Standing behind them now was the girl who’d been sitting in the massive throne. The Queen.

Standing behind her was Bram.

Lucas noticed Michael slip his gun back into his backpack and slide his arms through the straps. Lucas breathed a sigh of relief… for now. Michael was making everything harder than it had to be.

The girl was staring at them intensely.

“Um… Listen… Your majesty?” Lucas said. “We were just nervous. We aren’t going to kidnap you or anything.”

The girl smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.” She snapped her fingers a few times loudly and two women hustled through the side door she’d obviously used to enter the room without notice, carrying trays with water, glasses, meats, and cheeses. They sat them on the table and quickly left.

The Queen sat on a couch and gestured for the four of them to do the same. “Please, help yourself to some refreshment. You must be starving.”

They all looked at each other, then Michael greedily grabbed a glass of water and some meat and chomped down. Lucas and the girls followed suit.

“I guess I should introduce myself,” the girl said, exchanging a glance with Bram standing in the corner. “I am Queen Jillian, and this is the kingdom of Thera.”

Lucas stopped eating, confused by the whole situation. “So, are you going to execute us?”

The girl laughed. “No. I don’t think there will be a need for that. That was just a show for Zayne. The Queen Mother is her official title. But she’s not my real mother. She married my father after my mother died. She is the daughter of the King of Azesia. They were married to ensure peace between the kingdoms. My father has recently died, and now I am queen. That is hard for Zayne to accept.” She stared out of the large window, lost in thought. “But enough about that. I’d like to know where you came from and how you got here.”

Sarah Beth, Harper, and even Michael looked at Lucas. He had just been nominated as their official spokesperson.

“Okay… I guess I’ll just be honest. We sort of fell out of our world and into this one.”

The girl raised an eyebrow at Bram. “So you did come through a rift.”

Lucas shrugged. “I guess.”

“This is not good news.” The girl shook her head at Bram. “The rifts are spreading.”

Bram frowned. “We should inform Erius.”

Jillian said, “No. He believes we should give them to the Eths. We cannot do that.”

Lucas was lost. “Who’s Erius, and who are these Eth people?”

Jillian leaned forward when she spoke. “Erius is my father’s wizard. My wizard, now,” she corrected. “He advises me in all things magic. But… He and Zayne are united in the thinking that I am too young to be queen and that Zayne should rule. Only custom and the opinion of prominent nobles have belayed that from happening. They think we should turn you over to the Eths, but I do not.”

“So what are the Eths,” Harper asked, feeling a little bit more comfortable.

“The Eths,” Jillian said, “are a magical race, powerful in a time long ago, a time before we humans ruled, who were deposed for ruling malevolently. They now guard the rifts in our world. They are bound to the areas in which a rift emerges.”

“And a rift is some kind of portal, I’m taking it,” Lucas said.

Jillian nodded. “It is. Rifts are portals to other worlds.”

“So why would you turn us over to them?” Lucas asked. “Why not just send us back?”

“Because…” Jillian looked them all over like she was scrutinizing them, “up until now, the only beings that have come through a rift have been monsters.”

“Oh,” Lucas said.

“And I mean monsters.” She looked at Bram. “I saw one once when I was a girl. I was on a campaign with my father. A rift opened, and a monster emerged in the middle of a great battle.”

Lucas and Michael leaned closer, wanting her to go on with her story. Sarah Beth and Harper grabbed hands.

Bram said, “It was four stories tall and looked like a bull. If a bull breathed fire and had twenty-foot tusks coming out of its mouth.”

Jillian nodded. “Both armies stopped fighting and joined together to defeat it. Many men were killed that day. My father was wounded badly and could never raise his left arm again.” She looked sadly at Bram. “Bram’s father, the King’s personal guard, was killed that day. Bram is now my guard.”

Lucas saw the seriousness on her face and didn’t doubt her for one second.

“There are stories like that about all rifts. Although not many monsters are as big as The Bull. Most are small, and some even somewhat resemble us. But not many. The Eths turn the monsters back or destroy them. It is the law that if a rift opens, they are to be told, and all monsters be turned over to them for execution.”

“But we’re not monsters,” Lucas said. “I promise.”

Jillian nodded. “I don’t think you are. And I do not want to tell the Eths about a rift in my kingdom. Where ever a rift opens, the Eths take over the land, and it dies and turns black around the rift.”

“And you don’t want to lose what you own,” Michael said.

“It is more than that,” Jillian said. She looked at Bram. “Some believe the Eths control the rifts more than they let on. There are those that believe that the Eths are going to use the rifts to take over our world one day.”

Lucas had no idea what to think about any of this. “We just wanna go home.”

Jillian nodded. “And I think there’s a way you can do that. There is an open rift that the Eths do not know about. Only my father and Bram’s father knew of it. And now, only Bram and I know of it.” She smiled. “I think it is a rift to your world. To a world called Earth.”

“Holy shit,” Michael said.

“Yes! That’s where we’re from!” Harper squealed.

Jillian smiled. “I thought so.”

“We just wanna go home,” Lucas said again. “We just want to go home and never, ever come back. No offense.”

Jillian said. “Bram can take you there. We will sneak you out tonight, so Zayne doesn’t find out. She is insisting we give you to the Eths to be executed. Or that we do it ourselves.”

“Please don’t let that happen,” Lucas said. “I think that big guy was ready to do it right there in the hall earlier.”

Jillian sighed. “That is Steg. He came with Zayne from Azesia when she married my father. He is her personal guard. He’s a brute. And a killer. But they won’t openly defy me. However, we need to get you out of here. If Zayne has her way, she’ll give you to the Eth, and they’ll be in my kingdom and close to the city. I can’t allow that.” She looked at all of them closely. “You’re obviously not monsters, and the Eth cannot be any closer to our kingdom than they already are. So we must sneak you out of here and get you home.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Michael said. “Maybe you should even give us some of that gold I saw earlier to help us… you know… forget how we found this place.”

Lucas wanted to punch him, Sarah Beth stared at him, and Harper said, “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Queen Jillian stared at him. Bram looked like he wanted to kill him.

“That would raise too many questions, I think,” Jillian said. “I think going home should be enough reward.”

“It is,” Lucas said. “Trust me, it is.” He glared at Michael.

The queen stood. “We will allow you the use of this room until midnight. Rest up. Someone will come for you then, and Bram will take you to the rift that leads to Earth.” She turned and headed for the door, but then turned back. “There is a gatekeeper at that rift. My father said he was also from your world, Earth.” She thought for a second. “My father said he was a tree cutter in your world and traveled through a rift.”

Lucas looked at his friends. “The story of the lost lumbar jack. Holy crap. This guy’s been here this whole time.”

“There’s no way,” Sarah Beth said.

“If he can get us home, I don’t care how long he’s been here,” Michael said.

The queen and Bram left through the door they’d come in. The one that the soldiers weren’t guarding.

Sarah Beth hugged Lucas close. “Oh my god, I can’t believe we’re gonna get to go home,” she said.

#

Lucas paced around the room. It had been hours since Queen Jillian and Bram had left, and now the sun was finally falling behind the horizon. He looked out over the city, the thatched roofs covered in the dying orange light and the streets covered in the shadows of the buildings gave the city an eerie look. He’d be amazed by this place if he weren't so scared.

It was straight out of some fairy tale book. Or a nightmare.

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He just wanted to get out of here. Hopefully, they’d leave soon and under cover of darkness, get to wherever Bram was taking them and get home. Then they could forget this place even existed.

“I’ve got to piss,” Michael whined from behind him. He’d drank pretty much all of the water the ladies had brought in earlier.

Lucas rolled his eyes. He’d decided that once they’d gotten home, he probably wouldn’t ever speak to Michael again. The guy had always been a little rough around the edges, but his attitude had almost gotten them killed—more than once.

And what was with him asking the Queen for gold? Lucas was content just getting out of here alive. Michael really was an idiot.

“Man, I’ve got to piss,” Michael bellowed. He walked up to the door that the queen had left through, the one not being guarded, and pounded on it.

“Will you stop that,” Sarah Beth said. “Those guards are going to hear you.” She’d been almost comatose at times during the day, but now that going home was really a possibility, she’d perked up.

Michael turned and flipped her off and then pounded on the door again. “Open up. I need to piss.”

One of the women who had brought in the food earlier nervously opened the door. She was middle-aged and looked scared.

“What?” she whispered. “My lady said to not open this door for anyone.”

“Well, I have to piss,” Michael said.

The woman looked at them nervously. “I don’t know.”

Michael said, “Well, open a window, and I’ll piss out of it. That’d be pretty cool from this high up.” The woman looked disgusted by that idea. When she said nothing else, Michael said, “I guess I can just piss in this pitcher your brought. Turn away, ladies, unless you want to see what a real man looks like.” He started to unbutton his pants.

“For the love of god, let him go to the bathroom,” Harper said.

The woman nodded nervously. “Follow me, and hurry up.” She looked at the rest of them. “Anyone else?”

They all looked at each other and shrugged. “Might as well,” Lucas said.

#

They followed the woman through a kitchen and down a narrow flight of stairs. This was clearly the servant’s entrance to the room they’d been sequestered in, which was some kind of parlor used to entertain guests.

The narrow stairs opened at the bottom to a long but narrow hallway. The woman pointed. “Privy on the left, halfway down.”

“Thanks,” Sarah Beth said, and all four headed that way.

“Don’t go no further and come right back up when you’re done!” the woman whispered urgently to them. “Don’t wander.”

Lucas gave her a thumbs-up as he followed behind the other three toward the bathroom.

Halfway down, there was a door on the left. Michael pushed in first. There was a weird-looking toilet and a basin with water in it inside.

“Michael, I really need to go,” Harper said.

“Too bad. I was the one that asked,” he said as he shut the door in her face.

She breathed out loudly. “Fucking asshole.”

Sarah Beth rolled her eyes. “I swear to god, when we get home, I’m going to kick him in the nuts.”

Lucas just shrugged. “Let’s just deal with it until we get home. That’s the most important thing.”

They stood there waiting for what seemed like a really long time. Finally, Lucas knocked quietly on the door. “Dude, hurry up.”

“Keep your shirt on,” Michael called from behind the door. “I’m taking the Browns to the Super Bowl in here.”

Sarah Beth said, “I’m gonna lock him in there and leave him.”

“I heard that,” Michael called.

After another few minutes, the door swung open, and a foul stench punched them all in the face.

“Dude,” Lucas said, fanning the smell away from his face. “What the fuck?”

Harper pulled her shirt over her nose and made gagging noises while Sarah Beth stepped down the hall to escape the smell.

“Dude, I had to go.” Michael shrugged. “Oh yeah, I don’t think there’s any way to flush that thing either.”

Lucas peered in and immediately regretted it.

“Bro! There’s got to be a way to flush. Figure it out. We need to go too.”

Michael shrugged. “You guys figure it out.”

“Oh hell no,” Harper said. “I’m going to find another bathroom.”

“Me, too,” Sarah Beth said.

“Wait,” Lucas said. “We can’t. The lady said just go and go back and not to wander.”

“I’m not going in there,” Sarah Beth said. Harper shook her head in agreement.

“Okay, fine,” Lucas said. “Michael, you go back. We’ll find another bathroom.”

“Who died and put you in charge,” Michael said.

Lucas really wanted to hit him. “Man, we are in a strange tower, in a strange world, and we just need to wait on that guy Bram and get the hell out of here. Now we have to go find another bathroom because of you. Just go back to the fucking room.”

Lucas could feel his face turning red with anger.

Michael stared him down for a second, then thought better of whatever he was thinking. “Fine.”

He turned and headed down the hall back the way they had come.

“Let’s hurry,” Lucas said to the girls.

#

Michael walked slowly down the hall, and as soon as the other three were out of sight, he started to mock Lucas.

Just go back to the fucking room, he said in a mock tone.

“I’ll fucking go back to the room, asshole,” he said to himself. He reached behind him and felt the backpack he was carrying. He could feel the rigid shape of the gun inside. Why was everyone treating him like shit? He was the one with the fucking gun. He should be in charge.

He’d show Lucas who was really in charge.

And that Bram guy too. Sonofabitch punched him in the stomach. Maybe before they went back, he’d show Bram what good old twenty-first-century technology was capable of. Put a bullet in his ass.

He thought about that. Going home. Of course, he wanted to go home. But what was he going home to? A mom that was never home, who always went out and left him to take care of his little brother while she got drunk and high, or both, then came home with some guy. The only good thing about that was he sometimes could go through the guy’s wallet if his mother hadn’t been too drunk to forget to make the guy take his pants off in the living room. They had a deal and split whatever he found seventy-thirty. Since she was the one putting out, she got the seventy. But sometimes, he wouldn’t tell her about all of the money, keeping a ten or a five just for himself, making it a little bit more even.

Is that what he was going home to? He thought about the gold he’d seen. There was lots of it. Millions of gold coins and jewels were just sitting there. Even just a handful, just enough to fill his pockets, would be enough for him to buy a car. But he also had his backpack. He could fill it up. He’d be rich.

He needed to find that room again and steal some. No one would find out. And if they did, so what? He had a gun. They might have had swords here, but a firearm could even the playing field or, more likely, tilt it all the way in his direction. He’d show Bram what a gun could do and demand to be shown the way home.

If he was feeling generous, he might even let his “friends” go with him. Or maybe he’d make them stay here. They’d been nothing but dicks to him since they got here. Maybe he’d make them sweat some, let them know he was the one that decided when, or even if, they got to go home.

Harper wouldn’t have any smart-ass comments then… the dumb bitch.

So, he needed to get to the treasury room, fill up his bag of gold, and then get back. He’d pull out the gun after they left when it was just them and Bram.

Michael got to the door they’d come through that led to the stairwell back up and to the little room they’d been waiting in. He looked around. No one was around. He could find his way back here.

He went down the hallway, thinking. Where was the treasury room? He found another set of stairs, wide and broad, that led downward. The treasury had been lower, that he was sure of. He crept down the stairs watching for people. No one was around. This part of the tower was empty, thankfully.

At the bottom of the stairs, he saw another long hall. The hall they’d come down from the main throne room. The hall he’d seen the treasury room on.

Michael looked around. Still no one. If someone saw him, he wouldn’t be able to explain what he was doing. A stranger with strange clothes on. Someone would know instantly he didn’t belong. The last thing he needed was some noisy servant telling on him.

He reached into his backpack and pulled the gun out. It was cold and heavy in his hand. He didn’t know what kind it was and didn’t care. It looked cool, and it was loaded. One of his mom’s ex-boyfriends had shown him how to shoot one time, a lame attempt at trying to bond with him. The guy was gone a week later.

But Michael had at least been shown how to use a gun out of the deal. He held it in his grip. It made him feel powerful. He would be in charge now.

He walked down the hall, looking for the treasury he’d seen earlier.

Then he heard voices.

They weren’t loud, not yet, they were still far away. Conflicting with his new found confidence he’d found when he held the gun, his heart started thumping wildly. If someone caught him, he’d have to kill them.

He looked to the left and right. Nothing. But there, up ahead, was a door. He ran for it. It was plain and wooden and painted white to match the gleaming hall. It wasn’t ornate or massive, and Michael hoped it didn’t lead into a room full of knights. He imagined a knight locker room where they all sat on benches and strapped on their armor and then laughed when he pictured two in the corner jerking each other off. He bet Bram jerked other guys off.

Michael pushed the door open a little and peeked through. It was dark, but he could tell it was just a closet. He pushed his way in and closed the door behind him. There was nothing in the room but old brooms made of straw and mops with moldy strings. The whole place stank of dust and old dirt.

Michael was relieved no one was in there. Sure, he’d kill them if he had to, but not killing anyone was a lot easier, he told himself. Less noise. He was doing whoever was coming down the hall a favor by hiding here.

He heard the voices, louder now, more closely, and pushed the door open slightly.

After a few moments, two women, wearing the thick dresses the other servants he’d seen wearing, came by pushing carts with barrels on them. They went past his hiding spot, talking and giggling the whole way.

Michael pointed the gun at them and mimed pulling the trigger, followed by the fake shooting noises.

He could do it. He just knew he could.

He gave them a few more moments to get by, then slowly pushed open the closet door and slid out of it.

He needed to hurry. He went in the direction they’d gone, being careful not to make much noise.

Up ahead, he saw a break in the wall. A massive one. He crept up to it and peered around the corner.

This was it. The treasury.

The floor was still stacked with gold and jewels, although not as much as before, this time, no little men were working on moving it to the desks to be counted. No one was here. Michael felt his heart race, his excitement pumping through his veins. He looked around one more time, just to be sure no one was there, then snuck into the room. He looked around again. Where were the little men? Maybe their work day was over since it would be dark soon, either way, he was glad they were gone.

He ran to the pile of gold on the floor, flung open his backpack, and began shoveling the gold inside. Then, a diamond the size of a baseball caught his eye, and he picked it up. He shoved it in his backpack, wondering but not really caring, how he’d even sell something like that.

He filled his backpack up to the brim with gold, and a few jewels, so much gold that it bulged from the sides, and he couldn’t even zip it up. He poured some out and quickly zipped it up. He felt its weight. Twenty, maybe thirty pounds. He probably had a million dollars of gold in there, he thought. Maybe one day, he’d even come back here and get more. If he knew the way here, the cave in the woods, and Bram showed them a way home, he could come and go as he pleased. He could take all the gold he wanted with a few more guns, even bigger ones, maybe even a rifle.

Now he needed to get back, though. He couldn’t tell any of his “friends” that he’d taken the gold. Not yet. Not until they knew the way home.

He turned, and standing in front of him was the enormous and ugly knight, Steg, and the beautiful woman Zayne.

Michael’s stomach went loose, and he almost pissed himself. Now they were going to execute him. He almost dropped the gun, his hands had started to sweat so badly at the sight of them, but he managed to raise it.

“I… I’ll…sh… shoot… you,” he stammered.

“What is that thing?” Zayne said cocking one of her precisely trimmed eyebrows.

“It’s a gun,” Michael said, still shaking as he pointed it at them.

“And what does it do?” she asked.

“It kills people.”

“Hmmmm,” Zayne said, rubbing her chin. “And how does it do that.”

Michael was confused as hell right now. “It shoots people. You know. Bang. Puts a hole in them.”

Zayne looked at her colossal bodyguard and smiled. Steg, with his big giant scar, just stared down at Michael. She pointed at the pile of gold behind him. “Do you want gold? I can give you more gold. More than what you can carry in your little bag… If you help me.”

“Help you with what?” Michael said, a little less afraid now.

“I’ll give you more gold than you ever dreamed of… If you… help me kill the Queen.”

She smiled evilly. Evilly but also beautifully, Michael thought.

“Why would you want to kill the queen?” Michael asked, even though he already knew.

“So I can be queen, of course.”

“Why don’t you just have him do it,” Michael said, pointing at Steg.

Zayne shook her head. “That won’t work. Steg can’t get close enough to her. And if he did, everyone would know I had him do it. So, no, it can’t be Steg. But it can be you. And then we can blame it on your friends.” She stared at him like she was reading him. Michael wondered if she really was since she’d known exactly what he was thinking. The gold. His friends. He wondered if she could read what he was thinking now.

“Ok…” Michael said. “But I want the gold and one more thing…”

Zayne smiled, making Michael think of a spider about to eat its prey.

“And what is that?”

“I want to stay here… And if you’re queen when she’s dead… I want to be the King.”

Zayne smiled. "I think we can work something out."