Pine Needles (Veil Realms Series) (20 page)

BOOK: Pine Needles (Veil Realms Series)

9.29Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

“Go
od as it’s going to get, I suppose.” My voice is deadened and lifeless at the moment. I know Tiffany is concerned about me and only wants to help me get through this.

“She loved you, you know
that, right?” Tiffany sounds more parent like than she should.

“Yeah I do, but
why didn’t she step through the veil when she had the chance to?” It was a cheap shot at her, but pain sometimes pushes me that way.

“Rayden, I was there with her in the beginning
and she swore to me that she would protect me and get me back. She did that, but you don’t know what it’s like with them. And the queen, she scares the livin’ fuck out of me.”

“Hey now
, watch the language. I know what you mean, what you’re trying to say Tiff, and it’s okay. We’re okay. I guess we have all suffered because of the veil. I hate it that we were so damn close to getting her back though. Something I never thought we would be able to do. When I came into the veil world I half expected to find out that she was dead. I had prepared myself for that. Then I find her alive and we make it to the veil, only steps away. And then to lose her twice is almost more than I can handle, you know?”

“I know,” s
he agrees quietly wiping away a tear from her eye. She chuckles that cute quirky laugh of hers as she gazes out the front windshield of the truck. “I also know where we’re going.”

I
don’t have to say a word. I realize by now she knows me all too well and that she doesn’t mind if we go by the veil. Even though on this side nothing grows but that small patch of pine trees which marks the spot of so much loss.

“Right after the veil came, the
government was right on it. They had restricted access to the veil and it was heavily guarded, but a buddy of mine had some contacts, you remember him, Jack?” Tiffany stiffens up as she remembers how Jack died. “Jack got us access to the veil as a civilian contractor, but that’s not what we had in mind from the beginning. Jack lost most of his family behind the veil, and I was determined to go after Selene. Our job was to test and take readings from the veil. We checked every inch. The energy level was like nothing we had ever seen before. It was as solid as diamonds except for the pine grove. We knew we could make it through and from then on we planned to come through on a rescue mission.”

The pine grove comes into view and I realize how fast I’m driving so I whip the truck around breaking hard and bringing the truck to a stop in an impressive cloud of dust. Tiffany smiles now, like a teen should. I can tell that for some reason we both feel lighter, like a weight is now gone. This experie
nce and its life altering unreal nightmare somehow created a bond between Tiffany and I. It is definitely a father daughter one. It was my last promise to Selene. I watch Tiffany hop out, zipping up her coat and drop the tail gate to the pickup. I shut the engine off and open the door, letting my boots hit the dusty dry ground. Everything outside the veil is gone, like a desert but without the heat. The military has tested for radiation and found none. I smile because the way I parked and with Tiffany sitting on the tail gate seems like we should be watching a show or a movie, something, but there is nothing to see except the veil and the pines a short distance on the other side.

“I actually miss the fruit. The Quine were the best. Invisible and so damn tasty, it melted in your mouth. I never got enough.” I don’t answer, my thoughts betraying me, I’m sure. “Wonder what she’s doing now?” Tiffany says absently
swinging her legs back and forth.

I bend down and grab a rock. My emotions getting the best of me as I pull my hand back, ready to throw it just like I have done a thousand times in high school as a pitcher. I wind up and release.
It feels good and the rock sails straight and true, hitting the large pine tree I was aiming for. Wait
, what just happened?

It takes a moment for it to sink in. Did that really happen? Did I just throw a rock through the veil and hit that pine?
Tiffany is on her feet in double time. She grabs a rock and throws it with all her might. It passes through the veil easily. “Oh my God, oh my God, the veil is open, Rayden, what do we do?” She’s excited and scared to death all at the same time. She rocks back and forth biting on her nail nervously as I think. We could go back through. Or report it to the authorities? They would have military units here in less than ten. Really though, what do I want? I know instantly.

“Tiffany, we could go through, you and I. We could do our best to survive inside the veil. We might even be able to be around Selene again.
” But Selene was the one that made it clear. She is not human and doesn’t fit in this world anymore. I never wanted the government to lay a hand on her but I knew the second we came through the veil they would quarantine us. It sinks in that we don’t belong in the veil and Selene does now. “You know Tiff, I can’t say that this is the right decision, but my gut tells me that we should stay on this side.”

Tiffany kicks at the dust and sho
ves her hands deep into her back pockets of her jeans. “When the veil first came and I lost my family. I was so freaked out that I hid in a church. I was shaking so bad that anyone could have seen me where I was hiding. Selene found me and told me so calmly that she would protect me. I was nobody to her, Rayden. Some strange, terrified teenager that she didn’t know and still she made that promise to me.” Her eyes are swollen red and the tears silently roll down her cheek. “It would be the worst betrayal I can imagine to go back inside the veil. She sacrificed her humanity to set me free and to save you too.”

I look at this bright,
beautiful young woman and smile like a proud father. “And when did you get so damn smart, Tiffany?”

The wind
picks up a bit blowing the fine dust particles into the air. All too soon it’s followed by a strange crackling noise. The veil is off kilter. Something is wrong. I have studied the veil in every aspect possible since its unwanted arrival over a year ago and I have never seen it behave this way. I stare at it for a moment to see if I can figure it out. The veil is dissolving, like acid on metal, it’s just melting away. This protective alien shield is vanishing. Their world is defenseless and the sounds of every beast and living thing bleed hauntingly through. The hair rises on the back of my neck. “Something huge is happening. Tiff, we better get going.” The words come out of my mouth but no action follows. We both stand there gawking at the veil as the veil world shifts right before our eyes. Tiffany grabs my hand as the barrier erodes completely leaving this world. It is short lived as a great rush of air from behind us begins blowing like the force of a hurricane within seconds. I pull Tiffany toward the back of the pickup and we both dive in as the wind begins pushing the truck toward the spot the veil was. I don’t think we could manage to open the doors and get inside. We pull ourselves up to the top of the truck bed and look back at the veil. Now there is nothing but a giant dust cloud. The wind persists for a minute or two before dying back down. The cloud of dust travels straight up into the sky.

It takes a few
minutes before the dust settles back to earth. The veil world is no more. What is left is absolutely nothing but fine red clay sediment covering the entire area where the other half of Sindale once stood.

- The End of Book One in the Veil Realms Series -