Transitions IV

  Lily took a deep breath. She faced the wooden door in front of her, wide open, with the rustic cabin beyond which Cinza had built for them, and she tried to take a step forward.

  But she couldn't.

  What if it doesn't work?

  A tug at her heart, perfectly coincided with the cough from behind her. Kendra was straining to hold the portal open. Lily needed to walk through.

  Thousands of miles in a single step. If we're wrong… I could die. Or Kendra could die. Or both of us.

  "We tested this," said Kendra firmly.

  "Over short distances," she retorted. "I might have overlooked the sensation."

  "You stated there was no increase in our collective drain so long as the portal remained open."

  "I could have missed it," said Lily. "It's been a trying week."

  "Lily—"

  "Kenni, I swear," she said wearily, "I have absolute faith in you. But it's both our lives on the line here."

  "We will never know until we make an attempt."

  "Yes, but—"

  "You wanted to do this for Natalie," said Kendra quietly. "To make up for the mistakes we made."

  Lily turned around. Kendra was seated in her easy chair, laptop on her legs, wearing simple clothes and with her hand in a bowl of mixed gemstones—amethyst and citrine, primarily. They were inside one of their dimensions, tied to their home back in London. Between the research done by Nikki and the unexpected assistance of Grey-eyes, the sisters had developed a method to open portals at any length of space. It required a significant amount of energy and required great concentration by either of them, but it was possible.

  They'd blown open the boundaries between spaces, found where the universe curved and warped, and traveled outside those pathways. Lily never doubted the magnitude of their accomplishment… but now she needed to actually use it.

  "The Summit was successful," said Kendra. "...For our part, at least."

  "There's a difference, and you're well aware of it," said Lily stubbornly. "I never left the pocket."

  "And now we're simply reversing our positions," said Kendra.

  "With no anchor."

  "You're the anchor, Lily."

  Lily shook her head. She turned back around, facing the doorway once more, and took a deep breath. "If this doesn't work…"

  "We won't be around long enough to appreciate that eventuality," said Kendra. "If the worst occurs, we've long since tended to our affairs."

  "What do you think will happen to me?" asked Lily.

  "Who's to know?" Kendra sighed. "Is this really the time for existential ponderance? We have an appointment to keep."

  "I suppose not."

  Without further ado, Lily took a step forward. Fresh air filled her lungs, as she moved out from the manufactured stillness of their dimension into the depths of the Olympic Forest. She breathed deep, taking in the smells and sounds of the forest just outside the little cabin, and smiled.

  I'm not dead.

  A minute or so later, Kendra followed, and the door disappeared. It was then they noticed the decorative frame around the space where they'd placed the door—an elaborate series of cursive lines and engravings in the handsome wood, inlaid with what appeared to be silver, though on closer inspection it merely gave the impression rather than truly consisting of the rare metal.

  "Ruby's, no doubt," said Kendra.

  Lily nodded. "Well…"

  "No need to make a big to-do of it," her sister replied. "I'll be with Cinza. Join us whenever you're done?"

  "Yes."

  They embraced. Kendra set off right away, but Lily took a moment to compose herself. In some ways, Kendra's meeting that day was far more difficult—they needed to discuss what to do now that awakenings had ceased, Cinza's role as leader, Kendra's support in funding, plans for expansion, and new ways to communicate now that electronics were wiped out entirely in the Greywood and beyond.

  Lily would much rather have gone to that meeting.

  We're perfectly identical from my birth… so why do I seem to be far more invested in Natalie and her fate than she does?

  Of the two, Lily had always been more involved with looking after Natalie. Kendra did her part, but it was always reluctant, always with hesitation. Neither of them had any particular inclinations toward parenting, but when Natalie found herself suddenly without any family, Lily had taken it to heart. As soon as Rachel asked for a volunteer to watch the girl, she'd stepped up immediately.

  Kendra hadn't been happy about it, but given Natalie's plight and her importance to the community, she'd accepted it without comment. By the time Rallsburg fell, Kendra was fully on board with the goal of educating and protecting Natalie.

  Except… they'd failed. Lily had failed. She'd gotten distracted, she'd made mistakes, she'd doubled-down on those mistakes until it was far too late.

  How much of that is me, and how much is because I am Kendra? She insists otherwise, but… perhaps despite my inclination, I simply don't have the capacity to be a mother.

  Whatever the reason, Lily wished to make it up to Natalie. For that reason, she'd wanted to come to the Greywood with Kendra, rather than stay inside the pocket and keep their retreat ready. They did not fear the Greycloaks, but… given their last visit, a healthy paranoia seemed a reasonable precaution.

  Now all Lily needed to do was locate her.

  "Nobody knows," said Josh, as soon as Lily caught up with him, sitting just outside Nikki's cabin with a blanket and a cup of steaming coffee.

  She faltered. "Nobody?"

  He shrugged. "Agent Ashe picked up her dad at her old tree fort and arrested him. Brian Hendricks will be taken to Olympia for trial, as soon as they can figure out how to transport him out of here. Natalie wasn't there." Josh glanced around. "Wish I did know where she was, so I could get her to turn this shit off."

  Lily glanced up. "Turn what off?"

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  "Remember Hector's old no-electricity spell?" Josh sighed. "It's covering the whole fucking Olympic Forest now. No idea how far. Hailey says it went out at least to Shelton. I haven't had any word about Natalie yet, and it's been days. Captain Hoskins and his crew finally got a humvee moving somehow, but we had to prioritize the wounded who still needed to be moved out and hadn't been triaged for a helicopter. It hasn't come back."

  "I'd heard about it, but I hadn't realized how wide an area it covered," said Lily. Experimentally, she reached out with magic to feel the area around her… but besides the expected auras from the various spells fueling the Greywood, she didn't sense anything particularly new. "A ritual?"

  "Yeah. Nobody's powering it anymore. It's permanent." Josh shrugged. "And since Hector never told a single goddamn person how to do it… it's gonna be tough to reverse this."

  "He told Natalie," said Lily.

  "...Right." Josh glanced at the sky, where a heavy sheet of grey clouds drifted slowly across the wide expanse. "We don't have a clue where he is either. Maybe they're together."

  "What about her friends?"

  "They're all in Brittany's cabin," said Josh, jerking his head across the clearing. Lily started to turn away, but Josh spoke up again. "Hey… before you go."

  "Yes?"

  "This whole portal thing…" Josh started slowly, "how much does it take to use?"

  "It is not trivial."

  He shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "Yeah… but—"

  Lily caught on. "Is there somewhere you would like to go?"

  Josh sighed. "...I shouldn't. If I do, odds are I won't come back, and I think things'll go even more to shit if I'm not around."

  "Where?"

  "...My parents in Norwalk."

  Lily nodded. "Call me when—"

  Josh snorted. "How?"

  "...Kendra will be working out a method today," said Lily patiently. "I'm not certain how yet. But… if you ever need to visit them, we will make it happen."

  After a few moments, Josh smiled. He leaned back in his chair and sipped at his coffee. "Thanks."

  She nodded. "Was there anything else?"

  "Nah." Josh sighed and got to his feet. "I gotta get going anyway. Captain Hoskins is waiting on my update from Cinza, and I hope to fucking God he's got a proper coffeemaker working again. This shit is awful. I really should've learned to brew it myself."

  "It was good to see you, Josh."

  "Take care of yourself, Lily."

  Lily crossed the Greywood, marveling once more at the flow of magic woven into every building. The trees themselves powered the faint sparkling aura coating the bridge, a mixture of natural material and polished wood rising over the merrily bubbling creek. Lily briefly wondered if they might be better served having the trees power a more useful spell, but she quickly reminded herself this was not her home, and it was not her place to decide how others chose to use their magic.

  It seems such a waste, though… we might be able to multiply and manipulate energy, but entropy is still a concern. We ought not to be so frivolous with our power.

  She shook it off. Lily was the last person to be judging anyone on their responsibility these days. She had plenty to make up for herself. As she approached the Wilkins' cabin, she reminded herself of that again, and exactly why she'd come to the Greywood—because she'd promised Natalie.

  "Brittany?" called Lily, knocking on the door.

  "Come in!"

  Lily swung the door wide—and just inside, gathered around a roaring fire, were three middle-school children, with Brittany seated on her chair just behind. Lily closed the door to keep out the winter chill.

  "Everyone, this is Kendra Laushire."

  "Hi," said one of the children, an athletic young girl with long black hair up in a ponytail. The other two—a pale boy with wide-rimmed glasses and a stocky boy with thin black glasses—both waved, but didn't speak up. They seemed to be letting the girl speak for them.

  "Lily, actually," she corrected patiently. "It's good to see you again, Brittany. How are you?"

  "Oh you know," said Brittany airily, "the usual. Got pretty good at using magic to wheel myself around."

  "May I speak with the children alone, please?"

  "Sure. I needed to go get something from the garden anyway." Brittany's chair began to roll through the cabin of its own accord, without so much as a hint of effort from the woman seated on it. The door swung open for her, and a few moments later, they heard her rolling away on the grass, shouting something at Joe McKinney across the way.

  Lily took a seat near the fire, just above the three children sitting on the rug near it.

  "Hello," she started.

  "You're Lily?" blurted the stocky child suddenly. "Like, the Lily Natalie always talked about?"

  "...I wasn't aware she ever mentioned me," said Lily, a little taken aback.

  "Yeah," said the girl, "she mentioned you a bunch. You're her fake mom, right?"

  "I suppose. I can't say I did a great job as a mother."

  "No kidding."

  "Hey, leave her alone," said the pale child indignantly. "She probably had good reasons. They're all awakened."

  "That's no excuse," said Lily firmly. "What's your name?"

  "Tyler," he replied, "and that's Kelsey and Mitch."

  Lily nodded. "As I said, Tyler, that's not an excuse. I wasn't a good parent to Natalie. I'm trying to do better now, but… something else happened."

  "You mean the whole no-electricity thing?" said Mitch. "We kinda noticed."

  "Right. More importantly, your parents are worried sick."

  "...Oh."

  "My moms were being stupid anyway," said Kelsey indignantly. "They went to one of her dad's meetings."

  "Her father has been arrested, and his monsters are gone. His crusade is over, and a terrifying chapter of our lives closed." Lily glanced around at the three of them. "However, the three of you are still here."

  "Of course we are!" said Mitch. "She's our friend!"

  "Except many now believe she kidnapped you."

  "What?" snapped Kelsey. "That's ridiculous!"

  "Yeah, she didn't even know we were coming!" added Mitch.

  "I admire all of you," said Lily, "but you need to go home. You cannot stay out here."

  "But we—"

  "You'll be helping her if you do," she went on. "If you return home and explain what happened, we can clear Natalie of the charges. Her name is already laden with suspicion due to her father, and many are willing to believe the worst because of it. Go home and be there for Natalie until she decides to return." Lily smiled faintly. "We all know she can take care of herself."

  "...We don't even know where she is anyway," said Kelsey finally, glancing at the other two. "We're not really doing anything out here."

  "I don't want to go back," said Tyler. "What's the point if she's not coming with us?"

  "We didn't even get to awaken," said Mitch.

  "Is that all you care about?" asked Kelsey heatedly.

  "No! I was here for Natalie too!"

  "Tell her story," said Lily, cutting in before they got into an argument. The three children fell silent, watching her above them with curious expressions. "Remind everyone she is a good person who deserves a place in this world. Do not let them spread lies about her. Make a place that will welcome her home, once she is ready to return."

  They sat in silence for a minute, with only the crackling of the fire filling the space. Lily waited for them to come to terms with leaving their friend behind, though of course, there was little point in staying.

  "...My mom's gonna be so mad I ditched without saying anything," said Mitch.

  "You didn't say anything?" asked Tyler.

  "I left a note!"

  "I left a note too," said Kelsey uneasily. "Figured if my moms knew, they wouldn't let me go. They texted me a bunch, asking me to come back… I'm gonna be in so much trouble."

  "I've already spoken to each of your parents," said Lily, "and they're eager to see you again." It was certainly an interesting phone call… Not many expect to get a call from Kendra Laushire out of the blue. "I can take you home today, if you like."

  Their eyes widened.

  "How?" asked Kelsey.

  "Magic," said Lily simply.

  Kenni's mad at me for this too… I agree that we must keep our new ability limited to only the most important tasks and strictest security. It is too powerful to become widely known. But… this is important.

  "Can you, like… teleport us or something?" asked Mitch.

  "In a manner of speaking." Lily glanced between each of them. "This is a one-way trip, though. A special occasion."

  "So… we can't come back," said Tyler, crestfallen.

  "You might one day," said Lily, and he perked up immediately. "But you need to go home now. This isn't the place for you yet."

  A faint pulse of magic, and then a second one. Kendra was signalling her already—that was so much quicker than I expected…

  "Will she be okay?" asked Kelsey.

  Lily started to nod… but stopped. "I hope so," she said quietly.

  Kendra knocked on the door a moment later. The children gathered their things, and Kendra summoned a portal back into their pocket, and then again to their office in Seattle. A driver was waiting for them, and soon enough, the children were on their way back to their parents.

  "Are you feeling better?" asked Kendra, not unkindly.

  Lily shook her head. "Not yet."

  Kendra frowned. "I wonder…"

  "What?"

  "If we truly are identical."

  Lily gazed down the street, watching the last car turn the corner and disappear. "I don't know. You made me. Do you recall deciding anything should be different?"

  "I don't."

  "Why not?" asked Lily, turning to her sister—her creator. "Are we so vain as to believe nothing could be improved? Are we flawless, and the world is better off with two of us roaming about?"

  "Lily—"

  "I'm tired, Kenni." Lily walked back through the portal to their home. "Let's just go, please."

  Kendra looked troubled, but didn't reply. She followed, and soon enough, the sisters were back in London, back to their home and their bewildered parents, who still didn't quite understand who Lily was—not that she even knew herself. All she knew was that she forever remained tethered, a life tangled up in another, and though she loved her sister dearly… sometimes, it hurt more than she could bear.

  Lily took a deep breath and steeled herself. Those thoughts did no one any good. She could no more change the circumstances of her existence than alter the fundamental forces of the universe.

  Unless…