Nightmare’s Edge (38 page)
“No! I’m going to do it.” Nathan wrapped his fingers around the bow. His palms still blazed with pain, but it didn’t matter. Kelly lay near death on the ground, her eyes burned out. Even if she could survive outside of this world, because of that foul beast, she would never see again. It was time to settle this once and for all. For Earths Red, Yellow, and Blue, and for Kelly, he would go to war with that monster, and he would prevail.
“How’re you going to get out there?” Daryl Blue asked. “That current’s pretty stiff.”
He lifted his arms. “Tie the rope to my waist. I’ve done this before; I can do it again.”
While his father wrapped the line around Nathan’s body to form a makeshift harness, his mother took each Daryl by an arm. “We have to work the finger board. Come with me. I’ll show you how.”
With the knot now fastened, Nathan gave his father a nod. “I’m going to get a running start, but I’ll need you to give me a push every time I swing back here.”
“You got it. Now go out there and give it all you’ve got.”
“I will, Dad.” Nathan almost added, “Just like you’ve taught me.” But he already knew. They both knew.
His father glanced upward. “Uh-oh. More trouble. One of those stalkers is trying to cut the rope with a piece of glass.”
Nathan looked up at the staircase. The female stalker continued to sing while the male sawed away at his lifeline. “I can’t worry about that now. Let’s just hope it isn’t sharp.”
After taking a last look at Kelly, he gripped the bow with both hands and charged toward the void. When he reached the edge, he leaped out. For a brief moment, he dropped, but the rope tightened, and the updraft lifted him as he passed over the center just out of Mictar’s reach.
As the arc took him higher, he shifted his body to a horizontal position and pointed his head toward the golden strings. He glanced at the fingerboard. His mother and the two Daryls were in position. His hands aching, he stretched the bow downward and played the first note. As he passed over the strings, the sound roared past his body, sending an electrical shock across his sweat-dampened skin. The sensation shot from head to toe and stung his hands mercilessly, nearly making him drop the bow.
He gripped it tighter. Playing every note would be excruciating, but he had to go on. He suddenly lowered a notch. The stalkers in the stairwell must have cut through part of the rope. He was probably dangling by only a few fibers now, but there was no use looking, even if he could.
Swinging back with his feet pointing toward his father, he stroked the proper string. This time he had already passed by, so the shock didn’t affect him, but a loud rumble echoed in response, shaking the ground. His mother fell off her string, but Daryl Blue was there to help her up while Daryl Red jumped to the next position.
Though his shoulders slumped a bit, Mictar played on. Soon, a louder, deeper roar sounded from above. Resembling a dark waterfall, a black stream poured out from the open door leading to the staircase, knocking the two stalkers from their perch. The female stalker fell only inches from Nathan and clawed at him as she passed, but missed. Like thick oil, the river of blackness flowed, covering the two stalkers and plunging them into the void in spite of the upward breeze.
A hefty push on his shoes sent Nathan flying toward the strings again. He had to pull in an elbow to avoid the spilling blackness, but he passed it without harm. As he swung by, he glanced at Mictar. An evil, confident smile spread across his face.
Nathan took in a breath and stretched the bow down. He couldn’t worry about what the stalker was doing. Concentrating on the violin meant everything, and with another shock about to surge through his body, that was quite enough.
Again he played a note. Again the sound jolted his frame. But he just gritted his teeth and pressed on. No matter how bad the pain, he couldn’t let anything stop him now.
Back and forth he went. His mother and the two Daryls jumped from string to string, falling down after every note as the violin’s ground-shaking music rattled the chamber. His father’s shoves kept him swinging, each carrying an emotional boost as well as a physical one.
The wind from below eased to a gentle draft. Mictar sank lower, but he didn’t seem to mind. When he had descended about ten feet, he began to rise again, now standing on solid ground, a flat black surface.
As soon as the new foundation reached the top of the former hole, he stopped playing and lowered his violin. The black stream stopped flowing. A final few drops spilled to the new floor and hardened in place, and the roar from above ceased.
Nathan played the key’s final note, and as he swung back, he called out, “Dad. Catch me. I’m done.”
Strong arms grasped his legs and turned his body upright. Nathan tried to stand, but his legs shook so hard, they barely gave enough support. While his father hurriedly untied the knot, his mother and the Daryls rushed his way.
“What’s going on?” Daryl Red called.
Patar stood between Cerulean and Amber, his arms crossed as he stared at Mictar. “My brother has used Lucifer to fill Sarah’s Womb with physical darkness. Sarah can no longer coordinate the great dance, so no matter how much healing the great violin’s music brought to the Earths, they will no longer be able to hear her song, and they will drift away. Unless we employ our final strategy, all three are surely doomed.”
“Final strategy?” Nathan asked. “You mean, kill the supplicants?”
Mictar let out a loud cackle. “And where will they go, dear brother? I fear that lodging vacancies for dead supplicants are no longer available. Sarah’s Womb cannot echo their songs, so their deaths will do nothing to stop my plans.”
Patar didn’t flinch. “And you plan to let two Earths perish while you uphold Yellow with your dissonant choir.”
Mictar played a fast, squealing measure on his violin. “I am especially fond of Francesca of that world. Since her husband is dying, she will become my pretty plaything, a ballerina who dances to my merry music.”
Nathan balled his fists. Gritting his teeth, he whispered to Patar, “Can’t Cerulean take him out? He and Amber together could — ”
“No,” Patar said. “
You
take him out.”
“Me? But he’s so powerful now. When he got done with me, I’d be just another eyeless rag doll.”
“He
is
powerful — too powerful for the supplicants. That is why you must be the one.” Patar grabbed Nathan’s shoulder and jerked him around. “Will you now heed my words? I have overheard you extolling the virtues of faith. Is it not time for you to demonstrate with your actions what you so easily spew from your lips? You know you lack the power to defeat my brother. It is when you realize that your own strength is inadequate that real faith begins.”
Nathan looked at Kelly. Daryl Red held her in her lap, whispering into her ear. With her eyelids open, Kelly appeared to be awake.
He threw the bow down. After giving his parents one last glance, he took a deep breath and charged toward Mictar. As he approached the stalker, he kept his eyes wide open, staring right at his red orbs. His fists balled, he leaped, but with a lightning-fast spin Mictar dodged and grabbed Nathan’s hair. He spun Nathan in an orbit around his body, kicked him in the groin, and threw him to the ground.
Pain throttled Nathan’s mind. He could barely breathe. The stalker jerked him up by his hair again and suspended him several inches off the ground. “Take a last look at your friends. The harlot has merely lost her sight, but you will lose your life and soul. I will breathe it in, and you will die.”
“Patar!” Daryl Blue screamed. “Don’t just stand there! Help him!”
Patar crossed his arms over his chest. “Nathan has chosen his own path. His sacrifice is noble, and we must let him complete it. I will stop anyone who tries to interfere.”
Nathan’s father dashed ahead, but Patar grabbed his collar and threw him to the ground, then planted a foot on his chest. “Solomon Shepherd, do not play the fool. You should know by now that I understand these matters far better than anyone. No one else can stop my brother; not me, not you, and not the supplicants. If you will stand with me, I will let you rise.”
Solomon nodded. As Patar pulled him to his feet, Nathan’s mother joined them, clinging to her husband as she watched Nathan through tear-flooded eyes.
Mictar let out another loud laugh. “How appropriate. An audience of cowards will watch the death of the only one brave enough to challenge me.”
“Nathan?” Kelly cried out, her blank sockets wide open. “What’s happening?”
“He is sacrificing himself for your sake,” Patar said. “When it is over, I will deal with my brother.”
Mictar lowered Nathan until his feet touched the ground. With pain still paralyzing him, he couldn’t fight. He couldn’t even clench a fist.
“When I take this gifted one’s life,” Mictar said, “you and ten supplicants would be no match for me.”
Kelly reached out, wiggling her fingers as if trying to grasp the air. “Nathan,” she cried, “come back to me. If you die, I don’t want to live.”
Taking in a pain-filled breath, Nathan coughed and let out his words in a rush. “I wish I could, Kelly. I wish I — ”
Another kick silenced him. Mictar laid a hand over his eyes. “Now suffer and die.”.
Nathan took in another breath and tightened his muscles.Maybe it would happen quickly. Patar wouldn’t save him. He didn’t care about the death of one soul if it would help him save the Earths. He had made that clear many times.
Light flashed through Nathan’s eyelids, bringing a slight stinging sensation. Horrible pain would surely follow, then death. Maybe the next sight he would see would be his Savior standing with open arms, but what would Jesus say? Did he make the right decision? Did he leave anything important undone?
As the pain increased, a new surge of heat pushed up through his throat, then into his mouth. The scent of roses, stronger than ever, burst from within. There
was
something left undone, something more important than life itself.
He gulped in another breath. “Kelly,” he called, trying to keep his voice steady, “can you hear me?”
“Yes, Nathan.” She wept through her words. “Yes, I can hear you.”
“Kelly” — he licked his parched lips — “Kelly Clark, please forgive me for not telling you this before. It doesn’t matter what you did in the past. I love you, and I hope I’ll see you in heaven.”
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.