“Let me show you what real power is,” whispered Wheel. He absorbed Maelstrom and began to trace a glyph in the air. A collective gasp could be heard from the Samadhi. In Wheel’s hand, an orb of dark energy formed. Violet light arced away from it and collapsed back into it. The energy it gave off radiated in every direction and filled the tent, causing some of the Samadhi to step back as they were buffeted by its power.
“When did you learn an inversion glyph?” said Earth. “The ancient glyphs have all been lost.”
“Not all of them,” said Wheel as he looked down at the orb in his hand. It was slowly dividing and separating into smaller orbs. They floated lazily in his palm.
“Some of the best things in life are simple,” said Wheel. “Wouldn’t you agree, Samadhi?”
Earth straightened himself against the power flowing in the tent and around him. He remained motionless and silent, holding his staff in his hands. He focused on Wheel.
“I’m sure you would agree,” continued Wheel. “Take this orb for example. It only has one purpose: entropy.”
Wheel released the orbs and they impacted their targets—the Samadhi that stood with Earth. Within moments, small vortices formed and began to absorb them. In seconds, they were gone. One orb remained in Wheel’s hand.
“You will never defeat your greatest enemy, Wheel,” said Earth as the orb closed on him. The orb slammed into him and sent him sprawling to the ground. Wheel walked over to where he lay, watching as the vortex of energy began to coalesce.
“What enemy would that be?” asked Wheel.
“Hubris,” said Earth as he disappeared into the vortex.
Wheel turned to the remaining Samadhi, who were all on their knees.
“Now, that’s more like it,” he said as he gestured with his hands to create a portal. “I have pressing matters elsewhere, but I expect your full cooperation. You have made the right choice. I will return in several days to discuss your new roles by my side. For now your first task will be to prepare your respective planes for my arrival.”
“Yes, Master,” they said collectively.
Wheel finished opening the portal and stepped through.
NINE
WE WALKED FOR what seemed like an hour, though I had no way of gauging time in this place. The starlit sky had no constellations I could recognize.
“Are you certain you felt something?” asked Meja.
I nodded. Whatever it was gave off a small amount of energy, which in this place of nothingness made it easy to detect.
“It’s a structure of some sort, but I can sense chi coming from it,” I said. “There is some kind of energy there or someone in the structure.”
We kept walking, when I saw the silhouette in the distance. A glow came from the structure. As we got closer, it began to look familiar.
“Over there.” I pointed to the building which, as we got closer, was much larger than I thought.
“How can that be?” asked Nina. “This place is in-between. Nothing is supposed to be here.”
“We’re here, aren’t we?” I said.
“Yes, but that…” she said as she pointed at the structure. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I may be wrong but it looks just—” I began.
“Like a Watch,” finished Meja.
“How did a Watch get in here?” I asked.
“Only one way to find out,” said Meja as she approached the entrance.
TEN
DEAD MIKAI LITTERED the room. Ono wiped her weapons down, removing blood.
“Get this cleaned up, Mariko.”
“Yes, Mother,” said Mariko, leaving the room as some of her guard began to remove the bodies.
Ono looked around the room and clenched her jaw. “They have let fear rule their actions, the cowards,” she said as she gripped her swords tightly. “They dared to attack us here. In our home?”
“We will deal with them in accordance to their actions, my love,” said Zanshi, trying to calm her down. “First we must see to our own wounded and then to the glyphs.”
“I can help with the wounded,” said Devin. “Then I need to return to the hub.”
Ono nodded and composed herself. “Yes, you are right, Husband,” she said. “Please tend to the wounded, Sylk and I will see to the glyphs.”
Zanshi nodded and left the room with Devin. Samir began to arrange the bodies for easy removal.
“How long does he have?” asked Sylk.
Lady Ono looked at Sylk and then away.
“How did you know?”
“I saw his chi signature when he returned,” said Sylk. “He bonded to it, but something is wrong. There is an imbalance and it’s killing him.”
“I don’t know how long he has,” said Ono quietly. “The bonding went well but at the last moment something shifted. I think it may have to do with his previous weapon.”
Sylk remained silent a moment, pensive.
“What are you saying?” asked Samir. “I thought Dante bonded successfully with the weapon?”
“He did and then he didn’t,” said Ono. “Except now it is too much a part of him to undo what has been done.”
“There must be a solution to this,” said Sylk. “The Records should have something on it.”
“The Records will be of no use to us for some time, I think,” said Samir. He told them of how Raja had attacked him and his escape from the embodiment of the Records.
“Impossible,” said Sylk to himself.
“I would have thought the same thing right up until the moment I was attacked,” said Samir.
“The only other alternative is the South Watch,” said Sylk. “Perhaps the Keeper there can get us access to the information we need.”
“What information, Sylk?” asked Ono. “No one living has seen the third focus bonded to anyone.”
“I am not going to just let him die,” said Sylk, his voice hard. “Is that what you are suggesting?”
“I am suggesting you not pin all of your hopes on one solution,” said Ono. “You know there is an alternative.”
“Reform the bridge?” said Sylk, incredulous. “Are you suggesting we release him? That would be the end of us all.”
“Tell me, Karashihan, what do you think we will face if the inversion glyph has been rediscovered?”
ELEVEN
RAQUEL OPENED HER eyes in unfamiliar surroundings. A clean bandage was tied around her leg. Around her, the non-descript walls were bare. From the damp smell, she could tell she was in a basement of some kind. A chair was the only other furniture in the room and it sat across from the bed she lay in. She felt weak but tried to sit up and failed.
The door opened and a woman walked in. The first thing Raquel noticed was her eyes, and the guns. She counted at least five. The woman was older, with slight crow’s feet crinkling the skin around her eyes. Her milky gaze held Raquel in place as she sat in the chair and leaned forward, both feet on the floor. Her arms rested on her thighs as she took Raquel in. After a few moments, it seemed she came to a decision and sat back.
“Do you know who I am?” asked the woman. Raquel counted the guns strapped to her waist and thighs. Another smaller gun was strapped to one of her ankles.
This woman is a walking arsenal, thought Raquel.
“No, I don’t. Should I?” asked Raquel.
“The name is Franca, and you were counting my guns. Won’t do you any good, since there’re at least two you can’t see.”
“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to—” began Raquel.
“Just like your father, always sizing up potential threats,” said Franca. “Nearly got us killed a few times too.”
“You knew my father?”
Franca smiled for a moment, lost in a memory, and then nodded. “Yes, you could say that.”
“Where is this place?”
“Before I answer that, tell me why you appeared at my doorstep half dead,” said Franca with an edge to her voice.
The memories flooded back and R
aquel clenched her teeth against the flood of anger. “That bitch,” she said under her breath.
“Is the bitch still alive?”
Raquel remained silent and then shook her head.
“Good, I can tell this is going to bring untold hours of excitement to my dull life,” said Franca.
“How did I get here?”
“It appears someone has been watching you, closely,” said Franca.
“Watching me?”
There was a knock at the door and a tall man entered the room. Outside of the door, there were two more people. Raquel could barely make out the second person behind the giant of the man who blocked the doorway.
The tall man was graying but still retained an air of grace about him. He wore loose-fitting clothes and, like Franca, carried an abundance of guns. Over the clothes, he wore a poncho-style wrap that covered most of the weapons.
“Hello, Raquel, I am Hiram Montez.” His voice was a deep baritone that filled the room. “I trust Franca has been taking good care of you?”
“I kept her alive,” said Franca, standing. “My job in this is done.”
“Franca—” began Hiram.
Franca held her hand up, stopping him mid-sentence.
“I told you I was done and I’m done,” she said. “If you had any sense left in your head you’d be done too.”
“We can’t just let them keep killing. We have to do something,” said Hiram.
“You are getting involved in a fight that isn’t yours,” she said. “ And that always ends with someone dead. Trust me.”
“Which is why we need your help,” he answered. “With your skills—”
“Not my fight,” said Franca, and she looked at Raquel. “If you are really your father’s daughter, you’ll say no to whatever he’s offering.”
Not my fight, thought Raquel. Those were the last words I said to Snow before he gave me his weapons.
She closed her eyes and felt for the Fangs. She touched upon them and both Franca and Hiram stepped back.
“What did you just do?” asked Franca, alarmed. She was fingering the holster of one of her guns.
“Nothing,” said Raquel, lying. “Just making sure everything is still in place.”
“Don’t do that again,” said Franca. “Power spikes like that can get you killed around here.”
“I told you,” said Hiram. “She can help us. You need to reconsider, Fran.”
“Don’t you call me that, ever,” said Franca as she stepped close to Hiram. Her hand still rested on her gun.
Franca moved over to Raquel and placed a hand on her arm. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Seconds later, she gasped and pulled back her hand fast, as if she were being burned.
Can she sense the Fangs? thought Raquel.
“You can’t do this, Hiram,” said Franca. “It’s too dangerous.”
“We have to—there is no other way,” said Hiram. “We need the Soul Cannon.”
“Soul Cannon?” asked Franca. “Now I know you have lost your senses. That technique is lethal. No gunslinger has used that and lived to discuss the aftermath.”
“One has,” said Hiram.
“Then go find him.”
“No one knows where Cross is and you know that,” said Hiram. “But you were there and you saw what he did and how.”
“Wait—what did you just say?” asked Raquel. “Is my father alive?”
“We don’t know,” said Franca as she turned to Hiram. “My having been there doesn’t mean I can do it or teach it to her, no matter how much power she has.”
“All this time I thought he was dead,” whispered Raquel to herself.
“I think she can do it and she is a Cross,” said Hiram. “We need that weapon.”
“It will kill her and I won’t be a part of that,” said Franca. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”
“Franca, I know this is difficult,” began Hiram.
“You know absolutely shit, Hiram,” she said. “You’re asking me to sacrifice her for your cause.”
“We aren’t doing anything until you tell me who you are,” said Raquel. She sat up in her bed, grimacing against the pain of the exertion as her leg throbbed at the movement.
“I apologize. I am Hiram, leader of the Deadeyes, and we—I—need your help.”
TWELVE
“LADY ONO, WITH all due respect, what you are proposing sounds just as bad as the inversion glyph being in the wrong hands,” said Sylk. “Releasing him is like releasing a tidal wave. Everything and everyone in his path will be crushed and destroyed.”
“I am open to alternatives, if you have any,” said Ono. “An inversion glyph in the hands of someone willing to destroy creates a formidable enemy. Are you certain you can negate it?”
“Master,” said Mara, “is there a way to neutralize this inversion glyph?”
Sylk rubbed his chin as he thought. “It is one of the ancient glyphs,” he said. “I don’t know if I possess that kind of power, even at my strongest.”
“How did someone acquire this glyph?” asked Mara.
“That, my child, is the question,” said Ono. “However, as important as that may be, it is not the question we need to be asking.”
“There is no record of this glyph in any of my studies,” said Samir. “If it exists it must be in the oldest of the syllabist’s texts.”
“And those texts would be located where now?” asked Sylk. “The Akashic Records?”
“Most certainly there would be copies there,” said Samir. “Perhaps we could have found out if the Records were accessible, but now… it would be too risky.”
“Master… I know that look,” said Mara. “You can’t. You heard Samir. Raja attacked him.”
Samir nodded, his face serious.
“If there is a way, the Keeper would know,” said Sylk quietly as he looked at the silver lines gently undulating across his right arm.
“Sylk, whatever you are scheming, and I know you,” said Ono as she stepped close to him, “you must tread carefully now. You have bonded to the Watch. It gives you power yes, but it also limits you.”
“I can navigate the Records without Raja. I just need to know where to look,” said Sylk. “I have done it before.”
“You want to return to the Records?” asked Samir. “This is not a wise course of action.”
“Maelstrom,” said Ono. “That is how you knew of its existence.”
Sylk nodded. “I didn’t expect Dante to bond with it, but it was in the Records where I found the information about it.”
“How did you get around the gatekeeper or this Raja?” asked Ono.
“I used an interstice and spliced it into the Records, which allowed me access without encountering him,” said Sylk. “I was able to retain it in the past by several seconds and he is in the constant now.”
Samir opened his eyes wide. “Yes, yes—that could work,” he said more to himself than the others. “Amazing. That would mean that Raja would not be aware of your presence. Wait, this is no ordinary skill. This is something that—”
“That only a wavedancer could do,” said Ono, looking at him hard.
Sylk returned the stare unflinchingly.
“You would risk your life this way? Why?” asked Ono.
“My reasons have not changed,” said Sylk. “The Destroyer is still the greatest threat, and his Harbinger is free. If Lucius manages to reconnect the bridge to his plane, an inversion glyph will be the least of our worries.”
“Which is why you must form the bridge,” said Ono. “Do you not see it? It is the only way. Lucius clearly possesses enough power to negate the glyph.”
“And once he is done with Wheel?” asked Sylk. “Who will negate him?”
Everyone remained silent.
“Exactly. We will be at his mercy,” said Sylk. “Every glyph had a twin or counter. I’m certain the inversion glyph must be subject to this as well. But I would need someone who could read ancient texts and decipher t
hem.”
“You need the word wielder,” said Ono, looking at Samir. “And you plan on masking your way into the Records and trying to find it without being discovered by its gatekeeper and being destroyed in the process?” asked Ono as she shook her head.
“I am going to assume that choice is not a factor here?” asked Samir. “You are going to attempt this with or without us?”
Sylk nodded. “I think I can find the glyph without you, but it would be better if you accompanied me.”
Samir shook his head. “I think this is insane, but I will go with you if I can be of service,” he said. “And see the ancient texts.”
“I’m going with you too,” said Mara.
“This is too dangerous,” began Sylk. “I don’t know if I can join the interstice after bonding to the Watch. I don’t know who or what we will run into.”
“Which is why you will need me with you,” said Mara, crossing her arms. “I am going.”
Sylk attempted to speak, but Ono placed a hand on his arm.
“She is bonded to you,” said Ono. “Her place is by your side. Besides, I think you can use all the help you can get.”
Mara smiled slightly as she nodded at Ono’s words.
“Don’t look so smug,” he said. “There is a good chance we won’t return from the Records.”
“More of a reason for me to be with you, Master,” said Mara, becoming serious. “As long as I am by your side.”
“If you do not return,” said Ono, “Dante and Shadowstrike remain our only option.”
“If I don’t return, there are no options,” said Sylk. “Dante can’t stand against both Wheel and Lucius. I don’t think anyone is that powerful.”
“If he can face them individually, there is a chance,” said Ono. “The Mikai are accustomed to powerful enemies.”
“These are not Mikai we are discussing,” said Sylk.
“When are you leaving?” asked Ono.
“I have one stop to make before I”—he looked at Mara and Samir— “before we attempt this.”
Ono grabbed him by the hands, embraced him, and then placed her right hand over his heart. She did the same to Mara and Samir. Sylk bowed, followed by the others.
Warriors of the Way-Pentalogy Page 73
