I go into the living room. Alessa is back on the couch holding Candy’s hand. After a few seconds she lets go.
She says, “Are we just supposed to sit around here while you two are gone?”
“No,” I say. “Call your father. Tell him what happened and that people might be after him. Don’t tell him where you are. His phone might be bugged. Just tell him that you’re safe.”
“Anything else?”
“Do you think our other friends are safe?” says Candy.
“I don’t know. Call them too, Alessa. Tell them to get over here. Allegra. Brigitte. Vidocq. Carlos and Ray too.”
I write Ray’s number and instructions for getting into the salon on a pad, pass it and the key to her.
“What do you want me to do?” says Kasabian.
“I don’t think Howard can get out of the bedroom, but if he does …”
“I know. Punch him
in the balls.”
“You got it.”
I look at Candy.
“You ready?”
She leans down and kisses Alessa.
“Soon, baby,” she says.
“Soon,” says Alessa.
I take Candy through a shadow, pretty sure that no matter how much Howard hates me, it’s not half of what Alessa is feeling right now.
EACH OF THE thirteen doors in the Room leads somewhere I want, but the place didn’t come with a user manual. I’ve learned to move through it by trial and error. Truth is, I haven’t used most of the doors, and I never use the thirteenth—the Door to Nothing. It’s sealed shut. Where it leads, I never want to see again. Going from what I remember about Hijruun, I take Candy through the Door of Mist. I’m not worried about what’s on the other side. I’m worried that I might not remember the cackler right and we could waste time running around the wrong reality.
“Compared to some places you’ve taken me, this isn’t so bad,” says Candy.
We’re in a dense forest. Golden light filters down through the trees in bright shafts. The air is clean.
Fucking nature.
“I just hope we’re in the right place.”
“How will you know?” she says.
We start up a hill on a white trail that’s like walking on a soft carpet. Please don’t let me die here in Tinkerbell country.
“Hijruun is an important magician in his world. Plus, I think he has connections to the royal family. He lives in a tower in a deep valley.”
“This hill?” says Candy.
“I hope so. I’ve never been through this door before, but the Room knows what I’m looking for.”
Red and white flowers line the path on both sides. Moss hangs from the lower tree branches.
I say, “I think we’re at least in the right reality.”