Rise of the Mystics Read online

  “What will happen to us? When we find the Horde?”

  He looked ahead. “You will know tomorrow. Today, enjoy the banquet of love you’ve found.”

  Jacob, who hadn’t breathed a word about what he might expect among the Horde, seemed to have caught my concern like a contagious disease. “My father’s there?”

  “Qurong is the supreme commander of all Horde. They are all there.”

  “I can’t imagine what he will say.”

  “Then don’t,” Talya said. “Being anxious for tomorrow will only cast you out of the garden today.”

  Jacob nodded and looked around, breathing deep. For half a minute we rode in silence, a stillness that Jacob shattered when he impulsively stood in his stirrups, threw his arms wide, lifted his chin, and thundered for all living things to hear.

  “Life!”

  A dozen birds fluttered from the grass and took to the air.

  “Love!”

  I couldn’t help but laugh with delight.

  “Attaboy.” Talya chuckled.

  We made camp in a small ravine on the Divide far south of the main crossing. As I had seen him do many times before, Talya retreated to a high ledge, where he bowed to the heavens before standing and swaying to unheard music. To that radio station I couldn’t pick up yet. Soon, he was singing a high tone.

  “What’s he doing?” Jacob asked.

  “Aligning,” I said, mesmerized yet again.

  “Aligning to what?”

  “To Inchristi.”

  “Who is she?”

  “She isn’t a she or a he. Inchristi is the light of the world.”

  He didn’t seem to know what to make of that.

  “Have you met this Inchristi?”

  “Yes. I am Inchristi.” Saying it, I felt some of Talya’s wisdom. “So are you.”

  Finishing his practice, Talya wandered behind some boulders and returned with a rabbit no more than a minute later. He started the fire by breathing on the wood I’d gathered, a feat that left Jacob terribly impressed.

  We slept close that night, lost in the newness of whatever love had consumed us, both in spirit and in earthen vessel.

  As we slept, I dreamed. In that dream I was asleep, not in the way I thought of sleep, but in a kind of coma, being drained of memory as if someone had pulled the plug at the bottom of my brain.

  It was almost as if I could watch my memories leaving me. Memories of my father’s death, memories of going to a church that blew up, memories of Steve, my only true advocate in that place. All of it, leaking out of me, replaced by empty space.

  My hard drive is being deleted, I thought. Oh no! How will I know how to brush my teeth? But that wasn’t the memory that was being wiped. It was the story of my history that was going, going, and then gone.

  I was becoming a nobody on Earth. Talya had warned me, but sensing those memories slip away, I felt hopeless.

  When I woke, Jacob and Talya were already saddling the horses. No fire, no food but some fruit Talya had collected near the pool. I scrambled to my feet and caught a red plum Talya tossed at me.

  “We leave now.”

  The heavy fog from my dream pressed into me. “Talya?”

  “Later, daughter. Later.”

  Jacob approached me, smiling. “The old man’s in a mood.” He winked. “Places to go, worlds to conquer, you know the drill.” He took me in his arms and held me for a moment. “We surrender, Rachelle. Life is too short to fight.”

  I assumed that was something Talya had told him, which meant it was also for me, although I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant.

  Beaming like a boy, Jacob pulled away and showed me his arm. “Have I showed you my skin recently? It’s as smooth as a child’s. Touch it!”

  I took his hand and kissed his forearm. “You’re too beautiful for mortal eyes.”

  “And you, my dear.” Jacob kissed my forehead. “And you.”

  “Exchange your pleasantries on the way,” Talya said. “Qurong’s army awaits.”

  IT TOOK US most of the day to reach the high place overlooking the Miggdon valley, west of the Great Divide. We sat on our mounts staring down a long grassy slope that ended in the desert. There, on white sands, the Horde army spread over miles of land that butted up against forests to the north and a large muddy lake to the south.

  No tents but the large one at the center of the camp. As far as I could see, there were as many horses as men. Maybe more, some on the slopes feeding, most near the water. I’d never seen such a gathering of flesh and beast. Their stench was on the wind, faint but distinct at this distance.

  Judah the lion trotted up to us from the north. Where he’d been, I had no idea, but he looked unconcerned. Maybe in going ahead he’d led us around Horde or Elyonite scouts, which was why we hadn’t seen any.

  Jacob stared at the valley, eyes wide, jaw set.

  “What do you see, son of Qurong?” Talya asked.

  “They’ve come. All of them. Six hundred thousand, at least.”

  “At least. To be joined by three hundred thousand Eramites by morning.”

  “You’re sure? They came to agreement so quickly?”

  Talya didn’t need to respond. Of course he was sure.

  “The Elyonites know?” Jacob asked.

  “Aaron is prepared. The two Throaters Qurong sent to demand your release were returned dead this morning, necks cut. And so you see, Jacob, the die is cast.”

  “It’ll be a bloodbath for both Albino and Horde! I have to talk some sense into him.”

  “Of course, you must try. But you can’t reach him without me. His warriors won’t recognize you.” He paused. “The 49th might have the power—anyone else would be cut down by an eager blade long before they reach Qurong.”

  I doubted I had whatever power he was talking about. But I had shown power when I spoke plainly to Mosseum in the Elyonites’ court. I was struck by how quickly that confidence had slipped away from me.

  So what had I gained?

  “Then you’ll take me to him,” Jacob said. “I have to speak to him.”

  “Of course. I only have one condition.”

  “For the man who opened my eyes to wonder and starts a fire with his breath, I would cross a hundred deserts.”

  “Good, because it might come to that,” Talya said.

  A beat passed.

  “So?” Jacob said. “What’s your condition?”

  Talya turned to him. “If your father refuses to soften his heart, you will return to your home alone, win the confidence of your mother, and bring her here, to the Miggdon valley.”

  Alone? The thought of Jacob leaving filled me with dread.

  The idea sat no better with him. “Here? To what end?”

  “To the end of this age.” Talya paused as his words sank in. “Trust me.”

  “Hold on,” I said, searching for reason. “Are you sure?”

  “You will take another path with me, 49th. One that begins when we reach the first of these Scabs.”

  “Yes, but after what Jacob and I have gone through, do we really have to be separated? I’m just beginning to—”

  “Who are you?” he interrupted.

  I said the first thing that came to mind. “The 49th Mystic.”

  His brow arched and I saw my mistake immediately.

  “I’m the light, an aspect of the Creator manifested in this earthen vessel for a short time. My journey is to see who I am as Inchristi.”

  “And by what names do you know yourself in this earthen vessel?”

  I spun through the experiences I’d had in finding the first three seals. Peace settled over me and my confidence soared.

  “I go by the names woman, human, Rachelle, Albino.”

  “And?”

  What else? There were so many.

  “Intelligent, the dreamer of another world, daughter, the 49th Mystic, victim, white . . .”

  “Among a thousand others,” he said. “These are the masks you wear in this life, ye
s?”

  “Yes.”

  “These names are what you put your faith in as you walk the earth. If they are taken from you, your earthen vessel feels threatened.”

  “Yes. But I don’t put my faith in them. Not like I used to.”

  “No, because your journey is to see who you are without the masks, isn’t that right?”

  I knew he was setting me up, but I wasn’t sure how. The clue to the Fourth Seal filled my mind. What is seeing beyond what you think should be? What were the things I thought should be? I was supposed to be intelligent. I should be good. I should be respected. Was that it? If so, what was seeing beyond that?

  “Isn’t that right, 49th?” Talya repeated, pulling me out of my thoughts.

  “Yes. Yes, that’s right.”

  “So then, are you willing to be seen without the masks you wear?”

  Was I? Of course I was.

  “Yes.”

  “Splendid.”

  Judah rose and trotted forward without a word from Talya.

  “Then it’s time for Qurong to meet his Albino son and the 49th Mystic. We ride in silence. Not a word before we reach him, no matter what happens. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” I said.

  Jacob nodded.

  Judah led us, staying only several horse lengths ahead, followed by Talya, then Jacob and me. My heart beat with anticipation and confidence. Anyone who could literally walk on water was one who couldn’t be threatened by any Horde, any Shataiki, any human, no matter the size of their blade or the sharpness of their tongue.

  The stench of Horde grew stronger with each step. We were descending into the valley of the shadow of death, the disease of humanity, the blindness that brought fear. But we were the light.

  I glanced at Jacob a dozen times, curious to see how he, an Albino now, was affected by his return to the Horde. Here rode the greatest of all warriors, son of Qurong, slayer of Albino. Now stripped of the scabbing that marked them all.

  Defiled in their eyes.

  He returned my looks with nods of assurance, but less frequently as we crested a small rise and found ourselves fewer than fifty paces from the first group of Scab Throaters.

  They’d mounted and faced us, a hundred abreast, having seen our approach a long way off. Their eyes were on the lion as much as on us.

  Still Judah sauntered forward.

  Still Talya rode without concern.

  Still we followed, two servants surrendered to the leading of our master, though I saw the sweat on Jacob’s forehead now.

  We were within twenty paces before three heavily armored warriors Jacob’s size and larger nudged their mounts forward. Immediately the others withdrew their weapons. The sound of metal clanged through the air—broadswords, battle axes, skull hammers, sickles.

  Neither Judah nor Talya slowed.

  The three leading Scabs flipped bows from their backs, slung arrows, and drew on Judah.

  “Halt!”

  Talya did not halt.

  “Halt or the beast dies!”

  I thought Talya would say something then, but he didn’t. In answer to his silence, the leading Scab released an arrow aimed directly at Judah’s head. I saw it leave the bow, heard the twang of the bowstring and the whistle of the razor edge cutting through the desert air. My heart forgot to beat.

  Only then did Talya react, and only with a casual flip of his right hand. The arrow stopped midair halfway to its intended target, hung still for a beat, then fell to the sand.

  Two more arrows followed in rapid succession. Both fell to the sand like useless twigs.

  “Dear Elyon,” Jacob muttered.

  Talya lifted his arm as if commanding the air they breathed. Immediately the Scabs lowered their weapons, stunned and confused. Their horses backed up, whinnying, then parted to make a path through the ranks.

  “Do you believe in the name of Justin, 49th?”

  I was overwhelmed by the show of power. “Yes,” I whispered.

  “So then you won’t mind letting go of your other names.”

  We were abreast of the first warriors now, all staring with round eyes as first Judah then we three Albinos passed through them. Not a soul spoke. Only the heavy steps of our mounts could be heard.

  I was so enraptured with the sight that I hardly heard Talya’s last comment. The putrid stench of this sea of Horde was so heavy in my nostrils now that I could barely breathe. The sounds of six hundred thousand warriors filled the air like a low murmur, but as we moved toward the second group, they too went silent and made a way as if pushed aside by an unseen shield.

  And then we were in the thick of the army, surrounded by campfires and loitering warriors and horses and steaming pots. Without exception, the Scabs grew quiet and stared as we approached then passed.

  I could not have been more honored to be an Albino in the service of Talya, riding next to Jacob. Jacob, whom I loved. What a grand statement we were making with such a triumphal entry.

  That’s when I faced Jacob, soaring in pride. That’s when his expression of wonder turned to shock. That’s when I followed his stare and glanced down at my arms.

  My skin had changed.

  I gasped, horrified. My smooth, pale skin was gone, replaced by the flaking, gray scabbing disease! And I knew it wasn’t only in my mind’s eye, because Jacob saw it as clearly. Even more, I could feel it, like a million ants on my skin.

  I yelped and swatted at my arm, which only intensified the discomfort. “Talya!”

  “Not now, 49th.”

  “But I have—”

  “A new mask, I know. Only an opportunity for salvation in the storm.”

  “But—”

  “Not a word!”

  His saying “mask” prompted me to reach for my face, and I felt the rough skin there as well. My cheeks, my lips . . . The stench was so strong because I was now wearing it as my own skin, in my own nostrils, on my own eyes. Were my eyes also gray?

  I knew they were.

  Talya had turned me into a Scab. I’d said I was willing to let go of my masks . . . but this? I knew it was an object lesson, but none of that softened my horror.

  It was one thing for Jacob to have been Horde, but me? Wasn’t being Albino at least part of the whole point of drowning? So how could Talya strip me of that healing?

  In my panic I wanted to demand answers. I didn’t care that this was an opportunity to find salvation, I only wanted him to reverse what he’d done.

  But we were surrounded by the Horde, riding through them uncontested, like Moses passing through the Red Sea. We were all of that, but my eyes were on my trembling scabbed hands holding the reins. My cracked knuckles. My gray fingernails.

  I hardly noticed the Scabs we passed now. I only saw me. And I hated me.

  Judah sauntered forward. Talya led us. We followed him through thousands of silent warriors muted by Talya’s power. But my pride was gone.

  I realized that I was failing Talya’s test by hating my skin. Having found the first three seals, I should know better than to be so affected by the onset of the scabbing disease, right? But I still hated it. Then I began to condemn myself for hating myself when I should know better, which only deepened my self-loathing.

  What is seeing beyond what you think should be, dear daughter?

  Tears filled my eyes. I felt like a victim, abused by a condition I’d neither asked for nor deserved.

  I dared not look at Jacob, not after telling him how beautiful his new skin looked. But I had to, so I did. He offered me a smile, but I saw pity and confusion in his eyes. I’m sure he meant well, but in that pity, I felt only rejection. If I were him I would pity me too. I did pity me.

  A hot tear slipped down my cheek, and then I hated myself for crying as I rode through the Horde like a prisoner led by two Albinos. I had already failed. And what if the disease was permanent? Maybe this was what was supposed to happen to the 49th Mystic.

  Talya didn’t even look my way. I think a small part of me hated him in that
moment.

  I was so wrapped up in trying to adjust my thinking and judging myself for not being able to that I hardly noticed we’d reached the center of the Horde camp. Qurong waited outside a huge canvas tent, dressed in white tunic, battle pants, and tall riding boots. With him stood five fully armored commanders and a scrawny man wearing black robes.

  The lion stopped and sat on his haunches, tongue lolling, ten paces from the supreme commander, whose eyes were locked on him. Behind us, a thousand warriors closed ranks, sealing us in. We faced the Horde command, smothered by silence.

  Qurong was the first to speak, arms crossed. “Unless you come with news of my son, Jacob, I will return you in the same condition you returned my men.” Meaning dead.

  “I don’t think you understand,” Talya said, voice gentle. “We don’t come from the Elyonites.”

  “Then who?”

  Beside Qurong, the robed one was trembling. “Sorcerer,” he hissed, spitting to one side.

  “No, not that either. We are Mystics, outcasts and heretics among all Albinos. You may call me Talya. The woman to my right is the 49th Mystic, who brings this great crisis to divide truth from shadow. Beside her rides Jacob, son of Qurong.”

  For the moment, I forgot I was a Scab. Qurong’s eyes shot to Jacob and he stared. Recognition dawned and he slowly lowered his arms.

  “This can’t be . . .”

  Jacob slipped off his horse and rushed forward. “It’s me, Father! I’m safe. It’s not what you think, I swear it isn’t—”

  “Away!” Qurong roared, drawing back. “This isn’t possible! What kind of trick is this?”

  “Father.” Jacob sank to one knee. “I beg you, listen to him. Ask the men and they’ll explain his power. You must stop this madness. War will only turn this valley to blood!”

  “I bring the war to save my own flesh and blood!” Qurong thundered. He was still struggling to believe. “What sorcery is this? Tell me what you’ve done with him!”

  “I am him! I drowned and was healed of the disease. And more, I saw Justin. I experienced a new love just like my sister Chelise, your daughter, did. Everything they say is true, and I kneel here before you to prove it. You must not wage war on the Albinos, I beg you.”