The Fourfold Key

Chapter Three: Danger

Ruth gasped, feeling the floor tilt beneath her. "Adonia? You mean, like, this isn't Earth!?"

    "No, it's not Earth. Unfortunately, I think I know why your name feels familiar to me now. What does your father look like?"

    Ruth handed over the picture of her father. "That's my dad. Collen McKenzie."

    The woman studied the photo intently, then nodded and looked up. "Ruth, if this really is your father, then you are in serious danger."

    "Danger?!" Ruth exclaimed, feeling dizzy all over again. "Why would I be in danger? And what does it have to do with Dad?"

    "Well, no less than a year ago a man stumbled into my yard. He was in his early thirties, with dark hair, and green eyes. Looked a lot like you, as I recall. He was also a bit short for a man his age if I remember correctly. Anyway, he claimed to be looking for the Sorceress and said his name was Collen McKenzie."

    "What? So, my dad came here a year ago...which means..." Ruth gasped as the realization hit her. "Dad isn't dead! He's just missing! Lost in Adonia!" Ruth's heart leapt with the hope of it. But why was he here? In a completely different world? And how did I get here as well? Ruth clutched her head and opened her mouth to ask a question, but Idabelle cut her off.

    "We've spent enough time talking. You have to leave! They are going to come for you as soon as they find out you're here!" Idabelle stood up and began to search on the top of the shelves. Finding an old burlap sack, she began to stuff supplies into it.

    "Oh my gosh! This is to good to be true! And also so, so weird. I mean, how crazy is it that both me and my dad ended up in a different world?" Ruth exclaimed, "Now that I'm here, I can find him! I can bring him back and we can be a family again! Wait—who's they, and why does it sound like they're the kind of people who would want to kill me? Where am I going?" she questioned, as she digested all that Idabelle had said.

    " 'They,' " Idabelle answered without stopping her frenzied packing, "are the gnomes. Gnomes are tricky creatures, never trustworthy. They are working for the Sorceress. You are in danger because your father's uncle—your great-uncle—made a very powerful person very angry. Your great uncle was the best magician from here, actually. He was working with some dangerous spells when he accidentally created a portal—" Ruth cut her off.

"Wait. My great-uncle is from here?" her head was spinning.

"If Collen McKenzie is indeed your father, then yes. Collen himself was born and raised here."

"Dad is from here??" I think I'm going to pass out. She rested her head in her hands.

"Yes. Anyway, as I was saying, your great-uncle was working with some dangerous spells when he accidentally created a portal. It led straight to another planet—another universe!—with humans living and thriving on it. He found it was called 'Earth'. He tested the portal by throwing books through it. Later he said that the books were found and copied down into what they called 'fairy tales' on 'Earth'. Eventually he went through himself. After a while the portal closed on him. For some reason the Sorceress—the powerful person that he had made angry, and for this very reason—was enraged by the disappearance of this man, and she vowed to kill everyone in his family for it. Your great-uncle found your world enchanting, but he soon tired of it and wished to return. He worked for months to perfect the perfect words to return him, and when he returned and found out about what the Sorceress had vowed, he disappeared. The Sorceress didn't even know he had returned."

    "Wait," Ruth interrupted. "If fairy tales were created by my great uncle throwing books into the portal, then how old is my great uncle? I mean, fairy tales were made, like, hundreds of years ago, right?"

    "Well, our worlds run at different speeds. Adonia is much slower than Earth, so many years could have gone by before he figured out how to get there himself."

    "How do you know about this then? Does everyone know this stuff?"

    "I belong to a close knit group of friends of your great uncle's. After he returned, he told us everything and ran. He made us promise not to tell anyone. You're the first one I've told. But others have let small details slip, eventually morphing into tall tales that most everyone has heard of." Idabelle replied, "Now, you've got to go. Here are some supplies," she said, shoving the bag at Ruth. "I'll show you the way out. Come, hurry."

    Idabelle walked over to the other side of the room, motioning for Ruth to follow. Ruth walked over and Idabelle pulled up a rug and opened a hatch underneath it.

    "Follow this tunnel until you come out. It opens out by my friend's house. His name is Tom."

    "Thank you," said Ruth. "If I hadn't met you I might have never known that Dad was here. Gee, I wouldn't have known I was in danger if it wasn't for you."

    "You're welcome. Now hurry, no more questions. Goodbye and good luck!"

    "Good bye, Idabelle." And with that, she handed Ruth a candle and shut the door, surrounding Ruth in the blackness of the tunnel, lit only by her candle.