Page 17 of Trapped By Clocks and Hearts

Allie shrugged, shoving her hands in the pockets of her lab coat. “I don’t know. All of this stuff just seems to come easily to me.”

I studied the wall of scribbles. “What kind of science is this?”

Her gaze followed mine. “Well, it looks like I dabble in many fields: materials science, mechanical engineering, chemistry…but it seems I specialize particularly in quantum physics and string theory.”

I must have given her a blank look so she felt the need to elaborate—quite pointedly.

“Portals,” she said, matter-of-factly. “Other dimensions. And I believe your world is one within which I have been inadvertently sucked into, somehow, for some reason.”

I blinked, almost in ridicule. She had been saying as much. “Another world?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t help making another face. “That sounds…”

“Mad?” she supplied. “Probably.” There was a slight twinkle in her eye. “I have an idea. Let’s do an experiment.”

“An experiment?”

She nodded. “Yes. If we use the classic scientific method, we start with an observation. A question. Then we state our hypothesis. Then we do the procedure and analyze the data to formulate our conclusions.” Her eyebrows rose in a prompt. “So let’s suppose that everything from the same dimension vibrates with the same frequency—or at least they’re supposed to.”

She picked up one of the gadgets from the mess on the table. It was a long reed attached to a small bulb that glowed yellow at its end. She started pointing it around the room—for no reason that I could see since nothing was happening.

Wide-eyed, I wove away when she turned the stick toward me. “What are you doing?” I snapped one hand up as a reflex, ready to do a counterspell.

She chided, “Relax.”

I looked from the stick to her and back. As far as I could see, still nothing had changed and nothing was happening. “What? Was something supposed to happen?”

She bit her lip before she turned the stick inward to point at herself.

My eyes widened when the bulb at the end began to glow a smoky green hue.

Allie seemed to release the breath she was holding before hastily setting the stick back down on the table. The light in the bulb fizzled out in a puff of smoke.

Her tone sombered at her conclusion. “Figured.” She took a deep breath and began again, “Under certain conditions, empty space might contain vibratory discrepancies. These are spots where the barriers between places are thinner. I have a feeling if I test the hollow in the tree leading to Tulgey Woods, I’ll find the same thing.” She drew another wooden stick from a pile beside her as if to start again. “That means all I need to do is find an intersect, a convergence significant enough—a tunnel, a doorway if you will.” Her eyes shone with determination. “And once I do, I’m sure I’ll find a portal that leads all the way home. It’s the only plausible explanation.”

The light in her eyes dimmed as she finished as though she was spent from her tirade. Her shoulders slumping, Allie braced one hand against the table.

From my magical perception, Allie’s aura flickered and dimmed.

Was she getting sick now too? Curling my fingers, I cast a spell and a thin veil of fog covered Allie for a moment so I could assess her physical condition.

I frowned again. She was fatigued, dehydrated. She must have soldiered on through the night. Perhaps with doing all of this work, she was as exhausted as I was.

“Here.” I snapped my fingers to conjure a glass of water. “You look tired. You should probably lie down.”

“Did you poison this?” Allie eyed the glass in my hand. “Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?”

I rolled my eyes. “Cut the crap. Just drink it.”

Her lips curled in a pout of protest but she took the glass from me, took a big swig, paused for a moment as if to make sure she didn’t keel over straight away, and then swallowed. “Thank you.”

Fidgeting in my stance, I cleared my throat. “You should rest.”

“I’m fine. I just need to take deep breaths.” Then her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she straightened up again. “You’re not still trying to seduce me, are you?”

I wrinkled my nose in disdain. “Trust me. I’m definitely not.”