by Day Leitao
When she felt solid floor beneath her again, Karina opened her eyes and saw herself in her bedroom as the sun came down. Sian fell backward, but thank goodness that her bed was behind him. His upper body lay across the bed. Karina would have fallen over him if she hadn’t let go of his hand. There was no statue, but a boy, with eyes closed on her bed. Sian, not the statue. He seemed to be sleeping, but he was human now. As much as she had hated him a few minutes before, Karina was glad that she had saved him, even though he seemed to still be enchanted. She looked around, almost fearing that those shapes would follow them, but no, it was just an impression. They remained in Whyland, and Karina was safe in her apartment.
Karina sat and put her head beneath her hands. She took deep, fast breaths, while her entire body shook. Fear, horror, dread, shock. What had those things been? Still, as her breath slowed down, she realized that she was safe at home, with nothing chasing or trying to grab her, and she was overcome by a feeling of relief. Tears came out of her eyes. But not everything was over. She looked at Sian’s peaceful expression. He was still enchanted, and that was a huge problem since she had no idea how to wake him up. More than that, she had no idea how to teleport him back home. So two big problems.
4
A guy where?
Karina stared at the boy who had his back on her bed. With eyes closed, he had an innocent expression, almost sweet. Of course, his nose was a bit too big. Definitely not good looking. And still he dared not wake up when Karina kissed him when he should have been flattered at such an occasion. But it was no time to be upset at him. Who knows, it was likely all Darian’s fault. Karina wished she had not been called into this, though, as she still felt like a fool. But she had to focus on the issue at hand. There was a fainted, enchanted, sleeping, or whatever guy on her bed. On her bed, in her bedroom. Karina couldn’t even start to imagine what her mom would think about it. And it was not that she could hide him. Hide? That would be cruel. He should be returned to Whyland, from where he should have never left.
Oh, Karina, why did you teleport with him? Why? She had no answer to that. Well, except that maybe she feared that something bad could happen to him if she’d left him there. Sure, he had an awful taste for girls, but he didn’t deserve to remain in a garden with horrid forms. And how was Karina to know she’d teleport all the way back home? Now here he was, and Karina had no idea what to do. She had to focus and think. Think. Come up with a solution. Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice. Her mom!
“Karina?”
Karina ran to the door, opened it, got out, then closed it quickly behind her so that her mom wouldn’t look inside. “Hey.”
“I didn’t know you were home. There’s dinner in the fridge.” She took a close look at Karina. “Are you all right?”
“Yeeeeah. I was re-resting.” That must have sounded the opposite Karina intended.
Her mom took a deep breath. “I know it’s difficult for you, but me and your father, we had to move on with our lives.”
Karina made an effort not to roll her eyes. Was her mom still on that?
“I’m fine, really. Just tired. Finals last week and all.” Having been attacked by a horde of weird shapes was actually the big issue, but she couldn’t explain that.
She held Karina’s hand. “If there’s anything you want to talk about, just tell me.”
“Can I tell you not to worry about me?”
Her mother laughed and kissed Karina’s forehead. “I’m in my bedroom if you need anything.”
Karina nodded, trying to look normal. In her bedroom? Why? Why? Of all Saturdays, she had decided to stay home now? Karina was left to the beat of her own heart. She had to get rid of Sian, she had to, but she would need to wake him up and then figure out a way to get back to Whyland. She opened her bedroom’s door and closed it behind her. Why didn’t it have a lock?
What a sight: a guy from another world on her bed. If she had ever imagined something like that, the guy would obviously be insanely good looking and totally in love with her. But that was not the case here. Of course, Karina had never imagined such a thing, as that would be highly inappropriate.
Anyways, the guy was just a big problem. Karina’s problem. It had been her choice to save him. She had teleported with him. She wanted to face-palm herself, but at the same time, she felt she had done the right thing. She wouldn’t be in peace with herself if she had left him in that garden. But what now? She took a deep breath. She had to find a way to wake him up. Three knocks on the door startled her. The doorknob turned. Karina threw her covers over Sian and ran to the door. It was her mom. Again.
“I’m going—” She looked at Karina’s expression. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Perfect!”
“I just wanted to tell you I changed my mind. I’m going to the meeting. I’ll be back soon. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.”
Her mom narrowed her eyes and looked behind Karina, at her bedroom. Oh, no, Karina was about to be caught. Or not. Relief sight. She seemed suspicious, but said, “Goodnight,” then turned around and left.
Karina closed the door and put her ear on it. When she heard the front door closing, she turned back to Sian. Still lying on her bed. Perhaps the effect of the kiss took some time or something. Cause part of the transformation had already happened. Maybe the rest would happen in time? Meanwhile, what would she do with his body? If her mom walked in…
Karina sat on the bed and looked at Sian. He was wearing a long grey overcoat in some kind of thick material. It looked nice. No wonder she’d mistaken his statue for a prince at first. With his innocent expression, he looked quite different from the last time she’d seen him. It had been so long. His brown hair had curls and looked really soft. She wanted to touch it, maybe just to check if he was no longer petrified, but she stopped, afraid that he’d know she touched his hair.
What had made her teleport with him? Hang on. That was the key. She’d run back to him, risking who knows what, facing her fear, just so that he wouldn’t be left behind. There was something there: not romantic love, and certainly not superficial attraction, or any kind of attraction for that matter. But there was something there. Karina would be mortified if she had to kiss his lips again, now that he looked human, and especially knowing that he had no feelings for her, but she could kiss his cheek.
Karina leaned over him, trying to remember the moment she was in that garden, and the moment she ran back to save him. She remembered how she felt seeing him there, left behind. She closed her eyes and kissed his cheek, trying to put all her feelings in that kiss. When she opened her eyes, Sian was still sleeping, same peaceful expression. Oh, dear, Karina was in trouble, with no more ideas on what to do. She sat up and looked at him. Perhaps trying to save him had been a huge mistake. Maybe Cayla and Darian would eventually figure out what had happened and would come to pick him up. Yes, that could work—as long as she found a place to hide him. She got up and opened her wardrobe, wondering how she would make room for a guy who was over six feet tall.
She heard a sound, however, and turned. Sian was sitting up, looking a bit confused. He saw her and his mouth dropped in surprise. Surprise. He was surprised to see her, and Karina didn’t ignore the meaning of that. Still, as their eyes met after such a long time, Karina caught her breath.
5
Decisions
“Karina?” At least he remembered her name. He looked around. “What’s happening?”
“I broke your spell.”
He smiled and looked at his hands and arms. “I kind of noticed that.” He got up and went to the window. “I want to know what’s this place.”
“It’s where I live.”
He widened his eyes. “Your dimension, you mean. How did you bring me here?”
“No idea. We were being attacked, and I teleported.”
He raised an eyebrow. “From where?”
“A creepy garden where you were a statue.”
He stared at her. �
��You can’t teleport from the Darloom garden.”
Karina smiled. “Maybe you can’t. I can, cause I just did it.”
Well, now she did recall that the last thing Cayla shouted had something to do with that. A good thing Karina had ignored her. Or a bad thing, considering now Sian was where he shouldn’t be. He stared at her, still dumbfounded.
Karina shrugged. “Or else we’re both imagining all this.”
“Well, it is like a dream. I didn’t think I’d see you again.” For a moment Karina could almost think he was saying the truth. Her heart beat fast, sure he was saying the truth. He then had a sly smirk. “And I’m not gonna pretend to ignore how that kind of spell is broken.”
Karina crossed her arms. “I kissed you on the cheek. Friendly kiss.”
His eyes widened, then he frowned. “That’s cheating!”
She shrugged. “It worked. What do you care?”
“Of course I care. You do realize this was just a convoluted plan to get you to kiss me, right?”
Karina laughed. His flirting didn’t make her flustered anymore, now that she knew for sure it was all nonsense. And plus, she was glad that he would never know that she had indeed kissed his lips.
He stared at her seriously. “But what do you mean you were attacked?”
The memory made Karina shiver. “There were those things, they were grey, and had weird shapes, almost human—”
“Kyons. They can be summoned with magic.”
“Do you know who did it?”
“The Darloom castle has a new master. Still, I don’t know why…” He looked at her. “Weren’t you scared?”
“Well, yes.”
He looked down. “I’m sorry. Were there other people with you?”
“Cayla and Darian.”
He thought for a moment, then said, “They can defend themselves, can’t they? They must be fine.”
“They were doing well. I’m pretty sure they escaped.” Karina was not worried about them.
Sian sighed in relief, then smirked. “I bet Cayla’s a better fighter than he is.”
That actually made sense. “How do you know?”
He chuckled. “My brother’s pathetic.”
Quite an insensitive thing to say about the brother who had saved him, but she had to get to the part that mattered. “Do you know how to teleport back to Whyland?”
He stared at her. “You brought me here. You can take me back, can’t you?”
“I don’t—”
“How did you go to Whyland?”
“Cayla and Darian came here.”
He smirked. “Cayla. Of course. She’s got her mother’s magic. Now, whenever someone teleports to a new place, they open a portal. You can use it to go back there.”
“Can you go alone?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea how to teleport.”
“You just said—”
“I know the theory of how it works. I can’t do it myself. But you can teleport and open portals from impossible places. This should be super easy for you.”
She was surprised that he knew that much about her, but that wasn’t the point. “I don’t have magic here.”
He shook his head. “That’s not right. Maybe you have less magic, but you still have it.”
Karina stepped closer to him. “Do you know how magic works? How it’s different from science? From normal things?”
He had a sideways smirk. “I do and it will be my pleasure to explain all about it to you.”
“Well, tell me. I want to hear it.”
“Ah, so that’s what you like! Knowledge.” He let out a laugh. “Now I know how to bribe you.”
“You aren’t going to explain it?”
“I just said I will. In Whyland. You do realize it might be in danger and I have to get back, don’t you?”
“But I won’t stay there. I’ll teleport you and come back.”
Sian ran his hand through his wavy brown hair and sat on the bed. “You’re kidding, right? You wake me up from a spell with a truelove kiss, and then you just send me away. Like that. Go on, rip out my heart.”
She rolled her eyes. “Your heart will be fine. It was a kiss on the cheek.”
Karina then heard a sound in the living room and steps approaching. Her door was opened before she had a chance to ask Sian to hide. Karina thought she was going to have a heart attack. But it was just Zoe, so no doomsday for Karina. Her friend had tears in her eyes.
Zoe noticed Sian and was surprised. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine,” Karina said. “What’s going on?”
Sian got up and walked to the door. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
“No, no, no,” Karina said. “Don’t leave this room.” She turned to Zoe. “Let’s talk in the kitchen.”
Zoe had a smile despite the tears in her eyes. “Ah, so that’s what got you busy. Well, no wonder you don’t want to go out with Josh.”
Karina looked down. “He’s just a friend.” She tried to change the subject. “What about you? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really, it’s just… Samy can be such a jerk sometimes. But maybe I should know it.”
“Did you break up?”
Zoe laughed and shrugged. “I don’t even know.”
Karina never really understood Zoe and Samy and she wasn’t about to try it now. Sometimes she thought not even Zoe understood them. Karina asked something else, “How did you know I was home?”
“I didn’t think you’d go out. I’d never thought you… Who’s he?”
Karina wasn’t sure how to answer. “Uh, I have a, uh, cousin, her name’s Cayla. Sian is her boyfriend’s brother.” That was kind of true.
Zoe made a face. “Fake cousin talk already, Karina?”
“Fine, she’s not my cousin. She’s just a friend who lives far away. But he is her boyfriend's brother.”
“And what’s your friend's boyfriend’s brother doing in your bedroom?”
“Sounds cliché, but I guarantee you; it’s complicated.”
Zoe nodded. “I see. Be careful, Karina. Complicated usually means you’re in the illusion of being in a relationship with a guy who doesn’t take you as seriously as you’d like him to.”
Great. Now Zoe was quoting something she read somewhere but didn’t really learn. “It’s nothing like that. We don’t have anything.”
Zoe laughed. “Right. Did you convince yourself of that?”
Karina buried her face in her hands when a voice startled her.
“Karina?” It was Sian. “I’m sorry for interrupting you.”
“I asked you to stay in the room!”
Zoe got up. “Well, I was leaving anyways.”
“Are you all right?” Karina asked.
“Fine. You have more important stuff to discuss.” She winked and left.
Karina was actually glad her friend was gone, even if she felt a bit guilty for not comforting her.
Sian stared at Karina. “I know what the Kyons were after.”
“Let’s go to the bedroom.” Only after she said it she realized what it sounded like. Ouch. For some miracle, he didn’t say anything.
Once they were inside, Karina closed the door and asked, “What is it you think those things are after?”
“You.”
That couldn’t be. Maybe Sian was joking. But he didn’t seem to be.
“It’s your teleporting abilities,” he added.
“But how would they know about my teleporting abilities? And what would they want?”
“That’s something we’ll need to solve. There are things in other dimensions that people want, and you could reach these other dimensions and get those things.”
Other dimensions. Somehow Karina hadn’t really considered that there had been anything other than her own world and Whyland’s dimension. Still, she felt safe at home. “But they’re not gonna come here, are they?”
“There’s an open portal from Whyland to here. Why wouldn’t they come?�
�
“Cause it’s hard and not a lot of people can do it?” That was a guess, but a logical one.
He looked in her eyes. “They’ll come back for you. Even here.”
“Where should I go then?”
“To Whyland, with me. I can protect you.”
Her heart beat faster. She knew it was being stupid, so she ignored it. “That makes total sense: go to the place where a bunch of creepy looking things are out to get me.”
“I know how to defeat them. And I need to go to the Darloom Castle. I told you, it has a new master. I need to make sure Whyland is safe, and you’re safe.”
“Last time I saw you, you wanted to conquer Whyland for very selfish reasons. Now you want to convince me you’re some kind of hero?”
He scoffed. “Nope. I’m the same. I’m transparent. I never said I was a hero, and I’m not going to do it now. All I'm saying is that I need you to come to Whyland with me. I know I can fix the Darloom castle. And you’ll be safe.”
Karina wondered if he was making all that up just to make sure she came with him. But then what would be his reasons for that? She'd woken him up with her feelings only, so she assumed he didn’t like her or even have any superficial attraction for her. It was hard to understand. The part of Karina who yearned for adventure would go with him without even blinking, but there was a part of Karina who was responsible and logical. She didn’t trust Sian, and she wasn’t about to go to a dangerous place with him like some lunatic fangirl.
Karina sighed. “I’ll teleport you to Whyland and come back. I don’t think they’ll be able to find me here.”
He stepped back. “You prefer to risk your life staying here than to come with me?”