“Sara, I need to eat at least. So do you. It’s a nice hotel. It’s safe.”
“Nowhere is safe.”
At the hotel, Alicia tossed her things on one of the beds and placed the bottle on the desk. Instinctively, she turned on the television and changed the station to her network. No one was replaying this afternoon's debacle. Thank God. Alicia handed Sariana one of the hotel's complimentary robes.
"Why don't you go get a shower? I'll order dinner. What are you hungry for?"
“I don’t need a shower and I’m not hungry. There is much to do.”
“I have news for you. You stink. And I can assure you that you need food. What do you want to eat?”
Sariana was frustrated. “I don’t know. Chocolate?"
"Maybe later," Alicia smiled. That was cute. "Do you eat meat?" Sariana shrugged. "How about a steak?" She agreed.
Alicia helped her turn on the shower and gave the girl her privacy. Later, the food arrived and Alicia and Sariana sat in their hotel robes eating dinner. For all of her protesting, Alicia smiled as the girl ravaged her steak. Those raisinettes at the Dollar Store were probably the first thing she’d eaten in days. Alicia tossed a few ice cubes in a glass and poured the Scotch. She took a sip and looked the girl over.
“See? You were hungry.”
“It seems so, yes,” Sariana said with her mouth full. “Can we now begin our work?”
Alicia grabbed another glass, filled it with ice and poured a Scotch for Sariana.
"Here. You've had a long day. It isn't gonna kill you to have a drink. I won't tell if you won't."
Sariana took a large gulp of the Scotch and immediately gagged. Alicia burst into laughter. "What is that?" Sariana managed.
"It's Scotch. Alcohol. I'm sorry, honey. I thought you knew."
"Oh," Sariana cleared her throat. "It's good." She too couldn’t stifle a laugh.
"You know, it wasn't that long ago that I was your age," Alicia told her. "I know what it's like to have an identity crisis."
"I know who I am. It's you who don't know me."
"That's nice. Poetic. Do you write?"
“With all due respect, your line of questioning isn’t relevant.”
"I’m just trying to get a frame of reference here. How old are you?"
"I appear to be about sixteen."
"So, Sara. Wait. Is it Sara or Sariana?"
"It's Sariana."
"Why did I think it was Sara?"
"I don't know. You just started calling me that."
"I'm sorry. Why didn't you correct me?"
“That would have been disrespectful."
"Disrespectful? Always make sure people get your name right. Get the credit you deserve."
Sariana smiled, put down her fork and took a drink, smaller this time. She turned to face Alicia.
"So, Sariana," Alicia emphasized. "Tell me, what's it like to be a princess?" Sariana hesitated. "I'm serious. I want to know," Alicia said genuinely. "All little girls dream of being a princess. I used to pretend to be a princess when I was little."
"You did?" Sariana laughed and began to let her guard down.
"Of course! I used to march around my house, commanding orders to squires and peasants, demanding that they all should kneel before me," Alicia recounted dramatically as Sariana giggled. "It's not often you get to meet an actual princess. Is that what it's like?"
"No. It's not like that at all, actually."
"Surely you must have people waiting on you hand and foot?"
"Well," Sariana said shyly. "Kind of."
"Is it great?"
"It's pretty great, yeah."
"Do you ever scream 'Off with your head' if one of them misbehaves?"
"Oh! No!" Sariana laughed.
"But you've wanted to, right?"
"No!"
"Not even just a little?"
"I guess maybe just a little."
Alicia poured more Scotch into each glass, and both girls took a drink. "What about your mother and father? The King and Queen? What are they like?"
Sariana became quite serious. "They're both very kind and generous. My mother is a beautiful soul and my father is very strong and revered. They are both loved among the souls they have been chosen to protect and serve."
"Are they both human?"
"Luciferian."
"Right. Sorry. You know, on Earth, Luciferians are what we refer to as devil worshipers?"
"What?"
"Yeah. They're Satanists."
"Surely, you must know. We don't worship anything evil. How did Lucifer come to mean something evil?"
"He was the arch angel cast out of heaven."
"No. That’s ridiculous."
"Sweetie, haven't you read your Bible?"
Sariana sighed. "That book. Your Holy scriptures are incomprehensible. What does it say now?"
"The word of God is wrong?"
"The Bible is not the word of God. It is the word of Humans."
Alicia got up and walked to the hotel dresser and grabbed the Bible. She tossed it on the bed to Sariana. "Here you go...”
"I've read so many versions of this book. I know all of your scriptures."
"Around here Lucifer is Satan. The devil. Doesn't it say so in the Bible?"
The Scotch was making Sariana surly. "Maybe it does now. I don’t know.”
“I can assure you that it does.”
“Well, then it’s wrong.”
Alicia laughed. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Really. Lucifer was a planet. It's where all Luciferian life originated. When all were one, we lived in peace on Lucifer. Then the fraction occurred."
"The fraction?"
"A great civil war. As some Luciferians ascended into greater states of being, they aspired to control the solar system, even the universe and eventually the omniverse as well. The greedy ones were driven off the planet and forced to find a new home. Upon their return, they called themselves Humans. A great war began between our twin worlds. This resulted in our home being destroyed; flung into the far reaches of the solar system. The remains of our lost world are what you now know as the rings of Saturn in your solar system, in this dimension. With the death of Lucifer, all souls living upon it were captured by the dissenters. Some of these souls were admonished to planet Earth, but most were held captive by the Humans. We do not know their fate. We wish to reunite with them. We call ourselves Luciferians in honor of our lost, enlightened ancestors."
"Okay,” Maybe it was the Scotch but Alicia found the girl’s stories incredibly entertaining. "What happened on Earth?"
“The Humans ascended to even greater status in the tenth dimension. They were among the highest ascended souls in the omniverse. It was here that they did the unthinkable. They learned to create souls at will; a power not meant for any species to know. The Humans thought into being the First Order of New Souls in your world, the planet Earth...”
“That’s us?”
“No. The Humans were dissatisfied with these souls. We do not know why. We suspect that they were unable to control their creation and were forced to abandon the First Order. No one knows of their destiny but these souls were cunning. Their whereabouts is an enduring mystery.”
“All right. So, what? We were sloppy seconds?”
“No. Next, the Second Order of New Souls were born. Praises, these souls could not be corrupted for they grew wise and ascended far too quickly. We know not of their fate but we do know for certain that they did not perish. Likely, they have ascended to a dimension above the third and remain in hiding from the Humans. They were quite clever.”
“So, they tricked the Humans and ran away?”
“In simple terms, yes.”
“Okay. So we’re not these guys either? We’re different people?”
“Yes. The Humans finally realized that if a species were to successfully dream something so abhorrent as death, they must create a soul group so equally vile. The soul itself would be vicious
and cruel; so full of rage and self hatred that it would not recognize its ability to ascend above its own imaginings. It must also be easily manipulated and slow witted so that it might not question its predisposition for hate for millennia...”
“Yeah, I see where we’re going here...”
“Thus, was born the Third Order of Souls...”
“Uh huh.”
“This,” Sariana said excitedly. “This is you!”
“Third time’s a charm I guess, right?” Alicia said and poured more Scotch.
“Oh no! Not at all.”
“Yeah. I get it. I was...”
“You are the aggressor species. You were made in the Human image but meant only as soldiers. Your world was kept hidden in this unpopulated corner of the omniverse, long thought desolate since the demise of Lucifer.”
"So, that explains why we've not been able to make contact with other life in the universe?"
“This dimension,” Sariana corrected. “There is no other life as you know it in your universe or your galaxy.”
“We are completely isolated?”
"Yes. The Humans somehow managed to erase our birth galaxy from the Akashic records so that your souls might develop at their will. No other soul groups learned that you were here until the exodus. This is what is happening now. I was sent here to stop it... or at least minimize it. The results were devastating."
"Why?"
"Humans wish to advance to the eleventh dimension, and this is forbidden. This is a realm meant only for God. Should they advance, they believe that they will hold dominion over all things. The omniverse is home to many great warriors but none as fierce as your souls in the hands of the Humans. This exodus will lead to your mastery of your anger and violence to such proportions that none can stop the Humans from their ascension to the eleventh dimension."
"Only we can stop our creators... and ourselves?"
"Yes," Sariana said. Was Alicia starting to come around? Perhaps she had more control over this time-line than she thought. "It is our only hope."
"Why don't these masters of wisdom just destroy all Humans and be done with it?"
"They cannot. Or will not. They have done little. Regardless, it is against the laws of ascension."
"If these Humans broke the law, don't they deserve to be killed?"
"This is your thinking, and this is what makes you so terrifying. The rest of existence does not believe this. Souls cannot be destroyed. This should not be knowable."
"But the Humans think that if they can get to the eleventh dimension, they will be able to destroy souls?"
"You, your kind can destroy souls at the behest of Humans. You present a threat. With you alongside as weapons, there will be few in the omniverse who will challenge the Human ascension and they will rise above God.”
"Why are the Humans such assholes?"
"Humans possess a deep arrogance. They believe it is their birthright to know God and learn even more than the masters of wisdom. We don’t know why they are this way. They have grown ever angrier as the omniverse has struggled against them to know this. It has upset the balance and many worlds have been destroyed."
"This all sounds like a pretty useless war. I mean before we show up and introduce death... when they ‘kill’ these souls, don't they just come back again?"
"Yes but they must start anew. Worlds that have grown for billions of years and ascended to great levels must begin again. We were meant to advance as one."
"Why doesn't God intervene?"
"We do not know this. We were not meant to know this. Perhaps God will."
"What dimension are you from?"
"I am of the sixth dimension."
"And I'm in the third?"
"We are both presently in the third dimension. Yes."
"So, show me some of your sixth dimensional powers."
"Powers?"
"Yeah. Can't you shape shift or something?"
"Not in this dimension."
"Holy shit!" Alicia laughed. "But you can shape shift?"
"In my dimension I can exist as pure energy. I suppose that is what you're referring to."
"But you can't do that here?"
"No. The third dimension is a learning dimension. Think of it as a library for souls. As you ascend dimensions, you learn more and develop more ‘powers’, as you call them."
"Sweet!" Alicia took a long drink of her Scotch and settled back on the bed. "Powers are cool."
Sariana watched Alicia stare off into the distance and change the channels on the TV. “There’s more,” Sariana said.
“Yeah, I know, sweetie. I’m just trying to see if there’s any more news. I’m listening. Go ahead.”
Sariana was losing her. The Humans had clearly embedded in Alicia’s soul, all souls in this world, an aversion to their true history. “What I’m telling you is the news. I’m giving you world-changing information.” It was apparent to her now that Alicia wasn’t going to be moved by words alone. Sariana was growing impatient. The muted television flicked in the room as ice clinked in their glasses. The air conditioner rumbled its white noise as Sariana pulled her robe tighter and stood up from her bed.
"You’re interested in powers. I can do one thing," she said and stepped to Alicia's bed. "But it may frighten you."
"I don't roll that way, kid," Alicia smirked and winked. "Well, not since college."
Sariana reached her hands toward Alicia's temples and Alicia quickly swatted them away. "I won't hurt you," Sariana said. "Don't be afraid."
Alicia looked into the girl's eyes. They were gentle but now also possessed a stern quality about them. It kind of freaked her out. "What are you going to do?"
"I’m going to try to snap you out of this."
“Out of what?”
Sariana touched Alicia's temples with her fingers, closed her eyes and quickly pulled her hands to her breast. In an instant, Alicia's spirit left her body and hung above the bed. She looked down and saw the girl standing above her body. An enormous panic came over her. Did the girl kill her? What was happening?
In another flash, she saw a series of images in fast forward. War. Blood. A baby. Screaming. Fire. Some sort of demon and she then felt pure, inherent rage. Alicia felt a roar building inside her spirit that was the embodiment of every atrocity known to her kind. She felt the sheer terror of every massacre, holocaust and murder born in her dimension and all of it emanated from deep inside her soul. It was the energy of her very being. As the rage grew ever-stronger, she felt as if she might explode. Absolute horror enveloped her but this only caused the rage to grow ten-fold. Suddenly, she felt as though she could possess the raw power of all of mankind’s sins and inflict it upon anyone, anything of her choosing. In an instant, her fear now became her absolute power. Her soul began to scream a long, protracted war-cry of unimaginable vengeance. Then, just as fast as she had been ejected from her body, she was thrust back. Alicia took in an enormous gasp of breath.
Sariana saw the horror on Alicia's face as she struggled to catch her breath. Alicia felt her body, which now seemed to be rushing with electricity. She couldn't speak, and she was shaking uncontrollably. She quickly stood up, spilling her drink all over her robe and the bed. Some of the ice landed against her skin, and she shook the robe to get it out. Her legs were weak, and she felt faint. She tried to walk, slipped on the ice that fell from her robe and immediately stumbled. She fell just barely missing hitting her head on the corner of the desk.
"Grandma, be careful!" Sariana shouted and quickly covered her mouth with both hands.
Alicia lay on the floor, breathing heavy and still trembling. She looked at the girl squarely, and silence hung in the room.
"Grandma?" she said finally. "I'll have you know I'm only twenty eight years old." Her vanity had slipped but no sooner did she say this did an awakening come over her. "What do you mean, Grandma? And what the fuck did you do to me?"
Sariana slowly sat back down on her bed and took a sip of her Scotch. She l
ooked at Alicia who was still shaking and now in a state of anger and confusion. Her eyes were pleading for answers, however.
"You are my grandmother," she told her. "I am your son's daughter."
Alicia didn't know what to say. All reason told her that this was ridiculous. Yet, whatever had just happened to her was undeniable. Everything was insane. Something inside of her told her that the girl was telling the truth. She struggled to stand, still shaking from the incident and managed to sit in the desk chair. She fixed her robe, cleared her throat and took in a jagged breath.
"Okay. I'm not your grandmother.”
“You weren’t meant to find out this way. I’m sorry. They’re here. I need to improvise.”
“Well, it’s not true. I don't have any children."
"Not yet, no."
Alicia looked in the mirror above the desk. Something about her face now appeared foreign but she tried to keep her composure. "You were sent from the future?"
"You could say that, yes."
"You've got a lot of explaining to do.”
“I understand.”
“Start with what you just did to me."
"I pulled your soul from your body."
Alicia’s teeth were clenched as she smiled and shook her head in disbelief. She slammed ice cubes into an empty glass and shakily poured another drink.
"Oh, okay.” Clink. “Yeah. That makes sense.” Clink. Clink. “Sure. You just pulled my fucking soul out of my fucking body! Of course!"
"I told you it would frighten you."
"Yeah, well, it kind of fucking did," Alicia said as she shook her glass to her mouth and took a large drink.
"I'm sorry."
“Well, did you put it all back?"
"What?"
"My soul, Sariana. Did you put it all back?!"
Sariana couldn't help but laugh. "Yes. I put it all back."
"It's not fucking funny!"
"I'm sorry. I did you no harm. I promise."
"You can't just go around taking people's souls out of their bodies!"
"It was the only way I could think of!!"
"It's just not fucking polite!" Alicia shouted and finished her drink with a large gulp. She poured another.
“The Humans have corrupted this time-line,” Sariana said calmly. “This is the reason for your doubt. But I saw your soul just now. No matter how primal the rage is inside you, there still exists a longing for your soul group. My birth vessel is your offspring and we are one. You know this to be true. You just need to escape the doubt the Humans have left to weigh down your soul. I’m hopeful that this will happen sooner than later.”
Ascension: Invocation Page 10