Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Rungs one, two, and three may begin,” Mist said.

Sift raised his hands above his head, the palms touching.

“Yes, Adept?” Mist asked.

Sift bowed to the Founders. “Rung one will take him.”

“Absolutely not,” Echo said from across the room.

Sift turned toward Echo and pointed at her. “It’s your fault he’s late. You can’t cause the problem and then ignore the consequences.”

Echo smiled, the tips of her fangs visible. “He only has himself to blame.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Ruwen whispered.

“Tell them,” Sift said to Ruwen. “I know it had to be her.”

Telling the truth about Echo’s involvement with Ruwen’s disappearance would require explaining the Scarecrow Aspect and why the gods wanted him in the first place. And he believed it wouldn’t change a thing. The Founders had rules, and he’d broken more than one of them.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to make sure.

“Will the truth change anything?” Ruwen asked.

“The truth is that you arrived seven days late to the summons,” Thorn said.

Ruwen bowed. “Then the cause is irrelevant.”

Sift frowned, clearly frustrated. He scanned the other adepts and raised his voice. “Rung four, hear me. You saw me fight and easily claim the top spot in rung one.” He pointed at Ruwen. “He trained me, and his Steps are better than mine. You would be foolish to pass up his help.”

“We are already at a disadvantage,” a man said. “Taking him would leave only five hours to reach the token. It would doom us.”

Sift stood up straight. “We are not here to collect tokens like wretched street vendors. You arrived to prove your worth as Masters of the Bamboo Viper Clan. I reject these tokens and the material weight they represent.”

A different voice, this time female. “That is easy for you to say. You are the best of us.”

Sift shook his head and pointed at Ruwen. “No, he is the best of us. And he deserves the chance to advance.” Sift’s voice grew serious. “If you need the crutch of a token, you don’t belong here.”

Echo laughed. “How can you say that? You don’t even know what they’re for.”

“Exactly my point,” Sift replied. “None of us do. They are a distraction, and no different from all material things.”

“Not everyone has your advantages,” Echo said. “Those tokens, whatever their purpose, might mean the difference between success and failure for rung four.”

“Enough,” Thorn said. “Rung four, discuss and provide your verdict.”

A group of eight people formed on the other side of the room. Echo remained in the tent and from the smile on her face, it didn’t look like the initial discussions favored Ruwen.

Ruwen leaned toward Sift. “Impressive speech. I haven’t heard that tone in a long time.”

“Yeah, well, if you get thrown out and they erase your brain or whatever, you’ll have to start over from scratch,” Sift said. He smiled and continued. “And we both know you’re my worst student. I can’t bear the thought of holding your hand all the way to Master again.”

“You can’t blame them,” Ruwen said. “The Founders have divided everyone and used the mystery of these tokens to create fear of the future. This is all done with the purpose of weakening those with doubts.”

Sift tilted his head. “You’re right. I hadn’t put that much thought into it.”

“Shocking.”

“Hey, careful. I’m like the only guy on your side in here.”

“Shade’s first rule: a drowning man has no friends.”

Sift nodded. “That’s true, and an excellent idea.”

“What do you mean? That was Lylan’s saying.”

“No, I hear you loud and clear. We don’t need rung four to be our friends, but the opposite.”

“Wait, how did you get to that conclusion? I’m not sure—”

“Rung four?” Thorn asked.

The group of eight continued to talk for another few seconds, and Ruwen’s Diamond ears heard it all. Many of the eight, rightfully so, worried about the seven-hour delay. But others had argued the previous six days proved they would make no progress on their own. Even though they didn’t know him, they also didn’t want the guilt of expelling him from the trial.

The tallest male turned to Thorn and bowed. “We—”

“Excuse me,” Sift said, interrupting the man. He faced Thorn. “Despite our Clan oaths, during the first trial we could attack and even injure other Clan members.”

“That is correct,” Mist said. “Your Bamboo Viper Step journey is like a path. You have safely walked this road for many years. Trials and tests are obstacles that block your progress. You must leave the path and its safety, successfully pass the barrier, and rejoin the road on the other side.”

Sift’s face grew serious, and he turned toward rung four.

Ruwen stepped in front of Sift and whispered. “What are you planning?”

“I’m going to threaten to break their arms and legs.”

Ruwen placed a hand on Sift’s shoulder. “Thanks, buddy. I appreciate the support, but let’s give them the chance to do this without fear.”

Sift nodded and Ruwen stepped back to stand next to his friend.

The tallest man from group four swallowed hard. He had argued the hardest against keeping Ruwen. After a moment, he faced Thorn and Mist. “We accept our brother along with his penalty.”

“So be it,” Thorn said. “Rungs one, two, and three, you are wasting sunshine. Rung four, we will return for you in seven hours.”

Thorn and Mist disappeared, and everyone but Ruwen, Sift, and the eight members of rung four filed out of the tent.

Ruwen glanced at Sift. “I’m glad you didn’t need to use your scary voice.”

Sift sat down, crossed his legs, and responded. “I’ve lost patience with my parents and even the Founders. This all seems meaningless. If the point is to learn the Steps, they are doing everything wrong.”

That statement resonated with Ruwen, as he held the same thoughts. He looked down at Sift. “Aren’t you going out with your team?”

Sift frowned. “Why would I do that when I could sit in the shade.”

Ruwen sat as well. “Shouldn’t you be looking for this token?”

“What would I do with a token?” Sift asked. “I only have two pockets and Io goes in one and Shelly the other.”

Ruwen glanced at the small of Sift’s back to see if the Elder Dagger Io hid there.

“Sadly I don’t have Io as we went right from the Black Pyramid’s kitchen to the summoning stone,” Sift said. “I didn’t even have time to put Shelly somewhere safe. Not that she would stay where I put her. She always ends up back in my pocket.”

“She’s here?”

“Yeah, there’s a field around the tower and she likes the grass there.”

“There’s a tower? Why don’t you start from the beginning.”

“Okay. We stepped through the summoning stone portal into this town. My parents immediately took off, leaving me with that monster, Echo. There are twenty-three places to eat, but only two dessert vendors. The first one bakes mostly cake donuts and you know how I hate heavy pastries. The frosting is—”

Ruwen held up a hand, interrupting Sift. “Let’s talk about pastries after you tell me about the tokens and where we’re supposed to go. Do we climb a mountain like the first trial?”

Sift shrugged. “I don’t know, because they didn’t tell us anything. They threw us into a large sparring circle to fight and then ranked us by how long we stayed in the circle. Then they divided the thirty-two of us into four groups of eight, lumping the best together into one, all the way down to the worst eight which went into rung four.”

“Then what happened?”

“Nothing. They said we would stay in this area until a team found the token.”

“And you don’t know what the tokens are for?”

“According to you, they purchase fear, uncertainty, and doubt.”

“I know, but did they say anything about them?”

“Nope. They said we could only look while the sun shone. Continuing after sunset is automatic expulsion. Same with Soul, Mana, or Spirit use.”

“And no directions?”

Sift shook his head. “Nothing.”

Ruwen thought for a moment. “It’s very different from the first trial. Why wouldn’t they provide directions?”

Sift shrugged. “Because just like my parents, they enjoy wasting my valuable time.”

Ruwen looked at Sift. “Your valuable time? You were snoring when I got here.”

“That’s how the tenth meditation works, Sijun.”

“Right, well I hope to reach that someday,” Ruwen said. He leaned forward and tapped the hard-packed dirt floor. “It could also mean, if they didn’t give any directions, that they expected you to know already what to do.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Probably, but it gives me an idea. Tell me about the tower.”

“Its windowless and tall.”

Ruwen waited a few seconds, but Sift didn’t continue. “And?”

“And what? Everyone thinks the token is at the top because there are things in the tower that try to stop you from advancing upward.”

“Can you climb the outside?”

“The surface is smooth, and I heard it shocks you.”

Ruwen glanced at the eight members of rung four. They all sat cross-legged and looked miserable. The vibrations he sensed from outside the tent told the truth of Sift’s words. The tent sat in the middle of a small town.

Light and sound poured through the open tent flap as the town woke up. Ruwen had seven hours, and he hated wasting time. Leaning toward Sift, he lowered his voice. “I have an idea.”

Sift sighed loudly. “Do you ever just sit? Still water reflects the sky.”

“I thought you hated your dad’s sayings.”

“I do. Fine. What’s your idea?”

“I think we should make some new friends.”

Sift groaned. “I hate the ones I have now.”

Ruwen smiled. “All the more reason to find new ones. Trees planted in Spring, bear fruit in Winter.”

“That’s dumb. Trees don’t bear fruit in the winter. I’m not a farmer and even I know that.”

Ruwen patted Sift’s knee. “For the record, you would make a terrible farmer. Come on, let’s go make them feel better about their decision.”

They both stood.

“I would make a great farmer,” Sift said as they walked toward rung four. “You’re the one who can’t even handle a few chickens.” Sift jumped around, swinging an invisible stick.

Ruwen winced. It had been over a year and a half since he’d thought of the Savage Seven and his disastrous first battle with them. “Fine, we should both stay away from farms.”

Sift swung his invisible stick wildly and continued to stumble around. “We could make our own Steps.” He jumped fifteen-feet and shouted. “Chicken Style!”

The eight members of rung four looked on in confusion and worry.

Ruwen stopped in front of the group as Sift continued jumping around the tent. Placing a palm over a fist, Ruwen bowed to them.

“Thank you for allowing me to join your group,” Ruwen said.

A few glanced upward and made brief eye contact, but most remained motionless, their misery impossible to hide.

Ruwen would change that.