by Brandt Legg
“Every time Lightyear has found Nate, Amber has always known where he was.”
“So you think Amber has been helping them? Why? Why would she do that, Kyle?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know because there is no reason. She wouldn’t,” Linh said. “She called again today. I told her you and Dustin were safe, but we couldn’t trust the phones. She was so happy to hear you guys were all right. She didn’t press for details or anything. Lightyear must have a million ways to track and find Nate. They don’t need her.”
“That’s why I have to leave. Kyle, take me away from here. Everyone is in danger as long as I’m here.”
“If you take him anywhere, it should be a hospital,” Linh said.
“I didn’t risk my life getting Dustin so they could just come here and finish him off. And Linh, you know they would do the same to you and Bà just for being here.”
“I’ll take you,” Kyle said.
She ignored me and started assisting Bà.
Kyle went to get me some clothes while I tried to make a Lusan. It took a while, and it was only the size of a golf ball, but it was something. Bà acted as if she’d seen hundreds of them. After explaining how it works, Linh made slow passes over Dustin’s body, concentrating on his torso and face. She pulled off the sheet, which showed bruises every shade of awful. It was agony just looking at the injuries. I kissed his forehead and whispered, “I love you.”
Between making the Lusan and getting dressed, I needed to rest again. Bà made me drink some awful tasting liquid. She had a two-burner hot plate going and a couple of old leather suitcases open on the dresser filled with glass medicine bottles, pouches, and even fresh leaves, which made the room smell like a combination of the forest, old laundry, and manure.
“Take care of him,” Linh told Kyle.
“And you take care of him,” I said, motioning toward Dustin.
Kyle parked behind an old fruit stand just outside of town. There were four exits routes to three different roads. It made him feel better, but if Lightyear found us, we weren’t going to win a car chase no matter how many movies we’d seen. Kyle was fighting his phobias mightily.
He took a worn unused cigarette from his mouth and replaced it with another, then he told me to meditate. I’m sure he knew in my condition it would make me sleep almost immediately, and it did. When I awoke, it was dark outside and we were somewhere else. There was a cold Coke and a warm twelve-inch sub. I only made it halfway through both but felt like a living person again. I dialed Josh’s number.
“Hey Josh, is my mom there?”
“Sure. You okay, buddy? We’ve been worried.”
“I’m good. How’s Mom?”
“Much better. Here she is.”
“Nate, that’s a long time between calls. Our deal was—”
“We’ve got Dustin.”
“Oh, Nate! Oh, Nate, is he all right?”
“He’s pretty beat up.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t want to say anything more over the phones.”
“We have to go to the FBI. Tonight. I can call from here.”
“No! Nothing has changed. They can’t protect us. And we still have to find Rose.”
“But—”
“Promise me. I told you we’d get Dustin back and we have him. Now keep trusting me.”
“You’re too young to fight all this.”
“I’ll talk to Sam again. His sister will help. But if you go to the authorities or the media, you’ll get me killed.”
“Don’t say that.”
“You don’t believe me? Ask Dad.”
Silence. “I want to see Dustin.”
“It’s too dangerous right now. You can talk to him tomorrow.”
“Okay, Nate. I love you.”
“I’ll call tomorrow.” I leaned back in the seat. “Geez, that was fun. Why doesn’t she get it? She keeps wanting to call the cops.”
“Nate, I’ve been in this from the beginning and seen lots of crazy stuff with you, and I don’t get it either. Everyone thinks when you’re in trouble you call the police.”
“Tell that to Lee Duncan.”
It was after ten p.m. when I woke next.
“I need to take Linh home,” Kyle said. “I told my uncle enough to get Bà to help but not enough for Linh and I to stay out all night on a school night. I’ve got the keys to the Shakespeare Theatre …”
“Perfect.” I’d thought of crashing at Sam’s, but it was too risky to go near my street.
As we were driving, Kyle asked the question I’d been struggling with. “Where’s Rose? Why weren’t they holding her at the same place?”
“I know. I keep thinking they want to force me to come get her, too, so they’ll have two shots at me. But then, why can’t I find her on the astral?”
“Maybe, they’re holding her somewhere surrounded by water,” Kyle said. “Remember when we first met Spencer, he said the remote viewers had a problem seeing around water.”
“Yeah, you’re right. They must know I’m searching the astral. They used Dustin as bait. They’ll do the same thing with Rose and move her somewhere so I can find her. They’ll want another chance to get me. Why didn’t I think of that? I feel better.”
“You feel better because you may have to go on another suicide rescue mission? Do you know how lucky you are to still be alive? Do you know how crazy you sound?”
“Of course I don’t want to do it again, but I’ll have to. No one else is going to save Rose—they have her listed as a fugitive. The police won’t help us. I have to face Fitts again.”
“Why does he want to destroy your family? He killed your dad and tried to kill your mom, your brother, and you, and he’s holding your aunt hostage. This guy seriously hates Ryders.”
“Yeah, well, I’m no fan of him either. I have to find a way to expose him, or my family will never be safe.”
“It might be easier to kill him,” Kyle said.
“I thought you were a committed pacifist.”
“Sometimes we either defend ourselves or die. I don’t want you to die.”
He pulled up to the theater and I grabbed the other half of the sandwich.
“What about karma?” I asked.
“Occasionally unavoidable . . . unless you want to die a martyr.”
53
Wednesday, October 1
After a deep sleep in the theater, my shoulder pain eased. As usual, Kyle was on time, and he and Linh brought doughnuts. I wasn’t sure I deserved such good friends but stopped worrying about it to concentrate on eating a second frosted coconut-sprinkled pastry.
“Bà said Dustin had a good night,” Linh said, but she looked as if she’d been crying.
“What’s wrong?”
We were at a stop sign. Linh got out of the car and then climbed in the back with me.
“Linh, what’s going on? Is Dustin all right?”
“Oh, Nate,” she collapsed on me, crying. “It’s not Dustin.”
“Kyle?” I pleaded to him for an answer. He looked at me in the rearview mirror.
Linh wiped her eyes and sniffled. “It’s Rose. She’s dead.”
A lump formed in my throat. “How do you know?”
“She came to me in a dream. But it wasn’t like a dream. She spoke to me, and said Fitts had killed her with some kind of injection the night they took her.” Linh fought her tears for a moment. “They questioned her about you, what you knew about Lightyear, where you were, what powers you had.”
“She didn’t tell them a thing, did she?” I asked.
“No.”
“They would have killed her even if she’d told them everything.”
Somebody else might have doubted the accuracy of the news coming from a dream, but not me. I wanted memories of Aunt Rose but all I could think of was Fitts and shooting that evil man.
Lightyear wanted me dead to stop any information I may have from getting out and this was just a means to that end. Fitts
didn’t need to murder her or kill the eleven people named Montgomery Ryder. They did it because they could. The bastards at Lightyear were so sure of their power that being careful was an unknown concept to them.
Rose was gone. Still, I knew she was only dead in our limited human definition of that scary word. I knew her soul was free. Rose would find me soon, of that I was sure. Fitts couldn’t take her from me, just like he hadn’t been able to silence Lee Duncan or my dad. I would finish their work; none of them had died in vain if I could expose Lightyear.
I thought of Tanya. She would be devastated. After reading Tanya’s life, it was obvious no one was more important to her than Rose. I couldn’t give this news on the phone; I needed to return to Merlin and tell her in person.
We did the normal backtracking to make sure we weren’t being followed, so it was almost six-twenty when we reached the motel. Dustin was peacefully asleep and looked better. Soon he opened his eyes.
“Nate?” his voice still weak and hoarse.
“Right here,” I took his hand.
“Thank you.” He stared for a moment and then his eyes closed again.
“You would have done the same for me.”
“I might have gotten you out a day sooner.” He coughed a laugh out before the pain in his ribs stopped it.
Lifting the blanket to inspect his bruises, I saw the small Lusan next to the worst one. I picked the Lusan up and was soon able to grow it to the normal size. Then I rubbed it over his injuries.
He looked at me. “Where’d you get that handy little item?”
“Made it.”
“You’re gonna have to teach me that trick.”
“As soon as you’re up to it.”
“When are we going to Shasta?”
“Same answer.”
He fell asleep again.
Bà nudged me out of the way and went back to her patient. After she was satisfied I hadn’t messed up any of her work, she turned to me.
“He is better. He will be good.”
“Bà, you saved his life.” I hugged her. “You’re our grandmother now, too.”
“You healer, too,” she said, pointing to the Lusan. “We worked together, Nathan.” She smiled.
We decided to move Dustin to a different motel. They would do it during lunch; I’d be in Merlin by then. I gave Kyle Mom’s other hundred dollars and promised more once I got my savings out of the bank.
“Will you run me to Amber’s?”
“Don’t tell her where Dustin is,” Kyle cautioned.
“We can trust her,” Linh said.
“I’m not even going to tell my mother where he is. Until we figure out how they’re finding me, I’m not taking any chances. But Linh’s right—Amber wouldn’t hurt me.”
“You better be right,” Kyle said.
Dustin awoke as we were getting ready to go. Bà took the opportunity to get more of the greenish-black stinky syrup into him. He drank it like it was fruit juice. I wondered if he really liked it, or if he’d lost an argument with Bà about it last night.
“Hey, little brother, who else helped you get me out?”
“I went in alone, but Kyle drove the getaway car and these two women nursed you back from the dead.”
“I’m in love with them both.”
“They’re going to upgrade your room later today, and I’ll be back for visiting hours tomorrow morning. I need you to call Mom soon. Linh will fix you up with a phone.”
“What’s your plan after you see Tanya?” Kyle asked, on the way to Amber’s.
“All I’ve been focused on was getting Dustin and finding Rose. Now I need to shift to stopping Fitts from coming after us, all of us.”
“You’re in the most danger, but as they’ve shown with Dustin and your mom, everyone who helps you puts their life at risk,” Kyle said.
“I know I got Rose killed. You guys or anyone I love could be next. I’m so sorry.”
“You didn’t start this, Nate. We’ve all just gotten caught up in it. It’s not your fault,” Linh reminded me.
“Then why does it feel like my fault?”
“Because, if you were dead, they’d leave the rest of us alone.” Kyle said. “I’m not suggesting you go shoot yourself or anything, but it’s a fact, and in that truth is the seed to our solution.”
“Which is?” I asked.
“We have to look at it from that angle because we can’t all become fugitives hiding in the woods.”
“What if I faked my death?”
“That’s the way we need to be thinking,” Kyle said. “We can’t win a war with them, and we can’t keep hiding you. And how soon until they pick the rest of us up on terrorist charges or my whole family dies in a mysterious house fire?”
“What about negotiating with Fitts?” Linh asked.
“This is how he negotiates,” I pulled my T-shirt down off my shoulder.
“Don’t rule it out completely,” Kyle said. “There may be some way to do it—something he wants, or better yet, something he needs.”
“I didn’t think we needed Sam’s sister anymore, with Dustin safe and Rose gone, but maybe she could get us to the right law enforcement agency or negotiate something with Lightyear. But what?”
“Talk to her. She’s the expert,” Linh said.
Kyle pushed the intercom button on the gate at the end of Amber’s driveway. We couldn’t see the house from here.
It took a couple of minutes before she answered, “It’s about time!” Amber was on the porch and started to run down when she saw us.
“Don’t forget you said you’d ask her about Lightyear,” Kyle said.
“Ask her about what?” Linh asked.
“I told Kyle I’d talk to Amber about how Fitts only seems to find me when she knows where I am.”
“Oh Nate, don’t do it. You’ll break her heart,” Linh said.
“I just want to get it out in the open. We need to know.”
“Boys are so dumb. She’s not working for Fitts,” Linh said.
“I don’t think so either, but how do you know that?”
“The same way you do. I just know.”
“Will you call me once Dustin’s moved and after he’s talked to my mom?”
“Of course,” Linh said handing me a poem. “It’s for Rose.”
Amber came over and greeted us. I don’t think she noticed Kyle being aloof because Linh was as friendly as ever. When they were gone, Amber said, “I feel like we haven’t seen each other in a month. You look so much older. What’s happened? Tell me everything.”
“Will you blow off school today and drive me to Merlin?”
“Rose is back?” she asked excitedly.
I shook my head. “No, I need to see Tanya.”
54
Once in the house, I grabbed a quick shower. Alone in the bathroom, I read Linh’s poem.
She sang so sweet
and flowed like light
her essence as a perfumed candle
too strong, and overdone, yet
rooted and flighty, like a tree
that shimmered and shone
like tinsel, her mantra a smile
and eyes were stones
She held a universe, so close, so clear
it tipped and turned like a globe
whose edges dropped into forever
but then, caught, a mirror
came back at me
She gave me hope, and fear inside
contained and coiled of power
her hands were bony, shaped like knives
they cut the air before tears were known
that gentle stare and severe honesty
whose loose skin were barely contained
a child at play, her scarves and colors
danced around pastel flowered rooms
crystals and balls, and flying mats
her wizardry sloppy and sure
oh Rose, a bowlful of memory
agitated, a sigh, could never compare
to that of a beautiful scene
whose mockery and flight
are seconds away
she would motion, go over there
and in my dream, I can touch and see
this distilled and ancient image
of a woman, a seer, a crone, a jewel
not dead, but flying wild
She is free, yes, free, compelling and true,
she has leashed the heavens
and juiced the stars
in her hands, filled with light, and luminous things,
she offers, to us, a taste.
My eyes stung with tears. Why was death following me through life? Why were people going about their lives, watching TV, shopping, going to football games as if nothing was wrong, as if our identities hadn’t been stolen? I was so angry. Kyle’s words found their way into my rage. “Breathe, get calm, keep it together,” I told myself. So I did, but only after resolving to find a way to contact Rose on the other side.
I was nervous being in one place too long. So less than fifteen minutes after we had arrived, we were on the road again, munching a breakfast burrito Amber miraculously had produced. I took her through most of the major events since we’d last spoken a few days earlier. I left out the part about me getting shot and Rose being dead—I wasn’t ready for that. Amber was a little hurt that I hadn’t called her as soon as Dustin and I were safe, but she let it go. Instead, she pushed for more details on Gibi, Skyclimbing and the portals. After telling her about the lost Calyndra Portal and its potential to transport me to another time, she asked, “When are we going to Big Basin Redwoods State Park?”
“Do you really want to? Because I’ve been thinking if I could find the portal and return to Ashland before Lee Duncan and my dad got killed, then maybe I could prevent all this.”
“I thought things couldn’t be changed with time travel.”
“That’s just in the movies because it complicates the script too much if everything could change but no one knows. And even if that did turn out to be true, I could still find out a lot of stuff that might make the future easier, might save my life. If nothing else, the portal would literally buy me time. I could go to different times and places until I figure out what to do. We know if they find me they will kill me. A portal may be the only safe place to hide.”