I move closer to Lathan and I notice Ezra’s hands are splayed open, empty, no gun. I drop my eyes to search the ground around him and just as a strike of lightning illuminates the earth, I see the black metal shine of his gun next to the Monica’s body; I make my sight of her brief again as a wave of heat stirs my repulsion. Now at Lathan’s side, I look up at him hoping he will tell me what happened.
He speaks carefully as his eyes stay pinned to Ezra. “The Dweller had her. He had to shoot her. As soon as it left her body, I killed it.” Lathan looks at me sideways with his piercing amber eyes and whispers, “Go to him. He needs you.”
I peer from Lathan to Ezra, still as a statue except for the hair on his head, feathering from the wind. Thunder rumbles above us as I move toward Ezra slowly, cautiously. Shiva walks beside me, not wanting to let me go alone. I avoid looking down at Monica’s body as I come to stand next to Ezra. I feel the uncomfortableness of death being a mere footstep away from where I stand. I look up at Ezra timidly, testing the waters before I say anything to him. If this were any other situation, I would yell at him that he is a stupid, stupid man for running off like that, mocking his reaction to me running out to help the Rephaim and Errol earlier. As I look at his eyes, I see something in them that tells me to not unleash on him. He is hurting, tormented from what he had to do. He doesn’t need me doing that to him. He needs me to be here for him, bring him back from the dark place he has gone.
“Hey.”
The pause is long and I wonder if my greeting has fallen on deaf ears. As I keep my eyes on him, checking his reaction, I watch as his head leans back and his eyes look into the sky through the parted canopy of trees. He breathes in deeply, then releases it with no other sign of emotion; cold and empty. I expect to look up into the opening made by the hawk next to us and see hovering, stalking hawklike Dwellers. Instead, it is just the sky with darkened clouds backlit by underlying lightning.
I slowly bend down to retrieve the gun, keeping my eyes level with the beast’s body in front of me, not daring to look down at Monica again. On the first attempt, I touch the metal gun and wrap my hand around it. Keeping my eyes on Ezra’s delirious gaze into the sky, I rise slowly and click the safety back into place before I push the gun into the holster on the other side of my hip.
I slowly move my hand toward Ezra’s arm. I’m a little worried about touching him, wondering if it will crumble his catatonic state, sending him bolting from me. To hell with it, he is my father and I can’t let him break like this right here in front of me. I touch his shoulder and will myself to speak Even though I am scared to death.
Clearing my throat, I say, “You needed to do it, Ezra. She was already gone. If she were in your place…”
Ezra’s voice croaks, “…I would want her to do the same.”
Looking at Ezra’s strong profile lit by the repetitive flashes of lightning, he drops his gaze from the heavens and turns his gaze to me, blinks quickly. He raises his hand across his body to rest it on top of mine. Together we turn around and walk toward the guardians and Rephaim.
I watch his hardened face nod at Lathan as we pass him.
Ezra’s worn voice surfaces, “The Dwellers can get to us just as easily in the bush as they can in the open.” His eyebrows raise as we walk up to Sebastian, ready to address him. “If there are animals in the bush, the Dwellers will use them, like it did with these mutated bird beasts. We have to be cautious, but swift as we make our way to the mounds.”
He is talking so quickly, mechanically. I whisper his name to try and slow him down, “Ezra.”
Ignoring my voice, he looks behind the guardians at Ira. Ira is no longer carrying Errol. He must have left him back in the meadow. Ezra continues his programmed rant, “You are just as vulnerable as we are. The playing field is being leveled as they continue to use our world against us.”
Ezra looks at Nate and Xander, then me. “This is when the hybrid Dweller will close in on us. It is setting traps. First taking Briggs, then the mutated birds striking down Errol, and taking Monica.” Ezra pauses and I look at him. He looks down in shame. “I fell into one of the traps by going after Monica.”
He looks at all of the guardians and Rephaim. “It could have gotten any of you killed if the hybrid Dweller had decided to show itself and attack.” Ezra looks back at me. “Just like beyond the veil, it is looking for our weaknesses. It took my weakness and used it against me.”
I feel my throat tighten with emotion for him as I think of the demons he has been fighting for years having witnessed my mother die and now Monica.
Ezra places his hands on his hips, and shakes his head before looking at all of us. “Don’t let it use your weaknesses. Do what you have to do to survive.”
Ira and Cale lead us back in the direction of the meadow with Seth and Lathan pulling up the back. Daniel crouches to the ground and pulls a flashlight from his pocket, shining it on the dirt beneath him.
He waves his hand for us to move closer as he draws in the dirt with his finger. “Look, we are here, about fifty yards into this wooded area. It is dense, but it only stretches a width of about five hundred feet.”
Sebastian adds in, “It will protect us up to Natchi Trail, then it is open field. Well, was an open field a year ago. Don’t know what it looks like now.”
Sebastian looks at Daniel for reference. He nods. “Tall grass, but no cover, so yes, open all the way to the Etowah Archeological Museum. That is our halfway point. The rest of the way is the same; low grass land with no cover.”
The bad news makes me restless as I think of a way to get to the mounds from the cover we have here. I concentrate on the ground just beyond Daniel, willing myself to be there. I feel the lightening within and everything around Daniel’s crouching body blurs. My sight of him blurs slightly, then comes back into focus sharply as I stand behind him looking at the back of his crouched body. My soundlessness does not make up for his awareness of my presence as he jumps to his feet and backs away from me.
Before he can reprimand me for obviously scaring him I say, “We can jump.”
Sebastian steps toward me, “Each time we use our abilities, it weakens us. It drained you out there defending Ira and Errol.”
Ira interjects, “It drains us as well. It will put us at greater risk if we get caught in a swarm of Dwellers or these mutated creatures.”
Nick jumps in, “It doesn’t drain us for long though. I already have my strength back from using my Pyrokenesis.”
I remember Ezra’s telling me that he hoped the drain wouldn’t come at a time that I needed it most. I look at Nick. “He is right, if the drain happens while we are under attack, we will die.”
Ezra speaks up, “Jumping is the most draining ability and the most dangerous.”
Jake adds, “You don’t always know where you will land. Might land in a nest of Dwellers.”
Siobhan adds, “Or a flock of Dweller birds.”
Ira’s hardened stare rests on Daniel, waiting for him to call the shots as to what we must do next. Daniel stammers as he explains, “Travel south in the woods as long as we can and be prepared for anything to strike at us. Use your abilities when you need to and stay together.”
I add, “Don’t leave anyone behind.”
Ira looks at me, his narrow eyes soften for a moment, before he draws his dagger and strides into the heavy brush. Cale draws his dagger and follows tightly behind Ira. All of us fall in quickly behind them with Lathan and Seth trailing us closely.
The rain has stopped falling through the canopy of trees. The leaves are no longer being pelted with the heavy deluge that has been hammering us. I look up through the trees as we move cautiously through the brush keeping Ezra’s words in mind; be prepared for anything to strike at us.
I notice something to my left. The kindling fire that engulfed the house, has died and the blaze that once was is now just a small glow barely detectable from the heavy trees and shrubs we are sheltered in.
“I know this pa
rt of Cartersville well. We are near Dellinger Park,” says Elisha.
Daniel adds, “There is a lake about five hundred feet to the west.”
I take a much needed deep breath to try and clear the last image of both Errol and Monica. I don’t feel bad for trying to forget about them. Under normal circumstances, I would have chided myself for being so apathetic and cold about my reaction to block out what I just witnessed, the death of a brother and a friend. This isn’t normal circumstances though. I’m not sure normal will ever be a circumstance I will experience again.
The smell of burning wood fills my nostrils and tickles my throat. A chain of coughs behind me draws my attention from the tickle in my own throat to Elisabeth. Her condition has worsened. As she coughs and wheezes, she attempts to cover her mouth while keeping up stride with Sebastian next to her. I can’t help but wonder why in her right mind would she not get implanted. Suddenly, she stumbles and falls to her knees. I turn around and kneel next to her as does Sebastian.
Urgently, he calls her name, “Elisabeth,” then looks at the us and asks, “Does anyone have water?”
“I do,” says Corinna. She hands her canteen to Sebastian and he puts it to Elisabeth’s dry lips immediately. She only drinks a small amount before she begins to cough again.
I look at Sebastian wearily, seeing the sadness and fear in his eyes as he watches his sister dying before him. Ms. Olivia comes up behind Elisabeth and helps her to rise. “Here, Elisabeth, I’ve got you,” she says.
Ms. Olivia looks at me and winks as she walks ahead of me with Elisabeth at her side. The other guardians swallow the two as they fall into step again, moving forward behind Ira and Cale’s lead. With Sebastian standing next to me and Elisabeth out of earshot, I voice my concern, “The closer we get, the stronger we get. It seems the closer Elisabeth gets, the weaker she becomes.”
Sebastian places his hand on my back, guidingly as we walk behind the others. “I have noticed,” he says grimly.
“If she was given the opportunity to be implanted, she should have taken it. She wouldn’t be on the verge of death right now.”
I look up at Tessa, still clinging to Xander and continue, “So many could have been saved, but just didn’t have enough time or resources. She had time and the opportunity and she chose to turn it away.”
Just as it comes out, I wonder if I have overstepped my boundary by talking about this woman like this to her brother. Sebastian doesn’t say anything to me right away, making it obvious to me that I had overstepped it. I’m about to apologize for my rant, when Sebastian takes hold of my arm gently and stops me from walking, Lathan and Seth pausing behind us.
Sebastian acknowledges, “So many seek redemption in our world, Jesca. Sam, Corinna, my own son Balthazar.” He shakes his head then continues, “It is accepted as a means of survival, but what about repentance being a means of survival.”
I’m confused. “Repentance?”
Sebastian looks ahead of us, keeping an eye on the growing division between the other guardians and us as they continue to walk on. Sebastian’s eyes meet mine, “What if she is letting herself suffer like this because of her remorse for leaving her only daughter?”
I remember my vision and my mother’s forgiving words. “My mother forgives her. My mother understands why Elisabeth left her with you.”
Sebastian looks at me curiously for a second, then closes his eyes and shakes his head. “You don’t understand. She blames herself for more than just leaving her,” he says.
Suddenly, Elisabeth’s cough over powers our discussion and we both look after her. Ms. Olivia is standing with her, arm wrapped around Elisabeth as she leans into the cough.
Over her cough, I hear Nick holler, “Nate, where are you going?”
I scan the group for him just as I hear Tessa let out a sharp, short scream. I see Elisabeth falling to the ground taking Ms. Olivia down with her. The rest of the guardians move in on them and Sebastian leaves my side in a flash to help. Suddenly, I see Siobhan jump back from Ms. Olivia and Elisabeth. She looks at Jake, then down at Sebastian as she yells, “It has her!”
All of the guardians look at her bewildered and start to back away, leaving Sebastian on the ground with Elisabeth convulsing. Sam and Luke are pulling Ms. Olivia up and away from them, as Siobhan keeps her gun aimed at Elisabeth’s shaking form.
Lathan and Seth act when they see Siobhan’s gun aimed at Elisabeth’s writhing body. They rush past me toward the yelling crowd surrounding Sebastian and Elisabeth.
Sebastian holds his hand up to Siobhan begging her, “No! Just wait! Please! It is a trap!”
A trap?
His plea falls on deaf ears as the guardians yell and holler while Sebastian covers Elisabeth’s body with his, blocking Siobhan from having a clear shot at her.
As Ezra and Daniel ignore Sebastian’s plea and draw their own guns on instinct, everything suddenly slows to a lumbering pace; the multiple hands reaching for guns, Siobhan moving in toward Sebastian, Ms. Olivia trying to lunge at Sebastian and Elisabeth appearing to shield them, the Rephaim moving in with their daggers.
A trap.
I open my mouth to yell, at them. Tell them to believe Sebastian that it is a trap, but my mouth isn’t working.
It’s numb, paralyzed.
I will myself to run toward them, but while my mind is still working, my body is idle.
I’m not in control.
No! No! No! The hybrid, it is here!
The guardians and Rephaim continue their slow motion circling around Elisabeth as Sebastian’s wail draws out. Breaking from the pack, I see Xander cradling Tessa in his arms, moving slowly into the open. His eyes meet mine and he watches me curiously, like he is wondering why I’m standing all the way over here, unmoved. When he calls my name it is drawn out. “Jeeessssccca.”
Suddenly, his curiosity turns to terror as I feel my body yanked backward and up, through the branches of the trees and into the darkened stormy sky.
The force that has a hold of me snatches me down now, pulling me back down through the trees. The crash of thick branches snapping against my back and ribs, make me want to cry out in agony, but I’m held captive within myself, unable to express my pain. I’m not sure if the cracking sounds around me are the branches or my body breaking as the pain spreads over my body. All too quickly, the sky disappears from above and I hit the ground hard, an audible, “Ugh,” is forced from my mouth; the only sound from me that is truly mine.
Both disturbing and surprisingly, I haven’t lost consciousness. Well, I don’t think I have. I hear my labored breathing, the sound from the beating of my heart, and below that a trickling sound that I have heard before, recently, in a vision.
Am I in a vision?
Instinctually, I open my eyes hoping that I am still in the now. With my vision crossing and blurring, I blink countlessly, trying to see.
I feel a cold tickling liquid current moving over and around my left hand. Water; it’s the stream from my vision.
Abruptly, a foreign and disturbing voice startles me, stirring my nerves and charging my adrenaline as it says, “You are not in a vision.”
Trying to get up, but still feeling disoriented from the fall, I roll over, placing my hand onto the softened ground at the edge of the stream. My hand sinks into the mud slightly, then settles on the hardened ground beneath. With the support of my hands, I rise on my left knee first without a problem, but when I put pressure on my right one, I feel searing pain shoot up my thigh and into the pit of my stomach. Overcome by the agony, I wail as I push through it and rise on my feet shakily. I look down at my right knee and see the evidence of my suffering; my pant leg has been ripped open from kneecap to upper thigh revealing raw flesh mixed with too much blood. I’m not sure if it is the spasming throb of the wound as I stand on my injured leg, or the site of it that almost claims my consciousness. Whichever it is, I breathe through it shakily; in and out, in and out.
You can do this, Jes. C’mon, move!
I hobble and drag, hobble and drag my right leg, drudging through the stream and pushing myself lamely through the sloped wood.
Remember the vision, Jes.
I close my eyes and see the shaman pulling me along with him. As quick as the glimpse of the vision has come, it is gone leaving me blinking and wondering how I just did that. How did I enter and exit the vision on command?
Sloped wood, I start climbing as I try and command seeing more of the vision.
Onawah being pulled along by the shaman up a hill. Once again, the flash of my divination is gone, leaving me adrift and unhinged, but not so much as to not understand that my vision is trying to guide me right here and now.
I whisper, “This is the stream and the slope she climbed.”
I look up at the slope and see the heavy brush barring any exit from the small open patch. I turn around and look down the slope back at the stream, then whisper, “No, they crossed further back.”
With my mind trying to work out where I am based off of my vision, I notice the pain subsiding enough that I give it a go and step on my right foot fully now. I start to head back down the slope toward the stream, when I hear a rustling in the thicket ahead of me. It is quickly absorbed into a roll of thunder and unexpected flash of lightning, but I freeze in my steps, not taking any chances. The sky quickly darkens shrouding the brush and trees ahead into darkness again and the rumble of thunder fades. The rustling in the wood has faded with it.
Until Nate shouts my name, “Jesca!”
Charged by his voice, I step down on my foot outright, forgetting the pain and attempt to run toward his voice. “Nate!”
Tessa’s entire body is trembling in my arms as I hold her close and move away from the panicked and yelling guardians and Rephaim. Shiva is snarling at the guardians, freaked out and confused by their attack on Elisabeth. I push past Nick and Ezra into the open path and instantly I see Jesca standing by herself, frozen in place. What is she doing?
Transcending the Legacy Page 25