Robin Parrish - Relentless

RELENTLESS

RELENTLESS

THE DOMINION TRILOGY: BOOK 1

ROBIN PARRISH

Relentless
Copyright 2006
Robin Parrish

Cover design: Brand Navigation, LLC
Bill Chiaravalle, Russ McIntosh

Cover images: Getty, Photodisc

Cover photography: Steve Gardner, Pixelworks Studio

Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN-13: 978-0-7642-0345-9
ISBN-10: 0-7642-0345-2

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Parrish, Robin.
Relentless / Robin Parrish.
p. cm. (The Dominion trilogy ; 1)
ISBN 0-7642-0221-9 (alk. paper)
1. DoppelgngersFiction. 2. Psychic abilityFiction. 3. Conspiracies Fiction. 4. PropheciesFiction. 5. SupernaturalFiction. I. Title. II. Series: Parrish, Robin. Dominion trilogy ; 1.

PS3616.A7684R45 2006
813'.6dc22 2006011317

Dedicated to the memory of
Michael Wayland Parrish

You would have loved this story, Dad.
I miss you.

Contents

Somewhere in the world, an unbearable cry pierced the darkness.

It was the sound of pain.

The sound of birth.

And the sound of death.

It was a sound that would change everything....

1
Los Angeles, California
Thirty Years Later

Collin Boyd stepped off the Metro bus on his way to work, and across the street he saw himself strolling down the sidewalk.

A stubborn but warm February rain was pouring hard across the concrete canyons of downtown. His foot had landed ankle-deep in a drainage puddle, and his half-broken umbrella wasnt extending as it should. But the umbrella, which had rarely seen use, quickly fell out of his hands and he no longer noticed the rain. His eyes were fixed, his head turning slowly to follow the other man down the opposite side of the street.

It wasnt until someone shouted from behind that he finally got his legs moving again.

The man he watched with rapt attention weaved his way casually through the crowd, headed in the direction of Collins workplace. He wasnt a man who merely resembled Collin. He was him. The same face, the same body, the same walk. He wore the clothes and raincoat Collin had put on that morning. He carried Collins briefcase.

It was only then that Collin noticed he no longer had his briefcase. When had he seen it last? On the bus? Before that? Hed been so groggy all morning, he couldnt place it.

And what was that on the mans wrist? Collin clenched a hand around his own wrist, feeling for what was missing.

Hes wearing Granddads bracelet...

That line of thought was gone once the other man began fussing with the piece of unruly hair up front that Collin could never seem to keep in place.

This impostor wasnt a twin or duplicate. He was him, in every way. Every look, every gesture, every expression. And he was walking to work in the rain, under L.A.s towering skyscrapers, brushing shoulders with countless citizens and tourists.

As if everything were exactly as it should be.

Without ever deciding to, Collin moved his legs. He crossed the bustling downtown street, just aware enough of the cars, buses, and bicycles zipping by to dodge them. But his eyes remained on the man who looked like him, who checked his watchNo, thats my watch, he reminded himselfand then picked up his pace, apparently realizing he was about to be late for work.

Late for my work, Collin stupidly thought again, his mind spinning.

This was a lie. It had to be a lie.

A twisted joke.

But then, who would play such a prank? He hadnt had any close friends since childhood, and even then he knew that his friends had been forced to play with him by the orphanage staff. He couldnt think of a single acquaintance he had now who had anything resembling a sense of humor.

Collin increased his own speed, tailing his doppelganger from about fifteen paces behind. The impossibility of the situation seemed like an absurd thing to think about right now as he spied on himself walking to work in the rain, yet nothing else entered his mind.

It couldnt be impossible if he was looking right at it.

What am I supposed to say if I catch up to him?

Maybe hes my clone. Are they cloning humans yet? Eh, I dont know.

Hes living my life. Hes walking in my shoes on his way to my job,living my life.

Did he steal my life?

Maybe Im sitting somewhere in a padded room right now. Carefulthere, honey, the kind nurse is saying to my slack-jawed, vacant expression.Youre drooling all over your straitjacket...

Collins adrenaline surged, and the confusion of the moment was overpowered by a rising agitation.

The other man approached a street corner, and even though the light on the other side was blinking DONT WALK, he crossed anyway, nearly jogging.

Collin broke into a run and hit the crosswalk full bore. He was halfway across, his eyes still following his quarry, when a blaring horn filled his ears, followed by the metallic screech of brakes. He barely managed to jump backward a few feet before a Metro bus filled the space where hed just been standing. The angry driver shouted a few choice phrases in Collins direction, followed by an emphatic hand gesture.

Collin gave a dazed wave. As the bus chugged slowly along, passing within inches of his face, his stunned reflection gazed back at him in the glass windows as they passed by.

He didnt recognize the man in the glass.

Time seemed to shudder. The sounds of vehicles, store owners, tourists, businesspeople, and even planes flying overhead all fell away, until he heard nothing but the rush of blood surging past his ears and pounding in his temples. There was nothing wrong with his eyes, but he couldnt seem to get them to focus. And he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, as if he might vomit.

Somehow he stumbled his way across the street and managed to hold on to his breakfastDid I have breakfast?and stopped to rest on the sidewalk, the chase erased from his thoughts.

The rain had stopped. He stood under the small canvas awning of a tiny high-end boutique with a floor-to-ceiling storefront window. He looked up, expecting to see mannequins on the other side of the glass, but instead, reflected back at him, was a man hed never seen before.

Everything about his appearance was unfamiliar. He was taller, appeared to have a rather meaty, athletic build, and he wore high-end clothes much too rugged and in style for Collins taste. Gone was the tiny, balding spot on top of his head, replaced now by thick brown locks trimmed neatly above his ears. He wasnt wearing his glassesin fact, he didnt seem to need them. He had a few days growth of facial hair. Even his flabby midsection was missing.