A Dragon’s Tale

Chapter 18: Home is where the defibrillator is

* * *

Ring! Ring! 

Selene groaned as she reached over to the hotel’s nightstand to grab the phone that was disturbing her sleep.  She managed to find it without opening her eyes and pulled it to her ear. 

”Agent Dawson.”  She mumbled sleepily. 

”Get up boot.”  Mason barked came from the other end.  ”There’s a lot of work to do today and we’re burning daylight.”

She opened her eyes just enough to see that it was barely light outside.  Dawn probably wouldn’t be for a while yet but apparently Mason was an early bird.

”Okay.”  She groaned.

”I’ll see you downstairs in forty.”  He said.  ”There’s some paperwork at the Sherriff’s office you need to fill out before you start interviewing the previous victims’ friends and family today.”

”Copy all.”  She mumbled and then hung up. 

She had been up late the previous night studying the files because she thought she would have a little time to sleep in. 

Oh well.

She got up and started the shower in the hotel’s bathroom.  It wasn’t fancy, but it would get her presentable enough to go interviewing.  First up on the list was Jason Stiles and Melinda Estello, the boyfriend and best friend of Hailey Oswald.

She sighed and started getting ready for the day. 

* * *

Passing through the portal was one of the most unique experiences of Ethan’s life.  It felt like getting a bone-deep chill which then completely disappeared, only to be replaced by a slight warming sensation and simultaneously no small amount of chills.  He did his best to ignore it though because he was worried Gonorran might be waiting on the other side. 

He finished passing through the portal, landed on his feet, and looked around wildly. 

He was in the middle of a clearing that was about fifty feet in diameter in the middle of some woods.  There was a trail in front of him leading deeper into the woods.  It extended from the woods into the clearing up to his feet, and there were muddy footprints in the ground leading up to it.  Probably from the teachers, children, and Gonorran’s men.

There was no sign of the necromancer himself.

Looking around the clearing revealed no hint of movement or sounds beyond the birds and insects you would usually find in a forest.  Judging by the morning sun, he guessed it was around eight o’ clock, which was roughly the same time that he’d left.  Apparently, the two worlds had very similar day/night cycles.

Knowing he didn’t have long, he thought to Alana:  *The coast looks clear, come on over.*

He took a few steps forward to get out of the way and moments later Hailey, Rachel, Alana, the six children, and their two teachers passed through the portal and stepped onto Earth.

Moments after stepping through the portal, Alana staggered slightly and then stumbled forward, barely catching herself and almost toppling completely. 

”Are you okay?”  He asked grabbing her arm to help keep her steady. 

She nodded, but seemed to be panting for breath. 

”What’s wrong?” 

”I’m fine, I think.”  She said after a moment. 

”And the baby?”

The wood elf put her hand on her stomach then nodded.  ”She’s fine too.” 

Ethan heard a sound like a drain circling and looked back at the portal.  The outer edges were collapsing on themselves like water running down drain.  They continued to swirl and get smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared from sight. 

The portal was closed. 

He turned his attention back to his wife and put a comforting hand on her back.  ”Will you be okay?  I can ask Taloni to reopen the portal if something is wrong.” 

”Just give me a minute.”  His wife said as she took deep, measured breaths.

”The barrier is thicker here.”  Rachel said. 

Alana and Ethan both looked at the redhead and simultaneously said.  ”What?” 

Rachel smiled at their synchronicity and then slowly waved her hand in front of herself as if feeling an invisible wall. 

”The barrier between our world and the Ether.”  The flame-haired teen explained.  ”All life pulls mana through it to survive; it’s thicker here.  It’s harder to draw mana through it.” 

”That’s it.”  Alana panted as if she was out of breath.  ”I didn’t realize... It’s almost like it’s hard to breathe because I can feel there’s not enough mana coming through the Ether for me.”

”We’ll get you back now then.”  He replied in alarm.  ”I’ll tell Taloni to--”

”They couldn’t reopen the portal for several hours at least.”  Rachel interjected.  ”It takes a lot of mana to open, and they would’ve drained nearly all their regular mana to power the portal.  They’ll need to spend the better part of a day meditating to restore it.” 

”I’ll be fine Ethan, it just caught me off guard.”  Alana said as she straightened up.  She didn’t look quite ’fine’, but she looked a little better.   ”I can draw enough mana that I’ll be okay for several days, maybe a week or two if I don’t use magic.  I just might need to stop and meditate to collect mana occasionally.  And please stay near me; I collect it much faster while you’re around.” 

”Okay.”  He turned to Rachel.  ”How about you?” 

”I can feel the difference, but not as strongly.”  The redhead replied.  ”Humans don’t draw or consume as much magic as elves do, so while I can feel the difference, it shouldn’t affect me much.  It’ll take forever to replenish my mana, but otherwise I’ll be fine.” 

”It’s a good thing Taloni isn’t here.”  Alana said.  ”The Fey draw and consume more mana than even the elves do.  She wouldn’t do well here at all.” 

”I’m glad she’s safe on...”  He cocked his head to one side.  ”What do you call your world anyway?” 

”They don’t have a name for their planet.”  Hailey interjected.  ”They just call it ’the Ten Kingdoms’; anything outside of that is considered barbarian lands.”

”Okay.”  He nodded and then turned to the two schoolteachers.  ”Do you need us to walk you back, or are you okay on your own?”

”Um, we’d like to follow you if that’s okay.”  The older and large one -- Marge -- replied.  ”I don’t think that horrible man is around here, but I rather not take the chance.” 

”No problem.”  Ethan nodded.

”Thank you.”  The younger and prettier one -- Sally -- said, though she still kept her distance from him.  ”We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.” 

”Speaking of, could you maybe not tell anyone about us for a day or two?”  Ethan asked.  ”We need to get a few things to save a...”  He considered how to describe Beth, and decided to skirt the truth for the sake of time.  ”...a friend and I don’t want to run afoul of the police.” 

”We can, and thank you again.”  She replied and then turned to the kids.  ”Come on, it’s time to go home.”

”But I want to see Talanoni again.”  One of them whined and the others agreed. 

*You have a fan club.*  Ethan thought to his Fey wife as the two schoolteachers managed to wrangle the kids into a single file line to follow them. 

*Oh?*  Taloni replied.

*Yup, when faced with the prospect of going home, the kids loudly complained that they wanted to see you again.*

*Aww.*  She said.

He felt a fluttering of warm emotions over their bond and couldn’t help but smile.  He turned his attention back to the present, where Alana was looking at him with her head cocked to the side.  She looked better; not perfect and she was slightly pale, but better.

”Were you talking to Taloni”   She asked.

”Yeah, why?”

She shrugged.  ”Just curious.  It’s weird to know there’s a conversation going on right next to me when I can’t hear it.”  She turned to Rachel.  ”Okay, I can see how that might be a little annoying.” 

Rachel smiled knowingly.

It would’ve come across as arrogant on anyone else, but on the redhead, it came across as merely confident.  Still, it would be nice to not limit the telepathic conversation to just one wife at a time.

”It seems like there must be a way to talk to all of you at once.”  He said as he thought about it. 

Alana smiled.  ”I would like that.” 

”Me too.”  He looked around, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly.  It felt good to be back on Earth.  If Alana couldn’t stay long because of the barrier, he certainly couldn’t ever move back to Earth.  A tiny part of him was sad, but surprisingly, most of him wasn’t.  He had built a really wonderful life with Alana and Taloni, and hopefully Beth would join them soon.  He wouldn’t give it up for the world.

”Is it weird being back?”  Alana asked. 

”Maybe a little.”  He looked at her beautiful face.  She had that ’girl next door’ kind of beauty which seemed to shine no matter what she was wearing or how she did -- or didn’t -- fix herself up.  She was just a joy to have around. 

”What?” she asked as he gazed at her.

He walked up to her, pulled her close, and kissed her tenderly on the lips.  She kissed back, and he could feel how much she loved him in the kiss.

It was wonderful.

”What was that for?”  She asked when they had parted. 

”For you being you.”  He smiled at her.  She smiled back and hugged him, which he returned.

”I like you too.”  She said as she snuggled up closer to him.  ”Speaking of ’you being you’, what did you look like before getting all the scales?” 

”Um...”  He glanced down at the disguise gem.  ”I suppose I could try to show you.”   He focused on what he remembered himself looking like in the mirror before pushing a bit of mana in to the gem. 

Alana squinted at him, having a hard time seeing the actual disguise because she could see right through the disguise gem.  ”I still think you’re handsome.” 

Rachel got a mischievous look and did a mock dismissive wave of her hand.  ”Whatever; you’d think he was handsome with scales.”  She winked. 

”He is.”  She said gazing at him.

Ethan noticed Rachel shifting slightly uncomfortably on her feet at this pronouncement, so he turned to Hailey.  ”Alright, lead on.” 

Hailey gulped.

She looked slightly nauseous and extremely nervous.  Alana walked over to her and put an arm around her waist.  He guessed she would’ve put it around her shoulder, but the wood elf was at least six inches shorter. 

”Hailey, it’ll be okay.”  The chocolate-haired elf reassured the trembling human.  ”We’ll be with you every step of the way.” 

Hailey took a deep breath.  ”Okay.” 

”How far is it?”  Ethan asked, picking up the weapons he’d dropped when Alana had looked ill.  He doubted they would actually run into Gonorran, but better safe than sorry. 

She glanced at the trail.  ”Maybe twenty minutes to walk?  I always took a back way in because there were rarely any people on it.” 

”Then lead on.” 

Hailey nodded and they set out. 

* * *

Hailey couldn’t believe she was back.  

She had spent years longing to be back and now she was.  She had run this forest every morning for months and missed it so much.  It smelled the same, looked the same, and even felt the same.  Nothing had changed in the intervening four years. 

Well, almost nothing. 

She was walking through a forest on Earth leading a mage, a wood elf, a dragon, and some people they’d just rescued from a slaver’s compound on another world that she herself had once occupied.

She shuddered. 

She didn’t want to think of that right now.  She was home; at last, she was home.  Well, almost home.  She didn’t know if Jason had moved, but doubted it because his apartment was right above the Yoga studio he managed.  The commute was less than thirty seconds if he was feeling slow and lazy, so he probably wouldn’t have moved away. 

At least, she hoped he hadn’t moved away.  If he had, she didn’t know how to find him.

About five minutes later, they reached a fork in the trail with a branch off to the right.  Hailey knew that just a short way down the fork was a visitor’s station for the State Park, which is probably why the two school teachers stopped.

”I think this is our stop.”  Marge said.  ”The visitor’s station is just down this path, and we can call the police and parents from there.”

”Take care of yourselves.”  Ethan said.

They nodded and started wrangling the kids down the fork.  Once they were out of sight, the rest of them continued walking down the trail towards town.

About five minutes later, they came out by the road on the edge of the downtown area of the small town.  It only had ten thousand residents, but there were usually a lot more tourists coming through the place.  The downtown area was carefully cultivated to give it a homey, old-time feel which attracted a lot of tourists.  Add the beautiful State Park nearby and it was a certified tourist trap, though a small one.  She noted that the same antique stores, boutiques, and specialty stores that tourists love were still lining the opposite side of the street.

It really hadn’t changed.

”Hang on a moment.”  Ethan said, then turned to Alana.  ”Let me have your bow and arrows.”

The wood elf surrendered them, he walked back up the trail with the weapons, and returned a minute later without them.  She assumed he’d hidden them, which was a good idea. The local constabulary probably wouldn’t take kindly to them walking around with them.

”What is that?”  Alana breathed from behind her. 

Hailey turned around to see the wood elf staring at a little commuter car with something between fascination and fear.  Rachel looked equally impressed. 

”It’s called a ’car’.”  Ethan explained a bit about how they worked and both women from the other world looked appropriately impressed. 

”What genius thought up that technology?”  Rachel wondered aloud with amazement when Ethan was done explaining. 

”Scientists.”  Ethan said with a satisfied smile.

Rachel looked skeptical, but nodded. 

Hailey led the way across the street while listening to the stunned whispers behind her as the chocolate-haired brunette and the redhead pointed and gasped in fascination at almost everything.  Street lights, cars, bicycles; everything.

”Wait until you see a Wal-Mart.”  She heard Ethan say with a laugh.

Their delighted wonder provided a nice distraction for Hailey, who was taking each step slightly more hesitantly than the last.  Her palms had started to get sweaty.  She tried taking deep, calming breaths; but she was starting to hyperventilate anyway. 

”You can do this, you can do this.”  She whispered quietly to herself over and over.

Only two more blocks. 

”Hailey, it’ll be okay.”  Alana reassured her.

”I don’t know if I can do this.”  She felt herself stop as each successive step became more and more nerve-wracking. 

”You can do it.”  Ethan said confidently.  ”After everything that you’ve been through, would you just give up?” 

She shook her head. 

”We’ll be right there with you.”  The wood elf said.  ”I know it’s hard, but it’s what you want, right?

She nodded. 

”It’s the home stretch; you can do this.”  Ethan said encouragingly.

Hailey nodded again and again turned toward Jason’s apartment.  She almost considered visiting Melinda first, but her best friend hated her apartment and had been looking to move out years ago, so...

”This is it.”  She said a minute later, then took a deep breath. 

They were standing in front of a large brick building with a large window looking into the yoga studio inside.  On the right side of the window was a green door.  She hesitated for a moment, then went to it, pulled it open, and walked up a set of stairs leading into a short hallway.  She passed the first door and stopped in front of the second. 

”We’re here.”  She announced. 

Everyone else was gathered in the hallway behind her.  She couldn’t believe she was finally here.  The door still had the tiny little Christmas ornament wreath on it.  They had bought it on her and Jason’s first Christmas because money was so tight and they couldn’t afford anything else.  They’d liked it so much, they left it up year-round.

It was still there.

For some reason, that gave her hope.

”Go ahead.”  Rachel gently prodded. 

Hailey took a deep breath, raised her hand, and knocked on the door. 

”One minute.”  A female voice called from inside. 

A woman’s voice?  Hailey had a sudden moment of panic, wondering if perhaps Jason had found a new girlfriend.  But on second thought, it sounded a little like her best friend Melinda.  She and Jason were good friends and she did yoga.  Maybe she stopped over before a class?

Thirty seconds later, the door opened. 

”Sorry, I’m still not used to...”  Melinda trailed off as she saw who was at the door.  ”Hailey?”  She breathed. 

”Hi Mels.”  Hailey replied, and she couldn’t help but smile.

They stared at each other for a moment, then Melinda almost lunged forward and pulled Hailey into the tightest hug she’d ever received.  Her best friend squeezed so tight she thought she might crack a rib.  Oddly, there was rather more pressure against her stomach than she would’ve expected given the angle Melinda was at.

”Oh my God, girl.”  Melinda breathed.  ”I missed you so much.”

”Imruffmdwutwo.”  Hailey tried to reply, but she couldn’t breathe. 

Melinda loosened her grip slightly.  ”Where were you?  How did you get back?” 

”It’s a long story.”  Hailey sighed. 

Melinda pulled back, tears of joy running down her cheeks.  ”I can’t believe you’re back.” 

”I am.  I finally am.”  She felt tears coming out of her own eyes too.  She couldn’t believe she was home.  Finally.  ”Let me look at you.”  She said giving her best friend the once over. 

As always, Melinda was trim and fit; her nearly flawless olive skin and thick, dark hair betraying her Hispanic origin.  Her hair was loose, falling a little past her shoulders covering the spaghetti straps of the casual tank top she was wearing.

But that’s not what stood out.

The rather large bulge on her stomach stood out in stark contrast to the rest of her slender body.

”Mels, are you...”  Hailey’s eyes nearly bugged out.  ”What happened to all your rants about children and birth being gross?”

Suddenly, Melinda looked a little sheepish; almost guilty.  ”It wasn’t quite...  I mean we didn’t plan on having a baby.” 

”We?”  Hailey smiled.  ”There’s a ’we’?  So, who’s the guy and when can I meet him?”

Melinda glanced back into the apartment.  ”He’s um...  He’s...” 

Hailey heard a door open and then a male voice from deeper inside the apartment.  It was a voice she’d dreamed about for four long years.  But what he said made her stomach clench and her heart fall to somewhere around the building’s basement.

”Hey babe, who’s at the door?”