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"I don't care about the creatures' antics," I tell him. "You can skip that bit."
"Well, after a while, they all stopped moving and went real quiet. Every single one of them turned in the same direction like they were waiting for something or someone." Grant shakes his head. "It was the damnedest thing. A hole opened up in the air, at ground level, and I could see another place through that hole. This happened before I read all those physics papers. The creatures just stood there, seeming almost awed, while a man walked out of that opening—a portal, I realized later."
Every muscle in my body tenses because I know that man's identity. But I need to be certain. "What did this man look like?"
"Blond hair. Blue eyes. Fit, but not the way you are. He walked with a slight limp too."
Sefton. Grant had witnessed my brother exiting a portal. But I need to know more. "What did the man do next?"
"He started talking to the creatures, but I couldn't hear what he said. They seemed to be entranced by him, so I kinda figured he's their god." Grant tips his head to the side, eying me with curiosity. "You said one man created the apocalypse and the creatures. Was it the blond guy?"
"Yes."
Grant sighs, and his shoulders slump. "Sorry, I can't tell you more about what happened that day. The creator guy and his pet monsters walked off down the street. And I scrammed in the opposite direction. I should've stayed to find out what they were doing, but I, uh…chickened out."
"I doubt that. You reacted as anyone would have under the same circumstances. There was nothing you could've done to stop them, and if they'd seen you, they would have killed you."
He shrugs and stares down at the sand.
"Tell me what you've learned about portals," I say. "Anything you know could be helpful."
"The math of it all is way too complicated for me, but some of the papers I found seemed to be aimed at a more general audience. I'm no expert, but here's what I think it means." He crouches and picks up a small stick, using it like a pen while he draws figures in the sand to illustrate his points. "To create a portal, you need a wormhole. That's basically a tunnel through space, with a mouth at either end. Even if you could find a wormhole, you probably can't just walk through it, because the structure is very unstable. You need exotic matter to hold it open."
"Would magic qualify as exotic?"
"No idea." He scrapes the stick across the drawing he'd made, erasing it. "But I'm guessing the creator guy didn't search the universe for exotic matter. Magic seems like the best bet for tapping into a wormhole."
How bizarre that we no longer doubt the existence of magic. Last week, I laughed at my brother when he suggested such things exist. Now, I'm calmly discussing how magic and theoretical physics converge to create a portal.
Grant rises and studies me again. "If you're really from the Echo, maybeyoucould be the exotic matter."
If I knew how Sefton had generated enough that material to hold a wormhole open, perhaps I could use the same method. But he failed to share that information. He would have needed an external source, I imagine, since he is not from the Echo and has not altered his essential makeup the way he changed me.
Perhaps I am exotic matter.
"How do I create a portal?" I ask. "Assuming my body contains that sort of material."
"I think that's where magic comes into it. You need to find and lasso a wormhole."
"Brilliant. Where do I find a unicorn I can ride into the wormhole?" Perhaps I did snarl those words. I hadn't meant to, but this discussion is making my head hurt. "Sorry. I have no bloody clue how to lasso anything, much less a hypothetical tunnel through space."
"You're doing this to find your girl, right?"
Not sure if Allison would agree that she's my girl, but Grant doesn't need to know that. "Yes, I need to get back to Allison."
"Maybe what you should do is focus on her and let everything else go. If you're connected to exotic matter, I guess it's possible you'll find a portal that way."
"Your words don't inspire confidence. Maybe? Possible? You guess?"
He shrugs. "This is all new territory—for everyone."
"I know, you're right. If I'm going to try this, I should move away from you and Willow. In case I cock it up and create a black hole instead of a wormhole."
Grant chuckles. "If you do that, we're all toast no matter where we're standing."
When I glance at Willow, she doesn't seem frightened. After witnessing the start of an apocalypse and being tormented by humans and creatures alike, I suspect the girl has developed a thick skin. She'd been terrified when that winged beast attacked us, but she recovered from that quickly. She's as brave as Allison, and as clever too, but she shouldn't be left alone.
"If I succeed in creating a portal," I say to the girl, "you'll be here alone with Grant. Are you all right with that?"
