Resonance 4th Edits - Bleeding Worlds Bk 3 (3 page)

Marie looked him square in the eye, searching for sincerity. When she saw it, she nodded and took a position by Caelum.

“Jackson?”

“I’m good,” he replied, though with little conviction. “Give me a minute to clear my head, and I’ll take a position near point—see if I can keep us clear of any unfriendlies.”

Jason slapped him on the shoulder.

“That’s what I need. But if
you
need anything…”

Jackson nodded. “Yeah, I’ll ask.”

“Are we ready?” Katsuro asked. “Because I’d hate to deprive the Einherjar of the pleasure of trapping us in an enclosed space with only one exit.”

“He’s more of a douche bag than our Katsuro was,” Jackson whispered to Jason.

Jason gave a stifled chuckle in reply. There was no way he’d disagree.

“Jackson’s an empath,” Jason said to Katsuro. “Listen to what he says, he’ll keep us clear of the worst.”

Katsuro gave Jackson an appraising look.

“Hey,” Jackson said with a little wave.

Katsuro sighed and waved him toward the doors.

Jackson pressed his palm against the door and closed his eyes.

Katsuro became almost immediately impatient.

“Well?”

“The battle is still going on outside. We’re clear through this door, but I sense a fair amount of anxiousness directed this way. I’d say they know we’re here, but they’ve been told not to engage us—and they’re not too happy about that.”

“Impressive,” Katsuro said. “You’re sure you’re not a mind reader?”

“No,” Jackson shook his head, “no mind reader. I’ve just had enough experience with people and their feelings. I can make some pretty accurate guesses as to why they feel the way they do.”

“But why would Woten just let us walk out of here?” Jason asked.

“Woten? You mean
our
Woten?”

Jason nodded grimly.

“We have a lot to discuss when we’re somewhere safer. But what do you think? Is it safe? Are we walking into a trap?”

“Don’t know,” Jackson shrugged. “I can only tell you they know we’re here, and their emotions make it clear they feel conflicted about this room. Since they’re not approaching, I’m guessing it’s because they have been ordered not to, and they disagree with their orders. But if it is Woten, then I can guess why they wouldn’t disobey.”

“Good enough,” Katsuro said.

He pulled the door open and took a few hesitant steps into the hall. He looked front and back and then motioned for the others to join him.

They proceeded down the hall, took a turn, and came to a stop.

“I think we know why they wouldn’t attack,” Katsuro said.

They were in the bowels of Valhalla, surrounded by walls and floors carved from stone—far below the opulence of gold, statuary, and open column balconies of the upper levels. Given their location, the sudden appearance of grass and trees growing from the floor, smashing through the roof above, and the sound of birds singing in the distance, was unnerving.

“Another bleed through.” Jackson surmised.

Jason took several steps closer, reaching a hesitant hand toward the boundaries of the foreign world.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It feels…different. That building on the farm and the city in Florida, they felt like a square peg hammered into a circular hole—something that didn’t belong. But this…it feels more like a—“

“Door,” Katsuro finished.

“I was going to say Tear, but sure, door works as well.”

Katsuro stood beside him. He shoved his hand into the space. It vanished from sight.

“Holy!” Jackson shouted.

Katsuro’s expression didn’t register any pain. His brow raised and his gaze focused on where his hand should be.

“I can still feel it,” he said. “I’m flexing my fingers and I feel them just fine. I don’t even feel the sensation of tearing into the Veil. It’s like my hand is just there in front of me.”

Pridament moved closer, turning his body to avoid any chance of Gwynn’s unconscious form from coming into contact with the disturbance.

“We initially thought the Bifrost was a bridge, allowing free travel between worlds without the hazards of crossing the Veil. Could it be whatever Gwynn did caused it to become just that?”

“So what you’re saying,” Jason said, “is we’re looking at a bridge point to another world. That, unlike the bleed throughs, we could just walk through this into another world without being harmed?”

Pridament shrugged.

“I don’t know. But every myth has some truth, right?”

A rush of wind blasted past from behind them.

“What the…?”

Jason turned to look at the others behind him.

“Dammit, Marie. Caelum, she was right next to you. Couldn’t you stop her?”

“Seriously? She ramped up and launched while I blinked.”

Less than a minute later, Marie materialized in front of the group.

“That was stupid and reckless,” Jason chastised her. “You could’ve died.”

“Well, there’s no way around it, we can’t fold because of the wards, and I promise you, no one wants to go into the Veil. It seemed like a recon mission. That’s my specialty.”

“Fine,” Jason sighed. “Did you find anything?”

“It’s like Pridament said, a direct link to some other world. You go in and come out on another world on the other side. It’s beautiful. In that world, the anomaly looks like a piece of this hall sitting in the middle of a field.”

“So how do we use that to get to the other side of the hall?” Katsuro asked.

“Hold on,” Marie said.

She disappeared again and reappeared seconds later on the other side of the hall. She then disappeared again and rejoined the others.

“It’s all about how you enter,” she explained. “If I go in from this side in this world, I come out on the opposite side in the other world.”

“So if we go to the other world, then enter from this side, we come out on
that
side of the hallway?” Jason clarified.

Marie nodded.

“Ok, Marie, go to the other side and help direct everyone,” Katsuro instructed. “Jason, you and I should go first, so there’s some muscle on the other side in case those guards decide to attack.”

“Right.”

“Uh, I hate to interrupt,” Jackson said, hand raised as though he was the kid in the class who knew the answer. “But has anyone considered the fact we have three non-Anunnaki with us? I mean, do I need to remind you what happened the last time we pulled a normal from a bleed through?”

“He became a Curse,” Jason explained to Katsuro.

“I’ll go,” Sophia said.

Jason raised his hands, ready to hold her back.

“Oh, no. I promised Gwynn I would watch out for you. I’m not about to take the chance something happens to you.”

Sophia eyed the bridge beyond Jason. He shifted directly in front of her, sensing she might try to bolt past.

“Look,” she said, “either we go through this bridge and come out the other side, or we stay here and starve, or wait until the guards get their courage up and come for us. Besides, I know it’s possible for a normal human to go from one world to another. After all, my dad brought me here.”

“But we don’t know if this is the same thing,” Jason said.

Sophia shrugged.

“One way or another, we’re going to have to try. It’s either me or one of those two men. They have families waiting for them. My mom is gone,” her voice softened, “and my father betrayed me. I’m the best choice for this. There’s fewer people who will miss me.”

“Brandt, you can control rock and earth,” Jason said. “Maybe you could tunnel around the anomaly?”

In reply, Brandt walked over to the wall and placed his hands against its surface. After a moment, he leaned his forehead against it, and then reared back and smashed his fist into the wall.

“It’s no good,” he finally answered. “My little nudges are coming up against something solid…probably steel plating. I could push harder, but it’s more likely I’d bring the ceiling down. I’m…I’m sorry, Jay. There’s nothing I can do without killing all of us in the process.”

“Dammit,” Jason muttered.

Jason looked at Pridament for support. They both knew Gwynn and what a different Sophia meant to him. They’d also both watched him dive into a pit without a second thought to protect
this
Sophia. Maybe she didn’t have a family who would mourn her, but her passing wouldn’t go unnoticed.

“Let her try,” Pridament said.

Jason felt betrayed.
Seriously?
his expression said.

“She’s right—either this works or they’re as good as dead anyway. A quick death, because they start turning into a Curse, might be more merciful than leaving them,” Pridament said, his face grim.

How can you be so cold? Especially holding Gwynn in your arms and knowing what this could do to him.

Jason found himself thankful Gwynn was still unconscious.

“Fine, we let her try.”

Jason turned to Brandt.

“If this lovely young lady starts to turn into a Curse, do you think you could put her down?”

Brandt sighed heavily and shrugged.

“Can’t say I
want
to, but if I
had to
, yeah, sure, I’ll put her down quick and painless.”

“Good,” Jason said. “Cause I have to be honest…I couldn’t. Maria’s on the other side. Head over there and wait for Sophia to come through. If she gets to that side fine, I want you to go through first back to the hallway and wait again for her. If everything goes ok, the rest of us will make the trip.”

Orders given, Brandt entered the bridge and disappeared from sight.

Sophia waited a moment, then took a deep breath, straightened her back, and marched into the bridge.

The first time she’d crossed from one world to another, she’d been unconscious. She’d tried to sound brave and confident her father had brought her via a bridge like this one, but she had no idea. He’d explained to her afterward he brought her to Asgard to keep her safe. Knowing what she did now, she supposed they had done it after losing the Sophia from Gwynn’s world. After all, if herself and the other her were the only remaining oracles, it made sense they’d want to safeguard one if the other died. Still, she found very quickly it was her talents they wanted to protect, not her. There was little effort to make her comfortable. On the contrary, they’d dosed her with different drugs to try and induce more visions. At one point, she thought she might go mad. And then Pridament rescued her. And because of that, she’d met Gwynn.

They hadn’t known each other long. And it was possible he just saw her as a replacement for the girl he’d lost. But she couldn’t deny a comfort between them—a sense of belonging. Being with Gwynn required no effort. Even in the direst of moments, she felt safe when he was close. If this failed, she hoped he would forgive her. But she was tired of being a bird in a cage. Even if this was the last time, she wanted to spread her wings and decide her own fate.

Her skin tingled like being exposed to a cold mist. It clung to her body, forcing her to suppress a shudder. She closed her eyes for only a moment, while her feet took another step forward.

The sensation of cold melted away beneath a cheerful warmth. She opened her eyes to see a radiant sun above her. Lush green grass carpeted a landscape of gently rolling hills. In the distance, a forest loomed, that seemed to go on forever beyond.

Brandt stood about ten feet in front of her. Next to him stood the girl, Marie, who’d plunged into the bridge first. They both were giving her a cautious eye.

“How do you feel?” Brandt asked.

She closed her eyes once more, turning her face up toward the sun. She’d spent months trapped in the halls of Valhalla, and the rest of the time since in the underground hovels of Fenrir. Her mouth filled with the freshness of spring awakening.

“I feel…wonderful,” she replied.

Brandt leaned closer to Marie.

“Do you remember how long it took the guy in Kansas?”

“Longer than this,” she answered.

Brandt took several long, slow, strides toward her. He circled her, letting his eyes crawl along her form. It wasn’t lecherous, but it still made her feel uncomfortable.

Brandt strode to Marie and shrugged.

“Well, I don’t see anything to worry about. I’ll go through first and meet you on the other side, just to make sure.”

“Fine,” Sophia said.

Just as Marie said, the hall sat in the middle of the field, floor, walls, ceiling. Brandt walked to the opposite side Sophia had exited from and disappeared from sight. Sophia felt a pang in her chest. She didn’t want to leave. Was there any reason worth returning to Asgard? If Gwynn would just wake up, maybe she could convince him to stay too. She didn’t know much about farming or living a simple life, but the wondrous air and healing sunshine had her willing to try.

“You saw what you need to do, right?” Marie said, her lack of patience obvious.

Sophia nodded and went around to the other side and entered. Again, the cold brushed over her skin. She came out in the hall of Valhalla, on the opposite side of the bridge. Brandt waited for her.

“Did Marie keep you a little longer just to make sure?” he asked.

“No,” Sophia shook her head sheepishly, “it just was too nice to leave right away.”

“She seems to have made it through fine,” Brandt yelled to the others over her shoulder.

“Ok,” Jason responded. “We’ll send a Fenrir man over next.”

One of the men approached and disappeared into the gate.

A minute passed.

Then another.

Still, the man did not appear.

“Shit,” Brandt cursed, and dashed into the bridge.

“Jason,” Sophia yelled, “he didn’t come through. Brandt’s gone back in to see what’s happening.”

His reply was stern and left no room for argument.

“Do not move from that spot.”

Katsuro ran into the bridge while Jason told everyone on their side to back away.

Another few tense moments passed. Sophia had almost convinced herself to disobey Jason’s order and go back through the bridge when a distorted arm shot out of the bridge, clutching the front of her shirt.

“Jason!”

The arm dragged her toward the bridge. She dug in her heels and pounded at the hand.