Ghost Hold

by Ripley Patton

  “They haven’t,” Marcus said, “but I don’t see what that has to do with anything. We think it’s only triggered by need.”

  “Or fear, or stress,” she said, “or the adrenaline rush produced when you jump off a cliff and, for a split second, your body is sure it’s going to die.”

  Marcus stared at her. He looked past her at the crowd and Renzo on his rock, and beyond that to the cliff.

  “We’ve been doing it for three years,” Samantha said to Marcus.

  “And it works?” he asked, sounding skeptical.

  “Every time,” she assured him.

  33

  GO JUMP OFF A CLIFF

  “You can’t seriously buy this shit,” Jason said, staring at Marcus. “This cult princess tells you that jumping off a cliff will give you superpowers, and you believe it?”

  We were huddled on the rocky edge of the cliff itself; Marcus, Jason, Nose, Yale, me, and Grant, standing next to one of the many signs that clearly said in bright bold red lettering NO DIVING OR JUMPING, $2000 FINE.

  And we weren’t the only ones checking out The Devil’s Drop. All along the cliff’s ledge little groups had formed as people took a look over that precipice and tried to decide if they were going to jump or not. After her reunion with Marcus, Samantha had gotten back up on her rock and encouraged everyone to consider it, including the groupies and any Marked who’d already jumped at a previous Eidolon. But she’d also made it clear that no one had to participate, and those who opted out could make their way back down the stairs after it was all over and meet the jumpers at the bottom.

  “She’s not just a cult princess,” Marcus said. “She’s my cousin.”

  “I don’t give a rat’s ass who she is,” Jason said. “I don’t trust her.”

  “You have to admit, it sounds pretty crazy,” Yale agreed.

  I was only half-listening to them argue, because the rest of me was fixated on the ominous presence of open space a mere step away, and the fifty-foot plunge to the winding river below us. Part of me wanted to take that step, right there, right then, and freak everyone the hell out. Another part of me wanted to run away as fast as possible.

  “It does,” Marcus said to Yale. “Except it fits what we already know. My sister got her power at a very young age. She had meningitis and almost died and probably would have if she hadn’t healed herself. Samantha got that same virus, and the antibiotics they had to give her would have left her completely deaf. Instead, her PSS kicked in and gave her an ability to compensate. Olivia’s hand manifested its ability the day the CAMFers came after her. It does seem like a pretty convincing pattern. If a threat to one’s life or well-being triggers the power, I can see how cliff-diving might simulate that.”

  “Yeah, but what about Jason?” Yale argued. “His entire life has been one big threat to his well-being. If anyone should have a power, he should.”

  “I don’t know,” Marcus frowned. “Maybe he has a much higher tolerance for fear than the rest of us, like he got desensitized or something. In which case, this probably wouldn’t work on him anyway. Or the theory is wrong. There’s really only one way to find out,” Marcus finished, looking pointedly at Yale and Nose.

  “Oh no, come on,” Yale groaned.

  “I’m up for it,” Nose said, a grin breaking out on his ski-masked face. “I’ve always wanted to sky dive, so why not cliff-dive?”

  “Then you’re on your own,” Yale said. “I’m not a big fan of heights.”

  “Aw, come on, man,” Nose pleaded. “Grow some balls. It’ll be a blast. Don’t make me do this solo.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Yale said, a grin breaking out on his face too. “What the hell. You only live once.”

  I would have never guessed it would be that easy to convince them. Then again, they’d been hiding in a basement for a week bored out of their minds. Maybe after that, this actually sounded like a good idea. Either way, I had to admire their guts. The small part of me that thought jumping would be amazing had already been majorly outvoted by the many parts of me that knew it would be terrifying.

  I looked up and caught Grant staring at me.

  He quickly glanced away, glaring at Marcus and said, “I’m jumping too.”

  Marcus stared back, unflinching, both of them like a pair of dogs with their hackles up. Then Marcus shrugged. “Saves me the trouble or throwing you off,” he said. “But you’ll go after Yale and Nose,” he clarified. “That way they can keep an eye on you at the bottom and make sure you don’t call anyone.”

  “You guys aren’t jumping, are you?” Passion asked, her voice full of anxiety as she broke into our little huddle, eyeing the cliff’s edge with barely contained terror.

  “Yale and me are,” Nose answered excitedly.

  “Please, don’t do this,” she begged them. “Don’t let them do this.” She turned her desperation on Marcus. “If I’d known this was the Eidolon, I never would have brought any of you. I never would have come myself. And Samantha won’t listen to me.” She was almost in tears. No, her eyes were so red she’d obviously already been crying. Now she was trying not to, but she wasn’t doing a very good job. I’d never seen Passion this upset about anything. And then I remembered; her twin sister had drowned. Maybe even in a river. I didn’t know the details, but it was obvious Passion was currently caught in a living nightmare where everyone she cared about was about to jump off a cliff into a river and die a horrible watery death.

  “Passion?” Grant said, staring at her. “I thought you were—what the hell is she doing here?” he asked, looking from Marcus to me accusingly.

  “Grant?” she said, her face growing even paler. “I—what are you—how did he—” she stammered, looking to me for help.

  “He came with Eva,” I explained to her. “And Passion came with me,” I said to Grant. “We both left Greenfield with Marcus.”

  “Is she your girlfriend too?” Grant asked Marcus snidely.

  “Hey!” Passion said, startling us all with the sudden power in her voice. “You shut the fuck up!” She advanced on Grant, making him stumble back a little. “Leaving Greenfield was the best thing I’ve ever done. And Olivia and Marcus have helped me more than you could possibly imagine. And for the record, I don’t like guys. I like girls. You got that?”

  Grant just nodded, wide-eyed.

  I couldn’t help noticing the smirks on the faces of the other guys, and honestly, I’d never been more proud of Passion myself.

  “And if you’re stupid enough to jump off a cliff,” she said, including Nose and Yale in her scalding wrath, all sign of tears gone, “you’re bigger idiots than I thought.”

  “We need to find out if this really works,” Marcus explained to her gently. “If it does, then Nose and Yale will manifest powers, and we’ll be less at the mercy of the CAMFers.”

  “No,” she insisted. “It’s too dangerous. They could die. They could drown. You really believe it’s worth that?” She looked from Nose to Yale.

  “To get a power like Olivia or Marcus have?” Nose asked. “Hell yeah.”

  “Your power is never going to be that cool,” Yale said. “You’ll probably get PSS snot or something.”

  “Oh, look who’s talking, Casper ass,” Nose shot back. “Don’t even make me guess what your power is gonna be.”

  “Wrap it up, people.” Renzo’s voice cut through the chatter of the various groups. “I need my jumpers over here, experienced ones in the front,” he said, pointing to the largest most prominent rock jutting out over the river valley.

  People began to separate, some lining up under Renzo’s watchful PSS eye, others hanging at the back, curious to watch the proceedings.

  “I can’t even watch this,” Passion said, her voice full of distress as the jumper line grew longer and longer. “This is crazy. People are crazy.”

  “I’m not going to stand here gawking,” Jason said to her. “I’m going to hang back by the stairs if you want to come with me.”

  “Yes,” Pass
ion said, relief flooding her voice.

  It was a nice gesture, especially for Jason, but I also knew he wasn’t hanging by the stairs; he was guarding them. There wasn’t a moment in time when Jason didn’t expect us to be ambushed by CAMFers, and I was beginning to appreciate that. It helped me let my guard down occasionally, knowing that no matter what, he never would.

  “Okay then,” Nose said, “looks like it’s time to go jump off a cliff.”

  “Be safe,” Marcus said, gripping Nose’s arm and clapping Yale on the back.

  “Watch yourself at the bottom,” Jason added. “You’ll be completely defenseless down there.”

  “Not if we get a power,” Yale pointed out.

  No one was saying anything to Grant, and despite the jerk he’d been, he was my friend and Emma’s brother. Even if he was only jumping to get away from Marcus and me as fast as he could, I still wanted him to be safe.

  “Be careful,” I said, reaching out and touching his arm.

  “Yeah.” He glanced away, his jaw clenched. “You too.”

  Then Nose, Yale and Grant moved away, heading through the crowd to the jumper line, and Passion and Jason moved into the shadow of the trees near the stairs leaving Marcus and me standing at the back of the watchers.

  “Children of The Hold,” Samantha’s voice rang out strong and melodic. She was back on her rocky perch, ready to lead the Eidolon in all her glory. “We are no longer children.”

  “Damn straight,” one of the jumpers called out.

  “We are new adults,” she said. “New, because no one has ever seen the likes of us before. We are a new generation of humanity, in every sense of the word. And tonight we take up our power.”

  There was no doubt that Samantha James had the same charisma her father possessed. She was captivating. The way she spoke was like music, the way she moved and gestured like a graceful dancer. And it seemed she was just as resolute as her father in her belief in The Hold, though perhaps a different Hold than he’d imagined. Nothing had swayed her from that course: not finding her long-dead cousin, and not the desperate pleas from her newest girlfriend and follower. Samantha James was a force to be reckoned with, and I was hoping that reckoning would play out in my favor.

  “It is important that you understand what we have come here to do,” she went on. “Whether you jump tonight to claim your power, or to show solidarity with those of us who do, or whether you stand in witness on this cliff, together we are The Hold.”

  “Long live The Hold,” a voice yelled from the crowd, and other voices rose in agreement.

  “Yes, long live The Hold,” Samantha agreed, nodding. “Because it has kept us safe until we can claim what is rightfully ours, both our power and our place. Here tonight,” she said, her voice rising in a crescendo of conviction, “we will take up that power. And when enough of us have it, we will take our place. We will take The Hold for ourselves!”

  Cheers rang out from the crowd, pumped up as they were with nervous excitement.

  “Now,” Samantha directed, “if you are jumping, Dimitri will give you instructions and Renzo will jump first to demonstrate exactly how it’s done. Please pay close attention to them. Sometimes powers manifest during the actual jump itself, and this can be very alarming for the jumper. It is important to keep a cool head. But don’t be too disappointed if that doesn’t happen. The first year, Renzo’s power didn’t manifest until a week after he jumped.”

  Renzo had a power? Of course he did. He was an experienced Eidolon jumper. I glanced at him, remembering that night at Samantha’s when he’d barely taken his PSS eye off of me. God, what if he had X-ray vision or something?

  “And if you’re not jumping,” Samantha continued, “there’s an excellent viewing area there.” She pointed to her right. “You can see both the jumpers and the river from a slightly lower ledge.”

  “You’re sure you don’t want to jump?” Marcus asked, looking down at me.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” I said. “Why? Do you want to?”

  “Maybe a little.” He grinned, steering me toward the viewing ledge as I used my hand to light our way.

  A handful of others joined us on the terraced rock ledge, huddled in their own little groups.

  We picked a spot close to the lower edge, the river valley plunging down in front of us. To our right and up a little higher was the ledge people would be jumping from, though several large boulders blocked our view of the preparation area.

  Marcus sat down and I sank down too, leaning against him. He wrapped his arm around me and said, “We’ll talk to Samantha. We’ll get your father’s paintings back. And again, I’m sorry about the Grant thing.”

  “Shhhh,” I said, putting my finger to his lips, looking out at the incredible night sky and the dark horizon stretched out before us. “Let’s just enjoy this for now. It’s my first Eidolon.”

  “Mine too,” he said, smiling and nuzzling my neck, kissing it gently.

  “Geronimo!” someone yelled, and Renzo, recognizable by the glow of his PSS eye, went hurtling off the cliff above us, arms and legs flailing, completely naked.

  “Oh my God,” I said, bursting into laughter as I watched his pale body plummet, splashing into the dark blue water of the river. “They’re doing this naked?”

  “Yeah,” Marcus said, as we both watched Renzo’s head break the surface far below us. “I figured they might. It’s much safer that way. Clothes can drag you down in the water, or you can get tangled in them during the fall and hit the water badly.”

  “Wait,” I said, staring at him. “You knew and you didn’t warn the guys?”

  “They won’t back out now,” he said, smirking. “They wouldn’t risk looking like complete pussies in front of everyone. Especially the girls.”

  “And you wanted to do this?” I asked, staring down at the Renzo speck which was now swimming to the rocky back of The Devil’s Backbone. Two figures were standing there waiting for him, one holding what looked like a towel.

  “Well, more specifically,” Marcus said, smirking, “I wanted you to do it.”

  “You perv.” I pulled back from him in mock horror.

  “This entire mission to Indy to find Samantha and infiltrate The Hold was all so you could get me naked?”

  “Pretty much,” he said. “You got me.”

  “Yes I do,” I said, kissing him gently and feeling his body respond, his arms pulling me to him, his lips growing urgent. I pulled away a little and whispered against his mouth. “And I got you naked long before tonight.”

  “Pocahontas!” someone yelled from the cliff and another diver, a female with the tiniest flash of PSS on her hand, went plummeting downward much more gracefully than Renzo had.

  “That was Juliana,” I told Marcus. “She has a PSS pinky.”

  “What’s her power?” he asked. “And the guy with the eye, what can he do?”

  “I have no idea. None of them have revealed anything obvious. I didn’t even think they had powers until tonight. Your cousin has been playing this card game very close to her—”

  “Stop.” Marcus held up his hand and cut me off. “Do you hear that?”

  I cocked my head, straining to listen, but all I could hear was the low chatter of the watchers around us and the wind picking up in the trees.

  “I don’t hear anything,” I said.

  “It’s a hum,” he said, looking at me. “Are your dog tags doing anything?”

  “No,” I shook my head, reaching up and touching them through my robe and shirt. “Nothing.”

  “They hear it too,” he said, nodding up to the jumpers’ ledge where Samantha, Dimitri, and several others, still in their robes, had come to the edge and were gesturing up the gorge.

  Then I heard it, finally, a low thrumming that reminded me of the sounds the blades had made when a minus meter had triggered them.

  I did not like that sound. It made terror rise up in my heart.

  But not as much as the sound that came next.

&
nbsp; It cut through the night and the thrumming. A lone burst, sharp and ballistic, the solitary, devastating crack of a single gunshot.

  Marcus and I jumped to our feet.

  His gun was out and ready.

  Someone screamed.

  Someone fell from the cliff, plunging down and tumbling head over heels over head, her robes flapping like broken bat wings around her.

  Samantha fell and landed with a splash in the dark swirling water below.

  34

  THE DEVIL’S DROP

  Marcus yanked his robe off over his head, and his shirt came part way with it, giving me a blinding flash of his chest before it fell back down and he tossed the robe aside.

  “Here, hold this,” he said, handing me his gun and stepping to the very edge of the ledge.

  “Stop!” I said, grabbing him and clinging to him, holding him back from jumping after his cousin. “It’s not safe.” I pointed down at the river where several large submerged rocks lurked directly below us. There was a reason our ledge was a viewing spot, not a jumping spot.

  “Look,” I said, pointing again, this time drawing his attention to the middle of the deep pool.

  Renzo and Juliana were in the water, almost to Samantha already. And we could see her flailing and splashing: not floating, not dead. She was still moving.

  “She’s okay,” I told him. “They’ve got her.”

  Gunfire filled the air, not a single shot this time but the repetitive rattle of multiple automatic weapons.

  There was more screaming, and then, as we stood there, stunned, a mob of people were hurling themselves off the cliff. Some were robed, others half-naked, and they jumped not one at a time but en masse and colliding with one another as they scrambled to get away from something behind them much more deadly than a cliff-dive.

  “What the fuck?” Marcus said, grabbing his gun back from me and whirling around, scrambling up the rocks toward the top of the cliff. And I followed him, the other watchers with us doing the same. I don’t know why. I think we couldn’t comprehend what was happening. We could hear the danger, and we had seen others fleeing it. But our friends were up there, and we had to see and know that danger for ourselves before we could react to it in any sane way. And although running toward it wasn’t sane, none of us were exactly thinking straight.