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or needed right now, but this. Just the
fact that she was there for him. It was comfort enough.
    “You worry about me too much, Akaina,” he
said.
    “I do not!” she said a little too quickly and
laughed, a blush rising on her cheeks. “Where did that come
from?”
    He laughed. “You do, Kai, face it.” Allei
aiya, Akaina Shalei, he thought, only to himself. He didn't
have to say it. She already knew. My guardian angel.
    “We’ll talk tomorrow?” she asked.
    “Of course. Pleasant dreams, Alec Poe,” she
said.
    “Sweetest dreams to you, Akaina,” he
answered.
    “Good night, my shadhisi,” she said with a
smile, and disconnected.
    He let himself smile like an idiot as he let
her words sink in. Belatedly he realized he hadn’t brought up
Saisshalé in the conversation, but it hadn't warranted it. Perhaps
it wasn't the man he'd been worried about after all; perhaps it had
been himself. He stood up, lit another cigarette, and paused at the
windows to watch the lights of Bridgetown, watching life start,
end, and start again. Nothing ever ended in this town. But the
knowledge that Kai was there for him, with him in this
Sprawl even at a distance, somehow made it all bearable.

CHAPTER SIX
    Decision
     
    Nehalé Usarai rose from his meditation, took
a series of slow, deep breaths of cool mountain air, and opened his
eyes. A cool springlike breeze came in from the east, gently
pushing at his spirit, refreshing him. He picked up the fragrances
of the skrihad and kriosi trees that lined the field.
Just underneath he picked up a faint hint of cooking meat hung as
well. The Elders of the One of All Sacred were having a late night
gathering at the Gathering Table.
    To his surprise, the Elders had invited him
up here to Trisanda for this meeting. They'd considered the Ninth
Coming of the One to be of high importance, higher than even he'd
expected, for she was what the other eight were not. Due to her
failed Ascension, poor Denni Johnson had become the One of All
Sacred in physical form. Né Gharné , the Elders were calling
her. 'Goddess on Earth', and the only Embodiment ever to do so. All
nine had carried the divine spirit of the One within them, and they
had all been brought forth in mass awakenings, Nehalé's being the
latest. The other eight had become a body-spirit hybrid, able to
take on whatever form they wished, but Denni could only do so in
the spirit world. On Earth's reality, she remained her
fifteen-year-old self.
    Truth be told, Nehalé was a little more than
anxious about meeting this group. He'd been here only once before,
just before Denni's arrival at the warehouse. Mancka Udéma had
taken him here to prove that his motives for resurrecting the One
had been pure. She had taken him to emha sehndayen-ne Eprysia —
Ampryss, the World Watcher — and the woman had deemed him worthy of
the task.
    Only he'd failed.
    The Elders, ever resourceful, had decided to
take this as an omen rather than a burden, and beckoned him up
here. Resigned to is fate, he rose to his feet and headed eastward
towards the tree line.
    He heard their voices even from this
distance, some boisterous and audible, others soft and from within.
He chose not to focus on either until he actually reached his
destination, using them only as his guide and compass. The forest
path was lined with flickering lanterns hung from high branches, a
rarity here at the Landing Field. The Elders must have strung these
up when they’d arrived earlier. They weren’t exactly needed, but he
appreciated the gesture.
    Nehalé Usarai, he heard.
    He stopped short and looked off to his left.
The voice sounded familiar. His name was called again, calm and
patient, just a slight prod to get his attention.
    I am here, Nehalé answered.
    Please join us at the Gathering Table,
sehnadha, the man said. We welcome you here as an honored
guest.
    “You want to know what the hell happened,” he
said to himself with a smirk. I shall be there within a few
minutes, edha, he