Ascension Watchers

by Amy Proebstel

  Debbon closed his eyes, knowing this to be a futile effort. He was certain one of the priests had begun using his samara, which would account for the withdrawal of the power from their call. He only hoped this second attempt would not somehow alert the priest to their plan to retrieve it. Still, he had to give his wife credit for her tenacity in the matter, even if it were only fueled by her fear of him leaving in the morning.

  Focusing his thoughts carefully, Debbon felt the power of the eleven samaras rise, filling the room with an almost static electricity feeling, growing more powerful even as Chelesa guided them along the thin strand of attachment they had managed to forge the previous time. When they reached the samara again, Debbon did feel a stronger pull than he had before, immediately tying himself more firmly to its signature, although unable to release it from whoever happened to be using it at the time.

  Several minutes passed before Chelesa finally withdrew the group’s considerable power. “I’m sorry we failed,” she whispered to nobody in particular.

  Debbon squeezed Chelesa’s hand and corrected her. “I was able to strengthen my connection with that second attempt. I would consider that a success since I didn’t have any connection before we started this evening.”

  He looked out at the others and announced, “Tomorrow, I will be traveling to the planet known as The World, or The World of Chaos as I’ve seen it noted on several occasions, where I’ll be retrieving my samara.” He continued even as Chelesa began openly sobbing. “I’ll also be transporting Vargen to the same location since he aided the man who stole the samara in the first place. It only fits for him to join the thief on his homeworld. It’s my understanding that it’s not a very nice place to live at present, being controlled by the dark Empress. Vargen will get a taste of his own medicine with no way to return to Tuala.”

  Standing from the chair, Debbon leaned forward with his fists on the table and continued, “In front of all of these witnesses, I appoint Elder Daven as interim First Elder until my successful return. Daven, will you accept this appointment?”

  Not having expected such an honor, Daven felt humbled and more than a little dumbfounded by the prospect. Nena nudged him inelegantly with her elbow into his ribs, causing him to grunt before clearing his throat and saying, “Yes, I accept the honor. Thank you for your trust.”

  “Thank you for taking on the last task I needed to address. If you’ll all excuse me, I have a few more details to research before I begin my journey.” Debbon nodded one final time, noting the expression on each person’s face about his statement, before exiting the room. It seemed only the women were concerned for him, whereas the men knew he had to take this assignment and yet they were thankful to have already received their own samaras.

  Originally planning on heading up to bed, Debbon realized there were some things he still needed to find out about his trip. Having mentioned Vargen’s assistance to Yama'anks, it also made him realize he could access the Apio Gate’s transfer records, something only the First had access to. Debbon seated himself in front of his office patil, he pulled up the date in question and realized his initial travel plans would have to be altered. It appeared as though Yama'anks had not been sent to Nayen, although that was his current location according to the database, he had been sent to Shria. If he were to follow Yama'anks’s trail, he would have to begin in the same location.

  He pulled up a map of the area, seeing the site of where the Gate left off in Shria on the edge of the Nayen frontier. Noting the mountainous region and the distance from any nearby cities made him wonder about the weather and also if he would be able to use the elemy. He had to believe the person from the journal had managed to use elemy to shadow-walk, although other contingencies had to be considered just in case it failed to work.

  Also, Debbon would have to make sure he would be able to return to the Gate if he could not retrieve the samara within a reasonable amount of time. Not knowing if he would be able to get food or water, he would have to bring enough to last him at least several days. This adventure was fraught with unknowns. He would have to be prepared.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  MORNING CAME ALL too soon, Chelesa woke Debbon by surprising him with breakfast in bed. “Wanted to make sure I ate a proper meal, did you?” Debbon teased, sitting up with his back resting on the pillows.

  “I know how you forget to take care of yourself when you get involved in a project.” Chelesa scooted across the bed to snuggle next to his side, keeping close for as long as she could.

  Debbon appreciated his wife’s ability to care for him without smothering him. He knew about her fear, yet she kept her conversation light. Hiding his doubts for the mission, he applied himself wholeheartedly to eating. Thinking this might be his last meal in Tuala, he smiled at his wife’s thoughtfulness of bringing his favorites of scrambled eggs and fried foxl with an iced pika juice to wash it all down.

  When he finished the meal, Chelesa surprised him yet again by making the dishes and tray disappear with only a thought, something she normally did not practice in the house. He looked over at her, very clearly interpreting her look of desire. Bringing her closer, he made love to her so thoroughly she would not soon forget about him.

  Debbon rolled out of bed, reluctant to leave his wife’s side, yet knowing he had to get going or she would find some other means to delay his departure. He took a quick shower, dressed in the outfit he had picked out the night before, and left the room to head downstairs. As he suspected, Chelesa waited for him in his office.

  Holding out a large bag, she said, “I’ve packed enough food and water to last you three days if you eat sparingly. There’s also a change of clothes and another pair of shoes. If I don’t see you back here by the end of the third day, just know that I’ll be coming to get you myself. You know I don’t like going off-world, so you better just get back here as quick as you can. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, dear. I love you, too.” He accepted the satchel, dropping it onto his desk and pulling her into his arms. Feeling the tremors of fear coursing through her body made him feel terrible for having to put her through this ordeal. It also stirred up anger that he had to even make the trip at all, just because someone could be malicious enough to steal it and use its powers for their evil deeds. He would make them pay for every minute of his wife’s suffering.

  “I really have to get going. I still have to get Vargen from his cell before we can be on our way.” He held Chelesa by the shoulders, trying to give her some comfort, yet knowing he only stalled his own departure. Turning, he picked up the satchel, letting his other hand caress the length of her arm until his fingers intertwined with hers. He kept his hold of her as he left his office, intending to leave her in the hallway which was where she said her goodbyes every morning as he went to the Residence to work.

  She threw her arms up around his neck, clinging to him almost desperately, her lips almost touching him as she whispered in his ear, “Please be careful.”

  “Always, my dear. Especially knowing all I have to look forward to upon my return. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.” He kissed her one last time and then swiftly turned and left the house, not wanting to look back and see the scared expression he knew his wife would be wearing.

  Debbon made quick work of getting to the Residence using his telepod only because he was reluctant to tax his powers for his usual means of translating himself directly. The guards at the Residence all knew what would be happening that day, they stood at attention, serious expressions on their faces. Turning down a hallway not normally traveled, Debbon saw one guard standing before the last door.

  He entered the small room, seeing Vargen huddled in the corner, no longer the proud man he had been only a few days before. Now he could see the fear of his sentence along every line of his body. “It’s time, Vargen. Stand up.” Debbon created a ribbon of elemy to bind the man and compel him to cooperate.

  With the prisoner in tow, Debbon marched resolutely to the Ascension Ga
te room, directing Vargen to the Gate while he tapped a few commands to send them both to the Gate in Apio. Satisfied with his final review, he turned from the console to join Vargen. A commotion behind him made his steps falter as he spun around to discover the source of the problem. A split second later, Willian rushed into the room, eyes desperate and angry.

  “Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?” Willian asked as he threw himself into his father’s chest, arms wrapping around him like he had done when he was little.

  Debbon had to recover his composure. To be completely honest, he had forgotten his son had returned to their house, considering all of the pressing matters which had occupied his time and thoughts. He hugged Willian close, feeling terrible at his thoughtlessness regarding his only child. “I’m sorry, Willian, I’m so used to you being self-sufficient. I don’t plan on being gone very long. Promise me you’ll look after your mother so she won’t worry herself sick.”

  “I will, Father. Please come home soon.”

  Debbon patted Willian’s back comfortingly. “I will. I must get going, I’ve already set the console to be ready on my command. Why don’t you guide the transfer and make sure it confirms my safe arrival at Apio?” He gently pushed Willian to do his bidding, as he turned and stepped down beside Vargen.

  With a smile of reassurance to his son, Debbon nodded his readiness and watched as Willian confidently activated the transfer. The room disappeared to be replaced with black coldness, only having the sound of his beating heart to give him any indication of the passing of time or space.

  Within three seconds, they arrived at the Gate room in Apio, where Debbon left Vargen in the Gate while he went to program the console to take them on the second leg of their trip to The World. Strangely, only the Apio Gate in Tuala had a direct link to this other planet, which would account for Vargen’s involvement rather than one of the other Elders he would have suspected first.

  He carefully reviewed the coordinates he had previously plotted out from his patil at home. This was definitely not the time to be rushed or sloppy, every digit mattered more than at any other time, especially since the distance they would be traveling would be significantly farther than any he had ever known personally.

  He rejoined Vargen at the Gate and mentally activated the console to send them on their way. He counted to twelve, double what it would have taken to get to Earth before he began to see the walls of a cave materialize around him and Vargen.

  “It appears we’ve made it somewhere,” Debbon stated the obvious to Vargen. Not hearing any response, Debbon realized the elemy constraint still held even though they were no longer on Tuala. Suddenly his whole attitude toward this mission shifted into one of optimism as he realized he would have access to his powers. Surely, nothing could stop his success now!

  “Let’s get a move on it then, Vargen. We need to get you placed somewhere, and I have other things to attend to.” He stepped out of the perfectly circular cavern which looked suspiciously like the one on Earth where he had taken Ian. Vargen continued to follow him obediently, remaining silent as the compulsion prevented him from anything else.

  They left the tunnels of the mountain to stand on the edge of the cliff, only a small animal trail snaking its way down from the lip of the cave. Taking his first look at a foreign world, Debbon’s vantage point high up on the mountain showed him a plateau of wasteland and a large body of water to his right and more mountains and forests to his left. He breathed in the air, noticing the subtle differences with the oxygen level as well as a slightly bitter smell he could not readily identify.

  Taking stock of his resources, Debbon patted his satchel slung over his shoulder and crossing over his torso to rest on the opposite hip. It made him recall his wife’s direction to eat sparingly and to return promptly. The final test came when Debbon thrust his mental power deep into the earth to touch the elemental energy within and found it readily available, although quite different in nature and feel.

  Once again, Debbon was thrilled to still have access to his crystal skills, which he used liberally to keep them from falling to their death on the loose shale shifting precariously under their feet during the steepest part of the descent. As soon as they were on stable ground and in the cover of the tall trees, Debbon paused to get his bearings.

  He pulled out the map from his tunic pocket and tried to orient himself based on the line of the cave, the trees, his previous observations of the water, and the angle of the sun. Fairly certain he held the map correctly, he closed his eyes while simultaneously opening his mind for any signal which might be felt from his samara.

  Unlike on Tuala, the connection to his crystal seemed to call out to him with an urgency that almost brought him to tears. Nothing in his previous experience could have prepared him for the onslaught of emotions which assaulted his open mind welcoming and beckoning him alluringly.

  When he opened his eyes again, he was surprised to discover himself on his knees, tears coursing down his cheeks. To prevent himself from becoming lost in the thrall of the crystal, he closed off most of his mind to the samara, finally making it possible for him to think again and look around him in wonder.

  Belatedly, he realized Vargen had disappeared, seizing the opportunity to escape from custody when Debbon’s mind had redirected his energy flow from constraining him. Turning around, Debbon scoured his surroundings, searching for any clue to where Vargen had gone, only to see unbroken trees all around.

  Only for a few seconds did he consider attempting to search him out, until he realized he would rather not know what happened to his former colleague. At least this way, Debbon could be assured that Vargen had left on his own terms, and now he would not be responsible for whatever became of him.

  Having already purged Vargen’s mind of any crystal skills as well as relieving him of his birth crystal, Vargen had no way to utilize the Gate to return to Tuala. Feeling one less burden on him, Debbon lifted himself up from the ground, dusting off his clothes, and began walking.

  No longer did he have to worry about whether or not he could locate his samara, it beckoned him like nothing else. With each step, he could feel the strands of the connection getting stronger, thicker, and beginning to transfer power to him, unlike anything any of the other samara holders had described. Maybe his samara was unique in this aspect, a thought which greatly pleased Debbon.

  Since he had become so enthralled with the feel of being near his crystal, he paid very little attention to his surroundings. It was not until he began to notice the trees were thinning around him that he began to think he should proceed more cautiously. With this in mind, he accessed the earth’s elemy, noticing how much darker all of the strands felt, and bending them to his will of creating shadows all around him. For some reason, this exercise seemed to be much easier here than it had back on Tuala, causing him to hardly have to expend any energy to maintain its screening power around him.

  Looking down on his map again, Debbon began to realize the actual distance to the nearest town was much further than he had anticipated. He could feel his samara was still quite some distance away, which meant he would have to access more elemy to fold his steps to make better time. His assessment was rewarded as he soon began to smell smoke in the air, making him believe he must be getting close to some sort of habitation.

  He had left the forest behind once he discovered a wide, smooth road. At first, he had been suspicious of it since he could feel the elemy pulsing under its surface. He realized someone had brilliantly made the roads impervious to wear by constantly maintaining its structure with the earth’s own power. Once he determined it safe, Debbon made better time, also feeling more confident this would eventually lead him to Fizer, the first town indicated on his map.

  Debbon did come to a town if it could be called that. From the lack of noise, he guessed the town had less than five thousand people where everyone kept their eyes averted from one another. It was eerie to walk past so many people without ever hearing a
ny casual conversations or any merriment whatsoever. Granted, he still maintained the shadow disguise around him. However, the people seemed not to notice anything.

  He became obsessed with discovering what was actually wrong with these people. He stood still, near the edge of a wooden plank structure, and simply stared around him. Several minutes passed before he almost jumped out of his skin as he saw black lines snaking across the ground.

  He followed its path until he stared at the woman who stood nearest him, noticing with horror as the blackness rose up out of the ground and seemed to attach itself to the back of her head. When she turned toward him, he could see her eyes were solid black, no life or personality remained in her.

  Fueled by revulsion and no longer feeling curious, Debbon shoved himself away from the building and through the town as fast as his elemy could fold his steps. He had no trouble facing the fact that whatever was being done to the townspeople had scared him to the core and also forced him to realize he had no time to waste in this strange world.

  The only part of this terrible turn of events that made him feel grateful was that those people being controlled were unlikely to take notice of his movements. However, he was not going to relinquish his shadow-walking based on this assumption.

  Several more hours passed since he had left the strangeness of Fizer behind him, or at least he hoped it had been that town. Looking at his map, there remained only one other habitation of any note still ahead of him, marked only as The Monastery. This seemed to be the most likely location for a priest, bishop, or archbishop to be keeping the samara.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  DEBBON BEGAN NOTICING signs of destruction around him, almost as though a large group of people had been through recently, stripping all of the trees and shrubs on the sides of the road. He came upon one area where he could tell many people had camped and left destruction in their wake. The many burned areas of the ground still smoldered, thin white smoke lifting up with the slight breeze, let him know they had only just left that day.