“That—was delicious. Didn’t Wei tell you what we are? We are Kriya,” she said licking her lips. “We live off chi, and right now your energy is exquisite.”
“I know what you are,” said Roman. “I just needed to get a feel for you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his ear. “Can you feel me now?”
“Ravia, careful. I’m sensing that his hammer is giving off a peculiar energy,” said Nerav, standing back.
“His hammer is harmless. You saw it do nothing, except feed me,” she said. She ran a finger along Roman’s cheek.
“I promise to make your death pleasurable, warrior. You only need to surrender,” she purred.
“As deaths go, this one would be better than most,” said Roman.
Each word was a struggle as he felt his chi being absorbed by Ravia. Her proximity made it hard to focus. He grabbed his hammer and lifted it off the floor, keeping the head pointed down.
“Ravia…” said Nerav. “This is unwise—we are not at full strength. Kill him and be done with it.”
Roman slammed his hammer into the ground.
Nothing happened.
“See? What did I tell you?” she purred. “His hammer is useless against us. I do like his spirit. He will make a wonderful meal. Come feast with me, Nerav.”
“No, Ravia, step away from him. Something is not right,” said Nerav.
Roman grabbed her by the waist, keeping her close to him.
“I am going to have to decline your offer today, Kriya,” whispered Roman through clenched teeth. Sweat drenched his face as he held on to her.
A vortex formed around them.
“What are you doing!” she yelled as she tried to push back and away from him.
“Taking back what is mine,” said Roman.
The vortex increased in intensity, absorbing chi from Ravia.
“No! Stop this!” she said.
She broke free of Roman’s grip and delivered a palm heel strike to his chest. It had no effect. She struck again and again, but she was growing weaker by the second.
“Didn’t you say something about surrender? I can’t promise it will be pleasurable, but it will be final,” said Roman.
Ravia fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
“Ravia! No, it is too soon,” said Nerav.
Tetra, we must retreat!
Impossible, Nerav. I will kill Wei and take the Fangs.
And lose Ravia in the process. She is dying, do you not feel it?
How? How is this happening?
The hammer. Somehow he is using it to siphon chi. I cannot stop him, Tetra, but you can.
Very well, Nerav. Prepare a portal.
**********
“It will have to be another time, Wei,” said Tetra, putting his hands together. Wei raised the Fangs in a cross block and stepped back to brace himself.
Tetra shimmered and slammed into Roman, knocking him down and breaking the hammer’s connection with the ground. The vortex began losing force. He bent down and picked up the unconscious Ravia.
“I will see you again, hammer.”
Tetra stepped out of the vortex unaffected and into a portal followed by Nerav. Wei ran over to where Roman lay on the ground.
“A reversion attack. How did you do it?” said Wei. He extended his hand and brought Roman unsteadily to his feet. “I thought only the Fangs could withstand the Kriyas siphoning attack.”
“It wasn’t easy, Wei,” said Roman holding on to his hammer for support. “My hammer can adapt to almost any enemy. It just needs to be exposed to the energy signature first.”
“That explains your initial attack.”
Roman nodded. “Once exposed, I can formulate a counter. It comes at personal risk. If my attack is late or wrongly executed…” He made a gesture with his hand.
“It could mean your death,” said Wei.
“Yes, it’s a calculated risk. One that worked this time. I prefer not to meet them again, or not soon. That Ravia…”
“You are the only one I have ever seen survive her embrace. She is dangerous and deadly.”
“I’m feeling a little jealous here,” said a voice behind them.
Roman and Wei turned to face Rael, who has holding Raquel by the neck.
“Harbinger,” said Roman.
Rael opened his hand and let Raquel fall to the ground unconscious beside him. He looked at Wei.
“You have something my master needs: the Fangs,” said Rael, manifesting his swords.
TWENTY-FOUR
KAL LED THE way into the complex. We passed the guards and headed to what seemed to be a reception area. A large desk dominated the space. Behind the desk sat a large man. His bald head gleamed in the light. Kal walked up to the desk.
“Hello, Vane. Can we see him?” she said.
“Hello, miss Kalysta. Let me check,” said Vane.
He picked up a phone and spoke in a lowered voice while keeping his eyes on the three in front of him. Putting the phone in its receiver, he nodded his head.
“You know the way. Thirty minutes,” said Vane. “No weapons allowed. You know the drill.”
I unstrapped my sword and placed it in the receptacle alongside Samir’s daggers. Kal placed daggers, a short sword, several throwing knives, weighted gloves, a belt sword and two palm knives. I looked at her in silent awe.
“What? I believe in being prepared,” she said.
Vane put the weapons in a strong room behind him and handed her a claim check.
“Thanks, how is he doing?”
“Today is a good day. He just transitioned to the next phase. Blood moon in a few days so we have to keep him under observation,” said Vane.
We walked down the corridor away from reception and headed to the stairs. Kal led us up several floors and veered right.
“What is a blood moon?” said Samir.
“A time of transition for the young Rah Ven. Full moon. It’s called the blood moon because—well, it’s messy,” said Kal.
“I have not happened upon this in my studies,” said Samir. “Have you undergone this transition?”
Kal shook her head. “Not yet, no.”
“Are you going to transform into some creature we are going to have to fight?” I said half-jokingly.
“Not funny. I don’t turn into a werewolf during the full moon,” she said her tone serious. “The blood I was given was much older and stronger than what Zen got. Plus, I wasn’t dying from poison and he was.”
Samir nodded as if making a mental note.
“I recall your choice. What I don’t understand is why you made it,” he said.
“This is his room. Are you ready? He won’t look like you remember him, but he is still the same Zen.”
We stopped in front of a door. Standing next to it were two men dressed in hospital whites.
“Nurses?” I said.
“Rah Ven. Trained to deal with this kind of case.” said Kal.
One of the men produced a key and opened the door for us.
“Hello, Kal, he’s doing well today. Half hour okay? We’re too close to the blood moon for extended visits,” said the other Rah Ven at the door.
“Got it, he will want to see them as well”—she pointed back at us while entering the room—“and we will keep it short.”
We entered the room and the door was locked behind us. For a moment I had a brief disconnect. The room could have been any accommodation in a five-star hotel. Plush, cream-colored carpeting covered the floor. One wall was covered in cherry wood bookcases and filled with books. The windows provided a view of the grounds and the forest beyond it. The door to the bedroom was slightly ajar and I could just make out the king-size bed.
In the living room lounge sat a figure I mistook for a bear. After closer examination I realized it was Zen.
“Hello, D. Like my new look?” said Zen.
Hair covered every inch of his body I could see. He put down the book he was reading and stood. He w
as taller and larger than I remembered.
“Zen? You look different…” I said.
He stepped close and I could feel the vibration from his footsteps on the floor. I fought every instinct I had to run. He grabbed me and squeezed, forcing the air out of my lungs.
“Gives…new… meaning… to…bear…hug… Zen, can’t breathe.” He was much stronger than before.
“Sorry, D. I don’t know my own strength these days.” He laughed and let go. The air rushed back into my lungs. “You okay?”
He clapped me on the back a few times. His hand as gentle as a sledgehammer.
“Maybe a few cracked ribs, other than that I’m good, thanks,” I said. He laughed again at my pain and sat on the lounge.
“Hello, Samir, it’s good to see you.”
“And you as well, guardian,” said Samir and bowed.
“Not doing much of that in here. How are you, Dante? Tell me what’s going on. I’m so out of the loop in here and she won’t share much,” he said, glancing at Kal.
“I tell you what you need to know,” said Kal as she held his hand sitting next to him.
“Which is close to nothing,” he said with a smile. “What’s going on, Dante?”
I did my best to bring him up to speed. Some of the details I was hazy on and I told him as much.
“Is Meja going to make it?”
“That would be your first question. I don’t know,” I said. “She’s with the healer, so she’s in good hands— the best I think— but I don’t know. She shattered a prism full of chi next to her body.”
“She what?”
“Shattered a prism full of chi, which magnifies it close to a hundred times what it is.”
“I always knew she was powerful, I just didn’t think she was that powerful. It takes some serious energy to shatter one of those crystals,” said Zen.
“I know. I did the same thing, but it was Maelstrom who had the energy. She did it without an ancient evil weapon of mass destruction.”
“I heard about that and the searing. You okay?”
“The searing was undone. I can access my chi, but it’s sporadic. It feels off somehow. It’s present around me most of the time, yet I feel disconnected,” I said.
“You have to accept where you are and work from there. Look at me. They tell me it was this or death. First few days were rough. I was looking hard at death as a choice…”
“I’m glad you chose to stick around,” I said.
“I didn’t make it alone, she helped me,” he said, looking at Kal. “I think she would have killed me if I tried it. Have you manifested a weapon yet? I mean besides Maelstrom. Something not insane?”
“He has not. It is promising that he has undone the searing. However, the situation requires the warrior to regain his spiritual weapon,” said Samir.
“What about the Records? Maybe there is something there that can help you?” said Zen.
“I don’t think…” I started.
“No, the guardian presents an excellent solution. Perhaps there is a text that can reference your state. We must try every option, warrior,” said Samir.
“I have to give the Records ten years as it is. I’m not anxious to give him more years of my life.”
“If Lucius escapes, what kind of life do you think you will have? How long do you think it will be?” said Kal quietly, looking down at the floor.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that… I wasn’t thinking…”
“Dante, this is much bigger than you, now. Too many lives depend on us, on you,” said Zen.
“I didn’t ask for this, Zen, any of it. I was living my life. Hell, I had a life! Then Wei sends me to that crazy promotion and it’s over.”
“Did you ever wonder why Wei sent you to that promotion? It’s possible he saw something in you, something extraordinary. I do not think it was an error on his part,” said Samir.
“Kal, Samir, could you give us a moment?” said Zen as he stood and motioned for me to follow him.
We headed into the bedroom and he closed the door. He walked over to the window and looked out.
“Great view, huh?”
I nodded without really looking.
“Look at us. Here I am turning into something I don’t understand and you in way over your head,” he said.
“Look, Zen. I just…I just wanted to see how you were.”
“Sit down.”
I sat on the lounge beside the bed.
“You notice something missing in my cell?”
“Cell? This isn’t a cell, this is a great…”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare. The doors are locked from the outside. I can only leave when they let me out. And then only with an escort. The glass is shatter-proof. I know. Tell me what’s missing,” he said, looking at me.
I noticed it the moment we entered.
“Mirrors. There are no mirrors in this space anywhere.”
“Do you know why?”
“I can guess.”
“Can you? Really? You mean you will take time out of your pity party to consider why I may hate what has happened to me? How I didn’t have a choice and how this was decided for me? It doesn’t matter that it was either this or death. I was not asked. You will give actual thought to how every day is a reminder of what I have lost. That the only person I care for and love decided to join me in this nightmare existence. That she can never go back to being normal.”
“I was being…”
“I’m not finished. What about Meja and all she has sacrificed? Even Sylk lost an arm and is bound to the Watch. What have you lost? What have you given up, Dante? The ability to live a ‘normal’ life? Join the damn club! That ship sailed without you the moment you started training with Wei. Get over it.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
“Damn right you’re sorry. Get your head out of your ass. This isn’t some fairy tale. This is as real as it gets, and you need to get with the program or a lot of people are going to lose their lives because of your narrow-minded focus. This stopped being about you long ago. Can’t you see that?”
“I can. I do, it’s just that sometimes it’s too much. The burden is too much. Everyone depends on me. Everything depends on me.”
“Dante, there is no one else that I would trust with everything. You have to start believing that. Everyone who is in your life now depends on you, but more than that they trust you to do the right thing.”
“I don’t know what that is anymore, Zen.”
“I would say stopping an all-powerful warrior with a crazy sentient weapon trying to erase existence as we know it is a good start.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
“I can’t go with you. Not like this. I’d be too much of a risk. But I want you to know that if I could…”
“I know, in a heartbeat.”
He nodded and grabbed me again and squeezed.
“Thanks, Zen. Sometimes you just need to hear the words.”
“And sometimes you need a swift kick in the ass. Go to the Records and find out what’s possible. I would like to live to a ripe old age with Kal. Only way that’s going to happen is if you make it happen.”
“I will,” I said and headed back to the living room. He trailed close behind me, hand still on my shoulder.
“I know you will. Remember you aren’t alone, especially when it feels that way.”
One of the Rah Ven opened the door and poked his head in. “Ten minutes. Then I will have to ask your guests to vacate the room, sir.”
“Understood and thank you,” he said.
Zen looked at Samir and me and smiled, beckoning to Kal.
“If you will excuse me I need to have some alone time with my lady.”
Kal blushed slightly and stood. She walked to the bedroom and Zen closed the door behind him. Samir and I left and waited outside with the Rah Ven.
“I take it your talk was productive?” said Samir.
“It shifted my perspective a bit, y
es. He always had a way to help me see the larger picture.”
“What are your plans now?”
“I need to go to the Akashic Records. Do you know of a syllabist that could join me?”
Samir smiled and nodded.
Ten minutes later there was a knock from the inside. The Rah Ven at the door unlocked it and Kal stepped out. She hugged Zen one last time and then joined us. Zen stood at the door and gave me a brief nod.
It is a cell. Gilded, but still a cell.
“I’m trusting you with what’s most precious to me, D. Keep her safe.”
“I think you have it backwards. She doesn’t need me to keep her safe. I need her.”
“I told her the same thing about you.”
“Now you have it about right,” I said as we made to leave.
He laughed. It was an infectious sound which brought a smile to all our faces.
“You’re probably right. Run hard, run fast, Kal,” he said.
“Run fast, run hard, love,” she said.
He closed the door and she turned to face us. Her eyes glistened in the light and fresh tears made their way down her cheeks. She wiped her face and looked at me.
“You okay?” I said.
“No, but I’ll get over it. I hear we are going back to the Records.”
“Well, I was just telling Samir that we need to… Wait, how did you know?” I said, confused.
She tapped her ear. “Rah Ven blood. Let’s get moving. Can you open a portal?”
I nodded. Samir had taught me the gestures and it was easier to remember this time.
“We need to go back to the South Watch. It’s the only way I know how to get there, and maybe the Keeper can help us.”
“Good. I need to grab my weapons and then we can leave.”
She started walking away.
“She is quite formidable. I am pleased she is on our side,” said Samir.
“I couldn’t agree with you more. Let’s go before she leaves without us,” I said, catching up to Kal.
TWENTY-FIVE
EXPLAIN TO ME how you failed,” said Master Wheel.
“We are not at full strength. We underestimated our adversaries. It will not happen a second time,” said Tetra.
Warriors of the Way-Pentalogy Page 47
