Chronicles Of The Keeper - The Long Hot Summoning Part 81

"Say that three thousand times fast," Sam muttered.

"No." Diana absently stroked a marmalade shoulder and frowned at her sister. "Since when?"

"Impossible to tell with the time distortions."

"How did you . . ."

"Claire!"

Claire nodded toward the sunburned blond starting down through the climbing elves, her pack in one hand and Diana's in the other, declaiming apologies with every step. "He told me."

"Who's he?"

"Lance."

"A lot?"

Arthur stopped beside them and visibly shuddered. "Fortunately, no."

"While you were gone," Claire explained, "I went on a little tour of the Othersides and . . ."

"The Otherside's what?"

"The Othersides plural. Long story."

"Then skip it. You found him . . . ?"

"At our beach."

"The one in the guest house?"

"Yes. Longer story."

"Skip it, too."

"He's not Australian," Sam announced as Lance reached the lower concourse and set the packs down.

Diana looked confused. "Why would he be?"

The cat shrugged as well as his current position allowed. "I have no idea."

"He's a Bystander. Wait." She raised a hand cutting off Lance and Claire together. "I don't care why he's here, but as he obviously can't stay, we've got even more reason to leave immediately. He's got to go back, Dean's in danger, Kris is in h.e.l.l, three strikes, let's motor!"

Without the time to count to ten, Claire counted to three. "Believe me, Diana, I want to, but the injured elves are our responsibility."

"No, they aren't." Diana nodded toward the Immortal King. "They're his responsibility. We did our bit. The hole's closed. The segue's been disrupted, and without an anchor the two malls will continue to drift farther and farther apart. Street kids looking for a place to belong will have to look somewhere else, not necessarily a good thing but a thing. Our work here is done."

Claire sighed, cradling her left hand in her right. The pain in her broken finger, which was now hurting up her arm, across her shoulders and into her right ear for reasons she wasn't entirely clear on, made it difficult to concentrate, but Arthur was alive, h.e.l.l had been defeated, and the world had been saved from a shopping mall where midnight madness sales meant exactly that. However, while Diana had a point, she'd missed one as well. "Diana, Kris . . ."

"Now, Claire! Or are you tired of Dean already?"

Even the ambient noise of bells in elvish hair quieted. Lance opened his mouth. Arthur shook his head. He closed it again.

There were also a number of things Keepers didn't say to other Keepers. Claire made a mental note to say most of them to her younger sister at a later time. "I'm going to allow for the stress you're under," she said quietly. "Pick a door." Any door would take them back to the access corridor in the actual mall. The point of departure remained the point of return regardless. "Let's go home."

"Fine!" Pivoting on one heel, s.h.i.+fting Sam's weight against her hip, ignoring the little voice that told her she'd gone too far, Diana scanned the lower concourse stores. "There, that kid's store, the Rainbow Wardrobe. Nothing bad should come out of it."

"How responsible of you."

"Don't patronize me!"

"Fine." Claire turned toward Arthur. "The mall is no longer a segue, so we can come and go the same way we can from any other place on the Otherside. I'll be back to check on things."

The Immortal King glanced at Diana, his blue eyes sympathetic, then turned his gaze back to her. Less sympathy, more understanding, Claire noticed. "When?"

Her watch appeared to be keeping time to a rhumba beat. "Unfortunately, I have no idea."

"Claire! Now, or I'm going without you!"

Under no circ.u.mstances was Claire allowing Diana back into the world unsupervised. Even standing right beside her, it would be hard enough to keep her from making a foolish attempt to rescue Kris the moment she could manipulate the possibilities, on the other side of reality, it would be impossible. Claire picked up her pack, wrapped her good hand around Lance's arm, and hurried to join Diana at the store.

When the door flew open on its own, they stepped back together. Jumped back together. Fortunately, Lance was in hiking boots.

A sound spilled out first, like a terrified chicken being chased by a snake.

Dropping her grip on Lance, Claire shoved her hand into her belt pouch. She hadn't closed the zipper after the throne room and for one, heart-stopping moment she thought it was empty. Then her fingers closed around a peppercorn. Enough? It had to be. Releasing the contained possibilities, she yelled, "Everyone close your eyes!" as something squawked and exploded out into the lower concourse.

A moment.

Two.

Cats hunted by sound. "Sam?"

"I don't hear it."

"I can't open my eyes!"

She signed and opened hers. "Yes, you can, Lance."

"Oh, this is just great . . ." Diana would have thrown up her hands had she been willing to put Sam down. "... h.e.l.l's gone, and this place makes even less sense. I don't see the connection between a basilisk and a children's st . . ."

"So you're saying that while your body stayed in the room, your ka moved around sipping off bits of Dean's life and spying on us?"

Austin's voice ghosted out the open door.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I knew everything you had planned from the instant you planned it."

"Meryat!"