The Void of Mist and Thunder (The 13th Reality #4) (14 page)

They flew toward the sapphire sky far above, but the weight of the two creatures and the pain of their claws and desperate clutches were making the journey unbearable. Tick punched down, smashing his fists into those odd faces. There was a piercing, awful screaming sound, but they held on. Tick punched again and again, those horrific cries ripping through the air, louder each time. He slammed down his fists once more, and they finally let go, dropping to the swiftly receding waters below them. He watched as they fell, listening as their screams slowly faded.

Tick continued launching toward the sky.

He looked up, a prickling sensation covering every inch of his body now, not just his insides. Forces pulled at him, like a magnet pulling a chunk of metal or Earth’s gravity pulling a skydiver. Except he was flying up, heading toward a dome of brilliant, blinding blue.

Tick hurt. He’d been hurting for what seemed like days. But the closer he got to the blue wall of the sky, the more pain ripped through his body. He screamed like he’d never screamed before, the wind ripping at his face.

And then he hit the sea of blue, and it all went away.

Part 2

The Void

Chapter 20

Hugs and Kisses

Tick’s eyes were closed.

He opened them up and blinked a few times. He lay on a hard surface, and above him he could see the grooves and lines of a ceiling carved from black rock. Faces peered down at him, women in robes with the hoods pulled up over their heads. The women were old, and several of them made a circle around his spot as they looked at him with both wonder and fear.

“Hey,” Tick said. His body ached from what he’d just been through—the flying and Chi’karda-laced battles, the plunge through liquid, the sharklike creatures, the lightning ropes, all of it—but not nearly as bad as it
should
have hurt. He felt almost at peace, though more confused than he’d been in a long time.

And then there were the sounds of commotion, people being pushed out of the way, calls of his name from two female voices that he recognized.
More
than recognized. Voices he knew as well as the sound of his own.

Lisa’s face appeared above him first, then his mom’s. Tears streamed down their faces as they came at him, pulling his body into hugs. Stunned, he hugged back, both of them in his arms,
their
arms wrapped around his shoulders and neck, his mom kissing him over and over on both cheeks. Somehow he managed to sit up, and they huddled for a long, long moment before anybody even spoke. Tick was overwhelmed, a part of him thinking it was all an illusion, terrified it might be and that he’d wake up any second. But sobs shook him as he fiercely hugged his mom and sister, a reunion that he’d begun to think might never happen.

Finally, his mom pulled back, as did Lisa. They both wiped tears from their eyes and cheeks.

“What . . .” Tick began, but his words were choked up in more sobs. Embarrassed, he wiped his own tears from his face.

“Happened?” his mom finished for him. “You’re wondering what happened?”

“Uh, yeah,” Lisa replied. “I think we’d all kinda like to know that.”

Tick had begun to compose himself, and he suddenly felt like he needed to stand, get some fresh air, breathe. He got to his feet and looked around. The old women in their robes and hoods had backed away, gathering into groups of two or three and staring at him with questioning faces. They all stood in a small chamber carved from black rock, a place Tick had never seen before. He noticed a Barrier Wand lying on the floor by one of the slightly curved walls.

Looking at his mom, he said, “I think I could write down a million guesses of how I got here and be wrong every time. Where
are
we?”

She smiled in response. “There’s a lot to tell. But that’s an easy question to answer. We’re in the Thirteenth Reality, in Mistress Jane’s castle, in a room she calls the Great Hall.”

Tick almost fell down. “The Thirteenth? Mistress Jane’s castle?”

“Or what’s left of it,” Lisa said.

One of the strangers walked over to stand next to Tick and his little group. She had a long face and seemed to have an air of authority about her. “I’m happy to see that you’ve been pulled back from the Nonex, Atticus Higginbottom. I assure you that we tried as hard as we could to do so ourselves. You have my apologies. I’m sure our master will want to meet with you as soon as she’s recovered.”

Tick listened to the words coming out of the woman’s mouth, getting more confused with each one. Finally, he just said, “Huh?”

She eyed Tick’s mom, an eyebrow raised. “We will take our leave. You can do all the explaining you’d like to the young man. I haven’t the time. But I’m sorry to say we’ll be taking your Barrier Wand until further notice. Mistress Jane would not be happy if we allowed you to leave before she’s spoken with you.”

“Now just wait one minute, Mordell,” Tick’s mom replied. He was still wondering what the lady had meant by “your Barrier Wand.” And why they were in Jane’s castle. And how he’d gotten there. And lots of other stuff. “You have no right to do that after we helped you!”

Two of the other women grabbed the Wand that had been lying on the ground. It was slipped under a robe and gone from sight just like that.

“Hey!” Lisa shouted. “Give that back!”

Mordell spoke in a calm voice. “You’re no longer considered enemies of our master. That’s your reward for helping us. But we have plenty of creatures outside these doors that will ensure you do as we ask. Please don’t push our hospitality. Wait here, and we’ll return for you shortly. We’ll also have food and drink brought to you.”

Tick didn’t feel like he knew enough about the situation to argue or help, but his mom was fuming, and Lisa had her arms folded and a red face.

“Mom,” Tick said, “I’m not sure what’s going on, but if we really are in Jane’s castle, we better do what they say until we figure things out. Plus, I’m dying to hear how we all got here. Just let them go for now.”

His mom visibly relaxed, as if she was relieved to have the burden of the decision taken from her shoulders. “Okay.” She turned to Mordell. “Leave us alone and let us talk. And bring us that food.” The hint of command in her voice made Tick want to hoot and holler like he was at a football game. This was his
mom.

A smile crept up Mordell’s face. “I’ve already said we would do the two things you ask. All things are done under the will and might of our master. Your food will be here within the half hour.”

After a slight bow of her head, she and the other women shuffled out of the room.

They sat in a small circle as they spoke, sharing each other’s tales. When they were finished, Tick knew
what
had happened, but not how or why. It was all crazy.

“So that bunch of old ladies winked in Jane and Chu, but were going to let me die out there?” he asked. “I can’t believe I actually helped us get close enough to be saved, but then would’ve floated around in the outskirts of the Nonex for the rest of my life. That place wasn’t fun, let me tell ya.”

Tick’s mom shook her head, looking half sad, half angry. “Jane and Chu appeared at the same time, lying on the same spot you did. The women didn’t know that
you
were the one who’d opened up a doorway so they could reach them in the first place. Not that they would’ve done anything to return the favor—who knows?—but as soon as those two appeared, the almighty Ladies of Blood and Sorrow were done, totally ignoring our pleas to keep helping us so we could pull you in.”

“Where did they go?” Tick asked. “Jane and Chu.”

Lisa spoke up. “Mistress Jane marched off, her fancy red mask all scrunched up in anger. You’d think she’d have been happy after all that.”

“And Chu?”

Lisa glanced at their mom, who provided the answer. “He had a crazy look in his eyes. He said he finally knew how to ‘finish his plans.’ I think that’s how he put it. Then he disappeared, winked away before the Ladies could stop him. Maybe he had people waiting for his signal to reappear back in the Realities.”

Tick swallowed, realizing with a lump in his throat that
he’d
been the one who’d provided the opportunity for Reginald Chu—one of the most dangerous men in the Realities, who’d proven he wanted nothing but power at any cost—to come back from a prison he could’ve never escaped alone.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have done that,” Tick whispered.

Chapter 21

Rapping at the Door

Master George lay his head back on the pillow, almost ashamed at how good it felt. He and Rutger had been working tirelessly for hours and hours, searching through all the data and reports from Mothball and Sally. Things were looking grim. Everywhere.

But the worst of it was what they
didn’t
know. The disastrous results of Jane’s meddling with dark matter had done something to the Realities. Something terrible. A lasting, lingering effect that they didn’t quite understand yet. It had to do with links between the dimensions that weren’t supposed to be there—rifts in the fabric of Reality appearing out of nowhere and killing people. Reports of gray fog and lightning and terrible thunder. George could scarcely hope they’d be able to
understand
it, much less do anything about it.

But even the greatest minds needed rest. Even his. The lights were off, the bed soft, the pillow even softer. Muffintops—the best cat ever—was snuggled against his chest. If he could just sleep for one solid hour. That would do wonders for his—

Someone started pounding on his door, solid thumps with a squeezed fist, by the sound of it. George yelped, and Muffintops screeched, clawing him as she dug in her claws then jumped onto the ground. George’s heart was practically lodged in his throat. The knocking continued without stopping.

Of course, it could only be Rutger.

“What
is
it?” George yelled from his bed. “Rutger, stop that incessant pounding! This instant!”

Rutger didn’t stop, and was, in fact, saying some muffled words that George couldn’t hear over the knocking. Sighing, he flipped off his covers and headed for the door, his disappointment at missing a nap overshadowed by dread. As excitable as Rutger was, he wouldn’t be making this much fuss unless something bad had happened.