Морган Райс - The Orb of Kandra

Oliver shook his head. Of course the brilliantly talented Esther Valentini would find a hidden time machine. But no one would travel through one without a very good reason, especially not into a timeline in which one did not belong! From what Oliver had learned at the School for Seers, spending any significant amount of time in the wrong timeline put a real strain on the body. Indeed, he’d felt rather odd just traveling back to his own.

And that’s not even mentioning the sacrifice. There was no guarantee of ever returning. Leaving the School for Seers had broken Oliver’s heart and he’d only done so to save Armando’s life. So something must have driven Esther to come here. A quest, perhaps. A mission. Maybe the school was in danger again?

“Not how?” Oliver said. “ Why? ”

To his great surprise, Esther smirked. “You promised me a second date.”

Oliver paused, frowning. “You mean you came here for me?”

He couldn’t understand it. Esther might never get back. She may be trapped in the wrong timeline forever. And she’d done it for him?

Her cheeks went pink. She tried to shrug it off, becoming suddenly shy. “I figured you’d need some help.”

Though he couldn’t understand it, Oliver was grateful for the sacrifice Esther had made. She may well be trapped in the wrong timeline forever and she’d done it for him. He wondered if that meant she loved him. He couldn’t think of another reason why someone would put themselves through that.

The thought made him feel warm all over. He quickly changed the subject, feeling suddenly shy and bashful.

“How was the journey through time?” he asked. “Did you get here unharmed?”

Esther tapped her stomach. “I was a little sick. And it gave me a terrible headache. But that’s all.”

Just then, Oliver remembered the amulet. He pulled it out from beneath his overalls. “Professor Amethyst gave me this before I left.”

Esther touched the amulet with her fingers. “A portal detector! They go warm when you’re near a wormhole, right?” She smiled breezily. “That might just guide us back to the School for Seers one day.”

“But it’s been ice cold ever since I got here,” Oliver said glumly.

“Don’t worry,” she told him. “We’re hardly in a rush. We have all the time we want.” She smirked at her own joke.

Oliver laughed as well.

“I have a new quest,” Oliver told her.

Esther’s eyes widened with excitement. “You do?”

He nodded and showed her the compass. Esther gazed at it in wonder.

“It’s beautiful. What does it mean?”

Oliver pointed to the dials and the strange hieroglyphic symbols. “It’s leading me to my parents. These symbols represent certain places or people. See, those are my parents.” He pointed to the dial that had never moved, the one that remained fixed on the image of a man and woman holding hands. “These other dials seem to move depending on where I need to go next.”

“Oh, Oliver, how exciting! You have a mission! Where is it leading you next?”

He pointed at the oak leaf. “Boston.”

“Why Boston?”

“I’m not sure,” Oliver replied, sliding the compass into the pocket of his overalls. “But it’s related to finding my parents.”

Esther slipped her hand inside his and smiled. “Then let’s go.”

“You’re coming with me?”

“Yes.” She smiled shyly. “If you’ll have me.”

“Of course.”

Oliver grinned. Though he couldn’t quite fathom how Esther was so calm about the fact she may be trapped in the wrong timeline forever, her presence did lift his spirits. Suddenly, everything seemed much more hopeful, much more like the universe was guiding him. His quest to find his parents would be much more enjoyable with Esther by his side.

They headed down the steps, leaving Campbell Junior High behind them, and went in the direction of the train station, walking side by side. Esther’s hand in Oliver’s felt smooth. It was so comforting.

Though it was a chilly October day, Oliver couldn’t feel the cold at all. Just being with Esther kept him warm. It was so good to see her. He’d thought he never would again. But he couldn’t help worrying she was a mirage that might disappear at any second. So as they walked, he kept glancing at her just to make sure she was real. Every time, she’d give him her sweet, shy smile, and he’d feel another burst of warmth in his chest.

They reached the train station and headed to the platform. Oliver had never actually bought a train ticket before, and the ticket machine looked very intimidating. But then he reminded himself he’d defused a bomb so he could certainly figure out how to work a ticket machine.

He bought two tickets to Cambridge in Boston, selecting the one-way option since he had no idea whether he’d ever return to New Jersey or not. The thought worried him.

The train to Cambridge was to take just over four hours. They watched it pull into the platform and then boarded it, finding a quiet carriage where they could settle in for the long journey.

“How is everyone at school?” Oliver asked. “Ralph? Hazel? Walter? Simon?”

Esther smiled. “They’re fine. We all miss you, of course. Walter a lot, actually. He says switchit just isn’t the same without you.”

Oliver felt a sad smile tug at his lips. He missed his old friends a lot too.

“And the school?” he asked. “It’s safe? No more attacks?”

He shuddered at the memory of when Lucas had led the rogue seers in their attack on the school. And though he’d thwarted Lucas in this timeline, he had a feeling he hadn’t seen the last of the old, evil man.

“No more glowy-eyed bat attacks,” she said with a grin.

Oliver thought about that horrible moment during their date together. They’d been walking through the gardens—Esther telling him about her own life and family, about growing up in New Jersey in the 1970s—when the attack had interrupted them.

Oliver realized now they’d never finished their conversation. He’d never had the chance again to really find out who Esther Valentini was before she’d entered the School for Seers.

“We’re from the same neighborhood, aren’t we?” he asked her.

She seemed surprised that he remembered. “Yes. Only about thirty or so years apart.”

“Isn’t this strange for you? To be in a place you know so well but to see it how it is in the future?”

“After the School for Seers, nothing strikes me as strange anymore,” she replied. “I’m more worried about running into myself. I’m sure that’s the sort of thing that could cause the world to implode.”

Oliver pondered her words. He remember how old Lucas had been poisoning the mind of young Lucas to make him do his bidding. “I think it’s okay as long as you don’t realize it’s yourself, if that makes sense?”

She crossed her arms tightly about her middle. “I’d prefer not to risk it.”

Oliver watched her face turn serious. There seemed to be something hidden behind her eyes.

“Aren’t you curious though?” he asked. “To see your family? To see yourself?”

She shook her head suddenly. “I have seven siblings, Oliver. All we ever did was fight, especially since I was the freak. And all Mom and Dad ever did was argue about me, about what was wrong with me.” Her voice was low and filled with melancholy. “I’m better off out of it all.”

Oliver felt bad for her. As terrible as his own home life and upbringing were, he had deep compassion for anyone who’d had a tough time.

He thought about how all the children at the school had been alone, taken from their families to train. At the time, he’d wondered why none of them appeared lonely or homesick. Perhaps it was because none had come from happy homes. Perhaps there was something about being a seer that set them apart from the rest, that made their parents wary, their homes unhappy.