They continued walking down the corridors and Meja realized they were heading to the Black Lotus’ wing of the hub. It was off limits to all but the most senior of the Order. She never had occasion to visit the area and found herself in unfamiliar territory.
After several more turns and picking up another contingent of guards they faced two large steel doors with a black lotus emblazoned in the center of each. The guards opened the doors and Meja stepped into the immense tribunal chamber. The symbol of the Black Lotus dominated the center of each of the walls. Filling most of the floor space in front of the far wall sat a large semicircular table made out of the same black marble that covered the floor and walls. The black stone gave the room a cold and sterile feel. The bright lights in the chamber did nothing to dispel the shadows she felt inside. The entire design of the room was to make those who stood before the tribunal judges feel small and insignificant.
The guards filed off to the side of the room with only one guard and Raquel staying by Meja’s side. In the center of the tribunal table, with her hands steepled in front of her face, sat Monique. On each side of Monique sat two older men, seniors of the Black Lotus making it five at the large table. Each wore a black mask displaying symbols signifying a venomous creature. Only Monique’s face remained visible.
This is a tribunal of death, thought Meja. Around the room were other members of the Lotus. Unlike the five at the table, these had their faces exposed. Meja recognized some of them and filed their faces away for future reference. The fact that their faces were visible gave Meja a greater sense of unease than the tribunal itself. Identities in the Black Lotus were secret. Raquel and the guard walked her to the center of the semi-circle to stand before the tribunal table. Every judge wore black silk robes with red accents along the sleeves. The first judge leaned forward and spoke, his robes whispering menace with every motion of his body.
“Where is Sylk, rogue?” said one of the men next to Monique. He wore a dragon mask and his deep voice filled the room.
Meja remained silent. The guard beside her flinched and sent an elbow into her side. Meja grit her teeth at the pain.
“I don’t know,” said Meja.
“Do you know why you are here?” said another member of the tribunal. This one wore the mask of a scorpion.
“I have served the Order and upheld its laws my entire life,” said Meja.
“You are here on the charge of treason to the Order you proclaim to have served,” said Scorpion.
The prism pulsed in Meja’s shirt, reminding her of Devin’s words. The Order is corrupt.
“I have fulfilled my duties as a monitor of the Order and have in no way betrayed its laws,” said Meja.
“I beg to differ. You attacked members of the Black Lotus and prevented the apprehension and capture of an enemy of the Order, Sylk Iman. I would consider that act alone treasonous,” said Dragon. “In addition, the previous leader of the Lotus—your teacher, Diana— lays in state of stasis due to your direct actions.”
“This is a waste of time,” said another member of the tribunal. His mask depicted a toad. “She isn’t going to cooperate. She has gone rogue. Why are we even discussing this? I move to sentence.”
“She may have information we can use,” said the last member. His mask depicted a snake. “Information we could use against him.”
“Even if she did, she will not share that with us. Sentence her and let’s end this,” said Toad.
Monique held her hand up and the room grew silent. She looked at Meja with undisguised contempt.
“Your outcome is determined, rogue. I will allow you to say words in your defense, out of respect for our teacher. It is possible you can regain the honor you lost and die a death befitting your previous position and rank,” said Monique.
Raquel raised an eyebrow at Monique’s words but said nothing.
Meja took a deep breath and allowed the power of the prism to flow, focusing her chi. You were right, Devin. I was a naïve fool to think I could find honor here, she thought. She let the flow build inside the prism as she sent it into the suppressors with a thought.
In a final burst of power the suppressors shattered. The outflow of energy caused the prism to splinter and explode, filling the area where she stood with smoke and sending Meja flying back across the room and into the far left side. Her body impacted with enough force to crack the wall. She fell to the ground, barely conscious. Monique stood and looked at Raquel, who shook her head.
“What happened?” said Monique. “Bring her here.”
“I’ll tell you what happened,” said Meja between gasps. “You have opened my eyes.”
Raquel’s hands flew to her guns. All the members of the tribunal, except Monique, were escorted out through a side exit by some of the guards. In the haze, a blue glow could be seen coming from Meja’s direction.
“This Order is rotting from within. I didn’t want to believe it. I was blinded by idealism and a naïve belief in the integrity of those who lead us. I can see how mistaken I have been,” she said.
Monique leaped over the table and stood next to Raquel, who had her guns drawn. She removed her daggers from their sheaths and kept her eyes fixed on the blue energy crackling in the back of the room.
“Don’t do this, Meja. The system may be damaged but it’s not broken,” said Monique. She motioned to Raquel to move to the left while she moved right. Several of the guards that remained blocked the main exit. The others fanned out to surround Meja.
“You were a monitor, Meja,” said Monique. “You know the importance of adhering to our laws. Without them we would descend into chaos.”
The blue light grew brighter as Meja spoke. Raquel had her guns pointed in Meja’s general direction as she walked closer in the haze.
“That descent has already started, Monique. You just refuse to see it,” said Meja.
Raquel fixed her aim on the voice and closed the distance. Monique, a dagger in each hand, approached from the other side. She looked at Raquel. After that one glance, no words were needed. When you have the shot, take it.
“You see what is happening out there in the planes,” began Monique, wanting Meja to focus her attention on her. “If we let it continue, a deranged madman will kill the ascendants in order to let a supposedly greater threat free. Tell me where Sylk is and we can end this.”
“You think Lucius is a lie? A story made up to scare children and weak warriors?” said Meja. “How could the Harbinger exist without his master?”
Raquel stood still and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She aimed her guns low and high making sure she would deal a killing shot. After a moment she nodded to Monique.
“Don’t be a fool, Meja. Have you seen him? Has he attacked us with all his fearsome might? No, Lucius is long dead. His Harbinger is a twisted soul who has lived too long, but his master no longer exists,” said Monique, bringing her hand down and signaling to Raquel to take the shot.
“I pity you for the awakening you will go through,” said Meja.
Meja began to channel her chi when the doors to the room exploded inward, crushing one of the guards and cleaving another before heading straight for Raquel. Without thought, Raquel crouched down and pushed back with both legs, firing her guns at the doors. Airborne, she twisted her body to avoid the oncoming slabs of steel. Her shots sent one of the doors off its trajectory, allowing her to dodge it. The second door clipped her in the side and sent her careening to the other side of the chamber. She righted herself, getting her feet under her and landed in a roll. She grunted in pain when she stood. Touching her side, her hand came away wet with blood.
“Goddammit,” she said, ripping off one of her sleeves to tie around her waist in a makeshift bandage. She headed back to Monique’s position when she noticed that the blue light was growing in intensity until it was blinding. Monique was closing on Meja’s location when a second explosion rocked the chamber, knocking everyone back and off their feet. When they stood, the blue glow and Mej
a were gone. In the side wall where Meja had stood, a large gaping hole had been formed through the marble wall. Raquel looked out of hole, touching its edges. The sides were smooth, giving the impression of being carved.
“Since when could she do this? Her file makes no mention of this kind of power,” said Raquel.
“She was wearing suppressors. How did she access any of her power?” said Monique.
“She must have had a prism of some kind,” said Raquel.
Raquel signaled to some of the guards to follow her. She headed to the hole and looked at Monique.
“Alive or dead?” said Raquel.
Monique looked at Raquel’s side and pulled her back.
“You’re hurt. Let a medic look at that.”
Raquel stared at Monique until she let go of her arm.
“Alive or dead?” said Raquel again.
“Find her and bring her back. Alive or dead,” said Monique. “Just make sure she doesn’t leave the hub.”
**********
Samir grabbed a nearly unconscious Meja and ran down the corridors away from the Black Lotus chamber. Two warriors ran behind him as he carried her. He noticed that the robe around her right shoulder was gone, disintegrated from the explosion of the prism. Her shirt was seared and tattered. Where the prism had touched her skin, a blue latticework of energy pulsed. He stopped at an intersection for a moment, getting his bearings and reading the directional plaques. In the chaos of the explosions he was momentarily disoriented. The hub was a network of rooms and passages resembling an intricate maze. Without the plaques they would become lost within minutes.
“I thought we were only supposed to blow the door. Where did the second explosion come from?” said one of the warriors.
Samir looked down at Meja, but remained silent.
“We need to get out of these corridors before the Lotus catches up to us. You, what’s your name?” Samir said, looking at the warrior who had spoken.
“Stephen, sir,” he said.
Samir looked at the other.
“Charles, sir.”
“Very well, Stephen, relay the message to Devin. We have her. I will meet him where we agreed. Do not delay. Our window is small and is closing rapidly. Charles, with me.”
Stephen ran down one end of the intersection, leaving Samir alone with the remaining warrior, Charles.
They headed off down the other corridor which led to the senior living quarters.
“Can’t we just use a portal?” said Charles.
“No, we are still too close to the Black Lotus. This area has a low-level suppression field permanently installed.” Which is why the prism exploded the way it did. We were lucky to survive that, thought Samir. That second explosion should have killed us all.
Charles looked at the blue energy running across her shoulder.
“Is she going to be okay? That looks like a nasty piece of work,” he said.
“This was unexpected. She managed to overload the prism, and then her body absorbed the energy expended. Something that is supposed to be impossible,” said Samir.
They made several turns and headed down a lesser-used and darker corridor. Meja cast a blue glow in the center of the corridor as Samir stopped in front of a section of wall. Samir removed his outer cloak and covered her glowing shoulder, throwing them into darkness.
“She needs to get rid of the excess energy contained in her body,” said Samir.
He placed Meja on the floor and began to feel the wall while Charles stood looking down both ends of the corridor.
“What happens if she doesn’t, you know, get rid of the excess energy?”
Samir looked at Charles for a moment, and then returned to the wall until he found the stone he was looking for. Without looking at Charles, he answered.
“Do you remember the second explosion?”
Charles nodded.
“Think of another explosion, only stronger. Strong enough to reduce us to ash, being this close.”
“I’ll be damned,” whispered Charles, looking down at the unconscious Meja.
“Indeed we will be if we don’t deal with this quickly,” said Samir as he pressed the stone and then turned it, opening a section of the wall. The opening led to another, darker corridor. Samir picked up Meja and headed in. This one was narrower than the previous corridor and forced them to walk single file.
“Here, let me carry her,” said Charles, offering to take Meja from Samir.
Samir shook his head. “It’s not safe. I am using my ability to keep the energy in check. If you carry her she may react to your chi and that can have catastrophic consequences.”
“Where to? I mean where to that’s safe,” said Charles.
“We need a healing tré. This way I can bleed off some of the excess energy. As far from the Black Lotus as possible.”
Charles read the wall plaque that directed them to different parts of the hub.
“There’s a medical area close by that should have a healing tré. Let’s use that one.”
The passageway widened enough to let them walk side by side, and then branched off in several directions. Charles led the way to the healing tré.
“Can we use the tré to create a portal out of here?” said Charles.
“Theoretically, yes. After we siphon off the excess energy we should be able to transport her out of here using the tré,” said Samir.
“The medical area is around that corner. Let me go ahead and make sure it’s clear. Be right back,” said Charles as he sprinted ahead.
Samir was beginning to sweat. The exertion of carrying Meja and using his ability to keep the growing power within her in check was taking its toll. He looked down to see the latticework of energy on her shoulder pulse brighter. He saw Charles turn the corner. After a few moments Charles staggered back into view. He looked ashen.
“What is it, Charles? Is the area clear?”
“Run, sir,” whispered Charles before he collapsed to the ground.
Samir saw several arrows in his back and cursed under his breath. He looked behind him and saw several of the Black Lotus in the corridor heading his way. Around the corner two more appeared, blocking his way. They had their crossbows trained on him.
“You will come with us, or die,” said one of the Black Lotus at the corner. The two behind him were close now, cutting off his exit.
“Let me get to the healing tré or we all die,” said Samir as he covered his eyes and removed the cloak covering Meja’s shoulder. The corridor was bathed in a blinding blue light. Covering Meja, he ran past the Black Lotus blocking his path and into the medical area. He cast a few glances behind him to see if they had recovered their sight enough to give chase. No one was there.
That’s odd. They always travel in groups of five, he thought as turned into the medical area. In the center of the tré a figure waited for him. He stopped short, realizing a crossbow was pointed at his chest.
“Hello, syllabist, you can hand her over now.”
It was Rory.
“If I do, all is lost,” said Samir.
“I’ll take my chances,” said Rory and fired.
FOURTEEN
IT HAD BEEN many years since he had smelled fresh air. Tetra looked around and filled his lungs. Standing at a little over six feet, his muscular body was wrapped in the gray garments of his clan. His hair and face were covered, leaving only his eyes, cloudy and sightless, exposed. The leader of the Kriyas—the subclass of exiled spiritual warriors who devoured chi— took in his surroundings. The hub had changed little since his last visit. Around him he could feel the chi permeating the air, feeding him and increasing his strength. Soon he would be fully restored.
Only three of us remain, he thought.
Beside him stood his second, Ravia, the most fearsome Kriya warrior he knew other than himself. Her smaller stature disguised the ferocity within. It was a mistake her enemies made only once. In the distance stood Nerav, scanning the area. He lacked the ferocity of Ravia, but possessed a
keen tactician’s mind. Dressed in similar garments, they seemed more at home in the desert than in the hub. Ravia too, felt the effects of a plane where chi was abundant. He sensed the shift in her and could feel her growing stronger. After so many years in a lost plane devoid of all but the most basic life, the hub was intoxicating.
“Have you found him, high one?” said Ravia.
“I never lost him, Ravia. He is on this plane not far from here. We leave within the hour,” he said.
“After this is done must we return?”
“Once the prime ascendant is removed, there will be no one left who can stop us. We will not be returning,” said Tetra. “This will be our new home.”
“And the Samadhi? Are they a threat?” said Ravia.
He could hear the anger in her voice.
“Our only threat lies with Wei. He alone wields the weapon that can stop us. Once we are restored he can be eliminated and we will be free,” said Tetra.
“I will tell Nerav. He will be pleased,” she said and bowed.
Tetra nodded as she left him. Today we settle accounts, Wei, my old friend. You will suffer for all my years of exile and hunger. After you are gone I will have words with our captors and show them the error of their ways, he thought as the film cleared from his eyes, revealing red irises glowed faintly.
**********
Roman tracked the ascendants to Gantry Park. The residual energy was strong enough to pinpoint their location.
You used water to throw off any hunters; smart, Wei. Well, any hunters less skilled than me.
He stood at the edge of the shore and let his senses expand. He found himself turning toward the restored gantry.
They must be in there. Why would he keep them all in one place?
Making his way over to the gantry he noticed the figure in the open field to his right. He stopped walking and faced the figure. His eyes told him a man stood there, but his senses, the ones he trusted most, told him it was an empty space.
Warriors of the Way-Pentalogy Page 42
