Stepping into the Sky: Jump When Ready, Book 3

by David Pandolfe

  Naomi kept her eyes on Nikki’s. “It’s how you feel, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you should trust that feeling,” Naomi said. “Maybe somehow your sister knows how much you wanted to help her. But you couldn’t, not back then. Now, you have a chance to help someone else. Maybe, in some ways it does make things right because you won’t feel guilty anymore. Maybe it’s about you, not her, and she wants that to happen for you.”

  Nikki stared at this girl, with her long, straw-colored hair, her baby face, rolled up jeans and a plaid, cotton shirt. In so many ways still a child from a different era. But her big, brown eyes showed a wisdom Nikki admired more each day. Nikki had no idea who Naomi might become again in the future but she didn’t doubt that person would be both kind and well-loved.

  Nikki tried to ignore the tear pricking at the corner of her eye. “You’re kind of awesome. You know that, right?”

  Naomi shrugged and smiled. “Thanks. I guess I have my moments. Why would helping this girl, Rose, be any worse for Henry than for you?”

  There wasn’t any point in lying. Evidently, Naomi could see right through her. And there Nikki was, the Reader, the only one among them supposedly who could see inside people’s minds.

  “It just doesn’t seem fair,” Nikki said. “Especially given how much he’s been through. I mean, of all of us, he’s the most recent to Transition. Then, right away, that thing happened with his sister. Then there was Curtis. Ian, I mean. In our time, those things were just basically a few months apart. Now this.”

  Naomi remembered what she’d been doing and set the crepe pan on the stove. She picked up her whisk and started mixing again. “Were you thinking you’d rather try on your own?”

  “I didn’t get the feeling that was a choice, but that’s kind of what I’ve been thinking about.”

  Naomi surprised her by smiling.

  “What?”

  “Henry’s going where you’re going,” Naomi said. “Don’t you know that by now?”

  Nikki’s face warmed but Naomi didn’t see her blushing. She’d turned to spoon crepe batter into her pan. Nikki watched as she picked up the pan and swirled it to spread the batter evenly, like she’d been doing it forever.

  The back door swung open and Simon poked his head in. “We thought we smelled something.”

  “We?” Nikki said.

  Simon tilted his head toward the back yard. “Jamie and me. We’re racing Air Hogs.”

  Nikki smirked. “Wait, Air Hogs? You mean the toys kids flew around when Henry was a kid?”

  Simon shrugged. “What? They still make them. Those things are smashing, by the way. Wish I’d had one of those when I was kid.”

  “When you were a kid, marbles were mind-blowing.”

  “Hi, Simon,” Naomi said.

  Simon glanced over at her and smiled. “Hi, Naomi. What’s cooking?”

  “Making crepes.” Naomi plucked the crepe from the pan and flipped it with her fingers. “Ooh, these are fun.”

  “They smell wonderful,” Simon said. “I love crepes.”

  “What kind of food don’t you love?” Nikki said. “Wait, let me guess. Brussel sprouts.”

  Simon crossed the kitchen and stared down at the pan. “What’s wrong with Brussel sprouts? I love those things.”

  “Oh, my God,” Nikki said. “Of course you do.”

  Jamie came in from outside too. “Did someone say crepes? Good idea, Naomi! I haven’t had those in ages. You making the dessert kind or the other kind?”

  “You can use them for either,” Naomi said. “But I could add some cocoa to the batter. Hmmm, maybe I will for some of them.”

  Naomi peeled out some wax paper and set her first crepe down. She added more batter to the pan. Nikki wasn’t surprised to see that the first crepe looked perfect.

  Jamie turned his attention to Nikki. “Where did you and Henry take off to yesterday?”

  Nikki hesitated, then she and Naomi exchanged a quick glance. Jamie’s eyes flicked back and forth between them.

  “When do you flip that thing?” Simon said, still staring at the pan.

  “Oh, right!” Naomi plucked the crepe from the pan and flipped it. “Ouch, burnt my finger.”

  “Okay, what’s going on?” Jamie said. “Naomi almost never burns herself and she absolutely never forgets food on the stove.”

  “Nothing,” Nikki said. “As you can see, Naomi’s making crepes and I’m planning to eat one of them just as soon as—”

  “We should probably tell them.”

  All heads turned toward Henry, who stood in the doorway.

  “I mean, if you still feel the same way.” Henry kept his eyes on Nikki’s.

  Nikki hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

  “I already know,” Naomi said. “I mean, just a little.”

  “I’m almost afraid to ask,” Jamie said. “But, okay, whatever it is, I’m in.”

  Henry stepped into the room. “Well, that’s the thing. This doesn’t involve all of us. At least, not yet anyway.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jamie said. “Since when don’t we do things together?”

  Henry glanced at the floor, then raised his eyes again. “I know. We do, totally, but—”

  “It wasn’t up to us,” Nikki said.

  Simon finally tore his gaze away from Naomi’s crepes. “Who else would it be up to?”

  “Yeah, who else would make that call?” Jamie said.

  As much as Nikki loved to needle both Jamie and Simon, the hurt in Jamie’s eyes nearly broke her heart. As for Simon, he just looked confused. But she felt for him too. All the same, given what she knew about what she and Henry were about to sign on for, she’d rather have hurt feelings to deal with than see the entire group in danger.

  “It’s some weird thing Lysrus asked us to do,” Henry said. “And Martha, kind of, but mostly it was Lysrus.”

  Henry’s face flushed with nervousness, something Nikki hadn’t seen often. She understood that he was trying to make it sound like Martha had little to do with it. After all, she’d always looked after all of them.

  “What kind of weird?” Jamie pulled absently at one of his mohawk spikes, checking for straightness, something he did when he felt uncomfortable.

  Simon pulled out a chair at the table and plopped into it. “If it involved that Lysrus bloke, I’m guessing all kinds of weird. Is he even a bloke? I couldn’t tell. Mostly because I was going blind at the time.”

  “Long story.” Henry pulled out a chair too.

  Nikki snorted. “Really long story. I’m guessing at least a thousand years.”

  Jamie remained standing, his eyes dancing back and forth as he listened. “You met with Lysrus?”

  “Um, yeah,” Henry said. “But it wasn’t like we asked to meet with him. He kind of picked us.”

  “So, Lysrus is definitely a he?” Simon said.

  “Us who?” Jamie said.

  Nikki almost answered but stopped herself. This was between Jamie and Henry, she knew. They’d been friends from nearly the moment Henry arrived.

  “Lysrus asked me and Nikki to try something,” Henry said. “It’s not like he didn’t want all of you guys in too. It’s just more in the Speaker, Reader category.”

  “What does that mean?” Jamie said.

  “He said an Emerger might be too powerful. At least, at first.” Henry rolled his eyes and sighed. “Come on, Jamie. You know how much that thing you do can freak people out.”

  Nice move, Nikki thought. And it was so like Henry to find a way of protecting his friend’s feelings.

  Jamie thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Yeah. Sure. Sometimes. Lysrus really said that?”

  As if on cue to bail Henry out, Naomi said, “Does anyone want me to try the chocolate crepe thing?”

  “Me, definitely,” Simon said.

  “Big surprise,” Nikki said under her breath.

  “Heard that,” Simon said.

  “I could make some
with cinnamon too,” Naomi said. “I bet those would taste great with butter, apples and whipped cream.”

  Jamie’s hand shot into the air, almost involuntarily. “Right here, thank you very much.”

  Naomi caught Nikki’s eye, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. The girl was good, no doubt about it. Whatever instincts were kicking in, they were definitely impressive.

  ~~~

  In Nikki’s experience, this was the first time Martha had greeted them without smiling. She opened her door, stepped back to let them enter and then closed her door again. She regarded them with a serious expression.

  “Did you two make a decision?”

  “You mean, you don’t know?” Nikki said.

  Martha raised an eyebrow. “How would I know?”

  “I just assumed you had a way of knowing that sort of thing.”

  Martha shook her head, just slightly. “I do sense when one of you is distressed, that’s true. But right now, I’m not getting that from either one of you. Which suggests what your decision might be. However, I don’t want to make any assumptions.”

  Henry nodded at the closed door. “Let me put it this way. I get the feeling that when we leave here again, we won’t be in Kansas anymore.”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yes,” Henry said.

  Martha turned to Nikki and waited.

  “I’m all over it,” Nikki said. “This place hasn’t been edgy enough lately.” She offered Martha one of her best smirks. “So, was that the decision our lack of distress suggested?”

  “Actually, yes. That’s what I thought you’d decided.”

  “Wow, I would have thought the opposite,” Nikki said. “But, okay. Why did you think we’d decided to try?”

  Martha looked back and forth between them. “Because after all this time, I know at least two things about you. The first is that you’d feel distressed if you thought you were about to disappoint me. You wouldn’t have, by the way.”

  “What’s the second thing?” Henry said.

  Martha met his eyes, then Nikki’s. “The second thing is that neither of you feel distressed when someone needs your help. In fact, you barely think about it before plunging in.”

  Henry grinned. “You’ve wanted us to work on that, haven’t you?”

  “Yes, but so far you’ve refused. Which, for Rose’s sake, might prove to be a good thing. Unless you have any more questions, I suppose this is as good a time as any.”

  Nikki and Henry exchanged glances. As for Nikki, she knew she had a million questions. The problem was, she couldn’t isolate one right now. In fact, they felt like they’d melded together to create a giant black hole of uncertainty. Henry must have felt similarly since he remained mute as well.

  Martha reached for the door. “There’s one last thing you should know.”

  “Last thing?” Nikki said. “Not sure I like the sound of that.”

  “Okay, one more thing. Certain...arrangements have been made to help you accomplish your task. There’s no point in trying to describe them. You’ll realize immediately. But please remember that nothing will be as it seems. Please try to remember that. In fact, promise me.”

  Nikki nodded and Henry did too.

  “Okay, then it’s time.”

  Without thinking about it, Nikki reached for Henry's hand just as he reached out for hers.

  Martha opened the door.

  Nikki and Henry stepped through it into the dream.

  5

  Intuition

  In the dream, she fell. Always she fell. The rocks below glistened darkly. Waves crashed over them with thunderous bursts. Above, the gulls laughed. Eyes wide, heart pounding, she plummeted. It wasn’t the fear of dying she felt as the boulders drew near, as she was about to smash and break. It was her terror of what would follow.

  Then darkness and more laughter. A dark laughter matching the void she’d entered. She felt nothing, saw nothing. But she sensed movement nearby. Shadows darker than the blackness surrounding her. She heard whispers.

  You’ll never leave.

  But you deserve this, don’t you? You deserve this hell.

  Because that’s where murderers go!

  Rose gasped and her eyes flew open. She sprang up in bed, clutching sheet to chest. She’d had the dream again, that horrible dream. Each time was as bad as the first. Not that she could remember the first. It seemed like it had been going on for a lifetime, that curse of a dream.

  Outside her windows, it remained dark and Rose checked the time to be sure it was indeed morning. She didn’t want to go back to sleep, couldn’t possibly. It had to be morning. She wouldn’t be able to stand it otherwise. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and told herself that it was just clouds passing before the sun. That’s what was making it seem darker. And, no, she didn’t hear thunder rumbling in the distance, reminding her of the surf crashing over the rocks in her dream. That wasn’t happening either. It was a sunny, beautiful morning. She’d see that when she opened her eyes again.

  Rose felt it now, the sunlight striking her skin as it streamed through the blinds. She angled her face toward that light and thought, It’s always darkest before the dawn, right? Isn’t that what they say?

  She felt foolish at her own silliness before. Imagine being afraid of some passing clouds. Or a nightmare, for that matter. She was an adult now, a fully-grown woman. Rose opened her eyes to see her room bathed in the dazzling light of a perfect spring morning. She swung her legs off the bed and stretched her arms. It was going to be a lovely day. She just knew it.

  After her shower, Rose dressed in tan Capri pants and her new Beatles t-shirt. At eighteen, she realized she was maybe a little too old to be caught up in all the silliness. But it wasn’t like she fawned over pictures in magazines. Well, sometimes she couldn’t help stare a little. They were unbelievably cute after all. At those times, she made herself think of Joseph. She’d wondered once or twice if he’d ever consider wearing his hair just a tad longer. He made fun of the style, as did his father. But, really, it would suit him. Joseph had such nice hair—thick, blonde and wavy.

  As she descended the stairs, Rose knew where she’d find her grandmother. On a morning such as this, she’d be sitting on the patio next to the garden. She wouldn’t have to feel chilly today, something she complained of lately, even when it wasn’t particularly cool.

  Sure enough, Olivia sat at the table outside where coffee had already been served along with scones, toast and marmalade. Camila must have heard Rose start the shower, knowing she’d be hungry by the time she came downstairs. So kind of her, Rose thought, but Camila had always been such a thoughtful woman. She was really the most perfect kind of help and they couldn’t have asked for better. In fact, Rose couldn’t recall the last time she’d actually seen Camila. Or heard her, for that matter. How was it possible that she always left the perfect touch—flowers beside her bed, fresh towels for the morning, or coffee and scones timed for her arrival downstairs—while remaining so completely unobtrusive? Really, the woman was an absolute gift.

  Rose took a seat at the table and Olivia poured her a cup of coffee. Her hand trembled a bit with the weight of the China pot.

  “Grandmother, I can get that,” Rose said.

  “Nonsense, dear. It’s my pleasure.”

  Olivia kept her eyes on Rose’s cup as she poured, being careful not to spill. Steam swirled into the air and Rose could smell the coffee’s freshness. It must have been brewed minutes before she came downstairs. Rose couldn’t decide between toast or scones so she chose one of each.

  Olivia offered a mock-frown. “Both? Aren’t you worried about fitting into your dress?”

  Rose pretended to consider, then shrugged. “Well, seeing as the wedding is two days off, I should be fine. Or I’ll just suck it in.” She grinned at her grandmother and took a healthy bite from her scone.

  Olivia laughed. “That’s one thing you’ve never had to worry about. Lucky girl. When I was you
r age, I had to watch every calorie. I remember before my wedding, I was terrified I might gain weight. What with all the social occasions and opportunities to eat cake. Nowadays, I just don’t care. One of the advantages of getting old, I guess.”

  “You’re not old and you look perfect. I couldn’t imagine you any other way.” Rose checked her watch, startled to see the time. “Wow, is it really almost ten? I had no idea I’d slept that late.”

  Olivia took a sip of coffee, nostrils flaring as she too appreciated the aroma. “You’re allowed to sleep in. After all, you’ve had quite the busy schedule lately.”

  “Speaking of schedules, has Joseph called?”

  Olivia took a cigarette out of her case, lit it, then waved the smoke away. “Did you two have plans this morning?”

  Suddenly, Rose couldn’t remember what she and Joseph were supposed to do that morning. For some reason, she imagined him driving—his shiny Camaro streaking up the coastal road. On the way to what?

  “Rose?”

  Rose shook her head to snap out of it. Still, she stared at her grandmother, drawing a total blank.

  Olivia gazed into her eyes, brow creased with concern. “I believe you mentioned that the two of you had plans to finalize the floral arrangements.”

  Was that it? Why had she imagined Joseph driving in such a hurry? But, yes, it was the flowers. She’d actually talked Joseph into being part of that.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Rose tried to smile but it felt forced.

  Olivia patted the back of her hand. “It’s perfectly natural to get distracted right now. I’m sure you have a lot on your mind.”

  “I know but, for a minute there I—”

  “Try not to worry. Everyone has moments like that. Believe me, at my age, I certainly do. And to think, you have such a caring, young man in your life now.”

  Rose checked her grandmother’s eyes, searching for something but not finding it. Hadn’t she recently said something suggesting she didn’t entirely trust Joseph?

  “I knew I’d find you two out here!”