Your Dimension Or Mine? (13 page)

“This case has all you’ll need,” Abigail insisted, pointing at the smallest of the suitcases with her laptop in it. “What did you tell her boss?” she asked, once again switching from talking to Ari to talking to her sister at lightning speed.

“That she died and we are having a private family ceremony,” Cory replied simply.

A gasp left Ari’s lips at the lie. “But I’m not dead!”

“You will not be coming back, Arwen,” her grandmother scolded. “And even if you could stay, you would never age. It wouldn’t be as though you could keep that job anyway. Now, come. Grab your bag and let’s go.”

Cory pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. “Keep in touch,” she whispered. “And contact Mom. I bet she and Vane would love to come say hi.”

Ari nodded and, as Cory stepped back, she picked up her smallest suitcase. She watched her sister walk out of the room and close the door, and she realized she had never felt so alone. She would almost be willing to go back and be on a date with Jay. Almost. A giggle left her lips. Nothing was that bad.

Abigail grabbed her left hand and pulled her into the center of the room over the insignia. As she began to chant nonsense words and grunts, Ari clutched her suitcase to her. The now familiar feeling of having the world she was in fade while something else took its place made her shudder. With any luck, Orion would accidentally shift into the sun, burn up, and she could go back to her regular life. If only she could figure out how to look as though she was growing older, and of course, there would be the pesky explanation of how she’d returned from the dead.

The walls receded and in their place, muted greens, browns, and blues began to appear. She stared at them, feeling fuzzy, as though her eyesight was out of focus. Abigail’s chanting grew louder and the air around them grew colder. The green began to take form, looking like tall thick grass, waving in the wind. The blues intensified into crystalline blue flowers. The brown came into focus as tree trunks, a dirt path, and then so did other colors and hues begin to take shape.

Blinking her eyes, Ari realized she and Abigail stood in the middle of an unpaved road with grass, taller than they were, on each side. Each stem was about four inches thick and, about three feet up on each blade of grass, lay a beautiful flower with four light blue petals that looked like crystal surrounding a dark blue center. Above them was the sky, but it wasn’t a sky Ari was at all familiar with. It was pale lavender. “Wow.”

A snort came from her grandmother. “Well, we are here, but not in the right place. Come, we need to find a clothing merchant and then Mayir.” Abigail set a very fast pace, forcing Ari to hurry in order to keep up. It was a good thing she was into running, or she might have been left behind. For over an hour, they followed the very straight path through the tall grass, not coming across anywhere or anyone, and Ari was beginning to feel light-headed. A childish desire to ask “Are we there yet?” came to her, but she did not voice it.

Pet.
His soft voice infiltrated her mind and she gasped, going still as stone.

“Arwen, we cannot dawdle!”

Pet, I will find you. Return and your punishment will not be as bad as it could be. Return, pet. NOW!

A cry left her lips as her body of its own accord seemed to want to follow his voice.

“Arwen!” Abigail snapped, shaking her. “What is going on?”

“He’s calling to me,” she said through frozen lips. “He wants me to return to him.”

“He’s already found you!” Abigail screamed, releasing her granddaughter. “There is only one way that could have happened. He is following me.” She took three steps backward and began to make some strange hand movements. “Follow this road. Tell the first individual you come to, the following: ‘I am a gift from Abigail of Corlanos for Mayir. Please deliver me quickly.’”

“What!” screeched Ari as the words and the realization her grandmother was leaving her combined. “A gift?”

“Just say it, Arwen! Mayir knows you are coming, and it will keep you safe. He will just have to accept that he will have to get you your uniform. Say it!”

Pet! Return now.

Whimpering, Ari whispered, “I am a gift from Abigail of Corlanos for Mayir. Please deliver me quickly.”

As soon as the words left her lips, Abigail disappeared and so did Orion’s voice.

“I hope this is a dream and I will wake up soon,” she whispered, grasping her suitcase tighter and continuing along the road. As the lavender above began to deepen to a purple, she wondered if she would have to spend the night where she was. But even with the dark purple, she could still see the road ahead so she kept walking.

And walking.

And walking.

With each step she took, she repeated the words to herself that Abigail had told her to speak, hoping if she messed it up, they would get the gist of it, whoever they were. And that brought up the question, who were they? Were they like her? Or would they be more like him? Shivering at the thought of the man with cold red eyes, she began to whistle as she walked.

It was a strange road, never ending, never turning and never getting anywhere. As the purple began to lighten to lavender and her gaze turned a little hazy due to exhaustion, she began to wonder if she would ever find anyone, or if she was doomed to walk this path forever.

The first time she heard
it
, she paused and cocked her head. Murmurs. Definite murmurs. People! Quickening her step, she had a renewed sense of something. She couldn’t call it hope, because she was worried about what she would find, but it was nice to know she would soon run into one of the citizens of Zeta. The knowledge that she was dressed in a pair of her sister’s pajamas did not daunt her step. She was tired and hungry. Surely, these people would be friendly. They made her that anklet, and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. In fact, before she left, she might see if she could get a few more pieces. Though hopefully these wouldn’t melt into her skin.

Strange sounds of
poof, poof, poof
, filled the air, and she slowed down as they became louder. To her surprise, the blue flowers ceased to exist about five feet in front of her. The grass was still there, but not a flower in sight. The flowers next to her began to disappear, each one making the
poof
noise as they left. No longer hearing the murmurs, but a little afraid to stay in a spot where things were disappearing, she forced her legs to speed up.

The grass disappeared on her left.
POOF!
On her right.
POOF!

A scream left her lips as she hit the ground, afraid that whatever was taking the grass would take her too.

“Vast!” hollered a voice that was echoed all around by other voices.

A moment later, a shadow loomed over her. Oh, no. Please let them not be angry with her. “Va misra loe?” A long thin white hand appeared in front of her. Figuring the person was offering her a hand up, she gingerly took it and stood up. Looking up, her eyes fell on the man who had helped her to her feet. Unable to judge age by looks anymore, she noted he had long brown hair and bright blue eyes the color of the flower petals. His face was long and angular and he wore a nice smile. “Corlya loe?”

Having no idea what he was saying, she opened her mouth to say so when she remembered what her grandmother said to say. Clearing her throat, she said, “I am a gift from Abigail of Corlanos for Mayir. Please deliver me quickly.”

His eyes widened, even as his smile dimmed. Then he nodded. “Of course,” he said in a soft voice. “I apologize for scaring you. Clearing the Molara fields can be a tedious job, and sometimes we forget travelers take this road. Come. I will take you to Mayir.” He turned and shouted a few more words that made no sense to her and then turned back to her. It just occurred to her that her hand was still in his when the world she was looking at disappeared and in its place was a tall white wall made of stone. Turning around she saw they stood in front of a large building. Behind them were fields and fields of flowers without another building in sight. “I hope Mayir is everything you were promised,” he said, leaning down to kiss her hand. “If he bothers you, please call out for Verisha and I will come.”

He dropped her hand, banged on the wall, and then quickly disappeared. Zeta was an odd place. The next time she saw Abigail she would let her know what she thought of being dumped here. A squeak left her lips as a door opened in the stone wall, and a tall man with cold blue eyes surveyed her. “Va misra loe?” he asked in a much colder voice than Verisha. His whole persona told her to go away, but she wasn’t about to stop now.

Taking a deep breath, she said in a loud voice, “I am a gift from Abigail of Corlanos for Mayir. Please deliver me quickly.”

His cold eyes seemed to become even colder, but he stood back and held the door open, so she went inside.

She had been wrong. The stone was not the wall of a building, it was the wall of a fortress. Inside the wall was a large garden separated into sections. Grass with blue flowers like she had seen before. Grass with purple flowers, green flowers, pink flowers, opaque flowers…everywhere she looked was a different section of flowers separated by a stone walkway. But the scary thing was that lining the inside of the wall were men, lots of lots of men, who were dressed like warriors. They even had swords.

What did a magical people need with swords?

“You would keep Mayir waiting?” he asked in a haughty voice, and she looked up to realize he was several feet away. Quickly, she followed him.

The garden seemed to go on forever, just like the wall of soldiers did. Finally, they came to a set of steps that rose to a doorway. She hoped Mayir was in there. He took three steps at a time and she was so tired that taking them one by one seemed a chore. By the time she got to the top, she was breathing hard, and he gave her a disdainful glare before opening the door to usher her inside.

Inside, the walls were of the same stone as the fortress, and while she could not tell where the light was coming from, the hallway they walked down was well lit. At the end, he opened a set of doors and walked in, shouting something at the top of his lungs. Cautiously she followed him.

The room was large, square, and made from the same stone. Light and open, it had three pieces of furniture. A large chair, a small table beside it, and a small footstool. On the chair sat the most interesting man she had ever seen. Thin and wiry with a gaunt face, pointy ears, long white hair, and bushy eyebrows, he made her think of a Santa who must have lost weight really fast. He turned and nodded at the man who had shown her in and he left quickly.

“So, you are Abigail’s granddaughter,” he said in a smooth, deep voice. “Come.” He pointed at a spot a few feet in front of him, and she quickly walked over to it. His eyes took in everything, her face, hair, clothing and from the frown on his face, she was sure he would throw her out. Instead, he chuckled. Surprisingly, it did not lighten his face. It made him look ill. “She was right. Your magical signature is extreme—almost as powerful as mine. She should have sent you to me for training years ago, but never mind. Training starts tomorrow.”

He stood up and walked to the wall behind his chair. “Come. You need a change of clothing, food, and sleep. I’m surprised you have not passed out.” He opened a door she had not even realized was there and quickly began to ascend a set of stone steps. As she followed him, she began to think everything here was made with that white stone.

They climbed two sets of stairs ending at a doorway. He opened it and as she walked inside, she gasped. The bedroom was decorated in whites and lavenders. It had a bed in the middle, a side table, and a dresser. “Strip all your clothing off and toss it in that basket,” he said pointing to a simple stone garbage pail. He didn’t even move and a tray of food appeared on the side table. “Eat as much as you can and then get into bed. You will sleep until I believe you are ready.” Without another word, he turned and left.

“Well, isn’t he bossy,” she muttered as she began to take her clothing off. Once she was in the buff, she tossed it at the pail, gasping as it disappeared the moment it hit. “Oh great. Now I have nothing to wear.”

The scent of the food pulled at her as well as the bed, but her stomach won out.

None of the food on the tray looked familiar, but it all smelled so good she ate quickly. The scents, the flavors, and the textures combined to make the most amazing meal she had ever eaten. “His chef should open up a restaurant in the United States,” she giggled as she licked the plate clean. “He or she would make a killing.”

As soon as she ate the food and drank the tall glass of water, which was the best she had ever tasted in her entire life, she crawled under the covers and moaned. The bed was comfortable too.

Maybe I’ll just stay here forever…

Chapter Nine -
Magic, not all it’s cracked up to be

Stretching, Ari sighed. She was so comfortable she didn’t want to wake up. Something told her she should open her eyes. Pulling one lid open, she shrieked as she spotted Mayir at the foot of her bed. “What are you doing?” she snapped, annoyed.

He raised an eyebrow. “You have fifteen minutes to eat and dress. Then we start your training.” Without another word, he disappeared.

Mayir. Zeta. That’s right. She was clear cross the universe on a distant planet with some guy who was supposed to teach her magic. Flumping back on her pillows, she stared up at the stone ceiling. Sleeping the day away did not seem like such a bad idea, especially after her recent brush with Orion the terrifying.

“If you are not dressed, you will still appear at my side. I suggest you move.”

Gasping, she sat up and looked around, grimacing as she realized he was able to speak to her without being in the room, just like Orion. That was just a tad annoying and a whole lot scary. Getting out of bed, she quickly ate the breakfast that was waiting for her, another meal to tempt anyone’s taste buds, and looked around for what to wear.

At first, she refused to believe that the strange diaphanous material hanging from the doorway was her outfit. It couldn’t be. It was so girly. “Ewww,” she groaned as she pulled it down. It looked like some crazy outfit a Disney princess might wear. In three pieces, her uniform consisted of a pale yellow skirt that was in about fifty layers, a deep blue bustier, and a white lace camisole to wear under it.