Page 8 (1/2)

Shelton strode across the control rooht He cleared his throat, and Tuttle shrieked, juesture The holographic iave us a startled look and disappeared in a blink Tuttle peered at us Dropped his arhed nervously

"Can I help you?" he asked, his face scrunched in al of his cloak only adding to the comedy

"Tuttle, my associate and I are with Darkwater" Shelton said "We need a connection to Queens Gate Ms Conroy said--"

"Oh yes, of course!" Tuttle said "One ray sphere and ran his finger across its surface As he did, a trail of stars on the htened perceptibly He stopped as a star in the southern part of Great Britain lit and er The star dihtened in time with the star in Atlanta Tuttle turned to us "Queens Gate will confirm in a moment Are there any others in your party?"

Shelton shook his head "Nah Do the folks at Queens Gate know to accommodate us e need to return?"

"I’ll be sure to notify them," Tuttle said

"Do you have to wait for confir a connection?" I asked

The worker-bee Arcane shook his head "No, not at all If there’s already an open connection the nodule blinks red to indicate it’s busy If I wanted, I could place my palm atop the modulus and raise it to open the connection"

I walked up to the big gray orb--the uessed--and looked at it "You establish a connection by running your finger across it until the proper star--nodule--lights up, then flick it to establish a connection?"

"Exactly The operator at the other end will initiate the final sequence by raising his ed "It prevents accidents, you know--in case soate, ouldn’t want to start it back up while they’re still inside the traversion zone"

"That’s the area inside the big circle?" I said

"Yes" He nodded approvingly "You’re familiar with traversion arches, then?"

More than I want to be, buddy The terrifying journey from a broken arch in Thunder Rock across what appeared to be several alternate realities and ending up in the dead city of El Dorado ca"

The ht sparked and pulsed froet ready to travel"

"Thanks, pal," Shelton said, and we trotted outside and across the black-and-yellow-striped caution circle to step inside the traversion zone The space in the ray, blinking faster and faster in tiy that seemed to vibrate the very air itself A clap of thunder rolled across the cha a sih the Grotto arch before, though it’d been on official Teota, Colombia, but the experience never failed to ah the opening The scenery ahead blurred, warping like the inside of a fishbowl, and popped back to normal within an instant

As we left the arch behind, the air next to

Shelton’s eyes ide "Run!"

Because I couldn’t re but horrific death if I paused to ask questions or scratch my head like a dimwit, I snatched Shelton under one are of the silver circle A cracking noise gratedair hit ainstme backward I strained, but my feet slipped little-by-little on the se of the circle was only inches away I strained with everything I had, but it wasn’t enough I glanced over my shoulder and felt my eyes widen in horror Multiple fractures lined the space around the arch One shattered, leaving a gaping hole to a gray void I kneithout asking exactly what it was

The Gloo, but I couldn’t hear hi else A voice I turnedof its words hovered at the tip ofpried me to seek out that voice To answer its call I slowed , but unable to rabbed hiain I turned toward the void My feet skidded across the floor, squeaking as the rubber soles resisted

So ?"

I looked from Shelton to the void, and ?" I shouted