“So the different planes are just different versions of us?”
“That would be a simple and arrogant assumption, but for now let’s use that.”
My face reddened and he smiled at my discomfort.
“Consider that all these planes coexist. No one knows which the original is or if there even was an original. These planes or worlds or dimensions, whichever helps you understand it, never interact directly. They are like parallel lines going into infinity.”
“So no crossing over, ever?”
“Except by a select few, throughout our history, gurus or enlightened masters.”
“So how do the warriors…”
“I’m getting to that,” he said after he finished his tea.
“Imagine that these planes were accessible and that you didn’t need a state of enlightenment or any other transcendental state.”
“Wouldn’t everyone be crossing over, then?”
“The path we discovered was through our martial training, perfected to such a level that we were able to achieve zanshin at will.”
I had heard of zanshin as being in the state of mind where everything and anything was possible. It wasn’t nothingness, empty and void, but pure potentiality.
“So by achieving zanshin, you cross over?”
“Not exactly. By achieving the desired state, the doorway becomes available to you. You can choose to use the door or not, but there is a choice.”
“Why wouldn’t you take the door?”
“Eventually you will find out and then you get to make the choice. One thing I can assure you, no one is going to find you,” and he extended his arm to take in the loft,” in this place.”
“Why not?” I had to ask since my noticing the lack of a door.
“I know you think there is no form of egress but you would be wrong.”
I looked around again. He beckoned to me to search further. The space was expansive with hardwood floors tying the living areas together. I discovered an actual bedroom off to the side which must have been the master bedroom judging from the king size bed. All the furniture was done in an old wood so brown it was almost black. Everything looked solid and sturdy. I looked everywhere and saw no door. I walked back to the common area and it was then that I noticed the mirror. It stood at least ten feet tall and I missed it initially because I thought it was a window. As I stood before it, I recognized the view. It was the training hall on the lake, at the school. Sylk stood beside me admiring the view.
“I spent many hours training on that lake.”
“We’re in…?”
“The Mirror? Yes, in more ways than one I would say.”
“But I wasn’t in a zanshin state, how did I?”
“No, but before travelling, Annika injured your chi, setting for your automatic response to trauma and injury. The rest was a matter of sequential jumps using retrievers.”
“How long have I been here?” My world, the world I was used to, born in, was on the other side of that mirror. My stomach lurched.
“Time is not a linear concept here, Dante. Here there are eddies and whorls. It may only feel linear because you perceive it that way.”
Annika was in the kitchen area preparing food for what I assumed was going to be dinner. My body took over, informing me that I was starving.
“You mean you can travel in time?”
“No, Dante, time travel as far as I know is not possible. What I meant by nonlinear is in relation to the plane you originate from.”
“Excuse me?”
“Think of it this way – the Mirror is a plane that is like a very long river. Parts of this river flows slowly, other parts though, flow quickly. There are rapids and falls, whirlpools and the like. If you enter the mirror from your plane without knowing exactly where you intend to go, you can find that upon returning to your plane much time has passed ‘or none’.”
“What about here, this place?”
He smiled then and looked at what passed as a watch, but was unlike any watch I had ever seen. “Well, according to this you have been gone exactly one hour of your time to two days of our time here.” The smell wafting in from the kitchen sent my stomach into overdrive, making it growl.
“Anna is a fantastic chef, among other things.” As he looked at her I could see that there was a deeper dimension to their relationship. “And before you get any ideas, he walked over and kissed her on the forehead, “she is my daughter and one of my personal guards.”
I looked at Anna, wondering how old she was, if her father was over four hundred years old.
“I’m twenty-eight,” she said as if reading my mind.
“The longevity factor won’t become apparent until her fortieth birthday, and even then it can skip a generation or two from what I have seen.”
So far he hadn’t tried to kill me, even though I knew he was capable of it.
“So, my proposition. Stay here, train, and allow me to teach you to become the warrior you are meant to be. When you are ready to leave, I will not stop you.”
“But why me?” There are many at the school better than me.”
“Anna tells me that you have the skills I am looking for.”
“Why not one of the seniors?”
“Those you call seniors, blindly follow their master and would not be open to what I have to say.”
“It may be because you have killed some of them?” I answered.
“You do have a point.” He crossed his arms and waited.
I thought over my situation. The only way to get back was to go through the doorway/Mirror. There was no way I could take on Sylk on my own, much less him and Anna. It didn’t appear like I had much of a choice and he knew it. Somehow I knew I would regret this.
“Fine,” I said. “It’s not like I have much of a choice here.”
“Of course you do.”
“I do?”
“Certainly, you could have refused my invitation.”
“Sure I could have and then?”
“And then I would have killed you.” It wasn’t a threat. He said it so matter of fact that the words chilled me to my core.
“I see,” I said slowly.
“Not yet you don’t but you will,” he said as he smiled.
SEARCH
DEVIN WAS LIVID. The traitor was a monitor? How did she get ahold of retrievers? This had Sylk’s hand in it, he was certain of it. He also knew that recovering Dante would not be the priority. Weeding out any other potential moles would take precedence, as would the ritual of pairing. The Master would not stop or delay the ritual no matter how talented one student was. He would have to find Dante on his own.
“Are we going to find him?” Devin turned to see Meja flanked by the twins Kalysta and Valeria, and behind them stood Zen. Devin looked at them, his face serious, inwardly he admired their courage.
“It’s very likely Sylk has him.”
Meja’s face became hard.
“Are they ready for something like this?” said Devin as he looked at the trio.
“I wouldn’t have chosen them if I didn’t think they were capable,” Meja answered with an edge to her voice.
Devin smiled at Meja but it was without mirth.
“I found your mole, by the way.”
“She knew we were onto her, which is why she acted when she did,” said Meja.
“If we do this, it’s very likely we will have monitors after us. I want to know that you are doing this out of your free will,” said Devin.
Meja narrowed her eyes at Devin, clearly displeased. Devin didn’t care; he was not going to have them on his conscience.
“We are here because we want Dante back, it’s that simple,” said Zen. The twins nodded in agreement.
“Very well, then. Let’s go find us a warrior.”
TRANSFORMATION
THE TRAINING WAS unlike any other I had ever endured. I took solace in the fact that I was training for my escape but it comforted me very little. Sylk made my time at the school f
eel like a vacation. We awoke each day at six a.m. Every day was the same.
“Let’s begin,” were his first words to me every morning. And we would start. Dressed in a loose fitting shirt and pants, standing barefoot on the training floor, he would drill me over and over on the most rudimentary techniques and forms. The days blurred into each other until I had no track of how long I had been in that place. It was another morning when he woke me—Doesn’t he ever sleep?
“Good morning, Dante,” Sylk said, looking at me over a cup of his golden tea. The pleasant aroma filled the space. I was wary. We never started our days this way.
“Uh – good morning,” I said, still a bit groggy.
“Today will very likely be the most difficult of your life.” He sipped some more of his tea. I knew better than to ask why and remained silent as I dressed into my training clothes, which were very similar to Sylk’s. I wore a very loose fitting top that resembled a gi top. but it was much thinner and more resilient. It felt like silk but it allowed me to breathe, dealing well with the copious amounts of sweat I produced in my training. My pants, made of the same material, were also loose fitting, but not so much that it was a hindrance. It felt like training in very comfortable underwear. I stood in the center of the training circles. Something was different today. The circles hummed with power and were glowing faintly.
“In your time here, Dante, I have stripped away all your incorrect techniques and bad habits,” Sylk said evenly. “It has not been easy,” he continued.
I remained silent, knowing it was the correct thing to do.
“Today you will determine if you progress to the next level in your training.”
It can’t be! I thought. I’m going to have to fight him? There was no way I could face him and win. As he spoke, three women approached the circle. “These are women from my personal guard and they are here to kill you.”
They stood outside the outer circle. The surprise evident on my face, I said nothing. I had no doubt that they would make good on their instruction. Each of them wore tight fitting pants and a top similar to mine. They wore soft sandals on their feet that made a soft shushing sound as they side stepped the tré. Each of them had their black hair in a braid that ended in a metal pin, which led me to consider that even the hair may be a weapon. Their faces, expressionless, were dangerous and beautiful. Asian features which betrayed no emotion, their almond shaped eyes looked not at me but through me. I thought it couldn’t get any worse when swords materialized in two of the three women’s hands.
“I have some business to attend to,” he said as he approached the mirror. If you are still among the living when I return then we will continue your training. If not, well then…” he nodded towards me and stepped through.
“Watch the one that is unarmed, Dante. She is the most dangerous of the three.” His voice faded away as I stood facing imminent death. She looked at me and smiled. “I am Mara, and I will be your assassin today.”
I gathered my chi and kept it stored in my lower abdomen. I knew I would need it if I was to survive this. Whatever happened I would do this without taking a life. I would not become Sylk. The outer circle stopped glowing and all three stepped in as one. Once inside, it began glowing again. I realized that I was sealed in with them. I put my foot on the glowing circle and felt a jolt of energy shoot up my leg followed by excruciating pain. It felt like someone had reached in and pulled out every bone in my leg. “Ahh!” I screamed in agony. As if that were the starting signal, they moved in to attack.
TAPPING DARKNESS
THE TWO WITH swords began to move to flank me. A subdued turquoise glow emanated from the swords. They stepped slowly to my sides, while the third —remaining motionless— looked at me. My leg still throbbed but the pain was quickly subsiding. Now it just felt as if it had been asleep, complete with the pins and needles. I moved into the center of the tré, as the three circles were called. The two with swords were now equidistant from me, almost anxious to attack. I realized that it was the third unarmed one that was controlling them. I looked closer at their faces and realized that they weren’t similar —they were identical, down to the clothes and facial features. I was either facing triplets or something else was going on. Mara smiled at my dawning awareness.
“We are all the same but I am the original.” I remained silent, hoping to find a gap in her offense. “Finish him,” she said so softly I almost missed it. The one on my left ran in, sword trailing behind her. The one on my right mirrored her. If I didn’t do something within the next two seconds, I had no doubt they would slice me in two. I felt the chi in my lower abdomen and expanded it to encompass the inner circle, which was five feet in diameter. I felt it expand from my body and solidify around me like a cylinder. Lefty slammed into it first and I felt the impact across my left side as if I had gotten kicked in the ribs. Righty, seeing what happened, stopped short and prodded my chi field with her sword. Her sword was instantly absorbed into my cylinder. Mara raised an eyebrow. She gave them an unspoken instruction and they stood just outside my circle, waiting. I knew I couldn’t keep this up indefinitely. Fatigue was already creeping into the edges of my awareness. Mara stood in front of me and placed a palm on my energy field. She drew her arm back and slammed her palm into the field. It was a devastating strike that would have broken several of my ribs had the field not been there. It felt like I had been gut checked. She looked at me and said,
“It would seem that this manifestation of your chi is still very much connected to you.”
I looked at her darkly, too winded to reply. It was taking all I had just to keep the cylinder intact.
“Foolish neophyte, you are supposed to disconnect the chi from yourself, or fall prey to the consequences.”
Disconnect my chi? I had no way of doing that. It was something alien to me.
She laughed then.
Her doppelgangers began attacking the cylinder around me. At first tentatively, then with greater intensity. I knew I had moments left. It was then when I felt the tug of power. It was hard to describe, like that feeling you get, a bass sound rocking your abdomen. It was a rumbling, pulling at my midsection. At first it felt off, like something was wrong, tainted, but considering my options, I didn’t have much choice. I drew on it. I opened myself to this strange power filling me. The cylinder around me grew reddish black at the edges. I no longer felt tired, in fact a surge of energy coursed through me. I touched the cylinder and it vibrated under my hand. I concentrated, pushing it out. It expanded almost immediately. I stopped at the second circle of the tré. The twins began striking it but I felt nothing. Mara had moved back to appraise the situation, her face serious. The anger in me, which had been a constant companion, took over. It was a rage that infused my entire being. I didn’t ask for any of this. My life as I knew it was over. The rage and frustration that I had kept under control shook off my restraints as if they didn’t exist. How dare these women threaten me? I looked down to see a small staff, a Jo, in my hands, about four feet long, covered in ornate markings. I knew it was a manifested weapon, at the same time I knew it was real and independent of me. It felt solid. Around an inch and a half in diameter, capped at each end with what looked like steel. In each cap, designs were etched into the metal. Along the shaft of what appeared to be ebony wood were characters and markings I could not decipher, etched in a deep red. The staff thrummed as if it had a life of its own.
“I am called Maelstrom, for I come from your inner chaos to unleash destruction on your foes,” a voice said. For a moment I thought it was me, but I knew I had not said a word. It was then that I laughed. I didn’t even recognize my voice, my laugh. It wasn’t me, yet it was.
“Impossible,” said Mara. “It is a foci.”
“Oh no, bitch, very possible,” not-my-voice answered.
I slammed my staff on the floor and the protective field around me was sucked into the staff with an audible whoosh. The twins stood perplexed for a moment then lunged at me with swords newly draw
n.
“No!” screamed Mara.
Too late they realized that instead of rushing to cut short my existence, they were ending their own. It was moving in slow motion and at an accelerated pace all at once. The twin on my right brought her sword down with a cut designed to cleave me in two. I sidestepped the attack as the twin on my left lunged with her sword at my mid-section, which I parried with Maelstrom or it parried using me. It was as if the staff was using me and not the other way around. The staff whirled in my hands as if alive. I slammed the twin on the right in the chest with the broad end of the staff. She skidded to the edge of the tré. With grim satisfaction, I knew I had broken at least four ribs. She didn’t move. The left twin yelled and redoubled her efforts, cutting and slicing at me. Every time she thought she had me, she only cut air. I was everywhere and nowhere.
“Enough of this,” I said in not-my-voice. “Corrompio,” I whispered and the end caps of the staff began to glow a sickly green. As she attacked again, slashing at my legs, I blocked with my staff and lightly touched her arm with the other end. Immediately the area touched by the staff began turning black and decomposing. She moved back, fear in her eyes. In moments her arm was black and lifeless. I could see the death spreading across her shoulder to the rest of her body. She would be dead within minutes. I turned my attention to Mara.
“Come, Mara. Let us see who the foolish one is.”
Mara stepped back to the edge, knowing the agony that awaited her if she attempted to cross the threshold of the tré. She looked at the edge of the circle and decided that she could defeat me.
Her hands began to glow a deep purple.
“I smell your fear, bitch. Don’t worry, your suffering will be different from your sisters’. I will make sure yours is longer and infinitely more painful.”
She came at me then, hands blurring. She attacked my face only to miss by a fraction of an inch. She would kick only to find me in another location. I was toying with her—or rather Maelstrom was. I had to stop this or lose myself completely. The only thing was I didn’t know how. It was like a hurricane. You let it run its course and marveled at the devastation left in its wake. I began to attack. At first it was a feint here and there, and then the attacks escalated. I lunged at her head when she parried. I shifted position mid strike and brought the staff crashing on her left thigh. To her credit she didn’t cry out but I was going to remedy that. I would make her scream before I was done. I kept pressing the attack until she was at the edge of the tré. I had struck her several times. She could barely stand and was unable to put weight on her left leg. Still she fought. That was when I pushed her over the threshold.
Warriors of the Way-Pentalogy Page 6
