“I’d like to try something with you, Sofia. Would you mind?” Rasa asked.
“What are you thinking?” Jena asked before Sofia could reply.
“Sofia brought up a good point about learning to access the elemy. If I’m able to help her learn how it works, she might be the perfect amplifier for keeping in contact with Juila.”
Before Jena could interrupt again, Sofia spoke, “I’ll agree to anything which might help Juila.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“OKAY,” RASA SAID as she moved over on the couch, so she was sitting next to Sofia. “I’m going to put my hands on your head as I did before, but this time I want you to follow my movements inside your head. You need to know where to go in order to access the elemy.”
“What’s elemy?” Sofia asked uncertainly.
“It’s a Tualan term shortening the actual words of elemental energy. You see all of the earth is surrounded by rivers of energy. Most of the energy is underground, and a little of it leaks into the air which causes magnetic variations above ground in places like the Bermuda Triangle and the Oregon Vortex. In any event, as children, we learn to tap into this resource and use it to do our bidding. Pay attention so you’ll learn the path,” she advised as she rested her hand on Sofia’s head and they both closed their eyes to better focus on the task.
“I feel a tingling sensation, is that you, Rasa?”
“Yes, that’s a positive sign that you can feel my energy. Focus your inner mind on following where I’m leading you. Good, you’re doing it very well, Sofia. Now we’re going to go down your body, following your veins until we reach the ground. Then we’re going to keep going down until we feel the flow of energy in the earth. Tell me what you feel.”
“It’s very strange, almost like I have electricity running through me. What do all of the colors mean?”
“You see colors?” Rasa asked as she opened her eyes and frowned with concern at Jena. “Have you ever heard about that anomaly, Jena?”
“No, but it might be the difference for which we’ve been looking.” Jena wished she could be a part of this exercise so she could experience what Rasa was seeing. She felt she could be so much more helpful if she had first-hand knowledge. She had to let Rasa continue as she was her senior in all matters related to crystal skills; after all, Rasa had been her own teacher.
“Tell me about the colors,” Rasa instructed.
“There is every color of the rainbow including white and black. There are even some colors which I’ve never seen before. What do I do with them?”
Rasa pulled a few strands of the elemy forward and asked, “What does this look like to you?”
“It’s mostly white with a little bit of light blue mixed in.”
“Okay,” Rasa said, “Can you use your mind to hold this where I leave it?” Sofia’s explanation of the colors led her another realization; the elemy’s colors corresponded with the birth crystal colors. Her own birth crystal was mostly clear with two stones of the lightest blue. She wished she could see the colors for herself to verify her new theory. The next time she met with Jehoban she was going to ask Him about what Sofia had pointed out and see if it were true.
Sofia began to feel beads of sweat form in her hairline as she struggled to try to do as Rasa asked. Holding the elemy was harder than she had imagined it would be and yet she was doing it. She imagined over time, and with a lot of practice, this would get a lot easier. She hoped this would be the start of many lessons.
Rasa praised her and told her to release the strands. “Now I want you to use your mental power to pick up strands of your own. Only choose the ones which feel like they belong to you.”
Sofia concentrated on the rainbow of energy swirling beneath her and felt most drawn to the yellow colors. She focused her attention on them, and they seemed to leap toward her of their own volition. This was much easier than holding the white and blue strands. “I’m doing it!” Her enthusiasm caused a break in her concentration and the elemy slipped away from her and melted back into the flow around them.
“I think that’s enough for now, Sofia. You may not realize it right now, but this is a very tiring exercise even for a Tualan. I don’t know how this will affect you. Follow me back to your core, so you know what that feels like as well,” Rasa showed her the path to take for future lessons and then withdrew her power entirely.
She brought her hand away from Sofia’s head and then opened her eyes to check on the young girl’s color. Even though she had begun to sweat, her breathing and color were both good which meant it had not taken too much out of her. They would definitely have to keep training together to see how far Sofia’s skills could be taken.
“Well? What happened? Did it work?” Amanda asked.
Sofia looked at her strangely since they had already talked about it working.
Rasa smiled conspiratorially at her and said, “We never spoke out loud, Sofia, everything was in your mind alone.”
“Really? That’s so cool. To me, it sounded just exactly like your voice, so I assumed it was said out loud.” She looked over to Jena and said, “I can’t believe you do this every day!”
Rasa spoke to Jena, “If you want to continue to practice with her, I’ll make sure you won’t get in trouble for it.”
Jena nodded enthusiastically. She still had a hard time believing her cousin was the successor to an Elder. Now her hopes and dreams of becoming one herself did not seem so far-fetched. When Juila got home, she could not wait to let her know about this latest turn of events on Tuala. She sobered instantly as she realized Juila might never make it home alive. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath as she shook her head and refused to believe in such a negative outcome of this problem.
“What is it, Jena?” Rasa asked. She had been watching the girl intently and felt like she was holding something back.
“I had a dream about this a long time ago,” Jena confessed.
“About what exactly?” Amanda asked for clarification.
“About Juila being gone. She made me promise not to say anything about it for fear it would prevent you and Dad from ever letting her fly alone.”
“Tell me exactly what happened in your dream, Jena,” Amanda spoke slowly as her fear began to rise into her throat and made her feel as though she were suffocating.
“In my dream, she flew away and never came home. I felt lost and confused because our link was broken.”
“What happened next?” Rasa asked.
“I don’t know because I woke up then. I was terrified, and I ran into Juila’s room and crawled in bed with her. As soon as I woke up, I could feel our link, so I knew it was just a dream. I’ve had the same dream at least a dozen times over the years.”
“It sounds more like it was a premonition. We just need to make sure the outcome is the same as when you wake up, and everything is fine again, now don’t we?” Rasa asked. She put her hand on Jena’s arm to comfort her.
“I like the way you think about it, Rasa. I’d hate to have to live with the alternative,” Jena replied.
Amanda did not like that this was the first time she was hearing about the reoccurring dream. She believed her daughters knew they could come to her with anything. Now she realized there was still a separation between them and it made her wonder if there were more they were keeping from her.
The doorbell rang, and everyone in the room jumped. Amanda recovered first and asked, “Who do you think it is?” She did not want to interrupt Riccan in the office, yet she had no desire to answer the door herself.
Behn stood up and said, “I’ll check.” He strode across the foyer and then flung the door open. His eyes lit up in surprise as he said, “Hey, Luke! What are you doing here?”
“I’m taking Jena out to the movies. Is she ready?” He looked over Behn’s shoulder and spotted Jena sitting on the couch. She looked terribly unhappy, and he became instantly alert. “What’s wrong, Behn?”
“I’m not sure it’s my place to say anything
…” he began.
Amanda rescued Behn from having to speak when she walked up beside him. “Tonight might not be such a good night for the movies, Luke. I’m sorry we forgot to call you, and you wasted a trip out here.”
“I’d like to see Jena if that’d be alright. She doesn’t look very happy.”
Amanda looked back at her daughter and could see the same thing Luke must have. She shrugged and said, “Come on in. I don’t think Jena will want to visit very long.”
“That’s fine,” he assured her. He stepped into the house and kept his eyes on Jena as he made his way to her.
Behn hurriedly shut the door and grabbed Amanda’s arm, “Why did you let him come in?”
“We couldn’t very well slam the door in his face. Besides, he’d already seen Jena and knew something was wrong.”
Luke sat down next to Jena on the couch and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Juila, Luke, there’s been an accident of sorts,” Jena replied as she hastily tried to come up with a story which would satisfy Luke while not revealing the actual truth. “She took Val and Jon flying, and the aircraft malfunctioned. We’re not sure where they are, and I’m really worried for them.”
Luke drew her into his arms and hugged her. He was stunned at the news and wondered why Behn was still so calm considering both of his siblings were involved in this. He saw Sofia for the first time as well as another woman he did not recognize. Pulling her back so he could look into her face he said, “I’ll keep good thoughts for them to come home safely. Do you want me to stay or go?” He really hoped she would want him to stay, but she began to shake her head.
“I’m sorry, Luke. I don’t have the energy right now. I’ll call you when we find out anything,” Jena hated to send him away. It would be so wonderful to tell him everything and be able to lean on his shoulder for support. She realized this would always be a problem between them if she were to continue to date him and possibly get even more serious. It gave her serious pause in continuing a relationship with him when she was almost positive she would be returning to Tuala once they were done with high school.
He stood up to leave and was pleased when Jena stood as well. They held hands on their way to the door where they stopped before opening it. He turned to her and put his hands on her cheeks as he stared into her eyes. “I know everything will turn out fine. You’ll see.”
Jena teared up at his proclamation. She wanted to believe he had the answer because she desperately needed her sister to return safely. “Thank you, Luke. It means a lot to hear you say it. I’m sorry you wasted a trip out here. I should have called to cancel, but I completely forgot all about it once I found out about Juila.”
“Hey, you don’t have to apologize. I completely understand, and I don’t consider it a waste any time I get to see you. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?” He leaned forward and kissed her lips lightly even as they trembled with emotion.
Jena was flustered since her family and friends were watching from the other room. She pulled back and promptly opened the door. “Drive carefully,” she cautioned as Luke stepped outside to leave.
“Always,” he jauntily replied as he got into his car.
Jena shut the door and leaned her back against it. She saw the way Rasa was looking at her and knew she was going to have to explain the situation. This would be the first person in Tuala for her to share with, she hoped it would go well. She looked at the floor on her return to the living room.
“What’s going on with him, Jena?” Rasa asked curiously.
“Luke is my boyfriend,” she answered simply.
Amanda chimed in, “We’re working on dissolving Jena’s betrothal with Willian. There have been extenuating circumstances for us to go through with it even though it’s considered taboo.”
Rasa raised her eyebrows at Amanda’s statement. Things must have gone terribly wrong for it to have come to this. She knew Willian was here in town somewhere trying to work things out. She could only guess he had yet to make contact or else this discussion would have been very different. “Are you sure there’s no way to reconcile?”
Jena shook her head sadly. “I don’t see how. We have never gotten along very well, even though I tried really hard. He’s just very possessive and domineering. Juila says he’s jealous of my skills, so it makes him lash out at me. I don’t know. I’ll just be glad when it’s all over and settled.”
Sofia looked over at Behn and shared baffled expressions. This was a serious conversation which made very little sense. If Jena were in another relationship in Tuala, they were worried for their friend Luke and how this might affect him in the future. There was something about the other boy’s name which bothered her, yet she could not place what it was at the moment. If she stopped trying to think about it, she knew her mind would connect the dots and let her know later.
Chapter Twenty-Four
JUILA UNINTENTIONALLY FELL asleep sitting up while leaning against the wall. When she woke up her neck was stiff, and she had no idea how much time had passed. Immediately she searched for the mental link with her sister and found the spark of it with a sigh of relief. Knowing her sister was only a thought away gave her the courage to look around the room and see what had happened with Viceroy Blair.
She turned to find him curled up on top of the bed, fully clothed. She felt some amount of relief to know he had no sexual intentions where she was concerned. It made her feel a bit more relieved even though she still desperately worried about the well-being of Jon and Valentina. There did not seem to be any good reason to keep them separated.
Viceroy was still deeply asleep since she could hear his rhythmic breathing. She edged herself off of the bed, stretched her neck until it cracked, and then crept quietly over to his desk. If she could find out what challenge the Viceroy was facing, she would have a better chance of getting them released faster.
The desk was spectacularly messy, and she had no idea how to activate the computer so that angle was out. She kept her ears attuned to the Viceroy’s breathing sounds while her eyes and hand rooted through the paperwork. She discovered what she would consider a captain’s log and she read through several of the pages.
She was pretty sure she had misread the entries from several weeks before so she slowed down and reread them…
Had to land in Tuala to acquire provisions. Met with a band of villagers who requested passage back to a place known as Earth. The community leader, named Grobin, promised to provide supplies as well as a sacred object in exchange for my transportation services. The stop lasted longer than usual as Grobin had to gather comestibles. In the end, Grobin as well as twelve men ranging in age from sixteen to seventy-two, and six women ranging in age from eight to thirty-six were brought on board. As we have no idea how to access Earth, we will be transporting them to Heliok where they will be taken to the labor camps until passage can be determined, if ever.
Juila turned the pages to see if any more mention of the Roanoke Colony were made and found nothing more. Her mind was working furiously to figure out what she would do with this new information. It was probably a good thing Valentina and Jon were being kept apart from the general population to keep them safe from discovery.
She was thankful Behn had opted to stay home since he had plans for seriously injuring, if not outright killing, Grobin for his role in breaking up their family. Juila wondered if Grobin were the only unstable person in the group or if the others were innocent bystanders of their leader’s misguided notions. Knowing they were going to be taken to another planet to be enslaved made her want to figure out a way to rescue those who wanted a different fate.
She knew how to get them to Earth. She could easily take several of them with her if they wanted to go. For sure, she would not give transportation to Grobin, no matter what he wanted. He had gotten their colony into this mess, and he would have to deal with the consequences of his own actions.
Viceroy Blair shifted on the bed causing Juila to move promptly away from the
desk. She sat down on the chair she had used earlier and thought about a new plan of action. There were several children and teenagers who would have to be taken away from this space ship. Not knowing the layout of the vessel or the locations of the other people, made talking to them to find out their end goal much more difficult.
Her father’s telepod could carry more passengers than her mother’s so she was thankful it was the vehicle she had to work with. Unfortunately, only six people would be able to be harnessed. If it came right down to it, she could probably accommodate a total of fourteen passengers, not enough to take everyone, which disturbed her more than anything.
She jumped with alarm when Viceroy Blair’s voice sounded immediately behind her.
“I trust you slept well. You didn’t look very comfortable, but it left me lots of room on the bed so who am I to complain.” He moved across the room and went to sit down at his desk. He looked up at her and said, “I’d like you to check on the grow room, and then we’ll take it from there. There’s a guard outside who will escort you.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Juila started.
“I thought I made myself clear that I wasn’t interested in your ideas. Go to the grow room.” He shifted his gaze back to the desk, picked up a pencil, and began writing in the journal she had already read.
Juila began to form a rebuttal when she realized it was not in her best interest to interrupt him from his work. She went to the door, opened it, looked back over her shoulder to see him still writing, and stepped outside. When she saw the guard was once again Ozias, she smiled and said, “Good morning, Ozias. I missed seeing you after I was done in the grow room.”
“I would have stayed except I didn’t expect you to take quite so long. When dinner time comes, nobody is dumb enough to miss it, even if we are only on rations.”
At the talk of food, Juila realized just how hungry she was. She did not even bother to ask about eating when she knew how desperate their situation actually was. “I need to use a bathroom before I start working in the grow room. Is there one nearby?”
Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set Page 14
