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  From the way Frizzy blushed, she liked being called a goddess and who wouldn’t go all gooey with tall, dark, and handsome ORB slayer? Oh right, an ORB.

  I stepped in front of Max. “Hold up there, Hoss, nobody’s taking anybody prisoner. Anyway, where were you planning to go? You’re the stranger in the strange land.” Then I turned to Frizzy. “And you! You can’t lock up anyone. This ain’t Dodge and you aren’t Marshall Dillon.”

  Queen Fodjes tapped a small gong with a mallet. Three large Cyclops entered the room and stood awaiting the queen’s orders. “This is not Dodge of Earth,” she agreed, pointing the mallet at Max and me. “Nor is it Rhineguard.” The mallet moved to Frizzy. “I am queen here and I will decide how to proceed.”

  Of course, Frizzy and Max didn’t fancy that and protested.

  The queen hit the gong again and three more Cyclops soldiers appeared. “Princess Phrysia, with your permission, I want to send men to search for my husband’s body.” Frizzy nodded. “Excuse my rudeness. These soldiers do not understand this tongue. I am only sending a party to the campsite and instructing them where the king and I rested. We wanted privacy and bedded a fair walk away from the others. I have sent out soldiers daily to scour the area for his return.” She spoke in Cyclopsnese and one soldier left. “Now, I will have this room cleaned, unless you can reverse what you did, Princess?” Frizzy shook her head. The queen nodded. “I will provide rooms, warmed water for washing, and clothes for each of you. We will reconvene in the throne room. I do not plan to take any prisoners, however armed guards shall accompany you. If this is not to your liking--” Once more Frizzy and Max yammered. The queen roared. “--I will be taking prisoners.”

  That hushed them up.

  “Sounds good to me, Folgers.” I took Sammy’s hand. The queen rapped me on the head with the mallet, which was thankfully padded, but she did it with a twinkle in her eye. “Fodjes,” I hurried to correct.

  “I don’t like this,” Max muttered on our way to our room.

  “Look, Max, I figure we have one goal here, or at least I do. I want myself and my little girl back with Mindy, and I don’t think clicking my heels together and chanting ‘There’s no place like home,’ is going to do it. If you want to go all trigger-happy, you are on your lonesome.”

  We reached our room and watched as servants filled a tub with buckets of water. “I’d like to get Sammy squared away first, if that’s okay.”

  Max walked over to a pair of doors that led to the balcony. “I’ll be out here. Let me know when it’s my turn.”

  Chapter 23

  Mindy

  I sized up the fiery Rapunzel, who resembled the fairytale character with her long flowing hair. Her locks shrank and extended, winding around like separate little appendages. The flame-throwing evil side was unfamiliar, but there were hundreds of versions of each fairytale, so who was I to judge? I needed to get out of here and fast. I saw the troops aligning through the frosted glass door. When they arrived, they would utilize tear gas to rescue me and exterminate Rapunzel without debriefing her. She was hostile, but who knew what she was fighting back home. I needed to find a solution without harming anyone on this world.

  “Okay, ’Punzel, I’ll save you and take you where you want to go, but I need you to promise not to harm anyone. I need you to give me your word and stand by it. That’s very important on this world. If you do not honor your word, you have nothing here. Do you understand?”

  I rummaged through the chief’s desk, looking for a button or lever, with no luck. I looked up to see ’Punzel nodding her head, but l wasn’t too convinced. It would have to do for now. My career would be over if this went south, but at this point it would be anyway, unless I could make chief see I was right.

  Nothing was underneath the heavy desk chair, so I spun around to the bookcase. I removed books and at mid row, I must have triggered something. One panel of the bookcase slid back.

  I waved, signaling the fiery princess. “Follow me, ’Punzel.”

  Grabbing the flashlight taped to the back of the door, I entered the stale, cement corridor. No frills here, just miles of concrete. My heart lurched, because I was mildly claustrophobic, and it had been my biggest trial at ISMAT boot camp. If I didn’t choose the right tunnel in this maze, we might be stuck in this cement tomb forever, and I didn’t have water. I went back into the office to grab the bottle of Tab, I had seen in the chief’s desk drawer. Diet drinks tasted awful, but it would do in a pinch.

  “Why do you call me ’Punzel, like the doctor does,” the fiery Venus asked as we jogged.

  “It’s shorter than Rapunzel. Sorry if it bothers you, it’s just something we do here on Earth.” I paused and looked back, stumbling on a crack in the cement. “What doctor?” I asked, hope flooding my chest.

  “Doctor Nichols of Tulane, he called himself. I lifted him into the keep by the ladder of my hair and smothered him in my ardor.” She smiled lasciviously and pushed her sparkling cleavage together. Hell, she had me leering at her chest. I worried at the thought of Jim surrounded in her ardor, but didn’t have time to discuss it. I picked up my pace as she prattled on behind me. The first corridor I chose dead-ended after about fifteen minutes of walking. We backtracked to the fork and took the second corridor. I clutched the Tab hard beneath my arm. I heard ISMAT agent boots clumping in the corridor behind us, and my heart raced. If caught, I would be considered a traitor and possibly shot. I searched the plain walls for any detail leading to an exit. This corridor also dead ended but there was a ladder attached to the wall with a trapdoor above.

  ’Punzel eyed the rusting ladder. “This is very unsightly. Don’t Earthlings have appreciation for aesthetic surroundings?”

  “Yes, just not here,” I said absentmindedly. I climbed the ladder and twisted the wheel which I assumed opened the door. Though I shoved as hard as I could, it barely budged. “A little help, please?”

  A lock of hair wound past me, wrapping its way around the wheel, giving it a hard yank. The trap door flew open and the wheel spun off, narrowly missing me. Our one and only flash light clattered to the floor, taken out by the wayward missile. Wasting no time, I heaved the door open. It was pitch black, but I climbed blindly into the space above. Rapunzel followed on my heels. Once she moved aside, I slammed the door and, with a twist of the wheel on our side, locked it.

  “There. They’ll have to locate and replace the other wheel before they can get through. That should buy us some time.” We stood in a hall, small enough that I could touch both walls at the same time. A small light, the size of a baseball, appeared in ’Punzel’s palm, illuminating the tight space. A small wave of relief lifted my spirits. “Thanks.”

  Rapunzel held the light in one hand and wiped futilely at the cobwebs on her dress. “This is not an improvement,” she sniffed.

  Examining the wall, I found a lever. It was stiff, but I was able to open it without hair assistance. With a creak, the door to a study opened. We couldn’t stay here, but I was at a loss as to where we were and where to go next. I wonder what Max will say when he finds out what I’ve done. Would he back me or turn his back on me?

  I snapped my fingers. “I got it!”

  The princess examined me. “I see nothing.”

  “I mean, I know where we can go.”

  One day when I was in training with Max, he forgot his lunch. We stopped by his house to pick it up. He had sheepishly confided to me that he had an extra key hidden by the front door. Even if I can’t find the key, I can break open a window and at least regroup. I looked at Rapunzel. “You are going to stick out like a sore thumb. Let’s check this place for clothes you can wear and that hair...I don’t know what we can do to hide it.”

  “You want to change my appearance so I am not noticed?” I watched as she shimmered and a mirror image of myself appeared. “This will definitely make me fade into the background, like a brownie does when caught cleaning.”

  My brow crinkled at the slight to my appearance, but I wouldn
’t reward her by getting upset. “That’s good, but you can’t be identical.” Sandy-blonde hair replaced the brown and the little bump on my nose straightened. The suit became perfectly tailored and turned a prettier shade of blue. I tried to tap down my annoyance and envy of my better reflection.

  “Acceptable?”

  “Yes.” I started to leave the room, but stopped. “And no more magic, please.”

  Chapter 24

  Jim

  I helped Sammy to get a bath and toweled her off with what looked to be a piece of soft brushed linen. The room wasn’t overly posh, though it was tastefully furnished with soft velvets and silks. It was a simple stone room in the north tower, the warmer side of the castle. Built of stone, the place was frigid, so I was all for warmth. The servants who drew Sammy’s bath, tended the massive fireplace that heated the water. The room was more than toasty for now, and it wasn’t long after draping Sammy in a white linen shirt that served as a gown, that she nodded off to a blissful slumber. A similar shirt with tight, leather britches and boots lay out for me and I was told that tea would be served in the sitting room shortly. Argh, was all I could think as I fancied myself in the reflective glass. More opaque than the usual mirrors of Earth, it gave me a storybook pirate look.

  Three connecting rooms made up the suite. Sam and I were given one and Max the other, with a sitting room in-between. We washed, then met in the middle room by the fire. The throne room would be our next destination, where I was sure another debriefing and battle of wits would ensue. I worried about Mindy going MIA. Max said the chief was upset and I needed to know what was going on back home. I would ask Sam more questions when she woke up and hopefully glean more information. Right now, I needed to find out what was going on in Max’s head. I didn’t exactly trust Frizzy, but the Cyclops queen seemed rational. Just another example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

  I looked at the tray with two tankards on it, and an assortment of little bites to eat. “So, how’s the tea?”

  Max happily scarfed down one of two generously filled plates, so I thought it must be safe to dig in.

  “It’s sort of like beer, but with a taste of honey and maybe cinnamon,” he said, his brow wrinkling as he tried to discern the elements of the brew.

  “I’m not picky.” I turned the tankard up and took a long swig. Surprised that the brew was more than warm, I choked a little as rivulets poured around my mouth. Great, so much for clean clothes.

  “Or neat apparently,” Max jibed. “You’re not at all as Mindy described. She said you were OCD and a nerdy type.” He paused, trying to recapture his last words. “I mean, she says you’re really smart.”

  “And I’m not what she described?” My voice was flat. Max’s eyes looked upward as if scanning his brain for a way out. “Don’t worry about it, let’s put our heads together and find a way to get out of this place. Any ideas?”

  “Well, I can tell you, but then I’ll have to kill you,” he said solemnly, then rolled with laughter. I was beginning to think he was drunk.

  “They’ll mind wipe you, if you make it back. The only way we can get off this rock is for all the ORBs to be terminated in the area we left. For every ORB that shows up, something, or apparently someone from Earth comes here. We don’t know the science of it yet, but it’s like an orbiting wormhole or something, randomly appearing in specific areas like my office at ISMAT. Funny thing is that some of the beings here speak English and seem to have a culture all their own--yet, strangely this castle is like medieval Earth. There has never been any record of sentient ORBs on Earth, but it’s weird that this place has beings that hold court. They have a government.” Max seemed lucid, until he doubled over in laughter. “Did you check out the rack on the seriously hot, green chick? I’ve never done a green woman before.”

  Max couldn’t seem to hold it together for long. I found myself sniffing the brew I just downed and waited for the same humorous feelings. Maybe Mindy forgot to mention he was a tool? I could admire that Frizzy had a nice figure and could be considered stunning if she wasn’t green, but Max wasn’t exactly complimenting her with his pros. There was a knock on the door. A Cyclops guard entered. “Come,” he commanded.

  “Like hell,” Max said as he stood clenching his fists and wobbling. I used my hands to push his fists down and cleared my throat. I didn’t want to go toe to toe with the Incredible Hulk and I didn’t plan on leaving my baby alone. A show of strength against this guy would result in Jim jelly. Before I could protest, a maid bustled in leading a Cyclops child by the hand.

  “My Englise, not so good, but do speak,” she said. “I watch Sammy.” She waved her hand toward the little one. “Nstrl play with.” The pigtailed child smiled. She attempted a curtsey and would have fallen over if not for the woman attending her.

  “Daddy?” Sammy peeked around the door.

  “Hey, Sammy. Do you want to come with me or stay and play with, um, Nostril?”

  Little Nostril pulled two dolls from her apron pocket and shyly proffered one of them to Sammy. Sammy accepted it and made the doll wave at Nostril.

  “Hi,” she said. “My name is Sammy. Sam--me, Sammy.”

  Nostril tried to repeat. “Smemsee?” Both girls giggled.

  The older Cyclops looked at me awaiting a decision and I could see that one had already been made by my daughter. She was leading Nostril to the bedroom and chatting away to her.

  Before she went in, she ran back and gave me a hug. “Don’t worry, Daddy. I’ll take good care of Nstrl while she’s here.”

  Damn, my baby speaks Cyclopsese a helluva lot better than I do. The child’s attendant nodded, smiled, and followed. Under one arm she held a bag, which, based on the bright, primary colors that decorated it, held more toys.

  “Lead on, my good man,” I said to the guard, then firmly gripped a glaring Max by the elbow. “Stop giving him the hairy eyeball, unless you wanna be Mashed Max,” I whispered to him. He staggered into me as we exited. “What the hell is wrong with you? Get it together, man,” I gritted out. Maybe I should have left Max in the room too, only instead of getting to play, he might need a timeout.

  Chapter 25

  The Brownie

  While Grandmum and the elder gent talked, I kept an eye on the wee Cyclops. He was slowing down, like all tots after a busy play day, and was starting to go droopy eyed.

  “Grandmum, we need to get the little to a bed.”

  “Oh, my! You’re right, Winni. Mindy should be coming home soon too.” She turned to Elder Harry. “You really need to speak to my daughter. Would you mind coming with us to her apartment?”

  Grrlecc opened his mouth in a Rhonderdack-sized yawn.

  “I’ll follow you in my car, Mary Katherine.”

  Grandmum let me use the ray-dee-oo while we rode back to the keep. She explained that steeds do not speak...well, not always in a language understandable. It was all a tad confusing. Somehow sound is transported from Notherplace and, if you twist buttons just so, you hear something you ken. The lad was asleep as soon as his britches touched the seat. Thankfully, he did nae wake grumpy. Grandmum and Elder Harry helped him up the stairs and tucked him in Sammy’s bed.

  Tea is always proper, so I brewed a pot and brought cuppas and some goodies I baked earlier. Grandmum insisted that I join them, so the washing up would have to wait.

  “Harry, what should we do?”

  Grandmum was straight to the point. I liked that.

  Elder Harry sipped the tea and sighed in satisfaction. “Thank you, Winnalea.”

  A true gentlemen he is. “’Tis nothing, Elder Harry.”

  “Please, call me, Harry.”

  A good match for Grandmum, truly.

  “How does this fit into your hypotheses, Harry?” Grandmum asked.

  “More complex beings and more awareness. It is all there if you are fast enough to research before the data is altered.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Facts have been twisted, Mary
Katherine. The--I’m sorry, Winnalea, where are you from?”

  I sipped my tea and added a dollop of cream. “Ortharos.”

  “Our visitors from Ortharos are becoming more complex, more coherent, and less temperamental. It is a slow progression, but obvious--if you have unaltered data and if you compare it to all the information we have gathered.”

  “Why is this secret?” Grandmum asked.

  “I think the deception exists to bring back our people as soon as possible and the government fears that the magic of Ortharos could be used here. Imagine it, Mary Katherine, alien visitors who come and with a wave of a wand, affect our world. I believe some of our people have access to the same magic that continues to filter in. Ideally, they want to stop it, but if they can’t, they want to make sure interactions with ORBs are limited and the gifted have no idea of their powers. You see that the school is growing in leaps and bounds. More and more score highly on tests that, in a crude form, identify and quantify magic.”

  “The big question is, when will it all end?” Grandmum asked, wringing her hands. I knew she worried about her daughter and Little Miss.

  “I don’t know, Mary Katherine. If I had to guess, when an equilibrium is reached. I think magic is not static. It is more organic. How that will come out in the wash, I don’t know.”

  Mary Katherine tilted her head to the side in contemplation. “Do you mean, when enough magic from Ortharos sifts through to this world? Will that stop the Blinks, or just the uncontrollable behavior of the ORBs?”

  “I really don’t know the answer to that. Only time will tell, when the magic between worlds levels out. If people stop disappearing, then we can assume the transfers are over, but the one thing that is undeniable, is that Winnalea is an amazing crumpet maker, and who couldn’t agree that she brings goodness to this world. We can’t just keep terminating every ORB that appears on Earth. It’s inhumane and ISMAT knows it. We have to get Winnalea and the Cyclops child in front of the council--” He paused and took another sip of his tea, then finished, “--safely,” he emphasized.