“All I see is cowardice,” Chu replied, wrinkling up his nose as if such a notion disgusted him more than anything else. “If you don’t have the strength, will, or ability to kill this young man, then I certainly don’t want you by my side.” He shifted his gaze to Tick. “And you—don’t think you’ve accomplished anything great. Much tougher tests lie ahead.”
Chu paused, looking back and forth between Tick and Jane. “Still . . . I need an apprentice, and my patience has run out. Like I said, one or none. You’ll both come with me and settle the matter.”
Tick finally found the voice that had been locked in a trap of panic inside him. “What do you mean? What are you going to do to us?”
Chu laughed, the humorless laugh of a man who just found out he has mere days to live. “I’m not going to do anything to you. You’ll do it to each other.”
“But what—” Tick stopped when Chu held up a hand.
“Don’t say another word. You will follow me, both of you. And don’t be stupid—I have more weapons hidden in this place than you could count in a week’s time. Try anything against me, and you will die. If my sensors detect any spikes in Chi’karda levels within you, you will die. At least until we get to the chamber. Tonight, you’ll sleep. I want you well-rested for the morning. Come.”
He turned and walked toward the opposite side of the room, though there was no sign of a door. “Now!” he shouted.
Mistress Jane stood up and motioned for Tick to come with her after Chu. Heart thumping, Tick fell in line beside her. His head swam with confusion. Both of these people were supposed to be his enemy!
He and Jane stayed twenty feet behind Chu, walking just fast enough to keep the distance consistent. Chu didn’t slow when he came within a few paces of the curved wall, and just before he walked right into it, everything went pitch-black for a full three seconds. Tick almost stopped, but Jane grabbed his hand, pulling him along before letting him go.
Lights flickered above them, then ahead of them, flashing as if gaining power before finally shining at full strength. They strode down a long hallway with a carpeted floor of brown-and-black diamonds, the white walls lined with pictures of various instruments and odd scientific experiments— beakers and wires and microscopes and animals in small cages. It gave Tick the creeps.
He looked back and the hallway stretched just as far in that direction as it did before them, as if they’d never been inside the large, round room made of illuminated white material. It surprised him when he realized he wasn’t surprised. He wondered if anything would seem crazy or magical to him ever again.
Jane reached over and grabbed his wrist. “Listen to me,” she whispered.
Tick didn’t want to trust her, but he nodded anyway, as slightly as he could in case they were being watched.
“When the time is right,” she said, speaking so softly Tick had to strain his ears, “we’ll strike. You and I together. Remember—no matter what you think of me, right here, right now, we have to stop him, or Dark Infinity will make every last Reality an insane asylum.”
“Strike?” Tick whispered back. “What do you expect from me? I don’t know what you guys think I can do, but I don’t have any powers and I can barely lift fifty pounds.”
Jane shook her head in anger. “Grow up, Atticus. Are you really that dense? Even I’ve noticed the things you’ve done the last couple of weeks.”
Tick looked over at her. “What are you talking about?” He winced; his voice was way too loud.
“Just stay close. Trust me—your abilities will come out. And when they do, I’ll channel them against Chu.”
Tick almost stumbled. The floor seemed to bounce with ripples as he felt his head swim. “I don’t get what you’re—”
Jane held a finger to her lips and picked up the pace. The hallway stretched to infinity before them.
Tick kept walking.
~
For the first time in a long time, Paul felt like he might not die of pain after all. Doctor Hillenstat, a wiry old man with a droopy mustache and enormous teeth from the Second Reality, had barely said a word after Rutger had winked him in to work on Paul’s arm. Paul had been grateful for the silence, because he’d been in no mood to talk.
The pain worsened before it got better, but once the medicine kicked in and the bone settled in the thin white cast, life became bliss. Despite everything—the near-death experiences and the disappearance of his good friend Tick—Paul felt on top of the world after having suffered for so long.
Now, still lying on the soft bed in the infirmary, he decided he better pay attention to the frantic discussions going on between the people sitting in chairs around him—Master George, Rutger, Mothball, Sally, Sofia, and Doctor Hillenstat, who’d insisted on staying around until he was sure Paul was on the mend.