Ezra interjects, “Alexander cannot be out there in the world, thinking he is part of a fellowship that promoted the abductions in Miami. Sam used Alexander. We cannot turn our backs on one of our own. He is a part of our fellowship.” Ezra looks to Nate. “We all need to support him and let him be a part of our team.”
I move my hand to the base of my neck to relieve the tension building within me, remembering how things ended between Xander and me. I hoped that we would cross paths again because the feelings Xander stirred in me could not be for nothing. Now, we are about to cross paths again—as allies. Then, I think about my link with Nate. Nate is his cousin. I absentmindedly feel for anything superficial under the skin, running my fingers over what I think is a small lump below my hairline.
Ezra senses my movement to my neck and mumbles, “The second-generation Copula is so slender that it’s unlikely for you to feel anything from the surface of your skin.”
My voice is filled with determination. “Was my link with Nate predetermined through our Copulas?”
Ezra quirks his head to one side and fiddles with the edge of the newspaper, avoiding our eyes. “Yes and no.”
Nate and I both warn Ezra with his vague answer. “Ezra!”
Nate comes back to the table and sits down next to me, ready to pounce on Ezra if he avoids another direct question.
Ezra waves at us to calm down. “Hold on, hold on. Yes, it was determined that you would be linked to another, but the specific person wasn’t determined. That’s left to fate. The link is determined by the combination of metaphysical abilities you each possess. Like I told you before, your abilities needed to complement each other in order for the link to occur.”
Nate crosses his arms over his chest, and his eyes have turned a deep blue as he stares deeply and intently at Ezra.
I grit my teeth. “Explain, Ezra. Now!”
Ezra says, “In the beginning, the fellowship focused on guardians combining abilities the old-fashioned way. A level of trust between the guardians needs to be achieved before two guardians can combine abilities. As both the Dobrian and Sondian fellowship grew and expanded globally, the level of Sondian spies and traitors intensified. Our fellowship discovered that trust was a commodity that was waning. The uncertainty of our safety, along with our children’s, was too much to contend with. Our fellowship—all of us—decided that the logical step would be to reconfigure, alter, and code the Copula to connect the vessels with similar and complementary abilities to increase their probability of survival upon attack. You three were the third wave of guardians to be implanted with the reconfigured and coded Copula.”
Ezra must see the anger building within Nate and me. He leans in toward us. “You have to understand. As our world changed with the expansion of the Sondian fellowship, we needed protection. We needed to protect your future and your existence so that you could carry on. As parents, we only wanted to see that you were safe and protected. This was the definitive way of ensuring we did everything possible to aid in your survival.”
Ezra’s eyes search mine. “When your child’s safety is in danger, you do what you have to do to protect them. This is what your mother and I chose to do for you, Jesca.”
I feel the purity of Ezra’s thoughts flow from him to me. That is all they wanted for us. There were no ulterior motives, just protection.
Nate doesn’t see it that way though. Nate pushes his chair back roughly, too roughly. It flies backward, hitting the floor hard. He growls with a breathless and shaky voice. “And my parents agreed to this? They decided to implant me with this…this device? Then, they partner me with someone to ensure my safety?”
I’ve never seen Nate this angry. Ezra and I stand simultaneously. I move in front of Nate and put both of my hands in his. I grab them tightly, so he can’t pull away. I feel his anger surge through me. I breathe deeply, trying to push all of my calm energy into him.
I whisper to him, “Nate, you need to calm down.”
He eyes me, and then he glares at Ezra. Nate tries to pull his hands away, but I hold on tighter. He looks at me and thinks I can’t believe my parents agreed to this!
I lean closer to him. Our chests are almost touching. My body instantly shivers from our close proximity. I concentrate on the sound of his racing heart and his fast breathing. I keep my breathing slow, continuing to send my calm energy to him.
I think, Nate, fighting this now will not change anything. You need to calm down and hear your parents out. Please, Nate, calm down.
Nate stops resisting me, and I feel the tension leave his hands. I listen to his slowing heart as it pumps in his chest. His breathing sounds like the soft waves of the ocean now. Our eyes are locked on each other as we stand there, not moving.
Ezra approaches us and puts a hand on both of our shoulders, pulling us back from the place we got lost in.
He looks at Nate. “I’m sorry your parents aren’t here right now to explain, but I know that they’ll want to. Just give them a chance, Nate.”
Nate breathes in deeply, and his broad chest expands. He sighs audibly, nods his head, and closes his eyes.
As Ezra moves back to sit at the table, I pull Nate by the hand, leading him back to our chairs. This conversation is far from over. I still have unanswered questions, and I’m not about to let them go.
Nate rakes his hand through his hair, looking at Ezra. “Okay, so we’ve been altered. What does that make us?”
Ezra answers, “Yes, your DNA has been altered because of the copper in the Copula. You are still a human though. You’re just a superior model of human.”
I add, “So, we are alien in a way.”
Both Ezra and Nate look at me.
I continue, “We are altered, evolved, and different. That is pretty much alien to me.”
Nate looks at Ezra and scoffs. He sits back and crosses his arms. “She has a point, Ezra.”
Ezra sits back, looking from Nate to me. “With the events that have surrounded your life, you would not have survived the past six months if you didn’t have the defense from the implanted Copula along with a greater purpose in this universe ahead of you.”
It surprises me when Ezra does something completely out of character. He puts his hands out to both Nate and me. We both hesitate, and then we look at each other, kind of taken aback by Ezra’s action. Slowly, we place our hands in Ezra’s.
He squeezes our hands in his and says, “The Copula is the device that will help us adapt, evolve, and survive in our changing world now.”
I think of Corinna and how she was a casualty because of this world we live in now. Since that night, I have tried to block her from my thoughts. Because of my dreams, it has been impossible to do that. In them, she convulses and pulls on my legs, begging me to save her.
Now, finding out from Ezra that she is a Dobrian, I wonder what was going through her mind the night she went with me to the club. Did she know about Sam Crest and the abduction? Was she planning her own mission all along by befriending me? Was she putting herself in harm’s way to protect me? Was she playing Little Miss Vulnerable for Sam so that he would take her and not me?
I ask Ezra, “Corinna is a Dobrian. You said that she is from a family of guardians that were sent to protect other guardians. She was sent to protect me, wasn’t she?”
Ezra responds, “Yes, she was, but we weren’t expecting her to risk her life to protect both you and Xander.”
I stop him. “Wait, she knew that Xander’s a Dobrian, too?”
Ezra says nothing and just nods. His eyes are bloodshot. He pinches the bridge of his nose. All of a sudden, I see how tired he looks; clearly showing that he hasn’t been sleeping well.
It becomes clear now. Corinna knew what she was doing the entire time. She befriended me to keep me close to protect me. She made sure I went to the club with her—the club she was invited to by Xander. She took a chance that Xander would protect me. All this time, I thought I was protecting her. Corinna laid her life on the line for both
Xander and me.
Now, she is gone. Sam sent her through a wormhole to Sonde where she would have been implanted like the others. But, it wouldn’t be like the others at all because she has a Dobrian Copula.
I say, “She already possesses a Dobrian Copula. What do they intend to do with her?”
Ezra taps his hand on the table. “We think the Sondian fellowship wants to alter her, shut down her Dobrian Copula, and implant her with a Sondian Copula. They want her abilities and strength on their side.”
Looking away, I mumble, “That isn’t the answer I was hoping for.”
The images of Corinna’s distorting face from my dreams flood my mind.
Ezra puts his hand on mine to draw my attention. “If there is anything that can be done to reverse the effects of the Sondian Copula, our medical staff and scientists will do it to save her.”
Ezra leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table. “Dobrian scientists working deep undercover at MIT say that the Sondian scientists have been talking about the purpose of the Copula. They think the Copula is acting as a cosmic thread between the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies. The implanted people are like a huge beacon to the source, pulling the Andromeda galaxy to ours. The more they implant, the more drawn this force is to our world—to us. It wants us.”
Ezra moves his hand over the stubble that has formed on his jaw and cheeks.
Nate puts his head in his hands and talks through gritted teeth. “What do they want? Our world or us?”
The ocean waves are the only sounds in the kitchen as we take in what Nate just asked. We have no clue what they want. It could be an invasion. Will the beings coming be predatory or passive? We won’t know until the intersection happens and the invasion is underway.
Ezra leans his head back and covers his face with his hands. He growls under his hands. “Now that Balthazar has reached out to Sebastian about the Sondian fellowship’s mutiny against him, this battle is definitely changing. If Sebastian is right, we might have an invaluable ally on our side.”
My eyes focus on Ezra’s. “Sebastian said that Sam is in Tokyo, Japan. Why Japan?”
Ezra answers, “Remember when we were in the facility, I told you about the high levels of magnetic fields in specific areas of the world? The Bermuda Triangle near Florida and the Dragon’s Triangle near Japan?”
I remember him telling us about this when they discovered that a Dobrian mission had been compromised. Sondians opened a wormhole to Earth, and the Dobrian guardians were trying to close it to prevent a mass invasion. Joan Leal, a Dobrian guardian, was the one who finally closed it, but not without killing herself.
I whisper, “Yeah, I remember.”
Ezra sighs. “Well, the Dragon’s Triangle is just one of the multiple sites of high-magnetic fields in Japan. The Aokigahara Forest, also known as the Sea of Trees, is located at the base of Mt. Fuji. This area has extremely strong levels of magnetism, which creates the perfect conditions for opening a wormhole. That will be the first glimpse of a Sondian invasion during the intersection.”
Ezra looks down at his hands. “Sebastian hasn’t said anything yet, but all the information I’ve been receiving from intelligence is indicating that Japan is our next mission.” Ezra runs his hands through his hair.
Nate is quiet all of a sudden. His hands are folded and tense on the table. The muscles in his forearms are contracting beneath his skin. I don’t invade his mind. His body language is telling me that he needs to be alone right now.
Ezra stands, picking up his paper and glasses. He walks over to Nate and quietly speaks to him. “I suggest you call your parents. I spoke with them this morning, and they wanted you to call as soon as I told you two about the implants. I know that they are nervous about your reaction. They want to explain to you in their own words why they allowed you to be implanted. Please call them.”
Nate’s eyes never leave the table. He tilts his head toward Ezra to acknowledge his words. “I will.”
Ezra looks to me over Nate’s head. “Jes, we need to talk before you and Nate head to Ms. Olivia’s.”
Ezra’s eyes give away that he wants to discuss leaving in a more father-daughter manner.
I nod silently, responding to his request.
Ezra leaves Nate and me in the kitchen. Nate pushes the chair out roughly and leans against the kitchen countertop.
I hear Nate think, Xander. Why did the guardian have to be him? From the moment I met him, I wanted to strangle him.
I stand and lean my hands against the back of my chair. Nate is pushing his feelings toward his hatred for Xander. But, I know his frustration is being charged by one particular thing—our link and how it was manufactured in a laboratory, not by nature and fate alone.
Chapter 6
Nate
I am leaning against the counter with my eyes downcast to avoid looking directly at Jes. I know she’s watching me. I don’t want her to feel pity—pity for me feeling disappointed in the fact that our connection, our link, is not something greater, like fate.
I allow her to hear one thought. I think about Xander being my cousin and a guardian for our fellowship. That completely took me off-guard. I didn’t see that coming.
I feel Jes’s worry crawl into my chest and pull at my heart. I push away from the counter and walk over to stand in front of her. When I look into those magnetic green eyes of hers, I can’t go long without touching her. I reach for her hand gently and hold it loosely, running my thumb over the top. I feel her pulse quicken under my touch. She wants more, and it drives me crazy. My pulse races, matching hers.
Jes pulls me to her, and I bow my head, leaning my forehead against hers. Her hand touches my chest, and the energy from her heats me to the core. Needing her closer to me, I wrap my hands around her small waist, drawing her in so her chest is against mine. It nearly sends me over the edge of resistance when her voice quivers as she whispers to me.
“Even if this started because of what they chose for us, it’s not why I am choosing to be here with you now.”
I sigh and make sure she can’t get in my thoughts. God, if you only knew what you mean to me. It’s so much more than this link.
With her body molded to mine, I feel our hearts beat separately, and then they quicken in time with one another until they are synchronized.
Chapter 7
Jesca
I need to collect myself before seeing my father. I head to my room to breathe for a few minutes. Lying down on my bed, I hug my pillow to my chest.
My father.
It’s still very strange to call him that. I mean, I only discovered that he was my dad two months ago. If you look at the circumstances we’ve been under, father-daughter bonding has not been at the top of the list. Still, we’ve had some moments.
* * *
One day last week, Nate and I were training. We were running sprints up and down the beach to start. We worked on interlinking our abilities. Nate’s individual abilities included Latrosis, healing others with his inner energy; Telepathy, reading other people’s thoughts; and physical speed and strength. After our talk with Ezra earlier, we knew that our abilities were an advantageous perk of our Copula implantations.
Nate’s abilities were distinct whereas mine have begun combining, creating hybrid abilities.
My abilities were similar to Nate’s, including Telepathy and physical speed and strength, but I also possessed Ushering, the ability to compel someone to act in a specific manner, and Qi, vital inner energy that circulates within a person and outside of the person in flowing currents. When I had felt those creepy vibrations within me and heard the humming noises, it turns out my inner life force was alerting me to impending danger.
Astral Projection, or what Ezra had coined as ‘jumping,’ was also revealed. Ezra had described it as the ability of a person’s soul to travel out of the body to another place or plane of existence. That had taken me a while to understand, but then I’d figured out that my Qi was connected to jumping.
This was one of the mutated abilities Ezra had been fascinated with while we were still in the facility.
Yet another ability I discovered was Lucid Dreaming, being aware in a dream state. The dreams had been more like visions, a form of communication. Sebastian had visited me in a lucid dream recently. Since that visit, Sebastian had been able to connect with my mind long enough to see that a new ability was emerging for me. With Clairvoyance, I had the ability to see the future through visions while unconscious.
After Sebastian had spoken to Ezra about this, they quickly had come to the conclusion that my Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection, and Clairvoyance were evolving and mutating, making me more adaptable and resilient for what was to come.
And, I knew that all of this stemmed from the implanted Copula within me.
After the two-hour training session, Nate and I got hot and decided to jump into the water to cool off. Ezra came down to the beach from the house. Nate and I swam to shore. We exited the water and grabbed our towels.
Nate spoke first. “What’s up, Ezra? Everything alright?”
Ezra’s arms were crossed over his chest. He wasn’t angry though. He had a peaceful look on his face. “Everything is fine. Uh, Nate, go ahead and go in. Jes and I are going to talk for a bit.”
Nate and I looked at each other briefly. Ezra was as subtle as a flying brick, but I could feel that he was being sentimental about something.
I interjected to end the uncomfortable silence. “Uh, yeah, I need to talk with you, too. I’ll catch up with you later, Nate. We can ride into the store together, okay?”
Nate looked at Ezra, who was still standing stoically, gazing over our heads at the rolling waves.
Nate glanced back at me and smiled. “See you in a bit.”
He grabbed his shirt from the ground and jogged up to the house. I couldn’t help but give in to the temptation as my gaze followed his movements up to the villa.
Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) Page 3