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“This place isn’t real.” Kingsley lightly pats her on the back. “Real people aren’t supposed to be here.”
Tammy gazes off over the meadow toward Tarramor. “It’s as real as anyone believes it to be. The world we think of as real might just exist in the imaginations of people in some other world reading some other book and we have no idea and think we’re real.”
“Ack.” Allison shivers. “Stop saying creepy stuff.”
Lindsey exhales. “No, you’re right. As fun as it is to play with magic, this place is deadly. I don’t want to die here. And I’ve got family and friends who will miss me too much.”
“Can you teleport us home, ma?” asks Anthony.
Well, there it is. The moment I’ve been dreading ever since about two minutes after we arrived here. I’m out of excuses not to try. Honestly, when I first got the idea to attempt teleporting to a place described only in text, my expectations of it working weren’t the highest. It probably shouldn’t have worked. My abilities aren’t powerful enough to leap across dimensions. However, the same force that dragged Damon and Lindsey here must have seized onto my attempt to teleport and obligingly pulled us in.
Which might means we’re stuck here.
“I’m not sure it’s going to work.” I hold my hands out. “But we’re about to find out.”
The others gather around and form a hand-holding circle. I’m so afraid of failing and being stuck here, it’s impossible for me to concentrate. When I close my eyes, there’s no dancing flame. My thoughts are filled with dread, mostly about what’s going to happen to Paxton. I should be worrying about how me and the kids will fare stuck in this place for the rest of our lives… though, my kids are tougher than most.
“Whew.” Tammy exhales. “It worked.”
Say what?
I open my eyes to the sight of Quentin Arnbury’s study. Whoa.
Lindsey looks around, spots the computer on the desk, and squeals. Her reaction is part super fangirl finding herself in ‘the man’s’ house, part relief to be home.
“Umm, guys, I didn’t do anything yet.” I fidget. “Kinda had a little concentration problem.”
“Worked out.” Kingsley pats me on the butt. “In the… end.”
I roll my eyes at him.
“The force keeping us there stopped.” Anthony scratches at the back of his head. “Or Quentin sent us home. Either way.”
Patricia walks by in the hallway, visible through the doorway for only a second. An instant after she’s out of sight, she yells out in surprise, then hurries back to stare at us. “Back already?”
“Already?” I say. “We were gone for days. How long has it been since we disappeared?”
“Only four hours here.”
We all stare at each other, though none of us are too surprised by the time weirdness.
The phone on the desk rings.
Patricia hurries over to grab it. “Hello?” She pauses. “Yes, this is Patricia. He what? Oh wonderful! I will be there as soon as I can. Thank you so much!” She sorta hugs the phone receiver for a second before setting it back on the desk phone.
Wow, an actual landline phone. With a cord. Retro.
“Quentin’s awake!” Patricia bounces on her toes, then proceeds to hug us all one by one. After she lets go of me, she goes somber, staring into my eyes. “Are you sure he’s going to be all right now?”
I nod. “As far as it’s possible for me to tell, he should be fine. He didn’t have a medical problem, only a paranormal one, and the fiend is gone.”
“Thank you, Ms. Moon.” Patricia sighs so hard her anxiety almost manifests as a physical object. “I need to go.”
“Understood. Go on. No need to wait for us.” I hold my hands out toward the others. “We’ll be out of your way in about ten seconds.”
Chapter Twenty
A Long, Crazy Dream
