The Lost Witch (22 page)

She couldn't focus. Just breathing was a struggle. Pressure built in her head. Blood
throbbed in her ears. Searing bolts of pain careened through her skull.

A thought bubbled into her mind.
Use the pain.

"The pain?" she gasped. "How can I use the pain?"

Not only was there stabbing pain but there was also sound--the sound of her blood
rushing through her veins. She concentrated on that sound, allowing the noise to grow and grow
until it overwhelmed the pain, until it became a roaring waterfall.

She visualized herself plunging into the current, yielding to its pressure, allowing it to
carry her deeper and deeper within until she reached her own center. Until she was awash in the
force of her heart's powerful contractions.

But there was something besides the rhythmic pumping. Between her heartbeats reigned
a silence equally as powerful as the sound of her flowing blood, but completely the
opposite.

A silence that streamed with her blood. A silence that spread throughout her body,
reached her skin and continued beyond, connecting to, linking her to--

"That's it!"

An instant later Carole was standing before her companions. Her legs were weak and
rubbery and her body was trembling. Her knees buckled.

"You're pale as a ghost!" Lilly grabbed her before she could hit the ground. "And as cold
as ice. What happened?"

"Got hung up." Carole slumped heavily on the ground. "I'm okay though. Better than
okay, 'cause now I know!"

Zack grinned at Martin. "Look on the bright side, it couldn't possibly get any--"

"In case you haven't noticed, each time we've jumped to another dimension has been
worse than the one before. Let's just try to get the job done, all right?" Martin said. "Find that
connector thing and send it and Carole packing. Then maybe I'll be able to enjoy a real holiday
on a real beach, where all I have to worry about is what I'm going to have for lunch. Not who's
trying to have me for lunch!"

"I'm for that," Carole said with a big yawn, as she joined them. "The sooner we get this
dimension hooked up, the better. How long have I been asleep?"

"Since yesterday afternoon," Martin said.

"That long? What happened?"

Zack said. "After the tunnel spit us out, we got clear of the fog--"

"And its stomach churning effects."

"None of us threw up this time," Lilly said with pride.

"But you never followed," Zack continued. "We waited and waited, and then Runt got
really upset and we figured the tunnel had finally collapsed."

"And then hours later, you appeared out of the blue," Lilly said. "First, you told us you
were caught by something, and then you fell asleep."

Carole shuddered, recalling her latest escape. "I got stuck," she finally answered.
"Trapped."

"Trapped? But the tunnel was open for hours."

"Not on my side. At least not where I was."

Zack whistled. "How'd you get away from those demons? There's no way the flower
light could have lasted more than a few minutes."

"They weren't the problem," Carole studied her fingers. "I jumped off the cliff same as
you guys. I just never reached the tunnel. I was grabbed in midair."

Lilly's eyes grew wide. "By what?"

Carole shrugged. "It was as dark and unpleasant as the rest of that place, only more so.
More sinister and cold." She shrugged her shoulders again. "As far as I could tell, it was just
plain evil."

"Did one of those demons grab you?" Martin said.

"I don't know. I think it was in charge of the place, though, maybe even that whole
dimension."

"So how'd you get away?" Lilly said. "And what did that thing do to you?"

"In a bizarre sort of way, it helped me out. Not on purpose, of course. It was trying to
kill me, or take control of me; maybe both. I had no choice but to multitask. Maybe I don't really
need the tunnels after all."

"So now you can jump anywhere you want to?" Zack said.

"I think so."

"Then you can find the connector right now." Martin beamed. "You don't need us,
anymore."

"Not quite. I have a sense of the general area, but I still haven't the foggiest what it looks
like or how to fix it. Your guess is as good as mine. And there's still the problem of crashing into
other dimensions. If that happens while I'm gone, you guys will be on your own."

Martin's face blanched. "I don't much like the idea of that."

"Then I suppose we really should be going," Lilly said.

"Reet!" Runt had been quietly listening to the discussion. Now he stood up, stretched,
and headed down the path.

"Well, one good thing anyway," Zack said, as Carole hefted their only remaining pack.
"We don't have a whole lot of gear to slow us down."

"So why didn't you tell us about soft-walking and all that other multitasking stuff in the
first place?" Zack said, after Carole had provided more details of her abilities. "Why'd ya keep it
such a big secret?"

"They used to burn multitaskers," she explained, "or at least try to. And just being hired
help on the farm was bad enough."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Martin agreed.

"How could you know anything about it?" Zack scoffed. "You went to prep
school."

"Because I don't have a lot of friends at the academy. In fact I don't have any real friends
there at all. I'm not exactly what you'd consider part of the in crowd."

"The monobrain way," Zack shook his head. "You're either with us or you're dog
meat."

"There's still one thing I still don't get," Lilly said. "What was it that startled the dragon
before Little Flamer turned up to help you escape?"

Carole examined the fresh scorch marks on the head of her Staff. "I've no idea, but
whatever it was gave me a pretty good shock."

"A stray lightning bolt from the tunnel?" Zack suggested.

"Possibly." Carole pushed through some brush and saw a paved road beyond.

"What's that?" Martin was staring at a weed-choked lane opposite the road.

"That's what I call easy street!" Zack said. "No more hiking through the hills for
us."

They followed the lane for the rest of the morning, eventually coming to a barricade,
completely overgrown with vines and weeds, beyond which the road ended.

"So much for the easy way," Lilly said.

Carole pointed past the barricade. "Why dig up a road that's already abandoned? Seems
like a lot of work for nothing."

"Here's something." Martin pushed back some bushes to reveal a sign. "It used to say
'The village of East's End, population 650,' but someone's painted over it. Now it says 'The End
is Near!'"

"East's End?" Lilly said. "Never heard of it."

"Probably means we're getting close to the ocean." Martin smiled wistfully. "Maybe I'll
get to see it after all!"

"So long as another dimension doesn't scoop us up first," Zack said.

After they had walked a couple more hours, the countryside turned from rugged to
rolling, with an occasional farmhouse dotting the landscape. At one dwelling they saw an elderly
man working a garden. He watched silently for a time, until they were close enough for him to
get a good look at Runt. At that point he raised his fist, shouted threateningly and ran to his
house.

"What could he possibly have against Runt?" Lilly said.

No one had the slightest idea, but the easy mood they'd felt all morning, began to slip
away.

They saw no other people, only a few rundown buildings, derelict fields and some
new-growth forest. By late afternoon the forest gave way again to cultivated land. On either side of
the ruined road, fields were neatly tilled and sown, though they still saw no one actually working
the land. Shortly after they'd left the forest, they passed a second road sign; this one painted over
to read "The End is Here".

"Well, that's different." Zack snickered. "Ever hear of a town called 'The End'?"

"Maybe they mean Land's End," Martin suggested. "You know, because the town might
be right against the water."

"Huh? Look at that!" Zack was staring overhead. "All the power lines have been
cut."

"Maybe they make their own power," Martin ventured.

"So why cut the phone lines, too?"

Martin snorted. "They probably just rerouted the lines from another dimension--I mean
direction--most likely along the coast."

They reached the top of a small rise. Carole saw a tiny village spread out before them.
Beyond the village an endless expanse of green spattered with rolling flecks of white, stretched
off to the horizon.

"The ocean," Martin sighed happily.

"Hey, what happened to the path?" Zack said, as he looked around. "The Boar's Head
trail? It's gone."

Zack was right. All signs of the footpath had vanished. Everyone fanned out to look for
it.

"Any luck?" Carole said when they'd come together again.

"The path pretty much ends where these fields begin," Zack said.

"Which direction does it go?" Carole said.

"Nowhere, it just ends."

The house sat on the outskirts of town. It was in sorry need of a paint job, though the
yard was well-trimmed. A large, solitary apple tree grew in the front, and swinging upside down
on a lower branch, was a boy of about nine years of age.

"Runt, suppose you lie low until we learn a little more," Carole said. "We don't want to
attract any undue attention. We'll come back for you as soon as we're sure it's safe."

Runt trotted off the roadway and lay down in some tall grass.

"You guys do the talking," Carole said, as they approached the front gate. "I'll try to get
a sense of the town."

The boy dropped out of the tree, dusted himself off, wiped his nose on a sleeve and
walked over. He leaned against the bordering picket fence and studied them in silence.

"Hi," Lilly ventured after a while.

"Hi yerself," the boy replied.

"What are you doing?"

"Hangin' out. Yer not from arount here, are ya?"

"What makes you say that?" Zack said.

"'Cause I don't know ya. 'Cause ya came from over the hill. And 'cause yer not in
church."

"It's Sunday?"

"See, I knew ya weren't from arount here. Everybody knows yer s'posed ta go ta church
twice-a-day and three times on Sunday."

"You're right," Lilly admitted. "We're not from here. We came along that old road."

"The 'bandoned roadway? No foolin'?" The boy's expression changed from suspicion to
awe. "No one ever comes that way. 'Tain't allowed."

"Why does everyone go to church so often?" Martin said.

"Why's it not allowed?" Zack said at the same time.

"Cause the Prophet says so."

"The Prophet?"

"Ya must be from real far away, if ya don't know 'bout the Prophet. He's pretty much in
charge o' the town. Got everybody doin' what he wants 'em to, 'cept me and my ma of
course."

"You and your mom?"

"We don't listen ter nothin Near-Here has ta say," the boy growled defiantly. "Don't
even give him the time o' day. Just snub my nose at him." The lad flicked his finger under his
nose and sniffed for emphasis.

"Near-Here? Who's that?" Martin said. "I thought you were talking about some
Prophet?"

"Near-Here is the Prophet."

"What kind of a name is that?" Zack snickered. "Near-Here."

"Us kids made that up!" the boy said, hiking up his pants. "Grown-ups just call him the
Prophet, and ma usually calls him stuff I ain't s'posed to repeat out loud. He's always saying. 'The
End is Near! The End will be Here! Repent lest you fall through our gateway of destruction and
the Lord tears you all asunder!'

"Bin sayin it forever. And ya don't wanna be anywhere close by when he really gets a
goin' neither."

"Why's that?"

"Cause he starts a shakin' and a quiverin' and gettin' all red in the face, and shoutin' at
the top o' his lungs. And if he really gets a goin', he starts ta foam at the mouth and he spits all
over the place. Anybody closer'n five feet needs an umbreller fer protection."

Martin winced. "Gross!"

Carole spoke up for the first time. "Your gateway? What does the Prophet mean by 'your
gateway of destruction'?"

The boy put a finger to his lips and looked around with narrowed eyes. "Grownups don't
think we know 'bout it," he whispered, "but me and my gang sure do."

"Know about what?" Carole whispered back.

"Well... It's a secret and we're not real certain altogether, but if I was wantin' ta know
about such things, I s'pose I might just check out the ole town square." He winked at Carole.
"Only don't let any grownups know what yer up ta and don't get caught doin' it neither, or
Near-Here will likely have ya fit ta be tied!"

"Where's the rest of your gang now?" Zack said, looking about. "Are they in
church?"

"Naw, not today. All the kids is hiding out. There's a pirate warning been sounded this
mornin'."

"Pirates?" Martin said. "Real pirates?"

"Yup," the boy boasted. "Bad Bart's gang. They blow into town every now'n agin, tear
up the joint fer a few days and then sail off. Everybody has a real good time, 'cepting us kids. We
have to hide out. Grown-ups never let us have any fun."

"Why do you have to hide from the pirates?"

"All because of that rotten Near-Here. He says it's ta protect us from bein' sold into
slavery. But me and my gang have us a plan. We're going ta fix that Prophet real soon, you'll
see." He laughed, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Hey," Zack realized, "if there's a pirate warning, shouldn't you be hiding, too?"

"Don't care a fig 'bout no pirates, and don't care a fig 'bout no prophet. So what ya got
hiding in the long grass?"

"Ah... What do you mean?" Zack said.

"It has pink ears and a snout."

Carole glanced over her shoulder to see Runt's face poking through the grass.

She motioned and Runt dropped from sight. "Ahem." She leaned close, whispered into
the boy's ear, "He's our friend. We're keeping him undercover until we scout out the town."