"What are you doing?" I asked.
"A prayer to Mother Earth to anchor us." She pointed down. "Look."
I was surprised to discover that a tiny silver cord that had appeared somewhere in the vicinity of my navel. It dropped down through the Spanish tile floor.
"It goes all the way to Mother Earth's heart, Sam. Now, we can never get lost. We need only to follow the cord home."
"Oh broth..." I began, and nearly rolled my eyes, but then saw the brilliance of her plan. "Actually, good thinking."
"Nice catch, Sam. And thank you."
"Are you ready?" I asked.
"I am," she said. "Should we leave our cell phones behind?"
"Why?" I asked.
"I dunno. Maybe they would be viewed as a kind of witchcraft."
"She does have a point," said Charlie.
"Fine," I said, and we tossed our phones on a nearby end table.
Once done, I looked back at Charlie, who seemed pained and anxious, then looked at Allison, who nodded. Together, we stepped through the archway.
Chapter Twenty-eight
The passing from one reality to another was not unlike teleporting.
A small disorientation, followed by a stumble or two, and then a lot of blinking and taking it all in. And what I took in was nothing short of a dank, smallish room, composed entirely of massive, fitted rocks, with only a small, square window in the upper half of the room, from which pale light filtered through. The room itself was dark, but my eyes were alive and well, seeing the smaller light that wriggled through the air, and illuminated everything. Good to see my own skills had come through with me. Next to me, Allison held out her hand and a small ball of light appeared. She made another gesture and the light rose up and hovered near the ceiling, lighting up the place.
A gasp from the floor, and then a small scream.
After all, we were nearly standing on top of the stretched-out Queen Autumn, who was now sitting up on her knees and looking from one of us to the other. Lord, she was beautiful. And, yes, just a little off. Too beautiful. Eyes too round, cheeks too round, breasts too round. She was, no doubt, every man's dream. At least, Charlie's dream.
The queen, upon taking us in-including our strange garb-was about to let loose with another scream, and this one wasn't going to be small. It was gonna be huge and it was going to alert the guards that I knew, thanks to having read the book, were always stationed nearby. And since we couldn't have that, I was behind her in a blink, covering her mouth with my hand. My cold, cold hand, which caused her to shudder. My life.
"No screaming, Your Highness," I whispered into her ear. "We're here to help you find your baby."
I also gave her the most subtle of suggestions to trust us. The truth was, this was my first "other world" experience, and I was a little freaked out, too. Sure, I might switch bodies temporarily with Talos, and I might even be sitting quietly by his side in his own world, but my mind wasn't with my body, not yet, although Talos told me I could someday experience his world, too. Although I might have gotten fleeting glimpses of his world, I had never fully immersed myself in it.
You've been to other worlds, too, came Allison's thoughts. The moon and Mars, remember?
She was right, of course. Yes, I had tested the limits of my teleportation, and so far, there hadn't seemed to be any. Limits, that is. Still, this world felt different. It wasn't a barren planet or moon. It was real, and it was filled, I knew, with real characters with real hopes and dreams. Also real magic, and real monsters, too. A strange and thriving place. Yes, Charlie had quite the imagination.
Meanwhile, Queen Autumn was beginning to struggle in my hands, and, since I didn't want to hurt her, I gave her an even stronger suggestion to settle down. I telepathically asked if she understood me, and she nodded. I did not want trouble in a strange world. I mean, no more than was necessary. After all, I kinda liked Earth. And my kids. And Kingsley.
And...?
And you, too, Allie.
I sighed and carefully released my hand from the queen's mouth. After all, I wasn't sure if my telepathic suggestions would stick in this new world. Alas, she looked frightened but didn't scream.
So far, so good.
I stepped around the queen and held out a hand. She stared at me as if she were seeing a ghost. How's that for irony? Finally, she took it and I helped her to her slippered feet. She towered a good eight inches over me, which put her at damn near six feet tall.
"Who art thou?" she asked. She spoke with a lilting accent to her words, and I wondered if Charlie had unwittingly imagined characters with a slight British accent. She hid the fear in her voice; she was a strong woman.
I considered her question. Should I tell her my real name? Would any of this, somehow, make it into the novel? I wasn't sure what would be written, and what would be considered "behind the scenes." After all, in the novel, her baby had very much been kidnapped, and the reader was left heartbroken. I know I sure was. I felt the queen's pain, perhaps more so than most. Obviously, we were already in his notes, and thus a part of the fabric of his world.