Worlds Abound

The satisfying clacking of the keyboard echoes above the upbeat tones of the background video game music I always listen to when I write. The sound brings a slight smile to my lips. Nothing makes me happier than sitting here, listening to the cartoon monster-catching music and making progress on the book that I'll probably never finish, but love working on anyway.

Keon knew he needed to get away from Declan as soon as possible. Lyn's brother was dead set on destroying the known worlds by any means necessary. Keon's Gift would make it easier for Declan to accomplish that. Keon was the only one standing between Declan and total domination. And he's the only one who can save Lyn. But now, with Declan looming over him, Keon has to get away. Or die.

Keon's Gift charges as he prepares to make a leap. His Gift lets him travel between worlds, often letting him discover unknown worlds. Worlds free of Declan's stain. Sometimes worlds free of Jumpers and Gifted. It's one of those worlds that he's aiming for. But honestly, the most important thing is that he gets free before Declan's fingers wrap around his throat. 

The world vanishes in a pop.

A loud crash breaks my concentration, and I jump, whirling in my chair, ready to scold McFluffins for breaking something, but a man is crouching on the floor, panic burning in his emerald green eyes.

"What the heck?" I ask, too shocked for profanity. "How did you get in here?"

"Where is 'here', exactly?" He asks after a moment, staring around my laundry room turned office, like it contains the riddles of the universe.

"The basement of my house. Are you going to answer my question or not? Think wisely, because I'm about to call the police." I snap. Not that I understand how he got in here. Or why he looks so familiar.

"I...jumped. I'm going to ask again, though, where am I? Which world is this?" He draws his lower lip into his mouth nervously, the only outward sign of his current distress. 

"Is this some kind of joke?" I ask, moving to block my computer screen.

"Why would this be a joke?" He runs a hand through his wavy blonde hair, pushing it back from his eyes. Another nervous gesture I've written a million times. I have to be dreaming, sleeping on my keyboard or something. That's the most rational explanation for this.

"Well, you are trespassing in my house, and you're acting like..." I can't bring myself to say it. Because it's too ridiculous to say out loud.

"Like it's your fault? Sorry about that. I just got myself out of a tough situation and I'm kind of off kilter. My bad." 

I close my eyes. I'd expected him to say that. Kind of. In a way, I know Keon better than I know myself. He's the protagonist in the book I'm writing, but he's been a side character in my stories for years. Keon the world hopper. Keon, the way I've connected every short story, fan-fiction, and half-finished book I've ever written. The one I'm working on now, Worlds Abound is Keon's story. An explanation for why he's in everything. A way to make all those stories, finished or not, feel real to me. 

"Get out of my house." I demand, eyes still closed. Dream or not, he has to leave. 

"You're taking my sudden appearance rather well. Do you get extra-dimensional visits often?" He teases, because of course he would.

"How did you get access to my computer?" Why that's more important to me than the stranger in my house, I have no idea.

"I didn't?" His tone makes it a question. 

"So what, I'm expected to believe that Keon Talon, World Hopper of Azkalla, randomly showed up in my house?" 

The change in Keon is swift. All evidence of teasing drains away, leaving a warrior behind. He shuts the door, and the air charges with energy. Goosebumps raise over my skin. I reach for my phone. Time to call the police.

A silver dagger imbeds itself into my desk inches from my hand. I freeze in place, but Keon leans closer to me, pinning me to the desk. "How do you know who I am?" 

I swallow, leaning away from the intensity of his gaze, trying to force my heart to slow. This definitely has to be a dream. "Cool, so I fell asleep instead of writing." I mutter.

"Writing?" Keon's brow furrows, and he glances at my computer screen. 

"Yes, writing. I can't believe I'm dreaming about my main character." I also glance back at the screen. My story stopped just before Keon's jump. The plan had been to send him somewhere earth-shattering, where he'd find another Gifted to help him fight Declan. He hadn't been ready for that fight. 

A fight there's evidence of. Keon has several bruises forming on his arms and on his jaw. There are burn marks on his torso from Declan's fire abilities, stolen from a world Keon discovered first. A tightness in the set of Keon's jaw tells me he's still in pain. But this isn't real. That's ridiculous.

Giggling, I speak again, since he seems to still be registering what I said. "I guess, if you're actually Keon, I should apologize for all the crap I've put you through, huh? Your best friend betraying you, using your good intentions against you? Then he kidnapped your girlfriend, his sister, and is using her as a battery to take over the realms, one at a time. Plus, I killed off your whole family. If you were real, I should beg for your forgiveness, huh?"

Understanding flares in his eyes, making me stop. "You didn't do that. But you're also not dreaming." He lifts his hand off the dagger, placing it on mine. His hand is warm. Rough. Real.

"You're a Gifted. A weird one, but that's the only explanation for what's going on here. You have visions about the realms, and you record them on your computer." His head tilts. "I wonder if what you write influences actual events, or if you're just a conduit. Regardless, that's really cool." 

Cool is not the word I'm looking for. Because if this is real, that means he's real. And if he's real, then there's a big problem. A very big problem.

"You need to get out of my house. Now. Jump back to Azkalla." If Keon's here, that means he was just in a fight with Declan. And wherever Keon goes, that demented bastard follows. He needs Keon's powers. But if this isn't a dream, and Keon's right about me, then Keon is no longer the most important person for Declan's plan. I am. 

"I can't. I used too much power getting out of Declan's stronghold. But you knew that already, didn't you?" Those emerald green eyes of his widen. "He's going to follow me."

No more time to think, or to register that this is happening. I yank my phone off the desk, pushing Keon off me. "We need to run. Now."

"And why should I trust you? You seem to know everything about my world and its problems, but you've done nothing to help. In fact, you seem to plan to profit off of it. And with a Gift like yours, you could've done something by now." 

"I didn't know you were real." I argue, looking away. He's right, assuming this isn't all some weird coincidence, or a dream. My eyes latch on to my keyboard. If I'm a Gifted, that means there's a bunch of limitations and rules for my powers, some specific to my Gift, and others specific to all Gifts. 

Gifted. In Worlds Abound, the title is a term given to anyone whose abilities relate to the veils between worlds. In Keon's case, that's literal. He doesn't just jump between worlds, like run-of-the-mill Jumpers. He reads the veil between worlds, letting him discover new areas, and he can even force other people into a different world. Keon can even manipulate the veil to use as a weapon. 

But my Gift...if this is real, my Gift would be sight beyond the veil. Foresight, too, possibly. But can I manipulate what's happening? I hit enter a few times, skipping Keon's infiltration of my basement. 

Declan was un… I type, then stop. A sensation a thousand times worse than writer's block stays my hand. Words form in my head, begging to be typed. Declan prepared to Jump in pursuit of Keon. I don't type the words, but that's what springs to mind. That's what happens in the story. I know it. I feel it.

"I can't stop him. He's coming, Keon." 

"Crap. Then I'm sorry. I brought him here." Keon's power flares weakly. "Maybe I can Jump out of here. The last thing I need is for Declan to get his hands on a Gifted like you. Keep writing your stories or whatever. Forget I was ever here." Of course, Keon would say that. Because, at the end of the day, he's going to choose the right thing. And the right thing is to leave me alone, and leave me out of this. Even if I can, like he mentioned earlier, help. 

"No. You're hurt. And you're too exhausted for a normal Jump, let alone one that'll take you somewhere safe. Maybe if I can't stop him, I can throw him off course." My hands glide over the keys again, typing the sentence that'd come to me before. For once, the clacking isn't comforting. It's terrifying.

Declan prepared to Jump in pursuit of Keon, but a different pulse of power distracted him. He twisted towards the source of power, his senses telling him it's Lyn, straining against her bonds. She's snapped one of her chains. That can lead to only one outcome: escape. The fight with Keon must've disturbed her. He sighed, then went to deal with his rebellious little sister. 

"What's happening?" Keon asks, leaning over my shoulder, staring at the screen.

"You can't read it?" I ask, then my memory sparks. "You can understand different languages, but you can't read them." I look at my new paragraph.

"You won't like it, but we have a bit of time before Declan shows." 

"Why won't I like it?" Keon searches my gaze, leaning forward and knocking my cup full of pens into the floor.

"Lyn sensed your battle and snapped one of her chains. Declan is going to secure her again." Keon's jaw tightens. He's desperately in love with Lyn. And she with him. They have the most epic, all-encompassing love I've ever written. Keon's number one goal is to save her. 

"I'm going to save her one day. Soon." The words are an oath. An oath that's become his personal mantra. My laundry room blurs. 

"Maybe I can write her freeing herself or something. Maybe I can do something." Even as the words leave my lips, I sag, exhausted. I...used too much energy trying to divert Declan. 

"Not without getting yourself killed trying. You can't totally change fate. No Gifted can. Thank you for thinking about it, though." His voice is soft, and his breathing hitches for a moment. 

"Lets get you cleaned up. You can use my guest room." I say, standing quickly. "If you trust me. If not, maybe I can send you to a hotel or something where you'll be more comfortable."

"I do trust you, though it's weird to think you know everything about me." He smiles sheepishly. It's a grin I've pictured a hundred times, but haven't quite been able to capture in words. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Annalise. It's nice, but weird, to meet you, Keon." I swallow. "I didn't know you were real before, but I know that now. So I'm going to help. I know, probably better than anyone, what's really at stake. It's not your world, it's all of them."

I lead Keon to the bathroom, showing him the shower and my first aid kit. While he cleans up, I rummage through some of my ex-boyfriend's abandoned clothes to find something that'll fit. A dark grey pair of sweatpants and a black t-shirt. I fold them and gently set them by the bathroom door. 

Then I return to my computer, not to write, but to read. I read through every story I've ever written, finished and unfinished. The things I've written that take place in the real world haven't happened. And any attempt to think about what Keon's doing right now has me drawing a blank. So I probably can't see or manipulate anything in the realm I'm in. But the others, especially the ones where Keon made an appearance? They could be just as real as he is.

And I think one of them has the help Keon needs to free Lyn. 

Gwynn could break into any space. Her status as a half-wraith allows her to be incorporeal for short bursts of time. Her father, a blacksmith, had charmed a wraith in his youth, and the two had fallen in love. 

Bingo. Gwynn's world had its own magic system with its own rules. Many of the worlds Keon visited did, and in at least one story, I'd proven that his abilities carried over into that world. And Declan wouldn't be as powerful as he currently is if he hadn't stolen magic from another world and used it to conquer his own. And then others. That's actually Declan's Gift. He copies the abilities of others. He wants Keon so badly because Keon can seek out worlds with different magics. That's what destroyed their friendship. 

Lyn sided with Keon instead of her brother. 

Declan took that badly. He took her captive and started using her. Lyn's Gift siphoned the power directly from the veil and she could use that power however she saw fit. Declan wrapped her in void chains. They're constantly draining the life and energy from her, so she's being forced to continuously use her Gift, generating energy the chains steal. 

The process is excruciating. And now that I know Lyn's a real person, I can't just let this happen. Gwynn might be a solution. If she's also real. And if Keon can convince her to help him.

But he should be able to, because I know what Gwynn wants most in her life. I also know she'll never break a promise. So if I give the information to Keon, he can use it to make her promise to help him save Lyn.

Then they can save both their worlds. And mine. Because if I'm here, and I'm Gifted, others are too. Declan intends to Enslave all the Gifted. And he intends to rule all the worlds. 

"Thanks for the shower. And the clothes. They're a little tight, but it's better than putting the other ones back on." Keon's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"No problem. I needed those clothes out of here, anyway." I avoid looking at the way his wet hair perfectly frames his chiseled jawline. "I think I have an idea. But I have questions for you first."

"Fire away." He waves a hand.

"Did you really travel to Adora and meet a man named Slim?" His eyebrows shoot up.

"That was five years ago. You've been watching my life for that long?" I ignore his question.

"Slim was one of the first characters I ever wrote. Five years ago, actually. So that means anything I've written since I was fifteen has a distinct chance of being true."

"That tracks."

"But not here. I don't think I can see or write about anything that happens in the realm I'm in." I take a breath. "So the best thing I can do to help you and Lyn, and all my characters, is to stay here and keep on typing, using the information I get to assist in any way I can. And then see if I can steer things in a favorable direction."

"Yeah. I spent the whole time up there planning a big speech about how you have to stay here and not go with me." Keon grins that sheepish grin again.

"I'll make you a deal. I point you in the direction of someone who can help you free Lyn, then, after you two deal with Declan, you help me help my other characters. Because if you're real, they're real. And your story isn't necessarily the worst one."

"If you help me free Lyn, I'd spend the rest of my life devoted to helping you do whatever it was you wanted to do." I smile, knowing that's not quite true, but that he'll do what I ask. 

So I tell him about Gwynn, giving him as much information about her world as possible. Then I tell him where he can find Gwynn's mother. 

He sets off after a night of rest.

The next morning, coffee in hand, I sit before my computer, keyboard clacking away.

Keon and Gwynn sneak into Declan's stronghold, and while Keon fights, keeping Declan distracted, Gwynn uses her father's tools to break the magic chains wrapped around Lyn's extremities.

The entire stronghold shudders as Lyn breaks free. She directs her rage towards her brother, and it's Lyn who deals the final blow.​

I smile. The image of my two favorite characters embracing fills my mind, and I close the document, satisfied. 

The realms are safe. For now.