Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) (26 page)

Chapter 43

Xander

The forest is eerily silent, and I wonder where Jesca and the others are.

A group of men come up on us quickly.

Sam begins to talk with them. “Are they here yet?”

One of the men says, “Yes, they just took down five of our men. They are heading toward the open meadow.”

I bite my lip to keep from smiling at our small victory.

Corinna looks at me. “You okay?”

I reply, “Yeah, just want to get this started.”

Corinna walks past me, apparently not very satisfied with my answer.

Sam puts his arm around my shoulder and moves us forward. He whispers, “Don’t worry about her, Xander. She just needs to warm up to you.”

I try to seem casual when I ask him about what he meant earlier. “So, back at the house, you said we are going somewhere. Where?”

Sam keeps walking by my side and sighs. “Through the wormhole, Xander. Michael Sanderson offered me an opportunity that I can’t pass up.”

I take in what he has just told me. Then, I continue. “What offer?”

Sam answers, “He wants me to do some exploring for him. I said that you and Corinna would make an excellent team for me. See, this wormhole will open when the intersection is at its peak. When the intersection gets there, the black hole contained in the Andromeda galaxy is at its most vulnerable and accessible state. With those factors in place, we are going to take a leap of faith and try to traverse through the wormhole into the black hole and come out the other side beyond this universe.”

I remember Claiborne talking about this when he was on Skype with us the other night. I try to appear clueless though.

I ask, “What’s on the other side?”

Sam answers, “There’s something. There is no doubt about it. For months now, we have been studying the gamma ray bursts coming from the black hole in the Andromeda galaxy. Our physicists have a theory. Whatever is on the other side is attracted to us because of something we have within us.”

I don’t say anything right away.

Sam says, “Tell me, Xander. Isn’t it true we always want something that we don’t possess when others have it?”

I respond, “Yeah, I suppose.”

Sam says, “Well, they, whoever they are, want what we have because they do not possess it. They want our souls.”

I laugh a little,
“What?”

Sam stops. I stop as well. We stare at each other. I glance down, realizing he’s serious.

I look back up at him. “What if they take our souls when we get there? Who’s to say they won’t kill us on the spot when we land in their world?”

Sam puts his hand back on my shoulder as we continue to walk. “We will have an offering.”

I look at him. “An offering?”

Sam grunts. “He took her away from me years ago. If I can’t have her, no one will. Now, I am going to get my revenge. I am going to make him suffer and take the only thing he has left on this Earth.”

I ask, “Who?”

Sam looks at me. “Jesca Gershon-Sera.”

My pace slows, and I feel like the blood has drained from my body.

Sam slows and turns to look at me. “What? You still pining over her?”

I swallow hard and start walking again. “No. I just figured that I’d never have to see that two-faced bitch again.”

Sam catches back up with me. “Don’t worry, son. She won’t be with us for long once we get there.”

Chapter 44

Jesca

As I race through the forest, I tell myself, If I run, he will have to follow me.

I turn and see Nate coming up quickly behind me.

He thinks, Damn it, Jes! It isn’t real! Come back!

When I look ahead, for a split second, I see the royal blue–cloaked figure pass a few feet in front of me. I seize the moment, round the tree with all the speed and agility I can muster, and grab hold of the blue-hooded figure. The figure tries to pull away from me, but I turn it around to face me and pull the hood from its head.

It’s a woman not much older than me. Her blonde curls fall around her shoulders onto the squirming bundle at her chest. She shifts her body to the right, like she’s going to run, but I hold up my hand to stop her.

I yell, “No, don’t run! I want to help you and your baby.”

I think, Ezra, there is a baby and a woman. I think the baby is a Dobrian. What should I do?

The woman’s eyes are pleading. She whispers delicately, “Please let me go! They are coming for him! We have to get out of the forest!”

After catching up, Nate is now standing next to me. He looks at the woman in front of us. He’s out of breath and speechless, realizing that she and the bundle in her arms are real.

Nate whispers to me, “Sam, Xander, and Corinna are on the outskirts of the meadow now. It won’t be long.”

I look down at the bundle she is holding. A small hand peeks out from the deep blue cloth and tugs on a golden curl.

I look behind her, and then I put my hand on her shoulders, staring into her deep blue eyes. “I think we are almost out of the forest. Lake Motuso is just beyond the forest. We have trucks by the lake. We can take you there.”

I hear Ezra’s thoughts all of a sudden. Jesca, Balthazar and Sebastian are coming to help you and Nate. Protect the mother and child.

Nate and I both whirl around when we hear twigs snapping from behind us. Nate pulls his semiautomatic and chambers the bullet. I do the same. We both scan the forest behind us, but nothing is there.

That’s when I see a dark aura appear behind a nearby tree. The figure quickly takes form. It’s my assassin, Michael Sanderson.

I grab Nate’s arm and pull him back with me. “It’s Sanderson!”

We both turn to grab hold of the mother and child, but she is already yards ahead of us. I pump my arms and legs as hard as I can to catch up with her, but then she disappears into thin air.

I slow to a stop, and Nate comes to my side.

I pant. “They’re moving too fast. They are jumping. He’s going to get to her and the baby if we don’t get there first.”

I grab hold of Nate’s hand and project us to the edge of the forest. I hear the baby’s curdling cry, but I don’t see them.

Maybe they’re already at the trucks? I told them that the trucks are by the lake. Holding Nate’s hand still, I project us to the trucks. The woman and baby are not there either.

Then, abruptly, I can’t hear the baby. I grip Nate’s arm in panic. “The baby isn’t crying anymore!”

I close my eyes and try to focus. I begin to cry uncontrollably. “The baby isn’t crying, Nate!”

He doesn’t say anything. He just pulls me to him. Out of the silence, I hear a bloodcurdling scream echoing across the lake. Our heads snap up and away from each other simultaneously.

I look back at him, realizing that he might not have heard that scream. “Did you hear that?”

He nods rapidly. “Yes, I heard her scream!”

I hear the scream again and use my eyes to follow the sound across the lake. I see the blue-hooded woman climbing a cliff, and then she disappears. She reappears yards ahead seconds later. Sanderson is not far behind. He is closing in on her quickly.

I have to get to her or stop him. I focus on a point on the cliff close behind Sanderson.

Just before I jump to them, Nate yells at me, “Jes, don’t go! Balthazar is coming!”

When everything comes back into focus, I’m right on Sanderson’s tail. I yell at him, “Stop!”

He turns to glare at me, and then he quickly disappears. I curse him and focus on my next jump. When I reappear, I land only a few yards away from the mother and child.

I look around hastily to see how high up we are. We are about a hundred feet above the lake on the edge of the cliff. There’s nowhere to go but into the lake. I look over the cliff, contemplating our survival if we jump.

The woman screams again. I look up at her and see Sanderson is standing directly in front of her. He grabs a hold of her throat with one hand and holds her at arm’s length. Tears are rolling off her cheeks, and her lips are trembling. I see Sanderson reach his free hand around his back, pulling a dagger from his belt.

As soon as I see the metal, I yell, “No!”

I focus on Sanderson, and everything begins to blur. That’s when I see him bury the knife into her chest. Her eyes pinch closed from the excruciating blow. The baby is crying so hard now that its voice is going hoarse.

Looking at this mother holding her baby, my mind drifts to what could be the mirror image of my mother and me the night she was murdered. My mother died in that cabin as I screamed in the other room for my father.

My legs go weak, and I crumble, broken from knowing that this child might be subjected to a future that is all too familiar to me.

Sanderson drops his knife and lets go of the woman. She sways back and forth, almost falling into him. Then, as she is righting herself, Sanderson reaches for the baby slowly.

“Give him to me,” he says.

Her eyes move away from Sanderson and land on me. Lips trembling, she mouths the pleading words, “Save him.”

She tightens her arms around the baby, closes her eyes, and walks backward, going over the edge of the cliff. At the very moment when she disappears, I feel a rage burn within me because of this man that has stripped a shared life away from this mother and child.

I scramble up from the ground, run toward Sanderson, pick up the knife, and shove it through his chest. I see Nate at the bottom of the cliff, sprinting to us. I turn and dive off the cliff after the mother and child.

When my body hits the water, the icy coldness disorients me. I get my bearings and look beneath me. I see a deep blue cloth billowing below. I kick my legs and use my arms to pull my body to get to them as fast as I can.

When I reach the woman’s body, her eyes are shut, and she is still. I pull away the blue cloth and see her arms are still tight around child. His head is buried in her chest, like he’s sleeping. I grab a hold of the woman and sandwich the baby between her and me, and then I pump my legs to get us to the surface.

Her limp body weighs so much, and I start to feel the urge to release air. Moments in the facility of when I was training with Ezra in the pool come crashing back to me. The need to release air is too strong, and the desperation of not having enough air to make it to the surface hits me hard.

No! I won’t release air. I can get us to the top. I hear Ezra’s voice all of a sudden. I don’t know if it’s really him sending his thoughts to me or if I’m just remembering his words from the facility. C’mon, Jes! Just hold on! You can do this!

I can’t let this baby die! He has to live. I keep telling myself over and over again, He has a legacy. He has a legacy.

I get into a groove of kicking and pulling with one arm. Slowly, the surface of the water changes from dull and murky to bright and clear. Then, I’m finally up and gasping for air. I keep kicking and pumping my arm while trying to balance the lifeless mother and child on my body.

From nearby, Nate yells, “Jes! Oh my God! Balthazar! Sebastian! Over here!”

I hear splashes coming from behind me, and then arms are around me, pulling me out of the water.

Nate’s breathing is erratic, and he yells again, “Hurry!”

Balthazar screams, “Oh my God! Miriam!”

I hear more splashing. I keep my eyes closed and pump my legs as Nate holds me up with the woman and child still in my arms.

Balthazar is at my side, pulling the woman away from me.

Exhausted, I tell him, “The baby. She has the baby.”

He stops to look at me. Then, he scrambles to pull the mother into his arms, making sure to secure the bundle to his body as he carries her away.

Sebastian wades through the water. “Balthazar, here, let me help.”

Now that he is able to walk, Nate lifts me into his arms and carries me quickly out of the water, laying me on the ground. I turn my head until I see Balthazar holding the lifeless woman. He unwraps the baby, who looks like he is only sleeping peacefully.

Nate is next to Balthazar now. Nate says with urgency, “Balthazar, let me help you heal them.”

Sebastian comes over to me and wraps his jacket around my arms as I watch Balthazar grab a hold of Nate’s hand. They both close their eyes and lay their free hands on the woman and child. I focus my eyes on both the mother and the bundle, waiting to see any movement.

Then, I hear the most beautiful sound. The baby starts crying. I can’t help but break down, weeping all over again.

Balthazar and Nate keep their hands in place as Sebastian carefully lifts the baby boy from the woman and lays him in my arms. I hastily take off the jacket, wrap the baby in it, and hold him to me, hushing him as my tears continue to fall.

The baby stops crying, satisfied that he is warm, I’m sure. I breathe in deeply in an attempt to stop myself from crying.

I look up at Balthazar and Nate. Balthazar is pulling the woman tightly against his body.

His lips are resting on her forehead as he whispers, “Miriam, please don’t leave us. Come back.”

He pinches his eyes tightly closed, like he’s giving all of his life force to her. It isn’t enough though.

Balthazar lets go of Nate’s hand, wraps both of his arms around her body, and rocks her back and forth, his body quaking silently.

I’m overcome with emotion and start to weep again as I see this man crumble for the woman he loves as she passes beyond our world and into another, leaving Balthazar and his son here.