Soul(s) (4 page)

“
Is it more than just a
physical attraction then that draws you to your Venku?” Sariah
asked timidly.

“
Oh, yes! On earth, the
relationship with your Venku would be synonymous with soul-mate.
You’ll fight and train as a pair and you’ll grow stronger the
closer you bond. But you do have a very basic animalistic need that
only your Venku can satisfy. That hunger—I’m sure you already
feel—won’t ever go away but it will lessen in intensity once you
begin feeding it regularly. It won’t be so overwhelming as you age
but you’ll always want each other.”

Sariah nodded, but she looked uneasy. This
was a lot to take in and even though we weren’t on earth anymore,
both of us seemed to be aware of Earth’s social rules more than the
other Auras. I knew being able to live by having sex and drinking
water was not how people normally survived; I wasn’t complaining
though.

“
What about this facility,
where are we?” I asked changing the topic.

“
We’re in the largest Aura
strong hold, Light-City, but this particular building we
transported to, is called Paramount. It’s a town-hall, living
center, research and armory of sorts. All newlies start here and
all fighting-venku typically remain here out of
convenience.”

“
Does everyone on this
plain have the same origins?” I asked.

“
The Aura are peaceful, we
only fight to protect Paramount, ourselves and the outer
territories. We coexist with our environment without needing to
destroy it in order to survive. Banguri are different from us, they
don’t awaken in pairs, they’re primitive and animalistic, and their
whole species can only grow stronger by absorbing other
living-energy. They cannot sustain themselves without
killing.”

“
That’s why they hunt,”
said Sariah.

“
Yes, but they don’t
hunt
us
. There’s
a code: they can only hunt energy in their territories and they can
never hunt or kill any Aura being.”

We had reached the room, stopped walking. I
hadn’t been paying attention to our surroundings as we’d moved. I
felt disoriented and wished I’d paid attention.

“
We’re at the Iris’s
office. Go in and sit. She will be with you in just a moment.” Bem
told us. With a brief wave goodbye, she headed on down the
hall.

There was no door to open, just an archway
and we walked and sat side by side.

“
After we know more about
what’s going on,” I said looking over at Sariah, “we’ll have to
talk about
us.
”

She looked down at her hands not
replying.

“
We’ll set some ground
rules until we get comfortable with our—connection.” I had almost
said attraction, but I had settled on a more platonic word
instead.

“
Rules?” she asked looking
curiously at me.

“
I think we need to take a
moment to adjust to Second-Plane. I know that you remember things
from Earth like I do; we’re not like the other Auras. Which is why
it’s we need to take our time getting to know each
other.”

“
Maybe our impressions of
earth fade with time,” she whispered.

“
Maybe,” I agreed. I
thought back to what I remembered. It all felt like glimpses of
dreams. It was all pleasant. Feelings of being loved, of having
fun, of going places, achieving goals. I wondered if eventually I
would remember more precise details: names, faces,
places.

“
What do you remember?” I
asked.

Her eyes clouded with emotion. “My end,” she
whispered.

“
Your end?” I asked
confused, but before she answered we were greeted by the
Iris.

“
Hello! I’m the Elder in
charge of welcoming the newlies as well as a view other things we
won’t get into quite yet. We are so relieved that you made it here.
Things haven’t been normal lately. Usually there are awakenings
daily, but those seem to be dwindling and when they do happen
there’s a delay with the Atlas. By the time we get there, the
newlies are either dead or we’re outnumbered by Banguri and risk
ascension ourselves. As a result, our growth has become stagnate.
You’re the first newlies in months. Usually we don’t just immerse
you right into our world, but these are concerning
times.”

“
Any idea why this is
happening?” I asked.

“
None.”

I wasn’t buying that answer as truthful.
There had to be a reason and the Auras had to have at least an idea
as to what that reason could be.

“
Have the Banguri been
attacking the cities too or just the newlies?” I asked, pushing for
more information.

“
Just the newlies. Before
now the Banguri have always upheld the Peace Treaty; at least the
Higher-Banguri. The grunts don’t always obey orders, but it’s
generally understood that if need be, we’ll eliminate any
threat.”

“
How does any of this
involve us?” I asked. “Are we expected to fight?”

“
To answer you honestly
Keegan, yes, I expect you to fight. If you weren’t so naturally
good at it, I’d tell you no. There is plenty of non-violent work to
be done within the city, but we need you. Legally I can’t make you
fight, but if you choose to become warriors it would aid us
immensely. Anyway, enough of this! You can’t be expected to make
decisions now. Let me give you a brief tour as I take you to your
flat and then tomorrow I’ll explain your powers and you’ll make
your choice.”

“
Our
flat,”
echoed Sariah.

“
Yes, Paramount houses
everything from the Archives, to living quarters and even training
areas. There are dwellings outside Paramount that are still within
the city too if you decide you don’t like it here.”

Heading forward down the hallway—still in
the same direction away from the transportation dock—I soaked up
the interior design of the building. I like it, it felt somehow
both how old and new; modern and traditional.

“
How big is
Second-Plane?”

“
Infinite,” Iris answered
smiling. “Honestly, we’re not sure. The Atlas covers our peninsula
which is roughly two hundred fifty thousand, four hundred and
ninety three miles. Some Drifters—Aura that live off the grid—tell
legends of other cities such as ours but we’ve never sought them
out. We’re a pretty content people and life has been very good,
until recently.”

“
If things are getting so
dangerous, you might want to consider seeking aid from those other
Aura cities,” I suggested.

“
If it comes down to it,
we just might,” agreed Iris.

“
If you wait too long,”
added Sariah, “it’ll be too late.”

“
Perhaps, but it is not up
to me,” Iris explained with a tired smile. “To our left is the
aquarium which has multiple pools with varying temperatures,
styles, including the Caves—which are incredibly fun, if you like
diving. To the right are the Archives everything we know about
ourselves, Second-Plane and First-Plane is all there and straight
ahead is the foyer to the flats.”

Sariah caught her breath and I followed her
gaze upwards.

07: SARIAH

Fifty floors of beautiful architecture led
up to a clear large glass skylight.

“
Stunning isn’t it? We
have beautiful minds here in Light City. Up top on the roof is the
sky garden, the towers, and of course there is our most commonly
used area for lighter training sessions. There also larger ones in
the city for more aggressive combat trials. Now if you’ll follow
me, I’ll show you to your apartment.”

Iris led us through the courtyard. All of
the apartment balconies were facing in and you could see people
lounging in patio furniture, talking, napping, reading; it all felt
very community like. Across the space of the room was four
clear-glassed elevators, two for each side. The doors of an empty
elevator to the left slid open as we approached. Keegan walked in
behind Iris planting himself against the back wall. I followed
standing in front of him. The door closed seamlessly and we lifted
upwards. My stomach knotted. My knees wobbled as a wave of nausea
washed over me. I wasn’t so sure I liked heights.

I felt Keegan’s forearm around my waist,
steading me to him like an anchor.

Not a fan of
heights?
His voice chuckled in my
head.

I guess
not
, I thought back.

“
Nauseous?” Iris
asked.

I nodded.

“
Interesting; there aren’t
a lot of high buildings in Second-Plane and therefore not a very
predominate fear of heights. This is most likely an imprint from
First-Plane. Do you have many memories of your life before
here?”

Let’s keep what we know to
ourselves
, Keegan thought to
me.

“
No,” I answered a loud to
Iris.

“
Brace yourselves then,
because you might. I can sense how in tune the two of you are with
each other. Your bond is strong and since you’re our only serving
new souls from the last awakening, I’m assuming your powers will be
abnormally above average as well.”

There was a ding and the elevator
stopped.

“
Here we are,” Iris said.
“Your flat is right this way.”

The hallway swerved around in a big arch.
The wall to our right was all glass windows. Periodically large six
foot panes were open. They created a flowing breeze and allowed the
outside scent in. It must have rained earlier because the aroma of
the wet earth clouded my senses. The sky was still grey and the
green of Second-Plane rolled out lushly. Before my body could tense
at the sight of the view I felt Keegan fingers link with mine and
his thumb drum reassuringly against my hand. The queasiness was
still there but logic was taking over. Heights were bad but I was
safe and despite my body’s initial reaction, the view was
beautiful.

“
It’s breathtaking,”
Keegan said to no one in particular.

“
Yes, so much of our world
is beautiful. The designs of the flats vary,” Iris continued as we
neared our apartment. “The one that we’ve assigned to you is a bit
more ‘modern’ than the others. Some of the architects have imprints
of First-Plane designs and they like to recreate them. Even though
each flat is fully furnished you can pick decorations at your
leisure. Just outside this building is the Abstract which is just a
warehouse of various pieces of art, furniture, appliances, dishes.
Anything extra is left their and traded out periodically. Some
Venku prefer to allow one person to choose all the pieces for a
flat, but I think it’s rather fun to go together.”

The flooring had a dark amber stain, and the
wood type resembled that of a dock. It was sturdy and solid but had
this out-doors quality. We passed numerous rooms unevenly spaced
with various styled doors. Each had different names positioned over
their archway. I read them as we passed and they all felt familiar.
Second-Plane was beginning to feel like a shadow of Earth.

“
Isn’t there anything new,
anything unique to the culture of this world?” I asked.

“
Yes, the Otra cities are
all Second-Plane inspired, but for a lot of us even though we live
in this world now, we still dream of the first.”

“
Imprints must be a very
powerful thing then,” Keegan said. “Yes, it’s quite a peculiar
phenomenon. We can’t remember family members or friends, but social
stigmas, buildings, art, laws, those seem to stick with us. Iris
agreed.

We had stopped in front of a smooth black
wooden door with a light almost invisible grain. Its bronze plate
read “CHATTERLY’s”.

From a novel I’ve read, I
think,
Keegan thought.

You remember so
much,
I answered back impressed. He was
always able to piece together the fragments into ideas.

I think I studied literature. That might be
why.

“
Well, I’ll leave you two
to explore your new home.” Iris said, breaking up my telekinetic
conversation with Keegan. “There is a large tub and a separate
shower, if you’d like to refresh your energy. Training will start
tomorrow morning and we’ll debrief you on everything .We’ll meet on
the roof at dawn.”

“
Thank you,” I said
quietly.

I pushed the door open to our apartment and
I was again surprised. The floors and walls were a crisp white with
muted grays and brown accents. It felt like a clean slate. I was
excited to go to the Abstract.

“
We need some color in
here,” Keegan said—ironically as if
he
were reading my mind. I knew he
wasn’t but it was eerie how in sync we were. I suppose that’s
exactly why we were venku in the first place.

“
Do you want to shower and
then go exploring? I’d like to see what the Light City is like
outside of these walls,” Keegan said as he walked around our
flat.

I blushed not saying anything as I tried to
figure out whether he meant showering together or separately. There
was a shyer part of me that knew I should want to say separate, but
as I remembered our kiss in the cave I realized I wanted—

“
Separately of course,”
Keegan said. I looked up meeting his eyes. What I’d felt like he
was insinuating to did not match up to what he had actually
said.