by Jon Chaisson
*
Denysia!
The voice reverberated within her head with such unexpected force she let out a quick yelp that she barely contained in time. Denysia! Again, seconds later, with equal force. Please, answer me! It had started up again, this time calling her with increased frequency and urgency. Enough! she cried at it. Leave me alone! But still it came a fourth time, then a fifth, all in quick succession. She let out a shaky breath and wiped away tears that had started welling in the corners of her eyes. Goddess, when was this going to end? She glanced around the room, but all eyes were on the teacher except Amna’s; she’d been watching her for the past five minutes, unspoken concern on her face. Denni waved her away. The last thing she wanted to do was get someone else involved.
Denysia!
“Ow, damn it!” she hissed. She shot up a hand and asked to be excused, blaming it on a sudden case of nausea, and headed for the bathrooms on the third floor. At this time of day, only a handful of teachers were in the rooms up there, readying themselves for their midday classes, and no other students would be nearby. She sprinted up the two flights of service stairs, out of sight of everyone, and stepped out into the quiet hallway. The women’s room was down the end, near the faculty lounge. She would have to make it past there without being seen.
Denysia!
“Right,” she mumbled to herself while mentally cursing the voice, and headed towards the restroom. She had to walk past three other rooms before she got there, and stopped to peer around the doorframe of each one. The first two rooms were dark and empty, shades drawn and teacher’s desk completely clear. The third room had its lights on, though after a few minutes she gathered up her nerves and looked in. A tall Meraladian sat at the desk, engrossed in the large vidmat he had displayed out before him. His brows were deeply furrowed, his complete attention devoted to his work. Exhaling, she tiptoed past the open door, skittered past the faculty lounge without attracting attention to herself, and darted into the restroom.
Denysia!
She chose the end stall and locked herself in.
Fine, she thought with all the angry energy she could muster, and aimed it directly at the source of the voice. I’m here, whoever you are. I have your attention, what do you want?
Denysia! At last we speak. The voice took on an unexpectedly warm tone, much quieter than before. She could now recognize it as a woman’s voice, and again she knew she’d heard it somewhere before. It was definitely the same voice she’d been hearing and avoiding over the last few days. I am emha-sehndayen-ne Eprysia, the woman said. Or em’prysia. You may call me Ampryss if you wish.
“Empress?” she blurted aloud, not meaning to.
Ampryss with an ‘a’, my Dearest One, the voice laughed. Surely I am not royalty. I am merely what you might call a Priestess.
Denni cocked a curious eyebrow. Why would a priestess be going to great pains — mostly her own — to reach her via soulhearing, and doing it so badly at that? She had a feeling the woman was an overzealous Mendaihu, but she kept her guard in case they ended up being someone altogether different. Gotcha, she said. Who and where are you, and what is so important about getting a hold of me? I don’t mean to be rude, but your beacon has been giving me one hell of a migraine.
Ampryss gasped in surprise and apologized profusely. Nyhnd’aladh, dearest. I was unaware of how far your awakening had progressed, Denysia. My ‘beacon,’ as you call it, was my own doing. Sa’im nyhnd’aladh…again, I apologize. Now that we have connected, I no longer need to reach quite so far and so strongly.
Denni willingly took the bait. Exactly how far are we talking about?
That depends on your point of view, Denysia, she said with a touch of amusement. If we’re talking spiritually, I am just a few minutes away by Lightwalk. Physically? I am on Trisanda.
“Trisanda…?” Denni exhaled, impressed. “That’s one hell of a distance.” To Ampryss she added, that’s what, one-twenty or so parsecs away? How are you able to do that?
I can sense your uncertainty, Ampryss said. I expect it. But you can visit me any time you like, dearest one. I will show you there some day. Perhaps soon.
Denni shivered with nervous excitement mixed in with a tiny bit of skepticism. Was she really talking to someone not even in a local CNF star system? Was that even possible? She’d heard extraordinary things about soulhearing before, but nothing as expansive as this. One hundred twenty parsecs! Even for Lightwalking that was an immense distance. A significant number of Mendaihu had that ability both spiritually and physically, and apparently Dad had been one of them. Could she have inherited that ability as well?
Her curiosity got the best of her. Why did you contact me?
I had to, as soon as you had awakened, she said. Our connection is very important, Denysia.
“What’s the big deal with me awakening?” she said, more to herself than to Ampryss. She wondered if any other people going through this had to endure these offworld voices. There was also the nagging feeling that Caren wasn’t the only one who knew about it. Why me, she asked, and why now?
The door to the restroom swung open, a woman’s heels clicking against the tile floor. Denni gasped and caught her breath, and pulled her legs up above the door. She cursed inwardly and hoped that she hadn’t been heard. Thankfully the woman had only entered to wash her hands and fix her makeup, but she remained cramped in that odd position for close to three minutes perched on the edge of the toilet until the woman left. Ampryss must have sensed all of this tension, as she had not answered yet.
“Denni?”
Oh shit! Her heart jumped at hearing her own name echoing against the walls and she nearly fell off the rim. It was only after hearing it a second time that she realized it was Amna, come to retrieve her. How did she know she’d gone all the way up to the third floor? And how did she get in without hearing her? “Amna?” she mumbled in the best nauseous voice she could muster. “What are you doing up here?”
She laughed in response. “I should ask you the same question, kiddo. And you can cut the performance. I know you’re not sick.”
Stiff from the odd position she’d been sitting in, she was happy to stand and stretch now, and let out a quick grunt as she did so. She swung open the stall door and stepped out, a sheepish grin on her face.
Amna was leaning up against the tiled wall waiting for her, arms crossed. “Who were you talking to?” she asked.
Denni frowned. “I wasn’t talking to anyone, just you.”
She huffed and rolled her eyes at her. Inside, Den. Who was talking in here?
“Oh Goddess…” she gasped, startled by her friend’s voice inside her head. “You…you heard?”
“Every word, kiddo…” Amna shrugged as if it was no big thing. “Don’t worry. You were in a…well, what would you call it? A strange frequency, I suppose. I doubt anyone else heard it aside from me. So who was it?”
Denni evaded the question. “Wait a minute…how long have you known how to soulhear? And why didn’t you tell me?”
Amna looked away in frustration. “About three years. It’s not something you want to advertise, Den. You know how people are here — they expect you’re listening in on everything.”
She had a good point. She was annoyed that she hadn’t shared this secret with her before, but she understood her reticence. The last thing she wanted to do was infringe on someone’s privacy. “Okay,” she said. “It’s…good to know.”
“Thanks,” Amna said, and turned back to her, flashing a lopsided smile at her. “You didn’t answer my question. Who was that woman?”
Denni weighed her options before answering. How much could she tell her friend? How much could she trust her? “Some Mendaihu, I think,” she said finally. “Very distant relative, wanted to talk to me, apparently.”
Amna frowned at her. “Come on, I know you better than that. You know who she is, girl, I could
tell. She was a lot more than some woman, wasn’t she?”
“I…” she shivered. “I know who she was, but I can’t remember…”
“No need to remember, Den,” she said. “Think of the name and follow the instinct, that’s what I’ve always done. If anything, you’ll know where you’ve heard her voice before.”
Denni thought about that for a moment, and closed her eyes. She focused on the sound of Ampryss’ voice, the familiarity of it. It somehow reminded her of a garden of roses and other flowers, and a long and flat stretch of green lawn stretching towards a line of trees. She knew this place, she’d been there before, talked with Ampryss many times, in her dreams. She knew this place, knew this woman…
Dennise Johnson…Denysia… she heard.
Denni stopped cold. Oh goddess, she thought, with a sudden chill. I do know that voice…
Denysia, it had said the night of the Awakening ritual, the night she had woken Caren up. It was not the voice that had said awaken — that had been Nehalé Usarai’s — but the voice that had spoken within immediately after. She had heard it in her waking consciousness, thinking it had been Caren at the time. She had completely forgotten that the voice had been real and not Caren at all, but the soothing voice of Ampryss. Of Ampryss awakening her spirit.
Denysia…my Dearest One. You have Awakened, she had said.
Not ‘one,’ but One. The One of All Sacred.
Oh Goddess, she whispered both aloud and within. I am… Her heart fell…it couldn’t be true! Oh Goddess, it can’t be true! She opened her mouth to scream but only a tiny, pathetic whimper came out. Hot tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t be here, not now. Not with Amna. She had to be home — no, she had to be with Caren. Karinna would know what to do…she caught her breath again, but it was too late…she was falling. She felt herself pitching forward as if she were about to faint, only to jolt backwards and hit her head against the cold tile wall.
“Denni?” Amna’s voice was crystal clear, quiet and soothing, bringing her back down to reality. “Come on, girl, I’m here. Talk to me.” She had thrown an arm around her shoulders and pinned her up against the wall to keep her from falling. Denni grabbed at Amna’s shoulder, grasping it tight, in effect pulling Amna along with every move she made. She opened her mouth to speak, but it was too late. It was all too late. She gasped for air, each successive breath becoming harder and further away.
Amna! She managed to cry out her name within, hoping she would hear. I’m…
Denysia, I’m here for you. Her friend’s voice echoed in the far reaches of soulhearing.
I…I’m sorry…my sister…she’s coming for me…
Denni felt a sickening lurch as the floor dropped out from under her, and all was Light.