Quantum (21 page)

“So, you are basically saying that I, for example, would have to give up being with Arizona if I decide to accept Sigma-W training?” Kellan asked.

“Not necessarily,” replied Amadea. “It depends on how willing your potential partner is to adapt to your lifestyle. In the case of Rupert, for instance, he had to give up being a Sigma-W because Olivia would never have accepted that, not at that time anyway. Kellan, I don’t feel that this is the right time for either you or Harry to make a grave decision like this. It is just important for you both to know your potential in case of unexpected complications.”

“What kind of
unexpected complications
?” Larry practically shouted. “Inez, I’m so disappointed in you. All these years we’ve been so close. Not just you and I, but Morgana, as well. How could you have kept this from me?”

“Larry, I’d like to talk to you about this later,” Inez said.

 
Larry whispered, “I promise to keep my voice down. Please, Inez.”

“Larry, I had no choice. It was really up to Catherine. If she had wanted to reveal herself, she would have asked for the Sigma-W council’s permission to do so.”

“She did, Inez,” Amadea confirmed. “We had a meeting planned to discuss it, but she passed before it took place.”

“Why didn’t you tell me after?” Larry persisted.

 
“There was no need. What difference would it have made to your life?” Amadea retorted. “We’d every intention of telling Kellan when he was ready and when it was appropriate to do so. He’s been ready for a while, but there has been no need or reason to tell him. He’s a happy, well-adjusted teen living a full and happy life.”

“And you’re telling us now because both of us may be in danger from the subversive Sigma-W element, what are they called again?” Harry asked.

“The Sigma-W-Pi, the pi stands for Potomal,” Rupert confirmed.

“And he’s got Arizona?” Kellan asked. “You know that for sure?”

Amadea nodded.

“Mommy, can you come up to bed with me?” Ella asked, coming back in to the room. “I’m tired.”

Olivia nodded and took her upstairs.

“Look, enough wasting time!” David groaned. “Please let me go and try to find her. Mom?”

“Constance, I think we should. We have no other options at the moment, at least until we hear from Potomal,” Inez responded.

“David, please let me come,” Kellan pleaded.

David nodded. “Mom?”

“Yes, go ahead, David. And you have our permission to take Kellan, though I feel it would be better to take him once you have established exactly
where
Arizona is. No point exhausting your energy reserves. Can you understand that, Kellan?”

“Yes, of course. Will you come back and get me once you know?”

David nodded and prepared to transport.

“David, remember the system we worked out. Follow it to the letter and report back to me after every four transports,” Inez reminded him, as he closed his eyes, curved his back and disappeared.

“He’ll be fine, Inez,” Constance reassured her as she hugged her friend.

“Now what?” Harry asked.

Amadea announced, “I’m going to wander back to Spencer, your grandfather, to find out if there is any further news and we’ll take it from there. Constance will take care of things here until I get back. I’ll go upstairs and bid Olivia goodbye before I go.”

 
“Can I come, Gramadea? I would love to meet Granddad,” Harry asked.

Amadea looked over at Rupert and then nodded. “Come with me.”

~

“You’re what?” Olivia whispered, shocked.

“Mom, it’ll be fine. I’ll be right back with Gramadea. I want to meet Granddad. Don’t worry, I’m not going to join the Sigma-Ws or anything,” Harry assured her.

“I guess you’ll be safest with them,” Olivia admitted. “You must return back with Amadea, understand?”

“Olivia, you have my word. I’ll be back with him as soon as I’ve found out from Spencer what’s going on. They’re bound to have some news by now.”

“Mom,” Ella whispered sleepily, disturbed by the voices. Olivia felt Harry kissing the top of her head, but he had disappeared along with Amadea before she had fully turned around. Another child had
wandered
off.
 
Olivia felt completely vulnerable; she seemed to have lost all control. How could she have let this happen?

A
s the bright rays shone through the skylight, waking me up to a new Paris morning, I felt both excited and apprehensive. I breathed in the Paris air. The fresh smell of baguettes made my stomach grumble.

Last night had been weird, to say the least. Parading about like royalty, being introduced to a bunch of strangers, all while wearing a tiara. Bizarre. My evening with Luna had obviously been slightly different from the one that Simla and Justin had spent with Madison and Olivier. That was evident from the gear they were both wearing when they arrived at the reception. Justin had been less than forthcoming about what they’d been through. All he’d said was that he’d gone and worked out! That explained the gear. Anyway, it was time to find out
exactly
what they’d been up to.

I got up and wrapped myself in the oversized white terry bathrobe hanging on the hook in the bathroom and walked over and banged on Justin’s door. There was no reply, so I opened it and peered inside. He was clearly gone, his bed neatly made. I found the situation to be the same in Simla’s room. She was gone as well. I walked into her room and checked her wardrobe. It was full of clothes; I hoped that they were coming back. I had to know what was going on with them. So, for now, I was alone in this big apartment. I went over to the kitchen and gulped down some cereal–even though a basket of fresh, warm baguette slices had been left out–before I went back to my room to get dressed. Since I had no idea what the day would bring, I’d no idea what to wear. Was I expected to do the
royal
thing again?

I walked into a tidied bedroom. The bed had been made up, the heavy auburn velvet coverlet neatly covered the mattress again. The pillows had been plumped and placed neatly against the headboard. My conundrum about what to wear was instantly dissipated when I saw the selected outfit carefully placed on the bed for me. I jumped into the space-age shower and lingered there for a while, enjoying the warm spray of water against my skin. When I finally decided to end my water relaxation time, I wrapped myself in a thick, warmed towel and went back into the bedroom to get dressed. The clothes were simple–a pair of black yoga pants, a plain red t-shirt and a black zip-top hoodie. I put them on and stepped into the black MTBs waiting for me by the door. A workout day? That would suit me just fine. Hopefully I’d run into Simla and Justin at some point.

The door to my bedroom opened and Luna peeked in. “May I come in, Your Highness?”

“Luna, you promised to call me Arizona in private. Remember? And yeah, come on in,” I said, plunking myself on the bed. “So, what are we doing today? Any chance I can go home now?”

“I have an exciting day planned for you. First, I thought we could take a walk down to the Eiffel Tower and get you those crepes you were telling me about. I have a fondness for them myself. Then, I thought we could walk down to Swan Ally Island where one of the replicas of the Statue of Liberty stands. It’s a bit of a walk, hence the sneakers,” she added with a smile.

“That sounds very pleasant, but I’d like to see Simla and Justin,” I insisted.

“That’s on our schedule as well,” Luna replied happily. “After our visit to the Statue, we’ll head over to our training facility at Versailles, where Simla and Justin have been based for the day. They have their meditation segment scheduled for this afternoon. You may join them for that. I know that you are keen to spend some time alone with them, so I’ve arranged for you to have some time before dinner tonight.”

That sounded like a plan. “And when do I get some real answers, like when do I get to go back home?”

“You’ll be taken to London tomorrow and will have an audience with Potomal at his convenience. He’ll deal with your questions. In the meantime, today, continue to enjoy our hospitality.”

The walk to the Eiffel Tower took forever, I was happy to be wearing sneakers. We didn’t stop at any of the many street vendors who lined the Seine banks. We walked passed the Louvre and the Jardins des Tuileries. We didn’t stop to sit and soak up the atmosphere like I usually did when we visited here. Instead we walked briskly by. I thought Luna might have taken an opportunity to show off her knowledge and educate me, but she didn’t. She seemed to be engrossed in her own thoughts and didn’t say much as we walked.
 
We stopped at the crepe stand by the Eiffel Tower and munched down on sugar-filled, warm crepes and washed them down with water.

“What’s up, Luna? You seem distracted.”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. Not something that concerns you anyway. It’ll get sorted.”

“That sounds a bit mysterious,” I persisted.

“Are you ready to walk on? If you’re tired, we can take a taxi.”

“Luna, what’s the point in all this? This sightseeing? I’ve been here before, so it’s all been-there-done-that for me. Why not just cut to the chase and head to London?” I asked, getting more and more frustrated as I voiced my thoughts. This was beyond ridiculous– being on
vacation
with my captor.

“If this is not to your liking, I can transport you to London now. My father won’t be available until tomorrow, though. I can arrange for Stan to entertain you until then. We thought you’d be happier here, in Paris, with your friends until they were ready to travel as well.”

Hmm, I did want to talk to Simla and Justin. “Why can’t they come to London now?”

“They have a meditation segment to master before they go tomorrow. We thought you might like to join them for that. We can head over now, if you want to. That’s if you don’t want to head to the Statue of Liberty first.”

I got over the Statue of Liberty when I was about six! Pretty amazing as it is, living in New Jersey, I have experienced the Liberty sights from all angles possible, even a bird’s-eye view from a helicopter. And Mom had made sure that I had experienced the Liberty Statues in Paris, as well, during my previous visits. The one on Swan Ally was actually my favorite; the view of the Eiffel Tower behind it was breathtaking. However, like I said before, been there, done that. I certainly didn’t feel like doing it again with Luna.

“So?” Luna asked.

“So, let’s head over to Simla and Justin. Where are they?”