I heard a man clear his throat. Then he came into my line of sight. It was Michael.
He condescendingly looked at me and said with pity, “Balthazar.”
I groaned angrily, acknowledging Michael’s presence and tone.
Michael put his hands in his pant pockets. He spoke matter-of-factly. “Your Copula has been removed. You are a threat to the fellowship and its future. The board has decided that you are a liability and can no longer be trusted. But, I’m sure you read all about it before you came to save young Corinna.”
My voice cracked as I tried to speak. It came out as a whisper. “Trust? How can you talk to me about trust? You and the others have conspired behind my back and turned our fellowship against everything we have believed in.”
Michael snickered and rocked on his heels. He raised his index finger to me, gesturing to make a point. “No! It was never what we believed in. It was always what you wanted—what you believed in.”
Michael waved his hand back and forth in an attempt to clear the air. “None of that matters now, Balthazar. You will be accompanied back to London where you will be watched. You will have a small medical staff on hand for the first seventy-two hours to monitor your healing.”
Gabriel came back into the room, interrupting Michael briefly. Gabriel had a bottle in hand, and two nurses followed behind him.
Michael acknowledged Gabriel and the nurses, and then he turned back to me. “Gabriel and these two nurses will be with you the entire seventy-two hours. They are armed and will take you down in a heartbeat, so don’t do anything stupid.”
I knew Michael was referring to an attempt at escape or a call for help.
Michael walked to the door of the operating room. He turned to look at me one more time before leaving. “You will be watched, Balthazar. Someone is always watching.”
* * *
I leaned against the back of my chair and looked up at the ceiling, reflecting on what I had just told my father.
I sighed. “I don’t know if it was the first day back on earth or the day after, but I awoke in the middle of the night in a hotel room. I assume Gabriel and the nurses traversed through the wormhole with me to get me here.
My arms were tied down to the bed. I peered through the darkness to find the staff or Gabriel. Gabriel was half-reclined in two chairs that he had pulled together into a makeshift bed. I could hear two female voices outside of the hotel room door. It was the nurse staff.”
I looked down to my father. “You were the first thing that came into my mind. I had to see you, Father. I felt a burning need to ask you for forgiveness. I don’t expect it. I know I don’t deserve forgiveness from you, considering what I have done to humanity. My ignorance and misguided trust has put our fellow man in corrupt hands.”
I tightened his fists on the chair. My face was full of determination. “I won’t let it continue, Father. I would rather die fighting to save humanity than live another day with this guilt hanging over my head.”
Sebastian stood and walked to my side. “I want nothing more than to have you fight at my side.”
The first thing Sebastian and I needed to do was get my physical body back to Onoch Estate and out of London. It would take some crafty maneuvering, but with inside help, it could be done quickly and discreetly.
Within days, I was back at Onoch Estate. I underwent the implantation of the Dobrian Copula. Sebastian was hesitant at first due to how close this procedure was to the removal of my Sondian Copula. It could be life threatening to put my body through too much too soon. Knowing the risk, I insisted that if I weren’t implanted, then I would be a liability.
Sebastian needed to get me up to speed on the events that had culminated over the past few months. A whirlwind of Dobrian medical staff, military staff, physicists, biologists, and government officials briefed Balthazar with intelligence in two days with minimal breaks.
I had Sondian information to disclose to Sebastian as well. I was willing to tell Sebastian anything I knew or had discovered through the Sondian executive files.
In the lab, Sebastian and I scanned and reviewed all the documents, blueprints, and files that covered every available space on the large worktable. Exhausted, I rubbed my neck. The sutures had been removed, but I could feel the groove of the scar tissue rising off the nape. It was still tender to the touch.
Sebastian stopped sifting through the data for a moment, sensing my exhaustion. “You alright, son?”
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back to stretch a little. “Yes. I can’t believe how much I have let slip through my fingers. It’s like I was living in another reality—the reality that I wanted to believe.”
Sebastian thought for a minute. “It’s very easy to slip away into a personal reality. I did that when your mother passed.” Sebastian leaned forward a bit. “I left you and your brother out of my personal reality, too.”
His last words stopped me in my tracks. I looked at Sebastian, his eyes were sorrowful.
I wanted to take that sorrow away. I said, “Dad, you can’t be perfect.”
Sebastian replied, “No, Balthazar, you can’t be perfect, but you can be present. And, I wasn’t. For that, I am so very sorry. Please forgive me.”
I leaned forward, grabbing my father’s hand in a comforting hold. “I forgive you.”
I sat back slowly and yawned. As I sifted through a few more documents, I questioned Sebastian. “I see the last name Gershon mentioned a few times throughout the recent months. Why does that name sound so familiar to me?”
“Do you remember your Aunt Elisabeth and Uncle Gabriel?”
I thought for a moment. “Vaguely. Did they live with us in Georgia for a little while?”
Sebastian said, “No, they lived with us here at the estate for a short while. Do you remember your cousin Anna?”
I concentrated on the name for a moment, then it came to me. “Anna. Yes, I think so. She was close in age to me and Caleb, right?”
Sebastian nodded. “I never told you why they lived with us.”
I listened eagerly as Sebastian told me about Anna and her abilities, how Sebastian had implanted her, and how it had saved her small body. He explained how Anna’s abilities had surpassed anything he had ever seen. He continued describing her dedication as a guardian. He told me that she had married Ezra Kahn, had a child, and that the child, Jesca Gershon-Sera, had inherited Anna’s abilities and more. Then, Sebastian gave me the data he had collected from Ezra Kahn while Ezra had observed Jesca in the facility.
I sifted through each page carefully. “My God. Telepathy, Lucid Dreaming, Ushering, Premonitions, Astral Projections. This girl must be able to pack a punch. Where’s Anna? Is she helping Ezra train Jesca?”
My head jerked up as I picked up on Sebastian’s sudden silence. “What is it?”
Sebastian hesitated a little. “Anna was close to bringing down the Sondian fellowship. Samson Crest discovered that she was a Dobrian. Balthazar, Sam murdered Anna. I thought you knew. I’m sorry for assuming.”
My jaw dropped a little, then I closed it into a thin line. I shook my head and closed my eyes before I buried my face in my hands. “Michael Sanderson. Of course! This just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn’t it?”
I grabbed the closest stack of files and threw them across the room. “Michael used Transfiguration to shift and pretend to be me. Sam Crest thought he was following my command and killed my cousin!” I shoved back from the table, toppling the chair over behind me.
I paced the floor and looked at Sebastian. He nodded at me, obviously realizing who was pulling the strings in the Sondian fellowship. It was never me. It was Michael Sanderson.
Jesca and Ezra came into my mind. I stopped pacing and asked Sebastian. “Is Jesca with Ezra? Is she safe?”
Sebastian replied, “There was a close call in Miami with Sam Crest, but there has been word that Sam has turned up in Tokyo, Japan. For now, she is safe under Ezra’s guidance and Nathaniel Sera’s protection. Her abilit
ies are powerful, Balthazar. They cross all borders of metaphysical and physical properties. The Sondians, Michael, knows this and will try to kill her before the intersection.”
I crossed his arms and nodded with understanding. “We need to take down Michael and the board. That is the only way we are going to eliminate their threat after the intersection.”
I quickly sat in front of Sebastian. “This unknown force within the Andromeda galaxy that is increasing the pull toward our galaxy— the Sondians caused that.” I hit my chest with my closed fist. “I did that.”
Sebastian raised his voice briefly. “No, Balthazar, you didn’t!”
I yelled back, “But, I am responsible! It was my duty to keep humanity protected, and I went and dropped the ball!”
I ran my hand through my hair. “I left it in someone else’s hands when it should have remained in my own. Under my leadership, Earth and our salvation would not have been jeopardized like this!”
I looked up at Sebastian more determined now. “Michael and the rest of the board demanded the increase of implanted humans to attract these beings from within Andromeda. They were only concerned about the discovery and advances they were commandeering, not the residual effects the beings could have on the human race after they arrive.”
Sebastian nodded. “We are doing all we can to find out more about this force that is drawing us to Andromeda and the beings that are behind it. We cannot do anything about it until then. Right now, we need to focus on keeping the Sondians from enslaving any other humans with their Copula. Then, during the height of the intersection, we need to stop them from opening a wormhole that could unleash a multitude of beings into our world.”
Sebastian stood and began to pace. “Samson Crest is in Tokyo, Japan. We have Siobhan Cronin, Angela Turner, and Isabel Cain tracking him. Siobhan has been listening to the rumors among the Sondians in Japan. The Aokigahara Forest, the Sea of Trees near Mt. Fuji, has been pegged as the site for the wormhole during the intersection.”
I remember details of this location near Mt. Fuji. “The high levels of magnetic iron in Mt. Fuji’s lava overflow give the forest the magnetic interference necessary to make it ideal for a highly charged and volatile wormhole.”
Sebastian’s worry was evident. “Balthazar, the longer the wormholes stay open—”
I whisper my thoughts aloud, “The likelihood of more beings passing through into our world.”
Chapter 14
Jesca
The image of Balthazar and Sebastian fades into a bright flash of light.
I blink quickly and see that I’m back in the plane, slumped down in my chair. I sit up quickly. The plane jumps as it touches down.
I think, It was a dream?
I see Nate’s head bob up from the seat in front of me. Then, I see Ezra’s head do the same from the seat across from both of us. Both Nate and Ezra look back at me.
Nate asks, “What was that?”
I answer, “It was a dream, and all of us were in it. How could we all be in the same dream?”
Ezra is concerned. “We were all in the same state of being at the same time. This made it easy for Sebastian and Balthazar to communicate with us simultaneously with Telepathy.”
Nate rubs his face and stretches. “Sebastian and Balthazar were giving us a message.”
Ezra replies, “Balthazar is on our side.”
I think about Balthazar and his relation to me. He would be my great cousin, I think.
I add, “Sebastian said that the focus is on keeping the Sondians from enslaving more people before opening a wormhole during the height of the intersection of our galaxy with Andromeda.”
Ezra nods. “We need to wait for their directive, but I think it’s safe to say we’ll be in route to Japan within a week.”
The plane comes to a stop. I feel nervousness creep into my stomach, and a chill runs through me. I can’t imagine what the Xander situation will resemble. I’m afraid of how Xander will react to us finding him. I’m afraid he’ll run, not giving us a chance to help him find his way as a Dobrian guardian.
Ezra announces, “There is a car waiting for us. Let’s go.”
Ezra heads to the front of the plane.
I lag behind as Nate grabs his things. “Nate?”
Nate barely looks in my direction. “Yeah.” He starts walking toward the front of the plane.
He’s snubbing me. I quickly grab my things and put my hand on his shoulder. “Hey.”
Turning around quickly, Nate asks in an irritated manner, “What?”
His harsh response catches me off-guard. I take my hand off of his shoulder. I want to tell him that I don’t want Xander joining our team to draw a line in the sand between us. I want to admit that the unresolved feelings I have for Xander are just as unresolved as the changing bond I have with him.
But, I can tell that a line has already been drawn just by the way he is looking at me now. I slide past him and whisper, “Never mind.”
Chapter 15
Jesca
There is an SUV waiting for us as we exit the plane. I see four men in black windbreakers and slacks approach Ezra. Ezra shakes their hands and thanks them for meeting us. They nod at Nate and me. I can tell they are guardians as well.
While the men load our things into the car, Ezra turns to Nate and me and tells us to get into the car. Quickly getting into the SUV, I move out of the cold rain that feels like pinpricks on my face. Ezra and Nate hop into the driver and passenger seats.
Ezra pulls a slip of paper out of his jacket pocket. He starts the navigation system on the car and punches in an address. I assume it’s the cabin where Xander has been staying.
Nate turns to me with a weak smile. “You okay back there?”
Showing little expression, I nod and look out the window to avoid him.
One of the men taps Ezra’s side window and gives him the thumbs-up to leave. Watching the men behind us, we drive off.
I absently ask Ezra, “Do they know what we’re doing here?”
Ezra replies, “No, for their own safety, it’s better that they don’t.”
Ezra tells us that it’s a short drive from Sevierville, Tennessee to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
As we keep our worries and concerns to ourselves, the car remains quiet, but none of us block our thoughts. Ezra warned us about blocking our thoughts when we might be in a dangerous situation. I rank this expedition pretty high on the dangerous situation gauge, considering that we’re going after Xander behind the Sondian fellowship’s back to tell him that he’s a Dobrian guardian.
Ezra is strategizing how he’ll react if Xander bolts when he approaches. Nate is wondering if Xander will react as badly as he did when he finds out they’re related. And, I’m worried about all of that in addition to the fact that I’ve been involved with both Xander and Nate.
What will Xander do when he sees me? Will he remember what he said to me the night he left? I don’t think any further about it because it will only make matters worse for Xander and Nate.
Ezra interrupts the silence. “When we get to the cabin, I want you two to stay in the car. If he’s been practicing his newfound abilities, he’ll sense us a mile away. If I approach alone, he might be less likely to run.”
Nate asks, “What do we do if he runs?”
“Just stay in the car. If we all go after him, he might think it’s an attack.”
The word “attack” makes me uneasy, and I hope that it doesn’t come to Ezra chasing down Xander alone.
* * *
The car winds up the mountainside for a good thirty minutes. The sleet is turning to snow very quickly as we gain altitude.
I look up, seeing an amber shard of light scale across the sky. “Whoa! What was that?”
Ezra looks at me, and I point out the window at the sky. “The streak of light. It scaled across the entire sky!”
Nate is looking out the window now. The amber shard of light streaks again, branching out across the sk
y as far as the eye can see.
“There! Did you see it?”
Nate says, “Wow! That’s amazing! What is it?”
Both Nate and I look to Ezra. He’s gripping the steering wheel tightly while his eyes are glued to the road straight ahead.
I ask again, “Ezra, what was that?”
Ezra says, “Lightning.”
I mock, “That’s some pretty big lightning, Ezra!”
Nate backs me up on Ezra’s quick answer. “Yeah, that isn’t typical lightning, Ezra.”
Ezra briefly looks at us both, and then his eyes move back to the road. “It’s arc lightning. It’s a sure sign of increasing amounts of cosmic rays entering into our solar system from outside of our galaxy. In this case, the rays are coming from the Andromeda galaxy.”
But, I haven’t noticed the lightning until today.
I ask Ezra, “When did this start?”
Ezra has worry in his voice. “Our researchers spotted the first sign of arc lightning two weeks ago in Melbourne, Australia. At first, it was sporadic and hopscotched across the sky. They tracked the locations as the arc lightning spread, increasing across the globe. I can tell you that this was not happening two weeks ago. And, today, it is. It’s happening at a rapid pace.”
My chest tightens, thinking that this is the beginning of the intersection, and I can only imagine in horror what to expect as a result. “How long do we have until the peak of the intersection?”
Nate looks at me, not anticipating my direct question.
We both look at Ezra for the answer.
I probe, “You’re getting daily intelligence from the fellowship, Ezra. What are they saying?”
Ezra pulls the car over. I look beyond the steering wheel through the windshield. We are at a street that has a small green sign labeled ‘Lodging’. Ezra turns to Nate and me. “We have a week, maybe two max.”
I didn’t realize that I had been holding my breath until I release a long sigh. I turn to Nate.
He’s looking down at the center console. “Two weeks max until all hell breaks loose.” He turns to look out the window and starts biting his thumbnail.
Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) Page 9