Across the Realms

Chapter 4

              Alex parked the car in an alley, no one was around. 

            "I don't think anybody'll look for us here." Alex said, getting out of the car. Oliver followed, shaking as he walked. 

           "I can't believe we just did that. What the hell are we gonna do now?" He asked. He then wrapped his arms around his middle in an attempt to keep himself together. 

          "Wait for them to find us, I guess. Then maybe we can get some answers about what's going on." Alex replied and leaned up against the wall of the alley. Oliver kept his arms locked around himself and leaned into his sister's shoulder. Alex wrapped her arms around him, and he extended his arms to wrap around her. Alex started to tear up. She certainly had her issues, but Oliver did too. His anxiety had started causing him problems several years ago, the pills helped, but they didn't fix everything. And her she was putting her brother in a situation that would scare anybody. Anybody but her.

         "I'm scared Allie." Oliver whispered into her shoulder. Alex hugged him tighter.

          "I'll keep you safe, Ollie. I promise, I won't let anything hurt you." They stood there crying softly into each other's shoulders for several minutes. Slowly they pulled apart and dried their eyes. At that moment Alyn and Orshon appeared across the alley. Alyn stumbled into a dumpster. Orshon reached out to steady her. 

           "Gods, I hate beam travel. It always leaves me feeling sick." Alyn griped. Orshon pulled her up to her feet.

           "You will be fine, you always are." Orshon replied. "We should all talk, try to understand each other. That way we will know what to do next." Orshon said to Alex. Alex nodded. 

           "You guys will attract attention pretty much anywhere. My apartment isn't too far from hear. I say we leave the car, the cops are looking for it, and we just walk home." Alex suggested. Oliver, Orshon and Alyn all nodded. The four began walking up the street towards Alex's apartment. They walked in silence, all would be explained once they were safely inside. Alex led the group up the fire escape of her building, no need to freak out the security guard with her strangely dressed acquaintances. Alex pushed open the third floor door, which was held ajar with a small piece of wood jammed into the lock. After that it was only a few steps to Alex's apartment. Once inside Alyn and Orshon gazed at the features of the room; the stove, microwave, fridge, tv and computer would all have to be explained at some point. But those could wait, there were bigger things to discuss. 

         "Ok. I guess we should start from the top. What's your world like?" Alex asked as she sat down on the old, sagging couch. Oliver sat down beside her, no longer insisting that other worlds did not exist.

         "We live in the Kingdom of Gonzor. It occupies the land we are standing on now. We do not have as many towers, those we do have are used for defense, not living." Alyn started, it was hard to know where to begin.

          "In our world magic is common place. It infuses everything, from plants and animals to the very air. Not everyone is trained in magic, some prefer not to use it themselves, but everyone benefits from it." Orshon continued. Alex wondered just how much to say. She could tell that they were here for a reason, so maybe it would be better to keep it brief. 

         "We don't have magic here. We have electricity, which is like lightning, I guess. And we use that to turn on the lights, and basically everything else. The water comes from pretty far away, underground, I think. This probably makes no sense at all. But it's the best I can do." Alex tried to explain. Alyn and Orshon both nodded.

        "We can always return to this discussion at another time. First we should explain why we are here. We are searching for the Black Sorcerer. He is an extremely powerful wizard  who has ravaged our kingdom and others besides." Alyn explained. "We do not know why he is in your world, but his intentions here are bound to be just as evil as what he has done to our world." Oliver turned pale and Alex had a strange thought. "He is the worst thing that has ever happened to Gonzor. Even just being near him is sickening. I've felt the evil pouring off of him." At that Alex sat up straighter. Her weird thought was starting to seem less weird. 

       "What does he look like?" She asked. Alyn and Orshon exchanged a confused look. 

       "He is Europan, like us. He wears long, black robes and his hair is the colour of blood. That is all I can recall." Orshon explained. Alex stood up in shock.

        "I know him. I... I work for him, at his company. He owns Precision Technologies, it has to be the same guy!" She shouted. Alyn and Orshon stayed silent in confusion. Oliver's eyes widened as he pieced it together. 

        "You mean this morning when you said your boss threatened to kill you, he was actually some kind of evil wizard?" He said, eyes as wide as they could go. Alex shrugged. Alyn and Orshon exchanged a look.

         "Then he is in a position of power in this world? And you have access to his lair?" Alyn asked. Alex shrugged again.

         "He's definitely in a position of power, he's one of the richest people in the country. But I wouldn't say I have access to anything. I can get in the building, but nobody has keys to the basement, I think that's the only locked floor." Alex explained. Alyn and Orshon both started to strategize silently. After some time they began to talk it over.

       "I believe I can make Alyn and myself temporarily unnoticeable so we can move about the building unseen. You would have to get us through the door, and both of you, of course. Do you know where the entrance to the basement is?" Orshon asked. Alex nodded.

        "Yeah, I've seen it. Are you sure you can't make us all invisible?" She asked. Orshon shook his head.

        "Unnoticeable. And unfortunately no I cannot. My magic is far weaker here than I am used to, and rendering a living being unnoticeable is quite difficult. It will be hard enough to make two unseen, let alone four. Once we find the door to the basement Alyn or I will be able to break it down. After that there will likely be a fight." He explained. Alex nodded. She could handle a fight. She looked over at Oliver, he looked more likely to run away than anything else. 

       "It'll be fine, Ollie. We have to do this, we came this far. And I can't just let some evil wizard destroy the world." She said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Oliver nodded. 

       "You tell us what we need to do. Let's get this done." He said with a look of determination.  Alyn and Orshon both nodded. They had what they needed to win this time. Alyn was the first to respond.

       "We'll go soon. First I need to fetch my armor."