Jenni could see Sara had gained even more muscle tone and strength through her rigorous training. She looked incredible — Jenni was so proud of her!
Her pride in her friend made it even harder to keep her secret of her own training and ability. She had never kept a secret from Sara before, but Ba’ize had stressed the importance of not talking to anyone about it. If word got out somehow, it could cause a panic. Jenni only had to think of Crank’s first reaction to steel herself to the task.
Crank retired to his room early, leaving Jenni and Sara alone in the living room. The two of them laughed and cried and giggled long into the night. Reluctantly, Sara said she had to go back to her barracks, but promised they could get together more often now her initial training had finished.
Jenni hugged her friend again and they arranged to meet for dinner two or three times each week to stay in touch.
As she watched Sara stride down the hallway to the lift, Jenni could hardly believe all the things that had happened to them in the past — what, two months or so? It was simply amazing. She thought of how her summers had been filled in years past: slumber parties, swimming and television had dominated her life. She laughed to herself, now I spend most of my time with a gnome in a crystal tower, and I’m learning how to reshape myself into anything I want! How silly I was to be worried about a little thing like high school!
28
Alisha sat down at the table suspiciously.
Mogritas had pulled out all the stops for this dinner. Servants were everywhere and the table was full of different dishes. The only diners, however, were her, Mogritas, and Mrs. Minch, who seemed impressed at the display.
Alisha was impressed as well, but she knew it meant only one thing: Mogritas wanted something.
She and Mogritas had dined several times since the incident in the dungeon. Each time it had been a simple affair for just the two of them. The first occasion, he explained to her about Lori and Zoe and what had happened to them, and the need to keep them contained. Alisha thought most of what he’d said was true, but she was sure she wasn’t getting the whole story.
Subsequent dinners had been filled with small talk, mostly about Earth and what it was like. Alisha explained how rich her parents were, and Mogritas was suitably impressed. He asked her all kinds of questions about computers, technology, and even things like pollution and government. Alisha would quickly bore of it, but Mogritas was always eager to learn more.
Tonight though, was different. Alisha suspected it was more for Mrs. Minch’s benefit than hers, and it looked to be having the desired effect.
“Good evening,” Mogritas said with a broad smile as he sat at the head of the table. “I hope you are finding everything to your liking.”
“It’s wonderful,” Mrs. Minch replied. “You have been such an excellent host since I arrived. So much better than those filthy Nomen-whatever!”
Mogritas nodded his thanks. “And you, Alisha, how are you tonight?”
Alisha smiled thinly back at him. “Just fine, thank you. This is quite a spread.”
“Nothing but the best for you lovely ladies.”
Mrs. Minch actually blushed at this and Alisha had a hard time hiding a smile. With her green skin, enormous ears and bulbous nose, Mrs. Minch was far from “lovely”, but she seemed to eat up the attention as much as the food on her plate. She even still wore the ridiculous flower print dress she’d had since they left Earth. It had, at least, been cleaned and mended.
They ate quietly, exchanging in occasional small talk until the desserts were brought out. They were small cakes with tiny sculptured confections, made from a hardened syrup, for decoration. They were incredibly sweet and the cake was rich and moist.
“I do have some interesting news,” Mogritas announced. “My sources in Seren’naie have informed me that your daughter, Carrie, did arrive there safely and is being held in the Elvorstrastenai quarter of the city.”
Mrs. Minch gasped. “Oh! I’m so glad to hear she’s okay. Can we go see her? Or bring her here?”
Mogritas frowned slightly. “Unfortunately, that will be difficult. I’m afraid I’m not on very good terms with the leadership of the city and it’s my understanding she is not allowed to leave.”
Mrs. Minch glowered. “They won’t keep me from my daughter, they have no right!”
“Agreed,” Mogritas said smoothly, “which is why I sent my personal guard on a march south to the city this morning. Rest assured Kathy, this act will not go unpunished.”
Mrs. Minch’s eyes flooded with relief. “Oh, thank you, you dear, sweet man! How can I ever repay you?”
Mogritas smiled again. “Actually, there is something I could use your help with.”
Ah, here it comes, Alisha thought.
“I have come across some texts written by a Strodin’i that was employed by dragons, centuries ago. In them, he describes the method for creating a doorway to another world by using elemental spirits. I believe the other world he refers to is Earth.”
Mrs. Minch’s mouth dropped open and Alisha blurted out, “What! You mean we can go back home?”
Mogritas nodded. “I believe it is possible. Mrs. Minch here should be capable of guiding the spirits through the task.”
Alisha was stunned. She had given up all hope of going home.
“What about Carrie?” Mrs. Minch asked. “We’ll have to get her first — I won’t go back without her.”
Mogritas sighed. “That, unfortunately, poses part of the problem, and why I’m asking for help from the two of you.” He pushed his dish aside and it was immediately removed by one of the servants. “Formidable as it is, I don’t believe my guard force will be sufficient to secure the release of your daughter, should it come to a matter of arms — which I believe to be inevitable. We need an additional advantage.”
Alisha was lost. What advantage?
“Assuming you can get the spirits to create the doorway, Kathy, I would ask the two of you, as well as a select group of others, to go to Earth and retrieve some items to use as weapons against Seren’naie.”
Alisha could see Mrs. Minch was also confused. “So you want us to get you, what, guns? Bombs?” Carrie’s mother asked him.
Mogritas shook his head. “No, no. Though those things could possibly help, none of us are versed in their operation or maintenance. Not to mention the possibility they may not even work here. No, I’m looking for something simpler, more foolproof.” Mogritas sat back and continued, “From my conversations with Mr. Kain, and you, Alisha, I’ve learned the creation of all the marvels you describe doesn’t come without cost. In many cases, hazardous, and even deadly, materials result from the manufacture of fuel or power. It is a supply of these poisonous materials I seek.”
Alisha stared at him and struggled to make sense of what he’d said. “So, you want us to go and bring you back some toxic waste? Is that what you’re saying? That’s crazy!”
“I realize it sounds absurd, but I’ve thought this through quite carefully. While the superior weaponry of your world could be of great benefit, it is too complicated to be trusted to work properly here. Your music devices continue to operate, even though you admit they shouldn’t because the, what did you call them…?”
“Batteries,” Alisha said.
“Yes, batteries. These batteries are being powered by something in this world, keeping them from being used up. What if that source of power acted differently with a weapon once it was here? Might it detonate prematurely? That’s not a chance I’m willing to take. But, these hazardous substances don’t have moving parts or power sources. They are simply poisons; toxins that don’t exist here, that can be employed as a threat — leverage, to get Carrie back.”
Alisha and Mrs. Minch sat silently, looking at each other and mulling over what Mogritas had told them. What he said about the weapons did make sense, Alisha decided, and none of them were in the army or anything to even know how to use them anyway. But toxic waste?
“Why would you w
ant to bring that stuff here?” Alisha said at last. “Won’t it be just as bad for the environment here as it is at home?”
Mogritas smiled again. “Of course. I want to avoid using it, if at all possible, but, we must have something that can tip the balance in our favor.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Mrs. Minch said. “We go back, find some hazardous stuff and bring it here so we can get Carrie back, then we are free to go back to Earth?”
Mogritas nodded. “Kathy, you are a delight! To boil everything down so simply and succinctly — yes, that’s it exactly. I see no other reliable way to retrieve your daughter. In addition, you will be doing your own world a service by ridding it of a quantity of this waste material and bringing it here. What could be wrong with that?”
Alisha doubted Mogritas’s sincerity about his unwillingness to use the dangerous chemicals, but what would it matter once they were back home? This whole place could be used as a toxic waste dump for all she cared.
“How can you be sure the people in the city won’t release Carrie?” Mrs. Minch asked.
Mogritas wore a sad expression. “The Nomenstrastenai in that village had you bound and drugged without a thought. Seren’naie will act no different I’m afraid.”
Mrs. Minch nodded to herself, then looked to Mogritas with determination in her eyes. “All right, what do we need to do?”
29
Jenni groaned in frustration. “I can’t do it!”
She had been making excellent progress in the past few days. She could reshape portions of herself much easier and even make them stay with minimal effort. The next step Ba’ize wanted her to try was to transform into things bigger or smaller than herself.
The theory, as Ba’ize had explained it, was that Jenni had a certain amount of stuff — she remembered Ms. Pap using the term “mass” — and her mass couldn’t be destroyed, but it could be altered. So if, for instance, she wanted to change into a mouse, she couldn’t just get rid of the extra mass, but she could change it into, say, air, that remained connected to herself.
It had taken a lot of time and concentration, but she had begun to get the hang of it and could make herself much smaller by displacing an amount of her mass into the air around her. She had even made herself into a presentable copy of Crank one day that had fooled Ba’ize momentarily. Jenni had been proud of herself for that one.
Becoming something bigger, with more mass than she had, was, in theory, the same only in reverse. Ba’ize had said she should be able to pull mass from things around her and temporarily add it to herself to form something larger. The problem was that it felt different to Jenni. The air and such that she “created” when she got smaller still felt like her, and she could manipulate it. Other things outside herself didn’t feel the same way and she just couldn’t figure out how to reach out and change them.
When she created wings, she pulled the mass from her own body. To change into an elephant, however, with its full weight and strength, was beyond her.
“Let’s take a break,” Ba’ize offered.
“You’re disappointed in me,” Jenni said dejectedly.
“Not at all,” Ba’ize replied. “If anything I am disappointed in myself. I do not have the experience necessary to teach you more about your ability. I know only from ancient texts what I’ve described is possible, but they don’t explain how it is done.”
Jenni sighed and let her gaze wander outside. Some large clouds were gathering and it looked like they were in for a storm later. Crank was off running errands for Ba’ize and Jenni hoped he could finish before the storm arrived. Just then, Rodrin rose up into the room.
“Excuse me, sir,” he apologized, “but I have a couple of people you two should probably see.”
Ba’ize nodded to Rodrin. “Of course, please bring them up.”
Rodrin lowered himself down and returned shortly with a small Nomenstrastenai girl, and a tiny flying Faerstrastenai that immediately sped over to Jenni and landed on her shoulder, hugging her neck.
“Oh, Jenni! I’m so glad to see you!” the Faerstrastenai said in a soft voice that sounded familiar.
Jenni let the hug continue for a few seconds, then offered her hand to step onto so she could see the Faerstrastenai face to face. She apologized and buzzed to Jenni’s hand. Jenni thought first of Rachael, but her features and hair were different.
“Deena!” Jenni exclaimed. “Oh my gosh! I wish I could hug you back!”
Deena laughed. “Me too!”
“Deena, this is Ba’ize. He’s the Mayor of Seren’naie.”
Deena performed a curtsey midair and Ba’ize smiled. “A pleasure to meet you Deena,” he said. “And who has come along with you?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Deena ushered the girl forward. “This is Feeder, she’s from Crank’s village.”
The girl sniffled and bowed to both Ba’ize and Jenni. As she straightened, Jenni saw tears in her eyes. She had blonde hair, like Crank, and wore a simple tan dress, typical of her people, but it was soiled and torn. She also looked incredibly tired. Jenni then recalled this was the girl she had seen tending the tamed birds in the village while they were there.
Jenni looked back to Deena. “What’s happened? How did you get here?”
Deena proceeded to tell the story of the transformations of Mrs. Minch, Mike, and Scott and the subsequent attack on the village. The Gobinstratstorai had arrived and camped around the village for two or three days, then somehow managed to destroy the defense mechanism that protected the Nomenstrastenai. Deena and Feeder had been able to slip out during the battle and hide. The next day when they had seen the devastation of the village, the two had decided to follow the trail of Ms. Pap and the class, and make their way to Seren’naie, not knowing where else to go.
Feeder began to cry and Jenni sat on the floor, holding her. Ba’ize sat in a chair, trying to make sense of their story.
A few minutes later, Crank arrived back from his errands, and the painful tale was relayed to him. Feeder ran to him and Crank absently comforted her while he sat in shock at the realization that his mother and father were dead.
“It’s all our fault,” Jenni said later. “If we weren’t here, none of this would have happened.”
Ba’ize shook his head. “Many events are unfolding that none of us can control Jenni. You must remember that. The attack on their village was no more your fault than those storm clouds outside. The only thing we can do is pick up the pieces and help those that we can.”
Jenni nodded, though still saddened by this turn of events. Crank’s people had helped them, and even though they had turned the rest of them out, the village had nursed Deena and the others back to health — only to be set upon by the same enemies that had chased Jenni and the others to the forest. Jenni understood what Ba’ize had said, but she couldn’t help but feel responsible for what had happened.
* * * *
Rodrin offered to find the newcomers quarters, but Feeder refused to leave Crank’s side, so Jenni decided the two of them should stay with her and Crank for the time being. They ate dinner in the apartment while a thunderstorm raged outside, and Jenni told Deena the story of all that had happened since they had parted ways.
Crank had finally gotten the distraught Feeder to sleep in his bed, and he brought a blanket into the living area and sat on one of the chairs. His eyes were red from crying.
Jenni moved over next to him and sat on the floor. She took his hand and held it. “Are you going to be okay?”
Crank nodded slowly. “All the time I’ve been gone, I never thought about going back. But, now that everyone is gone, going back is all I can think about.”
Jenni hugged him then and said, “I miss my mom and dad so much. I’ve been so busy training and practicing I haven’t had much time to think about home … but it’s hard. I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again.”
Crank returned her hug and they sat quietly together. Deena came over and kissed each of them lightly on the cheek
and said her good nights. Lightning flashed occasionally through the crystal doorway leading to their balcony. The rain had let up, but thunder continued to crash.
Jenni squeezed Crank one last time and stood up. She picked up her MP3 player and clipped it to her waist, thinking maybe some music would help her sleep and forget.
As she crossed the room to her door, lightning flashed blindingly outside on the balcony, accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder. Jenni held her head in her hands and fell to the floor. Her ears rang and she tried to blink the flash spots from her eyes.
Crank staggered over to check on her. Jenni nodded to him, but if he said something, she didn’t hear it. She looked up and, outside on the balcony railing, a single flame blazed in a small pit created by the lightning strike.
Feeder came into the room, frightened awake by the noise, and Crank went to see if she was all right. Deena flew to her as well after seeing Jenni was okay. Once most of the spots were gone from Jenni’s vision, she got up and walked to the crystal doors. Opening them, she was met with a gust of wind and spattering of raindrops.
Stone chips littered the floor of the balcony and were sharp on her bare feet. She bent down to pull one from her foot when the small flame leapt the distance from the railing, straight to the MP3 player at her hip. Jenni yelped in surprise.
“Jenni, what’s wrong?” Crank shouted from inside.
The flame was gone and Jenni hadn’t felt any pain. “Nothing,” she called back. “I’m okay, just got startled.”
Jenni brushed another chip from her foot and stepped back inside, closing the door. She turned on her MP3 player and put a bud to her ear. She thumbed the dial to select a song and was rewarded with a burst of static.
“Perfect,” Jenni said in disgust and reached up to pull out the bud when she heard a voice through the static.
“Jenni! Can you hear me?” It was hard to make out through all the white noise, but it sounded female.