“Did the university receive the shipment of Copulas?”
I walk to the sofa and sit next to her. “Yes, it was twenty this time.”
“Why not more?”
I scoff at her eagerness. “Why not more? That is quite a few!”
She looks at me and smiles, knowing she has gotten under my skin. “I just think that we should be adding our numbers more quickly.”
I rest my hand along the back of the sofa. I poke lightly at her now and smile. “Have you taken a peek outside lately? It has rained for ten days straight. Then, this morning, the rain turned to sleet. The temperature has dropped fifty degrees in a few hours. I’m very sorry that we’re not playing on your timetable.”
Corinna tilts her head to the side and rolls her eyes.
I continue more seriously now. “Sanderson has spread distribution of the Copulas to more universities globally. With the amount of humans we are adding to our fellowship, along with the rest of the world, we will be more than prepared for our mission. We will need to be ready to initiate the wormhole in five days.”
Corinna asks, “Who are they? Who are the next marks?”
Sanderson sent me the intelligence three days ago. “You know, the usual—affluent people, peppered with an ambassador, two judges, and a few diplomats.”
I watch Corinna as her calculating mind works.
“Okay, so you take the ambassador and judges. I will take the rest.”
I look at her sideways, impressed by her bold attempt to outperform me. I slyly say, “Pretty confident, aren’t we, Ms. Thing?”
Corinna bows her head and smiles. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
I watch her, entertained by her laughter. Like it has a mind of its own, my hand moves from the back of the couch and runs along the side of her cheek. The instant I graze her skin, I feel the familiar overwhelming need to touch her more. Hesitantly, I pull away and look down, clasping my hands together.
Corinna moves closer to me, radiating her need for me to touch her again. “Sam, I—”
Before she can finish speaking, I get up off the sofa and leave the room to avoid losing control.
Chapter 22
Jesca
As Ezra promised, it is a long day. Nate and I have an advantage on Xander. We have experienced “the wrath of Kahn” on a regular basis. This is Xander’s first encounter.
When Ezra asks Xander to get into a combat stance and punch him as hard as he can, Xander’s face is priceless. I can’t help but laugh a little. Ezra doesn’t waste any time with the basic training we did in the facility. There isn’t enough time. Instead, he uses process of elimination to find Xander’s strengths.
By midday, it is evident that Xander possesses almost identical abilities to Nate. Xander shows he has Ushering, the ability to use compulsion on another person; Latrosis, the ability to heal another with his life force; Qi, the ability to use his life force as external energy; Telepathy, reading others’ minds; Astral Projection, the ability to project himself to another place in both lucid dreams and while conscious and awake. Of course, great speed and strength were among the list. The one advantage that Xander has on Nate is his ability to maneuver while astral projecting within a dream state.
Nate and I model our abilities separately and combined to show him how we can work together because of our link.
Xander asks if abilities can only be combined if the guardians are linked. We all look at Ezra for an answer.
Ezra crosses his arms. “It’s easier to combine abilities if there’s a link between the guardians. It’s possible to combine abilities with guardians that are not linked, but it takes a lot of energy and complete trust on each guardian’s behalf.” Ezra explains to Xander why links between guardians were created and when the reconfigured and coded Copula was introduced.
Xander asks, “Well, what about multiple guardians linking?” Xander pauses, looking at me. He continues, “Is it possible to have a link with more than one guardian?”
Ezra puffs out his lip, like he does when he’s tense or under pressure. “It is possible, but it has never been seen before.”
Xander doesn’t probe any further. Ezra rubs the stubble of hair on his chin. He looks intently from Nate, to Xander, and then to me.
“There might be a time when you have to combine your abilities with a guardian you are not linked to in order to survive in battle or save another guardian.” Ezra walks away with his head down and his hands wrapped around the base of his neck. “Trust will be the one thing that could save you or kill you.”
The way he says that makes me wonder if he’s had firsthand experience with it.
I remember Ezra telling me about Sam being in love with Anna, my mother. Sam trusted her. When he uncovered her identity, there was only one thing for him to do—kill her. How was he able to kill her though? With all of her abilities, how did he subdue her? Why was she so vulnerable?
Unless it was because she was not in close proximity to her partner, Ezra, to combine abilities and save her. If Ezra had gotten to the cabin sooner, Anna’s life—my mother’s life—could have been saved. How can I have not asked this question before? Were Anna and Ezra implanted with the reconfigured and coded Copula? Were they linked to each other?
No, if he was linked to her, he would have known what was happening to her and where she was just by thinking of her. Were Ezra and my mother, Anna, not linked at all?
Ezra interrupts my private thoughts with his words. “Let’s break for an hour and get some food in our stomachs. We need to concentrate on combining and linking your abilities this afternoon. Eat and rest.”
I keep my thoughts private as they begin creating tangents of what ifs about Nate, Xander, me, and the link that any of us could potentially share with each other. Could it be the one thing that will save or kill one or all of us?
I quickly walk away from the three of them to head upstairs.
Nate walks over to me and whispers, “Jes, you okay?”
I don’t look at him. “Yeah, just need to put some cold water on my face.”
I move quickly up the stairs of the basement, heading up through the cabin to my room. I shut the door, leaning against it with my eyes closed to calm myself down. I need to talk with Ezra about this.
Then, there is a knock at my door.
“Jesca, are you alright?”
Great, it’s Ezra—just perfect.
“Yeah, just needed to cool off and lie down for a minute.
Ezra asks, “Can I come in?”
I put my hand to my forehead, rolling my eyes. “Um, why? I mean, I’m fine.”
Ezra pushes the door open. “Then, you won’t mind me coming in to talk.”
I flop down on the bed and sarcastically say, “No, of course not, Dad. Come on in.”
Ezra plops down on the bed next to me. He leans on his elbows, folding his hands together. “You left quickly. You okay?”
I nod my head, letting him know that I’m fine.
I can feel Ezra watching my reaction, trying to read my thoughts. I keep my eyes on the wooden floorboards while I focus on blocking my thoughts. Ezra gets off the bed, standing in front of me. I look up at him. He doesn’t speak. He just stares at me.
I get a little paranoid. “What? Are you going to stare me down until I speak?”
Ezra stares stoically at me with his arms crossed over his chest. “If I have to, I will.”
I try to stand, but Ezra pushes me back onto the bed.
“Hey!” I can’t believe he just did that to me.
Ezra holds up his hand, waving it at me. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what has you so worked up that you’re blocking it from me.”
I try to stand again, and he shoves me back down.
This is really getting annoying now. “Stop it, Ezra! It’s not the time to talk about this.” I move one way, and then with my quick speed, I try and maneuver around him on the other side. Ezra traps me by my arms and pulls me into a bear hug. I try to break his
hold without hurting him. “I don’t want to hurt you, Ezra.”
Not winded at all, he says calmly, “And, you won’t. Just start talking.”
“Ughhhh!” He is so irritating. “Fine! Take your hands off of me first.”
“Nope. Start talking, and then I will,” he says while his hold intensifies, anticipating I might try and dodge him again.
This game is pissing me off, and I react. “Were you and my mother implanted with the same Copula as Nate, Xander, and me?”
His hands loosen a little. “We were the first wave to be implanted.”
I release my mental block and let my thoughts flow freely for him to read. I let him read everything I am considering about him, my mother, and Sam, and my concern for Nate, Xander, and me.
Ezra turns me around with his hands on both sides of my shoulders. He dodges my initial question.
“Jes, that will not happen between you, Nate, and Xander. Our situation was very different from you three.”
Not letting him get away from my question so fast, I ask more tenderly, “Were you and my mother linked?”
Ezra lets go of me, putting his hands on his hips. He sucks in a breath and scratches his visibly trembling lip. “No, we were not.”Ezra’s eyes don’t leave mine. “She never found her link.”
I can only imagine my parents being in love, being re-implanted with the reconfigured and coded Copula, and then discovering they were in fact not linked. I feel my heart sink for Ezra as I search his eyes for any morsel of hope, a silver lining in their tragic love story.
Ezra says, “We were in love, Jesca. We loved each other very much, but we were never linked to one another.”
I walk away from him to the window. I swallow the knot that has formed in my throat, trying to hold back the tears in my eyes as I turn to face him.
Ezra surprises me as he chuckles while looking beyond me out the window. “When Anna and I met, we were so attracted to each other. After we were re-implanted with the coded Copula, we swore it was inevitable that we would be linked. A few days after re-implantation we tested the possibility of a link.”
Ezra looks down and sits on the bed. “We were devastated, but we wouldn’t let the fact that we weren’t linked separate us. Sebastian told us that it was difficult but not impossible to combine abilities if we weren’t linked. In order to combine our abilities, we had to trust each other completely. It took time for us to get there, but we did.”
Ezra stops his story and looks at me. “And, the time we took to trust each other is what gave us the chance to fall even deeper in love with each other. We were more than linked, Jesca. We were bonded by something much stronger.” Ezra pauses and smiles softly. “I would not change anything about our bond.”
He shifts his eyes to me after he realizes that he’s said more than he had planned to reveal to me. I feel my eyes tear up from his story. I look down and wipe away the fallen tears.
I think about Nate, Xander, and me. We are hours away from discovering if Nate and me are the only two that share a link or if Xander is also linked to me. If Xander isn’t linked to me, then how could he combine his abilities with me when he saved me last night? Did we already trust each other so much so quickly, or is there something more there?
I walk over to the bed and sit next to Ezra. He is slumped forward, leaning on his elbows.
I want to let him know that I’m sorry for the fate he had with my mother. I don’t know how to say it, so I lay my head on his shoulder and wrap my arm around his back. I release my block, letting him know that I love him and that I’m sorry.
Ezra doesn’t say anything. He simply tilts his head to rest against mine.
Chapter 23
Jesca
Ezra leaves silently after a few moments. I wash my tear-streaked face and talk myself into going downstairs to face whatever the afternoon holds.
When I get to the bottom of the stairs, Nate, Xander, and Ezra are standing in the kitchen and eating. No one is talking. They are just watching me.
I walk to the refrigerator. “Why is everyone so quiet?”
I pull out a water bottle, peanut butter, and jelly, and I close the door.
Nate swallows his last bite of food and blurts out, “Xander had a visitor.”
I nearly drop my water bottle. Ezra nudges Nate on the arm, and Xander gawks at Nate like he committed a sin.
Nate takes another bite of his sandwich and mouths to both of them, “What?”
I turn to The Three Stooges and cross my arms over my chest. “Was it Sam?”
Xander answers, “Yes.”
I try and keep him talking, “What did he want? What did he say?”
Ezra interrupts, “We were getting to that when you walked in just now.”
I grab two slices of bread and make my sandwich, while eyeing Xander. “Well, what happened, Xander?”
“I went to my room to lie down for a few minutes. I must have dozed off. That’s how the dream with Sam happened before. Anyway, I thought it might help us if I played along with what Sam wants, so I acted as if I’m on his side.”
Xander takes a bite of his sandwich.
Ezra, Nate, and I yell simultaneously, “You did what?”
Xander holds up his hand, fending off our worry. “This will work. Sam can’t read me. He’s never been able to. He can’t get past my mental block for some reason.”
Ezra nods and looks at Nate and me. “That plan isn’t half bad.” He looks at Xander. “You’re right. You have a very strong mental block. You were impossible to read on our way up here to the cabin.”
Ezra looks to Nate for confirmation.
Nate says, “Yeah, the day we arrived, I couldn’t detect your thoughts or even your presence until you opened the door to the cabin.”
Nate looks at Ezra. “This could give us an insider’s point of view, letting us know what Sam and the Sondians have planned for the intersection.”
Ezra nods in agreement with Nate and then looks back at Xander. “What happened then?”
Xander takes a sip of his water. “I told him that I was on board and that I just needed a little more time to get myself together. Sam said that it was fine. He was consumed with Corinna’s training. I told him that it might be a week or so, and he said that I needed to come to the Sondian safe house in Kyoto, Japan when I get there.”
Ezra interrupts, “Did he give you an address?”
Xander shakes his head. “No, he said to contact him when I get there. He gave me a number. I wrote it down as soon as I woke up, so I wouldn’t forget it.” Xander digs in his pocket, pulls out a small piece of paper, and then tucks it back into his pocket. Xander takes another bite of his sandwich and talks with his mouth partially full. “I did ask why he needed me.”
I speak up. “Why?”
“They need me to guard the wormhole in the Sea of Trees.” Xander looks at Ezra for an answer. “What is the Sea of Trees?”
Ezra answers, “The Aokigahara Forest. It’s the forest at the base of Mt. Fuji. It’s said that the magnetic field is absorbent there because of the large amounts of hardened lava below the surface. To us, it is known as one of the biggest conductors of magnetism for opening wormholes and vortexes. This place is so strong that it wouldn’t take as much energy by the Sondians to keep a wormhole open for a long period of time.”
Xander asks, “Well, how long? Minutes? Hours?”
Ezra doesn’t hesitate when he speaks. “Try days, unless we get there in enough time to close the wormhole with a surge of positive energy matter.”
Xander’s eyes look at Ezra curiously. “Positive energy matter? The opposite of negative energy matter—the stuff you said keeps the wormhole open?”
Ezra says, “Yes, positive energy matter from a very strong life force is needed.”
Ezra and Nate both look at me. I shrink a little.
Xander asks, “Jesca?”
I reiterate his question. “Me?”
Ezra swallows the last bite of his sandwich. �
��Jes, you have the strongest life force I have seen since Anna. Your other abilities are just as substantial. You have the positive energy to shut down the wormhole.”
I lean back on the counter and feel my whole body tense up. “That is just one wormhole, Ezra.”
I walk around the other side of the island and pace. “You said yourself that, due to the radiated and magnetically charged atmosphere here in our world, many wormholes will spawn all over the globe when the intersection occurs.”
I stop and look at him like he is insane. “I can’t be everywhere at once and shut down all of the wormholes that will open globally!”
Ezra retorts, “Yes, multiple wormholes will spawn globally, but Japan’s will be the most volatile. The site alone will create such a forceful wormhole that the length of time it could potentially remain open is unfathomable. Do you realize how many beings could pass through a wormhole of that magnitude? Nowhere else on Earth could supply a wormhole of its capability.” Ezra folds his arms and nods his head, confirming what he believes. “Yes, this is the one you need to shut down.”
I don’t think I breathe for a whole minute. The pressure on my chest and shoulders is too heavy.
Xander must sense my tension because he breaks the silence in the room. “Okay, I will keep stringing Sam along to get as much information as I can without giving him any concern about my loyalty.”
I’m worried for Xander all of a sudden. What if Sam figures out that he is no longer loyal to him and the Sondian fellowship? Sam will kill him. “Xander, are you sure about this? This could be really dangerous if Sam finds out.”
Xander drinks down the rest of his water. “Jes, I’m not going to let him hurt you or anyone else ever again. If I can prevent that from happening, then I’m going to do it.” He looks at Nate and Ezra. “I’ll be fine.”
Ezra responds with caution. “Alright, but I want to know every time he contacts you. After a couple more sessions of training, you will be able to reach Sam the same way he has been contacting you through your dreams. Contacting him needs to be limited though. There is no need to pursue him since he is already pursuing you. Plus, you have an advantage when he contacts you. When you enter into another’s dream state, you are entering his mind and the environment he is creating. That can be a dangerous position to put yourself in. At least when he is initiating the shared dream, he is entering your dream state. You remain in control of your environment.”
Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) Page 15