Pettikin

by Abby Smith

  I put my hands on my hips. Had we come this far only for me to blow it? Getting around the warriors seemed easy compared to this. How was I supposed to move a wall of stone? Suzy chewed her cud with her eyes closed. At least she didn’t seem worried—only like she planned to be here for a while.

  Pettikin stood up and wobbled over to me. He put a hand on my leg, and I felt a flutter in my chest.

  The sphere rippled.

  Huh? Had I imagined that? I reached out and put my hand on it again, but it was still solid.

  Pettikin didn’t say anything, but the smile he’d had up in the clouds was gone. He seemed lost and lonely, and if I didn’t think of something soon, he would stay that way. The feeling in my chest was almost wrenching. The sphere rippled again. I was sure of it this time. I felt, as well as saw, a tiny wave across its surface. A small beam of pink light inside the structure near my hand bounced back and forth between the outer walls of the crystalline block.

  I shifted my weight on our leaf to steady myself, put my hands against the sphere, and closed my eyes. I thought about Pettikin and how much I loved him. I thought about everyone I loved back home—my parents and Andie and Socrates. The fluttering in my chest almost made me dizzy.

  I thought about Aunt May. Was she watching over us now, from some other place? Could she help me get Pettikin home? I thought about her friends, Mrs. Widgit, Bob, and even grumpy Professor Theopolous, who already seemed like family, even though I barely knew them.

  I could feel the stone rippling under my hands.

  I focused harder. I thought about the alpacas, holding Sunshine in my arms and feeding her from a bottle when she was a baby. I thought about Vala, how I had felt when I first saw him, how it felt when he smiled at me. I thought about the moment when he had touched my chest. The feeling in my heart welled up and crashed over me like a wave of soft, white light.

  “Allie. Allie!” Pettikin was tugging on my leg

  I opened my eyes. Hundreds of beams of pink, blue and golden light ricocheted through the crystalline structure, softening it. I took my hands off and stepped back. When the streams of light crossed, they magnified each other, moving faster and filling the structure with vibrating light. The surface of the sphere undulated and exploded in a beam of light so bright, I had to cover my eyes with my arm. When I lowered my arm, the crystal had evaporated. A shower of pink, blue and gold sparks hung in the air where it had been, then slowly drifted down to the water and dissolved like snowflakes. The Gateway was free.

  The breeze felt cool against my face, and I realized there were tears running down my cheeks. I wiped them away hastily, embarrassed.

  “Well, I totally don’t believe that worked,” I said.

  Suzy hummed, possibly in agreement.

  Pettikin hugged my leg. “You did it! You found the key!”

  “I think you were the key this time,” I said. The current shifted and was pulling us around to the front of the Gateway. I sat back down cross-legged at the back of our leaf. Pettikin ran excitedly to the front.

  Suzy’s leaf got there first. She ducked her head and disappeared through the Gateway.

  The web of light towered over us.

  “Well, here we go again.”

  I closed my eyes, and my mind dissolved.

  15

  Light. Blinding white light, like it reflected off of snow. I cringed and lifted a hand to shield my eyes. My arm was translucent—a faint, pinkish-white glow. Pettikin and Suzy were flickering apparitions standing next to me. I opened my mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

  We can’t talk here… it’s too noisy for this world. The thought was faint in my mind, but I knew it came from Pettikin. The silence here was so deep it was like anti-sound—like we had moved through a sound continuum and come out the other side of it.

  Slowly my eyes adjusted to the light, and the physical forms of the world came into focus. The entire world was golden, and even the ground was glowing, light radiating out from underneath it, as if we were standing on the surface of a sun. A massive mesa, a huge imposing slab with steep sides that shimmered like rosy quartz, rose in the distance. A shining city of pyramids and domes perched on top of it. I wanted to get out Professor Theopolous’ map but wasn’t sure I would be able to. It would probably be a useless blank page anyway.

  I felt really out of place—afraid that if I moved I might break something fragile or disturb the profound silence. Suzy’s apparition flickered and started floating down a long, golden path that lead toward the mesa. Pettikin shut his eyes. His image wavered, almost disappeared completely, and then began floating after Suzy, slowly at first but with gaining speed.

  I tried to take a step forward, but my legs, despite being mere phantom legs, felt like they were bolted to the ground. Frustrated, I watched Pettikin and Suzy getting further and further away. I closed my eyes and willed myself to move forward but felt like I was pushing against a brick wall. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my mind. Finally, as if my emergency brake had suddenly been released, I jerked and began gliding forward. I felt off kilter, and my progress down the path was wobbly and uncoordinated compared to Suzy and Pettikin, but at least I was moving.

  I fought to keep my mind calm and to use the ‘other sight’ that Vala had given me. It seemed to be the only way I could see anything in this world. Pastel yellow and pink trees lined the path we were floating down, and ghostlike figures with round, featureless heads, flowing cape-like bodies, and tiny arms drifted through the air next to us. They looked like Vala did in his ghost form, but they were different colors, less bright, and more ethereal. Some were carrying large gourd-shaped objects that reminded me of water jugs. They stopped and turned toward me as I passed, holding the objects they were carrying up and away from me, as if they thought I might be dangerous. They were so delicate I felt like a grotesque, snot-oozing goblin traipsing along next to them. I wanted to apologize for intruding in their world, but didn’t know how.

  Most of the beings we passed seemed to be heading toward the mesa and the diamond shaped web of white light at its base. Was this the Gateway to the next world? It seemed too easy.

  Suzy and Pettikin arrived before I did and waited for me. I wobbled to a stop next to them and glanced around nervously, but, although some of the beings seemed to be watching us, they didn’t try to stop us. Suzy turned and dissolved through the web of light, and Pettikin glided through after her.

  A pink ghost hovered next to me, its featureless head tilted to one side, observing me. I took a breath, closed my eyes, and willed myself forward through the Gateway.

  It was like stepping into a vacuum tube. My stomach immediately dropped, and I was sucked rapidly upwards. A cold wind whipped silently past my head and down my body. I clinched my eyes shut and gritted my teeth. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, I felt a jolt and was pushed forwards. I opened my eyes and wobbled precariously until I got my bearings.

  We were in the city on top of the mesa. The pyramids and domes which had seemed so small from a distance towered above my head. Some of them were silver or gold, but most were clear or opaque and hard, like they were made of frosted glass or crystal. They were arranged in long, diagonal rows radiating out from a central dome, with wide streets of pinkish-white paving stones between them. Beautiful glowing trees and small gardens of flowers woven from strands of pastel light decorated the paths and areas between the buildings. Just a few yards from us was a silver fountain gilded with a delicate gold leaf pattern. White and rose colored light bubbled up from some unseen well and flowed silently down the sides of its broad basin.

  Ghosts were everywhere now, dissolving in and out of the building walls and floating down the streets. Some were gathered in the open areas along the street, a group of them surrounding a central figure, like a teacher and students. Others were off by themselves filling their luminous jugs from the fountain of light, or picking soft orbs of fruit from the branches of the trees. One being was sitting on a be
nch under a tree by himself. He dipped an arm into a large basin filled with molten light, and pulled out a long, taffy-like strand. With his other arm he cut the rope off and deftly rolled the light into a ball. He stretched and massaged the light between the ends of his arms until he had molded it into a figure that resembled a tiny dog. He placed the figure down on the ground, and it came to life, scampering off down the street. I gaped at him, but he seemed unaware of me, already pulling another rope of light out from the basin. Down the street, the little dog of light jumped up and down next to a ghost being until it bent down and patted its head.

  I felt Pettikin in my mind, “Suzy says we need to go.”

  I pulled my attention away, and we drifted down the street toward the giant central dome. A now-familiar network of interwoven lines of light at its base formed the shape of two ornately decorated doors. Two tall, white ghosts stood on either side of the doors like palace guards. They inclined their heads toward us as we approached but didn’t stop us from going in. When I passed them, they looked up at each other, and I wondered if they were laughing at me.

  I felt just the tiniest ripple as I stepped through the Gateway doors, like stepping through a curtain. We were in a large hall that reached the entire height of the dome, which must have been at least thirty feet at its apex. The ceiling was pitch black. Stars, planets, and galaxies turned slowly in it as if it were a window out into the universe. As I watched, the picture gradually zoomed in on a particular galaxy then readjusted itself for a few seconds. Then it zoomed in on a particular solar system and readjusted itself again. After zooming in on each planet in the solar system, the entire display went dark and a new universe appeared, starting the same process over again.

  The walls were stone blocks lit by bright, white, egg-shaped crystals that rested on narrow pedestals of different heights spaced evenly around the room. Down the center of the hall, two rows of tall, golden thrones faced each other, six on each side and about twelve feet apart. A golden or white being, brighter and more intense than the beings that floated outside, sat on each throne. They sat upright, their phantom arms resting on the armrests of their thrones, and gazed up at the galaxies that turned in the ceiling above us. That is, until I drifted backwards into a torch, which appeared to be the one solid thing in this ephemeral world. The torch wobbled precariously, causing weird shadows to leap around the room. Twelve heads turned toward me. Oops. I willed my arms up and tried to steady the torch until it finally settled in its place.

  Suzy gazed at Pettikin for a few moments from under long, dark lashes. Then I felt Pettikin speaking in my mind.

  “This is the Council of Guardians.” Even in my mind Pettikin sounded awed.

  “What does that mean?” I glanced nervously around at the figures, then up at the ceiling where another universe faded and a new one appeared.

  “Some Guardians roam through the universes and take different forms, performing different tasks on different worlds, like my Guardian or your Vala. The Council of Guardians is a group of Guardians that remains here to watch over the universes and direct things from a higher level. Sometimes they trade places, and a Guardian who was on the Council will return to the worlds, or one who was in the worlds may come back to serve on the Council for a while. We learn about the Council when we are small, but no one I know has ever seen them.”

  The Guardian closest to us turned to Pettikin.

  “He says they know who you are and why you’re here, but they can’t show us the final Gateway or open it for you.”

  “Then what are we supposed to do?”

  Pettikin seemed to be speaking telepathically with the Guardian.

  “The world we’re in now exists in between all the other worlds—all of the Gateways are here. We have to find the final Gateway, the one that will take us out of the realm of the forbidden worlds and into the realm of the higher worlds, and get through it ourselves.”

  Except for the torches, the hall was empty. The vast universe spun slowly above us, and twelve golden heads turned toward us with silent curiosity and possible bemusement.

  “But I don’t see a Gateway here—I don’t know what to do.”

  The Guardian that addressed Pettikin turned his head toward me. I felt a warmth spreading through my forehead, behind and above my eyes, and I suddenly felt very happy, like I did when Vala was around. I felt something friendly, a gentle humor coming from the Guardian.

  I gazed up the ceiling again, and watched as one universe faded away and another appeared.

  “Pettikin,” I thought slowly, “could it be some type of Gateway?”

  “I think,” he hesitated, “that all of the Gateways in all of the universes must be there somewhere.”

  “So from all of the Gateways in all of the universes we just have to find the correct one? How is that even possible?”

  As we were speaking, or, rather, thinking, the universe we were currently viewing zoomed in on Galaxy, then a solar system, then a planet. From there, one by one a series of Gateways flashed past—webs of different colored light woven into diamonds, squares, hexagons. They flashed by so quickly it created a strobe effect in the room—red, blue, white, gold—and then they were gone. A new universe appeared, zoomed in on a new planet, and the process repeated.

  I felt a pressure in my head, like I was trying to understand a subject that was too advanced for me, and the repeated strobe effect was making me dizzy.

  Suzy floated forward and nudged my cheek, a faint, feather-like touch.

  “Suzy says that it’s your mind that’s making the display do that.”

  “My mind?” I was incredulous. “You’re telling me I’m controlling what’s being displayed?”

  As my mind raced, the picture zoomed out again and spun toward another solar system, another planet.

  “Yes, and she says it’s not the right way. You’re trying to think about which Gateway you need, and the only way your thinking mind can do it is to randomly run through every Gateway in the universe.”

  I had to admit that was my thought process, and it did seem to be what the display was doing. “OK, well, then we just need some more information. We need to go about this more systematically, find a way to narrow down the choices. I mean maybe the Gateway is on your planet, Pettikin, on Arcorn—that would make sense right?”

  “I don’t know Allie—I don’t know if it works that way…”

  But the projection had already shifted, was honing in on a golden white sun, and a blue green planet similar to Earth. A brilliant series of Gateways flashed past and then were gone, replaced by a second of complete blackness.

  I felt frustrated. “Even if one of those was the Gateway I wouldn’t know which one it was.”

  I felt a brief, sharp pressure in my mind, which I was pretty sure was an alpaca snort.

  “Suzy says as long as you are thinking with your logical mind, you will never be able to find the right Gateway, except as a freak accident. You need to use the higher part of your mind, something above thought.”

  “But I don’t even know what that means!”

  “Suzy says you do know and to stop being so impatient and try to calm your mind.”

  Scolded by an alpaca. Again. A couple of the Guardians seemed to be conversing telepathically. Were they amused or questioning Vala’s choice for a Gatekeeper?

  I turned toward the display above us, sighed, and closed my eyes. My mind was still trying to come up with some algorithm for finding the right Gateway. I felt like I had to physically wrench it away. What else could I think about? For some reason Vala appeared in my mind. I wondered what he was doing right now—was he still on Earth somehow keeping the Gateways open for us? Did he know where we were now and what we were doing? He told me if I needed his help he would help me. He must know which was the right Gateway.

  “Allie, look.”

  I opened my eyes. The display had returned. A new universe was overhead but turning much more slowly. Afraid that I would start thinking again, I clo
sed my eyes.

  “OK, Vala, you’re a Guardian, and it’s obvious to me now that I have no idea who you are or what you’re capable of. But I know you must know where the Gateway is, so please, if you can, show it to me. Otherwise poor Pettikin will be stuck on Earth forever.”

  Thinking about Vala, I felt my mind grow lighter. Somehow everything that seemed so impossible just a few seconds before seemed silly. The frustration disappeared from my mind and was replaced with a flood of golden light that washed down the length of my body. I felt warm and happy, almost giddy.

  “Allie, look!”

  I opened my eyes, startled, feeling dazed.

  “Look up!” Pettikin sounded excited now.

  I raised my eyes to the ceiling. Above me was a shining diamond made of interwoven strands of light. The display was completely still, frozen on this one Gateway.

  “Well, huh. You think that’s it?”

  “Do we have something else to try?” I wasn’t sure if Pettikin’s question was innocent or if hanging around with a cynical earthling was starting to rub off on him.

  Now the only problem was our candidate Gateway, assuming it was a real Gateway and not just a projection, was a good thirty feet above our heads.

  “So how do we get through it?”

  Pettikin hesitated. “I—” he started, but then closed his eyes, and pressed his palms together, almost as if he were praying. After a few moments, to my surprise, he began to rise slowly through the air, floating up toward the Gateway.

  “How are you doing that?”

  Pettikin didn’t answer. He seemed to be concentrating as hard as he could. To my alarm I also noticed that his ghost form was becoming fainter the higher he went. If he went much further, he would disappear completely.

  I felt a little panicky. Was I supposed to do that too? What would happen when we reached the top? Would we disappear completely before we made it through the Gateway? Twelve golden faces and one ghost-like alpaca watched me. For some reason, I felt almost more resistance to this than I had to standing up to the warriors, but what other choice did I have?