Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) (29 page)

Sneak Peek of Book 3 in the Piercing the Fold series, Ascending the Veil: Book 3

Chapter 1

Jesca

Facility in Kyoto, Japan~

I turn the small, clear, rectangular world in my hands. Careful not to disturb the ants’ free will, their decisions, their distinct and individual purposes. The thick plastic of the container seems to protect them from what is going on out here.
What if the thick plastic was thinned into a sheath-like veil? How safe would they be in their little world?

I feel a tear fall
from my eyes and touch my lips. I quickly swipe my hand across my mouth and keep it there for a moment. I close my eyes and hold my breath to stop the anxiety from releasing. When the emotion passes, I carefully set down the small, plastic world; Ezra’s note still attached. 

“Will you take care of them while I am gone?”

I breathe out slowly and keep my eyes on the note. Of course I will; there is no question about that. The real question is how would we get Ezra and Nate back from where ever they have gone? They should be in this facility with me right now, not sucked into a wormhole. If Nate would have just held onto Xander and I, they would be. But, no, Nate took control of the situation and sacrificed both him and Ezra; so stupid of him. I did not need saving. If he would have given me the chance, with Xander’s help we could have tossed Sam into the wormhole and sealed it. Our fellowship, the team, needs them here.  The intersection happened, an invasion on our earth has taken place, and there is still more to come. We need Ezra’s strength, logic, and guidance right now more than ever, and Nate’s ability to heal others and his link with both Xander and me.  Yeah, the link has caused tension between the three of us, but it has also made the abilities we adapted through the Copula. A flash of Nate cupping my chin in my dark room in the villa back in Florida telling me, “We are stronger together,” crosses my mind. My heart aches remembering the feel of his closeness, the smell of him as he comforted me during my nightmare; eucalyptus and mint was the scent.  I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I’m still pissed at him and as soon as I see him, I plan to let him know how stupid of a move that was to fall into that wormhole. 

The door opens from behind me: Xander.  Hastily, I block my thoughts from him and wipe any
remaining tears from my face. If he catches a glimpse of me thinking of Nate, there will be questions, ones that I don’t want to answer, can’t answer actually. I don’t have answers for him as to why I feel slightly lost now that Ezra and Nate are gone; mostly Nate. I turn my body to face him as he approaches me. “The ant farm. Where did you get it?”

Xander looks
at the tiny world and walks over to the table, places his hands on his knees and peers in at the little black organisms tunneling.  “Balthazar and Angela got it in town.” 

I was about to v
erbally assault the stupid act and demand to know who would put their lives in danger when Xander turns his head to me. “Ezra.  In my dream, he told me to get the ant farm.” 

It figures Ezra would do something like that.  I shake my head and walk over to stand next to Xander. 

Xander stands up straight. “Everyone thought I was crazy, ranting about how I needed them to go out and find an ant farm in the middle of an apocalypse. Ezra said you would know what it meant.” 

My chest tightens imagining Ezra telling Xander about our bond over a tiny plastic world.  I close my eyes and run my hands through my hair and hold the back of my neck. 

Xander’s hand runs along my arm. “I’m sorry Jes. I told him that it might upset you. Here, I can take it out of the room.”

I
open my eyes and release my hands from my neck letting my arms hang down by my side. Xander’s hand drops from mine. “No, it’s alright Xander. I just was thrown off when I saw it sitting here in my room with the note. I know why it is here.”

Xander crosses his arms over his chest. “Why? Ezra didn’t tell me.”

A knot forms in my throat now as I remember the first time I saw Ezra’s ant farm on campus in his office. “It is a reminder of the promise I have made to guard and protect this world, our world. When I first met him in Georgia, he had one in his office.”

I feel the pull of a smile on my face from the memory. God, it seems like that was so long ago, when it had only been a little over a year since the day I discovered my life was not ever going to be average by any means.  

I rest my hand on my neck expecting to feel the chain holding my Copula medallion, the one Ezra gave me before we left Florida, but it wasn’t there. I turn and look back at the bedside table, hoping to see it sitting there, but it’s not. “Where is it?”

Seeing the panic surfacing within me, Xander quick
ly reaches into his pocket and pulls it out for me to see. “It’s right here.” Xander comes closer with the medallion dangling from a copper chain and motions for me to let him put it on me. I turn around slowly and pull my hair to the side for him to fasten it back in place. I can’t help but be hypersensitive to Xander’s breath dancing on the back of my neck. “I took it off of you when I...when I got you into bed.” 

Once it is secure, I turn back to face him. “Thank you.” Xander runs his hand through his hair and rests it on
the back of his neck nervously. Wait, when he got me into bed? I look down at what I am wearing, a gauzy nightgown.

My expression must have
alerted him to explain quickly. “Jes, I wouldn’t let anyone near you when we got here, not even Elisha and she was not happy about that by the way. Your clothes were a mess and I had to change you out of them.” 

I feel the heat rise on my face and I
freeze with panic.  Dear God, Xander undressed me. The only word I can muster amidst my embarrassment is, “Oh.” 

Xander’s eyes hold mine tenderly and as he moves closer to me my heart pounds beneath my chest. “I
couldn’t leave your side Jes, not after what happened in the forest with Ezra and Nate.” Xander clears his throat and closes his eyes. Sensing his pain, I close the distance between us and run my hand along his arm. He opens his eyes and continues, “ Before they left, Nate told me to protect you.” 

The
image of Nate pulling Ezra from Sam, as Sam tried to pull Ezra into the wormhole flashes in my mind. Nate was anchored to Xander and I with one hand, and to Ezra with the other. A brief flash of Nate looking into Xander’s eyes as he held me to him. I heard his deep voice bellow, “Protect her!”

Xander sha
kes his head back and forth. “After seeing you that night, how you reacted after Nate released himself and Ezra into that wormhole, I couldn’t risk leaving your side. You broke Jesca.  Monica sedated you for your safety and I carried you out of the forest. When we got back to the facility and you were still out, I was afraid to leave you.”

I nod slowly, letting it sink in how much Xander had done to make sure I was safe and comfortable. I pull him into me and hug h
im hard. I whisper into his ear, “Thank you, Xander, for everything.” 

Xander’s arms encircle my waist and my knees g
o weak from this simple touch. I pull back slowly from Xander, needing to give myself some space to focus on something other than my feelings for him. I needed to lighten the mood quickly. “So, do I have a clean change of clothes I can put on or do I have to walk around in this piece of gauze?”

Xander scoffs softly,
pulls back from my embrace, and walks over to a chest of drawers in the corner of the room.  He rests his hand on the dresser and pats it softly. “It’s not much, but it’s clean.” 

I’m a little curious
about who picked out the wardrobe.

On cue, Xander says,
“Nick threatened to blow the door off the hinges if I didn’t open up after being hulled up in here with you the first night. After that, I loosened up, a little bit.” Xander turns to me and winks playfully.

Wait, I had my block up. 
How did he slip through?
I smile hoping that I can hide the concern on my face for his reading my thoughts psychically. It could have easily been a good guess. I need to have some space. My block was obviously not being reliable. “Well, I need to dress. I will be out in a bit to go with you to talk with the others.”

Xander nods and walks toward the door.  His hand lingers on th
e doorknob and I sense that he is leery of leaving my side.

I walk to the dresser and open the top drawer. “It’s alright
, Xander.  I’ll be okay.”

Eying Xander, he looks at me with disbelieving eyes and reluctantly opens the door.    “I’ll be close if you need me.” 

I nod quickly as I rummage through the clothing, trying to appear busy. When the door shuts, I pause and blow my lower lip out. Grabbing unmentionables, black pants and a grey tank top, I walk back to the bed and toss them down and flop down on the bed. I look beyond the clothes at the bed and think of Nate being here only moments ago in my dream. I close my eyes and recall the words Nate said to me. “No nightmares”.  

Leave it to Nate to make reference of the nights he would comfort me in Flor
ida after my vivid nightmares. When Nate joined our team in Florida, he would crawl into bed and lay with me, nothing more. I touch the linens of the bed and a wave of goose bumps starting at my neck and move down over my body just remembering how it became a habit of ours for us to wake in the early morning spooning. I touch my lips, remembering the kisses and soft touches we shared as the sleepovers became more frequent, addictive even.
Ugh! I can’t be thinking about this, him, right now.
  I plop down on the edge of the bed. Nate and I are just a manufactured connection from the Copula, that is all. Xander and I...well, we are new and trying to figure out what we are. 

I
pull off the gauzy nightgown, yank my clothes on roughly, stalk to the door, and pull it open not expecting to see Xander leaning against the wall opposite my door. I step back and try and compose the madwoman look I probably possess right now. His eyebrows raise curiously as he looks me up and down. “You okay?”

Definitely looking like
a mad woman.  I roll my eyes, turn away from him, and shut the door behind me. I quickly finger my hair into a ponytail and say, “Yeah. I’m fine.” Xander watches me a moment longer. Being self-conscious of his knowing stare, I smirk, “What?”

Xander lo
oks down, pushes off the wall, and starts walking down the hall without saying another word.

I’m glad he doesn’t interrogate me any further about my frustration, but a part of me worries he already kne
w what is bothering me: him and Nate. I jog to catch up to Xander’s fast pace and try to cover my tracks. “Hey, I’m sorry I was so short back there.”

Xander clenches his jaw and
looks at me out of the corner of his eye as he keeps his fast pace. “It’s alright. We both have a lot on our minds right now.”

“Yeah, obviously.”