“Sit down and relax?” Jane repeated, as if he’d told her to eat a live rat. But she sat down anyway, folding back into the soft cushions of her couch. “There’s no time for relaxation, boy. I first suspected something was wrong when we were in the Nonex and I saw the rift in the air that led to another world. Another Reality. For that rift to reach the Nonex, I knew it wasn’t as simple as a pathway between worlds. It had to be something much deeper. And then there was the incident with the earthquake and the subsequent uptick of craziness.”
Tick knew that the Nonex was a place where a gorilla could suddenly erupt out of the sand, then turn into a moth and fly away. All kinds of unexplainable stuff happened all the time, but Jane was right. The craziness had ratcheted up considerably right before they escaped.
“You do remember the rip in the air I saw?” Jane asked.
“Huh? Oh. Yeah. I do.”
“There was a boy and his father, or perhaps his grandfather, in a forest, looking back at me. And I knew something was off about it, something dangerous. I backed away, and just in time, too. A terrible storm of gray mist and thunderous lightning exploded within that rift, destroying whatever was close by on both sides of the rift. You saw what the area looked like afterwards.”
Tick remembered. It had reminded him of TV footage of a tornado’s aftermath. “So you’re saying that what you saw was the Fourth Dimension?”
“A better way to put it is that I saw what comes out of the Fourth Dimension. The Void of Mist and Thunder. It’s always been a rumor, a myth—pure speculation. Until now. I believe the Void is a living thing, but without conscience. The complete and pure power of creation. All it wants is to escape its prison and consume everything in its path. It’s mindless and hungry.”
“How do you even know about it? You already have a name for it, but you never told anyone about it. Why not?” Tick felt sick inside. Here was yet another thing that had gone wrong. And somehow it linked back to being his fault.
“I’m old,” Jane said. Her red mask had returned to a blank expression, but Tick knew anything could set her off. “I’ve researched the origins of our universe in hopes of making it better. That crotchety old George and I worked on this project together, years ago. Trust me, I’m sure he’s figured out what’s going on by now and is sweating a river.”
“What is the Fourth Dimension?” Tick asked. “I still don’t really get it.” He hated admitting that to her, but he had no choice.
“Well, you know what 3-D is, correct? Three dimensions?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, the Fourth is named that because it’s a step beyond anything we understand in terms of vision and . . . placement. Three-D is exponentially greater than 2-D. And the Fourth is infinitely greater than 3-D. The power of the Void is much, much greater than any kind of energy we know in our own dimension. If unleashed, it will consume this world like food and use it to recreate another. And all of us will die along the way.”
Tick almost wanted to laugh. “You’re really clearing things up.”
The mask flashed to anger. “Stop it. Now. None of your childish sarcasm, do you understand me? What I’m talking about is very serious. More deadly than even my Blade of Shattered Hope. Do you understand?” She shouted the last question, making Tick lean back in his chair. “It was your meddling with that Blade that ripped open the Fourth Dimension in the first place!”
“Okay, I get it.” Tick was scared, but he didn’t want to show it. “But this isn’t the first time you’ve tried to work with me. The last time ended with you trying to choke me to death. Remember?”
“Oh, Atticus.” The anger and spirit seemed to drain straight out of Jane, her shoulders slumping and her mask melting into another frown. “Do you still really believe I was trying to kill you that day? We had to stop Chu, and at the time, hurting you was the only way to get you to release your Chi’karda. You couldn’t do it at will like you can now.”
Tick looked at the floor. Jane confused him so much. She seemed to have some good in her, but she’d also done some terrible, awful things. But could he really blame her completely after what he’d done to her?
“I don’t know what to do,” he said quietly. He was tired of thinking. “I just don’t.”
“Atticus,” Jane said, her raspy voice quiet, like a small clearing of the throat. “I’m not going to sit here and pretend that you and I are best friends. I resent you for what you did to me, though I know it was partly out of your control. I know you hate me. And I’m not making any promises to stop fighting for a Utopia for mankind. When this issue is dealt with, I’ll continue with my mission. I will do whatever it takes.”
Tick looked up sharply. “You will, huh? You’ll go right back to destroying entire worlds and throwing little kids into awful experiments? No skin off your back, right?”
Jane pounded a fist on her knee. “Yes! I will do whatever it—”
Her words were cut off by the door slamming open, the entire room seeming to tremble. Jane and Tick both shot to their feet to see who had come in.
It was Mordell, and her face was pale with fright.
“The Fourth Dimension has torn open outside the castle,” she announced in a shaky voice, as if she had to avoid shouting to preserve the dignity of her order. “The Void is attacking our creatures.”
Chapter 24
Fog and Thunder