Out of This World (23 page)

“I’m a master in all areas of magic,” said Wyland proudly. “But I’m a grandmaster, the best on Orum, in magical intuition.”

“Isn’t intuition when you kind of know something,” said Jenna, “but you aren’t sure
how
you know it?”

“Exactly. I often don’t have this power, especially when it comes to my own future, but when I do, I’m never wrong. As part of this talent, I can sense the potential in people better than anyone else. Qualities both hidden and obvious. If you ask me to find the greatest singer in the world, I can do so. They may never have had a singing lesson in their lives, but I can tell without hearing them once that they can go on to perform brilliantly. Of all the children on Earth, my magic told me that you two had the best chance of passing this test. I don’t know why this is—I just know that it
is
.” He raised his eyebrows. “This didn’t mean that you
would
pass, by the way, just that you would have the best chance of anyone. The odds were still very much against you.”

Jenna couldn’t help but feel outraged. “I appreciate that you didn’t want Earth to be, um . . . isolated,” she said angrily. “But the odds are that we would be killed! Didn’t that matter to you? You were willing to see two innocent kids be killed just to prove a point to your Grand Council?”

“It sounds bad, I know,” admitted Wyland. “But this was the only proposal the Grand Council would accept. And the alternative was shutting down the portals.” He raised his eyebrows. “And since the Grand Council estimated this would cost over twenty million human lives, I thought risking yours was worth it.”

Both kids stared at Wyland in horror.
Twenty million lives?

“What are you talking about?” demanded Zachary. “Why would shutting down the portals hurt anyone?”

“We’ve learned that your portals have been emerging for many of your generations. Along a very long jagged line that goes on for about eight hundred miles, in a place you call California. As the portals get closer to emergence, they have been known to cause what you call
earthquakes
.”

Zachary suddenly had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “This jagged line. Is this what we call the San Andreas Fault?” he asked.

“I don’t know what you call it. But I’m sure it isn’t a geologic feature you could possibly fail to notice. You just didn’t know this line was due to the birthing pains of thousands of portals.”

“So what happens when you shut the portals down?” whispered Jenna, bracing herself for an answer she knew she wouldn’t like.

“If the portals are allowed to emerge, they will stabilize the entire region. But if we destroy them all, this would have the opposite effect. Basically, much of the place you call California would be destroyed with them. This region would break apart into thousands of pieces, or perhaps even fall into your ocean.”

Zachary felt dizzy. They had been fighting for their own lives, and the lives of their parents, completely unaware of how many
other
lives were in the balance. He couldn’t remember exactly, but he was sure well over thirty million people lived in California. So the Grand Council may have even
underestimated
the number of deaths.

Wyland smiled. “Cheer up,” he said warmly. “I know this is a horrifying thought to you. But now it’s not going to happen. You’ve passed the test. Because of you, the portals will be allowed to open and stabilize this eight hundred mile stretch of land. Now you have nothing to worry about.”

“
Guess again!
” hissed Hirth.

No one had paid attention to him for some time, but his words caused the two humans and Wyland to turn toward him instantly, just in time to see him rise five feet in the air, glowing from head to toe.

Zachary gulped. Maybe there was something to this magic thing, after all.

A diamond-shaped green crystal floated near his forehead, sparkling with the dazzling light of a thousand stars.

Wyland gasped and caused an orange crystal to shoot from his pocket and begin to position itself in front of him, but it was too late. An invisible force lanced out from Hirth’s crystal and stabbed at the transparent man and the two siblings.

And all three fell to the ground, completely paralyzed from the neck down.

Then a second bolt of pure force emerged from the crystal, driving the three paralyzed victims into unconsciousness.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Trapped

Zachary opened his eyes groggily and realized in relief that he was no longer paralyzed. He looked around. He was in a woods, although one that was very thin, containing numerous large trees, but each was spaced much farther apart than in any woods back home. Large boulders appeared frequently in open spaces and smooth stones were strewn about like leaves after a storm. There was an eerie green cast to the sky. Was he still even on Orum?

He heard a noise to his left and yanked his head around to see what had caused it. It was Jenna! Alive and well.

But standing beside her was . . . he didn’t know.

It was an alien. About three feet tall and wearing a long, shimmering blue robe that contained at least ten pockets. The being had a thick torso, flat face, and huge, glassy black eyes. It’s ears were more on top of its head than on the sides. It wasn’t an exact match, but if it had fur, it could well have been a close cousin of an
Ewok
.

“Glad to see you’re awake,” said the alien. “We’ve been awake for a few minutes now.”

Zachary gasped. Its voice was Wyland’s. What was going on
now
?

“Hirth’s actions took me completely off guard,” continued the short alien. “So I couldn’t put up any resistance.” He lowered his head. “For that, I am truly sorry.”

“Wyland?” croaked Zachary.

The furless Ewok nodded.

“What happened?” he said in alarm. “Did Hirth turn you into a . . .” Zachary held out his hands helplessly. “Into a short, squat, man-thing?” he finished.

Wyland shook his head. “No. This is my true form,” he said, ignoring Zachary’s less than complimentary description of him. “And what you see around you is the true nature of Orum.”

“I don’t understand,” said Zachary.

“Neither did Jenna,” said Wyland. “But I wanted to wait until you were awake, so I could explain to both of you at the same time.” Wyland took a deep breath. “Of all the wizards on Orum,” he began, “Hirth is the most powerful. He is skilled in all areas of magic, but his specialty is illusion, for which he stands unequaled. He can make lesser magicians, and especially non-magicians, see whatever he wants them to see.”

Both kids still looked confused.

“The Grand Council decided that while we were studying humans, and also for your test, it would be better if you didn’t see us as we really are. The transparent beings you’ve seen here—including the hog,” he added, “were just hallucinations. Illusions generated by Hirth. As were the hills, farmhouses, and sky. You didn’t think something as bizarre as people who are totally see-through could actually exist, did you?”

Zachary frowned. It did seem unlikely “But why?” he asked.

“For many reasons. To throw humans off in case any of you managed to escape and return to your world. And with respect to you, so we could observe, during the first minutes of your test, how you reacted to beings we knew would be repulsive to you. To keep you off balance. And because the form of a hulking transparent man might seem more threatening to you than our real form.”

Zachary grinned. “You think?”

Jenna couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Yeah. No offense, Wyland, but not only don’t you look threatening, you kind of look, well . . . adorable. It’s probably the big black eyes,” she added, the grin still on her face.

“I’ve been noticing you’re not speaking the way you did when we first arrived, either,” said Zachary. “Everything isn’t literal. Earlier, you said we passed the test with
flying colors
, for example. When we first spoke to you, if we had used this phrase, you’d have said something like, ‘we’re not flying, and what do colors have to do with a test?’”

Wyland beamed in delight. “You don’t miss much, do you? You are correct. I convinced the Council that we should greet you the way we did, and use the speech patterns that we did, to further throw you off balance.”

“But that wasn’t the real reason, was it?” guessed Jenna.

“You are correct. My sense of intuition told me this would help you. I had no idea why, since I didn’t know the nature of the dangers my fellow magicians would end up finding to throw at you on each world. But my intuition told me you’d have a better chance of survival if we spoke in this way.”

Jenna’s eyes widened. “
Amazing
. Your intuition is magical all right. Remembering how you and Hirth only used the literal meaning of words was a big help, especially here on Orum and while answering riddles on Mesrobia.”

“I’m not trying to be critical,” said Zachary, “but why didn’t your intuition warn you that Hirth was about to
attack us
? That would have been good to know, too.”

Wyland sighed. “It can be a frustrating talent. When I have a flash of intuition, I’m never wrong, as I mentioned. But it is all too often blank, especially where I, myself, am involved—although this isn’t an absolute rule.”

Zachary could see where this would be frustrating. Wyland had the
least
intuition when it came to things that affected him, personally. That hardly seemed fair. “So back to your appearance,” said Zachary. “Are we seeing you now in your true form because Hirth isn’t here to maintain the illusion?”

“Correct.”

Zachary still found it amazing that the harmless looking creature in front of him was actually Wyland. And he couldn’t help but be relieved. The appearance of the transparent men had never stopped giving him the willies. “So what are Hirth’s plans?” asked Zachary.

Wyland frowned. “I don’t know, but trust me, they aren’t good. I’ve always thought he had a cruel streak and was a little unstable. But I can’t believe he actually attacked a fellow member of the Grand Council. It’s certain he intends to destroy the emerging portals in California.”

“Then we have to go after him!” said Jenna. “Now!”

“We can’t,” said Wyland. “He’s got us trapped.” He pointed to a boulder almost fifty feet distant. Both kids could make out a crystal sitting on top of it, about the size of a human hand and shaped like a soccer ball. A glowing rainbow of color was spinning around it. “That crystal is keeping us trapped and creating a field that makes it impossible for me to use any magic. As long as it’s pointing this way, we aren’t going anywhere.”

Zachary’s face wrinkled up in disgust. Was Wyland really that lame? Just because he couldn’t use magic didn’t mean he couldn’t use his
legs
. Zachary marched off at a brisk pace toward the crystal.

As he took his fifth step he slammed into an invisible barrier. “Ahhh” he yelled in surprise as the barrier stretched just a little and then shot him backwards like a supercharged trampoline. He landed on the ground with a painful thud.

Wyland winced. “I guess I should have told you about the walls being invisible, huh?”

Zachary lifted himself from the ground. “Yeah. That might have been
helpful
,” he said with an annoyed look. “Okay. Now I get what you mean by
trapped
. So we’re in some kind of invisible prison?”

“Right. A perfect square, about thirty yards on a side. Air and all other non-living matter can cross the barrier freely, but nothing that is alive can possibly get through—no matter what you try. Believe me.”

Zachary was about to reply when another being who looked like a cross between a human and an Ewok flashed into existence outside the invisible barrier. He wore a robe that was similar to Wyland’s, but was fiery red in color.

“Hirth, have you gone mad!” shouted Wyland at the newcomer. “What have you done?”

“Hello,
Wyland
,” responded Hirth in contempt. “I’d like to say it’s nice to see you, but I’d be lying.”

“If you’re planning to destroy the Earth’s portals,” said Wyland, “you’ll have to answer to the entire Grand Council. They all agreed to the test, and the course we would take if the kids passed it. They’ll banish you from Orum forever, and probably much worse. You may be powerful, but not powerful enough to defeat the entire Council.”

Hirth laughed. “You’re a fool, Wyland. I
am
the Grand Council. But even if I weren’t, we’re all in total agreement. You always were the odd voice out in any discussion. And you’re far too soft. We’ve wanted to push you off the Council for years now.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“Your sense of intuition is a rare gift that has come in handy on several occasions. Not that it’s helped
you
all that much,” he added with a smirk. “So we kept you on the Council. But we also kept you in the dark about key pieces of information.”

Jenna and Zachary could tell Wyland was reeling from Hirth’s words, as though from a physical blow, but he fought off the shock and pain and stared back at Hirth defiantly. “Like what?” he demanded.

“Like the fact that we’ve become aware of another species. One who has been conquering worlds on a direct line that will soon lead them here. A species who can harness magic more powerfully even than we.”

Wyland’s eyes widened in alarm. “What?” he whispered. “And you’ve chosen to keep something this important from our citizens?”

Hirth nodded. “For now,” he replied, his red robe glistening in the light. “Until we can study the situation further. No need to incite panic. But we believe we’re in great danger from this new species. The
last
thing we need now is to deal with the Earth hatching thousands of new portals that are linked to us.”

Wyland shook his head vigorously. “No, Hirth. Just the opposite is true. Humans could be our allies against this new species of magicians. If what you say is accurate, we need the humans more than ever.”