spun back toward Ennis's building in time to see a dark figure plummeting from the tenth floor. "No!" she screamed, and took off running back to the building.
Marsh steeled himself and followed.
Mercifully, neither saw the impact. The woman on the street who had screamed wasn't as lucky. She was coming out of a bodega and saw the whole thing . . . from the first sight of a man diving headfirst through the shattered glass ten stories above, to the horrifying plummet, and finally to the sickening crash as he landed in a narrow patch of grass, barely missing a spiked fence.
Sydney ran up to the woman, who stared straight ahead in shock, pointing to the building. Sydney ran across the street, barely aware of the traffic that was screeching to a stop all around her. She only slowed when she saw the crumpled mass that was once a human being. She stopped several feet away, not able to bring herself to go any closer.
"Ennis?" she called out.
There was no response.
Marsh ran past her and went right to his friend. Look ing down, he tried to convince himself that Ennis was simply unconscious. But his spine was twisted into an impossible angle that said otherwise. Marsh knelt down and forced him self to look at Ennis's face. He expected to see an expression frozen with fear but instead saw a man at peace.
"You knew," Sydney said as she tentatively approached Marsh from behind. "You knew he was going to do this."
"I didn't," Marsh countered.
"Yes, you did," Sydney insisted, holding back tears.
A far-off siren sounded. The authorities were on their way.
"This was inevitable," Marsh said. "From the moment Ennis and my mom cracked the seal on that tomb. One way or another, Ennis was doomed."
"And we did nothing to help him," Sydney said with disgust.
The siren grew louder. Soon the police would come and take Ennis away. There would be questions. Marsh's dad would have to come. Marsh didn't care. His only concern was that the mechanics of putting Ennis to rest would take them away from their mission.
From Ennis's mission.
Marsh saw that Ennis had something clutched in his hand. A white piece of paper. Was it a suicide note? It had to have significance. Why else would he be holding it while jumping out of a window to his death? Marsh reached for it and gently removed it from Ennis's still-warm grasp.
"Don't touch that," Sydney commanded.
Marsh ignored her. Ennis's fingers gave up the paper easily. It looked to have been torn from a bag of chips. On one side was the colorful print from the product. Marsh flipped it to see that there was writing on the other side. Two simple words.
Marsh read them and frowned. The words were familiar but he didn't know why. He looked down at Ennis, relieved that the man's eyes were closed.
"Ennis," Marsh whispered. "Find Mom for me."
He stood up and handed the torn paper to Sydney. "What's this?" she asked.
"Ennis's last words."
Sydney looked at the torn paper to see the two curious words.
Lignum vitae.
5
Cooper was torn between the thrill of seeing the ancient wonder of the Colosseum in its original glory and figuring out a plan to find Damon.
Whoever's vision he had found himself in, it was on a day when the Colosseum was rocking. Coop could hear the roar of what seemed like multiple thousands of spectators, who were inside cheering whatever mayhem was on display. The area around the stadium was also busy with hundreds of people milling about and chatting. It was like a game day tailgate scene . . . gladiator style.
This vision was by far the most populated that Cooper had been to. Seeing the eclectic mix of spirits from so many eras made him realize that the Colosseum was just as big a tourist attraction in the Black as it was in the Light. He won dered if that applied to other interesting spots too. Could one spend their time in the Black bouncing from the Grand Canyon to the Great Wall of China and then make a quick side trip to Niagara Falls before hitting Disneyland? It made Coop
Marsh steeled himself and followed.
Mercifully, neither saw the impact. The woman on the street who had screamed wasn't as lucky. She was coming out of a bodega and saw the whole thing . . . from the first sight of a man diving headfirst through the shattered glass ten stories above, to the horrifying plummet, and finally to the sickening crash as he landed in a narrow patch of grass, barely missing a spiked fence.
Sydney ran up to the woman, who stared straight ahead in shock, pointing to the building. Sydney ran across the street, barely aware of the traffic that was screeching to a stop all around her. She only slowed when she saw the crumpled mass that was once a human being. She stopped several feet away, not able to bring herself to go any closer.
"Ennis?" she called out.
There was no response.
Marsh ran past her and went right to his friend. Look ing down, he tried to convince himself that Ennis was simply unconscious. But his spine was twisted into an impossible angle that said otherwise. Marsh knelt down and forced him self to look at Ennis's face. He expected to see an expression frozen with fear but instead saw a man at peace.
"You knew," Sydney said as she tentatively approached Marsh from behind. "You knew he was going to do this."
"I didn't," Marsh countered.
"Yes, you did," Sydney insisted, holding back tears.
A far-off siren sounded. The authorities were on their way.
"This was inevitable," Marsh said. "From the moment Ennis and my mom cracked the seal on that tomb. One way or another, Ennis was doomed."
"And we did nothing to help him," Sydney said with disgust.
The siren grew louder. Soon the police would come and take Ennis away. There would be questions. Marsh's dad would have to come. Marsh didn't care. His only concern was that the mechanics of putting Ennis to rest would take them away from their mission.
From Ennis's mission.
Marsh saw that Ennis had something clutched in his hand. A white piece of paper. Was it a suicide note? It had to have significance. Why else would he be holding it while jumping out of a window to his death? Marsh reached for it and gently removed it from Ennis's still-warm grasp.
"Don't touch that," Sydney commanded.
Marsh ignored her. Ennis's fingers gave up the paper easily. It looked to have been torn from a bag of chips. On one side was the colorful print from the product. Marsh flipped it to see that there was writing on the other side. Two simple words.
Marsh read them and frowned. The words were familiar but he didn't know why. He looked down at Ennis, relieved that the man's eyes were closed.
"Ennis," Marsh whispered. "Find Mom for me."
He stood up and handed the torn paper to Sydney. "What's this?" she asked.
"Ennis's last words."
Sydney looked at the torn paper to see the two curious words.
Lignum vitae.
5
Cooper was torn between the thrill of seeing the ancient wonder of the Colosseum in its original glory and figuring out a plan to find Damon.
Whoever's vision he had found himself in, it was on a day when the Colosseum was rocking. Coop could hear the roar of what seemed like multiple thousands of spectators, who were inside cheering whatever mayhem was on display. The area around the stadium was also busy with hundreds of people milling about and chatting. It was like a game day tailgate scene . . . gladiator style.
This vision was by far the most populated that Cooper had been to. Seeing the eclectic mix of spirits from so many eras made him realize that the Colosseum was just as big a tourist attraction in the Black as it was in the Light. He won dered if that applied to other interesting spots too. Could one spend their time in the Black bouncing from the Grand Canyon to the Great Wall of China and then make a quick side trip to Niagara Falls before hitting Disneyland? It made Coop
Similar Books
The Best of Galaxy’s Edge 2013-2014
Larry Niven, Nancy Kress, Mercedes Lackey, Ken Liu, Brad R. Torgersen, C. L. Moore, Tina Gower
