Rachel had known that meeting Jason’s parents would be hard. She had not, however, expected to have Edomic at her disposal. Her connection to Lyrian’s language of creation was tenuous enough that she could not accomplish anything without physically speaking the command, but today it would be plenty.

  “Rachel Marie Woodruff,” Shannon said without preamble.

  Rachel knew that the last thing she should say was that she was pleased to meet her. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “No, you’re not,” Shannon growled.

  “You’re talking about the letter.” Rachel bit her lip, hoping it would convey a silent apology.

  “Letter?” Tim asked. Rachel shot him a look that could have melted iron.

  Shannon looked at Tim, mirroring Rachel’s expression. “From Jason.”

  The air between them stilled. Rachel waited for Shannon to continue, but she had evidently finished. Tim stared at Shannon in disbelief. Matt watched from a few paces away, glancing around them as the sun began to disappear behind a vicious front of growing thunderheads.

  “Jason’s dead,” Tim wavered.

  Shannon nodded, then turned to face Rachel. “I hadn’t imagined it possible for a child to be so cruel.”

  Rachel took a deep breath, then let it go. The truth was dangerous. Too dangerous. She couldn’t let anyone else know what had really happened to Jason - especially since the gateway was still open after all these years.

  An idea began to form in Rachel’s head.

  “I never meant to make you feel that way,” Rachel said, letting her voice crack slightly. She needed Shannon to feel like the voice of reason. Now more than ever, she needed to act her age.

  “You only taunted me with my dead son,” Shannon seethed, her cheeks reddening under her eyes. “Then met me at the zoo where he killed himself. Don’t lie and say you didn’t mean to.”

  Rachel closed her eyes and nodded. “I know how it looks. I wish I could offer a better explanation.”

  “Offer me the truth,” Shannon countered.

  Rachel swallowed. There was no going back.

  “You’ve already rejected the truth.” Rachel glanced at Matt, who offered her a meaningful look. “I have no interest in leading the blind.”

  Shannon’s hands curled themselves into fists. “You mean to lean into your absurd prank. I can’t believe I agreed to come back here.”

  Rachel closed her eyes for a moment, reaching towards Lyrian with her mind. Though the connection was weak, she could still feel it as it coursed from down in the hippo tank, from the maw of the hippo itself, from the place she yearned to call home once more.

  “Do you want to see him again?” Rachel asked, though she hated herself for it. It was a cruel trick, to play on Shannon’s already-broken heartstrings like that, but the letter had already done enough damage. She could wipe Shannon’s memory of both if she wanted to. She could make her forget Jason completely.

  As Rachel had expected, Shannon immediately surged forward, drawing her fist back to swing at Rachel. Matt shouted in protest, but he could do nothing to stop Shannon’s attack.

  Rachel, however, could do far more than that.

  Under her breath, she muttered a rapid-fire command. Shannon immediately froze, her fist mere inches from Rachel’s cheek. Rachel considered pouring more suggestions into Shannon’s psyche, but her expression warned that one command had been enough.

  Rachel broke eye contact, and the effect of the suggestion faded. Shannon straightened and brought her hands to her temples, massaging them in slow circles as she paced back and forth in front of Rachel. Matt approached, visibly relieved that the worst of the tension seemed to be over. Tim, however, stared at Rachel as if he had seen a torivor, then spun on his heel and bolted.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Rachel uttered a quick command to bring him back. He obliged.

  “I suppose you can’t let us leave now,” Shannon said in disgust. “We’re all locked in your little game.”

  Rachel shook her head. “I can help you to forget, if that’s what you would prefer.”

  Shannon glanced behind her, then leaned down to meet Rachel at eye level. “You mean to convince me that your letter was true.”

  Rachel was impressed. Shannon did not mess around with questions. “I don’t mean to convince you of anything. We weren’t getting anywhere. Sooner or later I would have had to twist your arm.”

  “You-” Shannon broke eye contact and pushed herself into a circle, breathing hard. “Is it true?”

  Tim interjected. “What in God’s name are we talking about?”

  Rachel shrugged at him, then murmured a couple of commands - one high, one low. Tim immediately spun and jogged away, aiming for the car park and shaking his head. As he ran out of sight, the first smatterings of rain began to patter the concrete around them.

  “Good call,” Matt praised, nodding.

  “Is it true?” Shannon growled, lunging forward and catching Rachel by the lapel of her shirt. “Is anything in that horrible letter…”

  Rachel nodded. “He wrote it himself. He gave it to me to send to you. I waited a couple weeks, not thinking you’d appreciate it, but I figured I had to try.”

  Shannon dropped her head into her hands. “You’d have done better to keep it. This is unbelievable.”

  Rachel leaned back against the railing. “I couldn’t let myself be the only one who knew. Not when I knew how you must be grieving.”

  “We moved on,” Shannon mumbled. “The only reminder left was that stupid hippo until you sent your letter. To think that all that time, he was alive…”

  Rachel had to admit that she was surprised the hippo had not been killed after Jason’s second disappearance. She supposed it must have turned the hippo into a serious tourist attraction.

  Matt stepped forward and rested his hands on Shannon’s shoulders from behind. Shannon crumpled into a sitting position, and Matt followed her without breaking contact. The last bastions of darkening blue sky above them were lost to the still-growing thunderheads. The rain began to fall in earnest, quickly soaking Rachel through her cheap T-shirt.

  “You want to go back,” Shannon choked. “That’s why you’re here.”

  Rachel bit her lip. “I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting the way to still be open. I really just wanted to talk to you.”

  Shannon shook her head. “You don’t drive halfway across the country to talk to a stranger. Ever heard of video chat?”

  Rachel shrugged. “I had a ride.”

  “Fair,” Shannon conceded. “We should get inside. This storm will not be pleasant.”

  Rachel glanced at Matt, shooting him a charged look. “You coming?”

  Rachel’s mind whirled like an out-of-control merry-go-round. She was not wearing traveling clothes, save for her new running shoes. If the time continuum lined up well, she wouldn’t have to hide the fact that she was a Beyonder. But what if it sent her far into the future, or back through the past? There could be no predicting the state of the world she would enter.

  Matt took a deep breath. He looked at Shannon, then at Rachel, squeezing his fingers together nervously.

  Finally, he stood up. “I’m with you.”

  Rachel nodded. “Backpacks. Water bottles - metal ones if you have them. Warm clothes, good shoes. Make it quick.”

  Shannon shot to her feet. “You’re leaving. To-”

  “Soon,” Rachel agreed as Matt scampered back to his car. “I don’t want to risk the way closing.”

  Shannon took a deep breath. “Are you going to make me forget?”

  Rachel shook her head vehemently. “Not unless you want to.”

  “You can’t just have this kind of knowledge bumbling around in the world,” Shannon argued. “People worse than us would not do well with this information.”

  Rachel nodded. “How old is Hank?”

  Shannon’s eyes widened. “Why do you ask?”

  “He is the only known gateway from our side. If he lives, what you know could be devastating. If not…”

  “It’s of no use,” Shannon finished. “He probably only has a couple years left in him. They’re already pumping him full of vitamins. He was old when Jason died - disappeared.”

  “Can you keep a secret that long?”

  Shannon chuckled darkly. “Honey, I’ve raised three kids. You want a test of spirit? Try Santa.”

  Rachel smiled and nodded. “I’ll say hi to Jason for you.”

  Shannon’s face fell. “Let me write him something.”

  “There should be paper at the front desk,” Rachel said. “Ask for a Ziploc too.”

  Shannon disappeared without another word, leaving Rachel alone, soaked to the bone but more alive than she had been in months, with the hippo.