by Brandt Legg
“They’re going to try to escort us back to Hawaii. If we don’t cooperate they’ll blow us out of the sky.”
“Gulfstream G550 fugitive aircraft, this is the United States Navy ordering you to return to Hawaii Kona International Airport immediately. Acknowledge,” a voice cracked over the radio.
“How far is the portal?” I asked.
“Too far.”
“Gulfstream G550 fugitive aircraft, you will immediately return to Hawaii Kona International Airport or be fired upon.”
“I guess they know it’s us,” Dunaway said.
“I think I can put the plane in a Timefold but can you use Solteer to make them see us crash into the ocean?”
“Hmmm, clever.” He smiled. “Maybe I don’t completely dislike you after all.”
“Can you do it?” I shouted.
“Of course I can. I’m a Solteer master.”
“Gulfstream G550 fugitive aircraft, you have sixty seconds to turn around or you will be fired upon.”
“It’s going to be close. I need almost thirty for the Timefold and you have to stage the crash after that.”
“Shut up and do it!” Dunaway yelled.
It was possible that it was impossible. Fifteen seconds later my head was throbbing, ten seconds more and my hands were shaking, but we slipped into a Timefold. Nauseous and covered in sweat, I fought to hold the Timefold but after twelve minutes it collapsed when I did.
“You all right?” Dunaway’s voice sounded like a distant echo.
I grunted something.
“You’re being a little overly dramatic, don’t you think? I might remind you that I did my part while flying a jet at the same time.”
He tossed a Lusan into my lap. We’d flown at top speed while in the Timefold and continued for another ten minutes while I recovered slowly.
“Damn them!” Dunaway growled.
The jets zoomed past.
“I don’t think I can do it again,” I said weakly.
“I don’t think they’ll give us the chance.”
Seconds later a missile was heading directly toward us. My brain scrambled for a soul power that could save us. The missile was closing at lightning speed.
“Gogen!” Dunaway shouted.
I focused my dwindling energy onto the missile. It was coming too fast. I managed to nudge it just enough as Dunaway forced our plane into a dangerous descent. We headed straight into the ocean. He pulled up at the last minute and a second later we rocketed into the safety of the portal. The plane became immediately still.
Dunaway was right; it was different from any other I’d seen . . . or even imagined.
“Like the inside of a rainbow, huh?” he asked. The sun shone through sparkling water vapors, completely surrounding us in rainbows.
We stepped out of the plane. “Where does it go?”
“New Zealand.” Dunaway said, “But there is a side shoot to Crater Lake, of course.”
“Seriously?”
“You don’t know much, do you? Most portals connect at the lake.” We were moving involuntarily away from the plane.
“Hopefully I can find Linh and Spencer from there.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want you to be all alone.”
“What happens to the plane?” I asked, ignoring his sarcasm.
“No idea. Nate, this has been fun and everything, but I’d still like to see you dead.”
“We’re meant to work together.”
“No.”
“You’re wrong.” The colored walls were blurring past faster.
“I can see inside your little box and it’s empty, did you know that? Why is an empty antique box so important to you?”
“It belonged to my father.”
He studied me. “No, it’s more than that. As long as you remain alive, annoying me, I think I’ll hang onto it. Might even nose around in some of your past lives and dig up the real reason.”
“I could just take it from you.”
“You don’t know how.”
He was right. “I’m a fast learner.” I unleashed everything I knew, beginning with Solteer to put him to sleep and Gogen to pull at the Jadeo, but nothing worked. Before I finished, we stood on a cliff overlooking Crater Lake. He went into a Skyclimb freefall over the lake and reached the Wizard Island portal less than half a minute before me, enough of a lead for an escape.
The Old Man stopped me from jumping in after him. “Hey, boy, slow down. You’ll never find him in that maze. He could be anywhere in the world now, anywhere in time, another dimension . . . You go in there and, before I can dream of doughnuts, you’ll be lost forever.”
“Ohhhh,” I threw my arms down. “How did I screw that up?”
“He’s a slippery one. Don’t worry, you’ll see him again.” He patted my back. “In the meantime, Spencer and that pretty girl aren’t far away.”
20
Following the directions the Old Man gave me, I took the portal-to-anywhere and arrived at Booker’s place a few seconds later – an 11,000-square-foot house overlooking Klamath Lake, with a glorious view of Mt. McLoughlin. Detailed stonework, round rooms and towers carved out of the rugged landscape reminiscent of an English palace. A large tropical conservatory stood near the house, where mangos, papayas, plumeria, bananas, and orange trees grew. But what really made me know it was Booker’s, aside from the four-wheel-drive golf carts, were the runway, heliport, two hangars, and FAA-approved fueling center. The entire fourteen-hundred-acre estate was also solar- and wind-powered. Even with no return portal, getting back to Crater Lake would be an easy fifty-minute drive or about fifteen minutes, as the crow flies, Skyclimbing.
Security awaited at the stone entryway, but they waved me by as one spoke into a mic concealed in his clothing. Inside, a gorgeous three–story atrium, crowned by an octagon skylight, towered over smooth mica-flecked, clay walls, and the same octagon pattern repeated itself on the inlaid tile floor. Spencer walked in from one of seven halls, which opened from each wall. He smiled when he saw me. “I’m happy to see you alive.”
“Likewise.”
“You don’t have the Jadeo.”
“No.”
He nodded. “We’ll worry about that later.”
“Where’s Linh?”
“Sleeping upstairs.”
“Are we safe here?”
“Are we anywhere?”
“How did Omnia find us in Hawaii?”
“They were onto Dunaway somehow. I’m sure we’re fine.”
“Rose is here also.” It had been a long time since we’d been in the same place. I was eager to see my aunt. “But before you talk with her, I’d like us to take a few minutes.”
“Sure.” I followed him down one of the halls, which led to a grand dining room, past a commercial kitchen and eventually out to a deck of stunning blonde wood with posts and railings carved in animal totems. In the near distance a man-made waterfall cascaded two hundred feet over rocks that appeared to have been there forever. The only thing interrupting the view of Klamath Lake was a three hundred foot, lavender labyrinth in the middle of a perfect lawn.
“It’s good to see Booker still has some of his money,” I said.
“Oh, don’t worry about Booker,” Spencer said.
“Is he here?”
“No, too risky to blow the cover of this place. They watch him very closely. But we’ll catch up with him somewhere in the future.”
“Ah, the future. What do we do with that?”
“Things are about to get rocky, I’m sorry to say.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you serious? They haven’t been rocky?”
“People are being tortured, killed, whole communities locked up; tens of thousands within the Movement have disappeared; millions of others are in prisons.”
“Are you trying to cheer me up? I know all this.”
“I’m trying to say it’s time.” Spencer coughed.
“Are you okay?”
“You need to step up.
You’re not a boy any longer,” he said, ignoring my question. “Don’t allow confusion to run your life. This is your time.”
“But I don’t know what to do.”
“And I can’t tell you. Most people let their lives go by, never taking control. They watch it instead of living it. You are not most people, yours is not an ordinary life. Find the answers you need, discover the way. It’s time.” He seemed gaunt, aged.
“Then I want to see the Dark Mystic.”
“I’m not stopping you.”
“But you are unless you tell me where to find him.”
“You’re not listening. There comes a time when external learning reaches a point of diminishing returns. Everything you need is within.”
I stared out at the lake, suddenly noisy with Canada geese. He was asking a lot of me. But Spencer was also telling me that he believed in me, that I was ready, and that made me feel good. His opinion meant more than any other.
“Thank you,” I said, turning to face him. “I’ll try to live up to your expectations.”
“You’ve already exceeded them. All you need to do now is live up to everything you are. Do that and you’ll not only amaze yourself, you’ll change the world.”
Later, Aunt Rose found me sitting in Booker’s rose garden, thick with award-winning flowers, many in colors I’d never seen before nor imagined.
“You’re here, right in the middle of my favorite spot.” Chiffon and silk scarves trailed behind her, competing with the palette of hues before me. “Can you believe the varieties of roses this man grows?” Rose hugged me tight. “Ooooh,” she purred, “just look at you. You’re so grown up. You make your poor aunt feel old.”
“You are old, Rose,” I joked.
“Hmm, I guess you’re right.”
“But you’re wise, too.”
“Ha, I don’t know about that.”
Even after all this time, my relationship with Rose was somehow unsettling. She had gone from banished aunt, to psychic savior, to dead, to a traitor and now to a wise mystic. I often wondered who Rose really was.
“Seriously, I want your advice,” I began. “The Movement is in trouble and Omnia is more powerful than ever. I’m supposed to be here to help change things, remind people to wake up. But Rose, I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Remember something, honey. It’s always darkest before the dawn. Omnia only seems more powerful because they are showing more of their power. And if you know anything about Omnia, they don’t like to show their power. They are doing it only because they’re scared. They know their power is not endless, that’s why they are desperately seeking more.”
“So what do I do?”
“Come see the labyrinth,” she pulled my arm. “You’ve never seen anything like it.” We ran across the manicured lawn. “No Skyclimbing allowed.”
“It’s gorgeous,” I said.
“Sure is. Wouldn’t you love some popcorn right now? We could just sit here and watch the lavender in the breeze like a movie.”
I laughed.
“Now ask your question, silently to yourself and then walk the labyrinth, concentrate on nothing other than the path you are on. When you come out, ask your question again.”
I stepped into the purple and green maze. The plants came up just below my waist and I was lost in a sea of color and intoxicating scent. My steps became slow, small and deliberate. It was silent except for the hush of a gentle breeze. An hour must have passed.
“The only answers that came were Outviews and Clastier,” I said to Rose, as she joined me on a bench at the end of the labyrinth.
“Nate, honey, that’s it. The Outviews are where you must begin. You need to find the understanding in them. And remember Clastier’s teachings, they are within you because you were him. Without those two ingredients, you’ll find it impossible to lead.”
“Lead, I won’t be able to do anything if we don’t win.”
“Honey, you have to know you’ve already won. If you don’t believe this, then you’ll never win. If you aren’t prepared for the day when you receive everything you ever wanted, it will never come.”
“Rose,” I wanted to argue. “What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to consciously create the circumstances you desire. But first you must find understanding and now you know how to do that.”
“Prepare a list of my Outviews?”
“Yes.”
“All of them? I can’t remember all –”
“Of course you can. They cannot be forgotten. Once your list is complete, search each one for the meaning. This is a roadmap for the lessons you’ll pass on.”
“But I haven’t even mastered all the soul powers.”
“Who has?” She laughed. “That won’t happen in a single lifetime. Lives are far too short; that’s why we keep coming back.”
“It’ll be easier when everyone remembers who they are, what their souls really are . . .”
“Can you see that? Because you need to see it, Nate.”
I nodded.
“Work on that.” She smiled. “Now, we’re trying to hook you up with Clastier so you two can recreate the missing papers. So much to do, wish we had more time.”
“Rose, do you realize I almost died today . . . three times?”
“Died? Whatever that means.” She rolled her hand dismissively. “Now go study your Outviews before Omnia blows this pretty house up.” She handed me paper and pen from her rainbow-colored, sequined bag and left me alone.
I walked over to the pond at the base of the waterfall. Gnarled, knotty, twisted trees like the ones in the Japanese garden at Lithia Park and snow-capped Mt. McLoughlin in the distance gave the impression of being in the foothills near Mt. Fuji.
For hours I assigned names to Outviews and scribbled a brief description of each. I read the list over and over, reliving the horrors and remembering when, in this lifetime, they almost destroyed me. It was Wandus who originally had told me the Outviews were the key. I silently wished he were here to help. Maybe I could go to him. I looked up to see if Spencer was still on the deck; he would know how to find Wandus. My gaze swept over the waterfall as Wandus somersaulted in slow-motion down from the top.
21
“Old and young Nate, it is happiness to see you here.” His eyes reflected all the colors of the yard, light flickering from somewhere else.
“How did you get here? I mean, how long?”
A yellow smile stretched across his thin leathery face. “You know, I wonder this myself, often. How did I get here? How long have I been here? I will continue to dwell on these questions. When I find the answer I will tell you.”
“Are you here to help me?”
“That is one possibility. Let us see.” He floated closer. “Why aren’t you levitating? You should never get too used to the ground.”
I levitated next to him, and we moved slowly with the breeze. “What story do the Outviews tell?” I asked.
“I’ve told to you this each time we’ve met, Outviews tell the story of you. What has your soul been through? Did it learn? What happened because of that lesson? This is the tale to tell.”
“But I need to understand it first.”
“Yes, or not. It would be like me explaining how to rebuild a jet engine.”
“Right, you don’t know anything about engines. Well –”
“But I do know all about automobile engines, and diesel engines, even small engines such as lawnmowers, but jet engines are an entirely different bird.”
I laughed, even though he was serious, or as serious as Wandus could ever be. We floated across the pond and were caught in the mist of the waterfall.
“Happy, happy, this is fun, fun, fun,” he squealed.
I handed him my list. The letters on the pages all arranged themselves into a different order. “What happened to the list?”
He looked at the papers as if they might be on fire. “Oh, I don’t understand English so I changed it to my language.”
> “But you speak it so well.”
“No, I don’t speak English at all, but you do hear it well.” He handed the pages back. “Yes, it is in them. Do you see it?”
“No. Can’t you just tell me, please?”
“The greatest treasures are not given, they are discovered.”
For the rest of the day I toiled alone on the deck seeking understanding in the Outviews. They seemed more like scary ghost stories than life lessons.
I looked up from my Outview papers to see Linh coming toward me.
“I’m glad you made it,” she said.
“Even though you’re mad at me?”
“I’d never be that mad. But don’t leave me again, okay?”
“I can’t promise.”
“You could, you can do whatever you want, you just won’t.”
“Please don’t be mad.”
She shook her head. “Nate, I don’t want to die alone and I don’t want to live without you. If we stay together then we can die together.”
“Let’s concentrate on living.”
“These are dangerous times.”
“I know.”
“Outviews?” She motioned to the pages.
“Yeah, trying to find the meaning in them.”
“Look for us in them. Then maybe you’ll understand me.”
I nodded. We were quiet for a while, lost in the scent of lavender and roses.
“Any word on Amber and Yangchen?”
“You miss her, don’t you?”
“Don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Linh left the deck. I put my papers down and watched her walk the labyrinth.
As she went around and around, I suddenly saw my answer. Each life is a circle, and all our lives are a bigger circle of our one true soul life. I scanned my list of Outviews. The Mayan runner pushed into the Cenote by the conquistadors reflected the countless lives I’d spent dying to protect secrets; the time as a Union soldier, when I sacrificed my life to let Kyle go free, was loyalty; Wesley digging his own grave represented karma; even the future Outview where I’d run from drones in the face of an advanced society, although it hadn’t happened yet, showed the challenge of the Movement, my ultimate destiny. It went on and on; Amber and I as sisters; Fitts killing me along the river in a prior life; the time I was chased by a slave trader and then was the slave trader.