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

by Venessa Kimball

  I look back in the direction of the crew and truck, but I can’t see them. The heavy shrubs and trees have concealed us. I stop walking. “Wait.”

  Ira and Xander stop and turn to look at me at the same time.

  “This is the spot.”

  Xander looks a little surprised, but goes along with my call and nods. “Yeah, this spot will work.”

  Xander takes the small pup from under his shirt. Ira and Lathan both move in closer to look at the small canine just as Xander squats down in the tall grass. He says, “We need something to dig with.”

  I crouch down next to him and search in the tall grass for a sharp-edged rock to dig with. Feeling around for only a few minutes, my hand grazes something hard. “I have something.”

  I dig my fingers around the edges and pull it out of the clay-like dirt. The rock is jagged and flat; it will work perfectly. I take hold of it and strike at the ground, pulling dirt from the hole I’m making. The ground is soft from the rain, so it doesn’t take long to make a hole big enough to lay the puppy to rest. “There.”

  Xander places Stella on the ground next to the shallow hole as Ira and Lathan crouch down farther to see what we are doing. The pup’s small silver body is curled up peacefully.

  Startlingly, movement in the grass behind me puts me on alert. Xander aims his gun in the direction of the sound and Ira and Lathan rise, ready to attack. The sleek silver streak is visible in the tall grass as it pounds toward us; Shiva. I can’t deny that I’m a little worried that she has come to attack us for taking her pup. Squelching my concern, she slows and walks toward us, her nubby tail tucked low on her backend; she means no harm. Xander tucks his gun away just as she approaches us. I call to her gently, “It’s okay, girl. Come.”

  She nudges against me with her body and I run my hand along her silver coat. “It’s all right, girl.”

  Shiva pokes her nose closer to Stella’s body and releases a whine.

  “She has come to say farewell,” says Ira.

  Xander lifts Stella from the ground, bringing her closer to Shiva. Shiva nudges Stella with her snout, licks her once, sits on her rump, then watches us. Xander takes the pup and lays it in the hole gently. Lathan reaches down to the ground, scoops up a handful of dirt, then places it on top of Stella’s silver body as he says, “Ashes to ashes.”

  Amazed by Lathan’s gesture, I watch him take a final scoop of dirt and cover the small hole completely, placing his hand on the rested dirt, and closing his eyes. Shiva looks from his hand, up to his face, and then she does something I didn’t expect. She rises up on her hind legs and licks Lathan’s chin.

  Lathan’s eyes fly open and he groans, “Ahhh!” He proceeds in releasing a chain of words in Aramaic, directing them at Shiva.

  Shiva barks and runs back toward the truck and crew.

  Ira smirks and rises. “If that is all. We must go.”

  What does he mean by that? If that is all.

  Xander and I glance at each other as we both rise. Xander thinks, “This is it.”

  Xander turns to face Ira squarely. “There is something else.”

  Ira crosses his arms over his chest and narrows his golden eyes on Xander. “What is it?”

  Xander begins, “A Dweller is stalking us.”

  I clarify, “Hunting us, not consuming us—yet.”

  As soon as I speak Ira’s eyes meet mine. I continue, “It started with me, but somehow it is transferring between Nate and me now.”

  Xander says, “It isn’t visible like the Dwellers that have been attacking. It is a hybrid of some kind, completely hidden.”

  Xander explains what he saw in his vision. How Michael’s soul and a Dweller had melded together somehow, creating this invisible Dweller, a hybrid that is attacking us.

  Ira raises his open hand for us to be quiet and asks, “Nate was preyed upon first?”

  I look at Xander just as he looks at me, surprised at Ira’s calm attitude. We both nod and Xander responds, “Yes.”

  Ira looks at me, then Xander as he asks, “You protected him?”

  Without thinking, Xander says, “Of course. He is my cousin.”

  Ira makes a move toward me. “You could have killed her!” he growls.

  Xander blocks Ira’s advance. “Look, damn it! Nate is still in there fighting this Dweller.”

  He puts his hand over his heart, “I’m still fighting it. It hasn’t attached to us yet. It is waiting, using us until it gets what it wants.”

  Lathan’s deep voice rises, “It wants the girl before she can summon the legacy.”

  Ira peers over Xander’s and my head at Lathan with obvious concern of what this Dweller teetering between us could do to Jes before we get to the mounds.

  I look between both Ira and Lathan as I say, “Our abilities will get stronger as we get closer to the mounds! We can fight this thing off, but we have to keep it from the other guardians. We think this being could attack, turn one of us at any moment if any of the others found out about it. The only one we knew we could tell and still keep them safe was you. We need your help.”

  Ira tilts his head. “How?”

  Xander explains, “This being is messing with us, clinging to us, but when we are near you, it keeps it in check. They fear you because they know you can kill them. Like right now, I can’t feel its presence at all. In the compound, while you were guarding us, we both felt its presence.”

  Lathan bellows, “It was in the compound!”

  He turns and starts ranting in Aramaic again.

  Ira calms him with a response to his ravings in their ancient language.

  Lathan is pacing a few feet away from us now. “We shouldn’t be considering this, Ira! This is not what we do! We can’t form ties with them! We are just meant to get them to the mounds safely, that is all.”

  Ira looks up into the sky and wipes the misting drizzle from his face. “It is too late for that, Akha. We are already tied to them.”

  Akha?

  Xander asks, “Akha. What does that mean?”

  Ira observes Xander then me before he answers, “It means ‘brother’ in my language.”

  His manner in telling me the definition imparts more than its simple meaning. I can feel that his intent is for us to acknowledge the brotherhood that Nate and I’ve come to embrace.

  Ira uncrosses his arms and takes a threatening step toward us. Xander and I both react, taking a step back. His body stoops to meet us at eye level. “If either of you fall captive to this beast, we will kill it. Whoever it has possessed will risk being killed as well. Do you understand?”

  Hearing the ultimatum from my potential executioner is surreal. Words have escaped me, so I nod. Ira backs away just as I’m reminded that someone else could put everyone around us at risk; Sam. “There is something else,” I add.

  “More?” Lathan throws his arms up and mumbles in his foreign tongue.

  I keep one eye on him as I tell Ira my concern. “Sam, he suspects something. I don’t know how much, but I know that he is close to discovering what is going on with this hybrid Dweller.”

  Ira’s searching expression turns to one of realization. “Michael had controlled him. He sees it in your behavior.”

  Considering the complications of Sam telling the others makes my chest tighten.

  Xander puts words to my thoughts, “He can’t say anything. We can’t tell him to keep quiet. If we do, we risk this Dweller taking one of us and attacking.”

  Ira bows his head. “I’ll handle Sam. Come, we need to—”

  The sound of twigs breaking behind us cut his words short as we turn to scan the heavy woodland for the invader.

  CHAPTER 24: CAPTIVE

  Jesca

  I lean against the open door of the truck holding Tessa, her head resting on my arm. I sway from side to side, watching Ezra talk with S
ebastian and Daniel. Daniel glances at me during the conversation, and then returns to Ezra as he continues to talk quietly. Briggs walks passed them, drawing my attention from them as I follow his nervous pace. He looks out in the direction that Xander and Nate went with Ira and Lathan then kicks a small stone with the tip of his combat boot. The rain has slowed and a mist has settled in, casting a golden fog among us; the sun is trying to peek through the heavy haze. I wonder how close it is to nightfall being that the days are longer now. We have been driving only a short while since leaving the compound. Briggs said the Dwellers are more active at night. Will we be able to make it to the mounds before nightfall? I can’t fight the image of the swarm that attacked Tom’s compound; I guess it doesn’t really matter if it is nightfall or not anymore.

  I glance at each of the guardians. Monica is perched over a duffle bag systematically pushing bullets into a clip. Briggs hunkers down next to her, pulling Monica’s attention from her task. He retrieves a handful of bullets from a box then starts filling a clip. Siobhan, Jake, Nick and Elicia are surveying the surface of the woods, fingers on the triggers of their guns.

  Luke has his rifle hanging down by his side. Corinna is sitting on a large boulder, gun dangling from her hand, staring at the grass. I don’t see Sam. All of a sudden, I feel small, warm fingers fumbling with the copper device dangling from my neck.

  “What is this?” Tessa asks in a hoarse voice. I look down at her small face and see her gazing at the medallion in awe as she holds it in her delicate hand. She runs her thumb along the smooth glass, studying it.

  “It is the first Copula,” I say.

  Her eyes widen and she picks her head up from my shoulder to hold it between both of her hands now. “The implant?” she asks.

  I nod. “Yes.”

  She turns it over once with her small fingers before she shifts the device into one hand, taking her other hand and placing it on the back of her neck. “Is this in my neck?” I nod and her eyes widen again as she says, “I didn’t think it was this big.”

  I can tell her mind is wandering frantically while she runs her fingers along her neck.

  I say, “It is hard to feel. It might feel like a little bump right here.”

  I place my free hand over hers and position it at the base of her skull. She looks into my eyes with surprise. “I feel something.”

  I move my hand away and Tessa gently releases the medallion to my neck.

  “Why do you have it around your neck?” she asks.

  I glance over at Sebastian just as he looks at me. “My family is the one that created it,” I tell her.

  I look down at Tessa again. Inquisitively she studies the interior of the medallion, the cogs, the pedals that once propelled connecting the device to the vessel to traverse.

  “So it has been passed down to you from your mom?” she asks curiously.

  I’m not prepared for her question. It reminds me that it has been days since my mother made contact with me in my visions. She hasn’t tried to communicate since the plane. Has she left me?

  “No, my dear,” Ms. Olivia’s calming voice breaks my spiraling thoughts as she answers Tessa’s question.

  I look up at her warm honey-colored eyes and wonder if she is speaking to me. Tessa angles her head to find the voice, so I turn my body for her to see better.

  Ms. Olivia’s eyes divert from mine to Tessa’s slowly as she says, “The creator was her great Uncle Sebastian. He passed it down to her.” The tightness in my throat melts away when Ms. Olivia places her hand on my arm tenderly. “ Let me take her for a bit, Jesca.”

  I hesitate giving her over until Tessa leans into her with open arms. Guardedly, I relent and pass her to Ms. Olivia.

  Once in her warm arms, Tessa smiles softly. A real smile, one I wouldn’t expect from a little girl who has endured such trauma within the past few hours.

  I glance at Ms. Olivia as she focuses solely on little Tessa and I remember what this woman has done for others her whole life, healed them. She has healed this little girl’s heart just by holding her in her arms.

  Tessa lays her head down on Ms. Olivia’s shoulder, wraps her small legs around her waist and tightens her arms around her neck. As I watch her sway with Tessa in her arms, I touch the medallion on my neck and think of my mother again.

  Ms. Olivia’s voice is hushed as she says, “She has not left, Jesca.”

  I look up at Ms. Olivia, expecting to see her looking at me, talking to me. Instead, her eyes are closed as she moves from side to side, fully engaged in holding Tessa.

  “Thank you,” I tell her quietly.

  She opens her eyes lazily and nods.

  I notice movement in the woods and react instantly, positioning myself in front of Tessa and Ms. Olivia. Damn it, I don’t have a gun! I search for the others to react and immediately they each take aim at the woodland. Sam comes from beside me, startling me. His gun is drawn and aimed at the woods as well. How did I not see him earlier? Ira’s massive form is the first to emerge from the lush overgrowth. Xander and Nate come into view with Lathan close behind, but they are not alone. Lathan is carrying a body draped over his shoulder.

  Ezra and Briggs approach them first, guns in hand, but no longer aimed. Ezra asks urgently, “Is it a Dweller?”

  He looks at Nate and Xander. “Were you attacked?”

  A muffled yell comes from the body folded over Lathan’s shoulder. Did they gag it? Briggs and Ezra are back to full alert. They aim their guns at the form that is wiggling aggressively, trying to break free from Lathan’s hold. The bold Rephaim takes each blow from the swinging legs like they are non-existent.

  Ira replies, “No, it isn’t a Dweller.”

  The stifled yelling rant from the captive is louder, but unrecognizable. The voice is feminine though.

  Lathan bends while Nate and Xander take hold of the wiggling body to set it on its feet. A head of long, silver hair is the first glimpse I have of this person. It’s a woman. Her white hair is strewn and covering her face. She is feeble, weak looking as she stands between Nate and Xander. Cautiously, we all move in toward them. Ira removes the gag from the woman’s mouth. “We needed to gag her. Her screams would stir every Dweller in the area.”

  Xander adds, thumbing back at Ira and Lathan, “When she saw these two, she was on the verge of screaming!”

  Nick snorts, “Can’t blame grandma. I’d scream too.”

  Lathan and Ira both glare at Nick. He holds his hands up surrendering to them; gun in hand, as he says, “What? True.”

  Nick notices Elicia staring at him and mumbles, “They would scare my grandma.”

  The woman is breathing hard, white strands of hair being blown from her head by her panting breath. I hear the slightest hiss of words. She is trying to speak, but I can’t make out what she is saying.

  “Who are you?” asks Briggs.

  She wheezes the word and I only hear part of it. “—beth.”

  Briggs turns to Daniel and Sebastian. “She is on the verge of dying, whoever she is.”

  Monica asks, “If she isn’t a Dweller, what is she doing out here in the middle of the woods?”

  Corinna says, “Maybe she came from the next town?”

  Sebastian leaves Daniel’s side and steps closer to the woman to get a better look at her.

  Daniel responds to Corinna’s comment, “We are on the outskirts of Dalton. It wouldn’t have been far for her to get here.”

  Sebastian places his gun in his pocket and tries to get a good look at her face.

  Jake chimes in, “It doesn’t explain what she is doing out here alone.”

  Sam says, “She may not be alone.”

  Luke asks, “Where are Seth and Errol?”

  Ira answers, “They are checking the area for any others.”

  Standing before Nate and Xander, Sebastian cowers lower
and closer to the woman to observe her.

  The woman grunts and tries to break away from Nate and Xander’s strong hold. Her efforts get her nowhere; just make her wheezing breath more strained. I can’t help admiring her small fight; she is tough for an older woman.

  Unknowingly, I move in closer, curious about who this woman is.

  Sebastian asks her softly, “Are you alone?”

  The woman nods as she slowly draws a slower breath. More of her hair falls over her face. Carefully, Sebastian reaches out seemingly to brush her hair from her face. She turns away from his approaching hand.

  Daniel whispers vigilantly, “Careful.”

  Sebastian doesn’t heed his warning, brushing away the shroud of hair covering her face and revealing terror-stricken sage-colored eyes. Her lips quiver as her widened eyes dart from one guardian to another, then back to Sebastian.

  I ask her delicately, “What is your name? Who are you?”

  Her eyes remain petrified and her lips still as she stares fixedly at me. Noticing the weight of her frozen stare, Xander and Nate both shift their eyes from her to me.

  Sebastian touches her chin with his other hand and turns her face toward him. Her eyes don’t follow, they cling to me. She tries to wet her quivering lips with her tongue, but there is nothing to wet them with; her mouth is dry.

  Daniel sees her dryness too and says, “She needs water. She’s dehydrated.”

  She continues to inspect me. Feeling completely vulnerable under her examining eye, I look everywhere but at her.

  Siobhan passes Sebastian a canteen of water for her to drink from. Still holding her chin with his hand, he tips the canteen to her lips. The water touches their parched mouth and she flinches, but doesn’t drop her gaze from me. The water runs down the front of her mouth, streaking the dirt that has gathered on her face from being out in the elements. How long has she been out here and where would she have hidden if the Dwellers came?