Ascension Seekers

by Amy Proebstel

  “It sounds perfect!” Juila agreed with a smile. “Here, Mom. Why don’t you sit up front and Dad can go over the panel with you.” She stood up and walked to the back seats. She sat in the one beside where her mom was sitting and watched as her mother went up front.

  Riccan talked about the controls and both Amanda and Juila listened intently. Juila’s mind was recording what her father was saying so she could review it later, but she was also attempting to relink with her sister, to no avail. After a few minutes, Juila gave up trying and turned her sole attention back to her parents’ discussion.

  Chapter Twelve

  NEALAN’S DAY HAD been quite satisfying since he had come up with a new way of cooling an office building. There were so many times he had been consulted for redesigning various components of objects where he had been successful. Today was one of those days.

  He absolutely wanted to celebrate when he got home. Again, he was glad he had invited Vinia to come and live with him. The only unfortunate thing about the whole thing had been the fact she had a child. He did not know why, but he really did not like children and babies were the worst. Not only was she messy and loud, she was utterly useless around the house. As far as he was concerned, she was just another mouth to feed; a necessary evil if he were to have Vinia in his bed.

  He had to grin and bear it for the sake of Vinia’s company. She was the best thing to have happened to him in a long time. He did not realize how lonely he had been until she had quite literally walked into his life.

  Remembering how they met, he smiled. He had gone down to the marketplace to stock up on some food when they had run into each other. Normally, he would not have given her a second glance since she had been holding a baby, but there was something about her which caught his attention. He recalled staring at her until she had become uncomfortable with his attention.

  To this day, he was still unsure of the connection, however she had reminded him of someone. There was a lot about his past which he could not remember, but he seemed to recall knowing someone who had looked similar to Vinia. He had told her she looked familiar and had asked out to dinner the same night. Luckily for him, she had accepted.

  His house was right around the corner. Hopefully the neighbor would be willing to watch Vinia’s little girl while they went out to dinner. As he came closer, he knocked on the neighbor’s door and waited for her to answer. Within a few moments, a portly old lady opened the door and stared up at him when she said, “What do you want?”

  Knowing this was how she talked to everybody, he was not offended. He asked, “Would you be available to watch Vinia’s daughter tonight? I’d like to take Vinia out to dinner.”

  “You would, would you? Hmm,” she said as she folded her arms and tapped her foot while she decided on her answer. “I suppose I could manage it. Bring Danika over in twenty minutes.”

  “Who?” Nealan asked with genuine confusion.

  “Danika. You know, Vinia’s daughter! Good grief, what is wrong with you?” asked the woman as she turned, walked back into her house, glared at him, and slammed the door in his face.

  “Her name is Danika? I thought it was Dana,” he mumbled to himself as he shook his head. He took the last few steps to his own home and walked inside with a smile on his face. Vinia had her back to him while she was doing something on the living room floor.

  Vinia turned around when she thought she heard a noise behind her. She smiled when she saw Nealan had finally gotten home. She could see he was in a good mood and she was thankful. “Hello, Nealan. How was your day?”

  “Wonderful! I think the two of us should go out to dinner to celebrate,” he announced happily.

  A small frown crossed Vinia’s face. She had to consider Danika and it did not sound as though Nealan wanted her to be included. Vinia stood up and faced Nealan as she said, “Danika will have to come with us, Nealan. I can’t leave her home alone.”

  “I already talked to the neighbor and she’s agreed to watch her. Come on. Let’s get ready to go out.” Nealan rushed through the living room and went into their bathroom to take a quick shower.

  Vinia stood still as she watched him go past her. She was surprised since Nealan had even taken Danika into consideration without her having to point it out to him. Maybe he was more aware of her daughter than she had initially realized. She was going to have to reflect on this turn of events.

  She left Danika playing contentedly on the floor and went into their shared bedroom. She could hear Nealan humming in the shower and she turned to the closet to pick out what she would wear to go out to dinner. She selected a dress she seldom wore and pulled it out of the closet. She laid it out on the bed and went into the bathroom to check her hair.

  Vinia had just finished brushing out her long, dark hair when Nealan stepped out of the shower. She looked appreciatively at his perfectly toned body. She liked his chest full of hair and imagined her fingers playing with it. Vinia could tell Nealan was very confident in his looks and had no problem prancing around naked.

  One thing she did notice was the fact he had lost weight in the few weeks she had known him. She wondered if it had anything to do with the resh. The next time she saw the local wise-woman she would ask if it were a side-effect of addiction to the nasty drug.

  Nealan smiled at Vinia’s approving stares. He loved being appreciated. Vinia was always one to boost his self-esteem because she continually told him how handsome he looked. He hastily toweled off and threw the wet cloth over the edge of the tub before walking forward and pressing his naked body up against the back of Vinia.

  She squealed with delight at his sensual embrace. Vinia squirmed in his arms until she had herself turned around. She rubbed herself suggestively against him and felt his body respond as she liked.

  “Maybe we should skip dinner and stay in,” Nealan growled in her ear.

  “Not a chance. I’d like to wear my special dress and spend some time with you.”

  “Fine. Let’s get ready then,” he said sullenly as he pulled away and left the bathroom. He hated being rejected when he obviously wanted to have sex. As he entered the bedroom he saw the dress Vinia had picked out to wear and his mood improved. Maybe they could leave the girl over at the neighbor’s house for a while after they were done with dinner so they could come back home where he could take the dress off of her.

  Vinia entered the bedroom and noticed Nealan staring at her dress and asked, “Will this outfit do for this evening?”

  “Absolutely,” he agreed as he turned to get out his own nice clothes from the wardrobe.

  She smiled as she swiftly took off her clothes and slipped the dress over her head while his back was turned. She knew from experience he could easily be distracted by her nakedness and she was hungry. Using the elemy, she zipped up the dress rather than ask for Nealan’s help for the same reason.

  Finally they were both ready to go. They entered the living room and Vinia dipped down to pick up Danika and rest the little girl on her hip. Nealan automatically picked the other side of Vinia than where she held the child. The last thing he wanted was for her to reach over and touch his nice clothes with her grubby hands or, worse, to spit up on him. He kept a safe distance from her.

  Vinia gathered items to take over to the neighbors. She was not sure how late they would be so she included her favorite blanket for sleeping and a few toys along with the usual nappies and snack food items.

  Together they walked over to the neighbors and Nealan knocked on the door again. The old woman answered the door with a sour expression on her face which only lit up when she looked at Danika. The woman held out her arms to take the child and Danika lunged into her grasp with a giggle. Vinia set the bag of Danika’s things inside the door and smiled at the neighbor.

  “Thank you for doing this for us,” Vinia said politely.

  “You have a precious little girl. I don’t mind,” she said as she tickled Danika’s round belly. She turned around and kicked the door shut behind her.
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  Vinia and Nealan smiled at their apparent dismissal. They knew their neighbor was not very social and so they had to laugh at her unusual ways. “I guess we should be on our way then,” Vinia said with a grin.

  Nealan draped his arm across Vinia’s shoulders and turned her away from the house. They walked in the direction of the marketplace. He had heard of a place which served cuisine in the style of the east coast. He had never eaten it so he thought it would be something good to try.

  When they sat down to eat, the waiter told them the items which were being offered. Vinia sat with a stunned expression on her face. They were going to be eating food which she had been raised with. She looked over at Nealan to see if this had been his plan all along, but he obviously had no idea. She had never told him where she had come from and she still did not plan on it.

  She ordered a dish which had been her favorite growing up and waited for Nealan to decide what he would have. They talked for a bit while the waiter placed their orders. She asked him what had happened during the day to make him want to go out for dinner.

  “I invented a new way to keep the office building cool during the hot summer season. I don’t know why nobody ever thought of it before, but it’s going to be a lot nicer going in to work with my improvement,” Nealan bragged.

  Vinia smiled at his boasting ways. She played to his ego and said, “It’s because you’re brilliant. They would not be able to do their jobs without your input.”

  “That’s what I was just thinking!”

  Their order arrived and they fell into silence as they ate their individual meals. Vinia’s dish was just as it should have been. The seasoning tasted as though the cook had been from her very own colony. For a moment she panicked at the thought it could be possible until she realized Grobin never let anyone of any importance leave. The chef obviously knew what he was doing when he put together the special ingredients.

  After the meal was over, Nealan made many not-so-subtle hints about his intentions for the rest of their evening. Since his stomach was no longer protesting, he was quite willing to address his physical needs as well. The sooner he got Vinia home and out of her dress, the happier he would be.

  Vinia mentally rolled her eyes. She had no idea when she had moved in with Nealan that his sexual appetite could be so uncontrolled. Thankfully, she had gotten a contraceptive from the wise-woman so she would not have to worry about getting pregnant again. She went along with his planned course of events because she was grateful for being allowed to live in a safe home. It helped that he was nice most of the time, too.

  Chapter Thirteen

  JENA COULD NOT get the discussion with her parents out of her head. She had always thought Willian could not do anything which would make her actively dislike him. He had his flaws for sure, but the idea of him threatening to sanction her went entirely too far.

  She walked with Juila to the classes they shared with one another and never spoke a word. There had to be something she could do to straighten out the whole situation, but for the life of her, she could come up with nothing.

  Finally, lunch came around and their usual group of friends sat around the table. Juila sat next to her and Behn was beside her. For the moment, Jena’s left-side seat had remained empty until Luke suddenly sat down. Across from them sat Sofia with her boyfriend, Jon, and also Valentina and her boyfriend, Ryan.

  “You’re awfully quiet today. Is something wrong?” Luke spoke softly so Jena alone could hear.

  Just the idea of Luke asking about her mood made her burst into tears.

  Luke looked up in alarm at Juila and asked, “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, Luke. It has nothing to do with you. We’ve had a disagreement in the family and Jena’s taking it kind of hard. She’s fine, aren’t you, Jena?” Juila nudged her sister in the ribs with her elbow.

  Jena wiped the tears from her cheeks and sniffled loudly while she nodded her head. She kept looking down into her lap as she replied, “I’m sorry, Luke. It has nothing to do with you. I’ll be fine. Just give me a moment to get myself back together.”

  Luke decided to take an interest in his lunch and picked up his hamburger and took a big bite. When Jena wanted to talk to him, he would be ready. He hated to see her feeling so down. Maybe he should ask her out to distract her from whatever was happening at home. They had had a good time at the movies the week before.

  Luke looked around the table and saw everyone else was involved in conversations of their own. Jena seemed composed again. He leaned over and quietly asked, “Do you want to go out to the movies again with me? It could be just the two of us, if you want.”

  At that moment, the feeling in Jena’s head shifted. She no longer felt guilty for wanting to have someone who cared for her. She no longer cared what Willian thought about her actions. He had made the decision himself when he had threatened her. Jena looked up into Luke’s eyes and smiled as she replied, “I’d like that a lot. Are you free tonight?”

  Luke had not expected her to respond quite that swiftly and was taken aback. After a second’s pause, he replied, “Absolutely! I’ll check the movie times and call to let you know what’s available tonight.”

  Jena smiled for the second time that day and noticed her appetite had returned. She was looking forward to spending time with Luke. He was always so considerate of her feelings and he always complemented her intelligence. In other words, he was the polar opposite of Willian and she was ready for a change.

  Juila looked over at Jena and unconsciously relinked their minds. The thoughts she saw rolling through Jena’s mind made her smile. She was so glad Luke had asked her out. She would do everything in her power to make sure their evening happened without any incident or unpleasantness.

  By the end of the day, Behn had heard about Luke asking Jena out to the movies. He came up beside Juila and asked, “Do you want to go on a double-date with Luke and Jena?”

  “No. I think they should have this time alone. It’ll be good for Jena. We can do something on our own, though, if you want.”

  Behn’s expression changed to one of happiness since he thought Juila was turning him down outright. He now understood that she wanted her sister to be on her own and not that she did not want to spend time with him. Suddenly he asked, “Do you want to go bowling?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Something you should definitely try before you go home! I promise you’ll have fun. What do you say?”

  “Sure. If you think I’ll like it, then I’m willing to give it a try. What time do you want to go?”

  “I’ll pick you up at seven. Okay?”

  “Sure, it’s a date!”

  Behn held out his hand and took hold of Juila’s. They walked out to the parking lot since their last class was over. Ahead of them they could see Jena walking with both Luke and Sofia.

  Juila used her twin-link with Jena to ask, What’s going on? Is Luke riding with you and Sofia?

  Jena looked behind her and smiled as she answered, Yes. We’re going to drop him off at home before Sofia takes us home. Are you going to ride with Behn?

  I don’t know. Let me ask him. She turned to Behn and asked, “Should I ride with Sofia?”

  “I don’t mind taking you home. Besides, it’s a good excuse for staying over for my crystal lesson.” He was rather pleased with his simple solution to staying over at their house. So far his sister and brother had not called him out for going home with them every day after school.

  Behn’s got me, go on ahead, Juila answered. She heard Jena’s mental chuckle.

  Jena replied, He certainly does have you.

  Stop it! We’ll see you at home! she said sternly in her mind. She smiled outwardly as she walked and was very glad to hear her sister joking around with her again. Jena seemed to be over the worst of her anger over Willian. Maybe now she would move on with her life and dump the loser.

  I heard that! Jena broke into her thoughts.

  I don’t care if you did. I was o
nly thinking the truth.

  I know. I love you for it.

  Behn drove straight to Juila’s house so they were already inside the library before Jena came home. He had seen there was something going on with Jena and he wanted to talk to both of the sisters about it. Instinctively he knew it had something to do with their life back in Tuala. He hoped they trusted him enough to share.

  Juila tapped his knee to get his attention. “Are you ready to try the next level?”

  “Sure,” Behn eagerly replied. “How many more levels do I have to learn before my education is equivalent to a second grader?”

  “I wish you’d quit thinking about it that way. Your progress is going great and it’s what really matters.”

  “You keep saying that, yet I can’t help but feel I should already know what a second grader knows. The three of us were almost eight years old when we came to Earth. Don’t you think we would have already learned all of this before then?”

  “It depends. From what Grandpa Daven said about the colony where you grew up, they did not mix with outsiders and they disapproved of using the elemy entirely. I think it’s fortunate you learned anything at all given those circumstances, if you asked me.”

  Behn tilted his head as he considered the validity of her points. Maybe he was being too hard on himself. Still, he wanted to learn as much as he could, in as short a time as possible, before he took the information about their heritage to his sister and brother.

  The fact of them being from Tuala and not Earth at all was fantastic enough to believe. He felt certain they would not be able to refute his claims once he showed them his skills with his birth crystal. He lifted the small silver pendant with the tree on it. He had never considered the leaves of the tree which were made of smoky grey crystals to be his link with the land and with Jehoban. The more he learned about using the elemental energy, the more he felt the connection between himself, his necklace, and the elemy in the land.