As Roni pulled open the book cover, grey smoke puffed out. But nothing followed. Dust figured to be the culprit and not some ancient mist from an unknown universe. Then the book vibrated in her hand — gently like a humming refrigerator.
She felt slight pressure upon her palms as if the book pushed against her. Or something pushed against the book in her direction. The longer it lasted, the more she equated the sensation with holding a magnet against another of equal polarity. That was it, exactly. The universe of the book and the universe in the church pushed against each other.
Her heart sank. “This won’t work. This is the wrong book.”
“Have faith,” Sister Claudia said. “It will work.”
Roni remained standing still with the book open. But its large size grew heavy in her hands. “I’m telling you, this is the wrong book. We don’t want one that’s pushing against the rift universe. We want one that extracts from it. Did Sister Agnes steal a different book from the Society as well?”
Despite wanting to close the cover, Roni kept it open and watched the universe in front of her. Much of the orange had slipped away, leaving behind deep crimson. Dark, smoky clouds spun by like miniature storms seen from above. It gave the rift a sense of motion as if it spun on a slow-moving pedestal.
And then Roni saw it. Crawling into view. The young girl. Maria.
As she came closer to facing them full-on, the book reacted. A blast of gold energy whipped out like a frog’s tongue. Thin and long, it stretched straight to the rift. Its golden light filled the room, devouring the shadows, leaving every cracked stone and split timber visible.
“You see it now,” Sister Ashley said dropping to her knees. “This is the book that created the conduit with its golden light of Heaven.”
This tongue of energy had penetrated the rift and wrapped around Maria’s arm. It reeled back into the book, strong and taut, pulling on Maria. In seconds, the little girl ended up hovering in the middle of the church basement, locked between two universes. The rift bulged out with her, determined to hold on. The golden tongue freed her arm and pulled harder.
Sister Claudia put out her hands. “She’s beautiful. A true angel.”
Crackling sparks and bulging waves rolled along the surface of the rift. The circle of books pushed all the rift’s energy back in onto itself. Except for Maria. The books could not contain her. By the time Maria floated equidistant between Roni’s open book and the rift, her head tore free from the rift’s grasp. Even as the rest of her body remained wrapped in a menacing red blob of power, even as the golden tongue strained to pull her, even as her mouth opened wide and cried in pain — through all of it, she had the ability to lock eyes with Roni.
A fleeting second. No more. But enough to erase all doubt from Roni. This was her mother as a child. Gram’s daughter. All that remained.
From behind, Roni heard Sister Ashley ask, “Now?”
For one beat of her heart, Roni heard the betrayal in that voice. She did not know what it meant, but she knew it would be bad.
“Oh, yes,” Sister Claudia said. “Definitely now.”
With an ecstatic squeal, Sister Ashley sprinted forward. Roni could only watch. Any effort to stop Sister Ashley meant losing control of the book — and losing Maria. Sister Claudia’s gleeful laugh erupted behind.
“Sister Agnes understood what all the nuns before her failed to understand,” Sister Claudia said as Sister Ashley danced around the circle of books. “This is more than simply a conduit, more than simply a way to communicate with angels in Heaven. This is a gateway to Heaven itself. Keeping this locked away, encircled by your books, is a heresy.”
Over her shoulder Roni yelled, “Don’t do this. Whatever you’re planning, just don’t.” Turning her focus back to Maria, she went on, “Fight. You’re running out of time. Come to me.”
“She won’t have to fight. None of us will.”
Sister Ashley whipped off her wimple and coif, letting long locks of raven hair flow around her shoulders.
Mesmerized, Sister Claudia went on, “For centuries scholars have debated how we would know when Jesus had returned. How would we know that the time had come to create Heaven on Earth? And all that time, the nuns here at the Abbey already held the answer.”
“Jesus was never going to be seen in mortal form,” Sister Ashley said, her voice in a trance. “Sister Agnes knew it all along. Jesus brought us the conduit, and it is our honor and duty to bring Heaven onto the Earth.”
She moved like a ballerina, and as she finished her words she bent forward and gently lifted one of the Society books out of the circle. A ripple in the air soared around the remaining books. Roni’s heart sank.
And Hell broke loose.
“No,” Roni said, her white-knuckled fingers trembling.
In her delirious exultation’s, Sister Ashley twirled as she held the book out. The rift flashed red light like an angry storm. Its edges undulated, including those surrounding Maria.
“Help,” Maria said, her voice strained, her eyes tearing.
Sister Ashley froze in an awkward stance as she stared at Maria. “Yes, my Lord. I can help. I can free you from this pain.” With a jerking motion, she threw the book into the nearest group of bookstands. Two more knocked over.
Vicious winds arose as if a tornado had formed within the room. The books still operating shuttered in their stands. Sister Ashley laughed as the wind thrust her hair wildly around. Roni tried to scoot back, hoping her efforts might spool the tongue in quicker or at least bring Maria further from the rift. But the icy hand of Sister Claudia touched her shoulder.
“That won’t work.”
All of the bookstands lifted off the ground. The books flew about. A bolt of lightning broke free from the rift and carved a hole into the stone wall. Howls and moans and twisted cries filled the room as if the stones themselves screamed.
Roni repositioned her hands, but there was no way to hold the oversized book with one hand and attempt to grab Maria with the other. The book required both her hands to stay open, and she could not close it without giving up on her mother. She refused.
Two metal stands clattered in one corner while a wooden stand shattered against another. Sister Ashley giggled at the orchestration of noise. She looked back at Sister Claudia. “It’s really happening. Isn’t it wonderful?”
A large stone book stand flew through the air and clobbered Sister Ashley in the side. She tumbled to the ground, her head banging against the hard floor. Blood splashed across the stones.
Wobbling on all fours, she attempted to stand. The strong winds and the blow to her head shoved her back down. With both hands supporting her, Sister Ashley gazed about the room. Blood dribbled from under her hair, across her forehead, and down her cheeks.
She uttered a confused gasp.
With a sharp crack in the air, the orange rift shot out a lance of energy, took hold of Sister Ashley, and yanked her inside.
Two seconds, and she was gone.
The open books shot off energy in all directions. They bounced around like bumper cars. One flew off near Roni’s head and another smacked into her shins.
Amongst the chaos, Sister Claudia crossed herself. She stared at the empty spot where Sister Ashley had been. “Incredible.”
“The books,” Roni said. “Close the books and put them back in place.”
As if speaking to a thick child, Sister Claudia said, “You don’t close Heaven.”
Roni gave one last glance at Sister Claudia. No help would be coming from there. She faced her mother again. “Maria, come on. Fight. You can break free.”
She could not tell if Maria heard her or even understood her, but the young girl stretched her arms further towards Roni. She wriggled as if pushing through a tight space. Her face stretched back and she winced.
Another book, this one spinning like a pinwheel, cut through the air and clipped Sister Claudia on the chin. She only smiled — even as the blood slid down her throat and stained her gown. “Creation is always violent. I understand that, my Lord. I am ready. If you must take my life as you have taken Sister Ashley, I am yours.” She ambled forward, a psychotic grin plastered across her lips.
In the distance, Roni heard a rumble and had the strange thought that a thunderstorm might be brewing outside. But the rumble quickly intensified. Rolling closer and closer. It became a stampede thundering down upon them.
The rift burst open.
A red wave jetted out in all directions. When it struck Roni, it lifted her off the floor and tumbled her backwards. The book flew from her hands, and as it rose, time slowed.
Not just a perceptional slowing. Time actually slowed.
She floated in the air, feeling the pull of gravity combating the push of the wave. She felt the air shoving out of her lungs. Her hair thrust back as the room tilted in front of her. But it all moved glacially.
In fact, Roni felt the slowing down more and more each passing moment — she dared not think of it as seconds. And then everything stopped. Locked in the air, unable to move, frozen in place. Yet she could still feel life around her. And with an intuitive leap, she put it together — the world inside this universe moved, but so imperceptibly slow as to be frozen in time. All the years that had passed since part of Maria had split off into the rift, yet for that part of her, perhaps only a few seconds had gone by. A minute at most. Even sound moved so slowly that Roni heard the purist silence ever in her life.
Yet her thoughts kept moving. Which suggested Maria’s thoughts had continued all this time as well. How many years had gone before she realized what was happening to her? How many years did she strain and struggle with the misguided hope that she could break free? How long before she gave up?
A distant rumble struck Roni’s ears — notable not only because it stood out amongst the silence but also because it sounded in real time, not slowed down. It sounded like a stampede of wild mustangs. The closer it came, the more the sound rendered into a steady thrum. She could feel it vibrating her bones, her skin, even the hairs growing on her arms.
When the thrum hit, the speed of the world returned to normal. Roni’s body flipped through the air and slammed onto the hard floor. Sister Claudia shot backwards, smacking into the wall, and crashing on her hands and knees. The open books fell — several of them flapping shut, several others apparently inert. But not the big book Roni had opened.
It lay flat on the floor about ten feet away. Its strange gold light poured out, creating twisted shadows on the ceiling as it fought to engulf Maria. The young girl screamed. She braced her hands against the floor. From the waist down, she was inside the book. Tears streamed off her chin.
Roni snatched a look at the rift. Its swirling storms had settled and its deep vibrant colors had dimmed. Ignoring the throbs of pain radiating from her bones, she raced across the room and clutched both of Maria’s hands. Straddling the book, Roni arched back, pulling, pulling, groaning in an effort to find a little more strength.
“Sister Claudia,” she called out as she repositioned her feet. Across the room she saw the nun praying on her knees. “Get over here. Help me save this girl.”
But Sister Claudia shook her head. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I don’t understand.”
Sweat covered Roni’s body. Her grip on Maria slipped a few inches. She looked down as the little girl stared directly into her. No mistaking those eyes — they pleaded for her life.
The gold tongue slithered around Maria, settling across her chest and on her shoulder. It constricted as it pulled her further down. Roni dropped to her knees, still clutching Maria, still pulling back, feeling her muscles strain and tear. Feeling all of her strength weaken.
“Sister Claudia. Please.”
Sister Claudia stood, and through a glimmer of hope, Roni thought all would be well. But the glimmer faded as the nun bolted for the spiral staircase leading upward.
At the foot of the staircase, she halted. She stumbled backwards, her face agape. Sister Mary descended the stairs and behind her came Gram, Sully, and Elliot. All four paused to survey the situation.
Hunched over and pushing his glasses up his nose, Sully set his feet firm on the floor. “Gram, take care of those books.” Gram moved around Sully and flicked her wrists. Long chains fell from the sleeves of her blouse. Like a seasoned cowboy, she whipped those chains across the room. Each one found its mark — the spine of a book. She hauled them in, tied them up, and set about placing them on the bookstands.
Sister Mary snapped her fingers at Sister Claudia and the two helped Gram reset the bookstands.
“Elliot,” Sully said and his old partner needed no more.
The tall, distinguished man headed over to Sister Claudia. If she had suffered any wounds, he would heal her.
Finally, Sully approached Roni. He reached down, and with an iron grip, he grabbed Roni by the waist. She had seen his gifts in action before. Like a boulder, he could be immovable. And though she spotted the anger in his face, she felt relief at the arrival of the Parallel Society.
Until the heavy bowling sound returned. Rolling, rolling. Turning into a stampede of wild mustangs.
Roni’s eyes snapped wide open. “Get out of the — “
The red wave hit harder than before. It blasted Roni off her feet, but with Sully holding her, her body twisted over his shoulder. Her ribs snapped like a chain of firecrackers. It was the last sound she heard before the wave stole all sound.
Immobilized and contorted, Roni suffered through her cracked rib cage in an unending loop of pain. An agonized shriek rose in her chest but could not escape. In this red universe, it would take decades for her mouth to open wide enough to release the sound.
From the corner of her eye, she snatched a glimpse of the book. The upside-down image promised to haunt her for the rest of her life. It remained on the floor, open, and all trace of Maria had vanished.
Roni tried to scan the area, but with her head tucked under and motionless, her limited view provided nothing more. When she finally heard the distant rumble, relief blended with terror in her heart. The wave would pass soon but the pain would only amplify.
As the rumble approached and the volume grew louder, Roni mentally braced herself. And then it was upon them. The stampede plowed across them as the wave finished its course.
The world returned to normal. Roni’s legs continued to spin overhead, twisting her body, and the electrifying jolts in her chest pressed down like knives into her lungs. She screamed out, and as her body slipped from Sully’s grip, she had an instant in which she saw Gram, Sister Mary, Sister Claudia, and Elliot flailing through the air. Sully arched back and watched her in confusion.
She hit the floor head first. Purple-black dots flashed across her vision.
All went dark.