A Quill Ladder (23 page)

Sandy folded her arms under her breasts.
“
All right. My dad
’
s condo is near the college. We can just go grab the key on the way. I need you all to have something to eat before we go though.
”

“
Yes, ma
’
am,
”
replied Abbey. Mark couldn
’
t tell if she was being sarcastic or sincere. Not understanding tone was definitely challenging.

*****

“
So how did you know our mom, anyway? You were friends in high school?
”
Caleb said. The trees and other cars on the side of the road were flicking past at an alarming rate, and Abbey checked for the third time to make sure that her seatbelt was done up. Sandy drove the small red Mazda that Dr. Ford had purchased for her like a lunatic. Even the whites of Caleb
’
s eyes seemed to be a bit larger than usual as he tossed the occasional glance at Abbey and Mark in the back seat.

“
Best friends,
”
Sandy said.
“
I guess that
’
s the good thing about going to Nowhere. I
’
ve maintained my youthful looks.
”
She gave a small, harsh snort of laughter. Abbey stared at Sandy. Was this some sort of slight on her mother? Nevertheless, Abbey had to admit her mother had been looking old and unwell lately. She choked back a small flood of tears. If her mother was dying, someone would tell them. She was sure of it.

“
And how did you end up in Nowhere, exactly?
”
Caleb said.

“
That
’
s classified, sharkbait,
”
Sandy said, switching lanes and accelerating ahead of the traffic around her.

Abbey suppressed a smile. Caleb
’
s suave
“
moves
”
earlier had obviously failed to impress if she had already started calling him names.

“
Is everything classified?
”
Caleb said.
“
Seriously. What were you doing?
”

“
I was saving someone
’
s life,
’
kay? Someone that I guess was supposed to die. But I cared about that person, so I prevented their death. And that
’
s a big no-no.
”

“
Who was it?
”
Caleb said.

“
That
’
s definitely classified.
”

Caleb crossed his arms over his chest.
“
How does anyone expect us to help if we have no idea what
’
s going on or why?
”

“
That
’
s the point,
”
Sandy said, flipping the bird at a blue sedan going too slow in the left lane, the silver charm bracelet on her wrist jangling. Abbey flashed an apologetic smile at the old lady in a grey hat, who had her hands clutched firmly at ten and two.
“
You
’
re not
supposed
to help. You
’
re supposed to let us handle it. There are things going on here that you can
’
t even begin to comprehend. Dangerous things.
”

Caleb threw his hands in the air.
“
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got it. Don
’
t create paradox, or you
’
ll be lost forever, and some bad folks are trying to jump to a parallel universe, and could destroy our universe in the process. People keep involving us somehow, so it would be distinctly helpful if we had a clue what was going on.
”

“
Trust me, I don
’
t know much more than you.
”
Sandy skidded the Mazda to a stop in front of a nondescript green eighties-style condo building surrounded by dense shrubbery.
“
Okay, you all wait here. I
’
ll go in and get the key and be right back.
”
And before they could say a word she was bounding into the building.

“
Well, you have to admit she
’
s enthusiastic,
”
Caleb said as soon as she was gone.

“
I strongly prefer to drive the speed limit,
”
Mark muttered.

Sandy was back in the car a moment later, and the Mazda hurtled away from the curb. Sandy played with the tuner on the radio, trying to find a station she liked. Abbey decided it would be better if Sandy kept her eyes on the road.

“
My mother said something about a Witches
’
Council meeting,
”
Abbey ventured.
“
Did that ever happen?
”

Sandy stopped playing with the tuner and chewed on her fingernails.
“
You could say that. It didn
’
t go well. There was no agreement.
”

“
Were my parents there?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Were Damian and Nathaniel in Nowhere with you?
”

“
Of course.
”

“
Do you know them?
”

“
No. They were part of Selena
’
s crowd.
”

Then why were they visiting your dad?
Abbey wanted to ask.

“
I strongly prefer if we drive the speed limit,
”
Mark said.
“
This speed is making me very nervous, and I get carsick.
”

Abbey saw Sandy
’
s blue eyes reflected in the rearview mirror. She raised a single eyebrow, but nonetheless slowed down a little bit.

“
So when you say there was no agreement, what does that mean?
”
Abbey asked.

Sandy didn
’
t say anything, and became very interested in the radio tuner again. She didn
’
t turn the wheel quite quickly enough for a bend in the road and had to jerk the car to the left suddenly to stay in her lane. Mark let out a low moan.

“
Let me guess,
”
Abbey said.
“
Classified?
”

“
I think maybe we should just let Sandy drive,
”
Caleb said.
“
No need to be pestering her with questions.
”
He turned and gave Abbey a bulgy-eyed impatient look.

Abbey huffed out a snort of disgust. Had Caleb fallen so head over heels with Sandy during their banana-bread-making episode that he didn
’
t feel she needed to be grilled about her father
’
s clearly shady dealings? Abbey tried to think charitable thoughts; perhaps Caleb was just trying to keep them alive by allowing Sandy to focus on the road.

On campus, Sandy wheeled into a small spot with a flourish and they all got out. She beamed at them.
“
That is one thing I definitely missed. Driving. Can
’
t get enough of it. That and French fries. Anyone want to grab a snack?
”

Caleb raised his hand and gave Sandy a besotted smile.

Abbey glared at him.
“
Aren
’
t we supposed to be getting a map?
”

“
Well, I promised your mom I would look after you. That means making sure you eat,
”
Sandy said in kind of a singsong voice. Abbey tried not to think that there was a sinister undertone to Sandy
’
s words.

“
Snacks first, then the map, Abs. What
’
s the rush?
”
Caleb said. He and Sandy set off along the treed walkway at a rapid pace, chatting between themselves. Mark and Abbey were forced to follow along. Mark wore a stormy expression, and Abbey feared that he might simply balk, but he continued along beside her.

Abbey was so focused on trying to eavesdrop on the conversation between Caleb and Sandy that she almost didn
’
t see Jake pop out of Dr. Ford
’
s office building and run-walk to the next building.
Jake? What is
he
doing here?
Whatever it was, Abbey was sure it wasn
’
t good.

Abbey hustled until she was walking on the other side of Sandy and affected her sincerest expression.
“
So, how
’
s your mom?
”
she said.

Sandy
’
s face grew a bit cloudy, but she continued to smile.
“
She
’
s okay. The doctors say she could make a full recovery. She
’
s got a long road of rehab ahead of her though. She still can
’
t speak, so it
’
s hard. My dad
’
s pretty shattered by it. Even though they weren
’
t still together, they
’
re still great friends.
”

“
Should we go visit her?
”

“
I don
’
t see why not. I think she would like that.
”

Up ahead, Abbey wondered if she didn
’
t just see a flash of a red scarf behind a tree.

Abbey ducked her head over her shoulder to look at Mark, who still plodded behind them. She lowered her voice.
“
I was wondering if we could possibly go get the map right now. It
’
s really important to Mark, you see, and I
’
m sure it would mean a lot to him if you could help him get that map. We could get the fries later.
”

Sandy peeked over her shoulder at Mark, then shrugged.
“
Sure, why not?
”

She dropped back and started to walk with Mark, turning in the direction of Dr. Ford
’
s building.
“
So Mark, I hear you love maps. What is it that you love so much about them?
”

Mark paused, but apparently wasn
’
t immune to Sandy
’
s magic, and Abbey could hear him start to talk about topographical maps, political maps, physical maps, thematic maps
…

“
Jake
’
s here,
”
Abbey said to Caleb.

“
What?
”
Caleb stuttered. He looked a little bereft at the switch in walking partners, and Abbey tried not to roll her eyes.

“
Jake just ran from Dr. Ford
’
s building to another building. And I think I may have seen Selena behind a tree near the library.
”

“
Hmm
…
the library,
”
Caleb said, almost dreamily. Abbey wanted to smack him. But then his expression sharpened.
“
You know
…
the library here looks a lot like the library in the future.
”

Abbey had to admit that Caleb was right. The campus library had a distinctive cubist motif.

“
Probably a coincidence. Aren
’
t all college libraries cubes?
”

“
Maybe.
”

They reached the building that housed Dr. Ford
’
s office without another sighting of Jake or Selena. Mark was deep in his lecture regarding the importance of contour lines and their various uses beyond representing topography. Together they entered the building, all of them continuing to listen to Mark. Dr. Ford
’
s door was closed, and Sandy jangled the keys in the air with a conspiratorial grin.

“
I think isobars and isotherms are the most interesting other uses of contours. However isostachs are also interesting. They
’
re used to join points with constant wind speed
…”
Mark stared at the ceiling as he spoke.