“It’s Karma, Atticus. Karma’s been unleashed. And it’s only making things worse.”
Chapter 58
A Reason
Mothball gawked at the tornadoes and the splits in Reality—at a brief glimpse at one of the impossible gashes that showed a boy and a girl running down a beach, a moving image that hung right in the middle of the air—as she and Sally fought to protect Master George from the onslaught, taking him to the wall of the canyon.
The rents in the air—long gashes that appeared to be windows to other Realities—were all over the place, as if the world was a sheet of canvas and someone had taken a sharp knife to it, slashing uncontrollably. Behind each rip was a different scene. Forests and oceans. Cities and farms. Close-ups and faraway views. The people she saw looked frantic and scared, often running from or toward something. It was all a big nightmare.
But at least the creatures from the Void had all vanished. Sato stood nearby, his soldiers lined up behind him, facing the valley floor.
“Those tornadoes are dropping,” Sato announced. “I don’t know how to fight tornadoes.”
Mothball glanced up and saw them, dozens and dozens of spinning coils of gray air. Even as she looked, she felt their wind against her face and clothes. And it was getting stronger. They had maybe two minutes before most of them touched down.
“I don’t either,” Master George said glumly.
Jane moved surprisingly fast, saying that they had to get farther out of range. She yelled at Tick that they needed Chi’karda so they could wink away before it was too late. The three of them—Tick, Jane, and Chu—ran across the dusty land, ignoring the rents to other Realities that floated magically around them, glimpses into an endless display of worlds and settings.
Tick moved as close to Jane as possible without a risk of his legs getting tangled with her robe as it swished, swished, swished.
“What’s keeping us from Chi’karda?” he yelled at her. “We could use it just fine back at your castle!”
“It has to be Karma,” she replied without slowing or looking his way. “It’s a power that’s both unpredictable and immense. If it’s suppressing Chi’karda, then it has a reason. Either way, we need to hurry and get where we’re going. I think we’re almost far enough out.”
Tick knew exactly where they were heading. Felt it in his bones. “We’re going back to the Thirteenth Reality.”
This time, she did turn her head toward him, a look of surprise on her mask.
“Yes, Atticus. We need to go back to the source of it all. To its heart.”
They kept running.
Chapter 59
Wall of Wind
When the leading tips of the tornadoes touched down on the dusty, rocky floor of the canyon, a wild wind erupted. It ripped through the air, picking up dirt and pebbles as it went, coming at Mothball and the others like a wall. She could barely see through it or past it, but she noticed the funnels of the tornadoes joined together, creating one huge cyclone of gray.
Soon that wall of wind and debris burst over the soldiers then swept across the rest of them. Mothball shielded her eyes as it hit her and the others in the back. The wind was like a solid thing, a bubble of air that had a giving but strong membrane, pressing her against the hard rock of the cliff. George and Sally were next to her, fighting to breathe clean air.
Particles of dirt and dust beat at Mothball’s face, scratching across her skin. The fierce wind tore at her hair and clothes, seeming as if its force would rip all of it off and bury them in the solid rock. She screamed, but dust flew into her mouth, choking her and making her cough. She closed her lips and looked to the side. The hurricane blast didn’t stop—it just grew stronger and stronger. Pressed her harder and harder against the rock at her back. The world had become a haze of brown, swirling and churning.
It stopped without any warning.
The wind pulled back as if it were being sucked in by the gray cyclone like a giant vacuum. Mothball saw the visible wall of debris suddenly sweep away from her. Before long it was gone, completely, and the churning gray mass of fog and mist was lifting up from the ground. She thought it looked alive, and angry, being sucked toward the sky against its will. Even as she watched, it narrowed and compacted, rising, getting smaller and more tightly woven. Most of the others around her had recovered and were standing or sitting and observing the show. She felt Master George’s hand squeeze her upper arm.
“What . . .” she started to say, but stopped. Any question would be pointless. And George certainly didn’t try to answer. They watched, together.
A few seconds later, it became apparent what was happening. The fog and mist of the Void was being consumed by the floating river of blue light. Every drop of the gray mist whooshed into the still-throbbing blueness, disappearing as soon as it did so. The long sapphire streak across the sky didn’t change or grow thicker. It just kept pulsing, kept sucking up everything in sight. Not just the Void, but sticks and loose stones and any lingering clouds that had tried to stick to the sky. Mothball was surprised that she and the others hadn’t flown up with the rest of it.
And then, just like that, the air was clear. The only things visible above them were the strange river of blue light running between the walls of the canyon, and the gashes in the air that were like windows to other worlds. They hadn’t moved or changed, and there were probably a hundred of them that Mothball could see, all shapes and sizes. But the ground had quit shaking, and all the bending and twisting of Reality had stopped as well. The world seemed to have gone back to something a little more close to normal.
“I’ll be darned,” Sally said.
“That sums it up right nicely,” Mothball replied.
Master George was straightening himself, dusting off his clothes. The Barrier Wand lay on the ground, dull and dirty. “Let’s get upstairs straightaway. I hope Paul and Sofia have learned something valuable.”
Even Tick was out of breath when Jane finally called them to a halt. He figured he was younger and in better shape than the other two, but somehow they’d all kept up and together, although Chu was sucking wind, hard. Tick turned back to look at the canyon. There wasn’t a sign of any clouds or the gray mist of the Void anymore, but those rips in Reality that looked in on countless scenes and settings from all over still hung in the air like decorations.
“I think . . . we’ve gone far enough,” Jane said, her voice even more raw than usual with the heavy breathing that scoured her throat. “In fact . . . it’s odd. I can feel every ounce of my Chi’karda. And I don’t think it’s because of the distance we ran.”
Tick immediately probed his inner self and saw that she was right. His power was there, as strong as ever. “You mean whatever’s been blocking it is gone? What do you think happened?”
“Like I said, if it’s Karma, the force obeys its own rules. We need to wink to the Thirteenth before anything changes.”
Chu looked at Tick with narrowed, suspicious eyes. “I should’ve kept you in those bindings. We can’t trust you now.”
“We can trust him,” Jane said. “He knows he has no choice but to work with us right now. Ready yourselves—since I’m most familiar with the Thirteenth, I’ll wink all three of us there. I want us to be a nice, safe distance from the Void. And we will need time to meditate and regroup.”
“My people are ready when you’re ready,” Chu added.
“One step at a time.”
Chu had no response, but right before Jane winked them away from the outer reaches of the Grand Canyon, Tick saw something in the man’s eyes that he didn’t like. He didn’t like it at all.
Part 4
The Transformation
Chapter 60
Round Table
Paul had never seen such a captive audience.
Mothball, Sally, Sato, and Master George—Rutger was busy in the operations center—sat at the conference table, looking at Paul and Sofia with wide, though tired, eyes. The group had made their way back up from
the canyon floor after the strange events had subsided, discussing what had happened in drained, weary voices. They looked awful—dirty and windblown and scratched and bruised. But thankfully, they were alive, and every last one of them—including those who’d been researching—were eager to talk about what needed to happen next.
“We know some things,” Paul said to start it off. “And we’ve made our best guesses about a lot of others. But time is short, so I’m going to let Sofia fill you in.”
Sofia looked more determined than Paul had ever seen her before. She cleared her throat and started talking.
“This all began when Tick and Mistress Jane had their battle outside the Factory. The Haunce had helped Tick heal the Realities from the disaster that was the Blade of Shattered Hope, but the boundaries and barriers and seams were still really weak. Sealed, yes. But weak. When Jane and Tick battled, using extreme amounts of Chi’karda to do so, they . . . broke things. Things we might not totally comprehend, but were certainly never meant to be broken.”
“We’re talking about the rips in Reality,” Paul added.
“Exactly,” Sofia continued. “We believe Tick and Jane created a situation in which conduits between Realities opened up. Not only that, but conduits between dimensions as well. And ultimately that’s what allowed the Void of the Fourth Dimension to begin bleeding through to the Realities themselves. Whatever Tick did to escape the Nonex was kind of the last straw.”
“You mean he stirred the dadgum pot once and for all is what yer sayin’,” Sally said.
Master George raised his hand like a kid in school. Sofia tried to hide a smile and pointed at him.
“Perhaps the situation would’ve been much more manageable had the Fourth Dimension not been so . . . agitated. There may very well be a bees’ nest outside your open window, but it’ll get much worse if you swat that nest with a big stick. I think that’s what happened here.”
“Something like that,” Sofia agreed. “Whatever the explanation, we are where we are. Which brings us to Karma.”
There wasn’t a sound to be heard in the room.
Sofia took a deep breath. “We need to gather all of our forces. All of them. Load up on weapons and ammunition. And then head back to the Thirteenth Reality. It’s what Karma wants us to do. Rutger has already started trying to contact all of our Realitants out in the field.”
Paul half expected shouts and complaints. He also wondered if Master George would feel as if his authority had been challenged, but if anything, the old man looked proud. He had, after all, given them the assignment to figure things out.
“I know we’re short on time,” their leader said. “And I trust you both implicitly. But give us an explanation as best you can.”
“Of course,” Sofia replied. “For starters, we believe that the blue anomalies seen by Sato in the Thirteenth and the one out in the canyon represent the Fourth Dimension itself. Conduits for the Void to reach into our dimension. And it’s a little scary that the blue river outside these walls decided to suck everything back into itself. It’s like the Void was reaching out to gain strength and ammunition and has now pulled it all back to its main force.”
Paul hated this new enemy. Shapeless, mysterious, seemingly without any kind of mind or conscience. No fear of death or consequences. “Which is why we have to go to the Thirteenth,” he said. “That’s where it all started, and it probably has something to do with the unique power of the place and its abnormal links to Chi’karda. We think the Void is gathering its forces there until it can unleash an attack we could never stop.”
“Which is where Karma comes in,” Sofia said. “It’s hard to describe it, but I can’t get the image of the Thirteenth—
the place where Jane’s castle used to be—out of my mind. Paul and Rutger feel it too. It’s more than just a thought or a daydream. It’s almost like something is putting it there . . . inspiring us. We’re getting better at understanding Karma’s power and how it communicates. But we know this: Karma escalated events, put pieces in place, so that we’d all head back to the source of the Void’s birth in our dimension.”
At that moment, Rutger stepped into the room, his face lit up with excitement.
“I’ve reconnected with Master Atticus!” he shouted. “Found his nanolocator! He’s just winked to—”
Paul cut him off. “The Thirteenth Reality.”
Rutger nodded with a huge smile.
“I guess that seals the deal,” Sofia said.
Master George stood up, a fierce and proud look on his face. “My good friends. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I’m scared of what awaits us there. And I believe it’s quite alright to feel a bit of fear now and then. We can use it as a weapon. But know this—our society was created for such dark times as these. And the Realitants are about to have their most shining moment of all.”
Paul’s hands clenched into fists, and his heart started to thump.
“Sato,” George continued, “go and ready your army.”
Chapter 61
A Good-Bye
At some point while Sato had been upstairs in the conference room, the blue river floating in the air had disappeared. But the rips into other Realities remained. Like slashes in a great invisible curtain, they peeked into countless other places. It gave Sato the creeps.
He stood on top of a big rock in front of his army, staring them down, having remained silent for at least one long minute on purpose. He wanted them to contemplate, to gather their thoughts, to have a last moment of peace. Trouble waited for them ahead. The worst they might ever face. Master George had no doubt that their fate would be settled in the Thirteenth Reality, and Sato trusted the leader of the Realitants like he never had before.
Finally, Sato spoke, his voice rising up to echo off the walls of the canyon.
“I’ve asked you all to do a lot lately,” he began. “Too much. And we’ve lost some of our soldiers along the way. I’m sorry for the sacrifices you’ve had to make, for the pain and injuries and suffering. I’m sorry for those who gave their lives. I’m sorry for a lot of things. But I accept the responsibility. It’s all on my shoulders. And I just have a few questions for you.”
He paused again and took a moment to sweep his gaze across the eyes of the crowd. He was glad he’d stepped up on the rock so he could see them all—their tall, weary bodies and their haggard faces.
“Are we ready to give up?”
The resounding boom of their collective “No!” made his heart soar. Adrenaline pumped through his body.
“Are we ready to quit fighting?”
“No!”
“Do we fear an enemy we don’t understand?”
“No!”
“Will we go and fight no matter what fate brings?”
“Yes!”
“Will we fight?” He screamed it now, energy surging through the air like electric charges.
“Yes!”
“Will we win?”
“Yes!”
“Will we win?”
“Yes!”
“Will . . . we . . . win?”
“YES!”
Sato’s chest heaved with heavy breaths. “Then let’s go and do it.”
Master George was back in the operations center with Rutger, and he felt a deep sadness in his heart. There was a part of him—deep down, hidden, but there for sure—that was telling him he was saying good-bye to his longtime friend for the very last time. He tried to ignore it, but it was shattering his heart.
“I’m sorry to leave you here,” George said. “But I fear we can’t win this battle unless we gather all of our forces. Keep trying until you’ve found them. All of them. Can you do that for me?”
“Of course I can,” Rutger said. The short man put on a brave face that hid nothing. “I give you my word that I won’t rest until every living Realitant responds and we come to help you in the Thirteenth. I’m already about halfway there.”
George nodded slowly, his lips pressed together. “Good, t
hen. You’ll know where to send them—we’ll stay in constant contact.”
“I know, boss. I know.”
George reached out and put a hand on his old partner’s shoulder. “My dear Rutger. We’ve been through a lot together, haven’t we?”
“We sure have.” He grinned, as genuine an expression as he’d ever shown.
“I . . . just want to thank you for being there for me all these years. I want to thank you for . . . for being my friend. Whatever happens . . .”
Rutger held up a hand. “Not another word, boss. Please. Not another word. It’s not needed.”
The two of them locked eyes for a long moment, a thousand memories bouncing between them. It was true. They needed no words.
“Very well. Then we’ll see you and the rest of the Realitants on the field of battle. Whatever form it takes. Now, I have a lot of winking to do. My Barrier Wand is going to be very hot indeed.”
Master George turned away and walked out of the room, hoping Rutger hadn’t noticed the tears that had begun to well up in his eyes.
Chapter 62
Rest and Relaxation
Jane had winked them to the top of a mountain, a craggy peak of black stone that had no vegetation whatsoever. Tick had felt the cool rush of thin air when they’d arrived almost an hour ago and hadn’t stopped shivering since. Once there, Jane had insisted on taking some time to meditate and prepare herself for the difficulties that awaited. Chu had grumbled, and Tick had asked questions, but she’d refused to say another word.
Tick was glad for the break and for the time to collect his own thoughts. Everything had been such a mad rush. But instead he’d fallen into a restless sleep, shivering all the while. When Chu woke him up with a light kick to the ribs, Tick was instantly awake, and thankful his body had gotten a break.