Oracle Quest: Book 1 in the Quest Series

PROLOGUE

The Void gleamed with the soft white glow indicative of the healthy balance existing within the many dimensions located on the Interdimensional Grid. Not a hint of gray showed, which would be a sign that Evil was winning the struggle to take over the Grid. Interdimensional fairies moved along the Void’s walls, referring to their clipboards and carefully making notes about the goings on within their assigned sectors. The information gathered was instantly transmitted to the main database within the Grid to be downloaded, analyzed and scrutinized.

The bi-colored wings of the fairies provided the only spark of color within the Void’s gleaming white space, the jewels within the silvery wings glittering as the creatures flew about doing their daily work. Several paused to give the Grid Manager a respectful nod of recognition as he strolled through the Grid. Personally checking the various sectors was part of the continual struggle, and this manager was conscientious in his duties.

The Grid Manager responsible for overseeing this part of the Void paused by a small section of his Grid. It was a fairly insignificant looking, smallish dimension located in an out of the way sector. Only he and a few select others knew how vitally important this particular dimension was to the stability of his Grid and its relationship to all the other Grids in the Interdimensional Void system.

Leaning over, the Grid Manager plugged a device roughly the size of his palm into the Void’s wall. After tapping in a few codes, he waited patiently. The results had him frowning. The fairy nearest him hovered for a moment, eyeing him apprehensively. A dour Grid Manager? Not a good sign.

The Grid Manager sighed, straightening as he slid the computer back into the pocket of his tan trench coat. Trouble was brewing in this important dimension, trouble he had hoped would never manifest within this sector and never within this dimension. Especially this dimension.

All the dimensions were required to maintain a balance between good and evil. Unlike most balances, however, an equitable mix was not desired. The key here was to have the balance strongly in favor of goodness. Evil could exist; in fact, it had to exist, but only in small, manageable doses. Most dimensions were capable of maintaining this balance themselves, keeping negative elements in check so that the dimension did not suffer a cataclysmic failure. This dimension, however, would not be able to fight Evil on its own; it lacked the necessary talent and innate capabilities to keep Evil at bay. According to the most recent readouts, Evil had indeed invaded the dimension. As another dimension nearby dimmed to a deep shade of black, the Grid Manager thought he might know what happened. Fairies fled from the now-dead dimension, sobbing their dismay. Medic fairies zoomed in to take their distraught comrades to the nearest hospital facility to begin the healing process. The Grid Manager watched with ill-concealed dismay.

The balance of good and evil in this part of the Grid was definitely in flux and should the scales fall too far onto the side of Evil, this critical dimension would fail. If this dimension fell, his entire Grid would fail. That would cause a cascading domino effect to occur with disastrous results. For if his Grid failed, all the others in the Interdimensional Void could be toppled as well.

Of course, Evil’s fondest wish was to see the Interdimensional Void suffer a cataclysmic destruction. Evil desires and craves the kind of chaos that such a monumental failure would cause.

It was time, the Grid Manager decided, for intervention in his favorite little dimension. Some outside help from a dimension that understood Evil and how to fight it, how to win against it, and how to maintain the balance firmly on the side of good.

Fortunately he knew just the right dimension to go to for help. Turning his head, he zeroed in one of the larger ones on his Grid, a dimension that had a varied history of wars between good and evil. Despite the struggles, good still prevailed. Yes, the World Dimension. That would do nicely, the Grid Manager realized with satisfaction. The people of that dimension knew how to handle Evil and all his varied means of deception and guile. They were also strong in some of the magic that his favored dimension was steeped in. Excellent.

Meddling between the dimensions was not necessarily frowned upon by the Void Administrators, but it wasn’t exactly encouraged either. The Grid Manager heaved a sigh. He’d go with his gut on this one. His gut told him that intervention was necessary in this case. The quicker the better, in fact.

Rubbing his hands together, the Grid Manager plunged them into the dimensions and started to meddle away, setting in motion a juggernaut of repercussions, the likes of which he could not even begin to fathom.

The Quests had begun.

CHAPTER 1

THE GOOD AND THE BAD

The bell above the door to Sunshine Grooming tinkled as it was pushed open, announcing another customer. Along with a gust of furnace hot air, courtesy of the southwestern late summer weather, the door let in what was possibly the ugliest dog Katie Gaber had ever laid her blue eyes upon. It was a ball of patchy fuzz with snarled teeth and weepy eyes. As the dog was set on the counter, Katie automatically processed the full day of doggy spa treatments, wincing as the skeleton-thin owner cooed and fawned over her pet before relinquishing the animal to Katie’s care.

After handing the dog over to the grooming tech, Katie turned back to the computer to see if any more customers were expected. Finding none, she plopped her elbows on the counter and propped her chin on her hand, staring with a deep sigh at the shimmers of heat rising from the asphalt outside. Arizona summers were never easy, and this one had been exceptionally brutal. The temperature was still in the high nineties, even in September.

Katie glanced at the fantasy novel by one of her favorite authors, which lay on the counter. Today the book held zero appeal. She was fresh off a vicious phone fight with her mother, was ignoring her sister’s pleading calls to make up with her mother and also dodging an ex-boyfriend’s increasingly annoying voice messages.

Working in this dead-end job was not making her life any easier; Katie knew that for a fact. Having graduated from college the previous spring with a degree in education, nothing had materialized in her field. Despite several job interviews, she had not been offered a job. It was the old Catch-22. She didn’t have experience, so she wasn’t given a job. Yet to get experience, she needed a teaching position. The vicious cycle made her want to scream.

The truth was that she felt desperately unhappy.

Life wasn’t going the way she had imagined it would. Katie had always assumed that when she graduated college everything would simply fall into place. A career, love, marriage, children. None of that had happened.

In short, Katie was an extremely disillusioned twenty-two year-old. She felt incredibly old despite her relatively young years. She seemed to have no focus in her life, nothing to believe in. A vague lethargy had settled over her during the summer, dragging her down, keeping her close to her apartment and away from her friends.

Blowing her short blond fringe out of her eyes, Katie sighed again, a gusty sound. She knew her friends and family were a little concerned about her. Secretly, she wondered if they were right to worry. This dissatisfaction with her life—was it something everyone her age felt? Just the natural progression from schooling to career that left one feeling downhearted and depressed? Lately, Katie wondered why she was even trying to move forward with her life. Certainly she didn’t feel like she was going to make any sort of difference to the world. The irony of being in charge of making sure that animals smelled like roses and had bows in their hair did nothing to make her feel like she was making a significant impact on the world.

The late afternoon brought a deluge of pet owners, anxious to be reunited with their sweet smelling, groomed animals. Katie rang up the services, smiled brightly at the silly bows in the dogs’ and cats’ fur, made small talk with a few of the owners she recognized from previous visits, then at the end of her shift escaped gratefully into the desert heat. She leaned her forehead against the outside of the Salon’s glass door after she’d locked it. Not a banner day for her. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been an unusual one either. The sheer boredom of her life stretched before her with monotonous repetition. Day in and day out, logging animals in, sending them home. It was enough to make Katie want to cry. But now, it was time to battle the traffic and head for home.

She opened her car door and immediately stepped back. Long experience in the desert had taught her to let most of the heat that was bottled up inside the car escape before getting into it. She tapped her key on the hood of the car, watching the heat waves dance over the parking lot like children released for recess. Her mind seemed incapable of latching onto a coherent thought, so she just let herself drift along until the worst of the heat had seeped from the interior. Sliding into the car, she winced as the still-hot seat burned through her light clothes. Katie started the engine, then cranked up the air conditioning as high as it would go, slumping over the wheel as she waited for it to blow cool air.

An odd sound, as if someone had ripped a piece of paper in her ear, had Katie sitting upright in her seat. Glancing into the rear view mirror, Katie got the shock of her life.

A large pair of blue eyes was staring at her, but they were not her own. These eyes were twice as large, filling the entire mirror. They were also a peculiar violet blue, ringed in light lashes. Their paleness made the eyes unique color that much more striking. One thing was certain, what she was seeing was not her reflection. Katie’s eyes were a deep cornflower blue, fringed with impossibly long, black lashes that were at direct odds with her golden hair.

Katie whipped her head around. The back seat was empty. She could feel her heart fluttering rapidly like a trapped moth in her chest. Gulping, she looked back into the rearview mirror.

Her own eyes stared back, visibly unnerved, the pupils wide. Her harsh breathing filled the car, louder than the air conditioning that pumped cold air over her sweat-dampened body.

After several long moments, Katie put the car in reverse with a shaking hand and backed out of her parking space. Heading towards her apartment on auto pilot, she mentally ticked off the options to explain what had occurred. Finding none that did not involve her being a stark raving lunatic, Katie decided that she should just forget the eyes had ever shown up in her mirror. Yes, she thought, as she pulled into her parking spot and turned off the car, giving the rearview mirror one last wary glance, that was her best option.

Katie let herself into the apartment, welcoming the cool, dim interior. A glance around showed her to be alone. Her roommates weren’t there; both of them friends of Katie’s since high school. They shared a room while Katie bunked in the single bedroom across the apartment. She glanced into the room her friends shared. One side was a maze of packing boxes. That roommate was moving out of the state next week to start a new job. Katie could not believe she was going away. The other side of the room was meticulously neat. That roommate had come by the groomer’s earlier in the day, showing off her engagement ring. Katie assumed that within a few weeks, her side of the bedroom would look like a layout from Brides Magazine.

One roommate moving, the other getting married. For the first time since she was 15, Katie would be without her best friends in the world. Her lifelines. What a harrowing and frightful thought. Another important touchstone in her life was being yanked away. Why did everybody she love leave her?

She sighed and tossed her backpack and purse onto the counter. At the tail end of the movement, she was hit by a weird dizziness, unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. As the room wavered around her, she grasped the back of the bar stool to steady herself. Katie closed her eyes and waited out the spell. It felt like her stomach was dropping, then spiraling back up again. Her whole body seemed to be rippling, the only word she could come up with that explained how it felt.

The moment passed and Katie was left with a lingering feeling of exhaustion. After calling her mother and leaving a message on her voice mail canceling their dinner plans, she literally stumbled her way to the couch and fell upon it, sinking into its depths and sweeping her golden hair back from her face, grateful that she wore it in a short, easily layered cut that didn’t get in her eyes. Wearily, she reached for the remote control and turned on the television, tuning in the station that played reruns. They were showing a marathon of one of her favorite old sitcom shows, the one starring the child actor…What was his name? Oh yeah, Zach Neol. It was comforting to watch a show that she’d enjoyed so much as a child. Back when her family was intact, before her father had left them, before everything fell apart. Her body shivered convulsively.

Hope I’m not coming down with something, she thought. The last thing I need is to get sick. The room around her blurred and she fell into a deep, sudden sleep.

The sun shining directly on her face woke Katie up. Most curious, she reflected, since the sun never fell on the couch. Her eyes remained closed, as the effort to try and open them seemed too much. A bird chirped quite close to her ear, bringing her to full consciousness. Katie exhaled quickly, slightly cracking her eyes. Then they flew open in absolute shock.

Sitting up, Katie was astonished to find herself reclining in a picturesque wooded glade, complete with a deer and fawn contemplating her from the edge of a thick forest. A hot pink butterfly flitted into the clearing, lighting momentarily on Katie’s nose before meandering off.

To her right stood a spectacular tree, rising to about six feet in height. The unusual specimen looked like it had bark of ruby and golden leaves were swaying in the light breeze. Peering at the tree, Katie could see that its branches were graced with round berries the color of garnets, and as big as cherries. The air she was breathing was pure and exhilarating, going to her head like fine wine.

Huh, Katie said emphatically. An understatement, given the thoughts rapidly cantering about her brain, like a panicked horse on a lunge line.

Katie flung a hand over her eyes, blocking out the sight of the glade. When I look up again, my favorite classic sitcom will be on the TV, then I’ll fix some macaroni and cheese for dinner, she promised herself.

But when she opened her eyes, all Katie saw was a landscape of green plants and a riot of blooming flowers, dominated by the unusual tree. A ladybug crawled over her hand to reach the clover on the other side, the whisper of sensation on her skin heightened in this pristine place. Raising her hand to inspect the bug more closely, Katie noticed that instead of round dots, this bug sported purple spots in the shape of hexagons.

You are a figment of my overactive imagination, Katie told the ladybug, who opened its wings and flew away in silent protest of the conversation.

Standing, Katie brushed off grass clinging to her jeans. Her body felt curiously stiff, like she’d just had a hard day at the gym, her joints popping and muscles groaning with each movement. This was all simply too odd. Maybe she was working too hard and this was a delayed reaction to the strain. Yes, that must be it. She just wasn’t meant for working at the groomers. This hallucination proved it.

Wonder if hallucinations can be used as an excuse to get off work a few days? she pondered aloud to the deer. The deer decided not to mull over the question with her, choosing to bound off into the forest to find a quieter glade in which to forage.

Katie wandered over to the tree. For a dream, this whole scenario was extremely lifelike. She could feel the cool texture of the ruby tree trunk as she ran her hand over the bark. The golden leaves let out a tinkling like the fairest of wind chimes. Even the berries felt smooth to her questing fingers. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and while it should have felt dead and cold, in reality it gave off a sense of being vibrantly alive.

Reluctant to leave the tree, Katie forced herself to move away to see if she could tell where her subconscious had landed her. She’d always had vivid and intricate dreams, even as a child.

This place did give her a peculiar feeling of deja vu, like she’d seen it before while walking through her slumbers. But that tree…Katie looked over her shoulder at it, then shook her head. She’d never had a dream about such a tree before. She was sure of that.

The opposite side of the clearing showed Katie that her little glen was actually at the knoll of a small hill. A forest stretched out all around her. In the distance, Katie could barely see a line of tan. Maybe a beach or a desert lay beyond the forest’s edge. Difficult to tell from this angle.

A sudden crash came from her right, causing her to reel in fright. Katie caught a brief glimpse of movement deep in the bushes.

Katie rapidly reviewed all the dangerous animals that could be living in the forest. She dove into some nearby shrubbery to conceal herself from whatever it was, deciding she would rather not be out in the open. She even tried to breathe as quietly as possible, worrying that her pounding heart would surely give her position away.

The bushes across the way rattled and thrashed. It was like watching a pride of lions wrestle behind the scrubby undergrowth. As Katie watched with terror, an opening appeared in the foliage and a slight, slim man faltered and tripped into the glade.

What an odd man he was, too. Wearing a long gray robe embroidered in silver and gold on the edges of the sleeves and collar, he looked like a reject from the local medieval festival. The robe was tied loosely at the waist with an intricately knotted chain belt sprinkled with various gemstones while bags and pouches dangled from the belt. A wispy gray beard covered the bottom half of his face and eyes of piercing violet-blue gleamed above his rather slim, short nose. Silvery salt and pepper hair glinted in the sun as he swung his head back and forth like a bloodhound searching for a scent. When his face turned her way and she got a long, good look at his visage, Katie put her hand over her mouth to stifle a cry.

The eyes! They were the same ones she’d seen in her rear view mirror. What the hell was going on here?

The oddly dressed man moved to the middle of the glen, his hands on his hips. Turning in a full circle, the man appeared to be intently searching the glen. For her, Katie had no doubt. But darned if she was going to make it easier for this wackadoo to find her in the forest. Mother warned me about people like you, she thought grimly, reaching for a stout branch on the forest floor. Hefting the stick in her hand, she waited. It was a primitive weapon, but would offer her some sort of protection.

After a few moments of turning about in the woods, the man halted, a slight smile gracing his face. Katie was relieved that when he smiled he did so with his entire face, which made him look friendly and approachable. But that didn’t stop her from clutching the log even tighter in her hand.

The man advanced to stand in front of the spot where Katie was hidden deep within the bushes. The items on his belt clinked and clanked slightly as he approached.

There you are, he said in a kind voice, squatting so that he was even with her, peering through the leaves of the shrubs. His voice was musical, rather like the chimes of the ruby tree.

He gestured with a long, elegant hand. Come on out now. I know you are in there. It cannot be comfortable among all those poking branches. He tilted his head to one side, his face open and guileless before adding softly, Please do not make me drag you out. That would be most uncomfortable and embarrassing for us both.

CHAPTER 2

WIZARDS AND WARRIORS AND ORACLES

Katie waited several long seconds, staring at the man while chewing on her lip. Deciding that a dignified surrender was far more desirable than being dragged from the shrubs like a misbehaving cat, Katie crawled out, keeping an eye on this very bizarre person.

She stood by the bush, brushing twigs out of her golden hair with cautious movements. Unsure of what to say to a man in a silver dress, Katie waited, shifting from one foot to the next as he watched her with an intensity that was disconcerting to her. The silence stretched on.

The man smiled at her again, a gesture seen more in the crinkling around his eyes than his mouth, which was well concealed by his beard and mustache. But his eyes reflected happiness and an unmistakable welcome.

You do not look like what I expected, he finally admitted, cocking his head to one side as he looked her up and down. Hands still on his hips, he circled her in an assessing fashion.

Who were you expecting? Katie managed, disconcerted by his perusal.

His shoulders raised and lowered in an eloquent shrug. I am not sure what I was expecting, but your persona is rather unique. I have never seen hair cut like yours before on a female. Yes, you are definitely unique.

Katie snorted, one hand reaching up to brush the ends of her short, layered haircut, almost in defense. Unique, eh? How odd to hear that from a man dressed in a bathrobe. She started to get a little irritated with her subconscious for subjecting her to such nonsense. Katie opened her mouth to give this dream man a piece of her mind, but before she could say a word, the man spoke again.

I have found our visitor, he called, looking at a point beyond Katie’s back.

So I see, came a voice that rumbled through the air like a roll of thunder in a summer storm.

Katie wheeled around to see another man standing behind her. Unlike the bearded man, this one was wearing a short leather tunic-like vest of forest green over dark brown leggings, with brown boots