Page 91 of The Great and Terrible

Movement from the corner of my eye. I followed it and jolted. The Guardian raced into the room, his royal robe stained and wet with crimson. He made it to the control panel just as I computed what I was seeing.

“No!” Jasher yelled, releasing me, intending to stop his leader from doing whatever he planned.

Before he’d taken his second step, the cyclone sucked both Jasher and me inside. We spun around and around without hitting the glass, gaining momentum until being catapulted out of the tube.

Dizziness overwhelmed me. I tried to grab Jasher only to lose sight of everything but whizzing lights. Even those blurred together and expanded…

Boom!In a burst, the beams swallowed me, and my world went dark.

CHAPTER 24

HOME AGAIN KINDA

Igroaned as consciousness returned little by little. I blinked open my eyes, aware of small aches and pangs throughout my body.

A voice penetrated my awareness. “—need help?”

I frowned as I focused. A concerned older woman wearing a retro red dress stood over me.

“What happened? Where am I?” I eased into a sitting position and examined my surroundings. The wedding chapel. Wait. Memories surged, and I gasped. The same wedding chapel I’d ridden into Hakeldama. Only different.

So much had changed. A flowery archway replaced the podium, and red and white bouquets hung from the end of every cushioned pew. Dark shag carpet covered the wood floor. The walls gleamed with a garden mural.

How much time had passed since my disappearance?

My armor was gone. My swords, too.

“This is Heavenly Heights Chapel,” the woman said. “Are you hurt? How’d you get inside? The door was locked when I came in to prepare for the wedding, yet here you both are.”

Both? Jasher! I scanned…yes! There he lay, sprawled out between two pews.

Ignoring the other woman, I scrambled to Jasher and gently tapped his cheek. He better be okay. “Jasher. Wake up. Please.”

He didn’t appear injured. Well, other than the drop of blood staining his clothing. At last he blinked open his eyes, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Moriah?” With a soft smile, he reached up to caress my cheek.

I nuzzled his hand and returned the smile with one of my own. “You’re in the otherworld. With me.”

“Otherworld?” he echoed, frowning.

“I called for help,” the woman continued. “A doctor should be here any moment.”

A doctor…and police? Not good. Jasher had no ID. “We got caught in the tornado, that’s all. We’re fine now. We’ll be going.”

“What tornado?” she asked, wrinkling her brow.

Okay, so, enough time had passed that the citizens had forgotten about the tornado altogether. How to explain the blood then? “I apologize for any trouble we’ve caused you, but we’re fine,” I repeated. “I promise.” I helped a confused Jasher stand and noticed the lack of a certain ring.

No! Had I lost it? Or absorbed it again? A potential travesty to unravel later. “We’re leaving. No reason to involve others, especially medical professionals or authorities.”

Tinman wobbled on his feet, so I wound an arm around his waist. “This is truly your world?” he asked as I led him toward the exit.

“Yes. And we’ll discuss what happened when we’re safe at my farm.”

We reached the door just as a woman with rollers in her dark hair entered. I recognized her and ricocheted backward as if I’d hit an invisible wall of shock. My mother. My very pregnant mother.

My eyes widened, and my jaw went slack. “You’re…you…”

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