Alex nodded. "You said that on the journey back it simply vanished. You said that you didn"t know what happened to it, but that the experience confirmed what people had suspected, that things couldn"t be taken back from this world to yours."
"So, if nothing can be taken back to my world, why would people from my world come here? Why would Radell Cain have been sending so many people here for so long? What could they possibly want, if they can"t take anything back?"
"Knowledge, maybe?"
"Well, I suppose that"s not out of the question, but I think that Cain wants something more basic. They"re after something specific and they"ve spent a long time and a lot of effort trying to get it. Why do you suppose they kept your mother prisoner all that time? Why do they want you?"
"Obviously, I guess, they want the gateway. But I don"t know what that means." Alex opened his hands in a gesture of frustration. "What the h.e.l.l is a gateway? Why would they want it?"
She tucked her folded jeans into the duffel bag and then straightened. "It has long been speculated in some quarters that ever since our worlds were separated, some form of connection remained between them. It"s always been an obscure theory, though."
Alex eyed her suspiciously. "So what does this obscure theory say?"
"Well, do you remember me telling you how the Lord Rahl banished all those people to this world to end the war?"
"Yes. You said that they didn"t come here the way you did, that it was thought that the worlds were for an instant joined at the same place and time and when they separated the people who wanted to live without magic were left in this world and your people in that one."
"That"s right. That"s why it"s called the separation event. Not a lot is known about what happened back then, but it"s thought that Lord Rahl somehow bridged the void between our worlds, brought them together for a spark in time in order to send the people who didn"t want to live with magic here."
"You mean he sent them through a gateway?"
"No, but according to this theory, there had to be an actual place of connection, a small breach in the void of nothingness between the worlds, an opening through time and s.p.a.ce, that allowed everything to remain in balance while the worlds were brought together and then the separation was taking place. The fact that we can come here and return is claimed to be proof that the connection still exists; otherwise, they say, we couldn"t cross the void between our worlds.
"The gateway, some theorized, was a side effect of the separation event, an anomaly, an artifact, that remains to this day.
"Other believers in this gateway say that it had to be created by Lord Rahl to balance what he was doing, or the separation event could not have taken place."
"Seems to me to be a pretty important event. Why is this all just speculation? Why isn"t more known?"
"At one time there were records, but the long period of the Golden Age ended in wars that resulted in the destruction of many of our most treasured records. It was a dark time. After it ended, we were left without much of our history."
Alex sighed. "So you think this separation event left a conduit between the two worlds? A wormhole of some kind?"
Jax shrugged. "I don"t know what a wormhole is. A conduit is a little simplistic, but I guess you could look at it that way. A better way to think of it is as a kind of vent, a balance needed between the profound forces on each side."
"Do you think this connection, this gateway, is a fact, or is this simply people making wild guesses about things that may or may not have once happened?"
"It"s been inferred by some from what little is known about the separation event. At least, it"s inferred by the few people who actually subscribe to this "Gateway Theory." "
"Why didn"t you ever bring this up before? Why is it such a surprise? This whole gateway thing sounds pretty important."
"It may seem so now, but it"s actually an obscure, fringe theory. To be quite frank, Gateway Theory has always been considered a crackpot notion. It never entered my mind that this whole thing with Radell Cain could have anything to do with such a crazy idea until I heard your mother say the word "gateway."
"That they would use that specific word to your mother suddenly made everything that"s been happening all come together for me. It suddenly all made sense."
"But even if this gateway once existed, in the beginning, do you think it still exists?"
"I don"t know. But Radell Cain apparently thinks so. His people kept questioning your mother about it, didn"t they? They asked me about it. I"m sure they must have asked you, too."
"They did," Alex admitted. "In fact it was the only thing they wanted me to talk about."
"Your mother gave me the answer I"ve been looking for, the answer to why they"re coming here and what they want. Radell Cain wants the gateway."
Realization dawned on him. "The land I"m inheriting. The gateway must be somewhere on the land that was left to me."
Jax was nodding. "You were right from the beginning. All along it"s been about the land."
"But why would they need my mother? Or me? If they suspect the gateway is located there on that land, then why not simply go there? The place is primitive and remote. They could have the gateway to themselves and no one would likely even know that they were there or what they were up to."
"Maybe they already went there and found it, but they couldn"t use it for some reason. Maybe that was when they became interested in the Rahl line here in this world."
Alex hadn"t thought of that. He paced to the window and back as he thought about it. He wondered what part the Daggett Trust played in the whole thing.
"If they did go there and couldn"t make the gateway work, what makes them think that I could?"
"A Rahl separated the worlds. If in so doing he also created this gateway between worlds, and it still exists, then maybe it has fail-safes and it takes a Rahl to open it again."
"But that was him, not me. Even if I am a descendant of this Rahl line from your world, I don"t have those kinds of abilities. How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to open a gateway between worlds? I never even knew another world existed. I"m the last person on earth to go to for answers about a gateway."
"Not really," Jax said as she shrugged. "The Law of Nines names you as central to it all. You would be the very person to go to."
"The Law of Nines? How can that have anything to do with a gateway?"
"I don"t know, but Radell Cain wants the gateway, and the Law of Nines leads him directly to you as being central to the whole thing. He sent Sedrick Vendis here, his most trusted man, to secure both the gateway and you."
Alex paced as he thought. "But like you just said, they"re coming to this world. They can already come here and go back. What more is the gateway going to do for them that they can"t already do?"
Alex paused in midstride as the answer to his own question suddenly became clear. "Except that when they come here they can"t take anything back with them." He met her gaze. "Could they take things back through a gateway?"
She was smiling in an unsettling way. "According to the theory, a lifeline isn"t needed in the gateway, so objects could be taken back through it."
"What would they want to take back through the gateway?"
"What"s the weapon they"re using to conquer and control people in my world?"
"The ability your world has but this one doesn"t, weapons of magic."
"Right. And what is it Cain wants to eliminate from our world?"
"Magic."
"So, what happens if they succeed?"
Alex felt the hair on his arms stand on end. "Dictators always seek to take weapons away from people so that there can be no effective opposition to their rule. If they eliminate magic, they will eliminate the weapon that people could use to resist tyranny.
"But in taking it away from the people who might oppose them, they will also be eliminating it for their own use. So, if they eliminate the weapon everyone on both sides is using now, they will need some other kind of weapon to replace it."
"That"s right," she said. "There is a kind of balance of power now. Both sides have access to the same kinds of weapons. If they eliminate magic, that would leave the balance of power static-neither side would have it. So, if they want to seize rule they will need to replace their lost weapons with some other kind of weapon. That would tip the balance their way."
"Technology," Alex whispered. "They could use radios to communicate, drugs to control people, and guns to kill anyone who tries to resist them."
Jax was nodding again. "And who knows what else. For all practical purposes, technology is interchangeable with what we can do with our abilities-they do the same kinds of things. When the tools created with the use of magic are suddenly gone, people will be helpless."
"Those with technology to replace those lost tools will be able to rule the world."
"Exactly." Jax swept an arm out. "There is a whole world of technology here for the taking. Last night you went out and bought that magic glue-"
"Superglue."
"Right, superglue. We use magic to heal in a similar way, knitting wounds closed much like you did. But if our ability to do that is gone, we will have no way to heal the wounded. Imagine the advantage Cain"s side would have with something that simple. How many people would give in to his side just to be healed with the technology only Cain could provide?
"But there is a great deal more. There is a whole world here full of things we wouldn"t have. They could walk into a store and buy things that would be invaluable in my world, if everyone in my world were stripped of their abilities. They could take that technology back through a gateway. Cain would be the sole source of the things that people needed to live, and only he would have weapons to enforce his rule."
"But do you think this Gateway Theory is really right? That people could take things back through it to your world?"
"I imagine that Radell Cain must have reason to believe so."
Alex sat down on the edge of the bed. "What is it I"ve heard you say . . . ? "Dear spirits"?"
"Yes, if things are bad enough."
Alex rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. "Dear spirits, they want a gateway to run guns to another world."
"Any ideas?"
"Sure, let"s call in ATF."
"Who?"
"Nothing," he said, waving off his flip remark. "That still doesn"t really explain my part in this. I"ve never even heard of a gateway. What would I know? What do they think I can do?"
"You"re a Rahl-a Rahl specifically identified by the Law of Nines. It was a Rahl who created the gateway. I think that if they could simply find the gateway and use it they would have done so ages ago. Since they haven"t, that means they can"t. For some reason they need you."
"Do you honestly think that they intend for me to open this gateway for them? Do you really think they believe I can?"
Jax let out a long sigh. "I don"t know, Alex. Do you have any better explanation?"
"I guess not," he said.
"So what now?"
He went to the desk and retrieved one of the phones he"d bought the night before. "I think I had better call Mr. Fenton, the lawyer for the land. I think we need to get ourselves to Boston, take t.i.tle to the land, and then go up to Maine and have a look for ourselves."
"I agree. It"s our only lead now."
ALEX DIALED THE NUMBER . "I"ll put it on speaker so you can hear," he told Jax.
"Lancaster, Buckman, Fenton. This is Mr. Fenton."
"Mr. Fenton, hi. It"s Alexander Rahl."
"Mr. Rahl, I"m so relieved to hear from you." The man sounded like he meant it. "I was beginning to worry. Is everything all right? I mean, it"s been over a week since you had said that you were going to call. I was beginning to get concerned."
Alex hadn"t realized that he"d lost track of that much time drugged up in Mother of Roses. "I apologize. I was distracted by some things for a few days, but I"m free now."
"That"s good to hear. Say, I"ve been seeing on the news about the big fire you had out your way, at Mother of Roses. Do you know anything about it?"
Alex wasn"t sure what he should say, so he decided to be vague. "Some. Why?"
"Well, the thing is, one of my a.s.sociates, Mr. Buckman, took ill earlier this year. His doctor thought that he was possibly suffering a breakdown of some sort, and as a result had fallen into a rather severe psychosis. They couldn"t seem to get to the bottom of it, so Mr. Buckman was sent out your way to Mother of Roses Psychiatric Hospital for extended care. I guess they specialize in that sort of thing. It"s a private care facility where he has been receiving specialized evaluation and treatment."
Alex"s mouth went dry. "Treatment? From who? Do you know his doctor"s name?"
"The specialist in charge is Dr. Hoffmann. I was just wondering if you knew anything more about the fire. You know how unreliable the news can be. I haven"t been able to find out anything about Mr. Buckman. I don"t know if he"s all right or not. The news reports said that a number of patients died in the fire, most of them on the ninth floor. That"s where Mr. Buckman was confined."
Alex shared a look with Jax. "I"m terribly sorry. My mother died in the fire at Mother of Roses. She was on the ninth floor."
"Dear G.o.d." He was silent for a moment. "I"m so sorry. I didn"t realize. You have my deepest sympathy, Mr. Rahl."
"Thank you."
"I remember very well your mother not being able to take t.i.tle to the land because she fell ill, but I had no idea that she was at Mother of Roses. What a strange coincidence that Mr. Buckman was at the same inst.i.tution, and on the same floor."
"Yes, that is quite the coincidence."
Alex didn"t generally believe in coincidences. His mind raced as he tried to fit the pieces together.
"Have you tried contacting the authorities here in Nebraska to find out if Mr. Buckman might have been one of the people who escaped the blaze? I"ve heard that it was quite a chaotic scene but most of the patients did manage to escape."
"I heard the same encouraging news. I"ve tried to get more information, but there seems to be quite a lot of confusion right now. Being a lawyer, I was able to get ahold of the state hospital authority, but no one can even find a patient register."
"Are there other records?" Alex asked.
"I was told that the records at the hospital were destroyed in the fire. There were supposed to be backups of all the patient files kept off-site but there was apparently some kind of problem with the backup-they said it might have been a computer virus or something. No one knew about it until they went to retrieve the information and discovered that it was corrupted beyond recovery. So, the authorities there are in the dark even about how many people might have been under care at the facility. That makes it even more difficult to determine how many may have died.
"-Oh, I"m sorry. Here I am going on about Mr. Buckman and side issues when you lost your mother there. You probably need to get back to making arrangements."
"No, it"s all right. There aren"t really any arrangements to be made. I don"t have any living relatives. My grandfather died a short while back. Being confined in a mental hospital all these years, my mother didn"t have any friends or really even know anyone. There"s actually nothing to be done. I will have to wait for any remains to be found-if they ever are. The fire was pretty intense. For now, there"s really nothing I can do."
"I see. Are you headed here, then?"
Alex thought that he detected an odd tension in the question. "Yes. I will need to look into what flights are available. I"ll try to get the earliest flight we can going to Boston."
"We? You have someone with you?"
"My fiancee."