Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold)

by Kimball, Venessa

  I chuckle softly. “So, you want to play, huh? Alright, I’m game.”

  My movements through the kitchen change from the slow and cautious actions of prey to quick-as-lightning predator as I scan for Corinna. Ever since the first day she arrived, my senses have been heightened when it comes to Corinna.

  * * *

  I remembered arriving at the warehouse a week before Corinna arrived. The last contact with Balthazar occurred during a lucid dream. He said it was very urgent and that I needed to get out of Miami immediately. There was a breach in the chain of command within our fellowship, and I was in danger. I had questions, but Balthazar refused to answer any of them. He told me the questions would be answered when I was safe and well hidden in Tokyo.

  I was greeted by four men at the warehouse. Three men I did not recognize, and the other, Michael Sanderson, I had met in Miami once.

  Michael had come to Miami to discuss Ezra Kahn and Jesca Gershon-Sera. He said he needed the two of them to be watched. They’d become a threat to Balthazar and the fellowship.

  I remembered Balthazar telling me on numerous occasions that Michael was the backbone of the fellowship and to always trust him.

  I shook each of their hands firmly, and without a word, all of us entered the warehouse.

  Michael looked distraught. “Sam, I know you were probably expecting Balthazar. The fellowship has been compromised.”

  I asked, “Has something happened to Balthazar?”

  Michael said, “He has turned on the fellowship, Sam. He’s been assisting the Dobrians. Before the implantation of Corinna Cain, Balthazar attacked us. He held the surgeons hostage. He was babbling on and on about Sebastian and him working together against the Sondians to take control of the invasion on Earth after the intersection. At first, I couldn’t believe what he was saying. Then, he shot one of the surgeons to get our attention. I couldn’t stand down and watch this happen. He was trying to destroy everything we had built. Too much of our fellowship was at stake. I attacked and subdued him. We stripped him of his implant and returned him here to Earth. We have been watching him, Sam, and he is working with Sebastian. We are getting intelligence, which has proven that his loyalty has shifted to the Dobrian fellowship.”

  All I could think about were the many times Balthazar came to me in dreams, telling me what needed to be done. I tried to make logical sense out of all the decisions Balthazar had made about things during the past few months.

  “But, why would he want me to send Alexander to track Ezra Kahn and Jesca Gershon-Sera?”

  Michael answered, “You were made to think that you were tracking them, but in Balthazar’s mind, you were warning them, alerting them that it was time Ezra took Jesca underground and into hiding until she was ready to be a guardian. Balthazar used you and Alexander to warn them.”

  My mind was still working. I tried to justify the loyalty I had held for Balthazar throughout the years and wondered when the illusion had begun.

  “What about the abduction of Corinna Cain? He praised me for her capture.”

  Michael looked at Hiro and then back at me. “Sam, Corinna was the bait to draw Jesca and Ezra to you and Alexander.”

  I looked down briefly, remembering Jesca coming after Corinna and me at Club Helion, which was known as Club Meridian back then. I recalled hearing Ezra, Jesca, and Nate coming down the hall toward my office with Alexander just before I escaped out the back door with Corinna. She was the bait. I shook my head in disbelief at how easily I had been played by Balthazar.

  Hiro spoke. “We have all been misled, Sam, but now we know the truth. Michael has taken over as leader of our fellowship.”

  Michael nodded. “Sam, Balthazar has disclosed your location to Sebastian and the Dobrian guardians. Do you know what team will be coming for you? Ezra Kahn, Jesca Gershon-Sera, Nathaniel Sera, and the other guardians they have trained with. They might go after Alexander as well.”

  I shook my head, denying that Alexander could be manipulated by them. “I have been checking in on Alexander. He is staying in a cabin in the Appalachian Mountains. I visited him just to make sure he’s coming around.”

  Michael cocked his head. “Is he coming around, Sam?”

  Irritated by Michael’s tone, I snapped back at him. “Yes! He will come around.”

  Michael let the discussion go, knowing that it was a touchy subject for me.

  “Sam, they will try to close the opening of the wormhole between the two sites, Mt. Fuji and Aokigahara Forest. I need to know that you’ll do everything in your power to take them down when they come to stop you, Corinna, and the rest of our fellowship.”

  It pissed me off that Michael was questioning my ability. “My loyalty is to the Sondian fellowship, not to Balthazar. I will take them down without hesitation.”

  * * *

  I see a streak of red hair from the corner of my right eye. I astral project to the fireplace and grab hold of a metal poker leaning against the hearth. Before I grab it, I happen to notice that one is already missing.

  Damn, she’s getting faster.

  I stalk around the living room, watching for her. I can feel the vibration of her heart within my chest, so I know she is close.

  * * *

  When she arrived, I was reviewing files on three Dobrian guardians—Siobhan Cronin, Angela Turner, and Isabel Cain. I was looking over the files when a cool, electric feeling grazed the skin on my arms and briefly touched my face. It had been a while since I traveled via wormhole, but it wasn’t long enough to forget the telltale sign of a wormhole piercing through our world.

  My eyes scanned the room to search for the premature symptoms of a wormhole. The most typical signs were when a corner of the room looked dull or colorless where the vortex was forming or when the distortion or curve appeared on a physical object, such as a sofa or television. The distortion and curve were not appearing on a physical object. Rather, they were in the thin air, preceding the object.

  I found it easier to spy the premature symptoms with an animate object during the wake of the vortex. Sitting on the sofa, I focused on the wall directly across from me. The distortion was slight at first as a grainy appearance prefaced the brick wall. The graininess intensified, and then the convex distortion began spreading from a single brick to the entire surface of the wall.

  Within seconds, Michael, another man, and Corinna materialized, transforming from vaporous apparitions to substantial material life forms. Corinna was in Sanderson’s arms. Her head lolled against his chest. A cloud of thick red curls shielded her face.

  I don’t remember her hair being that curly.

  Sanderson quietly introduced the other man as Reid Patterson, a physician and trusted Sondian board member. Michael and Reid eyed the stairwell to the other level of the apartment. I led them down to the nearest bedroom on the lower level of the apartment.

  Michael quickly laid Corinna on the bed, and Reid opened his duffle bag, pulling out medication for Corinna.

  Her hair fell over the pillow. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was relaxed and slacked open slightly. I couldn’t help but look at her closely. All of her features seemed to be more intense for some reason. Her cheeks were flushed. Her hair was a fiery bright red, and her lashes brushed against her cheekbones. Her lips were full and natural with a hint of pink. Her skin was fair before, but now, it was like exquisite porcelain. Everything about her seemed to appear more intense and appealing to me.

  What the hell was I saying?

  I folded my arms across my chest and began to pace, keeping my eyes on her the entire time. “What’s wrong with her?”

  Reid pulled up Corinna’s sleeve and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm. “We gave her a small sedative for travel. She was a little agitated.” Reid looked to Michael for help on the description.

  Michael snickered, jerking the collar of his shirt open to reveal a bloody scratch. “She’s a feisty one.”

  I laughed a little, raising my eyebrows. “Well, at
least she didn’t lose that feisty attitude I love so much.”

  Corinna started to stir. Her eyes lazily opened.

  Reid quickly put restraints on her.

  I thought, They’re using restraints. Are they planning on leaving her with me to train? No way!

  Reid sensed my apprehension. “Sam, she has been through a week of evaluations, both mentally and physically. She is completely sane. It’s just a precaution due to her fiery nature.” Reid pointed to Michael’s neck as justification.

  As soon as Michael saw her eyes flicker with life, he moved away from Corinna sheepishly. I couldn’t help but wonder what Michael might have done to provoke her. My possessive nature took over as I eyed Michael’s exchange and reaction to Corinna. He wouldn’t meet my heavy gaze, so I moved toward Corinna.

  I couldn’t explain it, but I felt an overwhelming urge to protect her. Like, she was mine to protect and train. I sat softly on the bed next to her. I was still on alert just in case she lunged at me, but I moved closer to her. When she felt the shift of the bed, Corinna’s heavy eyelids opened, her steel-blue eyes darting from Reid to Michael to me.

  Instinctively, I tried to hush her and calm her anxiety. I asked both men, “Does she remember me?”

  Reid whispered, “She should. We have spent the last week conditioning her to know that you were the one who saved her from Jesca, Ezra, and the other Dobrians. The conditioning went much deeper with this one. There was a lot of Dobrian baggage to unload and eliminate.”

  Michael continued, “We implanted the altered Copula that I mentioned to you. The Copula has also been configured and coded so that she will have the ability to link with a fellow Sondian.”

  I ignored the rest of Michael’s words as Corinna pulled at the restraints, beginning to whimper. “Why do you have these on me?”

  Just hearing her plea, my heart pulled in my chest. I put my hand on hers, trying to still her. “Corinna, you’re safe. It’s alright. We just didn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  She stopped pulling on the restraints and looked into my eyes. Her voice was soft and delicate when she questioned who I was. “Sam?”

  The sound of her voice saying my name was as strong as words being set in stone. I looked to Michael accusingly. “Give me the damn keys to the restraints.”

  Michael shifted his stance. “Don’t think that’s a good idea while Reid and I are still present.”

  My eyes stayed on Michael’s. I really didn’t want to know what he had done to provoke Corinna, even though I could guess how sadistic things might have gotten.

  I growled at him, “Give me the keys and get out of here, both of you!”

  Michael and Reid eyed each other.

  I righted myself and added calmly, “Please leave us.”

  Michael tossed me the keys. “I’ll be in touch soon.”

  I nodded and turned back to Corinna. I wasn’t quite ready to burn a bridge over this with Michael and the other board members. There was too much riding on Corinna’s training and this mission. My future in the fellowship was even more substantial now that Sanderson was in command. I turned and focused on the giant steel-blue eyes that lay in front of me.

  Reid and Michael both left the room and closed the door behind them, ensuring enough space was between them and Corinna before she was unleashed.

  I slowly undid the straps binding her to the bed. She watched me work carefully, which intimidated me a bit.

  This is new—a woman has never intimidated me before.

  I supposed she sensed my intimidation because the next thing I knew I could hear Corinna’s thought, You are the only one I can trust right now.

  As soon as she was free, I moved off of the bed and to the nearby chair, gaining some distance from her. It wasn’t a fear for her. It was just the opposite. I had never felt such an attraction or a pull with another guardian before. It wasn’t sexual, even though I was very much attracted to her. It was deeper—an intimate attraction of my soul with hers.

  I eyed the medication sitting on the dresser. Reid had left it behind. I turned to look at Corinna.

  “Are you in pain?”

  Corinna shook her head. “No.”

  The question must have triggered her memory of the procedure. She slowly gathered her hair and pulled it to one side, and then she reached to touch the nape of her neck, finding the location of the fresh scar from the implantation.

  I saw the concern cross her face, and I briskly walked back over to her. “Please don’t touch it!”

  Corinna’s eyes were sincere. “Why? I am healing quickly. See, the stitches have already been removed.”

  I pulled the chair close to the bed. Corinna leaned forward so that I could get a closer look at her scar. The scar was still very pink and fresh, but she was right. It was healing. I moved my hand toward her neck, and I felt a tingling course through my hand, spurring me on to touch her and be close to her.

  I quickly pulled back, clasped my hands together firmly, and resisted the need. I looked away, trying to distract myself.

  “You’re right. It is healing perfectly,” I said flatly.

  Corinna tossed her hair back over her shoulder to cover her neck, and then she turned to face me.

  When her eyes met mine, I felt a sense of peace wash over me again. Hypnotized by her, I asked, “Can I get you anything? Are you hungry?”

  Corinna replied, “I’m a little thirsty. I think it’s because of the medication they gave me.” Her eyes darted away from me to the floor, and then she continued, “They ran some tests before they brought me here.”

  I felt her heartbeat become more rapid suddenly.

  Corinna absentmindedly rubbed her wrists with her hand and breathlessly said, “I can’t remember very much.”

  I closed my eyes briefly, knowing that they did in fact do sadistic things to her to get her to comply with them. My stomach turned, knowing that they had even touched her. I knew they had manipulated her, conditioned her, and brainwashed her thoroughly before she was brought here, and I wanted to kill them for it.

  I could kill them, but then where would I be? I had to get control of myself. She was with me now, so she’ll never have to endure them again. I quickly changed the subject, not just for her sake, but for mine as well. “Do you know why you are here?”

  Corinna crossed her legs and thought for a minute, like she was working something out in her head. Then, she answered, “You helped me escape the Dobrian fellowship. They were using me as bait to get to that bitch, Jesca Gershon-Sera. You didn’t want me to get caught in the battle when Ezra Kahn and Nathaniel Sera appeared, so you sent me to Sonde to remain under the fellowship’s protection until you were safe.

  “After I awoke on Sonde, Sanderson said that Balthazar, the original Sondian leader, had turned against the fellowship. He has been conspiring with Sebastian. He said that Balthazar was planning on using me as bait to get to you and the Sondian fellowship.”

  Corinna shook her head. “They turned against me, Sam.” Her eyes shot up to mine. “Sanderson said that you were betrayed by the Dobrians a long time ago.”

  I thought of Ezra and Anna. “Yes, I was.”

  Corinna continued, “Sanderson said that he would bring me to you as soon as you were in a safe place.”

  I asked, “And the procedure? What did he tell you?”

  Corinna looked down for a moment and pulled at her shoelace. She tried to hide her sorrow, but I could still feel the heavy weight on her shoulders. She continued, “He said that it was necessary to deactivate the Dobrian Copula so that I could not be tracked by them. They hunted down my family and murdered them. They would be hunting me now, too.”

  When she looked up at me, her lapis-colored eyes were glistening with tears. But, I knew she would be damned before she let them fall from those eyes.

  Corinna said, “I had to be implanted with the Sondian Copula in order to keep my heightened abilities. Two days ago, Sanderson said that you were safe and ready for me to begin my
training and mission as a Sondian guardian with you.” Corinna sucked in a deep breath and wiped her eyes with her long-sleeve shirt. “The details are a little fuzzy after that.”

  I knew they were fuzzy because Corinna had blocked some of the conditioning she had to endure. Her mind was trying to reject the memories of the pain and fear Sanderson and the others had put her through. I remembered witnessing the conditioning all too well long ago.

  I rested my hand gently on her leg. “Are you alright?”

  At first, she stared at me, and then a coy smirk began to spread across her face. “Apparently, I put up a fight.”

  I moved my hand from her leg back to the wrist of one of her hands and held it softly. I did not say anything to her right away. I just brushed my thumb along her skin. I felt her body relax under my hand. I whispered softly, “Come. Let’s get you something to drink and eat.”

  * * *

  I stop in the center of the living room, listening for Corinna’s movement.

  I call out, “Corinna, I can barely sense you. You are getting very good at this.”

  Her hushed laugh fuels a rush of adrenaline within me. I feel her presence in that moment, and I quickly move across the room, through the kitchen, into the office, and shut the door.

  “I know you are in here, Corinna. I can feel it. I can feel you.”

  Corinna opens the closet door and saunters toward me seductively. I would think I’m a schoolboy with the things her look does to me.

  Her eyes are downright predatory. “This game is not as much fun when you are linked to your prey.”

  I breathe in deeply to right myself and my thoughts. I smile, walking over to her slowly. Clasping her hands in mine, I look into her eyes and remind her, “The link will give us strength. Did you feel it just now—the surge of adrenaline? Our life forces are feeding off of each other.”

  Corinna nods. “Yes, I did.”

  Corinna pulls away from me and sits casually on the sofa. I sense she is all business now.