Meg tapped her foot against the bright-patterned rug in the hearth room as she swayed back and forth at the wide line of windows. Below in the castle courtyard, Velanna dismounted and handed the reins to one of the Josharon stable masters.
Meg crunched the elbows of her loose blouse in her fists.
Velanna always moved with extraordinary grace and calm. Even if the sky were literally falling, she wouldn’t rush.
I’d swear she does it on purpose. Meg clenched her teeth until her jaw hurt.
Finally, Velanna breezed into the hearth room, stripping off her riding cloak and hanging it on the hook by the entryway.
“Velanna.” Meg was at her side in a second. “What happened? What’s the news? Are the rips still open?”
Velanna regarded her with a single, upraised eyebrow. “Breathe between your questions, Margaret. No need for histronics.” She side-stepped Meg and walked down the hallway.
Meg stared at the wall, bristling, and forced her lungs to draw a long, deep breath before she chased Velanna.
“Velanna.” Meg slowed her pace so that she could walk next to her adoptive mother.
“Breathe, Margaret.”
“I am breathing,” Meg snapped. “I want to know about the rips.”
“Yes, I gathered.” Velanna brushed the dust from her tunic.
“And?”
“And I shall tell you what I have discovered once you calm down.”
Meg clenched her fists and bit the inside of her cheek. “I am calm.”
“You are snarling.”
Why is she like this? Why can’t she just tell me what she found? Meg walked beside her, breathing in and out slowly in the way Velanna always said demonstrated the pursuit of inner peace. Just be quiet. Just stop talking.
They moved down the corridor together, Velanna silent and Meg breathing louder than she needed to.
By the time they reached the center-most spiraling stairwell, Meg had nearly gnawed a hole in her cheek. Her fingernails had left permanent half-moon dents in her palm. But she was breathing, long and slow and loud enough for Velanna to hear.
Finally, Velanna stopped and nodded at her. “Very good, Margaret.”
Yes, I’m breathing. Yes, it’s good. Now talk.
Still biting her cheek, Meg bowed her head in as good an imitation of Velanna’s serenity as she could manage.
Velanna tucked her hands into the bell sleeves of her tunic. “The rips remain open.”
Meg shut her eyes. “How? Aren’t they supposed to be closed?”
“They should have closed long ago.” Velanna tilted her chin up slightly. “That they remain open is extremely troubling.”
Velanna spoke without moving her eyebrows, her voice nearly monotone. She only did that when she was truly concerned.
She’s more worried than I’ve ever seen her. Meg squared her shoulders and continued her steady breathing. This is bad. What did the Terrans do?
“On a positive note,” Velanna started walking again, “the two rips that remain are indeed generating an electromagnetic signal. I should be able to scan the surrounding area for any other signals similar to it.”
Anxiety tightened Meg’s stomach, rippling through the muscles in her shoulders and back. Her breath trembled as she inhaled.
“Calm, Margaret.”
If she tells me to be calm one more time, I’m going to explode. Obediently, Meg slowed her breathing to something that sounded intentional—or at least intentional enough for Velanna to believe it. “What about the other human?”
“Yes.” Velanna paused at the large, looming doorway that led into the kahane-kadhan. “I communicated our desire to locate this man to the other villages. Malaka and several other Avi are scattering throughout the villages in the valley in search of him.”
Meg swallowed, her mouth dry. “What if we can’t find him?”
Velanna pressed her hand against the carved woodwork of the doorframe, her slim fingers tracing the shape of the interconnected vines. “Margaret.”
Meg glanced up at her face.
Velanna didn’t often express emotion. She kept a tight rein on anything she felt and vocally disapproved of anyone else expressing emotion as well. But while she could control her voice and her tone and most of her body language and facial expression, she couldn’t hide her eyes.
Her eyes were always the indicator of what she was actually feeling, no matter what she said out loud. And right now, her eyes glinted in the near-solid darkness outside the kahane-kadhan. Their corners were drawn tightly, unblinking, and her face was as pale as a dry mallow flower.
Things are much worse than she’s saying. Meg struggled to keep her breathing even.
“Come.” Velanna plunged into the darkness of the expansive, empty room.
Meg cracked her neck and ignored the eerie chill the room always caused in her, and she followed Velanna inside. They should have brought a torch. Having a light inside the kahane-kadhan always made her feel less like something was going to grab her out of the shadows.
Their footsteps echoed hollowly, the sound bouncing around them and spiraling up-up-up into the darkness until it vanished.
I hate this room.
It was an entirely illogical statement. Purely driven by emotion. Sure, the room was strange and unusual. The darkness had a different sort of quality that prevented human eyes from adjusting properly, as though the shadows themselves were tangible. But it wasn’t dangerous. It was just a room.
A mysterious room with mysterious carvings all over the walls and not a single solitary light anywhere. It was creepy but not evil.
But it didn’t feel safe.
And Meg hated it. She just never said it out loud.
Velanna led the way to the corridor on the other side of the kahane-kadhan and emerged into the light shining on the stone floor. Meg stayed on her heels.
But they had to stop in the middle of the corridor, because Barb Taylor stood right in front of the doors to the library.
Oh, great. Meg swallowed the surging need to make a face. “What are you doing here?” Meg stepped around Velanna to square off with the unwelcome Terran. “You’re supposed to be in the medical wing.”
The red-headed Terran flashed a threatening sneer. “I felt like stretching my legs.”
Velanna’s sharp fingers dug into Meg’s shoulder, stopping her midstride. “It is just as well you are here, Miss Taylor.” Velanna nodded. “We would have needed to speak with you anyway.” Velanna gently pushed Meg to the side and approached the library door. “Please join us.”
Meg stewed in place, eyes fixed on Barb. Barb glared back at her until Velanna stepped into the library, and then her attention shifted to the sheer number of books in Velanna’s collection.
It was impressive certainly.
“Wow,” Barb muttered under her breath as she slid inside the enormous library, eyes bugging out at the sight of the multi-level mezzanines loaded with shelves and overflowing with ancient dusty tomes.
Meg froze in the doorway.
Wonderful. The other one is here too.
Jim Taylor sat at the main table near the center of the study area, a pair of glasses perched on his nose and a huge volume open before him.
“Jim?” Barb spotted him at the same time.
“Oh, hey, Sis.” Jim kept his gaze riveted on the book.
How had Jim found his way to the library? Meg stepped further into the room and stopped beside one of the large overstuffed chairs where Danny sprawled like a worn-out scarecrow.
She sighed and shook her head. Danny must have dragged Jim here, anticipating Velanna’s return.
If Danny brought Jim here, who brought Barb? Meg turned around to peer into the hallway.
Barb pressed her hands on the tabletop and bent her head down toward him. “Are you okay?”
“Huh?”
“Are you okay?” she ground out.
Meg rolled her eyes and walked to the table. “Of course, he’s okay. Did you think we were going to hurt him? We brought you both here to look after you.”
Barb straightened, green eyes gleaming. “You brought us here to contain us. Don’t pretend this is anything less than a power play.”
Meg gawked at her. “Oh. Well if you feel that way about it, maybe we should just let you go back to the forest so you can fend for yourselves.”
Barb leaned toward her. “I’d like that just fine.”
“I’m sure you think you would.” Meg advanced a step and tilted her head back to stare Barb in the face. “But you don’t know as much as much as you assume.”
“I know plenty.” Barb’s voice was a dangerous, quiet thing. “And I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself and my brother without you or any of your freaky little friends.”
“Barb,” Jim warned quietly.
Meg couldn’t stifle a laugh. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Margaret, govern your emotions.” Velanna pulled her chair out at the head of the table and lowered herself into it. “You are exacerbating an already difficult situation.”
“But she—”
“Miss Taylor is not familiar with our world, and she obviously feels threatened. And rightly so.” Velanna pinned Barb with her fierce, unblinking stare. “This is a strange place to you, and you are wise to be cautious.” Velanna’s eyes tightened further. “I promise you, Miss Taylor, you are safer here than you would be on your own.”
“Well, forgive me if I don’t believe everything I hear,” Barb growled, folding her arms. “As far as I can tell, none of you have any intention of helping us, so I have no intention of making your lives easier until you do.”
Meg drew herself up. “How are you this dense?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard.” Meg took another step toward her. “You’re the ones who caused the problem. You’re the ones who made the error. It’s not our fault you fell into this world. We’re trying to help you, and you’re acting like—”
“You’re not trying to help us.” Barb set her hands on her hips. “You want to keep us here, to protect your little secret identities. Well, we know who you are and where you are now.”
“And what? If we don’t let you go, you’re going to haunt the castle hallways? You can’t get back to Terran without our help. So please, keep threatening us. Keep being a jerk.”
“Enough, Margaret.” Velanna snapped.
“Yeah, enough, Margaret.” Barb shoved Meg back a step. “Stop causing trouble.”
Meg snatched Barb’s hand out of the air and twisted it to the side. “Push me again, and I will show you trouble.”
Velanna and Jim stood up at the same time, their chair legs grating on the wood floor.
Meg held Barb’s glare, watching for the flex of muscles, the shift of weight that would telegraph her intention to strike first. If Barb did strike first, she’d have to use her left hand since Meg already had her right hand pinned.
The shape of her arms, the set of her shoulders, the strength in her stance—Barb Taylor was a fighter. Meg hadn’t seen her fight, but nobody earned muscles like that without throwing more than their fair share of punches.
But how did Terrans fight? Terrans wouldn’t fight like Celticans. They had no access to marital arts like Andaiku.
“Seriously, Meg? Again?”
Jenny bounced into the library with a tin plate of oatmeal cookies. She stepped between Meg and Barb, forcing them to back apart and waving the plate of fragrant treats in their faces.
“Yasira just pulled these out of the ovens,” Jenny said. “Oatmeal blueberry with gingered apples.”
From the chair in the corner, Danny snorted and came awake with a jolt. “Cookies? I smell cookies.”
Meg sighed and rubbed the sides of her head with her knuckles. Why were her siblings so intent on making friends with these Terrans? Didn’t they have enough friends among the Josharons?
Jenny set the plate on a trivet at the center of the table and bounded back to hug Barb’s arm. “You should try one!”
“Get off me.” Barb struggled to disentangle her arm from Jenny’s grip.
“Don’t you like cookies?” Jenny gasped. “Oh no, what if they don’t have cookies in Terran? That’s a horrible thought! Do you have cookies in Terran?”
“Yes,” Jim said wearily, sinking back into his chair at the table. “We have cookies.”
“Oh good.” Jenny hugged Barb’s arm again. “That would have been too horrible to imagine, although it would explain a few things.”
“Like what?” Barb freed her arm.
“Like why you’re so grouchy.” Jenny set her hands on her hips. “If you’d never had a cookie before, it would be no wonder.”
“Jenny, stop.” Meg leaned on the table. “We don’t need cookies.”
Jenny looked at her with liquid eyes. “Everyone needs cookies, Meg.”
Barb sneered. “Her cookies saved you from a broken nose, Goldilocks.”
“Saket!” Velanna slapped her hand on the table.
Meg jumped at the sound and spun to stare in surprise at the Celtican woman. Velanna’s pale expression had grown dark, her eyes sparkling.
“Enough.” Velanna pinned her with a glare. “This bickering is childish, and it is a waste of what little time remains.”
Jenny folded like a trampled violet, withdrawing from the table with her eyes downcast and her head hanging between her shoulders.
“Velanna.” Meg turned to her.
“Be silent, Margaret.” Velanna’s teal eyes glimmered brightly, the tension in her jaw making her face more angular that normal. “You have tried my patience enough today. Now sit and be still.”
Meg dug her fingernails into her palms again and resumed chewing on the inside of her cheek. But she didn’t sit down. She’d probably pay for it later, but as long as Barb Taylor was a threat, Meg wasn’t going to let her guard down.
And Barb was still standing.
The moment Velanna raised her voice, Barb had narrowed her eyes. Now she stood with arms folded and jaw tight.
“Both interdimensional portals remain open,” Velanna said, her voice returning to its normal calm cadence. “They are emitting a traceable signal. I have therefore begun a remote scanning sequence which should reveal the location of any other rips in Rainbow Valley.”
“What about Dr. Fallen?” Jim folded his hands on the table slowly, his gaze still darting uncertainly between Meg and Barb, as though he expected one of them to start throwing punches.
Jim had good instincts.
“I have requested that the villages be on alert.” Velanna sat in her chair gracefully. “As soon as they locate him, they will contact us.”
Barb shook her head. “Not good enough.”
Jim glanced at her. “Barb.”
“No.” Barb focused on Velanna. “Dr. Fallen isn’t my favorite person, but he’s a colleague. He’s one of us, and I’m not budging until I get a guarantee that every resource you people have is being utilized to find him and get him here safely.”
One of Velanna’s eyebrows twitched.
Meg barked a laugh.
Whoever Barb Taylor thought she was, she had nerve. Nobody talked to Velanna Ittai like that.
Nobody.
Velanna had almost gone rigid in her chair, eyes narrowed at Barb.
Meg bit her tongue. Hard. Come on, Velanna. Govern those pesky emotions. But her expression must have given her thoughts away since Velanna’s searing gaze shifted toward her and grew even sharper.
“You have no idea who we are,” Barb continued. “My brother and I are—”
“Barb, leave me out of this,” Jim muttered.
“—very important people in our world. Influential people.” Barb leaned over the table toward Velanna. “If we don’t come back quickly, they will figure out what happened. Jim and Dr. Fallen have documented every step they took. Our superiors will find us, and when they discover that you and your little band of freaks here have held us captive and refused to release us, you’re going to be in a world of hurt.”
Velanna blinked at her.
In the corner, Danny gaped at her with his mouth hanging open. Jenny’s hands had crawled up over her mouth, and her eyes inflated with every word Barb spat.
Meg leaned back on the heel of one boot.
Keep going, Barb. Keep digging that hole.
Velanna could only be pushed so far, but at this point, Meg wasn’t sure what would be more satisfying—witnessing Velanna lose her trademark cool or watching Velanna snap Barb Taylor in half.
“So here’s what’s going to happen.” Barb splayed her hands on the tabletop, still holding Velanna’s gaze like she thought she was winning.
Poor, pathetic Terran. She has no idea who she’s talking to.
“Jim and I are going to take over the search for Dr. Fallen,” Barb said. “Your people are going to stay out of our way. You’re going to supply us with horses and gear, and while we’re looking for Fallen, you’re going to find a way to get us home.”
She’s got a death wish. Meg glanced briefly between Barb and Velanna. Forget the poor, pathetic Terran bit. Velanna’s going to skin her alive, and I’m going to love every second of it.
Slowly, methodically, Velanna sat back in her chair, tilting her head to the side slightly. The tightness around her eyes had vanished. She tension in her jaw was gone. The gleam in her eyes had become something dark and sparkling.
Barb Taylor wasn’t going to know what hit her.
“Miss Taylor,” Velanna spoke, her accent strong in spite of how slowly she enunciated, “I appreciate your desire to protect your people.”
“I appreciate being appreciated.”
Velanna offered her a false smile that barely moved her cheekbones. “Perhaps I have not been clear.”
“No, you’ve been perfectly clear.” Barb straightened and crossed her arms. “Your plan just doesn’t work for me.”
“I see.”
“So either you get with the program and do this our way,” Barb said, “or I promise you, there will be consequences.”
Velanna set her hands on the table and took a long, deep breath. “It is good to know,” she said quietly.
“What’s good to know?” Barb scowled at her.
“That Terrans have not changed at all.” Velanna’s searing gaze returned to Barb’s face. “You remain self-centered and petty as you have always been. Perhaps one day someone will train it out of you.” Velanna shifted her gaze to Jim, who had fallen silent, his eyes nervously shifting back and forth between Velanna and his older sister. “What say you, James?”
“You’re talking to me.” Barb stepped on Jim’s reply before he could make it. “Don’t change the subject.”
“You are talking at me, Miss Taylor.” Velanna nodded calmly at Jim. “I have no intention of continuing to attempt communication with you. If your brother, who is by far the more reasonable of the two of you, is in agreement with your strategy, then we will happily let you both find your own way.”
“Fine.” Barb whirled on Jim. “Tell her.”
Jim stared at her, his mouth open halfway. “What?”
“Tell her she’s wrong.”
Jim whimpered and sank back in his chair. “Why are you like this?”
“Tell her.”
“Tell her what, Barb?” Jim spread his hands. “Tell her what?”
“That you agree with me.”
“I don’t!”
Meg glanced at Jim in surprise. That wasn’t what she’d expected him to say. So far Jim hadn’t pushed back much against his sister. He did whatever she told him to do.
Jim ran his hands into his hair. “I know you’re upset.” He reached out to grab her arm. “But you need to calm down.”
“I’m perfectly calm.” She yanked her arm away from him.
“Sure you are, Red.” Jim made a face. “You go around barking orders at people and being a total jerk-face all the time.”
“I am not a jerk-face.”
“You’re acting like one.” He stuck out his tongue at her.
Barb snorted and folded her arms, looking away from him.
Jim leaned toward her. “Would you stop and think? For just a second? That’s all I’m asking.”
She glared at him.
“Do you know where Fallen is?”
“I can find him.”
“How?”
“I can track him.”
“Yeah, because you know how to track people in a forest full of walking talking fox people and Centaurs and alien plants?” Jim lifted his brows. “And you know all the trees and the leaves and bushes, and you know all the wildlife we’ll encounter? Because you’ve carefully studied detailed maps of the terrain and geography?”
The twitching muscle in Barb’s jaw seemed to release, and the flare of her nostrils relaxed.
“You did all that?” Jim waved his hand.
“No.”
“No.” Jim nodded. “Of course you can track him, Barb. You can track anybody. But we know nothing about this world. Or these people. Except that they could have left us, and they didn’t.” He pointed to her bandaged shoulder. “They helped us.”
“They won’t let us go,” Barb muttered under her breath.
“Can you blame them?” Jim stretched his arm to grab her wrist and gently pull her a step toward him. “I know you want to protect us, but you’re making it worse.”
She sighed and glanced away.
“Stop being a jerk, please.”
The change in Barb’s body language was almost instantaneous. Her clenched shoulders relaxed. Her rigid posture released. Her breathing evened out.
Meg looked at Velanna. The Celtican woman wasn’t smiling. Velanna didn’t really smile. But she did have a light in her eyes that only showed up when she’d proved herself right about something.
Had she known that Jim would be able to get Barb to stop acting so aggressive?
Barb pulled her hand away from him and ruffled his hair. “If we never get home again, it’s your fault.”
“I know.”
“I’ll make you go camping.”
Jim grumbled.
“And I’ll make you eat my cooking.”
Jim rolled his eyes. “Are you done?”
Barb grunted and crossed her arms again. “Yes, I’m done.”
“Would you pass me a cookie?”
Barb stared at him in disbelief, and Jenny squealed with excitement, launching at the table and snatching up the plate. “Here! I’ll pass a cookie! Eat lots of cookies!”
Jim plucked two off the plate. “Thanks.”
Jenny shoved the plate in Barb’s face. “Eat up. You’ll be less grouchy.”
Grudgingly, Barb took a cookie and stepped behind Jim’s chair, leaning against it and scowling.
Jim turned his attention back to Velanna. “Sorry about that.”
Velanna’s face had resumed its normal neutral expression, and her eyes didn’t look so angry. Instead she looked—pleased. Very pleased.
“No apologies necessary, James.” Velanna held his gaze. “I realized this is difficult for you, but we must focus on the priority.”
“The rips,” Jim said. “And getting them to close.”
“Yes.” Velanna nodded. “I am most grateful for your understanding.” She cast a brief glance at Barb. “Miss Taylor?”
“What?”
“Perhaps you would rest easier after you have had a chance to refresh yourself?”
“I won’t rest until we get home.” Barb wouldn’t look at her.
“Barb.” Jim turned in his chair. “The only way we’re going to get home is if Velanna and I can figure out what went wrong with our procedures. It’s going to be a lot of tech talk.”
Barb twitched her nose.
“Quantum mechanics. Probably some astrophysics.”
She squeezed the bridge of her nose. “I don’t want to leave you in here by yourself.”
“Yeah.” Jim took a bite of his cookie. “They’re obviously trying to kill me in all sorts of creative ways.” He grunted appreciatively. “Those are good.”
Barb shook her head.
“You could at least wash all the blood off.” Jim nodded at her arm. “Maybe change into something that isn’t stiff with blood and dirt?”
“Are you saying I stink, Jim?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to mention it.”
“Margaret.” Velanna turned her face to look at Meg. “Please escort Miss Taylor to your room and allow her to clean herself up.”
Meg bristled slightly. She didn’t want a stranger in her room, let alone a rude one like Barb Taylor. But she’d already pushed her luck with Velanna too far today. She didn’t dare push any further.
“Fine,” Meg nodded.
The corner of Velanna’s mouth turned down slightly.
“Mind your attitude, Margaret.” The fake smile came back.
Meg hated that smile.
Velanna turned her expression to Jenny. “Jennifer, thank you for the cookies. Am I correct in remembering that you and Yasira were taking preserves to Palayta Village this evening?”
“Oh, right!” Jenny bounced in place. “Thanks for remembering!”
“Of course, dear.”
Jenny bolted out the door and skipped down the corridor toward the kitchens. Meg strode toward the library door as Velanna looked back to Jim and launched into some complex theory about interdimensional barriers and unstable wormholes.
After all this was over, Meg would be running barefoot laps in the training hall for a month.
Barb fell into step behind her, and they entered the hallway together in uncomfortable silence. They’d have to walk back through the dark room, past the kitchens and the hearth room, to reach the wing of the castle where the humans kept their rooms. It would be a long, awkward journey.
But as long as Barb didn’t want to talk, Meg wouldn’t talk either.
They passed through the hallways together, Barb behind her and just to her left. Neither of them spoke, but they fell into an easy rhythm in spite of the silence. Maybe because of it.
Admittedly, nothing had gone like Meg expected in the library. She’d expected Velanna to put Barb in her place, but as usual, Velanna maneuvered someone else into doing it for her.
Granted, Jim was probably the only person who could have calmed Barb down.
“Your mom is a piece of work,” Barb snarled from behind Meg’s shoulder.
Meg frowned. She wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but it probably wasn’t intended to be complimentary. “You were being rude.”
Barb didn’t respond immediately, but at last she sighed. “Yeah. I was.”
Meg nearly stopped walking. She hadn’t expected Barb to agree with her. Barb wasn’t an agreeing-person. She was a fighting-person.
Barb chuckled wryly. “Think she’ll strangle me next time she sees me?”
“Strangle? No,” Meg said bluntly. “Dismemberment? Possibly.”
“Ah. So not as good at governing those emotions as she likes people to think, huh?”
Meg stopped and looked back at her.
They held each other’s gazes for a long, silent moment.
What game was Barb Taylor playing? How closely had she been watching Meg and Velanna’s interactions? How could she have so quickly come to the same conclusion Meg had reached? It had taken Meg years and years and many conversations with Tolan to understand how Velanna functioned. Barb hadn’t even known her a day.
Barb’s eyes flicked up and down Meg’s face before she settled into a smirk that verged on arrogant. “She isn’t hiding it as well as she thinks she is.”
“Want to tell her that?” Meg started walking again.
“Not even a little bit.” Barb hissed as they rounded a corner, and her motion slowed to a pain-filled limp.
Meg nearly smiled.
She had to be careful. If she didn’t watch herself, she might start to like Barb Taylor. And that would be awkward, especially since she fully intended to punch her square in the nose at her first opportunity.

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