by Imogen Rose
“I am. Please sit down. This is Ryker, my sister’s grandson. I brought him along for a visit.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said to the boy who got up from the chair next to Harry’s and came over to shake my hand. He looked somber, like something was troubling him.
“Pleased to meet you.” He returned to his seat. I noticed him glancing at his watch.
I sat down between Granddad and Harry and was immediately presented with a plate of food by the servant who had quietly come up behind me. He placed the plate on the table and–just as quietly–made himself scarce.
Granddad turned to look at me. “I’m really glad you’re okay. I have to get going soon, so may I ask you some questions while we eat?”
“Sure.” I swallowed the piece of steak I had just put in my mouth, nearly choking in the process. I coughed. Harry thumped my back and handed me a glass of water. I drank some, and then nodded at Granddad. “Go ahead.”
“I’m really sorry you’ve become involved in all this again. Know that you are safe here–”
“Safe? How?”
“Potomal’s group won’t be able to breach my security, so Raj won’t be able to use them to get to you.”
“You sure about that?”
“Sure about what?”
“That your security can’t be breached.”
“Absolutely. Why do you ask?”
“Well, it’s just that Stan stopped by my room for a chat earlier and–”
“Stan?” Granddad interrupted. “Potomal’s son?”
I nodded. Everyone gawked at me.
Granddad got up. “Amadea, secure the house, maximum security, and have the children stay in here until I return. Ryker, come with me.”
Amadea spoke into her cell phone relaying the message to someone, and then turned to me again. “What did Stan want?”
“He had a message from Raj for my mother. He wanted me to tell her that Dillard is home, whatever that means. I told him that I couldn’t give her the message because she’s in a coma, so he took off again, saying he’d be back.”
Amadea reached for her phone again, repeating what I had said to someone. She listened quietly for a moment before putting her cell phone down again.
“Kids, we have to move to a new location,” she explained, as Granddad and Ryker came walking back into the dining room. Gramadea got up and stood behind me. Ryker stood behind Kellan’s chair and Granddad behind Harry. They put their hands on our shoulders, and we were wandering again. Where to? I had no idea. Home, I hoped, but there was a slim chance of that. The journey took quite a while.
When my feet touched a hard, slightly warm floor, I opened my eyes. We were indoors, but it was humid. We were standing in a room with huge bay windows and plants. There were a few beige, fabric-covered, wooden futon-like chairs and wooden side tables surrounded by huge potted plants.
“We have to go,” Granddad said. “I will return with Ella shortly.”
Ryker and he took off before I could even say goodbye.
“Where are we?” Harry asked.
“At the Bellagio in Las Vegas. We decided to relocate to a hotel rather than one of our other homes, in case security has been breached at the other locations, too,” Gramadea explained.
“Oh.” I creased my forehead in confusion. This didn’t look like the Bellagio; I had stayed there before. This looked, and sounded–I could hear gentle water sounds–more like a spa. There were even white pebbles lining the white stone-tiled floor.
Seeing my confusion, Gramadea smiled. “This is the solarium. Let’s go to the living room.”
We followed her into a massive room. Harry, Kellan and I looked around in awe. A big couch and four armchairs were placed so that anyone sitting there could see the large flat screen TV that hung above the fireplace. Four chairs surrounded a breakfast table standing next to the sitting area. Further along, two walls, one slate and the other mohair, enclosed a lovely dining room. A granite kitchenette completed the ensemble of rooms.
“Cool!” I finally said.
“Yeah, no kidding. This really is a cool suite,” Kellan agreed.
Harry peeked around the drapes. “Sheesh, look out the window!”
We walked over as the Bellagio dancing waters started, and we had an amazing view. Simply amazing. We stood in silence and watched the show.
Once it was over, I slumped down on the sofa. Gramadea was on the phone again. Harry and Kellan sank into the armchairs and looked over at Gramadea expectantly.
“Spencer will bring Ella in the morning. She is safe for the moment at her sleepover. I suggest you all head to bed. I have to leave, but there will be someone here watching over you. There are two bedrooms through there. Harry and Kellan, you will have to share, unless one of you prefers the couch out here. The room has a king-sized bed. Arizona, you’ll be in the other one and will share it with Ella once she arrives. You can’t leave the suite. I know it’ll be tempting, but we can’t risk you being seen.”
Bummer! Vegas was so much fun.
“Don’t look so disappointed, Arizona. Hopefully it won’t be for long.”
“What about Mom? Can we still visit her tomorrow?” Harry asked.
“Yes. I’ll make the arrangements. I have to go now,” she said, as a woman suddenly appeared.
“Kids, this is Rowena. She is here to keep an eye on you; she’ll be as unobtrusive as possible.”
Rowena smiled thinly, her hard and serious-looking eyes not reflecting the smile. She nodded and silently sat down at the breakfast table.
Gramadea hugged us, and then was gone just as suddenly as Rowena had appeared.
Obviously hungry, as our dinner had been cut short, Harry walked through to the kitchenette. I had barely begun eating earlier, when all hell broke loose. Kellan must have been hungry as well, but he stayed by my side.
“Shrimp, sit down for a moment. We need to talk.”
Uh, oh.
“Arizona, want some hot chocolate?” Harry shouted from the kitchenette.
“Yeah, that would be great.”
“Kell, Rowena?”
“Yes, please,” Kellan replied.
Rowena shook her head and continued sitting still in her chair.
“What’s with her?” I whispered, nudging Kellan.
“I guess she’s been told to concentrate on keeping us safe.”
“I guess.”
Kellan’s eyes fixed on mine. “So, are you remembering anything from the past year?”
I furrowed my brow and shook my head. “Like what? Help me out, Kell. Maybe if you tell me what’s happened, I’d remember some of it.”
“I’m not sure that’s how it would work.”
“Here’s your cocoa.” Harry put a tray on the coffee table. The tray had four mugs filled with whipped-cream-topped hot chocolate and plates of snacks and sandwiches. Harry took a mug and put some snacks and a sandwich on a plate, then took it to the breakfast table for Rowena. She nodded, but didn’t say a word.
I took a sip from my mug and bit into a sandwich–tuna salad, delicious. “Thanks, Harry.”
“Yeah, thanks, buddy. This is good,” Kellan said.
“So, what were you guys talking about? You looked serious.”
“I was asking Arizona if she remembered anything yet. She hasn’t.” Kellan sighed, sounding frustrated.
“Look, it isn’t my fault!”
“No, no. Of course not.” He wrapped his hand around mine. I felt all tingly again. I let go, reaching for my drink.
“You’ve already told me that I’ve basically lost a year of my life. I believe you. There’s no way Ella could have grown the amount she has in much less time than that. What happened to me? All you’ve told me so far is that you think it had something to do with a dog named Gertrude. I find that hard to believe.”
“I know, but it’s true. Last October, Mom went through the portal to bring her dog back and–”
“She doesn’t have a dog!”
“Anyhow
, when she did that, you lost yourself and became the Arizona you would have been had you not moved to Mountain View.”
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t get my head around that. “But I did move here, so that Arizona never happened. I did.”
“The way your mother transported you over meant that you both happened, somehow. And Gertrude was with the other Arizona all this time, so when she was brought over, she somehow brought her spirit along with her.
“So I have a doppelgänger?”
Kellan and Harry stared at each other in silence.
“Well?”
“Sheesh, I hadn’t even considered that,” Kellan said. “Way weird.”
Harry nodded.
I smiled. “Well, it is kind of obvious….”
“No, not really. I just assumed you had disappeared from that dimension altogether, but the dog was still there. However, now that you mention it, I guess it’s possible,” Harry mused. “Mom will really freak if that’s the case. It could mean that there could be another Ella out there, too.”
Kellan moaned. “We already know that there are two Dillards.”
I stared at him. “What do you mean?”
“Your biological dad lives in the Arizona Stevens dimension, but there’s also a Dillard in the Darley dimension,” Kellan explained.
“I’m sure there are thousands of Dillards–”
“Sure, but there’s a Dillard Stevens in the Darley dimension who was married to Mom.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked Harry.
“Mom had a long chat with me and explained it. It was hard to swallow. However, after having been told that I was a potential Sigma-W, well, I….” He sighed.
“So is the Dillard Stevens in the Darley dimension my dad as well?”
“He sort of is–”
“Sort of? What does that mean?”
“It means that he and the Dillard from the other dimension were the same person at some point in time. Mom split with the Darley-dimension Dillard when she was pregnant with you, so he doesn’t know you even exist. Ella was conceived with the Dillard in the other dimension.”
Oh, my gosh, this was too weird. I shook my head. “So which Dillard was Stan referring to?”
“It has to be the Darley-dimension Dillard,” Kellan said.
“Well, unless Raj had Stan transport the Steven’s Dillard over. Now that the Sigma-W-Pi are involved, anything is possible,” countered Harry. “We just don’t know at this point.”
I nodded. I still couldn’t get my head around it all.
Harry got up. “I’m wiped. I’m going to bed. See you tomorrow.”
We bid him goodnight, and then I turned to Kellan. “I think I’m understanding this a bit better now. I still have a lot to catch up with as far as Raj goes, but I need to figure out what’s happened to me first. Do you remember me telling you that I was going to meet David at the coffee shop and that I was hoping that he would ask me to the Ball?”
Kellan nodded, biting into his lower lip.
“Any idea why I didn’t go?”
“You lost your memory just at that time, so you forgot.”
“But, did David not try to find me to ask me another time? He would have tried, right?” I felt myself welling up.
“It’s not his fault. He did try.”
“So why didn’t we go to the Ball together? Or did we, and I just can’t remember? That would be so embarrassing.”
“No, you didn’t. You went with someone else.”
“Who?”
“I want you to remember that for yourself when you’re ready.”
“I guess. Have I totally blown it with David? He seems so detached, like he’s somewhere else. He’s usually never like that with me.”
“I don’t know, Shrimp. I just don’t know.” He looked sad.
“What’s up, Kell. You okay?” I put my arm around him. He leaned his head back against my shoulder and closed his eyes. It felt good. He felt good, but different. It seemed wrong on some level, but perfectly natural on another. Something between us had changed. We sat like that for ages. I had so much more to ask him, but he looked worn out. It was time for us to head to bed. “Kell, I’m going to go to bed now.”
“Okay,” he whispered against my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. I checked myself, making sure not to react. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings again. He stood and pulled me to my feet. “See you tomorrow, happy dreams.”
I smiled and said a good night to Rowena on my way to the bedroom. I couldn’t wait to jump into bed. I was more tired than I had realized.
The suite had two bedrooms. The door was slightly ajar to one of them; I figured that one was mine. I opened it and walked inside. Then stopped dead. Simla was sitting on the bed.
Raj Sen couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A coma? What was he supposed to do now? He had no money, and Dr. Masterson had given him only twenty-four more hours to get the blueprints. How on earth Dr. Masterson had figured out that the blueprints were fake was beyond him. He’d asked, but had received nothing but a dismissive annoyed response.
“I need you to go back and get Arizona,” he snapped at Stan.
“No way. I’ve done what I was sent here to do. I’m not bringing Arizona back here again. Find someone else.”
“I won’t pay you,” warned Raj. He’d promised Stan half of the money if he’d help him out with Arizona.
Stan burst into laughter and shook his head. Then he faded and disappeared.
“Come back!” Raj yelled. But it was too late. He kicked the salmon-colored sand with as much force as he could muster and then slumped down. It was over. He looked out to the horizon. This was what he wanted to wake up to and go to sleep to every day for the rest of his life. He wanted to enjoy this view from the dream mansion he had selected from the numerous properties he’d visited with the realtor. What was he going to do now? Get a job? No! He sat and stared at the clear blue water until the light began to fade. It was time to call Dr. Masterson and update him. It was, after all, he who had hooked him up with Stan; perhaps he had another Sigma-W-Pi in his employment who would be able to help him out.
Now that Olivia was out of the picture, how would he get his hands on the blueprints? Who else would have access to them? Dr. Fox would. Should he forget about using Arizona to get to them and try to get Kellan instead? The problem was that he had no idea where to find Kellan. Stan, at least, knew of Arizona’s whereabouts. Dr. Fox was very close to Olivia; he felt sure Arizona would still work as leverage. First, he’d have to find out if Dr. Masterson could help him get her.
~
“You were told to help him out!” Potomal’s voice boomed. “Get back there and finish the job.”
Stan shook his head. “Dad, do what you will with me. I won’t be involved in this any further. I’m heading back to school. What do you want with them, anyway? You’re not losing your ability, are you?”
“No, of course not! But the portal would make me all-powerful!” His lips curled into a snarly smile. “The ability to create a man-made portal that will allow me to transport anyone, any number of people, through time and dimensions has amazing potential. I would become the leader, not only of the Sigma-Ws, but of all. All!”
“Why don’t you just get them from Olivia directly? Why get Raj involved?”
“I didn’t get him involved. I had no idea Dr. Darley had the portal. It was only when Dr. Masterson put out the call for sale that I was informed. I didn’t know Raj was the one who was acquiring them until Dr. Masterson let me know that he’d botched the job. That’s why I sent you. You will go back, help Raj get those blueprints, and bring them to me.”
“Dad, no. I’m done.”
I did a double take. Simla was probably the very last person I would have expected to see plunked on the bed in my Bellagio bedroom. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?” I spluttered.
“I don’t know! I was at home, and then suddenly brought here! Sigma-W, I bet,” she whisp
ered, looking forlorn.
“But why?” Poor thing, she looked so lost. I walked over to the bed to comfort her, stopping short as I smashed right into Rowena, who had suddenly appeared in front of me. I looked up and stared into Rowena’s wide, warning eyes.
“Who are you?” Simla hissed.
“Arizona, get the boys and run. Now.” Rowena’s voice was calm, but deadly serious. There was no mistaking the urgency. I turned and ran out the room—right into Kellan.
“Kellan, we have to go. Now. Let’s get Harry.” I ran into Harry’s bedroom and shook him. “Harry, get up!”
“Shrimp, what’s up?” He sat up and rubbed his eyes.
I noticed Kellan gathering his clothes and shoes from the floor. “Harry, we have to go now. Come on.” I grabbed his hand to pull him up and ran out of the suite following Kellan, who was waiting with the elevator door open.
“What’s going on?” Harry asked as soon as the door closed.
“I’m not sure. Put your clothes on. We have to get out of here.”
“Why? Where to?”
“Simla was in my room–”
Kellan blinked in astonishment. “What?”
“I don’t know why or how, but Rowena told me to get you guys and get out of there, so I did.”
The doors opened, and a middle-aged couple got in. I was glad Harry had managed to get dressed. We had to stop talking. The couple didn’t say a word all the way down, but just kept throwing each other furious glares. They weren’t the least bit happy.
We ran out of the hotel and walked down the strip aimlessly, not knowing where to go. We eventually stopped and sat down outside Stripburger. I could have killed for a burger, but we had no time.
“So tell me again, why we are running?” Harry asked.
“I don’t know. When I opened the door to my bedroom, Simla was sitting on my bed. I asked her how she got there, but she didn’t know. She looked really lost, so I started to walk over, but Rowena appeared in front of me and told me to get you guys and run. That’s all I know.”
