CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Storey stared at her stylus. "Eric is in the Louer's dimension?" He better not be. She didn't relish trying to find her way over there.

  Her pencil jerked out an answer. Or somewhat of an answer. Yes. No.

  She sighed. "Which is it?"

  He was. He is no longer.

  "How do you know?"

  His father's codex has recently been recalibrated for Eric's use.

  "Then where are they now?"

  In another dimension.

  "What other dimension?" Exasperation at the short answers and having to pull teeth to get information was draining her. "My home?"

  Close.

  "Close." She stopped puzzled. "There are only three dimensions here." After a moment, she added, "Right?"

  Her pencil answered quickly. There were only three, but now there is a fourth.

  "Oh no." She groaned and closed her eyes briefly. The onion. "You mean the one I created to make a safety net for my world? Is Eric caught in there?"

  Yes.

  "Which means I can't wipe out that dimension without wiping out Eric and his group?"

  If you destroy the dimension, you will also destroy everything in it.

  "Such as?" The stylus remained quiet. "Could we wipe out the Louer's dimension?"

  Yes.

  "Yes?" she questioned. "Then that's how to stop them. Wipe them out and everyone in it will disappear, too. Perfect." Except how could she know who else might be over there at the time? If the Louers were taking prisoners, then they'd be destroyed as well - including Eric, if he went back to rescue his people.

  "Can you talk to Eric's codex?"

  The codex is a machine. It does not talk.

  "Right." She knew that. "Can you program the codes on Eric's wrist to give him the coordinates to get back home?"

  Yes.

  "Then do so." She wanted to jump up and down. This would all soon be over. Eric would be home safe and sound. Paxton should be sorting through the archives for a way to get rid of the Louers and she could go home. She frowned. She might need to fix a few things there yet.

  I put in the coordinates for Paxton's lab.

  "Good. Let's head back and we should arrive in time to meet them." She studied her codex. Paxton had programmed this destination, not a return trip. The plan had been to use Eric's codex to get home. "Stylus, can you send the coordinates of Paxton's lab to my simple codex? Paxton didn't program a return trip for us."

  Done.

  Thank heavens for that. Now to get back and stop this solo act. She punched the button she'd used last time and the wrist unit went off in a series of flashes and beeps. The black mist rolled around her, bundling her in a tight tornado of swirling black. She closed her eyes, hating the sense of isolation this type of travel created. One could get lost in here.

  A shudder rippled down her spine. Lost in between. Not a nice thought.

  The mists started thinning. She relaxed, closed her eyes. It would be over soon. Several minutes later, she opened them and frowned. "Why isn't this over?" Frustration and the beginning tendrils of fear twisted in her stomach.

  She waited. The mists still surrounded her, maybe less thick? Or maybe that was her imagination. The weird back gate when she'd travelled with Eric popped into her mind.

  Her uneasiness grew. Following her instincts. "Stylus, have we arrived?"

  She could barely see the writing on the page, even when held up to her nose.

  No.

  "Damn." Something had gone wrong. How to fix it? What would happen if she stepped out of the mist? She’d be most likely be torn to bits. She shifted her weight from foot to foot. Another few minutes went by and she checked her wrist codex again. The lights continued to flash with bright colors. Who knew what that meant? "Stylus, can we contact Eric in any way?"

  The stylus hummed. Not at the moment.

  "Can we contact anyone? What about Paxton?"

  More humming. Yes.

  "Explain the situation to him, please." He should know what to do.

  The humming intensified then shut off sharply. Communication has been disrupted.

  "Damn it. I can't just stand here in the middle of a transition. What can I do?"

  No answer. Her stylus never moved.

  She groaned at the silence. "What's the use of being able to communicate if you can't help me problem-solve?" More silence. The stylus, like any computer, could only answer direct queries. "Okay. Stylus, can I get out of the middle of this gate?"

  Yes.

  She brightened. "How?"

  Time.

  She snorted. "That's something I don't have." Just then the mist started to darken again. She spun around, terrified. "What's happening?"

  The blackness deepened into a morass of seething energy unlike anything she'd ever seen before. It had taken on a powerful negative feel. She cried out. "Stop. Stop. What's happening?"

  The energy spun faster and faster. She screamed as the pressure in her ears built. She crouched down, covering her head with her arms. Pain ripped through her mind.

  She collapsed to the ground.