Slipping the Past

by D. L. Jackson

  “Hey. I wasn’t ready to sleep.”

  “You will be in a minute.”

  Tipping his head, Nate watched her ass as she marched away. God, she had great legs. Were they really that long? Who cared, but she could use some lessons in social skills. She didn’t need to leave him in the dark.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Nate glanced over at a picture of a whaling ship on the wall. The sea began to rock and a bell on the mast rang. He blinked his eyes and the sailors hung over the side and began to wave. “Shit. Not good.” The stuff she’d given him worked quick. He needed to find a holo, hack the DSLE database, and retrieve the report Doctor Charming had sent out.

  “He’ll be sedated when they come.”

  Nate tuned in, listening to the nurse outside. The “he” they were talking about could be none other than himself, but who was “they”?

  “Good. I just got off the com with their reader and assured him that Nate Miller will be here for pickup. He promised me his body.”

  “You talked to their reader? And you are not afraid he’ll get in your head?” the nurse said.

  There was a snort. “Readers have to have direct contact with the energy a voice projects. They can’t get into your head, any more than I can, over the com. People are so freaked by them, they don’t stop to think that they’re human and might have weaknesses as any human does. All Enforcers have limitations and have to obey the same laws we’re held to. Even if he could read me over the com, unless I’m suspected of a crime, it’s against the law to do it. They don’t intimidate me,” the doctor said.

  “You are a braver soul than I.” The nurse laughed.

  Nate grabbed the side of the bed, swung his legs over, and glanced at the bathroom door. Close to a mile. He could make it. He attempted to stand but did more of a short bounce instead. The room began to spin. He closed his eyes, placed a foot on the floor, and hoped it would stop the whirling. It didn’t. He swallowed and opened his eyes again.

  “Agent Ian Saefa should be here soon. He just has to finalize the warrant and get the paperwork together for the release of the body after extraction.”

  “A warrant?”

  “Yes. I thought something more was going on. That’s why I called them directly. They’ve been looking for this kid for a while. He’s wanted on multiple charges.”

  “Is there a bonus involved?”

  “Yeah. Twenty thousand in credit.”

  Forget hacking, he needed to get his ass outta there. Nate’s heart jumped, thumping into his tonsils. He pushed to his feet and stumbled for the lavatory. He’d hate to tell the doctor, but by the time the asshole got done with him, they wouldn’t have a body they could use. Ian wasn’t well known for recycling.

  Nate dropped to his knees in front of the commode and shoved two fingers down his throat.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What do you mean I can’t talk to my brother?” Jocelyn tightened her grip on the com. “He checked out?”

  “Hang up now.” Gabriel reached for the com and Jocelyn stepped back.

  “He wasn’t supposed to be released for three more days,” she said.

  Gabriel grabbed the com and sparks danced around his fist. The communication device hummed, smoked, and finally disintegrated.

  “What’d you do that for?”

  “They were putting a trace on the connection.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Yes, I do.” He lifted his wrist and typed in a code on his micro-processor. “They said he wouldn’t be ready to leave for four days. The bill was paid in advance, so they had no reason to release him.”

  “You said he’d be safe there.”

  “He mustn’t have been able to stop the report from going through. It’s all right here on the DSLE database.”

  “Is he okay?”

  “He got away. They’re scanning the area. He’s been drugged, so they don’t expect he could’ve gone far.” Furrowing his brow, Gabriel moved the pad of his finger across the processor.

  “Drugged?”

  “The doctor sedated him. I should’ve known.”

  “You have to go get him.”

  Gabriel looked up. “And how do you expect me to find him? I don’t have any better an idea where he is than the rest of the department.”

  Jocelyn wrapped her arms around her herself and shivered. “What are we going to do?”

  “We’re going to do what we came down here to do.” Gabriel tugged her into his arms, pulling her against his chest. “We have to get them to dig up the bodies and uncover the evidence. Nate’s smart. I doubt they’ll catch him.”

  The screen blipped.

  “What’s that?” Jocelyn pulled her head off Gabriel’s chest.

  “Incoming message.”

  Ditc’d psycho Grim. Skip’d town on the T. No prob. I’m OK. Wil fil U-N on the deets L8R. C-U-N 3 days.

  Jocelyn jumped to view the message. Even if he wasn’t sound enough to get out of the hospital, it had been the best thing he could have done. From the looks of Gabriel’s micro-processor, the Enforcers had been on the doorstep when he’d escaped. “Thank God, he’s safe.”

  “Appears to be the case. DSLE database says Saefa was dispatched to apprehend Nate and bring him in for questioning.”

  The screen blipped again.

  FYI, keep ur mits off my sis or I’ll kic ur ass.

  “Yeah, he’s okay, but I’m beginning to wonder if he’s actually going to make a move to do it.” Gabriel punched a couple of keys, shutting the device down.

  Jocelyn collapsed against him. “I can’t lose my brother.”

  “He’s okay.”

  “I have a really bad feeling. I’ve had it since we left him at that hospital.”

  Gabriel cupped her chin, lifting her gaze to his. “I can’t promise nothing will happen. But I can promise I’ll do everything I can to protect you and your brother.”

  She nodded.

  Gabriel lifted the com and pressed a button. “I need to book a room at the Magnolia Inn. One night.”

  “We’re staying the night there?”

  “No, we’re not sleeping. We’re going to get a shovel and dig. If we find remains, we can call the local authorities and have them exhumed. They won’t dig up the orchard without proof. It’s an historical landmark.”

  “I don’t know if I can go back there.”

  “I need you to show me where to dig. The orchard covers ten acres, according to this brochure. I don’t have time to stick the shovel in the soil and hope I come up with bones. You’re the only one who knows where. I’ll try to draw the vision off if one comes, but there’s nothing else we can do. Sitting around worrying about Nate isn’t going to help.” He studied her face, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip. “The last thing I want is to hurt you, but if we don’t get this evidence, all of us will be condemned.”

  “Okay.”

  ***

  Nate’s head bounced against the train window while he watched the world glide past. Images overlapped the scenery and he blinked, trying to clear the drug-induced fog. Whatever they’d given him….

  “Don’t do this. She’s not worth it.”

  “The land’s mine. She betrayed me. I’ll do what I damn well please.”

  “I won’t let you do this.” He pulled his sword and faced off with Ian, who eyed the crying women huddled in the corner.

  “Don’t challenge me, Jasper. I won’t hesitate to have you drawn and quartered. Put it away.”

  “They’re defenseless.” He lowered his weapon.

  Nate sat up and blinked. What the hell was that? His vision began to fuzz again and he grabbed a glass of water off the table and took a sip. Water slopped over the sides, running down his wrist and soaking his sleeve. He set it down and rolled his hand into a fist in an attempt to stop the shaking.

  “Hold her.”

  Nate grabbed his head and began to rock. “Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.”

  The iron moved toward Joce
lyn. She screamed and he tightened his hold. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ve no choice.”

  “No!” His hand swept the table, sending the glass of water flying through the air and crashing into the compartment wall. He dropped his head to the table and pounded it against the surface. “I didn’t do that. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  A hand touched his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  Nate lifted his head and turned to a young woman. “Yes.” He glanced back down at his shaking hands and balled them into fists.

  She lifted a brow and squeezed his shoulder. “Are you sure?”

  “No.”

  “You’ve put a lump on your forehead.”

  “Yeah.” Nate rubbed the spot. “Guess I did.”

  “Do you mind if I sit? My name’s Libby, or that’s what my mother called me.” She took a seat across from him. “Where are you headed?”

  “New Stratus City.”

  She nodded. He studied her for a moment. She was young, with pale blonde hair and clear green eyes. Her dress covered her from head to toe in yards of black, an odd style for someone to wear. He looked down. Amish, perhaps? The train did travel through their country.

  “I’m an old soul.”

  Nate lifted his eyes. “A what?”

  “An old soul. It means I’ve been around for a while. I know the look of someone troubled by their past.” She leaned forward, searching his face. “We all have demons that haunt us. Every life we’re given a chance to do better, until we get it right. Some of us never seem to learn and some of us take a while.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  She reached out and grabbed his hand. Her skin felt like ice, sending shivers wiggling up his spine. “I think you do.”

  Nate sighed and pulled his hand away. “This is going to sound insane….”

  “Go ahead. I’ve heard some pretty crazy things. I won’t judge you.”

  “I think I had something to do with hurting my sister. I mean, she wasn’t my sister then, but….” He ran a hand through his hair. “She is now.”

  “You wronged her in the past.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you need to fix it.”

  “How? I have no idea what I did back then. I don’t even know if it really happened and this isn’t some drug-induced hallucination.”

  “You’re here for a reason, Nate Miller.”

  Nate’s mouth fell open. “I didn’t give you my name.”

  “No.”

  “What else do you know about me?” His heart began to pound. She didn’t look like a reaper.

  “I know that you’re not going to stop in New Stratus City, but you’re headed to Salem. There are bigger forces at work than you could imagine.”

  Nate snorted.

  She glanced out the window. “I’m not one of them, a reaper. It’s not man’s place to hold souls. They belong to God.”

  “Don’t tell me you buy into all that higher-power stuff? Our origins are from off-world.”

  “Don’t you remember?”

  Nate laughed softly, shaking his head. “This isn’t real.” He reached up and touched his forehead. Cool to the touch, no fever. “I’m gonna go crash, I’ve had a rough couple of days. I’d love to sit and chat about all this, but I’m wasted.”

  “Rest is not what you need. What you need is to remember.” Libby leaned forward, until their noses almost touched. Her hands came up and cupped his face and she tipped her head, pressing her lips to his.

  He didn’t know what he expected from that kiss, certainly not what he got. Ice slammed through him. His lungs seized and he couldn’t draw a breath, then lights exploded around him.

  “I want her gone.” Widow Dover pushed a knife into the constable’s hand. She leaned in. “Caleb, too.”

  “Murder them?”

  “I don’t care. Then we can marry, as planned. Caleb’s holdings will pass to me as the only surviving family member. We shall not want for anything.”

  “Woman, you misunderstood my intentions. Though I enjoyed your favors, ’tis not thee I want.” He grabbed her hair, yanking her head back, and abruptly slit her throat. Widow Dover’s mouth fell open and blood bubbled from her lips. “Thou wert simply a means to my desires.” He dropped her body to the floor, wiping the knife on the front of his trousers. “I want the redheaded witch.”

  Liberty gasped from the staircase, giving away her hidden seat there. The constable’s eyes traveled up, locking on to her.

  “Thou hast seen too much, love.”

  She scrambled to her feet, gathered her skirts, and ran.

  Libby pulled away, leaving a chill slithering down his spine. “You’re going to die, Nathanial Miller.” The girl’s green eyes grew darker. “If you go to Salem, you’re going to die. But if you go, you will save her, finally balance the scales, and get a second chance.”

  Die but get a second chance? She was nuts. He studied her closer, noticing the ethereal quality to her skin and the face that stared back. He threw himself back in his seat. The girl from the vision. “Liberty.” Then the face shifted into his own, as though he stared in a mirror. Chills exploded across his skin.

  “Look, I don’t know why you’re trying to freak me out, but I am going to New Stratus City—not Salem.” Nate turned his gaze out the window, doing his best to ignore her.

  “No, Nathanial. You’re not,” she whispered.

  “Nobody calls me Nathanial.” Nate rolled his eyes and turned to her, but she was gone. He glanced around the car, looking for the girl who’d made his hair stand on end the moment she’d touched him. A man sat off to the side, reading the news.

  “A storm’s a coming, it hides the sun. Here come the reapers, run child, run. Jump once to save your life, two to save your soul, three to find some rest and four to stay whole. Five they’re gonna get you, six you’ll get….” Two little girls played a rhyming game, slapping their palms together. They began to giggle when they messed up and started over. “A storm’s a coming….”

  Nate yanked his attention from them and turned in the other direction. Nobody had seen it? Everyone went about their business as though nothing had happened moments before. He swallowed and looked to the other side of the compartment. A woman nursed her baby and tugged the blanket up on her shoulder when she caught him looking.

  Odd. Freaky. How could they have missed him smashing a glass into the paneling and screaming like a lunatic? Had he only imagined the Amish girl who’d sat across from him? Nobody seemed to hear a thing he’d said.

  The drugs the hospital had given him had to be tap dancing on his brain and cooking up a serious trip. God, that was weird. He glanced down at the table. A ticket sat in the middle like an ominous warning—over it—his glass of water, magnifying the words on the paper.

  Salem, MA.

  ***

  Jocelyn waited in the vehicle until Gabriel exited the Inn’s office. “We should have come here instead of going into town. They filled their last vacancy an hour ago.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I can’t go in there. Never again.” Using his eyes, she studied the majestic house standing sentinel over the cypress trees lining the brick drive. Shadows danced in the moonlight like a specter’s ball, sending shivers across her skin. She lifted the cuff of her jacket sleeve.

  “Nervous habit?”

  Jocelyn dropped her wrist. “This place gives me the creeps. I’m afraid if I go in there, I’ll have to face our deaths and I don’t know that I can handle that.”

  “I’m here. You’re not alone. We’ll come back after everyone’s asleep.”

  “We can’t sit out here all night.”

  “No. There’s a grove of trees up the road. We’ll pull in there and wait.”

  ***

  She put the vehicle in Park and turned to Gabriel. “How long do we wait?”

  He grabbed her hand and lifted it to his cheek. “I love the feel of your skin against mine and the energy between us.” His fingers slid be
hind her head and he leaned in to kiss her bottom lip. Gabriel groaned and tightened his hold, fully capturing her mouth. Her heart skipped a beat and a fluttering started in her belly.

  God, she’d fallen hard. Chances were, she wouldn’t prove her case. She couldn’t let him become any more attached than he was. Jocelyn pulled away and turned to the window. Her heart fractured. Better to put distance between them now.

  “It’s too late.”

  “You barely know me.” A lie. She’d known the moment she saw him that he knew her better than any other. If she felt it, he did too.

  Gabriel shifted in his seat. “When I had the room across from yours, I had an accident and hit my head. It triggered memories. I was dying and all I could think about was that I’d lost you. Letting go was almost impossible. I promised you I’d come back, not sure that I could or how I’d even find you again. You were covered in my blood.” Gabriel reached over and popped open the first two buttons on her blouse. He slid his hand inside the fabric and slipped it off her shoulder, exposing the birthmark. “You stained your skin and your hair while you tried to keep me Terra-bound. I saw the despair in your eyes and heard what you whispered as I died.”

  “What did I say?”

  “That you’d make sure I found you—that I’d always find you.” He reached up and touched her hair. “It’s red for me.” Gabriel leaned in and kissed the mark above her breast. “And my blood has stayed where it marked you thousands of years ago, as if you knew one day it would draw my attention.” He pulled back and traced around the mark with his finger. “This mark isn’t a curse, it’s a gift.”

  Tears came to her eyes. One broke free and escaped under the frame of her glasses. She tried to turn them off, but they continued to flow. He understood her innocence. That one mark had ensured a life of hell, and looking over her shoulder from the age of eighteen. Gabriel pulled her glasses free. The shadows of the pecan trees blocked the moonlight, allowing her to gaze at him without pain. He brushed a tear away with his finger.

  “Don’t cry. I don’t like to see you sad.”