A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe

by Jon Chaisson

CHAPTER SIX

  Poe

  Ambient deepspacer music drifted from the car speakers, just underneath the squabble of the ARU commlink. Alec Poe paid little attention to the back and forth of his fellow officers, his mind instead on the meeting with the two Mendaihu siblings. He’d been avoiding the comm since yesterday afternoon, when the public fallout from the ritual had wound down to a guarded but steady calm. He certainly hadn’t calmed down, not by a long shot, but he had to appreciate the public’s willingness to assume all was back to normal for the time being. They knew better than to lose themselves in paranoia and fear, especially after Governor Rieflin’s speech the other day. The man had pulled an amazing and unprecedented feat by being completely transparent about what was going on, a move his predecessors would never have taken. The man had gone live on all the channels the morning after the ritual and he didn’t hold anything back. He explained the ritual in simple and understandable terms and whatever side effects it might have caused, and where anyone could go for assistance. It was an extremely dicey thing to do, but he’d pulled it off. The Sprawl may still be on edge, but at least they knew someone was in charge.

  He shifted his car fluidly into the passing lane, streaming past a line of tour cars and family transports. The roads had been crowded over the past month and especially on I-91, the major north-south highway that cut its way through the province. The travel season was nearly over, and tourists were heading back home. He shot a glance at each of the drivers as he passed them. Their eyes were focused solely on the road ahead of them, determined to cover as many miles as they could before sundown…no one in the vehicles talked, or even gestured for that matter. They might not have shown it or talked about it, but they knew something was coming.

  He shrugged off his discomfort, thinking about that night. It wasn't often that he pulled an all-nighter. How could he have slept? Unlike Caren, he had witnessed the entire ritual firsthand. For the rest of his life he would remember looking out his kitchen window at one in the morning, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the bleedover suddenly appear, as if the Goddess herself had made that deep, jagged incision into reality until it bled a rich crimson cloud of pure, unbridled spirit. He would remember the seconds it took for the initial pulse and the shockwave to reach him, not so much a thunderclap as a deep tearing of the air and a blast of psychic energy that knocked him backwards and nearly eviscerated his inner soul. He would remember the time that dragged between those sounds and the fated call from Chief Inspector Farraway. Almost exactly five minutes.

  But pure chance had him sitting at his window table, staring out at another loud and restless night in McCleever Sector.

  Pure chance.

  He'd almost forgotten why he couldn't sleep. It could have been any number of things…the heat and humidity turning his apartment into one big sweltering hotbox, or the students drunkenly hollering their way down the street as they hopped from one bar to the next, or the low flying BMP helicopters buzzing over his neighborhood and splashing their searchlights everywhere. Normally, he could sleep through all of that. Living in the same place all his life made him immune to most noises and distractions. He should have been in bed, blissfully unconscious to the world.

  He’d found his answer much later, when he’d finally returned to his apartment after meeting up with Matthew. There was that...unnatural discomfort in the air. He couldn’t quite describe it any other way. The air was a bit too saturated, too stifling. The electricity in the air rose in anticipation of something wondrous and unknown. The night sounds faded away with the setting sun in empty echoes. It felt too disturbingly like the end of something old and familiar, and an awakening of something altogether new and frightening.

  Discomfort as trivial and mundane as that would never have kept him awake in the past.

  He'd wasted no time making his way over to Caren's apartment after Farraway’s call. Sirens blaring almost all the way, he'd shortened the time to just over a half hour, a personal record even despite the traffic. Goddess, the traffic! A mass exodus from the Tower sector had turned all the major highways and thoroughfares into one giant mess, and he'd been lucky enough to have been minutes ahead of it. It bothered the hell out of him that he’d had to even go to Caren’s in the first place, even despite the magnitude of the event. He hated himself for disrupting her life like that. Nearly thirteen hours he’d taken from her, away from her sister and her own life. And yet she kept the complaints to a minimum, bless her. She would never admit it, but she had more patience than anyone he knew.

  Upon finally reaching his apartment again the next afternoon, a mere seven hours' sleep did nothing. It was dreamless sleep, the kind that kept energy from him when morning came. Having an embarrassingly large meal and then sleeping for another five hours seemed to help, though just barely. Physically, though, it was rough. It was high time for an extended vacation. He'd never felt that exhausted in a long time, not since he was a rookie. The ritual, at least peripherally, had taken a lot more out of him than he’d expected, and in more ways than one. That didn’t sit well with him, and it would continue to bother him until he did something about it. Unfortunately, that time was not now, and not for the immediate future. He’d have to make do with facing this fresh demon however he could, whenever he could. He thought this meeting was a good place to start, given the situation. He’d jumped at the chance to conduct it himself, even suggesting the location to Farraway. The Crest was Poe's one place of sanity in this Sprawl.

  Situated at the southernmost tip of Breed's Hill in the Provincial Wilderlands north of the city, the Crest was a wide stony ridge with a breathtaking view of central Bridgetown, from the west hills to the shore. Poe often made his way up there during their more intense investigations in order to disconnect himself from the world for a while. He'd stay up there for hours, sitting at his favorite rock outcropping, watching the city live its life apart from him. Bridgetown looked so much more peaceful, even beautiful, from that vantage point. It seemed fitting then, that he would meet the two Mendaihu agents on such neutral ground. He arrived at the gate moments later and pulled into a spot near the park’s entrance.

  The path past the iron gates wound for nearly a quarter mile up the backside of Breed's Hill before reaching the Crest. Poe took his time walking it, debating on how to best approach this duo. He'd met and dealt with all kinds of Meraladians in his life, and had all kinds of reactions to them…frustration, awe, confusion, friendship…try as he might to ignore the fact, they’d been around for over two hundred years but they were still alien to this world, and he would view them as separate from himself. He felt that way with everyone, really…it had nothing to do with them being alien and everything to do with his own feelings of being the Other. He knew enough of his past and his bloodline to know he was more than just human…but in the process, he didn’t quite know where he fit in. He was Terran human, at least as far as he knew, but there were deeper questions that had remained unanswered. He’d made peace with all that long ago, however. He would react to the Meraladhza and respect them like he would any human he knew: by their words and their deeds.

  Meraladians were on average taller than humans by at least six inches. They weren't so much taller as they were larger in frame. They were also slightly darker in skin tone, almost a deep bronze hue. Most had dark and matted hair, though many living on Earth bleached or dyed it different colors. The Meraladian Mendaihu adepts wore their hair in very long double or triple ponytails, as their Mendaihu ancestors on Trisanda once had.

  By far, their most unique characteristics were their psionic abilities. Meraladians were conscious of any attention being paid to them. They knew when they were being watched, even being glanced at. Most simply ignored it, but others acknowledged it by waving or nodding with a polite smile. Over time it had become just another social norm. Most Meraladians were also adept at thought reading to some extent, or ‘soulreading’ as it was com
monly called, and it was different from innerspeak. It wasn't so much a literal mind reading as it was a reading of the nuances in a person’s brain patterns and making guesses from there. They couldn't tell when a person was thinking of a bowl of fruit on a table; they could, however, tell the person was thinking of centering an object somewhere. After that, it was a matter of close listening and logical guesswork.

  Human emotion, however, they could read with ease. It wasn’t just the physical cues that humans displayed without thinking, such as fleeting eye contact or fidgeting hands, that any trained person could pick up on…it was a reading of the chemical messages to the person’s brain as well as their soul’s vibration. If a person was terrified, for instance, their spirit gave off an intensely strong and fast vibration that a trained Mendaihu could hear if they listened closely. And if the target was nervous but wary, the vibration was obviously much slower, though the strength remained. Meraladians had two centuries’ worth of Earth presence to learn the nuances of the landscape of human emotion, and it hadn’t taken them long to perfect it.

  The trees surrounding the path thinned out to brush and curved into the opening above the Crest. It was a gorgeously sunny day, making the view of the city even more breathtaking. Akaina and Ashyntoya Shalei stood near the edge, taking in the sight. They’d definitely sensed his arrival, but were doing the polite thing and not acknowledging it first. They both wore the uniforms of the Mendaihu elite force, long black coats with the gray patch of the Mendaihu sigil, two intersecting white circles standing on end symbolizing multiple realities, stitched on the right shoulder. Both wore their black hair in a long triple ponytail that reached down towards the middle of their backs.

  He cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Somfei,” he said, voice wavering. “I am Special Agent Alec Poe, ARU. Welcome to Bridgetown.” They smiled and turned to face him — definitely in that order, not the other way around — and bowed in his direction. They were both quite handsome, he’d noticed. They had curving jaw lines, Akaina’s slightly softer and more feminine. Both had the rounded and smallish nose, wide mouth, and piercing dark eyes, typical of the Shalei clan.

  “Agent Poe,” the man said in a calm, even tone. “I am Ashyntoya Shalei.” He placed both of his hands over Poe's, a Mendaihu gesture of total trust and a plea for the same. “Please, call me Ashan. This is my sister, Akaina.”

  “I’m honored to meet you, Agent Poe,” Akaina said, taking his hand. “I’ve heard much about the Branden Hill HQ. Your work is exemplary. And please, call me Kai.”

  Poe quickly cleared his throat, hoping he wasn’t blushing right now. He felt he did good work, but felt ‘exemplary’ was definitely not the word he’d have used. “Thank you, and thanks for coming,” he said, giving her a customary nod. “Agent Johnson and I appreciate the help.”

  Ashan cocked an eyebrow. “It is our duty, Agent Poe. We feel this case should be of the highest importance. We're proud to help. Come, let’s walk to the edge.” Ashan led the way towards the Crest overlook, Poe behind him and Kai trailing behind.

  “Has Chief Inspector Farraway filled you in on everything?” Poe asked.

  Ashan nodded, already distracted by something in the direction of the city. Poe could see the gears already starting to turn in the man’s head, a sudden and deep concentration on whatever had caught his eye. Poe smiled, seeing a similarity between Ashan and Caren. The two seemed to be in a constant state of thought. He knew he wouldn't be getting any more words from Ashan for the next few minutes.

  “We've been sent the preliminary data,” Kai said, answering for her brother. Her voice was low and warm. “Whoever had performed the ritual knew what they were doing, and knew the outcome. I should add that both Ashan and I agree that, within the delicate balance between the Mendaihu and the Shenaihu, it is extremely rare that anyone would have gone to such lengths…though we understand what they were trying to accomplish.” She paused thoughtfully, glancing out at the city. She was drawn to it just like her brother, but with less distraction. She turned back to Poe and smiled. “However, before we go into any detail, I'm curious, Agent Poe…I’d like to know your thoughts.”

  He blinked, the question unexpected. He thought about it for a few moments before answering. “Well, first off...tell you the truth, I think—no, I sense a Mendaihu performed the ritual, and not just to create chaos…he had a reason for it, otherwise it wouldn’t have been an Awakening. I've monitored large-scale rituals about the size of a small auditorium, but nothing as big or as strong. You’d think a braudha of Mendaihu set it off, but…” He trailed off and glanced ahead towards the city. In the distance, the Mirades Tower rose high above everything, watching over the Sprawl like a sentinel. He shivered unexpectedly, and turned back to Kai. “I admit I'm not quite convinced of the motive,” he added as an afterthought. He paused, looking her in the eyes. He didn't want to say it, but he felt he had to. “Caren and I believe it may have been aimed at the Shenaihu. Like it was the first volley.”

  If there were any reactions to his words, they kept it well hidden. They approached the Crest's edge, mere feet away from Poe's usual meditation spot, and looked out over the city. A flock of BMPD helicopters dotted the air above the Main Street and South City Sectors, the busiest and most populated neighborhoods at this time of day, monitoring the area. Lines of multihued skyscrapers, reflecting sunlight, seascape, and the countless other buildings surrounding them, rose up gracefully in height in a slow arc towards the Tower, as most skylines in this type of province would. The blackness of the Tower, though, reflected little except its coldness.

  “What was the initial public reaction?” Kai asked.

  “People were more alarmed by the shockwave than the bleed,” Poe said. “All told, I believe there were no fatalities where the ritual was the main cause, and the number of injuries is negligible. Psychologically, however? Scared the hell out of a lot of us at the time, but once we saw there wasn’t any real physical damage, a lot of us went back to our lives. We’re worried, but we’re not terrified. The official gauge of public reaction right now is that of guarded concern.”

  “No hysteria, then,” Kai nodded.

  Oh, how he wanted to respond to that! He’d heard from some of his connections that most of the hysteria had been concentrated within the halls of the Tower — to be more precise, within the confines of the Provincial Governor’s Council. Rieflin’s cabinet members were pissing themselves with fear and couldn’t agree on how to move forward, especially after his revelatory speech. The humans had responded to the event predictably and wished to use force as a preventative measure. The Meraladians, on the other hand, suggested letting it play out longer, fully understanding the spiritual connotations of the ritual. They were officially at a stalemate.

  Poe decided to keep the politics out of it for now. “Officially, no,” he said after a moment. “There are pockets of unrest, mostly in the Warehouse and East McCleever districts, maybe a bit in South City, but nothing serious. The ARU has that under control. Why the Tower was targeted, though...I really couldn't tell you. I mean, we have a few ideas, but...”

  Ashan hummed absently. He was looking out over the Sprawl, lost in thought, nodding again, until he closed his eyes. The head movement ceased and breathing slowed, his body becoming unnaturally still. Poe glanced at Kai, but did not say anything to break the silence. She caught his eye then looked back at her brother. She knew precisely what he was doing. She held out a tentative hand to Poe, motioning for him to take it.

  Nervously but without question, he grasped it. If a Mendaihu wanted to make a physical connection, it meant they were going to show you something you could not see or perceive on your own. It could only be seen through their eyes, through their spiritual vision, and it was going to be something important, and something you would never have experienced before in your life. Kai looked into his eyes one last time to ensure he was prepared, and
gave him a soft smile. He started to speak, but everything went dark —

  Then, just as quickly, all was Light. Pure, blinding white Light. Light that burned.

  Poe let out a terrified gasp, unable to speak.

  I'm showing you this because I have to, Alec.

  Was that Kai's voice...? Not just in his head, but all around him...comforting, soothing.

  This is how we are. How we all are.

  An overwhelming rush of sensations hit him square on and sent him reeling. Every image appeared in superfine detail, every single sound heard with crystalline clarity. The wind sounded like an ocean, the birdsong back near the entrance sounded like angelic singing. The visions before him so sharp he thought they would cut into him like blades. It took nearly all of his strength to push it all back to a level he could comprehend. And it was only then that he finally heard it…pure, wordless emotion called out to him grasping at his very soul. Voices, surrounding him, everywhere. So many voices...all without direction. And he could read each one separately, detecting each nuance, each tone as if he had the knowledge of every single living person in the Sprawl. It was dizzying, frightening, and addictive, all at the same time. Yet underneath, he could hear it...underneath it all...the sound of cleansing...

  Poe felt the city.

  The city was slowly healing.

  He forced his hand free of her grasp. He opened his eyes and stared wide-eyed at Kai, speechless and completely terrified…but he understood. He felt the heightened awareness of both Ashan and Kai as they scanned the Sprawl, attempting to grasp a better understanding of the Awakening. Experiencing all of this through the guidance of the Mendaihu was truly like a spiritual veil being lifted from his very soul, and there was nothing else in the human world that could even come close. It was transcendence.

  Please, Alec. We must do this. I will lead you. She smiled at him, a smile of trust and protection, and took his hand again —

  — and the three stood on the Crest, as they did in reality, watching the city. Everything was in sharpest focus, in far finer detail than he could ever comprehend. The Sprawl had become a matrix of sharpened edges, minute vibrations, and unyielding light. He could parse only a fraction of what Kai and Ashan could sense…yet with all three of them connected, he felt a completeness. His soul resonated with Kai’s, and hers with her brother’s. Poe understood all of this, understood what it meant, even though he couldn’t sufficiently put it into words. All he could do was feel it. They watched over the city as protectors. And for the moment, even he was part of this; at that moment, even as an anchor to mere human reality, he was also Mendaihu.

  Together they sensed the bruised tension and the traumatized scars upon the souls of Bridgetown, the rippling waves of living souls and wavering tendrils of the astral traveler, and he could not help but shed a few tears for them. The late morning breeze pushed at them, an air full of pain and confusion. Yet there was something else...something they recognized as malevolence. It fed off the pain, fed off the fear of the city. Not out of blind hunger, but out of necessity, in order to survive. Because it had to. It ran deep, an instinct passed down countless Meraladian generations, and it had been awakened. It harkened back to the ancient days on Trisanda...the true Meraladhza home. Ashan and Kai had never been to the planet, either by ship or by soul projection, but deep inside, they held the seed of their Trisandi origins. They all did, Meraladian and human alike. This disturbing familiarity with the black essence originated there, in that seed, in their hearts. They felt it now, the same iciness that had once plagued Trisanda, nearly killing it. Kai and Ashan knew this, and Poe could sense it just as deeply.

  Yet still...they knew the healing process had started. Underneath it all, they felt the balancing spark working to repair what the shockwave had torn the night before. They were healing.

  Ashan stood beside Kai, eyes closed and a deep frown contorting his face. He breathed slowly and deeply, listening. He could hear the tone of those essences, more keenly than she could feel them. His gift of soulhearing could pick up the intricacies where mere soulsensing like Kai's could not. With the three of them linked together, Poe felt for the first time just how intense the energies of the Sprawl were. He heard the city’s energies through Ashan, felt its flow through Kai…and saw it for the first time in a new way, all on his own.

  Poe felt Kai's hand drop out of his. His eyes still closed, the images of the Sprawl slowly faded from view, leaving traces of colors and shapes against his eyelids. The warmth of energy and light receded deep into the background, still there but now out of reach. Soon he was cold and trembling, breathing slowly.

  “Ashan?” she whispered.

  “Cold,” her brother answered.

  “What do you think?” she asked.

  “Feels like rain,” he said quietly.

  Poe opened his eyes, squinting from the late morning sun over the ocean, his vision back to normal. He was at the halfway point between dream and reality, in control but not fully aware. What did Ashan just say? Rain? He frowned, trying to focus at the sky above the city. Hardly a cloud. He closed his eyes again, about to yawn —

  And for a brief moment, all was Light again. He’d returned to that Light, all on his own. Shimmering, encompassing energy, reaching out for him, trying to awaken him, devour him —

  Goddess!

  Opened his eyes wide and gasped for air. And a second later, it was gone.

  What did I just...see??

  Light. He saw Light, all on his own! He shuddered. It was bleedover from his guided entry into that otherwhere, a memory puddle temporarily tripping him back into that sensation of ascended reality. He felt nervously calm, maybe a bit giddy, like he’d just gotten away with something. His hands were still shaking, but only slightly. Almost in control again. He took deep breaths, and focused on Ashan.

  Ashan huffed in frustration and glanced at Kai, then back at the city. He continued the conversation as if Poe's sudden hallucination hadn't happened. “I'm not sure yet. Definitely some Shenaihu involvement, but...” he frowned. Kai nodded and followed his gaze. Their focus was purely on the Mirades Tower. They seemed to be studying it, translating it into some wordless language Poe could only grasp at, spinning head or not. Perhaps that was what he had felt in that other, sharper world. The hawk's eye of vigilance and the heightened frequencies that were a part of everything in the universe. A near-complete oneness with everything.

  “But what?” she prompted.

  “I can't tell.” He turned to her again. “And you?”

  “Definitely cold,” she said. “Almost a feeling of tension spilling over.”

  He flashed a grin at her. “Interesting choice of words, eichi. I wouldn't quite put it that way, but still, I have to agree. We're on the edge right now, we’d have to go further in to know for sure.”

  Kai paused before continuing. “You didn't recognize it?” He did not answer, his smile fading. He glanced to the west of the city, towards the highway that snaked its way through and out. Kai turned to Poe with the intention to ask the same question, but stopped short, finally seeing his ashen face. Immediately she stepped to his side, ready to reach out to him. “Alec? Alec, are you okay?”

  He looked at her, his eyes slightly swimming. His head spun, but his inner mental workings felt calm and serene. He felt pleasantly drunk. He pursed his lips in an attempt to hide his amusement; they hadn’t noticed his physical reaction, only that he’d come out of that side trip mentally unscathed. “...Akaina.” He managed a smile. “That...was probably the most unnerving experience I've ever had. I think I’ll let that one soak in before we do it again.”

  Kai bowed her head, blushing. “I do apologize, Alec. I should have warned you.”

  Poe shook his head and waved away the apology. “No way you’d have been able to. I don't think many humans have the correct words for what I just saw. But thanks.”

 
She touched him lightly on the shoulder, a comforting affirmation. Two seconds later he felt an uncontrolled shiver run down his back, followed by an unexpected but welcoming calm. He no longer felt dizzy. The anxiety he’d felt since yesterday had gone away, leaving him centered and relaxed.

  That had been Kai’s doing just then. With just a quick second’s touch, she had changed his metabolism and psyche. Soulhealer, he thought, silently thanking her. He nodded graciously towards her.

  “So what do we do?” he asked.

  “First we gain access to the Mirades Tower,” he began.

  Poe winced at him. “Good luck. Caren and I have been trying to get it since this whole thing started. Security’s pretty damn tight down there right now, and I don't blame them. Might be a few days before anything happens.”

  “Physically can come later,” Ashan mused. “I’m thinking more along the lines of the network.”

  Poe shivered. “…network?”

  Ashan frowned. “Something wrong?”

  “Oh — you mean spiritual network,” he said, laughing nervously. “For a moment there I thought we were going to resort to using jackers.”

  “There are countless legal resources we can tap into. Have any of the local industries made any inquiries?”

  “Where should I start?” he said. Close to eighty percent of Bridgetown's commerce had queried the Governor about an economic reaction within the first hour of the shockwave, more than twice the usual number of responses during a similar disaster. Poe had to remind himself to think like a businessman when it came to these companies. “Well, probably DuaLife and Khema-Jamison-Shimura. They're always chasing us up for something, since they're joint Terran-Meraladian companies. They've already contributed to city repairs.”

  “Good, good…” he said flatly. Clearly he wasn’t that impressed, merely content enough that someone was footing the bill. Poe understood and felt the same way.

  Kai stepped up. “Any religious factions?” she asked.

  “Nobody out of the ordinary,” he said. “Every church in Bridgetown offered support for the injured and displaced. Saint Paddy’s on Ormand Street is taking in the emotionally distraught, although I hear there aren’t too many.”

  Kai warmed to that. She looked out at the city again, this time with a hint of pride. “It's good that the One of All Sacred is still held dear in this age.”

  Poe let out a grunt that wasn't supposed to be heard, but made no attempt to hide it. “Sorry,” he said. “I grew up cynical.”

  Ashan glared at him. “Agent Poe…humans, on the surface, show reactive emotions quicker than true emotions. What you felt today went much deeper than either of those. What you have witnessed is the soul's emotion. Yes, the city is healing itself. Yes, there are those in the city who are awakening. The tide of fear has already given way to renewal. As much as your kind hates to admit it, you are just like us.”

  Poe smirked, shaking his head. “Don’t get me wrong, Ashan, I completely agree. But don't get me started with the psychology. I'm on the ARU…I've had that conversation too many times.”

  Ashan studied him for a moment, mirroring Poe’s expression. “I imagine you have.”

  “Caren and I will check out the religious contacts today,” he continued. “Contacting the industries might take longer though. Commerce has a habit of tripping all over itself at the most inopportune moments. Federal procedures, screening, covering their asses, that sort of thing.”

  “Reminders of the Eighth Embodiment?” Ashan asked.

  “More than likely,” he nodded, noting how easily the man had breached that subject. If Ashan and Kai weren’t afraid to bring up that event, then he wasn’t going to hold back either. “It'll take at least another day or so to get things back to normal. If they're not dropping everything to help, they're picking up what's left to earn a profit.”

  Kai nodded. “You will find that anywhere you go, Alec.”

  Poe shrugged. “Still, I'm sure DuaLife and KJS will be the first to respond. I've already got eyes and ears on it. Anything we should ask them straight up?”

  Ashan narrowed his eyes at him. A strange reaction that made Poe uncomfortable. “No, not really,” he said. “At least not right away. But you're a profiler, Alec. I imagine you would want to better understand them. Listen to them, Alec. You obviously have the ear for it.”

  Poe frowned. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  He merely laughed. “You tell me, Agent Poe.”

  Poe glared at him, quite sure that his words were a comment on his bloodline. He’d been given up for adoption, but he knew enough to know that he had a bit of Meraladian blood in him, that he could take that next step, just like Caren, and join the Mendaihu adepts. Ashan’s words were an underhanded comment on his true surname, Eiyashné…the clan of listeners. He’d said that not as a provocation however, but to let him know he was aware of what kind of person Poe was. He shook his head and let it drop.

  “Are we all set here, then?” he asked. “Anything else you’d like to cover?”

  “I believe we are fine for now,” Ashan said. “We shall of course update you on anything that may come up in our own research.”

  “Let me know how we can best reach you,” Kai added.

  He pulled out a business card and scribbled his and Caren’s home numbers on them, and handed it to her. “Listen,” he said, crossing his arms. “I want to head back to HQ and bring Caren up to speed. Again, welcome to Bridgetown, and thank you again for your assistance. We deeply appreciate it.”

  “You are most welcome,” Ashan said. “Oh — and Alec...”

  Poe arched an eyebrow at him.

  “...faith, my friend. Remember to have faith.”

  He shook his head in exasperation. “Yeah,” he said flatly. “Sure thing.”

  Kai touched him on the shoulder. “At least trust us.”

  “Oh, that I do.” Poe smiled briefly at her, nodding. Again, Poe knew enough of the Mendaihu to trust them when asked. It was the feeling he got from them. At least that was how he would describe the sensation. They practically radiated this trust at him. It was a guarded trust, the only kind he knew, but it was trust nonetheless.

  “Before I go, I just want to say this one thing,” he said, and stepped closer to the both of them. “I'm still not sure where the hell it was you took me today, but you have my word. I trust you not because the two of you have an impeccable record. And I'm not trusting you simply because you're Mendaihu.” He paused, letting himself come up with the right words. “Let's just say I trust you because, while we were off in that...that otherness, I could read the two of you, as clearly as you can probably read me. And what I saw, what I felt — I knew I could trust wholly. You don’t need words or an oath, or anything else for that matter, to gain my trust. You have it now, without question.” He nodded graciously to them, a smile on his face. “Dehndarra Né hra nyhndah, eicho d’eichi. Peace, love and light to you both.”

  The shocked look on Ashan's face was priceless. “...and to you, Agent Poe,” he managed, eyes wide. “I...I didn't realize you followed the One that deeply.” Kai giggled at him; apparently he’d left an impression on both of them as well.

  “There's quite a bit people don't realize about me, Ashan,” he grinned. He turned and left.