A brief image of a brightly lit room constructed of the same curved translucent material was all she got before something struck her from the side. Her feet flew from the ground. Then after a second of panic, she landed with a thump onto the hard floor.
She lay there, her breath knocked out of her, the hip she’d landed on aching.
“Oh, my God. Kara, is that you?” Her sister, naked, swung from a black rope above her.
Mentally cursing, Kara stared up at her. “You’re nude.”
Kelly yanked the rope free from the pipe it was draped over and dropped to her feet. Panic written across her face, she padded toward Kara, the rope still clutched in her hand.
“Are you all right?” Kelly balled the rope, which Kara noticed was really a black jumpsuit like the snake- men’s. Not waiting for a response, Kelly placed the makeshift pillow under Kara’s head.
“How did you get here? It was the bartender, wasn’t it? Did he search you out? Lure you to that bar with a promise of helping me?” Kelly mumbled a few curse words and fidgeted with the placement of her pillow.
Not sure how to answer her sister’s tirade and still shaken from her fall, Kara could do little more than blink at Kelly.
“He acted all ‘no involvement,’ but he has to be the heart of the problem. He’s always there. No one would get through without him — he made that perfectly clear.” Kelly’s eyes thinned to tiny slits. “I destroy that bar, and I destroy the market.” She slammed a closed fist into her palm.
As Kelly ranted, Kara levered herself to a sitting position and looked around. They were sitting in yet another transparent tube, or maybe capsule was a better descriptor. A capsule that clung to the side of the larger tube she’d walked through with the snake-men. On one side was the main tube, although obscured by the smoky coloring, on the other dark ocean. The ceiling and floor both revealed nothing but miles of water.
She stood up, walked to the end of the space and cupped her hands to the glass. Pressing her eyes in the opening she’d made, she peered out into the water. Separated from them by a few feet of water appeared to be a second capsule, but unlike their own it was dark inside.
“What are you doing?” Kelly leaped to her feet. “You hit your head pretty hard.”
Kara squinted, hoping to catch a flash of movement in the neighboring tube. “Is there someone else here?” she asked.
Kelly stared over Kara’s shoulder, her gaze growing distant. “There was. On both sides, but they disappeared, and never came back.” Turning on her heel, she picked up the twisted jumpsuit and jerked it on.
Looking back at Kara, she said, “We have to get you out of here.”
Kara blinked. Get her out of here? “You mean us.” She stared at her sister, realizing they hadn’t even exchanged a hug.
Kelly waved her hand. “Yeah, us. Listen, we need to talk. I don’t know how you got down here, but I’m sure you’re pretty scared and confused right now.
“I know it doesn’t look like it, but I’ve been working on a plan, and I think I can get us out of here.” She put her arm around Kara’s shoulder. “You just have to try and not panic, okay? Things here are pretty…odd, but just try not to lose it. Can you do that?”
Kara glanced into her sister’s caring blue eyes. Felt the warm pat on her shoulder.
God, she really had been a mess before, hadn’t she?
“I think I can manage,” she replied dryly, pushing past her sister to study the room more.
Kelly frowned, but before she could continue, the doorway began to vibrate.
“They’re back. Damn.” Kelly tugged on the material of her jumpsuit. “There’s no time to get back in position.”
Kara stared at her. This was her plan? Knock a snake-man down then run naked into Jormun’s hall? What then?
Heaving out a sigh, Kara moved to stand in front of the door. Whatever was coming through, she might as well greet it head-on.
The door finished its waving, revealing the green-tinged snake-man carrying some kind of tool, like a screwdriver. A jumpsuit was folded over his arm.
He stepped inside, his eyes pinpointing Kara then Kelly before he did so. Then with a wave of his stubby arms, he gestured for Kara to step forward.
Shrugging, she complied. They hadn’t done anything horrible to her yet.
He gestured again, telling her to hold out her hands. She complied and he slid the tool under her straps. A quiet zip and her hands were free.
The snake-man nodded, and Kara bent down to scoop up the plastic strips. With a smile, she handed them to him. He dropped the jumpsuit at her feet and backed out of the room.
Once the door was set back to solid, Kelly stomped forward. “What was that? This isn’t a game. I know I said not to panic, but you have to realize this is serious, too.”
Kara huffed out a breath and bent to pick up the jump-suit. “I guess they want me to put this on.” She held it out in front of her. “Should I?”
Kelly folded her arms over her chest. “Yeah. It seems to have some kind of body-temp regulator. Without it, I sweat like a prostitute at bible study.”
Not bothering to reply, Kara peeled off her pants and shirt.
“Kara,” Kelly began. “I’m really worried you aren’t taking this seriously.”
One leg in the jumpsuit, Kara paused. Kelly’s attitude was getting annoying. “Because I’m not freaking out? First you tell me not to panic, then you lecture me because I’m not.” She shoved her other leg into the suit. The material formed to her body with a snap.
Kelly blanched. “I…You don’t understand.” Her face took on the I’ll-take-care-of-everything expression Kara used to depend on.
“I understand plenty. Maybe more than you. You’re a witch. I’m a witch. There are things roaming the world I don’t understand — men who make you love them and then turn into bone-crushing beasts, men who shove a knife in your throat and try to drag you through a portal to another world, snake-men who seem to be the most polite of any of them.”
Kara glared at her sister. “Yeah, I understand plenty.”
It was Kelly’s turn to blink. “You know we’re witches?” Kelly’s eyes rounded with disbelief.
“Yep, and the news didn’t send me crashing to my knees.” Kara ran her hands down her backside, smoothing out ripples in the material. The jumpsuit was surprisingly comfortable. She was instantly at least ten degrees cooler, and as tight fitting as the suit was, she didn’t feel confined at all.
“Kara?” Kelly stepped forward. Her hands on Kara’s arms, she turned her until she could stare in her eyes. “What’s my favorite food?”
“What?” Kara asked, her voice rising in disbelief.
“The scar on my pinkie, how’d I get it?”
Kara shook her head. “Have you lost your mind?”
Kelly took a step back, her eyes narrowed. “Answer me.”
Kara sighed. “Anything with ketchup. It’s disgusting. And Tommy Sullivan bit you in the first grade. You ripped the head off his Transformer and flushed it down the toilet — or maybe that’s why he bit you. I get confused.”
Kelly bit her lip, her brow furrowed. “It is you.”
Kara glanced around her new home again. No chairs. This conversation on top of her trip through the portal was exhausting her. She needed to sit.
Seeing no alternative, she plopped on the floor and leaned against the curved wall.
Kelly was still watching Kara as if she expected her to morph into a crazy at any moment.
Considering everything that had happened to them, her sister was being smart.
Patting the floor beside her, Kara said, “Sit. I’m okay. I’ve just learned a lot in the past two weeks.
Kelly slid down the wall to sit beside her. “I guess. You hardly seem like the same person. You’re so confident.”
“Really?” Kara tilted her head. That was nice. Her sister, a woman who would scare Rambo, thought she was confident. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
