“Where am I?” she said, looking around.
The last thing I remember was channeling chi into the prism.
“Where do you want to be?” said a voice behind her.
Meja turned to face her old teacher and enemy, Diana.
“Hello, Meja,” said Diana.
Meja tried manifesting her sword and found her hand empty.
“You’ve transcended that weapon. It was a cumbersome thing in any case. You possess too much energy for that vessel now.”
“Who are you? The Diana I know is in stasis,” said Meja. “I know because I put her there.”
“Good, at least you kept your wits. So many lose their minds when confronted with that much power,” said Diana.
“You’re…me?” said Meja.
“Yes and no. I am the chi that is trying to find expression in your body now. You tried manifesting your weapon but it could not contain me. Your body shut down and now you have two choices and little time. I am the personification of that reaction. Your fear and admiration for this person gave me this expression.”
“What choices?”
“Find a way to channel me or die.”
“Do you have a name?” said Meja.
“Clever. Names are power. I will not give mine away. If you survive this trial it will be revealed to you.”
Diana walked over to the wall and picked up a pair of sai. These sai had sharp points at the end. Exactly like the ones Diana wielded.
“You chose this place. It seems this setting suits you best,” she said as she stepped into the circle, remaining at the outer edge.
Meja stood and looked around slowly. “It is my first dojo. The one my father built when I was a little girl.”
Diana nodded while hefting the sai in her hand, testing the balance. It was an act Meja had seen her teacher do thousands of times before training.
“It’s fitting. Not a bad place to die,” said Diana, tapping the sai together. The weapons from the wall disappeared. “A dojo is a sacred space. As such it should be a place of convergence of self.”
“Body, mind and spirit becoming one. Yes, it is the one place where I feel the most whole, most myself,” said Meja.
“Except that you aren’t. You are out of balance. Unless you can restore that balance you will die here. This as I said, is not a bad place for your final moments.”
Diana bowed and assumed a fighting stance. Meja looked around but the walls were bare.
“You are looking outside for something that you possess. That is an error.”
Diana stabbed forward with both sai. Meja bent back, avoiding the stab. Diana reversed the sai in her hands and struck downward, smashing both of Meja’s thighs with the ends of the handles.
Meja cried out in pain and surprise as she rolled to the side, avoiding an axe kick as Diana stomped the floor.
Diana turned to face her, walking the outer edge of the circle.
“The pain is real and so is the damage,” said Diana.
“This is all in my mind,” said Meja.
“Are you attempting to refute the power of thought? Everything is an expression of thought. Before materializing into what you consider ‘reality’ it must first exist as a thought. So what is more ‘real’: the thought or the expression?”
“If I die here…”
“You die, period.”
“I’m not dying here,” said Meja.
“That remains to be seen,” said Diana, lunging forward.
**********
“Is there nothing we can do for her, Grandmother?” said Luna.
The healer motioned for Luna to move away from the bed Meja lay in.
“You have pack dealings, second. This be healing business. She must do this on her own. We have done all that can be done. The rest be in her hands.”
The healer ushered Luna to the door.
“But, Grandmother, we should…” started Luna.
The healer opened the door and looked hard at Luna until she stepped outside the threshold.
“Go. I will send for you the moment there be a change in her. From what my nose can tell she has all the help she needs. Nothing you or I can do now except wait. It be on her to choose life over death,” said the healer, closing the door on Luna.
The healer made her way back to Meja’s side and held her hand. She wiped a cool damp cloth across her forehead.
“She be burning up,” she muttered to herself. “Choose life, young one. Choose life.”
**********
Diana swung a sai at Meja’s head. Meja ducked under the strike and drove a hammer fist into Diana’s bicep. Diana dropped the sai. Meja made a move to grab the sai but it disappeared the moment she touched it. It reappeared in Diana’s hand.
“Not your weapon,” said Diana.
Diana let go of the sai and jumped forward. She unleashed a barrage of punches. Meja blocked and parried them with ease.
“This is what you always do. You are closed off. You block it all. Emotions and feelings, you don’t let anything in, not friends or family. Nothing gets past your defenses.”
“It’s a liability. I’m a warrior. I don’t have time for feelings or relationships. My family knows this and friends are only targets for my enemies. My life is simpler without them.”
Meja launched an attack of her own. She kicked Diana’s thigh and then drove an elbow at her head. Diana checked the kick and ducked under the elbow strike. She threw a short punch from the crouched position that took the wind from Meja’s lungs. Forming the sai in her hands she stabbed Meja in the left thigh and drove the right sai to her midsection. Meja gasped at the pain and intercepted the right sai to her abdomen. Diana pushed against Meja while twisting the sai in her leg. Meja could feel the power increasing within and around her.
“Simpler, perhaps. Lacking in any real connections makes your life empty. What does it mean when at the end you have no one to share the victories or the failures with? You are an empty shell, lacking substance,” said Diana.
“I will have served and fulfilled my duty with honor. That is all that matters,” said Meja.
She gritted her teeth against the pain and drove a palm heel at Diana’s face. Diana twisted and stepped back, avoiding the strike.
“Is it? How did the Order reward your selfless service? Weren’t you declared rogue? They turned their back on you. You are worthless to them, something to be discarded.”
“No, that’s a lie,” said Meja.
“A lie?” You have no one. If you die here, no one would mourn you. You do not matter. Why not just surrender and end it all? You have no purpose. You yourself said it—opening yourself up is a liability. Just end this meaningless existence.”
Diana closed the distance with a side kick that doubled Meja over. She followed up with spear hand to Meja’s throat. Meja stopped the spear hand and realized it was a feint as Diana thrust a sai into her chest. Meja fell to her knees, gasping.
“You will die here, child. Forgotten, alone and without honor,” said Diana.
“I have my honor,” said Meja between breaths.
Diana prepared to deliver the killing blow. She grabbed Meja’s hair and pulled back, exposing Meja’s neck.
The space around Meja crackled with energy. Below her, the tré hummed into a high-pitch whine as the air around her became charged. Each of the circles in the tré was suffused with a deep blue light.
“It’s for the best, really. Power such as this would have consumed you,” said Diana. “You were never worthy of it. Never worthy of being a monitor. How could you protect anyone? Your word is meaningless and empty, just like you. Dante and the rest will die regardless. Not that it’s your concern any longer.”
Diana drove the sai downward. A rapier-thin sword materialized in Meja’s hand and deflected the killing blow. She twisted out of Diana’s grip and drove her sword forward. Diana parried the thrust and slid to the side, gaining an angle on Meja. She threw a sai aimed at Meja’s side. Blue energy coalesced around M
eja, forming a shield. The sai struck the shield and was absorbed.
“I will fulfill my duty,” said Meja. “No one can strip me of my worth. My word is my bond. Once given, never broken.”
The shield reconfigured and flowed back into her sword. She drove forward and thrust at Diana. At the last second, she whipped her sword around and through Diana’s back, driving it into her. The sword flared brighter than before and Diana began to disappear.
“Well done. You have faced yourself and overcome. You have established balance once again. This is a proper vessel for the expression of my energy. Use it wisely,” said Diana as she vanished. The energy around the sword flared once more and became subdued. Meja looked down at her sword.
“Truth—an apt name,” she said holding it out in front of her.
The sword flared again, sending energy in every direction. The tré began to shake beneath her as the walls of the dojo collapsed. The sword escaped her grip and floated several feet in front of her. Blue light filled her vision and blinded her. The sound of the tré was deafening. The dojo walls fell away and she stood in an open expanse of nothing. The light raced back into the sword. She reached out to touch Truth and it slammed into her body and disappeared. She collapsed moments later.
**********
The healer was wiping Meja’s forehead when she noticed the blue light. Stepping back, she made some gestures. Around her, several dozen orbs of blood materialized. They whirled in lazy orbits around her. She stepped closer to Meja and the light grew brighter, then dimmed and disappeared. After a few seconds Meja opened her eyes.
“Where am I?” she said.
“Where you need to be, warrior,” said the healer.
TWENTY-EIGHT
“HE’S GONE,” SAID Kenji. “The Harbinger is not in the complex; or the hub, for that matter.”
“How do you know? You can sense that wide?” said Rory.
“Yes. I need to get back and inform Aurora and find Dante. She will not be pleased.”
“About Dante?”
“About the Harbinger. Dante is seared and so he poses no threat, however she also sees no use for him. This means she will not give him much thought. The Harbinger is a known entity and threat. He will begin eliminating ascendants once he locates them. Except that now he has left the plane. Why would he do that when the ascendants are in the hub?”
“I need to get this information to Monique. Where the hell is Raquel? She was supposed to be following up on the rogue with me.”
They headed back to the infirmary. The tré hummed to life and a portal formed. Rory grabbed his daggers and Kenji brought his staff to bear in a defensive position.
Raquel stepped through the portal and looked at them.
“Where were you? The rogue escaped,” said Rory.
“The Harbinger is dead, at least for now,” said Raquel.
“The Harbinger? What are you doing facing off against him?”
“That would explain the absence of his energy in the hub,” said Kenji. “In any case, reports of his death are usually premature.”
“I know this is the second time I’ve killed him. I need to tell Monique before this gets out of control.”
“What are you doing fighting him? He’s too dangerous,” said Rory.
Raquel turned on Rory. Her face was calm and her voice measured. A hand rested on one of her guns.
“You mean too dangerous…for me? Is that what you mean?”
“For anyone. How did you open a portal? I don’t remember you having that ability,” said Rory.
“I don’t. The people that fought with me did. Long story,” she said and began walking away.
“Let her go. It’s clear she doesn’t want to discuss it.”
“She faced the Harbinger.”
“Not alone, it seems.”
“He’s dangerous. She could have been killed,” said Rory.
“Except that he was and she wasn’t. Right now I’d say that makes her the more dangerous of the two. I need to find Dante before I return to Aurora.”
“How will you find him? That portal formed…wait, you’re a chi tracker?”
“Of a sort. I need to go now. I’ve waited long enough and the trail will go cold,” said Kenji.
“I understand. I’d better go speak to Monique. I have a feeling she won’t be pleased with the news the Harbinger is free and that Meja got away.”
Kenji opened a portal. “Next time I hope we can fight alongside each other and not against. I will see you soon, bladedancer.”
Rory bowed and headed down the corridor after Raquel.
Kenji walked back to the infirmary and stood a moment where Dante, Samir and Meja had disappeared. He stilled his breathing and opened his awareness. What made him special was not his ability to track chi. He and Roman both shared that trait. It made them fearsome hunters. Unlike Roman, who could track anyone in the same plane, he had the ability to track chi across planes. He felt their presence and focused on Dante. It was an essence he was familiar with. The Rah Ven plane appeared in his mind.
Rah Ven? This gets more interesting by the moment. Why would you be going there, Dante?
He opened a portal to the Rah Ven plane and stepped through.
**********
Raquel had entered the Black Lotus meeting area and found Monique in her office. Her desk was bare except for a few papers and a crossbow she kept close by. She was going over the papers and giving orders to several Lotus members around her. She didn’t look up when Raquel came in. Raquel waited just inside the door. After a few seconds the Lotus members left hurriedly.
“Stop scaring the staff. How did she get away, Raquel? This was a simple retrieval,” said Monique. “She was not to leave the hub.”
“Excuse me? Simple?” said Raquel. “Did you not notice the explosion?”
“That sounds like an excuse. You heard me. I’m holding you responsible for her escape.”
“How did she get a prism, Monique? Come to think of it, how did that warrior Dante get out of the box?
“He had help. We are still investigating that incident.”
“The Harbinger I can understand,” said Raquel. “That thing won’t stay dead. He played us, played you. Why didn’t you follow procedure on that one? I read the orders. He was never supposed to be in that box to begin with. Aurora was supposed to get him.”
“What are you saying?” said Monique.
Raquel closed the distance and came up to the desk. Monique stood up, her hand resting close to her crossbow.
“Let me spell it out. Meja and Dante both had the same kind of help. Only one person had unrestricted access to both of them: you.”
“Nonsense, they were both visited by people other than me. You even escorted Meja to the chamber,” said Monique. “Should I assume you gave her the prism?”
“You gave the order for the Harbinger to be put in the box against better judgment and the advice of the prime ascendant. Why?”
“He was too much of a threat to leave out there. Ascendants were dying and the barrier was at risk. Wei, the prime ascendant, helped us contain him. I used my best judgment and made the call.”
“Wei is dead. The Harbinger killed him.”
“Dead? How do you know this? What about the Harbinger?”
“Also dead, for now. I had to use my hand cannon to stop him,” said Raquel.
“You what? You know how dangerous that is!”
“No choice. It was either that or die. Wei passed his weapons to some apprentice or assistant named Snow, and then he died. Right after he told me not to trust the people around me. The people who I usually trust with my life,” said Raquel. “Now why would he say that?
“The second focus is in play…” said Monique under her breath.
“The what?”
“His weapons. Two daggers, both the same?”
Raquel nodded. “I asked you a question.”
“Wei wasn’t what I would call sane. Too many years living alone fighting
battles. It takes a toll. What did he say to you?” said Monique.
“He mentioned the Samadhi. Does that make sense to you?”
“No,” Monique lied, her face deadpan.
You always were a bad liar, thought Raquel.
“I’m off the rogue. I think Rory has a lead on her. I think I need some time off,” said Raquel.
Raquel turned to walk away. Monique grabbed her arm to stop her.
“No, you’re not. You will find her and bring her back.”
Raquel twisted out of the grip and manifested her guns. Both were aimed at Monique’s head. Monique had the crossbow pointed at Raquel’s throat.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” said Raquel. “You may be leading the Lotus, but that doesn’t give you the right to tell me what do. Something is off here and I’m going to find out what it is. You better pray I don’t find you in the middle of it.”
Rory walked into the office.
“What the hell is going on?” he said.
“Exactly what I’ve been wondering. Why don’t you ask her?” said Raquel.
Rory stood between the two women. “Stop this. You’ve known each other for years.”
Monique put down her crossbow. Raquel kept the guns aimed at Monique for a few moments longer before lowering them.
“You’re dismissed. I’ll discuss the rogue with Rory. He can take over her capture. Why don’t you take some time off? Facing off with the Harbinger can take it out of anyone,” said Monique sitting back at her desk.
“I think I’ll do that,” said Raquel.
She left the office and Rory closed the door behind her.
Monique made a gesture and the walls took on subdued orange glow.
“The second focus is in play,” said Monique.
“The prime ascendant…?
Warriors of the Way-Pentalogy Page 49
