Chapter 39

Nora awoke at Jack’s jolt, and she pushed herself up in the bed.

“Jack, are you well?” she asked, tentatively laying a hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t jerk away, she rubbed lightly.

“Not this time, no.”

Patting her hand, he rose out of bed and walked to the window. The moonlight cast a gentle ethereal glow over him. He looked strong and lean, as if he could take on any task heaped upon him and win. He was a fighter and, oddly enough, he had never looked more the part than now. He put his hand up on the windowsill and let it take his weight, but it did not relieve his burden.

“Are they always bad, Jack?” Nora got out of bed and walked toward him, but at Jack’s look, she stopped just a few feet away. Her friend needed comfort but wouldn’t ask for it, and she was not sure if it would be well-received. However, she would push this time, as far as she could.

“No, not all of them are bad. Some of them are nice.” He lifted his head, and a ghost of a smile flirted with the corners of his mouth. “The ones about you are usually good.”

“Usually,” she said. “But not tonight?”

“No, not tonight.”

“Would you like to tell me about them?” She sat down on the trunk at the end of the bed. He stayed in his position, leaning on the windowsill, watching her intently. Finally, he sighed heavily and deflated before her.

“If I could explain them, I would. But I don’t understand them, or most of them anyway. The day we met I knew you. I have dreamed of you all my life, Nora. I didn’t know who you were, but you were always there. I knew your face better than my own. In my best times, in my worst times, you were there. And then one day—that day we met—you were actually there. I knew you before I ever met you. And so, did these dreams mean I could see the future? Why are they so confusing? How may it be that I cannot puzzle out what they mean? I feel as though I could use what is in them, if I could only reason out what they meant.

“It is this place,” he hissed, gesturing to the night. “It’s strong. There is a lot of death here, or there will be. I can feel it.”
Nora’s breath caught in her throat and her heart stopped for a moment. Could he really be...?

“Jack.” Nora pushed herself off the trunk and went to him. Another time, he might have pushed her away, but he didn’t tonight, even when she wrapped her arms around him and laid her cheek on his chest. His free hand came loosely up to her back and he dropped his cheek to the top of her head, running it back and forth, before bringing his other arm around her.

“I think I saw you die tonight, Nora,” he whispered and tightened his arms. “I think I saw you die, and I don’t think I could bear it. You’re tearing me to pieces, and I damn you and thank you for it at the same time. I think I saw you die tonight, Nora, and I don’t know what killed you or how to stop it. There were metal birds and buildings that touched Heaven. I don’t know what it means.”

*He will know things, like I do. Trust in what he says. *

Nora pulled away enough to look up into Jack’s eyes. “We’re not alone anymore, you and I, Jack. There is the two of us now, and we can solve these riddles if we work together.”

“I tell you I dream about the future—that I dreamt your death—and you believe me just like that,” he said softly, running a hand down her hair.

“We will learn what the dreams mean, and we will learn how to use them,” she continued, as she moved her hands from his waist to his chest. “We are stronger than we were before because we have each other, can you not feel it?”

When he nodded, she lifted her head a little bit more and raised her chin. If he kissed her now, she would not fight him. Oh, how she wanted him to kiss her.

When he stepped back, deep disappointment settled in her chest. She longed for that connection with him. He turned away and resumed his position at the window. “I can feel it,” he whispered. “And you should go back to bed.” She waited a mo-ment, and considered ignoring his request, but in the end, she dropped her gaze with a sigh and returned to bed.

Jack stayed awake, staring out into the night. Nora rolled to her side and watched as he kept his vigil by the window, the tension in him visible from across the room. He hurt, and it was obvious. The dream had affected him so profoundly, he shared what she believed to be his secret. He dreamed of the future. He knew things, just like Fox said he would. She tried to keep her breathing as even as possible so as not to draw his attention, but her heart raced, and her hands shook as the weight of her realization set in.
She felt like she would burst out of her skin.

As he watched the night, Nora watched Jack and knew she was looking at her Warrior at last.