They lay on the floor in Elvie’s room in the exact spot of their departure.

‘Oh, Lord save us.’ Flynn moaned into the floor. He trembled as he pushed himself up to lean against the bed

Elvie could barely move, her breathing rapid and strength depleted. ‘Flynn…’ A yawning chasm had opened to suck the life from her muscles as a result of Mendolyn drawing from her magic.

‘We nearly… we could have… Uh! I don’t know Elvie, but that was crazy! Did you see that shadow thing before we went into the portal? That was absolutely crazy! Tell me that we’re never going to do that again.’

‘Flynn,’ she said again, weaker still, as darkness descended across her vision.

His wild eyes focused on her, expanding further with shock at what he saw.

‘Bloody hell,’ he cursed. ‘Hold on, Elvie. I’ll get help.’

He was through the door and running as blackness claimed her.

Perhaps it was her frayed mental state; perhaps it was how close she was to death at that moment, but her mind desperately cried for family.

Somewhere deep inside, the longing materialised into a dream, but not just any dream. No, this was a dream where her father died.

Elvie sat in the car in her usual seat behind her father – comfortable and safe. All was quiet as the shadows flitted across the back of his head, becoming light when another car passed on the highway before receding to comfortable darkness. It was late, she could tell, and they travelled alone beneath the watchful gaze of a full moon.

The dream flickered.

A force punched across the car and swept it into a railing on the side of the road. The impact savaged the metal, shredding it like cheese through a grater. Her father’s car flipped and warped onwards as twenty bestial lions roared themselves to silence. Harsh breaths were left in their wake – the gargled whispers of damage and destruction.

In the back seat, Elvie sat disoriented. She had spun, twisted, bounced and railed along with her father. When the car came to a rest, she wanted to scream, to see if her father was all right, and cry for help if he wasn’t. She wanted to rip herself free of the seatbelt and help him from the car.

But she couldn’t. It was just a dream.

In her dream, flames flickered to life in the tangled remnants of the car.

In her dream, her father didn’t move – dead at worst, unconscious at best.

In her dream, the fire raged to an explosive inferno, hurling Elvie from the car into the night sky. The flames chased her upwards until all that was visible was the tiny beacon of flames glowing below as they spread to the woods beside the highway.

In her dream, her father died.

Elvie woke with a scream.

Flynn fell off the bed.

Elvie kept screaming, a gut-wrenching cry emanating from the depths of her soul.

‘Elvie! Elvie! Oh my goodness. Elvie!’ Flynn’s voice sought to pierce her panic, but she kept screaming. The pain of what she’d witnessed was too intense. Dad! Dad! Her mind screamed, even as Flynn sought to hold her tight. She desperately flailed against his embrace as wild panic invaded her thoughts.

A part of her was aware Rilla ran into the room, left the room, and returned with Alistar and Elisabeth in tow. She vaguely recognised Elisabeth’s hand as it passed across her face, felt the gentle touch of magic soothe an agony deep inside – and as abruptly as they began, her screams stopped.

Flynn hovered close.

Rilla had tears in her eyes and pulled Elvie’s hand to her chest, as if by doing so she could ease all her pains. ‘I’m sorry, Elvie,’ she whispered over and over.

But Rilla was there! She tried a smile, but numbness controlled her face, keeping it detached. ‘No, I’m sorry… I don’t know what happened,’ she mumbled.

‘You nearly frayed!’ Flynn supplied.

‘Oh…’ Mendolyn’s spell had tapped some deep reserve inside Elvie, and sucked everything out.

‘You had blood coming from your eyes, your ears… I mean, your floor is partially decorated in blood still, I’d guess.’

‘I did manage to clean it up, young man.’ Elisabeth gave Flynn a glare.

He swallowed carefully. ‘But what did you do to nearly fray? The first time, you were fine, But that second time…’

Elvie took a deep breath, and Alistar interjected. ‘Why don’t we skip that part for the moment, and you go right back to the beginning. Are you able to tell us what happened?’

A tear formed at the corner of her eye, but it was slightly more controlled. ‘My father, he’s dead… I saw…’

‘But that’s not what Flynn was saying… that must have been a nightmare.’ Rilla replied, her hand still clenching Elvie’s.

‘No, it can’t be. It looked too real. It felt too real.’

‘You’re here… and you’re safe. Your father is probably at home right now…’ Rilla tried again.

Alistar wore a frown on his face before he shook himself, he raised a hand when Elisabeth touched him gently on the shoulder.

‘Now is not the time Alistar. She needs rest first – something clearly traumatic has happened, and she needs time to find herself.

‘Yes, yes. Of course you do. I’d need rest too, if I’d had a nightmare of such magnitude. Or would I?’ Some of his usual behaviour resurfaced. ‘Take time to feel better, and then I would love to hear a long story.’

Alistar paused in the doorway before turning to Elisabeth. ‘What do you say to some breakfast, madam? Goodwin will get bored if we don’t put him to some use. Our lovely students need time, no doubt, to concoct the most acceptable form of their story.’

Elisabeth smiled at Alistar before turning to Elvie. ‘Rest is what you need. Not talk. Make it quick, and then lie down. Even if you don’t sleep…’ She made her way from the room with Alistar.

‘I don’t want to concoct a story.’ Elvie looked from Rilla to Flynn and back again. ‘I think I’ve done enough of that. Flynn, do you think I could ask you a favour? Will you… tell them? Tell them… I guess they need to know all of it – tell them everything.’

Flynn eyed her askance before nodding. ‘Don’t forget that we’re still due a conversation or two.’

Elvie sat on her bed, numb to the world, racked by both emotional and physical pain. A tear again leaked its way from her eye and across her cheek.

Her life didn’t make sense since she’d come to this time. No, it wasn’t her life anymore. Her life was that of a teenager in Australia, where she would go to the movies or hang out with her friends. Her life involved watching television in the afternoon before her mother told her it was time for homework, and she naturally complained. Those were the safe and straightforward routines that she understood.

Elvie took deep steadying breaths and tried a tremulous smile. Take control back, she told herself. One foot in front of the other, starting with Rilla. ‘I thought you were staying in Ash House… No, I’ve said that terribly. I’m glad you’re here, and not in Ash House.’

Concern lingered in Rilla’s expression. ‘I wanted to, and Ghirstwen was nice enough to give me my old room. I think she thought I would be back sooner. But it didn’t feel right anymore as something was always missing. The more I stay in Elder House, the more it feels like home and…’

‘I missed you,’ Elvie told her sincerely.

‘I missed you too.’ Rilla replied, and threw her arms around Elvie for a hug.

‘I promise you, Rilla, I’ll figure it out. Even if I have to drag you to the future with me – we’re going to be inseparable, you and I.’ She was unsure how, but she’d find a way.

A flicker of hope lit Rilla’s eyes. ‘My mother always told me not to make promises I can’t keep.’

‘So did mine!’ Elvie gave a small giggle, feeling a brief moment of respite before the image of her father burning reignited her bleak mood. ‘I’m so sick of this. I don’t understand half of what happens in my life anymore. But we did travel, Rilla. Flynn and I, last night. We travelled to the Fey!’

‘What’s the Fey?’ Rilla asked.

A growling ensued from her stomach as she pushed herself to the edge of the bed. ‘I think I could do with some food.’

‘Well, it has been three days. Everyone will be in the kitchen.’

‘Wait, I’ve been in bed for three days. No wonder everything is sore.’

Rilla nodded, and helped her to sit up.

As the fog in her head slowly cleared, she idly wondered what had happened to the scroll. It was nowhere in sight. Did it fall through when the pathway opened or had someone grabbed it when they came in? Everything occurred so quickly that the specifics were hard to recall.

Elisabeth, Alistar, Callum, and Flynn had gathered in the kitchen where Flynn had started his narration. Elisabeth raised an eyebrow as they entered, but a slight inclination of her head told Elvie thought she was happy to see her up rather than lying in bed despondent.

Rilla was gently supporting Elvie – her physical pain was fading, leaving her slightly weak. Flynn was clearly in the process of telling the story to his engrossed audience, and Elvie and Rilla joined them at the table.

As the tale unfolded, Alistar’s reaction became comical; his eyes became as large as saucers, and while he contained himself until the end, he fired off question after question when it finished. Callum took the news more stoically, processing things as was his way. Elisabeth looked plain horrified.

‘Who were…? What happened when…? What did the creatures look like? The ghost of who? Tell me it all again!’ Flynn answered the questions patiently, perhaps realising Elvie wasn’t up for the task yet. Elvie provided a few brief additions, but Flynn primarily described the events accurately. He did, surprisingly, not mention the staff. Perhaps that was because he was waiting on the ‘conversation’ with Elvie. She would need to thank him later, as that was a secret Alistar might not be too happy to hear – in fact, there were multiple things for which she needed to be both thankful and apologetic.

In the end, after a quick debate with Callum over the best course of action to take, Alistar decided to seek further counsel. ‘We’re going to talk to the other Masters.’

Elvie’s face lit up with concern.

‘No, don’t worry, I’ll keep your secrets. But there are wiser heads than my own, if you’ll believe that, and sometimes they tell me tidbits to complement the loads of rubbish they give. Hopefully, their snippets will allow a clear path to be plotted forward.’

‘I agree,’ Elisabeth seconded. ‘But perhaps we can first retire to the study to discuss this further, without the presence of students. I have some questions I would like answered.’

Alistar winced; Callum shrugged his agreement. The three students were left alone.

‘I want to say how sorry I am for all of this,’ Elvie began. ‘But I also don’t want to lie to you anymore. While I’m sorry about what happened Flynn, and the danger you were in, I’m not sorry we did it. It is one more step to taking me home.’ And that is a step I am desperate to take, now.

Rilla gave Elvie another hug. ‘I’m sorry for my part in this. I didn’t stop to think how hard it must be for you to have lost your family.’

‘I guess I can understand.’ Flynn told her. ‘I don’t get on that well with my own… but I still like to know that they are safe and well. You really need to think through the risk though – you were, well, reckless.’

Sighing, Elvie said: ‘The risks are what seem to get me closer. And now that there is something I desperately want to know, I can’t say I won’t take those risks again.’

‘What do you want to know?’ Flynn queried.

‘Whether my father is still alive. Whether that was a dream or some sort of vision. I will get back home, and when I do, I’m going to save him.’

‘But can you do that?’

‘I don’t think so, not yet. That spell took us into the Fey, and a different spell was required to get us out. That’s a good start, and I feel closer than I’ve ever been.’ She found a new determination in those words.

‘The first thing you need is to recover,’ Rilla mothered her.

‘Good morning young Misses, and young Sir.’ Goodwin greeted with his usual enthusiasm as he emerged from the back of the kitchen. ‘I think I can go some way to helping your recovery.’ He laid a plate of toasted bread, beans, bacon and egg in front of Elvie. ‘Food in the tummy always sets me halfway to feeling right.’

‘That looks delicious,’ Rilla said, while Flynn and Elvie went for a plain ‘thank you’. As Goodwin returned to the kitchen, Rilla continued. ‘Oh, I just remembered, what with everything that has happened. Did either of you hear the news?’

Elvie and Flynn shook their heads. ‘I just woke up!’ Elvie told her, digging into her food.

Rilla blushed. ‘Of course, silly me. But it’s about the Duels. The Sentinel has withdrawn, and it was only a few hours after the ceremony too. It’s set gossip alight, as nobody seems to know why he did, or why he was going to fight in the first place, if he would so quickly withdraw. It’s very unusual, and has every student talking.’

Elvie could picture the lighthouse with nobody sitting inside of it. Why take the Sentinel away from the lighthouse if he was only going to withdraw from the event? That didn’t make any sense. Unless…

‘He is still here though, isn’t he, on the Island that is?’ she asked Rilla.

‘Maybe? I guess so… Nobody has said he went back to the Lighthouse.’

‘That’s the answer then, isn’t it?’ Elvie concluded. ‘It’s an act – a clever one too. He was never here to compete, but someone made a rather lame attempt to make it look like he did. That way, nobody would panic.’

‘Why would anyone panic?’ Rilla’s voice sounded worried.

‘I see it, now,’ Flynn told her. ‘Brilliant. They needed the Sentinel out of the lighthouse and onto the Island without his transfer appearing too obvious. The protection is now here, closer, while the Duels are on.’

‘That’s worrying,’ Rilla told them. ‘Murders… and now the Sentinel on the Island. I’m not afraid to say that it makes me scared.’

‘I guess I’d rather have him on the Island than too far away.’ Flynn said. ‘If protection is needed, the Sentinel is in the right place now.’

They sat in silence for some time, chewing on their food before Rilla said: ‘So what do we do now?’

Flynn shrugged. ‘Not much we can do, other than be observant. You can’t live in fear. Elvie wants to get home, and we’re going to help her to do that.’

‘But what do we do?’ Rilla repeated.

‘Why, what we always do. Read books, of course. Do more research.’

Elvie groaned. She should have predicted that answer.