by Brandt Legg
“And you’re sure if Hibbs had gone public, Omnia would have survived?” I asked.
“Hibbs would have been killed. The documents insured he was left alone but he was constantly watched and they were ready to pounce at any time. Without the big three we lost on the Titanic, Major Butts, Astor and Guggenheim, Hibbs didn’t have enough to stop Omnia. He could have only embarrassed them like we did with the Lightyear-Storch Roosevelt Island video release.”
“So how are we going to stop them now?”
“Our numbers have grown, our soul powers increased a thousand fold, and we are not constrained by working within Outviews.”
“Then why did I go back?”
“This wasn’t so much about winning, it was our last chance to prevent the suffering of the last hundred years. There have been more than a hundred wars resulting in a hundred and fifty million deaths,” Spencer said. “When Luther Storch told you that he believed people were expendable, he was quoting from Omnia’s manifesto.”
“This can’t go on, Spencer. We have to wake people up.”
“I know.”
“What do we do?” Linh asked.
“We can’t do it alone,” he said.
“The Old Man of the Lake told me I would meet fifteen mystics. I’ve met eleven so far, counting Tesa when I was in Russia. I need the knowledge of the other four, don’t I?”
“Yes.”
“And one of them is the Dark Mystic, right?”
Spencer nodded.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s go find him,” Linh said.
“I cannot go with you,” Spencer said. “We don’t get along.”
“How will we find him?”
“He’ll find you when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready.”
“You don’t get to decide.”
“I’ve got the Jadeo. Wouldn’t he want it?”
“The Dark Mystic is the only person on this planet who wouldn’t want the Jadeo . . . he doesn’t need it.”
“Isn’t it time you tell me what the Jadeo is?” Linh asked.
Spencer looked at me.
“Not yet,” I answered.
“I think I deserve to know what we’re risking our lives for, what Kyle died for.” Linh’s eyes filled with tears but her face remained hard.
“Knowing what the Jadeo is puts you in too much danger.”
“More danger than I’m already in now? How dare you!”
I looked at Spencer. He shook his head. “Let’s take a walk,” I said to Linh.
“Nate, it’s not a good idea,” Spencer said firmly.
“You’re probably right, but if I can’t trust Linh, I’d rather not live in this world.”
“It’s not about trust. It’s for her protection.”
“You mean the Jadeo’s protection,” I said harshly. “Besides, she knows I have it and Omnia already has her on their kill list. What difference would it make if she actually understands what this is all about?”
“We took an oath.”
“A thousand years ago.”
“We’re still bound,” his voice trembled.
Linh grabbed my hand. “Forget it. I don’t want you to break an oath.”
“I have an oath to you, too.”
“What is that oath?” she asked.
I looked at her and back at Spencer.
“Nate, please,” Spencer began. “The wisest course is seldom the easiest and rarely the one our emotions would choose.”
7
Linh wept for several minutes after I told her what the Jadeo was.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I never imagined that’s what it was. How could I even dream such a thing existed?”
“I know.”
“What do we do? Omnia must never –”
“The original nine-entrusted to protect the Jadeo all came back for this lifetime. This is no coincidence. If the Movement is successful then the Jadeo will be opened and we’ll enter the light of the post-Jadeo era. If we lose the Jadeo or the Movement collapses, we will continue to exist in darkness.”
“But you said one of the nine entrusted is a traitor.”
“Lifetime after lifetime we have fought these battles but we will find him this time.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I feel it.”
Nothing seemed right without Amber but there was little I could do. We were preparing to leave; we moved so often that arriving and leaving were more natural than actually staying at a place. Our destinations were always secluded spots, as far removed from civilization as possible – open mesas, mountaintops, dense forests, remote islands – so our next stop, Prague, was exciting. I’d been to many populated areas during the eighteen months that Linh called our “lost time” but only in Outviews, never as Nate. And Linh, now almost eighteen, had hardly seen more than a handful of people in all that time.
“Your decision to go on the offensive against Omnia, your agreement to non-violence and Yangchen’s accusations of my knowledge of IF have all directly caused the need for us to travel to Prague,” Spencer said, as we lifted off in one of Booker’s jets from an airfield almost too primitive for modern aircraft. We were in South America so the flight would be long – fifteen hours counting a refueling stop.
“Prague is the believed headquarters of IF leaders,” Spencer explained. “We need to find them, meet and come to some kind of arrangement. To succeed against Omnia, there can be no division in the Movement.”
“But aren’t there dozens of factions?” Linh asked.
“Yes, but they differ only on what the ‘real’ spiritual truths are . . . and in the end, there is really no difference among spiritual truths, there is only what is. IF is the single faction within IM that believes the ends justify the means.”
“Why will IF listen to us?”
“Because you are one of the seven, your awakened powers have no equal.”
“Do you mean I should physically restrain them?”
“I think you and I will be able to reason with them.”
“If you find them,” Linh added.
“I think that will be possible once Nate makes another Outview journey,” Spencer said.
“Spencer, you told us in Taos that in order to participate in an Outview rather than just observe it, a time transcendence portal was required. How is Nate doing this?”
“Nate can answer better than I.”
“Ever since my death in Outin, whenever I’ve fallen into an Outview, I see these holographic seams around the edges of the scene I’m viewing. Recently, I pulled one open and suddenly I was participating in the Outview-life but with full memory of Nate and all my lives before Nate.”
“Wow. So instead of just watching, you could do stuff?”
“Yes. I’ve done it in the last three Outviews.” As I was explaining this to Linh, I realized I might be able to find Amber through an Outview.
“First,” Spencer said, reading my mind, “you need to find Tesa again. She will tell you the way to locate IF.”
During the flight, I entered an Outview and found Tesa again, still in Russia. Tesa smiled as she answered the door. “I’ve been expecting you.”
“How did you know?”
“I did not know, only suspected.”
“I failed.”
She waved her hands off dismissively. “We will try again, in other ways.”
“All the horrible things happened because I couldn’t stop them. So many dead . . .”
“These things are not your fault, Dosen . . . we have all created this reality. Even those of us who know the truth of the illusion have participated in perpetrating it.”
“I could try again right now.”
“You are not here for that. There are so many times to attempt change, like raindrops making a river, one day we will reach the sea.”
“There are some people I must find in my life as one of the seven. They are on our side but their methods of fo
rce and violence are undermining the cause.”
“Yes, yes, I’ve seen that trouble ahead. It is more dangerous than you imagine. These matters that seem simple in your life are accompanied by enormous complexities with the perspective of many lifetimes and intertwined souls.”
“That’s not what I wanted to hear. I was hoping you would teach me another soul power I could use to find them.”
“You already possess the way to find the person you seek.”
I thought of Amber.
“It is not a love I speak of,” she said sternly.
“Sorry.”
“Do not apologize for love, Dosen. Finding love takes no special power; love is the power. You are seeking someone who is opposed to love. This person is confused. He thinks he is working to bring an awakening but the ends do not justify the means. His methods are pulling the shift farther away.”
“Did he kill my mother?”
“This is a difficult question to answer. For as I said, we all have allowed what is to become what it is. He no more killed your mother than I did, or she killed herself, or you doing it. We all killed her; we have all murdered and saved everyone.”
“But he is responsible?”
“Listen to what I said.”
“Tesa, I understand that ultimately, we all play our part, and I know that before she entered the incarnation, my mother’s soul knew she would die that way. But an action is required and a choice was made and someone decided to have her killed. Was it him, the man leading IF?”
“Yes, Dosen.”
I groaned. Another challenge. I knew vengeance was wrong, that it would cloud my judgment when trying to negotiate with this person. But he killed my mom! And he was hurting the Movement. And my pledge against violence was suddenly heavier than ever.
“Life is not easy, this is why it must be lived,” she said.
“How do I find him?”
“This will not be hard for you. One of the seven always recognizes another one of the seven.”
8
“Spencer, we have to turn the plane around,” I said, returning from the Outview.
“What is it?” Linh asked.
“The leader of IF is one of the seven,” I said, breathlessly.
Spencer appeared stunned.
Linh gasped.
“You told me that as one of the seven, my awakened powers have no equal. But there’s another one of the seven out there.”
“I don’t understand how this could be. I’ve accounted for all of you.”
“Apparently not!”
“How could you not know that another one of the seven was running IF from within the Movement?” Linh asked.
“Hold on a minute. This is potentially good news. If he’s one of the seven then he’ll be able to see so much easier. He’s like a brother, Nate, you two can understand each other – communicate on the same level,” Spencer said.
“I can’t even communicate well with Dustin, and this guy is no friend of mine. He killed my mother.”
I felt like vomiting as the plane’s wheels hit the runway in Prague. For two hours Linh had held my clammy hand and repeated Kyle’s words, those of Thich Nhat Hahn and even the Old Man of the Lake, trying to calm me. Meditation was impossible. For the first time since learning I was one of the seven, I was going to face an adversary of equal power and Spencer’s assurances weren’t helping.
“He’s not with Omnia,” Linh reminded me again.
“He killed my mother,” I repeated.
“It’s not that simple,” Spencer said. “A few years ago you couldn’t understand that, but now you do.”
“Maybe, but suppressing emotions has always been a weakness.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed.” He tried to stifle a smile. “It’s not about suppressing, it’s deciding. If you are aware enough, you can make a decision based upon your understanding, experience and feelings. You decide how you wish to react to a situation.”
“Spencer, are you saying that every murder is preordained by the victim’s soul prior to the lifetime in which it occurs?” Linh asked. “So free will has nothing to do with anything?”
“Free will has everything to do with it. The soul has conceived an infinite number of possibilities for each aspect of our lives, including death. If you strangled me right now, I would have agreed to this outcome prior to my birth; if you did not, I would have also accepted that bargain. The ultimate power lies within the soul.”
“I don’t care about any of that right now. I need to know how I’m going to convince someone who is clearly committed to violence that our way is better. He’s not going to be the least bit intimidated or awed by my powers.”
“Could he be more powerful than Nate?” Linh asked Spencer.
“It’s possible.”
“Could he be working with the Dark Mystic?” I asked.
“I suppose.”
My head dropped into my hands.
Our driver left us in the nearly seven-hundred-year-old Charles Square, one of the largest plazas in the world. Stately buildings lined the roads around what was mostly a grassy park with tree-lined walks. Linh began pointing out buildings she’d read about, including Faust House. She told us that the baroque mansion had been inhabited by many well-known alchemists beginning in the 13th century and several people had disappeared within its walls, including a student of magic who made himself vanish. A more recent dweller had, for years prior to his death, slept in a coffin. The storied building was not open to the public, but there were rumors that a philosopher’s stone belonging to the famed 16th century occultist, Eduard Kelley, was still hidden inside. Many mysterious break-ins and fires had occurred there in the four hundred years since his death. “You wouldn’t believe the legends about that place. This whole area is filled with mysteries.”
“Then it seems appropriate that we should begin the search for IF here,” Spencer said.
“I don’t need any more mysteries to solve,” I said.
A large explosion suddenly sent us running for cover. Smoke and after-flashes kept me pinned to a wall. I called to Linh and Spencer. Then a heavy pressure hit my shoulders and a sack came down over my head. My arms were wrapped roughly with duct tape behind my back, my legs bound. I lost consciousness.
9
I woke up unbound in a cavernous room, which may have been a grand ballroom hundreds of years earlier. The many windows had long been bricked in and plastered. Exposed lath, cobwebs and layers of peeling paint, along with stained and missing floor tiles, gave the dimly-lit space a depressing bombed-out feel. Oddly, none of my powers could open any of the sixteen doors. I Skyclimbed around the thirty-foot-high ceilings avoiding the dusty, and mostly bulbless, chandeliers but could find no escape.
I sat on one of the antique threadbare couches and attempted to reach Linh and Spencer on the astral. Something or someone blocked my efforts. I’d obviously been grabbed by IF. Their leader, the other surviving one of the seven, was likely nearby. And if that was the case, his powers seemed more advanced than mine.
One of the doors flew open setting off a dazzling transformation. The scene was as if it might have been three centuries ago. The chandeliers blazed brightly, magnificent paintings adorned the walls between great windows, outside the setting sun shown over rural pastures. The furnishings, floor and everything else, were renewed and glorious. And there were hundreds of fully costumed dancers filling the space. In the seconds required to take it all in, the man who had opened the door was standing before me.
He smiled at my shocked expression.
“You’re Dunaway,” I choked, believing he was about to kill me.
“Who else would I have been?”
“Are you the leader of IF?”
“Of course.”
“But you’ve killed me in so many lives.”
“I’m going to do it again.”
“Why? If you’re one of the seven?”
“No, Nate. I’m The One, you’re just one of the six wannabes.”
The dancers were oblivious to us. Waltzing all around as a loud band played.
“What happened to make you this way?”
He scoffed. “Just because someone doesn’t agree with you, doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”
“What makes you think violence is the way to defeat Omnia?”
“Why don’t you think it is? Some mystic sold you a bill of goods. Omnia is the most powerful entity in human history. Force is the only way to stop them and the only force powerful enough to do it is the Inner Force.”
“Violence begets violence. We’ve got to end the cycle.”
“Listen to yourself. You’re a pansy. The cycle will end once we’ve wiped the floor with Omnia.”
“Then what? You’re going to teach the world about love?”
“Hey, Mr. Savior,” his words dripped with sarcasm. “Just because I believe in violence doesn’t mean I’m evil. Peace and love, the awakening, are my goal, too. The difference between you and me, aside from me being better looking, is that I’m going to succeed with my goals and you’re not.”
“I suppose you want me to join you, endorse IF over IM?”
He smiled. “No, Nate. You’re wrong. Everything about you is wrong – your philosophy, your methods, the fact that you’re the most wanted person on the planet. You’ve done everything wrong. Coming to Prague was another one of your many mistakes. You’re so naïve. I’m frankly amazed you’ve managed to live this long.”
“Really, then why haven’t you killed me yet?”
“The timing isn’t right. Spencer isn’t the only one who can view the myriad of ways the future can play out.”
“You know Spencer?”
“Everyone in the Movement knows Spencer.” His face appeared disgusted. I wasn’t sure if it was because he disliked Spencer or he just thought my question was foolish.
“Does he know you’re one of the seven?”
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Dunaway laughed. “Poor, poor Nate. This is all too much for you, isn’t it? They threw you into the deep end a little too young, huh? Don’t know who to trust, don’t know where to turn. Fight or hide, run or cry.” He laughed harder. “Spencer and I are old friends, Nate. You’re just a pawn in his game. What a joke. I must say killing you in the past wasn’t that enjoyable but when I do it in this life it’s going to be very satisfying. I’ll be happy to rid the world of such an embarrassment. You’re giving the Movement a bad name. Next time you’re in an Outview, you should just stay there. Don’t bother with this lifetime; you’re not ready.”