Free Daniel Taylor Between Two Worlds by Monica Davis

were standing behind her, arms wrapped around each other.
    Vanessa ran over to them. “What happened?”
    “W-we were … standing in the middle of a desert!” Anne let James lead her over to the couch. Anne shut her eyes and leaned back. “Am I dreaming?”
    James pulled her into his arms, and her head sank onto his shoulder. “You’re not dreaming. We were just in the Mojave Desert. I can translocate — it’s something like beaming on Star Trek. Because I’m a watcher.”
    Beaming? “Wow!” Vanessa exclaimed.
    James turned to her. “Could you get me something to eat? Translocation requires an awful lot of energy.”
    In fact, James looked exhausted. The circles under his eyes were much darker than before.
    Vanessa hurried into the kitchen to make him a grilled cheese sandwich, but kept an ear out for what James was saying to Anne: “You can’t imagine how much I wanted to tell you the truth when we were kids. But I couldn’t. I swore an oath.”
    Vanessa peered briefly into the living room. There was a faint smile on Anne’s lips. “You were always the unattainable fairy-tale prince for me.”
    James was also smiling. “Not the spoiled rich kid?”
    “That, too.” Anne’s cheeks reddened as she looked at James.
    Vanessa would have liked to leave the two alone. It was obvious that they felt drawn to each other. She rushed to make the sandwich, not wanting to miss any details of the story. She placed it on a plate, grabbed a can of beer, and hurried back into the room.
    James gratefully took the sandwich and devoured it in a few bites.
    Anne sighed. “I’ve never seen Daniel do any magic.”
    “His powers have only just emerged,” James said, placing the empty plate on the coffee table and opening the can of beer. “That’s why I made sure to give you that cellphone number. I had to know if anything unusual happened.”
    “He had been so quiet recently,” Anne whispered, closing her eyes. “I thought it was because of Peter and me.”
    “He didn’t want to upset you,” Vanessa interjected. “After all that you’ve been through.”
    Anne cleared her throat and turned back to James. “What have you been living off of all these years? Have you been working?” The questions just poured out of her. “And where exactly have you been? I tried to get an address for you, but you were nowhere to be found. Not even your parents could tell me where you were. When there was an emergency, when Danny was sick, you were right there. Were you living in hiding at your parents’ — no, you beamed here, isn’t that right?”
    James nodded. “Yes. I also translocated here to secretly visit my parents. They had to swear not to reveal my whereabouts to you. Most of the time, my parents didn’t even know themselves. I’ve been on the run this whole time — from the demons, but also from the Guild.”
    “Why from the Guild?” Vanessa asked.
    “I can’t trust anyone.” James lowered his eyes. He finished his beer and went on. “I’ve lived here and there. Europe, Australia, even Africa. I earn my living by doing translations. During my watcher training, I learned a number of ancient languages. It’s been very useful. I offer my services on the Internet under a pseudonym, mostly to museums, and the pay is good.”
    “What were you doing when you were in Cairo?” Anne asked. “Or were you not really there at all?”
    “No, I was there.” James nodded thoughtfully. “I was in the last year of my studies. I was working in a little group led by one of my professors, excavating a pyramid. We were looking for magical artifacts. For one in particular …” He hesitated for a moment, as though he didn’t want to tell them the rest of the story. “We were searching for a scepter.”
    Anne scooted closer to him. “Why?”
    “It was supposed to be a very powerful artifact. With it, you could rule the world.” He sighed. “I found it.”
    Vanessa froze. Anne sat up straight and looked at James.