Read The Skin Map for Free Online Page A

fine.”
    “You don’t know what you’ve done, do you? You haven’t the foggiest idea how incredibly dangerous this is.”
    “No, I—” Kit began, then paused. “How dangerous?”
    “More dangerous than you can possibly imagine.”
    “But you said if I changed my mind I was to come back, so—”
    “I didn’t expect you to try to bring along your paramour. I suppose you told her everything? Why not tell half of London while you’re at it—place a notice in the Times , broadcast it on the BBC?” The elder fellow shook his head in dismay. “Well, the churn is upturned. All that remains is to assess the damage. Pray that it is not a complete disaster.”
    Kit frowned. “Okay, okay, I get it. I’m sorry. Let’s move on.”
    “See here, my boy. Telluric energy is one of the more subtle yet powerful forces in the universe—the least understood and probably the most unpredictable,” explained Cosimo. “You have travelled through what some are pleased to call a low-frequency window—a threshold, if you will, separating dimensions. You have ended up here, as anticipated, but there is no way to tell where your girlfriend has gone.”
    “But she didn’t go anywhere,” Kit protested. “She didn’t follow me. She stayed on the other side. . . .” One glance at the elder man’s face and he lost all confidence in this assertion. He finished weakly, “Didn’t she?”
    “It is possible, but not at all certain. You have neither the skill nor experience to be bringing others with you. In time, should you live long enough, you may develop your talents. But until then, you really must refrain from attempting to drag others along—however good an idea it might seem at the time.”
    “Well, I didn’t know, did I?” muttered Kit peevishly.
    “I suspect your friend travelled too,” Cosimo continued, “but inasmuch as she did not arrive here, we must surmise she went somewhere else.”
    “Where, then?”
    “That’s the trouble, you see—the possibilities are endless. Your friend could be anywhere or anywhen .”
    “Any when ?”
    “Moving from one world or dimension to another, you inevitably travel in time as well. There is no way around it. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
    “Time travel, of course.” Kit realized then why he had arrived back in London eight hours late, and he grasped the fact that Sefton-on-Sea was something other than a quaint tourist attraction.
    “Stay right here,” commanded the old man. “Don’t move a muscle. Can you do that for two minutes end to end?”
    “Got it, professor.”
    “Good,” said Cosimo, already starting away. He turned back after only a few steps. “What does this Mina of yours look like?” Kit offered a brief description, including the colour of her jacket and the trousers she was wearing. “Yes, that’s enough,” said the old man. He turned and walked into the shadows. His body grew hazy—as if viewed through the pane of a frosted glass window. There was a sudden gust of wind, and he vanished completely.
    Kit waited and wondered how long he would have to stand in the alley. The thought was still bouncing around in his head when he felt the breeze stir and saw Cosimo hurrying out of the shadows once more.
    “She’s not there.”
    “Where?”
    “Stane Way.”
    “Maybe she went home.”
    “No, she should have been exactly where you left her.”
    Kit shrugged. “If you say so.”
    Cosimo shook his head slowly. “You really have no idea what’s going on here, do you?”
    “If you put it like that,” muttered Kit, “I guess not.”
    “If your friend has travelled to another plane of existence it is a problem—a very big problem—and one that must be addressed with all urgency and seriousness of purpose. So, come along, my boy.” Cosimo began moving toward the seafront. “We’re going to see an old friend of mine. He’s giving a lecture this evening, and I’ve arranged for us to have dinner afterwards. We’ll explain the situation to