Forbidden Quest.
By Alaina Stanford.
Chapter One.
"You"re not going? After all the work I"ve done on this project and now you"re not going!" Nicole asked, loudly into the phone. She thrust her hand out to her a.s.sistant, shook her head so viciously her short brown hair flew from side to side as she motioned toward the door. Nicole sat down at her desk clutching the receiver with fury. "Plus, the deposit is non-refundable, we can"t cancel and we can"t reschedule. Dr. Strong said it had to be this weekend, there are no other slots available."
The raspy voice of her latest romance, Tom Norton, answered calmly, "Niki, I"ve got viral meningitis. You don"t fool around with something like that." Tom lay in bed, his dark brown hair was disheveled and there were dark circles under his eyes. He rolled over to grab the bottle of painkillers his doctor prescribed and added, "Dr Maan said to get in bed and forget about the rest of the world for the next week. I"m surprised at your response and hurt that you don"t seem to care. You"re actually more upset about losing the deposit instead of missing out on a weekend with me."
Resisting the guilt that threatened to wash over her, Nicole took a deep breath and shifted her chair so she could reach her computer while they talked. She explained, "Tom, it"s not the money and you know I want to spend time with you. It"s just that it will be months before I can manage to weasel another free weekend out of my boss. We won"t get another shot at this. Dr. Strong said he was pulling out of Landon and moving to Miami in a few weeks. He"s the only hypnotist in the country that"s offering these group fantasy sessions. Its going to be the next big trend in discount vacations."
"You sound like you can"t afford a trip to Miami? St Louis is in the middle of the country, flights to anywhere don"t cost that much from here." Tom chided, sinking back into his pillows waiting for the painkillers to take effect.
"Contrary to what you might believe, I don"t get a bonus when I win a case. The District Attorney would prefer to take his best a.s.sistant DA to bed rather than give me a bonus or time off." She growled pulling up her three new cases with a few quick entries on her keyboard.
"Ok, ok, I"ve heard all this before." Tom winced, tired of Nicole"s complaints. "I asked Jack to take my place. He was b.u.mped off his flight to St. Thomas this morning and actually has some spare cash."
"Absolutely not!" Nicole declared, digging her pink, perfectly manicured nails into the keyboard.
"Come on, it won"t be that bad, remember? You"ll be under hypnosis all weekend." Tom countered with a sign as his eyelids began to close.
"Anyone else but him, Tom." Nicole moaned in resignation and shoved hard against the desk pushing her chair against the wall behind her. "I know he"s your friend." She added tapping her fingernails viciously against the arm of the chair. "But the man is a complete washout. He has no ambition, no ethics, no morals and if you think he"s going to pay you the money you put down on this trip, you are out of your virus infected mind."
"Niki, he was just here. He took me to the doctor this afternoon because I couldn"t drive. He paid me my share of the deposit and headed home to grab his bags." Tom answered firmly. "Give him a break, he"s a free spirit. He didn"t have rich parents to pave the way like you did. He didn"t get a full ride to Yale like you did. He"s doing the best he can with what he"s got."
Looking out the small grimy window of her small, dreary office, Nicole"s foot began to twitch impatiently as she envisioned a weekend with Jack"s annoying smile. "Maybe we should cancel. I"ll throw a few things together and nursemaid you through the weekend." She answered in a monotone.
Tom chuckled immediately regretting it as pain shot through his temple. "I appreciate your offer, Niki, really I do. I know it would kill you to sit here all weekend and watch over me. So let"s not pretend that"s a firm offer." Tom smiled through the pain, keeping his eyes closed against the burning sunlight that tried to sneak though the drawn blinds. "The bed"s starting to float and I haven"t had any sleep in about 32 hours so I better go. Take it easy on Jack, brown eyes, he"s a good guy. It"s surprising how complicated he really is, you"d find that out if you gave him a chance."
"I did that once, remember? He made a pa.s.s at me." Nicole snapped, gritting her teeth.
"He was drunk and it was a joke." Tom frowned, "That"s just his way. It"s important to Jack to approve of the women I date for some bizarre reason. If Jack didn"t like you he"d be over here every possible minute trying to run you off. I"ve told you before; you"re the first girlfriend of mine in years that he hasn"t given a hard time."
"Well if he"s being nice to me, then I"d hate to see it when he"s being mean."
"Just relax for a change and try to have a good . . ." Tom yawned loudly, "time."
"Right," Nicole sighed, surrendering to a wrecked weekend. "Do you need me to drop anything off before I head to the airport?"
"No . . . and I cancelled the flights, Jack is borrowing a friend"s plane." Tom added faintly. "He"s a pilot."
"What?" Nicole jumped from her chair. "Oh no, Tom! I am NOT riding in a plane that he"s flying! Are you insane?" Nicole"s answer was silence, followed by deep snoring.
The plane ride to the private Landon airport in Kansas proceeded exactly as Nicole suspected. Instead of concentrating on piloting the plane, Jack apologized for not supplying his three companions with headsets. Then Jack proceeded to shout over the noise of the small plane"s engine as he told one inane joke after the other the entire flight. Prim and proper Sarah Sims blushed and giggled at the array of graphic limericks. Her blonde curls and blue eyes flashed in the afternoon sunlight as she politely corrected Jack"s raw anatomical terms. Eventually Jack began to comment that Sarah was in actuality not a nurse pract.i.tioner but one of his more attractive school teachers in disguise.
Squeezed in next to Sarah looking more like a squashed sardine than a professional hockey player was Sarah"s college sweetheart, Todd Hopper. Overflowing the tiny area a.s.signed as his seat Todd had to wrap his arms around Sarah in order to allow her room next to him. Apparently oblivious to his own discomfort, Todd guffawed so loudly at Sarah and Jack"s ridiculous banter that Nicole considered attacking Jack and killing them all.
She"d been given the privilege of sitting next to Jack. His wavy brown hair and sky blue eyes enchanted most women, but not her. Not since that night he shoved his tongue down her throat when Tom wasn"t looking. Now sitting next to Jack was more than just mental agony. The stench of a fresh workout drifted over to her as she scowled at his failure not only to shower but to change his clothes in antic.i.p.ation of coming with them to Kansas instead of jaunting off to the Caribbean. He looked as if he had spent all his prep time preparing to be stranded on a deserted island with his brightly colored floral shirt, ragged cut off jean shorts and dusty sandals. All he lacked was a poorly constructed straw hat.
Jack"s broad shoulder jolted her constantly, with each peal of laughter he invoked in himself and the others. That combined with the turbulent b.u.mps and jars of the small plane increased Nicole"s desire to call an end to the entire weekend.
The Landon Airport looked more like an old football field snuggled in the middle of a large field of corn than an airport. Their landing was a bit b.u.mpy but uneventful. They pulled their luggage out from behind the back seat and waited 45 minutes for their ride to arrive. With nothing more to do than watching the country sun sink lower in the sky as they swatted bugs and watched for snakes. Finally an old Toyota Minibus appeared on the dirt road at the far end of the field. The driver of the vehicle appeared to be as old and feeble as the bus.
"Howdy folks!" He said as he climbed out of the bus and headed to s.n.a.t.c.h the women"s bags. "I"m Fred Johnson, owner of this here farm. Nice to see you all! Dr Strong asked me to get you all downtown to his hotel. So off we go!"
Fred tossed the girls bags in the rear of the bus and stood back for Jack and Todd to do the same with their bags. Then he loaded them all up and turned around in the airport gra.s.s and headed back down the dusty road. Jack continued his comic routine, telling the best jokes from every country he had ever visited as they headed into town. Arriving in a silent fume, Nicole pushed past the smiling travel agent as he commented on the ancient architecture of the large stone building they were about to enter.
"Cool off, Nicole!" Jack"s laughter boomed as he held open the double gla.s.s doors for Sarah. "You"ve got to admit this place does look more like an oversized mortuary than a *Hypno Clinic". Especially since it"s the only five story building in this tiny burg. I bet it"s the only place in town that might actually have an elevator."
"Dr. Strong owns most of this *tiny burg" and he has the only group hypnotic practice in the country, perhaps the world that does fantasy sessions. He chose us out of over 2000 applicants to partic.i.p.ate in this adventure." Nicole snapped, her voice echoing in the large ornate lobby. Giant bold colored tapestries portraying ancient legends covered the towering walls. Dark gray marble floors accented the tall pillars that separated the exterior of the room from the main area. In the center of the hall was a plain wooden receptionist desk where an attractive blonde woman sat staring at them.
The woman smiled brightly at Jack as they approached. As their eyes adjusted to the dim light, Jack"s grin turned into a full toothy smile as he got a good look at the blonde woman greeting them.
"If he wasn"t the only psychologist using hypnosis for fantasy journeys, I would never have allowed you to join us, Jack." Nicole continued, "As it is, we were lucky to be chosen. So I"d appreciate it if you would act like an intelligent, respectable, human being until this weekend is over." Nicole stepped in front of Jack to block his view of the distracting receptionist. "You are capable of that, aren"t you, Jack?"
Jack met her gaze boldly, his eyes flashing with challenge. "You must really be into the occult and all that, to want this so badly." Jack answered as he flashed her a brilliant smile.
"I don"t believe in witches or ghosts, if that"s what you mean." She said. "I believe this will be the new wave of recreation for the dedicated business community. It"s a week"s worth of vacation in the span of a weekend. I want to experience it."
"You want to invest in it." Jack corrected still smiling, dismissing her and darting around her to concentrate on the receptionist. "h.e.l.lo, we"re the Waters group. I believe we have a reservation." Nicole could have sworn Jack was addressing the woman"s ample cleavage that heaved out of the V-neck of her flowing lilac dress.
As the receptionist leaned forward to greet Jack, Nicole stepped in front of him and said, "Dr. Strong is expecting us."
"Yes, Miss Waters," The woman"s voice practically sang with s.e.xuality as she turned her gaze from Jack to Nicole. "He left these dossiers for you." She offered the files to Jack, maintaining eye contact with Nicole. "These are your character inventories. Dr. Strong a.s.signed each of you an ident.i.ty, according to your personality profiles."
"Thank you," Nicole replied, s.n.a.t.c.hing the dossiers from Jack"s weak grasp.
"You must be Tom, the barbarian." The receptionist cooed turning back to Jack as she leaned forward offering her hand while displaying her full a.s.sets.
"I"m not Tom, but I"d love to be your barbarian." Jack answered as he grinned with admiration.
A frown pushed the seductive look from her eyes as she stated, "Then you must be Todd, the warrior elf."
"I"m Todd Hopper." Todd appeared at Jack"s side instantly with Sarah at his heels. "Did you say I was going to be a warrior?"
The confused receptionist ignored the pleased smile on Todd"s face and studied the group, carefully. "Are you Nicole Waters?" She addressed Nicole.
"Yes, and this is Jack Tyler. Tom Norton has taken ill so Jack is taking his place." Nicole answered, confidently.
"Well this is unexpected." The receptionist declared pushing a small b.u.t.ton near the edge of the her desk. "I"ll inform Dr. Strong at once."
A small stocky man appeared from the shadows behind the small group. The receptionist motioned him forward. "Homun will show you to your rooms. Please study the dossiers, carefully. Especially you, Nicole, you are the sorceress. You should familiarize yourself with the incantations you will be using. Dr Strong wants this experience to seem as real as possible."
"Thank you, I hope we haven"t caused any inconvienance." Nicole responded turning to follow the little man heading down a dark corridor to their left.
"I"m sure everything will be fine." The receptionist announced as she turned her attention back to Jack. "I"ll notify you personally if Dr. Strong would like to meet you before the session begins. Will you be in your room?"
Jacks" confused grin met her almost predatory stare. The hair on the back of Jack"s neck stood up for no apparent reason. Nodding his consent when no words came to him, Jack swallowed hard as a strange foreboding washed over him. Turning back to the group, he followed them into the corridor and caught up as they reached the elevator. As he stepped inside Jack felt somehow removed from the group as if he was watching them from afar. It occurred to Jack the small group of friends towered over their escort. Even Sarah"s pet.i.te form stood at least a foot higher than the chubby older man.
Exiting the elevator without a word, Homun directed the group toward their rooms, pointing first at Sarah and Todd, then to their door and moving on. Realizing that she had forgotten to arrange for Jack"s private accommodations, Nicole rushed forward intending to rectify the situation as they reached the door to their room.
"I"m terribly sorry, Mr. Ho . . . whatever, but Mr. Tyler cannot stay in this room with me, we are not together." She blurted this out with slightly more desperation than intended.
Homun stopped abruptly and turned to look at her with piercing black eyes. The pair stood there unmoving, staring at each other. Jack peered over Nicole"s shoulder at the gray-hair little man then glanced back at Sarah and Todd as they entered their room.
"Hopper, we"ve got a small problem here." Jack called as he moved back down the hall toward them.
Nicole couldn"t stop staring at the bellhop. As her eyes began to water from the effort, she heard Jack explain, "Nicole is uncomfortable with the sleeping arrangements and the . . . uh . . . bell hop isn"t responding. I hate to split you two up, but it looks like the only way at this point."
Todd glanced quickly at Sarah who reluctantly nodded her consent. He shrugged his shoulders at Jack, "All right, but I warn you, I snore."
"Judging from the looks of this place, I"d say we won"t have to worry about getting enough sleep. It"s not even 8 o"clock and they"re sequestering us in our rooms." Jack answered as he turned back to Nicole.
Todd gathered Sarah"s bags and they followed Jack down the hall to where Nicole still stood facing the bellhop. Jack grinned at him curiously. "Sorry to have ruffled your feathers, old man. Nicole and Sarah can bunk together down the hall. Todd and I will take this room."
"Let"s put the girls in this one," Todd objected. "It"s further from the elevators and should be quieter."
"Who"s going to bother us Todd?" Nicole tore her eyes away and turned to face him. "The entire building"s owned by Dr. Strong, we"re probably the only ones here."
"I know." Todd met her gaze firmly then pushed past her, opened the door, took a brief look around and set Sarah"s bags on the furthermost bed. s.n.a.t.c.hing his and Jack"s dossiers from Nicole"s outstretched hand, Todd turned to Sarah and added, "Call if you need me." He kissed her quickly, and then headed back down the hall.
Annoyed at Todd"s chauvinism, Nicole entered the large room. She sighed as her eyes landed on the faded daisy wallpaper that was peeling off the far wall and tossed her bag on the nearest bed. "Is he always so over protective?" She called over her shoulder as Sarah entered behind their room.
"Most of the time." Sarah smiled contentedly, moving past Nicole to look out the small window.
"How can you stand it? Doesn"t he realize you can take care of yourself?" Nicole said, pacing the length of the room.
"Yes, he does." Sarah turned to smile softly looking past Nicole toward the door. "Good night Jack."
"Good night Sarah." Jack grinned at her from the doorway. "Oh Nicole, if you"re bored and would like to work off some of that aggression maybe we could head out on the town and look for a mud wrestling bar . . ."
"Out!" Nicole spun as Jack disappeared down the hall, his laughter following after him.
"I"m going to be a fairy." Sarah announced, studying her file.
"What a surprise." Nicole mumbled, closing the door.
Jack caught a glimpse of Homun disappearing back inside the elevator as he grabbed his bags and headed into his room. "Not exactly the typical bellhop." Jack said to Hopper with a grin. "Then again, if the good doctor wantes to add a bit of mystery to the weekend, that silent little man is just the ticket."
Todd glanced up as he pulled his clothes out of the suitcase and pointed to the far bed. "That one"s yours." He said casually pushing back a handful of his sun bleached hair from his deep blue eyes.
Jack tossed his suitcase on the far bed and surveyed the room. A large gold framed mirror hung on the far wall. It was the only decorative ornament in the entire room except for the faded wallpaper covered with giant purple tulips. His travel sense gave it a rating equal to those Bohemian Hotels terrorized yearly by Spring Breakers. Jack began to unpack the small duffel bag that served as his luggage. He pulled out the two T-shirts and one pair of jeans that were to serve as his wardrobe for the weekend. He glanced up as Tom"s dossier caught his eye and said, "So you"re going to be an elf?"
"An elf warrior" Todd corrected as he stuffed the last of his underwear into the small white dresser between their beds.
"Oh yeah, Tom said this was supposed to be a role playing weekend." Jack said and opened his file. He read through the description of the barbarian he was to become. The details were astounding. It listed the type of weapons he used and how efficient he was with each. Included in the description was also a list of how many different creatures he"d killed and the weapons used for each beastly battle. "Do you know much about hypnosis Hopper?" Jack asked as he looked up to find the young athlete sitting at the head of his bed absorbed in his own dossier.
"No, but Sarah took psychology in college for her degree and she"s convinced it"s harmless " Todd answered, "Providing it"s done correctly."
"How does this thing work anyway? Are we going to spend all weekend studying these files then be hypnotized for 10 minutes and think we"ve been on a wild ride through fairyland?" Jack tossed the file on his bed as he sat down sinking into the old worn mattress.
"Tomorrow morning, we"ll eat a huge breakfast then Dr. Strong will give us some last minute instructions and hypnotize us. We"ll stay under until Sunday afternoon." Todd put down the papers and eagerly faced Jack. "He"s a professional, this is going to be awesome."
"What about eating? And when, how do we sleep?"
"That"s the beauty of it. We"ll think we"re eating wild boar while sitting next to a mountain stream or in a tavern somewhere in this enchanted realm when we"ll really be sitting at a card table eating chicken." Todd grinned, "I think it"s a hoot."
"And . . ." Jack stared blankly.
"We"ll find a campsite and go to sleep. They"ll have sleeping bags or cots or something ready for us. The days will last around six hours, and then we will think it"s night and Strong will send us into a deep sleep for a couple hours and then off we go. It"ll seem like a week has pa.s.sed by the time it"s over. When in reality we"ll have only been here for a few days."
"Is it okay to be hypnotized for so long?"
"Don"t be such a baby, Jack. Where"s that crazy sense of adventure that"s always getting us into so much trouble? Remember kayaking down the Zambezi?" Todd grinned.
"What if we don"t like it? What if we want to stop?" Jack didn"t like the idea of someone playing with his mind for an extended period of time.
"If it gets too hairy or you feel uncomfortable with your character, just give the word and Strong will bring you out."
"What kind of credentials does this guy have?"
"Come on Jack you"re starting to sound like Nicole. She questioned this every step of the way. It all checks out. He"s legitimate. Hypnosis is just like vegging out on the couch totally involved in some movie at 3 a.m. If you get bored you get up and go to bed. There"s no mysterious control factor going on." Todd picked up his dossier, and then paused to stare at Jack and added, "Zambezi."
"I swear I didn"t know about the crocodiles." Jack said with a sigh, not wanting to rehash the past.
"And the friendly devil worshiping natives that lined the Amazon?" Todd grinned wickedly at Jack.
"Just what would you do if you hadn"t eaten any meat in a year or so?" Jack laughed despite himself, tossed his bag into the corner of the room and fell back on the bed.
"You know Nicole"s right, if this trip is as wild as Strong claims it to be. The good doctor could have a real money maker on his hands." Todd added with a grin, "And this time we are in no danger of being eaten by man or beast."
Jack had to admit it was hard to ignore the potential of this new adventure. Nicole was talking investment and Hopper was sold on the idea before they even got started. Sarah had even given it her medical stamp of approval. Jack leaned back against his pillow and hoped his friends weren"t too disappointed if the entire weekend turned sour in the morning.
Yet in the two years he"d known Nicole, she"d never even considered anything remotely speculative. Perhaps there was something about this adventure she was not telling the rest of them. He"d just have to wait and see. The "Ice Lady" was no fool. She wouldn"t drag her friends, or herself for that matter, away for a weekend if there was the slightest chance Dr. Strong wasn"t legitimate.
"Hey, don"t you have a game Monday?" Jack asked.
"It"s an exhibition. Besides I should be back in plenty of time. They"ll never know I was gone." Todd winked at Jack and went back to his file.
"You didn"t tell them?" Jack grinned.
"It"s one weekend out of my life. The only secret I"ll ever keep."