Copula Chronicles: The Complete Collection: Origin, Descend, Ascend, Legacy

by Venessa Kimball

  Sebastian folds his own arms over his chest and looks at me cautiously as he shakes his head. “No.”

  As I take in the gravity of Michael’s body not surfacing in the lake after I staked him with my dagger, Sebastian asks for all of us to take a seat before he proceeds.

  “Since the intersection two days ago, the local guardians have taken control of all the Sondian safe houses in a thirty-mile radius, including the one where Sam and Corinna were staying.”

  He looks over at the group of unknowns in the room. “The Kyoto team took us in and helped us gather intel. Email messages exchanged between Sam and Michael on Sam’s computer were acquired. Apparently, Michael was going to return to the safe house after Sam traversed in the wormhole to ‘clean’ house––sweep all evidence.”

  “If I had kept him alive, we could have used him to find Ezra, Nate and Sam.”

  The image of Sam’s face briefly transforming into Michael’s before reverting back draws my attention inward to the possibilities of how Michael could have found a way to escape us. I ask Sebastian, “The lake was searched?”

  He nods, but Balthazar responds, “The Kyoto team was dispatched to search. They found nothing.”

  Sebastian shakes his head and counters, “He couldn’t have survived a wound like the one Jesca drove into him or the escaped drowning. We would have seen him surface from the shore.”

  Balthazar’s tone is full of rage. “I’ve thought all of those things too. Yes, it isn’t humanly possible, but Michael’s abilities could have benefited him.”

  “What abilities?” Xander asks. “Some kind of disappearing act, like ‘jumping’?

  “Could he have healed himself?”

  Balthazar tilts his head and looks down at his folded hands. “No, but transfiguration is a possibility.”

  “Transfiguration? What the hell is that?” Elicia asks

  “The ability to shift,” Balthazar answers her.

  “Wait. Like me?” Nick asks

  Balthazar shakes his head. “It’s not that simple.”

  Nick sits back in his chair and crosses his arms. “What? You think shifting is easy or something bud?”

  Balthazar tries to correct himself. “No, I mean his type of shifting isn’t like yours. You are able to shift yes, but he not only does that, he embodies the essence of what he transforms into.”

  On a whim I ask, “Could he possess someone?”

  Everyone looks at me, like I have just said something forbidden. Sebastian asks, “Why would you ask that?”

  Feeling all eyes on me, I clear my throat before commenting. “I just saw something before Nate and Ezra—”

  Seeing me struggle with speaking about it, Siobhan quickly asks, “What did you see?”

  I motion to my own face as I explain. “Sam’s face, it shifted. I thought I saw Michael’s face for a moment.”

  I look down before continuing, feeling the burden of my memories weighing on me. “My mother, Anna, she showed me her last moments in a vision.”

  I fiddle with a loose thread on the edge of my shirt. “The same essence that was present there, was present the night Michael tried to strangle me. The same essence I felt on the cliff with Miriam.”

  I can’t look at Balthazar as I speak her name and I can barely breathe through the emotions tightening my throat.

  “If you saw it, felt it, then there’s no reason to believe otherwise Jesca. But there’s something else isn’t there?”

  I stare at him, not sure if I should say. He saves my breath as he speaks. “You fear he’s gone in with them. Through the wormhole.”

  I nod slowly and whisper, “Yes.”

  Balthazar groans with frustration. “I don’t put anything past that son of a bitch. We collected devices similar to the ones I used when traversing between Earth and Sonde from Sam’s and Corinna’s safe house. I would suspect he was going to anchor a path between Earth and the wormhole if he had the chance, but Ezra and Nate stopped him.”

  Sebastian adds, “They were left for him to retrieve, but he never made it—”

  I finish Sebastian’s thought, “—because he wasn’t here. He was with them.”

  With my worst fear quickly being realized, Xander jumps in. “These devices, where are they? We can use them.”

  Xander’s confidence that these devices might be able to help us give me a glimmer of hope through the darkening fears consuming me.

  Monica responds to Xander. “We are hoping we can utilize these devices to access Ezra and Nate, but its complex.”

  Sebastian nods, agreeing with her. “It is. We just need to figure out how to reopen the same path of the original vortex.”

  Relief flows through me for the first time since waking from the sedation. Their sacrifice to protect us won’t be in vain.

  “How do we do that? Jake asks. “A wormhole is unstable and volatile as it is. Trying to reopen a collapsed vein into the depths of the universe, mimic its path––it could collapse on the traversers.”

  Realizing his bluntness, he looks at me, then Xander. “I’m just being realistic. We don’t need to lose anyone else.”

  “We haven’t lost them.”

  Sebastian backs me up, “And we aren’t losing anyone else. We’ll find a way to get them. For now they are safe.”

  A cloud of doubt passes through me as I remember my vision with Ezra, how he seemed on edge about their environment––being watched. “They are safe until they are discovered.”

  Xander and I take turns telling Sebastian and the team everything that happened during our dreams with Nate and Ezra. Sebastian questions Xander first. “So, they both appeared to be fine, like themselves?”

  “Yeah, they seemed to be fine. Ezra seemed worried about the beings there, just like Jes said.”

  Sebastian nods and scratches the back of his head as Balthazar focuses on me. “You said that Ezra told you the world they are in is almost identical to ours.”

  I nod in an attempt to stay with the conversation, but I’m still preoccupied with Michael Sanderson’s whereabouts. If he’s with them, somehow inside of Sam until he has the opportunity to attack, he could kill them if they get in his way. Would my link to Nate give me some kind of alert or warning if him and Ezra were being attacked?

  Out of nowhere, I hear Xander’s voice in my head. “Our link to Nate.”

  I meet Xander’s stare from across the table as he says, “He said our link would help us find them. I’m assuming he told you the same thing.”

  “Yes, he did.”

  Having gotten not only my attention, but the rest of the table’s, Xander speaks to everyone. “If Michael has somehow hijacked his way into the wormhole with Sam, Ezra and Nate, we have to get to them sooner than later.”

  He looks over at Jake. “Yeah, it could collapse on us, but the world could end tomorrow too.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Nick says

  Jake folds his arms over his chest before responding. “Or it could be saved by the guardians that got obliterated by the fucking event horizon.”

  Siobhan places her hand on Jake’s to try to calm his growing concern. Jake shakes his head. “It’s a risk––a deadly one.”

  “It’s a deadly risk for us not to go over after them. No, it isn’t an option. I have to take this risk for my father and Nate. I’m not asking for anyone else to take this risk. Just me.”

  “No, not just you. I’m going too.”

  Xander’s challenging statement fires me up. “No.”

  He shakes his head, but doesn’t respond to me, turning to Balthazar and Sebastian as he explains. “Jes’ and my link to Nate could force the pathway to where they are. Ezra told me that our abilities are strengthened when they are combined. Elicia and Nick, I saw the power you had together on the battlefield before the intersection. Those devices that yo
u found could be the key.”

  Balthazar interrupts, “Those devices could also be a trap. What if those devices were meant to be found by us? Did you think of that?”

  I hadn’t and I suspect that Xander hadn’t either as he folds his arms over his chest, avoiding Balthazar’s gaze as he continues. “We need time to open up these devices Xander. Check algorithms and coding. It’s more than trusting a link to do all the work. Jake’s right. Do you know what the odds of being torn apart in the midst of the event horizon of a blackhole?”

  Luke chimes in, “Better yet, do you know the odds of not being torn apart?”

  “Zilch, zero, nolla, nada, nul.”

  Nick’s chain of a non-existent statistic on black holes fills the silence.

  “We need to send a probe first, not a guardian!”

  Balthazar’s comment doesn’t settle well with me still. “My father and the man I am linked to are trapped in a world that could kill them and you want to send a probe? All that’ll do is set off more bells and whistles for the beings watching them, maybe even create an opportunity for Sam or Michael to attack them! Ezra said he is concerned already. We don’t need to send something else to raise more flags for these beings unless that something can fight back.”

  Frustrated as hell, I close my eyes and lean my head against the back of the chair. A segment of my vision with Nate resounds in my head––him speaking to me before he faded away. “You need to—”

  Everyone starts talking at the table now, arguing about how the link will get us to them and how it isn’t strong enough to withstand the physics of it all. Damn it, he was going to tell me what we needed to do to get to him! I need to what? Focused so hard on drowning out the chatter, I almost miss the familiar feathery force of energy brushing against my ear. “You need to open the wormhole. Xander can help you.”

  I open my eyes and turn toward the sensation that is most definitely Nate. I don’t expect to see him physically, but the remnants of his essence still linger enough for me to know that somehow he’s here with us.

  “What is it?”

  Sebastian’s question to me catches everyone’s attention as he notices my concern for what I’ve just heard. “Did you hear it?”

  “Hear what?” Xander asks just as Nate’s voice comes again in my head. “The link between us is enough Jesca. Trust it.”

  Fearful that his essence will vanish before anyone hears what I am, I say, “Nate’s voice.” I look at Xander, hoping he hears something now that he’s listening for it. He’s straining to listen, just like everyone else.

  “The Copula and our bond will get you here.”

  I beg Xander, “Tell me you heard that.”

  He looks at Balthazar and Sebastian before returning to me, concern in his eyes. “Jes, I don’t hear anything.”

  The way Xander is looking at me, what he’s thinking, I see the disbelief in his eyes and in his thoughts. I glare at him and scoff, “You don’t believe me?”

  Xander looks down, avoiding my eyes, “I’m linked to him too Jes. I would’ve heard him.”

  Sebastian breaks his long silence and sides with Xander. “You have been through so much Jesca. It’s likely the trauma is affecting you.”

  His reasoning is irritating. Shaking my head, I tell him, “It’s not the trauma. The only trauma I have right now is you not believing me. He just told me that the Copula and our bond will get me to him!”

  “Us! Get us to them!” Xander says forcefully. “I’m linked to him too, remember? This isn’t just your fight Jesca.”

  Xander’s condescending tone pisses me off and the urge to slap him verbally is too strong to hold back. “You aren’t coming Xander. He came to me just now, not you.”

  “Maybe he didn’t? Maybe it’s just all in your head?”

  “Maybe our link is just stronger?”

  Xander shoots back, “Stronger? No I don’t think so sweetheart.”

  Sweetheart? Son of a bitch! I can’t help my blood boiling as he shakes his head at me. “Different in the intimate sense maybe, but not stronger.”

  Son of a bitch! How dare he play the intimacy card with Nate and me! “You don’t know anything about Nate’s and my link! If you did, you would know that we are just partners!”

  “Oh, I know more than I want to, believe me! I don’t need your analysis to figure things out! I’m curious, when you say partners, do you mean bunk bed buddies too?”

  My blood is boiling over and the uncomfortable clearing of throats in the room almost has me lose it, when Balthazar interrupts, “Okay, enough! This isn’t helping the situation! You two can work out what you need to later. Right now we need to figure out what to do.”

  While Xander has tried to diminish my link with Nate, Sebastian still clings to it. “Jesca, what else did he say to you?”

  With not much more to explain, I tell him the few words that are left. “He said to trust it.”

  “Trust it?” Sebastian’s probes.

  I nod as I think of Sebastian and Balthazar’s story. “You have experienced it with your own son.”

  Sebastian casts notice from Balthazar, to Xander, then back to me. “You mean him coming to me after the extraction of his Copula.”

  I look at Balthazar now. “The Copula was removed, yet you still found him.”

  Balthazar studies me, “Yes, in a lucid dream, a projection.”

  I shake my head, hoping that he will see my logic, “Lucid dream, projection, jumping, connecting with another––bonding with them means more than we realize. You trusted it to reach your father. I need to trust it to reach mine. With the Copula link between Nate and me, it will be stronger.”

  Sebastian speaks up. “She is right. I would not have my grandson safe with me if this were not the case, Balthazar. We know how powerful the Copula can be within us. You know how strong a bond can be also.”

  Balthazar’s lips tighten as he weighs and reflects on Sebastian’s words. “You, my grandson, Miriam. I’m living proof that the bonds a soul makes can never be stripped.”

  Balthazar’s struggle is visible in his face before he looks down on me. “Before we take this risk, let us do diligence.”

  I feel like we are taking another step back, until Sebastian adds, “To run tests on the devices. Make sure they are sound.”

  I could understand that, but I’m still fearful of the amount of time that will take. “How long?”

  Balthazar gives a definitive, “Two days.”

  I’m tempted to tell them that it’s too long, but stop myself.

  Sebastian finds it necessary to remind me. “Balthazar and I have only attempted this within our universe. From the sounds of it, the world they are in being the same as ours—”

  Balthazar interjects. “It sounds like it could be an alternate earth.”

  Sebastian responds to his comment with knowing, “Like an alternate universe.”

  His weary eyes find mine quickly. “You’ll be going into uncharted territory Jesca.”

  I remind him. “Uncharted until Ezra, Nate, Sam and maybe Michael.”

  I don’t think they see how resolute I am. “I’ll make it to them and bring them back.”

  Balthazar plays devil’s advocate. “What if you’re attacked?”

  In my mind, it’s not a possibility. All I’m focused on is getting to Nate and Ezra. I shake my head. “Then I’ll fight. Just figure out how to get those devices working with my Copula and I’ll figure out the rest. Two days, right?”

  Balthazar scrutinizes me for signs of hesitation or retreat, I’m sure. But, I resist, pushing down my swelling anxiety beneath the brave façade I need to have for my father and Nate. Balthazar’s aren’t the only eyes on me. I can feel Xander’s as well, but refuse to look at him as a knock on the door draws my attention from both of them.

  Luke opens the door to a sma
ll Japanese woman standing on the other side with Marcus bundled in her arms. “He no sleep,” she says. “No disturb Isabel and sister.”

  Siobhan takes the baby from her arms as the woman’s words hit me––Isabel. Isabel Cain. Oh my god, Corinna!

  As everyone rises from their chairs, our discussion seeming to end with the sounds of Marcus stirring and Balthazar going to him and Siobhan, I state the obvious, which is shocking to me. “She’s here.”

  I’m not sure how they were able to get her here. From what Ezra, Sebastian and Balthazar said, she wasn’t the same Corinna. I vaguely remember Monica prepping a tranquilizer before going into the forest. “How’d you get her here?”

  Monica confirms my thoughts. “Sedation.”

  Siobhan adds, “And a lot of it.”

  I can’t help imagining the fight she might have put up. Monica quickly pulls me from my thoughts. “We couldn’t let her come out of sedation with the Sondian based Copula still intact.”

  She shakes her head, apparently disturbed by what she had witnessed. “I didn’t know how Isabel was going to handle it. And Corinna played her like a fiddle––pulled at her heartstrings. Her eyes, they were crazed Jesca.”

  When she says the word crazed, I think of Sam and how his eyes appeared before going into that wormhole, and before he took my mother’s life.

  Monica continues to explain as the room empties, “We knew if she came out of the sedation with the Sondian based Copula still intact, everyone would be at risk. We also knew that removal could kill her.”

  But she didn’t die. The lady just referred to Isabel and Corinna. “She didn’t.”

  Monica shakes her head. “No, we fitted her with the new generation Dobrian based Copula. The same one we fitted Marcus with.”

  “The experimental one,” I clarify.

  “Yes. It wasn’t as easy as his implantation.”

  Shit. My heart drops knowing that her tone and words means something bad happened. “What happened?”

  CHAPTER 4: THE TRAVERSE BEYOND

  Ezra

  I was the first to become conscious. Nate took longer to wake. Passing out is something I’ve experienced with every traverse. It had been a while since I had experience it though––since Anna passed. There are some things our bodies can’t adapt to and traveling through wormholes is one of them.