Ascension (29 page)

Once Blake had finally left them, Katherine pressed forward, arduously flipping through a large quantity of the tome's pages. Her guardian had also decided to get a closer look, as he pounced up on a free chair next to her and proceeded to scan between pages for anything useful.

“Whether the records of history are indeed fact, fiction, or outside the scope of humankind's understanding; what those in the past claimed to have witnessed, may possess insight into how to vanquish these Corrupted here today,” said Anzu, supporting her efforts.

“There must be something here we can draw upon. If I recall, the earthen Corrupted spoke of Namtar's Reaper?”

“He has many Corrupted which carry out his bidding,” said Anzu. “As I understand it, those who hold a place in his throne room, or control a segment of his domain, have risen to the status of a Reaper.”

“When that Corrupted pair first attacked us, didn't they refer to one another as brother and sister…,” she mumbled, frantically sifting through the tome's pages. “The twins! I remember now. I learned about them when I first read this book.”

As she sifted through the pages, she soon came to a dark and graphic illustration.

She grinned back at Anzu. “Look familiar?”

The dark and graphic illustration depicted a sibling pair – a gaunt figure donning a pale mask of porcelain, and his sister enshrouded in a sea of insects.

Anzu turned to her. “You have this book at home?”

“Yeah, and as a kid it's about the only book I've read multiple times. It was mainly the illustrations that caught my attention. But it was through this book, and a sketching my mother had left me, that I've taken up such an interest in the arts.”

She casually flicked back through the tome and toward its front. Then she stopped at the page she'd wanted to find, she raised the tome for Anzu to get a better view. At the page's centre, there was an illustration of the guardian.

He gasped, his golden eyes gazing intently at the image. “It's a picture of me?”

She flipped back through the pages until she reached those depicting of the sibling pair. She then read: “Alu, a demon conceived in shadow, which feeds upon the dreams and nightmares of mere mortals. Lilith, the demon who feeds on what her swarm consumes. Well, they both fit the description of what we've witnessed.”

Hours had passed since she'd first begun her concentrated research into all she could find about the Corrupted pair. She toiled away in the library with the gryphon at her side, shuffling between books and articles for whatever might help to broaden her limited understanding about what threatened this organisation. Once she felt reasonably satisfied with what she'd found pertaining to the twins, she sought to shift her attention to learning more about the wraith of Atlantis, and to this mysterious winged Corrupted.

When it came to the wraith of Atlantis, she couldn't help but dwell on all those terrified glances shared between the organisation's operatives, with any mention of its true name. She wondered why they were so afraid of him. Certainly the images depicting of him in what few texts she found, or the haunting figure she'd once seen in her dreams, were sufficient to establish why such a being might be feared. But she believed the calibre of those operatives in service to this organisation were not the kind of people to be scared off by a mere illustration.

As she read more about Namtar, she spent more time focusing on the histories of Seth. It didn't take her long to become entirely immersed in the mythology surrounding this god of chaos: his succession in the underworld after killing and disposing of Osiris, his position in defence of Ra the sun god, aboard his night barque, his seemingly endless conflict with Horus, and his eventual demonization. The more she thought about it, the more she began to conclude that there were noticeable similarities between Seth and this Namtar. If Namtar truly was the lord of shadows, it was curious that the wraith of Atlantis also shared Seth's element.

“Katherine,” she heard Walter boom, as he rolled into the library accompanied by a number of operatives. “You and Anzu are to follow me.”

“What's happened?” She asked, nervous that she might have done something wrong being here in the library.

“Quickly now, I haven't time to explain,” Walter responded, as they marched back along the hallway.

After many twists and turns through the underground facility, she eventually found herself in the projects' vehicle bay. Predictably, and wondering at her misfortune, a sombre Blake and Kulullu already sat inside the same utility she was directed to. But at least Lance was also present, and for that she was thankful.

In the utility, and heading out through the tunnel, she asked why they'd suddenly been ordered to mobilize. But what she then learned was more distressing than she'd dare to admit.

“It was Justin, he's Namtar's Indigo,” Lance told her. “He, and the same two Corrupted who attacked you and Anzu, has taken both the Senator and Monica as captives.”

“What about Officer's Harkin and Spears?”

“They let them and I go free…, he replied. “But there's no telling what they'll do with Monica and the Senator…”

It was at this moment she felt that her worst fear had been realized. For she could think of no logical reason that Lance would lie, and now she knew the organization's suspicions had proven true. Feelings of guilt soon followed, as she toiled with this notion that had she been there, perhaps she could have made a difference. She thought that if she'd been allowed to accompany them, she might have been able to get through to Justin, and made him see the folly in associating with such a wretched creature. But as they drew nearer to the city, she felt that Justin had played her for a fool. This young man had come into her life, seduced her to fall for his good looks, and had then colluded with those who had brought about her father's untimely demise. She didn't know if he was the instigator, or just another of Namtar's followers, but she now came to expect the worst.

“Head for Anabasis High,” Walter's voice echoed through the vehicle's interior. “We will assemble outside the school grounds.”

“Why there?” She asked Lance.

He looked back at her apprehensively. “That is where he told us we'd find them.”

“So we're walking directly into a trap,” Blake responded, in his usual obnoxious and bragging manner.

She wondered if Blake had ever experienced what it felt like to be afraid. Or if he'd ever become aware of his own superiority complex. But she wasn't entirely sure if he was capable of feeling anything.

For Katherine, it seemed like an eternity to reach Anabasis High. During this time, she thought about how much had changed in the space of a few days, and about how her feelings of devotion for Justin were now slowly being replaced with spite. The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt. Regardless of the supposed hypocrisy in doing so, she decided to try and pry within Anzu's thoughts, hoping to find some insight into how he'd dealt with such pent-up feelings. For she remembered that he too had lost his mother to the Corrupted, and surely he'd have some experience with how one should approach such strong emotions.

“There is no easy answer, but we cannot allow any feelings to cloud our own judgment,” the guardian had told her, his golden eyes fixed on her own. “I believe it's necessary to think on such things with clarity. What's most important is that we save Monica and the Senator.”

With the utility drawing closer to Anabasis High, she watched as the other's prepared thoroughly in anticipation of what appeared to be an inevitable, looming conflict. They armed themselves; fastening protective armour, strapping ammunition chains across their torso's, pocketing plasma grenades, and loading the cartridge chambers of their revolvers.

“Lance, is there any way I could receive some last minute training on how to use this equipment?” She questioned, hoping to also better prepare herself for what might unfold.

“I wouldn't worry,” he asserted, as he busily readied himself for what awaited. “We don't expect you to use any of the equipment at this early stage of your training.”

“Honestly, I won't be using any of it if I can help it. But I've seen what those grenades in particular can do, and I don't want to go up against any Corrupted at a disadvantage.”

Blake frowned. “Plasma grenades are not a toy. And any training is going to take longer than the little time we have left.”

With her proposition failing to sway Lance, and also knowing that in this case Blake was probably right, she'd little choice but to make do with what she had already come to learn.

Once the utility had come to a halt, and had pulled up outside the school's grounds, all the operatives poured out and moved to secure the school's perimeter. As both she and Anzu slowly sought to exit, she noticed Walter roll up toward the back of the utility.

“Blake and Kulullu, this is the moment we've anticipated would one day arrive,” he proceeded to address them, the pair having left the utility only moments prior to both Katherine and Anzu.

“All the countless hours of study, the rigorous training sessions, and the many sleepless nights in deep meditation,” he continued. “All of it has led to this point. You must do what the founding members of the ‘
Project'
could not, and rid the world of all Corrupted. Our future is in your hands.”

Blake and Kulullu simply nodded in response. She looked on as they hurried in pursuit of the other operatives who had already made their way across the school's grounds, and toward the blocks of classrooms.

She then stepped forward, Anzu following closely at her side, eager for the project's director to address them in a similar fashion.

“Katherine and Anzu, both of you are to remain here with me.”

She gasped in disbelief. “But sir…, we can help. This is what both Anzu and I have trained so hard for…”

“You've been with the organisation less than a week. You both have a long way to go before you're ready to face such an objective, and I can't afford to risk it.”

“But we fought those earthen Corrupted in the streets of Anabasis with only a few hours of training under our belts,” she tried to reason. “And although we may not have performed as well as we would have liked, we're now in a different frame of mind as we have had some time to practice.”

“You had Officer Hawthorne by your side throughout that entire ordeal, and she's one of my very best. Katherine, these are not ordinary Corrupted. And if I'd known prior to departure, when we had confronted those earthen Corrupted that Monica intended you be involved in such a mission, I would have forbidden your involvement and have censured her for her lack of judgment.”

Katherine wanted to further argue her point, but it was evident by the stern look on his face and the rigid tone in his voice that he wasn't willing to give her an inch on the subject.

“Lance, are you even fit enough to fight?” She heard him ask, as Lance, the last to leave the utility, hobbled awkwardly forward grasping his side in discomfort.

“Sir, I was cleared by the medical staff,” he responded. “It's just my body hasn't fully recovered from that Corrupted's paralyzing toxins.”

Walter motioned him over. She watched as the weary director examined this young officer through crooked spectacles, and proceeded to quietly recite what sounded to be that of an old incantation.

“I can only alleviate the affliction,” Walter told him. “You will require further treatment.”

“With your permission of course, I will do so once we've rescued both Monica and the Senator.”

“Although I'm reluctant, I'll allow it. We cannot afford to lose here,” Walter responded.

She watched as Lance departed in pursuit of Blake and Kulullu.

Katherine, resigned to the fact that she'd been ordered to stay behind, gazed up at a block of school buildings. On one rooftop, she caught the fleeting glimpse of a Corrupted with wings. She watched as this figure first landed, then pounced downward and through an open window.

She called out to the director. “Sir, there's a –

“I've seen it,” Walter replied, as he peered down at his wrist communicator. “Officer Harkins and officer Spears, both of you are to give pursuit.”

For Katherine, it seemed unfathomable that Walter chose to place Lance, Aleisha, and Gavin at further risk after they'd only just survived the Corrupted's attack inside Anabasis Public. Yet here she stood, a fit and healthy Indigo with a strong and imposing guardian, reserved to the side-lines. She could understand why he might be hesitant, but given what lay before them and given the people the organisation stood to lose, it didn't seem prudent to let Anzu's talents and her own go to waste.

“I understand your frustration, Katherine. I really do,” said Walter. “However, if they're to fail, you and Anzu will be the organisation's last line of defence.”

Chapter 24

To learn how far the mighty have fallen
. Now
if I hadn't sensed it, there would've been no way I'd ever have believed it,
thought Rabisu, as he flew through the early evening skies.

When he'd finished feeding on his prey: those students that attended the party, he had fleetingly sensed the energy of a familiar Corrupted.

“Humbaba…, to think you'd have stooped so low as to contemplate the forming a celestial bond…, he muttered beneath his breath.

His thoughts then lingered on the one girl who had got away. She had fled on foot, running along the street in the middle of the night as he'd pursued her. He wasn't sure that this young woman had yet ascended, but she would certainly have proven a satisfying source of energy nonetheless. But to smell the scent of an earthen Corrupted; and a former Reaper no less that'd at one point occupied lord Namtar's throne room, came to him as quite a shock. He knew little of Humbaba – his motivations, and his power, and he'd little intention to needlessly tangle with another Corrupted who had once possessed such a prestigious title. For Rabisu, who'd now extracted a sufficient quantity of energy from his many victims, preferred to test his newfound strength on a Corrupted whom he deeply resented.