A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe Read Online Free Page A

initial triage, but it’s not being
labeled an emergency,” he said. “No one else was called in. We may
be going this one alone, the four of us.”
    She frowned at him. “Seriously? A ritual
like that?”
    Nick shook his head and shrugged; he wasn’t
happy about the situation either. He cleared his throat and rubbed
at eyes with the heels of his hand. “Sheila and I just came from
downtown for initial recon,” he continued. “The cloud is spiritual
bleedover from an awakening ritual, that much we already know,” he
said. “Low levels are harmless. I’ve seen it before, down in South
City, when the Shenaihu have their own rituals now and again. At
this level, though? We’re damn lucky it wasn’t ground level. We’d
have had a shitload of casualties.”
    Poe lit up a cigarette, bemused. “Granted,
it should be harmless, at least for us, anyway. Spiritual
bleedover dissipates within the hour, so this should be gone by
morning.” He heard the faint echo of squealing tires navigating a
parking garage switchback, and glanced over his shoulder. “Is that
Sheila I hear?”
    “Yeah…we’re clocked out and going home,” he
said. “We gave Farraway our report, you two were copied. There are
witnesses in there who swear they recognized an energy disturbance
before the blast. Tuned to Mendaihu essence.”
    Caren winced. “That can’t be right. They
wouldn’t pull something like this. A proper awakening ritual,
sure…but never something this catastrophic.”
    “That’s what we’re all thinking,” he said,
“but that's what we're up against here. Either a renegade Mendaihu,
or someone's decided to start something big . And
dangerous.”
    He began to say something else, but the
revving engine of a car coming up behind them drowned him out. A
white unmarked patrol car pulled up alongside them, window sliding
down and a mass of curly reddish brown hair popping out. Sheila
leaned out and waved, an icy smile on her lips and fire in her dark
brown eyes. She was not exactly in the best of moods. “Welcome
back, you two,” she said. “Farraway’s inside waiting. Nick fill you
in?”
    Caren nodded. “Hope you two know a back way
back to Glover Court. Traffic’s real sa’im rhade towards
downtown.”
    Sheila smiled at her and winked. “You know
me, I find a way.” She waved at her partner and opened up the
passenger side door. “Let’s go, Nick. Time to get the hell out of
here.”
    Nick hurriedly said his goodbyes and climbed
in. Poe hummed and took a drag from his cigarette, watching the car
pull away and snake around the last switchback. “Interesting,” he
said once they were gone.
    Caren caught the expression on his face—he
was scowling. “Mendaihu?” she ventured.
    Poe snuffed out the cigarette on the
pavement. “Yeah.”
    She did not say anything more about it. She
had expected a renegade nuhm’ndah to be behind this, not the
Mendaihu. She nudged him towards the entry elevator. “Come on,
let’s get this over with. We won’t find answers down here.”
    They took the main elevator up to the fourth
floor, still unsettled by the quietness. Neither said anything, but
it was just as well, because Caren’s mind was already running in
several directions, full of unanswered questions. Never mind asking
who was behind it…what was their motive? Why an awakening ritual,
and why now? Who were they awakening, and why? Was there someone in
particular they were aiming for? Were they aware of the strength of
ritual, and how many potential Mendaihu they may have affected? And
why would a Mendaihu willingly perform a ritual of such magnitude?
Was it to goad the Shenaihu into acting in kind? And if so, how
would that unfold? She shook her head and forced herself to stop
before she went crazy. The answers would come in due time.
    “I’m getting a headache already,” Poe said,
cutting the silence, apparently reading her thoughts as the
elevator doors slid open. His brow was a deep scowl, his focus not
on