Ascension (40 page)

“Of course, how could I forget? But I thought that was all Alu's doing.”

“The illusion, yes,” said Monica. “But the voice… you see I shared a special bond with my sister, a bond that has been passed on to you.”

“I don't understand,” Katherine said. But as Monica glanced over at her, she could tell that Katherine had learned what had likely been left out of Alu's illusory re-enactment.

They both heard Elizabeth speak telepathically with Monica, using their celestial energies.

You must let me do this,
she had said to Monica, trapped within Namtar's skeletal palm.
It is the only way I can save you.

It never got any easier for Monica to reflect on this final memory of her sister. She still she'd lost a substantial part of her own being.

I refuse to let you sacrifice yourself for my sake
, Monica had responded telepathically. She was adamant that she would be the only one to die if given the choice. But Elizabeth had acted quickly, taking any choice away from her.

Monica, I've built my celestial energy up to its limit. It'll take the smallest of flashes to ignite my element to finally consume this evil spirit,
Elizabeth had argued.
You must do it. We cannot afford to lose here.

Monica briefly glanced over at Katherine. With tears running down her cheeks and her shoulders hunched, Katherine looked on as the younger version of Monica threw the plasma grenade.

My baby daughter, please watch over her,
Elizabeth had said to Monica, before both she and the wraith were engulfed in the blast.
I pray she grows up within a world that's free of the Corrupted.

Then, silence swept across the precipice, and Monica ended the sharing of her memories. Now she and Katherine returned to the physical plane – back in the medical wing.

“Now you know the truth,” she said, gazing thoughtfully on the young Indigo, anticipating her response.

But Katherine had fallen silent. With her face puckered, unblinking, Katherine stared down at the tiled floor while dabbing with her sleeve at the tears she shed.

She looked back at her. “Do you mean to tell me an Indigo can read the minds of others? If so, how did you not know Justin's motives? Or of the many attacks made by those Corrupted? Could you possibly have prevented everything that has gone wrong from happening?”

“I can't just read anyone's mind, nor can I communicate with them telepathically,” Monica offered. “As I said before, such things can only be done with whom I have a special bond. A bond like that shared between siblings or with a guardian. I soon learned of a way to communicate with you. You are my sister's daughter, of my blood. We are family you and I, and no bond is more special.”

She could see that Katherine was still trying to hide her tears. “I'm tired of crying,” said Katherine, sniffling. “But I'm also ready to go home.”

Monica placed a comforting arm around her. “Once you recover. I guess it won't be long before I'll need to start packing.”

Leaving Katherine to get some rest, and giving her time to process what she'd learned, Monica left the room and headed down the medical wings' main corridor.

“How is she?” Walter asked, as he glided towards her in his wheelchair. “Am I right in assuming she has finally awoken?”

“She has. Good morning Senator, how are you feeling?”

Margaret grunted, trudging along at the director's side. “Aside from Walter pressuring me to lay off the cigars…, I can't really complain.”

“And how is David holding up since I last saw him?”

“He's reacted quite well so far to the treatment. He should be back on his feet within the next few days,” said Walter, flicking through the pages of an old tome; a memento that had belonged to his late guardian. “Although that masked Corrupted certainly caused him significant distress. Has Katherine said anything to you?”

“She has many questions,” Monica replied. “She's experienced a lot over a short period of time. How are the boy's coping? I've been meaning to visit them.”

He tracked his finger across a page within the tome. “They'll also make a full recovery. They were afflicted with a rare poison. But I find healing physical symptoms far less arduous than afflictions of the mind and heart. There is however, one other thing I wish to discuss with you – about my succession.”

The very suggestion of stepping down now came to her as a surprise, but she remembered Walter's succession had been raised once before. The day had come where he was ready for her to assume top command of the organisation's hierarchy.

I am not getting any younger, and more prone now to make mistakes.
This he'd told her before, but that had been five years ago.

Although in truth, she believed he wanted more time mainly to focus on his scientific and medical endeavours. But she had noticed too that the director had grown frailer with each passing engagement.

He frowned. “I made a significant number of misjudgements throughout this recent conflict. It is high time this organisation had someone younger to lead it; someone with fresh ideas and schemes to tackle this looming threat.”

“I'm happy to discuss this at another time,” she said, knowing full well the burden that came with such a position.

Monica now had to consider what Katherine needed also, as the young Indigo had openly expressed of her desire to return home. Monica also believed that Katherine should be given this option, for she was nearing her final year at Anabasis High.

“Regarding your niece,” Walter reminded her as he was leaving. “There is still a lot we need to discuss.”

Monica assumed it'd me more of the same; for Walter had already expressed reservations about guaranteeing Katherine's safety if she went back to live at eleven Delphi Crescent, and Monica agreed with him on that front. But the more she'd mulled it over, the clearer it became that the organisation needed to establish a strong relationship of trust with this young Indigo if it wished to bring her fully into the fold. She also realised by having an Indigo placed nearer to Anabasis High, she would be able to provide assistance more quickly, if the need were to arise, and aid its students. As for the young Indigo's safety: the world had changed, and Monica concluded that no one was safe.

“I can see that you're using this time wisely to recover,” said Monica, entering the room where Blake and Lance were being treated. “I suppose it goes without saying you must be feeling better.”

Blake sneered back at her; he was in the middle of playing a video game. “Even the greatest minds must take the time to unwind.”

She claimed a seat at Lance's bedside. Heavily bandaged from head to toe, the young operative lay there gazing up at an overhead television screen.

“How's Katherine?” He asked.

“She'll be up and about in no time. You're the one we've been more concerned about.”

“How many did we lose? How many operatives were hurt because of what I did?” He questioned.

“There are a few, much like yourself, that were severely injured,” she responded. “But if it hadn't been for what you did, none of us would have survived.”

He grimaced beneath the bandages. “I can't even remember what happened. I only recall the moment that I let it all go, relinquishing my energy: bringing it to the surface. I've never been so scared, Monica. Terrified I might kill my own comrades, or kill my own brother…”

Even Monica had feared this, for he'd released of his celestial element, and a twisting vortex of electricity had grown in the sky, consuming the winged Corrupted and striking many operatives in their resilient uniforms. Not since Elizabeth had she witnessed such raw power from one who'd not formed a celestial bond, and her sister's power nearly rivalled that of her own.

“You might have, you could have,” she said. “But you didn't. And you should be commended for your bravery.”

“What's our next course of action?”

“I intend to move in to eleven Delphi Crescent,” she replied. “And once we are healthy, as an organisation again, it will be time to hunt down this ‘lord of shadows. It would seem we have unfinished business.”

Chapter 32

“Thanks a heap for helping me out with fixing my wheels,” Katherine heard Albert say upon entering the garage. “I'm still not sure how she got so badly damaged in the first place, but I think what you've done is a clear improvement upon even my own modifications.”

Aleisha grimaced, putting some muscle into her work beneath the truck. “Happy to help, I'll even admit that you must have had her looking in fairly good shape before this latest earthquake struck. Your modifications are fairly good.”

“I'm just not really sure how I'll be able to pay you,” said Albert, passing her down a spanner.

Aleisha fought to tighten an additional bolt. “You needn't worry about it. Like I said before, this one is on me. I actually enjoy this sort of thing.”

That; and it was Blake's fault the truck was so badly damaged in the first place,
Katherine remembered, observing Aleisha's efforts.

Albert beamed, tapping at the vehicle's side. “Katherine, your friend here really knows her trucks. I really owe you one for recommending her to me.”

“Don't mention it,” Katherine said, before making her way out of the garage and toward the front gate. “Besides, my aunt insisted.”

She walked along eleven Delphi Crescent toward the nearest bus stop, often glancing back half expecting her father's worn and beaten green jeep to rumble up beside her, and pull in next to the curb. She also envisioned how she would likely react, stopping – giving her dad a dirty look, then continuing to walk away in defiance. She'd then likely ignore the deafening honk of the jeep's horn that would inevitably follow, or ignore Duncan yelling out for her to climb aboard. But for the first time in many years, she found herself longing for that jeep to arrive, for her father to call out her name, and insist she stop being so stubborn.

Once the bus eventually arrived, she climbed up its steps and claimed a vacant seat toward the rear. With the bus lurching forward, she looked out the back window, searching for any sign of the green jeep in pursuit.

As the bus arrived outside Anabasis High, she remembered how she'd braced herself in anticipation of jeers and mocking gestures that would likely follow after her father had parked. But there was nothing. No silly jokes made at her expense, no cause for reddened cheeks as her father called out for her to pay attention in class, or to remember how important she was to him. Instead, as she slowly walked toward the school's atrium, many students she passed offered their condolences for her loss. Even Sadie Cassell: having fully recovered from the winged Corrupted's attack, tried to offer her comfort and asked if there was anything she could do to help. Although the students were kind, Katherine would have given anything for it to be a normal day; where she would storm off embarrassed with her father, where she would face Albert and company's constant ridicule.

“Kat, I just wanted to say…,” she heard Naomi call out, as she headed for her locker. “I'm so sorry.”

“Thanks,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

Naomi hugged her. “I'm fine. Although I can hardly remember what happened after the party on Saturday night. My folks grounded me for two weeks, along with a never-ending lecture about the dangers of drinking. They also told me to ask if you'd like to stay with us for a while.”

She smiled, taking her history book out her locker. “That's very kind of them, but my aunt has recently moved in with me.”

Naomi tilted her head to one side. “Your aunt?”

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Ms Hawthorne is my aunt,” she said through an awkward grin, before trundling off to class. “As it turns out, the people who teased me over our noticeable resemblance were right.”

When they entered the classroom, she found Monica already standing before the whiteboard with a marker in her hand.

“Make sure you keep an eye on the time as we'll need to leave fairly early,” Monica whispered when she passed.

Katherine nodded and glanced down at her new wrist communicator.

“That watch looks a lot like the one Blake wears,” said Naomi, as they claimed of seats toward the middle of the classroom. “Where do they sell them? I thought I might get one.”

Perhaps it'll only be a matter of time before you do,”
Katherine thought to herself.

“If you don't mind Naomi; I'd like to begin my lesson,” Monica grumbled, sketching something upon the whiteboard that vaguely resembled a pyramid. “Where's a ruler when you need one…?”

Katherine passed the teacher a ruler from her backpack. “Here Ms Hawthorne…, by the way, when are we taking the test on ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia?”

At that moment, she felt so many eyes about the classroom drawn to her, accompanied with expressions from those in disbelief. Monica had already postponed the test once before, and Katherine had worked hard with what little time she had during her recovery. As far as the test was concerned, she now only wanted to be done with it.

Monica smiled, relieving of many a student's fears. “I've decided to postpone it until next week. So you should have plenty of time to re-familiarize yourselves with the content of our lessons to date.”

Rather than celebrate this decision, and as many of the remaining students stared at her with confusion, she waited.

Once the bell rang, and the classroom had largely emptied, she quietly arose from her desk and approached Monica at the front of the classroom.

“Do you think, unless you have to teach next period, that we can leave for the funeral earlier than we initially planned?”

“It shouldn't be a problem,” Monica replied, collecting her handbag. “I'm a bit surprised you even showed up for class in the first place. I said you could have the morning off.”