Eric wanted a moment alone with the three of them, so they went to one side of the hall to speak. “The last time we returned to Earth, we aimed for nighttime. But this time, all of us were at Jack’s except Anna. It should be midday, and maybe there is enough activity at the hospital that you can lose yourself in it on the way out. It depends on how well that room is being watched.”
Ryan said to her, “We know that we always return to where we were, but we aren’t sure if anyone else knows that, but I think they do because of you disappearing and reappearing on the highway. Someone may be waiting for you.”
Eric looked concerned as he said, “There is probably still a warrant for your arrest. There might be someone in the hospital room you were in, either a patient or police.”
Ryan frowned. “Yeah, the bed might have someone in it. I hope you don’t end up on top of them or something. Not really sure how that works.”
Anna asked, “What if something occupies the space we were occupying?”
Matt spoke up. “I know the answer to this from my talks with Lorian. You just get moved over to the nearest space. Most teleport spells have this sort of thing built into them. I think we can assume Soliander was smart enough to do this with the return spell.”
“Good point,” Eric agreed and turned to Anna. “Listen, regardless of what happens, you need to be ready.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said irritably.
“I’m not trying to boss you around. Just thinking out loud.”
“Yeah, okay. Sorry. It just stresses me out every time we do this.”
“I know. I’m sorry, but maybe we can start working on getting those Home Rings set up.”
Ryan did not know how they were going to get that done, but it was definitely needed. So was a home base they could stay in and use for training. He wondered if his attorney or Jack had done anything for that in their absence, but it had been just over a day, so probably not. Sometimes it seemed like more time was passing from all the actions they had to take. Quests made for long days.
At least they hadn’t been stuck on this planet for weeks, as he’d assumed would happen when he learned of the quest to restore a king to power. He just wanted to feel in control of his life again, but saw no sign of that happening soon. Anna was the more immediate concern this time, just like last time. He thought of something to help her.
“If people are in the room when you arrive,” he began, “they will call security. I think you need to run out of there and hide. We can send Jack to get you.”
Anna admitted, “Not sure I want to go back.”
Eric pursed his lips in commiseration. “It will be okay, Anna.”
“Will it?” she asked. “I’ve killed one of my friends, maimed another, and paralyzed one for life. I hurt several more and destroyed their property. I have all these lawsuits coming. There’s an arrest warrant.”
Ryan had almost forgotten all of that and put an arm around her, saying he would use his family’s lawyers and money to fight everything for her if he could. She did not have to go through this alone or be financially destroyed. There were other problems, of course, but in the back of his mind was the possibility that she could heal those who had been hurt. They hadn’t talked about it in a while because he didn’t want to pressure her, but he never forgot it.
One day, hopefully soon, she would heal his brother Daniel, who could finally walk again. Anna could heal her friend, and as someone who had been paralyzed herself and knew what it was to walk again because she had been healed, the importance of it had to be apparent to her. Maybe he would talk about it with her soon, but not now. They needed to get home and be safe again, even if for just a little while. Anna, of all people, had felt this taken from her the most.
With the King of Aker waiting for them, along with those gathered to see them leave, the Ellorian Champions gathered inside the Quest Ring, confident it could send them home again even though it wasn’t the one that had brought them. That didn’t seem to matter, at least according to Matt. If it did, it wouldn’t take more than a few hours to get back to Thiat and go home that way. But it worked. The familiar sights and sounds of a quest starting or ending enveloped them as another world disappeared from around them and they found themselves headed for Earth.
Chapter 16 – Reunions
Anna braced herself for arrival. She really hated not knowing what awaited her. Leaving Earth was one thing, but being able to relax on the way back would have been nice. At least a car would not hit her this time, although being arrested wasn’t great either. Nor was shocking people who might scream and calling all sorts of attention to her. The idea of fleeing in a hospital gown with her butt visible made her smile. She tried to hope for the best as her friends assumed their Earth clothes before her. She felt herself wearing the thin gown, but she had forgotten having both legs and one arm in casts. Then the vortex of light ended.
The hospital room was empty, but the wooden door was wide open. She breathed a sigh of relief but had to grab the wall one with hand to steady herself. How was she supposed to get out of these casts? She felt
