by M. L. Greye
“No, just a little more than a year.”
She nodded again and they fell silent while she drove. After a moment, Legann asked, “Is this your car?”
“Now it is,” she answered, somewhat hesitantly. “It used to be my brother’s.”
Legann winced. The only brother she had ever mentioned having was dead. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not like I’m the only one to have lost a family member.” She glanced at him. “The rumor at school is you’re an orphan.”
“The rumor?” Legann raised an eyebrow. “You’re pretty blunt, aren’t you?”
“Sorry, I just think it’s silly when people try to cover up a death with words like ‘passed away,’ as if that would make the truth easier to swallow,” she retorted. “When a person dies, it means they’re dead. No amount of pleasantries is going to change that.”
Legann couldn’t help but stare at her. “You know, more people should think that way.”
“I know.”
They were to his street now. Legann pointed to the entrance of his long driveway. “That’s my house. You can just drop me off at the street. You don’t have to take me to the door.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. I hope your sister’s okay.”
“I’m sure she’s fine.” He opened his door and stepped out. “I bet she’s taking a nap and forgot to set an alarm or something. Have a good night, Lillie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You, too.” She smiled slightly. “See you later.”
: : : : :
It was quiet. Olinia couldn’t hear anyone. Slowly, she opened her eyes. To her surprise, she found herself in her own room. That felt wrong. She had the vague sense that when she had shut her eyes she had been somewhere else. And she definitely had not been beneath the covers of her bed. Using one hand, she pushed herself up. Bad idea. With a groan, Olinia fell back onto her pillow, her head spinning.
What had happened to her? Every muscle in her body ached, as if she had forced it through some inhumane exercise routine. The last time she had felt anything comparable to this had been back in the world of Sivean when she first learned to Globe.
Globe! Olinia gasped and all at once the memories of her adventure flooded her mind. She had Globed! After sacrificing the gift, she had Globed! It was a feat she had thought impossible since leaving the Vrenyx.
Her Globing had taken her to a moment in Will’s past that he probably thought insignificant. Even Olinia wasn’t sure yet why his conversation with Ariel was so important. Some DS recruiter approached his sister. So what? There had to be more than that. Otherwise, why did Tiara join her?
That was another surprise all together. Never had Olinia Globed with someone else that she had not been touching in the beginning. Then again, Tiara was the first person Olinia had met who could also Globe.
As Olinia struggled to remember what else she had seen during her trip, her thoughts drifted to DS. She still wasn’t sure what the letters stood for. Releasing a sigh, Olinia reached out her hand for the laptop on her desk and urged it towards her. At the moment, it required less energy to use her gift than to get up out of bed. She watched as the thin, silver MacBook Air glided through the air to land beside her on the bed.
She propped herself up on her elbow. As she waited for her laptop to wake up, she glanced around her room. Her curtains were open, allowing her to peer out into the lush trees and stormy sky. The clouds reminded her of Will’s eyes. She gritted her teeth and looked away.
She noticed her backpack was leaning up against her desk with the shoes she had worn that day on the floor next to it. Her eyebrows furrowed. She had a strange impression that she had left her backpack downstairs. Also, when did she take off her shoes?
Her laptop was ready now though, so that question was forgotten as she opened her browser and typed DS Academy into the search engine bar at the top of it. The first page of results popped up. Her eyes scanned the top two links. She would have read further if she hadn’t heard movement downstairs in the kitchen.
Olinia whirled, straightening up completely in bed. The dizziness was gone now. She reached out her thoughts, listening for the familiar inner voices of Legann and Sazx. All she found was quiet. No one was within her hundred-yard barrier. Something might have fallen on the floor.
Silently slipping out of bed, Olinia decided to go check out what had caused the noise. It could have been some wild animal that Legann “forgot” he let inside. Last summer he was practicing his gift of speaking to animals on a small raccoon in his room. He’d managed to hide it from Olinia until he fell asleep, and it escaped to the kitchen, creating a giant mess. Olinia sincerely hoped there wasn’t another raccoon downstairs.
As she made her way to the stairs, her steps soft on the floor, she heard the refrigerator door open. Olinia froze in her tracks. That was no animal. Not even the smart little raccoon had figured out how to open and shut their fridge.
Footsteps not her own were suddenly coming towards her, beginning up the stairs. Olinia’s breath caught. Her eyes darted to the closet with the golf clubs. She could dash and grab one as she had done with Sazx, but she wouldn’t be fast enough for the intruder to not see her. The heavy feet were almost to the top of the stairs. Olinia winced. She would have to hold her ground and use her gifts if any harm came to her. She gritted her teeth as the figure rounded the corner of the staircase.
Olinia knew the face. She gaped. “W-Will?”
He smiled crookedly. “Hello, princess. Did you sleep well?”
She sank to the floor, her legs suddenly weak. A vague recollection of someone talking to her just before she blacked out resurfaced in her mind. Somehow she managed to find her voice. “That was you? You were the one who put me in my bed?”
“Yeah.” He finished up the last few stairs to join her, crouching down in front of her. “I found you on the floor. What happened?”
Will was there, within arm’s reach. Olinia couldn’t remember ever fainting before, but this might be the day she would give it a try. Her body was trembling. For nearly the past two years she’d imagined what she would say to him when she saw him again. Now that it was her chance, all she could do was stare.
Unlike when she had seen him while Globing, his dark blond hair was shaggy, down to the bottom of his ears. During his time in the Other Worlds he’d grown it out to match the local men. His beautiful gray eyes were watching her, and his angled jaw was tilted to one side, covered in scruff from going two or three days without shaving. A small bruise purpled a spot above his right eye. He wore a simple white T-shirt with the logo of a surf company on its front and dark blue jeans. Once again Olinia caught herself marveling at how well he fit into his Ethon clothes.
“Princess?” He prodded after another moment.
All at once Olinia heard Legann enter her barrier. He was home from school. Olinia mentally kicked herself. She’d forgotten to pick him up.
Taking a deep breath, Olinia returned her attention to Will. His mind was still as silent to her in Ethon as it had been in the Other Worlds. Even in a world where she could hear the minds of practically everything that walked on two legs, Will was immune to her gifts. At the moment, this fact made her temper flare. She desperately wanted to know his thoughts, but the opportunity to get inside his head was proving itself to be pointless.
Olinia narrowed her eyes. “Why are you here, Will?”
He blinked. “I told you I would come back for you.”
“Yeah, but not two years later!” She spat out. “I said one day. One!”
Will rocked back off his heels, sitting down on the carpet. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling both regret and guilt. How did he go about explaining to Olinia that he’d kept his promise all along? For her, it had been twenty months, while for him it had been less than two days.
As soon as he entered Ethon, he hopped on the next flight out of London. Trenton Alridge had warned him of the
changes surrounding Olinia and her brother, but Will hadn’t cared. He just wanted to get to her as soon as possible. A cab from the airport dropped him off outside Olinia’s house just in time for him to walk in on her, collapsed on the kitchen floor.
He sighed. “I didn’t go back on my promise, Olinia. I was in the Other Worlds only twenty-two hours. I was counting.”
“Right.” She grunted.
“If you had been with Trenton, then you could have seen me as soon as I came back,” he said softly, frowning. “I’m sorry that it takes a little time to fly across an ocean. I wish I could have seen you sooner.”
Olinia stared up at the ceiling. “I swear, of all the days you choose to back, it’s today.”
Will suddenly felt confused. “What?”
“Do you even know what day it is?” She asked him.
He didn’t. He hadn’t really cared about discovering the date from Trenton. “No…”
“October fifteenth, Will.” She glared at him.
Today was his birthday. Will blinked. How old was he turning again? Twenty-three? That sounded right.
Downstairs, the front door opened. Will glanced over his shoulder as a voice called out, “Olinia?”
“Is that Legann?” Will asked.
“Yeah, he’s coming back from school,” she replied. “I didn’t pick him up.”
“Olinia?” Legann yelled again, starting up the stairs.
“Aren’t you going to answer?” Will raised an eyebrow.
She shook her head. “He’s already on his way up to us.”
“Ohreen doveem naunt!” Legann exclaimed the Eveon expression to Will’s back.
He let out a short laugh and stood, facing Olinia’s younger brother. “Hi, Legann.”
“Will!” Legann nearly toppled Will to the floor as he yanked him into a hug, pounding him on the back. “It’s so great to see you! Wow, Olinia and I have missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Will noticed Olinia stand up behind him.
“When did you get here?” Legann asked.
“About an hour ago.”
Legann stared at his sister. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’ve been asleep. I woke up ten minutes before you walked in.”
“So,” Legann returned his attention to Will, “how has everything been in the Other Worlds?”
“It’s about the same as when you left.”
“The same?” Legann repeated, surprised. “How are Tiara and Archrin? Did Archrin ever find her?”
“Tiara’s doing just fine, but as for Archrin, I don’t actually know the answer to that,” Olinia said, more to herself than to Will and her brother.
“Why would you even know that?” Legann blinked.
“Because I just saw her.”
“Where?” Both Will and Legann blurted simultaneously.
She pulled a face and glanced at Will. “I saw her in your past.”
“My past?” Will frowned. There wasn’t much in his life that would merit Olinia traveling to it.
Legann looked genuinely confused. “How did you see Will’s past?”
“I’m assuming she Globed,” Will answered for her.
“But she can’t do that anymore,” Legann replied slowly.
Will turned to her. “Is that true? When did that happen?”
“It happened in the Vrenyx,” she answered. Her eyes flickered to Legann for a moment, and he blushed slightly. His eyes dropped to the floor as if he were suddenly very interested in his shoes.
The exchange caused Will to raise an eyebrow, but then he remembered what Trenton had told him. Olinia could hear everyone’s thoughts easily now. She must have replied to one of Legann’s internal opinions. He wondered if she could hear him now too. Maybe the Ethon air had changed his silence to her.
Olinia? He thought.
If she could hear him she gave no sign of it. Instead, she returned her gaze, no, more like a glare, to Will’s face. “Now that you’re back, are you going to take us to the Other Worlds again?”
Her voice shook a little when she asked him. He furrowed his brow. “I will eventually, but we’ve got to wait for your brother. I don’t want to leave him in Ethon, too.”
She blinked. “Zedge is in Ethon?”
7
------------------
Zedgry sank down into a hard wooden chair and gratefully accepted the plate of food Milly placed in front of him on the table. “Thanks,” he murmured.
“Oh, no trouble at all.” Trenton’s maid smiled. She was always so pleasant. “It’s one of your brother’s favorites.”
That’s right. Zedgry had a younger brother, named after their father Legann. Apparently, everyone else knew this but Zedgry until he entered Ethon. Not a single person in the Other Worlds cared to mention that detail, not even his own grandparents. Now true, Zedgry had been sort of out of it for a while, under the influence of some sleeping drug, but it still was no excuse to not reveal an additional long-lost family member.
With a sigh, Zedgry took his first bite of Milly’s concoction. It appeared to be a pile of short, hollow noodles, drenched in some yellow sauce. He liked it. After a few more bites, he glanced up at Milly again. “It’s very good. What is it?”
“Macaroni cheese,” she replied. “It’s a simple American dish. I’m so surprised none of you have had it before.”
Zedgry nodded, unsure of what else to say. In Ethon, his cover was that he was an orphaned American, like his siblings. Trenton was supposedly a distant cousin, who having little family still living, chose to adopt them in their financial needs. Very kind of him. But if you asked Trenton, it was nothing in comparison to what Yrond did for him generations before.
“Oh, don’t forget to sign the documents on your bed,” Milly tossed over her shoulder as she headed back to the stove.
“Right,” Zedgry said between bites. “Thanks for reminding me.”
The documents she referred to were for something called a passport. Trenton was in the process of securing one for Zedgry. Apparently, in Ethon a passport was required for travel, even though it didn’t make much sense to Zedgry. Ethon had a lot of strange regulations.
As he finished his meal, he couldn’t help but think of the conversation that had taken him into this new realm. It had been with Will, back in Evedon just two days before. After Will agreed to go get some much needed rest, Zedgry decided to join his grandfather inside of Fuladrik’s home. What he found instead was Will standing in a hallway, shimmer stone in hand…
“What are you doing?” Zedgry asked, eyebrows raised.
Will whirled, the dark circles under his eyes clearly evident. “I’ve opened a portal.”
“To where?” Zedgry blinked. “You said you would go to sleep.”
“But I didn’t specify in which world I would,” Will pointed out.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ve got to get your sister.” He sighed, as if resigned to the situation. “I left her in Ethon.”
“Ethon?” Zedgry gaped. “I thought you said she was somewhere safe.”
“For her, Ethon is safe.”
Zedgry nodded once. “Alright, let’s go. What are we waiting for?”
“We?”
“You’re not leaving me behind. Who knows how long you’re going to be there?”
“I’m just going to pick her up,” Will answered. “I should be back in a couple of hours.”
“Good. No one will miss us while we’re gone.”
It was almost funny, looking back on that now. Will had been convinced that Olinia and Legann were simply waiting for him with Trenton. Unfortunately, Will hadn’t considered the possibility that time moved differently between realms. What Will had thought to be a quick in-and-out trip was transforming into an extended vacation.
When they discovered the real circumstances of Zedgry’s siblings, Will took off to meet up with them in Virginia since he already had the necessary paperwork for travel. Zedgry was left behind to get
a passport of his own.
“Would you like more?”
Milly’s voice pulled Zedgry’s attention back to his plate. It was empty. Was he really done already? His stomach still felt empty. “Yes, please.”
While Milly refilled his plate, Zedgry glanced out into the forest that he had first arrived in. It had drizzled earlier that morning, but now the clouds were clearing, revealing pockets of blue sky. The odd mix of gloom and sun cast eerie shadows among the trees. Zedgry found it hard to look away, even just to eat.
“I see you fancy my woods.”
Zedgry visibly jumped as Trenton joined him at the table. He released a short laugh. “I guess I was too captivated to hear you come up.”
“Sorry to frighten you, lad.” Trenton raised a hand in apology.
“It’s alright,” he replied. “I shouldn’t have been day-dreaming. Have you heard anything from Will?”
The old man nodded. “He rang me when his plane landed. He should be to your siblings by now.”
Along with the discovery of having a brother, Zedgry was shocked to learn of Ethon’s transportation by flight and contact through mobile phones. Travel and communication were so simple in this realm. Electricity and the internet were other marvels that Zedgry had yet to fully understand. Will had not given Ethon justice when he would briefly speak of it back in the Other Worlds.
“We should be able to join them in about a week or so,” Trenton said, leaning back in his chair.
“Great.” Zedgry smiled. He was a little anxious to be reunited with his twin, and to finally meet his younger brother. Plus, it would be nice to see some more of Ethon before he had to return home.
: : : : :
When Sazx returned from his pointless drive across the Virginian countryside, he discovered Olinia and her brother were with the Key’s heir. Will had arrived while Sazx had been out. Had the drive actually calmed his nerves from the disturbance the princess had brought upon him, he might not have been ruffled by Will’s presence. However, since his one reason for disembarking from his drive when he did was so that he might catch a moment to communicate alone with Olinia, the appearance of the Key’s heir was most inopportune.
