Judgment (The Alternate Earth Series, Book 3) (6 page)

“I think Michael wants me to get on it,” I tell Mason.

Michael holds up his left hand and gives me a thumbs up.

“Yep,” I confirm. “That’s what he wants me to do.”

“Ok,” Mason says a bit begrudgingly. “But be careful and hold on tightly.”

With great respect and caution, Mason and I walk up to the dragon. As if knowing exactly what we want, the dragon huffs a bit, but lies down on the ground so I can climb up on its back. There is a natural indentation across its spine, which acts as a saddle. Once I’m seated, two scales on either side of its belly flare out like footholds.

“Put your feet in those,” Mason tells me, looking down at the outstretched scales.

I do as instructed, and find the scales the perfect place to rest my feet.

Directly in front of me, two more scales pop up, revealing patches of soft fur.

“Grab the fur,” Mason instructs. “You should feel handholds inside it.”

I glide my hands over the soft, blue fur and tightly grip the boney handholds I find there.

“As long as you don’t let go and don’t yell,” Mason cautions, “the dragon should just fly you around and bring you back here once it gets tired.”

“So I’ll be at its mercy? What if it doesn’t want to come down?”

“It will,” Mason assures me. “I think it actually came here for some water, but they’re trained to do whatever their rider wants them to do. I don’t think he’ll be flying for very long before he remembers that he’s thirsty.”

“Ok. I can handle that.”

Mason leans up and kisses me gently on the lips.

“Have fun,” he tells me with a smile.

After Mason steps away, the dragon rises to its feet and lurches forward, into the sky.

I can’t help but giggle at the sensation of flight, but I try to do so quietly because I don’t want the ride to end before it’s even started.

As the dragon makes its way higher and higher into the sky, I feel an exhilaration that is beyond joy. Flying through the air on my own personal dragon seems like something you only read about in books or see in movies. Not that I remember any books or movies, but it doesn’t matter. I’m having the time of my life, and I know this memory will be with me forever.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spy something that seems impossible until I remember he’s just a figment of my imagination.

Michael is flying next to me like he’s Superman. He smiles and waves at me, which makes him look like a total goofball. He holds up the index finger of his right hand and points straight ahead, as if signaling me to watch something. Michael zooms forward until he’s eye to eye with the dragon. He then begins to rotate like a corkscrew in the air, and I suddenly feel my dragon begin to turn in the same fashion.

“No!” I yell at it, realizing too late that I shouldn’t have screamed so loudly.

The dragon reacts to my outburst violently, and begins to turn over even faster.

I grip my furry handholds tightly, holding on for dear life. Apparently, my fear isn’t unfounded. As the dragon continues to rotate in midair, I feel gravity begin to work against me and my grip begins to slip.

“Please, stop turning. Please stop turning!” I end up screaming at the end because I suddenly find myself completely upside down and dangling feet first, with nothing except air between the ground and me.

The dragon continues to spins through the air, mimicking Michael’s movements until I finally and completely lose my grip.

As I enter a freefall to my doom, only one word comes to mind.

“Crap!”

CHAPTER SIX

Whose bright idea was it to ride a dragon? I have no one but myself to blame. Well, that’s not completely true. I have Michael, the harbinger of my doom, to blame as well!

Speaking of the sharer of my soul, Michael appears directly in front of me and begins to flap his arms wildly, like a dying fish on hot concrete.

In any other circumstances, I would have laughed at him, but the fact that I am only a few hundred feet from my death kind of puts a damper on my funny bone.

“What the hell are you trying to tell me?” I scream at him, the wind whistling past my ears. Even if he could talk, I probably couldn’t have heard him.

Michael holds out his hand to me, like he’s a real person wanting to hold hands. With his other hand, he points up. It’s obvious he wants me to go up in the sky with him, but how am I supposed to work that small miracle?

Then, it hits me. Maybe Michael is trying to tell me that I have the power to fly.

Well, that just sounds ridiculous, but him trying to kill me on purpose sounds just as insane.

I begin to flap my arms but feel certain it isn’t making me fly. I probably just look like a crazy woman trying to prevent her inevitable demise.

I look at Michael and scream, “Help!”

Michael taps the side of his head with an index finger and then points to me.

The only thing I can think of is that he’s telling me my ability is mental, not physical.

How the hell am I supposed to fly my body with the power of my mind?
is what I want to scream at Michael, but I’m sure he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

It’s obvious now that when he was flapping his arms at me like a mad man, he didn’t mean I could literally fly like a bird does. But, what am I
supposed
to do?

I quickly realize that
I
may not know how to fly but Michael does, and he’s a part of me. We’re connected to one another forever.

“Help me!” I beg, as I let go of myself so he can save us.

Michael vanishes from my sight. The sensation of him taking my body over is odd, to say the least.

The instant he takes control, I feel like a passenger in the backseat of a car, just along for the ride.

Michael flies us straight up into the air until we’re flying beside the dragon I was riding.

Traitor
, I think to myself as we continue to fly alongside it.

I sense Michael’s amusement at my thought, but I still don’t hear his voice. I think he’s trying to use my voice to talk to me, because I feel him become frustrated after a while. Then I feel him become energized about something.

Michael dives down to where Mason is waiting for us on the ground. As soon as my feet touch the grass, Michael relinquishes control over my body and appears beside me.

“What happened?” Mason says, rushing up to me. “If I could die, I’m pretty sure I would have just had a heart attack!”

Mason wraps his arms around me, as if to prove to himself that I’m actually alive. I wrap my arms around his waist, because my body is shaking so violently I need his strength to make it subside.

“Can you tell me what happened up there?”

I go on to tell Mason exactly what transpired.

“Michael shouldn’t have been so reckless,” Mason says with controlled anger.

“I think he was hoping I would fly on my own, but I just couldn’t remember how. I think he tried to talk to me after he took control of my body, too, but it didn’t work. I still can’t hear him. How was the dragon able to see Michael, when he’s supposed to be a figment of my imagination?”

“I don’t think the dragon actually saw him,” Mason replies. “Michael has always had a natural gift with creatures of all sorts. It could be that he was able to influence the dragon through you. It’s a trait I think he passed down to Lilly. She told me once that, when she was a little girl, she had a puppy that would follow her around everywhere.”

“Don’t most dogs do that with their owner?”

“Yes, but most animals consider self-preservation first. This one was run over because he was following her blindly. Plus, she’s able to control the Watcher children when they are in wolf form. All of her children have the same ability, though it seems like Mae’s gift is stronger than the others’ for some reason.”

Michael appears right behind Mason and taps the side of his head, letting me know he has an idea.

“Michael wants to tell me something.” I take a step back from Mason, so I can see Michael more clearly.

Mason turns to stand beside me and face Michael, even though he can’t see him.

“Ok,” I tell Michael, “show me your idea.”

Michael bites his bottom lip as he considers the best way to convey his message to me. Finally, his eyes light up and he holds his right hand palm forward, as if he’s asking me to wait just a minute. He makes fists with his hands and bends his arms up slightly at the elbows. While he swings his arms back, he moves his hips forward. He makes this odd gesture a few times before looking at me expectantly, like I should magically understand the message he is trying to convey to me.

“I don’t know what you just did,” I confess, even more confused now than when we started. “What was that? Some kind of interpretive dance thing? Are you saying I need to go skiing?”

Michael shakes his head vigorously, causing his curly black hair to bounce. He points to me, then to Mason, and begins to make the same motion again, but a bit more vigorously this time. He stops when he sees that I’m still not getting it and points to Mason and then to me again.

“I’m sorry. I still don’t understand,” I admit, feeling like the answer should be obvious but, for whatever reason, it’s going over my head.

Michael seems to huff and stops to think for a minute. Finally, he points to me with his left hand and uses it to make an ‘O’ by touching its index finger and thumb together. He then uses his right hand and points to Mason. With the index finger of his right hand remaining straight, he pokes the ‘O’ in the middle and begins to move it back and forth.

“Oh, my God!” I yell, immediately covering my eyes to block Michael from my line of sight.

“What?” Mason asks worriedly. “What’s wrong? What did he tell you?”

I begin to shake my head. “I can’t….I don’t…. I’m at a loss for words right now….please, just give me a minute.”

“Ok,” Mason says, sounding unsure about the whole situation.

I work up my nerve to drop my hands and look at Michael again. I almost wish I hadn’t when I see him nodding and smiling at me knowingly.

“I can’t tell him that,” I say to Michael, feeling my cheeks grow warm from embarrassment.

Michael just waves his hands at me, like telling Mason what he thinks we should do is a piece of cake.

“I can’t,” I say, feeling mortified by what Michael wants me to do.

Michael raises his hand in an “ok” gesture and points to Mason and then to himself. He does that a couple of times before I ask, “You want me to describe what you do next to Mason?”

Michael nods his head.

“Ok,” I say cautiously, hoping Michael doesn’t expect me to gyrate my hips at Mason.

I watch Michael closely and explain to Mason exactly what I see.

“He looks like he’s opening a small box with his hands,” I tell Mason. “He pulls something out and holds it between his index finger and thumb. Now he’s making a hitting motion…no striking motion with it. He’s holding his fingers up like whatever he has in his hand is still there, and now he’s blowing on it. Did you just light a match?” I ask Michael.

Michael nods his head, pleased with my deduction.

I turn to look at Mason and notice a pink hue dotting his cheeks in a blush, which I didn’t think was possible.

“What does a match have to do with anything?” I ask Mason.

Mason looks over at me with a somewhat shy smile before saying, “Matches. It’s our code word for sex.”

“Ohhh,” I say, realizing why Mason is blushing now. Michael did, indeed, find a way to pass his message along to Mason without causing me even more embarrassment.

“Michael,” Mason says, facing where he knows Michael is but, of course, not being able to see him. “Why do you believe my making love to Jess will help her regain her memories?”

Michael considers Mason thoughtfully while nodding his head.

“He seems to think you asked a very good question,” I tell Mason.

“Well, I hope so,” Mason replies, obviously thinking his question was an appropriate one to ask, given the situation.

“Ok, he’s pointing to you,” I tell Mason, “and to me again. And now he’s… kissing his hand.”

“The kiss did something?” Mason asks.

“He’s nodding his head,” I report.

“How do you know it did something to help Jess, Michael?”

Michael points to me, and then to himself. He then bumps his two fists together and splays his fingers out.

“He says it opened up something between him and me,” I tell Mason. “That must be why he tried to make me fly. He thought I would be able to access that part of myself after I kissed you.”

Michael nods his head, letting me know that I am correct.

“Well, you
were
able to allow him to take control of your body,” Mason says, considering this new information as proof of improvement of my condition.

“Yeah,” I agree, as an uneasy tension begins to build between Mason and me.

I see Michael waving his arms in the air to gain my attention. I look over at him as he points to me, crosses his chest with his arms, and then points to Mason.

“I know I love him,” I say. “But it’s still a little awkward, Michael.”

“Only for you,” Mason tells me, taking my hand. “I would love nothing more than to take you right here and now, but I know you’re not ready for it yet.”

“I’m almost there,” I tell him. “The feelings are there. I just wish the memories were, too. I know you, but, then again, I don’t. I realize that doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it’s the way I feel.”

“No, Jess, I understand. I get it. We’ll find a way to make this right for you.”

“How?”

“I’ll figure something out,” Mason promises. “Trust me.”

“I do trust you,” I tell him, stepping into his arms for a hug.

I just can’t remember you
, I think to myself.

After my near-death experience, the magic of Eden is broken for me. We dress quickly, and I ask Mason to take us back to the castle.

He phases us directly back into Josh’s computer room, where all hell seems to be breaking loose.

Well, maybe not hell, but certainly mayhem.

There are over thirty people packed into the small room. Some of them I recognize and some of them I don’t. There is a beautiful Asian woman standing with Brand, off to the side. They’re talking in hushed tones, and I see her lean in and touch his arm intimately.

“Is that Brand’s wife?” I ask Mason, nodding toward the pair.

“No,” Mason replies, “she’s the Empress of China. I think all the commotion means her video is about to air.”

“What video?”

“She’s trying to start a worldwide uprising against Ravan. Josh has been working on a video of her speech. We were just waiting for you to bring back some footage of the real Ravan, so everyone can see who she truly is.”

“You mean a complete bitch.”

“See?” Mason says, winking at me. “Blunt.”

“I’m just saying what she is. So this video, do you think anyone will be watching it, considering what’s going on in the world right now? Are there even still functioning satellites in the sky? Seems like all those meteorites I saw after I woke up on the dock would have destroyed them.”

“Josh is connected to the Dragon Network. It’s Lucian’s way of controlling the media and anything else that’s transmitted over the airways. That line of communication is still functional, for now at least, and can transmit a message to every TV, radio, and computer that’s on in the world. We may not be able to connect with a lot of people, but we really don’t have any other choice. It’s pretty much now or never. I don’t think conditions will get any better here, only worse.”

“I see you were successful,” Malcolm says, looking pointedly at the sword in Mason’s hand as he and Gabe approach us. “I’m glad to see that Jophiel left the sword here, too.”

“JoJo was confident that Jophiel did,” Gabe tells me with a smile. His look turns to one of concern for me. “How are you feeling, Jess? Have you recovered any of your memories yet?”

I shake my head, consumed by an odd sort of guilt because I still can’t remember any of my closest friends.

“Not yet,” I reluctantly admit, feeling like a complete failure as a human being.

“Everything will be all right,” Gabe says, making me want to believe him.

“How do you know?”

“Because I can see into the future, remember?” Gabe gently reminds me. “I’ve seen you back home, with the newest addition to the Collier family in your arms, and I know that’s a future that will definitely come true.”