The Ascension (Entangled Series Book 3)

by Jill Sanders

  “Then we’ll deal with it when it shows its head,” her grandmother said. “We can teach her…”

  “No.” Her mother almost screamed it, causing Jess’s younger self to glance from the television with worry. Her mother lowered her voice and turned away. “There’s no stopping it. I’ve seen it. She’s the reason”—she turned back and looked down at the child giggling at the television—“for the end of everything.”

  Suddenly, Jess was back in the present. When she glanced around, Carla was still standing there, watching her.

  “You’ve seen it,” she said, moving forward. “Haven’t you?”

  “I…” Jess shook her head, not believing what she had found out. “You’re my grandmother,” she said, taking a step back.

  “Yes,” Carla smiled. “After the… the accident that killed my husband, George, I thought it best that I move into town. Time passed and people forgot who was related to who. That’s why…” She shook her head. “I’ve kept an eye on you all this time.” The woman walked forward and wrapped her arms around her. “I never believed what your mother did about you,” she said softly. “You’re from me, and I have always loved you. That’s all that matters.”

  “What?” she said through her tears. “What did she think I was?” She pulled back. Now, looking at the woman, she could see it. They had the same gray eyes. The same high cheekbones. The same smile. She’d been blind for too long.

  “You’ve seen it, child,” Carla said, running a finger down her cheek, wiping the tears away. “There’s a way to stop it.”

  “How?” Her breath caught. “How?”

  “You need to get control. Everyone must learn to control their powers. Including you.” She moved back. “Take your time here. I have to get to work.” She brushed her hair. “Sweetie, until…” She shook her head. “Let’s just keep this secret to ourselves. People in town don’t need to know our business. They wouldn’t understand.”

  After Carla left, Jess walked over to the window and stood, much like her mother had in her memory. She looked out at the lake, unseeing, as more images flooded her mind.

  She’d known all along the roles that each of them had to take: Xtina, Mike, Ethan, and Brea. She’d even seen Jacob’s parts. But none of them played a role like she did in every scenario.

  Six of them stood at the base of the silo, holding hands as Jess spoke words she didn’t understand. The moon grew brighter, stronger, and somehow, power shot down through its beam, directly at her. She tried to warn everyone, scream, run, hide, but nothing worked.

  As far as every vision went, Jess was going to die the night they met. The night of the hunter’s moon. Actually, everyone was going to die, unless Jess sacrificed herself so everyone could live. She’d seen it a million times. It was her, or everyone else.

  She opened the back door and walked towards the water. The dark clouds were building, coming closer. It would start raining soon, but she felt a sudden need to reach the water’s edge.

  When she reached the grassy shore, she sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. Tears were still running down her cheeks and she reached up to wipe them away.

  Closing her eyes, she willed more visions to come. She dug deeper than she’d ever dug. Suddenly, a new power shot through her. It came from across the water and shot directly into her chest.

  New images flooded her. Images of the woman with silver eyes, trapped, begging for help. Banging on an invisible barrier. Suddenly, Brea was beside the woman.

  “I’m here now,” Brea said. “Follow me, we’ll set you free.”

  “No,” Jess screamed. “She has to stay.” But they couldn’t hear her.

  Then they were standing around the silo. Everyone was there, Jess included. She watched from afar as she chanted in a strange language while standing in the middle of the circle.

  Slowly, the gray-eyed woman appeared next to her. The woman was dazed, as if she was finally freed from slumber.

  Jess glanced upward, seeing the beam from the moon grow in power, and a massive darkness descend towards them, a darkness with piercing silver eyes of evil. She knew it was too late. It had followed them.

  Looking down, she found Jacob and opened her heart to the man she’d always loved.

  Chapter 9

  She drove like a madman. She knew time was running out. She could feel it. Something was different inside her. She felt it growing stronger, getting closer. She stopped in front of Mike’s house.

  The house was dark. She thought about banging on the door but then noticed the car was gone.

  Taking a deep breath, she sat down on the front porch swing to gather her thoughts.

  Less than five minutes later, a car pulled in. The rain started falling just before Brea got out of the car. The woman had a large black umbrella and made a dash towards the porch.

  She’d been looking down, and before Jess could step away, she slammed directly into her.

  “Hey,” she said. The time she’d taken to cool off had allowed her to get control of her emotions.

  “Sorry, I didn’t see you.” Brea shook the umbrella off.

  Jess figured she should just come out with it, so she blurted out, “Listen, I heard about… your deal.” She nodded, unable to say the word transportation for some reason. “From Xtina. She said that you show up in places…”

  “Yeah.” Brea shook her head. “I still can’t believe it myself.” The woman’s shoulders rose and fell quickly.

  “I’ve seen it,” Jess said, trying not to sound scared.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, leaning forward.

  “Yeah.” Jess rolled her shoulders and once more tried to relax. She closed her eyes, wishing to block out the worst of the vision. “I’ve seen…something, my whole life, but it didn’t make sense until Xtina told me what you could do.”

  “What have you seen?” Brea asked, taking her arm and walking over until they both sat down.

  She shook her head. “It’s not important at the moment. Can you control it?” She didn’t think going around telling everyone the sky was falling would win her brownie points.

  “Control?” Brea laughed and shook her head.

  “Well, you’ve got to work on it.” Jess sat forward. “You have to learn how to control it.”

  “How? If you have any clue as to what I can do…” Brea started.

  “Hi,” Ethan’s voice came from the doorway, causing both women to jump.

  “You’re awake.” Brea stood and walked over to him.

  “Everything okay?” He let Brea lead him to a chair.

  “Yes.” It was Jess that spoke. “We were just having a chat.” She decided it was best if she left them alone for the rest of the night, but before leaving, she turned and looked back. “Something’s coming,” she said, as she looked over at the big house across the field.

  When she pulled in behind Jacob’s car, she sat in the truck and thought about going home, alone. For the next few minutes, she allowed her mind to settle down from everything she’d learned that day.

  “Screw it,” she said, just before there was a knock on the door.

  The rain was still coming down in sheets, and Jacob stood outside her truck door, holding a large umbrella.

  She opened her door and smiled.

  “Didn’t want you to get wet.” He smiled at her. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

  Without saying anything, she leaped from the seat and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Her eyes slid closed and she allowed herself to let everything go, making sure to put all of her feelings towards him into her kiss. He carried her to the back porch and wrapped his arms around her.

  When she finally pulled away, his smile had tripled. “What did I do to deserve that?”

  “Bringing me an umbrella was pretty chivalrous.” She smiled. “Making me dinner, that’s two points for you.”

  “Yeah.” His hands ran up and down her back as the rain continued to fall. “Is there some sort of prize when I reach three?” H
e pulled her close. “Because I stopped at Smelly Kelly’s and bought a cheesecake.”

  “You’re a god.” She chuckled. “A hero.” She leaned up and kissed him quickly. “The man of every woman’s dream.”

  “Yeah.” He chuckled. “What did I win?”

  “You’ll have to feed me first, then you’ll find out.” She dropped her arms and stepped away, then rushed in the back door as he made a grab for her.

  She allowed their evening to remain light and fun. She enjoyed every minute of being with him. He lit a fire, and they made love on the soft rug in the firelight, then snuggled together on the sofa and watched The Wizard of Oz.

  Sunday morning, they continued acting like a normal domesticated couple. He drove her down to the hardware store and purchased a light for her back door. Then she stood around and handed him tools as he replaced the light.

  When it was just the two of them, they enjoyed as much ordinary time as they could. When they met with everyone else, worry surfaced and doom loomed over them. Time was running out, and she was determined to have as much normal time as she could, even if it meant not telling Jacob everything. They talked about everything except their future.

  She had a feeling that Jacob knew something was coming but was allowing the act between them. Who was she to mess up a good time?

  The following evening, they got an urgent text from Xtina.

  -Come quick, Mike’s house. Brea disappeared.

  She knew the happy days were over. Jacob drove as quickly as he could. When they arrived, Mike and Xtina were already there.

  “What the hell just happened?” Ethan said as he opened the door for them.

  “Why are you asking us?” Jacob said, stepping in and scanning the room.

  “One minute we were there, about to have a beer and dinner, then poof,” Ethan said, running his hands through his hair, a move she’d seen Jacob do as well. She didn’t know why she hadn’t seen the resemblance before.

  “Did she actually go poof?” she asked, causing everyone to look at her. “What?” She shrugged. She had been wondering that ever since Xtina had told her about Brea’s abilities. In her mind, she imagined it happening like Samantha on Bewitched. Maybe even with a small cloud of smoke rising up after.

  “No. She just faded,” Ethan said. “She sparkled, then I blinked and she was gone.”

  “Did she say anything before she… left?” Xtina asked.

  “She said no. Just no.” He sat down then immediately got up and took a swig of his beer.

  “So, we need to go over everything.” Xtina sat down, followed by Jess. “Jess and I were talking, and we’re pretty sure that her being able to control her ability plays a pretty big part in all this.”

  Jess had called Xtina while Jacob was in the shower that morning and filled her in on her thoughts.

  “Yeah, we talked about that some,” Ethan added.

  “Is there anything you can tell us? What was she doing before? What were you talking about?” Jacob grabbed a beer and tossed one to Mike. Jess noticed how the three men were behaving more and more like brothers.

  “We were talking about… well, nothing really. We had just gotten back from getting food at the cafe.” She could see he was stressed.

  “What were you talking about specifically?” Xtina said.

  “We had been talking about finding out about her aunt drowning at the lake.”

  Suddenly, the air in the room sizzled.

  “No!” Brea continued to say from the chair at the bar.

  Even though Jess had seen it with her own eyes, she still had to blink a few times to make sure she hadn’t imagined it.

  “Cool.” Jess smiled, earning her a stern look from Xtina and Jacob.

  Jacob had suggested they drive into town and grab burgers at the cafe for everyone. He was happy when Jess volunteered to go with him. He wanted a minute alone with her.

  “What’s your take on all this?” He glanced over at her.

  “What? Brea pulling one of the best magic tricks, ever?”

  “Sure, that and… everything else.”

  “I’m not sure.” She was quiet and he could tell she was holding back.

  “Okay, I’ll say it. I’m pretty freaked out about everything.” He pulled into the parking lot at the cafe and turned towards her.

  “If things… happen the way… everyone says.” He took a deep breath between each statement. Then he reached over and took her hand in his. When he looked down at it, he smiled at the pink nails, knowing her toes were the same shade. “Just know that no matter what happens”—his eyes moved up to her gray ones—“I’m not going anywhere.”

  She smiled and nodded, then leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips, ending the conversation.

  When they got back to the house, Jacob sat back as he ate and listened to everyone speculate about what it all meant.

  Then someone suggested they try something about making a toast. Apparently, the last time Mike, Xtina, and Jess had done so, they’d had visions.

  So, one by one, they held up their glasses or beer bottles. When they clinked them together, nothing happened and he laughed.

  “Well, that was fun,” Jacob said sarcastically as he sat back down.

  Then they tried it again, this time with crystal glasses and wine.

  He couldn’t explain it, but suddenly, the hairs on his arms stood up. It was like one of those 80s horror movies.

  You wanted to shout out not to go into the basement, but at the same time, you wanted to see what would happen if they did.

  This time, when their glasses met, he blacked out.

  Slowly, a light came from the distance and he realized he was standing at the edge of a lake. Marshal Lake. He recognized the boat ramp a few yards away. The sky was dark, but the moon and stars shone bright enough that he could see it clearly.

  Turning, he looked down and noticed Jess’s hand in his. Looking up, he smiled. She was looking at him with so much love and passion that it almost knocked him over.

  “This is right.” She smiled. “I wish we could stay in this moment forever.” He saw sadness threatening to surface behind her gray eyes, but then she shook her head. “Jacob, I brought you out here, not only to tell you about my mother but to tell you that I’m pregnant.” She reached down and placed his hand over her flat belly. “It’s a boy.”

  Suddenly, the dark sky lit up, too bright, causing him to turn around and squint.

  He was standing on the edge of the lake, alone. And, somehow, he knew that Jess and his son, were out of his reach, forever.

  Then, as quickly as it had happened, he was back in Mike’s living room, with everyone else around him.

  His eyes moved to Jess quickly. To her flat stomach. Was she pregnant? His mind raced back to that first time. When they had been in such a hurry. They’d been so careful ever since.

  He couldn’t help but smile, but he frowned when he remembered the second part of his image. What did it mean?

  Breaking the silence in the room, he jumped in. “That was odd,” he said, reaching for his beer. The beer was warm and didn’t help his thirst, so he set it down again.

  “Last time everyone saw the same thing.” Xtina looked around. “What did you see this time?” She turned to Jess.

  He wondered if she’d seen the same thing he had. Did she already know she was pregnant?

  “Oh no, I’m not going first.” She shook her head and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest.

  They went around the room, everyone telling what they had seen. When it was his turn, he decided to be vague.

  “I was at the lake. That’s it.” He turned and looked at Jess. “You were there.”

  “Yeah,” Jess sighed. “I was.”

  He felt something kick him in the gut. She did know.

  For the next half hour, they went over every detail, talking about moons and seasons, and making a chart.

  He sat back with his brothers as the three ladies went to town trying to figur
e everything out.

  When he’d had enough, he got up for another beer.

  He walked to the fridge and opened it. “You’re out.” He looked over at Jess. “Why don’t we call it.”

  Everyone in the room was silent as they looked between him and Jess.

  Xtina jumped in. “You two?” She balked. “Are together?”

  “No!” Jess stood up a little too quickly. He wasn’t hurt since she’d asked him to keep their relationship hush-hush. “He drove me here.” She walked over and picked up her coat. “What?” she said to Xtina. “He was at the coffee shop,” she lied. She hadn’t even worked that day. His smile grew since he knew no one in the room was buying her story.

  As they drove home, he reached over and took her hand, then brought it up to his lips and placed a kiss on it. “You’re going to have to tell them about us eventually.”

  He heard her sigh. “I think they already know.”

  “Speaking of knowing…” He glanced over at her. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  She turned slightly towards him. “No?” It came out more like a question.

  “Did you really see us at the lake?” he asked as he parked beside her truck.

  “No,” she whispered.

  “What did you see?”

  “Come inside, I want to tell you while I’m eating the last piece of cheesecake.” She got out of the car and he followed her inside.

  Once they were settled at the kitchen table, the last piece of cake in front of her, she took a deep breath.

  “I saw what I always see.” She glanced up at him and took a bite of cheesecake.

  “What is that?” He waited as she took another bite.

  “My death.” Her words caused his gut to drop.

  “Your death?” He blinked a few times and waited for his heart to settle down.

  She nodded slightly and set the fork down. “We’re in the silo, everyone’s standing in a circle. Then, Brea’s aunt, Misty, the one that Mike and Xtina have seen, she’s there. But something goes wrong.” Tears flowed from her eyes as she shook her head. “I screwed up somehow. Something came back with her. Something that grabs me and…” She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. “Everything ends.”