Beyond the Reflection's Edge

  “Don’t believe me, Shepherd?” Sparks of electricity arced from Mictar’s hand, drilling pinpoint scorch marks on Kelly’s forehead. She grimaced, pressing her lips tightly together.

  Still pulling, Nathan looked back at his parents, snow swirling between him and the mirror. Their forearms were already through the barrier, and their heads drew so close, the crystalline dividing wall magnified every line in their frantic expressions.

  Kelly cried out in a plaintive moan. “Rescue them, Nathan! I’m not worth it! I’m just a —”

  “Be silent!” Mictar pressed his hand completely over her eyes. “Forever!”

  Nathan gulped. What should he do? He needed time to think! He glanced at his parents, but their silent, motionless stares gave him no answers … only more questions. Why had they suddenly frozen in place? He swiveled his head back toward Kelly. She had also stiffened into a mannequinlike pose. The mourners, with faces like stone, stared in solidified horror. Only Mictar seemed aware of the change. Although his feet stayed planted, his eyes moved, darting back and forth as if searching for a reason for the suspended animation.

  Nathan turned his gaze back to the mirror. Now, although his parent’s protruding limbs remained, the reflection altered to a new scene, a copy of the funeral surroundings — himself poised in front of the mirror, gripping his mother and father in the same way; Mictar standing with Kelly in his grasp, within arm’s reach; and the frozen onlookers anchored in the midst of a dusting of snow.

  As Nathan stared at the reflection, his eyes flashed. White beams poured forth and splashed against the glassy surface. His image in the mirror suddenly activated and jerked his parents out of the dimensional barrier. They lurched into the funeral scene and sprawled over the ground. Mictar let out a raging scream, fire sizzling under the hand he held over Kelly’s eyes.

  The reflection expanded and enveloped Nathan. His mind seemed to meld with the reflection, and his vision shifted to the new point of view as if he had taken over the other Nathan’s body. While his father and mother struggled to their feet, Mictar glowed with a shimmering light and vanished. Kelly collapsed in a heap, her limbs and torso limp.

  As if in a surreal, slow-motion dream, Nathan’s parents embraced him, but he could only fix his gaze on Kelly. With blood forming in a pool under her shoulder, her body quivered fitfully, her scorched eye sockets blankly staring straight up.

  Then, her shaking ceased, as did everything else. Locked in his parents’ warm arms, he stared all around, finally focusing again on the mirror. In the reflection, a tall man with white hair stared back at him, his hands folded over his waist while the other funeral scene, the one Nathan had left behind, painted a dreary backdrop.

  Nathan could barely mouth the man’s name. Patar.

  “The power you call Quattro awaits your decision,” Patar said.

  Nathan couldn’t move. Unable even to shiver, he mumbled, “My … my decision?”

  “You wanted time to decide, so you now have the luxury of seeing the results of one of your options.”

  Shifting his gaze toward his mother’s face, Nathan took in her expression. As a tear dangled from her chin, she stared at him, more love flowing from her eyes than he had ever seen before, pure joy at once again looking upon her dear son. His father, too, seemed filled with joy, yet, with his jaw set like steel, he was ready to go to war.

  Nathan looked back at Kelly. Her black eye sockets stared straight up — vacant, abandoned, forsaken. The image of her ravaged face would haunt his memory forever, the sightless countenance of a terrified girl, wandering in futility, only to suffer and die in the midst of life’s greatest search, lost forever.

  Patar spoke again. “It is time to decide, son of Solomon. As soon as you are returned to your point of crisis, you must act.”

  As Patar vanished, Nathan felt his mind moving again. He flew into the reflection and found himself where he was before, his grip locked on his parents, and Kelly in the clutches of Mictar, still alive, still struggling to hold on to that precious gift.

  Nathan released his grip and lunged at Kelly. With a whip of his neck, he bashed his forehead against Mictar’s nose, sending him flying backwards. As his head thudded on the ground, dark blood gushed from both nostrils.

  Nathan embraced Kelly and fell to the snow-covered grass in a rolling motion, tumbling two full rotations to get away from Mictar. Then, with a leap to his feet, he helped Kelly up and dove toward the contracting dimensional bubble. As he slid across the snow, his hands penetrated the barrier once again. In the other world, his father dropped to his knees and grabbed Nathan’s wrists. His father’s face strained, his lips moving, but now his voice could no longer break through.

  Kelly called from behind, her voice weak and shaking. “Pull, Son! Pull!”

  Nathan rose to his feet and pulled with all his might. Suddenly, a hand blocked his vision, and Mictar spoke in a hideous, throaty voice. “Now, Solomon, you will watch him die.”

  Painful needles of light shot into Nathan’s eyes. The fingers around his wrists, his father’s fingers, gave way. Nathan lurched backward, knocking Mictar’s hand to the side. With a violent spin, he thrust an elbow into Mictar’s belly, then kicked him in the groin. Mictar’s thin form staggered back, his eyes pulsing like red beacons. At least five men marched toward him, but, when he lifted his hands, new arcs of electricity shot out from his palms. Four of the men hesitated, but Jack burst toward him in a flying fury. Leaping on Mictar and wrapping his arms around his lanky frame, Jack beat him on the back with his fists.

  Lugging his stocky attacker, Mictar staggered toward the mirror. The image from the other dimension was now a flat reflection, showing Solomon and Francesca staring out, hand in hand, tears streaming down their cheeks. With his arms flailing, Mictar dove headfirst into the mirror and disappeared with Jack in a splash of light.

  At the point he entered the mirror, a long crack etched the glass. Spreading rapidly and branching out, the crack covered the entire surface. Like crinkling cellophane, the polished surface rippled, then crumbled, falling to the ground in sparkling shards and leaving the supporting wall standing bare.

  Nathan dropped to his knees and pounded the ground with his fist, raising a splash of slushy snow. He almost had them! Just another second, and he’d have had them out of there!

  Kelly laid a bloody hand on his forearm, patting him several times as if searching for something on his sleeve. “Oh, Nathan! I’m so sorry!”

  He took her hand and held it against his face, shaking so hard, he smeared her blood across his cheek. “It’s not … not your fault. It’s mine. I should’ve …”

  As police sirens wailed in the distance, several men escorted Dr. Gordon past the onlookers, two men in front, three in back, and two on each side. He glared at Nathan but said nothing.

  Nathan growled at him. “What did you do with Gordon Red?”

  Gordon Blue sneered. “Do you think me a fool? See to that yourself.”

  Clara slid her arms under Nathan’s and helped him up, while Daryl hoisted Kelly to her feet. “We need to get both of you to a hospital,” Clara said.

  Nathan brushed off his clothes. “I’m fine. Just Kelly. She’s hurt pretty bad.”

  Staring into space, Kelly touched the wound on her shoulder. “I’ll go, but we’d better find Gordon Red. He might need a hospital, too.”

  Nathan waved a hand in front of Kelly’s eyes. “Can you see okay? You look kind of dazed.”

  She shook her head. “Everything’s foggy, like it’s getting dark.”

  “An ambulance just pulled up,” Nathan said. He intertwined his fingers with hers, ignoring the streams of blood. “Let the police find Gordon. You’re going to the hospital, and I’m not leaving your side.”

  20

  THE BREATH OF GOD

  Pulling down his sweatshirt hood, Nathan leaned his waist against the metal bedrail and pushed a bouquet of long-stemmed pink roses under Kelly’s nose. “Like them?” he asked.


  With her bed propped up, Kelly took a long sniff, then folded her hands over her flowery hospital gown. Draping the front of her torso loosely the cotton covered her well enough, but it sagged at her right shoulder, exposing a large, thick bandage. “All I smell is the bacon in your cheeseburger. I’m so hungry I might just eat those flowers.”

  Nathan laid the roses on her bed, scrunched the top of the Burger King bag he had left on the serving table, and hid it behind his back. “What cheeseburger?”

  Staring into space, her eyes framed by dozens of black scorch marks, she blinked rapidly. “What cheeseburger? The one that’s whispering to the French fries in your bag. It’s saying” — she cupped her hands around her mouth and deepened her voice — “‘Give me to Kelly! I must be eaten by Kelly!’”

  “I see. Now you’re hearing voices from fast-food bags.” He waved his hand slowly in front of her eyes. “Can you see any better?”

  She nodded. “Quite a bit. I can recognize people, but it’s like everyone’s kind of ghostly.”

  Standing on the other side of the bed, Clara took the roses and unwound the green paper that held their stems. Pulling up the sleeves on her beige trench coat, she threaded the stems into a long-necked vase. “Your dinner will be here soon, a nice post-surgery helping of something clear and digestible.”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “Baby food, right?”

  “No,” Nathan said, grinning. “I saw the can. It’s Alpo.”

  “Good. Top-of-the-line dog food beats mashed peas any day, but I’ll be glad to trade you half of mine for half of yours.”

  “No. I wouldn’t think of it. I’m too much of a gentleman to deprive you of even one morsel of such a treat.”

  “Oh, hush, you two,” Clara said. “You’re about as funny as a lanced boil.”

  Daryl popped into the room, a lively bounce in her step. As she lowered her hood, she shook out her thick red locks. “Brrr. It’s cold out there this morning. Must be January on Yellow.”

  “Did you get the pictures?” Nathan asked.

  “Right here.” She tossed a photo packet onto the bed. “They salvaged some of the film, but the camera’s a goner.”

  Nathan picked it up. “Did you already look at them?”

  Glancing away, Daryl leaned against the bed. “What kind of girl do you think I am?”

  Kelly snatched the packet from Nathan. “Insatiably curious. Nosy. An incurable snoop.”

  Daryl turned back and smiled. “Yeah. That’s all true. But I only sneaked one peek, and I couldn’t really figure out what I was looking at.”

  After opening the top, Kelly slid the inner envelope onto her chest. “It’s thin,” she said. “Only a few pictures.”

  “Just three,” Daryl replied. “The rest of the roll was pretty fried.”

  Kelly laid the trio of photos across the sheet and pointed at the first one. “It’s blurry, but I think I see four people, so that’s the first one I took. It should show the woman who asked me to take the shots, the husband and wife, and Jack in the back-ground. Is that right?”

  Nathan leaned close. “Yeah, but it looks strange, like there’s some kind of glow around their outlines.”

  “Maybe that’s the dimensional holes forming, like the ones Dr. Gordon talked about. I wonder if all six of them came across.”

  “You got me.” He brushed his fingertip across Jack. It was a good thing he came. Who could tell what would’ve happened without him?

  Kelly pointed at the second photo. “This should be the one I took of the wreckage. You and that author should be in it.”

  “We are. We’re standing near a pile of twisted metal and wires, and he has the same aura, but I don’t.” He picked up the last photo, a shot of the funeral scene. In the mirror, his mother stood out clearly, playing her violin. The sheer drapes covering the window behind her had blown outward, exposing the sill. Two hands gripped the painted wood, as though someone was trying to climb in. His eyes glowed red, and his fingers were long and white. Nathan nodded slowly. It had to be Patar.

  The sight of his mother brought a new lump to his throat. He had touched her skin, heard her voice, felt her love! So close, yet so far! And Dad! Once again he experienced his father’s great strength as well as his sacrificial love. His father had let go of a rescuing grip in order to save his son’s life.

  His hand now trembling, he showed the photo to Kelly. “Can you see that face and those hands on the sill? It looks like the guy I told you about, Patar.”

  “We’ll have to get an enlargement so I can see it better.” She flipped the picture back to the bed and sighed. “Too many questions and not enough answers.”

  “I wonder when Gordon Red’s coming. Maybe he’ll have some answers.”

  “He’s in the waiting room,” Daryl said, motioning toward the door with her thumb. “They wouldn’t let more than three visitors come in, so he’s waiting for one of us to leave.”

  Nathan, Kelly, and Clara all stared at Daryl simultaneously.

  She raised her hands and cocked her head, smiling as she backed away. “That’s okay. I understand. You don’t have to knock me over the head.” She blew Kelly a kiss. “Thanks for the fun. I’m really just a supporting actress in this flick, but, hey maybe there’s an Oscar nomination in the wings, huh?” She winked dramatically “Get better quick, girl. I’m ready for some more adventures.”

  The clacking of shoes echoed through the hallway. Seconds later, Dr. Gordon strode in, his brow furrowed and his lips turned down. He shoved his hands into his pockets and glared at Nathan. “Your actions on Earth Yellow were more far-reaching than I thought.”

  Nathan took a step back. “Uh … okay. I’m glad to see you, too.”

  Wincing, Gordon waved his hand. “I know, I know. Politeness demands a more genteel entry, and I am thankful we all survived my counterpart’s schemes, but we have pressing issues to discuss.”

  “Pressing issues?”

  “Of course. Did you think the ramifications of your dimensional perforations were over?”

  “Well, no, I uh —”

  “As I explained before, our dimensions were always exactly in parallel until we began crossing from one to another. Then, our simple presence in a foreign dimension caused slight changes, triggering an unpredictable domino effect. Maybe a driver slowed down to allow me to cross a street. Maybe he arrived home four seconds later than he would have and avoided a burglar who would have killed him. Later, this same man kills a woman who would have given birth to a research scientist who would have discovered a breakthrough cure for a disease.”

  Nathan folded his arms across his chest. “But maybe our effects are positive in the long run. Did you think of that?”

  “Naturally. That’s been Dr. Simon’s goal all along, to create positive effects in the dimensions that trail in time. But I wanted to begin with small changes so we could track the chain reactions. Dr. Simon had other plans. He couldn’t imagine how saving over two hundred seventy lives could possibly be a bad idea. And since Earth Yellow was about to hurtle past the day of the airline crash, he didn’t bother to consult me. He worked very hard to get you to the right place at the right time.

  “We cannot possibly track the rescued passengers, and as you know, one has even crossed over to our dimension, and we have no idea where he is now. And it seems that others have crossed over as well. There have been a couple of reports flying about concerning long-lost plane crash victims appearing at their former homes. Who can tell how either dimension will be affected?”

  Nathan pushed his hands into his sweatshirt pockets. “So maybe Francesca and Solomon won’t meet. Maybe I won’t even be born over there.”

  Kelly patted his elbow. “Don’t worry about that. Gunther will make sure they get together.”

  “As soon as you are able, I would like to meet with both of you again to work on these matters.” Dr. Gordon edged toward the door. “It seems that your most pressing concern is still finding your parents. Simon Blue helped
them escape, but since he no longer had access to the observatory he took them to Nathan Blue’s bedroom so they could use that mirror to transport. Without the missing square, they had to rely on you to get them out. Simon was searching for the piece when he heard a loud pop. He returned to the room, and your parents were gone.”

  “Gone?”

  Dr. Gordon nodded. “The mirror is intact, so we will get the final piece and see if they can be traced.”

  Nathan drooped his head. It was so strange. He wanted to pump his fists and celebrate that his parents were still alive, but now, in some ways, he felt worse than ever. They were in trouble, and he wouldn’t sleep a wink until he brought them home. Still, since Jack crossed the barrier with Mictar, maybe he could help Mom and Dad. Maybe they could still be rescued.

  Dr. Gordon opened the door. “The two Simons are working together, and I’ll join the search very soon. In the meantime” — he spread two fingers at Nathan and Kelly — “you two need to rest and get well. From the reports I’ve heard, you make quite a dynamic duo.”

  Kelly pulled Nathan’s hand from his pocket and held it tight. “You better believe we do.”

  A hint of a grin cracked Dr. Gordon’s stoic face. “But leave the shotgun at home, little lady. The world’s not ready for the rebirth of Annie Oakley.” He walked out and closed the door behind him.

  Clara grabbed her trench coat’s belt and tied it quickly. “I must catch Dr. Gordon. I forgot to consult with him about what to do with the bodies of your Earth Blue parents, then I must locate suitable lodging for us. So, I will leave the two of you alone for a while and return for Nathan, but then he and I will have to leave for the night.” She raised her eyebrows. “Is that a suitable plan?”

  “Sure, Clara,” Nathan said. “Thanks for everything.”

  Kelly groped for her hand and smiled. “You’re the best.”