Beyond the Veil, page 30
Anna sighed.
She turned to go, but a beep from the console made her freeze. “Hunter to Endeavour,” Jack said through the comm-system. “Permission to come aboard.”
Whirling around, Anna tapped a button to answer his call. “Hey, Sweetie,” she said. “Send me your security code.”
Jack did so, and the console displayed a blinking, green circle to indicate that it was valid. She opened the Gate and listened for the distinct hum it made while powering up. Once again, the grooves began to glow.
A bubble expanded from out of nowhere with a blurry figure standing inside. This one also lingered for a few seconds before popping and depositing Jack on the tiled floor. “Hey,” he said, striding over to her.
Anna pursed her lips, checking the console to make sure the Gate was locked. Her eyes flicked up to him. “Everything good with the union?”
“Better than good,” Jack replied. “They’ve come a long way in a very short time. Oh! Also, Driala has a plan to save Earth.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure you’re not gonna like it.”
“The plan is simple,” Driala said.
She stood before a flat, gray wall, dressed in a green military uniform that Jack had never seen before. Her red hair was left loose to fall in waves to the small of her back. Her face was stern, unforgiving. “We offer the Overseers what they want most in exchange for mercy.”
The sitting room in his quarters had two couches on opposite walls with a narrow aisle running between them. Harry had claimed one of those sofas while Jack and Anna took the other.
Sitting up straight, Harry raised his hand like a student asking a question. “We give them what they want,” he said. “I thought they wanted an experiment in which humans fight each other so they can watch us die.”
Driala frowned, holding back some scathing comment. She took a deep breath and then answered him in a slow, condescending tone. “No, what they want is the knowledge of what happens after their physical bodies expire. The experiment was an attempt to gain such knowledge.”
“And you can answer this question,” Anna asked.
“I can.”
“Great! Let’s hear it!”
A grimace twisted Driala’s face. “It’s not that simple,” she said. “Even from me, they would not believe it without proof. We must provide that proof if we are to have any hope of saving humanity. And you will not comprehend the answer unless you see it for yourself.”
A rather uncomfortable thought occurred to Jack. He didn’t like the implications of that one bit. He was just about to say so when Anna beat him to the punch.
She stood up and fixed the other woman with a glare that dared her to try something stupid. “You’re not going to kill us, are you?”
Driala threw her head back with a rich belly laugh. “No, darling,” she said. “I’m going to let you see beyond the Veil.”
“Beyond the what?”
“It’s a colloquialism on my world,” Driala explained. “The separation between life and death.”
Shutting her eyes, Anna nodded slowly. “Counterpoint,” she said, striding forward until she was face to face with the other woman. “Nothing happens after you die. Your brain stops working, and you just disappear.”
“Thankfully, it isn’t that simple.”
“Oh, no?”
For the first time since he had met the strange woman, Jack sensed genuine warmth from Driala. Her smile wasn’t quite so vicious. “The answers you seek await you beyond the Veil. I will guide you and Jack.”
“Why us?” Jack asked.
“Yes,” Harry agreed. “I’d like to go too.”
Leaning back against the wall, Driala blew a stream of air through puckered lips. She was clearly irritated. Most likely, she wasn’t used to getting so much lip from the measly little primates. “Because Jack and Anna have crossed the Veil multiple times. And thus, they have the greatest chance of comprehending what is happening.”
Anna twisted around to look at Jack, her brows drawn together in confusion. She immediately returned her attention to the other woman. “We haven’t crossed any veils. If anyone has, it’s Jena.”
“Your friend Jena never crossed the Veil,” Driala replied. “If she had, the Overseers would not have been able to restore her. Her body was destroyed, but the Overseers placed her mind into a kind of stasis and held her in a dreamless sleep until they were ready to revive her. Their technology has advanced to a point where they can manipulate the substance of the In-Between.”
“The In-Between?” Anna said. “In between what?”
“In between universes. In between lives. You don’t recall crossing the Veil. You never do when you take a new body. But centuries ago, you were born on my world, and you wandered into my woods. I recognized you the moment you pulled me down from that wall. A new face, but the same spark behind those eyes.”
Turning away from her, Anna hung her head in frustration. “I don’t know why I should trust you. You realize that I have no way to verify any of this.”
Jack draped one arm over the back of his couch, studying Driala for a very long while. “All right,” he began. “Let’s assume, just for the sake of argument, that we were willing to try this plan. How would we begin?”
“For the two of you, it’s as simple as going to sleep,” Driala said. “I will guide your minds into the In-Between. And you will learn what you must learn.”
Drawing a deep breath through his nose, Jack stood up. “I’m in,” he said. “Let’s do this.”
“Excellent.”
Anna whirled around, standing before him with her mouth hanging open. “You’re in?” she spluttered. “You’re gonna let her put some whammy on you? Jack, even if she shows you some sort of afterlife, how do you know it’s not an illusion she created?”
Biting his lip, Jack shut his eyes and nodded. It was a good question. “I guess I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I don’t see any other options.”
“There are lots of options. We could rally the fleets, mount a defense. The Overseers might have advanced tech, but we have to have a numbers advantage.”
“All three fleets are in poor condition,” Jack countered. “They’ve spent the last year fighting a long and bloody war. How will you feel when the first planet falls? Because even if we win – even if we force the Overseers to surrender – we will lose territory. Could be Alios. Could be Salus. Could be Leyria.
“We have the chance to stop all of that right now. If we can get the Overseers to agree to this truce, then we will save billions of lives.”
“Okay,” Anna said. “Then let’s try.”
They chose to perform the ritual – or ceremony, or whatever the hell this was – in Jack’s quarters. Driala said that was as good a place as any. He had asked her what kind of preparations he would need to make, and she had told him there were none. He just had to relax.
Jack was lying on the bed with hands folded over his chest, staring nervously up at the ceiling. He could feel Anna right next to him: the warmth of her body, the gentle rhythm of her breathing.
Turning his head so that his cheek was pressed into the pillow, Jack blinked at her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to this so quickly.”
Anna smiled and giggled, snuggling a little closer. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” she murmured. “Your instincts are usually pretty sharp. If you think this plan can work, then it’s worth trying.”
“It’s not just that,” Jack replied. “I’m curious.”
“Curious?”
He rolled onto his back, sighing. His eyebrows slowly traveled up his forehead. “She says she can tell us what happens after we die,” he muttered. “Aren’t you the least bit intrigued?”
Anna took his hand, gently patting it. “I want to believe all this stuff about living multiple lives,” she said. “We have so little time in this world, and there’s so much to experience. But, Sweetie, I just don’t.”
Driala came striding into the bedroom, having somehow changed into a long, flowing robe with sleeves that covered her hands. She took one look at them, snorted and then positioned herself at the foot of the bed. “As I said, all you have to do is go to sleep. I can induce it if you like.”
Harry stepped into the doorway with arms folded. His stern expression actually put Jack at ease. “I’ll be keeping an eye on things,” he promised. “Just in case.”
“Thanks,” Anna mumbled.
“Then I suppose we should begin,” Driala said.
20
“Close your eyes,” Driala murmured.
Jack did so, and the world drifted away. He felt very much as he did when he let himself slip into a trance to speak with Summer. Calm, content, at peace. His body felt heavy. He knew that he could move his arms and legs if he really put his mind to it, but it seemed like such a waste of energy. Why not just relax and let his mind wander?
“When you enter the In-Between, you will not recognize your surroundings,” Driala said, her voice echoing from some unimaginable distance. “You will arrive together. Remain together, and resist the urge to explore until I find you.”
That seemed like good advice.
Then again, he was so mellow that he would agree to pretty much anything right then. He suddenly realized that he couldn’t sense his quarters anymore. With his eyes shut, he couldn’t see anything, but his spatial awareness made up for that. He had known with perfect clarity that Harry was still watching him from the doorway, that Driala was standing before him with her shoulders back and her chin thrust out. Like a statue of the goddess she pretended to be.
Except they were all gone now.
Jack was alone in a realm of infinite darkness, sinking toward something. He had no idea what, but it felt nice. He sensed no danger; so, he decided to just go with it.
Soft air caressed him, the sky slowly brightening as he descended into a forest of towering trees. Their branches were so long, their leaves so thick, that sunlight almost failed to penetrate the canopy. He recognized some of those magnificent giants: slim kapok trees and huge Lupunas that were big enough to serve as houses. There were other species as well, but he didn’t know what they were called.
This was a rainforest.
Jack touched down in the soft mud, slowly getting his bearings. He was lucid once again: alert and focused. He wore the same clothes – jeans, a black t-shirt and a light, brown jacket – but the real shock came when he realized that he still had his multi-tool. This was the afterlife, wasn’t it? Why would he arrive with a piece of earthly technology strapped to his arm?
Everything felt so real: the heat, the humidity, the chirps of distant birds. Even the scent! Jack couldn’t quite put a name to that particular odour, but it was the kind of smell that belonged in a forest. He had to remove his coat before he drowned in a pool of his own sweat. Why would he sweat here?
He had expected to find a strange dreamworld where the rules of reality changed to suit the whims of the dreamer. But if this was a dream, it wasn’t his. He concentrated on his clothing, trying to change it into something more suitable for this climate. Nothing happened. He visualized and visualized until his brain gave up in exhaustion. His clothes remained unaltered.
It was a relief to discover that he still had spatial awareness. A panoramic view of the forest filled his mind. He could sense the swaying branches on the trees behind him. Well, at least he still had Summer.
She grew agitated when he thought of her, demanding his attention by allowing him to sense her concern. He tried to let his mind drift, tried to slip into the trance that would let them communicate directly, but something unexpected happened.
A golden halo radiated from Jack’s body, enveloping him. It expanded, detaching itself from him, and coalesced to take the form of a young woman in a white dress.
Summer looked very much as he remembered her: just over average height with a face that was somehow a composite of every woman he had ever admired. Her blonde hair was left loose.
“Where are we?” Jack stammered.
Tilting her head back with her mouth agape, Summer took in the sight of the forest. “I think this is the place that Driala called the In-Between.”
“Yeah, I got that part,” Jack muttered. “But how does it work? You’ve separated yourself from me. Are we still Bonded?”
“I still sense your thoughts and emotions.”
Jack spun around to stand beside her, stretching out his right hand. With a thought, he created a Bending, the air shimmering like heat rising off a desert road. It felt the same as always: power coursing through his body, space-time crumpling at his fingertips.
He gasped when he noticed that Summer was glowing. The same golden halo now surrounded her. She almost seemed to be a woman made of sunlight. But it was her face that caught Jack’s attention. That look of concentration. He realized then and there that creating a Bending wasn’t just a matter of Summer allowing him to access her power. She was an active participant every time he manipulated space-time. Two minds working toward a single goal.
The glow faded when he let the Bending vanish, and Summer exhaled slowly. He could see that she was breathing hard, her face glistening.
“Was that painful?” Jack asked.
She shook her head vigorously. “No. Not yet.” Composing herself, she turned to him with a solemn expression. “But the rules here appear to be the same as in the waking world. If you continue to use your powers, I will eventually collapse from exhaustion. And so will you.”
Draping his coat over his shoulder, Jack scanned the forest for any potential threats. “Right,” he said. “Limited Bendings. And somehow, I get the impression that if we die here, we die for realsies.”
“That would seem to be a reasonable conclusion.”
“Then we should find Anna and-”
He froze as a lance of icy dread pierced his heart. He had been so focused on indulging his curiosity that he had failed to notice his wife’s absence. “Where’s Anna?” he panted. “We were supposed to arrive together.”
Crouching in a ditch, surrounded by a thicket of trees, Anna examined the leaves of a small plant. “Feels real,” she said, pinching one between her thumb and her forefinger. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was just an ordinary jungle.”
Seth waited at the edge of the ditch with his bow in hand, dressed in green pants and a tunic that left his chest bare. He was as handsome as ever: tall and copper-skinned with a beard of stubble and unruly, brown hair. “It is a curious sensation,” he replied, turning and stomping his boot down in the muck. “It feels real to me as well.”
With a heavy sigh, Anna stood and dusted her hands. She looked up to fix a stern glare upon him. “We can’t stay here,” she declared. “Rainforests are dangerous places under normal circumstances. Who knows what might be lurking in this one?”
Drawing an arrow from his quiver, Seth pulled back the string and let it fly. The shaft embedded itself in the gnarled bark of some tree that Anna couldn’t name. “Driala forbade us from exploring.”
“She also told us to stay together. Do you see Jack and Summer around here?”
“What do you suggest?”
Anna climbed out of the ditch, planting her hands on her hips and turning her face up to the treetops. “Well, first, let’s determine our limits,” she said. “Are you ready?”
He nodded.
She leaped with a surge of Bent Gravity and gasped when she saw a flash of golden light from Seth. It lasted only a moment, but the distraction was severe enough that she nearly missed the branch she had intended to land on.
Anna settled onto it, tensing up as the branch drooped beneath her, pressing one hand against the tree trunk. Once she was sure of her footing, she allowed herself to stand. “We need to figure out where we are!”
Seth stood upon an exposed root, staring up at her. “Can you see anything that might indicate our position?”
“Come up and join me!”
“I would rather not use Bendings unless it is absolutely necessary. However…” Seth transformed into a cloud of golden light and sped up to Anna so fast she almost recoiled in shock. She expected a jolt when he slammed into her, but there was nothing. Just a momentary halo that surrounded her before it sank into her skin.
“Well, that’s something…”
Closing her eyes, Anna slipped into the relaxed state again. She summoned her Nassai. The halo expanded from her, coalescing into the shape of a man who perched on the branch with her. But the very instant he appeared, the branch creaked and snapped under the extra weight.
They both fell.
Anna threw her arms around Seth, twisting gravity to slow their descent. Golden light exploded from his body. They both landed on their feet, and the halo vanished when she released her Bending. Seth sighed.
Pulling back, Anna stared up at him and blinked several times. “Well,” she panted. “I guess we’ve learned something. You’re solid.”
She turned away from him and studied the back of her hand. She wiggled her fingers. “I can feel a tingle in my skin,” she muttered. “It’s faint, but it’s there. Which means that using my powers here is the same as in the waking world.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll just have to explore the forest at ground level.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Seth asked and raised his hands defensively when she spun on him. “I’m just saying that Driala told us to stay put. We don’t seem to be in immediate danger. Perhaps we should follow her advice.”
Anna wrinkled her nose in distaste. “No,” she said, stepping past Seth and starting up a narrow path. “Jack and Summer are somewhere in this forest. They might need our help. Besides, I don’t trust Driala.”
The woman just showed up out of the blue, issuing orders and replying to every question with a condescending sneer. No, thank you! Anyone that arrogant should never be put in charge. For all they knew, this was a trap. If Driala could rearrange molecules to change a dirty cloaking suit into a pretty sundress, then who was to say that she couldn’t create an elaborate virtual world? Anna had tried to warn the others, but did anyone listen to her?
