AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you have any ideas for how to do that?”
“We found what we think is a gateway to a portal, and we have people working on finding a way to get through.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“For now, the information you gave me is what’s important. We’ll let you know when there’s something else we need. I hope it’s soon if we have to stop an interdimensional war.”
“How should we stay in touch?”
“You know Earl, right?”
“Yeah.”
“He works in the bookstore a few blocks from here. You were there the other day for coffee.”
The light dawned in his eyes. “Oh yeah, I remember seeing you there.”
“But I think my coworker is one of their spies or guards, or whatever, so don’t come talk to me. Talk to Earl in the science fiction section, if you can find him alone. If you run into anyone here you recognize from our world and you’re sure they’re on our side, you can break the spell by bringing up some vivid memory from our world that doesn’t fit with this place.” I tried to think of anything else he’d need to know. “Oh, and you may start seeing some elves in bland gray outfits wandering around. You shouldn’t see them if you’re still under the spell, so ignore them. Otherwise, just keep acting like nothing has changed. We don’t want them knowing we know the truth.”
He nodded grimly. “Okay, got it. How often should I check in?”
“Try the day after tomorrow. By then, we should know something more.” I stuck my head out of our little shelter, saw that the coast was clear, and hurried away. I didn’t look back to see how long he waited to leave.
Owen met me at the corner. “How’d it go?” he asked.
“It worked.”
“Did he know anything?”
“Yeah, and I hope the elves make some progress tonight because it’s a little more urgent than we thought.”
“What did he say?”
I bit my lip, feeling the full weight of my position as resistance leader. It had been something of a joke, but now it felt a lot more real. “I can’t tell you.”
He grinned for a second, like he thought I was teasing, but the grin faded when he realized I was serious. “You’re not going to tell me, really?”
“Hey, you said it was probably the best idea. I know you feel obligated to share information with Mac so he doesn’t think you’re hiding things from him out of evil intentions, and I don’t trust him not to do something crazy because of this information. If I don’t tell you, you don’t have any dilemma about what to say to him.”
“So, you’re protecting me?”
I hooked my arm through his elbow. “Yeah, and you’d better get used to it.”
“The power is obviously going to your head,” his tone was lighter, so I felt like he really was teasing me, not just masking hurt feelings.
“You should have thought about that before you elected me the resistance leader. You know, it would be well within my rights to have you shot for unauthorized sharing of information.”
“Oh, so you’re the ruthless kind of leader.”
“You’d better believe it.”
*
When I got to work the next morning, he was chatting with Mac and McClusky in the park, so I knew I’d done the right thing, even if I felt lousy about it. If Mac knew about the army, he’d insist on carrying out his prison uprising plan, and I agreed with the elves that it would be disastrous.
I found Earl in his section and quickly told him what I’d learned from Dan. “How did your end of the operation go?”
“We’ll attempt to infiltrate them tonight. If our person can get through the portal, he can pass the message on. This does make things pretty dire, doesn’t it?”
