Witch World (18 page)

“Who tried you?” I asked.

“The local bishop. He later became a full-time inquisitor. He was a good friend until he discovered I was in league with Satan.”

The memory appeared to amuse my dad.

“Is that how you got . . . connected?” I asked. “The hanging?”

“Yes. You’re beginning to grasp the mechanics.”

I shook my head vigorously. “I’m grasping very little. I just said that because we both went through a death experience, and then woke up here—wherever here is. I have to assume that dying somehow activates the witch genes.”

“Exactly. That’s the key. You got it.”

“I’ve got nothing. What the hell is witch world? Where is it?”

He smiled faintly. “First off, it’s not hell, although to my
primitive brain—five centuries ago—it seemed that way at first. At the very least, I felt like I kept living the same day twice over.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right now, in witch world, two or three hours ago, it just became early Monday morning. But when you wake up tomorrow, in what you call the real world, it will be Sunday morning.”

“How is that possible? Does one of the genes transport us back in time?”

“I wish. Then we could fix all the mistakes we’ve made in the past. Trust me, Jessica, the answer to your question is both more simple and more complex than anything you’re going to have to absorb right now. Especially since I’m going to have to rely on words to explain the paradox.”

“Please, try. What is witch world?” I said.

“Witch world is a parallel dimension to what you call the real world. It exists at the same time as the real world, simultaneously. But because human beings cannot experience two time frames at the same time, those who have awakened to the existence of witch world discover they live one day here and then live the same day over again in the real world. Are you with me so far?”

“Are the days identical?”

“They used to be virtually identical. Almost everyone you know in the real world has a counterpart in witch world. They
live out their lives the same way people do in the real world. To them,
this
is the real world, the only world. Take James and Alexis, for example. They’re your best friends here. They’re also your best friends in the real world. But James and Alexis know as little about Jimmy and Alex as Jimmy and Alex know about James and Alexis.”

“You said
almost
everyone has a counterpart in both worlds. Why doesn’t everyone?”

“Because it’s possible their counterpart died in one of the worlds.”

I grimaced. “So then that person is only half alive?”

“No. They don’t even need to know their counterpart has died.”

“Wait a second! How come Lara doesn’t have a counterpart in the real world? I know she didn’t die there. I mean, I never even had her.”

My father hesitated. “Huck is Lara’s counterpart.”

“Huh?”

“In witch world, James had a daughter. In the real world, Jimmy had a son.”

“Why are you talking about Jimmy? What about me? I didn’t have anyone in the real world.”

My father spoke gently. “I know, it’s complicated. Frankly, it’s something that’s never happened before, not that we know of. I suggest you hold that question until you meet with the Council.”

“It’s not an easy question to hold.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to tell you.”

I tried to drop it but continued to fume inside. “All right. You said that James—Jimmy—has five witch genes. Wouldn’t that many genes give him a sense of this world?”

“His genes are inactive. Look, you have seven and still you had almost no idea that this world existed.”

I pondered his words. “Déjà vu,” I muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“When Jimmy and I were up at the lake yesterday, we talked about how we kept having flashes of déjà vu. We even seemed to have two sets of memories that conflicted with each other.”

“That’s a sign your genes were spontaneously becoming active. You started to get a glimpse of this world. But even though you have become connected to your latent abilities, your memory of the real world will continue to overshadow your memory of witch world for the time being.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s impossible for a human being to suddenly absorb an entire lifetime of memories overnight. Everything that’s happened to you in witch world—for example, the birth of your daughter—will return to you slowly, over the next few months.”

“Are you saying I have an entire lifetime of memories I know nothing about?” I asked.

“Yes and no. I warned you, at first the truth will appear contradictory. You know something about the Jessica of witch world. Her life has paralleled yours to a remarkable degree. But it’s also been different in a few important details. Those details will return to you in time.”

“Why do the memories of the real world dominate at first?”

“They do for you because you went through the death experience in the real world. Had you done it in witch world, then those memories would have been the first to dominate. The point remains the same in both cases. It takes time to absorb our other set of memories. But just yesterday, in witch world, when I spoke to you, you knew all about this place and nothing about the real world.”

“How did the memories get wiped out?”

“Forgive me for repeating myself. They didn’t get wiped out. They’re still inside you, only your brain can’t process them right now because it just got overlaid with a lifetime of memories from the real world.”

“This is confusing.”

“It takes some getting used to. Remember what happened to you when Russell had you focus on the mirror? You remembered your daughter, Lara.”

“I did but . . .” I felt embarrassed to continue.

“But the memory of Lara has already begun to fade.”

“Yes! It was so vivid for a few minutes. Her birth, holding
her, staring into her eyes. She has beautiful eyes, doesn’t she?”

“Yes. Do you recall their color?”

“No! That’s what I’m trying to say. The memory has begun to fade. It’s weird—how can I forget my own daughter?”

“Because Jessie never gave birth to her. Jessica did.”

“But I am Jessica.”

“Yes.”

“But the way you spoke just now, you said it like we were two different people.”

“In a sense, until you get your witch-world memories back, you are two different people. Because you have different pasts. For that reason, I’m going to insist you avoid James for the next few days. You won’t know him and he will think there’s something wrong with you. But you don’t have to worry about hurting his feelings. I saw him before coming here and explained that you were being connected and that the process was going to take a few days to complete.”

“But you said it takes months to get back all my memories.”

“True. But if I told him it was months he would have freaked out. Besides, the first few days are the most crucial. You’ll feel delicate, with so many new experiences bombarding you from every side. While in witch world, the best thing you can do is hang out with friends who are already connected. For that reason, it’s a good idea to avoid Alexis and Debra for the time being.”

“What about Mom?”

“I don’t think she’s going to be a problem.”

“Why?”

“You’re going to be in Las Vegas longer than you planned.”

“To get Lara back.”

“Exactly. She’s here.”

“Who took her?”

“Let’s deal with that in a few minutes. I want to make sure you understand what’s happened to you, and how it’s going to affect you over the next few days.”

I shook my head. “Intellectually, I understand what you say about two dimensions and living the same day over again twice. But this whole ‘getting connected’ process sounds bizarre. I mean, on one hand it’s an awakening experience and on the other hand an entire lifetime gets erased.”

“Once again, your memories of witch world are still intact. Try looking at the temporary amnesia you’re experiencing as a natural coping mechanism. Without it, you’d have to be sedated.”

“Because I’d suddenly be looking at everything from two different points of view?”

“Exactly.”

I frowned. “I just had a flash of memory that’s not exactly mine. But I’m not sure if it really happened.”

“Tell me about it and I’ll let you know.”

“I remember going to Russell for help to get Lara back. That memory came back to me while I was standing in front of
the mirror. But I also remember something about that Council you mentioned. I went to him because I was hoping he could get in touch with them.”

“That’s a genuine memory.”

“Good,” I said. “I suppose it’s good.”

“What’s troubling you?”

“Oh, about ten thousand things.”

My father was patient. “What confuses you the most?”

“I can’t imagine that for the rest of my life I’m going to have to live the same day over again twice.”

“It won’t be exactly the same day because the worlds are no longer identical.”

“When does this transfer happen? I mean, when does my mind go from the real world to witch world, and back again?” I asked.

“At dawn. Precisely when the sun rises. At this latitude, it takes just under three minutes for it to clear the horizon. During that time—in both worlds—you will suddenly lose consciousness. If you were standing up, you would fall over because all life would appear to leave your body. An outside observer would probably think you had stopped breathing because your respiration almost ceases. That’s why it’s a good idea to be in bed at dawn.”

“What’s so special about the sun rising?”

“The sun is the source of all life on Earth. A new day begins when it appears.”

“I know that. What I’m asking is—does our spirit or soul suddenly leave one world and fly to the other?”

“In a manner of speaking. The transition is impossible to describe with words. It just happens once you’re connected.”

“What if I choose to stay awake at dawn?”

“You won’t be able to. Not during that three minutes.”

“If I’m asleep, do I notice the switch?”

“No. You go to sleep in one world, you wake up in the other.”

“That’s so fucking freaky.” I paused. “Pardon my French.”

“It’s not a shock to me that my daughter cusses.”

“So we’re good friends in this world?”

“Yes.”

I hesitated. Lara was not my only source of sorrow.

“Why not in the real world?” I asked quietly.

My father sighed. “I stayed away to protect you.”

“From who?” I asked.

“The same people who kidnapped Lara,” he said.

“How did staying away protect me?”

“In the real world, they know who I am. But they don’t know who you are. At least, we didn’t think so.”

His remark did not surprise me as much as it should have. A part of me had always felt he had stayed away on purpose. He had not protested when I had adopted my mother’s last name—Ralle—and written Dr.
Major
off. Indeed, when I was ten and officially changed my name, my mother had told
me that my father had been happy I had disowned him.

It had made no sense. Until now.

“Who are
they
?” I asked.

“I promise to answer that question in a few minutes. Just as soon as I know you’re no longer confused about how the switch from one world to the other works.”

“I’m sorry, I must be dense in this world. I’m still struggling with all the new concepts.”

My father was sympathetic. “I know how you feel. On the surface the situation’s simple. You live the same day over again in a slightly different world. But when you start to examine it from different angles, you get a headache. Trust me, I’ve been there, we all have.”

“Did you have someone to guide you at the start?”

“No. You’re lucky. After my hanging, when I woke up the next day, I felt like I had died and gone to hell. I would go to bed Saturday night and wake up Saturday morning and everyone would do the same thing they had done the day before. This went on for months, until I realized that if I suddenly did something drastic in witch world, out of the norm, then I could change events in the real world.”

“What do you mean by drastic?”

My father studied me. “Understand, I was born in what you would consider a barbaric society. Back then life was cheap.”

“Don’t tell me you killed someone.”

“I killed three men in self-defense, and I used my unique abilities to accomplish the deed. They had been sent by a local magistrate to arrest me for, well, getting one of his daughters pregnant. I met them alone, with a sword, in what seemed from the outside to be a fair fight. But one of my abilities is supernormal strength and speed. They didn’t stand a chance.”

“What happened the next day?” I asked, thinking I had the same ability.

“They came for me again. But I knew they were coming so I fled at dawn. I didn’t want to have to kill them again.” My father paused. “It was only later that I discovered they had been hijacked on the road and slaughtered.”

“By who?”

“I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. What matters is that they died anyway, and on the same day.”

“But not in the same way,” I said.

“Correct,” my father agreed.

“Does that mean what happens in this world affects the real world?”

“Yes. But not always in the way you expect. Also, the reverse can happen. What occurs in the real world can change what happens in witch world. The worlds are interconnected. It’s wrong to say one is more important than the other.”

For some reason, I didn’t feel what he said was completely accurate. Not that my father was purposely lying to me, but that his understanding was incomplete. The feeling had a sharp
edge to it, a certainty, and I wondered if there was an intuition gene and I had been born with it.

I no sooner thought the question when the word “yes” popped into my mind. I went to tell my father about the experience but something stopped me. Maybe it was my intuition.

“But the days in witch world come first,” I said.

“We experience them as occurring first. To someone as old as Cleo, they happen simultaneously.”

“Who’s Cleo?”