Eternity's Edge (32 page)

Sobs choked his words. “No … Mom … we're not in heaven. But … but you're alive … That's all that matters.”

She hugged him so tightly, she nearly squeezed his breath away. “Oh, my son, my son! It is paradise to see you again!”

Kelly's voice quaked. “Hello, Mrs. Shepherd. I'm Kelly Clark.”

As Nathan pushed away, his mother smiled. “Yes, Kelly. I met your counterpart on Earth Blue. You … I mean, she … saved my life there.”

“She did? How?”

“I hope to tell you the story later.” She glanced around the room. “I see now that we are in the stalkers' lair. Where are they?”

“Gone,” Nathan said. “At least for now. I think they're afraid of the supplicants.” He rose and reached to help his mother. “Can you stand?”

She gave him a weak nod. “I think so.”

Using his less bloody hand, he hoisted her up, then nodded toward the supplicants. “This is Cerulean and Amber, the supplicants for Earths Blue and Yellow.”

Cerulean bowed, shaking his stark blue hair, while Amber spread out her yellow dress and dipped into a formal curtsy. Cerulean gazed at Nathan's mother with his stunning eyes. “I am not of your world, but I am at your service.”

Amber stepped forward and touched Nathan's hand. “Alas! Your bow hand is in need of repair. You cannot play to open the portals.”

He looked at the torn, melted skin. Puffy redness swelled his fingers. “True. At least for now. But Francesca Shepherd is here. She can take over.” He looped his elbow around his mother's. “Do you know where Dad is? Did he ever come back to that place where I found you?”

She shook her head. “Soon after you and the others fell into the void, the floors all around me became solid. When I tried
to search for your father, Mictar found me and put me in his machine. Since he enjoys boasting about his accomplishments, I picked up some clues about the structure of all these realms. We need to get back to the Earth Blue mirrors and look for your father there.”

“I hear something,” Kelly said. “Sounds like the stalkers, but I don't see them anywhere.”

Nathan pulled Cerulean closer. “Are the stalkers scared of you?”

The slightest of grins bent the young man's face. “Of that you can be sure, yet I do not know if Amber and I can repel them all. Scarlet was our leader, and her courage and wisdom exceeded ours.”

“But they probably don't know that,” Nathan said. A deafening crack rifled through the room. He jerked his head toward the source, the Earth Red side of the chamber. Two huge rifts shot out from the surface of the mist-shrouded planet and slowly crawled across the wall toward the other two earths. Glass squares exploded in their paths and rained sparkling shards to the floor. Earth Red itself expanded, pulsing and throbbing as if ready to burst. At the rate the cracks were moving, they would reach the other earths in mere moments.

Kelly whispered, “What does it mean?”

“The end of the worlds.” Nathan looked at Scarlet's motionless body, still lovely, even in death. She had said one obstacle remained in defeating the stalkers, and now that he knew what it was, the very thought of it made him sick to his stomach. “Can you open the door to Sarah's Womb?” he asked Cerulean.

“Yes. What do you plan to do?”

“I can't say it. Just open it, and keep the stalkers at bay.” He stooped and slid his hands under Scarlet. “I'll be back as soon as I can.”

Kelly picked up Nathan's violin and the mirror. “I'm coming with you.”

With a grunt, he rose to his feet, lifting Scarlet's limp body. “Of course you are.”

“And I, as well,” his mother said. “You will need a violinist to open the lower door.”

As he shuffled toward the floor panel, he nodded at them. “Fine, but let's hurry.”

Cerulean ran ahead of him, his slender body seeming to glide as he approached the door. He knelt at the side of the glass panel and sang. Rapid-fire notes burst forth from low to high on the musical scale as if someone had run a finger along the piano keys. The lights in the panel flashed so quickly, it seemed impossible to match them with the notes. When Cerulean finished, he took a breath and sang a series of seven notes, then repeated them twice to unlock the door.

He looked up at Nathan. “It is open, my friend. Do what you must.”

Nathan looked back at Earth Red. Still throbbing like a heart, more surrounding glass squares popped as its twin jagged tentacles reached toward the other worlds. He set one foot in the viscous liquid and turned to sidestep down the stairs. As he descended, Cerulean and Amber turned their backs and stood hand in hand, guarding the entry. A few white-haired heads appeared in the misty distance, but they ventured no closer.

Without a word, his mother and Kelly followed, his mother now carrying the violin. Soon, he walked in darkness, but having traveled this path a few times, he could easily navigate its rocky floor even without a light. Still, sidestepping with a dead girl's body in his arms made for slow going in this steep stairway. He didn't want to scrape her extremities on the walls. Even in death, every hair on her head seemed sacred.

“Mom,” he called. “We'll be at the next door in a few seconds. Did you get the notes?”

“Yes, Son. A string on your violin is missing, but I can manage with three.”

Nathan slowed his pace. Although the dark corridor revealed nothing, he sensed the door's looming presence. “We're here. Go ahead and play it.”

He felt her body squeeze between him and the wall. Seconds later, seven lovely notes lilted in front of him, then repeated twice to complete the key. As before, a glow appeared around the rectangular doorway and ate away at the edges. Soon, light from the chasm shone into the corridor and washed over the statuesque violinist, still poised in playing position, the very same pose her younger twin had taken not long ago.

She looked down into the void. Rumbling thunder erupted from below, making the corridor shake. As Nathan leaned against one of the walls to keep his balance, his mother hummed a tune. “I hear a song,” she said. “It is as if Sarah is singing to us in the midst of her groanings.”

“Sarah?” Nathan slid close to the precipice. “Is she a real person?”

“I don't know. I call her Sarah only because others have. There are many mysteries yet to solve.”

He leaned out. As another rumble of thunder sounded, a dim red glow arose from the yawning chasm, mixing in with the varied light rays coming from the outer walls. As he pictured himself throwing Scarlet into the void and watching her helpless body plunge into darkness, nausea curdled his stomach. He looked into his mother's eyes. She seemed ready to speak, but he quickly looked away. He wanted to cry out to her for help, but that time had passed. He had to do this himself.

As if reading his mind once again, Kelly drew close and whispered. “You need to hear what Sarah has to say.”

She cleared her throat and sang, her words flowing in a rhythmic cadence, strong and clear.

The womb of Sarah sings a prayer;
She begs for children in her care.
For now 'tis time to pay the price,
A daughter born to sacrifice.
Beloved son of gifted birth,
A scarlet child of scarlet earth,
You hold her body in your grasp,
Another dome, another clasp.
O man of sorrows, gallant knight,
Whose heart doth quake at such a plight;
Release this child of sorrows nigh,
Then “free at last” will be her cry.

 

When she finished, she sniffed and wiped her nose, but spoke no more. Nathan's mother, too, stayed silent. In the wash of Sarah's glow, they just looked at him with sad faces.

He lifted Scarlet's body closer. The red light rained over her lovely face and painted her lips and cheeks with a crimson blush. Even in death she emanated youthful innocence, pure love, and the radiance that only the passion of sacrifice can generate.

Sarah's Womb rumbled once again. Nathan kissed Scarlet's cheek, then, rocking her body back once, threw her into the chasm.

He dropped to his knees and watched. As her tiny form shrank, her arms and legs flew about, and her dress flapped in the breeze. Her hand brushed one of the violin strings as she plummeted past. A loud note thrummed in response. Then, as Scarlet's body melded with the red glow and disappeared, the note deepened and grew louder.

The corridor shook once again. Nathan lost his balance and tipped over the ledge. A hand grabbed each arm and yanked him to safety. He toppled back to the stairs, smacking his elbows. As the two hands, his mother's and Kelly's, reached for him again, he shook his head. “I'm okay.” The trembling stopped. The tension in the air eased. Apparently, Scarlet's sacrifice worked. He took
a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment to hold back a surge of tears. “Let's just get out of here.”

He turned over, pushed up with his arms, and leaped to his feet. Climbing backwards for a moment, he watched the ladies follow, their tired bodies struggling up the stairs as the faint red glow framed them in scarlet. He turned and walked forward. Even the color was now painful. For the rest of his life the color red would remind him of this tragic day.

As the thrumming note continued to sound, Kelly interpreted, trying to keep the rhythm in spite of her heavy breathing.

I'm free at last! Let all rejoice!
O raise your head! O lift your voice!
Let angels sing, let earth agree,
Imprisoned billions now set free!

 

The ground trembled again but this time as if settling rather than breaking apart. Nathan maintained a steady pace, not wanting the song to end too soon. Kelly continued.

Beloved Nathan, son of song,
You broke my chains, made right the wrong.
I asked for rescue, begged for air.
You saved my soul from Mictar's lair
.

So now I leave a gift sublime,
The poet's flair for words and rhyme;
A smell, a taste, you'll know I'm near;
Unbidden words will soon appear.

 

Kelly's voice had weakened. Nathan turned back and signaled a rest. Kelly nodded, leaned against the trembling walls, and sang on. Now able to concentrate, her voice strengthened again.

And then another gift I'll bring
To add to hymns your heart will sing;
For songs of love deserve reply,
A dance that lasts until you die.
A day will come when love mature
Will take the hand of one made pure
In everlasting song and dance,
A knight, a lady, sweet romance.

 

A hint of a smile graced Kelly's lips. Tears flowed. Gazing at Nathan, she reached out her hand. He took it and drew close, listening carefully as her voice waned.

What once was scarlet … now is white,
A dove redeemed … her plumage bright,
With feathers spotless … fresh, renewed,
Restored, untouched, no stain imbued.

 

Kelly shook so hard she could barely speak. With tears flowing, she closed her eyes as the dying tone of the strummed violin breezed past. Her voice warped, and she sang like a wounded songbird, faltering at almost every word.

And ne'er … forget … my love, my life,
As you caress … your lovely wife,
While you enjoy … her lasting bliss
,

 

She opened her eyes and looked at Nathan again. Pure love flowed from her beautiful brown eyes as she finished.

Remember Scarlet's dying kiss.

 

Nathan took in a deep breath, savoring every word. He licked his lips, tasting the familiar flavor of Scarlet's lasting presence and enjoying the aroma of fresh roses as it tickled his nostrils. A thousand words sprang to his mind, a song that begged to be sung, but it would have to wait for the right time, the right place. For now, they had to hurry back to the upper floor. The other two supplicants were waiting.

He pulled Kelly to his side, and the two climbed the rest of the way, arm in arm. When they reached the top, they crouched together under the glass door. Nathan looked back at his mother. What would she think of his closeness to this girl she barely knew?

His mother smiled. “Your eyes reveal your thoughts, my son.” As she lifted the violin and bow, she added, “We will talk later. For now, enjoy every pure touch of friendship that God grants to us. We need the strength it provides.”

She played the seven notes three times. Nathan pushed through the glass and began rising to his feet until his head emerged into the upper chamber. When he stepped to solid ground, he looked back. His mother had taken Kelly's hand, and the two of them pushed up through the doorway together. Kelly's face, though flushed and tear-streaked, beamed like the sun itself.

Cerulean twisted in their direction, still in a guardian stance with Amber. “It seems that the stalkers are assembling deep within the mist,” he said. “I fear that they are preparing for an attack.”

20
A KNIGHT AND A LADY

 

With Cerulean and Amber following, Nathan led his mother and Kelly out of the floor panel area and toward the exit to the misty hall. “Think we can sneak past them and make it to the exit?” Nathan asked.

Cerulean peered through the mist. “It is not likely. They are adept at —”

A loud thump sounded from behind them. Dragging Abodah's by her hair, Mictar shuffled across the circle where Scarlet's dome once stood. Dozens of deep scratches marred his face. Blood dripped from his chin down to his shirt.

He jerked Abodah's body forward and slid her toward them. She came to a stop next to Amber's bare feet, her loose limbs flopping like a rag doll's. Gasping for breath, Mictar pointed at Nathan. “I will not be beaten so easily, fiddle boy. Lucifer merely needs refueling. You have done nothing to destroy its potential.”

Cerulean took a step toward Mictar and pointed at the glass squares behind Scarlet's circle. “You fool! You are already beaten. One of the worlds you wanted to enslave has been set free.”

Nathan looked at the wall. He had forgotten to check on what Scarlet's entry into Sarah's Womb had accomplished. As if slung away by a catapult, the image of Earth Red shrank, now the size of a baseball and getting smaller. The jagged channels
leading to the other two earths had shriveled and were drawing back.

“Who is the fool?” Mictar countered. “You have pronounced your own death sentence. Now the Earth Red refugees can see what must be done to save the other worlds. It seems that the deaths of the supplicants will free the other earths.”

Cerulean ripped open his shirt, revealing a pulsing heart within a dark void. With every beat, a blue glow radiated from his chest. “I am ready to die. Are you?”

When Amber began unbuttoning her dress, Mictar waved his hand at her. “Oh, stop the dramatics! You supplicants always think you're actors on a stage.”

Amber refastened her top button and took Cerulean's hand. “We project the reality within us,” she said, “without shadow, without shield. There is no guile in our words.”

“While you,” Cerulean added, pointing at Mictar, “brew deception in every word you speak. My offer to die is unmixed truth, and I make no apologies for my dramatic flair.”

With a flippant wave of his hand, Mictar gestured toward the image of Earth Blue, now covered with clouds of green haze and bombarded with channels streaking across from Earth Yellow. “For whom will you die? The gifted ones on your planet are all dead. What hand will draw out your healing energy and transfer it to a new host? Who will cast your body into Sarah's Womb?”

Cerulean glanced at Amber, then at Nathan and the others. He seemed unable to reply.

Flexing his hand in and out of a fist, Nathan also felt at a loss for an answer. Finally, he stared at Mictar again and sharpened his tone. “The abode of the lambs is not for the wolves to know. We will keep our own counsel.” He closed his mouth abruptly. Where did those words come from? Licking his lips, he again tasted Scarlet's presence. Obviously, the girl with the rose-petal scent had risen to speak in his stead.

“Bah!” Mictar waved a hand at him. “You don't fool me for a second. You have no idea how to save the other two worlds.” He nodded at the exit door. “Or yourselves.”

Looking that way, Nathan spied two of the white-haired singers, one at each side of the door. With sonic paralyzers drawn, they locked their stares straight ahead. At least fifteen others appeared out of the mist and marched toward them, spreading out into a horizontal line as they approached, each one with a paralyzer in hand.

When they came within twenty feet, they straightened their line and formed a semicircle that blocked the way to the exit door. Once in place, they stopped and held out their rods, like soldiers waiting for a command. Although their erect bodies seemed disciplined and ready, fear streaked their faces as their gazes locked on the two surviving supplicants.

“Now,” Mictar said, waving his hand at his soldiers, “we shall see who is ready to die.”

As if turned on by a single switch, the sonic paralyzers flashed light from their ends, some red, some yellow, some blue. A squealing note erupted from each one, loud and piercing.

Nathan slapped his hands over his ears. Agony throttled his brain. Dropping to her knees, Kelly did the same, arching her body over the mirror square, now on the floor. Nathan's mother bent at the waist and groaned, also covering her ears.

Cerulean and Amber spread out their arms. Cerulean took in a deep breath and sang a long bass note. Amber blended in a higher pitch, an alto that trilled more beautifully than any songbird. The supplicants' music seemed to repel the paralyzing noise, but how long could they keep it up?

The stalkers' line fractured. At least five backed away a step. Some held their rods with jittery arms while others placed a hand over one ear.

“Cowards!” Mictar screamed. “Two supplicants cannot overcome eighteen stalkers!” Yet Mictar came no closer. He
circled around Nathan, keeping plenty of space between himself and the supplicants. Shouting to overcome the battling tones, he pointed at Nathan. “We are at an impasse again, son of Solomon. Your father would be proud. If you could find him, I'm sure he would tell you so.”

Nathan lowered his arms and clenched the fingers of his less-injured hand into a fist. “What do you want now? Scarlet's dead.”

“I still want the mirror.” He shifted his finger toward the spot where Scarlet once sat imprisoned. “And now that she is gone, I will be able to use it without restriction.”

As Kelly rose to her feet, she handed Nathan the mirror. “Does it still have power?” she whispered.

“I don't know, and I'm not sure if he knows, either.”

“He's no idiot,” Kelly said. “We shouldn't let him have it.”

“If you give it to me,” Mictar continued, “I will not only tell you where your father is, I will release all of you, including the two supplicants. Your father is alive and quite well, but he won't be for long.” He waved a hand at the stalkers. They turned off their sonic rods and drew back a few paces.

Cerulean and Amber stopped singing, both breathless. Amber coughed, while Cerulean clutched his chest, still keeping an eye on Mictar.

As complete silence descended on the room, Mictar eased closer to Nathan. “What do you say? Will you accept freedom and full restoration of your family, all for the price of a square of glass?”

Nathan looked at the mirror. The surface reflected nothing. Perfectly transparent, it showed blackness tinged with a vague red glow. Shifting to his mother, he searched her eyes for an answer. “Any advice?”

She squeezed his shoulder. “If we could be sure he is telling the truth, we could give him what he wants. Regaining your father is worth far more than losing the mirror. No matter what
he is able to do with it, I trust that your father will be able to counter it.”

“If he's telling the truth?” Nathan laughed under his breath. “The lambs should never trust the wolf when he speaks.” As verses of lyrical beauty rushed through his mind, an idea formulated. Was Scarlet helping him decide? If so, the idea was certainly in keeping with her sacrificial character.

Watching Mictar out of the corner of his eye, he turned to Kelly. “If I can clear the way to the exit door, do you think you can get Mom and the supplicants to Earth Blue?”

She nodded. “But I told you, I'm not leaving your side, not for a minute.”

He lowered his voice to a soft whisper. “Kelly, you have to. We're all making sacrifices, right?”

She returned a shallow nod.

“Then trust me. If this works, it might take quite a bit more than a minute.”

“I trust you,” she said as she gazed into his eyes. “More than ever.”

With the mirror tucked under his arm, he walked toward Mictar. “Tell us where my father is, and let them go. And you have to let them take Abodah's body, too. I'll stay here with the mirror as a pledge until they're safely on their way.”

Mictar stared at him for a moment, raising one eyebrow. “You make a solemn promise to give me the mirror?”

“I do.”

Mictar laughed. “It is so easy dealing with humans who choose to bind themselves with codes of honor. They are fools to give up the arsenal of deception.”

“Stop babbling, Mictar.” Nathan lifted the mirror high. “Are you going to take my offer, or not?”

“I accept. You will find your father in the dreamlands of Earth Yellow. Amber knows how to get there.”

Nathan turned to Amber. “Is that true?”

She knitted her brow. “I have seen a man there who resembles you, but he was unresponsive. Alive, to be sure, but I could not revive him. I had no way to pull him out of the dreamlands, so I left him there. We would have to go there physically to make a bridge of escape.”

“And can you do that?” Nathan asked.

She gave him a firm nod. “I can.”

He looked at Cerulean. “Can you take us to the dreamlands of Earth Blue?”

“Certainly. Why do you ask?”

“A friend of mine named Jack is there. After I find my father, we have to rescue him, too.” Nathan kissed his mother on the cheek. “Go. Kelly will show you the way.”

She raised a finger, apparently ready to protest, but she lowered it and nodded. “I trust that you know what you're doing, Nathan.”

Cerulean scooped up Abodah's body and led Kelly, Amber, and Nathan's mother toward the door. The stalkers parted down the middle, giving them plenty of room to pass. Kelly turned for a moment, pressed her hand against her chest, and then trailed the others as they hurried through the exit at a fast trot.

Nathan couldn't hold back a smile. Kelly's gesture meant, “You're still in my heart. I'll never ask you to leave.”

Extending the mirror toward Mictar, he closed the gap between them. “Here it is. I'm keeping my word.”

“Of course you are.” As soon as Mictar jerked the glass from Nathan's grip, he nodded toward the stalkers. They closed ranks and blocked the path toward the exit. Mictar laughed, making his ponytail sway behind his head. “You're a bigger fool than I ever imagined.”

Nathan backed away. “I'll use your own question. Who is the fool? The one who sacrifices all he has for the ones he loves, or the power-greedy monster who craves mysteries beyond his
understanding?” He nodded at the square. “Go ahead and try to use the mirror. I want to be here to see what happens.”

Two stalkers grabbed his arms, one on each side. Nathan struggled, but when one showed him a sonic paralyzer, he settled down. “What's the matter?” Nathan shouted. “Scared of a kid who's smarter than you?”

Mictar waved a hand. “Release him. He is not a threat.” Narrowing his eyes, he took a step closer. “Is this a battle of wits, son of Solomon? Are you baiting me to use the mirror because you think it will bring me harm, or are you bluffing, hoping that I will now be fearful of it and not use it?”

“Like I said …” Nathan folded his arms across his chest. “We will soon learn who the fool is.”

“I see.” Mictar set the mirror on the floor and backed away, matching Nathan's distance from its edge. “Let the battle begin.”

As Mictar glared at him, Nathan tried to hide a nervous swallow. He had no idea what the mirror would do, so he really wasn't bluffing at all. He just trusted that the plan came to his mind because of Scarlet, so maybe she had something up her sleeve. Then again, maybe not. She was dead and gone. His idea might be nothing but vain hope in a phantom. Still, no matter what the mirror did, at least his mom and the others were getting more time to escape. He cleared his throat and tried to summon an icy stare. “What are the rules?”

“Very simple. I believe the mirror is a window that is energized by spiritual power, and the catalyst is music. The dark energy I can create will make the mirror into a portal through which I can reach and gather all the life energy I want. I will feed on hundreds of eyes and build the Lucifer machine without the need of transforming the supplicants' energy or even traveling to your worlds. It is now clear to me that the power called Quattro was actually Scarlet using her sorcery through that dimensional corridor.” He pointed at the mirror. “The danger
is that if Scarlet's spirit still resides within, and I cannot reach her body, her power would likely kill me. But if I shattered the mirror, I would destroy her soul and lose a powerful device for my future plans.

“Now, the choice is up to you. If you pick it up, my people will attack you. If Scarlet is in the mirror, she will come to your defense, and you can easily defeat them and escape. If she is not there, my people will kill you. On the other hand, if you leave the mirror with me, I will let you walk out of here to join your friends. If Scarlet is not within, I will kill hundreds, perhaps thousands of people with it. If she is, then she will destroy me, my brother will help you heal the wounds, and all your problems will be over.”

Nathan stared at the mirror. What should he do? Scarlet was within him now, wasn't she? So if he took the mirror, the stalkers would kill him, and if he left it behind, Mictar would use it to murder countless people. So there really wasn't any choice. He would just have to trust Scarlet. “Let me get this straight. You're saying I can do whatever I want with the mirror, right?”

“Correct. Make your choice now. I don't have time for dawdling.”

Nathan walked straight to the mirror, picked it up, and charged toward Mictar. He reared back and swung it at the stalker's face as hard as he could. The edge caught Mictar square in the cheek, cut through his nose, and came out the other side. With a return swing, Nathan bashed Mictar in the head with the flat of the mirror, smashing the glass into hundreds of sparkling shards.

He kicked some of the shards at Mictar. “How's that for a battle of wits?”

Bleeding profusely, Mictar toppled over and landed face first on the floor. Instantly, the ear-crushing sound of sonic paralyzers filled the air.

Nathan cringed. He had to fight the ear-splitting pain, but how? Could Scarlet help him?

A stream of words ran through his mind, song lyrics. Then a shout punctuated the final line.
Run!
Nathan tensed his muscles and sprinted toward the line of stalkers. He sang the lyrics, but Scarlet's voice burst from his throat.