“You know any of those dimensions?” Aahz asked.
“No,” Tanda said. “You?”
“No,” Aahz said. “There goes another five percent.”
Tanda shrugged. “Can’t be helped. I suggest we head for the center one.”
“Etc it is, then,” I said.
All Aahz did was growl deep inside his throat as he stood and put the map away.
“I hope this means we’re going back to Vortex #1 again.” I said. “Tell me we’re not visiting the snakes again.”
“It would be safer if we hit Bumppp again,” she said. “No point in taking the chance.”
“You can’t be serious,” I said. Just at the mention of those snakes my stomach clamped up into a knot.
She laughed. “Don’t worry. From here I can hit Vortex #1. No snakes needed.”
She made sure Aahz was ready, then we hopped.
The dust pounded at me for all of five seconds while Tanda made sure we were there and all right, then she hopped us again right back into the tent of the Shifter.
He was now shaped like a sofa with eyes on the arms and pillows where the ears would be. A massive, orange tongue hung out of the face, forming the seating area. From that moment onward, sitting on a sofa was going to take on a whole new meaning for me.
“We need the Etc dimension,” Tanda said.
“Your total is now twenty percent,” the creature said, its massive tongue moving as if someone was fluffing the pillows.
“We are aware of that,” Tanda said.
The next moment we found ourselves standing on a wide and, mercifully, empty street. Plain-looking wooden buildings framed both sides of the street.
The sky overhead was cloudy and gray, the air was cold and crisp, but at least it wasn’t blowing. I was glad I still had our heavy coats and hats on as disguises.