Fusion

by Rose, Imogen

  I climbed in next to Cleo and lay back on the soft down pillow—bliss. No noises came from behind the door, and Finna’s snores were comforting in an odd way. I turned onto my side, put my arm around Cleo, and went back to sleep.

  ~

  I woke up to a loud bell reverberating outside the room. Finna was already up and dressed in her uniform.

  “Good morning, Arizona. I trust you slept well. I have to go downstairs. We seem to have visitors—impatient ones,” she said when the bell sounded again. “I’ll be back up very shortly, I promise. I am going to take Cleo for her morning constitutional, but you’ll be fine here. I’ll be back soon. Keep the door locked.”

  I smiled at morning constitutional, guessing she meant a doggy pee and poo. “There was someone outside my door last night. Scared the crap out of me. Do you know who it was?”

  “There is no need for you to worry as long as the door is locked.”

  “There’s no phone in here,” I pointed out. “I should probably call Mom to let her know that I’m fine.”

  “Your father will take care of that, I am sure.”

  “What if something had happened last night? Phones in the rooms would be useful. Who was it, anyway? Was it a person or an animal? It sounded more like an animal. And man, was it persistent.”

  “Like I said, there is no need to worry. I better hurry. Whoever keeps ringing that bell is clearly impatient.”

  That was for sure. The bell was being almost continuously pressed. But if Finna thought she was off the hook, she had another thing coming. I’d ask her again when she got back.

  Having slept in my clothes, I felt like yuck and probably looked like it too. I took a quick shower, keeping a vigilant eye on the door, still shaken from the night before. Just as I finished putting my clothes back on, the door opened, and Cleo trundled in and jumped on me. I pushed her off when I saw who’d come in behind her.

  “Kellan!” I did a Cleo and jumped on him, wrapping my legs around his waist and practically biting his lips in sheer excitement.

  He hugged me tight and returned my kisses. “Are you okay, Shrimp?” he asked when we came up for air.

  I took a deep breath of his neck. “Yes, more than, now. How did you find me?”

  “I did,” David said from behind Kellan. I hadn’t even noticed him come into the room with Finna.

  “Well, this is all very nice, but a complete nightmare for me.” Finna pursed her lips. “What am I supposed to do with all of you? You can’t stay here.”

  “That’s fine,” David said. “We’re here to take Arizona home.”

  “Did her father send you?” Finna eyed David suspiciously.

  “No, her mother did. We’ll be on our way.”

  “Not so fast,” she said firmly. “I have been asked to keep her here until I hear otherwise.”

  “By whom?” David asked.

  “By my master. He is in touch with Arizona’s father, who will let us know what to do next.”

  David didn’t look too convinced, but he nodded. “We’ll stay here with her until then.”

  “It could be awhile. Are you sure all of you want to stay here, locked up, until then?”

  We nodded.

  “Suit yourselves. If you change your minds, just ring the bell. I have work to do, so I will check back in a little while. Cleo will stay here.”

  As soon as the door shut behind Finna, and we heard the key turn in the lock, the boys turned to me.

  “How did you get here?” David asked.

  “It’s a long story, but it doesn’t matter. Did you track me?”

  “Yes. And it does matter.”

  “Shrimp! Just tell us.” Kellan pulled me over to the bed. I sat down with his arms around me. David plunked himself down on Finna’s bed but kept glaring at me. I had to keep Stan out of this.

  “Ella told us that you wandered from your bedroom,” he continued.

  “She saw me? She actually saw me take off?”

  “Yes,” he replied. “She said that you disappeared with a blond guy.”

  “Who was it?” Kellan demanded, his tone suddenly irate.

  “I can’t really tell you. If I do, I could get a friend into some serious trouble—”

  “A friend? A Wanderer, a Sigma-W, who? Just tell us, Arizona. Surely you trust the two of us,” Kellan said.

  Of course I did. With my life. I told them about Stan.

  “You have got to be kidding!” David yelled. “You’re hanging out with a Sigma-W-Pi! And not just anyone, but Potomal’s son! What were you thinking?”

  “See! I knew you wouldn’t understand,” I grumbled.

  “Do you blame me? He held you prisoner in the Bahamas. He worked with Raj. I’m just dumbfounded.”

  I shrugged. “What about you, Kell? You’ve gone all quiet.” I pulled at his sleeve.

  He tightened his grip around my waist. “The main thing is that you’re safe, and that we’re here with you now. I trust your judgment. I wish you would trust me and feel like you could tell me everything.”

  I hugged him. “I do, but as David said, this was kind of an out-there thing to have to explain. I like Stan, and I do trust him. And he’s not working for his dad anymore. He’s a free agent.”

  “Wanderers can’t be free agents,” David said, clearly irritated. “He should do the right thing and give up his powers. What he’s doing at the moment is unacceptable. Where is he?”

  “I don’t know for sure.”

  “What exactly do you mean by that?”

  “I know how to contact him, but I don’t know where he went once he dropped me off.”

  “Look,” Kellan intervened, “who the hell cares where Stan is? I know I don’t.”

  “That’s because you’re not a Wanderer. We have rules and—”

  “Whatever, David.” Kellan sighed. “Let’s just get Arizona out of here.”

  “No,” I said. “I want to wait for Dad.”

  “Why? Don’t you think he’s got enough on his plate for now?” David admonished. “Won’t it be better to just let him get on with what he’s doing rather than have him deal with this when we can take you home?”

  I had to admit that it made perfect sense. To pull Dad away from what he was doing was unfair. I’d kind of hoped he’d be at Alfred’s, so I could see him without causing much trouble. But that wasn’t the case, so it was probably best to head back home and concentrate on getting to New Jersey.

  “Sure. But how? Finna isn’t going to let me go until she hears back from either Alfred or Dad.”

  “I’ll wander you out.”

  “What about Kellan?”

  “He can take care of himself,” David said.

  I was about to protest when the door opened, and Finna walked in with Dad and Bruno.

  His look took me back years to the sinking feeling I used to get when I had done something extremely naughty. I guessed this sort of counted.

  “Arizona?” he groaned. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to see you,” I said lamely.

  “And?”

  Unfortunately, trying to think up a somewhat sensible excuse escaped me. Wanting to see him had been kind of an afterthought, but I couldn’t very well explain that my real reason for making the trip had been to chase down Dillard and my possible doppelganger. So, I resorted to whining. “I don’t know, Dad! I’m worried about you. We all are. I just wanted to find out what was going on and make sure you’re okay.” By the change in his expression, it looked like he bought the nosy, sentimental reason.

  He shook his head at me. “Who wandered you over?”

  I glowered at Bruno. I guessed that he must have told Dad what Ella had seen.

  “Dad, it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry to have caused a problem.” I welled up, feeling dejected that he wasn’t even the least bit happy to see me.

  He immediately dropped his stern mask, gesturing for Finna to leave the room. Once I was surrounded in his warm hug, I let the tears flow. I wasn’
t sure why I was crying, but it felt good to just have a moment with Dad.

  “Arizona,” Dad said, his voice back to normal, “I know that it’s hard for you when I’m gone, especially right now when you are trying to regain your memory, but I am in the middle of some pretty critical stuff. Right now, I need you to go back home and stay there. I’ll call Olivia and tell her you’re here. But first, I need to know who wandered you. All Bruno told me was that the man had blond hair.”

  I remained silent. There was no way I would betray Stan.

  “Why won’t you tell me?” I could feel his anger rising again.

  “He’s a friend, and I promised him.”

  “I am certain none of my men would go behind my back like that,” Dad said. “And if they did…” He clenched his fists. “Was it one of my men?”

  I shook my head.

  “Which leaves the Sigma-W-Pi. Are you in touch with Potomal’s men?” he shouted.

  “No! Calm down, Dad!”

  “Who, then? Arizona, you’d better tell me.”

  I could see that there was no way out of this. I had to tell him something. “Dad, the person is not a Sigma-W-Pi anymore, but he used to be. That’s all I can say. He is totally okay, totally trustworthy.”

  “Your Highness, if I may?” Bruno whispered through the stony silence.

  “Yes?”

  “My best guess is that it’s Stanford. Arizona spent some time with him in the Bahamas. By all accounts, he’s left the Sigma-W-Pi and is now missing.”

  “Was it Stanford?” Dad looked at me.

  I held my ground.

  He ran his fingers through his hair, his forehead wrinkling up with worry. “I need to talk to Olivia. Stay here. I am going to use Alfred’s office.”

  Dad didn’t seem like himself at all. This new job had him totally stressed out. I wondered if he had second thoughts about taking over the reign, not that he’d had much choice.

  “I sure wonder why your dad is so worked up,” Kellan said, echoing my thoughts. “Not that I blame him for being cross with what you did, but there is obviously more to it. Bruno? Know anything?”

  “Come on, guys. You know what it’s like. I can’t say anything. It’s dangerous for you guys to be here, but you can tell that just by turning on the TV. You’ve been following the killings on CNN, right?”

  “Yeah, the ones in London. Pretty awful with people getting shredded all over the place by some psycho.” The last one had occurred at the London Eye.

  “Yes, but similar killings are being reported all over, major cities mostly—New York, Tokyo, Paris, to name a few.”

  “Yeah,” Kellan said. “I was watching some of the reports this morning. The police seem to be stumped, but CNN hypothesized that it was a terrorist group, though none have come forward to claim responsibility.”

  “Is that why Dad is here?” I asked.

  Bruno didn’t answer my question, but I could tell from his expression that I wasn’t wrong.

  But how? What did Dad have to do with this? My mind flew back to the fear that had held me hostage last night: the scratching at my door, the heavy breathing, the house full of guests that Finna told me to stay away from. Sheesh! Was Alfred harboring the killers? Why would he?

  “Hey, what’s up? You’ve gone all pale.” Kellan put his arm around me. “You feeling okay? Have you eaten today?”

  “No. But that’s not it. Just an insane thought.”

  “Share?”

  “Later,” I whispered, glancing at Bruno.

  “Don’t mind me!” he laughed.

  “It’s just that Finna has been acting weird ever since I got here.” I told them about the guests and what had happened last night. “Does this have something to do with it? I mean, if we’re in a mansion full of deranged killers, we ought to know, don’t you think? We should call the police.”

  Bruno shook his head. “I have no idea who Alfred’s guests are, but I am sure they have nothing to do with the killings.”

  “How can you be sure of that?” Kellan asked.

  “Because Alfred is a friend of your father’s and would never be involved in something like that,” Bruno said resolutely. “The only point here is that it’s a dangerous time and—”

  “Dad is somehow involved,” I finished for him.

  “I am,” Dad confirmed, appearing in the room. I preferred him using the door. These sudden entries freaked me out. “Now, I have spoken to Olivia,” he said, changing the subject, much to my annoyance. “And our priority is, of course, to keep you safe while these killings continue. As Bruno just told you, the problem is even wider than is being reported. At the moment, it seems to be concentrated around the major cities, but—” He threw up his arms.

  “So you are helping to stop it?” I asked. “How?”

  “It’s not something I can go into right now. I have to get back to work, but I will sit down and answer all your questions when this is finished. Okay?”

  I shuddered, the images from the TV suddenly feeling real. “Dad, I’m scared. What are we going to do if any of these terrorists come to Mountain View? You won’t even be there to help us.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment, and then said, “I know. And I can’t begin to tell you how that thought rips me apart. The situation is getting worse, and I have no choice but to move you out of here—to a safer place. I have asked Olivia to take you through the Portal.”

  Dad left quickly after his announcement, silencing my questions, telling me that Mom would fill me in on everything I needed to know. Needed and wanted, such different things. I had no doubt that I was going to be left feeling out of the loop once again, even more so than I already was. Bruno transported me back immediately, while Kellan and David had to wait for Sigma-Ws to help them back home.

  I couldn’t help but feel excited at the prospect of going through the Portal again. I would finally be in the same dimension as my doppelganger. I had asked Dad why he couldn’t just wander us over, and he’d explained that he didn’t want anyone knowing our whereabouts. I guess that Stan’s breach of his security had thrown him. Even Bruno left after dropping me off in the empty family room at home.

  I followed the sounds of running and banging upstairs and found Mom in my room throwing stuff into a suitcase. She’d turned on CNN, which showed Anderson Cooper in the throes of discussing the latest killings in Paris. She turned off the TV as soon as she saw me. “Good! You’re home.” She threw her arms around me. The next second, she was shouting. I stood quietly and let her get it all out. I really didn’t have a defense to present.

  “I am sorry, Mom,” was all I said when she finished.

  She looked unhappy with my apology but pointed to my bed. My suitcase lay open with a bunch of stuff piled inside. “Finish packing. We’re leaving as soon as we’re all ready.”

  “Mom, can Kellan come? I know he’s going to want to stay close to us.”

  “Yes, that’s already been taken care of. Larry is getting their stuff together.”

  “What about Maria, Ali? And Ariele?” Even though I didn’t know her as well as the others, once we were in the other dimension, she’d be good to have around to help figure out a way to get to New Jersey to visit my doppelganger.

  “I know you are worried about your friends, but we can’t take them all. It’s got to be just us for now.”

  “But what if something happens to them? What if whoever is doing the city killings comes to Mountain View? Then what?”

  She looked sad. “We simply can’t transport everyone out of here. We just have to hope for the best.”

  “Mom, I’m ready,” Ella said from the doorway. “Arizona! You’re back! Who was that boy in your room?”

  “Just a friend. I better get on with the packing.”

  “Yeah? Kellan wasn’t happy when I told him about it.” She grinned cheekily.

  “You silly, come help me pack.”

  She busied herself in my closet while I checked through what Mom had packed for me. Tallu
lah trotted in and waited outside the closet for Ella.

  “We’re taking her, right?” I asked Mom.

  “No. I don’t dare bring her through the Portal after what happened with Gertrude. I am going to ask David to bring her in a few days.”

  “Sheesh, Ella’s not going to be happy.”

  “Your dad wants us to go over without anyone else’s involvement. He’s concerned about how easy it was for you to just take off like that.”

  “Yes, but surely he trusts David?”

  “He does. And he also trusts Inez and Morgana. While he doesn’t know the others as well, he assumes their loyalty. However, with everything going on, he wants to be extra careful. Inez and David will make their way to Kevin’s house with Tallulah. We’ll pick her up there in a few days.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To stay with an old friend of mine. You don’t know her. Her name is Celia. Her husband is in computers, and they moved to Mountain View from London when he was headhunted for a job with Google.”

  “Will we have to stay there long? Do they have any kids?”

  “No, it’s just the two of them now. They had a daughter, Sarah, a law student, but she died in a car crash.”

  “Wow, that’s rough. What happened?”

  Mom shrugged. “I don’t know, and Celia won’t talk about it. Anyhow, I have to go and organize my stuff. Then I need to talk to Larry about the Portal. Stay here please, and keep an eye on Ella. I’ll be in my bedroom.”

  I had to find a way for Ariele to come with me. I picked up the phone and called her, stepping into the hallway so Ella couldn’t hear me. She was still busy sorting out my clothes anyway. “Ariele?”

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “A lot! We’re going through the Portal, back to your home dimension.”

  “Get out! When? I am coming, of course.”

  “Soon. We’re packing now.”

  “Who’s going? Just you? How did you convince your mom to let you do this? Did you have to tell her about the doppelganger?”

  I laughed. “Slow down! Way too many questions. I’ll explain later. First we need to figure out a way for you to join us. I asked my mom if you could come, but she said no. So, have you any ideas on how to convince her?”