Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) Read Online Free PDF Page A

and his broad chest expands. He sighs audibly, nods his head, and closes his eyes.
    As Ezra moves back to sit at the table, I pull Nate by the hand, leading him back to our chairs. This conversation is far from over. I still have unanswered questions, and I’m not about to let them go.
    Nate rakes his hand through his hair, looking at Ezra. “Okay, so we’ve been altered. What does that make us?”
    Ezra answers, “Yes, your DNA has been altered because of the copper in the Copula. You are still a human though. You’re just a superior model of human.”
    I add, “So, we are alien in a way.”
    Both Ezra and Nate look at me.
    I continue, “We are altered, evolved, and different. That is pretty much alien to me.”
    Nate looks at Ezra and scoffs. He sits back and crosses his arms. “She has a point, Ezra.”
    Ezra sits back, looking from Nate to me. “With the events that have surrounded your life, you would not have survived the past six months if you didn’t have the defense from the implanted Copula along with a greater purpose in this universe ahead of you.”
    It surprises me when Ezra does something completely out of character. He puts his hands out to both Nate and me. We both hesitate, and then we look at each other, kind of taken aback by Ezra’s action. Slowly, we place our hands in Ezra’s.
    He squeezes our hands in his and says, “The Copula is the device that will help us adapt, evolve, and survive in our changing world now.”
    I think of Corinna and how she was a casualty because of this world we live in now. Since that night, I have tried to block her from my thoughts. Because of my dreams, it has been impossible to do that. In them, she convulses and pulls on my legs, begging me to save her.
    Now, finding out from Ezra that she is a Dobrian, I wonder what was going through her mind the night she went with me to the club. Did she know about Sam Crest and the abduction? Was she planning her own mission all along by befriending me? Was she putting herself in harm’s way to protect me? Was she playing Little Miss Vulnerable for Sam so that he would take her and not me?
    I ask Ezra, “Corinna is a Dobrian. You said that she is from a family of guardians that were sent to protect other guardians. She was sent to protect me, wasn’t she?”
    Ezra responds, “Yes, she was, but we weren’t expecting her to risk her life to protect both you and Xander.”
    I stop him. “Wait, she knew that Xander’s a Dobrian, too?”
    Ezra says nothing and just nods. His eyes are bloodshot. He pinches the bridge of his nose. All of a sudden, I see how tired he looks; clearly showing that he hasn’t been sleeping well.
    It becomes clear now. Corinna knew what she was doing the entire time. She befriended me to keep me close to protect me. She made sure I went to the club with her—the club she was invited to by Xander. She took a chance that Xander would protect me. All this time, I thought I was protecting her. Corinna laid her life on the line for both Xander and me.
    Now, she is gone. Sam sent her through a wormhole to Sonde where she would have been implanted like the others. But, it wouldn’t be like the others at all because she has a Dobrian Copula.
    I say, “She already possesses a Dobrian Copula. What do they intend to do with her?”
    Ezra taps his hand on the table. “We think the Sondian fellowship wants to alter her, shut down her Dobrian Copula, and implant her with a Sondian Copula. They want her abilities and strength on their side.”
    Looking away, I mumble, “That isn’t the answer I was hoping for.”
    The images of Corinna’s distorting face from my dreams flood my mind.
    Ezra puts his hand on mine to draw my attention. “If there is anything that can be done to reverse the effects of the Sondian Copula, our medical staff and scientists will do it to save her.”
    Ezra leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table. “Dobrian scientists working deep undercover at MIT say that