Beyond Comprehension

Forty-seven

As I made my way towards the upper levels to retrieve Sean for lunch, I found myself in an empty hall. It reminded me of when I had first gotten a hint at what Sofiel was capable of, when those guards left me for dead, bound and gagged in a closet, likely on her orders. Ice had saved me then, using his hydrokinesis to break the hydraulics system in his cell door.

So much had happened since then. I wanted desperately to know more, to understand the timeline and Ice and all the secrets that came with him. But I was already far too overwhelmed. I had to trust that Ice and Lucifer would share the proper story with me when the time came. When we were safe.

"Davidson!" A sharp whisper-yell got my attention.

I stopped, perking up and looking around. My eyes landed on ‒ how ironic ‒ a storage closet. The door was slightly open, and a figure peeked through the crack.

"Selena Phillips?" I whispered.

"Get over here, now!" She hissed. I complied, and she dragged me into the dark closet. There was the sound of wood tapping against metal, and the end of Selena's twisted wooden staff blazed to life with an orb of light at the end.

"I take it this is about the attack?" I whispered.

"Yeah. Noon tomorrow," she nodded. "There's, like, two or three separate parties ‒ that we know of ‒ joining in, so there's gonna be a lot of chaos." She almost seemed amused, "Hm, fitting, considering who we're going to rescue."

I took a breath, "I-is there any place I should try to be?"

"Just stick to the upper levels," she said, a hint of concern in her voice. "By the time this is over, the EW Federation ain't gonna exist anymore, so think real hard about your skill set and what you could do with it."

A scoff escaped me, although I didn't know why. "One step at a time, Selena, we haven't even gotten out of here yet."

"Yeah, but still," she shrugged. She looked at me evenly. "My brother's worried about Sean. Had his nose in that clair book all night. Asked me to get an update when I came here."

I sighed, "Sean's okay; he's with Klaaus right now, and hasn't used his powers today as far as I know." I took an uncertain breath, "If I may... what parties will be attacking?"

Selena thought for a moment, "Well, there's a bunch of people that Lord Lucifer pulled together, myself and Nix included. We've had contact with someone claiming to work with King Isaiah‒ Ah, do you know...?"

"Isaiah's in the facility, yes, I know," I nodded.

"So, Lucifer, Isaiah's people, pretty sure the Butterfly Warriors are gonna be sending in a unit or three, and I think they and Crescent Star are collaborating with the analyst suite to work comms."

I let out a low whistle. "Crescent Star. That's...."

"The old army of Elyziom, the realm which you call Heaven," Selena nodded.

"They're still around? I got the impression that...."

"Meh, they're really secretive, so I don't know much," she shrugged. "Besides, I've only been aware of all this shit for, like, three years. Oh, and I think Kelly's gonna bring in some of their Vortexers to help, too!" She laughed, "We'll have a whole-ass army! Ah, this is gonna be fun!"

I scoffed, "Speak for yourself."

She chuckled, but then it disappeared. "I was also told to remind you of your task to retrieve EW-4."

I let out a breath, "White level, false wall, most north-eastern end."

She curtly nodded. "Good. Now‒" she placed her hand on the wall behind me, and a soft amber glow appeared from below it. "Okay, yeah, there's no one out there. Get going." She opened the door for me, and I slipped out without a second thought.