Tangled

Unshift 269

Unshift 269

269 Lisa: The Farmhouse

LISA

The entire world shakes and shudders, and I wake with a jolt. "Earthquake!"

"We landed, you idiot." Elverly scowls at me. "Next time, don't use me as a pillow."

"Don't take her vitriol seriously, Lisa. She's the one who covered you with a blanket." The Grand Sage nods toward me, and I glance down, surprised to see a flannel fabric about as large as a baby's blanket. She yanks it off me with a huff, folding it and tucking it under her arm, where it disappears.

I blink.

"Where did it go?"

*Dimensional storage, The Grand Sage tells me, pushing different buttons. The vibration of the room ceases. "Stay here. I'm going to check on matters, and the cloaking device isn't enough to cover everyone outside"

A hatch above us creaks open, letting in a sliver of light that makes me squint. I hold my breath, not daring to move as the Grand Sage maneuvers his way between Elverly and me. His robes brush against my arm, and I catch a whiff of something herbal-sage, maybe?

Funny. Sage for sages.

my

As he climbs, I can't help but stare at the rungs he's using. Were those there before? I wrack brain, trying to remember if I'd noticed them during our journey, but come up blank. It's possible they were there all along, hidden in the shadows of this cramped space.

But it's more probable that they popped out of the wall when he was pressing one of those many buttons.

The Grand Sage's feet disappear through the hatch, and I strain my ears, trying to catch any sound from above. The silence remains unbroken, broken only by my own shallow breathing and the faint rustle of Elverly's clothes as she shifts in her seat.

"Do

but Elverly cuts me off with a sharp

Stay quiet.

it been since the Grand Sage left? A minute? Five? Time seems to stretch

above snaps me back

sudden influx of light. The Grand Sage's face. appears in the opening, his

clear," he says, but his words are grim. "You can

rising from her seat and climbing the rungs with practiced case.

269 Lisa The Farmhouse

muscles protesting after being cramped for so long. As I near the top,

they've always been a part of it. Another bit of magic? Or some kind of advanced technology? The line between the two

We're in what looks like an old barn, dusty sunlight

did we magically land inside

to ask, but I already know the explanation

the floor, looking for all the world like an oversized metal egg with a flat top. If I hadn't just climbed out of it, I'd never believe it could fit three people inside,

are we?" I ask, unable to contain my

a faint frown. "We did not go

of the

to be here." Glancing around, I

It certainly seems quiet.

onto it. Elverly gets the same treatment. "This is in case we are parted. If anything happens, come here and press the

I can't

"Don't introduce yourself by name. Use a pseudonym, if you must. His nose wrinkles. "This

expanse of farmland stretching out before us. Horses and cows graze peacefully in nearby paddocks, oblivious to our status as refugees. A cluster of beat-up trucks sits in the driveway of a dilapidated

I can't help but share

would expect to find

us to follow