Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) (22 page)

Chapter 33

Nate

The others are talking in the living room, distracting themselves from Jesca’s quick departure a few minutes ago.

I wanted to go after her, but Ezra put his arm on mine to keep me from following her. Elisha and Xander were thinking the same thing, but Ezra told them to give her some time to work things out on her own.

I walk over to the couch and sit down hard, leaning my forearms on my knees. God, I can feel how overwhelmed she is. She’s up there, crying her eyes out. I can feel her emotions—the breaking inside that she is experiencing. I want to take that away from her and give her peace. I would take it on in a heartbeat for her.

Xander puts his arm on my shoulder. I make sure my block is up. Since discovering that we’re linked, I have been trying really hard to separate my feelings for Jes from my new bond with Xander.

I run my hand through my hair. “Hey.”

Xander sits down next to me on the sofa. “Hey, you don’t look so good. What’s up?”

I try to stifle a smile. “Nothing, man.” I change the subject. “Hey, sorry I didn’t defend you more on the Sam thing earlier with Ezra and Jesca.”

Xander runs his hand over his chin. “Nah, thank you for what you did.” Xander looks at me very seriously now. “I really appreciate you having my back.”

Ezra walks up to us and sits on the edge of the coffee table in front of us. He starts in on both of us. “Okay, what the hell were you two thinking, trying to tackle Sam in a dream state?”

Ezra turns to Xander and starts in on him. “I want to know everything you and Sam talked about. We need to find any clues that can help us when we get to Japan.”

Chapter 34

Xander

I didn’t know that Ezra would go this ballistic about Nate and me handling Sam in my sleep. “Look, Ezra, Nate and I didn’t mean to go around you and Jesca with Sam’s visits in my dreams. Nate and I are linked. We thought it wouldn’t do any harm since Sam can’t get through my block. Nate hasn’t gone into the dream. He’s stayed out. He only focuses on what I am saying and feeling.”

Nate starts in, “Yeah, we know that we need to keep Sam thinking that Xander is on the Sondians’ side. I would never jeopardize Xander, you, or Jesca when it comes to Sam.”

Ezra leans over, scratching the top of his head. He closes his eyes and cups his hands over his mouth for a moment, like he’s trying to calm himself. When he opens them, he looks at Nate and then me.

“Even though it’s great to see you two working together, you need to be extremely careful. Sam will find your weakness and use it against you in a heartbeat. The worst he could do is put you two against each other. Do you understand?”

I didn’t think about Sam using Nate against me, but I can see now how that would cause a distraction, pulling our attention away from Jesca.

Ezra senses my thoughts. “All it would take is one slip-up.”

I nod. “Yes, I understand. It won’t happen again.”

Ezra looks at Nate, waiting for his response.

Nate answers, “Understood.”

I start to tell Ezra what happened with Sam when I notice that we’ve attracted the rest of the team’s attention. Balthazar and Sebastian are making their way over to us while Nick, Elisha, and the others hang back and listen from afar.

Balthazar looks at Sebastian and then at Ezra. He asks, “This is about Sam contacting Xander?”

Ezra looks back at Balthazar and then at me. “Yes.”

I explain, “On our way here, in the plane, Nate and I talked before I fell asleep. He said that he would be watching.”

I shift my eyes to Nate, and he nods, confirming that he has my back.

I continue, “When Sam appeared, he seemed less like himself.”

Ezra jumps on my observation. “Less himself. How? Did he act like he knew something was going on? See, this is exactly why I didn’t want you—”

I interrupt Ezra. “No, no. He didn’t seem like he knew anything. I made sure my block was strong before falling asleep. He seemed…distracted.”

Ezra sits back and crosses his arms over his chest. He asks flatly, “Distracted?”

“Yeah, preoccupied.”

Balthazar asks, “Preoccupied with what?”

Nate snickers and mumbles, “More like with whom.”

Sebastian, Ezra, and Balthazar’s eyes snap to Nate, and they ask simultaneously, “Whom?”

I interrupt their attack on Nate. “I only got bits and pieces. I was trying to stay focused on keeping my block up and listening to what he was telling me.”

Ezra stands up and begins to pace. He blows out his lower lip and runs his hand through his hair. He sure does that a lot.

Ezra waves his hands in the air, like he’s trying to clear the air of any confusion. “Alright, alright.” He stops pacing, crosses his arms over his chest, and looks at me. “Let’s start with what he was telling you, and then we’ll get to the…distraction, okay?”

I nod. “Sam appeared in a room. It looked like a living room. I think it’s where he is now. He asked me how I was doing and if I had enough time to make my decision. I told him that I had and that I was ready to join him and the rest of the fellowship.”

I pause for a minute, noticing the sickening feeling I get from agreeing to be loyal to such a corrupt and warped organization. I know that I’m just playing the game to get Sam to disclose as much about his whereabouts and their plans for the Japan mission, but just the thought of being remotely involved disgusts me.

I swallow down the nauseating feeling. “He said that he was so happy that I came to my senses. He mentioned that Sanderson would be eager to reward us for our services after the wormhole is in place.”

I ask Ezra, “Is Sanderson that guy that turned on Balthazar?”

Balthazar hears my question and hisses, “Michael Sanderson is the bastard that took the fellowship into his own hands and corrupted it while stabbing me in the back.”

I look at Balthazar and then back at Ezra. “He said that the wormhole had to be located at the base of Mt. Fuji in the Aokigahara Forest.”

Ezra turns to Sebastian. “Just as the chatter has been telling us.” Ezra turns back to me. “Did he say when?”

I continue, “He said that I needed to be in Japan in less than seventy-two hours. He said that he wanted me to come to the safe house to accompany him and Corinna to the location of the mission.”

Ezra starts in, “No! No! That is no good! It won’t be easy to track you to the location.”

I quickly pull a Post-It note from my pocket. “That’s why I asked him for the coordinates of the wormhole. I told him that I needed them just in case something separated us.”

Ezra looks at me skeptically. “And, he gave you the coordinates that easily? That doesn’t seem like Sam.”

I look at Nate and then back at Ezra. “This is where Sam started getting distracted.”

Nick snorts, and from behind me, he asks, “What? Did he have some girl with him?”

Nate and I both give Nick a sharp look. We are both defensive and concerned about the person Sam is becoming intimate with.

Nick puts his hands up. “What?”

Elisha elbows Nick, and then she pulls him into the kitchen. She’s a smart girl and has already caught on to the identity of the mystery person.

I sigh deeply, locking my hands together. “He is with Corinna.”

Jake says, “Yeah, we already know that.”

Nate responds, “No, he is with Corinna.”

Jake shifts his stance, crossing his arms now. “Oh, you mean with her.”

Luke looks at Jake like he’s an idiot. “Yeah, Jake, with her.”

Ezra still has not spoken.

I tell him, “It’s more than that. I think that Sam and Corinna are linked.”

Ezra doesn’t seem surprised. “I assume their manufactured link is one of the main reasons they are intimately connected.”

Briefly, I think about Nate and Jesca and the link they share. Have they been intimate? A wave of jealousy washes over me, but I quickly push it out of my mind. I don’t want Nate to sense my jealousy.

Ezra asks, “Anything else?”

I wonder if he caught my feelings just now. I study him quickly. Damn it! He did.

“No, that’s pretty much all I got. I told Sam I would be there within seventy-two hours.”

I hand Ezra the slip of paper with the coordinates. I already made a copy for myself and figured everyone else might need a copy just in case we get separated.

I zone out for a minute, thinking about Jesca.

Ezra puts his hand on my shoulder to bring me back. “Hey, this gives us a lot to work with, but don’t do it again. Got it?”

I half-heartedly nod at him as I stand up. I walk toward the kitchen, wanting to get a bottle of water from the refrigerator. I pass Nick and Elisha on the way.

Nick puts his hands on my shoulders to stop me from moving past him. “Corinna! Really?”

I see that Elisha has informed him. “Yeah.”

Nick pats my shoulder with his hand. “I’m sorry about the way I reacted, man. I wasn’t thinking.”

I know Nick didn’t mean anything by it. “It’s alright, man.”

Nick and Elisha walk away. I notice that Elisha is partially holding Nick’s hand. Good for them.

My mind goes back to Jesca as I open the refrigerator. I grab an extra bottle of water for her. I’m not waiting any longer for her to come down. She has been up there for too long.

“Nothing happened between us, Xander.” I turn and see Nate leaning against the arched doorway to the kitchen.

Damn it! He sensed my thoughts, too.

Nate puts his head down, scratching the side of his jaw. Then, he walks toward me. He keeps his distance, but it’s not in a defensive way. It seems more respectful, I guess.

Nate says, “We knew it was the link that created the desires we were having. We stopped before anything happened.”

Nate puts his hands in his pockets. He is genuine when he looks at me. “Jesca and I…the link is what brought us together. But, you and her…there is something there. It’s something that she and I haven’t shared yet. “

He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. His eyes are red when he looks back at me. “You are my cousin, and she is the girl I have fallen in love with. You are both important to me. Hell, you are both linked to me!”

He pauses and breathes deeply. I think he’s trying to calm himself.

Nate continues, “Whatever happens, Xander, I am going to fulfill my purpose. I promised myself that I would never let anything happen to Jesca. I will not break that promise—ever.”

We don’t say anything for a moment. I can’t because I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. I mean, Nate isn’t admitting defeat by any means, but he is admitting that he isn’t going to let what is happening between the three of us put any of us in harm’s way, especially Jesca.

Nate makes the first move. He puts his hand out to shake mine. That simple gesture makes me realize that Nate is a better and more honorable man than me. I reach out and meet his hand. I pull him into a hug. I hug him because he makes me want to be a better man, I guess. We pat each other’s backs and start to pull away.

Then, I hear Jesca’s faint gasp. “No! Don’t do this!”

Nate and I don’t think. We run from the kitchen and through the living room with Ezra and the others tailing close behind us.

Chapter 35

Jesca

The images of my life cannot race through my mind fast enough. My adopted mother, my father, my sister, Elisha, Ezra, Nate, Xander, and the team. This can’t be it. I won’t let it be the end.

Never stop fighting, and you will surface.

Remembering my mother’s words, I open my eyes. Sam’s steel-blue eyes have been replaced with deep brown eyes. The etched features and smirk owned by Sam have disappeared. This is not Sam. My assassin is not Sam. What the hell? If I had any air, I would have gasped with shock.

With my newfound energy from the shock, I place my hands over his and focus on my Qi. Within seconds, I feel myself bubbling over with energy, my life force. I combine all the strength I can muster with my Qi and push it on to the man straddling me. Like a tidal wave, he is thrown from me, hitting the wall, and then he disappears.

I grab my throat that’s in pain, trying to get air back into my lungs. I can taste blood when I try to swallow. I stare at the wall, waiting for him to come back at any second to finish what he started. I try to slow my breathing without success. My body is starving for air and pumping with adrenaline at the same time.

Just then, Nate runs through the door with Xander and Ezra. They are by my side in seconds.

Nate kneels in front of me and grabs hold of my hands. I hear him talking, but I don’t look at him. I can’t pull my eyes away from the wall where my assassin just disappeared.

Nate yells, “Jesca! What happened? Was it Sam?”

Xander sits next to me on the bed. He touches my face, brushing the hair away from it. I put his hands on my shoulders and try to turn my body to face him. I hold my face still, looking at the spot on the wall—the spot where he might come back through.

I hear Ezra talking, telling everyone else to stay out of the room. I hear the door shut.

I whisper, “Don’t let them in here. He will go after them, like he went after her.”

Xander turns my body roughly and grabs hold of my shoulders. He yells, “Jesca! Who?”

Ezra yells at the wall, “Sam! Sam, you will not get her! I won’t let you!”

I whisper, “It’s not Sam.”

They can’t hear me because Ezra is still yelling.

I scream over him, “It’s not Sam, Dad!”

He turns his head in my direction. His eyes are filled with unshed tears.

My voice is hoarse as I say, “It is not Sam, Dad. It’s someone else.”