Chapter Sixteen

The Ritual

The other followers who brought the guard appear fine. I wonder if they made the same walk I did. The guard is as expected terrified. Her eyes fixed wide open at the sight of Inanis and his cage. Inanis speaks for all present to hear. My followers bow even lower than I’ve seen them do in my presence. The power of his words bringing even The Company guard to her knees. “We shall begin the ritual. Lay down our follower. Her name shall become Luna Grayson.” I am sure Inanis can feel my discomfort as his intentions. If they weren’t obvious before they are now blatantly so. “Hold the guard down next to her.” My followers don’t hesitate as they hear his words. She struggles for a minute, but as Inanis turns his attention toward her she submits. Her eyes never leave him even as she is laid next to Luna. The utter defeat and despair clearly evident on her face.

I am told to place both my hands on their chests where the heart resides. To my surprise the guard does not resist. Although it has been years I understand very well the feeling of helplessness one feels in his presence. I suddenly feel an itch in the back of my mind. Just like when I was talking to my father. “Focus my son!” I look up seeing Inanis approach. I get the feeling he is uncomfortable when I get that itching in my mind. These thoughts are swept away as inanis kneels at the edge of his cage. He positions himself mirroring me. His arms don’t dissipate as much when he reaches through the spheres. Placing his hands on their foreheads a jolt runs through them and me. I can feel every cell in their bodies and I know Inanis senses much more. Through this connection, I know reaching through the cages causes him pain similar to when he first touched my forehead. As if on que. “Let us hurry my prophet. I can feel Elohim calling her.” That name shifts something deep within me, but a force I don’t understand consumes it as if it were in quicksand. “My son can you feel Lunas spirit?” I redirect my attention to match his. Indeed, I feel something. Pure energy somehow, I know it’s a her. I can’t tell if this is the one we are looking for, but Inanis assures me that she is.

“Feel the spirit of the guard.” Sensing hers is much easier of course as she still resides within her body. I’m certain I wouldn’t be able to sense it at all if not for Inanis. “In time my son. In time, you will. Now with me stretch out her soul and imagine the end catching Luna like a net.” Doing so I can feel immense pain and discomfort coming from the guard. Even after all I’ve been through I’m not sure I could handle such pain. I feel Inanis disapproving of my empathy. I feel it wither within me and it becomes much easier to follow his instructions. We connect the end that is supposed to connect to the guard to Lunas’ body. We pull Lunas’ soul through what can best now be described as a spirit tube. When Lunas’ soul enters her body the soul of the guard snaps back into a sphere in place of where Lunas’ soul was. An immense presence turns toward her and Inanis is thrown back to the center of his cage. The connection is severed. The fear I feel now is more paralyzing than anything I’ve felt from Inanis. I am brought back to my surroundings by a feminine voice. “My prophet. My savior. Are you here?”