by CJ Lyons
He released his left hand from the roof edge. Laid it on top of her hand, his fingers stroking her naked ring finger. Then he opened the fingers of his right hand. "Let me go, Grace."
Her shoulders burned in agony as she fought to hold him. He kept his eyes locked onto hers and in them she saw no regret, only peace.
She blinked back tears and opened her fingers.
Jimmy slipped away from Grace. It seemed in slow motion at first, the gold of his wedding ring capturing a stray spark of sunlight. He plummeted into the shadows, his body spiraling, tumbling, spinning out of control. Spinning into...nothing.
She craned her head over the edge, saw Lukas's battered body on the pavement seven stories below, surrounded by a crowd of people. But there was no sign of Jimmy.
CHAPTER 37
Wheel of Fortune
Grace lay on her belly, her thin patient's gown sodden, bunched up around her legs. Rain ricocheted from the glass surrounding her, dripped from her hair into her eyes, chilled her to the marrow. She didn't care, she couldn't move.
Pain spiraled into her gut, twisting and burning like a red-hot poker, finally lodging in her heart. It hurt so bad she couldn't breathe, could only swallow ragged gasps of oxygen that cut like broken glass.
There was a thud against the roof beneath her followed by the sound of ice cracking. She rolled to one side. Eve Warden stood below her, inside the Skyway now, aiming the gun straight up, trying to shoot through the reinforced glass.
Grace blinked away her tears, was almost too tired to fight, to move. She watched as the small-star shaped crack in the glass beside her where the first bullet impacted began to widen, spreading fingers out in every direction, reaching beneath Grace's body.
Eve's shout of glee broke through to Grace. The glass exploded. Grace plummeted through the roof and into the Skyway. She flailed her arms, heard Eve's scream as glass flew, then she hit the floor with a thud.
Grace rolled to her feet. Shards of glass surrounded her, blinking in the overhead spotlights. Rain cascaded through the broken roof, rainbows shimmering in the air between her and Eve. Eve's face and arms were covered with small cuts and glass glittered in her blonde hair. She raised the gun and aimed it at Grace.
After everything she had been through, facing this arrogant, homicidal, egomaniac who had no right to call herself a physician or a healer unleashed all the pent up rage and frustration Grace had been burying for four long years. Anger, hot and bright as lava surged through her.
"You bitch!" Grace straightened, strode through the glass, ignoring its bite against her bare feet.
Instead of pulling the trigger, Eve took a step back, the color draining from her face, her aim wavering. Before Eve had a chance to regroup, Grace lowered her head and leapt across the short distance that separated them, slamming Eve against the wall. The gun flew from her hand, skittered to a stop in a pile of jagged glass.
The sound of footsteps and voices came from both sides. Grace twisted her head to see Jonas Helman standing at the Annex door, a breathless Kat pushing Alex in a wheelchair beside him.
"Grace, are you all right?" Kat called.
Eve shoved Grace back and started to run toward the Tower. Blocking her path was Vincent, flanked by two security guards. Eve stumbled, whipping her head to stare at Grace then back at Vincent. Grace swayed, gulping frigid air blowing in with the sleet, wiped a stream of blood away from her eyes.
"No." Eve's voice came in a harsh whisper, her eyes narrowed to two dagger thin steel ribbons. "Not like this."
She surged forward, lunging for the gun sitting on the floor beside Grace. Grace pivoted and dove for the weapon as well, but Eve got there first. Glass cracked and snapped as Eve rolled, bringing the gun up. Grace braced her weight against the other woman's arm.
Eve's first shot went wild, sending Vincent and the unarmed guards scrambling for cover. Eve kicked out at Grace, trying to free her gun arm. Their bodies tumbled together, glass shards slicing into them, leaving streams of blood in their wake.
Lightning shook the Skyway. The thunder that followed boomed through Grace's head, exploding it with pain. Eve's form wavered before her as she tore at the other woman's hand on the gun.
Eve's finely honed talons darted out, aimed at Grace's eyes. Grace barely ducked in time, the claws raking her neck. The gun went off again as Grace slammed Eve's wrist against the window pane. Eve grabbed Grace's fingers, cruelly twisting them to the breaking point, loosening Grace's grip.
Scarlet plumes clouded Grace's vision. Her hand grew numb. Eve's two hands twisted the gun barrel, aiming it at Grace's face. Distant voices, men shouting, running, swirled around her. Eve's lips parted in a snarl, white teeth glistening as another bolt of lightning streaked through the night.
Grace threw her weight forward. A crack tore through the air. The coppery scent of blood and cordite choked Grace's throat, gagging her. The rattle of a last breath escaped, collapsing into a sigh.
Then silence.
Grace found the strength to open her eyes. Rain puddled on the carpet beside her. Vincent reached her, rolled her off Eve's still body. The two guards rushed forward, kicking the gun from Eve's lifeless hand.
"Grace, I'm so sorry. Are you all right?" Vincent asked, wrapping her in his arms.
She pushed free. "Don't you touch me. Don't you dare."
"You've been through a lot," he said in a low, rushed voice. "When you come to your senses, you'll realize that I didn't have anything to do with it. I did everything I could to protect you."
"Dr. V, is she all right?" Alex's voice cut through the roaring in Grace's head.
"No one will believe you, I have the videos." Vincent's grip on her hand was tighter than a vise. But it was the thundering in her head that made Grace wince. She tried to speak but the words wouldn't come. "I'll give Alex what he wants," Vincent continued his urgent whisper. "Do you understand, Grace? You need to tell them it was Eve, all Eve."
He released her hand. Footsteps thudded all around her and another man joined them. "I don't like her looks," Jonas Helman's voice crashed down on her like a tsunami. "Her pupils are sluggish."
"Her pulse is thready," Vincent said, his voice now coming from a very far away place.
"Damn tumor must be hemorrhaging."
Grace struggled to focus on Kat and Alex. In the darkness beyond them she swore she saw Jimmy standing over them. Then everything went black.
"Pick her up, Emberek. We're operating. Now."
CHAPTER 38
Eye of the Storm
Grace opened her eyes to a haze of colors swirling in a mist around her. Her head pounded, her throat was dry and scratched, and she couldn't feel her body. A tall shadow clouded her vision then slowly resolved into the form of Brother Leo.
So she must be alive. Right?
"Head hurts," she mumbled.
"I don't wonder," he said with a smile. His silver hair seemed to swirl with the other colors of the mist that surrounded her. "They've been poking around in that brain of yours for going on four hours now."
"Now?" She tried to frown but couldn't feel her face. "Where am I?"
"Nowhere," came a girl's voice as Brittany appeared beside Brother Leo.
"Everywhere," Heather added.
"The in-between," Tiffany pronounced.
Grace was growing dizzy from the whirligig of colors blanketing her. "Who are you?"
"Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos, those are our real names," Tiffany said. "But we like Tiffany, Brittany, and Heather just as well."
"Now girls, don't go giving it away," Brother Leo said in admonishment.
Heather arched an eyebrow and shot him a glare. "Who made you boss all of a sudden?"
"You know there's no boss," he stammered.
If her head didn't feel like it was about to explode, Grace would have laughed at the sight of the ever-impervious monk being intimidated by the young girl.
Or not so young. Clothos, Lachesis and Atropos were the names of the Three Fat
es in Greek mythology. Grace's mind whirled with confusion.
"We all play our part," Brittany said, stepping to Heather's side.
"And we all pay our price," Tiffany finished. The girls stood shoulder to shoulder and appeared very formidable indeed.
Brother Leo spread his hands wide. "I know, I know. But there's only so far you can bend the rules. Jimmy knew what he was doing, he made his choice. There's no saving him."
Grace's stomach reeled and she choked down acid bile. "No. He saved me. Isn't that why you sent him?"
"I'm sorry, Grace. He can't come back--not after killing Lukas. Some rules can't be broken. Jimmy knew that."
She blinked back tears. "No. I killed Lukas, not Jimmy. Punish me, not him."
"You don't know what you're saying."
"I know. Infinity of nothing, Hell, call it what you want. It's no worse than what I've already lived through."
Leo's face grew grim. He lowered a hand to her shoulder. "No. Grace, it's worse. Much worse. I'm sorry. It's impossible. Jimmy's gone."
"Get a grip," Tiffany said, turning to Grace. "Don't listen to him. Anything is possible."
Grace smiled, hope speeding her heart. Jimmy's exact words.
Heather broke free of her sisters and cupped Grace's hands in both of hers. A flash of light danced between their joined fingers. When they separated, Jimmy's wedding ring lay cradled in the palm of Grace's hand.
"Remember what Jimmy promised, what you both promised each other," Heather whispered, folding Grace's fingers around the warm band of gold. She straightened and rejoined her sisters. "I cut Lukas's life thread before he fell."
"Before Jimmy pushed him," Brittany added.
"So Jimmy didn't kill him. Eve did," Tiffany summed up, fists on her hips as she squared off against Brother Leo. He gave in with a grudging smile and mock bow of surrender to the three little girls.
Grace clutched Jimmy's ring in her hand, the rest of her body relaxing now that she was certain his future was safe.
"I know who you are," Grace told Leo, staring at the man who was the only father she'd known, the man she'd once called friend. "Jimmy said you were the devil incarnate." She couldn't stop the half smile that twisted her lips. "But he beat you, didn't he?"
"That's the problem with molding extraordinary people to live extraordinary lives. They tend to be too smart for my own good."
"Spare me the false flattery. This is all just a game to you--some kind of cosmic chess match with us puny humans as pawns. I hope you had fun."
"I always try to follow my bliss, Grace. Didn't I teach you that? It's not a game. And I'm neither god nor devil."
"Then what are you?"
"Just a man, trying to find redemption. I thought with you I had a chance to save the future, my future."
Grace felt her head spin, her vision darken as she struggled to understand his words. The three girls lined up on her other side, glaring up at the priest. "I don't understand. I stopped Lukas, stopped Eve. What more--"
"There are evils greater than Lukas Redding or Eve Warden," Leo said with a bitterness she'd never heard from him before. "But you chose to save the children instead of--"
"Instead of who?" she asked when he faltered. Who else was left? Vincent? Was she meant to have chosen Vincent over two children?
"She's not to blame," Tiffany spoke up.
"Not for your decisions or your fate," Brittany continued.
"Look to yourself to save what you love," Heather finished.
Leo's face darkened and he raised a fist as if to curse or strike the three girls before him. Grace felt her heart speed up in panic. This wasn't the Leo Augustine she'd known and loved. What had happened to him?
Before she could either ask or receive any answers, Leo's form blurred into a whirlwind of light and color and he vanished. A quiet calm descended onto Grace. She turned to look at the girls. "Who are you? How does this all work?"
Brittany pursed her lips as if searching for the right words. "Think of us as a catalyst. Something that never changes but helps to propel events, guide them along the way. You're a scientist, you understand the entropy effect. The universe has been on a collision course with chaos since the instant it was born. Without an opposing force--a counter balance if you will--to hold that chaos in check, everything, time, space, matter, would have spun its way into oblivion eons ago."
Tiffany broke in. "We're one of many. Even Leo has his place. His uses. He brought you to us, to Alex and Kat, didn't he?"
"So you're trying to tell me it was worth it?"
"It was," Heather assured her. "But we know you better than that, Grace. We know you of all people won't take anything we say at face value."
"So we're going to bend the rules a bit. Again. We're going to give you a glimpse into the world as it would have been if you had chosen differently."
For a moment Brittany's lips were moving but Grace could no longer understand the sounds emerging, then like fine-tuning static from a radio, she could comprehend once more. But the sensation of being lost, unable to function stayed with her. "What's happening?"
Tiffany frowned, looking past Grace at something she couldn't see. "Ahh, I was afraid of that. Helman's chosen to be aggressive. He's approaching Wernicke's area, the communication center of your brain."
"I know what Wernicke's center is," she said, but the words emerged an incoherent stream of nonsense syllables. As if she were speaking in tongues.
Heather reached down, stroked her brow and suddenly the pain and confusion was gone. "It'll be all right, Grace. And," she smiled once more, "I don't say that to everyone."
The girl's touch was soothing but Grace wasn't certain she could trust her words. "Will Alex and Kat be all right?"
"Kat's surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. She'll grow up to be a beautiful and charming woman, mother to many strong children, and champion of the innocent. Thanks to you. If you had left, she would never have finished the download, would have died from a seizure. But you chose to stay and saved her. And by the way, her father was one of the original farmers who took Maeve's seeds and harvested them, multiplying a few sackfuls into food enough to feed nations." Tiffany grinned at her. "We told him it would be a nice way to give something back after we arranged for Kat to have her medical care here for free."
"And Alex?"
"If you hadn't chosen to stay, Eve Warden would have finished her treatment of Lukas. She and Renee Redding would have used Lucidine to change the world in their image. Lukas would have had access to Lucidine and would use it to destroy countless lives," Brittany said.
"Alex, what happens to Alex?" Grace still heard her words emerging in a jumbled stream, but they seemed to understand her without difficulty.
Heather leaned down, her face so close that she could see her own reflected in the girl's fathomless eyes. "Do you remember your wish? For Alex and Kat? Alex had a wish as well." Grace stared into Heather's eyes and felt like she was falling. "But first you need to make a choice. You must decide: remain in this world long enough to see it revealed or move on to rejoin Jimmy now. It's your choice, Grace."
Choice? That was no choice--there was no way in hell she could face this world without Jimmy. Much less bear the pain of losing him again. She opened her mouth to tell them that, but Alex's face, his eyes bright with a smile, intruded itself. His laughter joined with Kat's, a joyous music.
"Now, Grace. You need to chose. Now."
Grace tried to shut out Heather's face, her voice, the dark void that had replaced the girl's eyes, drawing her in. She was falling, spinning out of control. Somewhere the blare of an alarm sounded.
Then she heard Jimmy's voice, felt his hand in hers. "I'll be waiting," he whispered. "I'll always be waiting."
And she made her choice.
CHAPTER 39
In the Mourning
"Grace, can you hear me?" Vincent's voice broke through the haze that shrouded her mind.
She struggled to open her eyes. He wore scrubs, a sur
gical mask dangling from his neck. She realized she was in the ICU, a ventilator doing the work of breathing for her, IV's dripping fluids into her veins.
Grace closed her eyes. Vincent was the last person she wanted to see. Her brain might be foggy, but she still remembered his betrayal.
"I'm so sorry." His words came in an earnest whisper, rustling the hairs on her cheek. "I really do care for you, Grace. But Eve gave me no choice. Don't worry, though. I'm taking over as Director of the ECU. Things are going to change. Lucidine has so much potential. That was one thing Eve had right. I'll do better than her, I promise." He paused, cleared his throat and she felt his hand squeeze hers. "Maybe then, we can, you could--"
Grace pulled away from his touch, and he sighed. She opened her eyes long enough to watch him walk away, then allowed the drugs to do their work and transport her into a blissful slumber. To her dreams, where she could be with Jimmy--until it was time to be with him again forever.
Vincent twisted his wrist, glanced at the new Rolex there. Leonard Augustine was three minutes late. He tugged his silk tie straight and paced to the wide expanse of windows overlooking the small park beside the hospital. It was a bright April day, marking his one month anniversary as Director of the ECU and the Lucidine project.
He placed his hand against the glass warmed by early morning sun. The forecast called for record highs, it was already in the fifties when he'd driven his new Saab convertible into work this morning. He covered a yawn with his other hand.
Eve had left a legacy of private clients who kept growing as word of Lucidine's success spread. And, like Leonard, these clients insisted upon meeting with him in private for their treatments, always before and after business hours, giving him little time for anything except work. Despite moving into a comfortable Shadyside townhouse, he practically lived here in the ECU.
His gaze zeroed in on an unusual group traveling down the sidewalk into the grassy expanse of the park. He watched with a pang of regret as Grace spread out a bright plaid blanket. Despite her rejection of him, he still dreamt of her some nights. At least her operation had freed her from the prison of her fears and agoraphobia. He could take comfort for his role in that.