"You mentioned these Dancing Mountains before. Care to give us a little more information?"
"It's a place of instability, one that marks the transition from north to south. I know that doesn't make much sense, but it has to be experienced to be understood. I think it has something to do with quantum frequency harmonics, a standing probability wave. It is the transition from probable Realms to improbable ones."
"I thought your degree was in geology."
"I was taught physics as a child, back at home."
"Just how technologically advanced are your people?" Harrison asked.
"That is difficult to answer," said Gillian. "In many ways, Earth had more technology. We had Waypoints where we could step from world to world, but I don't know how those worked. We didn't have cars, computers, telephones, or televisions. We did have a great deal of knowledge about many things." She hesitated before continuing. "Some of our people can just... do things. Make things come into being through an effort of will alone."
"You're talking magic?"
"I don't know. I'm not one of them. My understanding is that these things are accomplished through the will of the Om-phalos. I was just an initiate, though. I didn't have the aptitude to learn the greater mysteries."
"You've got some wild stories, Gillian."
"You don't believe me?"
"Oh, I believe you," Harrison said hurriedly. "After the shit I've seen in the last week, I'd be a fool not to. Who am I to say that gods and magic aren't real? Back on my Earth, scientists say that in a multitude of universes, everything exists somewhere. Hell, my first encounter with all of this was being shot by my evil twin from another universe. We didn't even know such things were possible."
"That is one thing that troubles me," said Gillian. "I've seen a lot more evidence of people moving across the Realms. We were taught as initiates that we were the only beings who could do this, but I've seen that it isn't true. There are forces at work that I don't understand."
"Seems to me that all kinds of people can do it," Harrison said. "We were working on a portal device when we were invaded from the universe next door, using the same technology. Those people were fighting a cyborg race that used wrist-held portal devices, and they were fighting the freaky bugs."
"The Urkenze."
"Yeah, them, or someone like them. I don't know how they moved around. Then we have whatever happened back at those villages. Not to mention the Doors and the JRC, Storm Riders, and now your people. Hell, it seems as if everybody can do it. I don't think anything is stable anywhere. I don't even know which way is up."
With an impish grin, Gillian pointed over her head.
Harrison noticed then that there were now two small moons in the sky. "So is this transition from north to south gradual or abrupt?"
"A little of both. As we move forward, you'll notice a tendency for the land to flatten. We'll be walking the High Plains before long. Then suddenly we'll be upon the Dancing Mountains. Working our way across the mountains will be dangerous, but then we'll be in the Desolate Plains and then on into the Southern Realms. That is where things will get strange."
"Strange?"
"There are more dangerous creatures in the south. Also, the landscape itself will become less ordered. As we enter the deep south, we'll encounter floating rocks and rivers in the sky. Not until the Black Realms will we have stability again."
"Why are they called the Black Realms?"
"They're dark and dangerous, worlds cast in perpetual darkness where monsters roam in black forests, the places of nightmare."
"Sounds lovely," Harrison replied. He thought about how little ammunition he had left.
"They are, actually. In a way."
"I'll take your word for that."
"You won't have to. We'll be there in a few days."
"Remind me to bring more equipment and ammunition the next time I wander lost through alternate universes."
"And a horse," muttered Raven.
Chapter Forty-Nine
For the first time since Gillian had begun guiding them, the shift from one universe to another felt abrupt. One moment they had been walking along a long and dusty road through endless grasslands; the next, there was a tremendous mountain range in from of them. The mountains were difficult to focus on because their height and even the distance to them kept changing
"Well, I don't know what I expected, but that isn't it," said Harrison. That seemed to happen to him a lot. He needed to change his expectations. Expect the bizarre. Somehow, he didn't think it was going to help.
There was a kind of rolling undulation to the motion of the mountains that reminded him of ocean waves – impossibly high ocean waves. A basso rumbling carried through the ground to them, along with a constant clacking and clattering of falling rocks. The sky over the mountains was equally disturbing, as the clouds pulsed and shifted in time to the dancing of the mountains.
"We're supposed to go over that?" Raven asked. He didn't sound worried, just incredulous.
"The road should carry us through a pass and on to the other side," said Gillian.
"Should? You haven't done this before?"
"No. That's what makes it so exciting. I saw them once, but that was long ago. I cannot help but wonder whether these are really mountains or not. My understanding is that this place represents standing waves of sorts in the background quantum flux of the universes. Wouldn't it be cool if they were only mountains because that's what we expected them to be?
That wasn't something Harrison was ready to wrap his head around. "Is there anything we should be concerned about?"
Gillian shrugged. "Falling rocks and shifting ground, obviously. Otherwise, I'm not sure. I wouldn't leave the path, no matter what happens or what you see. I've heard that things can get really strange through here. There could be things lurking to waylay travelers."
"There isn't any way around them?"
"You could use a Door to try to bypass them."
"If you're from the south, how did you get past them?" asked Raven.
"I used a Waypoint, kind of like your Doors."
"I thought you couldn't use the JRC," Raven said accusingly.
"I didn't. Do you think your JRC created the Waypoints? It is just a place that uses what already exists. When Michael found you on your island, his wrist device brought him to the same place the Door opened. Did you think that coincidence?"
"I hadn't thought about it," Harrison interrupted. Raven and Gillian didn't get along well. He wasn't certain, but he suspected that Raven simply didn't trust her. "Is there a connection between my wrist device and the Doors?"
"I don't know," Gillian said. "I just think that it's interesting. Your device taps into something. It gets a signal from somewhere. If we didn't have someplace to be, I'd suggest that we track it to its source. I think the JRC and its Doors are using a similar technology. The Door you came through when you first met me was the same Waypoint I'd used to get there, the same one the Urkenze followed me through."
"You can use the points without a device? How do you know where the Waypoint goes?"
"I didn't – don't – but I suspect the Urkenze do."
"So they were able to follow you through the worlds?"
"Yes. I still don't know how."
"Why did they follow you?" Anton broke in.
"I don't think they like the idea of others being able to move about through the Realms, but I don't know that for sure, either."
Harrison couldn't quite put his finger on why, but he thought she was lying. He wasn't worried about it enough to questions her, though. Not just yet. There were so many questions he wanted answered that he didn't even know where to start.
"Shall we get moving?" Gillian said.
The dirt path became more rocky as they went, but it was otherwise not difficult to traverse. If anything, it seemed an area of relative stability in the chaos that surrounded them. Every once in a while, a rock would fall and roll across the road, but those were easy to
avoid. The hardest part for Harrison was not knowing how much progress they were making. Since the mountains kept shifting, it was impossible to tell how close they were to the summit.
"Listen," Anton said. "Do you hear that?"
They stopped and listened. Over the rumbling and clicks of rocks, they could barely hear a faint voice calling for help. It seemed to be coming from off the road to their right. Gillian grabbed Anton's arm as he started to investigate.
"We mustn't leave the path."
"I will not walk past a person in need," Anton said.
"We don't even know that it is a person."
"We don't know that it isn't."
Harrison was torn. He knew it was probably a trap of some kind, and yet he also couldn't just walk on, ignoring cries for help. One of these day that is going to get me killed.
"Gillian, you and Raven stay here. Anton and I will investigate."
Raven started to complain.
"No," Harrison said. "With your leg in the shape it's in, you can't move fast enough to get back to the path if this goes wrong. You and Gillian can provide cover fire for us if we have to run for it."
"I don't like this, Michael," said Gillian.
"I don't either, but I can't just walk on."
Harrison motioned for Anton to stay behind him and gingerly stepped off the path. Immediately, the shaking of the ground grew worse. Whatever stability the road generated, it didn't extend past its physical location. He moved forward, careful not to get stuck between the sliding rocks. Unseen from the road, a small ravine opened up into a large meadow strewn with boulders.
The cries for help seemed to be coming from behind some large rocks ahead of them. Harrison advanced guardedly, his rifle at the ready. As they passed the rocks, they found a woman kneeling among the wildflowers and sobbing. Anton moved forward despite Harrison's signal for him to wait.
"Are you injured?" Anton called.
The woman didn't reply but just sobbed harder.
"I don't like this," Harrison said quietly. Anton ignored him and moved closer to the woman.
"Please," said Anton. "We are here to help." He reached out to touch her arm, and she faded away like smoke dissipating into the wind. "What the hell?"
From all around them came laughter – laughter that sent chills up Harrison's spine. About then, the ground started shaking more, and the rocks shifted, closing off the direction from which they had come. Harrison kept his rifle ready and tried to see what was laughing at them, but the sound kept shifting, sometimes sounding far away, sometimes sounding as if it was just behind his shoulder.
"Come on, Anton."
"But... where...?"
"She was never there to begin with," said Harrison. He was angry at himself for falling for the trap, for a trap it seemed. He didn't know what the laughing voice had in mind for them, and he didn't want to wait around and find out.
"Which way?"
Harrison wasn't entirely sure. The shifting rocks had changed the way everything looked. He finally gritted his teeth and just began walking. There had to be a way back to the road. He kept waiting for something to jump out at them, but whatever it was, it seemed content to wait and laugh at their misfortune.
"Listen," Anton said suddenly.
Over the laughter, Harrison could hear their names being called. It was coming from their right, which didn't seem correct for the way they had come into the meadow.
"Do we trust this?" asked Anton.
"I don't know."
The laughter grew even louder, accompanied by clattering rocks. Something was moving around them now. Possibly more than one thing.
"Follow the voices," Harrison said, making a decision he hoped he wouldn't regret.
Chapter Fifty
"What happened to you two?" Gillian asked they stumbled back onto the road. "It's been hours. It was all I could do to keep Raven from going after you."
Harrison and Anton exchanged glances. To them, it had only been a few minutes.
"I think we should stay on the road from now on," Harrison replied without elaborating.
They continued to climb ever higher through the mountains, and the road weaved back and forth through the undulating cliffs as they climbed. The air grew colder and the clouds closer. Ahead, they could see where the road passed through a large meadow with a giant tree growing in the middle of it, and a brook.
The brook held clear, cold water that they drank with only a slight hesitation. Dehydration was much more of a problem than any risk of Montezuma's Revenge. Harrison was glad to sit down next to a boulder and rest for a while. His ribs were a constant source of pain, not to mention the difficulty breathing. Just the opportunity to sit and breathe was a luxury. He knew he should be taking his pain pills, but he had only a few left and wanted to save them in case something more urgent presented itself. Like I die or something, he thought.
Raven wasn't faring much better. Harrison had offered a few of the pills to him, but he'd declined, admitting that he wasn't human and didn't know how the pills would affect his physiology. It was a sign of all he had been through that Harrison didn't even think that was strange. He should have known Raven wasn't human when he'd talked about being burned by iron and steel.
Gillian sat down next to him. "How are you holding up?"
"I've been better. My ribs are killing me."
"If it makes you feel any better, I think we've reached the halfway point."
"So what you're saying is that it's all downhill from here."
She laughed. "I was thinking that we should stay here for the night. This place feels a lot safer than any other part of the road we've been on so far. If we leave early in the morning, we can be in Desolate Plains by afternoon."
"That sounds good, I think. I know I could use a rest. How is our food situation?"
"Well, it could be better. I think we have about three days' worth of food left, if we eat light. We can refill the water bottles here."
Harrison grimaced. "That isn't going to get us very far."
"Once on the other side of the mountains, the veils between the worlds are thinner. I should be able to move us deeper south, faster. I think we can make it to the Black Realms before we run out of food."
"Is that supposed to reassure me?"
"Well, there are towns and cities in the Black Realms, vassal nations of the Ruined Courts."
"You think they'd give us hospitality?"
"I think it would be worth exploring the option, if we have to."
"But it wouldn't be your first choice."
"No, but I'd rather that than go hungry." She squeezed his hand. "There is something else, something you aren't going to like much."
"Honestly, I don't really like any of this," Harrison replied. "What is this new problem?"
"Gunpowder isn't real common in the Southern Realms. I can say with some certainty that we aren't going to be able to find more ammunition."
"Is there a reason why it isn't used?" said Harrison. "Does chemistry work differently or something?"
"Not that I know of, but I don't everything about how things work down here. I just know that I never saw any guns when I was here before."
"Great. So we're going to a place that's really dangerous, where our guns might not work. Awesome." He turned and studied her profile. He liked the delicate shape of her nose. "Do you think this is going to work?"
"You're asking me that now?" Gillian said. She shook her head. "We're heading into places not many travel, to try to find a woman who's looking for a man who might be able to help us. No, I don't have much faith that this is going to work."
"And yet you're helping us. Working hard to get us there, even."
"I like you, Michael, and I haven't felt this way in a long time. You actually seem to give a damn about people. Do you realize how refreshing that is?"
"My friend Delling, back home, always said that would be my downfall."
"Well, I like it about you."
"Thank you. You k
now, you've got a bit of that, too."
"Sssh! Don't tell anybody. I have a reputation to uphold."
"Seriously, do you really think this isn't going to work?" asked Harrison.
"Oh, I don't know. If we can find Simone, maybe."
"Is that as impossible as it sounds?"
"No, not really. As you've noticed, time runs strangely around here. It gets worse as you go farther south. Simone may have only just arrived by the time we get there."
"And were is there, exactly?"
"Well, there are only a few places unexplored in the Black Realms. Of those, I think the Buried Ruins are the best bet. If there is a fixed Waypoint anywhere leading to the Plaza of the Worlds, it would be there. I know the location of the closest open Waypoint to the ruins; it's actually in the exact center. That's the only logical place for Simone to open a Door. The only other close point is two days' travel from there."
"You seem to know a lot about this."
"I've been curious for a while, but I hadn't had reason or time to explore."
"And you think you can get us there?"
"I do," she replied. "I just don't think we're going to find the Plaza that easily. It has to be old, and I know people have looked for it before and found nothing."
"So you think we'll find Simone, but not Deegan."
"If I knew more about this Deegan, I'd be happier. He sounds like he could be one of my people, but maybe not. There are a lot of things I don't understand. From what Raven and Anton said, Deegan knew about the Plaza and where to find it."
Harrison yawned and shrugged out of his pack. "Well, I guess we'll worry about that when we get there. I'm going to try to get some sleep."
"Go on. I think I'll sit up a while longer."
Chapter Fifty-One
The way down through the mountains was much easier, even if they did hear near-constant voices calling for help. They reminded Harrison of the tales of travelers drawn into bogs by will-o-wisps. Those stories hadn't ended well for the travelers. The voices ceased once they reached the Desolate Plains, and Gillian began shifting them through the Realms to the south. The hardest part for Harrison to deal with was the sky. After the first day, they lost the sun, and then the moon and the stars. The sky was most often just a dull red glow, which Gillian explained as redshift from a collapsing universe.
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