Ascending the Veil Read Online Free

facility is part of the university above us.” Xander points up. “University of Kyoto’s Department of Physics.”
    I nod at him and he tucks both of his hands in the pockets of his jeans and turns his gaze straight ahead down the low lit hall. It seems so...so...
    Xander clears his throat. “Sterile, like a hospital. I noticed that too.”
    I slow my pace and look over at Xander. “You heard what I was thinking.”
    Still walking slowly by my side, Xander nods and looks down at the ground. “Yeah. I guess it is easier to hear the thoughts of someone you care about.”
    I nod and look down the hall. “Yeah, I know what you are saying.”
    Xander takes hold of my elbow gently and turns me to him. “Wait, you can hear mine too?”
    His hand on my arm sends a electrifying current through me; one that I am becoming accustomed to. “Yeah, but not everything. It’s spotty.”
    Not letting go of my elbow, Xander moves in closer. Why does he look worried? “Spotty like how? Could you hear my thoughts just now while we were walking?”
    Jeez, what is he so worried about me hearing? “No, I couldn’t hear anything just then. Maybe it was because I wasn’t trying to listen. It makes it easier when you are wanting to know what the other person is thinking. Nate and I figured out that...”
    Without letting me finish, Xander turns immediately and stalks away from me, mumbling under his breath, “Whatever.”
    Xander punches a button on the wall and a set of double doors swing open. The sound of metal chairs screeching against tile and the team heading straight for us distracts me from my frustration with Xander’s reaction. As they swarm around me, asking questions simultaneously, Xander disappears into the crowd.
    I am engulfed in embraces from Elisha, Nick, Jake, Monica, Angela, Luke, and Siobhan. Yeah, Siobhan hugging me was a surprise , being that she is always so tough-as-nails. When I glance beyond them I see Sebastian, Balthazar, and Xander talking with a few men and women I don’t recognize. They are all of Asian descent. They must be the Dobrian guardians of the facility we are in. Elisha catches me off guard, pulling me into another humongous embrace.
    Nick moves in behind Elisha and gently pulls her back from me. He smiles softly. “She has been stalking your room for the past two days , Jes. Xander finally eased up long enough for her to leave clothes. She has been so worried. We all have.”
    I look at the rest of the team and see the genuine worry and concern in their eyes. I clear my throat from the growing dryness. “I’m fine guys. Just a little thirsty.”
    Jake moves away from the huddle they have formed. “I will get you some water.”
    Being motherly, Elisha calls after him before he is out of sight. “Something to eat too. She must be starving.”
    Jake waves his hand as he jogs off to the kitchen. “Got it.”
    A baby’s whimper catches my attention. I look beyond Sebastian and Balthazar and see Siobhan holding a bundle in her arms, swaying back and forth. The horrific image of Michael Sanderson stabbing a woman holding a baby flashes in my mind; Balthazar’s wife and baby. Nate and I, we tried to save them both, but it was too late for his wife.
    I move past the team and slowly walk over to Siobhan and the baby. Balthazar angles to stand next to Siobhan now and says, “Jesca, this is Marcus.”
    I look up at Balthazar and the sadness in his eyes take s me back to the moment when he held his dying wife in his arms. I nod at him and look back at baby Marcus in Siobhan’s arms, not wanting to invade his sorrows any longer.
    It is kind of shocking to see Siobhan be so nurturing. Not the harsh, combative mentor she has been pegged as. Marcus grunts and whimpers having been shifted from one set of warm arms to another as Siobhan places him in Balthazar’s. Before releasing him, she whispers, “He might still be tender.”
    Tender? Before I can ask why, Xander does, “Tender? What happened to