Levels of Ascension BoxSet

by Amy Proebstel

  “Yes, please.”

  Two more plates materialized on the island and they ate their meal standing opposite of their children. When the plates were empty and everyone agreed they were too full for dessert, Amanda suggested they sit down in the living room.

  Once everyone was comfortable, Amanda asked the obvious question, “What happened in the parking lot to cause Sofia to be hit by the car?”

  “Sofia was excited because Jon was going to come over to her house to study. She had been looking for him and I spotted him heading toward her car. Before any of us knew it, Sofia was running to catch up with him and she didn’t look to see if the way were clear. She stepped right in front of the car which was going too fast for a crowded parking lot anyway.”

  Jena took over the story by saying, “Too late to do anything, we saw Sofia flying through the air and hitting the ground where her head smacked into the curb. It seemed like everything was going in slow motion. Juila and I were already on our way to help her before she even hit the ground, I think.”

  “Then I got scared because I thought I completely healed her and she wouldn’t have any injuries to account for all of the blood. Luckily I missed a couple of gashes! She ended up with seven stitches on the back of her head, three stitches on her arm, and six on the side of her abdomen. I told Behn how scared I was that we’d be found out because I had healed her too well. I guess that’s what I get for being so cocky!”

  “From the extent of the injuries you repaired, you have every right to feel proud of the work you did. You did save her life, after all!” Amanda was so proud of her daughters.

  “She probably would have healed everything if the EMT’s hadn’t shown up when they did. I guess we got lucky, didn’t we, Juila?”

  “Yeah, lucky,” she replied sullenly. “I wish I would have been fast enough to protect her from even getting hit in the first place.”

  “That wasn’t Jehoban’s plan for you, Juila,” Riccan stated simply. “Don’t ever second-guess his plans.”

  Jena nodded in agreement first and, finally, Juila had to agree with her father’s wisdom. Juila yawned hugely and belatedly covered her mouth.

  “Why don’t the two of you call it an early night? A good night’s sleep will make everything better,” Amanda suggested.

  “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” Juila said as she slowly pulled herself up from the low couch. She leaned forward and gave each of her parents a kiss on the cheek and shuffled her way across the foyer to the staircase.

  “I’ll keep an eye on her,” Jena said as she copied her sister’s gesture of kissing both parents. She had a bit more liveliness in her step, but she could definitely tell she needed to rest. She caught up with Juila before reaching the top of the stairs and put her arm around Juila’s waist for comfort.

  Chapter Thirteen

  NEAL RESTED COMFORTABLY in the leather lounge chair in Dr. Huddleston’s office. Initially he had been nervous about meeting with the therapist, but now he realized his fears had been misplaced. Dr. Huddleston was a very mellow man who seemed to merely want to talk about easy things of Neal’s life. He mostly told stories about high school, college, and dating Amanda.

  Dr. Huddleston scribbled another round of ideas on his notepad and tapped his pen onto the surface of the paper. He tossed around several ideas for treatment before he finally came to the best solution. “I’d like to try to hypnotize you, if you don’t mind,” Dr. Huddleston said as soon as Neal finished his last story.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know if you realize it, but you’ve only shared stories with me from things which happened quite some ago. You haven’t made any mention of anything from the past several years. I’m hoping hypnosis will allow your subconscious to relax enough to help you recall your missing time. Do you want to try it?”

  Dr. Huddleston doodled on the notepad in his lap rather than let Neal know how desperately he wanted to go forward to this next step in the treatment plan. After speaking with Neal’s parents prior to this appointment, he knew hypnosis would be the only answer in helping to restore this young man’s lost years. He was looking forward to being the one person to help the family.

  “If you think it would help. My mom is really hoping you can help me.”

  “Good! Good. Okay, then we can begin right away.” He glanced down at his watch and then smiled back up at Neal and said, “We have just enough time in today’s session. Now close your eyes and take two deep breaths through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Good, now focus on the sound of my voice…”

  Neal drifted through the thoughts in his mind. He felt completely relaxed and warm, almost as if he were floating. He had no notion of time or space as he reviewed the scenes unfolding in his head as though he were watching a movie where he was the star.

  Dr. Huddleston first asked questions about places and times which Neal could easily recall. When the answers started to conflict with what the doctor believed actually happened, he started to ask more pointed questions. “What is the name of the place where you lived?”

  “Tuala.”

  “Did you live alone?”

  “No.”

  “Who did you live with?”

  Neal furrowed his brow slightly. He wanted to say the woman’s name was Amanda since the woman looked so much like his former fiancé. Finally, he recalled the woman’s actual name and said, “Vinia.” Almost as if her name were a trigger, he started to recall many other previously lost thoughts and emotions. He became very agitated and confused with the glut of information overloading his brain.

  Dr. Huddleston recognized signs of stress in his patient and decided they had gone far enough for the day’s session. He said, “I’m going to count backward from ten to one. When I reach the number one, I’m going to snap my fingers together and you are going to be wide awake, feeling refreshed and relaxed.” He counted down and snapped his fingers.

  Neal took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. His body felt as though he had taken a really long, relaxing nap. For once in many days, he actually felt energized and ready to face the world again. He smiled at the doctor and said, “Did it work?”

  “What do you think, Neal? Only you can be the judge of whether or not it worked.”

  “I felt as though I’ve slept for a really long time. How long was the session?”

  The doctor looked across the office at the wall clock and replied, “Just under twenty minutes.”

  “Wow, it sure felt a lot longer than that!” Neal picked himself up and put his feet on the floor and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “I had the strangest dreams. Was any of it real?”

  “That’s for you to decide, Neal. I think we should plan on scheduling another hypnosis session for when you come back. I’m hoping you’ll agree to come back?”

  “Sure. I don’t see why not. It’ll sure make my mother happy.” Neal smiled brightly at the doctor to make sure his backhanded acceptance did not offend the therapist.

  “Great!” Dr. Huddleston stood up promptly and held out his hand to Neal. “My receptionist can get your next appointment set up. It was wonderful meeting you, Mr. Taivas.”

  Neal stood up and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thank you, Doctor. I look forward to our next session.”

  They walked out of the office together and Dr. Huddleston instructed the receptionist to book Neal for another hour-long session within the next seven days. He nodded his head cordially at Neal and went back into his office to finish recording his notes before his next patient arrived.

  Jessica had been waiting in the reception area for Neal. Her attention had been riveted to his face as soon as the therapist’s door had opened. If his expression were any indication, progress had been made during the session. She barely contained her happiness, afraid her enthusiasm would sour Neal on wanting to continue with treatment.

  Neal thanked the receptionist and took the appointment card she handed him before turning to his mother. “This was a gre
at idea, Mom.” He held out his hand to help her up from the chair. He could tell she was happy for him and he was glad to see her worried expression begin to fade from her face. More than anything, he wanted to have the easygoing relationship restored with his parents; time would tell.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Elder Debbon landed his telepod at their personal estate with the early morning sun shining across the landscape. He always appreciated the panoramic view his property afforded him of his district. There was no other place with a better setting than his ancestral home. He hoped he would find as much peace inside the house as he did outside.

  He walked up the path from the landing grounds to the main house and pondered what he was going to do with his son. Ever since he had told Willian he would help him arrange a way to meet with Jena on Earth he had regretted his rash promise. Distance was probably the best cure for his son’s reckless and heartless actions regarding his betrothed.

  Times were changing for sure, starting with Rasa’s acceptance by most of the other Elders. He was unsure whether the other Elders would agree with his decision to send Willian to Earth; that might be taking their tolerance too far. Shrugging his shoulders, he had to rely on his initial instincts to help his son on this quest. He had already lived through two weeks of pain and agony thinking his son lost in the perils of the Ascension Gate.

  No sooner had he entered the front door when his wife came running down the hallway and into his arms. He folded his arms around her slender body and breathed deeply of the fresh, clean scent of her still-wet hair. “Maybe I should leave more often if this is the welcome I’d receive!”

  “Don’t you dare! I hate it when you leave me.” Chelesa tilted her head up and accused, “I thought you were going to come home last night!”

  “I had every intention of leaving right after the confirmation vote, but Wilken asked us to stay for dinner. By the time the evening ended, it was much too late to even think about leaving. You wouldn’t want me to risk flying home tired, would you?”

  “Absolutely not! So does this mean Rasa is really to be Wilken’s successor? How did that go over?” Chelesa extricated herself from their embrace and kept her arm around his back as she propelled him down the hall toward his office so they could talk in private.

  Debbon wished she had steered them toward their bedroom for a more intimate private encounter, yet he understood her need to hear everything which had transpired over the last three days. He sat at his desk and recounted all of the events to his rapt audience. Never once did Chelesa interrupt his narration of the convocation.

  When her husband finished the tale, she sat back and said, “Wow! I wonder what Yingun is going to come up with to make Wilken’s and Rasa’s lives difficult!”

  “I was thinking the same thing. I’m going to have to watch him more carefully for a bit to make sure he doesn’t do something to tarnish his standing with the Elders or his district. I don’t like contention among our small group. Our jobs are hard enough even when we’re all getting along.” Debbon closed his eyes momentarily at the unfortunate mess this meeting had made of the balance of power within their elite community.

  “Do you think Yingun will cool off when he sees Wilken isn’t ready to step down anytime soon?”

  “I could hope, but I think it moved from dislike to downright hate by the time the meeting ended.”

  “How unfortunate for Rasa. This will be her problem when Wilken is ready to let her take over.”

  “Like you said, it could be a long while before anything changes hands. For everyone’s sakes, I hope Wilken lives forever!”

  “He is a really good Elder. Rasa will have a great teacher in the meantime.”

  “Speaking of good teachers…has Willian said anything more to you about wanting to go to Earth?”

  “Ugh, it’s all he talks about. I really wish you’d tell him you’ve reconsidered. I can’t see how it will do any good at this point and I really think Willian will make things worse with Jena if he handles it badly. I mean, what if Jena refuses to talk to him? Willian will lose his cool.”

  “Believe me, you aren’t saying anything I haven’t already thought of already. I’m just afraid Willian would be foolish enough to try to use the Gate unassisted if we don’t help him. I’d much rather we be in charge of this than allow it up to chance again. We were truly blessed to get him back at all, you know.”

  Chelesa shivered with fear at how close they had come to losing their son. Reluctantly she had to agree with her husband in this matter, as much as she detested it. “It just feels like we’re rewarding his bad behavior and it rankles me that he pushed us into this decision.”

  “I agree. I think we’ll have to set some major conditions on him in exchange for our help. If nothing else comes of this, he’ll learn there are consequences for his actions. The fear he initially felt from his failed attempt will only last so long.”

  “What do you have planned?” Chelesa could hardly wait to hear what Debbon had devised for their son.

  “I spoke with Wilken about our situation. He has agreed to send Willian through his Gate in exchange for Willian mediating some domestic matters with a group of teens in his district.”

  Chelesa grinned wickedly as she imagined their son sitting in on boring political meetings. “Willian might reconsider the deal when he hears there’s work involved!” She chuckled in anticipation of Willian’s distaste of politics.

  “It’ll be a good learning experience for him. He has to learn mediation skills as well as the ability to work with other Elders to achieve a common goal.”

  “When is Wilken expecting him?”

  “He said he could be ready as soon as tomorrow.”

  Chelesa’s mood dampened at the thought of him leaving so soon. “Are you going to take him?”

  “I don’t think so. If he wants independence, then he can prove it by taking himself there.”

  “When are you going to tell him? Do you really want him to leave tomorrow? We could put off telling him for a bit longer, you know.”

  “I know, but really what would be the point?” He shrugged his shoulders and willed his wife to understand. When Chelesa finally nodded her agreement he continued, “I’ll tell him at dinner tonight to get ready to leave after school tomorrow.”

  “What about his school, Debbon?”

  “I think he’ll learn a lot more on this journey than any missed school sessions could teach him. Besides, I’m going to tell him he’ll need to register for school on Earth. It’ll do him some good to find out what Jena’s been learning.”

  Chelesa’s grin returned as she tried to visualize their son enrolled in an Earth school. The thought tickled her imagination. Maybe this trip was going to be good for their spoiled, overindulged son. Maybe he would even learn a dose of humility while he was at it. Then she realized she was talking about her son and said, “Maybe you should put a compulsion on him to keep his powers secret. The last thing we’d want is for him to get himself in trouble on Earth. You know how impulsive he can be!”

  “True! I’ll have to consider it for a bit this evening. Maybe I can work something over him while he’s sleeping tonight. He doesn’t really need to know we don’t entirely trust him.”

  Chelesa nodded agreement. It saddened her to think she had failed so miserably in tempering her son’s behavior as he grew up. She could think of many occasions where a sharp word said at the appropriate time could have changed their son’s attitude.

  Debbon could see his wife’s mood darken and he hated to see it. “I don’t have to be at the Residence until this afternoon, maybe we could continue my homecoming welcome upstairs in our bedroom.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and was pleased to see his wife’s mood lighten with comprehension of his suggestion. He stood from his chair and held out his hand to his wife.

  “It’s a good thing you have plans for this afternoon since I have as well,” she teased.

  “What are you doing?” They left his office and head
ed up the main staircase.

  “I’m going to visit with Nena. She has a project in mind for us.”

  “Anything I’d be interest in?”

  “Probably…but you’ll be too busy,” she teased. She shut the bedroom door behind them and silenced any further conversation by covering his lips with her own.

  Chapter Fourteen

  CHELESA SAW HER husband off to his duties before she took off in her telepod to Pantano. She was eager to read the journal with Nena, more than a little curious what Amanda had written about her family in particular. It was hard to imagine a stranger knowing so many details of their lives when they tried to keep their personal life so secret. Having Debbon in the public eye made them more conscious of their private time.

  She landed at the same location as she had previously and made quick work of exiting the telepod. As she crossed the great expanse of lawn, she could see Nena waving to her from the patio above her. She quickened her pace and skipped up the stairs to reach her friend.

  They hugged in greeting and Nena said, “Come inside out of the heat. I’ve arranged for tea and refreshments in my office so we won’t be interrupted.” She led the way in a rush and closed the office door once Chelesa entered the room. In anticipation of the meeting, Nena had printed out two copies of the journal which pertained to Chelesa so they could read at their own pace and not hold up one another. Somehow it seemed an invasion of privacy to share the other people’s stories with her.

  Chelesa sat in one of the plush chairs and was glad to find Nena pick the chair next to her rather than across from her at the desk as she had thought would happen. It would be much more fun and intimate if they were able to sit close and share discoveries. She accepted the bundle of papers from Nena as well as a pen to take notes.

  Within minutes both women were silently engrossed in reading the journal. Many of the accounts were not known to Chelesa as they dealt with other people. She was more than a little startled to read as much detail as was written. At this point she realized the specifics of the journal could be very dangerous indeed if it were to fall into the wrong hands. She scribbled a note to remind herself to talk to Nena about it later.