Dr. Jackson scrutinized me. Behind the large lenses of his glasses, his eyes looked menacing. “You know, I’ve heard of you,” he said. “Aren’t you that doctor?”
I paused before speaking. “Yeah, I’m that doctor.”
“Yes, I thought it was you. Helping people who’ve visited Fairy World. Never failed to cure a client. Is that stuff serious?”
“Well—”
“It doesn’t sound very scientific, does it?”
“Actually, it’s very scientific if you think about it. Alternate realities have been theorized for centuries—even Einstein believed they were possible—and he was right. Our world split from Faythander sixty-five million years ago, in an event similar to the one that could possibly happen now. Faythander formed with magic, but our world didn’t. We had dinosaurs and humans, while they have dragons, elves, and pixies. So yes, it’s technically very scientific.”
He gave me a halfhearted smile. “But it’s never been researched, has it?”
“It’s been researched by me. Does that count?”
He tapped his desk. “And how did you research this? With your mom’s decades-old telescope? One that doesn’t even have the ability to see past Mars with any clarity worth mentioning and would have no ability whatsoever to see individual asteroids?”
He’d gotten me on that one.
“Miss Kennedy, I’m sorry you wasted your lunch hour coming out here to speak with me. It’s unfortunate I don’t have better news. It looks like our world will be safe from an asteroid attack of apocalyptic proportions. Sadly, that’s the truth. I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you.”
I wouldn’t let him off the hook that easily. “Let’s just say something did happen to alter its trajectory. What kind of destruction could we expect?”
“It depends on a few things. The speed of its entry, its trajectory, and the location of where it impacts can all make a difference. But with an asteroid this size, it would no doubt wipe out at least ninety percent of all living species on the planet.”
“Ninety percent? And that doesn’t make you at least a little nervous?”
He gave me a condescending smile. “My ex-wife makes me nervous. This?” He waved his hand at the screen. “This is not worth worrying about.”
Strike out for me. Neither magic nor science could do anything to stop the asteroid.
“I can show you out if you’d like,” he said, standing. I stood with him. He escorted me out of his office and through the building. When we reached the door leading outside, he pushed it open for me. “Do you need directions back to the parking lot?”
“No, I’ll figure it out. Thank you for your time,” I said.
“Of course.”
I exited the science building and walked onto the campus. Dogwood trees, with their pink and white blossoms, bloomed along the shaded path. Although I was certain I’d never find a place as breathtaking as Faythander, springtime in Texas made a close contender. Daffodils with frilly white and yellow petals grew along the sidewalk, and yellow jasmine scented the air.
But as I looked at the spring-like scene, all I could think about was how desolate this place would become after the asteroid’s impact.
For the last several months, the looming arrival of that cursed asteroid had been plaguing me to no end. I was surprised I hadn’t suffered a nervous breakdown.
I walked toward the tram as the wind gusted, bringing with it the scent of rain. My red-tinted dark hair battered my cheeks, so I tucked the short strands behind the pointed tips of my ears. The former pixie cut had grown out and was now considered a bob. One would think that with all the time I’d spent on Earth, I would have gone in for another haircut by now, but no such luck. Beggars couldn’t afford haircuts. I’d learned that the hard way.
The tram ran the length of NASA’s campus, connecting the main attractions for visitors with the science and technology labs. As I waited in line for the next tram to arrive, I pondered my conversation with Dr. Jackson. I felt helpless to do anything to stop the event that would end in the destruction of the world. My hope would be lost altogether if I didn’t have one last resort—the sword of Dracon.
Silvestra, the silverwitch dragon of Dragon Spine Mountain, had told us the location of the sword. It was in another world, separate from Earth and Faythander, a third world where bad things came from. She’d also told us we had to wait to cross through the portal until the spring equinox, when the dark magic fueling the portal would be at its weakest. Tonight, if my luck held out, I would return to Faythander and go on a quest with the Wults to retrieve the sword.
But since there had been several months before the equinox, I’d spent my time on Earth catching up on responsible adult things—paying utility bills, reaching out to a growing list of clients, and eating chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in front of the TV while I pined over my missing fiancé.
You know, adult things.
I’d had to, once again, leave my Viking warlord fiancé. I hated leaving him. It felt like I’d left a piece of myself. But the trouble was that I still hadn’t figured out how to balance my life on Earth with my life in Faythander. If I gave up my Earth life, it meant a countless number of people would go undiagnosed and live the rest of their lives in a state of depression. It didn’t matter how dangerously handsome that Viking brute was, or how much I’d been smitten by him, because I wouldn’t leave my patients behind.
However, tomorrow was the spring equinox and—assuming
