Your Dimension Or Mine? (11 page)

Or was he the Interdimensional Dating Service? She gulped at the thought and wondered how many women he had captured in this game he was playing.

“Arwen!”

This time the voices sounded more natural, as though they were talking to her. Figuring she might as well see if they would respond, she whispered, “Yes?”

“Oh, Arwen, we were afraid we would not be able to reach you! Has he convinced you to accept his enslavement yet?”

How did they know? Shaking her head because she could ask them later, she said, “No, and he was really angry about it. Weird things are going on though. Like why when I touch my ankle and my face…” she stopped and flushed a little at the stupidity she was about to say.

“I will explain when you get back. You must come back, Arwen. You need to come back to this dimension before you become too accustomed to his. Can you do that?”

Could she do that? What the hell? She wasn’t even sure how she had got here in the first place. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Cory’s laugh made her relax a bit. If her sister could still laugh, things must not be too bad. Of course, there was also the possibility she was insane and locked up in a room somewhere. She would not discount that option just yet.

“Ari, can you see the room? The room with the design in the middle?”

Ari’s thoughts immediately flipped back to that first room she saw. “Yes.”

“Good, focus on it. Do not take your eyes off the design. I know this sounds strange, but see yourself in that room. Concentrate on it. Ignore everything else.”

“Yes, Arwen,” Abigail interrupted. “Ignore everything. Including him and I assure you he will come back as soon as he realizes you are in danger of leaving. He cannot touch you while you are not fully in his realm.”

“But he already touched me…several times,” Ari cried out in panic.

“That was when you were in his realm. The more you focus on the design, the more you will drift between them. No matter what happens, focus on that design. Your body will become tired, so tired you won’t think you’ll be able to remain awake. No matter what, do not lose sight of that design. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Abigail. The design is in my mind.”

“Good. Cory and I will help.”

Once again, they started chanting words and grunts she did not understand. As the room and design came into clearer focus, she became aware of a loud sound coming closer and closer. “Something is coming!” she hissed, trying to not lose sight of the design while trying to look around to see if she could see anything.

“Ignore him, Arwen. Just focus!”

Whimpering, she continued to focus on the room with the wooden floor, ever aware that the sound she heard as it became louder was the
c-clap
of his boots on the stone. He was running in her direction. Her body started to shake as she heard the
BAM!
as the iron door slammed open and the sound of his boots as he dashed toward her.

“STOP!” he yelled in a loud snarl.

A part of her almost did, but Cory and Abigail shouted for her to continue. Her body, shaking with the energy it took to focus clearly on the room and not defend herself, was becoming very tired very fast.

“Pet, stop what you are doing,” he said in a cold purr right into her ear. She squeaked, but continued to focus. “They are stealing you from me, pet. I will not stand for this!” Something brushed past her arm, and she gasped at how cold it felt but continued to focus. Her ankle thrummed strongly and by focusing on that, it seemed easier to focus on the design and the room.

He let out a loud roar as the room and design became more intense and seemed to get larger. “
Pet, you have not escaped me,”
he said, his voice becoming softer as though further away. “
I will come get you and next time, you will be punished immediately for your disobedience. Do yourself a favor, pet. Turn back now to me. If you do, your punishment will be far less than it will be if you continue to follow that evil woman!
”

Fear struck at her chest at the thought of what punishment he might give her. Almost automatically, she went to turn her head to look at him. Her ankle burned intensely, making her scream, as the room suddenly reached up and grabbed her, and she tumbled into it, straight toward the hard floor. Screaming again, she wrapped her arms over her head to protect it and waited for the feeling of the hard ground to hit her.

Chapter Seven -
Interdimensional Culpability

The sound of water running brought Ari around. Blinking, she tried to figure out where she was. Things seemed brighter, not as sinister. Sitting up, she looked at blank walls. Her brain still felt fuzzy, but she was at least able to sit up without feeling nauseated. It took only one glance to find she was lying on a thin mattress in a small oval room.

The floor was covered with inlaid wood in a design that looked familiar to her, but as the mattress covered part of it, she could not call it to mind. A door opened and she looked up, surprised by the person who entered. “Cory?”

Smiling, her sister nodded. “How do you feel, sis?”

Moving her head from side to side, Ari shrugged. “Still a little foggy, but I don’t seem to be aching as much.”

“Good. Good thing we found you when we did,” she sighed, sitting on the floor next to the mattress. “We were almost too late. That bastard,” she muttered under her breath.

Frowning, Ari laid back down, resting her head, which was slightly pounding. “What happened?” It all seemed like a dream, and she half expected Cory to explain she missed her date with Jay because she became ill. That would make everything make sense to her.

“Well,” she said quietly. “The short description is you accidentally contacted a being from another dimension who has legal claim to certain women in our family, and he tried to take you.”

Blinking again, Ari stared at her sister, sure she could not have heard what came out of her mouth. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and opened them again. Her big sister snickered and winked at her. “Yeah, it is a lot to take in, isn’t it?”

“That’s putting it lightly,” she responded dryly. “When do I wake up?”

Laughing, Cory patted her arm. “Unfortunately you are awake, little sister. Abigail will be here within a day or two, and she will help us figure out a way around all of this.”

Frowning, Ari sat up again. “Are you telling me everything that happened actually happened?”

“Yep. And you only know a tiny part of it.” Turning, she placed a hand on Ari’s left ankle, which gave out a soft hum making her jump. “I remember the first time I saw Mom’s,” she said quietly. “It was just before my sixteenth birthday, and I wanted to know where she got it because I wanted one, too.” Chuckling, she removed her hand and shrugged. “She was never one to tell lies and before I knew it, explained everything to me.”

She snorted. “Oh, Ari, wait until you hear the story. You will be sure the whole fucking world has turned upside down.” Standing up, she held a hand out to help Ari to her feet. Ari took it hesitantly. “So, the moment I heard what that thing actually meant, I changed my mind and did not want it. Unfortunately, nobody ever told you about it so you were not prepared.”

Cory picked up the small mattress. “I’ll be right back. Whatever you do, don’t leave this room.”

Ordinarily, Ari would make some sarcastic comment back, but considering the last few days, she was not feeling like herself. This room had rescued her from Orion, and she was actually afraid to leave it. Hell, she was afraid to stay in it, but the fear of doing anything at the moment caused her to freeze and stand still over the design.

While she waited for her sister, Ari looked down. There was that design again, and this time she clearly recognized it as the one on the jewelry box. Glancing down at her ankle, she shook her head. What had she gotten herself in to? In the last week, she had signed up for dating sites, been burned by a strange piece of jewelry, become stalked by a red-eyed weirdo, crossed some sort of strange barrier into another dimension, and then been sucked back into her own.

“I must be insane,” she muttered.

Laughing, Cory reappeared, toting two folding chairs. “Can’t bring much in here as only a few things have been designated for it, but at least this way we can sit down.” She handed her sister one of them and they both opened the chairs and sat down at the same time.

“Cory, I think I’m losing it.” That was it. She was going crazy. That was the only logical explanation.

Cory’s angular face filled with compassion. “I know this is a lot to take in, Ari, but everything that happened to you did actually happen.” The emphasis on the last three words did not make Ari feel any better.

“But that’s impossible!” she spluttered. “Magic and different dimensions don’t exist!” A part of her recognized that she sounded like a petulant child, but she did not care. She just wanted to go back to being blissfully unaware of such things. “When does it go away?”

Wincing, Cory turned and looked around—anywhere but at her little sister. “It doesn’t, Arwen. Once you know, it just becomes more pronounced. You start recognizing the signs everywhere.” She sighed. “If Destra had explained those things to you, then you would have seen that dating site for what it was.”

“Jane knows too?” Ari guessed.

Snorting, Cory shook her head. “She doesn’t want to accept it and refused to believe it was anything but a fairytale when Mom told her. Maybe that was why Destra didn’t tell you.”

Nodding, Ari stared at the design on the floor. “What does this mean?” she asked, pointing at it.

“I’ll have Abigail explain it. To be honest, I don’t truly understand. I learned enough to recognize the signs of paranormal activity, and how to stay away from them, but never delved deeply into it. I just didn’t want to know.”

The two sisters sat lost in thought for a while, but Ari was having trouble with the silence. It reminded her too much of the blackness she just escaped. “So, where is Abigail that it’s taking her so long to get here?”

Smirking, Cory chuckled. “In her own dimension.”

Blinking Ari stared at her sister. Surely, she could not have heard correctly. “Pardon?”

“Does it really surprise you to hear Abigail isn’t from here, Ari? After everything you’ve gone through over the last few days?” Seeing Ari’s blank look, she grimaced. “Okay, here is the long and short of it. Abigail is from a parallel dimension. She used to be a dimension jumper, going back and forth at will, but that stopped about seventy years ago.”

Ari almost asked what happened seventy years ago, but was afraid it would mean she truly was insane.

“See, she had an affair with a man from a bi-collandrial dimension and did not find out she was pregnant until way after the affair. By that time, she was visiting ours. She wasn’t sure how dimension jumping would affect the pregnancy, so she elected to stay here for eleven months until Destra was born.”

“Eleven months?” Ari asked confused. “Pregnancies only last nine.”

“In our dimension,” Cory nodded. “Not in hers.

“I guess the birth of Destra really threw her for a loop, and she stayed here for twenty more years, until her daughter was able to manage for herself and then left. She stayed in touch just like she does with us, through phone calls, letters, and packages. But she did not come back until the day Destra received a piece of jewelry—a bracelet that seared her flesh and left a design behind.” Cory nodded toward Ari’s ankle. “Just like that one.

“She had to come back to visit, explain to Destra what she was and what the design meant. She also had to warn her that men from other dimensions would contact her now that she had been marked.” Cory blew out a breath. “Unfortunately, Abigail was a hair too late. Mom had already fallen in love with a man who turned out to be from a different dimension. I was born a year later.”

“Oh,” Ari gasped. She always wondered who their fathers were.

Cory shrugged. “Mom did not want us to have to deal with dimension jumping and magic so she refused when he asked her to mate with him and live with him in his dimension. Instead, she sent him away and raised her son who by the time I was ten was wearing dresses and already having my name changed.” Cory grinned.

“Who fathered Jane and me?”

“Same man. We have the same parents, Ari. Vane came back yearly to see mom and me. He teased about us being his vacation. When I was nine, Mom found out she was pregnant again. Vane was thrilled, thinking he could convince her to finally come to his dimension. But, no, she refused.

“Jane was different. Not only was she born a girl,” Cory said dryly, “but she was a practical child from the moment of her birth. Mom doted on her. She drove Vane nuts.”

“Where is Vane now?” Ari almost did not want to know.

“In his dimension. With Mom.”

“What? Is that where she went?” Ari gasped. “When she left us, I figured it was to go travelling like Ab-i-gail...” Her voice slowed on the last word. “Oh. I guess she did.”

Snorting, Cory nodded. “Yeah, I never have understood why Destra wanted to make it sound as though she was dead. I asked her why she just didn’t tell you and Jane the full truth, but she steadfastly refused.” Her expression turned annoyed. “And look what it has done to you? If she had just been honest, none of this would have happened.”

Shaking her head, Ari stared at the symbol on the floor. It all seemed crazy and even though she had been living it and wanted to consider it all a dream, she knew she hadn’t. For one thing, she had a physical reminder, she thought as she caught a glimpse of her left ankle.

“When can I go home?” There didn’t seem to be anything more Cory could tell her.

“Uh, Abigail said to wait until she got here. It seems the guy who took you really knows what he is doing. He’s been involved with our family for a long time and this room is the only thing stopping him from taking you now.”

“Great, just great,” Ari sighed. A strange thought came to her. “How long was I over there?” She couldn’t say “in his dimension” as weirdly enough that would make it too real.

“Three days. Oh, don’t worry,” she hastened on as Ari sat up straight in shock. “I called your work and told them you were deathly ill. Your boss said as soon as you felt better to call her.”