Between Ascension, page 8
part #9 of Levels of Ascension Series
Excitement at the prospect of getting help soon turned into fear as he came up beside the large vehicle. He had no idea if this person were friendly or not; he was just going to have to hope for the best. Once he got to the front of the vehicle, he looked around him with more than a little confusion. He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice calling out to him.
“Are you okay, mister? It’s freezing out here. Get into the cab and get yourself warmed up! Here, let me get the door for you,” the burly man said as he reached up behind Petre and pulled on a shiny lever. He looked back at Petre expecting immediate compliance.
Realizing belatedly that he should comply, Petre mumbled, “Thanks,” as he stepped up onto the shiny metal step and used a handle on the doorframe to help him up into the high cab. Immediately, he could appreciate the heat coming out of the vents in the dash. He held up his hands in front of it even as the man shut the door behind him. Being so consumed with getting warm, Petre barely registered the man walking around the front of the vehicle and getting into his own seat behind a big circle sticking out of what Petre imagined was the control panel.
Petre was literally shaken from his heat-soaking trance as the man began to drive the semi. The shifting, contorting, and shaking of the cab appalled Petre into wondering if the vehicle were safe. He had been in some poorly maintained telepods, but this took his worry to a whole new level. The noise coming from the front of the vehicle seemed even louder than a racing telepod, which he thought was ridiculous in any event.
He glanced over at the stranger and saw his neutral expression, so he had to assume all was well with the vehicle. There was much he needed to learn about Earth, and this was his first valuable lesson in transportation. Some of the noise instantly went away as the driver turned a knob on the control panel.
The man shifted his gaze from the view of the road as he addressed Petre, “Where are you headed?”
“New York City,” he mumbled.
“You know you’re heading the wrong direction, right?”
“Not really. I’ve never been there, and I got turned around while I was walking.”
“Where’s your vehicle? I didn’t pass anything along the way.”
Having to improvise hastily, Petre gestured toward the hills and said, “I got stuck up there.”
The man looked dubiously toward where Petre had indicated. He was unaware of any driving trails anywhere near. He shrugged indifferently and had to assume the man was suffering from hypothermia. “If you’re set on getting to New York, then I’ll drop you off as close as I can to the bus station, unless, of course, you have other transportation arranged already.”
Petre shook his head. While he did not know what a bus station was, he hoped someone there would know how to get him to his desired destination. Still holding his hands up in front of the warm air vent, Petre was beginning to be able to feel his fingers again. He had no idea how anyone could possibly want to remain living in an area with temperatures so cold.
His body started to relax as the heat settled around him. His eyes closed and he slumped against the window and door frame. Before many more seconds passed, Petre was fast asleep and missed the hour-long journey to Winnipeg.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The women stood in small groups, pretending occupation all the while they kept their covert attention on the house in the center of the village. They were intensely curious about Ozias now that he was staying in Grobin’s former house. Not everyone felt secure with a stranger in their midst even though a vote had been taken allowing him to stay.
“It’s just not right,” Agetha grumbled to Fraya. “What do we really know about him, after all? He doesn’t even have a proper, honorable name.”
Fraya looked over at Agetha and wondered if there were something to what Agetha was saying. She personally thought Ozias was handsome, not to mention old enough to take as a husband. The shortage of eligible men in their community was even more prevalent since they had returned to Tuala.
“Maybe we should suggest he change his name,” Fraya suggested quietly.
Agetha glared at the attractive, young girl for her comment. “He doesn’t belong here, Fraya! We were doing just fine without him!” Thinking about how peaceful her life had become ever since her husband had remained captive with Viceroy Blair, she did not wish to have to answer to any man ever again. She felt protective of Fraya’s innocence and did not want to see her get involved with this stranger who could prove to be more harmful to their community than even Grobin had been.
Their conversation was interrupted when the front door of the house opened, and the man in question stepped out into the daylight. Agetha tore her gaze away from his lean, masculine form and looked over at the girl by her side. The expression she saw on her friend’s face instantly infuriated her with jealousy. In disgust, she threw down the rake she had been barely using, let out a loud sigh, and stomped off to her own home.
Fraya jumped with surprise at Agetha’s poor manners. She blushed prettily and immediately bent to retrieve the abandoned tool. Without looking back over to Ozias, but painfully aware he was probably watching her, she scurried away to hide behind her own house.
Unknown to either of the women, Ozias had been able to overhear their conversation. He had originally planned on going for a walk until the women’s concern changed his mind. Ozias firmly shut the door behind him and walked with purpose to Vinia’s house to find out what she thought about his name. Never before had it occurred to him there might be something socially wrong with his name.
Arriving only seconds after deciding to go, Ozias knocked swiftly on the door. As soon as the door opened, Ozias hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong with my name?”
Vinia’s expression turned puzzled, and she stammered slightly before stepping back into her house and saying, “Come inside.”
Ozias barely cleared the doorframe before he started talking. “I overheard some women saying my name wasn’t honorable. What were they talking about?”
“Oh,” Vinia replied lamely as she shut the door silently. She turned around and rested her back against the wood as she tried to come up with the easiest explanation. “There’s nothing wrong with your name, at least not where you come from. The problem is that you’re in Tuala now and here all of the men’s names end with an ‘n’ unless they’ve lost honor.” She pushed herself away from the support of the door and took several steps across the room to where she could sit at the table.
Vinia gestured for him to sit down with her as she thought about possible solutions to their new dilemma. She watched him carefully to see if she could read his face enough to discern what he was thinking. As he sat next to her, she suddenly felt something click inside her head. She hastily looked away as she realized she was flustered by the idea of having a man inside her house, sitting at her table.
She had told Amanda she wanted to be able to reunite with Nealan as soon as he had recovered from his ordeal. Now she felt as though she were betraying his memory with her lecherous thoughts. Surely, Ozias did not entertain the same ideas about herself, and she could not understand what had suddenly overcome her good judgment.
Returning to the original discussion, she said, “In Tuala, we’re supposed to report any foreigners to the Elders. Usually, the people who come here would be from Earth, and they call them old souls here.” She stopped talking as another realization hit her; Ozias had not lost his memory when he entered Tuala. “I think you’re special, Ozias. More than you’ll ever know, really.” She had to look away again as she felt the same attraction pulling at her when he looked in her eyes.
“Elder Daven already knows I’m here. Doesn’t that take care of your social obligation then?”
“Yes.” She could not remain idle, and she pushed herself away from the table and started to pace the room. “The women did have a point, however. If we don’t do something about your name, then anytime you meet someone from outside the village, they’ll think you’re not honorable. How would you feel about modifying your name…say something like Ozian?”
“Ozian,” he said quietly and slowly, feeling the sound of it on his tongue. “I think I could live with that change.”
“Alright, I’ll be sure to tell everyone in the village what we’ve decided then.” She did not want him to leave and swiftly asked, “Are you hungry? I could make us something to eat.”
“I’m always hungry, but I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”
Gathering elemy, she created two plates of lunch which appeared instantaneously on the table. “No trouble at all.” She sat in her recently vacated chair and smiled proudly at the look of surprise on his face.
“I’d forgotten about you being able to do that!”
“Would you like to say the prayer before we eat?”
Ozian looked uncomfortable as it was not something he practiced for himself.
Vinia saw his expression change and hastily offered, “I can do it if you’d rather.”
“Please. I’d like that.”
Vinia folded her hands on the table, bowed her head with eyes closed, and spoke softly, “Jehoban, we thank you for this food which we are about to receive, and pray that thou will bless it, and us to thy service, in Emmanuen’s name we pray. Amen.”
Ozian smiled at her when she opened her eyes and said, “That was really beautiful. Will you teach that to me?”
“Sure, but I think we should eat first, while it’s still hot.” She picked up her shredded foxl sandwich and dunked it into the bowl of broth.
Ozian chuckled at her response and followed her lead with the food. One day, he hoped he would be able to learn how to create food out of thin air. Somehow, he thought it was going to be a skill which would be difficult to acquire.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ever since arriving back in Tuala, Jena had been experiencing a strange feeling. At first, she simply believed it to be the energy rising from the land itself. Now, as she lay in a pool of sweat in her bed, she knew it was something much more. The nightmares which had plagued her for almost her whole life were more intense than ever. It was almost as if the dream were trying to prepare her for something to come.
As if on cue, Juila entered the room and sprawled out on the bed beside her. “I’m here now,” she whispered as she threw her arm across her sister’s stomach. “It seemed worse tonight.”
“It definitely was worse,” Jena whispered. “The dreams have been less intense until tonight. What do you think made the difference?”
“Probably being back in Tuala. Don’t worry about it. I’ll stay here for the rest of the night. You won’t be alone.” Juila thrust her arm up under the pillow to raise her head a little higher as she prepared herself to sleep again.
Jena knew exactly when her sister fell asleep. She counted the breaths as Juila took them, hoping the monotony of it all would bore her back to sleep. Unfortunately, the rising sun found her still awake as she tried to make sense of the disturbing dreams. Trying not to wake Juila, she wiggled out from under her arm and off the edge of the bed.
She freshened up in the bathroom by splashing cold water on her face. Staring at her wet reflection in the mirror, she could see the dark circles under her eyes. She used the smallest amount of elemy to revitalize her body and watched with pleasure as the darkness seemed to seep away. This was hardly the first time she had used this unorthodox method to make it through a day after a bad night. She wished she could say it would be her last, but she knew that to be untrue as long as she still had to live through what the dreams were showing her.
Her thoughts must have woken up Juila since she was now sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her to return.
“Grandma Nena said we could go to Grandpa Daven’s office to read through the books in his library. She said there were some really old ones in there.” Juila knew how much her sister loved to read and hoped the offer would help her mind to relax. She could feel the turmoil in her own mind and knew it was even worse for her sister. She wished she could trade places with her so she would sleep better. It was hard to imagine they would have to wait for another two anons before the dreams would finally end.
Smiling at her sister’s attempt to help her, she smiled and answered, “I can’t wait to see what he’s got. I’m pretty sure we already read everything in the library at Acaim.”
“To be sure,” Juila agreed as she stood up and stretched, joints cracking, and sighing deeply. “Are you ready?” She led the way to the door, planning on stopping by her own bedroom to put on a robe before heading downstairs.
Jena grabbed her own robe off of the chair next to the door as she followed her sister. She pulled it on as she walked across the hall and into Juila’s room, which was identical to her own. Maybe she could find something of use inside the books downstairs which could help her figure out her dreams.
They walked around the office several times before pulling several volumes from the shelf. Jena was exhilarated to find several topics which she had read very little about. Even Juila had discovered a couple of books which she seemed interested in reading.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shutting his folder with more force than necessary, Dr. Gascon ripped the glasses off of his face and pinched the bridge of his nose to try to ease the headache behind his eyes. There had to be something he was missing in these records; something which would give him the breakthrough he needed in order to submit his case study to his peers. It had been far too long since he had begun this research and told his colleagues about it, and they were pressing him for answers he was unable to provide with solid proof.
If only he had a couple more cases in which to provide supporting documentation. This line of thinking only angered him more because he had two more cases he should have been able to pursue: Nealand Taivas and Amanda Covington. Both of them had slipped through his fingers and were now firmly out of his reach. Which led him to another line of thinking entirely.
He pulled the latest envelope of pictures and reports from out of the locked top drawer of his massive desk. There had to be something going on at the Stel house. Too many people were seen coming away from the property when only very few ever actually entered. Maybe he should consider hiring another investigator to see if there truly were a second, perhaps secret, entrance to the property.
After rifling through the various photographs, he held the clearest picture of Amanda up in front of him and simply stared at her. “What are you keeping from me,” he asked out loud. “One day I will have you in my care, and you will answer all of my questions.”
The phone buzzed annoyingly. Dr. Gascon stuffed the investigative reports back into the envelope before he picked up the receiver. “What?!”
“Your three o’clock appointment is waiting for you, Dr. Gascon.” The receptionist did not wait for an answer before she clicked off the line. She had enough experience to know when the doctor was not feeling particularly nice, and she would rather not hear any of his snide comments.
Thinking about how much trouble it would be to replace his impertinent secretary, Dr. Gascon gathered the files he would need and shoved them in his briefcase. He locked his desk up and then stomped across the large office. Once he got within earshot of his secretary, he said, “You’re fired!” Without missing a beat, he continued on his way to the next patient.
Chapter Twelve
ELDER DAVEN FOUND the girls studying in his office and it still warmed his heart to know these brilliant young women were his flesh and blood. He had seen them on several occasions throughout the anons when he had consulted with Jehoban. He knew Jehoban was extremely proud of their accomplishments and it stroked his ego to know now who the girls were to him. For so many anons, he and his wife had lamented the lack of grandchildren from their only son. He could never have anticipated how well things would have turned out.
“It looks as though you’ve both found books of interest,” he announced as he stepped through the doorway into his office.
As one, both girls looked up at him and smiled the exact same smile. Jena abandoned her seat and rushed over to hug her grandfather and say, “Good morning, Grandpa. You have some great books here!” With her greeting finished, she returned to her seat and asked, “What do you have planned today?”
“Unfortunately, I have a healing to attend. The parties were unable to leave their property, so I’m going to be gone for most of the morning unless the ailment cannot be contained quickly, then I’ll be gone until dinner.” He stopped behind Jena’s chair and glanced over to see what she had picked out to read. He was more than a little surprised to see the volumes were of the most complicated subject matter he owned. With raised eyebrows, he shifted his gaze to inspect Juila’s choices and found her to be reading equally challenging material. “Promise me you won’t spend the entire day cooped up in here. These books aren’t going anywhere so you should enjoy the grounds and get some fresh air.”
Juila grinned broadly and assured him, “I’ll be sure to pry Jena away. She does tend to forget to eat when she finds a book she hasn’t read before.”
He placed his palm on the top of Juila’s head and said, “That’s my girl.” With more than a little reluctance he moved away from his grandchildren, gathered the supplies he would need for his day, and sighed with the idea of leaving so soon after finally getting the girls to come and visit. Daven kissed each girl on the top of her head as he passed behind them and said, “I’ll do everything I can to make this short, so I can get back home. Have a great day!”
“You too, Grandpa,” the girls spoke in unison.
