The Emerald Tablet: Omnibus Edition

by JM HART

  Her great-grandmother named her Raven Wings when she was born. She believed Jade would be like the raven that appears when there is sickness and disaster, bearing gifts of healing upon its wings for all those who desired to be healed. The memory of Great Turtle telling her the tale over and over again was exploding inside her and she just wanted to run into her dad’s arms and cry. No one had called her Raven Wings since Great Turtle’s death.

  “I love you too, Dad,” she said, hiding her emotions.

  “Call me every day, and listen to Callie. She has been the one person I have been able to talk to since your mother disappeared. She understands what we are going through.”

  Jade looked over at Callie, ashamed of her own previous assessment. “Okay, Dad, till tomorrow.” Jade pushed the end button and handed Callie back her phone.

  “You and Mom were working on the vaccine.” Jade put the mobile phone down on the bedside table and said, “Why didn't you tell me?”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about. Let’s get something to eat.”

  “Tell me!”

  “It’s not going to happen! You need to trust me when I say I don’t know anything about a vaccine.” Callie put her hand gently on Jade’s shoulder, guiding her towards the bedroom door and out into the hallway. Arms across her chest, Jade reluctantly let Callie maneuver her. They peeked in on Molly. The yellow glow of the hall light shone through the crack and streamed across Molly’s cot. Ponies were dancing across the walls, a change table sat under the window and stuffed toys filled the shelves. Baby animals hung from a mobile above the cot, swaying in a gentle breeze. Callie closed the window and Jade stepped further into the room. Molly was on her stomach with her knees curled up to her chest as if she was trying to crawl in her sleep. They both quietly left the room, closing the door.

  Walking on the stairs behind Callie, Jade casually rubbed the back of her head still expecting to feel a gash, but it was completely gone. Her legs felt heavy, but her mind was racing with questions. A quantum jump through time and space from one side of the world within minutes, involving a high level of physicality, and days had passed, not to mention the healing of her wounds once she had gone through the membrane. She started to feel rejuvenated, light, and endless possibilities flooded her mind.

  *

  What are they doing up there, Kevin wondered. It was dark outside. At least an hour had passed since Jade and his mom went upstairs. Alex had stopped slaying dragons on his Xbox and had crashed on the lounge. Daniel was about to lift him up when Callie and Jade came into the living room. They both looked like they had been crying. Daniel looked at Kevin. Kevin’s eyes widened and his chin tucked in, as if to say, Don’t look at me, I don’t know. Through semi-clenched lips he huffed a sigh, the air blowing his fringe. He prepared himself for a battle with his mom. He had no idea what Jade had said, but he didn’t think his mom was going to like any of it. Did she tell her about the parallel world? And it was his fault that they were in there. Does she know that they were lying about being at Shaun’s? He was freaking out; he was going to burst not knowing. He could see her mouth opening, she was going to speak. Fire, like with Alex’s monster, was going to come out of her mouth and turn him to ash.

  “Kevin,” she said.

  He waited, it seemed like forever; a siren went off in the night as if alerting him to the impending doom about to fall upon him. Okay, snap out of it, he told himself. I’ve been hanging with Tim a little too long. He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes and searched the space to gauge their emotional state.

  “Kevin, stop it,” his mother said.

  He quickly opened his eyes, pretending he had momentarily drifted into sleep.

  “Take Jade into the kitchen and show her how we make pizzas.”

  Kevin was confused. His dad saw it on his face, and said, “You’re in for a treat, Jade. Kevin scatters cheese like nobody else.”

  Kevin smiled. What was his dad raving about?

  “Daniel, can you help me with Alex?”

  “Sure.”

  Kevin and Jade walked into the kitchen. Kevin scratched his head and said, “Okay, grab a pizza tray, then take what you like,” indicating the prepared ingredients on the bench.

  “I hope you’re going to wash your hands before touching the food,” she said.

  He looked down at his hands and said, “Why? They’re clean.”

  “You just scratched your head. Do you have any idea the number of germs that can be packed onto a pinhead?” Jade followed Kevin and picked up the tray: the dough was already laid out on it. Kevin leant close into her space and quietly asked, “What did you tell her? How do you know my mom?”

  Jade looked down at the ingredients and scooped up a spoonful of tomato paste spreading it over her base.

  “Well?” he demanded.

  “Do you have any avocado?” she asked, teasing him.

  “Forget the avocado. How do you know my mom and what did you tell her?”

  “Who, the dragon lady? Ha ha. I told her I don’t know how I got here and you and Tim found me in the bush. She’ll probably ask you where exactly.”

  “That’s it, nothing else?” he asked.

  “Nothing else that involves you.”

  “How do you and my mom know each other?”

  “She stayed with us while she was assisting my mother with genetic research. My mom was researching free radical cell mitosis, primarily a mutant cell multiples by division and destroys the organs. She believes she found a way to reverse and stop the destructive cells. Come to think of it, if that was the case, then they may have been able to …” Jade went off into deep thoughts on how the theory could be a vaccine, for the virus.

  Kevin watched her and could feel her intense emotional journey of discovery as she tilted her head to one side, her eyes squinting, circling the ceiling as if finding ideas and searching for answers. She was like an astronaut, floating into the unknown regions of space, seeking the unknown, believing something else was there, just beyond her reach. So this is what I look like to Tim. “Earth to Jade, Earth to Jade, come in, Jade.” She looked back down at the tomato paste so he nudged her and she nearly lost her balance.

  “What did you do that for?”

  “You were off with the fairies. You’re the missing girl! Your mom went missing and now you. But you’re here. What happened, why were you in the forest? And my mom stayed with you in the US, right?”

  “Yes. As soon as my mom went missing, your mom packed her bags and was off on a flight home. She left before we even got home from the police station.”

  Kevin reached for the mushroom and the tomato, spreading them around his pizza before smothering it with three types of cheese. Jade robotically followed his actions, shuffling along the bench. He pulled the metal handle of the oven, the heat shooting out; he instantly pulled his head back and banged into Jade’s.

  “Shit! That hurt,” she said.

  “Oh — really sorry.”

  Jade slid her pizza on the bottom shelf and said, “Now it’s my turn to ask a question. How do you do it? How do you access a parallel world? Will you show me?”

  “I don’t know how I do it. I think I just slipped into it.”

  “If you like, I can help you work out how to do it. We can treat it like a scientific problem. That way, you will have a method to follow in the future, or a documented procedure to share with the world.”

  “Jade, I’m trying not to use my — gifts. It freaks out my mom.”

  “Why, that doesn’t sound like your mom.”

  “I don’t know what happened over there, but when she got back here, she was different and things went from bad to worse at sonic speed. My grandparents died in a car accident when coming to visit us, she quit her research and she has been fighting with my dad … and hiding.”

  “What do you mean, hiding?”

  “She doesn’t let me see her emotions, unless it’s her anger.”

  “What do you mean, see emotions? You m
ean facial expressions and body language?”

  “No, I see them in colors around the person. I feel them in the pit of my stomach, and taste the pain in my throat. I feel your excitement right now, and I feel your confusion and sadness when you think of your mom, and your hope of finding her alive. I feel the anxiety you’re always pushing away. You’re afraid the room will start to spin and you will faint. You think I can help you find your mom, but I can’t.”

  “Wow! That’s incredible. That makes me feel —”

  “Vulnerable and uncomfortable,” he said.

  “You’re freaking me out.” She stepped back. Okay Jade, pull yourself together; what are the facts, let’s get the facts. “Were you always able to sense others’ feelings and thoughts? Or only since you were in the parallel space?”

  He could feel her deliberately regrouping and adopting a new stance. “Always,” he said. “I’ve tried to shut it down, push it away, pretend it’s not happening. Hiding away.”

  “Hiding — that’s what you just said about your mom. You have an amazing ability to know what someone else is feeling.”

  Kevin and Jade were at the bench talking, their backs to the door, when Daniel cleared his throat and said, “So, you’re Ellen’s daughter.” He held out his hand to shake hers.

  Quickly Kevin jumped in and said, “Dad, I think she’s got OCD. You might have to wash your hands first.”

  Jade elbowed Kevin in the ribs and shook Daniel’s hand.

  “I wish it could have been under pleasanter circumstances,” Daniel said. “Callie spoke highly of your mother.”

  “Are we going to leave, like the policeman suggested?” Kevin asked.

  “I don’t think so. Where would we go?”

  5

  Celestial warriors: Sophia. Scotland.

  Joe hit a bump in the road, startling Sophia from her waking dream. She blinked and pinched herself, making sure she was back in the car. She dipped her neck to the left, and then the right, to stretch it. Fields of poppies sailed past as Joe picked up speed before coming to a sudden stop. Up ahead was an abandoned military blockade.

  “We’re not going anywhere along this road,” Joe said.

  Abandoned cars led up to a tall, electric fence. Hanging off the fence were dozens of jittering bodies. How they were still alive, Sophia couldn’t begin to imagine.

  “Bless these souls that hang before me,” Joe said.

  “Amen,” said Father McDonald.

  Joe reversed the car, swinging it around. He turned down a side road and pulled over.

  “Where are we?” Sophia asked.

  “We’re past Paisley, heading south-west.”

  “We have to be on the east coast,” she said, unbuckling her seat belt and leaning her arms on the back of the front seats. The sky was a hive of activity and growing darker. The light of the sun was hidden behind the iron-colored clouds.

  “We tried, we can’t get through. I had to turn around. We are being pushed in this direction,” Joe said.

  “Then we should keep moving,” Father McDonald said, “in the direction God is guiding you. You asked him to bless the souls that belonged to those bodies; he will also bless you for asking. Don’t be reactive, trust in the light.”

  Joe twirled the red string around his wrist and counted the seven knots his brother had tied. It was starting to look a little frayed. He reached for the light switch.

  “No, don’t turn them on.” Sophia nearly jumped over the seat to turn them off herself.

  Joe felt her urgency. His skin crawled with fear. He felt himself fraying like his red string. The clouds merged together and it was hard to see the road in front of them.

  “Drive,” Father McDonald said, pulling off the handbrake.

  “I can’t.” Joe was feeling melancholy and extremely tired. “No, I have to sleep now.” His eyes started to close; his arms dropped from the steering wheel.

  “Yes, you can!” Sophia said and pinched him at the base of his neck. Joe jumped in pain, his eyes opened and he stared with a blank face. The horror of the bodies hanging from the gate flashed in front of his face, along with his brother’s body and all the images of death that the media shared: it was overwhelming.

  “No, I need to sleep.”

  The skies grew even darker; the howling wind was rocking the car. “We have to go. If you don’t we are going to die, Joe. God sent you to help us. You must push aside the lingering negative images. The demonic angels have also heard your prayers for blessings for those poor souls. They are now searching for you; they heard your tears, Joe. God believes in you and they know it.”

  Sophia placed her hand on the back of his neck. His mind filled with images of his mother putting his first red string around his tiny chubby wrist, the sweetness of his first kiss, his first love, and how alive he felt. He saw the memory of his brother’s wedding day. He saw the images of hellos and goodbyes, and the smiles from the people who came and went from his restaurant. Sophia withdrew her hand gently; the images faded, but his feelings remained high. “Connect to those feelings, Joe.”

  He put the car into gear and drove blindly into the darkness.

  Sophia sat back against the seat, closed her eyes and imagined a tether, like a leash to a dog, and left her body. She only went up a short distance, stopping just outside and hovering over the roof of the car. It was too dangerous to venture further, she would be noticed. She couldn’t move beyond the fragile protective shell. She flipped over onto her back and looked up. Above, in the sky, angels — bad and good — battled, armed with bolts of lightning. The lights were diminishing as celestial warriors were beaten and the devil’s horde absorbed their essences. There was one angel that grew brighter; it had three sets of wings and wielded a sword, its breath fire like a dragon. Its enemies were reduced to ash and the substance floated from the sky to land on the windscreen.

  Joe turned on the wipers and Father McDonald prayed from Ephesians 6:10-18. “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

  “Amen,” Joe said, and started mumbling his own prayer. “Ana beko’ach gedulat yeminecha tatir tzrua. Kabel rinat amecha sagevenu taharenu nora …”

  Joe glanced into the rear-vision mirror. Sophia’s body was still and upright and tears dripped from her chin. Her spiritual body, outside, could no longer endure the visions of the battle. She was starting to feel the hand of darkness grappling for her heart and soul. She had forgotten why she came out here and slipped back into her physical body, ignoring the pain of her ethereal body retracting. Before opening her eyes or entirely merging back into herself, she said, “Take the next turn.”

  “Left or right?” Joe said. She didn’t answer.

  “You’ll know it when you get there,” Father McDonald said.

  “I can’t see shit! Sorry, Father.” Up ahead, he saw a pinprick of light and wondered if it was real or just his imagination. “Can you see that?”

  “See what, Joe?” Father McDonald asked.

  “That light? It’s growing.” He thought he heard his mother calling his name from deep within his head. He watched the speck get bigger and bigger until a form appeared, with three sets of wings slowly unfolding, surrounded by divine light. “Can you see it now? It’s right in front of us.”

  Father McDonald was in a cold sweat as he sat forward, pressing hard against the dashboard, straining to see; his palms left damp imprints that quickly faded. “I see nothing, Joe.”

  He was so close Joe could
see the definition in the angel’s anatomy and its youthful face. Joe was afraid he was going to hit it, crash and kill them all. After driving in pitch black, the light was so blinding. He had to close his eyes. He yanked the steering wheel, turning sharply to the right, the car sliding and swerving. He corrected and opened his eyes and the sky was its usual pale grey, and the sun was shining somewhere. He slammed on the brakes.

  “I told you, Joe, you would know,” Sophia said.

  “Can we pull over for a wee bit, hen?” Joe asks.

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “There is a tiny bit of forest about five minutes ahead. A cluster of trees of sorts. I’ll pull up over there and hide the car.” They went off road, squeezing between the hazel and mountain ash trees. They got out of the car and stretched their legs. Sophia was a little unsteady, but quickly came good. Father McDonald put his hands to his lower back and stretched backwards, cracking arthritic bones, while Joe stretched his arms up and down. They looked like a bunch of friends limbering up to do calisthenics. Under any other circumstance it would be funny.

  “I think I know this place, it’s a wooded glen. We’re near Dusk Water, not far from the coast,” Joe said. “When my brother and I were young lads we used to imagine we were smugglers; our ship anchored off the coast, we would row ashore to find a hiding place for our loot, which would be Cleeves Cove caves. There are a couple of entrances to a natural cave system that has been the location of a few myths.” Joe started walking off, exploring the area.

  Sophia followed him, Father McDonald trailing behind both of them with his hands on his hips, occasionally stopping to take in deep breaths of fresh air. Further into the woods, they heard a waterfall and the terrain became very damp and mossy. It was also very lovely. Sophia helped Father McDonald while he jumped over green rocks and climbed over fallen, velvety trees. Wild foliage and large trees like hazel and mountain ash. A large rock loomed above the cave’s opening.

  “This is awesome,” Joe said. “This is the place where my childhood ghost stories began. Who figured I’d be taking refuge here one day?” He helped Father McDonald up into the entrance of the cave where he sat down to rest, clutching his chest.