Read Online A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe by Jon Chaisson - Free Book Online Page B

typing. “Okay,” he said, finally turning in his seat.
“What do you need?”
    Poe laughed nervously. “Everything.”
    The corner of Matthew’s mouth lifted in a
half-grin. “Starters?”
    “Names. Anyone from the Tower linked to
adepts of the Mendaihu and the Shenaihu, however
distant.”
    He let out a low whistle. “Tall order,
Alec,” he shook his head. “Might take a while.”
    “Sooner the better, kid,” he said. “You know
the playing fields better than I do.”
    “Fair enough,” he said. “I did a bit of work
already. Dug up some of the more obvious choices for you to look in
on. I went for the easiest ones first.”
    Poe nodded. “Hard copy?”
    “Not yet,” he hedged.
    Poe sighed and shook his head. “Don’t push
it, Matt. We’ve been up too long and you know I don’t have anything
in return that you don’t already have.”
    “You have a theory. Both of you do.”
    Caren heard Poe’s knuckles pop. “Bless
it…I’m not in the fucking mood, kid.”
    “I just want to know what it is, is all. I
can’t give out private information to just anyone, you know.” The
kid cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head,
temporarily looking away. “Let me put it this way. The two of you
are some of the very few that I can trust in this town, don’t get
me wrong. I know I can give you whatever you need and know that
you’ll share it only with the necessary people, and no one else.
But I need to know why you need this, before I can give it to
you.”
    Poe gave him a deathly stare. “The One of
All Sacred, Matthew. It’s that time again. No one sets off an
awakening ritual that wide, not even the revivals at the ‘Drome.
Something’s up and we’re looking at something potentially
catastrophic here.”
    Matthew studied him for a few moments. He
hadn’t flinched or grimaced; he merely nodded slightly and let it
sink in. “I’m inclined to agree,” he finally responded. “I can’t
promise everything, but I might be able to get someone to
help. If that’s okay with you.”
    “Someone we can trust?” Caren asked. “No
leaks?”
    “I completely trust her,” he said with
conviction. “She’ll be able to do the tracking work if you end up
being right.” He paused, looking away and tapping his knee.
“Anything else?”
    Poe frowned, thinking before answering.
“Yeah. We need as much information on Shenaihu uprisings in the
local area over the last two Sacred Cycles. What caused them, how
they were settled.”
    “The last fifty years?” Caren said, looking
at him in surprise. “A bit far back, don't you think?”
    He shook his head. “The farther back we go,
the better. I’m looking at cycles, patterns, events. The
enlightened are notoriously patient when it comes to uprisings.
They can wait years between one attack and another. Makes no
difference to them, they've been around as long as the Meraladians
have been in the Universes.”
    Caren had a sudden idea, despite her
exhaustion. “See if you can create any cyclic calendars as well,”
she said. “We can compare them with other events and people, what
was going on at the time. Put it into perspective of what went on
before, compare it to what’s going on now.”
    Matthew thought about it for a few moments.
“Shouldn't be too much of a problem…I’ll see if I can get someone
at the Data Research Library to lend me a hand. Give me a few days
on it and I'll call you.”
    Poe relaxed, a soft, tired smile playing
across his lips. “Much appreciated.”
    Matthew sat up and turned back to the
monitors. “In the meantime...” he trailed off. He tapped at the
keyboard again, much quicker this time, then abruptly stopped,
hitting the last keystroke with a proud staccato finality. A few
seconds later, he flipped open a drive, extracting a thin crystal
rod. He placed the rod in a small plastic case and handed it over
to him. “Your hard copy,” he said. “This is what I got this
morning. Just a few names and links. I