Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) (16 page)

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.”

Xander agrees, “Understood.”

* * *

We finish our lunch and head back down into the basement. I walk behind the three of them, anxious about revealing Xander’s abilities and learning if he is linked to me.

Ezra scratches his neck and points to an open area of the basement. “Nate and Xander, stand in the middle there. Jesca, have a seat.”

I find an old, rickety stool and sit.

Ezra directs Nate and Xander. “Alright, you two are going to try and combine your abilities.”

Ezra looks at Xander first. “You need to concentrate on Latrosis, your ability to heal others. Understood?”

Xander nods. “Wait, what do I need to heal?”

Without warning, Ezra pulls a blade from his pant leg and says, “This.” Then, he slashes Nate across the chest from shoulder to shoulder.

Nate’s eyes widen, and he stumbles backward, grabbing at his chest. Blood slowly soaks his gray shirt.

Xander’s eyes widen as well. He yells, “Ezra! What the hell are you doing?” He lunges for Nate before he stumbles any farther, holding him up by his shoulders.

I jump from my seat to run to Nate.

Ezra rushes to
me, pushing me back. He growls, “No, Jes!”

I try to fight him off to get to Nate. “Are you insane? I have to help him!”

I’m able to scramble away from Ezra for only a second, and then he is on me again, yanking me away from Nate.

I yell, “Ezra, let me go!”

Ezra tightens his grip on me, spins me around to watch Xander and Nate, and holds my arms in place like he is a human straitjacket.

My voice cracks with panic. “Why are you doing this, Ezra?
”

He hisses,
“Call it a hunch.” Then, he yells, “Watch!”

I watch Xander and Nate through blurry eyes. I hear Nate’s heart racing, and my urge to break free from Ezra’s arms is almost unbearable.

Xander’s arms are still on Nate’s shoulders. Nate has grabbed Xander’s shoulders for support. Both of them lean their foreheads together, and almost immediately, I hear Nate’s heart begin to slow. Xander is breathing deeply and laboriously. I can tell he is using all of his energy.

Ezra whispers into my ear, “He is healing him, Jes.”

I nod, but I don’t reply. I can’t believe that Xander is healing him this quickly. Nate’s heart has slowed to match Xander’s, and Nate’s eyes flutter open. Xander pulls back, but he keeps his eyes closed.

I see Nate squeeze Xander’s shoulder, and they both pull their foreheads apart, releasing their hold on each other. Xander wobbles a little, and then he backs up to lean against a post for support. Nate is standing still, eyes wide open, staring at Xander. They both look at each other for a few moments.

I try to read them to find out what thoughts are being exchanged between them, but I can’t. They have blocked me.

I whisper to Ezra, “Can you read them?”

Ezra shakes his head, telling me he can’t either. Ezra releases me, but I don’t move away from him. I’m in shock at what I just witnessed. Xander has healed Nate instantly.

Xander and Nate both look at Ezra with shock on their faces. They are realizing what Ezra and I already know.

I whisper, “They are linked.”

Ezra tosses Nate an old rag, and Nate pulls off his blood-soaked shirt. I watch as he wipes away the blood on his skin. There’s no mark on his chest whatsoever.

I walk over to stand between both of them. Nate and Xander are linked, and Nate and I are linked. The only two left to check is Xander and me.

I feel Ezra walk up behind me, and I tense because I know it’s my turn.

Nate comes to stand defensively at my side, partially blocking Ezra from coming any closer. He growls at Ezra, “No.”

I reach my hand to grab Nate’s arm. “Nate, it’s okay.”

Xander comes to stand in front of me.

I feel a forceful punch in the middle of my back, and a sharp pain radiates up my spine. I gasp for air. The wind has been knocked out of me. The force of the punch pushes me off balance, and I land in Xander’s arms. I tell my body to grab a hold of him, but it doesn’t listen. The only part of me that is working is my mind, and it’s telling me that I am paralyzed.

Nate yells, “Jesca! Damn it, Ezra. What did you do?”

I keep my eyes on Xander’s, but I hear Ezra and Nate struggling with each other.

I know that Ezra is pulling Nate away and holding him at bay while Xander tries to heal me.

Ezra hisses, “Xander, she is shutting down. Take her and save her.”

I feel empty all of a sudden. I guess that’s what happens when nerve endings have been severed. My breath becomes fast and sporadic. I’m starting to hyperventilate.

Xander pulls my body into his lap, and he cups my face so his eyes are on mine. He leans his head against mine.

The room starts to spin from my panicky breathing. I close my eyes to stop the spinning.

I hear Nate’s voice. It sounds like he’s in a tunnel. “He’s not healing her, Ezra!”

I hear Ezra yell back at Nate, “Wait!”

Xander shakes my head a little with his hand that is cupped around my face. I blink my eyes open lazily. The room is still spinning out of control. I close them again. When they reopen, I am looking at Xander from outside of my body.

I am lying there motionless and limp. Xander is cradling me in his arm, grasping my face with his hand. His face is inches from mine. His eyes are full of panic.

I look at Nate and Ezra. Nate is trying to peel away from Ezra’s grips.

Xander looks up at Ezra as a tear falls from his eye onto his shirt. His voice is breathless and cracking. “Ezra, I…I can’t…she is not responding to me.”

Ezra yells at Xander. “She will respond, like she did last night! Concentrate!”

Nate interrupts with a growl. “Let me go! Let me heal her!”

Ezra holds Nate back even stronger. He yells, “Heal her now, Xander!”

Still looking from outside of my body, Xander’s eyes move from Ezra to me while I lay there lifeless.

Xander pulls my body into him and cradles me like a child. My head lolls onto his shoulder. He moves my head to rest in the crook of his neck.

He closes his eyes tightly, and his voice cracks as he whispers into my ear, “I won’t let you leave me, Jes.”

I watch his chest rise and fall with power and strength. The emptiness within me flees, and I feel a small pull within me, drawing me to him. I hear a heartbeat, and it is strong, deep, and steady. I hear nothing else
, but its powerful thud and the swish of coursing energy. It’s him—Xander.