Doorways to Infinity

by Geof Johnson

  “No, unfortunately. When will you know about your grant?”

  “Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.”

  “So, if you don’t get it, will you have time to help us?”

  “I’ll have to think about it.” She gave him a long, steady look, then lifted her chin. “See me after class on Friday.”

  Chapter 3

  Most weekdays, Rachel gave Sammi a ride to and from the elementary school where Rachel taught kindergarten and Sammi attended second grade. Afterward, Sammi usually stayed with Rachel at her house until Lisa and Larry, Sammi’s new parents, came home from work. Rachel liked that arrangement because she got to spend time with the sweet seven-year-old who had recently come into their lives, and it filled a gap left behind when Jamie went off to college.

  On Thursday afternoon, Rachel drove her car out of the school parking lot and said, “Are you excited about the Thanksgiving play tonight, Sammi? All of us are. Everybody’s going.”

  “Rollie’s parents, too?”

  “Of course.”

  “I wish Fred was.”

  “Your dad will make a video of it, no doubt. Fred can watch it when she gets home tomorrow.”

  “That’s right! Tomorrow’s Friday. Fred said she’ll get home before I do.”

  “And Nova will come Sunday. You’re going to have a full house.”

  “We’re all gonna sleep in the same room, me and Fred and Nova.”

  “Do they know that?”

  “No, but they will.”

  “They’ll know it, or they’ll sleep in the same room with you?”

  “Both!”

  Rachel glanced over at Sammi, and when she saw the big grin on the little girl’s face, she knew they would. Then Sammi quickly turned serious and said, “Uh…Mrs. Sikes? I heard voices at school again today.”

  “Oh, no. Did anybody notice?”

  “No. It didn’t last long. It was during lunch and I forgot to use my block for a few minutes.”

  “Was it the same people talking in the foreign language?”

  “No ma’am. They were different, and they spoke English. It was a man and he said, Follow red target. Do you copy?”

  “That sounds like a spy movie.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I have no idea. We’d better tell Carl when he gets home, and I’ll call Jamie later and let him know.”

  Carl laid his jacket over the back of the chair by the kitchen. “I don’t think we should talk about this over the phone. If you call Jamie, just mention that we have something new to tell him, but we don’t know how important it is. If it bothers him enough, he’ll make a doorway and come home tonight to find out what it is.”

  “I like that plan,” Rachel said. “Then we’ll get to see him sooner.”

  “He’ll be here tomorrow afternoon. I think it can wait until then.”

  * * *

  Three men in dark business suits and silk ties walked out of the front of the Dubai Conference Center, through the parking lot full of black limousines, and crossed the busy street without looking at the oncoming traffic. No alarm was sounded until hours later, after their aides became concerned.

  A search team found the three men five days later, seventy miles out in the desert, face down in the sand, dead from dehydration. They still wore their suit jackets, and their ties had not been loosened.

  * * *

  Instead of hurrying out of his Environmental Science class on Friday, Jamie waited while the rest of the students shuffled through the door and the room gradually cleared. His female shadow, the young woman who called herself Ashley, waited too, until it was obvious that he wanted to talk to Dr. Tindall. Alone.

  A look of resignation crossed Ashley’s face and she said, “Uh, I gotta go, Jamie. Catch you later, okay?”

  Jamie only waved his response and waited until she was gone before turning to his professor. Dr. Tindall smiled sardonically and said, “Is that an admirer?”

  “No ma’am. I’m not sure what she is.” Jamie started to elaborate, but decided to save it for another time. He and his professor had something more important to discuss. “Did you make your decision?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I’m going to help you.”

  “Great!” He felt a smile spread across his face. “That’s really, really, great. Um…I guess your grant didn’t come through.”

  “No, it didn’t, though I was strongly tempted to help you even if it did. It would be the opportunity of a lifetime, to study another world, however briefly, even if I couldn’t publish my findings.” She crossed her arms loosely over her chest and leaned back against her desk. “I have a condition, though. Let me investigate Eddan’s world, first, if we have time. At least the area around Rivershire. How soon do you need me to do an environmental impact study of your next mining prospect? Right away?”

  “We have to finish up this deal with the copper mine, first.”

  “Good. I want to go Rivershire and take soil and water samples from around the region, and blood samples from some of the locals, if they’ll let me. Do you think they might?”

  “If we get the word out that you’re going to be there, I think most people will be accommodating. I’m sure the parents at the school will. They always want to help whenever they can, and many of them are farmers. Their fields should be good places to get samples.”

  “I have one more favor to ask. I will need the help of a couple of my grad students to do the study. Do you mind giving them the oath so they can go to Rivershire with me?”

  “That’s fine. How are you going to get to and fro? Do I have to make a permanent doorway somewhere in Cullowhee? That can be risky. We had a problem with that before.” He had a fleeting thought of Duane Gundy sneaking through to Rivershire and abducting Sammi, back in midsummer.

  “We could stay in Hendersonville and use the doorway in your grandfather’s warehouse, couldn’t we? Or would it be possible for us to stay somewhere in Rivershire during the week and come home on the weekends?”

  “There’s a boarding house there where you could stay.”

  “Is it expensive?”

  “Not by our standards. Maybe forty or fifty dollars a week, and that includes breakfast and dinner. You’d have to get your own lunch.”

  “That’s so cheap. Is it a dive?”

  “It’s pretty nice, actually. The cost of living is much lower there.”

  “Maybe I need to move there when I retire,” she said with a chuckle. “My money would go further.”

  “We can pay for your rooms. I talked to my granddaddy, and he said we have some extra money.”

  “He doesn’t mind?”

  “It’s not his money. He doesn’t question what I choose to spend it on. It’s not like I’m being frivolous with it, anyway.” He scratched his cheek and twisted his mouth to one side. “You’ll need some transportation while you’re in Rivershire, especially if you need to take soil samples from the outlying farms.”

  “We’ll need to take them from the widest area possible.”

  “My granddaddy keeps his electric golf cart at his headquarters in Rivershire. You might be able to use that, though I don’t think it has that good of a range. We might need to look into renting an electric car or a small pickup truck.”

  “A truck would be better, but where would we store it, and how would we charge it?”

  “We could keep it at my granddaddy’s headquarters, with his golf cart. You can charge it there, and it’s right around the corner from the boarding house. I should warn you that the boarding house isn’t fancy. There’s no electricity, and it has a communal bath, but there’s a washstand in every room for people to clean up. I have a shower in my house in Rivershire, though. If you feel the need, you can always drive there.”

  “Is it far?”

  “Less than a mile.”

  “That’ll be fine. It’s not exactly roughing it.” Her gaze dropped to her feet while she seemed to be thinking of something else. “Um…I guess
I should ask you if the locals are going to be okay with strangers poking around their community.”

  “I’ll get my grandmother to tell the parents at the school so they’ll be expecting you. And if you tell people you’re working on my behalf, they’ll be helpful, I think. At least I hope so.”

  She nodded slowly and regarded him for a long moment. “You know, there isn’t a scientist on this Earth who wouldn’t die for the opportunity to study that world. Just about any field you could name — biology, geology, physics, anthropology — you could make a case for anything.”

  “Then I’m glad you get to be the first. And who knows? Maybe someday you will be able to publish you findings. We’ll just have to see.” He started to turn away, but paused and said, “About Thanksgiving dinner at my house. You have to come, now.”

  “No, I’ll be fine. I’ll just —”

  “You have to come. My gramma said so, and she doesn’t like to take no for an answer. Besides, now that you’re in on this, you need to meet the other people who are, too. The wizards and witches and parents and friends, they’re all involved in this…whatever you want to call it…venture. Or whatever.”

  He grinned at her and she sighed. “Okay, I’ll come, if you’ll make a doorway for me. What should I bring?”

  * * *

  Fred and Jamie came home for Thanksgiving break on Friday, and they had a meeting that night in Fred’s living room. They included Sammi. It made her feel special and excited because something important was going to be discussed, and it was probably about magic. All of Fred’s friends and the three sets of parents were there. Only Nova was absent.

  Sammi sat on the gold sofa with Fred and Melanie, while Jamie stood nearby with his father, both with their arms crossed and their expressions intense.

  “Follow red target. Do you copy?” Jamie bent forward at his waist, closer to Sammi. “Are you sure that’s what they said?”

  “Unh hunh. That was it exactly. I didn’t make it up.”

  “I believe you, it’s just…what does that mean?” He turned to his father.

  “Do you copy means ‘did you get that?’ Or, ‘do you understand?’ It’s usually heard during a radio conversation. We use that on the police force, and I know the military uses that expression, too.”

  “Military? Why would the military be saying something that’s important to Sammi? You know she wouldn’t hear it, otherwise.”

  “Who said it was someone in the military?” Bryce said, sitting on a chair beside the couch. “Maybe it had something to do with that other conversation Sammi overheard, the one in the foreign language.” He poked Rollie, who was standing next to him. “Did your roommate get his father to translate it, yet?”

  “I dunno.” Rollie pulled his phone from the back pocket of his pants and tapped the screen. “It chimed a few minutes ago, but I haven’t checked to see who texted me.” He swiped it with his finger a couple of times and nodded. “Here we go. Rad says that his father understood the first part of it and the last, because they’re speaking Russian, but the middle part is in Romanian, which he doesn’t know.”

  “What’s the Russian part say?” Larry asked.

  Rollie squinted at the screen. “It says…Have you made the new potions yet? Then it switches to Romanian for a little bit, then it switches back to Russian and says, Hurry up. I have an assignment for this weekend.”

  “Whoa.” Jamie said. “Sammi overheard a Russian guy talking about magic. Weird.”

  Melanie sat forward on the edge of the couch. “Just because they’re speaking Russian doesn’t mean they’re in Russia. They could be anywhere.”

  Carl frowned. “I wish your friend Rad hadn’t sent the message by cell phone.”

  “How else was he going to give it to us?” Jamie said. “I don’t know where he lives, and even if I did, I’d have to figure out a secret place to make a doorway. That would take too long.”

  “Still, I think from now on all of us should be extra careful about what we say over the phone or online, or anything that can be intercepted. You know the NSA is scouring cell phone calls and texts and email now.”

  “The NSA?” It was Garrett’s turn to frown. “You really think they might be part of what’s going on?”

  Rachel’s brow fell and her voice rose, alarmed. “We can’t have the NSA investigating us, Carl. We just can’t!”

  He gestured gently with one hand. “Calm down. I didn’t say they were doing that. I just said we need to be careful about how we use electronic communications, because anything can be hacked now.”

  “What’s the NSA, Mr. Sikes?” Sammi asked.

  “The National Security Agency. They’ve been around for decades, but their budget got raised dramatically after the attack on the World Trade Center. They do surveillance on a massive scale now, and supposedly it has helped thwart some recent terrorist plots.”

  “We’re not terrorists,” Lisa said.

  Carl closed his eyes and exhaled slowly through his nose. “I didn’t say we were, and I didn’t say that the NSA is spying on us. I wish I hadn’t brought that up.”

  “Hmm.” Jamie rubbed the side of his neck with one hand. “I’m having a hard time figuring out how the two conversations Sammi heard are related.”

  “Maybe they’re not.” Fred turned to Sammi. “Why don’t you stop using your block for a while, since school’s out all next week?” Then she pursed her lips. “But there’s a huge time difference between here and Russia, if that’s where they are. It might be dark over there while you’re awake, and you won’t overhear anything. What time did you hear the Russian guy?”

  “In the morning.”

  “That doesn’t tell us much,” Jamie said. “They could be anywhere. They could’ve been talking in a shadow from artificial light.”

  Carl crossed his arms again and said, “Sammi, if you overhear anything with your magic, tell us right away. Until then, let’s all try to be careful, especially with cell phones and Facebook and stuff.”

  “We will,” Jamie said. “And if it’s really serious, we can always go to my stone house in Rivershire to talk. Nobody can eavesdrop on us there.”

  “Unless they have a Shadow Witch,” Fred said and patted Sammi on the head.

  Sammi beamed proudly. “And there aren’t very many of us around. Momma Sue said so.”

  “Right,” Jamie said. “You’re our secret weapon.”

  Chapter 4

  The weather was gray and turning colder on Tuesday afternoon when Jamie went across the street to Fred’s house. He was going to take Sammi downtown to meet Fred after she got off work, and together they were going to Mike’s on Main Street for milkshakes. Sammi wanted to go a little early so that she could look for something in the nearby shops for her parents’ Christmas present.

  Nova, who had arrived at Fred’s on Sunday, answered the door when Jamie knocked, and she let him in. He looked around the room and said, “Where is everybody?”

  “Working,” she said. “It’s just me and Sammi here.”

  “You coming with us?”

  “Rollie and I are going to catch a movie matinee.”

  “Do you need Sammi to chaperone you?” he said with a wink.

  “Uh…no. We were waiting for you to show up so Sammi wouldn’t be home alone. Can you take it from here?”

  “Where is she?”

  “Downstairs, watching cartoons on the big TV.” She turned and cupped her hands to her mouth. “Sammi! Jamie’s here. I’m leaving.”

  “Wait!” came a muffled reply, then the rapid patter of footsteps coming up the carpeted steps. She streaked to Nova and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Come with us, Nova. Please?”

  “I’d like to, but me and Rollie need some time alone.”

  “But you’ll be at the theater with lots of other people.”

  “I know, but we want…what I mean is….” She let out a frustrated-sounding sigh. “I can’t explain it yet, but you’ll understand when you get older.”
/>   Sammi wrinkled her nose and released Nova. “Okay, but you’d better sleep in my room again tonight.”

  “Wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ll see you later, okay?” She waved goodbye and let herself out the door.

  “Are you ready to go?” Jamie asked Sammi.

  “I gotta get my purse.”

  She turned and raced to the stairs, and as she ran up to her bedroom, Jamie called after her, “You’re only seven years old. What do you need a purse for?”

  “Stuff.”

  She returned a minute later with a shiny pink pocketbook on one arm. Jamie eyed it before he opened the front door. “You don’t have makeup in there, I hope.”

  “No. I have all my money, and Chapstick, and some gum, and a little jar of healing jelly that Fred gave me, and a picture of Leora.”

  They stepped outside onto the stoop and Jamie waited while she locked the dead bolt with her key. Then they walked down the brick steps toward Jamie’s house, where his blue Chevy sat in the driveway. He said, “How did you get a picture of Leora?”

  “Mrs. Wallace brought her camera and took pictures of all the kids at the Rivershire School, and then she had them printed. She made an extra one for me.”

  “Do you write to Leora much?”

  “Every day, even if it’s just a little note, and I put it through the little magic portal that you made to the Rivershire School. I write to my other friends there, too, like Milly and Aiven.”

  “That’s history’s first interplanetary correspondence. Do you realize that?”

  “Is that important?”

  Jamie shrugged. “Do you miss that school?”

  “Unh hunh. It’s really nice. I like my new school, too, but the Rivershire School is special.”

  They walked to his driveway and he stopped beside his car with his keys in his hand. “Have you heard anything important with your power lately?”

  “Not really. I heard some lady say When do you want to get lunch? And a man said Now is good. That’s all I heard.”

  “Not very exciting stuff. I don’t see how it could be important.” He grabbed the handle of the car door and paused again. “Did you recognize the voices?”