Eternity's Edge (14 page)

When Nathan set his hand on the dome, his fingers passed right through, followed by his hand and arm. As he leaned forward, his head and torso entered the dome as well.

This time, Scarlet allowed her smile to break through. “Fear
not, Nathan. Wandering in the land of visions will bring you no harm, unless, of course, you awaken the stalkers.”

Nathan pushed the rest of the way in and sat opposite her. Crossing his own legs to match hers, he laid the violin in his lap. “If I'm seeing a vision, how can you talk to me?”

“I am a supplicant,” she said, touching her chest. “Entering visions is what I do. I entered your dream while you were unconscious, and now I have drawn you to myself in this new vision.”

“But why? What is a supplicant?”

She smiled, though her brow furrowed. “I see that you have forgotten what I told you earlier.”

“I remember some of it, but it's kind of foggy.”

She spread out her hands, gesturing toward the walls lining her enclosure. “Through these mirrors, I see the outside worlds. Yet, I can see only whatever world you happen to be in, for I am assigned to protect you. You are the gifted one from Earth Red who carries the window to my world. When you have been in danger, you have asked for my help, and I have sung songs for you. You see, a supplicant is one who makes petitions on your behalf.”

Nathan gazed into her reddish brown eyes. Something about her seemed very familiar. “So are you Quattro?”

She laughed gently. “Your father's name for me. It is pleasant, but I prefer Scarlet, for I am the supplicant for Earth Red.”

He touched the floor, dirtier than the surface on the outside. Did they ever let her out to bathe? There was no noticeable odor. Her skin seemed clean and free of blemishes, and her auburn hair, though slightly tangled, showed no hint of oily residue.

“But why are you here?” he asked. “I mean, why are you trapped in this prison?”

“The prison is Mictar's work, but I will tell you no more about that.” She reached across and took his hand, enfolding it
in both of hers. “Although we are together only in a vision, you are the first assignment I have been able to meet. I am lonely and I have longed for your presence ever since I learned you were a gifted one. Let us talk of more pleasant things than my sufferings.”

“Sure.” Her touch sparked a surge of warmth, scrambling his thoughts. Not a single idea came to his mind. “Uh … what do you want to talk about?”

Her voice perked up. “Your friend, Kelly. Tell me about her.”

“Well …” Nathan gazed again at her lovely face. Not a hint of jealousy spoiled the sincerity in her probing eyes. “She's really kind of amazing. I've never met anyone who is so …” He searched for the right word, but it didn't seem to come. “So cool, I guess. I mean, she's brave, loyal, strong—”

“And lovely,” Scarlet added, compressing his hand. “Don't tell me you haven't noticed.”

Nathan lowered his head, trying to hide his uneasy smile. “Yeah … She is.”

Scarlet laid a hand on the side of his face. “Why, Nathan! Don't be embarrassed! God gave her beauty, just as he gave her strength, courage, and loyalty.” As she stroked his cheek, she lowered her voice to a whisper. “And she has given you her most precious gift. Her heart.”

He raised his head. Scarlet had scooted so close, their noses nearly touched, and her hands again wrapped around both of his. With breath like roses, she whispered, “I have also given you my heart, my beloved, but in a very different way. When you return in physical form, will you come for me? You have the power. Will you set me free before it's too late?”

He stared at her wide orbs. Everything felt so real — the warmth of her skin, the beat of her rapid pulse, the tingle from her thumb as it caressed his knuckles. How could this be a
vision? Her eyes pleaded for an answer. Pure entreaty, intermingled with fear and love, poured forth.

He cleared his throat, trying to keep from squeaking. “I'll figure out a way to rescue you. I won't let you down.”

Her head slowly drooped until it nearly rested on her chest. “I am thankful for your promise, though it is one you cannot keep without my help. When you return, I will—” She lifted her head suddenly, her eyes widening. “Go!” She slid away on her knees. “You must leave now!”

Nathan looked up at the dome's ceiling, but only his reflection stared back at him. Suddenly, a loud wail pierced the silence, like a panther squealing a high-pitched growl. He grabbed his violin, jumped up, and pressed his hand against the glass, but his fingers wouldn't pass through.

Scarlet leaped to her bare feet. “His song is binding the glass. Even a vision stalker cannot penetrate it.”

Nathan searched for any sign of an exit. “Is there another way out? Can't I just stop playing my violin back where I really am?”

She shook her head. “The song cuts off your subconscious mind, so you can't communicate with your awake mind to tell it that you have to stop playing.”

The song's pitch shot up in frequency. Excruciating pain tore across Nathan's skull, like an earthquake rolling inside his head. Still clutching his violin, he covered one ear and paced around the dome. “It's about to make my brain explode!”

Scarlet spread out her arms, her palms pointing upward. Raising her voice above the screeching din, she sang her words in a beautiful, fast-paced melody.

O guiding hand of songs within the stars,
You hear my cries from Red's accursed dome.
O let the one who listens from afar
Awake the gifted child and bring him home.

 

An invisible force snaked around Nathan's abdomen and squeezed his breath away. He could barely choke out his words. “What … are they … doing now?”

Scarlet smiled. “It is not a stalker who embraces you.” Rising on tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. “Hurry back, my beloved. I will be waiting.”

Nathan fell heavily onto his back. Something dropped on top of him, a body, but there was no red dress, only blue jeans and a sweatshirt. Whoever it was wrapped feminine arms tightly around his waist. He wriggled to loosen the strong grip, but his muscles were spent. Finally, his attacker sat up on his thighs and pushed her hair back.

He blinked. “Kelly?”

She rubbed her palms across the cardinal logo on her sweatshirt. “You're drenched.”

He raised his perspiration-soaked sleeve and stared at the violin in his hand. As the misty funnel faded behind Kelly, Francesca and Daryl shuffled out of it and looked on.

“What happened?” he asked.

Sliding on her knees, Kelly moved to his side, keeping her eyes fixed on him. “I heard what was going on — you and Francesca with the big violin, you and Scarlet talking, that screeching noise, Scarlet's song, everything. I yelled at you to stop playing, but you wouldn't, so I just tackled you.”

He stared at her. Some of his conversation with Scarlet replayed in his mind. “You heard … everything?”

A hint of a smile bent her lips, but it quickly vanished. “Sure. What's the big deal?”

Nathan pushed against the carpet with his weary arms, too tired to string his words together. “We have to go there in physical form … play the violin … rescue Scarlet … and the others.”

Bracing his back as he rose, Kelly nodded. “And save the world. I got all that.”

“We have to make sure we're ready,” Francesca said. “If we keep breaking through dimensional walls, the celestial wound will swallow the very instrument that's supposed to heal it.”

Still wobbly as he straightened, Nathan held out his hands as if playing his violin. “We need a bow … a big one, maybe ten feet long. But it has to be real light, light enough to carry.”

“Balsa wood?” Kelly asked. “And hollow it out?”

“Maybe. But even if it would be light enough, who could make it?” He turned to Gunther. “Could you?”

Gunther shrugged. “I don't know much about woodworking, much less about making a violin bow. Maybe Nikolai could help me.”

Dr. Malenkov shook his head. “To make it so big while maintaining a light weight and proper balance would take an extraordinary craftsman. Perhaps we could employ a local instrument maker I know.”

“If you mean Mr. Hancock,” Gunther said. “No way. He'd be too scared to do anything besides what he sees in his dreams.”

“My father could do it.” Kelly touched Francesca's bow. “Just give him a normal-sized one and the proportions you want, and he'd make it work.”

Nathan pressed his hands against the sides of his head. “Okay. Information overload. My brain's about to explode again.” Closing his eyes, he ran through the confusing tangle of options. From Earth Yellow, they couldn't contact Kelly's father — no network connection to Earth Red. Back on Earth Blue, they still had four hundred mirrors to look through, any one of which might lead to his mother and father. Daryl Blue and both Claras have had time to study the photographs at the observatories. Should he go back and see if they'd learned anything? How could they minimize their interdimensional travels and still accomplish their tasks? And, finally, what could they do about the stranglehold Mictar held on the people of Earth Yellow?

Lowering his hands, he looked at Kelly. “How old would your father be on Earth Yellow now?”

Kelly looked up at the ceiling. “Let's see … maybe sixteen or seventeen?”

“How young did he start woodworking?”

“Well, he used to brag about making a crossbow from a tree that lightning knocked down. He swore that the electric jolt made it the most accurate crossbow in the world.” She raised a finger to her chin. “I think he was twelve, but I'm not sure, because every time he told the story, he seemed to get younger.”

With his head pounding, Nathan cast his gaze on the wall mural, a musical staff with notes climbing up the lines. “So it's pretty likely that he's good at it now.”

“I guess so, but how are you going to contact him? He won't have any idea who you are.”

He touched one of the notes and traced its outline. “When did he move into this house?”

“Not sure. I could find out when we get back to Earth Red.”

He thumped the wall with the heel of his hand. “We can't wait that long! Once we get back there, time will zoom by here.”

Dr. Malenkov withdrew an envelope from his jacket and pulled out a letter. “I keep this note of permission with me if by happenstance someone should ask me why I spend so much time here.” His eyes darted back and forth as he read. “Ah! Here it is. ‘My family and I will be moving into our new home by the end of the summer.’” He folded the letter and put it away. “That would be next week.”

Looking again at Kelly, Nathan pointed at the floor. “Was this your dad's bedroom?”

“Until Grandpa moved into a nursing home. Why?”

“I'm betting a young Tony Clark won't be able to resist solving
a mystery.” He reached for the letter. “May I see it, Dr. Malenkov?”

“Certainly.” He unfolded it and gave it to Nathan. “It is handwritten and difficult to read.”

Nathan peered at the messy script. “I can make it out.” After reading it for a few seconds, he smiled. “A handwritten letter is just what we need.”

Gunther looked over Nathan's shoulder. “I can hear the wheels spinning from here. What are you plotting?”

“A treasure hunt of some kind. We have to show him something that will entice him to make the bow.”

“Daddy loves a mystery,” Kelly said. “He'll move heaven and earth to solve one.”

Nathan pulled his wallet from his back pocket and fished out a twenty-dollar bill. Showing it to everyone, he said, “How about strange-looking money from the future?”

She took the bill and looked it over. “That just might work. Put mystery and money together, and he'll do anything.”

“Very interesting,” Dr. Malenkov said, “but how will you incorporate constructing the bow?”

“I'll need pen and paper.” He glanced at Kelly and smiled. “And duct tape.”

9
THE CHROMATIC CIRCLE

 

With a dramatic swirl of his pen, Nathan signed the bottom of a wrinkled sheet of paper in red ink. He lifted the page and read it out loud. “Tony Clark, I implore you to heed my words. I am from a future time, and I must go back before the window to my world closes. I have heard of your woodworking prowess, and I need a trustworthy young man like you to perform an unusual task. Yet, knowing also of your intelligence, I realize that it will take much persuasion to get you to believe my tale.

“I need a special violin bow. It must be ten feet long, proportional to the dimensions of a normal bow, and light enough for a person to carry without trouble. I realize that this is an odd request, but I cannot reveal its use except for the fact that I need it to save my world.

“Ah, yes! I know you must be doubting. That is why I left proof of my incredible story. You will find attached a twenty-dollar bill. Notice the date and the unusual design. Put it under a magnifying glass and study the details. You will undoubtedly agree that no counterfeiter in the world could create it.

“If you, Mr. Clark, will just construct this bow, a friend of mine in your world will contact me, and I will come back and give you a bill that matches the one I enclosed. With two such bills in your possession, displaying differing serial numbers, dates, and Federal Reserve banks, you will be able to prove that the one you hold now is genuine, for why would a counterfeiter
create two different plates if it would be so difficult to make even one? Such a bill could make you rich and famous.

“If, however, fame and fortune are not your desire, I implore you, for the sake of my world, and perhaps yours as well, do me this favor. The task is small, yet the rewards are great. I remain, respectfully yours, Nathan of the Red World.”

Gunther clapped his hands. “That was amazing!”

“Sounds like some spam emails I've been getting,” Daryl said. “This one is even wilder.”

“But every word was true.” Kelly grinned as she jerked the page out of his hand. “You're a sly one, you are.”

“Thank you, my lady.” Nathan gave her a mock bow, then held up a roll of duct tape. “The perfect way to attach a twenty-dollar bill.”

“I'll take care of that part,” Gunther said. “When they move in, I'll make sure he gets it.”

Kelly handed over the letter. “Just remember, even though he has a big head about his talents, he's not stupid, so try to come up with a clever way to deliver it.”

“Trust me. I'm already dreaming up something. And I'll get a regular bow for him, too.”

Nathan tossed the roll of tape to Gunther. “Okay. I guess that's all we can do for now. We'd better get back to Earth Blue.”

Francesca took Dr. Malenkov's arm and leaned against his shoulder. “Hurry back, Son. If Tony gets to work right away, it will probably be only a few days from your perspective, or maybe even less.”

“Right. We'll try to figure out a way to stay in touch. Maybe Dr. Gordon's got a handle on those pictures by now. He might have an idea about how to stay safe when we go to the misty world for real.”

“It's going to take more than Dr. Gordon to get us past those stalkers,” Francesca said.

Kelly leaned close to Francesca and kissed her on the cheek. “I'll miss you.”

“And I will miss you, as well.” The younger girl averted her eyes. “Goodbyes are always painful.”

“Do you remember our last goodbye?” Kelly asked. “I kept my promise.”

Francesca's voice quavered. “You've been … praying for me?”

Kelly nodded, her own voice cracking. “I'm not very good at it, so I don't know if God heard me, but a promise is a promise.”

“He heard.” Francesca took Kelly's hand and drew it gently toward her. She blew on Kelly's knuckles, then pulled her hand closer, pressing Kelly's palm against her own chest. “Prayer from the heart is like a beautiful melody — God loves the music of the soul.”

Kelly backed away, teetering slightly as she caressed her knuckles. Nathan almost jumped over to catch her, but she recovered. She seemed withdrawn, sad, maybe even upset. She swiveled toward him, her eyes glistening. “Uh … can we go now?”

He took her hand. “Yeah. Sure.”

Nathan, Kelly, Daryl, and Gunther returned to the van and drove back to the observatory site. Along the way, they discussed plans for delivering the letter and twenty-dollar bill to Tony. The radio played in the background, filling in the periods of silence. News reports described the latest nightmare-related deaths and gave rule updates straight from Zelda the prophetess. During the five hours of travel, they took turns catching naps. Since Kelly's eyesight stayed clear, she had no trouble driving while the others snoozed.

When they reached the forest and unloaded the motorcycles, Kelly wheeled one of them under the shelter while Gunther
held the other upright in front of the mirror and aimed its headlight toward the glass.

Kelly pulled the tarp down to hide her motorcycle. “I think we're ready.”

“Good.” Nathan handed the camera to Kelly and the mirror to Daryl, then pulled his violin from the van. He tuned the strings, making ready to play the
Carmen
piece that would restore the image of Earth Blue to the tri-fold mirror. For some reason, it had blacked out and returned to a normal reflection, probably because Daryl Blue had changed the channel to Earth Red in order to consult with Dr. Gordon.

As Kelly and Daryl joined Nathan in front of the mirror, Gunther gave them a nod. “I guess I'm a guardian angel for Tony Clark now, too, the angel on his shoulder who keeps prodding him to make that bow.”

“Let us know when it's done.” Nathan pointed at the ground. “Maybe you could plant a sign right here where we can read it.”

Daryl snapped her fingers. “That's it!” She pushed the mirror square into Kelly's hand and backed away from Nathan. “Forget posting a sign. I'll stay here and set up communications!”

Nathan lowered his violin. “How? They don't have the internet, and even if they did, how would you hook up? Interfinity's radio telescope hasn't been constructed.”

“It's what, the early eighties?” Daryl spread out her hands. “The rudiments of the internet are already in place. I know how to construct a radio transmitter and receiver, and I know all the protocols. It shouldn't take long.”

“But wouldn't it mess up your life?” Nathan asked. “I mean, you'll age twice as fast here compared to Earth Red, maybe faster.”

“Hey, we're talking about saving the universe.” Daryl smiled and slid her arm around Gunther's waist. “We'll figure it all out. He's got the muscles and wheels, and I've got the brains.”

“And a whole thimbleful of humility,” Kelly added.

Daryl pointed at her. “At least that much. Maybe more.”

Nathan raised his violin again and eyed Daryl with new admiration. She was willing to make a huge sacrifice—leave home and family to embark on a mind-bending project with an almost complete stranger. “I'll tell Daryl Blue to watch for your call.”

Taking a deep breath, he began the
Carmen
piece. Kelly pressed closer and crouched to stay out of his way as he stroked the strings. Soon, the mirror darkened, and their images warped into ribbons of color. Nathan pushed through the demanding piece, his arms weakened by the strenuous climb over the void, even though it was nothing but a vision.

Several seconds later, the observatory floor came into focus. Daryl Blue rose from her chair, so slowly it was painful watching her. As Dr. Gordon had said, Earth Yellow's time passage compared to the other Earths fluctuated, so Daryl Blue's motion appeared jerky, almost at a standstill for a moment and maybe at a tenth of her normal speed at other times.

Gunther pushed the motorcycle closer and offered a weak smile. “Be thinking about us. The nightmare situation here is really a …” Flashing a grin, he shrugged. “A nightmare.”

“We will.” Nathan nodded at Gunther. “Hit the light.”

The headlamp's beam bounced off the three mirror faces and intersected a few feet in front to create an elliptical halo, flat and standing upright, with a rainbow-like perimeter — seven layered stripes that surrounded a glowing yellowish-white oval.

With a nod to Gunther and Daryl, Nathan repacked his violin in the case, took Kelly's hand, and walked into the ellipse. As usual, the scene around them shattered into millions of pieces. As if taken by a fresh breeze, the pieces flew apart and disappeared, revealing the telescope room. At first, the room was distorted in a twisting coil, but it slowly straightened and clarified. Within a few seconds, they were back.

Daryl hurried over to them. “Where's Red?”

Nathan gestured behind him with his thumb. “She stayed
to set up a network so we can communicate with Earth Yellow. Since time's moving a lot faster there, she could try to call you soon.”

Jogging to the desk, Daryl shouted back, “I'll bet I know what frequency she'll use. I'll see if I can locate it.”

Kelly tightened her grip on Nathan's hand. “Keep me close. My eyesight's messed up again.”

He tried to get a look at her eyes, but she kept her head low. Obviously all these changes were getting to her. After several hours of normal eyesight, now she had to view the world through a dirty filter. Home had become a place to dread.

As he led her to the computer desk, he glanced up at the ceiling. Daryl Red and Gunther were no longer there, nor was the motorcycle. The grass waved furiously, rain beat against the ground, and a man sloshed by, far faster than humanly possible. Nathan caught a glimpse of his circular glasses. It had to be Dr. Simon, but was it the Blue or Yellow version? It was impossible to tell.

The ceiling faded to black and then to the familiar chaotic blobs of color. Daryl, staring at the laptop, slid her finger across the touch pad. As a line of numbers ran along the bottom of the screen, she shook her head. “No trace of Red's signal yet. I'll tune Dr. Gordon back in.”

Nathan led Kelly to a chair at an adjacent desk and scanned the dim chamber. The telescope cast a long shadow across the tiles, the entry for guided tours stood slightly ajar, and the elevator door was closed. The floor indicator displayed a red numeral one. “Where's Clara?” Nathan asked.

Keeping her gaze locked on the computer screen, Daryl flicked her thumb toward the ceiling. “Clara Red and Dr. Gordon are still up there. Clara Blue went to get some munchies.”

Nathan looked up. His faithful tutor stared back at him, her arms crossed over her open trench coat. Dr. Gordon sat next to her, studying an image on his laptop screen.

Clara's voice boomed through the speakers in the wall. “You weren't gone very long. Did you accomplish anything significant?”

Still looking upward, Nathan eased closer to the center of the room. “Quite a bit. We spent at least twelve hours over there.”

“Only an hour and a half here,” Clara said. “Tell us what happened, and we'll report on the photos.”

As Nathan began the story, Clara Blue returned with sub sandwiches, enough for everyone. Daryl only nibbled at hers, while Kelly ate more heartily. Nathan took a big bite at every convenient pause in his tale. His stomach clock told him he hadn't eaten since the sandwich at Burger King, and all the rope climbing in the misty world, real or not, had left him famished.

After he told of Daryl's commitment to stay on Earth Yellow, he settled back in a desk chair. “That's about it.”

“Very interesting,” Dr. Gordon said. “I trust that you will find our discoveries equally interesting.” He swung around in his chair and looked up at them, though it seemed downward from Nathan's viewpoint.

“Daryl,” Dr. Gordon continued, “the photographs I selected for examination should now be in your folder. Please display number one on your screen.”

“Will do.” Daryl pecked at her keyboard for a second, then pointed at her monitor. “Got it!”

Nathan rolled his chair closer and peered at the photo. Tsayad, facing the camera, appeared to be speaking in song, probably a minute or so after he greeted them on the glassy path. Carrying his songbook, his head tilted slightly upward, he seemed normal enough, at least as normal as a vision stalker could look.

“Do you see anything unusual?” Dr. Gordon asked.

“Besides the white hair, the pale face, and the mist all around?” Nathan shrugged. “Not really.”

“Daryl, focus on his hands and enlarge the area.”

“No problem.” Within a couple of seconds, the stalker's hands filled the screen, both grasping the songbook.

“Nathan,” Dr. Gordon said, “I want to see if you notice this feature on your own in order to be sure that I am not just imagining it.”

As he studied the photo, Nathan drifted closer and closer to the screen. What could Dr. Gordon be seeing? The stalker's right index finger pointed at a note on the right-hand page, and his left thumb held the book open by pressing against the left-hand page. Nothing unusual except …

“Wait!” he said out loud. “Daryl, can you blow up that line of music, the one his finger's on?”

“Sure thing.”

Nathan rose to his feet and drew so close his nose came within inches of the monitor. “It's C Major, but it's kind of strange. There are lots of sharps and flats, no sense of following the key.”

“Exactly,” Dr. Gordon said. “Did your experience in that world provide any reason for such dissonance?”

Nathan's mind latched on to that word — dissonance. It had cropped up, something Scarlet had said. The stalkers feed on fear and the dissonance fear creates. It wasn't much, but it was something. “I'll think about it,” he said. “Go on to the next one.”

“Very well. Daryl, display number two.”

A new image replaced the first, a photo of the three domes, including the twelve stalkers surrounding Scarlet's dome. Barely visible between the legs of two stalkers, Scarlet sat in her trembling crouch, appearing small and frail.

“This discovery is subtler,” Dr. Gordon said. “Concentrate on the positioning of the people surrounding the dome.”

Nathan again leaned as close as possible. He and Kelly had heard this ungodly choir singing their dissonant notes. Could their song be related to the musical staff in the book? They had sung while they faced Scarlet, but the notes had come so quickly, and the combination had been so irritating, he hadn't focused on any pattern, either musically or in the way they stood. But now, he could concentrate.