A portal.Impossible. Well, maybe not impossible, but improbable. A number of scientists posited the existence of other universes. But more likely the stress of her grandmother’s lies had unhinged some dreaded corner of Thia’s mind.
And yet.Get away from that thing.The terror on her grandmother’s face had been real. Like she’d known what it was, what it could do. Did that mean…did that mean Thia really had fallen through a portal?
That thought was too outrageous to entertain.
Callista was staring at her, an odd look on her face. “You must be very powerful, to command such an object.”
Thia smoothed her hair. Loose tendrils stuck to the blood on her face, making her feel itchy and claustrophobic. “What? No. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to come here.”
Callista traced the shard again. “Then tell me, dear, how did it happen?”
Unable to take the sensation any longer, Thia pulled out her elastic and shook her curls, then began smoothing them back into a neat braid. The process required picking hairs out of the drying blood, and she winced as her nail scraped her cheek a touch too enthusiastically. “There was a storm,” she said. Her finger dripped with a mix of her own red blood and the strange black substance, sending a jolt of anxiety through her as she considered the probability of infection. “The mirror was glowing. When I looked into it, something…tugged me through.” That was exactly how it had felt: like something had gotten hold of her chest andpulled.
Callista’s gaze was still on the shard, her hands glowing again as she whispered strange words and traced its broken edges.
Thia stared. “You’re magic,” she blurted, brain finally catching up. “Can you send me back?”
Callista clenched the shard in a delicate hand. “Back where?”
“Kansas.”
“Kansas.” She said the word like it was too big for her mouth. Then she waved her wrist, murmuring something that sounded like, “Fey galle,” and the shard jumped into the air. Twine appeared out of nowhere to wrap around the edge of the glass, before slithering into large loop around Thia’s neck. A necklace, the shard its pendant.
“Never heard of it,” Callista said.
“Oh.” Whatever hope had briefly bloomed in Thia’s chest wilted.
“I’m sorry. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t help you. My power only reaches as far as this realm.”
“Is there no other way?”
Callista watched her for a moment. “There is one…” Then she shook her head, smooth blonde waves bouncing. “No. Forget it.”
Thia clutched the shard. “What?”
Callista grimaced, the expression too harsh for her pristine features. “It is too dangerous. I should not have mentioned it.”
“Please,” Thia said. “I want to go home.” Her voice sounded small and pathetic. She rubbed a clammy palm down her cotton pajama shorts.
Callista considered her. Then she sighed. “There is one who could aid you. The Mage King.”
Thia inhaled sharply. “The one you called a terror?”
Callista laughed. “He only punishes those who stand against his rule. You have nothing to fear for wishing to return home. And he is a great mage.”
“He’ll be able to help me?”
“I cannot say that he has helped many people,” Callista said lightly. “But his power is vast indeed. He could create a portal.”
Thia’s grip on her calm threatened to desert her with every passing second. She chewed the inside of her lip, letting the pain steady her. “How do I find—”
Behind Callista, there was a wild shriek as one of the nÿgens succeeded in ripping what appeared to be the witch’s brain from his brethren’s claws.
Callista spun. “Fersvera!” she shouted. The nÿgens froze, mid-movement. “I beg your pardon,” she said. “Disgusting little things, are they not, with their scales and snouts? And those beady little red eyes…” She smiled, and there was no disgust at all in her face. In fact, she seemed rather pleased.
Thia cleared her throat. “It’s the hands for me,” she said mildly, and the sorceress laughed.
“Indeed. What is your name, then?”
