She glanced around. “Let’s not talk here. How’s your house?”
“Empty. I’ve already called Cindy to meet us there.”
Reaching out, Ali gave him a hug, although she imagined he would have preferred a kiss. Steve had had a crush on her since he had discovered girls were not the same as boys. “You’re a master,” she whispered in his ear.
He beamed. “A high compliment coming from someone like you. Or should I say, a queen like you.”
Ali forced a smile, while feeling pain in her heart. She loved being queen of the fairies, being special, having power, but she hated it as well because it separated her from those she loved. It made it difficult for her to hang out with her friends, to just be silly, to just be Ali Warner. Those who knew who she was could not look at her without staring; those who did not could never really know her at all. Her father fell into the latter category. Since she had returned from the mountain—with her hair as bright red as a flame—she had spent as much time with him as usual, fixing his meals, begging him to sleep more, washing his clothes, and yet she had sensed him sensing that she had changed in some inexplicable way. For sure, she was no longer his little girl.
How would she and her mother get along when they finally met again? Ali did not know; she feared even to find out. They had been apart for more than a year, and so much had changed in that time. From the hints her mother had dropped, Ali could only assume her mother had known she was a fairy. But Ali wasn’t a hundred percent sure about that, and if her mother didn’t know . . . well, then, they would have a terrible time communicating, particularly if she saw that her daughter’s method of putting out the garbage was simply to incinerate it with her eyes. She had done that once, for fun.
Worse, Ali could not see herself far in the future, older, and married with her own children . . . Because the truth was, she could not imagine it. She couldn’t even see herself in the present with a boyfriend . . . Because she could not see herself as a girlfriend . . . Because she was not a girl . . . Not really.
“Watch your tongue,” she said to Steve. “We’re in a public place.”
“Cindy’s probably on her way. Can you leave now?”
She hesitated. “Sure.”
They headed for the door. Images of the old guy in the barbershop continued to haunt her. She had no idea who he might have been. Nemi? She had always pictured him as a kindly wizard. Definitely, the two times they had spoken, she had been overwhelmed by his love. But the guy in the barbershop had given off scary vibes . . .
Ali debated whether he had knocked her unconscious or simply vanished before her eyes. The question was important because it led to another question. Was he from this world or the elemental world?
“Still struggling to feed Farble and Paddy?” Steve asked, when they were outside.
Ali nodded. “It’s a full-time job.”
“Why do you keep them at your house? Isn’t the Baker place still empty?”
“When my dad’s out of town, I prefer to keep them close. You know the two don’t get along.”
“Is Farble still trying to eat Paddy?”
“He paws him occasionally, but it’s not that. I feel bad for them. I think they’re lonely.” She paused. “I spoke to them about going back to the elemental world. They got upset.”
Steve stopped in midstride. “You’re sending them back?”
“Yes.”
Steve was astounded. “Do you know how to send them back?”
“I have some ideas.”
“That’s vague.” He paused. “Have you figured out how to use the Yanti?”
The question caused Ali to pause. It was odd because Steve knew she had used the Yanti a month ago to send the elemental army back to their realm. But since then she had barely spoken to her friends about it, partly because she felt uncomfortable talking about it, partly because she had nothing to report. After a month of fiddling with it, she had only a vague idea of how the Yanti worked, and absolutely no idea of where it had come from.
“Not exactly,” she replied.
“Then how will you return them to the elemental world?”
“Let’s talk about it at your house,” she said.
Steve gave her a look, and for a moment she wondered how he saw her. Was she beautiful in his eyes? Like a queen? All she knew for sure was that she was taller than him by two inches, and that ever since she had used the Yanti that one time, her long hair was as bright red as her eyes were green. Steve had once written a poem about her eyes, had called them lost emeralds, which she supposed was a compliment. In the same piece he had described her oval face as a hallway mirror, and her button nose as a small period at the end of a long and moving sentence. Obviously he was into metaphors. But when it had come to her mouth, he had just said that it was wild and alive. Fair enough; she hoped it was as alive as the rest of her.
Steve had lost weight since their adventure up on Pete’s Peak, not enough to transform him into a track star, but enough to reveal that his round face was not merely pleasant, but handsome. He had blue eyes—they usually looked as if they were laughing—and he wore his straight blond hair close to his scalp, almost in a buzz.
When they reached Steve’s house, Cindy was waiting on the porch. Her best friend had also changed since their big adventure. Before, Cindy had been what some might have called talkative, but whom most would have referred to as an airhead. It was still a fact that Cindy liked to talk, but nowadays it seemed as if she considered the impact of her remarks before she spoke. Up on the mountain, Cindy had almost had her throat cut by Karl, and Ali suspected that the near brush with death had changed her friend in more ways than Cindy let on.
Cindy was shorter than Ali, but her blond hair was long and curly. Like Steve, she had a quick laugh and plenty of friends, and her dark blue eyes lit up when she was having fun, making her appear dizzy. Yet Ali had noticed that since coming back from their trip, Cindy was not nearly as sociable. She stayed home a lot more, and read, or else came over to hang out with Ali. It was as if the things she had seen on top of the mountain had shaken her view of the universe.
The truth was, none of them were the same, and that was probably both good and bad. Good because it was always good to know what was real, and bad because reality itself was not necessarily a friend to them . . . or anyone else. The universe was not cruel, Ali thought, it was just indifferent.
Steve let them into his house, and fifteen minutes later they were sitting at his kitchen table, drinking strong coffee and eating bearclaws. The latter were from a bakery in town that Steve visited at least three times a week. All their pastries were excellent.
“I suppose you’re both wondering what I found on Karl’s computer,” Steve said finally, between mouthfuls.
“Dying to know,” Cindy said. “Stop eating and start talking.”
“Just a second,” Ali said. “There’s something I have to tell you. Officer Garten swung by my house this morning and asked about Karl. I gave him the usual runaround, but he said both of you had admitted that you had gone hiking during the same days Karl disappeared—June sixth and seventh. Is that true?”
“We had no choice,” Cindy said. “Our parents knew we went hiking, and Garten talked to them as well.”
“We couldn’t just act stupid,” Steve added. “That worked for you because your father was out of town during most of our trip.”
Ali nodded. “I’m not here to yell at you guys. I just would have preferred to know is all.”
“He came over just before he went to your place,” Cindy said. “Then my parents started grilling me about Karl. I didn’t have a chance to warn you.”
“Same here,” Steve said. “My mom only left half an hour ago, just before I ran down to the market to get you.”
Ali frowned. “Garten might end up being a bigger problem than I thought.”
“Any idea how to make him back down?” Cindy asked.
Steve chuckled. “Show him Karl’s body.”
 
; “Not a bad idea,” Ali muttered.
Steve snorted. “I was joking!”
Ali stared at him. “I’m not. Karl kidnapped my mother. When I see him again, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. But you can be sure, whatever it is, he’s not going to hurt any of us again.”
Her remark weighed heavily on the room. Finally Cindy spoke to Steve.
“Tell us what was on his computer,” she said.
“Don’t you want to know how I broke into it?” he asked.
“Nope,” Ali and Cindy said at the same time.
Steve sipped his coffee. “At first glance his files looked pretty ordinary. He had folders for homework assignments. He had downloaded a lot of information on different sports teams. He had tons of notes on what it would take to run his father’s businesses—in the event his father was not around.”
“Do you think he was planning to kill him?” Cindy asked.
“I don’t know. But for a kid, he sure was prepared for the old man to keel over. Anyway, things got interesting when I dug into copies of his e-mails. He probably thought he had erased them all. There were signs he had tried to destroy them. But if you know where to look, you can often find what is called a ghost record. That’s a copy that doesn’t show up on a simple search, but which the hard drive has not actually copied over. It was in the ghost records that I found he had been e-mailing a person named Shak666.”
“Who is that?” Ali asked, very alert.
Shak . . . Shaktra?
From what she understood from talking to Lord Vak—who was no less than the king of the elves—it was the Shaktra that was driving the elementals to attack humanity.
“I’m not sure,” Steve said, reaching for a paper. “Whoever it was, they always signed their e-mails with the letter ‘S’. The e-mails are all brief. I’m sure that’s on purpose. It makes it hard to know what they’re saying.” Clearing his throat, Steve began to read from his notes. “KarlKan says: ‘Have taken care of business and made delivery as you ordered. Let me know of your progress.’ Shak666 replies: ‘Progress continues, no need to ask. Keep attention on Subject.’ A month later KarlKan writes: ‘Subject is boring. Will die in ignorance.’ Shak666 replies: ‘Subject is dangerous. Do not underestimate.’ Six months later, KarlKan writes: ‘Request permission to destroy Subject.’ Shak666 replied: ‘Do not harm Subject! Important!’ Finally, about a month ago, KarlKan wrote: ‘Subject is awaking. Visiting wrong place at wrong time. Permission to destroy?’ Shak666 replied: ‘Accompany to Doorway, if Subject allows. Do not harm until Power is secure.’ ”
They sat a moment in silence. Then Ali asked, “Is that all?”
“That’s all I was able to retrieve,” Steve said. “But I’m sure they exchanged more e-mails. Those ones must have been permanently erased.”
Ali held out a hand. “Let me see.” Steve handed over the copies of the e-mails. Ali studied them a minute. “The words ‘subject,’ ‘power,’ and ‘doorway’ are capitalized.”
“I think the Subject must be you,” Steve said.
Ali nodded. “The Power might be the Yanti. The Doorway might refer to it as well.”
“I agree,” Steve said. “I’m sure Karl planned to kill you the moment he had it in his hands.”
“Did you get an IPN number on Shak666?” Ali asked.
Steve nodded. “I was able to trace it to a corporation, not a person. It belongs to Omega Overtures.”
Cindy was puzzled. “Are they the ones who make the video games?”
“Exactly,” Steve said, showing excitement. “And get this—their headquarters are located in Toule. You must have heard of the place, it’s a small town on the other side of Pete’s Peak. That can’t be a coincidence. The president of the company is named Sheri Smith.”
“A woman,” Cindy said. “But she signed her e-mails with only one ‘S’.”
“She might have thought it was enough,” Ali said, still thinking of the spellings of “Shak” and “Shaktra.”
Cindy nodded. “When we were up on the mountain, right after we found out who Karl really was, he said he didn’t kill you for all these complex reasons. Now we can see he was just doing what he was told.”
“It sure sounds like this Shak666 has him on a tight leash,” Steve said.
“When was the e-mail sent that refers to a delivery?” Ali asked Steve.
“A little over a year ago.”
Cindy gasped. “Could it have been your mom, Ali?”
She shook her head weakly. “I don’t know.”
“That reference—if it is to your mother—is not bad news,” Steve said. “It means they have her, and that they’ve made accommodations for her.”
“You mean they found a prison for her?” Cindy said.
Steve shrugged. “What matters is that she is still alive. Right, Ali?”
Ali nodded, spoke in a soft voice. “You’ve done great work, Steve. I’m grateful.”
“Don’t be. I love your mother, the whole town does. Now we just have to find her and bring her back home.”
“What do you suggest?” Cindy said.
“It’s obvious,” Steve said. “We have to go to Toule and check out this company, and their president.”
“Easier said than done,” Cindy said.
“It won’t be too hard with the queen of the fairies on our team,” Steve said, a note of pride in his voice. But Ali shook her head.
“I do not feel my mother is in Toule,” she said. “I do not feel her anywhere.”
“But you said Karl was telling the truth when he said she was alive?” Cindy said.
“She can be alive and not be on the Earth.” Ali added, “I think he has her captive in the elemental realm.”
Steve saw where she was heading, looked worried. “So when you return Paddy and Farble to their homes, you plan on accompanying them?” he asked.
“Paddy and Farble are leaving?” Cindy asked, surprised.
“Yes,” Ali said, answering them both.
Another long silence. Cindy broke it. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to go on that kind of trip,” she said.
“I’m not asking you to,” Ali said.
“Wait a second,” Steve said. “We’re all in this together. You’re not going anywhere without us. If you feel you have to enter the elemental kingdom, then we’re going with you. But I think it’s a mistake. No disrespect to your intuition, but this lead on Omega Overtures is real. Karl was writing to someone at that company and they were telling him what to do.”
“The lead is strong,” Ali agreed. “Your work on Karl’s computer wasn’t wasted. Let’s go to Toule this afternoon. Let’s check out the bus schedules. I think there’s one that leaves at two o’clock.” Ali paused. “But you have to understand, Toule is one thing, and the elemental kingdom is something else altogether.”
“What do you mean?” Cindy asked.
Ali sighed. “I know I have to go there, and not just to find my mother. We made Lord Vak back down on top of Pete’s Peak. That was great. But he hasn’t changed his mind about invading the Earth. The elementals are still coming. I can’t let that happen. But I can’t stop it from happening by sitting here and waiting for them to make the next move. I have to go on the offensive.”
“What will you do in their world?” Steve asked.
“I’ll figure that out when I get there.”
“But you say you don’t even know how to make the Yanti work,” Steve said.
“She got it to work before,” Cindy said.
“I might not need the Yanti to get to the elementals,” Ali said. “The seven doors we encountered when we were in the cave—each of them leads to a different kingdom.”
“How do you know that?” Steve asked.
Ali stared at him. “By logic. The third door was yellow, and it was open. When we went through it, we stayed here, we did not enter another dimension. It was that door that led us to the top of the mountain.”
“I hope your logical argument has more to i
t than that,” Steve said.
“It does, but the major part of it, neither of you remember, and it’s not something I’ve discussed with you. You see, the first time we reached the seven doors, we did not take the third one, the yellow door. We took the first one, the red door.”
They stared at her like she had lost her mind.
“What first time?” Steve finally asked. “We only went there once.”
“Twice,” Ali said.
“Ali,” Cindy said. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I tried to explain these things when we were on top of the mountain, Cindy. I even tried to explain it to Karl. None of you, including Paddy and Farble, remember the first time, but it did happen. There’s a reason you don’t. The first time we reached the seven doors, I insisted we take the red one. None of you wanted to, especially Paddy, but I bullied you guys into it, and in the end you followed me. But the tunnel eventually dead-ended in a deep chasm, and suddenly we heard an army of dwarves approaching from behind us.” She paused. “Using a rope, I managed to crawl across the black hole, but the rest of you didn’t make it.”
“What do you mean, we didn’t make it?” Cindy asked.
“You died,” Ali replied.
Steve snorted. “We didn’t die! None of this happened!”
“It did happen—in another timeline. You see, the dark fairies live on the other side of the red door. Other creatures might live there as well, I don’t know, but the place is like hell. There’s fire and smoke and pain and . . . it’s just too awful to describe. But trust me when I say I’ve been there, deep in that realm. It was there I passed the last of the tests that allowed me to realize that I’m the queen of the fairies. It was there I met the queen of the dark fairies, a creature named Radrine. She tortured me, tried to get the secrets of the Yanti out of me, but I managed to escape and return to the seven doors. But before that I realized something amazing: Beyond the red door, time flowed backwards. The whole time I was there, my watch went in reverse. So did your watch, Cindy.”
“I don’t remember any of this,” Cindy said.
“Because I came back and stopped you guys—no, I stopped myself, from going through the red door! It’s complicated, I know, and I don’t pretend to understand how or why time flows backwards there. It might have something to do with the fact that it’s like hell. The beings that live there are all going backwards—in evolution. That’s a theory of mine, but it doesn’t matter, it might be wrong. What does matter is that the different colored doors lead into different dimensions.”