by Bryan Davis
“I can’t blame him for wanting to save lives.”
“Agreed, but the ramifications are impossible to guess. We cannot track the rescued passengers, and as you know, one has even crossed over to our world, and we have no idea where he is now. It seems that others have crossed over as well. I have heard reports about long-lost plane crash victims appearing at their former homes. Who can tell how either world will be affected?”
I pushed my hands into my sweatshirt pockets. “So maybe Francesca and Solomon won’t get married on Earth Yellow.”
Kelly patted my elbow. “Don’t worry about that. Dr. Malenkov and Gunther will make sure they get together.”
“As soon as you are able,” Dr. Gordon said, “I would like to meet with both of you again to work on these matters. Obviously your most pressing concern is finding your parents. Earlier, before the funeral, Simon Blue helped them escape from the observatory. Since he no longer had access to the telescope room, he took them to Nathan Blue’s bedroom so they could use that mirror to transport. But it was missing a section, so we set up the Earth Red mirror at the funeral so you could get them out from our side. After that failure, Simon conducted a new search through the Earth Blue house for the missing section. While he was searching, he heard a loud pop. When he hurried to the bedroom, your parents were gone.”
“Gone?”
Dr. Gordon nodded. “The Earth Blue mirror is intact, so we will get the final piece and see if they can be traced. According to Daryl Red, Clara and Daryl Blue have it.”
“They do, but I noticed that one of the squares of the Earth Red mirror dropped before the rest of it crumbled. With all that was going on, I forgot to look for it.”
“Interesting.” Dr. Gordon stroked his chin. “I’ll ask Simon Blue about that. He had an agent in attendance at the funeral. Maybe he picked it up.”
I let my head droop. It was so strange. I wanted to pump my fists and celebrate that my parents were still alive, but in some ways, I felt worse than ever. They were in trouble, and I wouldn’t be able to rest until I brought them home.
Dr. Gordon walked to the door and opened it. “The two surviving Simons are working together, and I’ll join the search very soon. In the meantime” — he spread two fingers at Kelly and me — “you two need to rest and get well. You make quite a dynamic duo.”
Kelly pulled my hand from my pocket and held it tight. “We do, but Nathan is the real hero.”
“You’re both heroes.” A hint of a grin cracked Dr. Gordon’s stoic face. “But leave the shotgun at home. The world’s not ready for the rebirth of Annie Oakley.”
“One more thing,” I said, raising a finger. “Do you know anything about supplicants? Something called a Sancta, maybe?”
He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “No. Why?”
“Just something I heard. If it comes up again, I’ll let you know.”
“Good enough.” He walked out and closed the door behind him.
Clara tied her trench coat’s belt. “I must catch Dr. Gordon. I need to consult with him about lodging here in Chicago and transportation back to Iowa. When I return, Nathan and I will have to leave for the night.” She raised her eyebrows. “Is that a suitable plan?”
“Sure, Clara,” I said. “Thanks for everything.”
Kelly grasped her hand. “You’re the best.”
“I am very impressed with you, young lady.” Clara’s eyes glistened. “Very much impressed.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” When Clara left, Kelly felt for my hand and clutched it to her chest. She took a deep breath and smiled. “I really like her.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” As her hands enveloped mine, her fingers trembled. “Are you cold?” I asked.
Her faraway eyes each shed a tear. “No, just scared.”
I leaned closer and lowered my voice. “Scared of what?”
“Lots of things.” She slowly tightened her grip on my hand. “What if all of creation collapses? What if I never get my eyesight back? What if we can’t find your parents? What if — ”
“Shhhh.” When her hands settled and her eyes turned toward me, I continued in a hushed tone. “Those are just what ifs. Everything’s going to be all right.”
A tremor ran across her lips. “But if your parents die, it’ll be my fault.”
“Your fault? Why?”
The tremor spread from her lips to her cheeks and echoed in her hands until her entire body shook. Her voice broke into a plaintive call. “Because you could have saved them, but you saved me instead.”
“Of course I saved you.” I set a hand on her cheek. As if calmed by my touch, her tremors faded. “Saving your life was more important than getting them back.”
As her brow arched, her voice pitched higher as well. “But why? You’ve been trying to rescue your parents ever since I met you.”
I drew my head back. “You mean … you don’t know?”
“No. That’s why I’m asking.”
I pulled my hands away and set them on the bedrail. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“You said not to use that word.”
“What word?” Even as she asked her question, she drew in a halting breath. Her wounded eyes misted. “Do you mean …”
“Yes,” I said softly.
New tremors raced across her hands as she reached out for mine, her eyes wide and searching. “Go ahead. Say it. Say it right now.”
As our four hands intertwined in a soft embrace, I whispered, “I saved you, Kelly Clark, because I love you.”
Again the tremors faded. Tears streamed down her cheeks. After suppressing a sob, she looked at me with her glassy eyes. “But why would you love someone like me? I’m just a — ”
“A girl who’s searching.” Bending closer, I raised our clasped hands and breathed on her knuckles. “Love is the true breath of God. And I’ll do everything I can to show his love to you so you’ll find what you’re searching for.”
As she looked at her hand, tears dripped to her knuckles. “But I don’t know what I’m searching for.”
“Maybe I do, at least a couple of things. We’ll search for them together.” A vibrant song rang through the halls, drawing closer. I released her hands and smiled. “Sounds like you have a visitor.”
The door swung open, revealing Tony. His eyes bulged, as usual, and he carried a pizza box high on his palm. Singing something lively in an odd mix of Italian and English, he strode to the bed and laid the box on Kelly’s stomach. “I heard you were hankering for some real food, so …” With a dramatic turn of his hand, he opened the box, revealing a large pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni. “Bon appétit!”
Kelly smiled. “I smell pepperoni. It’s my favorite.”
“It is?” When he looked at the pizza, he slapped his forehead. “I can’t believe they forgot the liver and anchovies!”
“Daddy,” Kelly said as new tears traced to her chin, “you’re my hero!”
His own eyes tearing up, Tony shifted from foot to foot, and his voice tracked up a notch. “A hero? Because I brought you pizza?”
Kelly shook her head. “Because you love me. If you hadn’t taught me to be tough, I never would have survived.”
“Yeah … well, I knew all along that you needed to learn …” His face reddening, he cleared his throat. “What I mean to say is …”
I turned my head but watched out of the corner of my eye.
Tony looked at the floor briefly, then gazed at her, tears streaming. “What I mean to say is … I’m glad you’re my daughter.”
Kelly spread out her arms. Tony pulled her into an embrace. As they wept together, I backed away from the bed and eased toward the door without a sound.
Kelly opened her eyes and peered at me over her father’s shoulder, blinking through a shower of tears. The joy in her expression said it all. This embrace was one of the treasures she had been searching for.
I smiled, formed an “I love you” sign wit
h my fingers, hoping she could see it, and left the room.
As I walked down the hall toward the waiting area, I withdrew the photo envelope from my pocket and slid out the three photos, but something was still inside. A fourth photo had adhered to the envelope. Daryl was right about the number after all. Kelly’s poor eyesight just didn’t catch it.
I pulled the fourth picture out. This had to be the one Kelly took while we were aboard the plane, but the flash unit hadn’t been turned on. I had forgotten all about it.
In the photo, Mictar appeared to be walking through a vast chamber, dark except for a shaft of light cast on him from above. Over his shoulder, he carried a limp girl — a girl dressed in red.
Stifling a gasp, I drew the photo close. Mictar’s ponytail was in view, proving his identity. Patar had said my supplicant was in danger and out of my reach, but would he be able to help her? And now that she was either dead or being held captive, she might not be able to help us anymore.
I slid the photos back in place. Regardless of what Patar said, I had to find a way to help this Sancta, my supplicant, and, in many ways, my newfound guardian angel.
Table of Contents
Other Books by Bryan Davis
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
