Ascension Watchers

by Amy Proebstel

  Valentina stood back since Debbon had taken her chair, waiting to see what would come of this impromptu lesson. She still felt some ownership over the pages she had found, although it was quite apparent they actually belonged to Elder Debbon who owned the book where they belonged. Still, she wondered how they had come to be in Grobin’s possession in the first place. With him being a slave on Heliok, she doubted she would ever get an answer. She was willing to forgo the knowledge if it meant she would never have to see that vile man again.

  The only sound in the room had been Debbon’s exclamation of ‘ah’ as he first discovered the secret to shadow-walking; otherwise, the room remained silent until the pair finally completed the unusual task. “That was most enlightening, Gevena. I thank you very much for your assistance, you have no idea what this means to me and so many others,” Debbon stated emphatically, patting Gevena’s knee with his praise.

  He stood up abruptly and declared, “I must cancel our lessons for today. Some things require my immediate attention. If you gather your things, then I will get you back home right away.”

  The girls looked at one another with raised eyebrows and shrugging shoulders at this abrupt change in plans. They picked up their bags and followed him over to his Gate room.

  Gevena stepped into the Gate, ready to depart, when Debbon declared, “I’ll let you know when I’ll next be available for training. It might be a while, but I don’t want you to think either of you has done anything wrong. On the contrary, today has been amazing and I’m deeply indebted to both of you! Are you ready?” He saw Gevena nod and he pressed the button to send her to Manzanit. As soon as the energy dissipated, Debbon turned to Valentina and said, “Off you go!”

  In the next instant, Valentina stood in her bedroom on Earth, wondering what had just happened. She felt an intense excitement of having been a part of something pretty big; unfortunately, she had no idea what it could possibly be. Only then did she realize she had not had time to meet with Willian, who was supposed to be returning to the Elder Isle that same evening. Her excitement diminished greatly and she sat at her desk, hoping Willian would call on the patil when he finally got home from Telae.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  SADDENED BY DEBBON’S request for Willian’s dismissal, Emmin had given him a farewell party which spilled over the entire weekend. There had been so many people who had wanted to speak with Willian before left, he realized just how much he had learned during his short stay in Telae. His father had known best by sending him, the lessons he learned had been invaluable, and made him much more prepared for what would be a part of his future.

  With such an enthusiastic send-off, Willian felt at a complete loss when he arrived unheeded in the Elder Isle Gate room. He had been certain his father would be standing at the control panel, smiling at his return, telling him how proud he was of all he had learned, and yet the room was empty. Surely his father would come and investigate the activation of his own Gate, but even after a minute, nobody came.

  Willian slung his bag over his shoulder, feeling slighted and a bit sulky, he left the secure room and entered the oddly empty halls. Finally giving up on expecting any sort of welcome, Willian left the Residence, already dreading the long walk home to the estate. When he finally reached his childhood home, he felt an immense sense of relief, almost as if he were one step closer to being with Valentina again. He knew he was too late to meet her in person since her lesson with his father had been over hours before, but he could still contact her on the patil. In only another week, he could see her, kiss her, and bask in the electric feeling of her.

  “Eeee!” Chelesa squealed as she walked out of her office and noticed her son standing in the foyer. “You’re home!” she cried as she ran forward to fling her arms around him, rubbing his back as she squeezed him even closer until she worried he would be unable to breathe.

  Smiling from ear to ear, Willian basked in his mother’s warm welcome, thinking this was what he had also wanted from his father. “Where’s Dad?”

  “Didn’t you see him at the Residence?” She pulled away from him, a frown marring her excited expression.

  “No, I didn’t see anyone actually. I thought it was quite strange that he didn’t even come to check out the Gate’s activation. Is everything okay?”

  “Hmm, the last I heard he was teaching Valentina and Gevena. Maybe we should contact Valentina and ask her when they finished. Do you want to do that? I’m sure you’ll be wanting to talk with her anyway.” Chelesa smiled warmly, trying to be supportive of her son’s relationship with a girl she was still unsure of for him.

  Smiling at his mom’s suggestion, Willian gladly walked beside her to her office. He sat at her desk and tapped on the screen of the patil. Entering Valentina’s code, he waited for her to answer the call. Only a few seconds passed before Valentina accepted the call and her face filled the screen.

  “Are you home?” she asked.

  “Yes. Hey, Mom and I have a question about Dad. When did you finish your lesson?”

  “Oh, he ended it early and said he had a really pressing matter to take care of. What’s going on? Didn’t he meet you at the Residence when you arrived?”

  “Mom asked the same thing! No, he didn’t.”

  “That’s weird! I wonder if it was because of the missing journal pages I brought him?”

  “What pages?”

  “I found them when we went to investigate the Roanoke Colony back when it was abandoned. They were blank, and I asked your dad if he could somehow make the ink reappear. He got really excited and got some old journal out of his desk. When he put my pages up to the journal, they seemed to almost snap into place and the ink reappeared. He was really excited about what it said but I thought it all seemed like gibberish.”

  Willian looked up to his mother, where she stood just above and behind him. He could tell they both had the same thought about this concerning the mystery of Debbon’s samara. “Did he say anything else?”

  “Well, he had Gevena show him a new technique about pulling shadows around yourself, and it seemed to coincide with something he read on the new journal pages. Is everything okay?” Valentina’s face showed her concern.

  “I’m sure Debbon’s just working on a research project. I’ll leave the two of you alone to catch up,” Chelesa answered, patting Willian’s shoulder in farewell.

  “Thanks, Mom.” Willian looked up and grinned at his mother’s obvious ploy. He heard the door click shut and he turned back to his girlfriend. “How are you doing? Are things going okay at your house?”

  “Yeah, but I bet I know something you don’t even know yet.”

  “Really? What’s that?” Willian leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, ready to hear something new.

  “Well, you already knew Sofia managed to get her own birth crystal…”

  “Yes, you already told me that weeks ago.”

  “Don’t interrupt me! As I was saying about Sofia’s birth crystal, it turns out her father is actually from Tuala.”

  “I knew that already, too, remember. Her mother was an old soul who had been taken prisoner by Vargen. This isn’t new stuff.”

  “How about where the part that Riccan Stel is actually her father?”

  Willian’s eyes grew wide with amazement, words failed him for several breaths.

  “Ha! I knew that would be something new! What do you think about that?”

  “Okay, you got me there. How can they be sure, though?”

  “Elder Daven said something about a tag being put on Sofia’s life-line by the wise-woman who helped her mother escape. He confirmed it was the same tag as he’d been shown, but I think Mr. Stel is also going to run a DNA test here on Earth, just to be absolutely certain.”

  “Wow! How’s Sofia doing with this news?”

  “But that’s not everything. You remember my mom got married today?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, once Mr. Stel found out about Sofia’s tie to Tuala and
the fact that she had a brother still living somewhere in Tuala, they figured out who her brother was, and he came to Roanoke to meet her. It was a wonderful reunion for both of them, I think.”

  “It feels like I’ve missed everything exciting while I was in Telae. Mostly I just missed being able to see you in person, though. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come home earlier today, so we could have spent some time together before you had to go home.”

  “Me, too, but your dad pushed us out of there so fast today, I doubt we could’ve spent more than a few seconds together. At least it’s quieted down here at home. Mom hasn’t been complaining too much, although I’m fairly certain she knew where we’d gone today.”

  “How did you manage it then?”

  With a chuckle at the remembrance, she answered, “Dad ran blocker for us!”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Debbon locked himself in his office and proceeded to pull up every known record of Nayen contained in their extensive database. Knowing his life and the fulfillment of the prophecy depended on his survival made him need to be as thorough as possible before he would set foot on the other world. Besides, he knew Chelesa would kill him if he even stubbed his toe on this mission, and he needed to return home to her.

  Through some rather obscure channels of research, he managed to get a pretty comprehensive look at what he would face. He had to admit, if it were not for his personal samara at stake, he never would have considered making the journey at all. Nayen sounded like a place he would not wish on his worst enemy. Well, he thought, it’d be good enough for Vargen considering how warped his mind had become.

  He had no idea how much time had passed, having blocked his patil from incoming messages and setting a ward of privacy on his office door. When he finally did take a break, he cried out in surprise to discover he had been researching the night through and almost to lunch the following day. Once he became aware of himself again, he realized his back had cramped from reading the patil screen, and he could no longer feel his left foot.

  “This won’t do,” he murmured, rising from his chair, using his desk to steady himself while the blood began to recirculate into his leg, causing the pins and needles feeling to make him wince until feeling finally became restored. He gathered some elemy, noticing how much effort it took with his depleted state, and used it to re-energize his body until he could get home, eat, and get to bed. The thought was so intoxicating, he translated himself directly from his office into the kitchen, where he surprised several of the house staff.

  “Sorry about that,” he apologized hastily. “I’m famished! Can someone bring a feast to my bedroom?”

  “Right away,” Crysta answered, efficiently putting together a tray for him even before he had time to exit the room.

  Debbon’s energy reserve had been completely depleted by the translation home. He struggled with the stairs, grasping the railing to pull himself up one step at a time, wondering how the stairs could multiply even as he stepped. Surely, it had never been this many steps before.

  “Debbon! I thought I heard you arrive,” Chelesa said, looking up from where she had come out of her personal office. “Debbon, are you okay?” She rushed up the stairs and put her arm around his back to support him. More than a little surprised at how much help he actually required, she asked, “What were you doing all night?”

  “Studying.”

  “I wondered about that.”

  “How did you know?”

  “I contacted both Gevena and Valentina since they were the last ones to see you before you shut yourself in. I pieced together what must have taken place. I really should be scolding you for not sending me a message at least to let me know where you were. If I weren’t so resourceful, I would’ve been out of my mind with worry.” Chelesa knew she was babbling, yet she continued her diatribe until they reached their bedroom. “Let me help you out of your shoes. I think you’re too tired to undress, so let me just pull the covers back.”

  Swiftly completing the task, she managed to get him in the bed and tucked in just as Crysta knocked on the door. “Come in,” Chelesa called out. “Oh, good timing. Debbon, your meal arrived.” She turned back to see her husband had fallen asleep sitting up. “Just set that here, Crysta. He can eat it once he wakes up again.”

  Crysta smiled knowingly and placed the tray on the nightstand before curtsying and leaving the room without any fuss.

  Chelesa rapidly assessed Debbon’s health by tying into his life-line, assuring herself he was merely exhausted. Once satisfied, she made him as comfortable as he could possibly be considering his awkward position. She pulled the shades closed to block out the afternoon’s brightness and left him to sleep until he was fully restored. There would be time enough to discover what he had learned.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  DEBBON’S PLAN TO leave for Nayen right away became hampered both by his duties as First Elder as well as his wife’s demands for detailed plans. His duties demanded he perform the ascension ceremony for Vargen’s successor. This should have been a simple matter if it were not for the other Elders questioning Vargen’s son’s ability to lead differently than his father must have taught him. The Elders were unwilling to consent to the ceremony until after they had a chance to interview Lijjon, although interrogate would probably describe it better.

  It took two additional days before the Elders could be assembled, and Lijjon presented to them. On multiple occasions, Debbon had to remind the Elders that Lijjon was not on trial for his father’s offenses, effectively becoming an advocate for the relatively unknown man. In the end, all had agreed that the son did not share the father’s penchants toward cruelty, greed, violence, and power. The final vote had been to allow the ascension ceremony the following day.

  Debbon chafed at all of the delays, feeling the need to retrieve his samara grow by the minute. Still, he had to prepare for the ascension ceremony. This time Debbon made certain Lijjon had read through the Elder’s Instructional Guide before him taking office, something he had learned needed to be reinforced after discovering Rasa had not had the luxury of doing so before her elevation. As it turned out, Lijjon also had no knowledge of the text and needed extra time to review it before the ceremony, effectively delaying Debbon’s departure for another three agonizing days.

  After quizzing Lijjon extensively to test his knowledge of his upcoming duties, Debbon finally felt the man was prepared enough to be granted the ceremony elevating him to Elder status. The District had been informed and assembled, Debbon performing his part flawlessly, and Lijjon had delivered a very welcoming speech to his people. Debbon could not have asked for a better outcome, except for the fact that the event had ended too late for him to even contemplate beginning his journey to Nayen until the next day at the earliest.

  Even though he had growled at each new delay, he knew Chelesa had silently cheered whenever he told her of a new problem. She still remained convinced the assembled group of samara holders could retrieve the stone. He had believed her to be persuaded otherwise until he came home from Lijjon’s ceremony to discover the entire group had been assembled at his private estate.

  “What’s this?” Debbon asked angrily, feeling ambushed by his wife’s subterfuge.

  “I had to try it,” Chelesa spoke in a pleading tone, showing her fear only to Debbon as her back was to the rest of their guests.

  Debbon took pity on her and sighed. He patted her arm and said, “It can’t hurt. I love you, Chelesa.”

  “I know you’re probably tired, but maybe that’ll make this easier,” Chelesa suggested, pulling him by the hand to take his place at the head of the table.

  Raising his left eyebrow, effectively telling her he doubted her last statement, he walked unresistingly and took his usual seat. Seeing all of his friends’ faces, eager to help, he could hardly be angry that they wanted to keep him safe. “I’m ready whenever you are.” He held his hands out for Chelesa and Daven to hold while the rest of the group followed suit to create an unbroken
circle of power.

  Seeing all eleven of the samaras placed on the table, each facing its owner, made Debbon close his eyes against the pain of wanting his own. He had to focus his thoughts on the colors he knew would be on his own samara, apricot and iridescent white to match his birth crystal.

  Amanda spoke when all assembled became focused and quiet. “Chelesa, I think you would be the best person to take the lead on this search. As Debbon is your husband and you know his desire for this, you will have the most urgency in this quest. Everyone, please follow and augment Chelesa’s lead as much as you can. Hopefully, we can keep Debbon safely here on Tuala with our efforts tonight. Chelesa, whenever you’re ready.”

  “Thank you,” Chelesa spoke quietly, eyes closed, already beginning to draw power from her own samara.

  Debbon felt the power building in the enclosed room until he wondered if he should have put some sort of shield around them to prevent the rest of the household from being affected. Promptly dismissing this thought, he realized it might also shield their efforts from being successful.

  “Focus, Debbon,” Chelesa whispered.

  Rightfully chastised, Debbon returned his attention to the details of his personal samara. He could almost feel the colors and power pulling at him. For a moment, it almost felt as though they would be successful until something unexpected shifted all of the power away from his questing mind, leaving only a small tendril of connection remaining.

  Everyone gasped in unison as this withdrawal of power happened. Chelesa’s eyes popped open, and she asked, “Did you all feel that? I think we almost had it!”

  “No,” Debbon argued, “but I do feel a connection with it, which I’ve never had before. I’m sure once I’m on Nayen, it’ll be a simple matter to follow the pull of the connection. You were right to do this tonight, Chelesa; you have assured my success for tomorrow!”

  “We should try again,” Chelesa insisted, looking around the table and receiving nods of assent, coming to her husband last and seeing his reluctant agreement.