by Jon Davis
I grinned, thinking that I would have done the same thing. I was always climbing things. I told Angela of the night Yama first appeared, when Brand and I had been on the church roof.
She chuckled and said, “We’ll have to go up there some time.”
I said, “Hmm, I think we forgot that we left the beer there. We were somewhat distracted, after all. I don’t remember bringing it down with us.”
Angela grinned. “I don’t drink, but Alan would love it. He loves to party—at least, when he’s not being such a snob. Oh, I’m sorry about his attitude, by the way. He really can be a prick at times.”
I said. “Eh, he’s all right. I’ve heard worse. But what were you were saying about Yasmine and Kular? When did they get involved? I mean, it sounds like this happened pretty fast.”
Angela, to my enjoyment, stepped in close, and we continued to hold hands. Looking thoughtful at my comment, she said, “Not really. I mean, it may sound organized, but we’ve been running on pure instinct and reflex since the Day. Parry got on the Internet almost immediately. She found Shield first, and then they began searching for others. Even as she got sick from the magnesium imbalance, Paradoxis kept pushing to find an answer. Then Kular showed up, and things developed rapidly from there.”
To my surprise, Angela took my arm and put it around her shoulders, moving even closer. I didn’t argue. I guess she wanted the sense of comfort it gave her. I just smiled as she talked on.
She said, “Yasmine appeared in the conclave around that time. But she was busy even before the conclave came together. She was working with the African Empowered when Parry found her. And while it was their idea to work together, Yasmine had been the one to push the Orishai to go back into Africa. Her argument was that they should deal with the troubles there while all the governments and military were out of place.”
“The ‘Two Africas’ thing—what’s that about?” I asked.
Angel gave me a summary of the new Two Africas. Yasmine and the Orishai had gone into Africa and, over a matter of weeks, had used their powers to create what were essentially two large countries split on religious sides. The North African Alliance was primarily Muslim, while the South African Confederacy was Christian.
What didn’t make sense, though, was why Yasmine was going to places like Dubai to get terrorists when the Orishai were backing her ideas. I put the thought to the back of my mind as Angela told me about them practically redrawing the borders in Africa. There was even a neutral line of Switzerland-like countries between the two nations to help prevent border clashes. While Angela talked about the Orishai’s actions, it clicked in my head where I had heard that word before—‘Orisha.’ I had learned it from a book on African history. The Orisha were spiritual forms of the greater god. They were ‘avatars,’ in a sense. Oh, how hilarious was that?
After Angela finished, I said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it sounds as though Yasmine was once a decent person. Okay, she got edgy about Ryan Tech, but it also sounds as though she and the Orishai did good things.”
Angela sighed. “That's true, they did. Honestly, I think Yasmine just wanted to help them. But it started her down a dark path, Vaughn. Parry said Yasmine had seemed fine when they went into Kenya and Libya. But by the time they dealt with the Sudan and Rwanda, they were essentially hitting hard and fast with their powers. They basically acted like they were at war in those countries.”
I nodded and said, “While Yama was on its final approach, I remember hearing stories about mass migrations into the central African nations like Chad, the Central African Republic, and the Congolese states. People were trying to get away from the tsunamis.”
Angela sighed. “The problem was more than that. After Yama was stopped, a lot of the governments in Africa had collapse and military dictatorships were starting up. People were being terrorized…”
She stopped. It prompted me to look at her. She had a haunted look in her eyes. “What happened?”
She didn’t answer for a while, and we just walked around the neighborhoods. We got closer together, and it was nice. But if I wanted to know what I was dealing with where Yasmine was concerned, I knew I’d finally have to ask.
“I don’t want to know this, do I?” I asked.
“No, you don’t want to know. I wish I hadn’t seen what happened. But Parry stopped trusting Yasmine after she showed us what she had done in Africa. Especially when we discovered she had manipulated the thoughts of human beings so brutally that the Orishai could became instant power brokers. By March, they were already pulling together nations and territories for this big conference. And that started the ball rolling towards becoming the Two Africas,” Angela said.
Speculating, I said, “So that’s where she came to like the idea of having that kind of power. She basically ambushed all the African leadership and forced their ideas of the two political powers on them.”
Angela nodded and said, “Now, don’t get me wrong. Since the whole mess was sorted out, the African nations have begun developing into a peaceful coexistence, at least that’s how they’re being shown. We aren’t sure what goes on behind the news broadcasts out of the continent. And so far, the UN hasn’t had much to say. They’re still arguing over whether or not to recognize their nation-status. Parry tried looking to see how the people are being treated in general, but the Orishai told her to stay away—very forcefully at that.”
I tensed slightly, looking at her. “That doesn’t sound like peaceful coexistence…but…when did Yasmine change? Was it from the actions she took with fighting the military?”
Angela nodded. “It started when Yasmine just took over the minds of old leaders, the presidents, the warlords, the prime-ministers. She did that, it worked. Then she began pushing for the idea of just taking over other places while things were still chaotic.”
I gave a snort and said, “Well, she kinda missed her chance. Things are settling down now. If you guys had moved in around March or so, I can understand something like that happening. But the U.S. has been doing pretty well in terms of recovery since then.”
Angela stopped and pulled back from me with a hurt look on her face. Her eyes narrowed in sudden anger. “We don’t do that kind of crap! Most of us in the conclave just wanted to understand ourselves. And when it comes to Africa think about how easy Yasmine had it with every one of those nations. Droughts, AIDS, religious and tribal warfare, political corruption, all of that weakened the people of almost every nation in Africa for decades. Vaughn, half of them weren’t even run by governments—they were run by warlords!”
I winced. I remembered talking about Africa and its history with Alex. He had talked about it as being one of humanity’s greatest humanitarian failures. He was never clear as to why that was. Ah well.
“Okay, but that won’t happen here. We’re recovering from the Day and the Exodus. Yes, it's true that Yama hit us bad. Hell, the Day nearly collapsed civilization. But things are coming back. Yasmine can’t just come in and take over. Besides, if the Orishai are busy, who is working with her?” I said.
Angela turned away, but this time, I caught a distinctive look of guilt on her face. “What? What is it?”
She said, “Vaughn, she didn’t suggest that we just invade the U.S. or Europe, or even that we should pull in all the leaders and begin mind controlling them.”
A chill ran down my spine. I asked, “If she wasn’t going for invasion, then what was she up to?”
Angela gave me a slight snort and then said, “It was stupid. And none of us followed her idea. Besides, when she got back, she started going after Ryan Tech again.”
I looked at her. What was it about Ryan Tech that someone could block a telepath? I mean, if Angela and Alan were right about how strong Yasmine was, then no one there could have stopped her. From the sound of it, taking over Africa was so easy for them that it had taken them only a month and a half! Talk about having one dictator over all, while she was there. Wait a second…
I said, “D
id you say that she all but created the Two Africas with that big conference?”
Angela nodded and said, “Basically, yes. The Orishai grabbed up the surviving leaders of the nations of Africa, dragged them all to Kenya, and, in a few days, the new regional governments were created.”
I shook my head. Something wasn’t making sense here. “Okay, but why go to Dubai to try to get religious terrorists? If they weren’t necessary for her African campaign, why talk to terrorists in the Middle East?”
Angela stopped and pulled away from me. She stared and said, “What?”
I said, “Yeah, Eisenhawk told me. Yasmine was in Dubai with terrorists. I didn’t get much info beyond that. He also knows about—what is it? What’s wrong?”
Angela looked at me in shock. I said, “Angela, relax, she was stopped. The U.S. government grabbed her cohorts in Dubai. I think that’s how they found her out.”
Not speaking to me, Angela pulled out her cell phone and touched the speed dial. After a moment, she muttered, “Come on, come on, Alan, pick up!”
I said, “Angela, what is it?”
She turned and looked at the phone, troubled. “He said he’d pick up if I called. I’m just getting his voicemail. Come on, we have to get to Kular—now!”
“Wait! What’s wrong?” I yelled as she started running.
She turned at the corner to yell back at me, “It’s Yasmine! One of her insane ideas was to show up to stop a terrorist attack somewhere in the U.S. That way, everyone would see the Empowered as heroes! It’s how she was going to get into the people’s hearts and minds! Then she kept talking about some insane return of the gods or something! If she’s been talking to terrorists, then she’s really planning on doing it!”
I blinked said, “Angela, that’s insane…we have to get back to Dana and tell her—”
Golden light burst outward from Angela as she disappeared in mid-step. I yelled, “Angela! Damn it!”
I was yelling at empty air.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I took the steps into the hospital two at a time as I ran through the front door. Ignoring the surprised looks from visitors and nurses as I rushed through the lobby, I practically smashed my thumb on the call button to the elevator when I got to it. But I didn't wait for the elevator to arrive. Seeing the nearby stairwell, I headed up to the top floor where Kular’s office was.
By the time I got near the floor, I realized that too many minutes had passed since Angela teleported. No one had reappeared to tell me everything was all right. As I ran up the stairs, I tried listening for anything that might give me an idea of what was happening. For my efforts, all I got was repetitive beeping, the dripping of IV bags, and people talking. I heard nothing of Angela or Alan.
That worried me even more. I shook my head, exasperated with myself. Had I been expecting a pitch battle or something? When I got to the floor, the reception area was quiet, with only a gray-haired nurse sitting at the station desk. She looked up at me, and a concerned expression crossed her face.
She asked, “Can I help you, young man?”
I looked around, checking the signs for the three hallways. One hall led to a doctors’ lounge, a second one led to other offices, elevators, and maintenance rooms. And the shorter hall to my left led to three offices, including Kular’s.
I pointed that way as I said, “Is Dr. Kular in? Something urgent has come up, and I need to talk to her!”
Although my behavior made her hesitant, the nurse put through the call. After a moment, she looked up and nodded to me. I ran down the hall and almost smashed into her office door. My head felt fuzzy, and it was starting to hurt. I thought that I had been running around too fast for my own good. I took a deep breath and knocked. At her call for me to come in, I still ended up flying into the room. Kular looked at me with surprise. “Vaughn? Are you quite alright, young man?”
I started to say something. But I couldn’t, something was messing with my head. But that wasn't possible, Yasmine wasn't around...was she? No, this was Kular. Whatever she could do, it wasn't like Yasmine...damn...my head was so fuzzy. I stood there, wavering for a moment.
“Please, Vaughn, have a seat. I was hoping to see you. I’ve wanted to schedule a series of tests to make certain that what occurred with Brand wouldn’t happen with you. Better to be safe about such things,” Kular said as she came and guided me to the chair. I saw that her office was a small one, with barely any furniture or personal effects to give it much personality. Dr. Kular sat at an office desk that held a laptop and a few papers. In front of the desk was a chair. On the light blue wall behind her, there was a plaque with a medical degree from Yale.
Feeling like a brick had just hit me in the head, I was happy to sit down. As I sat, I noticed a tea set with a steaming pot sitting on a small table in one corner. There was something off about it. I noticed that there was a cloth with a symbol on it that looked familiar in some way that I couldn’t figure out.
It wasn’t important at the moment. Looking at Kular, I said, “Yeah, okay, has there been anyone to visit you in the past hour? Particularly Angela Tursow—do you remember her from when she kept trying to see me?”
She said nothing for a moment. The moment stretched out, and I began feeling more uncomfortable. My head felt fuzzier by the second. Shaking it, I did my best to focus my mind and wait for her to answer. Kular just kept looking at me. Suddenly, something snapped in my head, and I saw a memory of Angela in my mind’s eye. For a moment, things cleared up.
Kular looked startled. Her eyes unfocused for a moment and then she said, “Ah, found you, did they? And they’ve told you what has been going on. Excellent, perhaps it’s time to bring you into the fold.”
I started to get up, but found I couldn’t. But while my head was spinning, I could still talk. “So it’s all true! Who the hell are you?”
She said, “Oh, yes, I am quite aware of the two you’re talking about. And I’m aware of their efforts to warn you about myself and the Empowered.”
My eyes widened slightly as the tone of her voice became cooler. I realized that she was gazing at me with a look that bordered on that of the look that a cat gives a rat.
Ice ran down my spine when she said, “They have been dealt with. A pity Demon didn’t end our problem concerning you, however.”
“Who is Demon?” I asked. Kular smiled.
She said, “Demon is the name of the Empowered runner who tried to have a discussion with you outside of Ryan Tech. He took the name because of the pyrokinetic power he generates. He was originally just supposed to do a little reconnaissance, but he got it in his head that he needed to deal with you first.”
Kular made a wry face and continued, “He’s a little rough around the edges, but I suppose, given how recently he developed his powers, that’s to be expected. I do admit that he was a bit too eager using his powers in his run through Riverlite. You’ll understand soon enough.”
I started to stand. Or I tried to, anyway. But, again, my head was whirling. It felt like something was trying to get in my head…no, this was Kular, not Yasmine. What could she do to me? Hell, how had I not thought to ask about Yasmine? I slumped back in the chair.
Kular smile grew wider as she watched. In a smug voice, she said, “The Empowered. That is what we call ourselves, Vaughn. It is what you are. Really, I was wondering how long it would be before you came to understand what you had become. It took you more time than I would’ve guessed. But the Tursow brother and sister…tell me, did they spin a cruel tale about Yasmine? Is she the evil queen, while they are the good but put upon victims?”
Adrenaline rushed, and with it, my head cleared. I narrowed my eyes as my body tensed. This wasn’t going the way I thought it would! Hell, I’d figured that she would go nuts denying any accusations, but this? A part of me had hoped that she was just some pawn of this mysterious Yasmine. Wow, seriously, I have to stop being so naïve!
“So where is she?” I asked straight out, “Yasmine, I mean.”
I said, “Thanks, but no. I like my soda too much. Look, doctor, maybe no one has told you, but this is the real world, not a comic book or science fiction show. The cops and the Feds aren’t going to just sit back or freeze when Yasmine pulls her stunts to play the great hero. It will get out of control. Human and Empowered alike will die!”
Kular gave a slight chuckle at my words. She poured some tea into a cup, put in a sugar cube and some creamer. She stirred it with one hand and took a deep breath. With her other hand, she touched the symbol on the cloth with great reverence.
I said, “Funny. You seem very caring. You’re a doctor, and the way you just acted with that firefighter at the library made you seem very compassionate. So how does that work with someone like Yasmine? Someone who, from everything I’ve learned, is a bit of a crazy woman who wants to rule the world.”
For a few seconds, she looked at the symbol in silence. Then she said, “May I tell you a story, Vaughn? It’s a sad story, and one you may appreciate, given recent times in your life—losing your friends as a prime example—Alex to the pedestal of godhood, and Brand to the tragedy that followed.”
My head was beginning to pulse with pain, and my thoughts were mud. I just nodded. I had to push back whatever was wrong or this would not end well. Things were so damn confusing!
Kular said, “It’s about a little girl in the UAE. The United Arab Emirates. Perhaps you have heard of the place. Well, in the city of Dubai, Yasmine’s parents sold her at a very young age. They did so, ironically, to allow them to continue living in their rundown flat on the edge of the city. Think of it, a child was sold for a month’s rent. How cheaply we value each other in this day and age.”
I forced words out, saying, “That’s a sad thing. I thought civilized people didn’t do things like buy or sell other human beings. Slavery died here during the American Civil War…”