Freefall into Hell.
I
am plummeting through the atmosphere of an impossibly hostile planet, in
pursuit of a goal suggested by a voice in my head, in defiance of unimaginably
powerful enemies, using a plan of attack devised by a deranged hillbilly.
Will was discovering that it took a
very long time to fall from the edge of an Earth-sized planet’s gravity well to
the ground. And no part of the
experience was enjoyable. Breathing was
borderline impossible; the gravitational forces at terminal velocity were too
great, the atmosphere too thin. Air was
rushing past him with hurricane force.
He felt like he was surfing the inside of a tornado. Can’t
lose consciousness. Have to be conscious
when I hit the ground, or the plan won’t work…
Throughout the descent, his mind
was screaming at him. This is insanity. Do what you must, but get off this planet
now. Nothing is worth this. No memory could be worth this level of
punishment. But it was too late, of
course. The minute he’d incarnated, he’d
committed himself irrevocably to stage one of the plan―”taken the plunge,” as
it were. What he planned to do
next…well, that part would require some delicate timing, and more than a little
bit of luck. And even after that, he
thought, there was still the journey to the Skeinhall, and the unknown dangers
within, to consider. Refi’s assurances regarding “the knowledge already locked
within you” aside, Will had no idea how he was going to handle things on the
ground―or even, really, what it was that he was supposed to do.
And
why would I trust Refi:Sül, anyway?
What possible reason has he given me to trust him? He showed up in a light display sparked by
some sort of magical stone tablet. He
wants me to meddle with alien technology but won’t tell me why, or how to go
about it. He tells me that my actions
will have random impacts on an Earth I don’t remember…
Will.
A fire dimmed by distance. The
Seraph was still lurking in there, somewhere in a back corner of Will’s mind,
but its presence was dim. He had room
for plenty of spare thoughts; in fact, he was experiencing a nagging feeling
that something was out of place, that he had missed something significant. But he couldn’t focus; he was tumbling
head-over-heels into the cauldron of a volcano and there was an angel yelling
in his ear. Are you
progressing?
Doing
dandy, thanks, he replied. On the
brink of suffocation; just had to pull myself out of a spin that might have
snapped my neck in midair; ground coming up in maybe sixty seconds, at which
point my body will explode into a viscous paste spread out over about a square
mile of volcanic rock. Other than that,
things are peachy. Keep the channel
clear for the moment, please. The tricky
bit comes next.
Excellent.
Apparently, for all of their majesty, the Seraphim had yet to learn the
nature of sarcasm. You
will soon be at the heart of the STYX, out of range of my communication. When you enter the Skeinhall, I will be able
to speak to you again. It
seemed to be true; the fire in Will’s mind was dissipating like breath on a
mirror. Beware! The enemy’s resources will still allow them
to access you in the interim. Do not
fall prey to their lies! Do not lose
sight of your objective!
What
resources? “Access” me…how?
But the Seraph was gone, and the ground was coming up very fast indeed. He could actually make out shape of the
Skeinhall itself, four spires of crystal extending from a massive tower,
flanked by rectangular edifices of the same material. But there was no time; the landscape was
rushing up at him.
Okay, he thought. This is
it. Get ready. You’ll have to do
this almost instantly. There will be a
moment of incredible pain. You have to
block it out and focus on the question.
Will allowed his mind to fade into the fugue state that preceded
incarnation…
…and his mind suddenly exploded
into random noise, a jumble of images, emotions, concepts. He couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t think of a
single question to ask.
What? No…no…for Chrissake come on, come on, come
on…He was plunging
facedown, eyes wide, tears streaking up the sides of his face from windshear;
the Survivor inside him was screaming at him that death was imminent; and he
couldn’t focus, couldn’t grab hold, and the ground wa-
The pain was not so great as he’d
feared; it was over in less than an instant.
But as Will hit the ground, and as his soul emerged, as it was being catapulted
upwards by the force of the STYX, a question did enter his mind.
“Refi:Sül?”
Resonance. Flash.
Will incarnated fifteen feet off
the ground; gravity caught hold of him again, and he plummeted back down directly
into the small impact crater created by his first fall. The second impact was nowhere near as violent
as the first, but it still shuddered through his naked body, knocking the
breath from his lungs. He inhaled a
lungful of sulfur, coughed, felt rough basalt abrade the outside of his thigh
as he curled into a fetal ball.
It
worked, he
thought.
And
you know what? It wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be.
It
was much, much worse.
Will could feel a horrible squishy stickiness
on the craggy stone beneath him. Oh, God.
I’m lying in what’s left of my own…oh, that’s just gross. He really, really didn’t want to think about
it. Instead, he focused once again on
the question that had helped him incarnate.
He
was called “Refi” in the Divine Gift. I
remember that distinctly. He answered to
the name “Refi” as I floated above Asphodel.
It’s the only name he’s called himself.
So far as I’m aware, it’s the only name he’s been given by anyone.
But
I called him “Refi:Sül”. Why did I do
that?
Will had abilities he couldn’t
explain. He had knowledge for which he
had no corresponding memories. But up until
this point, nothing about Will’s knowledge base had been completely, utterly
inexplicable.
If
I’m smart, that’s one thing. Maybe I was
smart on Earth. I might have retained odd
memories―vestiges of pop culture and so forth―without knowing why. And my soul is apparently extraordinary―well,
sure, but ALL of the soul’s abilities are weird. If mine are even weirder, well, it’s only a
matter of degree.
But
why in the word would a sixteen year old boy know the name of an angel?
No comments:
Post a Comment