Divine Awakening - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The stairs spiraled downward for about thirty feet and opened into a chamber fifty feet across. Five tunnels exited the chamber, and stone benches sat against the walls between the passages. Torches lined the walls, providing plenty of light.

As soon as Ash's foot touched the stone floor, a surge of experience coursed through his body, and minimized notifications appeared.

The middle of the room contained the wooden remains of chairs and tables, and seventeen tiny sandstorms appeared, concealing their loot.

Ash forced himself to circuit the room instead of running for the treasure. He paused in front of each tunnel, paying attention to his chakras, and by the time he’d checked them all, everyone had made it down the stairs.

From the whispers, Ash knew everyone had dinged level two.

Ash stepped up next to Nomad and pointed at the loot. "Just swipe your hand through the illusion, and it’ll reveal our treasure. I think you should be in charge of handing it out."

"Okay. Are we safe in here to take a breather?"

"Yes. I didn't travel down each passage to confirm, but I'm not getting any feelings of imminent danger here."

"Let me know if that changes. Did you lose your pack?"

Nomad had asked the question with concern and glanced back up the stairs, probably contemplating what it would take to get back into the temple.

Ash sighed. So much for hiding his fancy belt.

With a thought, Ash willed the pack onto his back, and when Nomad turned to face him again, his eyes widened in shock.

Tapping the belt, Ash explained, "I got this magic belt, and it stores a couple of things."

"Damn, that’s fantastic. I really hope some more of those drop." Nomad glanced over at the loot.

Ash didn't bother correcting Nomad's assumption that he’d received the belt as loot here in the dungeon. The last thing he wanted to do was explain speaking with a god in the middle of a mountain in Peru while at the hangar.

"Listen up," Nomad said, just loud enough to grab everyone's attention. "I assume all of us leveled, so let's take some time to regroup here and be a little more thoughtful about our choices. We confirmed the doorway we used to get here is closed, and since thousands of skeletons are milling about above us, I don't think we need to worry about anyone following. Shamrock has given us the all-clear and will warn us if anything comes down these tunnels. So, take a few minutes to relax while we have it. I'm going to check on these loot drops to see if there's anything that can help us."

Normally, Ash would’ve moved against one of the walls and tried to keep himself separate from the group, but he couldn't afford to indulge his introverted nature, especially this early with his team.

So instead, Ash let his pack fall to the ground there in the middle of the room and sat down next to it. Almost everyone had followed Nomad to the miniature sandstorms, fascinated by the mechanism and excited about gaining treasure.

Ash's Root chakra energy had seeped into the floor, and he sensed the footsteps as someone came up behind him.

Without turning around, Ash spoke. "Hey, Brainwave."

The CIA mentalist stepped around Ash and sat cross-legged, mirroring Ash's posture.

It was just another example of why Brainwave was likely very good at his job. He’d performed this mirroring automatically, utilizing the subconscious rapport this created between two people.

Ash's Throat chakra made him immune to such tiny influences, and he didn't hold it against Brainwave.

Brainwave held out his two hands without speaking.

Ash grasped Brainwave's left hand.

"Shake it," Ash said.

Brainwave complied, tightening his grip, and Ash placed his free hand around Brainwave's wrist. Ash created tension by pulling his hands apart, applying pressure on Brainwave's carpal bones.

On the third shake, Ash felt the bone slide back into place, and he released Brainwave's hand. Ash then grasped Brainwave's other shoulder and kneaded the area above the bicep. That was just a distraction so Ash could surreptitiously trigger a pressure point.

Ash released Brainwave. "Your arm will feel numb for thirty seconds, and when it recovers, your wrist pain will disappear."

Brainwave shook his arm and glared at Ash. "What the hell was all that about? And what did you do to me?"

Ash didn’t react to the hostility. "People in your line of work rely on patterns in the statistical norms to zero in on likely behavior, which you use to either manipulate or interrogate. I just wanted you to know that I don't fit your patterns or your norms and offering you a warning."

"Now you're threatening me?"

Ash smiled. "See? You can't help yourself. I don't play these games, Brainwave, and you should know wrist pain is the least impactful of the tools at my disposal."

Brainwave scowled as he stood, then he returned to his pack, which stood against a wall farthest from everyone else. It was the spot Ash would’ve taken if he were free of responsibilities.

Ash resisted the urge to go look at the loot, and it reminded him that he hadn't thanked the universe for the gifts he’d received here.

Grandpa insisted that without expressing gratitude out loud, Ash would become unbalanced internally, and that using a verbal acknowledgment helped to equalize this imbalance.

Ash closed his eyes and pictured all the loot he’d gained since entering the dungeon. "Thank you, Ruler of this Underworld, for the precious gifts you’ve bestowed. I am filled with gratitude for your generosity."

Ash kept his eyes closed and considered the three quest lines he’d received. He didn’t really care for them and actually detested the one that ruined plants around him, but he pushed that aside and instead considered the time and effort that must have gone into the quest construction. Time and energy were sometimes even more valuable than mere items.

This line of thought led Ash to consider all the spells. Those had certainly taken a lot of time, and one had actually saved his life, or at least saved him from taking a hasty retreat.

"Thank you, Ruler of this Underworld, for the precious spells and quests you’ve bestowed. I am filled with gratitude for your generosity."

Ash didn’t sense anything change, so when the seven-year-old's voice came from beside him, he felt immense pride that he didn’t yelp in surprise.

"What about me?" Bruja asked.

Ash barely opened one eye, just enough to see the pouting goddess-clone. Honestly, it looked adorable, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling.

Closing his eye, he continued. "Thank you, Bruja of the Universe, for the precious magic display, drawing, and information you’ve bestowed. I am filled with gratitude for your generosity."

"Better," Bruja responded.

Ash opened his eyes, and since Bruja remained invisible to everyone else, Ash spoke under his breath.

"Can we talk about the magic doors and my blood?" Ash asked.

"Sheesh, I just grabbed that blood. What do you think I am?"

"I was told you were a galaxy-destroying goddess of unparalleled power and might."

The blonde seven-year-old tilted her head. "Not a bad description." She focused back on Ash. "The reality is a lot has changed lately. Darkness take me, I'm not sure I can handle many more revelations. Whatever is in your blood is new magic to me, so I've outsourced it to the High Priestess and the Queen. I’m pretty sure it's related to one of them." She tilted her head again and tapped her chin with a small finger. "Or maybe it's both."

"That sounds like a lot of work, so thank you, and thank the High Priestess and Queen for me."

"Sure. I'm actually here to ask about your family. I have a good grasp of your mother’s side of the family, but when I poked around about your father, I shockingly got very little."

Ash frowned. He hadn't spent hardly any time thinking about his dad, and now he felt like everyone had suddenly become interested in him.

Persephone had texted the Captain during the plane ride over and had mentioned the mystery surrounding Ash’s father.

"When we were talking with Lir," Ash said, "you told him you would help out Persephone, and then when I entered this dungeon, you said you were working with Persephone to interface with it. She has some theory about my dad. Do you know what it is?"

"Hmm, I need to be more careful about what I say around you. You're not the librarian, but you’re smarter than the baker. Well, maybe that's not fair. Let’s just say your attention span is definitely longer."

"That didn't answer my question."

Bruja scowled. "Fine. The only information I could find came from Persephone, and her hypothesis is mostly speculation with very little proof. Which is why I asked you."

"I don't have many memories, and I don't think about him much."

"Don't think about him because you don't care, or because something doesn't want you to remember?"

Ash immediately responded. "Because I don't care."

Bruja stared at Ash, and he took a moment to consider the question.

Ash tried recalling his father, but it was difficult, and the only memories he could recall contained his mother. Why couldn't he remember just his dad?

A moment later, Ash was in the middle of a memory with his grandpa and mom, and he suddenly stopped.

"Holy hell," Ash whispered out loud. "I think something is making me forget. It shifts my thoughts to other memories."

Bruja leaned close and placed a finger against Ash's forehead. After five seconds, she withdrew it, her frown deepening.

"What's going on?" Ash asked.

"I don't sense any of the typical mind magic, so I honestly don’t know."

"Who does Persephone think my dad is and give me your best guess about what you think is going on."

Bruja shrugged. "I checked your grandpa, and his blood is fine, but unsurprisingly, he can barely recall your father. Your grandpa mostly has vague feelings of your father, almost all of which are negative, which makes him even more reluctant to talk about him."

"I knew that already, at least the negative feelings part. Stop screwing around and tell me who Persephone thinks my father is."

Bruja widened her eyes, and Ash quickly added, "Please."

"Fine, I guess you have the right to know, but understand this is speculation, so don't go nuts."

Ash waited quietly, calming himself with Solar Plexus energy.

"Are you religious?" Bruja asked.

The question surprised Ash. "Not really, but I’m reconsidering now that one goddess has marked me, another is tagging along in my brain on a spy mission, and a god that looked like a cross between Dr. Doom and the Silver Surfer gave me a magic belt. Not to mention you told me the devil is based on a real god, and all this mysterious energy is coming from hell. So maybe you could say I'm a little more open to the idea that a bunch of this stuff is true."

"That's fair. I just asked because many religious stories are a wrapper for a kernel of truth. I think your situation is one of these. What the story says and what actually happened are likely very different."

Ash leaned forward. "Tell me, please."

Bruja sighed in resignation and met Ash’s gaze. "Do you know the story of Cain and Abel?"