All Hope Lost (18 page)

“Robert explained as best he could to what I was. He has
been training me.”

The ladies eyebrow cocked slightly when I mentioned his
name. “Is something wrong?” I asked.

She smiled at me then. “Of course not. Though Robert is a
little, how do I say, surreal. Plus he gets in your head when you least expect
it. He is a Mesmer of sorts you know?”

“Oh yes I am aware. But he has no power over me. I can
influence him though, which is very odd, but he can read my mind.” I didn’t
know why I had spoken so freely then. The woman before me felt trustworthy. I
frowned.

“So who are you? What do you do here?” I asked her
politely.

“Oh, I hold my class here for the ‘special ones’. I
cannot speak of what I do here of course. As a matter of fact, you probably
don’t realise that this area is, well, let’s say top secret.” She tapped her
nose. “From the smell of you, you should be in room twelve. Sixth room on the
right.” She smiled again, then backed into her room and shut the door.

Room twelve eh. Time to find out why I am in this
strange place.
I walked ahead slowly, checking each door as I passed. Some
rooms sounded quiet, others had very strange, sinister noises sounding from
them, and others were just locked. I soon came upon the twelfth room, and
knocked upon it.

“Come in.” I opened the door slowly, and peered in. Two
other people were sat at desks, Robert at the head of the class. “Ah, Sharon.
You came back, and found us! Welcome back!” He gestured for me to enter, so
shutting the door behind me, I found a chair and sat down. “I believe you have
already met Alex and Myra.” I looked over at the other two occupants, and
recognised them both. Alex waved at me again. Myra looked like she wanted to
flee.

“Hello again,” I spoke. “I’m Sharon, nice to meet you
both properly.” Myra mumbled a response I didn’t quite hear, but Alex spoke
confidently.

“Glad to see you found your way back. I trust your exit
was pleasant for your first time?” he grinned at me and I smiled in return.

“Yes, thank you for showing me how to leave. I think I
would have been stuck here for a very,
very
long time otherwise.”

“Pleasure was mine, Sharon.”

Robert piped up. “Ok, enough
with the pleasantries folks, we have work to do.” He tapped a pointer at the
board, which showed a map of the United Kingdom. “Now then. You three have much
work to do, being what you are.” I tried to speak then, but Robert continued.
“I know you all have your own business to work through as well, but being
Daemon’s is not just a gift. It is a job. And I am here to explain to you all,
what that job is.” I glanced quickly at Myra and Alex, who in turn looked at
each other then back at Robert. It appeared they were just as confused as I
was.

“As you are all aware, you are Daemon’s. However, you are
not just an average Daemon, you are unique. Well, Sharon is totally unique, but
you Alex, and you Myra have both interesting gifts as well, which you will
train and train until you are fully honed on those gifts. Sharon, you on the
other hand have so many abilities, I am unsure if they will all be as powerful
as these two, but you will have access to much, much more.”

Alex locked eyes with me.
“You’re an Ultima?” he asked. I shrugged.

“No.” Robert began. “She is not an Ultima, but something
new entirely. What could be better than an Ultima Daemon though I am unsure;
However, I can find out.” He scratched his nose. “Right now though, let’s focus
on you three.” He flourished his pointer at us all.

“Firstly, I need to inform you all that what I am about
to say is of the utmost importance. It is also highly confidential. So no
gossiping about it to the other dead, or the living if you can communicate with
them.” He glanced at me then.

“Secondly, we are in this classroom and not in our normal
second floor room because of the confidentiality. Only those with the highest
powers, abilities, gifts, are able to come into this area. The door only shows
itself to us when we are alone. You may not bring others in with you unless
they are welcome here. Like you three, for instance.”

“Thirdly, you all need to sign this,” he waved the
pointer and a piece of paper appeared before each of us with a quill and ink
pot. “This is an NDA, a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Signing this you will be
bound to secrecy for eternity, unless first disclosed by the one upstairs, the
big boss, the all-seeing one. So before I can continue, you either sign, or
leave now.”

“What happens if we sign and we accidently speak of
whatever this is for?” Alex asked.

Robert grimaced. “Then you
will be sent to the eternal docks for punishment. What that punishment may be,
I would hate to even begin to think on it. I will just say, it will be very
bad, and most likely never-ending. So think carefully.”

I sat there then, bewildered
at what was happening.
I only came here to find out what my killers looked
like, and now here I am about to enter some sort of secret society.
I
sighed and Robert laughed. He was staring at me.

“Excuse me,” I said, “I didn’t say you could read my
thoughts!”

“Sorry, but you don’t shield yourself. You’re like a
beacon” Robert replied. “Whatever you decide I will teach you how to shield
yourself against telepaths. No doubt you will all need it.”

Cryptic, very interesting. Do I really want to know
what is happening? I’m so new to all this, am I ready? What about Michael and
Steve? What about my forum friends? What about Sam? Sam! Shit! What’s happened
to Sam?
The last couple of weeks had been so hectic I had actually
forgotten about my best friend.
I must see her as soon as I leave here
,
I promised myself. Robert was pretending not to listen, but I could tell he
was, his glances in my direction obvious to me. I saw Alex pick up his quill
and dip it within the ink well. He had read his paper whilst I had been deep in
thought, and was now signing it with a flourish. I looked at Myra, who was
still reading it, her head in her hands.

I looked at the paper before me and started to read:

NON
DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

I, Sharon Hartman, on behalf of the Realm of the Dead,
acknowledge that the information received or generated, directly or indirectly,
while working as a Daemon for the Realm of the Dead Association(henceforth
referred to as RoDA) on contract is confidential and that the nature of the
business of the Association is such that the following conditions are
reasonable, and therefore:

I warrant, covenant and agree as follows:

I, or any others employed
or engaged by the RoDA, agree not to disclose, directly or indirectly, any
information with respect to any business conducted by the Association. 
Without restricting the generality of the foregoing, it is agreed that we will
not disclose;

Plans, strategies and any
other general knowledge or any other proprietary information not known
generally to the public or in the public domain relating in any way to the
business of the Association, or any other information regarding the management
or method of operation of the Association, and;

That we will not copy or
reproduce, in any form, information provided to us by the Association for the
purpose of distribution or use outside the scope of the attached contract, and
that all documentation provided to us will be returned to the Association;

Unless otherwise approved, in writing, by the All
Seeing One of said RoDA.

This obligation of confidence shall continue after the
conclusion of the contract for eternity unless made void by the All Seeing One.

I acknowledge that the aforesaid restrictions are
necessary and fundamental to the business and welfare of the Association, as
well as the Land of the Dead and of the Living, and are reasonable given the
nature of the business carried out by the Association.  I agree that this
agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Realm of
the Dead’s laws. I agree that each provision of this agreement is separate and
distinct, and is severable from all other separate and distinct provisions.

I enter into this agreement totally voluntarily, with
full knowledge of its meaning, and without duress.

Written and Read at the Realm of the Dead, The Dark
Tower.

Name

Signature

I picked up the quill and
dipped it in the ink well. I reminded myself that curiosity had killed the cat,
but then I was already dead, so with a shaking hand, I printed and signed my
name. I looked up at Myra, who was holding her quill steady, poised to sign but
unable too. She looked over at Alex then at me, so I smiled and gave her a
small nod. She hastily looked away but Alex caught her eye and he nodded to her
as well. She sighed, and dipped her own quill, and signed quickly.

As we all put down our quills,
Robert snapped his fingers, and the paperwork lifted into the air, and vanished
with a sprinkling of gold dust.

“Right then; I guess I had better explain to you all what
this is all about!”

“As you may or may not be aware,” Robert began, “the Realm
of the Dead has multiple layers. These layers are based on varying beliefs of
what is held in the afterlife. With me so far?”

We all nodded.

“Good. Unfortunately, each layer is home to a
considerable evil. For where there is a good belief, so there is an evil one.
It’s the balance of nature. These evil beliefs are kept prisoner on each
layer.” Robert looked to me. “You, Sharon already know this, as the only being
whom I could speak to physically that knows exactly what you are, is said
prisoner.”

“Can’t you speak with the All Seeing One?” I asked.

Robert laughed. “Oh goodness
no. The All Seeing One isn’t a physical being. I guess if you had a faith you
might refer to it as a God of sorts. It sees all that happens throughout the
entire Realm of the Dead, which includes every layer. So as you can imagine, it
is extremely busy at all times.”

“So nobody has ever seen the All Seeing One?” Myra piped
up.

Robert turned his gaze upon
her. “Oh yes, but only those that have succumbed to the powers they have been gifted
and done wrong. This is why you must all be very careful with your abilities in
the living realm. It is easy to get too caught up in it, the power can manifest
itself within you and become its own life force, as it were. You must be in
control at all times. Think of your powers as a parasite.”

“I’m confused though,” I spoke. “If the All Seeing One
isn’t a physical form, how did it write that NDA?” Alex laughed.

“That’s a good question!” he replied.

Robert stared at me a moment
with a confused look upon his face. “Er, you know, no one has ever asked me
that, and to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how the All Seeing One does what
it does. I mean if it focuses on you for doing something terrible, you are
summoned to it, so I assume it manifests itself into a form we can understand.
I think if you gazed upon it now it would probably scramble your minds and send
you crazy.”

Although the question wasn’t
really answered to our satisfaction, it did kind of make sense. After all, a
being that could be everywhere and nowhere at once, must have some mighty
powers, and writing a letter seemed pretty insignificant after all.

“So what is this all about then?” Myra spoke. “We still
don’t know why we are summoned here.”

Robert cleared his throat. “Ah
yes, the war.”

“WAR?” Alex and Myra repeated at the same time. I sat
silent, waiting.

“Ah, I think I got ahead of myself.” Robert scratched his
head. “Oh yes, the prisoners in some of the realms have escaped and are now
rampaging across our realm looking for a way out.”

“How is this a war though?” I asked. “Surely it’s just a
hunt down and recapture?”

Robert looked solemn. “Alas, I
wish it were that easy. Some of the prisoners have crossed over into the other
realms and are now fighting one another. Also one prisoner that we know of has
escaped into the living realm and is now causing mischief.”

Alex raised his hand, and
Robert urged him to speak. “How did these prisoners escape in the first place?
It seems a bit strange that they all escaped at roughly the same time.”

Both myself and Myra nodded in unison.

“Good question Alex. As you know, the Realm of the Dead
is home to a vast range of beings that hold various abilities. Now some people
have been made Wardens. These people are able to cross realms and act as
Guardians, Protectors as it were to our realms. They are extremely powerful but
cannot leave here and visit the living realm. However there is one other being
that can commune with the other realms. They are known here as the T’char. They
cannot cross realms, but can communicate with one another. I believe this is
how the coordination of prisoner escapes was dealt with.”

“Do you believe it was these T’char that helped the
prisoners escape?” I asked.

“Investigations are still on going as to who released
them. I would personally believe if they were coordinating such a thing, that
they would be the most likely suspects, but who knows. The prisoners held in
each realm, have high influential powers. Any who visit them can be forced to
do anything against their own will.”