Nightmare's Edge

  Her wail pierced his heart like a stabbing dagger, and his name stretched out in a pain-racked lament. “Nathan!”

  “Oh, dear God,” his mother cried. “Dear God, help him!”

  The sound of a violin drifted in and out of Nathan’s mind, then a piano. But how? Was he already traveling down the road toward death? Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to let his other muscles go lax, but scalding pain sent stiffening shock waves from head to toe. He heaved in quick breaths and puffed single-word prayers between jolts of agony. “Give . . . me . . . strength . . . to . . . endure . . . Defeat . . . this . . . monster . . . in . . . my . . . place.”

  As pain overwhelmed every physical sense and darkness filled his mind, whispers filtered in — Scarlet’s voice, gentle, like a breeze cooling the flaming tongs. Take courage, my beloved. Your faith will bring life everlasting. This test of fire will merely burn away the dross and transform you into the strongest steel. But you must heed what you have been taught. Remember the words Patar spoke to you when you faced doom in a jetliner.

  The voice in his mind transformed into that of the stalker, calm and soothing. Fear not, son of Solomon, and open your eyes.I bring you a gift that will protect you from my brother and equip you for the battles to come.

  Nathan gasped for air. How could he heed those words? How could he open his eyes and expose them to the flames?

  Kelly’s lament returned. “Nathan, I can’t see you. I’m back in my nightmare, and I can’t wake up. Help me wake up.” Sobbing, she added, “Oh, dear God, I want to see Nathan again.”

  Clenching his fists, Nathan opened his eyes to the blinding light. Pain flooded his body. He let out a roar, but he couldn’t fight. He was too weak, too wracked with pain.

  “What?” Mictar shouted. “What are you doing?”

  The stalker sounded confused and irritated. His hand lifted, and he pushed Nathan away. Nathan fell to his back, his eyes stinging, but he could see. In fact the chamber seemed to blaze with light.

  “Nathan!” his mother called. “Beams are shooting from your eyes!”

  Mictar fell backwards and landed on his seat. His own eyes flashed. Pressing his palms against his cheeks, he screamed, “What did you do to me?”

  Patar strode to Mictar and crouched at his side. “Days ago, I transferred one of my powers to him. He reversed the flow and absorbed much of your energy. Now your power will continue to leak until you perish.”

  His eyes bulging, Mictar’s face thinned. He clutched Patar’s pant leg. “Brother! You can help me! You can seal the breach! It is within your power.”

  “Yes,” Patar said. “It is within my power.” He jerked his leg free and turned. “Come, everyone. Join me at the center of Sarah’s Womb, and bring the girl. We must be quick.”

  “You knew!” Daryl Red cried, still cradling Kelly. “You knew all along that Nathan could reverse the flow.”

  “I knew he could, but I was unsure if he would. He had to ignite that power from within.”

  While Nathan struggled to his feet, his father scooped Kelly out of Daryl’s arms and ran toward his son. His mother followed, waving for the two Daryls to hurry. With each moment, his vision clarified further, and new energy surged through his body. It seemed that every point of the floor he scanned began to sizzle as if electrified by his gaze, eating away at the physical darkness.

  Kelly swung her head back and forth as though looking around. “What’s happening?” she called. “Is Nathan dead?”

  Solomon held Kelly upright and pushed her into Nathan’s arms, then supported his back. Nathan held her up from behind with one arm around her waist. With the newly found strength, he didn’t need his father’s support, but it felt good all the same.

  Patar withdrew a bag from within his shirt, the plastic Nathan had seen earlier. He dumped the contents into his hand — two eyeballs with vessels and nerves still attached, very much like the eyeballs he had recovered for Jack.

  “I removed these from Scarlet’s body, which once floated in Sarah’s Womb, though I know not where her physical form dwells now.” Patar drew back Kelly’s hair, stretching her brow upward and forcing her lids open. He inserted the eyeballs, taking great care to put the dangling strands in first. Then, still holding her hair, he pulled down on the skin just below her eyes.

  “Proceed,” Patar said, “while I keep her new eyes exposed.”

  “You mean . . . ?”

  Patar nodded. “Look at your skin.”

  Nathan stared at his palm, now bloodier than ever. Red light emanated from his pores, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. He slid it toward Kelly’s face. “Do I just lay it over her eyes?”

  “Yes. Do it now, while the energy channels are open.”

  Nathan covered her eye sockets with his hand, the same hand he had used to revive his mother. But what could a mere touch do? When he had revived his mother, Amber had told Kelly to push on her chest and say something like, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, restore the breath of life,” but Kelly already had breath, so did that make a difference?

  “So do I say anything?” he asked.

  Patar shook his head. “You have already spoken the words of life. Just let your love for her pour through. The stone over your heart has rolled away. The music of your soul has been set free, and now nothing can prevent the flood of holy passion from flowing through your gifted hands.”

  Nathan pressed his hand down. Light flashed around the edges. For so long he had feared such a sight, an eye-covering hand that radiated energy, but now it gave him a different kind of shiver — excitement and joy.

  Kelly cried out and tried to shake her head, but Nathan kept his hand firmly in place. Her legs stiffened. She gasped, then let out a loud groan, giving voice to her physical torment.

  Feeling the energy draining, Nathan looked at Patar. He could barely speak, but he managed, “How . . . much . . . longer?”

  “When the light in your hand fades, the surgery will be complete.”

  Keeping one eye on his glowing skin, Nathan watched his surroundings. Again, with each look at the floor’s physical darkness, new sizzles arose, followed by white vapor. His mother clasped her hands over her mouth, tears flowing. His father kept him propped up, whispering, “You can do it, son. I know you can do it.”

  Mictar lay in a fetal position, writhing as his body continued to wither away. Light flowed out from beneath him in a pool that spread out over the floor, raising more sizzles and thick vapor. He moaned but spoke no audible words. Tsayad and the other two stalkers cowered near the former edge of Sarah’s Womb.

  Nathan offered his parents a nod, but he still couldn’t speak. It seemed that his entire body erupted, spilling everything within — love, faith, joy, courage, peace — everything that gave him life, or at least made life worth living.

  He lifted his eyes skyward and cried out, but formed no words. His wild groan echoed, filling the chamber. Gasping for breath, he lowered his head. The light around his hand dimmed. Kelly squirmed in his embrace, her muscles flexing.

  As she stood upright, he withdrew his hand. She turned toward him, blinking. “Nathan?” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. “Oh, Nathan! You’re alive! Thank God you’re alive!”

  Nathan enfolded her in his arms and wept. She, too, cried, and in the midst of their gentle sobs, the music of a violin and piano continued in a soft and gentle tone.

  Casting a faint glow, Amber glided to Mictar and knelt at his side. As she laid a hand on his quivering shoulder, she looked up at Patar. “Father, shall I end his misery?”

  Nathan raised his brow. Did she say, “Father”?

  “Yes, child,” Patar said. “He is truly a miserable creature.”

  Amber turned back to Mictar. Pursing her lips, she began a wordless song. Filled with rapid shifts in key and abrupt swings from high to low octaves, it seemed fitting — a violent tune, void of melody, void of order.

  As she sang, Mictar convulsed, shrinkin
g with every rhythmic thrash.

  Kelly whispered, “It’s so sad.”

  “What’s she saying?” Nathan asked.

  “She called him her uncle and said she loves him, but now . . . Oh, my!”

  “Can you tell me the words?”

  Moving away from Nathan, she sang softly. Though her voice was no match for Amber’s, every nuance of emotion came through.

  You shunned the way of faith and trust,

  Rejecting love and song,

  So now I grind your bones to dust;

  I rescue right from wrong.

  Mictar’s body twisted. His skin peeled, exposing crumbling flesh that flaked away from gray bones. The three other stalkers fled into the darkness.

  Now stand before the righteous king,

  The judge of all the earth,

  And hear his verdict play and sing,

  Declaring blight and worth.

  Finally, a puff of air rose from the heap of shattered bones, taking a stream of dust in its wake as it rose into the darkness and disappeared.

  Amber scooped a handful of Mictar’s remains and, looking at Nathan, sang again, this time with her own words and a beautiful tune.

  To dust and ash we all must turn,

  The final dance of life.

  For this I live, for this I yearn,

  To be my savior’s wife.

  To waltz with him, to sway and spin,

  To dance upon the stars;

  I leave behind this world of sin

  And kiss away my scars.

  She let the dust sift between her fingers, leaving a bone fragment in her palm. Clutching it tightly, she rose and looked at Patar. “Father, is it time for our final dance?”

  As streams of vapor rose all around, Patar laid a palm on top of her radiant blonde head. “Soon, my child. Very soon.”

  With Lucifer’s roar silenced, and Sarah’s violin now quiet, Nathan took Kelly’s hand and spoke in a normal tone. “Can you see?”

  “Just fuzzy shadows, like it’s been on Earth Red, maybe a little worse. I’m not sure.”

  “Well, I guess it’s better than having no eyes at all.”

  “How are your wounds?”

  He looked at his palms. They were bloodier than ever, raw and swollen. “Uh . . . they’re not so good either, but they’ll never stop me from doing what I have to do.”

  She offered a smile, but it seemed weak and halfhearted. “Is there anything left to do?”

  “You bet.” Daryl Blue slapped her shoe against the sizzling black surface. “We have to figure what’s cooking on this floor and empty Sarah’s Womb.”

  “I hear Daryl,” Kelly said, her smile growing. “I’m glad you could stick around for this adventure.”

  Daryl Red joined Daryl Blue at her side. “Kelly-kins, look closer. You’re not seeing double.”

  Kelly squinted, then squealed. “Daryl Blue’s alive!”

  “About time you noticed, girl!” Daryl Blue ran to her and gave her a gentle hug. “It’s so good to see you again. I just wish . . .” Her voice fading, she lowered her eyes and stepped away.

  “To have Kelly Blue back,” Kelly finished.

  “Yeah. And there’s no Nathan Blue, either. Maybe if we get these worlds dancing again, I can stay with you guys.”

  Patar walked to the center of the floor, holding the hand of a supplicant on each side. “Those of you who can hear the music, come and join us in the dance.”

  Nathan perked his ears. Again the duet drifted in, still soft and slow. “Do you mean the violin and piano?”

  “Yes, I discerned its meaning only moments ago. Sarah’s captives have flown from her protective Womb. They awaited the playing of the great violin, the song that would loose their chains.”

  “Who are Sarah’s captives?” Nathan asked.

  “Those who died at Mictar’s hand. Scarlet also dwelled in the dream world as a disembodied spirit, and Lucifer’s darkness forced her to flee. Two of the captives wish to play a farewell before they journey to heaven’s gate.”

  Amber joined hands with Cerulean to complete the circle. “Our dance is for our family alone,” she said. “Your partner will be whomever God has given ears to hear this new song of ascents.”

  Solomon took Francesca’s hand. “We don’t hear it.”

  Amber gave him a radiant smile. “You have danced the great song together for years, so you have no need to join us.”

  “I hear it,” Kelly said. “The violin is especially beautiful.”

  Nathan turned toward her. “I was going to say the piano was really good.”

  “I don’t hear squat,” Daryl Blue said. “Just you guys yakking.”

  “Same here.” Daryl Red sat on the floor. “But we’ll watch from the sidelines and groove with your moves.”

  Nathan reached for Kelly’s hand. “It’s bloody. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Why should I mind?” She showed him her palm, still imprinted with the heart-shaped smudge. “Love made him bleed, so love makes us bleed.”

  He pressed his palm against hers and intertwined her fingers. “Do you know how to dance?”

  “If you lead,” she said, pulling his arm around her waist, “I’ll follow.”

  Nathan looked into her eyes, now reddish-brown, a visible blend of hers and Scarlet’s personality. Kelly’s words brought back Amber’s solemn counsel: Whenever someone dances with another, he is saying that he agrees with every aspect of his partner’s purpose — the partner’s beliefs and the principles by which he or she lives. If the music is greater than that of both partners, each one gives up his own path to follow the music’s universal call.

  With their hands still joined, Amber, Cerulean, and Patar began swaying, in similar fashion to how Amber and Francesca had danced when they entered the dream world, yet this time the dance was slower, more somber. With downturned expressions and glistening eyes, they seemed to be in mourning. Amber released Cerulean’s hand for a moment and tossed the bone fragment into the center of their circle. The sizzles grew louder, apparently eating away the floor around the bone, and the rising vapor thickened.

  “Shall we join them?” Nathan asked. Kelly’s smile seemed to brighten the chamber. “By all means.”

  Listening to the music, he picked up the rhythm and stepped into a slow waltz. Again, the crackling sound of dying darkness heightened, and another voice joined in, humming the violin’s melody.

  Nathan turned toward the sound. Only a few paces away, Scarlet walked toward him. Semitransparent, her red hair and dress flowed as though she were strolling on a breezy day. She stopped and spread out her arms. As if commanded to appear by her gesture, a piano materialized on one side along with a girl seated on a bench, her fingers on the keys. On Scarlet’s other side, a male teenager stood with a violin. Both played their instruments with great emotion, dipping and swaying with each impassioned note.

  As he turned Kelly so she could see the musicians, Nathan stared at their faces. With vacant eye sockets and scorched skin, there was no doubt who they were. “Nathan and Kelly Blue,” he whispered. “They were two of Sarah’s captives.”

  While her family sang sweet, wordless harmony, Scarlet’s hum transformed into words, vibrant and lovely.

  The veils that blind our hearts and minds

  Are symbolized by veils of earth.

  When darkness shields our fleshly eyes,

  It paints a portrait, dark and dearth.

  The blinders force our steps askew;

  We bump and bruise our hands and eyes.

  And shedding blood reveals our need

  To beg for stripping false disguise.

  Beautiful and ghostlike, Scarlet glided toward the trio of dancers. Cerulean and Amber released hands and allowed her to join in. Although their physical fingers couldn’t touch Scarlet’s, the three supplicants seemed bonded, now dancing in perfect cadence as she continued.

  To heal our injured eyes and hands,

  We step in time with borrowed so
ng.

  A song of heaven, sung in threes;

  Uproot what blinds, the anchored wrong.

  So dance in time with healing verse

  And peel away the blinding doubt;

  Your partner thirsts, forgive the past,

  And let it rain to end the drought.

  She stepped away from her family’s waltz and, still swaying, she touched Nathan and Kelly, looking at each of them in turn.

  To all who dance forgiveness steps,

  The reaching hand, the tear-stained face,

  Release the captives from their bonds.

  Let love erase the past disgrace.

  Then, she backed away and turned toward the musicians, lifting her hands.

  Ascend on high O captive ones,

  And rise above the solemn sound;

  Your joy will make the angels laugh

  And lift your souls to higher ground.

  When her final note echoed and died away, Nathan and Kelly Blue joined hands and faded until they and their instruments disappeared.

  Patar, Cerulean, and Amber stopped but stayed in their circle. Nathan stopped as well, keeping his fingers locked with Kelly’s and his arm around her waist. With a radiant smile, Scarlet leaned toward him and whispered, “I will see you in your dreams, my love. Try to remember me when you rise from your slumber.”

  She ran to join her family, taking her place between Cerulean and Amber. Once their hands joined, Patar and his two living children became less solid, eventually fading into luminescent ghosts.

  As if energized by their transformation, the sizzling amplified once more. At the center of their circle, a hole appeared and grew at a rapid rate. The perimeter expanded past their feet and they slowly descended. Bright light shot up from below, encompassing them and making their bodies glitter as if hundreds of silvery fireflies had alighted on their clothes. Their bodies caught fire, though they were still recognizable within the flames.

  “Do not fear,” Patar called. “Let Sarah enfold you and lead you home. Everyone’s gateway to his or her proper home has already been prepared.”

  As the hole widened, the two Daryls shot to their feet, Daryl Red still carrying her bag by its shoulder strap. Nathan guided Kelly to his parents, and they joined the Daryls in a huddle near the hole.