Doorways to Infinity: Book Five of the Wizard Born Series

by Geof Johnson

  “I’ll go with them,” Fred said and kissed Jamie on the cheek and left. Bryce and Melanie had already gone somewhere, along with almost everyone else. The plain was nearly deserted now, except for Jamie and Uncle Charlie. With no one looking, Jamie turned and gestured at the doorway that led to the park, and it winked out.

  “How will we get back?” Uncle Charlie said.

  “I’ll make another one when it’s time to go. Fred will spin her Stupefyin’ necklace while I do it so one will realize what’s going on. Then when she ends the spell, Mr. Winston will take credit for the portal.”

  “Smart. You’ve thought it all through, haven’t you?”

  “I’ve spent a lot of time with my friends, planning this. It wasn’t easy.”

  “I believe it. But that was a good idea, using Mr. Winston in this way. He will be known as the one with the magic, but he can’t get harassed by the press and government agents because he lives on another world.”

  “I thought that was a good solution. It should buy me some time before somebody figures out that I’m a wizard, too. I hope by then the shock will have worn off and it won’t be such a big deal. I’d like to finish college, first.”

  “I think you have learned something from your years of doing stage magic. Misdirection, right? No one will notice you because Mr. Winston will command the spotlight.”

  “He really wanted to do this today, too. He enjoys being a showman.”

  “I can see that.” Uncle Charlie angled his head toward the open doorways behind him. “Well, I think I’m going to do a little sight-seeing now.”

  “Hey, um, that last portal on the left? It goes to a really nice world. It opens up right by a lake. It’s beautiful. I thought you might want to check it out, first.”

  “Any particular reason?”

  “You remember that deal I offered you? A trade? You serve as an advisor in exchange for something? Well, how about a whole world?”

  Uncle Charlie arched one eyebrow. “You mean part-time service in exchange for a planet? That sounds like a good deal. Can I do whatever I please with it?”

  “Sure, as long as you don’t allow mining on it.”

  “Never. I wouldn’t want to spoil it.”

  “Then it would be all yours. I thought you and your people might like to have a place like that. It looks almost exactly like western North Carolina. At least the part of it I saw did. I haven’t explored much of it, though. I figure you can do that. In fact, you should check out some more these worlds today, if you have time.”

  “A whole world. That is a very generous offer. I am inclined to accept.”

  “You haven’t seen the world, yet. But if you don’t like it, I can show you some others.”

  “You sound like a real estate agent.”

  “Hah! I guess I do.” Jamie grinned for a moment, then his face turned serious. “Uh, I want you know that….” He cleared his throat. “I’m not doing this ’cause, you know, uh—”

  “I know. You are not doing it because of White Man’s Guilt. You are doing it because you are a good person.”

  Jamie blinked twice and shook his head. “I’m doing it because you’re my friend.”

  Uncle Charlie smiled gently at Jamie and rested one hand on Jamie’s shoulder for a long moment. Then he nodded toward the doorways. “Let’s go see this wonderful world. Care to give me a tour?”

  They turned and walked down the left hand row of open doorways. Jamie heard excited voices from beyond the first three they passed. “You’ll love the lake, I bet.”

  “Are there fish in it?”

  “Yeah, I checked. I don’t know what kind, but there are lots of ’em.”

  “How about game? Did you check the forest?”

  “I don’t know what’s there. I don’t know how to look for signs.”

  “I do. If I like this planet, would it be okay if I bring a few of my friends to explore it before I make my decision?”

  “That’s fine. I’ll make a doorway for you whenever you need it. And Eric said he can get us a long-range drone with video capability. You can use that to check it out from the air and cover a lot more territory.”

  “Good. We will probably bring horses, too. We know how to explore that way.”

  “I guess you do.” Jamie wrinkled his brow as they neared the last doorway. “Do you think any of the other tribes would be interested in this same deal? The Iroquois or Lakota, or whoever? Even if we don’t need more advisors, they could offer some kind of assistance. There will be plenty to do.”

  “In exchange for their own world? I’m sure they would. I can help you contact them, if you want.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that. How many are there?”

  “There are over five hundred indigenous nations, depending on who you ask. Are there enough worlds for all of them?”

  “Oh yeah. Plenty.”

  “How many, do you think?”

  “An infinite number.”

  “That should be enough.”

  Chapter 25

  Rachel recognized the music as soon as it flowed from the organ pipes at the back of the choir loft. Lisa, sitting on Rachel’s left, said, “Is that Bach?”

  “Yes. It’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

  “It’s so lovely.” Lisa dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and sniffed. “And peaceful, too.”

  “Didn’t you pick it out?”

  “We just told the organist to play whatever was appropriate for a wedding.”

  “It sounds nice,” Carl said, sitting on Rachel’s right, wearing a suit and tie. Next to him was Darla, and Pete sat by the aisle. On the other side of Lisa was Sammi, eleven years old now and growing fast, the top of her head already past Rachel’s shoulder. Her dark hair was long and silky, and she had become more beautiful as she’d grown older.

  Next to Sammi sat Rachel’s mother, Evelyn, then Mrs. Tully and Aiven, Mrs. Tully in a new dress and Aiven wearing a suit for the first time, looking tall and proud. Aunt Connie, Uncle Ray, Cousin Gina and her young daughter sat past Aiven and filled out the pew. Rollie’s parents sat behind them with some other neighborhood friends.

  Except for Rachel’s row, there was no seating plan whatsoever for the rest of the church, and it was packed on that Saturday in June. Rivershire people sat with Hendersonville locals. Former CIA agents mixed with Jamie’s former track teammates and Fred’s former tap dance students. Farmer families sat with scientists, and Mr. Winston and Uncle Charlie sat with Momma Sue and Mrs. Malley.

  John Paul and Brinna were there, too, with their twin boys, as well as Coach Dave and Miss Duffy, who was no longer a Miss and no longer a Duffy. It seemed like everyone who had ever been acquainted with Jamie and Fred had come.

  At the front of the sanctuary, standing on the left side of the dais were Jamie, Rollie, and Bryce, all wearing black tuxedos and looking handsome. Especially Jamie, Rachel thought. He’d grown into adulthood gracefully, still with his boyish smile and curly blond hair, but his face had lost all other traces of youth, and he had matured into a fine-looking man.

  Opposite Jamie and his friends stood Melanie and Nova, wearing green taffeta dresses. Nova still had her dreadlocks, but she had taken out the bells and feathers and replaced them with matching tiny ribbons.

  “Jamie looks absolutely gorgeous,” Lisa said. “All of the boys do.”

  “And the girls are beautiful,” Rachel said. “I hope the photographer gets some nice pictures of them.”

  “If they don’t melt, first.” Lisa waved her paper fan and panted. “Why is it so hot in here?”

  Rachel realized that her back and underarms felt sticky, and that she was warm, too. “I think the air conditioner must be on the fritz again.”

  “This is a bad day for that to happen.”

  “Hold on. Maybe we can do something about it.” Rachel stared at Jamie until she caught his eye, and she fanned herself with her hand and mouthed the word hot. Jamie winked at her and nodded, then gestured slightly with
one hand.

  The temperature in the room immediately dropped, and Lisa sighed, “Ahhh. That’s more like it. Did Jamie do that?”

  “He cast a spell, I think.”

  “He’s such a handy guy. He’s going to make a great son-in-law.”

  “And Fred is going to make a great daughter-in-law.”

  Lisa smiled wistfully. “We always knew it was going to happen, didn’t we? We knew they were meant for each other.”

  “Since before they were born,” Rachel said, finishing their ritual. She suddenly felt a strong, bittersweet pang in her heart as she thought about how many times she and Lisa had repeated those words together, at first as hopeful fantasy, then with certainty as their children had grown into their love. The pang grew stronger, with an overwhelming depth and sharpness that nearly caused her to cry out loud, and she had to fight back the tears that she knew were coming again. She had already visited the restroom once to fix her makeup, and Lisa had given up completely, her eyes rimmed with red and an ever-growing pile of tissues in her lap.

  The organist started playing The Bridal Chorus, and Lisa gasped, “She’s coming!” Lisa grabbed Rachel’s hand as every head turned to look at the back of the sanctuary. The middle doors opened, and out stepped Fred and Larry, Larry in his black tuxedo and Fred in her bridal gown.

  “Oh my God, Lisa,” Rachel said. “She’s so beautiful.”

  Fred wore a strapless, short-sleeved, silky white dress with matching long gloves. Her veil was short so as not to cover her face, perfectly made up from a stylist that morning. Her red curls were held back with two silver clips, and she wore emerald earrings and a matching necklace. After a moment’s pause, she and her father began the traditional walk up the aisle, side-by-side, Fred looking graceful and confident, Larry looking like he was fighting back tears of his own. Rachel picked up her phone and snapped a picture when Fred neared, and Fred gave her the sweetest smile. “I just love that girl,” Rachel murmured.

  Larry escorted Fred up on the dais and took his place next to Rollie and Bryce, and Reverend Doyle began the ceremony.

  The ceremony, Rachel thought blankly. It’s actually starting. Rachel heard Friends and family, we are gathered here today, and then everything seemed to blur. She tried to listen to the words but couldn’t really hear them; they were sounds that would not register their individual meaning, only their overall purpose. She wanted to grasp every significant instant and hold them to her heart, but they passed through her like a breath through a lace cloth.

  She was dazed by the poignant momentousness of it all — Jamie and Fred facing each other, wearing wedding clothes, preparing to exchange rings. The rings! She gave her head a tight shake. “Oh, Lisa, they’re really doing it.” There was a sting of tears again, and a lump filled her throat. She heard sniffing all up and down her row, and she glanced at Carl and saw that his cheeks were damp, his lips pressed tightly together. She caught his gaze for a second, and in his eyes she saw happiness and sadness in equal measure, and she felt a fresh pang for him, too, and another for herself. Their son, their only child, making this giant step. It was a good thing, a wonderful thing, but still hard on them in a way that only a parent could understand.

  Fred held out her hand to Jamie and he slipped a gold band on her finger, then she placed one on his. And, just like that, the minister pronounced them husband and wife. The entire ceremony seemed to pass in a heartbeat.

  Wait, Rachel wanted to say. It’s ending too soon.

  Reverend Doyle smiled and said, “You may kiss the bride.”

  Rachel and Lisa and Carl and everyone else in the church held their collective breath and sat forward in their seats. They knew something fantastic was about to happen.

  Jamie pressed his lips gently to Fred’s, then he put his hands on her narrow waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him tightly to her, and their kiss deepened.

  And Jamie and Fred glowed.

  A barely perceivable nimbus surrounded them at first, golden and shimmering. It grew more intense and radiated outward in all directions, an expanding sphere of light. It flowed past the dais and grew brighter as it washed over the audience in the church, a glorious, hope-filled luminosity that filled the room. Music played from somewhere, but not from the organ — bells and violins, an orchestra, sweet and rich, in harmony with that special moment.

  Rachel felt something singing inside her, and heard other voices join in, a chorus, though there was no choir. How is this happening? Then she remembered something Sammi had told her that Mrs. Malley liked to say — Love has a very powerful magic of its own.

  She was witnessing love in its purest, visible form, a powerful wave of sheer magic that emanated from Jamie and Fred. She felt it. She heard it. She resonated with it, mesmerized. She couldn’t look away.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t bear any more, the light flared to utter whiteness, the room no longer able to contain it, and it pushed through the cracks in the doors and burst through the windows in an explosion of joy, out into the world and the universe beyond.

  Epilogue

  When the opportunity arises, will we race past the distant stars, heedless of cost or consequence?

  I am not afraid, because I know that there is someone who will lead us across the vast threshold.

  A special one, a sorcerer.

  A Wizard Born.

  About the Author

  Geof Johnson lives in Georgia with his family, a dog and a cat. He enjoys running, watercolor painting, and playing guitar a little too loud and a little too much.

  You can contact him at: geof.johnson@comcast.net