Did she really want to be a mother? As her second week at the Coast House began, she asked herself that question. There was no reason to lie, so she had to say, no, she didn’t. She could have persuaded Peter to adopt, but the truth was, a strangling panic rose in her chest when she thought of giving up her freedom to care for a child.
Still, something had been missing. She tried running an art gallery, which was fun for two years until it became drudgery. Then she thought she might be an artist, but her talent was small.
You’re a spoiled dilettante, she told herself as she sat on her balcony and watched the spouting of whale breath. A spoiled selfish woman who is probably getting exactly what she deserves. Then she laughed.
The silence was calming, and she moved more slowly, taking time to notice how the light fell on the polished floor of her room, how the wind whistled through the eaves in the house. The silence gave her access to her own past. All she had to do was sink into a memory and, after a time, the motivation behind her actions revealed itself. An interesting experience. Humbling.
She remembered the red dragon-like being that had haunted her dreams, how it materialized in the outer world as they drove through the desert. She had imagined it as a secret lover come to save her from her predicable life, safe because it lived only in her dreams, but now she wondered.
Was Martin right? Had it led her to the entrance to this place? Did she decide to come here or had she died in that crash and now was experiencing a very strange afterlife? Thinking about it gave her a headache, so she went for a walk on the beach and watched the stars appear.
###
The call for help from the Coast House puzzled Nara. Martin rarely called, which pleased her since she preferred her Keepers make their own decisions. Newcomers kept her busy enough, since they often didn’t understand the distinction between a problem and an emergency.
Martin’s call concerned a newcomer. Nara did not recall any newcomer assigned recently to the Coast House and her lapse annoyed her. She arrived in a flash of rosy pink light, circled the house once, then entered Martin's office through the window and positioned herself on the ceiling to wait for him, appearing as a circle of vibrating pink light.
Martin perceived her arrival and hurried into the office. He glanced around without seeing her and then peeked through the curtains to see if she were waiting on the private balcony, but it was empty. He started out the door, deciding she must be in the common room, when Nara hissed like an angry house cat to attract his attention.
Startled, he looked up and saw her floating in a corner. He relaxed.
“Forgive me. I did not see you there.” He inclined his head.
“There is nothing to forgive. You are having a crisis; I have answered.”
“I'm sorry to bother you with such an unimportant matter but I've tried every means of persuasion I know. This woman is intractable. Again, I apologize for calling.”
“Call and I will answer. That is our agreement,” Nara said. “Now tell me who this person is and what has disturbed you.”
She changed her appearance into a shimmering pale green column of light and descended toward the floor.
“Valerie. A newcomer. The North American Guardian sent her to us believing she was impatient to begin her new life. Our records indicate that she was due about a year from now in Earth’s time. I only received word she was coming on the day she arrived.”
“I had not heard of a newcomer who was early.”
“I did not think it important enough to bother you before your scheduled visit.”
“So what is the problem? Does she want to go back?”
“I don't know. She refuses to speak. Since the first day when she walked up on the beach, she hasn't said a word. She insists that she will not speak until she sees the person in charge. I've tried everything I could think of to persuade her.”
“You are the person in charge,” Nara said.
“But Valerie does not believe that. She wants to speak to my superior.”
“Your what?”
“The term denotes rank.”
“You’re certain her decision to come here was finalized?”
“I have double-checked the records. There’s no mistake.”
“I hope not.” Nara floated eye-level with the Keeper. “Was it an error on the Guardian's part? Why didn't he send her by the usual route? You said she walked up on the beach. From the sea?”
“She was floating in the water. Radasam alerted the lead whale, so he was waiting for her and brought her to shore. It was odd, because she called so insistently to the Guardian, yet when she got to the portal, she didn’t wait for him. She came through on her own and took a wrong turn.”
“He was probably teasing the snakes again,” Nara said. “Do you believe this woman is ready to resume her life as a dreamwalker?”
Martin sighed. “She is one of us, without doubt. She is unusually stubborn, though, about moving into her new identity.”
Nara glistened green and gold to signify her understanding. “So what would you like me to do, old friend?”
Martin sat in the high-backed chair behind his desk. “I’ve been thinking about that. Perhaps you know someone who could persuade her to speak? Someone more like herself?”
“Intractable, you mean?” Nara mused. She floated past him toward the window. “That could be arranged. A good idea, Keeper. We both know someone stubborn enough to understand a voluntary mute, do we not?”
Martin permitted himself a smile. “We do indeed. Thank you for understanding. Shall I prepare another room?”
“Yes. I will send him to you tomorrow. Make yourself ready. I will observe what happens, so you need not call again.”
“I understand,” he said as she disappeared through the curtains.
Leo
First light was streaking the sky above Tyrid when Leo woke, sure someone was observing him. He looked into the mass of twinkling lights hovering over his bed and sighed. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
The lights formed into a pulsing circle. A voice emanated from their center. “I have a situation at the Coast House and hoped you would assist.”
Leo closed his eyes and rolled over. “On leave at the moment, Nara, and I just got to sleep. Can it wait?”
Nara moved to the side of the bed and glowed dark blue. “Martin needs help with a newcomer.”
Leo opened one eye. Martin was his oldest friend on Larreta. The Keeper had given him sanctuary after he lost Bobby, the woman he believed he was destined to spend his life with. When Leo barricaded himself in his room at the Coast House, unable to cope with the grief that ravaged him, Martin had installed an impenetrable lock on his door so no one could enter. The solitude had saved him and Leo never forgot what he owed the little man. “What’s wrong?”
“A newcomer arrived early. A woman, quite independent-minded. She came through the desert portal, but landed in the sea and had to be rescued by the lead whale. Now she refuses to speak.”
“Not at all?”
“Not a word.”
Leo propped himself against the carved headboard of the enormous canopied bed. This was the most interesting problem anyone had brought him in months. “She must have taken a wrong turn in the portal.”
“Apparently. Martin is sure she belongs with us. She was so anxious to get here, she came early but now she refuses to adjust to Larreta. We cannot begin her orientation unless she speaks and I can’t send her back, so I need someone to gain her trust and handle the situation.”
Leo was starting to enjoy himself. He had just finished a class at the Center where he assisted instructors who trained new dreamwalkers. His next class would not start for several weeks, and he had taken a long leave because he noticed he was having trouble staying focused on the needs of his students. If he couldn’t pay attention, he shouldn’t be teaching, so he retired to his loft in Tyrid to decide how to spend his vacation. A rebel who refused to speak sounded more interesting than the eager newcomers
who hung on his every word.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Persuade her to talk. Find out what’s wrong so she can be oriented.”
He grinned at the column of lights. “How do you expect me to do that?”
“Be charming. I understand you have expertise in such matters.”
“Going through changes, are we? What am I, the big gun?”
“This shouldn’t take long. Convince her to speak. Then I’ll assign her to an instructor and you can return to your own pursuits. If you do this for me, I would consider it a personal favor.”
“Fine,” he said. “I haven’t seen Martin for months and it’s time we caught up, so I’ll give it a shot. No guarantees, though. Not every woman falls in line the minute I walk through the door.”
Nara’s lights twinkled. “Rumors tell a different tale. Can you leave today?”
Leo threw off the bedclothes and stood. “All right. I’ll get ready, but you owe me for this one.”
“It will be recorded,” Nara said. “Call and I will answer.” As she disappeared, her words echoed.
Later that morning, Leo caught the public flyer to the Coast House. During the half hour flight, he dozed, and the slight jolt that told him they had landed on the helipad behind the Coast House surprised him. He bid good-bye to the pilot and walked up the long flight of stairs to the back door. He entered the kitchen and found Brian sorting fruit and storing it in refrigerated cabinets.
“Leo!” Brian gave him a big smile.
“The cavalry has arrived. How’s the new job going?” Leo set down his valise and shook Brian’s hand.
“Good. Busy. I love working with Martin, and now we almost have a full house. Two instructors arrived yesterday with their newcomers, and Valerie is still holed up in her room.”
“That’s why I’m here, I take it. What’s her story?”
“She’s an interesting one. Martin has her information ready. The odd thing is she’s convinced she’s either dead or in an institution on Earth. I don’t know if she expects a doctor or an angel to rescue her.”
Leo laughed. “That’s funny when what she’s getting is me. Well, I’ve got my no heaven, no hell speech ready.”
“Good.” Brian looked relieved.
He was a newly initiated Keeper, but the job seemed to agree with him. He looked even younger than the last time Leo saw him.
“I think you’ll like Valerie,” Brian said. “She’s feisty. And beautiful.”
“That can’t hurt. Where is she staying?”
“In the corner room on the south end. I saved your regular room for you. I’ll take your things up. Martin is waiting in his office.”
Leo left the kitchen, with Brian right behind him, carrying his valise. The Assistant Keeper turned left to go upstairs, and Leo walked straight into the common room. He knocked on the inner door to Martin’s office.
He found the Keeper sitting behind his desk looking harried.
Martin rose and extended his hand. “Leo, my friend. Good to see you. And just in time. I’m at my wit’s end with this newcomer.”
Leo sank into his usual seat on the loveseat in front of the desk. “I know you weren’t happy about having to call Nara.”
Martin shrugged. “We’ve wasted enough time. Now that you’re here, I hope we can move forward. As soon as you get her to talk, we’ll proceed with her orientation.”
“Do you have an instructor lined up?”
“He was here for a week, but when he got nowhere with her, he went back to the Center. Frankly, I don’t blame him. She’s a handful. Here’s the file.” He pushed a black tablet across the desk.
“I’ll look it over before I talk to her.” Leo leaned back and surveyed the room. “Nothing’s changed, I see.”
“Nothing ever changes. Only the dreamwalkers who come and go.”
“And me.”
“You’re a special case. When I didn’t hear from you in so long, I hoped you were doing better.”
Martin’s sympathetic tone made Leo realize he must look depressed. He didn’t feel any worse than usual, but his grief had never subsided. It bubbled beneath the surface of his attention, rising suddenly without warning and leaving him aching, as if no time had elapsed. In the four years since the time rift took Bobby, he had learned you could live with anything.
“I’m fine. I like the new job, most of the time, and it keeps me busy. I’m on leave now, or was until this came up. This Valerie of yours sounds interesting, but sometimes I think I’d rather go back to Earth and start over. One body, one life, no worries.”
“Not that simple.”
“No. Here, nothing’s simple.” Leo rose and picked up the tablet from the desk. “Okay. I’ll let you know what happens.”
Leo went upstairs and found his usual room arranged just as he liked it. Brian had put the oversized lounger on the deck for him and stored his belongings in the closet. Anything else he wanted would be at his fingertips if he asked. The Coast House was an amazing place if you could stand its perpetual perfection.
Leo opened the doors to the balcony so he could feel the ocean breeze and sprawled on the big bed to read the file. The report was mildly interesting, especially the part where Valerie took a wrong turn in the portal passage.
Before he got to the end of the report, Leo yawned. He was tired from his early wake-up call and would have liked a nap, but he decided to take a shower instead. No point in putting off the inevitable.
###
Valerie was startled at the loud knock on her door just before it was flung open.
“You fell through a portal, didn't you?” the tall dark-skinned man asked, as if it were a natural thing to say.
He filled the doorway, his dark curly hair only inches from the top of the doorjamb. When he crossed his arms across his broad chest, his biceps strained against a short-sleeved shirt.
She rose from her chair by the window and stepped backward. She was sure she had locked that door. Even though she said nothing, he went on, “I have a key to most doors in this house.”
He moved toward her and pushed the door shut. Intense dark eyes stared at her. She had to look up to meet them and felt uneasy when they didn't break their hold for even a cursory glance at the rest of her.
“It's scary when it happens,” he continued in a conversational tone. “A lot of people are spooked by the method of transportation. It's okay to be scared, you know. That's not a sin here like it was in California.”
How did he know where she lived?
“Your history is part of your record, and I’m not reading your mind, I looked it up. They didn’t expect you until later, I gather.” His smile changed his face from forbidding and dangerous to simply dangerous. “Look, you might as well talk to me, Valerie. This is a nice enough room you have here, but there isn't much to do. On Larreta, no one's in any hurry. You can stay cooped up for as long as you want, but it might get dull.”
She backed up until she felt the far wall against her back. He followed her.
“You're in a different place now and I’ve come to explain it to you. I don't have all the answers but I got here through a portal the same way you did.”
She wanted to turn away, but the effort of moving seemed enormous.
“They sent me to find out what's wrong with you. You managed to rattle our esteemed Keeper, and that’s not easy.”
Valerie held his gaze, willing herself not to move. He was right in front of her, his face so close she could count his pores.
“You came through the portal in the desert. What were you doing there? Sightseeing? Were you alone? It can be dangerous, wandering around in the desert.”
Heat radiated from his body.
“You've been here three weeks,” he went on, looking into her eyes. “Larreta time. You must be lonely. And scared.”
Of you. She took a deep breath to quiet her jangling nerves.
He moved an inch closer and put his right hand against the wall behind her.
His arm grazed her shoulder. She closed her eyes, bracing for his touch, and then opened them when she felt nothing except his breath on her cheek.
“Were you alone in the desert?”
“No,” she whispered, forgetting her resolve. “The car broke down.”
“You can speak.” He moved back. “So your car broke down and you walked through the portal. Did you recognize it?”
“I don't know. The red spirit told me he was waiting and then Peter drove the car off the road and then I was there.”
He seemed surprised at her mention of the red spirit. She took the advantage and slid around him, then walked backwards until she bumped against the door to the hall. With her hands behind her back, she reached for the knob.
He raised an eyebrow and turned to face her. “Was Peter your husband?”
Before she could answer, he grabbed her right wrist, so fast she didn't see his hand move, and pulled her around him. Now his back was against the door.
Valerie pretended not to notice the juxtaposition. “He is my husband.”
He placed his right arm on her shoulder. His touch was gentle. She breathed out.
“What happened in that desert?” she asked.
“You walked away from your life. We all do it. That's why the portals exist—so people like you and me have a place to go. You must have been looking for something, or you would never have found the portal. Larreta is an answer of sorts. Not a great one, in my opinion, but it gets your attention.”
She stared at him, expecting a sign he was joking, but his face was serious, still except for a deep crease between his thick eyebrows. His hand on her shoulder tightened.
“Please tell me the truth.”
He released her shoulder and crossed his arms again. “I am telling you the truth.
That’s another thing about this place. No one lies, not intentionally, anyway. We can be deluded.”
“Is Peter dead?” This wasn’t true, but a part of her mind, some old part that didn't feel real anymore, insisted on making the words come out of her mouth.
“I doubt it.”
“You don’t know.”
“There’s lots of things I don’t know. That, I can find out, but I know this much—you walked up to that portal in the desert and some part of you recognized it. No one comes through, no one even sees the circle, unless they're ready to come back. Were you unhappy with your life?”