Nona hoped so.
They got into the vehicle, which turned out to be like an enclosed wagon, with comfortable couches inside. “Put on your seat belt,” Colene said, and showed her how to strap herself down. Yet there seemed to be no danger of flying out, as the vehicle was entirely closed in.
There was a man in the front of the vehicle, who seemed to be directing its motion. He did things with his hands and feet, and the vehicle lurched into motion. Nona, seeing Colene unconcerned, forced herself to relax.
The cab zoomed down the street at a horrifying velocity, then abruptly slowed. Only the seat belt prevented Nona from falling off the couch. Now she knew what it was for.
The ride continued, constantly speeding up and screeching to a stop. Now there were other vehicles around them, moving in similar patterns. They were like horses in a chute, racing against each other, shoving each other aside, and squealing in challenge and protest all the while. The vehicles had funny honking voices, as well as their squeals in their wheels as they turned corners.
They stopped one more time, and Colene gave the man some of her paper money. Then they got out. They were now in another part of the town. “This is the high school,” Colene explained. Her meaning was not as clear as before, because now she was using her own telepathy instead of that of the horse. Nona suspected that Seqiro’s mind could reach this far, but that Colene had told him not to bother; she wanted to make it on her own. And of course she knew the local language and customs, so Nona was the only person who needed the translation.
“Now we need a little illusion,” Colene said. “I don’t want anyone to recognize me, until I find Amos, and they had better not get a good look at you. Can you sort of fuzz my face, and make yourself look, well, less developed?”
Nona used illusion to accomplish these things, and they went on into the nearest building. This was crowded with young folk, both male and female, carrying books. They wore every type of garb except tunics. They all seemed to be in a horrible hurry. Then they squeezed into chambers to the side of the main hall, and a loud clangor sounded, making Nona jump.
“School bell,” Colene explained. “Ignore it; we’re not going to class. I think Amos has a free period now, if his schedule hasn’t changed. He’s the only one we need here.”
They went to another chamber, where a man sat behind a desk piled with papers. They approached the desk.
He looked up. “What class are you looking for, girls?”
“No class,” Colene replied. “I need your help, Amos.”
He removed his glasses and gazed directly at her. “Your voice is familiar, but not your face. Are you a new student?”
“Oh. Nona, drop the illusion.”
Nona did so. Then the man broke into a smile. “Colene! Where have you been?”
“You wouldn’t believe it, Amos. This is Nona.”
He gazed at Nona, and pursed his lips appreciatively. “I am sure you are not a student here, Nona.”
“Amos, I said you wouldn’t believe me,” Colene said. “But you’re going to have to. So we’re going to have to give you a crash course in believing, because we may not have much time.”
Amos looked at his watch, which resembled the one Colene wore. “About twenty minutes, before my next class. Will that be enough?”
“Maybe. First, I’ve been to some really weird places. I—I think it will be better if you don’t tell. Can I swear you to secrecy?”
“Colene, if you have been involved in something illegal—”
“No, nothing like that! But if folk knew—well, do you believe in magic?”
“No.”
“Nona, here, is magic. If I prove it, will you agree to keep our confidence.”
Amos smiled indulgently. “Yes.”
Colene turned to Nona. “Do some magic.”
Nona made herself light and floated. Amos, skeptical, got out from behind his desk and came around to her. He passed a hand over her head, then got down and passed it beneath her feet. Then he made a hoop of his arms and passed that hoop down around her body. There was of course nothing; she was floating magically.
“Impressive,” he said, unconvinced. “What else can you do?”
Nona settled back to the floor and formed an illusion of nothingness. Startled, Amos passed his hand through the space at chest height—and collided with her torso. He brought his other hand around, feeling her arms and shoulders and finally her head. “Amazing,” he murmured.
Nona dispelled the illusion. Amos, finding himself almost embracing her, stepped back. She picked a glass paperweight from his desk and transformed it into a red rose. She proffered him the flower.
He took it and smelled it. “Can you change it back—in my hand?”
Nona touched the flower, and it became the paperweight again.
“I even felt the mass change,” he said, amazed. “Anything else?”
Nona levitated the paperweight. Amos felt it tug in his hand, and let it go. It sailed up and circled the room before returning to its original spot on the desk.
“You are good,” he said. “Extremely good. But a professional stage magician could duplicate these feats. What can you do that such a person could not do?”
“Do you have an animal?” Nona asked.
“You are not speaking my language, are you,” he said.
“Right,” Colene answered. “She’s not. She’s from another universe.”
“Then how do I understand her?”
“I am telepathically translating for you.”
He pursed his lips again. “What does Nona intend to do with an animal?”
“She will make it be a familiar. Then she can control it. But this takes a little while.”
“And you are magic too, Colene? You can read minds?”
“I’m learning. I’m not really good at it, yet, but I’m better than I was. I can translate for Nona because I know her well, and I know you. It’s really a matter of putting her thoughts into your mind, and vice versa.”
“Tell me what I am thinking of at this moment.”
“A yellow polka-dot bikini—on Nona.” Nona was not sure of the significance, but gathered that he had thought of an item of apparel.
He looked startled, again, but he recovered. “And what now?”
“A black spider climbing a curtain. It’s got a green eternity symbol on its back.”
“You are reading my mind!” he exclaimed.
“You made the pictures very clear,” Colene agreed, pleased. “You set them up for me.”
“What am I thinking of now?”
Colene shook her head. “I can’t get it. It’s just sort of a swirling blackness with pink streaks through it.”
“You did get it,” he said. “Very well, Colene, you have impressed me. I will keep your confidence. What is it you want of me?”
“We have a sick creature from a Cambrian world. You have to find out what’s wrong, and try to help him.”
“Do you mean Cambrian as in the Burgess Shale?”
“Right. Only stranger. Can you come to my house after school?”
He looked hard at her. “You really are serious, Colene? This is not an elaborate prank?”
“Deadly serious, Amos. We’re afraid Burgess will die, and he’s our friend. You’re the only one I can think of who might be able to figure out what’s making him sick.”
“I will come with you now,” Amos said. “Just let me check out.”
“Oh, thank you, Amos!” Colene said. “It means so much to me.”
They went with Amos to another room, where he told a woman at a desk, something about canceling a class because of an emergency. Then they followed him to the school faculty parking lot and got into his personal vehicle. Under his guidance, it moved, following the road, with considerably greater docility than the other one.