Page 56 of Concluded
Dee put one in his pocket, held the other in his hand, and nodded at Achilles.“Go ahead.”
Achilles squared his shoulders.“I wish for you and me to safely travel to the black hole location where that prisoner is.Is that specific enough, Dee?”
“I think so.”Dee clutched the smooth stone, closed his eyes, and felt the magic surge through him.
CHAPTER23
“Achilles?”Dee sounded close to panic, and the hand clutching Achilles’ tightened enough to hurt.
Despite the pain—and his own deep unease—Achilles squeezed back.“Yeah, this is it.As far as I can tell, anyway.You did it, Dee.”
“I’m….Can we rest for a minute?I know we’re not safe, but….”
“But that was hard work.Of course.”Achilles lowered himself, gently tugging Dee along, until they sat side by side.As before, there was an absolute absence of light.Sounds carried oddly—Achilles hadn’t registered that during his first visit since it had been just him.Even though he knew that Dee was only inches away, it sounded as if he was across the street.
Dee shuffled a bit nearer until their knees touched.“My clothes are gone.”
“Oh.Mine too.”Last time he’d assumed that Dunn had stripped him before sending him here, but it appeared that wasn’t the case.
“That means my pocket’s gone.And the amber that was in it.The one I was supposed to use to get us home.”
Shit.That was an unwanted complication.Achilles kept his tone light because there was no use spreading his own fears to Dee.Not when there was nothing they could do about the situation.“We’ll figure something out.”
“Okay.”A noisy, shuddery exhale.“Sorry.I feel like I’ve run a marathon and gone a week without sleeping.”
“You transported two grown men to… I don’t know… another dimension?That’s a huge feat.You’ve earned a rest.”
Dee sighed again, this time longer and quieter.“What do we do next?”
“You catch your breath.Just, um, don’t dawdle over it, okay?I don’t like this place.”
“I’d give it one star on Tripadvisor.”
Laughter might have sounded weird here, but it felt good.For what might have been ten minutes—or might have been a century, for all Achilles could tell—they sat there silently.Holding hands, knees touching.
“Hey, Dee?Tell me something joyful you’ve experienced.”
There was a long pause.“Happy Meal,” Dee whispered.
“Hamburgers?”
“No.That was the name of a dog my mom gave me—a wish she granted me right before she walked out of my life.He was just a mutt, but he was the most wonderful dog in the world, you know?”
Achilles gently squeezed Dee’s hand.“That’s a great memory.Thank you.”He meant it.Thinking about Dee as a lonely little boy, finding someone to give him unconditional love… that made the darkness feel less oppressive.
“How about you?”Dee asked.He sounded less exhausted.
“Eight years ago.I had an assignment sort of near Seattle.Someone had seen something weird in the woods and the Bureau got notified, so Townsend sent me to see what was what.It was out in the rain in the middle of nowhere, wet and cold and just… green stuff dripping everywhere.I was in a pissy mood.Then I came to this clearing and….”He stopped, smiling at the memory but unable to convey how magical it had been.
“There were these little creatures.If they stood still, they looked like mushrooms.But they had tiny drums and whistle things and they were dancing.When they saw me they rushed over and spoke to me, but I couldn’t understand a word.They weren’t hostile, though.They seemed welcoming.And soon they were dancing around me, and it was soweird, I started dancing too.Carefully, so I didn’t step on anyone.After a few songs they wandered off into the forest.”
“What were they?”
“No idea,” said Achilles with a chuckle.“Agent Afolabi looked them up but drew a blank.Townsend didn’t know either, which was incredibly rare.But I hear some strings were pulled and that stretch of land was bought by a private conservancy.I hope they’re dancing still.”
It was Dee’s turn to squeeze his hand.“So you rescued them.”
“I don’t know about that.If so, indirectly.But the world… sometimes it sucks so bad.But it’s also full of wonders.”
