Free The Lost Witch by David Tysdale Page B

back and say, 'Don't fret'?"
    "You must also trust your inner voice. Events may seem very confusing at this juncture,
but your inner voice is never wrong, if you're open to hearing it. Do that and I'm sure everything
will turn out just fine."
    "Maybe I should just forget the whole thing."
    "That would not be advisable." The professor stood up abruptly. His body was wobbling
as if he was made of gelatin. "Oh fiddle-faddle, we are beginning to separate. I feel I must warn
you, now that you've experienced free-falling, it is highly likely you'll leap completely into the
next dimension you bump into. It was relatively easy for me to do, so I'm certain a free-faller
such as yourself couldn't resist the opportunity."
    "But that's not good, is it?" Carole could see the maple tree through Philamount's now
translucent belly button.
    "No. Jumping is exceedingly risky these days. We've had a number of incidents."
    "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "Let's just say there are a few vacancies in my class, should you wish to go on a senior
field trip next semester."
    "Still, that's not likely to happen, is it? Crashing into another dimension? I mean it's
never happened to me before."
    "The fact that you've bumped into the Ghostly Spirit Realm undoubtedly means your
Monobrain Dimension is on the move; most probably spiraling in towards The Hub. I'm afraid it
is extremely likely that you will cross paths with other dimensions, many dimensions in
the very near future."
    "So what am I supposed to do if that happens?"
    Philamount's body was now twisting up like a corkscrew. "Travel cautiously and use a
familiar to guide you out as quickly as possible."
    "A familiar?"
    "Yes, an animal familiar. Certain animals are naturally familiar with transdimensional
travel. They're not so easily confused nor nauseated by dimensional fluxes. At The Hub, novice
jumpers must always travel with a familiar guide. Not to do so, is grounds for immediate
detention, if they manage to make it back in one piece, that is."
    "But I don't have a familiar!"
    He was barely more than an outline. "Your even-toed ungulates. Excellent choices,
either of them."
    "Runt and Smoky? You mean a brainy pig can be a familiar?"
    "Yes," his voice was less than a whisper. "And one more thing. I'm not certain as to the
exact configuration of the monobrain connector, but most connectors tend to resemble a
woooo..."
    "What? I didn't get that. What's the connector resemble?" Carole struggled to read the
man's lips, but his face was already stretched paper thin. "Philamount, what the heck is a
woo?"
    Seconds later there was a wavering pulse of air and then nothing more. It was as if
Melodious T. Philamount had never existed.
----

- 12 -
    Carole strode towards the farm, her mind reeling. She could scarcely believe
that in the span of a few hours, she'd nearly been devoured three times, made a new friend and
discovered her true identity--if that part was actually true.
    She still wasn't completely sold on Professor Philamount or the idea of being a
multitasker, especially if everyone else at The Hub looked like he did. Considering the handful
of nasty surprises the Ghostly Spirit Realm had already thrown her way, she had no reason to
doubt that other dimensions were dangerous places and that she was somehow attracted to them.
She needed to be prepared.
    She needed to find a familiar and fast.
    The latest batch of piglets wouldn't arrive for weeks and she knew of no other brainy
animals in the area, which left only Runt and Smoky. True they had a good lead, but knowing
Smoky, he'd use any excuse to stop for a snooze. If she left immediately, she figured she could
catch up within a day or two.
    At the Murtz property line, she turned towards the forest trail and stopped short. What
about Hal? She'd barely given a thought to her father-not, and after everything he'd done for her;
everything he'd sacrificed.
    She couldn't afford to waste time. Every second allowed the pigs to move that much
farther