“I will see you again, Lady Ono,” said Sylk.
“I am certain of that. It only remains to be seen if it is in this life or the next,” said Ono. “Peace be with you, Karashihan. Do not forget where your roots lie.”
Sylk made a gesture and opened a portal. He looked back one last time as he entered it followed by Mara and Samir.
THIRTEEN
RAEL WALKED THE streets of the hub. Power coursed through him. Wheel was not in the hub, but a part of him could sense him and it was tugging at him. The fastest way appeared to require that he go through this plane. As he walked, he expanded his awareness and felt the presence of the ascendants all around him. They were here in the hub. He could feel them all over his skin like spider webs clinging to him.
Well, that will make reforming the bridge easier, if I was going to reform it, that is.
He followed the direction of the tug. It led him to the giant expanse that was Central Park.
Central Park at night? This could be dangerous, he thought as a smile crossed his lips. As he walked through the park, he could sense other forms of energy trailing him. He didn’t look back but continued deeper into the park until he saw a bench. Sitting down, he waited. He didn’t have to wait long before two figures emerged over a large boulder, a remnant of the schist that made up the island.
“Harbinger, you need to come with us,” said Roman as he hefted his hammer off his shoulder.
“Hello, hammer-boy. Did mommy Aurora let you out to play?” said Rael. “Who’s tall, dark and scarred? Oh wait, I think I recognize you—well, the part of you that isn’t disfigured. Nice mask, by the way.”
Kenji bowed. “Our mistress requires your presence, Harbinger. We would prefer to do this without violence.”
“Did you see that, hammertime?” said Rael. “Manners, etiquette…He is asking me instead of barking commands at me.”
Roman unslung his hammer and held it in front of him. “I don’t need to ask when I can let my weapon speak for me.”
“If I recall, I kicked your ass the last time we danced,” said Rael.
“The last time you found me ill prepared,” said Roman. “That won’t happen this time.”
“True, you didn’t put up much of a fight the last time we met,” said Rael. “Are you saying you can keep it up this time?”
“I have more than enough for you,” answered Roman through clenched teeth.
“You always were a good little attack dog,” said Rael. “Good at obeying orders, following your mommy around blindly. Either of you even ask why she wants to see me? I doubt she needs my advice on anything.”
“She would like to speak to you,” said Kenji. “It seems she is concerned about your presence in the same plane as the ascendants.”
“She wants to know if I am going to erase ascendants again, go on a rampage, reform the bridge and let out the bogeyman?” asked Rael.
“That would be her concern, yes,” said Kenji. “Will you come speak to her?”
“Well, here is my answer: no, not killing ascendants and no, I’m going to have to decline the invite,” said Rael. “I have another pressing commitment. You can tell her that the ascendants aren’t a priority anymore.”
“She was very explicit in her instructions, Harbinger,” said Kenji. “She requires your presence.”
“Let me guess, she said bring me back or kill me?” said Rael.
Kenji gave a slight nod.
“Typical. She is as subtle as a brick,” said Rael. “You do realize that has been tried? Doesn’t quite stick.”
“I am aware of your particular durability, yes,” said Kenji. “I think you will find things a little different this time.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” said Rael as he manifested his swords. The earth around him was showered with arcing bolts of energy as the ground cracked. The large boulder of schist behind Kenji and Roman shattered, sending projectiles in every direction as several bolts of energy cascaded over it.
Roman looked behind him, surprise on his face. “What the hell was that?” he asked Kenji as he faced Rael. “He wasn’t this powerful the last time I faced him.”
Rael took a mock bow. “How do you like the new-and-improved Harbinger?” he asked. “Greater destruction in the same amazing package.”
Roman swung his hammer as Kenji began to execute the glyph.
Energy crackled all around Rael, bathing him in blue light as he walked toward the pair.
“Time to die,” he said and started laughing.
“You are going to have to keep him busy while I execute this glyph,” said Kenji. “Can you?”
“Not for very long,” said Roman. “His energy signature is almost on par with Aurora’s.”
Rael closed the distance. Roman brought his hammer down in a crushing blow. Kenji moved back and started the glyph first with the gestures. Rael deflected the hammer with one of his swords. He followed the deflection with a lunge aimed at Roman’s midsection. Rather than resist the deflection, Roman allowed himself to follow the force of the blow. Rael stabbed empty air, while Roman recovered and swung his hammer again at Rael’s back and connected.
For anyone else it would have been a killing blow. Rael was thrown forward, arcs of lightning trailing behind him as he fell. He recovered and tucked into a forward roll, covering some distance before he stood, unscathed. He dusted himself off and walked to Roman.
“I almost felt that hammer,” said Rael. “You have no idea what you are up against. You are a child playing in the realm of gods.”
“Gods,” spat Roman. “You are no god. You are just some twisted abomination that should have been destroyed long ago.”
Rael paused a moment and absorbed his swords. “I agree, I should have been, but it’s not going to happen today or here with the two of you,” he said.
Rael formed twin orbs of energy in his hands. The blue orbs floated lazily in his hands as energy and lightning coruscated around him.
“Kenji…I hope you are ready,” said Roman as the orbs floated from Rael’s hands and came speeding at them.
Kenji stepped close to Rael and lifted his staff. He made a final gesture and the orbs disappeared midflight.
“Now, Roman!” he hissed. “Attack him now or we won’t get another chance.”
Rael cocked his head to one side in confusion as all the lightning arcing around him evaporated. “What the hell did you—?”
Roman’s hammer crashed into him the next second, the sick crunch of bone filling the night air as Rael doubled over from the blow. Roman spun in a circle and delivered a rising blow to Rael’s head that lifted him off his feet and crushed his skull in the process. He came around for another blow when Kanji stepped in and stopped him.
“I don’t think she wants him dead,” said Kenji as sweat broke out on his brow. “Let’s deliver him in one piece.”
“Are you still executing the glyph?” asked Roman.
Kenji nodded. “I managed to infuse most of the glyph into this”—he lifted his staff and showed Roman the intricate designs—“but it still requires a large amount of chi to keep it going.”
Roman looked down at the broken body of the Harbinger and prodded it with his foot.
“I don’t think he is dead,” said Roman. “I don’t think he can die. Maybe if you had the complete glyph.”
“It may be possible, but I have no way of getting the full glyph that doesn’t involve my death,” answered Kenji. “And unlike the Harbinger, if I die I stay dead.”
Almost as if in response, Rael began to stir and cough. His head wounds were healing at an accelerated rate. A groan escaped his lips as he moved.
“Fuck,” croaked Rael. “That hurt.”
“Open a portal and let’s get him to Aurora before he recovers,” said Kenji. “I don’t think we will be able to stop him a second time.”
Roman gestured with his hammer and opened a portal. He picked up Rael and he and Kenji stepped through.
FOURTEEN
“Can you form a portal, maybe bypass the wall?” I asked Meja.
“The use of my abilities is limited here,” she answered. “This place—it drains off my ability.”
I knew how to form a portal, but not one designed to go through a wall while I remained in the same plane.
I felt along the edge of the wall. “This place feels solid enough,” I said. “The question is what is a Watch doing in a null plane?”
“Nothing is supposed to be here,” said Nina, perplexed.
“And yet this structure stands,” said Meja, touching a wall. “Nina, can you get through this wall without taking us in?”
Nina looked at the wall and then around her, shaking her head. “I see it with my eyes but can’t see it to use my ability,” she said. “It’s here but it isn’t.”
“I’m going to use my innersight,” I said. “I’ll make sure to focus on the Watch.”
Innersight allowed me to see things as they really were. Used on a person it revealed the deepest parts of that person and their chi. In most cases it was overwhelming and a huge invasion of privacy when used that way. Meja and Nina stood behind me and out of my line of sight. I took a deep breath and let Shadowstrike course through me freely.
I have to look at this structure in its true form. Can you help me?
I can. Do you wish to remain in possession of your senses afterward?
I would like that, yes.
In that case, I will create a filter for you to observe what lies before you.
“Can you do it?” asked Meja.
“I think so,” I answered. “I don’t think it’s a real Watch.”
“Be careful,” she said. “Nina is right. Something like this shouldn’t exist on this plane. There isn’t enough latent energy for a structure like this to function and it serves no purpose.”
“What do you mean?”
“Watches exist to safeguard certain points in the planes. They usually sit on a nexus point or a confluence of energy,” said Meja. “None of those exist here.”
“Which makes no sense in a null plane, since it’s empty,” I said.
“Exactly, so whatever this place is, it’s not a normal Watch.”
“Is it possible there is energy here we can’t detect?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t walking into some mind-destroying expression of null energy.
“By now you should know, anything is possible,” said Meja quietly. “But if that energy does exist we can’t sense it from here.”
I’m on my own, I guess.
Not entirely, Dante, said Shadowstrike. If you want to see, you must allow me in beyond our bond.
I sat on the ground and deepened my breathing. I allowed my chi to expand until it filled me. I felt the bond between us. Shadowstrike felt distinct, sharp and dangerous. I let the distinction blur and opened myself up completely to it. The power cascaded over me. It threatened to undo me and I tried to pull back.
Do not resist me. You will only make this more difficult. Besides, we are one now. For as long as you exist, I will exist alongside you, until you are no more.
I exhaled, and found myself suddenly adrift on an ocean of energy. More than I had ever felt in my entire life. I was connected to it and yet it felt separate from me. In this vast ocean, I was a speck of flotsam lost to the tides and waves of energy. I surrendered and let go. The energy enveloped me.
I’m ready.
I heard a soft laugh come from Shadowstrike. You only think that because you do not know the scope of that which you face.
When I opened my eyes, I thought I had gone blind. I only saw white. I could feel my breath becoming short as the anxiety set in.
Breathe, Dante, said Shadowstrike. You have not lost your sight. You will learn to see in a different way.
After a few moments, the Watch came into view, but it was different. All of the stone was a white marble and on each surface, I saw glyphs etched in the stone. I was inside the Watch.
What is this place?
This is not just another Watch. This is one of the original Watches. And like all Watches after it, it too has a Keeper.
What do you mean original Watches?
“Greetings, warrior.”
I recognized the voice. It wasn’t Shadowstrike. I looked around the Watch and saw a figure approach. His ebony skin shone with a subtle light. A large sword rested in a scabbard across his back.
It was Owl.
“This can’t be,” I said. “I saw you die.”
“You are correct,” said Owl. “I am not the Samadhi you knew as Owl. I have taken this form to make this easier for you to understand.”
“Is this why you’re speaking to me instead of…you know, the whole mental thing?”
He nodded. “Between you and your weapon, I think your head is crowded enough, don’t you?” he said. “Besides this way is easier for now, even if it is somewhat cumbersome.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder and we walked down the corridor. The Watch seemed to be empty. All around us on every surface glyphs pulsed with energy. On some surfaces they were fluid, shifting from one form to another. On others, they pulsed with an intensity that made it difficult to look at.
“If you’re not Owl, who are you?” I asked. I had an idea, but it seemed I had crossed over the realm of what was possible and what wasn’t. The light from the glyphs glistened off the top of his head as we walked through the Watch, and the memories of Owl and his sacrifice flooded back.
“I am the Keeper of this Watch,” he said. “Actually, every Keeper that exists derives a small measure of power from here,” he said as he gestured to the Watch. “And from me.”
“Right now I am inside the Watch on the null plane?” I said, looking around.
“Yes and no,” he said and smiled. “This Watch is called the Source Watch and doesn’t exist in any fixed plane. The glyphs you see make sure it remains in flux at all times.”
“That is how the South Watch operated,” I said as I remembered the first time I went there. “We had to be there at the exact time or we would have missed it.”
“Yes, every Watch operates in a similar fashion,” he said. “The difference is that they are fixed within a plane. This Watch is not.”
“Then how did it appear on the null plane?” I asked.
“It didn’t appear,” he said. “It has always been here, but you were not capable of seeing it before.”
“Before I bonded with Shadowstrike, you mean,” I said.
“Exactly,” said the Keeper. “You are learning to see without your senses.”
“Why am I seeing it now, here?” I asked.
“Because your actions will impact every plane,” he said. “I would prefer not to leave that to chance. You have a choice to make,” he said. “And not much time to make it in.”
“What do you mean, not much time?”
He waved the question away. “That will answer itself soon enough,” he said. “The choice is what matters.”
“What choice?” I didn’t like where this was going, but I needed to know.
“You will have to choose which enemy to face and how,” he said.
“That is a long list,” I said.
“No, again you are using the wrong sight to see. You only have a choice of two,” he said. “One desires retribution, the other desires dominion. Both must be stopped and you must stop them, but can face only one.”
“You’re talking about Lucius and the Wheel,” I said. “I don’t think I can face either of them.”
“You must choose one and you are going to need help. I can only provide so much,” he said and placed a finger in the center of my forehead. The glyphs Ono had inscribed on me flared to life, violet light spilling away from me in every direction. My chi expanded until t
he concept of limits was lost. I dove back into the ocean of energy and drowned. As soon as it happened, it was over.
“What was that?” I asked between breaths.
“That was help, he said. “You need to return before your companions begin to worry.”
“Why only one if both have to be stopped?”
“Because once you make that choice, it will set events in motion that cannot be reversed,” he said.
“Wait, what did you mean about time?” I asked.
“Look again at your bond,” he said. “Your answer lies there.”
“My bond?” I asked. “You mean Shadowstrike?”
The light coming from the glyphs grew in intensity until everything was white again. This time I didn’t panic, but it was still unsettling. I felt the ocean of energy all around me. I took a deep breath and focused on Shadowstrike.
Some things are best left unknown, Dante.
Every time I hear that, I discover it usually means I’m better off knowing. What are you not telling me?
Look and see. I do not wish to taint your perception.
I expanded my awareness and then focused it inward. I directed it at the bond I shared with Shadowstrike. We connected on every level. It was inextricable. I couldn’t see where I began or it ended and then I saw it. Deep within the connection at my center, I saw the unraveling. It was a small thing, almost insignificant, but I saw it spreading slowly. I knew what it meant.
How long?
I can’t say. This is a unique situation.
Can’t say, or won’t?
Can’t. I have no need to deceive you, Dante. I am not Maelstrom. This is a new context for me. I can only say that it would be dependent on your use of me.
I felt myself return to the null plane. Beside me, Meja and Nina appeared startled as I stood up.
“Where were you?” asked Meja. “Your body was here but it wasn’t. Did you enter the Watch?”
I nodded. I didn’t know how to form the words.
“Something is wrong,” she said. “Tell me what is it? What did you discover?”
“When I was completing the ritual for Shadowstrike, did anything go wrong?”
Warriors of the Way-Pentalogy Page 74