Red Queen

by Christopher Pike

  Obviously Jimmy wanted him gone, although Alex definitely cared for him. I was unsure what to do.

  “What year were you born?” I asked.

  “1914. I served in World War Two.”

  “How old were you when you were connected?” I asked.

  “Twenty-eight. I was a fighter pilot. I was shot down by the Japanese during the Battle of Midway. I drowned at sea, sort of. When I came to, I was in witch world.”

  “That must have been a shock,” I said.

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Al said.

  I turned to Jimmy. “What’s your prognosis, doctor?”

  He stared boldly at Al. “Take him out and shoot him.” He chuckled softly. “Al, you seem like a nice guy. But it doesn’t sound like you have a lot to offer Jessie right now. It might be easier for all concerned if we caught up with you later.”

  “What about Alex?” Al asked.

  Jimmy shrugged. “She’s been known to go a week or two without sex. She’ll survive.”

  I spoke to Al. “With Frankie gone, who will the Lapras have you report to?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, this has never happened before,” Al said. “But you needn’t worry. Whoever I speak to, I won’t tell them anything significant.”

  “Do you mind if I ask how many witch genes you have?” I asked.

  “Two,” Al said.

  “What can you do?” Jimmy asked, curious.

  “We don’t normally give out that kind of information.”

  Jimmy got up and strolled toward the door. “You decide, Jessie. I want to order Whip something to eat,” he said.

  When he was gone, I gave Al a wan smile. “I do hope you’re not lying to us. I’d hate to have to kill you.”

  “Trust takes time. I don’t blame you or Jimmy.”

  “All of this has been painful for him. He can’t convince anyone on the Council to let him go through the death experience.”

  Al nodded. “He feels left out and unable to help you.”

  “Exactly.”

  Al was thoughtful. “Maybe something can be done.”

  Hours later, after dinner and long, gentle lovemaking in our room, I lay in Jimmy’s arms and waited for what might be my last night’s sleep in the real world to end. I wondered if I would sleep at all. Yet I remembered the cardinal rule. If I wasn’t unconscious when dawn arrived, I would black out wherever I was.

  “I don’t hear the others,” I said.

  “Alex and Al went for a walk. They’ll probably be back soon.”

  “You don’t think she’s safe with Al,” I said.

  “Time will tell.” Jimmy paused and made a worried gesture as Whip choked in the other room. He was asleep on the sofa in the center of the suite but he didn’t rest easily. “His lungs sound like shit,” Jimmy said.

  “You should have left him with my dad,” I said.

  “Not tonight.”

  “Why not tonight?”

  “We have to watch him some of the time.”

  “I’ll speak to the Council about him,” I said. “My father told me that Mirk is the most powerful healer in the group.”

  “It’s odd how Susan loves her son so much in witch world and can’t stand him here,” Jimmy said.

  “I’m not surprised. Look how warm-hearted he is. That quality alone would cause him to be banned from her sight.”

  “I wonder who the father is?” Jimmy said.

  “Me too.” He wasn’t alone. From what Kendor had told me, I knew it couldn’t be him. I was contemplating other possibilities when Jimmy suddenly kissed me. Soft and short but sweet, filled with such feeling. He began to stroke my bare hip, something that never failed to arouse me. “What are you doing?” I whispered.

  “Molesting you,” he said. “Remember how it is for me. I’m not sure where you’ll be when I wake up.”

  “I’ll be right here beside you.”

  His hand slid up my side to my hair. He began to tug on my ear. “I wish we could all be together,” he said.

  I smiled for his sake. “You and Huck and Lara and me. You know, for two crazy kids who just graduated high school, we have a pretty big family.”

  “It’s weird how we’ve got kids. I’ve never had sex without wearing a condom.”

  I chuckled. “Are you serious? We’ve made love a dozen times . . . Wait a second, I think you’re right. I’m remembering James in witch world.”

  “What’s he like?” Jimmy asked.

  “I don’t know, I’ve never met him.”

  “But you just said you remember him.”

  “Vaguely. My father ordered me to keep a distance from him until my other set of memories returned.”

  “So for all you know, I could be a total asshole in witch world.”

  I acted dreamy. “Actually, from what I remember, he’s a much better lover.” He pinched my ear. “Ouch!”

  “You deserved that,” Jimmy said.

  “Probably.” I took his hand in mine. “You never ask about her.”

  He sighed. “It’s hard enough having to think of Huck.”

  “I understand. But if we do manage to survive the next few days, Lara’s going to be the center of my life, for a long time. Can you accept that?”

  “As long as I get to know her in at least one world.”

  “The Council will figure out a way to connect you that isn’t so risky. It’s supposed to get easier as you get older.”

  “I can’t wait until I’m thirty, Jessie.”

  “You won’t have to.”

  “What about Huck? You asked about Lara. At least I’m related to her. In witch world, she’s technically mine. But you don’t have that connection to Huck in either world. Will you be able to adjust to helping me take care of him?”

  “I’m sure I’ll love him. As long as . . .” I didn’t finish.

  “As long as Kari doesn’t get in your way? That’s what you were going to say.”

  “I’m not going to lie. That girl’s not fit to be a mother. The Lapras offer her some cash and a house with a view and she goes over to their side.”

  “They offered her son back. Alive,” Jimmy said.

  There was something in his voice. I should have spotted it earlier. “Christ. You spoke to her today. You saw her!”

  “So? You saw Kendor.”

  “That wasn’t planned. Tell me what happened? Did she take you to see your son?”

  “She offered to take me. I didn’t go.”

  Jimmy was telling the truth. In an instant I regretted having judged him. He was a stronger person than I was. Let’s face it, I had gone to meet with the Lapras because I had wanted to see Lara, not because the Council wanted me to go.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said, hugging him tight.

  “It’s all right,” he spoke in my ear. “I screwed her afterward, so the afternoon wasn’t a total waste.”

  I wanted to hit him. I wanted to cry. But of course I ended up laughing, and that was how we fell asleep, in each other’s arms, with smiles on our faces.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  WAKING UP IN WITCH WORLD, in my hotel room at the MGM, I wished James were with me. I had not seen him since I had become connected. In that respect, James knew less than his counterpart. Hell, it was possible he didn’t even know I was a witch. True, my father had talked to him, but I wasn’t sure exactly what he had told him.

  I woke up late, with the sun high in the sky. I remembered making love to Jimmy with a faint light in the eastern sky, which meant I must have passed out just before dawn.

  I headed into the living room to call room service. I was starved—I needed breakfast, lunch, something. But there was a guy I didn’t recognize sitting on the couch, casually reading the paper.

  “Who the hell are you?” I asked.

  He set aside the newspaper and straightened his tie. He wore nice clothes: a green sports coat, slacks so white they looked like they would glow in the dark, and a gold Cartier watch. His dark blond hair was cut shor
t.

  “I’m Alfred,” he said. “Alexis’s boyfriend. We spoke before you went to bed.”

  “God, Alfred, I never saw someone change so much from one world to the next. What is it with you?”

  Alfred, who was a head taller than Al, and no longer plump, but lean and mean, with muscles that only came from hours in the gym, nodded toward my bedroom. “I wasn’t able to talk freely in front of Jimmy,” he said. “I apologize.”

  “But why do you look so different?”

  “This is how I look to Alex in the other world. This is my real appearance.”

  “How can you look one way to her and like someone else to the rest of us?” I asked.

  “Jessica, I could turn invisible if I wanted to.”

  Then I understood what he was saying. It was the same thing Kendor had told me in the sewer. “You have the witch gene for invisibility,” I said.

  “I do. In its early stages it just allows you to alter your appearance so that no one recognizes you. You could call that a form of invisibility.”

  “Are all the powers like that? They start as one thing and transform into something deeper?” I asked.

  “Yes. Your intuition has quickly appeared. But over a long period of time it will mature into what we call wisdom. Only a handful of witches have that, like Cleo.”

  “The way you’re talking, you don’t sound like a young witch who just got connected sixty or seventy years ago. Did you lie to us about your age?”

  He chuckled. “I had to lie to keep my disguise intact. My lies were part of my disguise. That’s why you didn’t pick up on them.”

  “Kendor told me I had the same ability. Do you think you could help me activate it so at least a few people in witch world won’t know who I am?”

  “That’s why I’m here. To help you get started. But first tell me who you want to hide from and why.”

  “From the Lapras, of course.”

  Alfred shook his head. “You’ve got to be more specific.”

  “I want to go back to Henderson, to a spot Whip pointed out to us. I have a feeling the house where they’re keeping Lara is close to where Huck is staying.”

  “But there is no Huck in this world.”

  “I know that.”

  Alfred’s face darkened. “Is there something else you want to tell me?”

  I thought I’d better change the subject. “How many witch genes do you really have?” I asked.

  My question amused him. “Let’s get to know each other a little better before we share such personal information.” He stood. “So, are you ready for your first lesson?”

  “Are we going somewhere?”

  “All we need is a mirror. Like the one attached to your closet.”

  “I did this before with Russell,” I said. “I went inside my reflection and saw through its eyes.”

  “We’re going to do the opposite today. You’re going to stay on this side of the mirror, in witch world, but you’re going to alter your reflection until you’re convinced you look different. The key is to trust in the power of your imagination.”

  Before we began, Alfred had me shower and get dressed. He even gave me time to eat a turkey sandwich that room service had brought. Then he turned all business. He made me stand and stare at the closet mirror as I slowly and methodically altered my face.

  At first the exercise seemed like nothing more than fooling myself. For a few seconds, now and then, I imagined my lips larger and redder, but when I stopped telling myself how they had changed, they went back to the way they always were. What made the exercise even more frustrating was Alfred wouldn’t let me sit down and rest. And he wouldn’t let me close my eyes and wander off. I had to stay 100 percent focused on my face.

  “Maybe I’m not ready for this power after all,” I said.

  “You’re more ready than you think. Kendor saw it in you and I do as well. Now, what kind of lips do you want to have?”

  “Angelina Jolie lips. They’re lush and seductive. They pout all by themselves. They’re the kind of lips any guy in the world would give his life to kiss.”

  “What do you see in the mirror?” he asked, for what seemed the hundredth time.

  “Nothing. I mean, just my face.”

  “Tell me again what kind of lips you want to have.”

  We went through the same song and dance again. And again. Then, just when I was definitely ready to quit, I suddenly blinked and my whole body trembled. For an instant, in the closet mirror, I imagined I could see through my face. And then . . .

  “Wait a second!” I exclaimed. “This is incredible. My lips have actually changed! They’re not reverting back to normal!”

  “How about your nose? What kind of nose do you have?”

  “A proud nose. Bold but not too big.”

  “Your eyes. What color are your eyes?”

  “Bright green. They dazzle. My hair is bright red. It looks like it’s on fire.” I started laughing and couldn’t stop. At the same time the feeling of heat grew inside my solar plexus. I was close to exploding and turned to Alfred. “How do I look to you?” I asked, excited.

  “Like a brand-new person.”

  “Seriously?”

  “The mirror doesn’t lie. Your power has emerged. A little more practice and James and Alexis could walk in here and talk to you for an hour and they wouldn’t know who you were.”

  “That reminds me. Do you know where James is staying these days?”

  Alfred hesitated. “Yes.”

  “How is he holding up?” I asked, wondering if they were in contact.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I haven’t seen him since I got connected. I was told to avoid him. I was just wondering if he suspects what’s going on.”

  Alfred shook his head. “I don’t know James very well.”

  “Do you happen to know his phone number?”

  “Your father never gave it to you?”

  “Not in this world he didn’t,” I said, my tone challenging. I knew he had it.

  Alfred pulled out his cell and scrolled through his list of numbers. He found James’s cell and gave it to me. I thanked him.

  “No problem,” he replied before changing the subject. “So you want to go snooping around the desert outside Henderson? They have some spectacular homes on the edge of town. Just the sort of places the Lapras would invest in.”

  “Do you think I can fool them with this new look?”

  “It depends how experienced the particular Lapra is. If I were you, I’d bring backup. You never know who you might run into.”

  “Why do I get the feeling you’re about to offer yourself?”

  “It’s your choice, Jessica. But like Kendor, I bring a lot to the table.”

  “So you have met him?” I asked.

  “Long ago. I doubt he would remember me.”

  I considered his request. “I’m grateful you took the time to help me develop this disguise. But I feel more comfortable going alone. There’s a lot I have to think about.”

  “And you just met me,” he said.

  He was being tactful. He was saying that he understood why I didn’t fully trust him. I played along. “You look so different. It has been like meeting someone new.”

  Alfred surprised me by offering his hand. “Take care of yourself, Jessica. Remember who you are.”

  Alfred left and I practiced some more on my own. Another hour of focused work and I felt comfortable in my new skin, which was another way of saying I could change my appearance at will.

  I even began to get the hang of directing my disguise in a specific direction. The hotel maids appeared and I tried out my new abilities on them. I was able to duplicate the trick Al had used on Alex, Jimmy, and me. To one maid I appeared to be a short redhead, to the other a lanky blonde. More impressive, I didn’t have to ask how they saw me. I just knew.

  It was a question of belief versus conviction. Before I had my breakthrough with Alfred, I had been trying to convince myself I lo
oked like someone else. Then, as the power inherent in my genes pushed to the surface, I accepted I was different and those around me were forced to feel the same way. Deep inside I still knew it was all a lie, but on the surface of my mind I was sure I had changed.

  I rented still another car, a Honda Accord, and left the city without a tail. Why should a Lapra tail me? I no longer looked like Jessica Ralle. Outside of town, I turned toward the hill that had attracted Whip’s attention, the one with the rock crown. Yet I felt it was too early to try to locate Lara. There was an excellent chance Susan—Syn—would be with her, and if there was one Lapra who could penetrate my disguise, it would be her.

  Besides, Susan had already set a meeting with me for tonight, and I wasn’t ready to discard Cleo’s plan by rejecting Susan’s offer out of hand. Nevertheless, I was hoping to come up with a better plan, or praying that Kendor would. He knew Susan better than anyone and had kept stressing the need to attack.

  It was partially Kendor’s attitude that drove me now.

  I wasn’t looking for Lara’s house but for Huck’s.

  It didn’t matter that there was no Huck in this world.

  There was a Kari. No, in witch world her name was Karla. It was odd how the name didn’t come to me spontaneously. But then I realized it was because I didn’t really know her in witch world. Kari was still Kari to me.

  Kari’s description of the views from Huck’s house—in the real world—matched Susan’s description of the place where the Lapras planned to put Lara and me. Again, it made sense these places would be close to each other because it would allow the Lapras to focus their security. Also, Kari had given me another clue to Huck’s whereabouts when she had spoken of the beautiful sound of the chimes that hung from his back porch.

  Since becoming connected, all my senses had sharpened. I was confident if I could get near the house, I’d be able to hear the chimes.

  The small town of Henderson in witch world looked little different from its counterpart. I quickly found the area Whip had pointed out to Jimmy and me, the bluffs overlooking the desert. But I ran into a problem. It didn’t matter that each house on the edge of town had ten or more acres to itself, which meant the area was spread over a vast stretch of land. . . .