“I did.” He paused, not moving, staring at her. “I waited for you in the park, but you never showed up. You wasted time that was not yours to waste.”
It took every ounce of willpower for Jane to remain calm, to not lash out and whip this man with one of the fallen logs. She could do it, and the man spoke to her as if she were inferior. No, she told herself. He’s here for a reason.
“My apologies, Mister-”
“Call me Reginald,” he snapped. “Never call me Mr. Chu. Never.”
Jane bowed her head ever so slightly. “My apologies… Reginald. I had a proposition for you, a good one, but the Realitants stole my Wand, trapping me here. I’ll soon have another one built.”
Chu moved his arms from behind his back to reveal what he’d been hiding-a brand new Barrier Wand, its golden surface sparkling despite the diminishing light, seven dials and switches running along its length.
He hefted the three-foot-long device in his left hand, holding it out to her as a gift. Then he dropped one end of it toward the ground and leaned on it like a cane. “I’ve had spies here since the week you stood me up. I know a lot about you. I also know about this Reality and its twisted version of Chi’karda.”
It took considerable effort for Jane not to look at the Wand, staring Chu in the face instead. “I’m glad you know how to do your research.”
“That’s not all I found. You’re missing one of the metals. It’ll be months before you can extract enough from the ore you’ve discovered.” He nodded toward the Wand at his feet. “So I’ve brought you a new Wand to save you the trouble.”
Jane folded her arms. “At what price?”
Chu broke into a smile, something Jane would never have expected to see on such a man. “I can see you’re as wise as I hoped. Nothing, of course, is free. Especially in my Reality.”
“Tales of your business skills are widespread, I assure you.” She wanted to add, And your ruthlessness and greed are likewise well-known.
“That’s good to know.”
She expected him to say more, but he grew silent, keeping his gaze locked with hers. Oh, I do not like this man. “Your price?” she asked again.
“I’ve developed something that will completely change the Realities. It’s a new invention-”
“What is it?” Jane asked, trying to assert some authority, show her impatience.
Chu paused, his face pulling tight, his eyes narrowing. “Listen to me, Mistress. Never interrupt me. You will stand there and listen to my proposition and you will not utter a word until I am finished. Do you understand? Indicate with a nod of your head.”
Jane felt her face fill with blood, heat up, and burn. A small sound escaped from somewhere in the back of her throat, a mortifying squeak. At that moment, she swore to herself that when this man died, he would be looking at her smiling face. The only thing staying her hand from unleashing her powers was curiosity. Intense curiosity.
She nodded.
“Good.” He pulled up the Barrier Wand and held it in front of him, parallel to the ground. “My project is called Dark Infinity, a tool that artificially creates massive amounts of Chi’karda-far stronger than anything you’ve encountered here. It’s more powerful than all of my previous accomplishments combined. However, there is still one missing piece.”
Jane almost asked him what, but stopped just in time. Her curiosity burned like an itch.
“It’s so strong that I can’t control it alone,” he continued. “I need another person, someone of proven strength, someone extraordinary. I’ve studied and searched every Reality, every region. I have narrowed it down to only two people. I don’t fully understand yet what sets these two apart, but I do know that one of them will do. And I only need… one.”
He paused, and Jane was dying to speak. She didn’t know what she had expected, but it was certainly nothing like this.
Chu continued. “One of the two is you. Your powers here do not exist solely because of the mutated Chi’karda in this place. Otherwise, everyone would be able to do what you do. There is something extraordinary about you, and I do not say that lightly.”
Who is the other? she screamed inside her head, completely ignoring the compliment.
“You might be wondering about your competition,” Chu said, smiling. “And here is the proposition. It’s very simple. I’m currently sending the other person through a series of tests. If he passes them and ends up where he’s supposed to, he will win the honor of standing by my side as we rule the Realities. Meaning, of course, you lose and will be disposed of.” He paused. “You may speak now.”
“I… I’m not sure I completely understand,” Jane mumbled, hating herself for appearing so weak. Chu had said she could be “disposed of” like a sickly fly. How dare he? And yet, she felt uneasy. “How do I win?”
Chu walked forward, holding out the Barrier Wand and gesturing for her to take it. She grasped the golden rod with its dials and switches eagerly, like a child grabbing for candy. It was cold and hard in her hands.
“Like I said,” Chu continued, “it’s very easy. If the boy makes it to me, you lose. If he doesn’t, you win. Only one of you will survive in the end-only one of you will be worthy to serve with me in controlling Dark Infinity. That’s it.”
“That’s it?” she repeated, her courage returning. “Nothing else?”
Chu nodded. “You’ve been given your test, and I assure you, it’s not a simple task. You must kill Atticus Higginbottom.”
Chapter 21
Come on,” Mothball said, stopping for the tenth time to allow Rutger to catch up. “You’re slower than a sloth with no legs, you are.”
Truth be told, Mothball appreciated resting for a spell. It was blazing hot in the Arizona desert, and she was hauling a big load of logs she’d gathered from the riverside. Carried down by the Colorado River, stray wood often lodged in one particular bend, and Master George had to have his fires, didn’t he?
Rutger, sucking in every breath, his face the color of boiled cherries, stopped and craned his neck to look up at her. He was like a big ball rolling backward, pivoting on little legs. The man looked absolutely exhausted.
“Can’t… really run when I’m… carrying all of this… wood… now can I?” he managed to get out between breathing spells.
Mothball glanced at Rutger’s short arms, holding all of two sticks-one of them barely more than a twig. “Yeah, I’m quite shocked you haven’t called someone on the telly to announce you’ve broken the world’s record for stick-luggin’.”
“It probably is a record for someone from the Eleventh.” Rutger nodded toward the door hidden in the canyon crevice, about forty yards away. The two of them stood at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, its majestic red walls of stone towering over them, reaching so far to the sky they couldn’t see their tops. Having finished gathering firewood, they were making their way back to the elevator shaft entrance.
“I reckon Sofia would call you a flimp right about now,” Mothball said as she resumed walking toward the hidden crevice.
“It’s wimp, you tall sack of bones, and if she did call me that, she’d pay the price.”
“Oh, really?” Mothball called over her shoulder. “And wha’ exactly would you do? Sit on her toesies? Bite her shins, perhaps?”
“I’d do whatever it took to teach the young lady some proper manners, that’s what.”
Mothball made it to the small crack of a cave that led to the elevator and dropped her stack of logs onto the ground. She reached her arms to the sky in a long, satisfying stretch. When Rutger finally waddled over and dropped his pathetic two sticks onto the pile, he put his hands on his waist and took deep gulps of air, as if he’d just completed a marathon.
“Congratulations,” Mothball said. “You’re the first tiny fat man to haul two twigs across a weed-scattered spit of sand. Right proud of yourself, I reckon?”
Rutger looked up at her and grinned. “Push the button, or it’ll be your shins that get bitten.”