Doorways to Infinity: Book Five of the Wizard Born Series

by Geof Johnson

  “Little Mermaid!” Sammi said brightly.

  “Yeah, sure,” Nova said flatly. “Little. Mermaid.”

  “For the fifty-millionth time,” Fred muttered.

  Rollie tapped Fred’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “Can we get on with this? It’s almost dinnertime and I’m hungry.”

  “You’re always hungry.”

  Jamie scratched his ear while he stared at Sammi’s image on the screen. “Sammi, tell us a little more about the strange voices you’ve been hearing lately. How many times have you heard them now?”

  “Three, but I don’t know what they’re saying. It’s a man talking in a funny language to another man and some women.”

  Jamie rested one hand on the desk and leaned closer to the laptop. “You told me once that you can remember every word to every conversation that you’ve ever heard. Can you remember these strange ones, too?”

  “It doesn’t do any good if I don’t understand them.”

  “Can you repeat the conversations anyway?”

  “I guess, but I’ve never tried before. Why?”

  “I think we can record the most recent one and find somebody to translate it for us. If it’s about magic, we can always say that we recorded it from a TV show.”

  Bryce nodded. “Good idea. I wondered how we were gonna deal with that.”

  “Will you give it a try, Sammi?” Jamie asked.

  “Okay…uh…here goes.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then she spoke a long string of words that Jamie didn’t recognize.

  “The first part sounds like a Slavic language,” Melanie said.

  “Sounds a little bit like my roommate,” Rollie said, “when he talks to his parents on the phone, or his Bulgarian buddies.”

  “We can start with him,” Jamie said, “since he’s already done the special oath. Then it won’t matter if it’s about magic. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll understand it.”

  “Or know somebody who does,” Rollie said.

  “Sammi,” Jamie said, “I want you to say it again and we’re going to record it. Okay?”

  “Hold on.” Melanie pulled her phone from her back pocket and touched the screen. I’ve got to find the app.”

  “We don’t need it. I can record it and play it back with my magic.” Jamie flashed a grin. “One of my magic apps.”

  “How’s that work?” Fred asked. “Is that like when you make music for us when we’re dancing in the sky?”

  “Yeah, when we don’t have a boom box with us.”

  Melanie rubbed her chin while she regarded Jamie. “Do you force air molecules to create sound waves in the same way that a stereo speaker does?”

  “If I remember the sound clearly enough, I can. I inherited the spell from Eddan. They didn’t have audio recorders in his day, so he came up with it.”

  “Awesome. Wizards can be handy guys, sometimes.”

  “Almost as handy as us witches,” Nova said.

  “Speaking of witches,” Jamie said, “let’s get our Shadow Witch to do her thing. Are you ready, Sammi?” Jamie held his hands out and concentrated, then nodded for her to proceed. She repeated the short foreign language conversation that she’d overheard, and when she finished, Jamie said, “Got it.”

  “Play it back,” Rollie said.

  Jamie gestured with his fingers and Sammi’s voice could be heard again, exactly like when she was speaking moments before.

  “Way cool,” Nova said.

  Sammi’s face frowned on the computer screen. “That doesn’t sound like me.”

  “Yes it does,” Melanie said. “You hear yourself differently than we do because the sound from your larynx is carried through your body tissues and skull. It’s called bone conduction.”

  Sammi didn’t appear to be convinced, so Fred said, “Don’t worry about it, kiddo. It sounds just like you.”

  Bryce rose from his seat on the edge of the nearest bed. “Let’s go play it back for Rollie’s roommate.”

  “Wait,” Jamie said. “I’ve got something even cooler to show you, a new spell. It’s a variation of the sound-reproducing one, only I can recreate visuals. Wanna see it?”

  “I do!” Sammi said from the laptop.

  “This is something I’ve been working on. Now, photons are produced when electrons in an atom move to a—”

  “Jamie,” Fred said, “keep it simple.”

  “I understand what he means,” Melanie said. “He’s going to use his magic to force atoms, probably in air molecules, to emit light. Right, Jamie?”

  “Something like that. I can use the atoms in the wall behind us, too. The trick was getting the spell to modulate the wavelength of the —”

  “My stomach is growling,” Rollie said. “Just skip the science lesson and show us.”

  Jamie stepped aside so that Sammi could see the wall of the dorm room from the laptop’s camera. “I can only create scenes that I have a real clear memory of, so they’re always from my point of view. Here’s how I saw Fred dancing at the Young American Talent Search. I was watching her from the wings at the time.”

  He held out both hands again and the air shimmered for a couple of seconds, then an image formed. The view was from the edge of the stage at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, looking down its length. It was brilliantly lit, and on it was Fred, wearing a short black tuxedo jacket over a sequined leotard and white hose, twirling and tapping.

  “Impressive,” Nova said. “But where’s the sound, Jamie? Can you reproduce that, too?”

  “Huh.” The scene vanished. “I haven’t tried that yet. Let me see if I can do both spells at the same time.” He stared the floor for several seconds, then he raised his arm and gestured with his left hand, and the sound of music and rapid tapping could be heard. Then he held up his right hand and flicked his fingers, and the scene reappeared, just as before, Fred dancing in all her glory.

  Everyone in the room watched silently until the end of the sequence, when Fred finished her dance routine, doing a split on the floor while the audience roared applause.

  “Yay, Fred!” Sammi said from the laptop. “That was awesome!”

  “The dancing or Jamie’s spell?” Melanie said.

  “Both. Do it again!”

  Rollie groaned. “Can we do it later? I’m about to starve to death.”

  “Come on,” Bryce said. “Let’s go to the dining hall before Rollie dies. Then we can go to the dorm and see what his roommate can tell us about what Sammi overheard. Then I gotta study.”

  Rollie’s on-campus housing situation was similar to Jamie and Bryce’s. It consisted of two single bedrooms that shared a bathroom, and it was in the same building as his two friends, on the floor above theirs. Rollie’s roommate was a guy named Radislav Jelev, who everybody called Rad. He was born in Bulgaria, but moved to North Carolina with his family when he was three years old. He spoke fluent Bulgarian, but his English was perfect, complete with a southern accent.

  He had an angular face, short blond hair, and piercing blue eyes, though every time Jamie had seen him, they were bloodshot. He was a whiz at math and made good grades even though he never seemed to study. He also smoked prodigious amounts of pot, in his dorm room at first, until Rollie managed to get him to do it elsewhere, usually with a couple of other stoners down the hall.

  Rollie liked him because he was easygoing and loved basketball, and played pickup games with Rollie and Nova in the gym. Rad often could be found in his room next to Rollie’s, reeking of marijuana and watching videos on his computer. He was there, red-eyed and smoky, when Jamie and his friends came. Rad already knew about their magic, and he always appreciated any spell that Jamie did, in a whoa, awesome dude! kind of way.

  Jamie and his friends squeezed into Rad’s tiny room, and Jamie played his magical recording of the strange conversation that Sammi had overheard. Rad smiled as he nodded, sitting in the chair by his desk. “Dude, that’s cool.”

  “Do you have any idea what it means?” Jamie asked. />
  “Not a clue. Part of it sounds like Russian.”

  “You know anybody who speaks Russian?” Melanie asked.

  “My dad does. He had to serve in the communist army for two years, right before the Soviet Union collapsed. That’s when he learned it.”

  “Did he ever have to fight in any wars?” Bryce asked.

  “Nah. I think he pretty much just guarded a water tower at this crummy little military base near the Arctic Circle. He said it was the worst two years of his life. Freezing cold all the time.” He chuckled. “That’s why he won’t drink vodka.”

  “Do you think he could translate this?” Jamie said.

  “Probably. Let me record it.” Rad picked up his cell phone from his desk and tapped the screen a couple of times. “I’ll see him on Friday when I go home. I can play it back for him and text you after he translates it.”

  “Tell him you got it from a TV show,” Fred said, “in case it’s about magic. It easily could be, since Sammi heard it.”

  “I still think it’s cool that she can do that.” Rad laughed through his nose. “A Shadow Witch. You think she’s listening right now?”

  “She can’t,” Fred said. “We’re not in a shadow.” She poked Jamie with her elbow. “Hurry up and do it. I need to study, too.”

  Rad tapped his phone again and Jamie repeated the spell for the magical audio playback. When Jamie finished, Rad scrutinized the display and nodded again. “I got it. I’ll play it for my dad as soon as I get home, then I’ll let you know what it means.”

  Chapter 2

  Rachel, Lisa, and Adele sat together on Adele’s front steps and watched Sammi and her two new friends, Ariana and Britney, trying to shoot on the basketball goal at the edge of the driveway. The sky was overcast, and the air was cool and breezy and smelled sharply of burning leaves.

  “Oh,” Rachel said, “sure does bring back memories, doesn’t it? I remember watching our kids play on that when they were this age.”

  Adele pushed her hands deeper into the pockets of her jacket. “Rollie will probably want to play some basketball with Nova when she’s here. I’m sure Garrett will play with them, too.”

  “Are you excited about having her over for Thanksgiving dinner?” Lisa said. “That’s kinda serious, isn’t it?”

  “I hope it’s serious. Garrett and I like her a lot.”

  “I do, too,” Rachel said, and Lisa agreed.

  A smile settled on Adele’s face. “She’s a piece of work, that girl. But in a good way. She’s smart and pretty and has such an interesting personality, you know? She’s edgy but still nice. I enjoy talking to her, and she gets along well with Garrett, which is funny, considering that he used to hate witches.” She nodded firmly. “And Rollie seems to be crazy about her.”

  “According to Fred,” Lisa said, “Nova’s just as crazy about him.”

  Adele leaned back and rested her elbows on the step behind her. “I used to be jealous of you two ’cause your kids were so obviously meant for each other, even before they started dating.”

  “You mean, obvious to everyone but Jamie,” Rachel said.

  “Well, he definitely knows now.” Adele rubbed her chin with her shoulder. “But I always felt a little sad for Rollie because he didn’t have that. And when I found out about Jamie and Fred’s magical connection, it made me even sadder. And the way you two touched bellies together when you were pregnant and got that weird tingle and everything? I felt left out.” She shook her head slowly. “But not anymore. I think Rollie and Nova are meant for each other in the same way that Jamie and Fred are. You can just tell. It doesn’t take a wizard or a witch to figure it out. I see a light in both of their eyes when they’re together, and I think it’s the real deal.”

  “But they’ve only been dating for few months,” Rachel said.

  “Doesn’t matter. I know what I see, and I see my son in love.” Her smile widened to the entire horizon. “And I couldn’t be happier for him.”

  * * *

  As soon as his Environmental Science class ended on Wednesday, Jamie hurried from the room to the front of the building, the young woman who called herself Ashley following him as if she were on a tether. He let her catch up to him as he neared the door, and they walked outside to the landing.

  “Jamie, did you think about my offer?” she said. “If I cook you dinner, you’ll help me study?”

  Jamie scanned the wide, busy area between the buildings, searching for Fred, before answering. He spied her rounding the corner on the sidewalk with Melanie and Nova at her side. He turned to Ashley and shrugged. “Uh…haven’t thought about it. I’ve been busy.”

  Ashley followed his gaze and saw Fred and her friends, too, and her shoulders slumped. “Oh…your girlfriend is coming, I see.”

  “We have a meeting with a professor.” Together they watched the three girls walk up the steps and join them.

  Fred narrowed her eyes and said in a dry tone, “Well, hello, Ashley. So good to see you again.”

  Melanie extended her hand to the young woman and introduced herself, and Ashley shook it half-heartedly, then smiled, though it seemed forced. It didn’t reach her eyes. “So, what are you guys up to?” Ashley said.

  “We’re meeting with Dr. Tindall,” Fred said.

  “Are you taking Environmental Science, also?”

  “No,” Melanie said without further explanation. “Fred told me you registered late for that class. Why did you do that?”

  “Uh, I needed something to fill out my schedule, and there was still an opening in it. I thought it might be interesting. I didn’t realize it was going to be so hard.”

  “Do you need it for your major?” Fred asked.

  “No, I just need the credit.”

  “What are you majoring in?” Melanie asked.

  “I’m undecided.” She turned to Fred and said, “How about you?”

  “Education, I think.”

  “I was considering majoring in that. Maybe we could get together and study sometime, if we ever take any of the same classes.” Fred’s brow creased and Ashley added, “I mean, if that’s okay. I don’t know anybody here, and I can use all the help I can get. Being out of school for four years has made it really hard for me to get up to speed on the college thing.” She laughed awkwardly. “It’s not like high school, is it?”

  Fred stared at her without answering, and Ashley glanced at her watch and said, “Well, I gotta run. Think about it, Fred. Okay?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Fred replied, and Ashley went down the steps and walked away.

  When she was out of earshot, Jamie turned to Nova. “Well?”

  “She’s lying about everything, except for the class being harder than she thought.”

  Melanie rubbed her lower lip with the fingertips of one hand and looked in the direction Ashley had just gone. “That’s really strange. I could understand it if she were actually hitting on Jamie, but she suddenly seemed interested in you, Fred.”

  “Maybe she’s gay.”

  Nova shook her head, and the little bells woven into her dreadlocks tinkled. “I didn’t get that feeling from her at all. It was something else, something…secretive, I’d say.”

  “Gee, Nova,” Fred said. “You don’t need to be a witch to pick up on that.”

  “But why, though?” Jamie said. “It’s got me a little worried. You think she knows anything about our you-know-what?”

  Melanie spoke in a near-whisper, “She didn’t seem interested in Nova, and she’s got plenty of magic.”

  “Huh.” Jamie pushed his mouth far to one side. “We might have to look into this. But right now we need to go see my professor.”

  “I’m gonna pass,” Melanie said. “You don’t need me for this.” She started for the steps but paused for a moment. “Though I’d love to see the look on Dr. Tindall’s face when you tell her everything.”

  Jamie, Fred, and Nova waited in the second floor hall by Dr. Tindall’s office, and Jamie whispered, “Fred, did you bri
ng everything?”

  “I’ve got the forget potion in case this goes badly, and I tweaked it to delete about thirty to forty-five minutes of memory.”

  “Are you sure it’s right? We don’t want to wipe out a whole day’s worth if we have to use it on her.”

  “Do I question how effective your spells are?”

  “Yeah, all the time.”

  “Well, that’s different. Momma Sue and Mrs. Malley taught me how to make it, so I’m sure it’s right.”

  “How about the inoculation potion and your Bible?”

  “They’re both in my purse.”

  “Speaking of Bibles,” Nova said, “I’ve never helped out with the oath before. Are you sure you need me, Jamie?”

  “I want to make sure it’s as strong and binding as possible, and adding your magic to it should help. I would’ve gotten Rollie to do it, but he’s in class right now.”

  Jamie turned and knocked on the office door and opened it when the woman’s voice on the other side called them in.

  The room was small and packed with shelves, which were covered with books and manila folders and papers sticking out haphazardly. Dr. Tindall, a petite woman in her early fifties, with short, dark hair and a no-nonsense face, looked up from her desk. “Hello, Jamie. Who are your friends?”

  Jamie introduced Fred and Nova. “They wanted to tag along.”

  “They’re not in any of my classes, are they?”

  “No.” Jamie glanced at the two girls and pulled at his earlobe. “But, uh, we have something to show you. Together, that is. I mean, it’s better if they’re with me.”

  “I only have one other chair. Do we need to go to the conference room? What did you want to see me about?”

  Jamie suddenly realized that he hadn’t thought through how he was going to present his problem to her, and pulled harder on his ear while he struggled to find the words. “Um, remember last week in class when we were talking about the possibility of life on other planets?”

  “That’s Exobiology, but that’s not my field.”

  “Yes ma’am, I know, but you said that if we discovered life on another world, it would have a profound impact on science here.”