Elfhome

“I know,” Tinker said unhappily. “The gut feeling is still there, but I don’t like risking Merry’s life just on a hunch.” She paused to look around, suddenly aware that her test subject had vanished. “Where’s Merry?”

Everyone pointed at the spell.

Thorne tightened her grip on Oilcan to keep him from leaping after Merry. “She earned the right to chose her path when she walked away from all that was safe and ventured out into the unknown.”

“Why didn’t you stop her?” Tinker cried to Blue Sky who had been standing closest to Merry.

“You said it was okay for her to try!” Blue Sky backed up, holding up his hands to fend Tinker off.

“I–I—No! That was before!” Tinker cried.

The spell started to flash colors all up and down the spectrum as music suddenly started to play loud enough to hear.

“She’s with him.” Thorn Scratch still held tight to Oilcan.

“How do you know?” Oilcan asked.

“That’s a olianuni duet; it needs two people to preform it,” Thorne Scratch explained. “They’re played often at court.”

“I dress people for court.” Cattail Reeds said as the other children looked to her for confirmation. “I don’t actually attend court.”

Stormsong breathed out a laugh. “It is a duet: Mating Dance of the Dragons.”

The light flared within the spell shell fast and brilliant. Deep violets rumbling and pale yellows shimmering with reds and oranges trilling around and around each other. Once Tinker considered the speed of the notes, it was clear that more than one person had to playing the song.

“This means that both Merry and Rustle are in the same location,” she said. “Wherever that may be. They are able to communicate with each other, and exist in a manner that allows them to create music.”

Tommy gave her an odd look. “And?”

Tinker tugged at her hair. “I’m still analyzing data to draw a conclusion.”

There was a sudden flare of power from the spell, and overwhelming sense of falling without actually moving.

Tinker cursed softly. “Was that Startup?”

“Sure the hell felt like it,” Oilcan said.

The spell collapsed to reveal Merry standing in front of her olianuni with Rustle pressed against her back. Both kids had mallets in hand, sweating and panting heavily.

Merry yipped triumphantly and brandished her mallets, nearly smacking Rustle in the nose. “We did it!”

“Well,” Tinker said. “At least that part of the plan worked.”

#

The entire hotel including the frictionless parking lot had been transferred to another world. They stood in the doorway of the casting room and studied it with fear. Tall trees shrouded the island and something gave an echoing call.

“Well…at least we now know why the Skin Clan wanted the kids so bad.” Tinker finally managed. “They’re a portable large-scale gate system to multiple worlds. It’s quite possible that the more power you feed into them, the bigger the area they can shift.”

“Quiee,” Baby Duck said. “Quiee. Quiee.”

“Which planet is this?” Blue Sky asked.

“It’s not Onihida, is it?” Barley asked with fear.

“We can get back home?” Cattail Reeds asked.

“I’m sorry.” Rustle said. “This is all my fault.”

“Actually, it’s mine.” Tinker said. “And this isn’t Onihida. This section of Onihida is over-populated. Actually much of Onihida is over-populated.”

“That’s what those of the flock that were born on Onihida report,” Riki said while Tommy nodded in agreement.

“Earth?” Oilcan guessed. “This area would be virgin Elfhome forest where Pittsburgh should have been on Earth.”

“I think this is Ryuu,” Riki said. “Home of the dragons.”

Was this why Providence and Impatience had gotten involved with protecting the children? Was the Skin Clan trying to find a way to conquer Ryuu after it took Elfhome? Tinker thought to the Emperor “distilling down the essence of a god” and shuddered.

“We can get back?” Cattail Reeds repeated.

“I want to go home.” Baby Duck added in quietly.

So did Tinker.

Some thing moved in the shadows. It wove closer through the massive tree trunks.

“Incoming.” Tinker cried and tried to set up a link to the Spell Stones. Nothing happened. “Oh not good.”

Oilcan did a call on the stones and shook his head. “I’m getting nothing too.”

The sekasha triggered their shields and anyone with a weapon pointed it toward the shape.

“Wait!” Riki cried. “It’s Impatience!”

“What is he doing here?” Tinker had thought the dragon had been stranded on Elfhome. Then again, if the kids had a dragon’s ability, then he should be able to come and go as he pleased. Why had he stayed in Pittsburgh? Just to be close to the kids? The little dragon butted up against Oilcan, talking non-stop, patting him over and over. “What is he saying, Riki?”

Riki’s eyes went wide at the question and he scrambled to answer. “Ah, he’s saying…um…it is you but not you. All the little pieces are the same and yet different. Why would they do this? Oh I see, they made you more like the little princess.”

Was Impatience talking about the small changes in Oilcan’s ears and eyes, or was he talking smaller, as in DNA?

“Ask him why he’s here.” Tinker said.