Levels of Ascension BoxSet

by Amy Proebstel

  “No. I’m sorry.”

  “No worries. You heard the receptionist say she appears to be okay. Do you want to come back with me to see for yourself?”

  “If you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. Come on. Oh, hi, Juila and Jena.”

  “Hi, Mrs. Castillo. We didn’t want to intrude. This is Jon’s brother, Behn. He drove us all here.” Juila made the quick introduction.

  “Do you all want to come back to see Sofia?”

  The woman at the front desk interrupted rudely by saying, “We must limit the guests. Only you and one other person can go back there.”

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Castillo,” Juila spoke hurriedly when she could see her begin to bristle with insult toward the receptionist. “We’ll wait here until Jon has seen her.”

  “Thank you, Juila. Some people are so rude,” she said as she glared at the woman behind the desk. She took Jon’s arm and walked past the desk in the direction she had been told.

  Juila sighed loudly and said, “I guess we’ll have to go back and wait for Jon. I hope he doesn’t take too long.”

  Chapter Ten

  ELDER WILKEN CLEARED his throat loudly as he rose from his lounge chair in the main reception room at his Residence. “May I have everyone’s attention?” He looked around the room at the few remaining people talking and waited for silence before he went on. “I believe we’ve had enough time to have private conversations both among ourselves as well as with Rasa. I’d like to propose we adjourn to the council meeting room and conclude this matter.”

  Without waiting to see if there were any objections, Elder Wilken turned and began walking out of the room. It had been an education to see how some of the other Elders had moved into groups of like belief and how others moved between groups to gather sentiment. He had been pleased to have the impression of general approval from the majority of the leaders.

  When he reached the head of the oval table, Elder Wilken rested his palms flat on the smooth surface while he watched the rest of the Elders filter into the room and resume the seats they had left the day before. He knew the outcome would indeed favor the will of Jehoban, he just hoped it would not be at the expense of long-time friendships and alliances of the other Elders.

  Rasa came to stand beside Elder Wilken and gave him a small, uncertain smile. She was understandably nervous with the outcome of the final vote. While she knew it was unnecessary for the vote to be unanimous, she hoped they could see the value she could bring to the position after having met and talked with everyone present.

  Elder Wilken patted her hand briefly and winked at her where only she would see it. He had faith in his choice of successor and was pleased at how she had handled herself throughout the entire proceedings. He turned his attention back to the fully assembled convocation and said, “Please be seated.”

  Once the noise of everyone’s chairs scraping on the floor died down and the final grumbles of complaint were quiet, Elder Wilken turned his head to Elder Debbon and gave him a brief nod to begin. Elder Debbon nodded briefly in return to acknowledge the shift in direction of the meeting. He had thought to conduct the final vote while they were standing, but then acknowledged the wisdom of a seated vote. People generally felt less powerful when they were seated. If they wanted any hope of unanimity, they would be better off remaining seated.

  “We all know why we are convened this afternoon. We have had the opportunity to spend an evening, morning, and afternoon with the proposed successor to Elder Wilken. I’d like to remind everyone that the outcome of this final vote need not be unanimous, merely a majority. In the unlikely event that we are unable to come to the same conclusion as Elder Wilken, he is within his rights to petition Jehoban directly. We would then be required to attend a session with Jehoban, with Him as the mediator, where we would have to explain our position directly to Him. Please keep this outcome in mind when you are casting your final vote.”

  “Why are we to believe Jehoban sent her? We only have the word of this girl as to why she came here,” grumbled Elder Yingun.

  Elder Debbon scowled at the old and disgruntled Elder and decided to address his concern head on by saying, “Feel free to doubt as you like, Elder Yingun. You can take up your complaint with Jehoban when you are called to task for challenging His choice.”

  Yingun continued to scowl fiercely at Debbon for several tense seconds before he lowered his gaze to his lap. He felt as though he were being put in an untenable position and he did not like it one bit. It was not right for this slip of a girl to be creating such a mess for all of the good Elders. He would make sure she paid for the insult he had just received in front of his peers.

  Debbon decided to continue with the meeting without any further delay. “Since we have already had two initial votes where we have voiced our concerns, I believe we can forgo further commentary. Please raise your hand if you are in favor of Rasa becoming Elder Wilken’s successor.” He watched with satisfaction as the previous assenters raised their hands instantly. More slowly were the hands raised of Quentien, Tarshen, Uvan, and Vargen.

  Debbon contained a smile as he watched Xylen be torn between the two men on either side of him. He had felt sure of himself when both Vargen and Yingun had supported his own reservations. With Vargen’s hand raised right beside him, he slowly raised his hand much to the chagrin of Yingun. Debbon knew the two men could cause trouble for Rasa if they were to join forces to harass her. He would have to keep an eye on both of them.

  With one final look around the table, Debbon was pleased to see Olguin had also changed his vote from abstaining to assenting. The only person who refused to raise his hand was Yingun. His arms were crossed and his chin was jutting out stubbornly as he glared across the table at Debbon.

  “Thank you all for your time. We have achieved a clear majority.” He turned to Rasa and motioned for her to stand. “Let me be the first to welcome you to our ranks, Rasa. We know Jehoban has trained you impeccably and we will assist you however we may, should the need arise.”

  “Thank you, Elder Debbon. The honor is mine. I will do everything in my power to show you I can live up to the high standard set by the examples of everyone here. Thank you, Elders.” She made a small bow toward the rest of the seated table as she felt her eyes begin to mist with a surge of emotion at being accepted by these great men despite their initial resistance to such a major change.

  Wilken rose from his chair quietly and turned to his right to give Rasa a hug. He was more than pleased to have had the vote go as well as it had. He had been certain there would be more argument from Yingun and his supporters. Jehoban must have changed their hearts and minds with regard to this matter, there simply was no other explanation for it. He kept his arm around Rasa’s shoulder as he turned to face the gentlemen at the table. “Thank you for accepting my choice of successor. I hope to live and rule for many anons to come, but rest assured, Rasa will be by my side learning.”

  Elder Debbon thought Wilken’s simple speech was the proper way to end the meeting. “The votes have been duly noted. Rasa has been accepted as Elder Wilken’s successor and will be treated with all respect due to her new position in society. This convocation is now adjourned.”

  Over the noise of the chairs scraping across the floor as everyone rose, Wilken announced, “A celebratory dinner has been prepared for anyone who wishes to remain and celebrate with us!”

  Nobody was surprised when Yingun beat a hasty retreat from the room. A few moments later they could clearly hear the exterior door being slammed as the old Elder left the Residence to go back to his telepod to leave.

  Vargen made his way around the table and touched Wilken’s arm. “I would like to stay for dinner, but I have pressing matters back in my district which require my attention. Congratulations, Rasa. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you soon. Goodnight.”

  “Thank you, Vargen. Goodnight and safe travels,” Wilken said. He turned to Rasa and said, “Shall we go into the dining room?”

 
Rasa smiled up at the old gentleman and nodded. She could hardly believe her luck with the ease in which her life had just changed directions. She felt incredibly blessed for Jehoban to put her forward for this new role. Never had she imagined she would be doing something so important or so different. Ever since she was a little girl, she had imagined her life being lived on Acaim, doing whatever Jehoban needed. The responsibility and the honor was not lost on her as she walked beside the second nicest man she had ever met.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Jessica sat across the dinner table and watched her son carefully. She knew he had had another bad night’s sleep. It broke her heart to see how fragmented Neal had become in the time he had been missing. Since Neal had agreed to see a therapist, she had spent the entire morning trying to locate the very best person to work with her son’s special case.

  “I found a therapist for you to see,” she announced cheerfully.

  Neal glanced up from his meal hastily and simply stared at his mom for a moment before he replied, “That didn’t take long. When is the appointment?”

  “Tomorrow morning. We were lucky he had an opening so soon.”

  “How much did such luck cost?” Neal muttered as he shifted his gaze back down to his meal. His appetite seemed to have disappeared with his mother’s announcement.

  “You still want to go, right?” Jessica glanced worriedly over to her husband and plead with her eyes for him to say something to back her up.

  Neal, Sr. shook his head slightly and raised another forkful of steak into his mouth. He was not going to get involved in this battle. He knew their son would eventually have to talk to someone, but he was not a fan of forcing it on him so soon.

  “Yeah, I’ll go. I just wish I had more time is all.”

  Jessica almost cried out in relief, yet managed to restrain herself just in time. It was enough for Neal to have agreed, she did not need to add anything more which might make him change his mind. She picked up her fork and casually cut a piece of her steak.

  The silence continued for the remainder of the meal. Not much eating was accomplished as everyone seemed to be preoccupied with ruminations of what would happen the next day. Finally, Neal, Sr. put his fork down on his nearly empty plate and pushed his chair away from the table as he rose to his feet.

  “I’m going to watch the game on TV. Do you want to join me, Neal?”

  “Sure. Who’s playing?” Neal asked unenthusiastically.

  “Eagles and the Rams.”

  “Cool.” He stood up and kept his eyes downcast. He was thankful to get away from the awkward meal and his mother’s prying eyes. It was almost as if she were willing him to say something more about the therapist and, frankly, Neal was unsure how he felt about the whole thing. He walked out of the room just behind his father.

  Jessica watched as the two men in her life walked out of the room. Where she had always thought of her son as being the spitting image of her husband in both physical features and personality, now she was saddened to see a drastic difference in every aspect. She sincerely hoped the therapist would be able to break through the walls Neal had built in his mind to help him unlock his past so he could deal with his present and future.

  She knew it was unrealistic to believe it would all happen in one visit, so instead she prayed it would come about swiftly. Not only was she intensely curious to find out where he had been, she also felt a burning desire to make his captors pay for hurting him so badly. This line of thinking reminded her to call Amanda, or better yet, pay her a visit to get some answers. She had been patient enough, Amanda was going to talk.

  Chapter Eleven

  “JUST HOW DO you and Vinia know one another?” Amanda asked in the charged silence as she looked over at Barla.

  “She was a swimmer who came to live with us and worked for Captain Ahn.”

  Amanda began to get a strange feeling she knew the rest of the story and asked, “Were you held captive by Petre?”

  Vinia nodded confirmation. “He said I was his wife.”

  “Let me guess, you drugged him, jumped overboard, and you were picked up by Captain Issyn?” Amanda stated simply.

  “What? How could you know that?” Vinia stared dumbfounded from Amanda to Barla. “Did you tell her?”

  “No,” Barla insisted and asked the same question as Vinia. “How do you know this?”

  “It’s a long story,” Amanda began. “Did you help with Captain Ahn’s quarterly audit and then go live with Bryon and Alena?”

  “Yes!”

  “Did you watch over their children while Alena went to be trained as a wise-woman?”

  “Yes!”

  “While you were pregnant, did Bryon take you to the telepod races where you saw Riccan for the first time?”

  “Yes!”

  Amanda’s heart began to race as she realized her dream had not been random at all; while she had been in her coma she had been living Vinia’s life on Tuala. “Can you believe this, Riccan? It’s exactly as I recorded it in my journal!”

  “It’s amazing! What do you think it all means?” Riccan asked.

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to ponder the implications.”

  “What are you saying?” Vinia asked in confusion.

  “I was in a coma for many anons and during that time, apparently, I dreamt I was living your life. I’m not sure what it means or why it happened. Maybe it means you and I are supposed to work together. Maybe it means something entirely different.”

  Riccan leaned forward and asked, “Did Bryon take you hiking after the kids were born?”

  Amanda knew where Riccan was going with his question and was intensely curious to hear Vinia’s answer.

  “Yes,” Vinia replied slowly. She did not know what they were trying to find out so she fell silent.

  “Did anything happen as you were descending the mountain?” Amanda prompted.

  “No.”

  “Interesting!” Riccan declared at the same time Amanda said, “It’s not the same!”

  “What? What’s different?” Barla asked in confusion.

  “My version of the past had me being swept away by a mudslide. Vinia’s reality did not have that happen to her, for which I’m thankful you didn’t have to go through such an ordeal.” Amanda was imminently relieved while troubled at the same time. Everything had been exact from her dream and now she was unsure what to know as fact. Another disturbing event came to mind and she asked, “Did Valentina get abducted from the marketplace?” She hoped more than anything that Vinia would deny this event as well.

  “Yes!”

  “How long was she gone and how did you get her back?” Amanda leaned forward intently to urge Vinia to answer swiftly.

  “It was the longest mesan of my life. We got her back when we found out Elder Debbon had made a contract with Petre for Valentina to be betrothed to his son. How come you don’t seem surprised? Did you dream about this part as well?”

  “I did, well mostly. In my dream, I wasn’t able to get her back. She stayed with Elder Debbon and Chelesa.”

  “Oh! I’m glad it turned out my way better!”

  “Then what did you do?”

  “I took my three kids back to the Roanoke Colony and raised them there for the next six anons.”

  Amanda nodded as she processed this new information. “Who abducted Valentina?”

  “Petre!”

  “Is he the father of the triplets?”

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  Amanda took Vinia’s hand in her own and gently squeezed it. “I’m sorry for everything Petre put you through. The bright side is he gave you your three kids. If they are the same ones as our girls have gotten to know, then you definitely have something to be proud of as they are wonderful, thoughtful, and kind.”

  “Thank you for saying so,” Vinia said shyly. Just thinking about her missing children made her long for them even more than ever. Just as she opened her mouth to ask another question a baby began crying from upstairs. “Sorry,
Danika is up from her nap. Excuse me.” Vinia stood up and immediately left the room.

  Barla had sat in mute silence as she tried to process everything she had just heard from this amazing woman and her husband. She truly hoped Amanda would be able to reunite Vinia with her lost children. “While we’re waiting for Vinia to return, can I get you anything?”

  “I think we’ve taken up enough of your time today. Riccan and I should probably get going.”

  “Oh, please stay longer!”

  “We really can’t, Barla,” Riccan interceded. “I have to get back to work and Amanda has plans for this afternoon.”

  Amanda kept herself from asking Riccan what plans she had and simply nodded.

  “Please tell me you’ll come back soon for another visit,” Barla pled.

  “Of course!” Amanda smiled at Barla as she rose from the chair at the same time as Riccan.

  Barla hurried to escort them to the front door. She had so many questions rolling through her mind. She wished she were able to speak to Amanda alone, without even Vinia around. It seemed rather selfish, yet she really wanted to know more about Amanda. Wishing she could delay their departure she said, “Please keep me updated on your progress for Vinia’s children and when she can go visit with Neal.”

  “Of course!” Amanda replied immediately. She turned and gave Barla a quick hug. “Thank you, Barla.”

  “For what?” she asked in confusion.

  “For everything you’ve done for me and Vinia. You’ve put yourself at risk, yet you’ve never batted an eyelash at volunteering your time and home.”

  More than a little embarrassed at Amanda’s praise she looked down and answered quietly, “It’s the least I could do for the wonderful life I’ve had with Ahn.”

  “I’ll message you soon. Goodbye for now,” Amanda said as Riccan began pulling her down the stairs by her hand.