Page 25 of A Midlife Vanishing Trick

“So,” Allison said, “you’re saying ... one of those portals—”

“Took me to Frost Mountain, yes.” He nodded. “I was riding my horse when it happened. The horse died less than an hour after I found myself on the mountain.”

He saw her wince at his words. She knew he loved horses. “Why didn’t you just come back through the portal?”

“You think I would have if I could?” Stanley nearly chuckled. “The portal was gone as suddenly as it appeared. There was no way to get home. The portals are one way. People come to Frost Mountain, and they never leave. And I know what you’re about to ask: How did I get back here?”

Allison said nothing but merely nodded.

“Well, to explain that, I’ll need to explain other things.”

“What other things?”

“I didn’t spend all four years trudging across the mountain,” he said. “Only one. I found a village and settled there. See, the thing about Frost Mountain is, it’s got all kinds of people and places—villages, towns ... people get together and formcommunities to survive and lead ... well, somewhat normal lives. And that’s what Kirnham was like.”

“Kirnham?”

“The village that took me in. The people there taught me everything they could about Frost Mountain. I lived in Kirnham for years as one of the guards of the village.”

She cocked her head to one side. “What were you guarding the village from? Wild animals?”

He thought he detected a bit of humor in her tone. “Wild animals are the least dangerous beings on Frost Mountain. Even the cold is more of a threat. What the people of Kirnham were really afraid of were the Collectors.”

Allison shifted again in her seat. So far, she hadn’t scoffed at his words or tried to cut him off. In light of his previous interactions with her since his return to Torpe, that was an improvement.

“The Collectors are marauders,” he explained, trying to make it as concise as he could. “They’re notorious for robbing villages and towns, searching for ‘treasures’ to take back to their ... well, their boss, a ruthless dragon shifter named Grim Jim.”

He saw she was amused, noting the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Grim Jim?”

The name did sound a bit ridiculous, especially if you’d never been in the presence of the Ice Melter, not to mention at his mercy. Stanley nodded. “Yes. He’s the one who sent the Collectors to invade Kirnham. I still have no idea what exactly they were looking for, but the other guards and I tried to defend the town. We failed.

“I was captured by one of them, a man named Johan. He and the other Collectors brought me back to Grim Jim’s cave with them and threatened to throw me into an abyss if I didn’t join them in serving him. I refused, and Johan shoved me into thepit. I figured I was going to die anyway, so I pulled Johan in with me.” He shrugged. “But we were both wrong about the abyss.”

Allison frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Turns out thereisa way off Frost Mountain. The pit’s some kind of portal back to Earth. It brought me and Johan here, to Torpe.” He could barely suppress a grin. “Grim Jim and his men have been shoving people into that pit, thinking they were killing them, but they were only sending them here.”

He could still remember how shocked he’d been to find himself back on Earth. Frost Mountain was supposed to have been his new and final home from the moment he raced through that portal on his horse. It would have been his grave, too. But he was back now, back to his real home. As time went by, Frost Mountain would become a fading memory.

“And Johan?” she asked. “He’s the one who slaughtered those cows?”

Stanley regarded his coffee for another moment before sipping from it again. “He is. He wasn’t born on Earth. And now he wants me dead for bringing him here.”

His words faded into silence. Allison pursed her lips, staring away from him as the seconds ticked by.

“Look,” he said, “I know all of this might sound crazy—”

“Oh, it does.”

“—but I think, deep down, you know I’m telling the truth. I’ve no reason to spin a story like that.”

She looked at him sharply. “Even if everything you said is true, Stanley, it doesn’t change what happened.” Her eyes softened, turning misty all of a sudden. “It doesn’t change how I’ve been feeling all this time, Stanley. You were gone—foryears.”

“I know, Allison—”

“I thought you were dead. Everyone around in town did, too. And when we couldn’t even find a body, I thought you must’ve taken off or something. Do you have any idea how yourdisappearance broke me? If not for Celine, I might’ve completely lost my mind.”

His heart throbbed painfully. He bit his lip. “Allison, I’m so sorry. And I know it’s hard for you to have me back here all of a sudden after everything you’ve had to deal with. All I ever wanted was to come back to you. The whole time I was on Frost Mountain, I never forgot about you. I never stopped loving you.”

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