Outside the door, as I followed Meja’s gaze, I saw three figures. They were dressed in what seemed to be long grey cloaks. The figure in the center was taller than the other two. His cloak had a silver trim, which meant either he or she (were there female watchers?) had more fashion sense, or was a higher rank, which usually meant more dangerous than the other two. I was going with the latter. Their faces were hidden but I could sense they were looking directly at me.
“We cannot confront them in here,” said Mara.
“I thought we couldn’t confront them at all?” I said.
“It would seem we no longer have that option.”
I put Kal down. Things were going to get ugly fast. I could hear Maelstrom laugh within, and fear, cold as ice, raced down my spine. When I looked down, I held Maelstrom in my hands, jet black with symbols a pulsing red.
FUTILITY
WE STEPPED OUT of the room, leaving Kal out of what may be the line of fire.
“You cannot defeat them, vessel. They are part of the fabric of this plane of existence. If you surrender to me, I may be able to contain them.”
“You mean some things are even beyond your power?”
“Don’t be foolish. I never claimed to be omnipotent, nor did I say I would make you a god.”
“Why can’t you defeat them?”
“I thought I explained myself on that matter.”
“Pretend I didn’t understand.”
“Very well. The beings you know as Watchers are part of the fabric of this plane, which means it would require more power than I possess to undo them. If it were possible to destroy them, a rift would be created in this plane that would have a cascading effect, the end result of which would be the undoing of this plane of existence. Was that clear enough for you, vessel?”
“Very well, so how do we stop them?”
“They can be contained for a very short amount of time, enough time for you and your friends to escape to the place of nothingness, near here.”
He was referring to Sylk’s location. The only question was getting there.
“How long can we hold them off?”
“At most, fifteen of your minutes and I will not be available to you for twenty-four of your hours hence.”
So doing this would deplete Maelstrom to such a degree that it wouldn’t be available for a day.
Tell your friends to step back or they too will be trapped, which would be most unfortunate for them.
I stepped forward in front of Meja. “I think you should all step back a bit,” I heard myself say in a voice not quite mine.
Mara immediately stepped back. Meja was more reluctant. “Dante, these are Watchers, you can’t pretend—”
“Child, if you value your life, you will step back.” Meja joined Mara and the others. “When I am done, you will have fifteen of your minutes. Do not waste them,” Maelstrom said.
I saw myself step closer to the Watchers. The center one stepped forward and pushed back its hood revealing an angelic face androgynous in its beauty. The features were soft with a hint of angularity. The skin was flawless, a porcelain white. The golden hair was long and fell to its shoulders. It was the eyes that threw me for a second. They weren’t a fixed color, but rather shifted along the spectrum from black to white, slowly getting lighter until there appeared to be no iris and then getting darker again. He, it, looked directly at me. And then it spoke. It felt like being caught by an ocean wave unawares. The force buffeted me, sending me several steps back. Behind me, I could hear the screams of pain.
“You do not belong here,” the Watcher continued. A look of disbelief briefly crossed its face when it saw I still remained standing. “You must be purged.”
Once again I felt the force of its words rock my body. I knew that it was only because of Maelstrom that I wasn’t deaf and curled up in a fetal position on the floor. Every fiber of my being wanted to run screaming from this place. As I walked closer, I heard Maelstrom speak.
Prepare yourself, vessel. This will be quite unpleasant for you.
When I reached about three feet from the Watcher, Maelstrom broke into four equal parts and embedded itself into the floor equidistant from the Watchers. As the last piece entered the floor, a circle of symbols materialized there. I recognized them as Maelstrom’s symbols. The Watcher looked at me with distrust and began to reach for me, when a dome of energy materialized. I stepped back to the room, not taking my eyes off the Watchers. Every time the Watcher struck the dome, it exploded in a burst of bright orange and then faded back to clear. One of the other watchers dematerialized only to reappear again seconds later.
“That means that this is a sphere, not just a dome. How did you?” asked Anna. “Never mind, let’s get moving. They can still contact other Watchers.”
I moved to grab Kal. By the time I was ready to go, everyone was moving quickly past the Watchers. The one that spoke was sitting in a Lotus position, floating slightly off the floor, his eyes closed as if in deep meditation.
“We need to get to Sylk’s now!” I yelled. That seemed to mobilize the group and we broke off in a run.
SACRIFICE
WE RACED OUT of Grand Central, Mara taking point. My abdomen felt as if I had gotten punched repeatedly. I couldn’t worry about that, though. Val was right beside me, with Meja behind us both. Behind her was Anna bringing up the rear. We drew looks as we ran onto the street, caution thrown to the wind. The harness, though effective, placed most of Kal’s weight on my back, and still required arm strength. My shoulders, biceps and triceps screamed at me. All I could think about was that we were moving too slow. I didn’t want to face Watchers, on any terms. How did you outrun a plane of existence? And how was a plane of existence sentient?
Questions best saved for another time as we avoided people and traffic. I flanked Val, her face drawn, her breath coming in short cycles. That was when I saw them. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement. The next moment something stood the hair on my neck on end. It was the lead Watcher, the one that looked like paintings of the Archangel Michael. I suppose it was fitting we were being hunted by ‘angels’.
“Meja!” I pointed.
She didn’t pause a second. “I saw them, Dante. It seems like an extension of the Watcher to keep track of us, or to—”
“Direct others to our location,” said Anna. “Mara, continue to the master’s location. I will deal with this.”
Mara nodded as Anna ran over to face the specter of the lead Watcher. We were about five blocks away from Sylk’s location. I felt the pressure in my abdomen ease, which could only mean one thing: we were out of time. I turned to call Anna back, but it was too late. Michael the Watcher was no longer ghostlike. He was very solid and was moving towards Anna. There was nothing I could do, nothing any of us could do, but run. Anna veered off and ran in a different direction, with Michael the Watcher in tow. He didn’t run as much as appear to glide, which was eerie and disconcerting to watch. My heart was going into overdrive and fear was forcing adrenaline into my system. We headed for Sylk’s building without pursuit. I was guessing that the proximity and the diminished presence of Maelstrom is what made Anna a target until I saw Mara wearing two pendants. Anna must have slipped her the one she had on. As we rounded the corner, Sylk’s building came into view.
“We must hurry. The building is phase-shifting.”
“It’s what?!”
“It won’t be there very soon, is what it means,” said Meja.
We made it to the entrance of the building. I remembered the lobby, now empty. Mara stood outside.
“What is she doing?” asked Val. Around the perimeter of the building, symbols began to take form on the ground.
“This must be a failsafe system, which means it can only be activated from outside to protect someone inside.”
Mara turned and held the pendant that was Anna’s in her hand. It pulsed a deep orange, very similar to the sphere that contained the Watchers.
“She did this to protect
us. Once I cross the threshold, we will be locked in.”
“That means –”
“Yes, she will be locked out.”
Anna turned the corner then, with Michael not far behind. The fear on her face transformed to anger when she saw Mara outside. She turned to face the Watcher, her whip in her hand. Michael stopped as if taking in the situation. When he saw the state of the building, he looked perplexed, a question on his face. It was then that Anna wrapped her whip around his neck.
“Mara!” she yelled. Get inside!”
“Anna! No!” Mara took a step to Anna but Meja held her.
“If he enters the building, all is lost!” Anna raised a hand as if telling Mara to stop, and released a burst of energy. “Get inside.”
Mara flew inside the lobby, landing on her back. She had crossed the threshold. The symbols on the ground flared a deep red. Around the building, the air shimmered, like the horizon in desert heat.
Michael faced Anna fingering the whip around his neck. His face was impassive as he spoke.
“You do not belong.”
A blast of energy washed over Anna. The glass in every pane of the lobby cracked, creating spider web designs. Somehow Anna was still standing even though I could see blood trickling from her ears. Michael looked at the whip as if seeing it for the first time. He put his hand on it and pulled, and Anna slid forward as if she were on ice. Her body was shaking uncontrollably and we could feel the vibration inside the building. Michael placed a hand around Anna’s neck. For a moment, she became still. She turned to us, tears in her eyes.
“Go!” she was able to say before Michael lifted her into the air, preventing any more speech.
He looked at her, his eyes shifting color and whispered, “Disipar.” What happened next couldn’t register in my brain. Anna was simply undone. She disintegrated into nothingness.
Michael turned to face us and walked to the building, stopping at the symbols. He looked down and studied them and then stood very still with his eyes closed.
“What is he doing?” asked Val.
“Calling others to create a breach. We need to get upstairs now,” said Mara.
INTERSTICES
WE RAN TO the same elevator I had taken earlier with Mara. It was waiting for us. As we got in, I looked at Kal who was looking worse.
“Meja, we need to get Kal some help.”
“I know, Dante, but we have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.”
The doors opened a moment later. The hallway with mirrors was untouched, except for the mirrors; they each had a dim red glow to them, very similar to the symbols surrounding the building.
“Whatever you do, do not look directly into the mirrors, no matter what you hear or think you may see,” said Mara.
“An infinite loop trap,” whispered Meja. “I only heard of these. Are these –?”
“Functional?” finished Mara. “Frightfully so, yes. Let’s go.”
I remembered walking down that hallway and the eeriness of it. Now it was different though. I felt a tug, and was almost compelled to look into the mirror, if only for a second. An instant later my face stung.
“Don’t look into the mirror, or you will be lost.” It was Mara. We made it to the door without further incident. Inside, Sylk was packing what looked like a large knapsack.
As promised, he pointed to a side door.
“Your guardian.”
I turned to see Zen standing there, realization slowly coming back.
“Zen! It’s good to have you back.”
“Dante, I didn’t realize I had been gone.”
“Yes, you were quite gone. Trust me.”
Sylk looked over to Meja, and Meja looked at Sylk with impassive eyes.
“It would seem we need to work together to avoid those things out there.”
Sylk nodded. “Watchers are quite formidable. I have yet to see one injured, much less destroyed.” Sylk turned and picked up his knapsack.
“Sylk, she needs help,” I said as I laid Kal down on the sofa. Sylk with an expression of impatience on his face, said. “This will take time you realize, which is a luxury we do not have. You could leave her here, where she should be safe.”
“No deal,” said Val before I could answer.
Sylk looked from Val to Kal. “Very well, I will honor my word.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Sylk bent over Kal and extended his hands over her body, and sweat began to form on his brow. Kal cried out in pain. Val moved forward. “He’s killing her.”
Meja held her back. “Be still, Val. If he is, his life is forfeit.”
Sylk continued, oblivious to the activity behind him. The sweat was flowing freely now. I could hear Kal’s bones knitting themselves together. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably closer to fifteen minutes, Sylk dropped his hands, and his palms looked as if they had been stripped of flesh. Sylk smiled ruefully as he looked down at them.
“Part of the cost of wielding that much energy without a channel is that the body must pay the price. It looks much worse than it really is.”
Kal sat up and Val ran to her, tears in her eyes.
“Don’t you ever do that again, Kal!” said Val, relief in her voice.
“I have kept my word, Dante. I trust that when the time comes, you do the same. Now please follow me, we are almost out of time.”
He led us to an adjacent room that was completely bare except for a tré on the floor.
“This is a special room,” he began when the building began to shake. “It would seem our visitors are growing impatient. Please enter the tré. It, like the building, is keyed to the interstices. Once active, we will cease to exist in this plane, having entered the space in between planes. A word of warning: do not step out of the tré.”
We were all in the circle. Sylk bent down to touch the center and I felt the air pressure increase around us. Then everything went black.
NO TIME
WHEN MY EYES adjusted to the lack of light, I was able to discern a hallway of sorts, which appeared to have no end.
“What is this place?” I asked no one in particular.
“This is the space in between planes. If you can imagine the planes we inhabit as four dimensional constructs, this passage is the three dimensional connection between them.”
“Three dimensions… You mean time—”
“Is not part of this particular place,” said Sylk
I looked around again at the corridor we stood in and let it sink in. We were standing in a place of no time.
Sylk began walking ahead of us, with Mara behind him. “Once we re-enter the Mirror, the Watchers will find us now that they are keyed in to our—your— particular aura,” said Sylk.
“Why me?”
“For the same reason the Lotus wants to erase you. The weapon you manifest is a threat not only to your plane, but to every plane of existence.”
“I didn’t ask for this,” I said.
“Nevertheless, if Mara described your weapon accurately, there are some who believe it would be better if you and this manifestation of the weapon did not exist.”
I looked at Meja, whose face was unreadable.
“Hey don’t worry D.,” said Zen. “There are a few of us that want you around.”
“Indeed. It seems that while there are certainly formidable forces aligned against you, there is much to be said about a small force overcoming a much larger one.”
We kept walking for what felt like thirty minutes when Sylk stopped and turned to face the wall.
“Once this connection is open, we will have no time to spare. We will arrive at another nexus that can lead us to the last known location of the South Watch. From there, it is in your hands, Head Monitor Aumera.”
I had never heard anyone refer to Meja so formally but the title fit.
“I can locate the Watch,” said Meja crisply.
“I have every confidence in your abilities. Just be aware we will not have th
e luxury of time as we enjoy here,” he said, sweeping his arm around.
“I am well aware of that fact. There is no need to belabor the obvious. Let’s get on with it.”
Sylk nodded and began to trace symbols in the air before the wall. His hands shone a faint blue, leaving symbols as after-images in the air before him. I didn’t recognize the symbols, but it seemed as if Meja was familiar with them. When Sylk had finished, he placed his hand on the wall and a faint blue line crept up from the floor. Meja turned to him.
“Where did you learn these symbols?” she asked. The line kept creeping up.
“Before the monitors were created to be the bearers of balance, there were others who held that same office. The monitors did not arise out of a vacuum. Granted, this may be a slower method, but more secure, a lower expenditure of energy means less chance of detection.”
The line had crept up about seven feet and was now travelling horizontally. Sylk stood, watching its progress. For a moment he looked tired and old. Then he quickly recovered and began to look through his bag. The line had crept along about four feet and was now headed towards the floor. Sylk pulled out several small coins from the bag and handed one to each person except me.
Meja looked at the coin in her hand, testing its weight.
“Are these –?”
“Retrievers? Yes, in case anyone gets lost. They won’t work with you now, Dante, because of your weapon. My advice is not to get separated from us.”
The thin line had touched the base of the wall and now was making its way to connect the rectangle. As the lines met, the wall section took on a glassy composition. As I looked closer I realized it was –
“A mirror, but not just any kind of mirror. This one will allow us to travel through a passageway unused by most.”
“This can’t be—” started Meja.
Warriors of the Way-Pentalogy Page 15
