He carried her and placed her in her bed and sat by her side until she stopped shaking. Hopefully she was not too affected by what she saw although at this point that was futile. Her curious nature was bound to intensify.
John walked out of the room to find Minerva standing by the door. She seemed to be aware of what was happening without an explanation. Something had happened to his sister and the look on his face said that he was worried.
"We need to leave tomorrow and this time I hope we don't take two years to get back."
"What happened?"
John walked back to his room and grabbed the shorter of his two swords. After seeing Ursula's reaction an idea had hit him. Minerva, who was still curious, had quietly followed him. He unsheathed the sword and held her hand.
"Do you trust me? I want to show you something." Minerva quietly nodded and John made a slight cut on her fore finger. She winced as a solitary drop of blood remained on the sword before being absorbed. The next thing she saw was a white room with Noira sitting on the lone throne in the middle. She had a disapproving look on here face. Before Minerva could speak the space went blank. For the next hour or so at Johns insistence she showed her the most significant of her memories pertaining to the old man's history and when it was done she finally understood why he was in a rush. The ominous words that the older Bjornson had said(1) came back to her.
"Now we can communicate even when we are not together," John said somewhat telepathically, "Part of your consciousness is connected to Noira, this might come in handy."
THE NEXT DAY
John woke up per usual only this time he wasn't doing his morning routine, he was preparing to leave. Surprising was the fact that since everyone was going to work they had a chance to have a goodbye breakfast. Carol had made them breakfast and packed some lunch for their 'journey'. It probably was not much but it was the only thing she felt she could do.
Early morning was without a doubt the best time to depart. There were not many people around to observe the very conspicuous act of traversing worlds. Ursula though limited in her abilities had managed to locate the painting that John needed. It was in the same building that he and Minerva had arrived through. In his college. It was a bit of luck for him because the university were just custodians of the paintings awaiting transfer but the tattered ones needed to be reconstructed first before they could travel to the next destination as a set. This was to happen a week from they day they departed and the destination was London.
Since the university was on her way to work she opted to drive them. malik had taken the horses to an equestrian club since two people passing through the university gates on horseback would have been too over the top. Upon arrival they did not stand on ceremony and headed straight to the workshop. They might have been located in the same building but the paintings that didn't need fixing were locked in a safe. John had told her that as long as they managed to get into the building her role would end otherwise she would be implicated for the trouble while John and Minerva the actual culprits were off galavanting in another world.
Ursula had not said much since the night before. Color had once again returned to her skin. She looked through her rear view mirror as John and Minerva entered the building. John had a backpack and his swords were slung across his back.
The inside of the building was deserted. people had yet to arrive. It took sometime before they were able to located the safe. Cracking the steel safe was the easiest part since regardless of whether the alarm was raised they would not be found. he had made sure that all the cameras around the safe were fried. the safe itself was a big as a decent hotel room. Their entry point was not the obvious front door but though the wall n the side. Cutting through it was like cutting a piece of wood with a good axe. A few swipes of his sword and two cuts in the shape of a triangle were made.
The alarm went off immediately. A dull pulsating red light came on in the safe that resonated with the alarm. A small ball of fire floated above each of their heads illuminating the interior of the safe. The paintings and a few vases were the only things in the safe. The painting they were looking for was very particular. It was square in shape about one and a half meters on each side. It depicted a mountain range with small sparse settlements throughout the mountains. Some were covered in snow with rivers starting from where the snow melted. Settlements could still be seen even on the high mountains.
They looked impassable and impenetrable. The white gods. The white peaks had gained the name over time. John was now trying to remember the feeling he had when he was first sucked in but surprisingly Minerva was the one to lead the way. when she approached the painting Fireball screeched in terror after she saw the snow caps. minerva went to touch them and she disappeared just like that. John followed soon after. It seemed like he didn't have to put in any effort to re-enter the painted world.
For a brief moment the space around them was dark before it suddenly got cold.
"I think i know why Fireball was afraid." Minerva said
"I should have dressed warmer," John lamented before they fell down on the snow. He looked around him and didn't see any sign of a portal. John looked around and there was not a single settlement in the vicinity. Strong snow filled winds were blowing against their faces. Even though the sun was out it didn't provide any warmth. Thee wind felt as though there were numerous hands that touched his face sending shivers down his spine. He turned around feeling as though someone was watching them.
This did not last long however since there was little air and he found himself having trouble breathing. He knew they were high up. To be dropped so suddenly high up was more than they could take and slowly they started getting wobbly before falling face first in the snow. They were finally back.
'Why do I have to suffer some sort of tribulation everytime I come here?' he asked himself before he passed out.
(1)refer to the chapter the Brothers Bjornson