Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set

by Amy Proebstel

  “How did you know?” Jena asked guiltily. She wondered if her mother had her own form of mind reading.

  “Your expression changes when you two are talking.”

  “Oh.”

  “Let’s get outside and start searching. I don’t want anybody getting access to our private conversations.”

  “I agree! By the way, Dad and Juila are in town right now.”

  “Who needs a GPS tracker when I’ve got you?” Amanda joked even though the situation did not warrant the humor. She needed to find some lightheartedness with their predicament, or she would become despondent with fear.

  They toured around the house first and made ever-widening concentric circles of the grounds. It was beginning to look as though Riccan had been mistaken. Amanda was feeling relieved to think the device might have been inoperative with the recorder having been removed long before.

  “Let’s walk along the fence line outside of the property,” Jena suggested.

  Amanda nodded and began to have an uneasy feeling. They exited their land by entering a modified code into the main gate to allow one leaf to be opened only a small enough gap to let them walk through single file. As soon as they were through, the gate’s magnetic lock clicked shut, letting them know the property was once again secure until their return.

  “Do you see that?” Jena asked as she pointed out an anomaly.

  Almost a hundred feet from the gate they discovered several footprints in the ditch which looked suspicious. Amanda knelt and inspected the prints which headed toward their fence. She looked up and around to see if she could spot anyone watching their location. She felt exposed even knowing Jena’s ward was still in effect around them.

  “Can someone still hear us talking even if they can’t see us?” Amanda asked suddenly in a hoarse whisper.

  “Yes. Just a minute and I’ll take care of that as well.” Jena shut her eyes and pulled another layer of elemy around them. “Done.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I effectively surrounded us in a bubble. Nobody can see or hear us until I let it dissolve.”

  Amanda stood up and followed the direction of the prints. It led her straight to a recorder hidden under a bush next to the fence. She knelt, unsure of what to do. Should she call the police? Should she see if there were a tape recording inside it?

  Jena knelt beside her and said, “I think we should see if there’s a tape. No matter what, we don’t want anyone hearing the conversations we’ve had in the office. After all, it’s where we go to use the patil.” She kept a lookout behind them as her mother leaned forward.

  Amanda nodded. Without trying to disturb the machine more than she had to, she located and pressed the eject button. There was a tape inside which appeared to be half full. Her anger made her hand shake as she extracted the tape and closed the cartridge door again. She held the evidence by one of the reels, not wanting to destroy any fingerprints which might still be on the surface. It seemed sort of pointless to be concerned about prints, but if it could lead them to the person who was assigned to collect the recording, then she would be happy to interrogate him.

  Jena surveillance paid off when she realized there was someone in a car parked within the line of sight of where they were. Feeling angry beyond belief, she allowed her mind to travel the space between them to read his thoughts. Even knowing it was against tradition to do so without permission, she no longer cared.

  After several seconds of searching, she began to wonder if she had made a grave mistake. She was about to exit his mind when he let out a long sigh. His mind clearly thought: This assignment is boring beyond belief. If Dr. Gascon weren’t paying so well, I would’ve taken the gig the other dude wanted me to take to frame his cheating wife. This music is crap. I should’ve brought my CD case today; I can’t believe I forgot it. The only exciting thing to happen this afternoon was seeing Riccan and his daughter leave the house. They sure didn’t seem to be in any hurry. I wonder if Dr. Gascon would pay me a bonus if I followed them instead…

  Jena immediately disconnected the connection between them. She gasped at what she had just learned and did not want to hear more about what he was planning. One thing she did know, they were not being followed…yet. “Let’s go, Mom. The guy over there was hired to watch our house. He’s probably the one to change the cassette tape when it’s full.”

  Amanda looked over to where Jena was staring. She felt a trickle of fear to know there was someone watching them. Careful to watch her footing, Amanda hurried back along the fence until she got to the gate. Once again, she entered the special code and then they were back on the property. Her footsteps lengthened, and Jena kept pace with her as they jogged until they were safely back inside the foyer.

  Jena released the elemy from around them, allowing it to sink invisibly back into the ground. “Do you have something to play this on?”

  “Yes, but I’d like to wait until your dad gets home just in case there’s evidence on the outside. I don’t want to mess it up by touching it too much.”

  “Evidence?” Jena asked in confusion.

  “Yeah, you know, like fingerprints or something.”

  “Oh.” Jena had never heard of fingerprints being called evidence. She wondered what it could possibly tell them. They already knew it was a person who put it there, most likely the man who she had spotted.

  Amanda regarded the house around her, no longer as her haven, but rather as a tainted reminder of Dr. Gascon’s continued search into her history. She felt powerless to stop him from pursuing his agenda with her. More than anything, she wished her family could uproot itself and move to Tuala permanently where nobody would question her story.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Petre hired a transport to return him to the Port of Cresdon. Leaving the landing field behind him, he viewed the homes nearby with a new appreciation. His home was now one of these grand estates. In all of his scheming and cheating, he had never even come close to achieving what was given to him this day.

  He had to laugh at how much he had struggled to prove he was worthy of the best, when all along it had been waiting for him. He could have begun his adult life having everything and yet he had moved away from his destiny. The hardships and pain were all self-inflicted, none of which moved him into the man he always dreamed of becoming.

  Shaking his head at his own stupidity, he had to admit he had learned valuable lessons about himself these past fifteen anons. He knew what he did not want to be anymore. Maybe the most important thing had been discovering how he could love.

  Pausing outside of the gate, Petre pulled out the deed papers and verified the address of the house in front of him. He shook his head in disbelief as he stared in wonder since this house was actually his. Elder Rylon told him there was already a full staff of people to maintain it for him.

  “Petre you can’t be hanging around here like you were before,” Captain Ahn spoke from across the street.

  Whirling around, Petre had to contain his usual response to being addressed rudely. It was understandable from the captain’s perspective that he was loitering. Petre decided to change tactics and smiled. He crossed the road, approaching his former foe in a friendly manner. “I have the most amazing news.”

  “I don’t have time for you, Petre.” Ahn began to open his own gate when he was stopped by Petre’s hand on his sleeve.

  “Please, Captain.”

  The tone of the request did more to dispel Ahn’s anger, combined with the fact he did not think he had ever heard Petre say the word ‘please.’ “Fine, tell me your news,” he ungraciously spoke.

  “This is my new house. I have the deed for it here.” He held up the papers so Ahn could read them if he cared to do so.

  “Who did you swindle to get it?”

  “I know why you’d think such a thing about me, but I promise this was an honest transaction. I’d like to tell Tirsha, Barla, and yourself what has happened to me today. It was absolutely amazing.”

  Reading
Petre’s body language told him more about the story than his actual words. Ahn was naturally suspicious given the fact Petre was a master deceptor. Still, Elder Daven had asked him to trust the scoundrel, so he relented and said, “Come inside then.” He held the gate for Petre, and they entered the house together.

  Ahn pointed to the room on the left and said, “Wait here while I find everyone.”

  Petre nodded politely and went into the formal sitting room at the front of the house. This was more than he was expecting from the captain, given all of the trouble he had caused him in the past. The only way his new life was going to work out was going to be for him to have to admit to the mistakes of his past. This was one of those times, and he was excited to begin.

  True to his word, Ahn gathered the requested audience and sat across from Petre. Tirsha chose a spot next to himself while Barla remained standing behind where Ahn sat. Petre cleared his throat, suddenly nervous about how to begin. To gather his courage, he kept his eyes trained on Tirsha.

  “I did as we talked about and arranged to speak with Elder Daven. I told him about how I never went to my assignment day and asked him how I could fix it. I imagined all sorts of punishments for shirking my duties, and I told Elder Daven I was willing to undergo any penalty for my mistake. He told me I would have to discuss the matter with Elder Rylon in order to make it right.

  “He translated me to Elder Rylon’s Residence immediately. I can tell you I was scared silly during the transfer since he didn’t give me any forewarning. Anyway, Elder Rylon was able to see me as soon as I arrived, also courtesy of Elder Daven sending him a message.

  “So here I am, meeting with the Elder and I just know this isn’t going to go well. You see, Elder Rylon and I didn’t get along very well when I was growing up. He always told me I could do better…be better, and I never listened. He took it rather personally because I ignored him whenever I could get away with it.

  “I could see he was angry with my arrival, but I remained calm. I explained my case to him and told him I was ready to accept responsibility for my actions. He got this look in his eyes as he read my assignment and said he was going to assign me differently than what was originally posted. Of course, he has the option, and I didn’t object. So he begins talking, and no matter how hard he tried, the words coming out of his mouth would only speak what was written on the original assignment. He was furious and stormed out of the room.

  “I left and waited on the verandah, not knowing what else to do. A little while later, Elder Rylon found me there, and he actually apologized for his actions. To make up for his indiscretion, he gave me the deed to a house.” Petre held up the papers again. “Isn’t this amazing?”

  “It is amazing! But, Petre, what was your assignment? You never said,” Tirsha asked excitedly.

  “I didn’t? Oh, that was even more amazing! I was granted permanent retirement. I don’t know how or why, but it was mine all along. Elder Rylon gave me a chit,” Petre felt around frantically in his pocket for the small disk and finally pulled it out to display it as well. “He said there’d been an account set up for me, with interest, for the last fifteen anons of retirement pay.”

  “This is the most ludicrous story I’ve ever heard!” Captain Ahn jumped up from his chair and abruptly left the room. He did not even pause when Barla called after him. He was going to get to the bottom of this even if it meant he had to go to the source. If Petre was going to be living across the street from him, he was going to be certain it was done honestly.

  “Ahn! What are you doing?” Barla grabbed his arm but did not try to stop him from walking toward the kitchen.

  “I’m going to get Elder Daven on the patil and find out what’s really going on here. Does Petre honestly expect me to believe the cockamamie story he just told us?”

  “Be careful, Ahn.”

  “What? Are you saying you believe him?”

  “No, I’m asking you to calm down before you address an Elder in anger.”

  Ahn took a deep, calming breath and stopped walking. He pulled Barla into a quick hug and said, “You’re always looking after me, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, and I must say, it’s a full-time job!” Barla smiled up at her husband with adoration even as she teased him.

  Ahn chuckled and let her go. More calmly than before, he entered the kitchen and sat in front of the patil. He tapped out the code for Elder Daven and was slightly surprised to get an immediate connection.

  “Hello, Ahn. To what do I owe the honor of your call?”

  “Hello, Elder Daven. I wanted to verify Petre’s story with you. He just told us he received permanent retirement, is this true?”

  Daven nodded with relief. He had wondered if Elder Rylon would change the assignment, but now he knew the original document had been honored. “Yes, Ahn, it’s true.”

  “Wow! Just wow! How did this happen? And how did he end up owning the house across the street from mine?”

  “Now I didn’t even know about that! Hmm, I wonder. I don’t really know, but I can find out for you if you’d like.”

  “I’d appreciate it. I have to look out for my neighborhood, you know.”

  “Ahn, please reconsider your opinion of Petre. I’ve told you truly that he’s changed.”

  “I’m trying, Elder Daven, but my memory runs deep, and he’s screwed up too many times for me to blindly let it go.”

  “I understand. All I ask is for you to keep trying.”

  “I will. Thank you for your time. Good evening.”

  “Good evening, Ahn.”

  Ahn switched off the patil and turned in the chair. With a look of utter amazement on his face, he asked his wife, “Can you believe this?”

  “It’s pretty remarkable.”

  “Crazy is the word I’d be more inclined to use,” Ahn spoke in a disgusted tone.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  THE CRASHING SOUND of her chamber door startled Rasa half to death. She whirled around, ready to accuse whomever it was of carelessness, but then her words froze in her throat as she saw the look on Ulwin’s face. “What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked in a panic as she rushed forward to meet him.

  “It’s Elder Wilken. Please come quick.”

  Grabbing Ulwin’s arm and hauling him back the way he had come, Rasa demanded, “Where is he? What happened?”

  “He’s in his chamber. Rasa, I think he’s dead.”

  “NO!” Rasa screamed. She dropped his arm and instantly translated herself into his chamber. Never before had she attempted such a thing, and it even startled herself.

  Seeing the scene in front of her, she knew Ulwin had spoken the truth. To the casual observer, the Elder was sleeping in his chair by the fire. Rasa could see no life in him. She rushed over to his side and pulled his hand into her own. For a moment she was confused by his warmth but then realized the fire had kept him from becoming chilled.

  Faster than ever in her life, she used her healing powers to attempt to tie into his life-line. She searched valiantly, but no connection could be made. Her mentor and surrogate father was truly gone. Her grief poured out in an agonizing wail of despair, overpowering her senses because she was still tied into the elemy. “NO!” she cried out again. “I’m not ready, Elder Wilken. I’m not ready for this,” she said in a whisper only for her mentor to hear.

  Other cries in the room brought Rasa back to her senses. She gently placed the old man’s hand back against his stomach and lifted herself off of the floor. The maids who had discovered him were looking scared and mournful, much like how she felt herself. “He’s gone,” she announced. “Please prepare his body. I must make the announcement to the other Elders.”

  Rasa used the formality of the occasion to hold herself together long enough to escape the stares of the women in the room. As soon as she entered the Ascension Gate room, she let herself fall apart. There was nobody left in the Residence who was able to come into the room because of the wards set in place, so she was free to rant, rage, screa
m, and cry for her friend. None of the staff would ever bear witness to her fear or her loss.

  Unsure of how much time had passed, Rasa finally pulled herself together. She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands and sniffled loudly to control the flow of snot from her nose. When she had arrived, only a mesan before, she had believed she had anons to learn everything. Now, she was performing her first formal act as Elder Rasa.

  She switched on the patil and dialed the emergency number for First Elder Debbon.

  The connection was immediate.

  “Rasa? What’s the matter?”

  “First Elder Debbon, I regret to inform you Elder Wilken has passed.”

  “I’ll be right there.” He disconnected the call.

  Rasa was relieved to know she would not be left alone too much longer. She would let Elder Debbon handle the arrangements. It was impossible to think clearly at a time like this, and she needed someone with more experience to handle the situation in the most honorable manner: Elder Wilken deserved it.

  Just as she had done earlier, Elder Debbon translated himself directly into the Ascension Gate room next to Rasa. She stepped back, startled by his close proximity. When Debbon held out his arms, she gratefully accepted the comfort of his embrace. “He was well-loved, Rasa. I’m sorry this came so soon for you.”

  Rasa cried even harder than she had when she was alone. Knowing Debbon shared the same love for Wilken only intensified her grief. How was she going to get through this?

  “You’ll be fine, Rasa. Wilken told me on many occasions how brilliant you are. Besides, Jehoban never would have sent you here unless you were ready.” He pulled her gently away from himself and put his finger under her chin so she would look him in the eyes. “I know you’re sad, but we have a lot of work to get done in a very short period of time.”

  “What? I don’t understand. We can’t do anything until Elder Wilken has been taken care of!”

  Debbon shook his head sadly. “On the contrary, we must assure the people of the Manzanit District they are still protected by an Elder. We are a long-lived group, luckily, so each generation of citizens generally only experience one transition in their lives. Still, we must get you promoted to your position. To do so, we must convene the other Elders.”