Crossing Nexis

by Barbara Hartzler

  Gingerly, I unfurled my limbs from their cocoon, breathing hard and fast, wiping my dripping eyes and nose.

  “You’re okay, sweetie. You’re safe now.” Bryan knelt down beside me, his hands smoothing back my hair. “It’s gone. Whatever it was.” He eased me into a sitting position and wrapped his arms tight around me. “Just try to breathe. It’s going to be okay.”

  I inhaled lungfuls of stench-free oxygen, desperately trying to slow my breathing to match his.

  “What was that?” Brooke crouched down to my level. “It was like someone turned on a giant fan. But not even the furnace of full blast could blow that much air down here.”

  I sucked in an extra breath. “You felt it, too?”

  Abby nodded at me, crouching down to my level. “It was kinda freaky.”

  “Did you hear it, too?” I hiccuped. “That horrible shrieking?”

  “Nope.” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Didn’t hear anything. I just felt the wind. Did you guys?”

  Brooke’s voice filtered down from above. “I didn’t hear it either.”

  Above me, Bryan moved his head, chin mussing my hair. “No wonder you were freaking out.”

  “Great, so you just thought I was having a psychotic break or something?” I couldn’t look at him. Any of them.

  He squeezed me tight. “Never. Don’t forget, we know who you are. It’s a heavy burden to bear. For anyone. Especially two years before you’re supposed to have any of your Seer abilities.”

  I gulped back the rest of the tears that threatened to overflow.

  “You know you’re not alone, right?” He scooted me around to face him. “Even though you’re the only one who can see the things you see, we’re still here for you. I’m here for you.”

  Tears slid down my cheeks. “Thank you for that.” I hugged him close.

  “Tell me what happened. Wind and some kind of shrieking?” His soft breath feathered my temple. Rising to his feet, he pulled me up with him.

  “Yeah.” The room spun as I stood, and he steadied me. “Plus, a weird shadow engulfed the room. Like all the light was drained from the world. Except for a spotlight around us. And the shrieking. The horrible shrieking …”

  Suddenly his arms went slack and his face turned pale. “You’re kidding.”

  “What?” I took a step back and stared at him.

  “It’s not good.” His voice cracked.

  I reached out to steady him this time. “What is it?”

  His eyes were blank as he looked at me. “It sounds like a reckoning. Have Mom get the book.” He wasn’t talking to me anymore. He was talking over my head. He nodded to Abby who didn’t hesitate.

  “On it,” was all she said. In two seconds flat, I heard two pairs of footsteps pounding up the stairs. I didn’t have the energy to ask.

  Turning to me, his brows scrunching together. “Can you make it to the living room, or do you need me to carry you?”

  My cheeks warmed. “Maybe I should carry you this time. You look pretty shaken.”

  He nodded, bracing his arm around my back.

  As we teeter-tottered up the stairs, I asked the question burning me up inside. “What’s ‘the book’ you’re talking about?”

  “It’s the Guardian’s Book of the Seer…” he huffed between steps. “It’s got all sorts of legends … prophecies … and history in it.”

  “About reckonings, or whatever that was?” I cocked my head at him as we reached the landing. “That might’ve come in handy before now.”

  “Yep, it’s in there.” He raked his hand through his hair. “None of this is protocol. It just doesn’t make sense.”

  I stopped at the top of the stairs. “I think it’s time I saw this Seer book.”

  “It’s not protocol,” he mumbled again. Catching my eye, he lowered his voice and said, “But I think you’re right. It’s time.”

  Maybe this book would explain all the crazy things I’d faced in just two days of Seer training. But if the Guardians of the Seer couldn’t figure it out, how could a premature Seer ever make sense of all this otherworldly chaos?

  Chapter 5

  My knees wobbled on the stairs. My hands shook like crazy. That God-awful scream still echoed in my ringing ears. Bryan’s face mirrored everything I felt. Maybe I didn’t want to be the Seer any more, not if I had to deal with atrocious things like “a reckoning.” Whatever that was.

  Bryan herded me into the living room, easing me down on the couch in front of the fireplace. The warmth from the crackling fire seeped into my skin, steadying my nerves a bit.

  Cindy rushed in carrying a cup of hot cocoa as if it would melt away the horror I’d just lived through. I sipped at the warm chocolate. Bit into a marshmallow. Breathed in and out. It all took extra effort at this point.

  Cindy scurried off down the hall. When she reappeared with Brooke and Abby, she had a book tucked under her arm. I could only assume it was THE book. Plopping down next to me, she handed the book to Bryan and he ever-so-gently laid it on my lap. The Cooper sisters huddled together behind me to catch a glimpse of “the book.”

  Warmth radiated from the leather-bound tome. Its mere presence on my lap soothed me even more. Like maybe some kind of explanation lay hidden in the parchment pages. My fingers itched to trace the raised bronze circle in the center on the faded-green cover. Oddly enough, it looked just like the Nexis book Will tried to make me steal from the school library. A chill slithered down my spine.

  Cindy opened the book, its rusty hinges creaking an ominous note. As the pages crinkled open, a dusty smell wafted up—like fresh dirt tinged with musty old books. Carefully, she thumbed through the parchment until she came to a page with a drawing. Eyes etched in ancient ink over scrawling Latin script.

  I knew it said exactly what I needed. I knew it in my bones.

  “Don’t be alarmed dear.” Cindy glanced over at me.

  “Just lay it on me. At this point I can take anything, right?” I gritted my teeth.

  “This section here talks about the role of the undeclared Seer,” Cindy pointed to the Latin words. “While there are advantages to staying neutral—like peace, tenuous as it is, instead of war—there are marked disadvantages.”

  A shiver racked my body. “What kind of disadvantages?”

  Peeking over my shoulder, Brooke gasped. “I guess I didn’t think about that, even though it seems so obvious.”

  “What?” I craned my neck to look at her. “Someone tell me what’s going on.”

  “Mark and I’ve read about this, but we didn’t think it was relevant since you’re not of age yet.” Cindy patted my knee. “It seems that an undeclared Seer, such as yourself, is still subject to a reckoning from the other side.”

  “But why? What does it mean?” I shut my eyes tight, bracing myself for impact.

  “It’s an ancient term. It has to do with balancing things out, between two sides.” She flipped to the next page, a beautiful drawing of a sunset backlit with shadows. “It’s like day and evening. Because you’re learning how to summon your Guardian angel at will, the fallen angels are angry. They want you to do their will, and they’re trying to scare you into doing it. Basically, it means that training in the light shakes up the underworld, and they attack.”

  “What?” My eyes popped open, and my jaw unhinged. “So, you’re saying every time I pray for Angel to help me, I’m making the shadows mad enough to attack me?”

  “Pretty much.” Cindy’s face went grim as she squeezed my knee. “I guess the darkness still thinks they have a chance to get you on their side. Just because they have the opportunity to equal the balance doesn’t mean the darkness will come every time. But it’s always out there, prowling around, waiting for its chance to hit you where it hurts.”

  “That definitely hurt.” I rubbed my still-buzzing ears and desperately tried to wrap my mind around everything I just heard. “Do they actually think some howling Tasmanian devil is gonna make me switch sides?”

&nb
sp; “Scare tactics work on a lot of people. Fortunately for us, they’ve never worked on Seers in the past.” She sucked in a breath, eyes wide as if she’d just said too much.

  Another shiver coursed through me. “Do I even want to know what happened to the Seers in the past?”

  “Probably not, dear.” She pursed her lips together. “You’re too young and innocent for that kind of news. Especially right now. Right after a reckoning. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll send you to your room to get some rest.”

  I gave her a blank stare. “I don’t mind at all. I am kinda zapped right now.”

  “If you have any questions, please just let me know. I’ll be happy to answer anything I can.” She closed the book and tucked it under her arm, then hurried out of the room.

  “Strange.” I glanced up at Bryan as he helped me off the couch.

  “Not really.” He slid one arm around my back, and together we limped down the hall. “All ancient Guardian texts are kept in a climate-controlled safe. For protection and preservation.”

  “Like the Vatican vault?” I quipped, quirking my head at him

  He huffed out a laugh. “Not quite that intense. How do you know about that? Do you have Catholic relatives or something?”

  I shook my head. “No, I saw it in a Tom Hanks movie.”

  “Nice.” This time he laughed out loud. Music to my ears. “Now you get some rest, little lady. There will be more training soon.”

  “Good,” I mumbled, sinking into the bed.

  “I’ll see you later.” He turned out the light and tiptoed out of the room.

  I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe I should learn to read Latin. Then I might have some clue of what was coming next.

  ***

  Emotions fizzled inside me as I lay in bed, unable to shut my eyes. For too many months, I’d pushed everything back to the land of denial. My mom’s betrayal. Nexis and their manipulation. The stalking Watchers who tried to brand me in a cathedral. Jake and the attack. All of the horrible visions and events colliding in my brain like an internal lightning storm—striking chord after chord. Resentment. Frustration. Sheer Anger. They zapped me at random. As chaotic and out-of-control as the reckoning.

  Why couldn’t I just choose sides now? Stop the reckonings from ever happening again. But the Guardians wouldn’t let me. Now I had to pay the price for the neutrality they forced on me, pulling and stretching my sanity like taffy in the process. I knew, in my heart, I’d never choose Nexis. With or without demon scare tactics. But I didn’t want to start the War Over the Seer, either.

  I just wanted to join the Guardians and fight against the society that banished my brother, forcing him to flee to another continent. An organization that literally tore my family apart, that caused an innocent girl’s death. Nexis wanted to control me. Could they be more obvious about it? But what if the Guardians wanted just wanted to control me, too? Deep down, that little thought niggled at my brain, forcing me to keep my guard up. Ironic, actually. Maybe the Guardians were right to keep me from joining. Stupid rules.

  I punched my fist into the bedspread and stomped into the bathroom.

  “I will not be controlled,” I whispered to my reflection in the mirror. “I will not be put in a prison of any secret society’s making.”

  I was the Seer in training. I needed to learn to wield my power for myself. Maybe someday I could bring down both of these groups. Put an end to their feuding. But until then, this gift was given to me. I’d better learn how to use it—before anyone or anything else tried to use my gifts against me.

  Throwing off the covers, I stomped out of bed and straight to the shower. Maybe a little steam would help.

  After my shower, I started blow-drying my hair right as someone pounded on my door. Brushing out my tangles, I opened the door to find Bryan with an armful of gear.

  “Here, get ready.” He thrust the pads at me. “We’re going to try something different today.” Then he tramped off.

  “Whatever.” Dumping the gear on the floor, I yanked my still-wet hair into a tight ponytail. If a fight was what he wanted, he’d get more than he bargained for tonight.

  Pfffffft, pftt,

  Thwack, hrumpf, thwack.

  Fight sounds echoed off the concrete walls as I headed downstairs.

  In the boxing quadrant, Mark braced the punching bag as Bryan pounded away on it with a fury I’d never seen before. Guess I wasn’t alone in the rage department this morning.

  “What’s going on? Do I need gloves, too?” I hovered near the rack of boxing gloves.

  Bryan dropped his dukes and wiped his brow. “Just blowing off some steam.”

  Mark moved in front of him. “We’re going to try something a little different today. If that’s okay with you.”

  “Absolutely.” I bobbed my head. “I’m ready for a change.”

  Mark rubbed his hands together. “Let’s try some real fight training today. Not just defensive work, but real offensive training. Think you can handle that?”

  “That’s exactly what I need.” I strapped on a pair of boxing gloves. “Let’s do it.”

  “Good girl.” He planted his feet and motioned me to face off with him. “Now, settle into your stance. Start throwing me your best punches. Bryan will help you with your form.”

  “Got it.” I chomped into the mouthguard, flexing my shoulders.

  I scrambled through all the punches they’d taught me the last few days. I threw a right jab, left jab, alternating upper cut combo.

  Mark blocked each one. Without breaking a sweat. “You can do better than that.”

  “Fine.” I resisted the urge to growl.

  Behind me, Bryan’s gloves landed on my shoulders, holding me in place. “Keep your shoulder blades down and locked tight. You’re giving away your punches.”

  I tried to shrug him off, and finally he let go.

  This time I popped my elbow at Mark’s chin, then punched his gut in a split-second while kicking his shin the next.

  He stumbled back a step, coughing. “Better. Much better.”

  “From the core.” A glove smacked into my stomach as Bryan barked in my ear, “Tighten your abs, babe.”

  In an instant I whirled around, socking him with two jabs in the gut. “Guard your middle, Cooper.”

  “Touché,” he puffed, bending over.

  “I’m liking the ferocity.” Mark tapped his gloves together. “Let’s see how you do with two attackers.”

  “Great.” A shudder slithered up my spine, but I tamped it down. I shifted my stance so I could keep my eye on Mark to my left, Bryan to my right. Their shadows towered over me. How could I ever bring either one of them down? Not thinking like a loser, that’s for sure.

  Out of nowhere, a thought popped in my head. What if I visualized my moves first? A spider-monkey version of Lucy flashed in my mind. She karate-chopped Mark’s belly while side-tackling his leg. I blinked and lunged out like I’d already seen myself do.

  Moments later, he doubled over from my chop-kick combo.

  “Whoa, did that really happen?” I stepped back, blinking. Was I more surprised at myself or that it actually worked? Something golden twinkled in the corner of my vision, and it all made sense. This was all Angel. He was right there with me, helping me. And it bolstered my confidence.

  Another combo came to mind. With Mark still catching his breath, I aimed at Bryan.

  He threw a jab that I caught with both hands. Instead of twisting his arm around his back like he always did to me, I kicked his shin the wrong way while simultaneously kicking his stomach. When his leg crumpled, I landed a few more blows, knocking him to the ground.

  I pinned his shoulders, locking his flailing arms to the mat with my gloves. “Tighten your abs, babe.”

  He shot me a smoldering look, but I didn’t budge an inch.

  “Very good.” Mark chuckled, tapping his gloves together. “I have no idea how you learned so fast. Bravo, young lady.”

  “You can
get off me now.” Bryan tried to wriggle free.

  “If you want.” I loosened my grip and he slid out from under me.

  “No comment.” He brushed himself off, refusing to look at me.

  Probably didn’t want to see the triumph on my face.

  “How’d you do that?” He still wouldn’t look at me.

  Now I turned away from him, fumbling with my sparring gloves. Should I really tell him everything? He’d just tell the Guardians, and who knows how they’d use it against me.

  I unvelcroed my gloves and decided to give him a version of the truth. But not the whole truth. Let’s see how much he could handle.

  “I cheated.” A smile crept up. “If you must know, I had some help.”

  “Really?” He staring me down, blue eyes intense. “Did you see your angel, or have a vision or something?”

  Even Mark leaned in now, wiping his brow with a towel.

  I shrugged, like it was no big deal. “I just asked my angel to give me some cool moves. And he did.”

  “That’s awesome!” Bryan’s face lit up as he pumped his fist in the air. “I hoped it would work like that.”

  “You did?” Frowning, I cocked my head at him. “How could you possibly know?”

  “While you were sleeping, we reread the Book of the Seer trying to figure out a way around the reckonings.” He glanced over at his dad. “Loosely translated, it said the need for a reckoning could be halted for neutral activities. I hoped that included fight-training, since it could be considered useful by Nexis and the Guardians.”

  “Okay.” I crossed my arms over my torso, my frustration mounting. “But that doesn’t answer my question. How’d you know I’d see something?”

  “The book said it was possible to ‘obtain help from above’ if the situation warranted it,” Mark said. “Maybe the two-attacker approach summoned your angel’s help.”

  “Seriously?” I shook my head, all the annoyance inside pooling at my feet. “I wish you guys would stop trying to figure out how to summon my angel. To me, it’s much more organic than that. If I need him, he comes. End of story. I don’t consciously try to summon him. In fact, something bad happens every time I try to do it your way.”