Chapter 7
Passing through to Saline's world via the Secret Path was more like walking through a doorway than traveling transdimensionally. Usually there was a falling sensation, accompanied by a feeling of spinning, but the only thing that remained was the moment of confusion. Once that passed they found themselves in a magnificent realm of beauty.
The first thing Adam did was gaze up at the pale, but vibrant, orange sky. It drew him; he had seen red plants before and this place was loaded with them, but the sky was fascinating.
"Everything green in Spooksville is red here," Cindy mumbled absently. She took a few steps and knelt down to feel the lush red grass that felt more like an expensive carpet than plant life.
Even Sally was captivated by the scenery. She approached the pond that lay ten yards from the tombstone - which seemed to exist in every dimension - and stared at the orange-tinged water, probably wondering if it was as toxic as she claimed their reservoir water back home was.
"Isn't it pretty?" Saline gushed. She remained by the makeshift gravestone that looked as though it could have been blasted from an alien's cave on a planet in the darkest corner of the universe. It stood tall - over their heads. Its jagged edges were as sharp as the edge of a blade. Where it had been cut from where ever it had come it exposed the rock's smooth black inside. Adam admired it as he turned back to Saline. She was beaming with pride for her home. He noticed that etched deeply into the stone was Madeline's name.
"You said you had to go home, right?" Adam asked her as his eyes strayed to the sky once more.
"Yes," he heard her say. "For now at least, but I know once word gets around that the business man is being driven away everyone will be in a frenzy and I can sneak away to help you three."
Adam's stare shot back to her. He couldn't bear the thought that she would be anywhere near danger. "You really shouldn't," he insisted as he wondered why she had such faith in them.
Saline smiled at his worried face. "I can handle myself, you know," she told him and laughed easily. Suddenly she seemed much older than six; Bryce had probably been right about her being a lot older than they were. Saline turned away from them and looked into the forest behind the tombstone. "I guess I should head home. My mama is already going to have a fit." With a wave and a goodbye, the little fairy skipped away, but not before pointing them in the direction of Aulora.
As soon as Saline left, Cindy looked the way she had pointed. "There isn't anything in that direction," she said as she gazed into the distance. The forest seemed to stretch forever.
"There isn't anything in any direction," Sally said as a matter-of-factly.
Adam looked as well. "No, there's some sort of building," he said after a moment of studying. He tried to point it out to the girls but to no avail and Adam wondered if he was imagining it.
"If we can't see it, how far is it?" Cindy asked. She twirled her hair with her finger which she did when nervous. Her gorgeous golden hair. Sally turned to him for an answer when he remained silent and Adam had to pry himself from the sight.
"I don't know, but standing here and worrying isn't getting us closer. We may as well get started our hike now," he told them.
Sally glared at him. "It's a full out journey, and it's going to be long one," she muttered as she and Cindy followed Adam's lead around the pond and toward Aulora.
They made small talk for a while but eventually the new sights, sounds and smells captivated them so much that their conversation fell dead amidst the great beauty. About fifteen minutes into their walk they came across a stream that appeared to be heading in their direction. Adam figured it fed into a body of water near Aulora since most cities were built around one so he decided it was best for him and his friends to follow it. It turned out to be easier to walk by the water. The trees backed off a little at the water's edge, as well as the larger Jarethcomb plants. But the shore was not bare; in fact, it hosted thousands of flowers and fragrances that made Adam want to remain in the land and forget about Spooksville and its troubles. That is, until he remembered this land had its troubles as well and that they were there to help; it was something Adam now wanted to do more than ever. Briefly he questioned the human's sanity in this dimension; he couldn't understand how they could be so ignorant of their world's beautiful landscape and its magical inhabitants.
After an hour and a half of walking, they all took a rest by the shore of the creek. Adam had to take a huge gulp of the water to prove to Sally it was fine and in the end she was too thirsty to fight it any longer. As the girls continued to kneel by the water Adam got up and headed toward their bags in search of a snack. He paused once he arrived at the bags. Something didn't seem right.
"Hey, my bag's gone!" he cried. The girls turned to him and looked at him in astonishment. Mythical creatures had invaded Spooksville four years ago and elves had taken a liking to their things, even one of Watch's watches. This was very reminiscent of that troubling and annoying incident.
Sally stood up and walked over to Adam with a hand on her hip. "I'm not taking this," she vowed and shook her head defiantly. She swung toward the forest and shook her finger at it as though one of the trees must have been responsible for the theft. "I swear if that bag isn't returned I will personally see to it that you're drowned in this very creek."
Adam touched her arm. "Sally, it's just a bag," he told her. She swung back around at him and threw her arms up into the air.
"Well I'm hungry!" she said.
Adam was taken back and was going to say something when a voice came from behind them.
"Have yer supplies been stolin'?" a male voice with an Irish lilt asked.
Adam turned around to find Cindy already staring at the little pixie-like creature that lay basking in the sun's warmth on a rock on the opposite shore. "Yeah," he answered, not altogether surprised. He had dealt with these types of creatures before; in Spooksville it was hard to avoid such a thing.
Sally, in her rotten mood, unwisely spoke. "And what the hell are you?" she demanded in a hostile tone. Adam hoped the creature wouldn't get angry; they had a mission to complete and couldn't do it easily if the Jarethcomb inhabitants were against them.
"I, Milady, am a puck," the little creature said in his tight red outfit - it matched his hair. "T'e name's O'Reilly. And 'ou've been a victim of ol' Rynnie 'n' his minions."
"Why would they only steal one bag?" Cindy asked. She was obviously fascinated by the creature; Adam thought it was caused by an innocence she had managed to hang on to throughout adolescence and it made his heart thump in his chest to the point he thought it was trying to escape the confines of his ribcage and do the things his head refrained him from doing.
Adam quickly snapped himself back to reality as O'Reilly gave a sinister smile. He wasn't sure if he trusted the guy. "Who knows?" the puck said. "T'ey're greedy; 'ou should go after t'em."
"We already are," Adam said. He decided to be upfront with their plans, even if O'Reilly seemed a bit dangerous. "We've come from another world to stop that man."
O'Reilly's eyebrow raised and a look of uncertainty passed over his face. "Why do 'ou care what 'appens to us?" he asked, seemingly without any confusion about other dimensions. Adam figured a lot of creatures in Jarethcomb understood transdimensional travel, probably because the Secret Path was in their backyard. Anger seeped through the puck's words, anger about the intrusions into Jarethcomb, and Adam understood. Well, no, not really. But he sympathized with the creature's bitterness.
"Don't flatter yourself; those reptiles-" Sally began. Adam cut her off.
"Don't listen to her," Adam waved off and tried to ignore Sally's scary glare. "We do care about our town being harmed, but it's still not right what that Van de Ryn man is trying to do to you and Jarethcomb."
"Humans don't know t'at name. Where'd 'ou hear it?" Now suspicion entered his voice.
"A fairy," Adam said. He was purposely vague.
"Name?" Adam hesitated. He didn't want to put Saline in harm's way.
"Saline," Sally spoke up. It was Adam's turn to glare at her.
At this O'Reilly leaped off the rock he was lounging on and studied them, as though the change of position gave a new perspective of these humans. After a moment he turned and hurried into the forest and Adam began to panic. He looked sharply at Sally, waiting for one of her snide remarks, but she instead remained silent as she stared in the distance. Here was another person to worry about – only he couldn't keep an eye on Watch, who he feared would do something foolish. Even though Watch usually acted very logical, his behavior toward Amy was unusual. He could help Saline though.
"We have to head back now, to save Saline," Adam announced. He grabbed the bags and began to head into the forest. He wouldn't listen to Sally's arguments. Saline could be in trouble. He stopped immediately when a rustling of leaves and branches started in the forest and glanced back at the girls. They were all wondering what alien creature was approaching them. But even before they could hypothesize a single horror, O'Reilly stepped from the forest; he had come back, with Adam's bag in hand.
"You stole it," Sally said, finding her voice. It dripped with contempt. She was really scaring Adam.
"I am a puck and t'at's what puck's do, Milady," O'Reilly bowed and set the bag down where he had originally lifted it from. "'Tis what all creatures do with our 'omes bein' taken, but only from 'umans."
"But you're returning it?" Cindy asked. O'Reilly smiled, again it was malicious and Adam now figured he couldn't help it.
"Aye," he said. "Other than t'at one there," he pointed to Sally, "I believe you're being serious; Saline's a sweet fairy. And now 'ou can make good on yer promise. I'll take 'ou to t'e Van de Ryn man and 'ou can deal wit' 'im."