Read Crystal Doors #1 for Free Online

like it.”
    She pulled the pendant on its leather cord out from under her sweatshirt.
    “It is made from xyridium, a valuable metal — that much is certain. And I have seen the symbol before,” Rubicas admitted. “Hmm. I must think further on this. Lyssandra, would you be so kind as to show our guests the city and answer their questions? It will give me time to consult my scrolls and confer with Orpheon.” He gave the key chain back to Vic, who put it in his pocket again.
    As if she were asked to do this sort of thing all the time, the girl blinked her cobalt-blue eyes. “I would be honored, Sage Rubicas.”
    Lyssandra led Gwen and Vic to the spiral stone staircase at the far end of the oval room. Climbing up, leaving the smell of colored smoke behind, the copper-haired girl explained, “Elantya is a gathering place for scholars from far-flung worlds. Sages and students come here to learn mathematics, alchemy, magic, agriculture, metallurgy, philosophy, astronomy.”
    The three of them emerged onto an observation deck at the top of a sunwashed white tower. A fresh salty tang filled theair. The elfin girl spread her hands to indicate the island realm all around them. “This is my favorite view. Is it not beautiful?”
    Below lay the most spectacular and
foreign
cityscape Gwen had ever seen. Terraced gardens, vineyards, and orchards climbed the steep and rocky hills. Streets zigzagged up the slopes, which were crowded with whitewashed buildings. A perfect turquoise sea deepened to sapphire as it stretched to the edge of the world, and the cerulean sky held a few cottony clouds. Colorful ships plied the island’s harbor, sailing from the sheltered water to the open ocean. Gwen turned a full three hundred sixty degrees to take in the panorama.
    Beside her, Vic said, “Hey Dorothy, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”
    “That’s for sure.” She gave a shaky laugh. “I’m not sure this place even has a Kansas.”

7
     
    WHILE THEY ABSORBED THE view of Elantya, Vic wondered if Gwen was trying to concoct some rational explanation. Vic wasn’t usually so overloaded with amazement, but his own mind was whirling so fast the thoughts didn’t have time to form words, much less sentences.
    This island was the coolest place he’d ever seen. He only wished his father could be there with them. Vic was fairly certain Dr. Pierce was all right — after all,
the two cousins
had been the ones sucked into a strange new world! — but by now his dad must be awfully worried.
    His thoughts ricocheted to another question. Had his father
expected
this to happen? He was always talking about his important experiments, and he’d set up a crystal array very similar to the one here in Rubicas’s lab. Just before the solarium flooded with retina-searing light, his dad had called out,“Kyara.” Had he been
trying
to do something with the crystals, an experiment that had sent Vic and Gwen here?
    Though concentrating in school was difficult for him, Vic had a sharp mind and could synthesize bits and pieces of what he had learned — snippets from speeches, phrases from textbooks, remembered experiences — to create plausible explanations. A self-proclaimed “gadgetologist,” Vic used his uncanny intuition to figure out how things worked. He flew by the seat of his pants and often saw connections before anyone else did. When a subject truly interested him, he could teach himself things, too. He had even learned to play the guitar without taking lessons.
    Of course, his unorthodox approach landed him in trouble when he leapt before he looked, trusting his instincts. Many teachers despaired of helping him, or even getting him to sit still. In math class he often lost points because he couldn’t show in writing the exact steps by which he reached the correct answer. He just “knew” it.
    Gwen teased him about the way his mind bounced from one thing to another, but Vic did not see his supposed “attention deficit disorder” as