“That’s my doing, I’m afraid. It’s only as effective as it is because she hasn’t fully awakened yet. Neither have you, for that matter, but your percentage is far higher than hers.” A voice said suddenly from behind them.

“Bob,” Charles spun around, spotting the cloaked man who had pretended to be their uncle. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” He asked innocently, pointing to himself. “I’ve been waiting for the two of you, of course.”

“Is that why you vanished from Earth? So, you could hide out here?” Charlotte demanded.

“Quite so. When I realized you had figured out I wasn’t really your uncle, my admittedly thin plan came undone. I knew you would no longer be willing to help me find your mother, so I left. However, I also knew I was the only one who could teach you the proper spells to find them.

“I didn’t count on those two brats, Zack and Zara, having access to the space element with the concepts you needed.” He shrugged. “Either way, it worked out, and I knew you would show up here when the dimension itself kicked you out. Frankly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. Now that you are here, though, I’m going to have to insist that you use the spell and bring us to your mother. Now.”

Charles glared at the man before them. That was exactly what he wanted to do, but he couldn’t bring trouble like that to his parents. Besides, there was one other little problem. “I can’t, not right now at least.” He spat out. “The spell to go through dimensions requires all the spell’s usage slots for the day. I’ve already used it once today.”

“That limitation is for when you are coming from a lower dimension such as Earth. We are currently standing in a higher one of my own making right now. Trust me when I say it took some doing to divert the two of you here. So I’m not going to let you simply escape. You will undoubtedly find the spell will work with the remaining usage slots you have left.”

Charlotte stood behind her brother, feeling useless. She didn’t know the ‘Zero Door’ spell yet. It hadn’t come through when she touched his spatial element.

Actually, her element was still called ‘Space’ since that was what she learned first from Zara. Even if Bob did teach the spell to her now, she would only be able to cast it once or twice a day. Nowhere near the number of times needed to get them through dimensions.

Charles clenched his fist and cracked his neck, unsure of what to do. Was it worth it to be defiant? Could they even stand up to the High God in front of them? What kind of tortures would he bring down on them if he delayed? More importantly, why was he so fixated on their mom?”

“Bob-“

“QUIT CALLING ME THAT!” The cloaked figure screamed, pale arms flashing as the sleeves rode up when he swung them about. “My name is Dantanian! Use it.”

Charlotte snickered. “Your name is Dantanian? Oh, that’s rich.”

“Uh, what am I missing here?” Charles wondered, peeking back at her.

“Dantanian was a fallen angel with many faces and the power to shift between forms. That’s the ultra-condensed version, at least. I just thought it was funny.” She snickered again at the similarities only she saw.

“Not as funny as you might imagine,” Dantanian growled from beneath his cloak.

“Fine, Dantanian, what is it you want with our mother? I’m not going to bring you to her if you’re going to kill her or do something stupid like that.”

“Do you honestly think I’m going to answer that question?” A deathly calm voice asked. “This is my dimension, and I will force you to do as I want in just a moment. But first I want to clarify just how stupid a question that was. Everything lies, even gods, and High Gods. Just because we have the power of creation doesn’t make us perfect.

“Now, to answer your question, I want to have tea and cookies with her. Do you believe me?” Charles shook his head. “Good, because that was obviously a lie, but it doesn’t matter. Now find your mother’s thread and create a ‘Zero Door’ to her location!"

The last sentence settled over him with an unbreakable compulsion that he had to follow. No matter how he struggled, he found himself locked out and doing exactly as had been demanded of him.

It was a matter of moments to find the right thread and focus on it while creating a dimensional crossing ‘Zero Door’. This time, unlike every time before it, the spell worked. In front of him, the doorway opened, and on the other side, he could see his mother sitting beside his father.

He walked through, followed closely by his sister, before the compulsion left him. He tried to close the door but was too late to do anything as the offending High God followed them through without a second to spare.

Charles and Charlotte were thrust aside. Sending them sprawling to the ground as Dantanian took in the sight of their mother.

“Cha-Cassy,” It was clear he had been about to say another name but had decided not to at the last moment. “You are looking good.”

“Dantanian,” She said evenly. “Is this why you haven’t been around? Because you were stalking my children and causing problems for them?”

“Oh, these are our grandchildren?” There were two other people sitting at the table across from his parents that they hadn’t noticed before.

“I should have known you would be here, Conor, Clara,” Dantanian growled.

“And why wouldn’t we be here? This is not only our home, but, as you well know, Cassy is our daughter.” Conor motioned to the siblings on the ground, who found themselves lifted into the air and brought to the table. “Apparently, these two are also our grandchildren. You know the rules, Dantanian.”

There was a snort from the hidden man. “I haven’t broken any of the rules in my quest to find her again. Bent them maybe, but not broken.”

“Semantics, and we warned you long ago to give up your pursuit of Cassy. She had already made her intentions clear long before you forced her to leave.” Clara, their newly discovered grandmother, was getting angry. “She has no desire to ever be with you!”

“You think that matters? My love for her is endless, and now that I have found her again, I’m not letting her escape. There is nowhere for her to run. I will find her eventually. I should have realized from the beginning this was where she had been sent, but I was too focused on her filthy children.”

Dantanian shook his head, his voice changing to a gentler tone. “Her children, yes, but not mine. I’ll never love them like the ones she’ll eventually give me from our union, but I’ll care for them as they are a part of her. I’ll also hate them because they are a reminder of him!”

He growled and stomped his foot. “I hate being back here. It’s so much easier to control in the lower dimensions. Everything is stronger here in the original realm.”

“Maybe the name fits more than I realized,” Charlotte muttered, more than a little creeped out by the man.

Steve gripped his wife’s hand tight. He was smart enough to know that everything going on was far above anything he could contribute to. All he would do by speaking up is make the situation more of a mess. It was best to fade into the background and give Cassy the emotional support she seemed to need.

“Leave Dantanian, and don’t come back here again!” Conor ordered him. The same compulsion that had been used on Charles and Charlotte was now being used against him.

“This… isn’t… your… realm!” Dantanian slowly gasped out, fighting for each word.

“No, but I am much older and more powerful than you. I am sick of your fixation on our daughter. My, no, our inaction cost us so much time with our daughter. I’m not going to make the same mistake again.” He glanced down at his wife, who stood with him and together they spoke a new compulsion.

“Dantanian, you are to learn to control your powers in full and are not to return to this realm until such a time. It was meant as a gift. You are the one who has seen it as a curse due to the influence of your childish peers. Move past your obsession with our daughter. She has already found her love. Now be gone!”

Dantanian straightened his eyes glazing over and stepped through a doorway that opened behind him without saying another word. He was gone, just like that.

Charles sagged against the table. “No way is it going to be that easy. That psycho will find some way to get around your compulsion.”

Clara smiled sadly and took a sip of her tea. A barely perceptible tremor hinting at how much effort they had put into the compulsion. “Unfortunately, I wouldn’t doubt it. His fixation on your mother runs entirely too deep for him to ever get rid of it. If we are lucky, however, it may give us some time.”

Silence prevailed at the table for a moment, before Steve pulled his wife close and glared at their kids. “Now, would someone like to tell me how exactly you found yourselves to be here? And what is this we were told about Charles having a fiancé?”

Cassy clapped her hands. “Yes, tell us about her? What’s she like? Cute, pretty, tall, short, round, blind? Are you sure she’s human? Maybe she’s a troll in disguise.”

Charles groaned but smiled despite himself. “Well, first off, no, she’s not human, strictly speaking anyway. She’s tallish and older than Charlotte. Let’s see. What else did you want to know?”