Nightmare's Edge

by Bryan Davis

  Kelly strode toward Molly. “May I hold her?” she asked, extending her arms.

  “She’s almost asleep.” Molly passed her bundle to Kelly. “I gave her a bottle in the car, then Tony sang a few selections from an Italian opera. She seemed to like it.”

  As soon as Molly let go of her baby, she reached for Tony. The two clasped hands and gazed at each other lovingly. “He has a soothing voice, you know.”

  Kelly nodded, tears welling in her eyes. “I remember. I mean, I could tell.” She pushed the baby’s blanket to the side and stared, mesmerized.

  Nathan sidled up to Kelly and looked at the drowsy little girl in her arms. With delicate pink skin, dainty eyelids, and a button nose, she seemed like a tiny angel, as vulnerable as she was beautiful. He let his gaze wander to Kelly’s face and combed across her features — the same nose, to be sure, but her skin had changed, tougher now with peach tones instead of pink. Still, the vulnerability remained, a girl wracked with pain — pain that her own life couldn’t reflect the joy of the life she had arranged for the duplicate angel in her arms.

  A tear streamed down Kelly’s cheek, then another. Soon, she began weeping, her head bobbing as she clutched baby Kelly to her chest.

  Nathan reached out a hand, but his mother spoke first. “Kelly? Are you all right?”

  Tears still flowing, Kelly glanced at Nathan, but only for a second. She looked at his mother and nodded. “Can we talk?”

  “Of course.”

  Kelly sniffed and wiped a tear on her shoulder. “Let me collect myself first.”

  “Whenever you’re ready.”

  Tony pulled a collapsible pink stroller from the back of his pickup and unfolded it. “Time for baby Kelly to test out her new wheels.”

  As Kelly laid the baby into the stroller, she looked up at Molly, her voice strained. “Why did you choose the name Kelly?”

  “Well, Tony wanted a boy, and I wanted a girl, so we settled on a good Irish name that would work for either one.”

  Kelly buckled the baby in place. As she pulled away, she locked gazes with the infant. The pair of small orbs shifted to follow her twin’s face, every movement seeming to bring awe and wonder to the tiny girl’s mind.

  Kelly took Nathan’s mother’s hand, and as the two strolled to another part of the parking lot a new sound rode across the air — a car motor, chugging as if missing a spark plug.

  Nathan turned toward the lot’s entrance. A sky blue Volkswagen Beetle lumbered in, a young man at the wheel. As he parked next to the truck, the woman in the passenger’s seat came into view: Francesca.

  Amber squeezed Nathan’s arm. “My beloved!”

  She stepped toward the car, but Nathan grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “She’s never met you, has she?” he asked.

  Amber looked at him, her brow wrinkling. “We have met in her dreams, but she will likely not remember.”

  “Then maybe it’s better to wait a minute. You don’t want to startle her.” Just as Nathan released her hand, a nervous shiver buzzed along his skin. The driver had to be Solomon Shepherd, the Earth Yellow version of his father. Meeting him would be so strange . . . maybe too strange.

  5

  SOLOMON YELLOW

  Solomon, who appeared to be in his early twenties, helped Francesca out of the car and nodded at Nathan, as if to say, “I’ll talk to you in a minute.” He then folded down the front seat and lifted a baby from an infant carrier in the back.

  After settling the baby in Francesca’s arms, he strode toward Nathan, a big smile on his face. “You must be Nathan, my Earth Red son.”

  Nathan cleared his throat and extended his hand. “Yes, sir. I mean, yeah. That’s me.”

  “Glad to meet you.” Solomon shook Nathan’s hand firmly. “We have a lot to talk about.”

  “We sure do.” Nathan stared into Solomon’s deep brown eyes, the same eyes that had watched over him for sixteen years. Or were they? Did those eyes reflect the wisdom that sixteen more years of life as a father would bring?

  “Would you like to meet your twin?” Solomon asked, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.

  Nathan shoved his hands into his pockets. Solomon’s voice and tone matched his father’s exactly. “Yeah,” Nathan said, shrugging his shoulders. “Sure.”

  “Only for a moment, though.” Solomon’s brow creased slightly. “We have a considerable amount of work to accomplish. As soon as I heard about your arrival, I arranged for the others to meet us here. We’ve been waiting for Tony to bring the mirrors from Scotland, so now we can carry out our tests.”

  Francesca joined them, carrying the blanket-wrapped baby in her arms. “Hello, Nathan,” she said. “It’s so good to see you again.”

  “Yeah.” Nathan tried to hide a nervous swallow. With her raven locks flowing in the cold breeze and her smile as vibrant as it had been when he met her as a precocious ten-year-old, she was as beautiful as ever. Yet now, dressed in a long trench coat with the collar pulled high, she looked like a wife and mother, a flower in full blossom. “It’s good to see you, too.”

  She placed the baby into his arms, helping him make a safe cradle. “I suppose you don’t have to guess what we named him.”

  Nathan pushed the corner of the blanket out of the way, revealing little Nathan’s face. With wisps of blondish hair protruding from the edges of a blue cap, thin lips pursing into a lax pucker, and a tiny nose wrinkling as he nestled into his protector’s arms, this little one was as familiar as Nathan’s own reflection, the living image of dozens of photos that adorned an album his mother always kept on her dresser.

  Francesca touched a slight dimple in the baby’s chin and grinned. “He looks just like you, Nathan.”

  Nathan’s cheeks warmed. She was right, almost embarrassingly so. Would this child do everything he, himself, had done? Even the stupid things? “Yeah. I can see that. At least, I remember the pictures.”

  The baby squirmed, then whimpered. Nathan handed him back to Francesca. “When he turns six, he might give you a hard time about violin lessons, but don’t listen to him.”

  As she laid the baby in a stroller, she winked. “Don’t worry, son. I won’t.”

  Gunther slapped the side of his van. “I’d better get going before the zone police track me down again.”

  “Where will you go?” Nathan asked.

  He shrugged. “Anywhere but here. Maybe I’ll find a shady spot to sleep.” He jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Just call if you need me.” After giving everyone a wave, he drove out of the lot.

  Solomon nodded at Tony. “Did you bring one of the mirrors?”

  “Got it right here,” Tony said, lifting a Wilson sports bag.

  “The others are locked in the back of my truck.”

  Nathan looked at the far side of the parking lot. His mother and Kelly were now walking back, still hand in hand. “I guess we’d better get going,” he said. “It might take a while if we have to figure out the security codes.”

  “No need for codes.” Solomon led the way, walking at a quick pace. “I called ahead. Both Dr. Simons are waiting for us, so the security doors should be deactivated.”

  Nathan looked back. His mother and Kelly were now jogging to catch up. “How long have you been working with the Simons?”

  “For a while.” Solomon opened the front glass door and held it, waiting for Kelly and Nathan’s mother to arrive. For a moment he fell silent, and Nathan watched Solomon’s eyes take in Francesca Red as she approached. He wondered what it would be like to meet your spouse from the future. He half expected them to start a conversation, but they only nodded at each other as Francesca and Kelly passed through the open door and into the spacious lobby.

  Solomon cleared his throat and turned his attention back to Nathan. “We have been analyzing all the data, and we came up with a theory that might explain what’s happening, but we need the supplicant to do something for us before we can test it.”

  While the others m
ade their way inside, Nathan scanned the lobby, a room he had not yet visited. Polished terrazzo floors returned a skewed reflection of his body, and a huge crystal chandelier dangled about ten feet overhead. Earth-toned panels covered every wall, with photos of the observatory’s groundbreaking ceremony hanging at precise intervals, their wooden frames matching the panels perfectly. He tried to make out the faces of the people in the gatherings, but they were too far away. “What about Gordon Yellow?” he asked. “Is he around to help?”

  Again Solomon led the way, this time along a corridor to the right, another unfamiliar area. “Since Dr. Gordon is the founder of Interfinity Labs, he is here, but we haven’t entrusted him with all we know.” He stopped in front of an elevator, much bigger than the one in the secure area, and pushed the call button. “Since Gordon Blue chose the path of greed, we can’t be sure Gordon Yellow wouldn’t do the same. I’m afraid he has a poor temper at times, so I decided to watch him for a while.”

  A humming sound emanated from behind the double doors. Nathan eyed Kelly. Her firm chin revealed that her thoughts matched his own. Solomon was right. They couldn’t risk Gordon Yellow teaming up with Mictar. The combination had proved fatal for Nathan and Kelly on Earth Blue, and the image of the vacant eye sockets in their limp bodies still seared his mind. This time, Gordon’s unholy alliance with that vision stalker could mean the deaths of countless millions.

  When everyone had piled into the roomy elevator car — Nathan and Kelly Red scrunching into one corner; Molly and Francesca Yellow pushing their strollers into the opposite corner, followed closely by Francesca Red, who couldn’t seem to take her eyes off baby Nathan; and Daryl and Amber crowding the middle — Solomon squeezed in and pushed the floor button. “Although this observatory will seem familiar,” he continued, raising his voice to compete with the elevator’s humming motor, “the two Simons have worked with Gordon Yellow to make some important enhancements that will come into play very soon.”

  The elevator slowed to a halt, and the doors slid open, revealing a hallway. To their left, another door stood open, the tourist entrance to the telescope room. Directly in front of them on the opposite wall, two restrooms flanked a water fountain.

  Tony pointed at the men’s room. “Mind if I go? I only had one beer, but that ride was enough to scare the — ”

  “Tony!” Molly scolded. “Not in front of the baby!”

  “Oh, yeah. Right.” He smiled sheepishly. “I forgot.”

  Solomon nodded at the door. “It would be a good idea for everyone to go. We have no way to know when our next opportunity will be. But let’s hurry — interfinity won’t wait for us.”

  Walking into the restroom behind Solomon, Nathan kept his eyes averted. He went through the motions at the farthest urinal while trying his best to be nonchalant and quiet. For some reason, being too familiar with this young version of his father seemed inappropriate, like he was prying into his father’s past without permission.

  After washing up, he hurried back to the hallway. Daryl had already returned, rubbing her hands against her sweatshirt. “No towels. The others are using TP, but that just seems wrong. That’s reserved for . . . uh . . . other body parts.”

  When everyone had returned, Solomon led the way to the tourist entrance, marching well ahead. He peered through the doorway before waving for the others. “It looks like everything is ready.”

  Nathan glanced at Kelly and tried to transmit the mental question, Ready for what? With one eye narrowing as they neared the door, she seemed to have the same question.

  As Nathan entered, light from the corridor faded. The telescope room was illuminated only by a candelabrum that sat on the floor near the telescope at the center. Flickering candlelight made the chamber seem like an underground cavern or a vestibule in an ancient castle — dark, cool, and mysterious.

  He passed by a piano and hard-shell cases for cellos, at least three violins, and a viola. Apparently, they had been experimenting with various instruments.

  With the mirrored ceiling reflecting only the flickering flames of six candlewicks, and the mounted telescope barely visible in the dancing orange glow, the place seemed an odd mix of medieval and modern, as if a caravan of mystified travelers had just strolled into King Arthur’s court.

  Nathan looked again. Something strange in the mirror caught his attention. The candles stopped flickering. His fellow travelers slowed to a halt, and every sound, even the quiet buzz of nearby computers, fell to silence. A sense of heaviness entered his mind — grave and foreboding.

  Someone new appeared on the reflective ceiling; a tall, pale man with white hair, walking through the doorway they had just entered.

  Nathan shifted his gaze down and looked at the door. As expected, Patar came into view. He weaved around Tony and Molly, his scowl not quite as deep as usual. “You don’t seem surprised to see me, Son of Solomon.”

  “Not really. When everyone stops moving, I kind of guess you’re around somewhere.”

  With a hint of mirth in his expression, Patar drew within a few feet and stopped. “I come only when you need a gentle push in the right direction.”

  “A gentle push?” Nathan rolled his eyes. “I’d hate to see one of your forceful shoves.”

  Patar’s white eyebrows bent down. “If you continue ignoring my counsel, you might very well get the opportunity.”

  “But you said we had to go to the observatory to get to the misty world,” Nathan said, spreading out his arms. “That’s where we are.”

  “True, but the scientists here will not offer to send you to play the violin at Sarah’s Womb. They have other plans, and they will reveal only what they want you to know.”

  “But what choice do I have? I can’t tell them what to do with their own equipment.”

  “No, but you also do not have to follow their instructions. It is clear that you are mesmerized by Solomon Yellow’s presence. He is not your father, so do not allow him to tell you what to do. It is crucial that you follow my counsel instead.” Patar folded his hands behind his back and strolled past Solomon, looking at his rigid face for a moment before circling back to the piano. He set his fingers on the keys, played a scale effortlessly, and turned to Nathan with a haughty air. “The fools know so little about real music. They have no idea that passion must enhance precision to open the portals.”

  Nathan pondered the strange words. “Why don’t you just tell them what to do instead of freezing everyone and giving me orders?”

  He played an irritating set of chords. “One of them has a mind to kill my people. His hatred for my race is so intense, trying to persuade him to be rational would be impossible.”

  “Okay,” Nathan said. “I’ll just have to take your word on that.”

  “These self-proclaimed scientists,” Patar continued, “plan to transport you to the world of dreams, which fits well with my plan, because once you are there you may do as I tell you. You must find Cerulean’s new charge and give to her the Earth Blue mirror you brought. In the gifted one’s hands, Cerulean will be able to use it to send you where you need to go.”

  Nathan looked at Kelly, frozen in mid step only a couple of paces behind him. She carried the photo album she had picked up in her parents’ bedroom, and the edge of the Earth Blue mirror once again protruded from the top.

  “Who is Cerulean’s new charge?” Nathan asked. “And will I be able to find her in the dream world?”

  “I have not yet learned who she is, and we are not even sure that she is a she. We only know that a high voice calls for help from the dream world, so it could very well be a male child. In any case, Cerulean seeks for her there. If you find her, she could lead you to her real-world form, and you could give her the mirror.”

  “And if I don’t find her, then what?”

  Patar began another stroll, this time focusing on Amber. With her arms stiff and her glow dissipated, she looked like a normal girl. As he circled her, his eyes glistened and his lips softened; he looked like an ol
d, sad grandfather. “In the dream world, there is a way to enter Sarah’s Womb, though the violin is not within reach from that entry point.”

  Nathan kept his stare locked on Patar. Whatever he had in mind, it couldn’t be good. Over and over, Patar had said to kill the supplicants, so his plans probably included taking that drastic action once they arrived.

  “Look for a flaw in the wall of the dream world’s central core,” Patar continued. “It will take some effort, but Amber should be able to open it for you. Then . . .” From behind, he grasped Amber’s neck and lightly dragged his pointed nails across her throat. “You must slay this supplicant and cast her inside.”

  “Coward!” Nathan took a hard step toward him. “I’ve seen how powerful she is. You wouldn’t dare talk about killing her if she wasn’t paralyzed.”

  “Oh, how little you know.” Frowning, he stepped away from Amber. “If she knew there was no other way to save the worlds, she would gladly give her life. This is the lesson that you cannot seem to grasp — true sacrifice, a love that allows no obstacle to prevent its fulfillment, whether in deed or in word.”

  “I know more about that than you think,” Nathan said, but the words seemed to wither in the air. Did he really know what he was talking about? Had he really done everything he could in sacrifice?

  He gazed into Amber’s beautiful gold eyes. Even if he hadn’t done all he was supposed to do, he could never kill this amazing girl. It was time to change the subject. “What about Mictar? Is he still alive? Do I have to watch out for him?”

  “Oh, he is very much alive, and he is still quite able to kill all your friends.” Patar reached out and touched Nathan’s forehead with his finger, as if anointing him. “But you have no reason to fear him yourself. Just leave him to me. After what he did to Abodah, either I or one of our children must see that justice is carried out.”

  A whispered voice came from behind Patar. “Nathan?”