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

by Venessa Kimball

  ***

  “Onawah!”

  The same baritone call of the name alerts me that I’m in a vision again. The warmth of tender lips resting on mine, and the feel of hands holding my face tenderly manifests and fills me with warmth. The comforting lips and hands pull away suddenly and I watch the owner of the tenderness, the gentleman, stalk away toward the sound of the call.

  It comes again, “Onawah!”

  The voice this body possesses responds to the yell, but it is not English. The girl starts to walk toward the voice, following behind the soldier, her love. All of a sudden, he stops, turns, and stalks back to me. “We can’t go together. If he sees us together, they will know. Go before he comes to find you!” he whispers hurriedly.

  He looks down at my wrist and pulls the sleeve of my woven fibered blouse over it then commands, “Go!”

  As I walk swiftly toward the heavy treed wood ahead of me, leaving behind the man who obviously holds this girl’s heart, so many questions rush through my mind. Was the love we shared not accepted by my tribe? Or has it just been kept secret? Who is this man yelling my name? My father?

  “Onawah!” The voice sounds urgent now and close, like right at the edge of the woods I’m approaching. Suddenly an old man with white disheveled hair tears through the heavy trees, snatches my arm, and pulls me into the woods. I stiffen, frightened by his reaction and try to pull back, but his strength is unmatchable, which is shocking for such an old man. He glares back at me with his amber eyes encircled with heavy wrinkles. The contrast between his startling eyes and dark, leathery skin is what jogs my memory. He is the shaman in my vision!

  He speaks harshly in his native tongue as he tugs me along by one hand through the woods. I look back through the brush while I can to seek the gentleman, Onawah’s lover, but he has disappeared. He must have hidden. I look back ahead of me and see the shaman shaking his head from side to side, as he continues to speak to me.

  I say something back to him angrily in the same native language and he releases me. He looks at me both startled and saddened by what I’ve said. He shakes his head slowly, and then speaks tenderly in his native words. He is denying something, rejecting something. Did Onawah tell him about the man she loves? Did she tell him that she didn’t want to do the ritual?

  Shit, I hate not knowing what is being said.

  The shaman takes hold of my hand again, but more gently now, and pulls me along. I’m breathless as I let the sadness of what has been said take hold of me as it has the girl I’m consumed with. The crushing of crisp leaves underfoot fades into the slapping sound of softened, limp leaves. The sound of sloshing water and the heaviness of my feet treading in it catch my attention. I look down at my moccasin-covered feet and see the saturated earth, my feet settling into the mud as I walk on. Looking ahead, I see a mist-laden stream flowing where we are about to cross. The shaman lets go of my hand and walks through the stream, unfazed by the water that has soaked his moccasins and splashed against his deerskin pants. He turns just as I approach the stream and stretches his hand out to me. I stand there, looking from him to the stream before me.

  This is the stream! I saw this stream beyond the veil just before I saw Orion’s belt hovering high above the Etowah Mounds!

  Agitated, the shaman speaks harshly, saying my name and a chain of other foreign words. I reach out and as soon as I touch his outstretched hand, I hear a crash of thunder surround us.

  The sound is the catalyst that induces the melting away of this divined reality into the earthly one I’m whole in. Tessa’s arm is wrapped around my neck, her face still buried in the crook of my shoulder as she hiccups softly through her paling cry. Her other hand is holding mine tightly. I squeeze it and rest my lips against her soft hair.

  I catch Ezra watching at me out of the corner of my eye. He mutters, “Another vision?”

  I nod and whisper, “That obvious?”

  Ezra replies, “You were staring fixedly out the window even through the yelling.”

  I question, “Yelling?”

  “Jake was going to fire into the roof of the truck until Luke yelled for him to stop. Did you not hear that?” Ezra asks.

  I shake my head, denying hearing anything, and add, “I just heard the thunder.”

  Tessa nuzzles against my neck and I rock from side to side, hushing her softly. Ezra leans his head back against the window panel and stares at the ceiling. Calm starts to settle in the truck and I’m able to think back on the stinging slap Ezra gave me to move me into action back at the compound. I whisper, “I told you to never slap me again.”

  Ezra doesn’t respond right away and I look over at him.

  He doesn’t look at me as he responds quietly, “You needed it.”

  I can’t disagree with that, but it still gets under my skin.

  Ezra looks down at Tessa in my arms and adds, “She needed it.”

  Tessa sighs, and then hiccups through her whimpers. I stroke the back of her hair and shush her.

  Ezra’s voice remains low as he asks, “What happened in the vision?”

  I think back on the scene. “The man is her lover, but I don’t think that the girl’s tribe approved or knew about them. The shaman I’ve seen in my vision, the one Sebastian has seen, was there also. He was the one that called my name.”

  Ezra’s eyes widen as he continues to talk quietly, “What did he say?”

  “I couldn’t understand him. The girl and he were arguing in their native language. I think they were arguing about the man, or maybe about what the girl had to do; the ritual.”

  Ezra tightens his lips over his teeth and runs his hand over his mouth before he looks at me sideways. “That it?”

  It wasn’t. “There was a stream that ran through the woods where he led me. It was in my vision beyond the veil too.”

  Ezra replies, “I’ve been to the mounds many times. There is a stream deep in the tree-line south of the mound site.”

  I feel tension creep into my legs and stomach as he confirms that this stream has significance.

  The seat next to me jostles and I turn around in time to see Xander standing in the center aisle holding something bundled under one arm and wobbling toward the front wall panel of the truck.

  Ezra hisses, “Xander, sit down!”

  Jake is closer to the front and tries to reach for him just as Xander wobbles near him. “What are you doing, man?”

  Xander shifts away from Jake before he can grab him, then reaches the wall of the front cab to gain his footing. He bangs on the panel with his fist and yells over the rain hammering the roof top of the truck, “We need to stop!”

  No response.

  Stop? He can’t be serious!

  Daniel raises his voice, “For what? Listen to yourself! Stop out here in the middle of nowhere? What if we are swarmed by Dwellers again?”

  Xander continues his tirade on the panel, “Briggs! Stop!”

  Elicia and Siobhan look at me accusingly, like I can do something about his actions.

  Xander’s yells stir Tessa in my arms. I hold her to me and continue to rock her, but Nick takes notice and calls to Xander, gritting his teeth as he talks through them, “Dude, back off! Jes just calmed Tessa down. You are only going to make things worse!”

  Xander whips around to face Nick. “I need to dispose of something or that little girl will be even more upset.”

  Xander gestures to the bundle cradled under his arm.

  What is bundled in his arms?

  Careful not to wake Tessa, I look under the bench where little Stella had huddled next to Shiva; the pup is gone.

  Xander murmurs, “If that little girl sees it like this—she has lost too much already.”

  Sebastian interrupts, “We don’t know if Tom is dead, Xander.”

  Xander looks at him with presumed confidence and whispers, “He cou
ldn’t have made it and you know it. That is enough death to break anyone, let alone a six-year-old little girl. I can at least spare her this pain.”

  No one has a retort. This little girl in my arms has seen so much in her short life. Xander trying to keep her from seeing any more death is something I’d do myself if I’d seen the dead pup under my foot.

  Xander turns and pounds once again on the panel, “Briggs! Stop the truck!”

  Briggs opens the small hatch and bellows, “We just left a swarm of Dwellers that have probably occupied more than half of those colonists, let alone my best friend and that little girl’s father! You want me to stop? You are an idiot, Xander!”

  Xander doesn’t take to well to his comment. He slams his fist against the panel, denting the metal, then growls, “Damn it, Briggs!” He tries to control his voice level and hisses, “The pup!”

  He holds up the small bundle that is tucked in his arm. I can see Briggs’ furrowed eyebrows soften just a hair. He shuts the hatch without another word, leaving Xander thinking he has been shunned. Xander hits the panel again, and then returns back to the seat next to me. Suddenly, the truck jolts into a downshift. The truck slows then comes to a jerking stop.

  The rain is still falling hard against the metal rooftop. Looking out through the rain-streaked window, I see Ira and Lathan approaching just as Briggs gets out of the truck. Their muffled words are audible, “What is going on?”

  Briggs comes to the back of the truck huffing, “Something about the pup.”

  Everyone unlatches their safety belts and Monica, Luke, Sam and Xander simultaneously draw their guns. The movement and commotion in the truck wakes Tessa. I stand up with her in my arms and continue to stroke her hair to calm her back down, but she is awake. She leans back and looks around dizzily then at me.

  Her voice is soft as she whispers, “Hi.”

  A little taken aback by the first word after what she had witnessed being “Hi,” I reply, but watch her carefully. “Hi.”

  She breathes in slowly, but shakily. She looks like she is on the verge of crying again, when she quickly wraps her arms around my neck and nuzzles her head against my shoulder.

  I pull her to me and whisper, “I’ve got you, Tessa.”

  Her voice breaks and whines, “Thank you, Jesca.”

  Xander tucks the bundled shirt with the pup farther under his arm and moves away from Tessa and me to avoid her noticing. Nate stands and walks over to me, reaching his hands out to take Tessa. “Here, let me take her for a while.”

  I keep my hands tightly around her. “No, I have her.”

  Nate doesn’t push; he just tucks one hand in his pocket and places his hand on my back to help guide me out of the truck.

  Siobhan and Jake have two duffle bags with them as they jump from the back of the truck. The Rephaim, Seth and Errol, have come into view now. Seth asks, “What is it? Why have we stopped?”

  We all look at Xander for him to answer why we have stopped. Even Tessa pulls away from me to look at him. Xander’s eyes find Nate and he walks over to join him. Xander stumbles to find the right words to keep Tessa from understanding what has happened to Stella. “Uh, I need to—plant this. Cover it up.”

  Nate looks over at the Rephaim, “Ira, we need to take it into the woods. Will you guard us while we—plant it?”

  Wait, how does Nate know about it? Did I miss Xander telling him?

  Ira looks at me, then the others questioningly. “Just give it to me. I’ll take care of it.”

  Ira approaches Xander to take the bundle, but Xander holds it deeper into his body. “No, I have to—Nate and I have to do it.”

  As the odd exchange continues, Siobhan tosses Nick a canteen of water. He hands it to Elicia and tells Xander, “Here, I’ll go with you man.”

  Nate and Xander both respond hurriedly at the same time, “No.”

  What is up with them? Why do they have to bury it together? I watch Xander look from Nate to Ira then say, “We need you to help us, Ira.”

  By the way, they are acting; I know it isn’t just the burial of this puppy. I’m about to call them out, ask what exactly do they need help with, when Tessa catches me off guard asking curiously, “What are you planting, Xander?”

  All of us look at each other concerned for Tessa’s reaction. I quickly turn with Tessa in my arms and walk back to the truck away from the rest of the guardians. She pulls away from my shoulder and looks directly at me searching for truth. “Jesca, what are they doing?”

  As I walk, I look back at Xander and Nate talking quietly with Ira as the other guardians watch my retreat with Tessa. Ira studies their words, and then peers at Tessa and me. Silently, the three of them start to head into the brush with Ira leading and Lathan behind them. With the truck doors open, I set Tessa on the floorboard and stand in front of her. Shiva comes out from under the bench, somberly slinking toward us and sitting on her haunches next to Tessa. Shiva sniffs her head, licks her cheek with no reaction from Tessa, then looks at me, appearing to await my answer just like this little girl.

  I can’t lie to her. “You know how we talked about life being a cycle last night?”

  Her small face becomes serious. “Yes.”

  I spy Ezra making his way over to us, careful to not draw Tessa’s attention from me.

  I continue talking to her, “You are so smart to understand how life is a cycle, Tessa.”

  Tessa looks down at her fingers as she fiddles with them. “Thanks.”

  Shiva’s long nose leans over and licks Tessa’s forehead again, distracting her for a moment as she searches behind her for something.

  “Where is Stella?” she asks in her small inquisitive voice.

  She starts to rise to climb farther into the truck to look for her, but I take hold of her hands and keep her from rising.

  Tessa’s neck is still craning, looking for her pup. “Stella?”

  I call to her gently to get her attention, “Tessa.”

  Her wide, seeking eyes meet mine as her chest rises and falls faster and faster. The panic is starting to swell in her small body and all I hope for is that I can say the right words to take the pain away from her.

  “Stella didn’t make it, Tessa.”

  Noticeably surprised, Tessa’s voice is barely audible. “No, she was in the truck. I saw her under the bench.”

  I shake my head. “She must have passed during the commotion on the truck.”

  Tessa’s eyes well up with tears instantly. I lean in, not taking my eyes from hers. “I’m sorry, Tessa. I’m sorry about Stella—” I hesitate for a moment, then decide to say it, “—and your dad.”

  She looks down, pulls one of her hands from mine and wipes the tears from her eyes. Her dampened blue eyes ogle me as she states fiercely, “My dad isn’t dead.”

  I’m about to tell her that it isn’t possible her father survived the Dwellers’ attack, but hearing the conviction in her voice and seeing the determination on her face I can’t do it, can’t break her any more than she already is. I can’t break her hope, her conviction, her determined personality. If thinking her father is alive is the glue holding her together, then I won’t deny her that.

  She squeezes my hands and echoes again softly, “Dad isn’t dead.”

  I squeeze her hand gently and pull her to me. She doesn’t hesitate climbing back into my arms and resting her head on my shoulder. I place my hand on her head and whisper, “Okay, Tessa.”

  Who am I to tell her that her father is dead? I didn’t see him die. Didn’t see him taken by Dwellers. What if he hid?

  Abruptly, Shiva jumps down from the truck and runs in the direction Ira led Xander, Nate and Lathan. I turn and notice Ezra leaning against one of the doors watching me as I sway back and forth with Tessa in my arms. A fraction of a grin tugs at the corner of his mouth, but his expression doesn’t give away what he mi
ght be thinking. I try my hand at my long-lost telepathy. Damn, no luck.

  Frustrated, I mumble, “What are you thinking?”

  Ezra lets the hint of a smile fade before he answers, “You handled that well.”

  I don’t need my psychic ability to know that isn’t all he was thinking.

  Ezra looks back at the others and says, “I’m going to tell them about your vision.”

  Before he escapes, I ask softly, “Is that it? Were you thinking about something else?”

  Half turned in the direction of the others, Ezra glances back at me and says, “She is like you, Jesca, Strong willed and brave, a force to be reckoned with. She will be fine with you by her side.”

  His voice hitches with emotion on the last few words. Hastily, he turns on his heels and joins Daniel and Sebastian. Sentiments are rare for Ezra, but I’m noticing more and more they are becoming impossible for him to hide, as we get closer to the mounds. I have to admit, it is the same for me. The closer I get to the mounds, with every divination I conjure in my mind, every sign revealed in the visions, every word my father says to me, my fear grows, wondering what my legacy will require of me in order to save us all. When I learn what I must do, will I be able to face it head on without losing my courage?

  CHAPTER 23: ASHES TO ASHES

  Nate

  Ira leads us into the brush. I turn to see Jes carrying Tessa back to the truck. She is going to talk to her, tell her what happened. I notice Ezra walking toward her now. I’m relieved to know that she won’t have to tell Tessa on her own. The rest of the crew is standing guardedly, huddled into pairs, except for Sam. He is watching us walk off with Ira and Lathan. I send my thought to Xander, “He is watching us.”

  Looking at the back of Xander’s head, I notice him turn to glance in Sam’s direction then straight ahead at Ira. He thinks, “He isn’t saying anything, Nate. Not before, we can tell Ira. ”

  Yeah, we tell Ira and they decide that saving us isn’t worth the risk. I look back behind me at Lathan. His jet-black hair is covering his forehead, falling into his yellowish cat eyes. His shoulders span the length of a car windshield. He eyes me and murmurs something in Aramaic. Ira says something unrecognizable in return to his murmur. What if they can hear us thinking and they already know what we are up to? What if they are going along with it until they get us deeper in the woods, then WACK! They kill us!