It's so... weird. That's the only word I can describe it with. We're in the city. I can feel the pavement under my feet. The voices are all clear around me, I can tap into people's conversations right now if I really want to, and the traffic is loud, almost drowning out whenever one of us speaks. And the very next second I'm standing on grass.
"What the...?" I blink several times, but that doesn't make it disappear. The town is suddenly gone. It has just vanished without a trace and I'm standing on green grass with my friends. No other people are nearby, it's just us, birds and weird trees. I say weird because they have twice as many branches as trees on Earth, and they're almost twice the height. I turn to Araya.
"Good job," I say awkwardly. Situations like this are ones I try to avoid at all costs, but sometimes they're necessary.
"Thanks for... magicking us here." She nods. I turn back and scan the green expanse around us.
"So, do any of you guys have any idea where this prison could be?" I shake my head at Jamie's question.
"I was kinda hoping that Araya would miraculously figure it out when she moved us here. I honestly have no idea. Araya?" Araya frowns and shakes her head.
"My magic doesn't tell me where things are. I recognise this forest. The Valdorian village that I found is in that direction." She points to the left. "So it could be there, but for some reason I doubt it would be that easy. I think we'll have to track Vincent down the manual way." I groaned.
first day in Alyncia consists of walking, walking, and why in the world not, more walking. By midday I'm sweaty, tired and bored. I try to start up a conversation with Jamie, but all he talks about is mechanics and cars I've never heard of. I try talking to Araya, but she seems preoccupied and keeps forgetting what we're talking about. Finally I just content myself with gazing at my surroundings. We haven't passed any landmarks that are too spectacular. Earlier I saw a bush with leaves that literally sparkled in the sunlight. I also saw an animal with six legs and a long thin tail that scampered out of our way long before we were close enough to see any other details. Don't get me wrong, I'm in awe of Alyncia, and can't wait to explore it further. I guess I'm just too caught up in finding my brother.
I'm almost glad when we finally come to a town. We skirt around the edges, looking for any buildings that that out of the ordinary — however ordinary that can be for another world. Nothing seems amiss, though, and soon we move on. By now my feet are starting to hurt.
"Where exactly are we going?" I ask irritably.
"There's another town a mile or two away," Araya responds. I resist the urge to sigh as we start the walking and not talking loop all over again.
The next town turns out to be even less helpful than the last one, and the one after that has barely any houses, let alone sinister guarded buildings. We keep walking, and I start thinking about home. I don't mean my world, I haven't been here long enough to begin missing that yet, but of my home. And then I remember my sisters. My gosh darn sisters, who are probably sitting at home right now, wondering where on Earth Vincent and I have got to. I grit my teeth, but then remind myself that Vincent is a responsible adult. He wouldn't have left the two girls by themselves. He probably hired a babysitter. I relax as I wonder what he told them. Maybe that he was going on a last minute business trip? I smile to myself. How simple it all sounds now that I know there's so much more to the world.
I know that we've found something when Jamie pokes me, hard. I jerk away and give him a look.
"What did you do that for?" He grins.
"Look." I follow his pointing finger and see a dark grey building looming up ahead of us. It casts an ominous shadow as we approach, and a strange feeling rushes over me at the sight of it. I somehow already know that this is the place. We have found Vincent.