Read Out of This World for Free Online Page B

confused.
    “I think I get it,” said Jenna to her brother. “At least a little. Take gravity. You can use it, even if you don’t know any of the science behind it. Push a boulder off a cliff onto your enemy’s head, and he’s going to have a really bad day. You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to be able to use it.”
    “Exactly right, Jenna,” said Wyland, beaming. “Same with magic. We use it. We know it taps into science. We just don’t know the science. And when we want to amplify our abilities or make our magic permanent, we’ve found a variety of crystals we can use to do this.”
    Zachary turned the language transformer in his hand, inspecting the purple crystal carefully. Finally he looked at Jenna, shrugged, and stuck it in his pocket as instructed. “I get how you can do magic without knowing any science—I mean, assuming there really is such a thing as magic. But wouldn’t your magic be even stronger if you did know science? I mean—”
    “Enough!” shouted Hirth. He scowled even more deeply at the two humans, which Zachary wouldn’t have thought possible. “You are now done asking stupid questions, and we are now done answering them.” When he said the word “we” he glared at his companion, as though his message was for Wyland’s benefit as much as for the humans. “You need to proceed quickly. You have little time.”
     “Little time for what?” asked Jenna, realizing she didn’t have to look away quite as often anymore. Maybe she and Zack were becoming used to these men’s repulsive and unsettling appearance.
    “You have to get moving,” said Hirth impatiently. “I hope you're not upset that I almost hit you with my ground vehicle. We expected you to land a little farther down the road.”
    “You expected us?” asked Zachary.
    “Well of course we did.”
    “Are you here to welcome us?” asked Jenna hopefully.
    Wyland smiled and nodded, but Hirth looked as though he had just sucked on a lemon. “Welcome you?” he repeated nastily. “Definitely not! And for very good reason,” he continued with brutal honesty. “Because you are not welcome here. I am here to usher you on your way—and away from here—as quickly as I can. Frankly, your kind make us nervous, not to mention a little nauseated.”
    “I don't understand,” said Zachary.
    The man frowned. “It should be obvious. Your kind are too feeble and unimaginative to use magic, as I’ve already said. In addition, you’re covered in hideous, opaque skin, and we can’t see anything inside of you. Disgusting!” declared the man. “We’re a very straightforward, aboveboard people. But we’ve found your kind to be nearly impossible to understand; devious and confusing. And we don’t trust you. How can you trust a person when you can’t see what’s inside him?”
    “You can trust us ,” said Jenna innocently.
    “It doesn’t matter if we can or can’t,” snapped Hirth. “What matters is getting you on your way as soon as possible. You’re trying to find your parents, correct?”
    Their eyes widened. “How do you know that?” said Jenna.
    “We don’t have time for any more idle chatter,” said Hirth. “I can direct you to one of two portals. You tell me which one. Option one: the one that your parents took. Option two: a portal that will lead you to your parents much more quickly.”
    Zachary’s eyes widened. Hirth seemed to know exactly what was going on. His parents hadn’t had any luck getting a native to share information with them. But before leaving this world, Zachary was determined to question this man in depth until he got some answers.
    “Well,” snapped the man. “To which portal would you like to be directed?”
    “What's the catch?” asked Zachary.
    Hirth looked confused. “The catch? A catch is something you find on a gate, or something you do when someone throws you a ball. What does that have to do with my question?”
    “I mean, the decision seems too obvious. Is there any