Ascension Seekers

by Amy Proebstel

  “Yes, we are, Val, including you and your brothers. Someday soon, we’ll take you back there.”

  “I think I’d like to finish high school first,” Valentina said with a nervous chuckle.

  “I’m not saying we’d abduct you and leave you stranded there. I just thought you’d like to take a quick look around like Behn did. We won’t have to stay long.”

  “In that case, I think I’d like to go,” she said as she nodded slowly as the idea mulled around in her head.

  Amanda had come around to the other side of the telepod where the girls were talking. She had heard their last statements and offered, “I could probably take you there on one of my field trips. I usually only stay for a couple of hours at a time. Would you be interested in something like that?”

  “Count me in,” Valentina declared. She had made up her mind to embrace her history. In for a penny, in for a pound, she said to herself. Maybe I’ll even ask the girls to teach me how to use my birth crystal. Maybe.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  AMANDA STILL HAD not heard anything from Copa by the time Riccan came home from work. It was just as well since she wanted to discuss it with him before she made any arrangements. Again, she was using her intuition in this matter. She was not sure what she needed to discuss with Copa, only that she felt a burning desire to do so.

  After their dinner was over, they sat down in the living room. Amanda asked Riccan, “How was your day?”

  Riccan ran his hands through his hair and he leaned forward as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly from his mouth. “I don’t know what’s going on with Ela Nena. We used to get along so well and she let me do my job. Now, I don’t know. It’s like she’s not even the same person anymore.”

  “Oh, Riccan! What happened?”

  “She’s just micromanaging me and my team. Every time I turn around, she’s either in my department keeping my people from doing their jobs, or she’s pulling my team away to do other assignments.”

  “Why don’t you tell her to let you do your job?” Amanda was relieved since she had not gone to work with Riccan. She certainly did not need any further complications in her life. She felt so bad for Riccan for having to put up with such pettiness.

  “I can’t very well do that, Amanda. They may be my team, but she’s my boss. Technically, she has access to every person in the company at her disposal. I’m just going to have to bide my time until Ela Nena gets through whatever is causing her this extra stress.”

  “Well, I hope she comes to her senses before she drives her star player away from the company,” Amanda said as she patted Riccan on the knee.

  “Enough about my work. What did you do today?” Riccan looked up at his beautiful wife with an expectant expression.

  “I met Bryon and Alena today.”

  “Really? How did that go?”

  “Better than I could have hoped, really. I helped Bryon find his own samara,” she said with a grin.

  “Seriously? The samara was still in the cave, then?” Riccan was overjoyed to hear of yet another samara being found and put into the hands of its rightful owner. He was still amazed at his wife’s ability to locate the artifacts based solely on her dreams and intuition.

  “Yes, and it was definitely meant for Bryon. I checked the samara’s aura before I had Bryon touch it. Just as we thought, it matched the color of his birth crystal. And speaking of that, I asked both Bryon and Alena to put together a list of the crystal colors for each of the people who were summoned to meet with Jehoban regarding the prophecy. They said they’d put it together and send it to your father. Can you let me know when he receives it?”

  “Wait a minute. I think you figured something out on your own, and I’m not sure I follow your line of thinking. What is the connection between the people at the meeting with Jehoban and the samaras?”

  Amanda chuckled and replied, “It makes perfect sense. When you add up the number of people at the meeting along with the four of us here, there are thirteen people. There are thirteen samaras. Ergo, each person at that meeting will eventually get their own samara. Why else would Jehoban bring them all together unless He meant for them to work together to fulfill the prophecy?”

  When Amanda put it that way, it seemed an obvious answer. Riccan shook his head in amazement at his wife’s line of thinking. The more he pondered it, the more he became convinced of the validity of his wife’s claim. Also, the fact that Bryon now had his own samara seemed to cement the idea. Whether she were right or wrong, time would tell. When they found the rest of the samaras, they would know for sure.

  “So what are you planning on doing now?” Riccan asked.

  “I can’t seem to shake the feeling that I need to meet with wise-woman Copa. I got coordinates from Alena today. I’ve also sent her a message on the patil asking for a meeting. She hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I wanted to talk to you about it before I went anyway.”

  “What do you want to talk to her about?”

  “Well, I really want to thank her for saving my life and for taking good care of our children. She could have just walked away and left us all to Elder Vargen’s devices.”

  “That’s true. Maybe I should come with you to thank her as well.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary, but I will pass along your thanks as well, if you want. I also want to talk to her about my birth crystal. Jehoban told me she had requested it for me to have a safe journey. I want to know why she would even consider it for a person from Earth. I’ve heard often enough that old souls don’t get birth crystals. Hopefully, she can shed some light on my questions.”

  “I can’t wait to hear what she has to say. You do bring up a good point about old souls. You are the first person from Earth whom I’ve ever heard of getting your own birth crystal. If you hear from Copa while I’m at work, send me a message on the patil before you go.”

  “Okay. Although I’m hoping she’ll get back to me yet this evening. I’d really love to go see her tomorrow.”

  “You should talk to her about Neal,” Riccan said suddenly.

  “Neal? Why would you say that?”

  “She obviously spent time in Elder Vargen’s facility when you were there. Maybe she knows more about Neal and his situation. She may be able to give you vital information for getting him out of there.”

  Amanda hugged her husband and kissed him firmly on the lips. She pulled back and held his face in both of her hands as she said, “You’re brilliant! Do you know that? I love you so much!”

  “Thanks! I love you, too!” He smiled at her enthusiasm even though he was not sure what he had said which would cause her to react so impulsively.

  “I’ve been so worried about the timing of rescuing Neal. The days keep ticking by and yet I’ve not gotten any closer to figuring out how to get him home. I’m sure Copa will be very helpful in that regard. After all, she got me out, didn’t she?” Amanda sat back on the couch and started going over every idea and imagining how her conversation would go with Copa. This had to be the answer. Her hope was renewed. She was certain she would be able to succeed with Neal now.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  As luck would have it, Amanda did get a reply from Copa before she went to bed that night. Riccan was with her when she went to check the patil for any unread messages. She clicked on it and read: “I’d love to meet with the one who got away. I’ll be at home all day tomorrow should you have the opportunity to come then. Otherwise, let me know when you’re available and we’ll figure something out. Yours, Copa.”

  Amanda turned to Riccan and said, “I’m going tomorrow!”

  “I never doubted it,” he replied with a grin. He kissed her on the top of her head and said, “Let’s go to bed now, shall we?”

  After shutting down and storing the patil once again in its secret spot, Amanda followed her husband to bed. Amanda was certain she would be too excited to fall asleep, but she wanted to at least make an attempt to sleep for her husband’s sake. As soon as her head hi
t the pillow, Amanda was out like a light.

  Morning came swiftly. Amanda was so grateful to have slept soundly so she would have a clear mind for her meeting with Copa. She dressed carefully and made sure her birth crystal was displayed prominently against her black shirt. She really wanted to show Copa how much the gift had meant for her.

  Riccan kissed her goodbye and wished her luck with her meeting. He walked out the door and went off to work.

  The kids were sleeping in since it was Thanksgiving Day and school was closed until the following Monday.

  Amanda rushed downstairs and out to her telepod. She set the coordinates, as they were written by Alena, into the control panel. With her seatbelt fastened and all of the green lights lit, Amanda hit the activation button and began her journey to see Copa.

  She reappeared several seconds later in an unfamiliar area. This was nowhere near any of the places she and Riccan had practiced flying. She scanned the ground for a good landing area and saw one not too far ahead of her. She manually steered the telepod over and set it down gently onto the ground. She issued all of the shutdown procedures and unfastened her seatbelt.

  Standing in the doorway of the telepod, Amanda surveyed the land and tried to decide which direction she should go first to find Copa’s house. It was pretty easy to imagine anyone in the area would know where the wise-woman lived. All she had to do was stop someone and ask for directions.

  With her mind made up, she stepped away from the telepod and shut the door as she walked toward the small town. She did not bother to cloak the vehicle since she was in an unfamiliar area and she wanted to make sure she could get back to it. Ahead, there were several rows of houses. Beyond those dwellings was a small group of people talking. Amanda decided to ask one of them where Copa’s house was located.

  Amanda came closer to the cluster of people and, much to her dismay, they disbursed and went into their homes. She looked around in confusion at how unfriendly the people seemed. Not to be deterred, she knocked on the door closest to her. After a moment, the occupant opened the door the merest crack.

  “What do you want?” said a gruff voice.

  Amanda could not tell if it were a man or a woman. She asked, “I’m supposed to meet with wise-woman Copa. Can you please direct me to her dwelling?”

  A wizened old finger pointed outside the door as the person said, “Up the avenue, turn left at the crossing. Third home on the right.” Without waiting for anything further, the door shut soundly.

  Amanda could hear a deadbolt being drawn closed on the other side. She could not imagine what had happened to make these people so leery of strangers. She shook her head sadly and turned from the doorway. Following the directions given, she soon found herself standing outside what she hoped to be Copa’s house.

  With a bit of trepidation, Amanda knocked on the door.

  The door opened. The reception was vastly different than she had received before. A woman whom she had no knowledge of ever seeing before smiled at her broadly.

  “Amanda, dear. Please come in. You can’t imagine how pleased I was to hear from you yesterday. Come in!” Copa stood to the side and gestured for Amanda to enter the house.

  Amanda smiled nervously and stepped into the well-kept home. She was instantly reminded of Alena’s house. They appeared to be similar in size and Amanda imagined had a separate room dedicated to treating patients.

  “You haven’t aged a day, Amanda. Please sit down. You must have so many questions.”

  Amanda thought Copa seemed rather nervous as she prattled on. She took a seat on the worn couch and waited for Copa to join her. “What has happened in town to make the people act so strangely to outsiders?”

  Copa finally sat down in a chair across from Amanda. “Oh, that. We’ve had some trouble with a group of people who have settled in the woods outside of town. They call themselves the Roanoke Colony.”

  With eyebrows raised at the mention of the people Behn had grown up with, Amanda asked, “What have they done?”

  “They keep coming into the village trying to convince the young girls to come back with them. They are getting more aggressive each day and some fear there will be violence soon.”

  “Have you talked with an Elder about it?” Amanda did not like the sound of how this was going.

  “No. I’m sure we’ll have to shortly. Enough of that. What brings you to see me?”

  “First, my husband and I wanted to thank you for your help in rescuing me and my children from Elder Vargen. I don’t know how we’ll ever repay you for the danger you put yourself in for me and mine.”

  Copa continued to stare at Amanda. She had thought Vinia had been the one who would be the keeper of the samara. Vinia and Amanda looked so similar to one another, it was easy to see how she had made such a mistake. Looking at Amanda, she looked exactly as her vision had shown her. “It was my duty, Amanda.”

  Amanda scowled at Copa’s choice of words and asked, “What do you mean by duty?”

  “I’m a wise-woman. You were someone in great need. I did what needed to be done. It’s that simple,” she answered with a self-deprecating shrug.

  Amanda did not know what to say. She touched her birth-crystal and said, “Jehoban told me you requested this for my safe travels. Thank you, but why did you think an old soul would be given one?”

  Copa was surprised to hear about Amanda having spoken to Jehoban over the matter. This situation must have progressed further than she had originally imagined. “What else did Jehoban tell you?”

  “He said I’m the key. Does that mean anything to you?” Amanda was reticent to share too much of her mission to this stranger.

  Copa nodded softly. The time had come. “I have foreseen many things. I have developed a talent for seeing visions of the future. Long ago, I had one of you.”

  “Please continue,” Amanda urged when Copa stopped talking.

  “I will share what I know. Hopefully, you will understand.” She paused to wait for Amanda to nod in approval. “I saw you with a group of people. Each one of you held a samara in your hand as you drew together. The power of the samaras was incredible and a light shown up into the heavens. As one, the people turned and walked in every direction to fulfill their task. You were one of the people in the group. Does this mean anything to you?”

  Amanda could only nod mutely. She had seen the vision when she had held the samara in the hidden room at her home so many months ago. To hear the same story from this old woman merely strengthened her resolve to complete the task. “I have been searching for all of the samaras. We have found four so far. Do you have knowledge of any others?”

  It was now Copa’s turn to be surprised. Not only did Amanda believe what Copa had said, she had already begun the quest to fulfill the vision. “Yes, I know the whereabouts of one other. I gave it to a woman named Vinia. When I met her, I believed she was the one to whom it should belong. I see now I was wrong.”

  “Why would you believe Vinia should have been the owner?”

  “It is irrelevant now.” Copa fluttered her hand in front of her dismissing the question. “Let me tell you where she has left it.”

  “Left it? Are you saying it has no guardian?” Amanda’s heart began to race as she thought of all of the evil things which could happen should the samara be found by the wrong person.

  “Be at peace, Amanda. It is well hidden. There are no people in the area anymore as they are now residing in the woods here. If you allow it, I will share the location with your mind so you will know exactly where it is located.” Copa leaned forward and held out her hands toward Amanda’s head, waiting for approval.

  Amanda had no choice other than to say, “Yes. Please show me quickly.”

  Copa touched her hands to Amanda’s skull and shared her knowledge with Amanda. It was a simple and quick method to deliver vital information without a chance of anyone overhearing. She removed her hands and sat back down across from the young woman.

  “Thank you. I will retrie
ve the samara today.”

  “Do you have any other questions for me?” Copa could feel Amanda’s desire for assistance in another matter entirely. Her skill at reading people was quite acute which made her very good at her occupation.

  “What can you tell me about the man who was taken captive with me? His name is Nealand. Jehoban has told me he is still being held captive by Elder Vargen. He also told me he has been addicted to resh,” Amanda said hastily.

  Even though she should have expected no less from this remarkable woman, Copa was surprised at Amanda’s question. Not only did she have knowledge of Nealan, she had been to his house only two weeks before. “Oh, dear! If your friend has been taking resh all of this time, then he is definitely in danger.”

  “What makes you say that?” Amanda leaned forward anxiously.

  “Resh is a painkiller and a sedative for the people of Tuala and is considered relatively harmless. To people from Earth, it is a very different matter. For some reason, your kind are very susceptible to becoming addicted to resh and are not able to keep it from becoming toxic. Over time it poisons the body, eventually killing the addict. If your friend has been taking it as long as you say, I’m surprised he’s lasted this long.”

  “This is worse than I imagined,” Amanda mused as she sat back on the couch and considered what she should do. At first, she had thought to give him the option of going home, but this information changed everything. Neal would die if she left him in Tuala. “What can I do to save him?”

  Copa thought over the situation and realized there was only one option. “You must drug him senseless with resh and take him home to Earth. Crossing the veil will eradicate the drug from his body entirely. This is his only hope of surviving.”

  “I see. Where can I get the resh? For that matter, how will I give it to him?” Amanda was beginning to appreciate the complexity of this rescue.

  “I can help you with the first part. As a wise-woman, I have a supply of resh. I will give you what you require. As for the second part, Nealan is living with Vinia. Before you ask, yes, she is the same woman who had the samara. Tell her what I have told you and she will give Nealan the drug. She loves him and would not want to see him die.”