“Can I come with you?” A tiny voice spoke as we headed into the bathroom. “You’re going to Lavender’s house, right?”

Kalli turned to look at Shiviria. “We’re trying to find a cure for this poison. It’s probably going to be boring.”

“I don’t mind.” She replied, looking hopeful. “I just want to hang out with you guys.”

Do you mind, Mel? Kalli asked privately.

It was hard to tell whether she wanted me to object or not. The last thing I wanted to do was stand in the way of two sisters bonding.

No, I don’t mind at all.

There! The decision was left in Kalli’s hands. Kalli motioned Shiv toward the portal door. “Come on.”

Together, the three of us crossed between worlds. I looked back at the mystical door as we passed through the bathroom in Lavender’s house. The idea that a door like that could exist so casually made me shudder.

Lavender must be very powerful. She even has a door that goes to Luna.

Kalli gaped at me. She does? How do you know that?

I sat on the bed and Kalli plopped down next to me waiting for an answer.

She sort of visited me up there.

I could tell she was getting mad. Why hadn’t I told her about that? She then took a few breaths to calm herself. Well, that’s wonderful. If she has a door to Luna, then you can take me there, right?

Shiv looked back and forth at us, watching our expressions change as we had our private discussion. “You two are talking in your minds again, huh? Talk to me too.”

Kalli smiled and patted the bed next to her. “Come here. We will talk out loud. Sorry, sis.”

Shiv sat and smiled. “I like when you call me that. It’s so nice having a sister.”

“I agree.” Kalli chirped, laughing with Shiv.

“I want a sister,” I complained.

Kalli stuck her tongue out at me. “Did you forget? You have two of them.”

I thought about Kiki and Maya. It felt different somehow. I rubbed my chin and amended. “I want a little sister.”

Just then the door burst open and Lavender strode into the room followed by Sylvia and Eddie. Sylvia beamed at me and announced, “I’ll be your sister!”

Running over to the bed, she tackled me. I pushed her off and yelled, “Don’t touch me. I’m contagious, er, poisonous. It can spread through my mana.”

Lavender waved me off. “It’s fine. So long as you don’t push your mana into them, they won’t be infected. It’s actually quite hard to spread what you have.”

“You know about it?” I asked, wondering why I was surprised.

Lavender nodded and pulled up a chair. “Actually yes. I knew this was going to happen. I see glimpses of the future. Before you ask, I cannot get involved. Any direct action on my part changes things, and usually not for the better. The best I can do is offer you guidance and hope you make wise decisions.”

“Why me?” I asked, wondering if Lavender played the role of mage whisperer for every awakened she came across.

She let out a long sigh and said, “I honestly shouldn’t get involved. It is your destiny to save or destroy the world as we know it. Let me rephrase that. You have a big role to play. Both of you do.”

Kalli shuddered next to me when Lavender mentioned her. “What do you mean? I’m not special. I’m just an orphan.”

“Hmm,” Lavender said, rubbing her chin. “I suppose the two of you don’t see it. You have a profound effect on each other and the worlds around you. Kalliphae, you may have been raised in an orphanage but that does not define you any more than the ancient blood that flows through your veins. And Melvin, I am sure you are becoming aware that your bloodline is special but that by itself has little meaning. There are a great deal of people with M blood. It’s the two of you together that’s causing ripples.”

Kalli and I looked at each other and shrugged. “I get that I feel special when I’m with Kalli but how does that affect the outside world?”

Lavender shook her head. “Try to observe the world around you and the impact you have on it. Again, I cannot tell you all I know of the future or it will change. That’s my destiny as a fate. Contrary to popular belief, I cannot change the threads of destiny. All I can do is occasionally pluck the strands and hope they don’t snap.”

“The dark lands!” Kalli shouted. “We changed that. All those people, Mel. Together, we changed their lives.”

A smile appeared on Lavender’s face as she nodded. “Yes, dear child. That you did. You also had an impact on The Academy during your brief tenure there. Every time you awaken someone, you change their destiny. Take young Sylvia for example. She wouldn’t exist without your intervention.”

I jumped to my feet, shaking my head. “No! You can’t say I’m changing the world just because I saved a life. People do that every day and the world doesn’t change.”

“It does for that person,” Lavender argued. “You didn’t just save one life. You saved thousands. Additionally, people notice when you do these things. Powerful people. It was inevitable that this was going to happen, which is why you must be trained.”

“What about the poison?” Kalli asked. “Can you help us with that?”

Lavender shook her head. “I am not an alchemist. This is one of those things that you must work out for yourselves without my help. It may be frustrating not to be able to use your mana directly on people but I assure you that you can heal them using the methods you worked out in Tierra. You can also be healed by Sylvia’s hugs, so don’t fear that. It would make her sad if you did.”

Sylvia jumped up and wrapped herself around my hip to demonstrate. I immediately felt her mana washing over me. She smiled up at me and said, “Hugs are good, right?”

I nodded and patted her on the head. “Yep, they sure are.”

“So what are we going to do about the poison?” Kalli asked, frowning at me.

Since Lavender was out of the question, we were back to the drawing board. After thinking about it for a minute, I suggested, “I guess we need to have those vials identified.”

Lavender winked at me and replied. “Yes. That would be a good idea. I know of a person. I can have her meet you at the guild in San Diego.”

“How do you know about…” I began, realizing instantly that it was pointless to ask Lavender how she knew things. “I mean, thanks for the recommendation.”

She smiled. “Another thing. Be careful how you interact with the gods while you are poisoned. As beings of pure mana, your particular infection can cause lasting damage to not only them but also to their believers who lend them mana.”

“Wait a second.” I began. “I summoned Byakko just the other day. Will that be a problem?”

Lavender shook her head. “No. You’re fine there. He never placed his mark on you. The act of summoning is safe. Just warn them that you are corrupted when you do.”

Kalli raised her hand and fidgeted beside me. Lavender smiled when she noticed. “Yes. I mean, yes, I can show you to the door. Also, you don’t have to raise your hand.”

“You know what I was going to ask?” Kalli asked nervously.

Lavender nodded. “Yes. You wish to visit your home world. Well, your long-lost ancestor's homeworld. Melvin has only seen a small part of it. I must warn you though. You may not like what you find.”

When we both nodded, Lavender continued. “Very well. I will schedule an appointment with the guild tomorrow at noon for you. That should give you sufficient time to explore Luna and get a good night’s sleep.

Shiviria tugged on Kalli’s sleeve. “Can I come with you guys? I want to see Luna too.”

Lavender smiled at her. “Actually, Shiviria, I have something I’d like to show you that I am sure you will enjoy. Eddie and Sylvia can come too.”

Shiv looked back and forth between the enchanter and us, unsure of what to do. “But it’s my homeworld too!”

Kalli knelt in front of her. “I promise I’ll take you with me next time for sure.”

Lavender stood. “Then it’s settled. The two of you try to come back early. You will want a full night’s sleep for tomorrow.”

She offered Shiv her hand and it was apparent that the topic was not open for debate. As she got to the door, she turned. “It’s the other door in the restroom by the way.”

“The other door?” I started to ask but she was gone.

Kalli and I made our way back into the restroom, once again speaking in mate chat.

I swear there was only one door in here.

When we arrived in the restroom we noticed a new door on the far side of the room. It was not there before. I marched over to the toilet and Kalli asked, What are you doing?

I shrugged. Might as well go before we visit Luna. It’s not like they have any facilities over there.

Ew, gross. She began while stamping her foot in disgust. Then she thought better of it. Actually, I should probably go too.

***

Stepping through magical doors was the best way to travel between dimensions. There was no teleportation sickness and we always arrived right where we meant to.

In our case, it was the throne room of Celestea Castle. The duplicate. Or was Gaian Celestea the dupe? Thinking about it made my head hurt. Kalli made her way over to the throne and ran her finger over it. Are you sure this isn’t Gaia?

I nodded, looking around for the gods.

I’m pretty sure. It’s not exactly the same. Did you notice there’s a lot less furniture?

It was true. On Gaia, Celestea had furnished the throne room with several sitting areas so that people could be comfortable while they waited for their chance to have an audience. The throne room on Luna was barren, except for a pair of thrones and a regal red carpet.

Kalli sat gingerly on the throne, looking like she expected it to bite her or something. Is this connected to the same magic as our castle?

I shrugged.

I’m not sure. It did let you sit, so there’s that.

She smiled at me and stood up. I want to see Luna. Can we go outside?

Together, we made our way out of the throne room. Kalli gave me a suspicious look when we didn’t head for the front door.

I want to see if we can get on the roof. The first time we came here I thought there might be a good view from up there.

She said nothing and let me guide her through the endless halls of Celestea Castle. I tried to bypass the machine room but Kalli tugged on my hand as she tried to enter. I just want to see it. I won’t touch anything.

I walked into the room slowly, thinking about world magic while Kalli examined the console. She pointed at the red button. What does that one do?

Her comment made me remember that I had the same reaction the first time I saw it. I checked the status menu to see if anything changed.

Current Power Level:

57%

Low

Connected Locations

3

20% Connected

Error:

Maintainance Required

Faults found:

23

Reset? Y/N

Temperature

250 degrees

Within Limits

Outside of being low on power, it seemed relatively stable. Kalli’s finger hovered over the button as she tossed me a mischievous glance.

I don’t know what it does but you probably shouldn’t press it.

She looked at the screen I was examining and asked, What does it mean three locations? I know it connects the two castles but where is the third location?

After staring at the screen for a few seconds, I was forced to admit that I had no clue.

I’m not sure. I wonder if there’s a way to find out.

We scoured the room after that. Beyond the console was a large grey window that I thought was a mirror. As it turned out, it was just very dirty. The two of us spend twenty minutes polishing it enough so we could see through.

What was on the other side astonished us. I looked through the foggy glass at a vast room filled with tanks of some sort. The window was a good forty feet above the ground floor of the other room, though it had catwalks on multiple levels.

Each tank was about the size of a coffin if it stood upright, just the right size to house a human. About where the face would be was a round glass portal. From our vantage, they were too far away to see if they housed anything.

Kalli began searching the room. We need to find a way to get down there!

I nodded and made my way to the exit.

There might be a stairwell somewhere. I’ll delete the window if we don’t find anything.

Kalli nodded and followed me wordlessly. It took us forever to find it. The room was connected to the dungeon which was four levels below the control room.

The door to the chamber was locked but that was easy enough to DELETE. From the ground floor, the room looked even more impressive. I could see the control room window four floors up in a chamber that seemed to have eight levels. The tanks lined the outside of each floor, connected by pipes that hummed with a mysterious energy.

I was still marveling over the sheer size of the place when Kalli screamed. Teleporting to her side, I pushed her out of the way. She glared at me. I’m fine! But something moved in there!