Unleashed by John Levitt Read Free Book Online Page B

and she was vaporized. With that much energy, there wouldn’t be much left.”
    “Ahh,” said Eli, recovering his voice, “but that’s just it. There should have been something. But there wasn’t. Nothing at all. Not a trace. I looked. So it’s possible her body wasn’t destroyed. She could have been transported to somewhere else, instead.”
    “You mean like another dimension?”
    “Well, no, I don’t think so, not precisely. But something like that, perhaps. I came across a couple of very similar accounts in some of my more arcane manuscripts, and it could be. In some accounts, the people involved eventually returned, but unfortunately the accounts are silent on where those people went or how they got back. So yes, it could be. But the problem is, I currently have no idea of how to find her or where she might be or how to get her back—if that’s indeed what happened.”
    “And just when were you planning to tell me this?” I was seriously pissed, not just at Eli for keeping something so important from me, but for also sharing it with Victor and not me. It felt like a betrayal. Eli was supposed to be my best friend, as well as a mentor.
    “Maybe I should have said something, but there didn’t seem much point in mentioning it. It was just a theory, after all, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it even if it were true. I didn’t see any reason to upset you. But now that you actually saw her, or some version of her, I think it’s a different story.”
    I walked over to the front window that overlooks Ocean Beach and the Pacific and stared out at the passing gulls. I saw his point, sort of—Sherwood and I had been very close at one time, more than close for almost a year. But still, it was disturbing. I’m no kid anymore, and there was no excuse for treating me like a child who needs to be protected against false hope. Eli walked over and stood silently beside me. He didn’t say anything, which was his way of apologizing. I decided to let it drop. For now.
    “I don’t understand,” I finally said. “If this is true, why did she appear now, after all this time—if it really was her.”
    “That energy sink,” said Eli. “It’s already brought something uncanny out of God knows where, and it might have attracted her in some way. That, and the fact you were present there—she’s probably more connected to you than anyone else, so your presence could have been the trigger. Your psyche might have been strengthened and enhanced just by your being so close to the pool—on the magical plane, that is. And it must have called to her, and the energy provided a bridge to wherever she is—not enough for her to cross over, but enough so that she could at least make a tenuous contact with our world again.”
    “Should I go back there again?”
    “I don’t think that would be a good idea. It sounds like the energy there is too powerful—whatever comes out of that place is twisted and distorted. Think of the fake Ifrit. If she really is somewhere, still alive in some sense, we might well be able to drag her back. But then, we might not like what returned.”
    That sent a chill right through me.
    “So what now? Forget it ever happened?”
    “No, we can hardly do that. In fact, were going to have to close down that portal eventually—it seems to be a vehicle for some uncanny things to enter our world. I’m surprised there haven’t been more.”
    “Maybe there have been,” said Timothy. “Maybe you guys just haven’t run across them all yet.” Another cheerful thought.
    “But what about Sherwood?” I asked.
    “She managed to establish some sort of contact with you, employing the channel opened by the energy pool. Now that the contact has been made, you should be able to reestablish it away from the pool.”
    “Well, that sounds simple enough. How, exactly, if I might ask?”
    “One thing I can think of would be to use your emotional connection. Go to somewhere that had a special