Bryan Davis - Beyond the Reflections Edge

E C H O E S F R O M T H E E D G E

BEYOND THE REFLECTIONS EDGE

BRYAN DAVIS

ZONDERVAN

Beyond the Reflections Edge
Copyright 2008 by Bryan Davis

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EPub Edition 2008 ISBN: 978-0-310-56697-7

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Applied for
ISBN 978-0-310-71554-2

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When images of the mind stretch beyond what we can see with our eyes, then the portals open, allowing us to view the face of God. As I searched for portals in my dreams, my son dreamed with me and found a golden key within a mirror. Thank you, Josiah, for being a reflection of Gods image and helping me unlock another door to the beyond.

Nathan watched his tutor peer out the window. She was being paranoid again. That guy following them in the Mustang had really spooked her. Chill out, Clara. He doesnt know what room were in.

She slid the curtains together, casting a blanket of darkness across the motel room. He parked near the lobby entrance. Wed better pack up and leave another way. She clicked on a corner table lamp. The pale light seemed to deepen the wrinkles on her face and hands. How much more time do you need?

Nathan sat on the bed nearer the window, a stack of pillows between his back and the wall, and tapped away at his laptop. Just a couple of minutes. He looked up at her and winked. Dads slide rule mustve been broken. It took almost an hour to balance the books.

Clara slid her sweater sleeve up an inch and glared at her wristwatch. Nathan knew that look all too well. His tutors steely eyes and furrowed brow meant the Queen of Punctuality was counting the minutes. They were cutting it close, and they still had to get the reports bound at Kinkos before they could meet his parents at the performance hall for the companys quarterly meeting. And who could tell what delays that goon in the prowling Mustang might cause? His father had noticed the guy this morning before he left, and he looked kind of worried, but that couldve been from the bean and onion burrito he had eaten for breakfast.

Nathan frowned at the spreadsheet. This formula doesnt make sense. Dads trying to divide by zero.

Can you call and ask him on the way? We have to hit the road.

Nathan pushed the laptop to the side. He knew how his father would respond. Hed just grin and say, Dividing by zero reflects my creativity. Nathan laughed. Dad knew a lot more about math than he ever let on; he just concentrated on spying and research and let Nathan do the number crunching.

As Clara peered out again, he looked over her shoulder. The driver of the black Mustang was parked under a tree, sloppily eating a sandwich as he watched the front door of the motel. An intermittent shower of leaves, blown around by Chicagos never-ending breezes, danced about on the convertibles ragtop.

Dont worry about him, Nathan said. Hes too obvious to be a pro.

True enough. But you dont have to be a pro to frighten an old lady.

As she turned toward him, he gave her the goofiest clueless stare he could conjure. Im not an old lady!

He waited for Claras infectious laugh that had brightened a hundred mornings in dozens of strange and lonely cities all over the world. But it didnt come. A shadow of worry passed across her face, draining the color from her cheeks.

He squinted at her. Something else is bugging you.

For a moment, she just stared, a faraway look in her eyes. Finally, she shook her head as if casting off a dream. Did you pack the mirror your father gave you?

I think so. He jumped up and walked over both beds before bouncing to the floor in front of the shallow closet. A towel-wrapped bundle sat on top of his suitcase at the very peak of a haphazard pile of clothes. Carefully unfolding the towel, he revealed a square, six-by-six-inch mirror with an ornate silver frame. His father had entrusted this mirror to him just yesterday, calling it a Quattro viewer and warning him to keep it safe.