and I—well, I would like to get through this without him.”
“Did you have a fight?” Alice asked.
“No, we’re getting along. It’s just that—I need some space.” She said, trying to push Donnie thoughts out of her head. “We both need to focus on our work now.”
“I see.” Alice shared a look with the other two women. “All right, we need to go over some things before we do this. We will take you to that world, but you will have to do some of the work on your own. You must be willing to accept the fact that we may not be what you think we are. Keep an open mind. This is something that is not normal.”
“None of this is normal.” Olivia admitted. “I’m keeping an open mind, though. You already told me that you were travelers. Donnie told me all about parallel universes. I’m going in and out of weird worlds. I think I’m used to all this by now.”
Before Ms. Howard could say anything in response, her phone rang, so she excused herself and picked it up. Olivia turned to Gemma and Alice. “Before we go anywhere, you’re going to have to tell me how you travel from world to world.”
“Oh, that’s a bit complicated,” Gemma said. “We have the power to do that, but we don’t know how we got it. My mother always said I was born with it. She also warned never to do anything in another place that would alter the current reality.”
“So how will you get me there? Do I have to hold your hand or something?”
“Most likely.” Alice nodded. “You don’t have the power to do this like we do. You’re able to get there in dream space, but not while you’re awake. We can take care of that part. You’ll only have to trust us.”
At that moment, Ms. Howard came back in the room, and they all grew quiet. The look on her face was a solemn one, and she turned to Olivia. “I’m afraid I have bad news. That was Donovan’s uncle. He stopped by Donovan’s house earlier and found that his nephew was not there. The car and everything was still there, and he did come home after work. His stuff is around, and he’d even made dinner. He’s just not anywhere to be found.”
“Maybe he stepped out for a bit,” Olivia suggested. She had no idea where Donnie would go, but she didn’t want to think about the worst just yet. “Maybe he’s downstairs and working. He told me that he sometimes gets caught up in his work.”
“Oh, Raymond’s already looked down there and he didn’t find him. He’s checked out every room, but it doesn’t seem like he left the house. He did tell me about one clue, though—in the shop below, on top of whatever Donovan was working on, he found something cold and wet.”
“Cold and wet?”
“Yes. He thought it was a leak at first, but then he saw a huge puddle on the ground. Then he found some snow and ice.”
“Snow and ice, huh? I think I know where they may have taken him, then.” Olivia muttered. “Did anyone leave a note behind?”
“He didn’t find any notes, but he did see that Donovan wrote something down before he disappeared. All it said was, Hearts Under Ice can be thawed out. I don’t know if he wanted to tell you that or not. He might have discovered something.”
“Well, we need to go to that Frostland and get him back.” Olivia said, standing up straight. “I don’t think I can wait any more days to be certain. I know that’s where he is, and I need to save him. I highly doubt he went there on his own free will.”
“What makes you so certain about that?” Alice asked. “For all you know, he might have figured out his own way to cross into another world.”
Olivia didn’t have proof of this, but she didn’t need it. In her heart, she knew that Donnie didn’t go to the Frostland on his own, without her. Why would he do that and not tell anyone? At the very least, she knew he would leave her a text message. No, this wasn’t right at all. That ice and snow meant that someone has taken him.
“Are you sure about this?” Ms. Howard asked, not waiting for an answer. “It will be rough, and you don’t even know if Donovan is in the Frostland.”
“You’re right, I don’t know where he is for sure.