Redemption (The Alliance Series Book 1) (20 page)

              "You came to me, you raced across the U.S. to get here, but I needed you to get to Peotr’s. I had to make sure you were weakened, and in need of help, I gambled that you would seek out Stragnoff’s help and you did not disappoint. I had Simmons attack near where we knew Stragnoff was located. Then all we had to do was wait. You performed perfectly. After leaving Peotrs, Simmons went off on his own. He had a bone to pick with you I think. You shot him did you not? I thought so."

              "He knew about the pistol and figured he could get even with you and still get me what I needed. Everything else was easy. You called me and now here we are. You, unable to do anything, having brought me the one thing that had been stopping us from completing our objective, finding the whereabouts of Peotr Stragnoff’s stronghold. With that tracking gem I am going to gather my forces and in five days remove a big pain in the ass. I can't thank you enough John, once again you performed admirably." the Col. finished.

              He walked over to me and reached out, pulling the gemstone from the handle of my pistol. My grip was so strong he wouldn't have been able to pry it loose without releasing me totally. He took the gem and put it in his pocket, calmly walking back to the rear lockers.

              No! It could not be true! The Col. had used me my entire life! Everything I have done was based on a lie. I was influenced to be a defender of the innocent. I was tricked.

              I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe. I was consumed with rage. I had been fooled, manipulated at such a fundamental level. It rocked me to my core. I had never felt such despair. All I could think of was my memories of the Col. All the times he made me feel proud, or admiration for him. All the times I did something to gain his approval flashed before me. I felt every emotion that those memories inspired. LIES! Every emotion I had felt had been a lie.

              Influencers powers came from their ability to enhance or manipulate an emotion or thought you already had, making it more of what it was, that meant I had felt those things, only they had been manipulated and made into a lie.

              Time seemed to stop. The Col. moved in slow motion, he reached into his suit, slowly pulling out the sister pistol to the one I had. Memories kept flashing in front of me.

              My mind, now understanding what had been done to me, kept bringing up all the moments that were tinged with the Cols. influencing. One memory was especially vivid. This one, unlike the others, had no taint of influence. It was not tampered with. It was of the time the Col. helped me figure out how to truly control my energy, he explained....

              "That is all very true, but magic is different than remembering numbers or understanding the best way to attack an enemy position. Sometimes you have to use your imagination, then shape it with your will and make it what you want." He said.

              "Magic is more fluid than facts and figures, it's about the ebb and flow of energy, it's all around us and in everything we see. Most of the time you never realize it is even there. Atoms for example, are everywhere, make up everything, yet through discipline and application we can take just one and create more destruction than man has ever dreamed of, power aircraft carriers and submarines for hundreds of years. You have to reach beyond what you think you can do and tap into what you feel you can do. You have to truly believe it will happen then make it happen." He finished.

              I focused on that memory. He had been right. I began to use the same emotions that his influencing had created, I seized on them, channeling the raw energy those emotions provided.

              I pushed them into my limbs, driving the energy into my arms, legs and hands, forcing the emotional energy to replace and push out the control the Col. had over me.

              I kept pushing until I thought I was going to explode, and then I blinked! A drop of sweat had dropped into my eye and I blinked. The Col. saw this and a look of worry came over his face.

              In the same instant he leveled his weapon on me, I willed my finger to pull the trigger and to my utter amazement, it obeyed!

              The Desert Eagles’ blast was like a tidal wave of sound; the Col. dropped down and grabbed at his face. I saw blood welling from between his fingers. The hold he had on both Nathan and me ended in a rush.

              I fell to the floor barely able to bring my arm up to fire another round. The Col. saw me and scrambled for the door. I barely got off another shot. I was too tired, too weak, and missed.

              The Col. escaped through the facility. I kept the gun trained on the door for as long as I could. It felt like forever.

              My arm wobbled wildly and I could no longer hold it. Everything I had been holding back rushed over me like a wave. The feelings of betrayal and anguish fell on me like an anvil. The pain and betrayal I felt almost made it impossible to move. I started feeling detached. I felt as though I was outside of the situation. Almost like an out of body experience. My awareness of events came and went, as if I was just an observer. I had no will to move or do anything.

              I vaguely remember the sound of helicopters blades and then the distinct noise of them leaving. Nathan appeared in my vision, worry and concern warring on his face.

              He got me up and carried me out of the sawmill. I remember the sounds of driving, the engine and whirl of the wind.

              At one point, I remember Nathan had pulled over to the side of the road and had placed my head in his lap. He was sitting cross-legged and chanting something I couldn't recognize, then more driving. Events played out in flashes of momentary understanding. I felt disjointed, unconnected to the world around me. I was injured, in a way I didn’t understand, and kept fading in and out of consciousness.

              The day went to night and all I remember was darkness. As the sun began to lighten up the sky I remember stopping, then voices discussing something important.

              I heard Nathan pleading with someone.

              "We have to get him in, he has to go on a spirit walk, I fear it's the only way." He argued

              "That road is only for the People, he is not one of us." Said another.

              "I have chosen him as my tribesman, he has acted as my tribe for years, if he is not worthy I am not worthy." Nathan said with authority.

              The other speaker paused for a minute contemplating. Then, "Fine, but his path is unknown, what happens is on your hands. Take him, prepare him. We will begin at sundown."

              I remember being carried again, then being stripped of my clothes and bathed. Garments were put on me and I was taken to a small room with a fire in the middle.

              Nathan sat on the other side and I could hear chanting, strange sounds that seemed foreign but at the same time familiar.

              The fire slowly burned and Nathan placed something on it that caused the flames to die and the coals to glow. The room quickly filled with smoke. Soon, I could no longer see Nathan.

              Time began to grow tenuous. I have no idea how long I sat there. I began to see something glowing through the smoke. Out of the gloom the faint light stretched and elongated becoming a path.

              The path radiated warmth. I rose up and began to walk along the path. I was drawn to it. I moved along the glow, stopped and looked back. I was shocked to see my body sitting with my legs crossed. My eyes were closed and I was breathing in a deep but steady rhythm. I was scared and almost began to turn back toward my body. I felt more than heard a voice. It was full of power but warmth.

              "Come, John. Your path lies ahead."

              I felt a tug, dragging me towards the path. I might have gone back had I really focused. For some reason I just didn't feel like exerting that much effort. I resumed my movement along the path. I had the distinct impression that I was going up.

              Every few moments there was a flash in the smoke, eerily similar to the flashes of lightning in a thunderstorm.

              Eventually, the path led to an open area. The floor was still illuminated and showed a circular space whose dimensions were hard to define.

              I began to see someone walking towards me through the smoke, or maybe clouds.

              A figures’ silhouette slowly became clearer and I could tell the person was a woman. As she passed the threshold between the clouds and open air, she took my breath away.

              She was almost indescribable. How do you explain the beauty of a thunderclap, or the radiance of a flash of lightning?

              She stood looking at me. Her hair was dark black. Like the deepest night sky. It seemed to flow with the movement of a breeze that I did not feel. When it moved there appeared to be spots of radiance that looked like stars against a pitch-black night.

              She had strong features, but still beauty shone from her face. Her eyes were a light blue that almost seemed white, and when a flash of light would appear in the clouds her eyes would mimic the illumination. It seemed as if a thunderstorm raged within their depths.

              She had the high cheekbones of the Native Americans. She was tall, taller than any woman I have ever seen. Her bearing was that of royalty, her every movement was one of grace and eloquence. She looked on me and smiled. I was on my knees. I don't know why but it seemed fitting.

              "Where am I?" I heard myself ask.

              "The better question would be, who are you?" She said.

              I knew she was powerful, I could feel the essence of her awesome strength in the clouds that surrounded us, in the lightning that illuminated us and in the thunder that engulfed us. I had an idea about who she might be, seeing as how I was on the Peoples land. I had to be sure.

              "I'm John Adams, who are you?" I asked.

              "I am the Light that burns away the old to usher in the new. I am the Sound that echoes through the heavens. I am the Walker whose feet never touch the ground. I have had many names throughout the vast span of time. The People call me Ani Hyuntikwalaski." Her voice seemed to buzz in my head like electricity.

              Ani Hyuntikwalaski, the Cherokee Great Spirit of Lightning and Thunder, one of the many spirit guides who are said to walk with the spirits of the People when they begin their final journeys. Many are closely associated with animals and others with natural phenomenon. Their true natures and purpose is vague. Most who meet them never talk about it since they are on their paths to somewhere else. Hence, their need for spirit guides to lead them to the next plane.

              It is said that people usually see the spirit guide who is closest in alignment with their nature. Someone who is devious and manipulative may see the Spider, others the Raven. It seemed fitting given my proclivity for magic that I would have a Thunderer. I guessed seeing her here wasn’t exactly stellar news.              

There’s a very good chance that I wouldn't be waking up from this little siesta.

              "I don't understand why I'm here, am I dead?" I asked.

              "You are lost." She answered.

              "Lost? What does that mean?" I asked, confused.

              "Adrift on the winds of fate. Your spirit holds on by a mere tendril, its grasp tenuous."

              "That doesn’t make any sense. I’m not dead but my spirit is adrift?" I asked.

              "Yes." Ani said. "The void your spirit’s absence creates may yet draw in the shadow."

              "Shadow? You mean a demon, possession?" I asked.

              "Yes." She said cryptically.

              "When all was dark there was only shadow. Then came light, the shadow fled from the light, hiding wherever it could, forever in the dark voids, seeking solace in the empty vessels of the lost. The balance must be maintained. Do not be afraid. It is time to see which path your spirit must journey on." 

              I shivered as she closed the distance between us. I was able to look more closely at her eyes and could see that there were thunderstorms raging deep within them. As if the lights weren't being reflected in her eyes but the storms in her eyes were being reflected in the clouds. 

              As she reached out her hand I wanted to back up but I couldn't. I was transfixed by her. Her hand was an inch from my chest as I felt small spikes of electricity leaping the distance between us. She looked deep into my eyes and closed the space between her hand and my chest. Where it made contact I felt a surge of energy.

              It was the feeling you get when you see a storm in all its glory for the first time. When you were a kid and felt like you had more energy than you could contain. She stood there looking at me and said. "So much pain and killing. Everything you believed in you have lost. Yet there is still hope. The core is strong, unyielding, that is good. There is much yet to be done. Strength will be needed."

              "I find you worthy, John Adams. Regain what was lost." She said.