Novel Jumper

Chapter Twenty Five

 Something behind Lilia made her whirl around, and she discovered that she was alone in the doorway of the office. Neither her army or the stone woman remained.

Nor did Connor.

"Connor?" she called, her voice wavering with fear.

"Connor's gone, my dear," the disembodied voice said cheerily. "Not dead, don't worry. Neither is your little...army. My wonderful wall creature - my own invention, I'm quite proud of her - is back in her hallway."

"Where are they?" Lilia demanded, turning in a circle as she progressed further into the office. "What did you do with them?"

"They're in the capital city right now. We'll see if your friend Azca can get them back," the voice said lightly. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was anticipating their arrival.

"And I assume you're the Wizard?" She tried to sound brave, but failed miserably, her voice cracking on his name.

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain," the voice said mysteriously, chuckling at his own sense of humor

Lilia was entirely taken aback by the Earthen reference. "You - are you - " She could hardly believe it. Was the Wizard from her home planet?

"Am I of Earth? Not in the slightest. I have to admit, though, I'm rather obsessed with the place. Your cultures, your variety in just about everything under the sun - it's amazing. I absolutely love it."

There was a bang of smoke as if Lilia was watching a dramatic magic show, and a man stood in front of Lilia. She let out a sharp yelp, took a step back, and stared at the Wizard of Improbability.

He was younger than she had expected and lean, well muscled. His hair was short-cropped and light brown, nearly dirty blond. His full lips curled up in a mischievous grin that was framed by his stubble. His blue eyes glinted with mystery and magic. The strangest part of him was his outfit - he was wearing skinny jeans, Converse shoes, and a flannel button-up, very much Earthen clothing.

"What?" he asked as Lilia, voice lost, continued to stare at him. "Thinking of leaving that annoying boyfriend of yours for me? Sorry, darling, I'm too busy to bother with people like you."

Lilia finally found her voice. "You're the Wizard?" she asked. She had been expecting a man at least a little older, dressed like the sorcerers from the storybooks back on Earth and reeking of intimidating power. She hadn't been expecting this strangely good-looking, snarky young man.

"Ouch," the Wizard said in a bored monotone. "Yes, I'm the Wizard. Happy?"

Lilia wasn't at all sure what to say. She felt tongue-tied, useless. A heavy weight settled over her. How could she have come all this way and not know what to say to the Wizard?

"I've just removed the improbability field, in case you couldn't tell," the Wizard said casually, examining his fingernails. "Just in my office, of course. Can't have my Improbable Slaves getting free now, can we? Oh, wait." He raised his head and stared accusingly at Lilia.

"What you were doing to them was wrong," she said in a tiny voice that in no way supported her words. She cursed herself - she wanted help from this man, and the way to go about getting it probably wasn't to criticise the way he ran his life.

"I wasn't doing anything to them," the Wizard replied, not a hint of shame in his voice. "I gave them their villages, their furniture, and the majority of their food. I kept them alive."

"After imprisoning them." Lilia shivered at the memory of those horrible necklaces.

The Wizard sighed irritably as if he was talking to a stubborn child. "I didn't bring you here to argue about my Improbable Slaves all day long. Not my name for them, by the way. I prefer things along the lines of 'indentured servants.'"