Symbiosis (Scintillate Series Book 2)

by Karen Tjebben

  “This totally rocks!” First, I learn how to regulate my body’s temperature, and now I have the ability to eavesdrop.

  Nick’s arms slipped around my waist and he twirled me. My heart raced as the world spun. “Kate, I’m really proud of you,” he said.

  I pressed my cheek against his chest and listened to the steady thump of his heart. With his arms around me and his heart pounding in my ear, I felt invincible. Nick would never let anything happen to me. He’d already proven that to me. I just needed to give him time to work through whatever issue was troubling him. With all of Nick’s mixed-signals, I could only assume he still had feelings for me.

  Alex stood there watching us. His eyes bore into mine as I listened to Nick’s heartbeat. I closed my eyes and shut out Alex’s haunting look. Why did Alex tell me that he was attracted to me? He’s just ruining everything. I didn’t ask for Alex’s love, and I didn’t want it.

  Nick placed me back on the ground. “You need to practice eavesdropping tonight. Practice tuning in and out of conversations.”

  “Sure. Do I have to be in the same room?”

  “No, but it does help to start with short distances,” Alex said, a half-smile on his face. “The stronger you get, the farther you’ll be able to hear.”

  “Let’s get you home. You must be tired, and tomorrow’s a full day.” Nick grabbed his shirt and slipped his arms into the sleeves.

  “What’s happening tomorrow?” I pulled my sweatshirt out of the bag.

  “You’ll see,” Alex said. “It’s a surprise.”

  2. The Other Side

  The silverware clanked together as I loaded the dishwasher. I maneuvered a few dessert plates and cups in order to get everything to fit. I’d just started the dishwasher when the doorbell rang. I knew exactly who it was.

  “Hi, Nick,” Dad said; his voice filtered through the hallway.

  “Hello, Mr. Archer,” Nick replied. “How was your business trip?” Nick smiled at me as I joined them by the door.

  “The boredom didn’t kill me.” Dad chuckled. “I got back on the red-eye last night. What are you two up to today?”

  “We’re going hiking at Jordan Lake,” Nick said.

  “Really? In the winter?”

  “Yes, Dad.” I patted him on the shoulder. “It’s going to be a little warmer today. We’ll be fine.” I grabbed my coat from the closet and slipped my arms into the sleeves. Nick kissed my cheek and took my hand. Relief flooded me as I thought that things might be returning to normal between us. Maybe knowing that Alex was actually pursuing me motivated Nick to take action in our relationship.

  “Have fun,” Dad said as he shut the front door behind us.

  Nick started the car and turned to me. I seized the opportunity to grab his chin and pull him to me. “What are you doing?” Nick pulled away from me.

  “I’m kissing you,” I replied. “You held my hand. You kissed my cheek. I thought that maybe you… maybe you changed your mind about dating without benefits.” I stroked his hand. “Maybe we could have… a few benefits.”

  “I’m sorry.” Nick stole a glance out the windshield and then looked back at me. “I did those things for your dad’s benefit. He needs to think we’re still together. You know, like normal.

  “For my dad’s benefit?” I glared at him in disbelief. It felt like I’d been socked in the stomach. “So all that was a façade?” I shifted my body and looked out the window in an attempt to hide my hurt and embarrassment.

  “I meant to tell you that we needed to keep up the ruse, but I didn’t get a chance.”

  “Keep up the ruse?” I looked back at him. He gripped the steering wheel. “So our relationship was a ruse all along?”

  “No. All of this is so complicated.” He shifted the placement of his hands on the steering wheel. “That’s why it’s best to slow things down.”

  “So let me get this straight. You’ll hug and kiss me as long someone from my family is around.”

  “You make it sound weird.”

  “It is weird. You want me to shelve my emotions, unless other people are around. I’m supposed to just pretend I don’t care about you when I still do, and I think you still care about me. Unless, of course, you never did.”

  “Of course I do. But having to blend these two lives, these two realities, is challenging.”

  “If we’re going to pretend to be together for other people’s benefit, why don’t we just be together?”

  “It’s complicated. You’re still in your fledging stage…”

  I interrupted him, “I’m tired of hearing that excuse. Let’s go.”

  Nick put the car into reverse and looked over his shoulder as we slowly moved backwards. What would it take for us to move forward again? What did he expect from me?

  When we arrived at Jordan Lake, Alex was sitting on the gray boulder in the clearing. “Hey!” He waved and walked towards us. Each step closer triggered a stronger response within my core.

  “Hi,” I said solemnly, confused by the fact that the sight of Alex angered and excited me. All of the turbulence in my relationship with Nick was Alex’s fault, and yet I still felt drawn to him. It was like he ignited something deep within me the night of the dance and I didn’t know how to turn it off. All we did was dance, but it was also like we’d connected in some intimate way that was reserved for lovers.

  “Hey, man,” Nick said. They fist bumped like buddies, as if nothing weird was going on between the three of us.

  “We have a treat for you.” Alex stood right next to me, almost too close considering the awkward conversation we had yesterday, yet he seemed so confident and relaxed. How could he be so laid-back when he was turning my world upside-down?

  “What is it?” I looked back and forth between them — trying to size up to the men who seemed perfectly content in the midst of our bizarre situation. “What’s my surprise?”

  “We are going to take you to the other side.” Alex smiled and took my hand in his. The butterfly around my neck suddenly seemed lighter, as if it had flown off my chest and no longer rested on me.

  “The other side of what?” I casually slipped my hand out of Alex’s grip.

  Nick laughed. “Another dimension.”

  “How? How are you going to do that?”

  Nick began, “Yesterday was the first step. You controlled your mind and mastered your body’s reaction to sensations flooding your nervous system. You shut out the cold so that your body didn’t react to it. Now you have to open your mind to the world around you that you cannot see. Allow more sensations to come flooding in. We’ll help you cross over, and then we’ll explore.”

  “Sweet!” In my excitement, I grabbed Alex’s hand. His fingers wrapped around mine and squeezed. My heart raced when I realized what I’d done, and I quickly pulled my hand away. Nick looked at my hand, then at Alex, and then into my eyes. He was searching again, searching for a reason to be cautious in our relationship. If I continued to make mistakes like that, there was no way that Nick would reconsider where we stood in our relationship. I’d never get him to agree to be dating with at least some benefits.

  “Let’s begin,” Alex said, and he offered his hand again. “You’ll need to hold our hands the first few trips. It should make it easier to cross over.”

  Nick extended his hand too. Their fingers wrapped around my hands and our palms connected. I didn’t want to let go. Their energy coursed through me, awakening another layer of my psyche. The warmth of their energy spread throughout my body and vivid images from their past flashed through my mind. Their faces were the constant theme in the random movie stills that flickered before me. My breathing quickened as the images flashed faster and faster.

  Nick waved and snapped his fingers in front of my face, snapping me out of my trance. “Hey! Focus. You okay?”

  I shook my head and blinked repeatedly, quickly brushing away the images from their past. “Yeah. I’m fine,” I said.

  “Think of this space as an open door,”
Nick said. “It’s a portal. We’re going to step out of this layer and into another one, just like you do when you get out of an elevator. You need to think about going with us as we take that step.”

  “Okay.” The knot in my stomach grew and twisted. How does one think about leaving their dimension and stepping into another one?

  “All right, on three,” Alex said. “One… two… three.” We stepped together. My hands fell to my sides and I sighed, not surprised that I stood alone in the clearing. The lake scintillated as the sun shone on it and bare branches waved in the wind.

  In a blink of an eye they stood before me again. “That didn’t work too well,” Nick said with a laugh. “We’ll have to try that again.”

  “Yes, let’s. That was fun,” I joked.

  Alex ran his hand along my back and left tingling sensations along my spine. “Don’t worry. You’ll get it.”

  I looked at Nick. Was he really going to stand by while Alex flirted with me? Was Nick just going to lie down and roll over so Alex could have his chance with me? Where did my hero who fought for me go? He’d already killed for me, yet he wasn’t even going to say anything to Alex about his advances? What gives?

  “Alex, we need to talk.” Nervous energy raced through me as I dreaded what I was going to say. I wasn’t even sure what I’d say. How would Alex respond? I looked at Nick. “Could you give us some privacy?” I tossed my head towards the tree line.

  Nick inhaled deeply and looked at Alex. “Sure,” Nick said. “Just whistle when you’re ready.” As he ran off into the woods, I hoped he would return with a heart that longed for me. A heart that truly loved me.

  I chewed the inside of my cheek while I composed my thoughts. “Alex, you need to stop flirting with me. I don’t like it. It makes me uncomfortable.” I shifted my weight to my other foot. “I heard what you said to Nick yesterday. Your honesty, your advances… you’re just making things weird between us.”

  Alex stared deeply into my eyes. His breath remained even as his chest rose and fell. I waited for him to reply, but he just continued to stare. I had the feeling he was searching for something in me, something to give him a clue as to my true feelings. My heart pounded as I waited for his reply. “You’re right,” he finally said. “I warned Nick about doing things we would all have to live with, and now I’m making the same mistake. I’m rushing you. I’m sorry. You’re under too much pressure as it is. You don’t need me adding to it.”

  “Can we go back to the way things were before we danced?”

  Alex’s eyes flinched almost imperceptibly, and he exhaled slowly. It was as if I’d punched all the air out of him. “Yes. That’s probably a good idea.”

  “Thanks, you’re a good friend, and that’s really what I need right now.” I gave him my best friendly smile, and he returned it with his. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy, especially since I already knew how he felt about me, but I loved Nick, and Alex knew that too. It wasn’t like there were any secrets between us now.

  Alex put his fingers up to his mouth and blew. As the shrill whistle filled the air, I looked back over my shoulder and spotted Nick running towards us.

  “Everything good?” Nick asked when he stopped beside me.

  “Yep. I’m ready to go to the other side.”

  “I was thinking about that,” Nick said. “I think you need to focus before we take that step. You need to begin to see the other side so you can step into it. You can’t step into something you can’t see.”

  “How do I see it? How do I see what’s not there?”

  “That’s your first problem,” Alex said. “You have to believe it’s there. Believe you can cross over.”

  Nick took my face in his hands. My pulse quickened at his touch. “When you saw Ramel and the cerberi, you didn’t have to try. If you focus, you’ll be able to see so many wonderful creatures.” Nick released me.

  “Nick’s right,” Alex said. “You are ready. Think of this space,” he waved his hand through the air, “as a doorway. Imagine the wonderful things you’ll see, and it will take you there.”

  I took their hands, felt their energy course through me, and looked ahead. The loblolly pines graced the banks of Jordan Lake and dormant grass covered the ground. The water sparkled under the sun’s rays, and a bird screeched as it flew overhead. Then, suddenly something changed. Vertical lines shimmered and floated in the space around me. “I see it,” I whispered. We stepped together, walking through a doorway of beads made out of droplets of warmth.

  The bright light forced me to squeeze my eyes shut. Warm sensations kissed my flesh as a breeze tousled my hair. Gardenias and lilacs perfumed the air. Nick twirled me around in circles. I wrapped my legs around his waist and hid my eyes in his neck. “You did it!” he said.

  “Good job, Kate,” Alex said. “Now you need to look around and tell us what you think.”

  I shimmied out of from Nick’s embrace. This world was so much brighter and crisper. It was like everything in our dimension was standard definition and this dimension used high definition resolution. You could see fine in ours, but this world just magnified every detail so much more clearly. Intense color exploded everywhere I looked.

  As my eyes adjusted, ripples in the water expanded as tiny fish surfaced to snatch insects. Tall blades of grasses swayed gently in the breeze. Their edges made a high pitch scratching sound as they brushed back and forth. Colorful birds flew through the air. It was as if I’d walked into an aviary for birds of the rainforest. “This is amazing,” I whispered. My fingers danced through the soft seed heads on the grasses. Nick and Alex stepped away from me, giving me space to explore. A hummingbird the size of a cardinal flew up to me. Its iridescent body buzzed quickly back and forth in front of my face.

  “He’s checking you out,” Alex said.

  “He’s amazing,” I said. I lifted my hand to touch him, but he flew away before we made contact. Usually Jordan Lake is surrounded by loblolly pines, but in this dimension, gorgeous flowering trees of all kinds surrounded the lake. Some trees were tall, like the pines, but here, the evergreen boughs had large flowers whose petals billowed, similar to the peony. Smaller trees filled in the underbrush. Even the deciduous trees were in full bloom. Their colorful flowers seemed to weave a majestic tapestry along the edge of the forest. It seemed every color imaginable blended and melded as the flowers crowded into each other. “This place is beautiful.”

  “It would be easy to confuse this place with the Garden of Eden,” Alex said, “but don’t be fooled. There’s plenty of evil here.”

  “Oh.” How could evil live in such a wondrous place? Would I recognize it for evil, or is it beautiful too? The serpent was beautiful when he talked with Eve. She didn’t know not to trust him. His deception cost her everything.

  A chuffing noise from behind startled me. I turned and gasped. “No way!” Standing a few feet away, a long horn spiraled towards me. Tiny iridescent scales covered the horn and sparkled in the sun’s light. It could be mistaken for a lance if it wasn’t attached to an animal. The animal nickered and stepped toward me. Nick approached the animal, his palm up. The unicorn blew on Nick’s hand and then nuzzled his palm.

  “Try it, Kate. She won’t hurt you.” Nick gently rubbed his hand along the unicorn’s head. The unicorn’s warm breath swept across my skin, and her velvet nose tickled my palm. As I stared at the beauty of this majestic creature, tears filled my eyes. “What’s wrong?” Nick asked.

  “Nothing,” I whispered as I stroked the unicorn’s silky smooth body. “This is amazing. Who knew unicorns existed? What other amazing things am I going to see?”

  “Don’t worry,” Alex said. “There’s plenty of time to figure everything out.”

  As I ran my hand along her neck, I noticed that a hint of pink accented the unicorn’s white hair. Her eyes were dark, but not what I expected. Dark purple irises surrounded her black pupils. She nuzzled my neck and her hot breath blew strands of my hair as I ran my fingers through her gloss
y mane. This wild animal was so gentle; truly it was good she didn’t live in our dimension. She would be hunted to extinction.

  She raised her head, elevating her horn high in the air and galloped away. Her tail swished through the air as she headed towards the woods. I stood breathless, amazed at the beauty that surrounded me.

  “Come on,” Alex said. “There’s so much more to see.”

  As we neared the tree line I realized that the immense blending of colors didn’t come from just the blooming flowers, but from the leaves also. The tree leaves’ colors ranged from pastels to bright shades of pink, green, blue, red, orange, yellow, and purple.

  “I don’t understand,” I said as I rubbed a smooth red leaf between my fingers. “It’s like spring and fall here. How is that possible?”

  “The rules you’re familiar with don’t apply here,” Alex said. “This isn’t your dimension. This dimension has its own rules. As you can see, the trees here never lose all their leaves at once. The leaves bud and display their brilliant colors until they slowly lose their vibrancy and fall off. Then new leaves bud and the cycle repeats.”

  As I looked around, each tree was speckled with leaves of various shades of intensity. “So things can die here?” I asked. It was hard to imagine a place so beautiful having room for death.

  “Of course.” Alex said. “There’s always death in order to make room for life, but each new life is an extension of the life before it.” The butterflies in my stomach fluttered at his words.

  Nick placed his hand on my shoulder. “Look over there.” He pointed in the distance at a gigantic orange and black bush that seemed to pulse and vibrate. “You’ve got to see this.”

  We walked quietly into the woods. We carefully pushed back branches of colorful leaves until we stood before the orange and black bush. “Look at the size of them,” I gasped. Countless monarch butterflies drank nectar from oversized milkweed plants. They covered the plants so completely that they gave the appearance of a pulsating bush from far away. The smallest monarchs were the size of my hand. Their bright orange and black wings fluttered about as they danced from flower to flower drinking their fill. Once again, words couldn’t describe the beauty around me.