The Traveler Chapter 3

___
Auberon was still in shock.
He was here with Basil, and the two of them had just defeated an entire squad of Ethereal together. He was finally back. Doing what he was meant to do.
He just couldn’t believe it.
At his cue, the two of them made quick work of looting the Ethereal that hadn’t already disappeared. They found a total of $500.
“Whoa, that gang was really holding back. Follow me. I know a place where we can go…but I better get some answers.” she muttered.
Auberon promised, eyes half-closed, that she would. The adrenaline crash and the energy drain effect from the basically illegal Ascension was really starting to get to him. An hour’s walk to that dinky McDonald’s where she’d once been and then to a motel found him almost sleepwalking. He only semi-listened as Basil, who he was leaning on, was chomping on a chicken nugget as she lamely made the excuse through a full mouth that they were “just waiting for their parents.” Ha, the look on her face wouldn’t have fooled a chimpanzee. But they had the money, so the front desk attendant said nothing.
As soon as they got up to the room, Auberon burrowed himself into the nearest bed, not caring if it was infested with bedbugs. He admitted mentally that perhaps he even made a contented noise, which, if he’d had enough energy to care, would have been embarrassing.
The last thing he remembered was Basil asking, “Are you my brother?”
He wasn’t sure whether or not he dreamt his answer or actually spoke it. But Auberon thought he replied, “Better than that.”

___
Better?
What could that possibly mean?
Basil looked steadily at the sleeping boy, trying to figure him out. Could Auberon be her brother?
No, he didn’t look much like her. He did have black hair, but it was curly instead of straight. His eyes were a deep brown instead of her green.
Then how on earth did he know so much about her? More than a brother, a twin even, would care to know? Her habits. The tiniest movement of her eyes…
She needed answers. Basil shook his arm gently, but he didn’t wake up. Instead, he muttered something that sounded like her name, and roused slightly.
Why did she have to wait until morning? She tried waking him again, to the same result. Then she just waited patiently a few minutes…well, aside from whispering his name loudly now and again.
Finally his eyelids fluttered. “Hmmm…?”
She simply looked at him, with a gaze of steel, unmoving, executing a one-word command.
“Answers.”
He stared back at her, and it seemed to be a very long time before he just began to laugh, sleep still in his eyes. Finally, wiping tears away, he stood.
“Fine, then.” Auberon grumbled, trying to frown, but unsuccessful. “If that’s the way you feel about it.”
___
Just like a child at Christmas, Auberon thought. Too excited to sleep.
He sat down on the bed. “Where do I start?”
“Somewhere!” huffed Basil.
Huh. Somewhere.
Good idea…
“Basil. Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Just close your eyes.”
She closed them.
“There.” continued Auberon patiently. “Now, relax. Try not to think about anything. Clear your mind.”
“Are you a yoga teacher?” she asked.
“Nope.” He chuckled. “Basil, if you want answers, this is how to get them.”
After a few minutes of effort, she visibly relaxed.
“Now, grab my hand.”
She did so. Auberon focused intently and soon, they were Drifting.
It was almost the opposite of an Ascension. The movement was slow, almost dreamlike through many moments in this dimension. Colors flashed in their eyes. Basil gazed in wonderment, but Auberon told her, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”
Basil’s Aura floated, mesmerized, toward a small boy playing with his dog, mother and father. Auberon thought he saw a tear roll down her cheek as she reached out to touch it. He wanted to tell her she couldn’t-it oddly worked more like a TV screen-but he just didn’t have the heart.
He let her gaze at it a moment longer. Then finally, he said, “What happened to asking for answers?”
She laughed a bit sharply. “Well, I did want them, didn’t I?”
Auberon realized with a wince that he’d torn Basil away from watching a happy family. Something she’d wanted for years. That she felt was a gaping maw in her life. Everyone, or at least, so she thought, had someone to care about them. Everyone but her.
But why am I even here? To show her that isn’t true.
He felt a bit more confident, continuing to give himself a pep talk.
She has me. A Spirit Guardian. I’m here to show her who she is. That she has someone who really cares.
“Basil, come on.”
Basil took one last look at the happy family. Then, she followed Auberon through the Hatch.
___
Basil was floating.
Floating, following a boy through a strange manhole in a world full of memories. What was this, and how where these her answers?
As soon as she got through the manhole, there were what looked like stars all around her, twinkling in the purplish-bluish sky. She touched one and it expanded, showing some images of flying dragons that were almost like holograms in science fiction movies she’d seen before.
“I see you’re doing some exploring.” observed Auberon, and she turned to face him. “Basil Robbins, welcome to Locum Plures Mundos, the Place of Many Worlds. Or, as we modern-English speakers care to shorten it, the Space Between. It’s literally the access point to all the dimensions and points in time. ”
She fired a questioning look at him, and he continued, “Okay, okay, let me back up just a bit. You’re a Traveler. You can travel between dimensions, forward and backward and time. Just like your parents, and-“

“My parents? They could…do all that, and…so can I?” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Yes.” he answered simply.
“What happened to that star I touched?”
“That star is a dimension. Where dragons still exist.”
“Still?”
“Yes, would you like to meet the Knights of the Round Table? They fought dragons.”
“Okay.” Basil blew out a breath, mind-boggled and resigned. “Okay. But what does this have to do with you?”
He smiled.
“I, dear Basil, am your Spirit Guardian.”