Jovan's Gaze

Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

Jeannine, the woman who I had spent the last fifteen years with, walked out of the desert and appeared in this world, one thousand years ago. The revelation struck me like a war hammer swung at my skull. I dropped the tablet and collapsed into a chair. Nesing watched me, unmoving, his compad still in his hand. Obviously, he had called the police or perhaps the military, but I did not care. I felt the entire world come crashing down around me. Suddenly, the plots and conspiracies of Dark Lords and their servants seemed entirely unimportant.

I tried to wrap my head around the idea that Jeannine had come to this place. When? Did she follow me? Had she been cast out, as well? And why had she emerged into this world one thousand years before me?

I stared at the dropped tablet, listening to her voice as she spoke to the man interviewing her. She did not understand what he was saying, and was becoming frustrated. Her voice had that edge to it, the one she acquired when she became upset. I found that I could hear her voice, but not the words. The shock was so great, I felt as though I were wrapped in thick, black cloth. The world seemed removed, muffled. Nesing was talking, but I did not hear his words.

"Jovan?" Nesing said, probably for the fifth or sixth time. "What's wrong? What is it?"

"Jeannine," I muttered. "That's Jeannine."

Nesing moved to me. "The Jeannine from your village? The woman you shared a home with?"

I simply nodded, unable to do much more. "Yes," I said.

I should have kept silent. I had no wish to give this dark servant anything more to use against me, but my mind was moving slowly, like it was slogging through a thick swamp. I tried to shake myself out of it, but Jeannine's recorded voice sapped me of my focus. I stood up, unsure of what to do or where to go. Did I flee, or push Nesing further?

Before I could decide what to do, Nesing's compad rang. It was still in his hand. He looked down at it, and so did I. The gentle chime rang once more. Nesing looked to me. He had already used it, taking the opportunity while I watched the video of Jeannine. Was it the police who called him? It chimed again, but Nesing made no attempt to answer it. After a fourth ring, the compad was silent. A moment later, it beeped. Nesing looked at the device, and then to me.

"Jovan," he said quietly, nervously trying not to look at the pistol lying on the floor, "Jovan, they're here, right outside the door. There's nowhere to go. You can't run. Please, don't try."

I looked to the door and saw shadowed movement from under it. Several people. I heard the rattle of equipment. The military was here. Like at the school, they were here impossibly fast, which meant that, just like at the school, they had been nearby, waiting. Nesing was the lure for a trap.

The world moved by slowly. I looked down at my pistol. It lay on the floor, leaning against one of the books knocked from Nesing's desk when I threw him back. It hummed quietly, ready to kill. Nesing watched me, obviously girding himself against what was to come. I started to kneel, reaching for the weapon. I did not get the chance.

The door exploded, the sound and noise of it throwing me off balance as I started to kneel. A split second later, something rolled into the room and exploded, a fury of light and sound, a stun grenade like those the police used against the Pure Lifers. In this tiny office, the sound was devastating. I was thrown against a pile of books, and crashed into a a bookcase. Books rained down, half-burying me. The shelf itself came down on top of me, but I was able to brace myself for it. My right ear rang, and the side of my face felt raw, swollen.

I heard commotion, yelling, snarling metallic voices. The muffled noise thundered towards me, and I did my best to prepare for the onslaught. The bookshelf was pulled away, and I was faced with the muzzles of three rifles. One of the armored soldiers stepped on my chest, pushing down hard with his rubber-treaded boot. I felt the air pushed from my lungs.