Worlds Collide (The Land of Stories #6)(17)

His elders still weren’t convinced.

“It’s not uncommon for dreams to feel very realistic when they’re about the people we love,” the wizard said. “Why don’t you fetch my dream dictionary, and we can get to the bottom of what Alex actually represented in the dream.”

Arthur grunted loudly and paced in a circle. No matter what he said, Merlin and Mother Goose only saw him as a love-struck teenager. Arthur desperately needed their trust, but they would never take him seriously unless he proved himself trustworthy. A transformation was needed to gain their respect, and luckily, Arthur knew just the thing to do it.

The squire raced out of Merlin’s cottage and ran into the woods. It was raining and still dark outside, but Arthur persisted. He wasn’t wearing any shoes and was barely clothed, but he was numb to everything except his fiery determination. Finally, he arrived at his destination and entered the clearing where the great sword lay in the stone.

Arthur was destined to remove the sword once his training was complete and he was ready to be crowned King of England—but given the circumstances, he hoped his desire to save Alex would somehow expedite his destiny. Arthur might not have been in any danger, but if Alex was in trouble, then his whole world was at stake.

So the young squire wrapped his hands around the sword’s handle and pulled on it with all his might. His fingernails bled and blisters covered his palms, but Arthur kept pulling, as if his life depended on it….





CHAPTER FIVE





TURBULENCE AHEAD


As soon as Conner had an inkling of his sister’s whereabouts, he rushed to the nearest computer and bought the five remaining tickets on the next flight to New York City. He used Bob’s credit card without asking, but Bob couldn’t care less. All that mattered to anyone was finding Alex and bringing her home. Liberating the fairy-tale world would have to wait until they figured out what was happening in Manhattan.

At five o’clock the next morning, without any sleep whatsoever, Conner, Bree, Jack, Goldilocks, Red, and Charlotte piled into Charlotte’s SUV and headed to Willow Crest International Airport. Conner had no idea what to expect once they got to New York, but he knew it’d be easier to handle it with his friends at his side. They left the hospital in such a hurry no one had a chance to pack, but knowing what his friends usually carried on their persons, Conner managed to grab a duffel bag before they left the hospital so Jack’s and Goldilocks’s more questionable belongings could be stowed.

When they arrived, Conner ran into the airport to check their bag while his friends waited outside. They stood on the curb by Charlotte’s car and took in their first sights of the Otherworld beyond the halls of Saint Andrew’s Children’s Hospital.

“So this is what they call an air port,” Jack said as he cradled Hero. “What exactly is a port of air?”

“It’s where you board planes that take you to other locations,” Bree explained.

“Like a stable?” Goldilocks asked.

“Yes, but with much bigger horses.”

Jack and Goldilocks nodded and looked around in awe, but Red wasn’t as impressed.

“It’s rather colorless in the Otherworld, isn’t it?” she remarked. “If you ask me, the whole gray and glass thing is a bit overdone.”

As soon as he finished inside, Conner emerged through the airport’s automatic doors and joined his friends at the curb.

“The bag’s been checked under my name,” he said. “Apparently it’s completely legal to travel with a sword and an axe as long as they’re checked. That’s America for you.”

“What is checked?” Jack asked.

“It means they’ll stow our luggage under the plane before we leave, and then when we arrive, it’ll come out on a conveyor at the baggage claim.”

Conner’s friends from the fairy-tale world stared at him like he was speaking in tongues.

“We have absolutely no idea what any of that means, but we’ll take your word for it,” Goldilocks said.

“Does everyone have their tickets and IDs?” Conner asked the group.

Bree, Jack, Goldilocks, and Red held up the tickets they had printed at the hospital and the identification cards they’d been assigned. Unfortunately, traveling with friends from another dimension meant that airport security would be a challenge. If they’d had more time Conner could have come up with better IDs that resembled his friends more, but given their time crunch, they had to work with what they had.

“Will someone notice these aren’t our actual identities?” Jack asked.

“I’m praying the TSA officer won’t notice,” Conner said. “We’ll get into serious trouble if we’re caught, so if anyone asks, Jack is Dr. Robert Gordon, Goldilocks is Charlotte Gordon, and Red is Bree’s cousin, Amanda Campbell.”

“Bree, would you happen to have a more attractive relative I could impersonate?” Red asked.

“Sorry, that’s all I’ve got,” Bree said. “Amanda’s ID has gotten me into dozens of concerts I was too young for. I hope it brings you the same luck.”

Conner nervously eyed the airport. “We’re going to need more than luck to pull this off,” he said.

“Conner, this is too risky,” Charlotte said from inside the car. “Why don’t Bob and I just come with you?”