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At Markaeus’ stricken look, Charles realized the boy must have a crush on Arista. It wasn’t surprising. She was a beautiful girl, with long blond curls like Goldilocks. What little boy wouldn’t have a crush on her after spending several weeks together? Though they hadn’t been successful in making new portals, Markaeus had probably thrived on her attention.
“Don’t worry.” Charles ruffled the boy’s hair as he urged him inside. “We’ll probably see Arista in person, soon enough.”
Markaeus seemed distracted throughout the birthday dinner but jumped on the opportunity to play video games with Wesley and Daegreth. Amazingly, both Markaeus and Daegreth were skilled gamers, despite only being exposed to technology for a short time.
As the adults carried the dishes to the kitchen, Doc brought up the subject of Sergeant Justice, as Charles expected.
Karen seemed shaken by the news, fumbling to fit a plastic lid on a container of leftovers until Brian had to do it for her. Her face was white as she lamented, “The last thing we need is someone doing a thorough investigation of Alora and all her friends. Daegreth is kind of hard to hide.”
“That’s true,” Charles said. “I was thinking I might get away by moving to Laegenshire with Markaeus for the whole summer, but Daegreth is stuck in this realm to avoid Vindrake’s power. Still, if we were all gone, Justice might lose interest.”
“You’d need someone to tend the horses, right?” Brian asked. “I’m sure the boys would help. We’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of Justice.”
“You haven’t met this guy.” Doc laid a stack of plates in the sink. “He’s really persistent. They call him The Bulldog, and the name fits. I think disappearing would make him more suspicious than ever. That nurse convinced him we were hiding something about Alora because her memory doesn’t match up with the records. He hasn’t figured out what happened, of course, but he knows something isn’t right.”
“So what do we do?” asked Charles.
“My thought,” Doc continued, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms, “is to create something for him to discover—something that seems really juicy, but isn’t.”
“Okay, I’ll bite,” said Brian, as he rinsed off a handful of silverware, stuffing it into the dishwasher. “What did you create?”
“Well, that’s the problem. I haven’t thought of it yet.”
“I have an idea,” Janice said. “He’s snooping around about Alora, right? But he can’t possibly have any idea about the truth—that she can transport.”
“He wouldn’t believe it even if we told him,” Doc agreed. “I know I didn’t.”
Janice nodded. “What if we have him flying all over the world to find her? He’ll eventually get tired of it or run out of money.”
Doc rubbed his head on the round spot where his brown hair was thinning. “How would we manage that?”
“I can’t see how it would work,” Charles argued. “Alora’s not even here right now. She’s in Laegenshire for the summer.”
“Yes, but she can pop up anywhere, right?” Grinning with excitement and gesturing with both hands, Janice’s expression reminded Charles of Beth, who always managed to talk him into things after Alora had given up. “We could post a picture on social media with something in the background that confirms she’s really there. And by the time Justice gets there, she’ll be gone. She only has to be in this world for a few minutes at a time.”
“Ah! Like a wild goose chase,” said Karen. “I like that. Anything to get him away from here. Away from us.”
“But she can’t transport anywhere she wants,” Charles objected. “She can only go someplace she remembers—someplace she’s been before. And Lena and I never took her that many places.”
“Alora could transport to where Steven is living, in Australia, couldn’t she?” Brian offered. “And he’s presenting at a conference in New York in a few weeks, and another in England later this summer.”
Growing more animated as he got into the idea, Brian waved a dish towel in the air. “And just to make it more interesting, she could transport to all the airports in between. And once she’s been there, she could always go back again.”
“I’ll be in Washington in July,” said Doc. “Salmon fishing.”
Charles drummed his fingers on the kitchen counter. “It might work. I’ll have to ask Alora and Kaevin... and Graely, of course.”
Raised voices sounded from another part of the house, some of them female.
Running footsteps.
Wesley burst into the kitchen.
“Mom! Alora just t
hrew up on the rug!”
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