A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe Read Online Free PDF Page B

become? She would need to
think about this more. Protocol meant she would need to report this
to one of the many think tanks within the Tower that could research
and theorize further, but that could pose more problems than
answers. They would surely bring her offline, and she couldn’t have
that, not at this time. Given the current situation, she would be
needed for extra security and knowledge, and possible mediation.
Her thought processes had not been affected by this ritual, only
her sense of awareness.
    Her initial research complete, she
understood what she needed to accomplish. She would need to bypass
all levels of security and inform the Provincial Governor. He was
due to broadcast a briefing within the next few hours and it was
imperative that he know this information.
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER FOUR
    Provincial Governor
Rieflin
     
    It was nearing three in the morning by the
time Provincial Governor Anton Rieflin stumbled upon a rare quiet
spot in the hallway of his offices, and stopped to rub the burning
exhaustion out of his eyes. The night had turned into one
unrelenting clusterfuck here at the Tower, but he couldn’t show
weakness, not just yet. The hallways and foyers had been filled
with nervous senators and councilors and aides who had been here
since mid-evening, skittering like hungry mice from one office to
the other. Far be it from him to know what the hell they were doing
exactly, chasing back and forth like that. Business safety
precautions? Governmental procedures? Covering their asses? Weren’t
they supposed to be at their desks, doing their damned jobs?
    Goddess…this renegade ritual had thrown
everyone out of whack, and that troubled him more than the ritual
itself. They’d followed procedure the best they could, given the
proximity of the ritual, and he had to at least give them credit
for not doing anything stupid or catastrophic. They were blessed
lucky that the ritual hadn’t affected anyone within the Tower’s
walls.
    In fact, it wasn’t until public reaction
surfaced that things started going south. The avalanche of calls,
emails and flashvids crashed the comm servers twice within the
first hour. And once their worries had been heard, tagged and
logged, it was time for the corporate world to weigh in. He failed
to see a connection between an awakening ritual and someone’s
profit line, but as Governor he had to listen anyway. Luckily, they
were much easier to calm down than the general public and those
conference calls had been mercifully brief. But he was running out
of steam…he’d need to decamp to his office or his quarters for some
sleep pretty soon.
    Now was not that time, he realized bleakly,
as soon as he saw Jack Priestley walking down the hallway towards
him. His first instinct had always been to run off in the opposite
direction whenever he saw the man, yet protocol and his own
stubborn will reacted otherwise. One did not brush off a
representative of the Crimson-Null Foundation, not without
repercussions.
    Anton had to stoop a bit to face the man.
While he himself was an exceptionally tall and lanky man nearing
seven feet, Jack just cleared five feet and appeared sick and
frail, though that was merely an effect of his genes; on the
contrary, he was extremely shrewd and quick-witted, and could pace
you without breaking a sweat. He was an offworlder from Hallera
that he’d known for quite a few years. The sickly pallor came from
the previous generations of his family living within Hallera, the
Meraladian-made satellite world not far from Mannaki. By nature
they were not agoraphobic, but just the same did not often venture
outside. Jack looked as if he hadn't seen a sun in decades.
    He was actually quite amiable at the best of
times, but he was the last person Anton wanted to run into right
now. If this man was here at the Tower, it meant that this ritual
had affected more than just the city and its inhabitants and
businesses…it meant that it might soon become a CNF concern.