Page 49 of The Tribes of Magic
“But before that…I actually traveled to another dimension? It wasn’t all a hallucination?”
“You got in all right,” Orion said. “It was the getting-out part that gave you trouble.”
“Yeah. Isn’t that always the case?” I chuckled softly.
“People can’t spend too long in another dimension, not even Dreamweavers. Or Polymages. It’s not like traveling between realms, Savannah. Traversing dimensions is considerably more complex. You need to build up your endurance, bit by bit. Is this your first time moving between dimensions?”
“No, actually. I was in Shadow Fall with Kato.”
“Right. I remember now, hearing about that. Of course, Shadow Fall is closer to our own dimension. The effects are not as strong as where you just were.”
“Which is?” I opened my eyes to discover that the world had finally stopped spinning.
Orion’s lips drew together. “You’ve been through a lot, Savannah. And you’re safe now. That’s all that matters.”
“Right. So if you think I’m going to settle for that answer, you don’t know me at all, Orion. I’m a cat, insatiably curious and totally unable to take no for an answer.”
“And with nine lives to spare?”
“At leastnine lives, Eris. The number of times I’ve been in mortal peril since coming to the Fortress two weeks ago…let’s just say it was a lot more than nine.”
“I don’t know, Savannah.” Orion looked at Eris, who shrugged.
“You’d best just tell her, Orion. She won’t stop until she finds out. She sticks her nose in everyone else’s business. Imagine how doggedly persistent she’ll be about knowing all herownbusiness.”
“Exactly.” I nodded sharply. “Doggedly persistent. I like it. Mind if I borrow the phrase, Eris?”
“Be my guest. Heaven knows you’ve certainly earned the title, Savannah.”
Eris was just a hair’s breadth away from a smirk, but she was holding it back. I wasn’t sure if that was for my benefit or Orion’s.
I turned to him. “Tell me. Where was I?”
“Oblivion.”
What a great name.
“You weren’t quite all the way to Oblivion,” Orion said. “But you got very close.”
“There’s no way out of Oblivion.” I’d heard that somewhere. I just couldn’t recall where at the moment.
Orion helped me to my feet. “Try not to think about that right now, ok? It’s all over, you’re here, and you’re safe. Focus on that.”
I was trying, but it was hard to focus on all that when I’d been standing on Oblivion’s doorstep. “How long was I away?”
“A few minutes,” Eris told me.
“So the game is already over?”
“Yes.”
“And I lost?”
“Not as badly as they did.” Eris pointed.
And I looked. The other seven Apprentices lay sleeping under a blooming jacaranda tree. Ordinary jacarandas only bloomed for a few weeks each year, but this was no ordinary jacaranda. Eris had once told me this particular jacaranda tree bloomed every day of the year, delighting Knights and Apprentices alike with its bright purple flowers and sweet scent. Now that was magic.
“What happened to the other Apprentices?”
