I tried to access Shadowstrike and found nothing. I took a shallow breath through the pain and let my awareness expand. I was able to sense the room, but what came back was minimal, I was blind.

“Welcome back, warrior,” said a voice. “Do you know what this is?”

An object came into my teary field of vision. It was a short rod about two feet long. On the end of the rod was a bulb that pulsed red. I had hoped never to see one of those again in my life. An auric flail. I only knew of one group that carried those rods of pain—the Sherfym.

“Yes,” I groaned.

“Good, then I won’t have to demonstrate what will happen if you don’t follow my instructions,” said the voice.

I looked to the side in the direction of the voice. A small woman dressed in brown leather pants with a white top looked down at me. She was crouched down next to my head. Her angelic face held an expression of distrust and she swung the flail a little too close to my body as she rocked back and forth. I made a move to slide away from her and the flail—mostly the flail. She must have been no taller than three feet. Other than her height, she was an exact replica of a Watcher.

“My name is Ula and I am in charge of your well-being until further notice,” she said. “I am surprised you can move. Most cannot withstand the touch of the flail without losing consciousness.”

“I’ve had some experience with them,” I managed after I got my tongue working again. “Why am I here? How am I here?”

“She wants to see you,” said Ula. “She will answer your questions.”

“You mean Mia?”

Ula nodded. “It was on her request that we removed you from the null plane and the men who beat you,” she said. “It was close. They almost finished you like the other woman.”

Nina. Those Lotus killed her and took Meja somewhere. Before I could find her, I had to deal with the leader of the Sherfym, Mia.

A sinking feeling gripped my stomach. I remembered her words from the last time we had seen each other. We needed to use the entrance through her plane and she had granted us passage on one condition.

At the time of my choosing, I will be compensated one favor from the warrior.

Looks like the time must have arrived. I stood up on shaky feet and gestured to Ula to lead the way.

She shook her head in admiration. “You must possess great power,” she said, amused. “Look, you are standing.”

I took a step and felt like throwing up. The floor appeared to tilt back and forth under my feet. I made my way to a wall and leaned on it for a few seconds with my eyes closed. I breathed in a few deep breaths and waited for the room and my stomach to settle down.

“Can you walk?” she asked. “It’s not very far from here. Should I send for a medical officer?”

I waved her suggestion away, not trusting my voice to give her a coherent response. She walked down the corridor and entered a large doorway. Inside, the room was furnished as a lounge. A large sofa covered one wall. The center space was dominated by a round table, around which were several comfortable-looking chairs. The rest of the room contained rugs and throw pillows spread out in no apparent order. It was clear that this room served to receive people other than the Sherfym.

In the center of the room, at the table, sat Mia. Ula waited by the door along with two other Sherfym I didn’t recognize. Mia gestured to the chair opposite her. She appeared childlike in the chair. Her feet hung from the edge and dangled a foot from the floor.

“Welcome, Dante,” she said. “I trust you are not injured?”

She was dressed in the manner of all Sherfym. She wore brown leathers and a white top. Her leather pants had gold stripes down the sides and her shirt was embroidered with a fine gold thread I didn’t notice the last time we met. A long scar running down one side marred her face, though she was still angelic like all Sherfym. The scar continued down her neck. She did not attempt to hide her disfigurement as she looked at me. Despite the pain, I tried to remain calm, remembering that they were partially telepathic.

I felt the connection to my chi return somewhat as I expanded my awareness around the room. There were several Sherfym in a waiting room behind Mia. Reinforcements, no doubt.

“No, warrior, not reinforcements. Shock troops should you decide to become…difficult,” she said. “I am aware that you now possess the third focus. The fact that you can sense my men even after being flailed is proof that you have grown in power.”

So much for my calm stopping her from reading my thoughts. She cocked her head to one side and smiled at me. It transformed her face from stern to radiant. As I looked up past the smile, the eyes stopped me…the smile never reached them as she looked at me with a deadly menace.

“Your outward appearance is calm, but inside, you are an open book,” she said. “I will refrain from reading you, however, as I sense this makes you uneasy.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Don’t thank me just yet,” she replied. “Do you know why you are here?”

“To repay my debt to the Sherfym,” I answered.

She nodded once. “It has come to my attention that if events proceed on their present course, the Destroyer will restore the bridge to the planes,” she said.

“Wouldn’t he need to remove the ascendants for that to happen?”

“That is one way, but there are others,” she replied. “If he manages to spill the blood of a life stealer or form a blood conduit with his kin, he can facilitate the formation of the bridge. It is difficult, but feasible.”

“A life stealer?” I asked. “What is that?”

“They wield ebony blades that siphon the life force of their victims,” she said. “They are formidable fighters and unusually long-lived. Some even say they are related to the Kriya.”

“Ebony blades? Kriyas?” I said, not following. I gave voice to the only thought that came to mind.

“Sylk?”

“You are correct, in that assessment,” she said. “Here is my request. You are to eliminate the threat presented by Sylk Iman, blood Kriya and life stealer.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

MEJA OPENED HER eyes and found herself in a cell. Her wrists, which were chained to the wall, were being chafed against the cuffs. Around her neck and under her shirt hung the prism. She felt it gently pulse against her skin. The power in it called to her. The memories flooded back as her anger rose.

Nina, goddammit, she thought as she moved her arms and remembered they were shackled. She looked up at the cuffs around her wrists. They were normal cuffs, unglyphed, but made of thick steel.

That was a mistake.

She took a deep breath, channeled her chi, and directed it at the cuffs. They shattered into several pieces. In another breath, she manifested Truth and headed to the door of the cell. She stood by it and expanded her awareness. She sensed two guards outside and many more in a corridor not far away.

Only two guards? I’m insulted.

She looked at the edge of the door and saw that it contained a basic glyph of containment. She placed a hand on it and allowed a small amount of chi to escape. It created a gap in the frame and she pulled. It swung open only a few feet and then stopped. The guards outside turned as one and looked. The guard on the right pushed the door open and they both entered the empty cell. Seeing it empty, he made to exit when Truth punched itself through his chest and killed him instantly. The second guard jumped back as his dead companion crumpled to the ground. He looked around frantically as he drew his sword.

“Come out, you bitch!” he yelled.

He waved his sword around in a circle as he looked around the cell. Truth appeared in front of his throat and stopped his movement. He froze in place at the sight of Meja’s sword and dropped his own.

“I’m right here,” whispered Meja in his ear. “The question is where is here? Where is Dante?”

“I…I…I don’t know who Dante is,” he stammered.

“What is this place?” she asked. “This is not the null plane.”

“No, no, we had orders to bring you here,” he said and started sobbing. “Please don’t kill me. I was just following orders.”

“Did Nina beg for her life right before you were given orders to kill her?”

Meja stepped back and kicked the sword to the guard.

“Pick it up,” she said. “At least die with honor.”

The guard hesitated and looked at the doorway.

“You’re going to die,” she whispered. “Few people get to choose how it’s going to be.”

The guard bent down to pick up the sword and bolted, screaming. He made it to the door before a dagger buried itself in his neck and silenced him. She could hear the footsteps of the other guards coming down the corridor.

What I get for being kind, she thought.

She tried to form a portal and found it impossible. A dampening glyph? Must be.

Five more guards entered the cell with their swords drawn. These guards looked as green as the two she just dispatched. Two on the end looked around nervously. Meja stepped out from the shadows and addressed the leader.

“You have one opportunity,” she said. “Tell me where we are and take me to Dante.”

The guard in the center looked at Meja. She saw the fear flicker across his eyes.

“We have our orders,” he said as his voice broke with a quiver. “Kill her.”

She rushed forward and plunged Truth in the chest of the leader. He fell to the floor, lifeless. It happened so quickly the others had no time to react.

“You can join him or you can tell me what I want to know,” she said as she pulled Truth out of the guard’s body. “Your choice.”

Three of the guards dropped their swords and ran out right away. The remaining guard dropped his sword but stayed in the cell.

“Smart choice,” she said. “Where am I?”

“A holding cell, off-plane,” said the guard. “We were told to bring you here until the rest joined us. They said you were dangerous, but we didn’t believe them. I mean it’s just—”

“Just one of me?” An off-plane holding cell. Someone wanted me out of the way, but why?

The guard nodded. “Please don’t kill me,” he said. “I was just—”

“If you tell me you were just following orders, I will,” she said as she looked around the cell. “Where did they go?”

“Probably back to the garrison. We have over one hundred guards on site.”

“What’s your name?” she asked. “How far is the garrison?”

“Fifteen minutes from here,” he said. “My name is Toru.”

Fifteen minutes there and fifteen minutes back, so thirty minutes on the outside unless they are fast. Don’t want to deal with a hundred of them.

“How did I get off the null plane?” she asked. “Who brought me here?”

“Oh, that was Ven,” said Toru as he looked behind him. “Ven is our leader and he works for Wheel.”

Ven would be the threat and the quickest way to Wheel. Need to find Dante first.

“Ven opened the portal?”

The guard nodded. “He killed that girl on that plane too,” he said. “Some of us didn’t agree with that.”

But none of you stopped him.

Meja kept looking around the cell until she stopped in the center and crouched down. There, in the center of the floor, was a small glyph pulsing with power.

Whoever put this here has power.

“Are you part of the Black Lotus?” she asked as she plunged Truth into the glyph.

“The Black Lotus is gone. We are the White Lotus,” he said.

White Lotus? This is news.

The glyph flickered and vanished. She absorbed Truth and looked at the guard.

“Tell Ven I will be back for him for what he did to Nina,” she said. “My advice to you, Toru, is to leave the White Lotus and get as far from them as you can, if you want to live.”

She closed her eyes and expanded her awareness. Quite a few of them heading back. Faster than I thought. Will have to start at the hub, Devin can help me.

She traced a glyph and opened a portal as she heard the first footsteps in the corridor.

She stepped into the portal and left the guard standing in the cell alone.

**********

One of the guards who had bolted came back into the room.

“Toru, she didn’t kill you?” he asked.

“I think Ven just signed his death sentence,” said Toru. “She is not someone I want after me. I’m out of the Lotus.”

A sword sliced through his neck and he fell to his knees. He clutched his neck and blood spilled onto the floor.

Ven materialized in front of him and sheathed his sword. He crouched down and faced Toru.

“Consider yourself out of the Lotus,” said Ven. “Anyone else want to leave the White Lotus?”

Behind him, the cell had filled with guards. No one spoke.

“Good, your lives are forfeit,” said Ven. “You live to serve and die.”

As one, the guards in the room placed their hands on their chests and bowed in salute. Ven smiled.

”Let’s track down this bitch and end her,” he said. “Master Wheel commands it.”

Ven closed his eyes and formed a portal. The White Lotus, led by Ven, entered it and disappeared.

THIRTY-EIGHT

“YOU WANT ME to what?” I said, not believing what I heard.

“Eliminate the threat posed by Sylk,” said Mia matter-of-factly. We could have been discussing the weather or what color to paint the room we were in, considering her tone.

“You want me to kill Sylk?” I asked.

“I did not say kill, even though that may be an option,” she replied. “I said remove the threat.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” I said. “Ask him nicely to stop being a threat?”

“Is this an attempt at humor, warrior?” she asked. “The Sherfym have not developed this ability to any great extent. Nor have we grown to appreciate it much.”

“So I’m beginning to understand,” I said. “If it’s not to kill him, what do you want?”

“Prevent him from forming that bridge,” she said. “If you do that I will consider your debt to me repaid. This is no light thing.”

“And if I fail?”

She traced the scar across her face absentmindedly.

“This was done to me with an auric flail,” she said. “It was on one of the lowest settings and, as a Sherfym I have a natural immunity to its…effects.”

“Your own people did that?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes, this is the price of failure in our eyes,” she said. “Your body does not have the same tolerance. You will suffer for a long time before you die.”

“I’m not going to kill Sylk,” I said.

She looked at me with curiosity in her eyes.

“He is not your friend, warrior,” she said. “From the beginning he has manipulated and controlled you. Do you know this?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And you would spare his life?” she asked. “Tell me why.”

“I understand his motives,” I said. “I don’t think he would ever let Lucius out of his prison.”

“You don’t know him like we do,” she said. “He will do whatever he feels will further his goals. He may feel that Lucius is the only one who can face the rogue Samadhi, Wheel.”

“I will face Wheel,” I said. “And I will stop him.”

“You?” she said and smiled. “Have you even mastered your weapon?”

She held up a hand and stopped me from answering.

“I can tell you have not,” she said. “If you face Wheel in this condition, you will fail and die.”

“I have to stop him,” I said, knowing what she said was true.

“He must be stopped, but it will not be by you,” she said. “Your path lies elsewhere.”

“Where?” I asked.

“You must go through the Akashic Records and undo the damage that was done,” she said. “That will set you on your path.”

“I thought the Records were compromised?”

“Your presence there will determine the outcome of its accessibility.”

“Meaning?” I asked.

“Your interaction with the guardian of the Records will determine how accessible they become.”

She touched her flail and a door appeared in front of us. It was ornate and covered in glyphs. I remembered it from the last time we came through her plane.

“Why the Records?”

“Because it is there that you will master the third focus,” she said. “Or die in the attempt. Other information will be available to you there, so choose wisely.”

“What other information?”

The door opened and she pointed to it.

“Information you will need but may not want,” she said.

“And if I choose not to go?” I asked, knowing the answer before I asked.

“There is no other way for you to leave this plane, warrior,” she replied. “That is your only exit, I can assure you. I suggest you use it.”

I stepped into the doorway.

THIRTY-NINE

“WHAT THE HELL did he do now?” asked Kal as Rin prepared to travel to the South Watch.

“I heard something about Kriya, but I don’t know the details like he does,” said Luna.

“Kriya? That is nasty business. Why would they be fighting Sylk?” asked Kal.

“They wished to end their lives and used the Karashihan to facilitate this,” said Rin. “His bonded, sadly, did not survive the encounter.”

“They killed Mara?” asked Kal.

“Yes, in an act of retribution, the female—Ravia—attacked and killed her,” said Rin. “Before killing herself.”

Kal remained silent a moment with her jaw clenched. She took a breath and visibly relaxed before speaking.

“Saves me the trouble of doing it for them,” she said. “How bad is Sylk? How far along is the poison?”

“When I left, it did not look good,” said Rin. “Are you ready?”

“Let’s go,” said Kal, then turning to Luna. “Keep an eye on Zen for me, will you?”

Luna took Kal’s hands. “He has many eyes on him,” she said. “He will be safe. Go do what you must.”

Bear came up behind them and placed a hand on Kal’s shoulder. “Fury, when you get back we will fight a real fight,” he said in a loud voice and then gave her a hug.

“When I get back I’m going to kick your ass all over this arena,” said Kal.

“I look forward to that,” said Bear in his booming voice. “Be safe, Fury, we will watch over your mate.”

Bear shimmered and disappeared from sight.

“Should you need to use your other ‘abilities,’ try and remember the lessons you have encountered here, Kalysta,” said Ji.

Rin opened a portal and it turned into a swirling mass. He struggled to contain it as he motioned to Kal.

“You want us to use that?” said Kal. “That doesn’t look safe, Rin.”

“The plane is dormant,” he said with clenched teeth. “It’s all I can do to hold it in place. Whenever you are ready, we can go.”

“Typical—whenever Sylk is involved it’s never boring,” said Kal and she stepped into the vortex followed by Rin.

**********

Ji stood looking at the vortex close behind them. A few seconds later another Gray appeared in front of her.

“Yan,” said Ji and bowed. Yan returned the bow.

“She agreed to go,” said Yan. “Her path begins.”

Ji nodded and Luna looked at both of them. “What path?” she asked.

“The Fury will eventually face the Destroyer,” said Yan.

“She will what?” asked Luna. “And we let her go?”

“This is her path. She must face him,” said Ji. “We cannot prevent it, only hinder it. She had to go when called.”

“Wait a minute. Zen being in trance with Grandmother and not being able to go help Sylk—that was your doing?” asked Luna.

“You are looking in the wrong direction. We would never attempt to control events in this way,” said Yan.

“Agreed, this goes beyond the Gray,” said Ji. “In any case, our role in this is complete. We have prepared her as best as we could.”

“I only hope it’s enough,” said Luna.

“As do I, Alpha,” said Ji.

**********

The vortex dumped Rin and Kal unceremoniously in the sand. About a mile in the distance, the South Watch sat shimmering in the heat of the midday sun.

“Is this as close as you could get?” asked Kal as she shook the sand out of her clothing.

“We are lucky to be in the right plane,” said Rin. “I don’t even know how the Keeper managed to find a glyph that could work through a dormant plane.”

Kal stopped walking and looked around her until she homed in on the Watch. She sniffed the air and took off at a dead run. Rin stared for a second and then followed behind her.

“What is it? What is the matter?”

“Something’s wrong,” said Kal. “The Watch is under attack.”

“What do you mean, under attack?” said Rin as he struggled to keep pace with her. “No one is here besides the Keeper, some RahVen, and the Karashihan.”

“You said the plane was dormant, which means it’s hard to get into without that special glyph?”

“It’s impossible unless you have the glyph. The plane is closed,” said Rin.

“Not for them it isn’t,” she said and then pointed. “I knew I sensed something like them before. Except the ones I remember were much larger.”

Around the South Watch, Kindred Watchers were engaged in battle with the RahVen. The RahVen were holding their ground, but Kal could see that they would lose eventually. The small Watchers were too powerful for the RahVen.

“Kindred Watchers,” whispered Rin as he increased his pace. “They must be here for the Karashihan.”

“Then we stop them,” said Kal. “How did they get here?”

“No, wait, you cannot face them alone!” yelled Rin, but Kal increased her pace and left him behind.

Kal shimmered and faded from sight as she crashed into the first Watcher. She threw two daggers behind her and impaled another Watcher. The one she crashed into stood slowly and shook himself off.

These things are tougher than they look.

From behind her, she heard a low susurration. The area around her erupted in flame and she was thrown back as cracks appeared in the ground. Although intense, the flames did not burn her. A figure raced past and cut a Watcher in two. The flames engulfed another Watcher as Kal threw more daggers, dropping it.

The flames died down as the figure removed a headdress that covered everything but his eyes.

“Are you hurt?” said the familiar figure.

“Samir!” she yelled as she hugged him. “What is going on here?”

“We do not have time,” replied Samir. “They are after Sylk and he is critically injured.”

Rin approached the two Watchers. “How did they get in?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but I know the Keeper can’t help,” said Samir. “They are headed for the Keep and Sylk.”

They made their way to the Keep, which was at the end of the wall and through a large passageway.

“He won’t be able to assist while the plane is dormant,” said Rin. “His power and abilities are limited to keeping the Keep intact and functioning. Anything more than that is too much for him right now.”

“In other words, we’re on our own,” said Kal. “I’m used to that. Let’s get to Sylk before they do. Nice work with the flames, by the way, Samir.”

They turned the corner and headed for the passageway with Samir leading the trio.

“Thank you—” he said as a Watcher ran into him and sent him flying. Samir lay on the ground, unconscious. Kal threw several daggers, but the Watcher deflected and dodged them all.

“You go look after Samir, and I’ll take of this,” said Kal.

“Alone?” asked Rin.

“Not for long,” said Kal. “I’m sure help will arrive soon. In fact I think I hear them now.”

Several RahVen shimmered into view as she spoke and bounded toward the group of Watchers headed their way. The Watchers were impervious to all but the most lethal attacks. Using their hands, they struck the RahVen in combat. They injured some and killed others with their strikes. They advanced on the Keep in silence, not uttering a word or a sound even when struck.

How can anyone send so many of these things at once?

She advanced on another group that had reached the Keep doors. She noticed that they always traveled in threes. She threw a dagger at the center Watcher near the door as she unsheathed two short blades and impaled either one to the side. They looked down at her blades with a confused expression and backhanded her into the sand several feet away. She rolled from the impact, dropped her blades, and manifested several daggers. These were glyphed and they pulsed with energy. She dashed back at the trio, who now focused on the door and had forgotten her. She leaped in the air and threw her daggers, each hitting its target. Seconds later, three explosions filled the space in front of the Keep door.

The RahVen came running from behind to the entrance and stopped when they saw Kal. Several of them bowed to her. She gave a curt nod and looked at a shaky Samir who was being supported by Rin.

“Where is Sylk?” asked Kal. “I need to get to him.”

“He is being guarded inside,” he answered. “Did you glyph those blades as you manifested them?”

“I’ll show you how if we ever get past all of this,” she answered.

“I would be most interested in learning that ability,” said Samir.

The Keeper materialized in front of them.

“The Karashihan is safe for now,” said the Keeper. “Though his condition worsens by the hour. Where is the healer, Rin?”

“She was unable to join us,” said Rin. “She is in a blood trance.”

“Then the Karashihan will perish,” said the Keeper. “He has been poisoned by the Kriyas.”

“That’s why I’m here, to prevent that,” said Kal. “I have some experience working with blood.”

“You?” said Samir. “Forgive me, but I do not recall your healing abilities.”

“I didn’t say healing, specifically, just that I know how to deal with blood,” said Kal. “Take me to him, before more of those things arrive.”

The Keeper led the way into the Keep and took them to one of the inner rooms that served as a makeshift infirmary.

Sylk lay on a bed on one side of the room. His ashen face looked gaunt as he slept. One of the RahVen stood beside his bed. When Kal got close to the bed, the RahVen placed a fist over her left breast and bowed. Kal gave a slight bow in return.

“He doesn’t look good,” said Kal. “Can I see the weapon that poisoned him?”

“I will return shortly,” said the Keeper.

“That’s the second time I’ve seen a RahVen salute and bow to you, Kalysta,” said Samir. “Why do they greet you this way when you are not RahVen?”

“Well, technically, I’m more RahVen than human now,” replied Kal as she placed a hand on Sylk’s forehead. “Could be they smell that.”

“Hmm, it seems we have much to discuss,” said Samir. “Do you think you can help him?”

“He’s burning up,” she said. “Whatever this poison is, his body is not dealing with it well.”

The Keeper entered the room, holding Ravia’s dagger in a cloth.

“Please take caution while handling it,” he said. “The poison is still active on the blade.”

Kal took the dagger, careful to hold it by the hilt, and smelled the blade. She shook her head away from it forcefully.

“Do you recognize it?” asked Samir. “Can you help him?”

“I’ve smelled something like it, but this is different,” said Kal. “Can you give me a moment with him alone?”

“We should check on the fortifications of the Keep,” said Rin. “Please call us when you are ready.”

Everyone except the Keeper left the room.

“You know what I have to do?” asked Kal, her tone grim while she looked at the dagger in her hand.

The Keeper sat down in a chair next to the bed and sighed. “I have heard that this is the only way to combat this kind of poison, but I didn’t expect someone so…young,” he said.

“I’m the only option he has unless you know someone else who can do this?”

“You know the risks?” he asked.

“Potential to be poisoned, permanent disfigurement, both leading to death,” she replied. “No pressure or anything.”

“You do have a choice,” said the Keeper. “You can refuse to take this risk.”

Kal looked down at Sylk’s unconscious form.

“He is a royal pain in the ass, for sure, but I think we need him alive for what’s coming,” she whispered. “It feels like he is important to the whole ‘stopping the destruction of the world’ scenario.”

“You, too, may have a part in that scenario, Kalysta,” he said.

“Now you’re sounding like Yan,” she answered. “I may have a part in it, but I’m pretty sure he is going to be front and center.”

“The Gray can be very insightful in their assessments,” he said. “Our actions and their repercussions can sometimes surprise us. Proceed, if you must.”

The Keeper stood and moved closer to the other side of the bed. He looked down at Sylk and then over to Kal and gave a brief nod.

Kal took the blade and drew it against her skin, feeling the poison enter her system. She gasped at its speed of attack.

“It’s fast, and strong,” she said and fell back into the chair. “I’m surprised he’s still alive.”

“He is quite formidable,” said the Keeper. “Can you remove it?”

She closed her eyes and didn’t speak. She let it run its course for a few minutes before opening her eyes again.

Got you.

Beads of sweat formed on her brow as she traced a glyph in front of her. With a grunt, the red orbs formed around her. She traced another glyph, and then the orbs floated together and turned into a mist. With a gesture, she moved the mist over Sylk. It hovered a few inches over his body.

“That should do it once I place it inside, but the poison is spread out all over his system,” she said. “I’m going to need some time. If those things show up again…we’re screwed.”

“Understood,” said the Keeper. “I can offer some measure of protection but, with the plane being dormant it is minimal.”

The Keeper held his staff in front of him and spoke under his breath. “This will cause me to be inactive for several hours, but it is the best defense available to you,” he said. “If an attack does occur, do not leave the protection of the inner sphere until you are done. Do you understand?”

“How strong is this thing?” she asked and put her hand on the sphere. “Will it stop those Watchers?”

“This is only a stopgap, but it should provide enough of a challenge even for them,” he answered. “I will advise Rin of my action here. Try to work quickly on the Karashihan. I fear that first attack was not the last.”

“Thanks,” she said as the speaker struck the floor with his staff. The floor took on a golden tinge, which faded away. Seconds later another golden sphere materialized around Kal and the area where Sylk lay. In seconds, both spheres merged.

The Keeper grew transparent as Kal stood and moved closer to Sylk. “Remember, do not leave the sphere,” he said as he disappeared.

She lowered the mist of blood onto Sylk and allowed it to enter his body. The Keep shook for a few seconds. She looked at her hands in amazement.

No way I did that.

She looked at Sylk and then behind her. Dust fell from the ceiling and floated gently to the floor as the distant echoes crashed into the room and became deafening. She sniffed the air and exhaled in disgust.

“Ugh, that reeks,” she said under her breath. “That can’t possibly be good news.”

She returned her focus to Sylk. The blood mist traveled in his body and through his blood, allowing her to pinpoint the poison that coursed through his system. Another tremor rocked the Keep and forced her to hold on to the bed in order to remain standing.

“Whatever it is, it’s big,” she muttered to herself.

And judging from the smell, it’s coming this way. I need to get this done fast.

She guided the mist through Sylk’s body, absorbing the poison as she went. When she was satisfied that she had gotten all of the poison, she made another gesture and a black-tinged blood mist lifted from Sylk’s body. He stirred as she moved the mist to the entrance of the room.

“Hey,” she said without turning around. Her focus was on the mist and the entrance. “Don’t leave the sphere, and something nasty is coming this way.”

Sylk looked around and placed a hand on the golden sphere around them. “Keeper?” he asked.

She gave him a short nod and shook off the sweat so it wouldn’t get in her eyes. He stood slowly and came next to her. Her arms trembled as she kept the mist near the entrance.

“Here, let me,” he said as he made a gesture and took control of the mist. “This is the Kriya poison you removed. Clever using it as a weapon.”

“I don’t know if it will work. Whatever is coming smells like RahVen, but it’s been twisted,” she said. “Something about it is off.”

The door exploded into the room. Pieces of wood and metal embedded themselves in the walls around the sphere. In the dim hallway, a figure stood. Standing close to eight feet tall, it stepped into the room and snarled. It appeared to be a RahVen caught between human and canine form. Long claws raked the walls as it tested the sphere. Its yellow eyes were fixed on Sylk and drool dribbled out the sides of its mouth.

“That’s not a RahVen,” she said, holding a dagger in each hand but staying in the sphere. “At least not any I have seen.”

“It is a RahVen but it has been…corrupted is the only word that fits,” said Sylk.

With a gesture, he sent the tainted mist at the RahVen. The RahVen absorbed it and howled in pain as the poison attacked. It fell to its knees and tore out chunks of fur from parts of its body. After a few moments, it grew still and fell back, grasping at its neck so tightly it dug its claws into the skin and drew blood.

“Well, that was easy,” said Kal. “I’ll take the win any way I can get it.”

Sylk held her arm to prevent her from leaving the sphere.

“I don’t think it’s quite done,” he said as he kept his eyes on the RahVen, which was now on all fours and coughing up copious amounts of blood before it shook its head violently side to side. It stood to its full height and charged at the sphere. It raked the outside repeatedly until parts of the sphere grew a dim gold.

With its chest heaving, it stepped back and stared hard at the sphere.

“What’s it doing?” asked Kal.

“Looking for a weak spot to attack,” he said. “When he finds it, this sphere won’t stop him.”

Sylk stepped close to the edge of the sphere and the RahVen slashed at his face. The light of the sphere flashed bright and then dimmed.

“This sphere won’t last much longer,” said Sylk and manifested his sword. Its black blade gleamed in the golden light. “Once through, it’s going to come at me fast. I will keep it occupied. You need to warn the others about this.”

“You’re kidding, right?” scoffed Kal. “You just got out of bed and I just removed the poison. You can’t take out this thing alone.”

Sylk looked at her, his gaze hard and determined. She took a step back. “You would be surprised at what I can ‘take out’ alone,” he said. “Besides, I may need to do some destructive things and I can’t worry about your safety and fight this thing.”

“So what’s the plan?” she asked. “It’s not like he’s going to step to the side and let me pass. That thing is as big as a house and has the only exit blocked.”

“I will create an opening for you,” replied Sylk. “The window to escape will be small. Make sure you take it when I tell you.”

“Where am I going?” she asked. “The whole place is under attack.”

“I think I am the focus of this particular attack,” said Sylk. “Find Samir and keep him alive. I will need him for the Records.”

The golden tinge of the sphere started to fade.

“The Records? You’re going back?”

“Yes, and it would be a considerable help if you came with us,” he said. “Get ready.”

Sylk entered a defensive stance and muttered some words under his breath. Black flames erupted along the length of his sword. The silver lines in his arm flared to life, giving off a bright light that his sword absorbed.

The sphere dispersed the next second and the RahVen lunged forward. Claws and teeth came at Sylk as the RahVen closed in. Its yellow eyes blazed with hatred. Sylk traced a glyph with his free hand and sidestepped the lunge. The RahVen crashed into the wall behind him. Sylk slid forward and drove his sword into the RahVen’s side. An orb flew from his hand into the RahVen. The RahVen howled in pain.

“This would be a good time for you to make your exit, Kalysta,” said Sylk as he strained to keep the RahVen pinned.

“Oh, shit, yes,” she said and ran for the door. “Don’t get dead, Sylk.”

She turned at the door and released three daggers at the RahVen, each one hitting its mark around Sylk.

“Are these daggers—?” he said, looking closely at the weapons Kal had thrown.

“Glyphed, yeah—it won’t stop it, but should give you some breathing room,” she said as she started off again. “You have about ten seconds before they go off.”

“Thank you. Find Samir, tell him to use the words of unmaking on these things if there are more,” said Sylk. His words chased Kal as she left the room.

**********

The silence in the room was broken by breathing. The RahVen snarled and growled. Sylk held it in place and tried to control his breathing, which escaped him in short gasps.

Running out of time.

He disengaged from the RahVen, ducked under a backhanded swipe from its claws, and managed to step out of the room before the daggers exploded and slammed him into the wall.

FORTY

“SO THE TIME has come,” said Lucius as Rael and Roman entered the cell. “Do you think you are capable of standing before me?”

Aurora’s body lay in the center of the floor, unconscious but otherwise unharmed. Roman rushed over to her body. Lucius gestured with a hand and slammed Roman into a wall. Near one wall lay Kenji, his body broken, but alive.

Rael watched as blood escaped the side of Roman’s mouth as he slid down the wall and collapsed on the floor. He used his hammer to sit upright as Rael approached Lucius.

“I am in the middle of something, Harbinger,” said Lucius. “It would not be wise to interrupt me.”

“You know me, old habits, and all that,” said Rael as he let the energy of his swords flow off him. Electrical energy filled the cell and arced away from him, scorching the stone wherever it touched. Glassy patches formed around Rael as the stone melted under him.

Lucius raised an eyebrow and clasped his hands before him. “You have increased your power, greater than I gave you,” he said. “How did you do this?”

Rael pointed a chin at Kenji. “He helped a bit,” he said and traced a symbol in the air. It was the inversion glyph.

Kenji gasped. “No!” he yelled. “You’ll kill us all and destroy the compound, if not the whole plane!”

“I see,” said Lucius with a smile. “This is your gambit, then? Destroy it all?”

“Like killing an ant with a nuke,” said Rael. “It’s messy, but it certainly makes sure the ant is dead.”

“And I am the ant?” asked Lucius. “At your present level of power, you are capable of wielding this glyph. However, this interferes with my plans. I won’t allow that.”

Lucius manifested a short sword with an ebony blade. It seemed to absorb all of the light from the room. The energy signature around Lucius shifted and dampened the electrical strikes around Rael.

Well, shit, a weapon? Since when? thought Rael. This isn’t the shadow. The shadow couldn’t wield something that powerful.

“Nice blade you have there,” said Rael. “Never seen you with a weapon before, I mean besides Maelstrom.”

“You like it?” said Lucius, admiring his sword. Its black blade gave off smoky wisps of dark energy as he swung it to one side. “It’s a life stealer—quite powerful, in fact. The only weapon capable of ending you…permanently.”

Rael stopped the inversion glyph as the words sank in. Only two gestures were left to complete it as the symbols hung in the air before him. He had just realized the truth.

“How did you do it?” asked Rael. “You told me the only way was with Maelstrom.”

“No, I said Maelstrom was one of the ways,” replied Lucius. “It would have made it easier using it, but I found another way. She helped a bit.” He gestured down at Aurora.

Rael looked closer at her. His eyes opened wide as he sucked his breath in.

“You…you dismantled her, you sick bastard,” said Rael, balling his fists as the energy arcs intensified.

Lucius looked around him, seemingly unperturbed by the strikes of lightning that struck the floor near him.

“Dismantled? You could say that,” said Lucius, his voice hard. “She attacked me and I was going to erase her. Then I saw her potential, her power. I realized she was my blood and I could reform the bridge if I had a blood conduit powerful enough.”

“What did you do?” whispered Roman. He crawled over to where Aurora lay and turned her over. She was breathing, but her vacant eyes stared into space. “You killed her.”

“No, I didn’t kill her, simpleton,” said Lucius, never taking his eyes off Rael. “I took what I needed. Isn’t that what we do, Harbinger?”

“A chi erasure—no, a chi deconstruction,” said Kenji barely above a whisper. “How could you? You have destroyed her.”

“I left her alive, which is no small matter,” said Lucius.

“You should have killed her,” said Roman. “It would have been more of a mercy than ending up like this.”

“I don’t do mercy,” said Lucius. “I was going to use Sylk. He deserves death and he would have been adequate with Maelstrom. But her power made having Maelstrom unnecessary and now here I am.”

Rael looked at Roman and Kenji. They both nodded at him in unspoken agreement.

“You need to die,” said Rael as he finished the inversion glyph, manifested his swords and charged at Lucius.

“You first,” said Lucius as he waited for the attack.

FORTY-ONE

THE THREE OF them sat in the small house situated in the center of the nexus. Around them, the large lake that formed the body of the nexus flickered images across its surface.

“Securing this location is actually simple. Destroy the bridge, and let them try and swim it,” said Michael. “I guarantee it would be a short swim.”

“No, Michael,” said Devin. “That won’t solve our immediate problem. We need to prevent them from getting the points.”

“How do you propose we do that?”

“How many do we have left?” asked Devin. “We need to secure the points and the nexus before the Lotus gets here.”

“The Master, the Seniors, the Council, and the Black Lotus are gone,” said Michael. “Mouro and I can hold the nexus, but can we keep the other points secure?”

“Five points, Michael,” said Devin. “The three of us can’t hold five points and the nexus. I ran into some monitors when I got here. There must be more who are still alive. I sent them with instructions to send anyone they find here.”

“If they were alive they were novices,” said Michael. “Anyone who could pose a threat was killed.”

“Novice monitors aren’t going to be able to hold the outer perimeter or the points,” said Devin.

“Worst-case scenario, we give up the points and keep the nexus,” said Michael. “They can’t use the points without the nexus and vice versa.” Mouro nodded at Michael’s words.

“We hold the nexus and let them come to us,” said Mouro. “That way we can funnel them into a smaller attack and we don’t get overwhelmed.”

“It won’t work,” said Devin. “With the points, they can compromise the nexus from the inside.”

“How many points would they need for that?” asked Michael. “How many for that to happen?”

“Three,” said Devin. “They would need three of the five before we can be threatened in the nexus.”

“What kind of design is that?” asked Michael. “What were they thinking?”

“It makes sense as a failsafe,” answered Devin. “No one person or group can hold the nexus and control it this way unless they have the numbers.”

“Like this White Lotus does,” replied Mouro. “Yes?”

“We have to assume they have the numbers, yes,” said Devin. “And that there are still more of them in here. I don’t think they would send forty to take the whole school.”

Devin froze for a second and then focused on the pair again.

“What happened?” asked Michael.

“My sister is here,” said Devin. “She just used a portal.”

“Here in the plane or here in the school?” asked Michael. “That bond of yours is unnerving.”

“Here in the school,” said Devin. “I need to go find her before she runs into more of these White Lotus and levels the school and nexus with it.”

Devin left the nexus. Once across the bridge, he looked back at the small home sitting on the island. All around the island, the lake remained still. He looked at the surface of the lake and could see images of other planes. They moved too fast for him to make out details, a clear indicator that an imbalance existed.

Something powerful is causing this and I doubt it’s the White Lotus.

He reached the hub and walked the empty corridors. The White Lotus had carried out their mission with deadly efficiency. Every monitor he encountered hovered at the novice level. He gave them each instructions to head to the nexus and to stay away from the points. He found Meja at the end of the corridor leading to the Black Lotus.

“You don’t want to go in there,” he said. “It’s pretty grim.”

She pushed open the door and stopped. She saw the bodies of the Seniors manacled to the walls with suppressors, their bodies bruised and faces disfigured from the beatings. She took in the scene in silence, but he could tell she was angry.

Her power is even greater than the last time I saw her. She is on a completely different level. Wait—is that a prism?

“All of them?” she asked, her voice a whisper. “They killed them all?”

“Michael and Mouro made it out alive, but none of the other Seniors are alive besides us four,” said Devin.

She hesitated a moment before speaking.

“And the Master?”

“They got him first—I’m sorry,” he said. “You don’t need to go in there.”

“I have to,” she said. “I sensed this area as null and it felt similar to the plane I was on with Dante and…Nina.”

“It could be just the suppression field the Black Lotus has in this place.”

Meja shook her head.

“No, it’s not the same,” she replied. “I shouldn’t be able to sense the similarity, but I have a feeling the ones chasing me will come this way first.”

“They found you in a null plane? How?”

“I’ll make sure to ask when I face them again,” she answered icily. “I’m sorry, I’m not myself. It’s just so much death. It’s good to see you alive, Dev.”

She entered the room and walked to the far wall.

“Don’t start gushing now, Mej,” he said, following her in. “What do you need in here?”

“I need a pair of these,” she said and removed a set of manacles from one of the Seniors and placed it in her pack. “I can use these to key in back to the null plane.”

“So you can do what? Kill them all?” he asked.

“”If I need to,” she said. “I need answers to some questions and they may have them. From the looks of this, it was an inside attack. How did they get the Seniors?”

“Poison,” said Devin. “The ones who didn’t die immediately were suppressed. They were easy prey for the White Lotus.”

“White Lotus,” she spat. “They must have infiltrated the kitchen staff. We should be getting a visit from them soon.”

“Why would you say that?”

“They had me off-plane in a cell and I killed a few of them,” she replied. “They are being led by someone named Ven, but it all goes back to Wheel.”

“Why are they coming after you?”

“I threatened their ‘leader’ so I’m counting on them chasing me here,” she answered. “If they don’t, I will hunt them down.”

“And kill them all?” asked Devin. “What happened to you?”

“I had my eyes opened, Devin,” she replied. “The reality of this situation is that we are facing power greater than we ever imagined. The odds of us coming out of this alive are slim to none. That’s what happened to me.”

“Killing is not always the solution,” said Devin. “There are other methods.”

“It’s the only method they understand,” she said. “If we kill enough of them, Wheel will have to make an appearance.”

“Well, that’s one way to do it, but I think the Lotus is disposable to him. He wants the nexus,” said Devin. “If he gets control of it—”

“He can infiltrate every plane unhindered,” she said. “I didn’t see it. If he has this nexus, all the planes are his.”

“Exactly and I can’t find any of the Samadhi,” said Devin. “I don’t know if he killed them or kidnapped them.”

“Does he possess that much power?”

“Of the current Samadhi, few were actual threats,” he answered. “Most were honorary positions.”

“But they still possess the knowledge,” she said. “If he can harness that information, we have a larger problem.”

“Agreed, but right now we have to deal with the immediate situation. We have to secure the nexus and the five points,” said Devin.

“With only four of us?” asked Meja. “We can leave one at the nexus and the three of us patrol the outer perimeter and hold the points.”

“We will get overrun,” said Devin. “They have numbers on their side. I still don’t know how many are in the school now.”

“Perhaps we can help,” said Raquel as she stepped away from the Deadeyes. “You can drop the stealth now, Snipe, these are friends.”

The rest of the Deadeyes came into view as she finished speaking.

“Raquel, good to see you. Who are your companions?” asked Devin.

“We are the Deadeyes,” said Hiram. “And we are here to help you fight off your—ow!”

Franca stepped forward after she landed the blow on Hiram’s head. She extended her hand forward to Devin.

“My name is Franca and he got part of it right,” she said. “Our group may be small but we are skilled and we are here to help.”

Devin shook her hand and sensed the dormant power within her. She looked at him closely with her milky white eyes and nodded at him.

This one is dangerous, he thought.

“Any help is appreciated,” said Devin. “We will be getting some unwanted guests soon and we need to secure areas of vulnerability.”

“Just tell us where you want us. We are ready,” said Hiram.

Franca gave him a withering stare and he stopped speaking.

“This is Hiram, Rico, and the big one back there is Snipe,” said Raquel. “Are the points secured? Or is that what we’re doing?”

“Most of the Seniors are dead, except Michael, Mouro and us,” said Devin as he gestured to Meja and himself. “White Lotus eliminated any potential threat.”

“Shit, said Raquel. “They’re prepping to come in and take the school?”

“Not the school, my thought is the nexus,” said Devin. “Once they grab that—”

“Then it’s over,” Raquel answered. “Rico and Snipe can take the first point. Franca, you’re with me on the second. Hiram will go with Meja and secure the third point.”

“Once it starts, we need to be able to communicate so we know which point is under attack,” said Devin.

“We can use the beacons at each point,” said Meja. “They each have a specific energy signature that any of us can pick up on.”

“That can work,” said Devin. “Raquel, explain the beacons to Rico and Snipe. Meja and Hiram, your point is equidistant to the second and fourth so it’s important to keep that one especially. I will head to the fourth. Michael and Mouro are at the nexus.”

“And the fifth point?” asked Raquel. “Do we leave it unsecured?”

“No choice,” said Devin. “We barely have enough to cover four points.”

“We may have someone for that point after all,” said Meja, looking past the group. “Someone just entered the plane and is in the school.”

“I don’t sense…anyone,” said Devin.

“None of you will. I will find them and lead them to the fifth point,” she answered. “They are Mikai.”

“Mikai are here?” asked Raquel? “Why would they be here?”

“I intend to find out,” said Meja. “In the meantime, the rest of you get to your points. I have a feeling we will be under attack soon.”

“I agree,” said Devin. “Each of you knows what to do. Secure the points and stop the White Lotus. I will take Hiram to the third point and stay there with him until you arrive, Meja.”

“Which means the fourth point will be unprotected for a short time,” she answered. “I will move as fast as possible.”

“Sounds simple enough,” said Hiram. “We should be able to hold these points.”

Franca gave him a contemptuous look. “You say that because you are ignorant of the details,” she said. “How many are coming to each point? What weapons are they using? Do we have reinforcements?”

“I understand your concerns and, yes, we are ill prepared for an assault,” said Devin. “They made sure of that by killing the Seniors and the master of the school.”

“We don’t have a choice in this,” said Raquel as she checked her guns. “It’s fight or die.”

“My thought is that the points will be attacked by small forces,” said Devin. “I think the largest force will come for the nexus first, including Wheel, but you’re right, Franca, I don’t have answers.”

“In my day, we used to call this a blindside tactic,” said Franca, adjusting her holsters. “This is fighting in a dark room at night and blindfolded. It never ended well and we sustained casualties. Not that I’m complaining.”

Devin gave her a tight smile.

“Each of us, at least those I know, is formidable in their own right,” he said. “Those of you I just met will have to rise to the occasion. I can only trust in each of you to do your best.”

“Some information would be helpful,” said Rico. “That would help us prepare.”

“You’re right, but we don’t know their numbers, what weapons they will use and I can tell you with some certainty there will be no reinforcements. We must hold and keep at least three of the points or the nexus is lost,” said Devin. “We are all that stands between them and we will have to adapt as the situation evolves.”

“Use the beacons if you are being overrun, and one of us will try and help you,” said Meja. “I will try and route some of the Mikai to the nexus also.”

Meja gave Devin a brief hug and left the group. Each of them headed to their respective points, leaving Devin in the room alone. He closed his eyes, expanded his awareness, and checked the outer perimeter. Everything was still, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it wouldn’t last. He made for the third point with Hiram in tow.

FORTY-TWO

I ARRIVED IN the Akashic Records. It was the same hallway I had been in before. White marble columns framed the hallway on either side of me. The floor was a glossy black stone that reflected the columns. It created a surreal mirror effect. Around me, I could see stairways and doors. Some of the stairways led nowhere, doubling back on themselves in an Escheresque manner. Other stairs led to doors with no handles. Some of the doors were in the floor while others were on the ceiling, many feet up. In the center of all of this, gleaming in the strange ambient glow of the Records, was a tre. It was the largest tre I had ever seen. It was easily  sixty feet in diameter. Each of the three circles gave off a dull silver glow and seemed to pulse in rhythm with some great-unseen heart. In the center of the tre stood Raja.

He looked the same as I remembered. He was dressed impeccably in a gray suit with a white shirt that appeared to gleam. His rimless glasses and closed-cropped haircut, revealing the gray hair on his sides, gave him an air of sophistication. He stood in the center of the tre with his legs slightly apart, both hands resting on his walking stick in front of him. He appeared to be waiting for someone or something. The one difference lay in the energy I felt. I don’t know if it was the tre or Raja, but the energy signature coming from the tre was unsettling.

“Welcome back, warrior,” he said with a rich baritone that filled the room and echoed off the walls. “Have you come to fulfill your cycles?”

“No,” I said. “I need information.”

He looked around the Records and then brought his gaze back to me. “That is the purpose of this place, but I cannot offer to help you in my current state,” he said with a slight bow. “I extend my apologies.”

I had to admit that his manner set off every alarm I had. I took a breath and felt for Shadowstrike.

He seems different somehow from the last time I was here.

His intent appears to cause you harm, so tread carefully.

“What is your current state, if I may ask?”

“I normally function as the caretaker of the Records, responsible for the present,” he said. “We are always in the eternal now.”

“Has your function changed?”

“It has,” he said. “My fundamental purpose has been shifted from caretaking to elimination.”

“Elimination of the Records?” I said, knowing his answer.

“Elimination of any who enter the Records,” he answered.

The stick in his hands flashed silver for a second. It was a brief light, but bright enough to blind. When I could see again, a sword had replaced the walking stick.

“I see you possess the third focus, warrior,” he said. “It will make eliminating you a challenge.”

Now I understood the purpose of the tre. He was waiting. He was waiting for anyone who entered the plane, to kill them.

I manifested Shadowstrike and walked toward the tre.

I don’t think I can beat him.

You can’t, but we can if you let me help you.

He’s not human.

The same could be said about you, now. You must face him. Do so without hesitation and release me within you.

If I do this, is there a way back?

If you don’t, it won’t matter. You will be dead and I will return to the void to await another vessel. Your choice.

That’s not much of a choice.

I disagree. It’s the most important and basic choice you will ever make in this life…to live or die.

I did something I never thought I would do. I surrendered completely to Shadowstrike. Unlike Maelstrom, where I always retained a semblance of control, I knew that would not work here. Shadowstrike and I had to merge and become one.

I could feel the glyphs Ono had inscribed on me go warm. When I looked down, white light emanated from each of them. Power coursed through me. It was unlike anything I had experienced. I could feel the waves of energy flow away from me in every direction.

“This is the first time you have allowed the third focus free rein,” said Raja. “It is an honor to face you in this state, warrior.”

“You will revert to being a caretaker,” I said. My voice reverberated in a strange way and I could hear Shadowstrike’s voice interlaced with mine. It was different from Maelstrom. She didn’t try to take over my voice, but rather the voices were merged somehow.

“The power you possess is formidable,” said Raja as he raised his sword and assumed a defensive stance. “However, I do not think it will be enough.”

I stood at the edge of the tre. I felt the rhythmic pulse of the tre’s energy. Everywhere I looked, I could see glyphs. Some I understood, but some were still alien to me. Within, I could sense the bond I shared with Shadowstrike, untainted and unhindered by thoughts of self-preservation.

That’s it, Dante. To live you must let yourself die. Lose your life to gain it.

I extended my right arm and Shadowstrike manifested in my hand. It was effortless. The weapon felt feather-light in my hand. I moved Shadowstrike, slowly at first and then much faster. I traced a chain of glyphs before I realized what I was doing. Raja remained immobile, but I could sense his intention. I could see the angles of attack and I knew this ability was only possible through my joining with Shadowstrike.

“That was an impressive glyph, but you will find it ineffective here, in this place,” said Raja.

I stepped into the circle and the outer circle flared behind me. A barrier formed once I had taken a few steps. I remembered the last time I crossed a tre barrier. Somehow, I didn’t think this one was designed to hurt.

It will kill you if you cross it while he is still in this mode.

Noted. Can I even kill him? Isn’t he just a construct of knowledge?

That construct will attempt to remove you from existence. I suggest you remove it first.

Raja traced a glyph as he lunged at me. With my left hand I counterglyphed and dodged his lunge. The glyphs collided and exploded, sending out a concussive wave that knocked me off my feet. Raja slid back from the explosion, but remained standing.

I rolled to the side and got to my feet as his attack bisected the stone where I had lain seconds earlier. I noticed the stone repair itself after the strike.

We can’t beat him here. This is his plane, his environment. He controls it.

Then change the environment. Remove his advantage.

He disappeared from sight and reappeared behind me as I twisted my body away from a downward slash designed to remove my right arm at the shoulder. I took a step forward and then slammed a kick behind me and connected with his midsection. It felt like hitting a steel beam. I sensed no measurable effect from it. I whirled around, leading with Shadowstrike. He ducked under it and slashed at my legs. I leaped back in time to see the glyph he traced and sent at me. It was designed to remove my access to chi. If I let it hit me I would be helpless, and dead. Without thinking, I lifted Shadowstrike in front of me. The glyph hit it square in the blade and disappeared.

I knew what I had to do. Shadowstrike had shown me. I just didn’t see it until now. I traced a glyph with my left hand. It was designed to coalesce my chi into one single point, creating an afterimage. With Shadowstrike in my right, I forced chi into the sword and swung downward. I swung it faster than I thought possible. It moved faster than my eye could follow and crashed into the ground. I had ripped open the time stream. I jumped in the fissure. Raja ignored the afterimage and was still advancing toward me, but he moved in slow motion. I had just time-skipped.

Change the environment. Time flows even here.

Strike now. He realizes what you have done and is working to counter it even now.

I ran over to Raja, but realized I was only moving slightly faster than he was. I lunged with Shadowstrike and aimed for his chest. At the last moment, he shifted to the side and time snapped back into a normal flow. He couldn’t escape my momentum. My attack removed his arm from the left elbow down as we crossed each other. No blood escaped his wound. I didn’t really expect to see any, but it would have been nice to at least see him flinch or writhe on the floor in agony.

“Time manipulation, warrior,” he said and looked at his arm, “is a skill that requires a certain degree of finesse, which you lack. Allow me to educate you.”

He phased out of sight and I time-skipped in time to parry his attack as he plunged his sword at my midsection. He attempted this several times and each time I managed to dodge or block his attack.

Why does he keep doing the same thing? He has to see it’s ineffective.

Each attack is different. He is working around the time-skip. At this rate, he will injure you within several attacks.

Shadowstrike was right. Every time he disappeared, it was getting harder and harder to stop him. His attacks were closer each time.

I have an idea.

I let more chi flow into Shadowstrike and time-skipped. Once in the fissure, I swung again and created another fissure.

Dante, no! You will become trapped in a loop. Even I cannot release you from this.

I retraced the glyph I had used to coalesce my chi and sent it into the fissure. I absorbed Shadowstrike and released all my chi into the second fissure. Raja appeared seconds later. He ignored me and jumped into the second fissure. Manifesting Shadowstrike, I sliced through the fissure, and closed it. Time snapped back to normal.

“That will not hold him indefinitely,” said a voice behind me. I turned to see a large RahVen looking down at me. Its yellow eyes glowed with latent energy as it shifted to human form. I could barely hold on to Shadowstrike. I did not want to fight a RahVen in this or any condition.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“You must be the bearer of the third focus,” said the RahVen. “My name is Ji and you must release the caretaker of the Records before all is lost.”

“Not while I’m still breathing,” I answered. “It—he—just tried to kill me, repeatedly.”

“Your time-skipping is quite advanced for someone so young,” she said. “Be that as it may, this loop you created will cause an imbalance in the Records.

“Then we seal the Records,” I said. “But I’m not letting him out.”

“A fissure within a fissure,” she said. “What possessed you to attempt this technique?”

“Desperation,” I replied. “He was going to kill me eventually. I didn’t know what to try. So I figured if he was always in the present, creating a loop would keep him contained.”

“It’s quite advanced and caught our attention several planes away,” said Ji. “Only the Gray can execute this effectively with minimal damage. Your loop is unstable and its effects will ripple outwards from here, with catastrophic consequences.”

“There has to be another way,” I said. “Can it be repaired without letting him out?”

“If there were, it would have been done,” she said. “You must undo this before he escapes, or you will have caused a schism that will engulf us all.”

She speaks plainly. I have never had a vessel attempt what you have, Dante, and survived. I still don’t know how you are alive.

So release him and die, or keep him trapped and everyone dies.

That is putting it succinctly, but you must choose. It looks like the Gray is not here to give you much of a choice. If they sensed it across planes, then others may have done the same.

“I will open a fissure and release him,” I said. “At which point he will try and kill me.”

“One life in the balance over millions of lives is a small price to pay,” she said.

“Unless you are the one life that must be snuffed out.”

“I will deal with the caretaker,” she said, her voice hard. “Release him before it is too late.”

I manifested Shadowstrike and felt the familiar rush of power course through me. I directed chi into the sword and swung. It made a fissure, and I stepped inside.

FORTY-THREE

“SOMEONE IS ATTEMPTING to alter the Records,” said Wheel. “The only one powerful enough to face the caretaker would need the third focus, but that’s impossible.”

Around him, three robed figures remained kneeling. He was deep in the North Watch and sat in the center of a tre. Violet energy flared around him as he spoke. He stood in the tre and pulled the energy close to his body. It formed a translucent violet shell around him.

“Yes, my lord,” said one of the robed figures. “The taint should have him overwhelmed by this time and placed him under your control.”

“And yet I clearly felt a ripple in power emanating from the Records,” answered Wheel as he traced a glyph absentmindedly. “Incompetent. What I felt was the third focus, not under my control and acting against the failsafe I placed in the Records.”

He sent the glyph at the robed figure that had spoken. The man screamed in agony as the glyph enveloped and evaporated him.

“The Records cannot be reclaimed until I am finished with the nexus,” said Wheel. “How many are headed to the hub?”

Another robed figured stepped forward. “We have all of the White Lotus approaching the nexus plane, Master. They are leaving within the hour as per your instructions.”

“I will be leading them,” said Wheel.

“Master, you?” said the robed figure. “There may be resistance. It would be safer—”

Wheel clenched his fist as violet energy leaped from his hand and onto the robed figure, consuming him.

“Does anyone else fear for my safety?” asked Wheel.

He was answered with silence.

“Good,” he said to the third robed figure. “Inform the Lotus that I will be joining them shortly.”

“Yes, Master, and the Records?” asked the robed figure. “How would you like to…address the matter?”

“Divert half a company of the Lotus to the Records, and you,” he said and pointed at Kono, “make sure the caretaker of the Records is still functioning as I instructed.”

Kono bowed. “I live to serve and die, Master.”

And die you shall, traitor.

FORTY-FOUR

THE ROOM ROCKED on its axis as Sylk regained his balance. The corrupted RahVen lay face down, but stirred. Sylk stepped over and plunged his sword into its back. His ebony blade flared to life. Wisps of black smoke wafted around the blade as the corrupted RahVen died.

Glyphed daggers. She has become a force to be reckoned with, he thought as he looked at the damage Kal’s daggers had caused to the RahVen and the room.

I need to find Samir and head to the Records.

He left the room and headed down the corridor in pursuit of Kal. Taking a breath, he let his senses expand and located Samir and Kal. They were together. It seemed they faced more corrupted RahVen. He navigated the Keep and ran down a set of stairs that led to the center courtyard. In the distance, he saw them. A handful of the RahVen who were not corrupted were fighting alongside them.

Where is this corruption coming from?

He sensed around the courtyard. In one of the far corners, hidden from sight, a kindred Watcher traced glyphs. The glyphs floated over to a nearby RahVen and transformed it into one of the corrupted.

Mutation glyphs? Since when could they be used without a circle?

The corrupted RahVen bounded over to join the fight. Sylk ran to the far corner and crept behind the kindred Watcher. The Watcher was focused on sending his glyphs out into the remaining RahVen. Sensing Sylk, the Watcher stopped his glyphs as he approached. Standing, he stepped out of hiding and faced Sylk.

“It was only a matter of time, Karashihan,” said the Watcher. “You have outlived your usefulness.”

“Since when does your kind speak?” asked Sylk.

The Watcher laughed. “Our Master eclipses your pathetic power,” said the Watcher. “He will rule over all the planes.”

“Do you mean Samadhi Wheel?” replied Sylk. “I doubt him powerful enough to stop the real threat we face. He is a child playing at a god.”

“He is the only threat you need to be concerned with,” said the Watcher as he traced glyphs.

Sylk drew his sword and approached. The Watcher executed several glyphs and released them. These glyphs, unlike most, raced at Sylk. He raised his sword and stepped back. He deciphered the glyphs as they closed on him. Using his left hand to slice at the glyphs and absorb them, he traced a glyph with his right hand.

“You can’t stop them all,” said the Watcher. “One will get through your defense and then it will be done.”

“I don’t need to stop them all,” said Sylk as he released his glyph. It glowed fiercely for a few seconds before it faded to nothing. “I only need to stop you.”

“You can’t even manipulate energy in this dormant plane,” said the Watcher with a smile. “Surrender and I promise you a quick death. My Master will not be so lenient.”

“Why here and now?” asked Sylk. “Your master has no need for a dormant plane.”

“You and these dogs are an obstacle in my Master’s way,” replied the Watcher. “You are to be removed from the path or used for his purpose. Frankly, I thought it would be more of a challenge. Goodbye, Karashihan.”

The Watcher traced a glyph. Before he could release it, the glyph Sylk had traced reemerged. It landed on the Watcher gently and caused him to stop. He looked at Sylk, anger and surprise evident in his gaze.

“How did you—?” said the Watcher before exploding into ash.

“I hope that was challenging enough for you,” said Sylk as he ran to Kal and Samir. In the distance he could see the RahVen approaching. They all seemed to be corrupted.

“My daggers aren’t working on them, glyphed or not,” said Kal while she threw two daggers that exploded on contact with the nearest RahVen and sent it flying back. “They just keep coming back.”

“A Watcher managed to corrupt them with a mutation glyph,” said Sylk. “It can’t be undone. Any RahVen left on this plane will eventually become one of those things.”

“That would mean a lot of RahVen,” said Kal. “We can’t fight them all.”

“The plan was probably to kill me and remove any remaining RahVen,” said Sylk. “This accomplished both at once.”

“Wheel really doesn’t like you,” said Kal. “Do you have a way to stop them?” Sylk shook his head and manifested his sword.

“What about the words, Samir?” asked Sylk. He dodged a slash and backpedaled away from a kick that would have torn his midsection open.

“I dare not use the words of undoing here,” said Samir. “Too risky in this dormant plane. I could end up undoing everything, including us.”

Not good. The plane being dormant means there are no defenses. Wait, there are no defenses!

Sylk traced a glyph and unleashed it into the ground. A wall of stone rose around the RahVen and trapped them. In moments, the sounds of pounding could be heard from inside the stone cylinder. Small cracks began to appear in the stone.

“That won’t stop them for long,” said Kal. “We need something a little more permanent.”

Sylk traced a glyph and Samir gave a sharp inhalation. “If you unleash that, this plane will be uninhabitable until the protocol is finished,” he said. “Perhaps even longer. You can’t do this, Karashihan.”

“No choice, Samir,” said Sylk. “It will ensure that anything that comes to this plane after us, me, is stopped here.”

“No, I meant you can’t do this alone,” said Samir. “It requires an open circle and someone then has to keep the circle open.”

“I know,” said Sylk while opening a portal. “I need you two to get out of this plane. Once the glyph is done I will join you and we will go to the Records.”

“You are a terrible liar,” said the Keeper from behind them. They were joined by Rin moments later. Several deep cuts on his face and arms bled as he traced a circle in the ground. “You will not sacrifice yourself for this plane.”

“This is the only way to ensure we won’t be followed,” said Sylk.

“I will execute the glyph,” said the Keeper. “Rin will keep the circle open.”

Once finished with the circle, Rin bowed to the group. “It would be my honor to do this,” he said.

“Keeper, without the defenses, there is a chance—” began Sylk.

“That we could be destroyed,” said the Keeper. “I am counting on you to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

One of the stones in the cylinder cracked and shattered.

“Hurry now,” said the Keeper. “They will be free soon and this will be your only opportunity to escape this plane.”

Sylk stepped into the circle, joined by the Keeper. He started the glyph and stopped. The Keeper continued the glyph while Rin entered the circle and Sylk stepped out. Rin sat in the center and traced a second glyph that joined the Keeper’s and a wall of light formed around them.

“We need to go now,” said Sylk. “Into the portal now!”

Kal and Samir jumped into the portal. Sylk looked into the circle one last time and bowed before he followed them.

**********

The stone cylinder exploded, sending shards in every direction as the RahVen freed themselves. Inside the circle, Rin had completed his phase of the glyph, placed his palms together, and closed his eyes. The Keeper continued to trace his aspect of the glyph as the RahVen closed in. They were wary of the wall of light. In the distance, more corrupted RahVen approached. They surrounded the circle and still the Keeper’s hands moved. Rin kept his eyes closed as the sweat ran down his face. “I will see you in the next life, Keeper,” said Rin as he collapsed backward.

“You surely will, my friend,” said the Keeper as he finished the glyph and faded from sight.

The ground in the circle became black and lifeless immediately. For a few seconds the blackness was contained within the circle. The glyph hung in the air in the center of the circle and then flashed a brilliant orange before it folded in on itself. Then the blackness spread. It consumed Rin, converting his body to dust. The first corrupted RahVen it touched froze in place and became dust seconds later. The rest of the RahVen sensed something was wrong and turned to run. It was too late. The blackness spread faster and touched them. It killed them all. It continued to spread and absorbed the life of everything that lived in the plane. It converted the plane into a graveyard. Anything living that entered the plane while it existed would be reduced to nothing.

FORTY-FIVE

ONCE RAEL FINISHED the glyph, the world imploded. Cracks formed in the stone around them as the stone became undone and reverted to its constituent parts. With swords in hand, he launched himself at Lucius. Lucius deftly parried the attack with his sword. He forced Rael back, disengaged his weapon, and thrust his ebony blade forward. Rael stepped back and let his energy flow freely. The electrical arcs rushed over the cell. On the edge of his consciousness, he could feel the inversion glyph undoing him and everything around him.

“Don’t worry, Harbinger,” said Lucius. “That glyph won’t kill you. It’s not strong enough to do that alone. Your friends won’t be so lucky, though.”

“This deep, you won’t escape,” said Rael. “You’ll be buried down here with us.”

Lucius slid forward, sidestepped an attack, and deflected the other before he buried his sword to the hilt in Rael’s abdomen. The life stealer flared, black wisps of smoke surrounding Rael and absorbing his essence.

“You still don’t understand what you face, Harbinger,” Lucius whispered into his ear as he stood close. “You never did until this precise moment. This time you will die and remain that way.”

Rael looked down to the sword buried in his body and saw the damage. The ebony blade had dissolved part of his midsection and increased the size of the wound. He lifted his swords and impaled Lucius from the sides. Lucius slashed sideways and forced Rael to lose his grip on his weapons. The swords disappeared as he let go of them.

One last thing to do and maybe buy them some time.

Rael traced one last glyph and let it go before he collapsed to the floor. The sword remained buried in his body as he fell. Parts of the ceiling crashed to the ground as the walls shook.

“Futile, Harbinger, said Lucius. “There is nothing you can do now to save yourself.”

Rael laughed and coughed up blood.

“Save myself?” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment. Just wish I could be there when you see the gift I left you.”

The glyph he had traced exploded behind them and blanketed the cell in a dull yellow glow.

That and a few thousand pounds of stone should keep him busy for a short while. Good luck trying to leave this plane, Lucius.

Larger chunks of the ceiling fell. Lucius traced a glyph and tried to open a portal and found it impossible.

“What did you do?” he said as he turned to look down at Rael.

“Nothing…too complicated,” said Rael between breaths. “Nullification glyph combined with the inversion. Even you can’t stop it.”

“You forget how patient I am,” said Lucius as he sat in the center of the cell and placed his palms together. An orb of light formed around him. “I don’t need to stop it, I just need to wait until it dissipates, and judging by your energy signature, it won’t be a long wait. Goodbye, Harbinger.”

“I’ll see you in hell, Lucius,” gasped Rael as he died for the final time.

“Where do you think I have lived all these years?” said Lucius, as the ceiling and walls collapsed, burying them all four levels below the complex.

FORTY-SIX

INSIDE THE FISSURE, time slowed. Beside me stood Ji. She had entered the fissure with me.

“The second fissure—quickly, warrior,” she said.

I swung Shadowstrike again and opened another fissure. Inside it, I could see…nothing. It was black and empty and then I saw a light. It was approaching fast, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Ji stood in front of me and drew her sword.

“When he arrives, say nothing, but keep the fissures open or we will all be trapped here,” she said. “When I tell you, close the second fissure, then the first, in that order. Do you understand?”

I nodded and focused my energy on the two fissures. It was harder than I imagined. I realized that they were trying to close even as I kept them open by a force of will. The light reached us and I saw an angry Raja. He approached Ji with his sword drawn.

“An internal loop. Creative, but pointless,” he said. “I applaud your ingenuity while simultaneously deride your lack of foresight. You cannot keep me contained indefinitely without causing widespread chaos.”

“And yet he managed to trap you,” she said. “That must sting. This poorly informed and inexperienced warrior trapped you, a repository of knowledge. How do you think that happened?”

“The manner in which it was done is inconsequential,” he answered. “It cannot be sustained.”

“Oh, but it can,” she lied. “We just close these fissures, leave you here, and lose access to the Records. Not so hard.”

“Gray, you have no business here,” he said. “But your presence ensures your demise.” He lunged forward and thrust at Ji. She grabbed my hand and I felt my stomach flip as time stopped. Raja had frozen in place and she stepped away from the sword aimed at her heart. She kept holding on to me as we moved, and it felt like walking through water.

“Close the second fissure now, warrior,” she said.

I brought Shadowstrike around and sliced through the fissure. It closed and we rubberbanded back into the first fissure. Raja was still frozen. However, I could feel the tug of the first fissure trying to close. It was stronger than before. She squeezed my hand as I focused on the sensation.

“Don’t let it close or we both die,” she said.

She removed an object from a pocket and looked into it. She traced glyphs and sent them at Raja while he was frozen. I was too focused on keeping the fissure open to ask what she was doing.

“This should undo the failsafe,” she said. “I hope.”

“You hope?” I said through clenched teeth. “You mean you aren’t sure?”

“I mean that if it doesn’t work, we both end here, and if it does, we get to live to fight something worse,” she said curtly. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Sorry, it’s just that…sorry,” I said.

“I know,” she said and gave a tight smile. “Get ready to close the fissure. This will send us back to the Records and he will be able to control the environment there.”

I really hope this works. Can you tell if she removed the failsafe?

I cannot. I did not recognize the glyphs she used. Your guess is as good as any.

Not much help there, thanks.

I am a weapon of unimaginable power, not omniscient.

“Close the first fissure, now,” she said. “Be ready for anything.”

I sliced through the fissure and we snapped back to the Records. Several portals opened around us as Raja lunged forward and missed Ji. Around us, I could see several dozen of the Lotus as they emerged into the plane. Next to us, another portal opened and I saw Samir and Kal slide in followed by a haggard-looking Sylk.

Chaos erupted instantly as one of the Lotus attacked the others. I looked around and lost sight of Raja. This, for me, was a bad thing. I grabbed Ji’s fur. She had gone into canine form.

“Where is Raja?” I asked her over the noise. “Do you see him?”

She sniffed the air, which surprised me because I didn’t think he had a scent. She nudged me with her shoulder and pointed to the back of the mob with her nose. I saw several of the Lotus launch into the air and land with bone-crunching thuds. Raja had cut a swath through the Lotus as he approached us. The remaining Lotus that advanced fell through doors and spaces in the floor. Some of them found themselves on stairways that led nowhere, only to fall to their deaths. Others were turned around mid-attack and attacked their fellow Lotus, only to be dispatched themselves moments afterward.

In the space of twenty seconds, Raja had neutralized the entire Lotus except one. This one threw down her sword and raised her hands in surrender. I could see that she was wounded as she bled from multiple cuts. It looked like she would collapse any moment.

“That is a wise course of action,” said Raja. “You are Kono and you were sent here to your death by your master. Allow me to assist you.”

A space opened under her and Kono disappeared through it.

“Is he still in elimination mode?” I asked Ji. “It looks like it.”

“The fact that you are still alive to ask the question, warrior, should inform you that I am not in a false failsafe mode,” said Raja. “Please excuse me one moment.”

He closed his eyes and the bodies of the Lotus disappeared into the Records. When he opened his eyes, they gleamed with an inner light as he converted his sword back into a walking stick. Ji exhaled visibly and sheathed her sword.

“I shall return momentarily,” said Raja. “I have matters to attend to.”

I walked over to Samir and Kal and gave them each a hug. I bowed briefly to Sylk and I heard Mia’s voice in my head about neutralizing him.

“It’s good to see you both,” I said. “Where are you coming from and what’s wrong with him?” I said as Sylk collapsed to the floor.

The lines of silver that ran through Sylk’s arm had turned black. I didn’t see any trace of the silver in those lines and it looked wrong somehow, ominous.

“He was poisoned by Kriyas and then he did something I thought impossible,” said Samir.

“He has unleashed an annihilator glyph while bonded to a plane,” said Ji. “Is he mad? He has signed his death sentence.”

“He did what?” I asked. “Samir explain.”

“We were being chased by RahVen. They were transformed somehow, corrupted,” said Samir. “He wanted me to use the words of unmaking, but it was too dangerous. It could have killed us all.”

“So he chose to use this “annihilator glyph’?” I asked. And do what? Kill just himself?”

“An annihilator glyph works by indiscriminately destroying every living thing in a plane,” said Samir. “It doesn’t normally work because most planes have defenses that prevent that kind of mass destruction.”

“So how did it work?”

“The South Watch plane was dormant,” said Kal as she looked over at Sylk. “It meant the defenses were down.”

“So he did this glyph and you let him?” I asked. “You could have stopped him.”

Samir looked at me with sadness in his eyes and shook his head. “It all happened so suddenly,” he said. “We were fighting for our lives. I didn’t think he knew such a glyph, much less use it.”

“I can’t do anything for him,” said Kal as her voice caught in her throat. “This isn’t blood-related. It’s something else.”

Ji placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her away gently. I crouched down next to Sylk as Raja reappeared.

“You will be better suited in the guest rooms,” he said. “Please follow me.”

We followed Raja to a set of doors that appeared in the far wall. They led to a short corridor that opened into a spacious living area. Off to one side was a room with several beds and we placed Sylk on one.

“I must return and inform the Alpha of this development,” said Ji as she looked at Sylk. “Run long and run fast. You will always be a friend of the pack.”

She took his hand, placed the other across her chest, and bowed. Sylk nodded to her. I felt helpless. She opened a portal and vanished.

“We need to do something. There has to be something here that can help him,” I said.

“I can assure you, warrior, that the actions taken by the Karashihan will prove fatal in several days’ time,” said Raja. “Judging by the composition of the energy now presently coursing through his body, he does not have long.”

“May I have a moment with Dante?” asked Sylk. “I have something I need to discuss with him.”

Everyone left the room. I looked down at Sylk as he lay in the bed.

“What were you thinking?” I said, suddenly angry. “You killed yourself for what?”

“I’m not dead yet, Dante,” he said. His voice was a hoarse whisper. “They don’t understand what I did. It had to be done.”

“If you could see yourself, you would see that you aren’t that far away either,” I said. “What was the point?”

“The enemy I faced, the Watcher, was using a variant of the inversion glyph,” he said. “I thought it was a mutation glyph, but I was wrong.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that they pose a greater threat than I thought,” he said. “I sensed several Watchers on that plane and if they all possessed that glyph they can create an army of creatures. The corrupted RahVen would only be the first.”

“Wheel would be unstoppable.”

“Exactly, so I had to eliminate them all at once,” he replied. “The annihilator glyph was the best solution. I just didn’t think it would have this side effect.”

He lifted his right arm and looked at the black lines that coursed down the length of it. The lines formed a latticework of energy. I could feel the latent power exuding from his arm. It felt different from his energy signature.

“That glyph is different somehow,” I said. “The energy feels different.”

“That glyph is another of the ancient glyphs deemed too dangerous to use, with good reason,” he answered after a few moments. “The energy actively seeks out life and negates it. Even with all of that, the inversion glyph is far more dangerous.”

“How do we stop it?” I asked. “Can it be stopped?”

“Not we, you,” he said. “I’ll get to that in a moment. There are still threats to face and I realize now it’s not my path to face them.”

“You are the best equipped to do so,” I said. “You’re the Karashihan.”

“No, Dante, my part in all this was to make sure you were ready, and you almost are,” he said. “Just one more thing remains.”

“You wield a life stealer,” I said. “You could face them both. You are stronger than I am.”

“And you hold the third focus now,” he answered. “You are stronger than I ever could be. As for facing them, I don’t think I ever could. At least not alone.”

“I don’t think my wielding Shadowstrike is going to be enough, Sylk,” I said. “Their power eclipses mine.”

“I need to give you something, but you have to do something for me,” he said. “This will allow you to use Shadowstrike to its full potential.”

“What do you need?”

“You have to promise on your word as bond that you will do as I ask,” he said, sitting up and staring hard at me. “Promise me.”

“I promise on my word as bond, and I know I’m not going to like this,” I said.

“It can’t be helped,” he said. “You are the only one who can do this. First I need to give you what I have, so give me your hand.”

I gave him my hand and he spoke several words under his breath that I didn’t understand. Power crashed into me but his grip was iron. I tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go.

“What are you doing?” I said. “Let go, it’s going to kill—”

“Kill me?” he asked. He gave a short laugh as he let go of my hand and dropped back into the bed, gasping. “Now…now you have my essence and knowledge.”

“What did you do?” I demanded.

“A transference,” he said. “I could only do this because of our blood. Now on to what you must do.”

“I’m listening,” I said, knowing I would disagree with his request.

“You must procure the reversion glyph from the Records,  and for this you will need Samir.”

“Reversion glyph?”

“It’s the only way you will be able to face Wheel. Samir will explain,” he replied. “And you must face him and destroy him. He will attempt to take the nexus first and then he will face Lucius. You can’t let that happen.”

“What does he want with the nexus?”

“He can send his Watchers and the inversion glyph through it and control all of the planes from it,” he said. “He can undo the power in any of the planes and control it.”

“And Lucius?”

“Has been driven insane from grief and captivity, so he will destroy everything to remake in his image.”

“So one wants complete domination and the other total obliteration,” I said, realizing how impossible it all seemed. “What’s the second thing?”

“Open a portal for me to the South Watch,” he said. “I need to go back.”

“No, absolutely not,” I answered, angry that he would demand this of me.

“It’s the only way I can beat this glyph. If you don’t, I am dead,” he said. “You gave me your word.”

“Goddammit, Sylk,” I said. “Maybe Samir or Raja knows of a way.”

“You heard Raja. He doesn’t know of any solution,” he said. “I have one, but I have to go back.”

“What about the annihilator glyph?”

“It will remain contained in the plane if you act quickly.”

“At least let me tell the others what you plan to do. I’m sure we can come up with something,” I said, knowing his answer.

“No, Dante,” he replied. “I have to do this my way. I have given you everything you need and everything I could give you. Do this last thing for me. If I die, I will die fighting, not in some bed.”

“When?” I asked, hoping to stall him.

“I don’t have long, so now would be prudent,” he said and got out of the bed. “I know you know the glyph because it, along with all my knowledge, passed to you during the transference.”

I traced the glyph without completing the last part.

“I think this is a bad idea, Sylk.”

“You have everything you need now, warrior,” he said. “With Shadowstrike and my knowledge you are truly a sword and shield—a Karashihan, possibly the last one.”

“I preferred the old Karashihan. You know, the stubborn one who never listened to anyone and is rushing to his death,” I said.

“I know we have not always been friends, but I would like to think that now, after all that has passed, you would think of me as an ally,” he said.

Standing, he drew his robe tightly around him and manifested his sword. He looked pale, but I could still see the inner core of strength that made him who he was.

“Ready?” I asked.

“If you make it through this ordeal whole,” he said, “go to the South Watch and seal the plane if the glyph is still active. You will know what to do.”

“I understand,” I said.

“Please proceed, and remember to close the portal immediately or the annihilator glyph will attempt to take hold in this plane as well,” he said.

I bowed and gave him my hand. “It has been an honor, Karashihan,” I said.

He returned the bow. “Remember, when facing Lucius and Maelstrom,” he said, “sometimes darkness is needed to conquer darkness.” Then he nodded for me to continue.

I finished the glyph and the portal formed. I could see the vast wasteland that had become the South Watch plane. I felt the tug of the glyph as it felt for any living energy. It felt sentient as it probed through the portal. Sylk stepped through. I saw him as he traced several glyphs and slammed his sword into the ground. The black sand rushed away from him and the darkness was driven back by a bright blue light. The blue light surrounded Sylk as he turned back to me, his face grim.

“Close it now!” he yelled. “Do it, Dante.”

Reluctantly, I closed the portal. In the last second, before it disappeared, I could see the darkness rush back in and overwhelm him.

FORTY-SEVEN

THE HUB WAS quiet. Devin knew it wouldn’t last. He expanded his awareness and could sense the outer perimeter. There were no portals opened anywhere in the school.

“Do you really think they will come for the points?” asked Hiram.

Devin ran down the corridors in an effort to secure the third point with Hiram. He stopped in the middle of a corridor and placed his hand on a part of the wall. The corridor shifted and a door opened behind them that led to a narrow passage.

“Shortcut,” he said as he entered the passage and continued to run, followed by Hiram.

“If I were trying to take the hub,” said Devin as they moved at a fast walk, unable to run due to the confined space of the passage, “I would send everything against the nexus first. It’s central to capturing the plane. It would be difficult because that’s a frontal assault.

“Then why protect the points?” asked Hiram. “Why not keep all our forces at the nexus?”

“The design of the hub was that no one area could be independent,” answered Devin. “Here—through here.”

They entered another passage that branched into three more wide passages. They all led to a large room. In the center of the room, a tre was etched into the floor. Above the tre a large prism hovered. The room was cylindrical with only one entrance.

“Is that the point?” asked Hiram.

Devin pointed to the tre beneath the prism.

“That is the point,” he said. “The prism above it is the beacon. It regulates the point and allows all the points to connect to one another.”

“How do I use it to communicate?”

“You place your hand on it and it will do the rest,” said Devin.

“How can they take a point?” asked Hiram as he looked down at the tre. “It’s just a circle.”

“If the circle is broken, it reverses the polarity of the beacon,” answered Devin. “If it happens to three circles, the nexus becomes vulnerable. Three beacons with reversed polarity allow the nexus to act as a gateway into the hub instead of out.”

“I think I understand,” said Hiram. “If you take the points, you can enter through the nexus and take the hub.”

“Precisely, so our job is to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Devin. “They will be coming from everywhere. Do not let them in this room.”

“With all these passages, it won’t be easy,” said Hiram as he looked down the corridors. “We don’t have enough people.”

“I know,” said Devin. “It’s possible you won’t need to defend this point, but unlikely. Meja should be here soon, I want to check on the nexus before heading to my point. Why don’t you check the state of your weapons?”

Hiram checked his guns and stood in the doorway. It provided him with an unobstructed view of the center corridor with a limited view of the other two. He took a step and entered the tre to get a better look at the prism. It was the last thing he saw as the prism in the point room exploded and destroyed the circle.

Devin raced back and knew immediately that Hiram was gone. The point room had been completely obliterated.

The prisms! He’s sabotaged the prisms. I have to get to the nexus.

He headed down the main corridor away from the point room and stumbled when he felt the other explosions throughout the hub.

He is sending all his forces to the nexus. He made sure he didn’t need to attack the points by destroying the beacons. How did I not see that?

He placed a hand against the wall to steady himself and then expanded his awareness. He located Meja and headed in her direction. He found her just outside the fifth point room. The devastation was the same. Lady Ono had several deep cuts across her face and arms. He could see the bodies of several dozen Mikai among the rubble of the point room.

“We need to get to the nexus,” said Devin. “Lady Ono, are your injuries serious?”

“Nothing that cannot heal in time,” she answered. “My guards were not so fortunate.”

She looked back into the rubble and set her jaw. “We must act with haste,” she said. “These prisms were set to detonate moments ago.”

“Which means the others went off when this one did,” said Meja. “We need to head to the nexus. Three of the points are compromised by now.”

Devin walked over to a sidewall and looked for a panel.

“It won’t work,” said Meja. “The explosions must have shut down the network. Can you sense the others?”

Devin took a breath and expanded his awareness.

“I can only sense Raquel and Franca, but there’s a lot of interference,” he said. “Those prisms contained a large amount of latent energy.”

“Raquel will head to the nexus, so let’s go,” said Meja. “We can meet her there.”

The three of them raced down the empty corridors until they approached the entrance to the nexus. Devin stepped close and let his senses probe the other side.

“Nothing yet,” he whispered. “But the polarity of the nexus is reversed.”

Meja stepped up to the door and placed her hand on the owl in flight. The door flared light blue for a moment and opened. The wide expanse that usually greeted them was gone. The lake that was supposed to be in the center was gone. The small training hall remained. The air felt charged with energy. Meja ran to the bridge. She looked down and stopped midstride.

“The lake isn’t gone,” she said, surprise in her voice. “It’s frozen.”

“Not frozen—in stasis,” said Devin. “The polarity reversal caused it. This is one large portal now.”

They crossed the bridge and were met by Michael.

“I’m guessing the points are gone, then?” said Michael as he greeted them. “We heard the explosions.”

“All of them,” said Devin. “The prisms were rigged to explode. I still don’t know how.”

“What now?” asked Michael. “The five of us against a horde? Sounds romantic and suicidal.”

Devin manifested two small orbs and sent them at the bridge. They landed on it and for a moment nothing happened.

“What were those?” asked Michael as the bridge exploded into dust. “Never mind.”

“For now we hold the nexus and stop those who want to take it,” said Devin. “So yes, the five of us against a horde.”

Lady Ono sat in the training hall and removed her weapon. She polished it as she hummed a melody. In the distance, a crash could be heard and two figures approached the training hall. It was Raquel and Franca.

Mouro extended a rope and pulled the two of them up to the training hall.

“Glad to see you made it,” said Devin. “Any news from the others?”

“Raquel shook her head. “ None. We barely made it out alive ourselves,” she said. “If it weren’t for Franca not wanting to wait inside the room, we wouldn’t be here.”

“I listen to my intuition,” said Franca. “Saved me more times than I can remember. Those rooms looked like death traps.”

Franca looked out over the edge of the training hall.

“This building holds the nexus, then?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Devin. “It is below, in the foundation of the building, but still accessible from inside.”

“What is over there?” she said and pointed to a ridge in the distance. “Behind those trees. Is there anything of importance?”

Meja looked over to where she indicated and shook her head.

“No, the only thing of importance in this entire area is this training hall and the nexus below us,” said Meja. “They will head straight for us.”

Franca grabbed hold of the rope and swung her legs over the edge of the railing that made the outer perimeter of the training hall. She kept her gaze on the tree line.

“Any idea where they will be coming from?” she asked. “Or is this lake acting as one large portal?”

“With the nexus polarity reversed, the entire lake becomes a portal,” said Devin. “This means they can come from anywhere.”

“No, not anywhere,” replied Franca. “They can’t come from the trees. That is where I will be.”

She grabbed the rope tight and swung down. She let go of the rope halfway, landed gracefully in a crouch, and took off at a run. In a few minutes, she reached the tree line and was hidden from view.

“She’s right,” said Raquel. “We may not know where they are coming from but we know their target. I think the seven of us can stop them if we have the element of surprise. They won’t expect us to attack from the edges.”

“Someone has to stay behind and guard the nexus,” said Meja. “We can’t leave it exposed.”

“That will be me,” said Devin. “It’s a good plan. Each of you head out and wait. They will be here soon. I can feel the energy building in the lake.”

“Devin, you can’t,” said Meja. She put a hand on his arm and he placed his hand on hers.

“I don’t plan on dying here, Mej. Besides, I will have a few nasty surprises for them around the training hall,” said Devin. “Mouro, I need you to stay with me, since I may need that protection of yours.”

“I understand,” said Mouro. “You watch yourself out there, Michael.”

Michael took Mouro’s large hand in his and they shook. “Keep him alive, you mountain,” said Michael. I’ll see you after all this is done.”

Michael jumped over the railing and headed in the opposite direction from Franca. Raquel followed him and lost herself in the tree line adjacent to Franca. No one could be seen from the training hall.

Meja took off the prism she wore and gave it to Devin.

“This is a sliver of Maelstrom,” she said. “I think you will need it more than I will.”

“We aren’t fighting Lucius, Meja,” said Devin, taking the prism. “It’s Wheel. We can stop him.”

“I expect it back afterward,” said Meja.

She leaped over the railing and moved to the rear of the training hall. She crossed the solid lake and disappeared from view. Devin could sense her as she gathered her energy.

I almost feel sorry for anyone who comes that way.

“I, too, will wait for our enemy hidden in plain sight,” said Ono as she sheathed her sword. “The Mikai will not be able to assist us in this battle, but I will stand for them.”

“Thank you, Lady Ono,” said Devin.

“Today I am Ono, a warrior like any other,” she said as she stepped over the railing and descended to the lake. She walked under the training hall and sat down in the shadow of the building above her. Her sword rested across her legs as she closed her eyes and waited.

“Let’s go make this as difficult as possible for Wheel,” said Devin as he entered deeper into the training hall.

FORTY-EIGHT

I LEFT THE room and stepped out into the main area. Samir and Kal were in the midst of a discussion. Raja came over next to me. I still felt a little uncomfortable having him that close, knowing he had tried to kill me not too long ago. He must have sensed some of that as he spoke.

“You may rest easy, warrior,” he said. “I no longer wish your elimination, and the failsafe has been removed. I sense the Karashihan is gone. Was this his wish?”

I nodded. “He said he had a way around the glyph, but only in the South Watch. Trapped me with a word of bond.”

“I am afraid he was not being completely honest with you,” said Raja. “There is no known way ‘around’ an annihilator glyph.”

“He lied?”

“Most likely to allow you to act freely without concern about his state,” he said. “He has removed himself from the situation.”

“I can’t believe he would do that,” I said. “He wanted me to go seal the South Watch plane after everything was over.”

Raja stared at me a moment before proceeding.

“Opening a portal to that plane could be fatal for you and any plane you currently inhabit,” he said. “I strongly suggest against it. I see he gave you something.”

He can see energy signatures. No need to lie.

“He called it transference, so I can access his knowledge and essence,” I said. “But I need something from you.”

“What is your request?” he said. “Keep in mind that there will be a cost involved.”

“Somehow I knew you would say that,” I said. “Before I ask, you said the failsafe has been removed?”

“Yes, it has.”

“Removed or just stopped?” I asked. “Can it kick back in?”

“This particular failsafe has been removed,” he answered. “There are others, but they are not accessible by an outside agent.”

“”How did they even get to you?” I said. “I thought you weren’t vulnerable to that kind of attack?”

“Because I’m not…human?”

“Well, yes,” I said. “You aren’t human so how did it happen?”

“Is this your request?” he answered. “To ascertain how I was made to enter the failsafe mode?”

“No, no—I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t go all psycho on us again,” I replied.

“I can assure you I will not go ‘psycho’,” he said and pushed his glasses up on his face. “Your request, warrior.”

“I need the reversion glyph,” I said. “Sylk said you had it and we need it in order to face Wheel.”

His eyes went blank for a moment, and his face remained impassive. I tensed because I expected another failsafe to kick in followed by elimination mode. His eyes came back into focus and he looked at me.

“Are you certain you require this glyph?” he asked. “The cost may be more than you are willing to pay. In addition, my divulging this glyph to you comes with a certain…condition.”

“Tell me.”

“Very well,” he said, resting on his walking stick. “The cost for this knowledge is ten cycles to be fulfilled concurrently.”

“Ten cycles,” I whispered. “One hundred years? So the rest of my existence?”

“The condition,” he continued as if I had not spoken, “is such. Using this glyph in an act of willful destruction will negate all previous agreements and result in your immediate termination. Do you agree to the cost and condition?”

“Don’t do it, Dante,” said Kal with Samir close behind. “The cost is too high.”

She must have approached as Raja and I spoke.

“I know you think this is the only way, but you have to give this thought,” she said. “I know about sacrifice. You need a good reason for this, Dante.”

I looked into their faces and knew my answer.

“Is there anything you wouldn’t do for Zen?” I asked her. “Any cost too high?”

She looked away and I knew her answer.

“If I don’t do this,” I said, “you won’t see Zen again.”

“If you do this you won’t see anyone again,” she answered. “You’ll be trapped in here for over a hundred years! Is that what you want?”

“Want?” I said. “No, but I have to do this. I’m the only one who can do this.”

“No, Sylk can do it. Let him take on this cost,” she said angrily. “He can learn it and then teach it to you.”

“Sylk is gone,” I said. “He can’t help us anymore. It’s up to us now.”

“Gone, what do you mean gone?” demanded Kal. “What does he mean gone?” She walked to the room where Sylk had been.

I turned to Raja. “Yes, I accept the cost and condition,” I said.

Raja nodded, closed his eyes, and placed a hand on my chest. My world exploded in light and I was momentarily blinded. When I could see again, I could see the look of shock and sadness on their faces. The sensation was different from the transference Sylk had done. The knowledge of the glyph was readily available to me. I felt I had known it all my life.

Samir placed a hand on my shoulder. “I understand your decision,” he said. “I do not agree with it, but I do understand it.”

“Thank you, Samir. Kal?”

“You are as hardheaded as he was,” she said. “We can’t change it now. Where are we going?”

“I have to get to the nexus. Are you coming?” I asked.

They both nodded. I opened a portal and realized that something was wrong. I closed it and recalibrated our entry point.

“I think the hub is under attack, so you may want to prepare,” I said. “The only open access point puts us near the nexus area. The rest of the plane is blocked somehow.”

Samir unsheathed a sword and daggers appeared in Kal’s hands as I opened another portal.

“This one puts us in the training hall,” I said. “Are you ready?”

They stepped in and I followed.

FORTY-NINE

THE INVERSION GLYPH continued to undo everything. Around him, the complex disintegrated and became rubble. The rubble in turn broke down into dust and the dust slowly disappeared until nothing remained. Lucius sat with his eyes closed and breathed. The orb of light around him negated the effects of the glyph as he waited. This type of glyph required active chi, in this case, Rael’s chi. He only had to wait until the Harbinger was consumed by his sword. In the meantime, he focused on Maelstrom. The inversion glyph slowed to a stop and he dropped the orb of light. He looked around the cell. Everything and everyone in the cell outside of his orb had been consumed. He sat on a small island of stone, surrounded by emptiness.

As I told you, Harbinger, futile, but creative. With anyone else, your last gambit may have worked.

He closed his eyes and located his weapon.

Wheel is headed for the nexus, with my weapon. I can only imagine what he wishes to do. I think it is time I reclaim what is mine.

He opened a portal to the hub and sensed the difference immediately.

The portal polarity has changed. It would seem I am just in time.

He stepped in.

FIFTY

“THAT SHOULD ENSURE that anyone who wants to get the nexus meets a swift end,” said Devin.

“Will it be enough?” asked Mouro. “If we fall and Wheel gets the nexus?”

“Then we will be the first of many dead,” said Devin. “I don’t intend on letting that happen.”

The floor of the training hall started to tremble.

“We don’t get earthquakes here, do we?” asked Mouro.

“Get ready,” said Devin. “He is close, but he is sending his Lotus in first, it seems.”

The surface of the lake was shattered by the presence of hundreds of Lotus as they stepped into the plane and surrounded the training hall. In the center of the multitude of White Lotus stood Wheel. He wore a white robe with gold brocade. His emblem of a wheel inside other wheels on the left side blazed with its own light. Beneath his robe, violet light emanated from glyphs running across his torso. In his right hand, he held Maelstrom. It trembled in his grip as he raised it before the training hall.

“Warriors!” he yelled. “I have come for the nexus. We can make this easy and painless, or I can make you suffer.”

In the tree line, Franca, with a rifle in her hand, lay prostrate and aimed.

She placed Wheel in her sights, took a few calming breaths and squeezed the trigger. Wheel turned in the direction of the bullet and swept his arm across his body. The bullet deflected off his energy shield and killed one of the closest Lotus. He peered in the direction the bullet had come from, traced a glyph, and sent it.

“By force it is, then,” said Wheel as he brought Maelstrom down. “Kill them, but leave the nexus intact.”

The glyph advanced on Franca as she dropped her rifle, broke the cover of the tree line, and ran into the nearest group of Lotus. She made it in time to see three of the Lotus burst into flame and become ash before her eyes.

Around her, the Lotus drew their short swords and attacked.

The Lotus advanced on the training hall as the tree line erupted in gunfire. Wheel stood in the center of the Lotus, unfazed.

“Nothing matters but the nexus,” he said. “Capture that and then we deal with the distractions.”

He traced a glyph in the air and Devin inhaled quickly.

“What is it?” asked Mouro. “What did he do?”

“He just used the inversion glyph, but it wasn’t just that glyph,” said Devin. “He combined it with something else. This isn’t looking good.”

All around Wheel, corrupted RahVen and Lotus appeared and they rushed at the training hall. Beneath the training hall, Ono held her sword in one hand and Mariko’s fan in the other. As the Lotus approached, she opened the fan. She stepped onto the lake and advanced. She cut down dozens of the Lotus, but more came to fill their place. She closed her eyes for a brief second and waved the fan in an intricate figure-eight in front of herself.

The fan glowed a sickly green as the Lotus dropped to the ground, dead, around her.

On the other side of the training hall and on the perimeter of the throng, Meja eliminated Lotus with Truth. Michael joined her.

“We need to close the portal somehow or we die here,” said Michael as he sidestepped around a frontal lunge and led the Lotus into another behind him. “There are too many of them.”

“Cut them down,” said Meja. “Work your way to the center and get Wheel.”

Meja looked around the lake. It seemed impossible. Wheel remained in the center of the attacking force surrounded by corrupted RahVen and other creatures she had never seen. The lake trembled again, and an ear-splitting crack resonated throughout the entire plane. She half expected to see the plane split in two from the sound. A large portal appeared in the center of the Lotus and a figure stepped through. All of the Lotus in proximity to the portal lay dead.

“No, it can’t be,” she said. “Michael, we need to get away, now.”

Michael was fighting behind her and had turned at the sound but could not see the figure. “What the hell was that sound?” he asked. “Is the lake fractured?”

Meja grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away. She cut a path away from the newly formed portal and headed to the training hall.

“What are you doing?” said Michael as he tugged his arm away. “Why are we running?”

He looked at the portal that had just opened and went pale before keeping pace with Meja.

“Is that who I think it is?” he asked her. “It can’t be, right? That’s his shadow. Tell me he is still imprisoned.”

“I don’t think his shadow can wield that much power,” she answered. “Don’t you feel it?”

Behind the figure, hundreds of Gyrevex entered the plane and engaged the Lotus. Their bells whistled through the air as they swung and released them. Lucius the Destroyer had entered the plane.

“We have to warn Devin,” said Meja. “He won’t be able to stop him.”

“Stop him?” said Michael. “He won’t even be able to slow him down. We need to get off-plane now.”

“We can’t,” said Raquel, who joined them. “The plane is blocked. Nothing is getting in or out now.”

Lady Ono had retreated to the training hall once she sensed the power of Lucius entering the plane. She saw the others and gestured for them to join her.

“We cannot stand against that power,” she said. “Even if we attacked together, it is a gnat attacking an elephant.”

“Where are the others?” said Meja. “Have you seen Devin?”

“He should be downstairs with Mouro, guarding the nexus,” said Michael. “Ono is right. Our best bet would be finding a way out of the hub.”

“There is nowhere to go. The plane is shut down,” said Devin as he approached. “I have prepped the nexus. Once anyone tries to access it, it will sever all connections to the other planes and implode, destroying this hub…and anyone in it.”

“And us?” asked Ono. “I can assume it will consume us as well?”

“I don’t think we will be alive long enough for it to matter,” said Devin. “Once he realizes what happened, he will come for us.”

“I have no intention of dying here today,” said Meja. “There should be a window of opportunity between the nexus severing the hub and our getting off-plane.”

Devin rubbed his chin. “You may be right, but the window is small,” he said. “So small that you will have only a few seconds to open a portal and get out.”

“I only need a few seconds,” said Meja. “In the meantime we need to find somewhere to do this. This place will be overrun soon.”

“This is the safest place right now,” said Devin. “I placed glyphs on the perimeter. The Lotus or the Gyrevex won’t be getting in here.”

Meja manifested Truth and released it. It floated around them in a lazy orbit.

“I’m going to see what is happening,” she said. “Someone try and reach Franca and bring her back.”

Meja sat cross-legged in the training hall and closed her eyes. She allowed her senses to expand and then focused them. She directed her awareness toward Lucius. She let her awareness get close enough to witness what occurred, but kept at a distance for fear he would retaliate.

“I’ll go get Franca,” said Raquel. “They should be busy with each other out there.”

“Don’t get caught in the crossfire,” said Michael.

“I will assist you,” said Lady Ono. “Two of us will work faster than one.

They jumped off the side of the railing and landed soundlessly on the lake below. Around them, the fighting continued between the Lotus and the Gyrevex. They ran for the tree line in search of Franca.

**********

“You have something that belongs to me,” said Lucius as  he removed the perimeter of Lotus and RahVen with a gesture.

“You still don’t understand, Lucius. Your shadow is no threat to me here, of all places,” said Wheel. “I will have to erase you.”

He formed a sphere in his hand.

“Do you remember what I told you the last time we spoke?” asked Lucius. “When you last used that on me?”

“I don’t think so,” answered Wheel. “I try not to listen to the ravings of madmen.”

Lucius walked toward Wheel as he spoke.

“I told you, you should have killed me when you had the opportunity,” whispered Lucius. “I promise to make this quick. You will pay for my family, my imprisonment, for everything.”

“You truly are mad,” said Wheel. “Do you really think you can exact revenge on me? I will control all of the planes. You are a ghost, the pathetic attempt of a relic to exert control on a world that no longer exists. I’m done with you—we all are.”

Wheel threw the sphere at Lucius. It hit him square in the chest and he stopped moving.

“What did I tell you?” screamed Wheel as he raised his hands in triumph. “You are nothing!”

He walked over to the immobile Lucius and raised Maelstrom to strike. He brought down the staff only to have it stopped by Lucius. Once Lucius touched the staff, it leaped from Wheel’s hands into Lucius’s.

“I told you, this belongs to me,” said Lucius as he slammed Maelstrom into the lake.

“Destruyir,” he said.

A wave of energy exploded from Maelstrom and erased everything around Lucius and Wheel. All of the Lotus, RahVen, and Gyrevex surrounding them were devoured by the wave.

“Now with the exception of the few remaining loose ends by my nexus, it’s just the two of us,” said Lucius. “Shall we end this?”

Wheel lunged forward as he manifested a sword. Its black blade gleamed in the light as Lucius parried the lunge.

“A life stealer,” said Lucius. “Clever, but it won’t work.”

“How did you escape, Lucius?” said Wheel. Fear tinged his voice and the sword in his hand trembled slightly. “I’m willing to allow you dominion over this plane, as a courtesy of course, if you surrender now.”

“You… will... allow… me?” said Lucius. “Every plane is mine for the taking. I will remake them all.”

He swung Maelstrom faster than any eye could track and slammed it into Wheel’s side. The sound of several broken ribs could be heard. Wheel slid back and released the inversion glyph at Lucius. The glyph raced across the space between them as a portal opened.

***********

I opened the portal and we entered the hub plane. I fully expected to be in the training hall and found myself face to face with what I could only assume was Samadhi Wheel. A glyph was bearing down on us and I could see it was the inversion glyph. I quickly traced the reversion and hoped it would stop it. The glyphs collided and for three eternal seconds the world held its breath. I felt the surge of energy almost instantly, grabbed Kal and Samir and threw them to the side, away from the glyphs and hopefully to safety. They slid across the surface of the lake and stopped close to the training hall. I hoped that was far enough as the roar of the explosion filled my ears.

As I lay on my back, I saw Lucius jump over my body and land next to Wheel. He took Maelstrom and buried it in Wheel’s chest. I heard him speak the word I had formed in my mind, but never uttered when I held that cursed weapon.

“Consumir,” said the Destroyer as Wheel howled under him while Maelstrom consumed his life. “In the end it was you who did not understand.”

He headed toward the training hall. I could sense the others were in there. They did not stand a chance against him. I could feel the power and energy coming off him in waves. I stood up slowly and manifested Shadowstrike. Covered in a black aura, he turned to face me.

“You do not want to do this, boy,” he said. “Put that sword away and I may gift you your life.”

“Can’t do that,” I said. “I have to stop you here.”

“Do not make the same mistake he did,” he said and pointed at Wheel’s body with Maelstrom. “You cannot face me and win. You cannot stop me alone.”

Several bullets came our way. I heard them in the distance as they homed in on Lucius. He deflected them easily with Maelstrom. I twisted back and out of the way, as a swarm of daggers rushed by me followed by a swarm of orbs. Whirling Maelstrom, he managed to avoid both swarms.

I felt Meja before I actually saw her as she advanced with Truth. She stepped close and threw her sword at Lucius at the same time another swarm of daggers came at him followed by a wave of green energy that he couldn’t deflect. Truth impaled itself in his shoulder as several of the daggers exploded on contact and sent him flying back.

Meja placed a pendant around my neck. “You are not alone, but you alone must end this.” She touched my cheek for a second before a wave of energy launched her away from me and slammed her into the lake.

I looked down at the pendant around my neck. At the end of it hung a black prism.

That is a sliver of Maelstrom.

I know what I need to do. Allow it to merge with us.

Dante, that sliver will taint our bond beyond any ability to repair it.

I know, but it’s the only way.

Lucius had pulled Truth out of his shoulder as Sylk’s words came back to me. Sometimes darkness is needed to conquer darkness. If I absorbed the sliver, I could face and beat Maelstrom.

“You and your friends will die today,” said Lucius as he advanced on me. “Then my reign will begin.”

I let Shadowstrike free, took the pendant in my hand, and shattered it. The energy of the pendant merged and bonded to us. I ran forward faster than I had ever run before, faster than Lucius could track, and buried Shadowstrike in his heart.

He began to laugh. “Do you think you can kill me?” he said. “I am beyond you and your pathetic weapon.” He pulled Shadowstrike out of his chest and it disappeared.

I looked on in shock. I had thought it would work.

“Don’t be disappointed,” he said. “You just don’t possess enough—”

A beam of black energy erupted from my chest and impaled him. Shadowstrike had reformed in my hand.

Strike him now, Dante. End this.

I drove forward against the resistance of the energy trying to push me away. I swung Shadowstrike with all my strength. It cut through and across his body.

“Impossible, you cannot defeat me,” he said as his body lay in separate sections on the lake floor. “I must …I must—”

His body burst into flames and the entire plane shook. Devin raced over to me. “That last attack set off the nexus,” he said. “Now would be a good time to open a portal, Meja.”

She raced through a glyph and opened a portal. They ran through it. When I attempted to go through, I was bounced back as the portal closed. Behind me, I could hear laughter. The charred body of Lucius was still alive. The beam of energy that extended from my chest still connected us.

“You are part of me now,” he sputtered. “I will take some small measure of satisfaction in knowing that you will perish with me.”

Can we break this bond?

Use the sliver.

The sliver?

Darkness to fight darkness.

I let the darkest part of me rise to the surface, and embraced it. The part I hid. The anger, the hatred, and the killer. I looked at this part of myself and embraced it. It was part of me, but it didn’t define me. I was more than a killer.

“No,” I said to Lucius. “I am not you. I will not live your way.”

The beam connecting us severed. I looked down at his charred body and, for moment, I thought I saw a look of peace. His body disintegrated as another tremor rocked the plane. I opened a portal and jumped in.

I knew the taint remained. I could feel it in my bond with Shadowstrike. I didn’t know how bad it was, but I could tell it was there. I could sense the others even across the planes. It would seem my abilities had increased considerably. I found myself on a desert plane, alone. I looked around. I had never been to this plane, but it mirrored how I felt. Alone and desolate. A portal opened beside me, but I didn’t feel a threat so I remained seated. I don’t know if I would have gotten up even if it had been a threat. I was so tired. A woman with a young child in her arms stepped through.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“A friend,” she said. “I have to give you something. Why don’t you lie back for a moment?”

“That sounds excellent,” I replied, but my speech was slurred. “Tired…so tired.”

She pushed me back into the sand and it felt warm and comfortable. I could hear her saying words, but I could not make out the meaning. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warm sand on my body. I heard the little girl giggle once before I lost consciousness.

**********

The first thing I felt was Shadowstrike. Soon after, I searched for the taint, but it was gone.

Did you do this?

I don’t have the capacity to reverse the taint we possessed.

Then how? Who was that woman?

I can only tell you she was a Samadhi and she somehow accessed a reserve of power you contained prior to your bond to me. She returned you to that state.

My entire body pulsed with a barely contained energy.

I looked around and saw I was in a Mikai home. I was in a large bed that dominated the room.

“Looks like you survived your trip.” It was Meja. “Where did you go?”

Behind her stood Devin, Samir, and Kal.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I couldn’t get in the portal you opened,” I said. “I was still tethered to Lucius.”

“We realized it too late,” said Devin. “When we tried to go back, we couldn’t.”

“Did everyone get out?” I asked.

I remembered the sensation of the plane collapsing in on itself. It would have been a horrible way to die.

“Yes,” said Samir. “Raquel has returned to her home plane with Franca. They both send you regards.”

“Michael and Mouro made it out and are establishing a new hub plane,” said Devin. “In fact, I need to get out there before they decide to follow their own plans. I am proud of you, Dante. What you did…we will always be in your debt.”

“I thought I saw them, but I wasn’t sure,” I said. “Everything happened so fast. How long have I been here?”

“A few weeks,” said Samir. “I must apologize, but I must make my departure as well. I am assisting the Seniors in the rebuilding. It has been my honor to call you a friend, Dante. Please visit when you can.”

Samir left the room. “Is he going to be part of the new school?” I asked.

Devin nodded. “When you get a chance, try to visit,” he said. “Meja can tell you where.”

He took my hand and held it firmly. “Goodbye, Dante.”

“Goodbye, Senpai,” I said.

He laughed. “I think I should be calling you Senpai, Karashihan.”

He opened a portal and left the room. Kal came over to my side and punched me in the arm.

“You scared the hell out of us, especially her,” she said and pointed at Meja. “But she won’t admit it, ever.”

“Those daggers,” I said. “That was you?”

She gave a bow. “I try and do my part,” she said. “Raquel and Franca were the bullets, Ono was the sick green glow, and the orbs were Devin. Did you like the daggers?”

“Those things were fearsome,” I said. “How did you learn to glyph daggers?”

“There was more happening than what you remember right now,” she answered. “Come visit Zen and me and I will try and fill you in.”

She gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “She is going to wait for you no matter how long. Don’t screw this up or I will hurt you.”

Kal left the room and I could sense a portal being opened in the room adjacent to mine. I sat up in the bed and Meja looked at me.

“I’m not usually given to emotion,” she said. “I know we have had our differences in the past, but I would like us to be closer—that is, if you want.”

“Meja, I have to give the Records a total of thirteen cycles,” I said gently. “That’s one hundred and thirty years. I can’t expect you to wait for me that long.”

She smiled at me then and I could feel my heart pound in my chest. “What is it?” I asked. “Did Raja suddenly get amnesia?”

“I spoke to Raja,” she said. “He will let you pay half the cost if you can find someone to pay the rest on your behalf.”

“I don’t know anyone willing to give up sixty-five years of their…life,” I said. “You told him you would do it, didn’t you?”

The room tilted slightly on its axis as this news sank in.

She nodded and stood quickly. “I gave my word to keep you safe and you are stuck with me now,” she said. “You should get some rest. I will be back in the morning.” She left me alone in the room and I let the memories of what happened settle. For the first time in a long time there was no looming threat hanging over me. I could finally stop and breathe.

I took a breath and let my awareness expand. This time I let it go out past the plane and into the South Watch. It still felt empty and devoid of life. I tried to see if anyone or anything had survived, but I became exhausted after a short time. Sylk had not survived, after all. In a few days, we would head to the Akashic Records. I would use the time to learn about the foci and hone my ability with Shadowstrike. I would study the annihilator glyph and see if there was a way to undo it.

**********

The black sands receded slowly at first and then picked up speed. A circle formed in the center of the Keep. Ji had opened the portal when she received the message from the South Watch. Several of the Gray were gathered along with Luna, the Alpha of the pack.

“Are you sure about this, Ji?” asked Luna. “It could have been a residual distress message.”

“I am certain,” answered Ji. “Once the protocol has run its course and the glyph dissipates, we shall see.”

“And how long will that take?”

“Any moment now,” replied Ji. “You can sense it in the air…ah, there. It is complete.”

Luna felt the plane fill with vibrant chi as the annihilator glyph dissipated. The Solus protocol had run its course and the plane was once again open to the others.

“Did the plane lose its Keeper?” asked Luna. “Can we establish another?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Alpha,” said a voice from behind them. It was Sylk.

“You’re the Keeper?”

“It would seem that my workaround the glyph and the bond I shared with the plane found this to be the solution,” he said. “It is an elegant one when you think about it.”

“But we thought you dead,” said Luna. “Dante said he saw you overwhelmed by the darkness, the glyph.”

“And I would like to continue to remain dead for the time being,” replied Sylk. “There is much to be done here and it would benefit me greatly if no one knew I was still alive, albeit in this manner.”

“I will honor your request, but the Destroyer and Samadhi Wheel have been defeated,” she said. “There is finally peace in all of the planes. What could you possibly need to do here besides rest?”

“It is my understanding that first focus is unaccounted for,” he said. “I will do what I have always done: prepare, and plan for its eventual return.”

He bowed to the RahVen and disappeared from sight, leaving them with more questions than answers.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Every book is a group effort. So let me take a moment to acknowledge my (very large) group:

To Dolly: my wife and biggest fan. You make all of this possible and keep me grounded, especially when I get into my writing to the exclusion of everything else. Thank you, I love you.

To my Tribe: You are the reason I have stories to tell. You cannot possibly fathom how much and how deep I love you all.

To Lee: Because you were the first audience I ever had. I love you sis.

To the Logsdon family: Thank you for everything. You each have made this journey possible.

To you the reader: Thank you for getting on this ride with me. I truly hope you enjoy this story. You are the reason I wrote it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Orlando Sanchez has been writing ever since his teens when he was immersed in creating scenarios for playing Dungeon and Dragons with his friends every weekend. An avid reader, his influences are too numerous to list here. Some of the most prominent are: J.R.R. Tolkien, Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony, Lee Child, George Lucas, Andrew Vachss, and Barry Eisler to name a few in no particular order.

The worlds of his books are urban settings with a twist of the paranormal lurking just behind the scenes and generous doses of magic, martial arts, and mayhem.

Aside from writing, he holds a 2nd and 3rd Dan in two distinct styles of Karate. If not training, he is studying some aspect of the martial arts or martial arts philosophy.

He currently resides in Queens, NY with his wife and children and can often be found in the local Starbucks where most of his writing is done.

Please visit his site at OrlandoASanchez.com for more information about his books and upcoming releases.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by Orlando A. Sanchez

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

Published by OM Publishing NY NY