The Silver Crown

Chapter 3

Caleb

The countryside flies past me in a blur. Mile upon mile is eaten in seconds. I don't know how fast we're going, but it's definitely over one hundred miles per hour. I tip my arms forward a little more to accelerate even more. It feels amazing, the perfectly smooth wheels move with almost no friction making for a smooth ride. I feel like I'm floating across the ground. Only I'm outrunning the wind.

I love this.

Kylee has her arms tightly wrapped around my middle, her face pressed against the space between my shoulder blades. She's screamed for the first five minutes or so, but she stopped soon enough. It's surprising how easy it is to carry her. I look back through the mirror-like side of the front wheel. Her long wavy brown hair is streaming out behind her. She's really small for seventeen; short, petite and very pretty with delicate features and wide blue eyes. I've never really talked to her before as she's usually surrounded by all her friends and admirers, so I'm surprised she was intuitive enough to come to me. If only she knew what was going on.

Why did Rolcarnagur threaten her? She doesn't even believe in magic, much less the other worlds.

I was leaving again anyway. I just had my companion handed to me, I think. But I wish it wasn't her. She's too naïve, too ignorant. She doesn't deserve to be cursed with this quest. Why is she even here? Why does Rolcarnagur want to enlist her?

"Are we there yet?" She shouts into my back. The sound is almost impossible to hear as the wind whips it away.

"Almost." I yell back.

I accelerate again.

Kylee

I feel us slow down and roll to a stop. I roll off of Caleb and lay on the ground for a minute, waiting for my stomach to stop lurching. When I can finally see straight again, I stand up. We're in the middle of a desert, sand and cactus in all directions. The only sign of civilization is the single asphalt road we're currently stopped on, cutting a line through the pale dust. "Where are we going again?" I ask. Caleb is standing a few yards off, looking at the skyline. His speedwheeler has already re-compacted onto his arms.

"There's a monument a short ways off, in the desert where it won't be found. The speedwheeler can't travel across this sand, so we'll have to walk from here."

"Why do we have to reach this monument?" I ask; my hands on my hips.

"You'll see." He says shortly. Without checking to see if I'm following him, he sets off into the desert. I sigh and start walking after him. I like to be organized. A neatly planned schedule and orderly life is all I wanted. Life-wrenching surprises like this are not what I had in mind for my summer.

"I hope you brought water."

"Don't worry. We'll be out of the sun soon enough."

"How? Is there shade at this monument of yours?"

"In a manner of speaking."

I frown. Does he ever make sense? I ask myself.

After about twenty minutes of walking we finally find the monument he seems to think is so important. A solid stone wall sticks out of the ground about ten feet wide, twelve or so tall, and just under a foot thick. It looks like someone took an enormous jenga block and stabbed it into the dirt. On the side facing us is a small, round, hand-size indent on one side just at head height. Well, head height for me. More of chest height for Caleb.

"So, what's so important about this thing?" I ask. He gives me a strange look.

"I'd have thought you'd be able to tell." He says. "It's a portal. One of precious few portals that still work."

"Wait, you never said anything about a portal. Where does it go?" I look at him panicked. I'm scared.

He takes off the sunglasses and tucks them into his pocket again. "Another world. There's a fine line between fantasy and fiction, this portal crosses that line. Many things you think are children's stories are real. This portal will take us to the world of Lindolosun, a world of magic where all your questions can be answered."

"What about the thing that spoke to me, who was that? Is he in this world?"

"I think I know who threatened you, but I can't guarantee. If it is who I think it is, then yes, he does live in Lindolosun. However, we'll still be safer there than we are here."

"I'm not sure about this, maybe we should talk to someone here first, and I haven't even called my family to let them know I'm going somewhere." I start to pull out my phone.

"There's no service here, but my dad will take care of it. I gave him your name. I can't tell you much, at least not yet, but I know who can. Besides, that Dark Sorcerer will be sending things to find us if we wait."

I sigh again. "You tricked me into this. I'll hold you responsible if anything happens to me. Are we clear?"

He gives me a rueful half smile. "I'm afraid a lot is going to happen to you." Before I can react, he grabs my hand in his and plants his other one on the indent in the wall. A cold shock hits me and I lose consciousness. The last thing I see is Caleb's amber eyes glowing bright gold and a mix of vibrant colors overtaking my vision before I black out.