Resonance

by Dianne J Wilson

  “Ready?”

  She dipped her chin in the smallest nod. Kai shoved against the doors with all his weight, and they swung open. Heat rolled over them in shrivelling waves, but the darkness was thick and absolute. Kai stepped out of the cuttings, expecting to feel grass beneath his shoes. His foot sank into deep, soft sand. This didn’t feel right.

  Bree’s hand trembled in his, and he gave a little tug to help her. As she stepped out, her whole body began to shake.

  “I don’t like being here. It feels familiar.”

  Kai bent down and ran his fingers along the ground. He picked up a small handful of sand and rubbed it between his fingers. This was not graveyard ash. This was desert sand. Kai allowed his light to increase as the door swung shut behind them.

  A low sound from behind them stopped him. Gutteral, monstrous. He would know that snarling anywhere. DarKounds.

  Bree’s breathing quickened into the unmistakable pant of panic.

  “Get back!” Kai flung himself toward the door and willed it to open. It began to swing but too slowly. Sleek, black darKounds eased closer on paws of smoking acid. They covered the desert sand as far as he could see. There were too many to count.

  ~*~

  Evazee huddled on her bed in her cell. She had no recollection of how she’d gotten here. Her missing imprint swallowed her world. It was over. Moments of knowing, saying the right thing, and seeing the truth unlock people’s hearts. It was all over now. There weren’t even tears left in her to cry. Just a gaping emptiness that she wished could swallow her whole.

  Her force field buzzed off. The bed dipped as someone sat and began to take the pins out of her hair. It tumbled loose, fingers moved through it and then began to brush in smooth, rhythmic strokes, detangling knots and sending tingles all down her spine.

  “It’s normal to feel lost for a little while.” Shasta’s voice flooded through her, and she surrendered to the warmth in his words. She shifted so he could reach the other side. A sense of well-being seeped through her from the tip of her head, slowly working down toward her toes.

  “Come here.” He pulled her up toward his chest, cradling her in his arms. The now-familiar scent of him flooded her senses, and she breathed deep. With every breath, she felt the sting of her loss lighten until she held all the regret in her hand as she would a helium balloon.

  “You know what to do with that balloon, don’t you?”

  “I should let it go.” Fluffy clouds filled her brain. Thinking was hard.

  “Let it fly. You don’t need it any longer.”

  “But I’m so empty.”

  “I can fill you.” His voice was a low baritone, full of promises of every kind, deep and soothing.

  Evazee clung to him and was swept away.

  32

  Thoughts smacked at Kai from every side and he shut his mind to all of them. Bree had sunk into a ball at his feet with her fingers shoved in her ears, rocking and whimpering.

  He threw the doors open, grabbed Bree underneath her arms, and dragged her onto the bridge. DarKounds swarmed at the doorway. One stepped inside and then leapt back, whining. It rolled on the ground as if ants crawled under its skin. The bridge in its untainted form seemed treacherous to darKound feet.

  The doors slammed shut and silence settled, broken only by Bree’s sniffing.

  “Are you hurt?”

  Bree shook her head, but a violent tremor passed through her from head to foot, rattling her teeth together.

  “It must have been the smudged writing that made us wrong.”

  “I want to go.”

  “I need to show you your father’s grave. It’s important.”

  Bree shook from head to toe. She said nothing, but she didn’t need to. There was no way she would cope with more. But there was one problem. Kai hadn’t saved the coordinates for the doorway that would take them back. He could try and remember, but if he got it wrong, who knew where they’d end up? The best he could do was to follow the other coordinates and hope for sanctuary in the place where Shasta couldn’t watch every movement. There was a chance it would work out, but it could also go horribly wrong.

  Right now, they needed to move.

  He read her upside-down writing and typed it into the navigator. The tiny gadget whirred and lit up, and a comforting light beam shot out across the bridge. Grabbing Bree’s arm, he managed to pull her onto her feet though she clung to him. They walked.

  They reached the central ball and followed the light toward the bridge that would lead them to the place beyond Shasta’s sight. A sulphurous odour blew in and hung thick in the air. Kai swallowed hard.

  “Bree, can you run?” He pitched his voice low, but a sliver of desperation sneaked through. She lifted her gaze, meeting his. What she saw must have frightened her, and she nodded.

  “Come on. Let’s go. No time to lose.”

  Following the light beam, they took off as fast as they could safely travel, dodging holes. There was no web on the bridge leading to the doorway, yet the moment their feet touched the bridge, a slithering sound started up behind them. Kai’s blood ran ice cold.

  “Run!”

  Kai ran with his arm around Bree, half-carrying her when her legs gave in. Meters from the door, the web flung a loop of gooeyness and hooked Bree’s ankle. She went down hard, and her chin smashed into the bridge.

  “No!” Kai yelled. LifeLight quickened through him as he ran toward the web, jumped high, and came down with two feet smack into the black goo. It severed and shot back, recoiling but leaving Bree’s legs lashed together. She stared, her face a mask of horror.

  Kai picked her up in his arms and ran for the door before the web could regroup and try again. He flung himself at the door at the end of the bridge. This one seemed to be made of glass, half-filled with water and tiny fish. He only hoped it wasn’t submerged on the other side with water that would rush in with force and drown them.

  As the door swung back, Kai heaved a sigh of relief. The water and fish were all just decorative. He bolted through. The gloom closed in around him making it difficult to see. He was on a riverbank from which fog rose like steam off murky waters. His arms burned with the ache of carrying Bree.

  A light appeared in the distance, bobbing up and down in time to the lapping of the water at his feet. As the light drew closer, he could make out a boat on the river. It turned directly toward them, though how they had seen Kai and Bree was a mystery. The dark here was thick, broken only by the bobbing light. Whoever manned the boat rowed in lazy strokes, yet the boat pulled steadily closer.

  Kai didn’t feel the need to run. Even if he had, his legs couldn’t have carried him. He stood his ground and waited.

  ~*~

  “Where are we going?” Evazee couldn’t think straight. Her mind folded every time she tried. Shasta kept her close to his side, and each time she breathed in the scent of him, she lost a little more of herself.

  “There is something I want you to see.”

  Evazee’s mind floated, detached. She glanced up at Shasta. He was staring at her face. Her knees felt weak, and she was grateful for his arm around her waist.

  They passed through the holding cells containing those with implants and through to the room with the holographic map. How was it possible for some things to be a shapeless blur and yet others to be in such sharp focus, all at the same time? She was keenly aware of Shasta’s fingers brushing her skin, the fine wisps of hair in the nape of his neck, the flecks of silver in his grey eyes.

  “Are you ready?” He slipped his hand from her waist and took her hand.

  Evazee watched every movement in his face, the twinkling of his eyes and every gesture of his hands. She nodded, not trusting her voice.

  Still holding onto her, Shasta stepped over the low water fountain at the base of the hologram and into the hologram itself, drawing Evazee with him. He led her to the centre, and they sat together on the floor beneath the glowing depiction of earth. Shasta stretched out on his back with his
hands behind his head. Evazee hesitated a second then joined him. The view took her breath away. The shimmery globe hung in mid-air, suspended on nothing.

  “You’ve been wondering what this is all about. Why I’m doing what I do.” It was a statement, not a question. He knew. There was no thought she could hide from him. “Let me show you.”

  “My, or rather our, mission is to give each and every person a purpose, a reason for living. That is why we’re gathering all those who respond to our call. Let me show you.” His fingers flew, spinning the globe. It came to rest, and he double tapped to zoom in. Zulu’s village appeared, glowing purple. Unlike the time she’d been there with Zulu, there were many people crossing the walkways and doing normal things—carrying water and dodging playing children. Shasta pinched and stretched his fingers and the view zeroed in on one man—the same one who Evazee had thought looked just like Zulu. He’d been one of the priests who’d performed the ritual.

  “You see this one? One of our converts. He answered the call of the drums and responded so well to our training that we could plant him back in his own home village. That’s always a bit of risk, but in this case, it worked. It didn’t take him long to establish himself as a powerful leader.”

  But...

  Evazee frowned, but Shasta moved right on. He zoomed in on a city of clean light, built from glowing stones. It was one of the most beautiful places Evazee had ever seen. A double tap took them close to the outside wall.

  “Most of the guards who protect the city walls are converts.”

  Evazee had seen those uniforms on the guards here in the underground too. Wasn’t that odd?

  Shasta waggled his finger at them. “Very important job.” Slide and zoom. “Those who work in the kitchen? Ours. Feeding people matters too, right?” Slide. “Temple workers. Responsible for the spiritual health of the city. I won’t even comment on how important those are.”

  “Yours, too?”

  “Oh yes. You catch on quick. “

  It all seemed good, but questions swooped through her mind and bothered Evazee. Questions she couldn’t find the right words to frame into thoughts, let alone ask. Not with all this sandalwood and silvery-grey filling her senses. Even so, one question wouldn’t leave but stayed right there in her head, bold and strong. “But what about the others? Those who won’t convert? The coerced or whatever you call them.”

  Evazee had never seen Shasta so unguarded, relaxed, and she watched his face, fascinated.

  He shrugged. “Oh, don’t worry about them. We manage to find useful things for them to do as well, in spite of the fact that they refuse to cooperate with us. It makes it all so much harder. Sometimes I don’t even know why we bother when they so clearly don’t want help. I honestly don’t understand the way they think. But we do our best. Even amidst all the resistance. So we gather those who respond to the call, train them, and deploy them as agents all over the world. It’s a beautiful thing. Almost as beautiful as you.”

  He turned, leaning on his elbow, and shifted his attention from the map to her. She felt beautiful and none of her buts seemed that important anymore.

  He leaned so close his breath filled her lungs. “How about you? Are you ready to step into your role?”

  33

  The boat man had a hat pulled low over his face. He pulled in to stop expertly in front of Kai and Bree and tilted his chin. “You two need a lift?”

  “Tau? Is that you?”

  The man in the boat threw back his hat with a laugh, “Not quite. The name is Shrimp. You two need help?”

  “I don’t actually know what we need.” There was something about this guy that made it easy to be honest. Maybe it was how much he reminded Kai of Tau.

  “This is not a good place to talk.” Shrimp checked the bushes behind them. “Hop in. Let’s go where it’s safe.”

  Bree hung back, but Kai gently eased her into the boat and climbed in behind her.

  Shrimp saw the chunk of web coiled around her ankles. “Let’s deal with that right here, shall we? Don’t move.” He dug around in the bottom of the boat for a knife, checked the sharpness of the blade against the wood of his craft, and stabbed the gooey blackness until it sprang loose. Careful not to touch it, he hooked it up using the knife and tossed it overboard. “That’s better.” He grinned at them both and turned his attention back to rowing.

  Bree curled herself into the smallest ball, hugging her legs to her chest. Kai could only hope they were doing the right thing.

  Shrimp called back over his shoulder, “Brace yourselves. We’re coming up to the barrier.”

  The air in front of them lit up and the lights spun and grew, painting a picture so full of light that Kai blinked back tears. Only it wasn’t a painting—it was real. A dome of blue sky melted through the darkness, and Bree gasped. The trees along the banks of the river were tall and slender, all reaching loftily toward the sky as if they had nothing better to do than play with sunrays. The river itself sparkled in glittering shades of blue.

  They paddled out to the middle of the river. Its water flowed deep and peaceful, though Kai knew it was not the Healing Stream. Those waters were alive. This seemed wholesome, but ordinary.

  Shrimp waved a hand, and Kai nearly fell out of the boat as out of nowhere, an enormous, glass, domed structure appeared in front of them, floating on the water, glistening in the light. Bree gasped.

  “Welcome to our home.” Shrimp aimed the boat sideways toward a landing gap in the base of the structure. Once the boat was secure, he climbed out and helped the others onto the stairs. They followed him inside.

  “Beaver! Come on up. We have company.”

  They stood in what Kai assumed was the lounge, though the only pieces of furniture there were giant beanbags and a strange greeny-blue mat on the floor. Bree bent down and ran the tassels of the mat through her fingers.

  The one called Beaver came up a winding staircase through a hole in the floor. He wiped his hands on his shirt and mumbled to himself. He looked up and blinked at them all, and then his face buckled into a friendly grin. Walking straight over to Kai, he prodded him in the chest. “You can’t stay here. You don’t have much time.”

  The words were at odds with his smile, and Kai wasn’t sure how to respond.

  He turned to Bree, and his voice softened. “But for you, young lady, I have something special. Have you ever wanted to see an underwater garden?” He waited for her nod before motioning them to follow him back down the stairs.

  The deeper they went, the more Bree’s eyes sparkled. The light that filtered through the water played through the glass walls of the room. Bree held out her good hand to catch the light. Small schools of fish swam past the walls. She ran to the side and pressed her face against the glass. She looked this way and that, trying to take it all in at once. Kai glanced around, but couldn’t keep his eyes off his friend, who seemed to be coming back to life before his eyes.

  Shrimp called her over to the underwater garden area, and Bree went easily. It might have been imagination, but Kai almost thought he saw a curl or two reappearing in her hair.

  Beaver drew him aside. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  Kai stared past him. “Is that Healing Stream water? In those glass things?” He walked over and placed his hand on the glass. The water bubbled in response.

  “It is. But I think you know that.”

  “I need to find the Healing Stream. Can you tell me where it is?”

  “I don’t actually know. I’m sorry.”

  “I have some friends who’re in trouble.” He gestured to Bree with his eyebrows, dropping his voice. “We found her dad’s grave in the graveyard. The death date was in three months’ time. My other friend—his death date was carved right before our eyes. And Bree herself...we watched her grave being filled up, though there was no date on the stone.

  “You’ve been in the graveyard?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you lived to tell me about it.”

  “
Yes. Is that so weird?”

  “Nobody has ever come out alive.”

  “Nobody told us that.”

  Beaver’s gaze slid over him as if mentally recalibrating his first impression. “Well, maybe that’s a good thing. I hate to be rude, but you have to leave. You can leave this one here. She’ll be safe. I can see she needs some repair.” He scratched his arm unconsciously. “But you must go. Now.”

  ~*~

  Shasta’s fingers slid up Evazee’s neck, and he leaned close to whisper, “There are some converts who are waiting to meet you. You are quite the hot topic right now.”

  Evazee melted under his fingertips. All the stress dissolved and left her feeling weak and weepy. “I don’t believe you. Why?” She wanted to giggle at the way her tongue slurred her words the tiniest bit.

  She stared at his mouth as he answered. It remained closed, but his voice echoed in her head. It’s not every girl who can claim to have won the heart of such a powerful man.

  There was a hitch in his voice that caught her off-guard. He looked away quickly and walked faster. He said nothing more until they reached a wooden double door that she’d never seen before. Her vision from the testing arch seemed to repeat as the doors opened to a crowd that filled the vast chamber. They stepped inside. Evazee’s hands were slick with perspiration. There were too many to count.

  Shasta moved closer to her, slipping one hand under her arm, the other caressed her neck. Reality and memory collided, and Evazee couldn’t breathe. Words flew at her, sharp and piercing. They flooded through her. Just like before. She couldn’t hear her own words, but they came out of her mouth like a hammer and slammed into the people in front of her. The effect was even more dramatic than it had been in her vision.

  They streamed forward, pressing toward Evazee and Shasta. A shaft of cold slid down her spine. There were too many, too close. Evazee fought the urge to run. They held out their hands to her as if they’d found their savior. She felt the warmth of Shasta behind her and drew courage from his closeness. So this is how it felt to be wanted.

  “Speak to them.”