“Ezra?”
Ezra’s voice shakes as he responds to my call, “I see it.”
The vessel’s mouth widens beyond the capacity that a human mouth could ever achieve. Paired with the brutal angle of the arched back and neck, the images from the files in Florida flood my mind again. A small puff of blackened smoke hovers above the vessel’s mouth. Slowly, the black mist grows tendrils that stretch and pull from the body. Seeing what I see, the soldiers release gunfire filling the compound with the echoing chaos of bullets zipping and the most savage scream I have ever heard. I drop to the ground, tucking my body, and covering my ears, but keeping my eyes fixed on the Dweller as the body it is trying to escape trembles from the force of the bullets.
I have seen some disturbing sh...stuff. Seeing this malignant, evil, inhuman Dweller escaping from a human body to attempt saving itself, is now on the top of my growing list of disturbing stuff. My stomach twists and the humming within me spikes as I watch the inky snake-like tendrils reach up above the body and take shape into long, thin arms, oval shaped head, and the length of a torso.
The soldiers continue raining bullets on the inky form as it completely separates from the human vessel and hovers in mid air, taking each bullet with no effect. The Dweller descends back to the ground, standing on the tendrils that have formed into legs.
I only have one thought in my mind at the moment. It is going to charge me.
I should run, but where would I go? I feel the humming within me shift to a mushrooming force deep inside of me. My inner energy; my Qi. I haven’t tried releasing it since being back in our world. What if I can’t release it? Monica said our abilities might change or not come back at all. The figure crouches low and teases, first moving in toward me fast and bestially, then slow and calculating. One of the soldiers blocks its advance, but he has no effect. The Dweller tosses the soldier aside like a crumbled piece of paper and continues pursuing its target; me. Okay, here goes nothing.
I focus on the swelling power inside of me, pulling it deep within my chest until I feel like I’m going to burst. I remember this feeling, this growing, building white fire feeling I had beyond the veil when I tried to stop Michael from crossing back over to our universe, our world.
With the Dweller inches from me, I release the power I have grown, aiming it straight into the core of the repulsive predator. I watch the power take shape as it pours from me; glowing white vapor escalating from my body and hitting the Dweller in its center. Upon impact, the Dweller is tossed backward, inches from the threshold separating the world from the compound entrance. My abilities are working! The Dweller’s recoil spurs me on and I don’t hold anything back. I draw deeper within and heave a stronger second wave of energy at the Dweller. The being is uprooted from the ground and thrust with full force into the metal doors. With the force of my Qi still bearing down on it, the Dweller is pinned to the metal writhing and squirming, trying to break away from my attack. The more it writhes, the more it drives me to redeem the crumbled mortal it has occupied and brought to death. Suddenly, I hear gears shift and the metal doors I have this creature pinned to, separate. The Dweller takes hold of the sliver of deliverance, extends one of its flailing limbs and pulls itself through the small opening and out into the dark night.
“No!” Supercharged by the use of my Qi, I rush the metal doors ready to wedge my hands into the small crevice and pry it open.
In the distance behind me, I think I hear someone yell, “Stop her!”
One second I am centimeters from touching metal, the next I am blindsided by something large and fully padded with metal tactical gear. The soldier drops me to the ground like a sack of potatoes, wind knocked from my lungs on contact.
Once I catch my breath, I whoop and holler, “What the hell are you doing? I had it! We can’t let it go!”
Ignoring my rant, Xander yells, “What the hell was that? That wasn’t what we saw beyond the veil!”
Ezra is pacing above me mumbling as the soldier struggles to keep me pinned to the ground.
Jake snickers, “That’s right, you haven’t seen them in action here on Earth.”
I start to push and shove the soldier that has clobbered me, when another soldier, equally padded, takes hold of both my arms and locks them to the ground. As I put up a fight, he groans, “Damn, she is strong for a little gal.”
He was right, I did seem too strong for a ‘little gal’, even with the abilities that I had prior to the veil. What I just did was stronger than what I had ever done before the veil.
Monica comes into view and peers down at me. Monica smirks and looks up at Ezra, Xander, Sebastian, Nate, and the rest of the team that are now hovering around me. “She is definitely stronger. Her abilities are staring to return.”
The gruff voiced soldier kneels next to me, looks at me then back at Monica. “This is the one you were talking about?”
My glare darts from Monica to the soldier as I ask angrily, “The one you were talking about?”
I push against the hands holding me down, not enjoying the commentary while I am laying splayed under two heavily equipped soldiers.
Nick’s voice breaks in, “Does that mean all of our abilities should return?”
Ezra agrees, “Mine have started.”
Monica mumbles, “Yeah, mine too, plus some bonus material.”
Ezra’s eyes snap to her. “Like what?”
Monica answers, “Visions. An ancient place.”
Nate admits, “I’m seeing some things also.”
Xander looks at Nate curiously.
I’m about to ask Nate what he means when Nick interrupts, nudging Monica. “Will we be stronger than before too?”
Monica shakes her head, still studying me. “Not sure. Time will tell. Here, let the girl up.”
The soldiers cautiously release me and Monica stretches her hand out for me to take. I take hold of it and pull myself up to stand next to her.
The soldier with the gruff voice stretches his hand out to me. “Captain Jason Briggs. Just call me Briggs.”
I extend my hand and take hold of his. “Jesca Gershon Kahn, the strong little gal. Just call me Jesca.”
Briggs smirks at my comment.
Concerned, I turn to Sebastian and Ezra. “I could have taken it down, killed it. When I was using my Qi against that Dweller...”
Briggs, Elisha, and Nick immediately interrupt, “Dweller?”
Xander, “Wait, you named them?”
Ezra answers for me, “Yes.”
“It occupies and consumes us. It dwells, inhabits us, until there is no soul, no part of us left. When I was using my Qi against it, I wanted to attack it. I wanted it to die. I have never wanted to kill something so badly in my life.”
“It’s to be expected.”
I turn toward the familiar voice beyond our huddled group. It is none other than Daniel Reneaux.
Sebastian strides over to him, pulling him into an embrace. “Daniel, what are you doing here? Why are you not at the facility in Georgia? Is everything alright?”
As they pull apart, Daniel nods and looks at all of us. “Everything is as good as to be expected in Georgia.”
He looks at Sebastian, “Your sons, daughter-in-law, grandchildren-” then he looks at Corinna, “Isabel...they are all safe within the facility under the Etowah Mounds.”
Daniel moves past Sebastian and toward the center of the room, closer to me. He looks at Ezra briefly, nods and greets him, “Ezra.”
He doesn’t budge, just stares at him stoic, arms crossed, with his mouth set in a thin line. I would be pissed too. Sebastian confided in Daniel long ago about the legacy, the mounds, the Onoch lineage. Both of them along with my deceased mother Ana, kept it shrouded from him. Ezra couldn’t very well hold it against the deceased, but he could hold it against the living.
Sensing the chill in the room aimed at Daniel, Nick mumbles audibly, “The wrath of Ezra returns.”
Ignoring Nick’s comment, Ezra strides over to
Daniel. Seeing his heated advance, Sebastian, Jake and Xander move in on Ezra.
Ezra glances at the guardians approaching then meets Daniel eye to eye. “I’m not going to attack anyone. I just want to know what you know. You seem to have been entrusted by Sebastian when no one else was.”
Sebastian interrupts Ezra’s rant by calling out his name, but he doesn’t let up.
His voice cracks, “Ana knew about the legacy and never said a word to me, even after we married and Jesca was born.” Ezra’s eyes lower and he covers his mouth, attempting to settle the building emotions within him. “When Ana died, Sebastian told me to meet with you. After leaving Jesca, my only child, with the Sera’s, I came to you, broken. I asked you to watch over Jesca, guide her, when I couldn’t. The whole time I was going through the motions, you knew about the legacy the Onoch bloodline she carried and you didn’t say anything.”
Sebastian interrupts him, placing his hand on Ezra’s shoulder. “Ezra, we didn’t know how the legacy would affect Jesca. It could have left her untouched.”
Ezra shrugs it off and moves closer to Daniel, nose to nose now. I wedge my myself between them to stop anything before it starts. Ezra’s eyes shift to meet mine, but they don’t linger as they quickly move back to Daniel’s waiting an answer.
Daniel’s voice is stern, but sincere at the same time as he says, “Telling you about the legacy when you had just lost your wife and given your only daughter to the Sera’s to raise? I considered it. Even though I knew it might break you even more than you already were, I considered it.”
Sebastian rests his hand on Ezra’s arm. “I asked him not to. I asked him because protecting Jesca, you, the Etowah Mounds was the most important thing. If you knew, you would have gone to the Sera’s and taken Jesca.”
Ezra hisses through clenched teeth, “Damn right I would have!”
Daniel speaks over Ezra, “You would have taken her to protect her, but all you would have done is draw in the very forces we were keeping from her, you, and the legacy.”
“Look, I understand there is a lot that needs to be discussed, but we don’t have much time here before our little dwell buddies try attacking again,” says Briggs. He looks at me. “You are their target and they know you are here now.”
The image of the Dweller stalking me lingers in my mind. “Why didn’t you let me kill it? You just let it go.”
“Your abilities couldn’t kill it, only hold it back. All you were doing was drawing the others. They attack when one is under duress. The only choice was to let it go.”
Briggs anchors his rifle over his shoulder and I realize that this soldier knows more about these Dwellers than he should have to. He has experienced the attacks enough to know their method, their patterns.
“We need to gather supplies, food, ammunition, and then you can talk. Dawn is only a couple of hours away, then they will go fairly inactive. For now, we need to go deeper into the compound.”
Briggs glances over the gathered guardians, then back to me. “You were beyond the veil, right?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
Briggs lifts his chin toward the metal doors. “Then I’m sure they smelled you a mile away.” Briggs turns on his heels and the rest of the soldiers follow behind him. He calls out, “Vasquez and Schmidt, on clean up.”
Two soldiers turn back and head toward the bodies at the entrance. The guardians and I catch up to Briggs and his men, but I can’t help looking back at the two soldiers left to tend to the fallen.
The compound reminds me of my facility in Nevada, cavernous in some parts, industrial in others. Not like the institutional Kyoto facility though.
“No facility will ever compare to ours,” says Nate as he walks beside me.
I have so much to say to that, but I don’t. It will just complicate things between us again. I settle on something simple. “No, they won’t.”
Nate’s arm grazes mine as he leans in to whisper, “Jes, I know what you are doing.”
I want to tell him that he has no idea what I am doing or how I am feeling for that matter. He doesn’t know anything now that the link between us is gone. I notice Corinna and Sam just ahead of us. Responding to Nate would be dangerous and I need an excuse to break away from him before I say something that has the potential of stirring up things between us. When I reach Corinna, I put my hand on her arm gently. “Hey.”
When she turns to me, I notice how different, healthier, she looks than she did when we were in Kyoto. The difference in her skin color is drastic. Her skin looked waning and now it looks vibrant. Her eyes are soft, not maniacal like they were when Sam was gone beyond the veil. Her lips are no longer chapped and flaking, but rather smooth and touched with color now. It is like she has been rejuvenated from her old, withered self.
She responds with a soft smile, “Hey.”
I glance at Sam and nod. He nods then quickly looks down, keeping the steady pace of the group. I can tell he is still tortured by his acts. No matter how many times we forgive him, his own guilt is unwavering, eating away at him. I feel bad for him. I look back at Corinna. “You look so different.”
She bows her head graciously and looks down as we continue to walk. “I am. Monica says that Sam and I are both responding well to the new Copula.”
Sam pulls Corinna’s hand to his mouth and kisses it gently as we continue to follow the soldiers down a long hall.
Briggs quickly points out the basics when we get to an enclosed cavern he calls, “The barracks. Grab a duffle, pull supplies. We have it all spread out in containers.” He starts pulling out large Tupperware bins and opens the lids. He continues, “Pants and tops. Sorry, ladies, black is our signature color here.”
“What about our bags? How are we going to get them?” asks Elisha.
Nick shakes his head, “Sorry, hun, but I’m not going out there to get our bags.”
Briggs replies, “Don’t worry about your bags. What you need is right here.”
Everyone starts to shuffle around, grabbing a duffle and pulling from the supplies. As I take hold of a bag, I think about what I had in mine on the plane.
“Sorry about the farm,” says Ezra from behind me.
His comment doesn’t register right away. “What?”
Ezra stops pulling from the supplies and peers at me. “The ant farm.”
I look down at the empty bag in my hands and remember letting them go back in Kyoto. “I let them go.”
Ezra stops pulling supplies and looks at me. “What?”
I look up at Ezra and see the concern in his eyes.
“I let them go. I figured they had a better chance at surviving if they had a choice. I shouldn’t make that choice for them.”
Ezra is about to say something, but he stops himself and simply nods, letting my choice be without judgment. He makes his way to another set of bins to rummage through. I follow behind him. Ezra takes three canisters of water from the bin and places them in his bag.
Briggs slides in between us, watching what we take. “You will need more than that. Water is in high demand around here,” he says.
Xander is just ahead of Ezra in the line we have formed to collect goods. “How did you get all of these supplies?” he asks.
“Story time after you pack,” barks Briggs.
I watch Xander as he grinds his jaw back and forth, frustrated by Briggs’ comment. He looks like he is ready to rip off Briggs head and I can’t blame him for wanting to. It doesn’t take much to set Xander’s mouth off and Briggs is being confrontational with all of us. I look Briggs over; he is a pretty big guy and he is on high alert. Something tells me Briggs would not lay down if attacked, even if it was by a guardian. I move around Ezra and slip in between him and Xander. I tug on Xander’s sleeve to get his attention. “Our fight is not with them. Save it,” I whisper.
Xander breathes in deeply through his nose, then turns away from Briggs and right into me. I step back to make space between us, but Xander immediately closes the space again. I try
to back up, but space is limited as all of us are shuffling to pack our bags. Xander holds me captive in his intense turquoise gaze as his deep voice resonates. “You are right.”
Glad that he sees my logic, I nod and start to turn away from him to busy myself with packing, but Xander catches my arm in a strong hold, keeping me from moving away from him. The touch stirs the familiar comforting warmth between us. A comforting warmth I don’t need to be thinking about right now.
His voice is deep and low as he speaks to me, “No, I meant you are right about not choosing. I don’t think I could ever be...strong enough, self-less enough... to let someone I love go.”
I can’t Believe he is bringing this up now. His words are meant to hit me hard and strip away the facade I am holding onto so tightly when it comes to him and Nate; they do. Thrown off by his raw words, I look up at him just in time to catch him shaking his head.
Gauging my reaction to his words, he says, “I know for a fact that I could never let go of the one I love.”
His hand loosens its grip, caressing my arm tenderly before releasing it. He slowly backs away, then slings his duffle over his shoulder and starts walking away from me. Once again, Xander has called me out and I feel my resolve weaken under his strong words. I am left riveted by the truth they hold and it hurts. Xander doesn’t get far before
Nate steps in front of him, keeping him from escape. “What’s going on?” he asks Xander accusingly.
The last thing we need is Nate and Xander getting into it right now. I step in between the two of them and try to calm Nate, tell him everything is alright, when I notice his eyes! Their crystal-clear blue has turned murky and the eyes that have always been home to me appear foreign and dark. I take hold of his arm to try and break the spell he is under.
I call to him, try to get his attention beyond his glazed stare. “Nate, are you alright?”
Nate pulls his arms away from my grasp, like I have electrocuted him. He backs away slightly and bumps into Luke before rolling away from him and back into me.
Transcending the Legacy Page 4