The Tower of Endless Worlds

by Jonathan Moeller

Simon sat on the back porch and watched the sun go down, the dying light throwing long black shadows through the trees. He wished that someone had cut down the trees, that houses had been built over the site, and the door to the Tower of Endless Worlds buried forever.

  But if the door had been buried, then the shadow-things would have caught Ally and Lithon.

  He would not wish that on anyone, and certainly not a helpless child and a dead-eyed little girl.

  Simon knew what he had to do.

  But he did not want to do it.

  The sun sank lower.

  Simon thought of Conmager, a mixture of shame and resentment filling him. Conmager had never flinched from the horrors he had confronted. He had seen the destruction of his world. He had crossed the Tower’s reaches and escaped from Wycliffe. Yet he somehow kept going.

  Simon took a deep breath, got to his feet, and went into the kitchen.

  Ally and Lithon sat at the table, dressed in the clothes Katrina had bought. The T-shirt and jeans hung like robes from Ally’s bony frame. Katrina leaned against the door, watching the children with bemusement. Conmager stood at the stove, sprinkling pepper onto a half-dozen frying cheeseburgers.

  “Los Angeles?” said Katrina. “What will we do when we get there?”

  Conmager flipped the burgers with a spatula. “I hope to evade detection. LA is a vast city, the crossroads of the Pacific world. I have a refuge prepared there.”

  Katrina folded her arms. “So we’re going to go and hide? What then?”

  Conmager stared at the sizzling grease. “I do not yet know.” He paused. “My thought is that when Lithon comes of age…”

  Katrina spotted Simon. “So. You’ve done some thinking?”

  “Yeah.” Simon ran his hand through his hair. “A lot of thinking.”

  “Make up your mind about some things?” Katrina’s voice was flat, but Simon saw a mixture of fear and hope in her face. It heartened him. “You going to come or not?”

  Simon nodded. “I’ll come.”

  Katrina smiled. “Good.”

  “Very wise, as always,” said Conmager. He shut off the stove. “I retrieved some meat from your freezing machinery and cooked it for the evening meal. I hope you do not mind.”

  Simon sat the table. “I think a couple of burgers are the least of my problems, thank you.”

  “We shall eat and then leave immediately.” Conmager retrieved a package of buns from the cabinet and put the food on the table. “Pack only what you absolutely require. I have sufficient funds secured in various places throughout the country that we shall not be in want.”

  Simon sighed and put a burger on a bun. “You’ve been a busy fellow over the last year, haven’t you?”

  “Quite,” said Conmager.

  “I need…I need to tell my mother where I’m going,” said Simon. “And maybe Dr. Francis…”

  Conmager began making a burger for Ally. “That would not be wise. Wycliffe may discover where we have gone.”

  “I’m my mom’s only son,” said Simon. “She needs…no, she has the right to know where I’ve gone. And Katrina’s mom…Katrina’s the only family she has. Is she just supposed to disappear on her?”

  Conmager cut the burger in two and gave half to Ally. “Then leave a letter. You are betrothed. Tell them you decided to elope.”

  Katrina shrugged. “That might work. At least for a few weeks."

  Simon ate. How would his mother react to his disappearance? What would Dr. Francis think? Simon would miss graduation. He had worked long and hard to get that doctorate. He looked across the table and saw his doubts mirrored in Katrina’s face.

  The sun went down as they finished eating, darkening the kitchen.

  Conmager blinked. “We had best leave soon.”

  “If we’re going to LA, how are we going to get there?” said Simon.

  “The red van,” said Conmager. “I shall drive. I want to get at least as far as Des Moines before we stop.”

  “Des Moines?” said Simon. “That’ll take most of the night.”

  Conmager nodded. “We can stop and rest there, and continue the next day.”

  “I’ll need to stop at my apartment,” said Katrina. “I need some clothes…and…to leave my mom a letter.”

  Conmager nodded. “Very well. But we’ll need…”

  Ally jumped to her feet, eyes wide.

  Simon frowned. “What? What is it?”

  Terror crossed Ally’s face. “It’s outside.”

  Conmager snatched up his staff. Symbols of white fire crawled down its length. “There’s something…”

  The back door exploded inwards, ripping out the frame and part of the wall.

  Ally shrieked, and Lithon started wailing. Simon cursed and threw his arms over his face. Splinters and chunks of wall bounced off him.

  Something huge and black and flame-cloaked leapt through the door and lunged for Lithon.

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