Page 35 of The Other World

He shook his head. “He got out with me but some guards found us while we were getting Nikolai and he stayed back to fight them.”

I sighed. I had no idea how we were going to get out of this one. Everything was such a mess, and I still felt so empty.

“Mrs Spencer and Nikolai managed to get a lot of her research, so we know quite a bit about what she was doing to you, what she was planning…”

“Can you reverse it?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “We’re not sure. If Althea were here, she might have a clearer understanding, but as it is, we’re relying completely on –” he glanced over to Mrs Spencer. “People we don’t necessarily trust.”

I thought for a moment.Can you still hear me?I asked him. If everything else were gone, I could live with it. It would be a relief in some ways, even. But if my connection with Tennyson were gone, I’d have nothing left.

He squeezed my hand.Always, he said.

“And we’re safe here?” I asked. “In the Red House?”

He hesitated before answering. “As safe as we are anywhere in this world, I think. Nobody knows we’re here yet. We got in without anyone seeing us, thanks to this world’s Althea. I’m not sure how much time we have, but as soon as we’re able, we’ll go back and get the others, then find a way home.”

I wasn’t sure how. We couldn’t get back to the compound without going through the portal and Other-me wasn’t exactly going to open it for us, and even if we got there, I had no clue how we’d manage getting home. Tennyson knew that, though, without me saying it aloud.

“For now, you need to rest more,” he said. “She didn’t just drain your powers, she drained your life force, according to her notes. And the best way to get that back is to rest a lot and eat well.”

“Well, luckily those are two areas where I excel,” I said.

He smiled at me, but it didn’t disguise the worry in his eyes.

The next few days weren’t exactly fun, living on top of each other, terrified we’d be discovered, terrified about what was happening to our friends. Despite the dark cloud over us, I didn’t hate that time. I had Tennyson all to myself for a change, and even though we barely talked, even though we were squished into a room full of people, just that quiet time with him by my side helped me heal more than any food or rest ever could.I knew we couldn’t stay that way forever, in our little bubble, which only made it more precious.

Mrs Spencer would sneak out for a few hours each night and bring back food and other supplies.

One night, after she got back, I called her over.

“More lasagna?” she asked.

I shook my head, then changed my mind. “Actually, yeah that’d be great, but I want to talk to you about something.”

I was feeling a little better, I could walk around the room without help and stay awake for hours without nodding off, but I was starting to get antsy. Tennyson and Mrs Spencer were constantly sniping at each other, Sam still barely spoke, and Nikolai seemed preoccupied. Other-Althea was silent and pale. The few others who had managed to escape with us kept pretty quiet, as if they were too scared to speak or they might get caught again. Even though I wasn’t completely recovered, I wanted todosomething, to make a plan, to read over Other-me’s researchagain, anything.

She brought me over another slice of lasagna and all thoughts went from my mind for a few minutes. It was very delicious. But I couldn’t be entirely distracted.

“When you go to get the food,” I said to her quietly, “I assume you’re spiriting out of here?”

She nodded. “I go into the bathroom so the new kids don’t get freaked,” she said. “I think they think there’s a secret passage in there or something.”

I ate another bite of lasagne. “When you do it, it’s more like teleporting than what I was doing, right? You’re not just walking through the wall.”

She raised her eyebrows. “That’s more or less what you were doing too,” she said. “You weren’t actually passing through a solid object.”

That was news to me, but I had no reason to disbelieve her, it wasn’t as if I’d ever kept my eyes open.

“How far do you think you could do it?” I asked.

“Could I go back to that compound, you mean?”

I nodded.

She thought for a moment. “I don’t see why not. It’s not a matter of distance, just projection. They don’t seem to have wards against that sort of thing, seeing as how we could both do it while we were in there. The only trouble would be since we went there through the portal, I don’t know where the place is on a map. I might end up somewhere wacky, thrown off-course, but that’s always a risk anyhoo. I’ll just have to keep my wits about me.”

I nodded, thinking over our best course of action. “She took my sword,” I said. “We won’t be able to get home without that.”

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