by Jon Chaisson
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Elsewhere
Caren and Poe walked north on Ormand Street towards the diner soon after Matthew left. These walks had become tradition for them and she looked forward them, as it got her out of the office, and often it signaled a break in a case. She looked forward to this one in particular…if the two Mendaihu agents had been holding anything back – and she was certain they had – now was the time to get them to reveal it. As much as it irritated her, at least now she understood why they would do so. Their previous meeting at Headquarters had been fruitful and answered many questions, but they’d still held back. It wasn’t until late last night, after she and Denni had come to terms with who they were, that she saw the reason for their reticence. The Mendaihu agents had wanted everyone in that cramped room to read their spirit signatures before they made any final decisions. They’d wanted to familiarize themselves with each person’s unique signature, know its strengths and its quirks, see how each person interacted with the other, and if they were up to this task.
She could only wonder what they’d made of her own haphazard soul.
“Poe?” she said.
He turned to her, hands thrust in his pockets. “What’s up?”
“Odd question.”
He smirked. “As opposed to…?”
She playfully nudged him with her elbow. “I’m serious. Did we ever find any evidence of Shenaihu action that prompted Nehalé’s ritual? I mean, was there any reason for it in the first place, regardless of its intended motive?”
Poe slowed up his stride as he frowned into the air, and after a few more steps he came to a complete halt. “Nothing on Matt’s data crystal about any Shenaihu uprising that I could find. But the motive still makes sense. Nehalé must be convinced there’s a Shenaihu offensive out there somewhere…and I’m not entirely convinced there isn’t one…but we’ve yet to find it.”
Caren pulled the collar of her uniform closer around her neck, as an unexpected breeze rushed past them. Goddess, it was unseasonably cold this morning! “Okay,” she said. “What about incidents in other provinces? Do you think Kai and Ashan would have heard anything about NewCanta or Metronewyork or even New Boston?”
Poe shrugged, pulling at his own collar. “No harm in asking.” He began walking again, and turned right onto Leonard Street. The crosswind picked up, pushing the collar of his overcoat into his chin. With a shrug of the shoulders, he readjusted it and held it close to his throat. “I’ll add it to my ever-growing list of questions.”
“It’s damn cold for September, don’t you think?” she said. “Weird weather. So — what about EdenTree?”
Poe glanced at her. “What about them?”
“Alec, if Matthew risked stepping onto government property to tell us about them, then EdenTree must have something on the Shenaihu.”
He smirked at that. “They probably are the Shenaihu.”
“Not funny,” she bristled.
He slowed his step again. They were already ten minutes late for the meeting. If he kept on stopping to brainstorm, at this rate they’d end up completely missing it. Caren nudged him on a second time. “Come on, think on your feet,” she said, stepping ahead of him. “We’re almost there.”
He nodded. “What if…”
“Poe!”
He grinned stupidly at her and caught up. “Sorry. But now you have me thinking…I’m not saying they’re all Shenaihu, but what about the executives, or maybe even the CEOs? Any chance of that being true? I mean, Janoss Miradesi and Natianos Lehanna are both on their board, and both are known followers.”
“You’re flirting with slander here.”
He shrugged. “Just conjecture. But Matt’s right, though. Why else would a company least affected by the awakening ritual make so much noise?”
Goddess, she thought, pulling at her collar again. The implications of that alone…! EdenTree was indeed the most ubiquitous company in the Western Terran Hemisphere, as well as a major player in the Crimson Null Foundation…they held connections to both human and Meraladian technologies dating back to the first Meraladian contact nearly three hundred years ago. And every twenty to twenty-five years there was a disturbance in the balance of Mendaihu and Shenaihu, causing another Seasonal Embodiment of the One of All Sacred, who would set things straight. Sometimes it only amounted to a quiet disagreement and a quick resolution…and sometimes it grew out of control, like the Eighth. And each time EdenTree held a part in it, whether sponsoring the peace agreements or donating time and money to the cleanup afterwards, always looking heroic in the process. She tried not to think of what Matthew may have meant about it being more intense this time around.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll play along. Say they are the Shenaihu. That still wouldn’t give Nehalé a clear motive.”
“Not completely,” he countered. “Perhaps the Awakening was also his way of corralling EdenTree — and thus the Shenaihu — within the ritual’s perimeter while those outside took part in the Awakening Process? Maybe they were affected, maybe they weren’t. But they were definitely on Nehalé’s mind at the time.”
Caren growled as a fierce chill slid down her spine. “I was afraid of that.” Feeling both defeated and angry, she continued on towards the diner. The blinking sign for Yoshi’s Diner buzzed and swayed in the wind a block away. “Goddess, Poe,” she said, taking his arm. “This has to be the longest four and a half block walk I’ve ever taken with you.”
He nodded graciously.
