The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe

by Jon Chaisson

  Nehalé shuddered at the sudden silence that hung over the table. An offspring of the One? Goddess, then that meant…!

  Ampryss broke the silence. “Was her spirit conscious before or after the Awakening, Madhza?”

  “After, milady. And if the rumors are true, the girl is an embodiment as well, a reincarnation of the child of the first Dearest. This child has always remained close to the future Ones throughout all of their lives, instinctively knowing who will be the next One of All Sacred, remaining close to them throughout their lives. The child has not always made their presence known, not for a long time, but she has returned now. I have met this young woman, and she is a close friend of Dennise Johnson. She was with her during the failed Ascension, and from what I sense, she is willing to follow Denni anywhere.”

  “Does she have a name?” Ampryss asked.

  “Her True name is Annedin.”

  Ampryss crossed her arms and tapped her fingers against her forearms, thinking it over. Fully awakening a Né madhyané would take more than a simple ritual...and once it had taken place, no one would be able to tame her. The girl may be a holy offspring of the One of All Sacred, but again, she was also a young woman without a clue as to what her strengths may be.

  “You must take that chance,” Nehalé prodded. “It could mean her survival.”

  “I understand,” she said, and turned back to the woman. “Madhzi, can you initiate this?”

  “I've already set things in motion,” she said. “Denni returned from her self-imposed isolation a few days ago. She's come to visit me a few times, asking for advice. She does not know that I am an Elder, nor does Karinna. She does trust me, though. I have suggested a few times that she get in touch with her memories of being the One of All Sacred. She’s hesitant, but I believe she’ll come around.”

  “...and this Annedin?”

  “Right by her side. She'll go anywhere Denni goes. It's got to be Annedin, the way she’s latched onto her.”

  Ampryss slowly nodded, glancing again at Nehalé as she did so. He felt a flash of guilt, unwarranted though it might be. Should he feel guilty that he was helping Denni remember her past, in order to keep her safe in the future? “Nehalé, I must confess I don't fully agree with this method of action. There are too many unknowns, too many risks upon Denysia, and also upon this Annedin. I can only hope that you can do all you can to keep her well protected.”

  “I shall do my best, emha,” he said, bowing deeply.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Expectation

  Christine Gorecki leaned up against the wall near the roof access door, her attention three blocks up the street at what had once been a deserted warehouse. She lit the cigarette she'd pulled from behind her right ear, her second one in the last fifteen minutes, and frowned as she exhaled. This neighborhood used to be quiet, enough that she could get her work done in relative peace. Now she had the Mendaihu, the Shenaihu, the cho-nyhndah, and whoever else wanted to jump on the bandwagon. She understood these people had just awakened and needed direction…she got that. But it was still a chaotic mess. She'd left the Alien Relations Unit six months ago for this very reason, to escape the constant ebb and flow of spirit energy that surrounded her. She'd had enough of constantly throwing out that sensing wing of hers whether she’d meant to or not, reading the same pain, the same confusion, the same day-to-day bullshit that the blissfully sleeping spirits dealt with. She'd had enough. She couldn't handle the onslaught anymore.

  Then Nehalé went ahead and performed that damned ritual.

  The Awakening, the Cleansing, and the Rain of Light, and the Ninth Coming of the One of All Sacred, all in her neighborhood, all in the span of less than a week. Pashyo! Sure, helping Alec Poe guide the Rain of Light back to its source was probably one of the more exhilarating rituals she’d ever performed in her life, but this was exactly what she was trying to escape!

  So why did she not feel as aggravated as she'd expected to be? Despite her emotional irritation, deep down her soul no longer felt drained by the constant energy flow. Had the Cleansing finally aligned everything? Had she just gotten used to it? Had she been affected? She laughed at that last thought; it was completely ridiculous, and it was also completely possible. She’d planned on having herself tested for Mendaihu ability some time ago, before she'd left the Unit, but had never gotten around to it. And once she'd left, it was the last thing on her mind. She was first and foremost a freelance investigator dealing with alien spiritual cases, with a side project of spiritual healing for a small and very select number of clients. Becoming a certified Mendaihu agent was not very high on her list.

  She already knew the answer to that question, anyway.

  The strangest thing was the absence of that young girl, the One of All Sacred. Caren's little sister, of all people! She hadn't sensed anything over the last few weeks, not since getting hit broadside by her spiritual presence almost immediately after she'd returned from her solitude. There was that spurt of activity a few days after she'd returned, then nothing. Not even a ripple. She’d chosen to blend in with the locals instead, keep a low profile. The last thing a newly awakened deity needed was a bunch of blind followers.

  She took another drag from her cigarette and pushed off the brick wall, walking slowly towards the edge of the roof. She owned this bit of prime real estate, one of the nicer buildings in the neighborhood, with a wide storefront, three floors of three-bedroom apartments — the top one hers — and a large shack on the roof that she used for ritual work. The building had cost most of her savings from ten years in the Unit plus freelance work on the side, but it was worth it. She had two tenants faithfully paying the rent and asking no questions about her work. And work was going just fine. Up until now.

  Her choice to quit the ARU had been a double-edged sword, in retrospect. She’d disassociated herself from the ARU, but in the process she’d also cut herself off from nearly everything that happened in the Sprawl. Her heightened soulsensing may have been running nonstop and at highest level for those months, but she still felt out of the loop. She walked the streets at odd hours, just to soak up the general feel of whatever was happening at the moment. When all those people started arriving at the warehouse, she could feel something was up, even from three blocks away. By the time a street fair had been set up that afternoon, she headed over to check it all out.

  When the first Awakening ritual had been performed days earlier, she'd been surrounded by a strange mix of fear, anticipation, and utter confusion. It wasn't until Denni's Cleansing ritual — with a little grounding help from Poe and her Benjamin’s Key — that things finally calmed. In the span of a half day, all the chaotic energies in the air had realigned. It felt like...

  Peace? Balance? Connection? Something she couldn’t quite define. Meraladians referred to it as experiencing Né, but personally it felt like a keener Meraladian soulsensing had been offered to her.

  It felt eerily familiar, perhaps too much so. And she needed to do something about that.

  There was a desperate need for sehndayen-ne of the Mendaihu and Shenaihu ways right now. Perhaps she would call Chief Inspector Farraway and put in her name as a volunteer. The best teacher, though...she was only fifteen and hardly knew anything about spiritual theory. She was precisely the kind of leader one didn't expect. She was a young, spunky kid who followed her heart and her instinct and didn't think twice about it. Denni was perfect for the job.

  Christine took a last drag from the cigarette stubbed it out as she moved closer to the edge of her roof. Moulding Warehouse was once again quiet, though new followers were still arriving daily. She didn't necessarily need to see these people; she could sense them well enough from this distance. Their excited spiritual state was hard to ignore.

  She'd been thinking a lot about uprisings these last few days, and she knew she wasn’t the only one. She was only a child during the last Embodiment, but she remembered the stories of the final battle between the two spirits at Mirades Tower Park all too we
ll. The imbalances between the Mendaihu and the Shenaihu spiraling out of control, until that day in late November when both sides had finally called a truce. A slow but steady peace soon followed and remained. As always, it never lasted.

  She remembered the overwhelming sense of dread that hung over the city, all those years ago. She'd always been sensitive to the emotions of others. She remembered her small family, her parents, her older sister Helena and herself, escaping the city just as it was getting bad, but not before she was witness to the most horrific spiritual torture she'd ever known. Even at eight years old, she understood the difference between a spirit at peace and one writhing in agony because it was being starved of Light.

  She didn't want that to happen again.

  She took one last look at the warehouse, reaching out with a tendril of her own spirit in an attempt to read whatever might be going on over there. The warehouse had become a cross between a safe house and a command post for the Mendaihu and Shenaihu who refused to let another uprising happen. She didn't readily agree with what was happening over there; at times it felt too militant for her liking. But she had to admit she was impressed by how quickly and smoothly they’d prepared. They were just about ready for anything.

  She stepped away from the edge of the roof and pulled out her comm. She also pulled out another cigarette as she dialed the number for the Data Research Library on Pendergast Boulevard. She lit up while asking for the Mendaihu Archives desk. It was time to put her own plans into motion.

  The clerk answered after the second hail. “Mendaihu Archives, Jenn Underwood speaking.”

  “Hey there, Jenn,” she said. “This is Christine Gorecki.”

  Jenn out a quick squeal of surprise and joy. “Chris! Pashyo…long time no hear! How are you?”

  Christine warmed to the young woman’s voice. They’d known each other for years, back when both their families lived in Fraserville District. Jenn was about ten years younger than her, but they’d connected quickly as sisters and friends. She remembered Jenn as a funny and intelligent girl, a bit on the precocious side, but also one of the kindest people she'd had the pleasure to know. It was especially heartwarming that Jenn still regarded her fondly, even after Christine’s six month disconnect.

  She filled her in and then got down to business. “I need a favor. I've got a project with an extremely important client and I've got to do some major rush research in the next few days. What's the possibility of me getting some uninterrupted time in the Mendaihu Archives?”

  Jenn let out a slow breath, presumably looking over schedules. “That’s a good question. Quite a few ARU agents booking time lately. I might be able to squeeze you in, if you don't mind being shuffled around every few hours or so.”

  “Not a problem,” she smiled. She’d expected to haggle for time, but this was perfect. “I mostly need it for scanning and retrieval. I’m doing most of the heavy work here.”

  “You need time today?”

  “Just an hour or two, perhaps early evening. I've got a few other things to close up first.”

  “Seven to ten sound good?”

  “Perfect.” She began to pace across the roof again, excited at her stroke of luck. “I'll be there. Thanks, Jenn. Good to hear from you again.”

  “Same. Don’t be a stranger next time, eichi, I miss you!” They terminated the call, and Christine found herself now full of unexpected energy and nowhere to let it out. She was too keyed up to do any spiritwork. Instead she turned the comm back on and called Poe. It took him four and a half rings to answer, when it usually took two. Very unlike him.

  “Hey Poe, it's Christine,” she said. “I'm not interrupting anything, am I?”

  “Christine! Hi!” he exclaimed. “Didn't expect to hear from you so soon!” She heard Caren hollering out a greeting in the far background, and responded with a jovial hello in return.

  “Listen, Alec…are you busy later this afternoon?”

  “Something's up?” he asked.

  “Perhaps,” she said. “Doing a personal project, and I could use your help.”

  “Anything you need,” he said. “You want to meet here at the office?”

  She cringed. She didn’t want to go back there just yet. “How about Yoshi's? Bring Caren too.”

  There was a long, uncomfortable silence at Poe's end of the line. She hadn’t needed to explain for him to understand what the call was about. She hated to drop this on either of them, but if she wanted this project to get off the ground, she'd need access to whatever information Poe could provide.

  “You're going all out, aren't you?” he said.

  “Only way to go,” she responded.

  Poe hummed in response. “All right,” he said. “Five o'clock dinner at Yoshi's. Caren can't make it, though. She needs to take care of Denni.”

  Christine respected that, and said so. They talked for a few minutes longer, and Christine hung up feeling quite relieved that her plans were going so well. She stopped her pacing and headed back downstairs to her apartment to change, already knowing exactly what she was going to ask him.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Kinléshi

  Poe slid back in his chair, relishing a rare moment of peace in this office. He wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to make use of it and catch up on work, or take advantage of this calm by doing absolutely nothing. As much as he would love to do the latter, he got bored too easily. The least he could do was make good on his promise to help Christine by getting his own information together to share.

  Her continued participation surprised him. She must have had a deep personal interest in Denni’s Embodiment. In any other situation, she would have avoided anything remotely tied to the ARU. She’d never told him why she left the Unit, and he never asked. All he knew was that one of her last cases had become deeply personal to the point that she could no longer be impartial. She hadn’t quit outright but took an open-ended leave of absence, willing to assist the Unit on a freelance level, and only under her terms. But she never set foot in the Branden Hill office again.

  Poe’s comm beeped loudly and unexpectedly, shaking him out of his thoughts. He stared at the thing sitting on his desk, wondering who it might be. Caren was across the room on the couch, flipping through a long document on her vidmat. Kai and Ashan were busy doing rounds at the warehouse, and Sheila and Nick were sitting in on a training program downstairs. Farraway would have just come in person. He picked it up on the third hail.

  “Agent Poe,” he said.

  “Hey, Alec,” the voice on the other end said, a very quiet and unassuming male voice he hadn't heard in at least three years. His heart immediately sank.

  “Hey,” he answered back, more of a distracted grunt than a response.

  “It's your brother, Alec,” he said. “It’s David. Listen, I know we haven’t talked in a few years…” He trailed off, mumbling in embarrassment.

  Poe cursed under his breath. Now was not the time for family to be calling. Unless one or both of his parents died, he really didn't want to be talking to any of them right now. He loved them, of course, but the last thing he wanted to do was get them involved in Denni’s Awakening. He could only think of the worst: Dad had died, or Mom had suffered a second heart attack and was now at New Boston City General.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Caren looking at him with concern. He shook his head and mouthed the word 'family.' She nodded and rolled up her vidmat without a word. She left the office quietly, closing and locking the door behind her. “Yeah, I know,” Poe started again, trying for a slightly friendlier tone in his voice. “I’m an idiot, you know that. Seriously, it’s been way too long. How's New Boston treating the family? Gina and the kids okay?”

  “Same as always...” David said, his voice equally forced into cordiality. “Gina's fine, she says hello. Kids are fine. How’s my little bro in the big city?”

  Poe smirked. Regardless of how they felt about each other, they were all talkers. He could always count on a conversation wh
enever they called, mundane or not. His brother and his parents were all part of the academic crowd, and this was their own way of disconnecting from the frustrations of life. “You know how the ARU is. Too much work and too little sleep. So what's going on? I know you didn't call me because your birthday's at the end of the month.”

  “Yeah,” David laughed. “I'll be an old fart at thirty-seven. Two kids, job security and a mortgage. Go figure, man. I called the old homestead before I called here, so don't be surprised if you find a hang-up on your vidmat. You know, I'm surprised you still live in that place.”

  “It's still home to me,” he said, an honest smile crossing his face. “So, as you were saying? Are Mom and Dad okay?”

  David took a long and uneasy breath. “Yeah. Nothing's wrong, if that's what you're worried about. Mom and Dad are fine. They're up in Revere Sector right now, at the beach for the day. Listen — they want to see you again, kid. It's been too long.”

  Poe’s heart sank a little. He knew this would come up eventually. He’d meant to drive up there and see them again many a time, but something always distracted him. All kinds of excuses, from a busy workload to family arguments to just being too damned stubborn…all the stupid things had been his reasons for not doing so. The years between them had always been good, but he just couldn’t quite face the real reason — they were not his blood relatives. He loved them dearly…but he had always felt that distance. He knew it wasn’t their fault at all, and he would never blame them for it. And now that he’d been awakened as a cho-nyhndah…

  So why did his parents want to see him at this point in time?

  “They've been following your work religiously, you know,” David said, a hint of pride in his voice. “They save every blip of newsfeed that comes along that mentions you or the Branden Hill ARU. Every time you're in the news — even if it's just a police log, they have it. Don't get me wrong, kid, I'm not jealous. But they care about you more than they know how to show it. Sometimes a little too much so.”