Doorways to Infinity (14 page)

Evelyn felt a surge of pride when she heard that. She always knew he was smart, but it was nice hearing it affirmed by a college professor.

“What I’d really like to study,” Jamie said, “is the science of magic. That’s what wizards have always done, anyway, but they never had access to the technology that we have on Earth.” He sighed. “Too bad I can’t major in it. Bachelors in magical science.”

“Build your own research center,” Sophie said. “Use some of the money you’re making off of the mining deal.”

Pete leaned over the table again and looked their way. “We don’t have enough money for that just yet, but if we can secure another deal, we will. He can build and study anything he wants.” He pointed his fork at Jamie. “That could be your career.”

“Yeah.” Jamie nodded slowly and stared at his nearly empty plate. “That would be really cool.”

“Jamie,” Dr. Tindall said, “how many other worlds are there with natural resources that could be tapped?”

“Ones with atmosphere? Who knows? More than I can count.”

“How about Earth-like worlds?”

“Thousands. Millions. Maybe an infinite number. I’m scared to investigate them because they might have poisonous atmospheres or no atmosphere at all. It’s dangerous. I wish I had a safe way to check before I opened a doorway to one.”

“What you need is a gas analyzer,” Dr. Tindall said. “I have one in my lab somewhere. It’s pretty compact, and it has an optional wand attachment that might be handy.”

“That would do the trick.” His face brightened. “I bet I could make a mini-portal and poke the wand through it without worrying about getting sucked into a vacuum or letting toxic gas into the room.” He nodded slowly and smiled. “How long does it take to work?”

“Ten, fifteen seconds.”

“Maybe I could borrow it sometime and check out a bunch of worlds in one sitting. I could probably do a hundred of them in an hour or so.”

“How would you keep track of them all?”

“I’ll use my walking stick while I check out the worlds. It’ll help me make a map to each one as I go.” He grinned and nodded. “Watch this. I can get my stick whenever I want.” He pushed his chair back from the table and stood, then quickly outlined a small doorway in mid-air, put his hand through it, and retrieved a long piece of carved, lightly stained wood. He held it up for all to see. “I keep it in a notch in the wall of Eddan’s old cave. I don’t have to carry it around with me, but it’s always handy when I need it.”

“Wish I could do that,” Gina said from the far end of the table. “I’d keep my purse and my umbrella in it.”

Jamie returned the stick, closed the glowing portal and sat down. “I wish I could do that anytime I wanted without freaking somebody out.”

“You can do that in Rivershire without worry,” Brinna said.

“Yeah. Different attitudes.” He turned to Dr. Tindall and said, “But if I had the money, I’d build a big research center somewhere, probably in Rivershire, and buy all the equipment I could ever need, and hire top-notch scientists, and we could study what’s happening when I do magic, or when a witch does, like Fred.” He nodded firmly. “That would be my dream.”

“We can do it,” Pete said. “If that’s what you want, let’s make it happen.” He flourished a confident grin, and Darla sighed and rolled her eyes.

“He’ll never retire,” Darla said.

“Jamie, if you build something like that,” Dr. Tindall said, “I’m sure some scientists would love to work there, but many others would think it’s a hoax.”

“They wouldn’t think that if we came up with a cure for cancer, or learned how to regrow severed limbs, or cure diabetes and Alzheimer’s.”

“You really think those things are possible?”

“Dr. Burke at the clinic thinks so, after working with that healer. We might be able to come up with other cool stuff, too, like finally making fusion energy practical, or…or exploring Mars. I think I might be able to put a doorway on the surface of that planet, but I would need help from an astrophysicist to work out the exact location. It’s not in my magic sense of space yet.” He tapped his temple again.

“You could work at Jamie’s research place, Dr. Tindall,” Aiven said. “Or you could teach in our school. You would like it there, you would. It is the best school around.”

“It’s the only school around, Aiven,” Mrs. Tully said, then glanced at Dr. Tindall. “But we are proud of it and grateful to have it.”

“Well,” Dr. Tindall said, “I already have a job, but it’s nice to know I have another option if need it.”

After dinner, Pete and Darla left, claiming they had another party to attend, though Evelyn suspected that they didn’t want to help clean up. Everyone else stayed and cleared the tables, then the men did the dishes while the women relaxed. Lisa and Adele came over and met Dr. Tindall, then retreated to the sunny backyard of the stone house with Rachel, Brinna, and Gina.

Evelyn, Connie, Mrs. Tully, and Dr. Tindall settled in front of the fireplace with cups of coffee to talk, and Mrs. Tully made herself some tea. Before Jamie went to Fred’s house, he changed the magic doorway so that it was a regular-sized opening on one wall of the main room, connected to his home in Hendersonville. Aiven disappeared through it with Sammi and Leora, who had eaten dinner with Sammi. They went to play basketball in Rollie’s driveway, but they didn’t stay long.

The kids soon ran back into the stone house and headed for the kitchen, but Mrs. Tully called out, “Where do you think you are going, Aiven?”

He stopped with the two girls near the big table and turned to face her. “We’re going to pet Sugar.” He showed Mrs. Tully an apple he held in one hand. “Mrs. Wilkens let us have these so we may give them to her.”

“I thought you were playing basketball with Rollie and Nova and Mr. Wilkins.”

“It’s starting to rain over there. We came back because it’s nice and sunny here.”

Dr. Tindall shook her head. “I’m still having a hard time getting used to that idea. The weather is completely different just a few steps away.”

“’Tis a good thing,” Mrs. Malley said. “If it were raining on both worlds, they would be inside and underfoot.”

“May we go now, Ma?” Aiven asked.

“Wait a second,” Dr. Tindall said, and waved them closer. “Leora, did Mrs. Wallace tell you that my last name used to be Hale, like yours? And that my younger sister looked just like you when she was your age?”

“Yes ma’am.” The girl with the pale red hair and freckles curtsied. “She said we may be related.”

“What do you think of that?”

“Um…I think it is lovely.”

Dr. Tindall studied her for a long moment before saying, “Me, too. I’ll have to do some checking to see if we can find out for sure.”

“Would you be my aunt?”

“Cousin, probably. Very distant cousin.”

Leora didn’t reply, and she and the other two kids waited awkwardly until Mrs. Tully shooed them away, and they raced to the back door.

“Larry could probably help you check to see if you have a common ancestor,” Evelyn said. “He’s gotten pretty good at doing genealogical research.”

“It would be simpler to do a DNA test,” Dr. Tindall said, “if Leora would let me take a sample. It would be even better if her father did. Do you think that’s possible?”

“I feel sure that he’d let you,” Connie said. “He’s a nice man. The whole family is.”

“Almost all of the parents from the school are,” Evelyn said.

“I suppose I could stop by their farm when I’m here with my grad students.” Dr. Tindall turned to Mrs. Tully and said, “Jamie suggested that I stay here in this house while I’m doing my field work in Rivershire. I hope that won’t be a problem.”

“Why would it be?”

“I feel like I would be imposing on you.”

“Imposing? How?”

“I’d be making extra work for you.”

“Are you a slovenly person?”

“Not really. I’ll pick up after myself and wash my own dishes and laundry.”

“Think nothing of it, then. ’Tis my job. I am a housekeeper, after all.”

Evelyn patted her on the knee. “Though we consider her more of a friend of the family.”

“I shall prepare your meals for you,” Mrs. Tully said.

Dr. Tindall glanced toward the kitchen. “I can probably do it myself.”

Connie narrowed one eye at her. “You’re going to work all day and come back to an unfamiliar kitchen and make dinner?”

“You shall do no such thing,” Mrs. Tully said. “I am a housekeeper and a cook, and I shall prepare your dinner, at least. If it is all right with you, Aiven and I would like to dine with you.”

“That would be nice. Then I wouldn’t have to eat alone.”

“It would be good for Aiven to spend time with a professor of higher learning. It is all he has talked about since he found out you might be working here.”

“He’s fascinated by the fact that you are a scientist,” Evelyn said. “He knows how much Jamie loves science, and anything Jamie loves, Aiven does, too.”

Mrs. Tully sighed deeply. “I think it is Aiven’s goal in life to be exactly like Master Jamie.”

“There are worse role models,” Connie said.

“I am not complaining. Master Jamie is a fine young man.”

Dr. Tindall rubbed her chin and her face grew thoughtful. “I have a few details to work out before I come here. We will need a way to store our blood samples during the week, but I don’t want to use the refrigerator here. On the weekends, we’ll take them back to our lab in Cullowhee for analysis.”

“Rent a refrigerator and keep it in Pete’s Warehouse,” Connie said. “You’ll be able to come and go there as you please, once Fred gives you a counter charm bracelet. Then you can go through the permanent portal in Pete’s headquarters in Rivershire.”

“In fact,” Evelyn said, “you should probably drive to Hendersonville on Monday mornings and leave your car at his warehouse, since it’s not that far from Cullowhee. That way you’ll have easy access to it if you need to get anything that’s not available here.”

“Like coffee!” Connie said. “They don’t have that in Rivershire.”

“Or anything else, for that matter. Your favorite breakfast food, or deodorant, or whatever. It’s too bad you didn’t come this summer, because the market in town was full of wagons and carts selling fresh fruits and vegetables.”

“All pesticide-free, I assume,” Dr. Tindall said.

“Of course,” Evelyn said. “Great selection, too. We used to buy quite a bit of it and take it back to Hendersonville with us for dinner.”

“There are still enough farmers bringing their wares to town,” Mrs. Tully said. “The fall crop was good for most. And I have some things in the cellar here that I put up this summer.”

“I can stop at the store on Monday mornings before I come,” Dr. Tindall said. “Um, I don’t suppose there’s an Internet connection for my laptop here.”

“Jamie can make a mini-portal for you,” Evelyn said.

Dr. Tindall nodded, then smiled. “Amazing, isn’t it? Who knew that staying on another world could be so convenient?”

“We’ve had time to work out the kinks,” Connie said. “Though more keep cropping up every day.”

Dr. Tindall turned in her seat and gazed about the room with one hand resting lightly on her cheek. “I suppose this will be a comfortable place to stay while I do my field work in Rivershire. But are you sure I will be safe?”

“Absolutely,” Mrs. Tully said. “I have lived here all my life and have never had a problem. And you will be staying in the home of a master sorcerer. No one in their right mind would dare enter without being invited.”

“Really? Jamie doesn’t seem threatening to me.”

“This was the home of Renn the Sorcerer, and kindness was not one of his traits. The threat of his reputation still lingers in most people’s minds.”

“But if you and Aiven stay for dinner, won’t you have to go home in the dark? I assume there are no streetlights here.”

“Aiven and I have ridden home in the dark many times. It is not a problem, and the horse knows the way.”

“They have a new carriage that Jamie recently bought,” Evelyn said, “and it’s much better than the old one. It’s aluminum, with four wheels, and it has a convertible top. It also has headlights that are powered by little generators on the axles. Though it’s bigger than the old one, it weighs less than half.”

“Aiven said that Sugar prefers it,” Mrs. Tully said. “He and I certainly do, though the last one would have been fine if the wheel hadn’t broken.”

“Don’t listen to her, Nancy,” Evelyn said. “It was about to fall completely apart, it was so old.”

“It must’ve been expensive shipping the new one all the way from England,” Dr. Tindall said.

“Jamie made a doorway and picked it up in person,” Evelyn said.

“I keep forgetting he can do that.” Dr. Tindall stared at the fireplace for a moment before turning to Mrs. Tully and saying, “Are you sure the local people will accept me and my grad students? What if the farmers won’t let us take soil samples or no one will give blood samples?”

“If people know you are working on Master Jamie’s behalf, they will be cooperative,” Mrs. Tully said. “He is well-respected here, and everyone knows him. You will have no difficulty.”

“Hope you’re right. And I hope you can put up with me staying in this house.”

“Aiven and I look forward to it.”

* * *

The man loitered in the lobby of the hotel room, waiting for the late-arriving guests to finish checking in. He wandered among the tall, lush plants that were set in polished brass containers arranged tastefully around the room. The rich carpet felt soft beneath the soles of his shoes. Tucked into a far corner was a woman in a long, black gown, playing classical music on a Steinway grand piano. The wall facing the street was all glass, and the other three had original artwork on broad canvases.

He wore a six thousand dollar grey wool Gucci suit, five hundred dollar Forzieri shoes, a fifteen thousand dollar Rolex watch, and a bewildered expression. When the last customer stepped away from the counter, the man approached the clerk and cleared his throat.

“Excuse me,” he said in a low voice. “Can you tell me where I am?”

The clerk, a fresh-faced Asian man in a dark blue uniform, said, “You are in the Conrad Hotel.”

“Um…what city?”