“You can say that again,” I mutter, placing my left hand alongside the device.
Instantly, it springs to life, igniting in a series of lights and flashes. Mike taps feverishly, reentering the date we’ll be sending Braham back to.
“That’s it. Everyone ready?” he says, looking up.
“Let’s do it,” Braham says.
Once again, I close my eyes, visualizing Braham being transported back in time. Going to a place where his efforts will make a difference to this dying universe.
The energy starts to rise around us—but again, is suddenly severed.
“I’m so sorry, guys. My bad,” Braham says as he meets all of our confused faces. “I almost forgot the cryotube. Woulda caused a helluva a lot of problems for me if I left it here.”
He shrugs sheepishly, grabbing the small tube and shoving it into his coat pocket.
“That was close,” Thea mutters.
“We seem to have a lot of those. Let’s get moving before any more arise,” Bea says.
Braham nods, taking up his spot again and bowing his head.
Gabe grabs hold of his hand and again I close my eyes. The moment I do so, images flutter under my eyelids, and I can’t stop the inundation of them. I see Braham walking beside an empty field as he stops to overlook the scenery. It moves on to other flashes of him walking beside a child, talking and laughing. Then, before I know it, I see him kneeling beside a cross, his head bowed and tears streaming from his face.
A burst of light invades my perception, taking over everything I can see or sense until the only thing that’s left is the light. Then, as quickly as it came, it’s gone.
Opening my eyes, my right hand still clings to Thea’s and my left to the time machine.
“Did we… were we successful?” Thea asks, looking around the room.
Both Gabe and Braham are gone, but Bea, Thea, Mike, and myself all remain in the same spots as before.
Dropping my hands, I call out, “Gabe? Are you here?”
Silence echoes off the walls, and I shudder.
“I’m sure he’ll be back soon. He probably went to the Middle East for a minute. He’ll be back,” Mike says, patting my back.
“Yeah, I hope so,” I say.
Holding my breath, I walk around the table to get a better view from the other side.
On the floor where Braham had been standing is a glowing infinity symbol.
“Is that a number eight?” Thea says, scratching her head.
I look up and chuckle. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh?” She says confused at first, but her ah-ha moment floods across her features and she reiterates. “Oh.”
“Well, if you ask me, that’s a good sign,” Bea says. “It means we breached through dimensions.”
I turn to her, giving a silent question with a simple glance.
She raises her hand and waves dismissively, “Don’t worry about it. Just nonsense mostly, anyway.”
Suddenly, Gabe reappears right behind Bea.
Glancing quickly around the room, he exhales loudly. “Did he make it? Did Braham get through?”
“I…I think so,” I say.
“How will we know for sure?” Mike asks. “You said we’re outside of time in this place, right? Do we need to leave the sanctuary to find out?”
“I think for now, it’s best we stay here and wait for Braham to return. If we go outside the sanctuary while his work is in process, it could mean losing connection. We could find ourselves lost outside time in a way that isn’t good,” Gabe says.
Mike flicks his eyebrows up. “Well, can’t have that.”
“I don’t know about you, but I for one need a cup of tea. Michael, can you be a dear and make me some peppermint tea? My stomach has gone all jittery in suspense,” Bea says, turning to Mike.
“Absolutely, Bea. Anyone else want something while we wait?” Mike asks, looking around the room.
“You guys, I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t feel right. I mean, we’re two thousand years in the future, or some odd shit. Shouldn’t Braham be back by now? I mean, in our case, whatever he was meant to have done should be ancient history, right?” Thea says, eyeing the different relics around the room.
Gabe shrugs. “It’s hard to say. This is all new to us. While time might be relative, it’s damn near impossible to know how long it will take for Braham to make it back to us. It’s not exactly a science—at least, not yet.”
“So no one’s even the littlest bit worried?” Thea says, her eyebrows tugged in. “The previous attempts had him back within a minute or two.”
“Everything is unfolding as it should, don’t you think?” Bea says, patting Mike’s arm and tipping her head toward the kitchen.
His forehead wrinkles slightly, but he wraps his arm around hers, guiding her from the room.
“Let’s give it a few more minutes. Maybe he’s struggling with getting the right coordinates to come back?” Gabe suggests.
“But what if he can’t get back? No one went with him,” Thea says, her eyes widening.
“Oh god, she’s right. We didn’t think of that,” I mutter. “And if he changes everything, finding us in the temporal fold will be like trying to find a particular snowflake on a snowman—damn near impossible.”
“Shit, so what do we do? We have to help him,” Thea demands, placing her hands on the table and bending forward.
“We’ll need to figure out a way to go back and get him,” Gabe says.
Thea snickers. “Yeah, ‘cause that’s worked so well up to this point.”
“You haven’t tried, Thea. Maybe you have the same ability as Braham,” I suggest, my heart racing at the same speed as my mind.
“Ha—I was able to do some freaky teleportation from one place to the next. And under duress, I might add. That was nothing like jumping backward in time. Besides, I wouldn’t have any idea how to—”
“Then he’s a casualty of war,” Gabe says nonchalantly.
Thea’s mouth pops open, and she juts her hip out defiantly.
“He’s right. We have two choices. We either find a way to help him, or we wait. If we choose the latter, then we need to either wait for him to return or admit he’s lost,” I say, tugging my lips downward.
“Those options suck,” Thea says, her nostrils flaring.
“I didn’t say they didn’t,” I mutter.
My insides recoil from the thought, and a strange darkness settles in the pit of my stomach. I don’t think our journey has been successful, but I don’t know how to tell everyone.
“How long do we wait before we really start getting nervous?” Thea asks.
“We need to give him a few more minutes,” I say. “Without knowing where the sanctuary is in the scheme of reality, it could be taking him longer to hone in.”
“In the meantime, how about we focus on seeing what you’re capable of, Thea. Can you try doing your spacial jump again?” Gabe offers.
Thea takes a deep breath through her nose and releases it slowly. “I suppose so. But I don’t think it’s going to work. It didn’t feel like it was a time thing; it felt more like a lateral movement thing.”
“And it might be. But you won’t know until you test it,” Gabe says, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Okay. I suppose it can’t hurt. Right?” she says, giving a curt tip of the head.
“Atta girl,” I say, grinning.
“So, how do I do this?” Thea asks, eyeing Gabe.
“What did you do before?” he asks.
“I freaked out, thought I was about to die, and pictured myself outta harm’s reach,” she states matter-of-factly.
“Then, recreate that feeling, if you can,” he says.
Thea scrunches her face. “I’m not under that kind of pressure now. I can’t just conjure it up at will.”
“How about just focusing on the last part—picturing yourself somewhere else?” I say, raising my left hand.
“Sure, I guess,” s
he says.
Taking a step toward the altar, she places her hands on it and bows her head as if in silent prayer. After a moment, she twists around, straightens her shoulders, and closes her eyes.
Gabe reaches out, intertwining his fingers with mine. Together, we watch with bated breath—until Thea pops open her right eye.
“Dammit. I’m still here,” she mutters.
“Try again,” Gabe urges, frowning.
She takes another deep breath and again closes her eyes. Her shoulders relax under her exhalation, and she nods toward us.
“Guys, any idea where—” Mike begins, entering the sanctuary from the kitchen.
Thea jumps slightly and vanishes before our eyes.
Mike claps his hand over his mouth. “Whoops, did I just scare her?”
“Where’d she go?” I ask, looking around the room.
Before I get all of the words out, Thea reappears near the front entryway, clutching at her chest.
“Nice work,” Gabe says, clapping. “Can you do it again?”
“Only if Mike promises not to startle me again,” Thea mutters.
“Sorry about that. Just looking for the peppermint tea… I’m struggling to find it, and Bea’s adamant it’s in the kitchen somewhere.”
“In the cupboard beside the refrigerator,” I say, smiling.
“Thanks,” he says and heads back the way he came.
Gabe turns to face Thea. “All right, let’s try again. This time you managed without duress. So you’re getting closer.”
Thea bites on her lower lip.
“Was that time easier?” I ask.
“It felt like I got startled and ended up here,” she laughs uneasily.
“Well, I suppose that’s something,” I say. “Harness that kind of energy and try again. You got this.”
She shoots me two thumbs up and winces.
“Let’s hope you’re right. Because right now, I feel like it’s out of my control,” she mutters.
“You’re the only one who is in control. Right now, it’s just your subconscious driving the car. As soon as you switch to the driver’s seat, you’ll see that,” Gabe offers.
“Driver’s seat. Got it,” she says, making a face.
“It’s exactly like that. Your body is the car,” he says.
Thea bows her head and blows out all of the air in her lungs.
Gabe leans in and whispers in my ear, “She’ll get it this time. I can feel it.”
“How do you know?” I whisper back, refusing to remove my eyes from Thea’s form.
“Just—”
With a slight pop in the air, Thea vanishes then instantly shows up a few feet to our right.
“—do” Gabe finishes, a big smile gracing his gorgeous lips.
“Good job, Thea. You’re getting it,” I say, clapping.
She casts me a sideways glance. “That is super weird.”
“How do you mean?” I ask.
“Well, for starters, I was aiming to be on the altar,” she says pointing behind us. “And the sensation is pretty bizarre.”
“What does it feel like?” I say, tilting my head.
Gabe has been able to veil-walk for as long as I remember, but he’s never been able to successfully take me with him that way. I would die to know what it was really like.
“It feels as though I’m being sucked from one location to the next. Or pulled down a drain or something. So weird,” she says, shivering.
“You’ll get used to it. It’s just your body’s matter reconfiguring,” Gabe says.
“Super. Weird,” Thea reiterates, enunciating each word.
“Try again. This time, see if you can improve your accuracy,” Gabe suggests, letting go of my hand and taking a seat on a pew.
Thea rolls her eyes. “Easy for you to say. This is all extremely new to me.”
“Try,” I say, taking a seat next to Gabe. “The sooner you get this figured out, the sooner we can test it on longer-range missions—like saving Braham if he doesn’t get back soon.”
“Tell us where you’re planning on going before you go. That way, we can tell if you’re getting better,” Gabe says, tipping his chin in her direction.
Thea straightens her shoulders, wiggling her neck back and forth. “Okay, I’m aiming for right in front of the altar.”
We both nod, and I bend forward, placing my hands on my knees.
“Here goes nothing,” Thea whispers.
Things move much more quickly this time. As soon as she closes her eyes, her body is sucked into a mini vortex of energy and she reappears—not in front of the altar, but instead, standing on top of it.
“Well, that was closer,” she says with a cheesy grin.
“It really was.” I say enthusiastically. “Great job.”
Gabe also smiles. “You’re definitely getting the hang of it. Now, keep working on it. Try a few more times to improve your accuracy.”
“Okay,” she says. “This is actually getting kinda fun. I mean—can you imagine? No more getting stuck in traffic…” The light from her eyes dims, and she frowns. “Well, assuming Braham was successful and we’re not all about to burst into a big ball of oblivion.”
“Who’s bursting into oblivion?” Mike says, walking back into the sanctuary with Bea on his arm. In his free hand, he has her cup of tea.
“What’s all the hubbub out here?” Bea asks, her bright eyes flitting between the three of us.
“Thea’s learning to control her abilities,” Gabe says, point at her.
“Oh, I thought she was about to give us some sort of pole dance, seeing as she’s up on the altar and all,” Bea chuckles.
Mike walks her to the front pew and helps her to sit down.
“Do you need anything else, Bea?” he asks.
Bea pats his hand. “No, Michael. I’m good. Thank you, sweetie.”
“Okay, well, you let me know,” he says, smiling at her.
“Of course, I will,” she beams back.
Without warning the main door to the sanctuary bursts open. Once again, Thea vanishes.
20
Morgan
In the gaping hole left from the open door, white light streams into the sanctuary. A figure emerges in the middle, sending stray beams of light shooting off in all directions.
My pulse races as I take a step back and reach for Gabe.
Is it another demon—one who’s taken form?
The man steps all the way in, then turns to close the door. As he turns back around in the absence of the white light, both relief and disbelief wash over me.
“Braham?” Gabe says, stepping forward. “Is that you?”
Dressed in a long, black trench coat—a completely different look from what he wore when he left—Braham tips his chin, and a big grin spreads across his features.
“Hello, everyone. You have no idea how good it is to see you,” Braham says, raising his eyebrows.
“Hey Braham, good to see you again, man,” Mike says, tipping his chin and waving at him from his pew. “Glad you made it back.”
“Uh, excuse me? Why are you talking like it’s been ages since you saw us? You just left…” Thea says, reappearing in the stairwell that leads to the basement.
“So the timing was right,” he mutters to himself. “Excellent.”
“Hello? Lost here?” Thea reiterates.
Braham sighs, “I, uh—sorry. Maybe to all of you it’s only been a few minutes. But for me, it’s been… much longer,” Braham says, his grin softening. The creases beside his eyes look a bit more worn in the motion.
“How much longer?” I ask, walking toward him.
He blows out a puff of air, “Well, it’s taken just over thirty-seven years to perfect my time-walking and manage to find you. That was the hardest part,” he says, making his way into the room.
“Why did it take so long?” Gabe asks, walking up to him and giving him a quick shoulder hug and slap on the back. “I would have thought after a bit of practice, it would h
ave been easy.”
“As it turns out, when you don’t know how the future looks once it’s been changed, it’s damn near impossible to make the leap back. To be honest, it wasn’t terrible,” Braham says. “I got to spend some time with my son before he… well, you know.”
“After you left, I did wonder how long it might take you to find your way back,” I say, frowning. “A bit late, but—”
“Uhhhh…is anyone here gonna ask the obvious question?” Thea says, scrunching up the side of her face.
Both Gabe and I shoot her a confused glance.
“Which obvious question are you referring to?” I say.
“Uh, if he’s been running around testing out his time-walking for the past few decades, how come he hasn’t aged a day?” she says, her eyebrows arching high. “I mean, sure, good genes and all…”
“And here I thought the obvious question was whether or not he was successful in his mission,” Bea snorts into her tea.
Gabe chuckles, and I grin. Valid point as well, but I can pretty much assume the answer to that one if he’s here and the darkness hasn’t come for us, and yet… Something niggles at the back of my mind, but I can’t quite place it.
I flick my gaze back to Braham.
“Thea, once an angel awakens, as we all have now, human aging is suspended. Our higher calling takes over and gives us the keys to immortality,” Gabe says. “I’ve been this way for quite a while now.”
“Well, okay, great—I guess,” Thea says, her eyes going distant. “Wait. So whatever age our awakening happens is the age we get frozen at?”
Gabe bobs his head.
“Geez, sucks to be Bea, then. Poor woman,” she says, twisting around to Bea. “I mean, no offense.”
Bea quirks an eyebrow but continues to sip her tea.
“Anyway, I really only came back because I need your help,” Braham says. “We need to go back.”
“Were you not successful?” Gabe says, concern creeping into his features.
“Yeah—yeah I was, actually. But I don’t want to leave things the way they were. I… You gotta understand, he’s my son, even if he doesn’t know it,” Braham says, his eyes shifting to the floor. “I need to protect him somehow, get him out of there.”
The Chronicles of the 8th Dimension - Limited Edition Box Set (4 Books): A Supernatural Thriller Box Set Page 46