Invisible Dawn Read online

  Leaving Jedd to rest, he slid off the bed with a chuckle. When his feet hit the floor the smile vanished. He attempted to ignore the firing squad that began pulling the trigger, hitting every bruise on his body. Taking a deep breath, he shuffled out of the curtained room in search of Maria.

  Jedd returned to his position floating over the city. He knew what to look for now and where to look. Heading toward the last place he saw Madelin, Jedd spotted the scarred veteran’s old apartment building and rushed to the top. He walked the perimeter looking for something that might show where Madelin exited, but nothing stood out. The other buildings, while close, offered little in the way of an escape plan. Rounding the edge adjacent to a small retail building, Jedd found that it was close enough and shorter than the others.

  It was the best route of escape and Madelin was capable of making the jump, he concluded, remembering her flight from the institution.

  Drifting over to the retail store rooftop, he scouted for any sign of a shifting rift like she made before but again nothing stood out. Jedd aimed a stiff kick at the bricked chimney out of frustration. The momentum sent his foot straight through the smokestack and reminded him of his current limitations.

  Staring down at the chimney, Jedd’s gaze shifted to the black tar. It had dried as the sun disappeared but a variety of prints had been left by birds and other animals. Jedd looked down at his own feet and noticed that they never touched the roof.

  However, it occurred to him, with all the people that were up here, there should be some sign of them.

  Jedd searched the building for footprints, but found nothing human. He glided over to Madelin’s friend’s apartment and scanned it for prints, but still came up empty. Racking his brain for clues, a thought percolated to the forefront of his mind. Altran leaped through the building and sped to the fire escape where he had surprised Father Leodenin. Seeing the intact stairwell, a thought struck him.

  I must be on the wrong plane. Before I was always taken to Madelin’s world, but where is she now? The question had become more elusive than ever.

  Unable to give up, Jedd soared toward the city center. Minutes later, he gazed at the skyscrapers reflecting the dark heavens above in wonder. She could be anywhere, on any world. He glanced back at the streets far below and followed his sedan’s path, noting where he found Roger. A glint of light caught his attention from a couple streets away.

  He chuckled, realizing the irony of his earlier statement, ‘It could be around the next corner.’ And here it is.

  The object flashed in the starlight as though beckoning him forward. As Jedd drifted closer, it appeared that the light was glinting off a wall, a small space extending southward to the ground. Once he reached the alleyway he knew what he was looking at.

  The remnant of a recent scar was unique. It was reality itself bending and reflecting the light as it struggled to heal the rip a shifter had made through its very fabric. Looking closer, he spied not one healed scar, but two. The second rip was made along the same lines of the previous. Father Leodenin and his men had been standing on this spot not a day before. Jedd followed the scar to each end and watched as this world’s reality repaired itself, the edges of the scar disappearing from sight like they never existed. It was at a snail’s pace, like watching grass grow, but again he was reminded that time was running out.

  After so many years of searching, why was everything now on a rushed schedule? he wondered. It’s enough to make a guy pull out his hair. And how do I open it?

  The answer eluded him, but with no other options, he had to get back here fast. Noting his location, Jedd stepped back into his own reality. His eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the spot lit room that rushed up to meet him.

  Roger had disappeared from his bed, but whispered voices echoed across the empty warehouse. He stood up and stretched his stiff legs while his stomach let out a hollow complaint. Jedd followed the voices to the small, dim office. It was sparsely furnished with a small refrigerator and a wooden desk. A miniature lamp perched on top threw shadows onto the walls. Roger was seated in the far corner, while Maria was perched in an office chair behind the desk.

  She was laughing at something Roger had said when Jedd walked in. His footsteps announced him to the others and both heads turned in tandem. A look of concern contorted Maria’s face as he stepped into the doorway.

  She shot out of her chair and exclaimed, “What the hell happened to you?”

  “My God!” grunted Roger from the corner.

  “What … what’s the deal?” asked Jedd, startled.

  “Look at your face,” Maria screeched with concern.

  At least she didn’t slip back into Spanish, he thought.

  Rushing toward him, she pulled out a pocket compact and flashed it in front of his face. Staring back at him was the same gaunt holocaust victim he saw after his first venture into the astral plane. Glancing back at Maria, her eyes brimmed with worry. By this time Roger had shuffled over and was staring at him too, as though Jedd were a museum exhibit.

  “What happened to you, bro?”

  “Well…,” his mind sought an answer, some way to leave Maria out of his dangerous world, but nothing plausible came to mind. “Okay … look you two, it’s okay. I just need something to eat. Could I get another sandwich?”

  Maria turned and slapped two slices of bread around a handful of meat, shaking her head in disbelief. “What caused this?”

  “Yeah,” chimed in Roger, “What in the world happened? You’ve been sacked out for the last hour. I watched you fall right off.”

  Finishing the sandwich, Maria turned back around and handed it to Jedd. Her face refused to admit his condition was nothing to worry about.

  Jedd accepted the sandwich and motioned for each of them to return to their seats. Maria did so with slow, grudging steps, while Roger was more animated. After retrieving another chair from a back room, he plopped down in his chair and waited for Jedd to explain.

  “Thank you,” Jedd said, accepting it. He took a few bites as the others stared in rapt attention.

  “Look, this has to be quick,” he started, his mouth still full of ham. “Roger and I are running out of time, but I think I owe both of you an explanation.” They nodded. Giving up his attempts at obscurity, Jedd started from the beginning. “Maria, you can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, okay.”

  Maria nodded again, her eyes never wavering from him.

  “My name’s Jedd Altran, and so far as anyone knows, I’m dead.” The explanation continued, to some of which Roger nodded, having heard it hours before. But, as Jedd went on, looks of incredulity passed over both faces. By the end, both of them sat in stunned disbelief.

  “How,” Roger asked first.

  “I don’t know how. But I’ve just found Madelin and discovered what I’m capable of.”

  “It looks dangerous,” added Maria, “judging from what we’ve seen today.”

  “Well, this happened once before, the first time I used it.” Getting up, Jedd fixed himself another sandwich and then continued, “If I eat and replenish my energy, I’ll be fine in less than an hour.”

  “Are you sure,” she asked.

  “So far, yes,” he replied. “But we need to head out. I came across the portal they used to follow her a few minutes ago.” Looking down at his watch, he noted that another precious half-hour had already passed. “Roger, are you still with me?”

  Roger considered his options before answering. If Jedd was not playing with a full deck of cards, he would know soon enough. “Sure bud, whatever you say.”

  The answer was not as reassuring as Jedd would have hoped, but he understood after the unbelievable story he just told them. At least he’s still willing to go along. That’s something.

  Maria interjected as they both rose from their chairs. “Wait, are you sure you don’t need to see someone about this?”

  The question was asked in all seriousness, but Jedd could not help the laughter bubbling inside him.
Suppressing it, he said, “I wish the whole thing were just inside my head.”

  Stepping out of the office, he walked out the building, hesitating long enough to check each direction. Opening the trunk, he rummaged in his bag. He pulled out a banded wad of bills and stuffed a small clump in his pocket. He returned to the office where he found Maria preparing two more sandwiches. Spying him, she handed them over.

  Jedd’s voice drifted across the shadows. “Thank you, Maria. Thank you so much, for everything.”

  “You’re welcome, but I still don’t know what to make of your story, Jedd.”

  “I understand and you don’t have to believe me, but please just keep it to yourself. If you don’t the consequences could be dire.” He handed over the folded wad of bills. “Just to show my thanks. Like always, you never fail to live up to my expectations.”

  Their eyes locked as she accepted the money, her fingers gliding over his. “Look Jedd. If it’s real, please take care of yourself. Try not to fall down anymore stairs, okay.”

  As she spoke, her hands caressed his battered knuckles. She reached into a pocket and withdrew a small vial.

  “Put this on your hands. It’ll help.”

  She smiled as she opened it and dabbed some of the gelatin-like ointment into her hands. Then she massaged it into the top of his with the touch of a lover. “Good luck, Crux.”

  The reminder of her pet name brought a smile to his face, neither wishing to let go. Jedd leaned in, touched his lips to hers, and whispered, “Thank you.”

  Letting go of the money, his hand drifted away and they parted. Turning, Jedd headed for the curtained room.

  Roger was buttoning his plaid shirt when Jedd pulled aside the curtain. He looked better than he had earlier. Jedd handed him one of the bland sandwiches as he munched away on his own.

  “About ready?” asked Jedd.

  “Yeah, just about.” Roger tugged at the bottom to straighten out the creases.

  “That a new shirt?” Jedd asked spying the blood encrusted one in an aluminum trash bin.

  “Yeah, your lady bird has something for all occasions…,” but after thinking about their situation and Jedd’s story, he corrected himself with a chuckle, “Well, almost any situation. If only she had one for us.”

  Jedd sighed. “Yeah, if only.”

  Roger looked for Maria as they made their way out the door but it was as though she had vanished. Their solitary footsteps echoed through the spacious building behind them. Wasting no time, they stepped through the moonlit night, deposited Roger’s new bag in the back seat, and jumped into the sedan. Pulling around Maria’s SUV, they began the next step of their journey in silence. Jedd watched as Roger pulled a worn deck of playing cards out of his pocket. He gripped each half in curled fingers, shuffling and reshuffling them in midair.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 13: A Consequence to Every Choice

  The faint image of the man he grappled with seconds before hovered in front of Father Leodenin, glimmering in the fading sunlight. He unleashed every vulgar word that came to mind. But, while preparing for the next verbal onslaught, Jedd vanished. Leodenin scanned the alley from his prone position amongst the garbage, but did not find him.

  There must be more to this world than I thought, he concluded. Judging from how closely linked the worlds are, I expected things to be different, but not like this. Each world seems full of unforeseen developments.

  Once the distraction was gone, a sharp pain coursed up his leg. He cursed, but searched for the source amongst the black plastic bags. His foot poked out from under one, moist and sticky to the touch. The pant leg clung to him like a leech. The false father clenched his jaw against the rotting stench and lifted the bag with a grimace, then threw it across the pavement, into the wall opposite him.

  “That’ll be impossible to get out,” he growled.

  Leodenin willed the leg to move, but it failed to respond. Instead, his side twinged. The feeling was excruciating. Teeth clenched, he grasped his thigh and calf in trembling hands, twisting them back into place. A roar of pain clenched his stomach in an iron fist, tightening with each second. He gasped and fought to contain the scream that rose inside. The facility’s doctors had forced him into test after grueling test, but this was agonizing beyond belief.

  Leodenin pulled a wallet-sized container from his belt and removed a syringe of liquid Satia; an experimental cocktail combining anesthetic, painkillers, and growth hormones. He popped the top, plunged it into his leg, and injected the contents. The man’s face defied logic and paled further. He gnawed at the air as the chemicals forced his body into overdrive. He held the limb still until the bones fused together. A short time later, the anesthetic kicked in and the ragged breaths came easier. He stowed the medical package and crawled off the large pile. Testing the leg, he found that normal mobility had returned.

  One thing those docs do well is fix a good cocktail. If they could just figure out which chemicals should kick in first.

  Leodenin shook off the remnants of nausea and looked up the alley. A bodyguard lay in a pool of blood just yards away. Above, the stairway fought to submerge another man in a heap of rusting metal. As he ground his teeth, something caught his attention. He shifted it with his tongue and spat onto the concrete. A tooth peered out from the glob of bloody spittle. Dismissing the sight with a snort, he turned toward the doorway he had entered minutes before.

  How many of my men survived? I hope that annoying commander made it. I was just getting to like him. It would be a shame to lose him before the task was done.

  Father Leodenin rounded the corner to find another body face-up on the sidewalk. Bullet holes riddled the man’s vest and shoulder. It would not have been fatal, but the fall finished the job. Blood caked the man’s sandy hair and seeped out from beneath him.

  I knew this one. ‘Shanahan,’ I believe Marlin called him. This was his Second. How many men did it take to capture a simple girl, unless the same thing that attacked me went after the others? I’ll find the man who did this.

  Just then, some of his operatives stepped out the front door. Five disheveled men smiled when they saw him up and about, but the grins faded as their eyes found Shanahan at his feet.

  “Where the hell is Marlin?” barked Leodenin, jolting their gaze.

  The closest one responded. “Sir, he’s on the roof with Frank.”

  “Are these the only two we lost?” he demanded in a tone that would sever stone.

  “Y-y-yes, sir.”

  “Did we get her?”

  The men standing behind the vocal operative cast their eyes to the ground. Hesitant, the agent answered, “No, sir.”

  Leodenin’s previous frustration flared, illuminating his eyes. “And then there were six,” he muttered with a frustrated shake of his head.

  The operative rattled off an excuse. “Sir, she made another portal and they disappeared before we could reach them.”

  The man’s firm voice amazed him. It revealed none of the fear Leodenin saw in his brown eyes. “Then, how the hell did these men die if they ran away?” Each word was flecked with outrage.

  “Sir, the fire escape buckled when Gabe fell off the roof. He’s okay, though, just a little bruised. Nothing we aren’t used to.” A look in Leodenin’s eyes brought him back to the father’s question. “We found the stairway from inside and went to the top, but it was locked…”

  Leodenin ignored the rest and marched through the group, into the building. The agents followed at a distance.

  “Where the hell is this stairway?” the long haired father shouted.

  “Down there,” answered the young man, leading him through the lengthy hallway and up the shadowed stairs.

  Upon reaching the top, they arrived at a passage that almost resembled a doorway. Bullets pock marked the shattered door frame and the wall behind it. The setting sun outlined Marlin, who stood on the rooftop, leaning over one remaining agent. Frank sat against the parapet, pulling off his body armor and bl
oody shirt. Once free of the encumbrance, Marlin handed him a container of salve and patted his back.

  “Clean it up, Soldier. You did well.”

  Frank nodded and did as he was told.

  Leodenin strode over to Marlin, his relief at seeing the man alive lost in the fury of his eyes. “How the hell did you fail to capture a simple girl with amnesia?”

  “Dammit, Leo! Shut your trap.”

  Marlin’s retort further fueled Leodenin’s fire, but before he could react, the commander grabbed his jacket collar and flung him into the smokestack.

  From an inch away, Marlin rasped, “Now listen here you sniveling brat. You may be in charge of this mission, but these men are my responsibility, and you can’t do a damn thing without us. I don’t need you throwing failure in their faces when they did their damnedest. They saved my life at the expense of two of their own. And all for a simple little girl! If you and the docs had done their job, we wouldn’t be on this ridiculous crusade in the first place.”

  Marlin held tight, allowing his words to sink in. “If you need to say something to me, do it in private. Now, I’m gonna take care of my men and deal with those we lost at the hands of … what did you call her? Oh, right, a ‘simple little girl’.”

  Leodenin stared back through eyes of ice as the commander released his jacket. He even surprised Marlin by stepping so close that he could smell the trash adorning his pant leg. In a voice of steel, he said, “I hear you. Now, you listen to me. This is my mission and your failure is my failure. The longer we have to follow this girl, the more difficult it’ll be to get us back. So if you want any chance at returning to that shit hole you call home, you better hope you picked the right men for the job and take care of business. As for time, there isn’t any. Remember those flashing lights and autos that came rushing up as soon as we appeared? How long do you think it’ll take them to get here after all the gunfire you let loose?”

  Turning away, Leodenin shifted his arctic gaze to the agent who led him up the stairs. “You, what’s your name?”