Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

T hey approached the shimmering rainbow, and Paige clung tightly to Drucinda as the colors began to paint their bodies. The light, so bright it stung her eyes, sent warmth radiating through her body.

Her lips tugged back into a deep grimace as they continued through the portal. Goosebumps peppered her arms and legs.

Paige squeezed her eyes closed as they continued forward, warbling noises threatening to make her ear drums bleed.

After a few seconds, the sensation passed, and chilly, damp air swept over her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she pushed up to sit from the cold dirt she lay against.

She stared down at her arms, a smile creeping over her face. "I'm human again. Oh, the portal fixed me."

Paige pressed a hand against her chest as her grin broadened.

She climbed to her feet in the dim light, her hand landing on a cold, rough surface. "We must be in a cave."

"Paige?" Dewey called .

"Yeah, right here."

"Are we home?" he asked.

"I–I don't know. I think so. We're in a cave. Let me try to find my way out."

She ran her fingers along the wall, shuffling forward.

"Ugh," Drucinda groaned in the darkness. "I suddenly feel awful."

"Awful?" Paige asked. "Are you sick? And where is Devon."

"Here," he answered. "Just waking up. I don't feel too bad, but my back is killing me. I really need to get this looked at."

"I'm not sick, I just feel…unfit or something. It's hard to describe. I wonder if I've sustained some sort of ill effects from passing through the portal. I seem to be…swollen or something."

"Like your ankle?" Paige asked, screwing up her face as she inched forward. "I'm looking for a way out now."

"No…it seems to be my entire body. I'm…doughy or something. I don't know."

Paige's forehead creased as a hint of light reached them. Her heart leapt as she spotted it. "Light! I see light!"

"Thank goodness." Dewey buzzed past her toward it. "Oh, yes, it's sunny, too. Oh, please be earth. Please."

Paige picked up the pace behind him, finding it easy to move forward at the faster speed. "That portal didn't hurt me. I feel great."

"Lucky you," Drucinda groaned from behind her.

Paige burst into the bright sunshine behind Dewey, grinning up at it. "This looks like earth."

"Yeah," Dewey agreed as he stared at the trees overhead.

"Oh, I know where we are," Drucinda said from behind them. "This is France. Good, we're home. I can't wait to get back to Reed."

"Me either, I–" Paige twisted to face her, her expression going blank as her eyes widened. "What the hell? "

Drucinda heaved a sigh as she shot her an unimpressed glance. "What is wrong with you?"

Her eyes went wide a second later. "OMG!"

"Why do you look like that?" they shouted at each other.

Devon emerged from the cave, sidling up to Drucinda and planting a kiss on her. "Aw, babe, you're back."

"I'm Paige," Paige said, crossing her arms.

Drucinda wiped at her cheek. "I'm not your babe."

"What?" Devon stared at them, his jaw unhinged.

"What's the problem?" Dewey asked, whipping around to face them.

Both women raised a finger to point at the other. "She stole my body."

Paige pressed her lips together. "That's not true. I didn't do anything. You took my human form."

"I did nothing of the sort. And I don't want this ." She grimaced down at her body. "Have you ever taken a fitness class?"

Paige's jaw dropped open. "Ugh, sorry I didn't train like a ninja since I was six."

"Try since birth," Drucinda said, arching an eyebrow.

"Stop making my face do that. I'm going to get wrinkles," Paige retorted.

Drucinda clicked her tongue. "I think you already have some."

Paige wrinkled her nose at the woman.

"Don't do that with my face."

"I'll do whatever I want to do with your face," Paige said, curling her fingers into fists. "And your body, too. Yeah, I may mountain climb or something."

"Seriously?" Dewey asked. "I can't imagine you mountain climbing."

"The muscle tone she has is incredible. It's just…amazing ho w much easier things are with this level of fitness lurking under the surface."

"Give me my body back." Drucinda stamped her foot on the ground.

Paige crossed her arms, lifting her incredibly sculpted chin.

"Are you refusing?"

"Looks like she is," Dewey said with a raise of his eyebrows. "And I'm not sure you can do anything about it. Paige could literally kick your butt."

"Paige doesn't know how to fight. My brain does." Drucinda kicked a leg out before she doubled over. "Ow, oh, that was…ohhhh, I pulled something. Definitely pulled something in the leg-groin area. Wow."

"Hey, quit wrecking my body," Paige said.

"You're not pinning that on me. It looks like you've spent the better part of your twenties wrecking your own body."

"Probably all the pizza we eat," Dewey said as he landed on Drucinda's shoulder.

"Hey!" Paige shouted, her fingers curling into fists.

"Oops, sorry." Dewey buzzed over to Paige and landed there. "Hard to keep track of this."

Paige sighed and shook her head. "How could this happen…again?"

"What do you mean again?" Drucinda asked.

"Paige and Dewey swapped bodies a few times when we were realm hopping for the Bronze ring," Devon answered.

Drucinda let her features settled into a frown. "So, in other words, you are a chronic body thief."

"I am not. It just…happens."

"How did you fix it last time?" Drucinda demanded.

"We kept going in and out of the portal until finally we were fixed. It took a few tries, but it finally worked," Dewey informed her .

Drucinda heaved a sigh. "Right, well, that's not an option. That's a one-way portal, and I'd rather not endure several more plane crashes or any more Graggle attacks."

"Me either," Paige said. "So…do we just…accept our new fate?"

Drucinda's nostrils flared as her frown deepened. "No, we do not. There must be some way to fix this. Perhaps my grandmother knows."

"We can call her on our way out of here," Devon suggested as he winced. "I really want to have this shoulder looked at, and we need to get the serum to Reed."

"Dimples is right. We need to keep moving," Dewey said. "Drucinda, you knew where we were. Can you request an evac for us?"

"Of course, though we'll need to climb to the top of that hill to get any reception. We'll call my grandmother while we wait for rescue." Drucinda pointed toward a high crest towering over them.

"All right, let's go." Dewey pumped a fist in the air.

They picked their way through the forest surrounding them, making their way to the hill Drucinda pointed out.

"Ugh. I'm not sure I can make this," Drucinda groaned.

"Really?" Devon asked. "Paige usually makes it."

"I don't understand how." Drucinda pressed against her thighs as they began their climb. "It's like dragging sacks of wheat around."

"It's not that bad," Paige said with a shake of her head from the front of the group.

"For once, we're first," Dewey said.

"Yeah. Don't say anything, but…I understand her point. Climbing this hill is ridiculously easy with these leg muscles. And don't even get me started with the abs."

"Ridiculously sculpted? "

Paige tugged up her shirt as Dewey peered down. "Wow. Those are works of art."

"Yeah, I know. In some ways, I'll be sad to go back to my pitiful, out-of-shape body."

"Don't feel bad, Paige," Dewey said with a pat on her head. "That pitiful, out-of-shape body has saved the world countless times. So, you should feel pretty good about yourself."

"That's true. That's right." Paige nodded. "For all Drucinda's fitness, we've been the ones who have saved the world over and over."

"And…you're a princess, so…"

"Yeah, that's right. Devon likes my out-of-shapeness."

"I don't think that's a word, but still, yeah…you scored on several levels."

Paige pressed her lips together as they continued their ascent. "I just hope I can score on my mom's level. We're so close. It's all I can think about."

"This serum should do the trick."

"If we can get it to her fast enough. This detour isn't exactly what I expected."

"We should be rescued soon," Dewey said as they reached the top of the hill.

Devon tugged his phone from his pocket. "I have signal."

"Good, give that to me," Drucinda said as she snatched it from him. "I'll call Ro."

Paige crossed her arms as she waited for Drucinda to place the rescue request.

Dewey buzzed off her shoulder, landing on the ground and patting the dirt next to him. "May as well get comfortable. We've got a little wait."

Paige stared at the spot for a moment. "I would but…weirdly I don't feel like sitting down. All this muscle tone is really amazing. "

"Suit yourself." Dewey shrugged as he lounged against a tree.

"I'm taking that muscle tone back," Drucinda growled as she pressed Devon's phone to her ear again. "Grandmother, I am in desperate need of your help…no…no…no, it does not involve a man."

Drucinda slid her eyes closed and clicked her tongue. "We've been stuck in another realm and only just made it back. In the process of returning to this world, Paige and I somehow how inexplicably swapped bodies."

Drucinda listened for a moment before she nodded. "Yes, I know going back through the portal may do the trick, but that's not possible. This was a one-way portal."

Her eyes rose to the sky before she heaved a sigh. "Right. Yes. All right."

She ended the call and passed the phone back to Devon.

"Well?" Paige asked.

"She'll come out to assess the situation once we're at the hospital. With any luck, she can help us," Drucinda answered.

"I really hope so," Paige said with a sigh.

Drucinda crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. "Really? Do you? Because you're getting the better end of the bargain here if she can't."

Paige rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry I'm not up to your fitness standards, but I actually like pizza."

"A little too much by the feel of it."

Paige narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying I'm fat?"

"Ladies, ladies," Devon said, stepping between them. "Let's not go there, okay? You're both incredibly attractive women, and both of you are smart and capable, too. Can we all agree to that?"

"I'm smart and capable. Also, hot." Drucinda wrinkled her nose. "Well, I was."

Paige curled her fingers into fists. "You still are! I mean…wa it…I still am. This isn't coming out right. Okay, Devon's right. We're both great in different ways."

"Fine," Drucinda said with a wave of her hand. "If you want to play nice, okay, yes…we all have our strengths. Mine happens to be fitness, yours is pizza consumption."

Paige bobbed her head before she snapped a glare toward Drucinda. "Wait…you know, yes, fine. I excel at eating pizza."

"She does," Dewey said with a nod. "That's definitely a strength of hers."

"Thanks, Dewey. I appreciate your support."

"Anytime," he said with a pat on Paige's head.

The distant sound of a helicopter cut off any further conversation, sending their eyes skyward as they searched for their rescuers.

Within a few minutes, the helicopter came into view. A ladder rolled down toward them, and they scurried up it into the safety of the cabin.

Twenty minutes later, they were touching down at an airport to board another plane.

Paige drummed her fingers against her thigh as the engines revved up. "I really am not looking forward to another plane trip across the pond."

"Let's just hope we don't crash again," Dewey said. "This is getting ridiculous with the plane crashes."

"Tell me about it," Paige said. "I mean, if this is a book, get a new plot device already."

Drucinda settled into the seat next to Dewey. "Don't tempt fate. I'd really like to get back to the hospital and cure your mother. Of course, she'll be highly confused if we're stuck in these bodies."

They settled back for the flight, this time making it safely to their destination.

Paige's stomach twisted into a tight knot as they made the short trip to the hospital, her heart hammering harder with each mile that passed.

Her legs wobbled under her when they finally slid out of the car and entered the facility, taking the elevator to the top floor.

Rochelle and Ronnie met them as they stepped off.

"Oh, Paige, I'm glad you're back and found that serum." Her gaze fixed on Drucinda.

"Actually," Paige said with a wave. "I'm Paige."

Ronnie's features crinkled as she flicked her gaze between them. "What?"

"There was a mishap when we came back through the realm portal," Dewey explained. "And Paige and Drucinda swapped bodies."

"Oh, a realm swap," Rochelle said with a nod. "Well, it should be fixable."

"Is it?" Drucinda asked. "My grandmother is coming out to assess it. I certainly hope it's fixable."

"Oh, yes. With her expert help, you'll likely be back to normal in no time."

Drucinda breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens. Paige's body leaves something to be desired. I tried to do a kick earlier and managed to pull something. And there is a strange pain in my neck just here. And this elbow seems a bit fiddly."

Paige crinkled her nose. "My elbow isn't fiddly. It's just…you gotta kinda stretch it. Give it a good crack into place."

She extended her arm quickly to demonstrate.

"That's not normal," Drucinda said with a shake of her head.

"Ah, okay, well, maybe we should move forward with the serum for Reed while we wait to sort out the body situation," Ronnie suggested.

"Yes," Paige said, her heart beating faster as she shrugged the backpack off and dug through it for the serum. "Here it is."

Her hands shook as she passed it to Ronnie.

"It'll be okay, Paige," Ronnie said, squeezing her arm. "Come on. Let's go save your mom."

Paige offered her a slight smile and a nod before they set off down the hall toward Reed's room.

Her mother's heart monitor beeped rhythmically as she lay unmoving in the bed. Tears stung Paige's eyes as she stepped closer. "We got the medicine, Mom."

Her voice shook, and Devon wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her shoulder as Dewey wrapped a paw around her head.

A doctor swept into the room, and Ronnie passed the serum to her.

"All right, we'll administer this directly into the IV. With any luck, we should see some sign of response in a few hours."

After withdrawing the serum from the vial, the doctor injected it into the IV line. All eyes turned to Reed as they waited for any sign of recovery.

Paige wrapped her arms around herself, offering a silent prayer that they'd soon hear good news. But until then…they'd have a long, tedious wait.