Page 45 of Shifting Years
"No sign, huh, Mike?"
"When did you start accepting magic as the reason for everything? You made fun of my books."
"I fought a were… shifter and took your acid tab." Again, he told me about leaving his body and flying like I never did. That sounded far out.
"Fair enough, so, let's go?" I said or asked.
Seconds passed, and my arm hair rose and so did Todd's. We found it. The primordial thing researchers, explorers, and mystics had long searched for. How many fled when they finally discovered it? We couldn't. Whatever solution I wanted was here, I'm sure.
After stepping out, I grabbed Todd's hand and knocked on the rusted metal door. Only hollow echoes answered. Birds didn'tchirp, nor did wind rustle through the dead branches. Even wispy clouds stayed still.
Todd breathed in deep and pulled the door open with a drawn-out squeak. Inside was a ten-foot by ten area with dusty, rotten wood planks and nothing else. "Either the wrong place or a joke."
No. It can't be.
With the same mental concentration I used when shifting, I closed and reopened the door.
Where there had been rotting planks, white marble walls now gleamed. The room stretched larger than it should, swallowing extra space. A red-carpeted conversation pit rested in the center, plush pillows in deep crimson shades scattered across it. There was no television, but the far wall had a giant, wooden bookcase.
"It's bigger on the inside," said Todd.
"Like the TARDIS inDoctor Who."
"Leave it to you to watch shows nobody'll remember in ten years."
"Really? You seethisand your first instinct is to insult my television habits?"
A soft, feminine voice coughed behind us. There was no movement, lost consciousness, or even a blink. One moment, we were in the swamp. The next, we were sitting inside the impossible house, pillows tucked neatly behind our backs. I barely had time to scream before everything shifted around me.
A short, brunette woman in a green sweater stared back with dark-blue eyes. The tall redhead was more made up and looked like the actresses back in LA. Like her shorter friend, she hadbangs, but her red hair was raised high like the women in Dallas. Her long diamond earrings and orange evening gown suggested she was about to go out on the town.
Todd spoke slowly. "You look like those two women on—"
"We're aware of who we resemble," said the shorter one. "I'm Dawn."
"Which leaves me Tina," said the tall redhead. "We know why you're here." She frowned slightly. "We gave opportunity to leave, so you could have moved on to other solutions."
"Why?" I asked.
"So you wouldn't pay the price," said Dawn. "There's a cost to all magic and no, it's not your soul. You will exchange one terrible pain for another."
"You know what I want?"
"Even when you don't," said Tina. "To ensure a father is ignorant of his child is possible. We will perform a similar service for Wyatt's Omega soon."
"The sheriff's kid?" asked Todd. "What's he got to do with it?"
"He will be an adult soon," said Dawn. "He will find a mate and those around will forget about him, while he does not. The eighties and beyond will be a time of great sorrow and confusion."
Shifting was amazing but they knew of magic I couldn't understand, and yet, I searched for it. I just had to be careful.
Tina stared directly at me. "Do not attempt to find exact words, Michael. Magic is will and intense emotion, but not alawyer's contract. Phrase it well but examine the forest instead of a single tree."
I licked my lips. They said my soul wasn't in danger, but what would be the cost? Instinct told me I wouldn't get the answer until later. The teleportation and mind reading showed me they had power.
"I wish nobody knows who my child belongs to unless Iwantthem to know."
"Clever," said Tina. "You worded it well. However, all things end or change. Years from now, he will know, even if others do not."
