Secrets: Page 2

Just because I could, I teleported down to the kitchen, where everyone else was already chowing down on some french toast, courtesy of Durak. He was a surprisingly competent cook.

"Hey, guys, eat fast, we're taking a field trip."

I snagged a piece of toast off of a plate on the stove. Lexi cocked an eyebrow at me. I winked at her. Emma looked between us, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Evan, don't get me wrong, I'd love to get out, but how exactly do you intend to accomplish that. This place is warded against teleportation."

"I'm aware of that, dear Emma. Fortunately, ya boy happens to know Greater Teleportation."

"Wait, that was you last night?"

"Who did you think it was?"

"I dunno, but I didn't think it was you."

At least Lexi had the decency to be offended for me.

"That's mean, Emma."

"Since when do you care? You two have been at each other's throats since we got here."

I cleared my throat, and they both looked back at me.

"Moving on, there's a city about 200 miles south of here called Paxby. We're leaving in 30 minutes. Anyone not ready is getting left behind."

I quickly zipped back to my room, pulling a wooden box from beneath my bed. Opening it, I extracted Tormani's book and a jar of Wyrm blood. Phones, computers, and anything like that didn't work there, but I had been able to sneak in the book as a journal and the jar as a potion ingredient. Interesting thing about wyrm blood, in the right circumstances, it has some pretty strong anti-magical properties.

I placed my phone into a plastic sandwich bag, then slathered the thick, syrupy liquid over it. When I rinsed off the blood, the plastic had a faint pink stain, and my phone lit up. Quickly, I searched up the nearby city on Shmoogle™ Maps, and looked through the pictures, really focusing on the buildings and streets.

You see, no teleportation spell can take you somewhere unless you've been there, or have seen that place. Well, that applies to pictures as well.

I tossed everything back into the wooden box, and slid them back under my bed, the most secure of hiding spots.

An amount of time equal to or less than 29 minutes and 59 seconds later.

We all stood in the front lawn patiently waiting while Mika rushed to put her shoes on. Once we were all standing reasonably close, I cast the spell, this time only selecting the people within 10 feet of me. I envisioned the city, imagining the sights and sounds and smells of a medium size midwestern city.

With a pop, we vanished off of the face of the Earth, only to reappear a moment later several hundred miles away. I felt a numb tingling in my hands, and felt very unstable all of a sudden. They all looked at me, concern written across their faces. I tried to take a step forward, but my foot just passed right through the ground, and I fell into nothingness.

When I opened my eyes, I wasn't with the others. I was... nowhere, I think. It was like space, without the stars. Just pure black as far as the eye could see. The ground I stood on seemed like some kind of glass, though it was as inky black as everything else. I heard a voice, deep and smooth, from behind me. It felt oddly familiar, yet totally alien.

"You're a long way from home, Valentine."

I turned, seeing a tall figure shrouded in a Dark Aura.

"Where am I? And who are you?"

"Unimportant."

From the gloom, a gloved hand emerged, the figure snapped his fingers.

Scry

I flinched, expecting a spell or something, but nothing happened.

"Uh, what?"

"How curious... A warlock."

"What the hell are you?"

The gloved hand was swallowed again by the dark smoke. I wasn't sure he had even heard my question.

"It does sadden me to do this, boy."

"Do what?"

A bolt of lightning extended from the darkness, instantly turning me into a pile of ash.

Lightning

I opened my eyes, only to find myself back in the real world, surrounded by my friends.

"Uh, Evan, you ok?"