Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set

by Amy Proebstel

  “I’ll send them messages,” Rasa said as she began to turn back to the patil.

  “No, Rasa. This is where the work will come in…you have to bring them here using your Gate.”

  “What? How? This gate is set to go to Central Park in New York City on Earth.”

  “It’s just its default setting. As an Elder, you must know how to program your Gate to send people anywhere in any of the worlds. Your first task will be to bring the Elders here into this room. Then, and only then, will they consent to vote you in as a fellow Elder. If you cannot control your Gate, then you are not an Elder. It is the first rule we must all follow.”

  “Why is this the first time I’m hearing about it? I could have been practicing with Elder Wilken instructing me. I don’t understand!”

  “Only the Elders know about this ability of the Gates. You can understand why it must remain a secret. If everyone knew we could send anywhere, there would be pandemonium. I must also warn you if you fail this task, then I will be forced to mind swipe this conversation from you. It must remain a secret.”

  Rasa’s eyes grew wide at his last statement. He had certainly made the gravity of the situation quite clear. She knew how serious a matter this was becoming. She also understood the importance of moving things swiftly for the least amount of disruption for the people of Manzanit. “Tell me what I must do.”

  Elder Debbon nodded in approval. He motioned for them to sit down while he explained the procedures. For over an hour, Debbon talked about the nuances of her Gate.

  His explanation made it sound so simple; she could hardly believe anyone would have a problem with its execution. She sat back and rubbed her temples. Her mind was filled with questions and concerns for herself. Suddenly she recalled her conversation with Willian earlier in the day.

  “Elder Debbon, I’ve been so preoccupied with what’s been going on here, I forgot to ask you how you’ve been. When I heard about Willian’s betrothal being broken, I wondered what your reaction to it had been. I never got the chance to ask Willian. When he was staying here under Elder Wilken’s guidance, he was so hopeful about his future with Jena. This must feel like a whirlwind for you and Chelesa.”

  Debbon stared at Rasa in stony silence. He had no words to describe what he was feeling at that moment.

  Rasa looked up from her folded hands as Debbon remained quiet. She saw his expression and asked with dread, “You didn’t know yet, did you? I’m sorry, Elder Debbon. I thought you knew! Willian never said anything differently when we talked today! I’m so sorry!”

  He patted her hands and said, “This isn’t your fault. I’ll get to the bottom of this mess. Did Willian happen to mention if it were a formal dissolution?”

  “Yes, Elder Daven granted the request at Jena’s behest while they were at the Roanoke Colony.” Rasa felt like she was betraying everyone’s confidence by sharing her knowledge.

  “What were they doing back in Tuala?” Debbon stood up and began pacing. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this. Right now, however, we need to focus on what you need to do tonight. When Debbon stopped talking, Rasa inhaled a shuddering breath and nodded. “I understand. I’m ready to begin, although I’m really glad to have you here with me to make sure I get it right.”

  “No, Rasa, I won’t be. I will be leaving you here alone. You are to bring here all of the Elders in the order I described. I will be the last one you bring here.”

  “What? Why?” She instantly felt terrified of her task.

  “It is to prove to all of the Elders you did this of your own knowledge and power. If I were here when the first ones came, they could assume I had helped you. No, you must do this without me here. I believe in Wilken’s assessment of your skills. I’m not worried.” He stood up and said, “Send all of the Elders the message, including myself. Once you receive every confirmation of receipt, begin bringing them here.”

  Without so much as a goodbye, Debbon translated himself back to his own home to await the sad news.

  Rasa stared at the spot he had just vacated. How had it all come to this so fast? Was she really ready or had she been lying to herself and to Elder Debbon? She stood up and walked over to the patil. Her hands were shaking badly as she began to type the message to go out to the entire group of Elders. Her eyes blurred with tears as she read the message several times over before she hit the submit button.

  She imagined she could hear cries of mourning breaking out all over the world with her terrible news. Certainly, her own heart was breaking, and she had to pull herself together. Some other time she could fall apart, today she had to be strong for Elder Wilken. She had to prove herself worthy to be his successor by performing at her peak.

  There would be several minutes before she heard back from all of the recipients of the list. She hurriedly left the room and rushed down several hallways to get back to her private suite. Even before the door had shut behind her, she was ripping her garments off over her head. This was an official occasion, and she should look the part.

  In her wardrobe hung the perfectly white, ornate garments of the Elders. Wilken had insisted hers be made for her the day she arrived. Standing naked but not feeling any cold, she reached up to pull it from the hanger, and her hand caressed the foxl fibers, so smooth, almost slippery in her fingers. She could vividly recall seeing Elder Wilken in a similar garment on her day of appointment. Now was her time to emulate him in everything. Her destiny had arrived.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  RICCAN AND JUILA arrived home to report finding four more listening devices; three in Jasmine’s home and one in her car. The matter regarding Dr. Gascon was becoming more serious by the minute as far as they were all concerned. Where else might he try to listen in on them? How was he getting access to their private spaces? How many people had he hired?

  “What I want to know is how are we going to stop him? It’s not as if we can go down to the police station and file a complaint. What if they were to investigate Gascon’s claims and find out there was some truth to us? We can’t risk being under police scrutiny, Riccan!” Amanda was both frustrated and fearful, and this latest news did not inspire any new confidence in their situation.

  “Don’t worry, honey; I’ve faced worse in the past. You don’t grow up in two worlds without having resources to fall back on.”

  “What are you going to do?” Amanda demanded. “How are you going to stop him?”

  “I’ll give him a mind swipe if I have to,” Riccan stated flatly. He held up his hand to quiet his daughters’ vocal responses to his drastic solution. “First, I’ll go pay the good doctor a visit and request for him to cease and desist from all of his illegal activities. I’ve found people are usually much more submissive when they know they’ve been caught.”

  “You can’t go see him alone, Riccan! What if he holds you hostage?” Amanda’s fear level just escalated several steps higher with the idea of her husband being alone with the crazed doctor. “Who knows what he’d do to you?”

  “I’ve a few tricks up my sleeve, Amanda. I didn’t grow up as the Elder’s son and not learn anything about using the elemy to my advantage. Gascon won’t be able to keep me, but, just to satisfy you, I’ll take extra precautions when I meet with him.”

  “What? What can you do?”

  “First, I’ll set up several wards of protection around myself. The girls can test them for any weak spots before I go. Second, I’ll keep myself tapped into the elemy so any action I need to take can be instantaneous. Third, the doctor’s mind will be linked with my own, so I’ll know anything he plans almost before he does. What do you think? Does it sound safe enough?”

  “Do I have any choice? I still don’t like it one little bit!” She turned away from the watchful eyes of her family so they would not witness her weakness of fear. They all looked so confident with their abilities, and she suddenly felt lacking. Her abilities with the elemy were years behind even her daughters’ skills, and she felt it deeply.

  Her gaze f
ell upon the tape they had found. She turned back to Riccan and pointed at it on the table, “Jena and I found this outside the fence a ways down from the main gate. I touched it as little as possible to preserve any fingerprints or other evidence.”

  Riccan pulled a pen out of his breast pocket and slipped it through the reel of the tape. He held it up and noticed the inside tape was halfway used. “Hmph,” he commented as he sat on the couch. “What do you think, girls, can we use the elemy to replicate the exterior of the surface of this?”

  Jena’s eyes lit up with interest. “I don’t see why not!” She sat next to her father.

  Juila’s brain began working on the logistics of the problem, and she took a seat on the other side of Riccan. “I think we should join forces so we can all experience the process.”

  “Good idea!” Riccan looked up with an eager expression and asked, “Amanda, do you want to join us? I think it’d be a good learning exercise for you.”

  “Yeah, Mom! Come sit next to me,” Jena exclaimed as she patted the sofa beside her.

  Seeing the three expectant expressions of her family, she could hardly refuse. Besides, she was just chiding herself for not practicing enough with the elemy. What better time than to join with the three most talented people she knew? “Fine,” she relented and crossed the room to sit beside her youngest daughter.

  Almost instantly, the powerful pull of elemy surrounded them. It took Amanda’s breath away since she had only experienced small portions of it on her own. She braced herself for the continued onslaught only to realize it had been harnessed and focused on the tape which Riccan still held at eye level in front of them with the pencil.

  “Juila, try what you were thinking,” Riccan instructed.

  Juila nodded, and a replica of the tape appeared suspended in the air beside the original. Her expression showed she was pleased with the result. “Like that?”

  “It’s a start. Jena, what did you have in mind?” Riccan asked without moving his gaze from the objects in front of them.

  “Mom mentioned fingerprints being useful. How about if I did this?” She followed her question with action, and a thin, transparent layer appeared between the two objects. When she leaned closer, she could see small smudges of prints.

  “Perfect, Jena, now use the elemy to document the prints into a solid, permanent form.”

  Jena’s lips formed a small line as she concentrated on performing the task her father assigned. In an instant, she had done as requested and nodded her satisfaction at the result. She let the film drop to rest on the table for later inspection. “What now?”

  “Just a little something I learned as a boy,” Riccan said mysteriously. Even as he spoke, he began pushing elemy through the tape. Almost as if a projector had been turned on in the middle of the room, they could all see the scenery beyond the cassette. A man appeared, holding the tape in his hand and they watched him place it in the recorder and stand up again. He peered through the gate toward their house before he turned and walked out of the field of view. Riccan let the images dissipate, and he grinned at first Juila and then Jena. “What did you think of it?”

  Jena was the first to speak, “He was the man I saw in the car across the street! I read his mind, and he was definitely hired by Dr. Gascon. He was bored with his assignment, and he wished he would have followed you and Juila instead of having to stay put in his car!”

  “What? There’s someone out there now? Why didn’t you say so when I first arrived?” Riccan’s control of the elemy ruptured, and all of them felt the backlash from it. “Sorry,” he said hurriedly as he regathered the elemy and then let it dissipate naturally back into the earth.

  The twins grinned at their father’s loss of control. They had begun to believe he was infallible and this made them feel better to know they could all make mistakes.

  “I’m going to go confront the man!” Riccan announced as he shot up from the couch to take action.

  “No, Riccan! Think about it, if you go out there and speak to him, he’s going to call Dr. Gascon and let him know he’s been made. If you want to catch the doctor by surprise, you can’t tip your hand,” Amanda reasoned.

  “True…fine, I’ll take my telepod to Manzanit and use Elder Wilken’s gate to go to Central Park, which should give the doctor something to think about. First, his spy sees us driving from and then back to the property and not even an hour later, I’m showing up in his office. The timing is impossible, and I want him to realize he shouldn’t mess with us!”

  “Please be careful!” Amanda admonished again.

  Riccan stood still in concentration, his face empty of any expression.

  Amanda looked at him, both puzzled and concerned for his sudden change.

  “Girls, check out what I’ve done. I’ll keep this around me until I return.”

  Both Juila and Jena stood up and circled their father. Their faces were intent on something Amanda could not even see. It suddenly donned on her he had created his fields of protection and wanted the twins to search for any weak spots. At least Amanda hoped this is what was happening. Once again she felt left out because of her limited skill set.

  “It’s amazing, Dad,” Jena praised.

  “Yes, it’s perfect,” Juila agreed.

  “Fine, I’m ready to go then.” He reached out and gave the girls each a hug and a kiss on the tops of their heads. When they stepped away from him, he held out his hand to Amanda who remained seated on the couch. “I’ll be back soon,” he said as he folded Amanda into his embrace. He kissed her on the lips and murmured, “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Be on your alert with him, Riccan. Don’t get cocky just because of this…this shield you have. I wouldn’t put anything past him, Riccan.”

  “I agree. I’ll pretend I’m meeting with Lucinden and expect the worst.” He grinned at his comparison.

  “Sometimes I think Dr. Gascon is Lucinden; he’s so wretchedly bad.”

  Riccan kissed Amanda’s forehead before he stepped away and strode into the kitchen. He grabbed his telepod remote by the phone on the desk as he kept walking. Nothing was going to stop him from sorting out this issue. Nobody messed with his family and got away with it.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The trip to Manzanit was uneventful. However, Riccan was grateful for the upgraded system. He doubted his mental state would have allowed for such a smooth transfer. He was able to immediately locate a transport to the Residence and paid the driver once they pulled in front of the main gate.

  The guards looked wary, and Riccan was puzzled by his greeting. “Thank you for coming so soon,” one of them had said to him.

  Riccan stepped inside and found the staff was all running about, almost in a disorganized manner. Never before had he seen so many people in the open spaces. Usually, they prided themselves on remaining unseen, so he was beginning to become alarmed. What had happened for everyone to be acting so strangely?

  He grabbed the arm of a passing girl and asked, “Where’s Rasa?”

  “She’s in her chambers, Riccan,” she said hurriedly. As soon as her arm was released, she was moving to complete her errand and was out of sight.

  Riccan shook his head in wonder, yet his stride lengthened as he started to feel the unrest in himself as well. When he got to Rasa’s private chambers, he knocked three times rapidly on the door and waited. There was no answer, so he let himself in.

  He had gotten no further than the second room when he stopped short. Rasa was standing naked in front of her closet. She had the white Elder’s robes held close to her as she cried uncontrollably. His instinct to help her moved him into action and he ran across the room until he was standing next to her.

  “Rasa, what is it? What’s made you so upset? How can I help?”

  Forgetting her nakedness, Rasa let go of the cloth still hanging in the closet and turned to the comforting arms of her friend. “Oh, Riccan,” she cried as she clung to Riccan’s solid frame.

  Riccan was at a loss, but
he put his arms around Rasa. It felt strange to be embracing a naked woman who was not his wife, but he did not have time to worry about such a thing. He needed to discover what had upset Rasa this much. “Tell me what has happened. Let me help you.”

  “Elder Wilken has died!” She clung to Riccan harder, and wracking sobs shook her body.

  Everything came into clear focus for Riccan. It all made sense, from the guards to the staff to Rasa holding her ceremonial robes. He knew time was not on their side and he pulled her body away from his.

  Without looking at her body, he reached over her shoulder and grabbed the robe off of the hanger. In a fluid, practiced motion he gathered the fabric up and put it over her head. She was completely unresisting as he pulled it down the length of her body and he helped her to put her arms in the sleeves.

  “Pull yourself together, Rasa. Elder Wilken’s memory is still with you. You have to call the Elders together so they can formalize your promotion.” He began to pull her through the rooms toward the exit.

  “I’ve already sent them messages. I’m waiting for them to reply so we can begin. I came back here to get dressed, but it all hit me, and I seemed to have fallen apart. Thank you for helping me, Riccan. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  He could see sense returning to her eyes as she told him what had already been done. It was a relief to hear things had already been set in motion. He personally dreaded the day when her actions would be his own at his father’s passing.

  “I’ll walk with you to the Gate room,” Riccan announced. He kept his hand on her elbow to keep her moving.

  As they came back into the public spaces, Rasa’s senses began to sharpen. She had to maintain a sense of peace during the troubling, sorrowful time. The staff expected her to know what to do and they could not see her seeming uncertain and weak. Her spine straightened, and she walked with confidence again.