The longest part of Victor’s return trip was the slow ascent upward through the enormous brooding planet’s atmosphere. First, he had to wait for what felt like half a day for the great beetle to return. He did so in the expansive courtyard of the pyramid, following the emissary from one garden to another, taking in the scenery and trying to build memories solid enough to last a lifetime; he kept reminding himself that he was in a different universe entirely and that the chances of him or anyone he knew ever returning to the ivid world were microscopically small. So, he stared at the strange crystal fountains and the decorative mosaics of glittering gemstones—art from an alien mind—and tried to imprint them in his mind, images he could conjure up in times of reflection.

When the beetle came, and the emissary recreated the glass bubble for them to ride in, Victor sat on the floor and watched the great planet slowly recede as they rose into space. It was an experience he wanted to savor, a memory to add to the collection of his visit to these strange, powerful beings. It was evident to him that the ivid had somehow gone around the System, somehow found a way to advance their species to the level of transcendence; they wouldn’t just be moving to their own universe, but they’d be progressing beyond this reality, moving on to the next stage, whatever that was. One thing he was sure of, though, was that he’d gained new perspectives on power, individuality, and the many roads and doorways that might seem closed but were waiting to be opened with the proper application of leverage.

The ivid queen had indicated that they were “generating” Energy, which created more questions for Victor, questions the emissary didn’t seem capable of answering. He supposed that might not be the case; the emissary’s silence might just as well indicate an unwillingness as much as an inability. The ivid had their secrets, and Victor would have to content himself with the clues he’d seen. As the mossy-green orb of the ivid brooding planet fell away, becoming smaller and smaller, and flickers of dense Energy indicated the beetle’s passage into deeper space, the emissary spoke, breaking an hours’ long silence, “We will soon move between space again, individual. This passage will be more comfortable for you as we’ve modified the technique to shield your mind.”

“All right. Should I stand?”

“That will not be necessary. Are you ready?” The emissary stepped closer to him, holding out one of its three-fingered hands. Victor nodded, but his hands were full—he still cradled the dreaming egg, and, clutched in his free hand, was the warm, spherical crystal container of amber-colored royal jelly. It was about the size of a billiard ball, but Victor estimated its weight at something like fifty pounds. It was dense in more than one way—when he turned his inner eye toward it, it blazed like a miniature sun. He’d never seen an inert substance with such potency, and the idea of consuming it gave him serious pause.

“Ah, um, this is all right to put in a storage container?”

“Yes, though your spatial devices will degrade rapidly as they attempt to contain the royal jelly. We recommend . . .” The ivid trailed off as it reached up to its shoulder and, with the precision of a laser scalpel, severed its voluminous sleeve. It held the length of fabric out to Victor. “Use this as a sling. You can hang the orb of jelly from your belt until you’ve acquired a more durable storage device. This material will have the added benefit of shielding the jelly’s potency from casual observation.”

“Ah!” Victor gently set the egg down in his lap, then took the sleeve, pulling it over the heavy, crystal globe. Once it was nestled in the tough, magical silk, he tied the two ends together and then looped the extra length around his belt, tying it off. “Thank you.” He picked up the egg, tucked it against his chest, and then reached up to take the emissary’s hand. White light flooded his vision, and then he found himself sitting on a smooth, glazed roadway leading to the great aperture that led from the hive world back to the ivid’s “origin world.” Valla and Lesh sat nearby, facing each other, speaking quietly.

“We have returned,” the emissary said, and Valla leaped to her feet in surprise. Lesh made a reptilian hiss, clearly also startled, and scrambled to his feet, reaching for Belagog.

“Victor!” Valla cried, rushing to him. Victor, meanwhile, was clambering to his feet, awkwardly cradling the priceless egg.

“Hey, beautiful.” He smiled as she grasped his free hand, helping him up. “Mission successful!” He glanced at Lesh, nodded, and then jerked his head toward the enormous, misty opening in the mountainside. “We ready to get out of here?”

Lesh strode forward, nodding. “We were surprised when the other emissary told us to await you here this morning. We thought you’d be gone longer.”

“Yeah, I think the, uh, intelligence behind the emissary perfected their teleportation magic while I spoke to the queen.”

“We made improvements.” The emissary nodded its expressionless, ten-eyed head. “This one will accompany you through the aperture and, once on the origin world, move you safely out of the hive.”

Lesh frowned and rumbled, “Move us?”

“A trivial jump between space.”

Victor laughed, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, Lesh. It’s painless.” With his free hand, he took Valla’s and started toward the opening. “Come on. Let’s get back to Sojourn. I’m ready to be done with this weird quest.” He heard Lesh’s heavy footsteps behind him, then he stepped into the misty air hanging in the opening, and when he’d taken half a dozen steps, he found himself beneath the crossed blades of the guardians’ polearms. He was, once again, deep in the ivid hive. The guardians didn’t react to him; it almost seemed like they hadn’t moved since their party had gone into the hive world, but Victor couldn’t believe that was the case. They’d been in there for more than a day, maybe closer to two.

He turned, still holding Valla’s hand, to watch Lesh and the emissary come through the opaque archway, and when their shadows resolved into their flesh and blood bodies, he nodded to the emissary. “Can you take us up from right here?”

“This one will do so. Please, each of you, take one of this one’s hands.” It held its four arms out to the sides, palms up, and Victor reached for one of them. Seeing his quick compliance, Valla followed suit, and then Lesh took one of the two free hands on the ivid’s left side. Another flash of white light clouded Victor’s mind, and then he was standing on the dead grass atop the hive beneath the hazy yellow sky of the ivid home world.

“That was sudden!” Lesh grunted, stumbling back in surprise, shielding his eyes from the glaring orange sun. Valla coughed, holding an elbow to her nose, as the weird chemical scent of the air began to make all of their eyes water.

“This one will leave you here, travelers. We bear a final word of caution: Do not return to this place, for its departure from this universe is imminent.”

Victor nodded, and Valla said, a slight wheeze in her voice, “Thank you.”

The insect nodded, and then, with a surge of potent Energy, it was gone, and they were standing alone, very near the spot where they’d first arrived. “Is that the egg?” Lesh asked, looking at Victor’s cradled bundle of silk.

“Yep.”

“And this?” Valla touched the sling of silver-gray silk hanging at his belt.

“A gift from the queen. Something too potent for any of us to contemplate consuming yet.”“Consuming?” Lesh rumbled, and Valla’s eyebrow arched.

“A heart?” she guessed.

“No, but something just as good, I’m sure.”

“Just as good . . .” Valla scoffed and shook her head.

Lesh had had enough dilly-dallying—he held up his coin-shaped token of recall and asked, “Shall we be gone from this place?”

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Victor nodded, summoning his token from his ring. “Do we just channel Energy into it?”

“That’s right.” Lesh nodded and looked at Valla, ensuring she was ready.

“You guys first,” Victor said, watching Valla delicately twirl the token between her long, nimble fingers.

“As you say,” Lesh said; then, with a crackle of silvery Energy, the coin rippled with light and power, expanding with a bright, slow-motion flash that vanished with a soft pop. Lesh was gone.

“He was ready to go!” Valla laughed.

“Yeah, this trip wasn’t what he’d hoped. He hardly got to fight a single bug.” Victor chuckled and shook his head, then nodded to Valla. “Your turn.”

“Together.” She held up her token, locking eyes with him.

“All right.” Victor gripped his token in his fist and counted down. “Three, two, one . . .” Just as when they’d teleported via the System from world to world, he felt the transition as he hurtled through space back to Sojourn. It was a decidedly different experience now that he’d tasted the teleportation magic of the ivid. Somehow, he was aware of the enormity of the distance he traveled, and it wasn’t instantaneous. Still, when he appeared in the World Hall back on Sojourn, he barely stumbled as his feet caught up with his brain, and his senses were pounded with the sounds, sights, and smells of the vastly different location.

To his relief, Valla and Lesh were there, and she ran to him, hugging her arms around his waist. “I thought you were deceiving us somehow. I thought you’d made some damnable bargain and had to remain or go elsewhere.”

“Why?” Victor laughed.

“Because you told us to go first!” She punched him in the shoulder.

Lesh rumbled a deep laugh. “I didn’t fear any such thing.”

“Because you don’t know him well enough!” Valla cried.

“All right, all right. We’re here, so just relax.” He shifted the ivid egg from his left arm to the right and nodded toward it as he did so. “Let’s go deliver this thing ‘cause I’m ready to see Edeya get some damn help. I’m ready to be done running from one fire to the next. ‘Bout time we did something we want for a change, don’t you think?”

“Mmhmm.” Valla nodded and took his hand, walking with him as Victor moved off the metal teleportation disc toward one of the sunlit exits. Lesh followed behind, but as they exited the building into the shadows of tall, dazzling, sunlit crystal towers, the big dragonkin stepped up beside Victor and grasped his shoulder to get his attention.

“Lord Victor . . .”

“Victor’s fine, man.”

“Yes. I was wondering if you’d mind if I took my leave and returned to the inn. I’ve a mind to check in on my charge.”

“Ah, yeah. I wonder how old Darren got along with his training. Yeah, sure, Lesh. Valla and I can deliver this egg.”

“Thank you. I’ll await word of your success at the inn, then.” He nodded to Valla. “Lady . . .”

“Just Valla, Lesh.” She giggled and winked, and Victor knew she was making fun of him.

Lesh rumbled his deep, purr-like laugh, the one Victor was beginning to understand was reserved for things that genuinely amused him. He nodded his big, flat, angular head, and then he was gone, striding purposefully away from the city center. “He’s a character when you get to know him,” Valla said, squeezing Victor’s fingers.

“Yeah. He’s a good guy, but I’d hate to be Darren if he hasn’t behaved himself.” Victor laughed at the idea and started walking, falling in behind a large group of black-robed women, each with their long, red hair coiled atop their heads and adorned with jewel-laden veils. It still rankled something in him to know that people the society of Sojourn found “greater-than” were striding along the shimmering, rainbow-laced walkways above his head, but something was different now that he’d tasted the power of the ivid. There were things in the universe that could humble the beings above him, so why should he be upset that they did so to him? All it meant was that he knew he had growing yet to do, and there was something worthy in that—having a goal to attain.

It didn’t take them long to reach their destination. As the building where Erd Van kept his shop came into view, Victor paused and looked back, noting the distance they’d traveled. “There’s some pinché magic going on here.”

“Hmm?”

“I think the sidewalks make you move faster than normal. Look.” Victor pointed to the distant crystal towers. “We’ve covered something like ten miles, but it only took us, what? Twenty minutes? We weren’t exactly running.”

I . . .” Valla looked back, then turned and looked at Erd Van’s shop. “I think you’re right!”

“Funny, we didn’t notice it before. Must have been too immersed in finding our way.”

A passing woman, small and round, wearing a bright yellow cloak tied tightly beneath the wagging flesh of her extra chin, looked up at him with angular, deep, red eyes and said, “Pardon my intrusion, but I couldn’t help hearing your conversation. These walkways will speed up your travel, but only if you know your destination and don’t pay attention to your surroundings. The trick is to let your feet do the walking and allow your mind to wander!” She laughed, winked, and then hurried past.

“Interesting woman . . .” Valla watched her go, then she squeezed Victor’s fingers and tugged his hand, pulling him toward their goal. “Come. As you said, it’s time we were done with this quest.” He followed along, pondering the idea that an entire city had enchanted sidewalks. Then he grew distracted as she pulled the door open and stepped inside, accompanied by the magical chimes Erd Van had hung from the entryway. Victor cast Alter Self almost automatically, reducing his size to fit through the doorway more easily, though he and Valla still had to duck beneath the lintel.

Inside, things were just as he remembered, though Erd wasn’t in sight. Valla looked at him, shrugged, and then walked over to the couches, taking a seat to wait. Victor didn’t feel so patient, however, and he walked over to the counter and rapped his heavy knuckles against the polished wood. “Erd!”

A distant voice came to him, muffled by the closed door in the far wall, “A moment, please!”

Victor sighed and walked over to Valla, sitting on the couch and depositing the silk-wrapped bundle between them. Valla shifted to look at the egg, gently resting one of her pale, silver-blue hands atop it. She sighed softly as she felt its warmth and said, “It’s . . . I think I can feel something! Almost like it’s tugging at my consciousness.”

“Careful.” Victor took her wrist and lifted her hand away. “It didn’t do that to me. It might be dangerous to someone without sufficient will. I have no idea.”

Valla licked her lips, her eyes shifting back and forth from Victor’s eyes to the egg. Then, almost reluctantly, she nodded and folded her hands in her lap. “I think you may be right.” The sound of the door clicking open took their attention, and Victor looked up to see Erd leaning against his counter, looking at them with narrowed eyes.

“So, you’ve returned. You met with failure? Did the alchemical perfume not work?” He sighed and shook his head, waving a hand dismissively. “No matter. I’m sorry if you lost any comrades in the effort. I’m afraid my coffers cannot fund another expedition at this time.”

“We didn’t fail,” Victor growled, something in him deeply annoyed by Erd’s assumption.

“Oh?” Erd’s eyes darted from Victor to Valla, then to the silk-wrapped bundle between them. “But I can’t sense anything that could possibly be the object of my . . .” His eyes bulged, and he gasped, his hands falling to his knees to steady himself as Victor unwrapped the egg and lifted it in his bare hand. He’d only briefly touched the egg back in the hive-world, wondering what it looked like under all that silk. He could feel it, the weight of the power in the thing. It was definitely spirit-attuned Energy, but not one of his affinities. Still, it was something else, that heavy, powerful spirit presence.

Valla’s eyes opened wide, and she stared at the egg longingly, but her reaction was different from Erd’s. He gasped and took a stumbling step toward them, faltering and falling to one knee. “W-wra . . .” he coughed and rubbed a hand over his face, slapping his cheek several times. “Wrap it! Please!”

Victor chuckled and wrapped the egg in the silken cloth, and Valla sighed longingly while Erd began to gasp deep breaths. When he’d recovered a little, he laughed like a madman. “Oh, by the ancient elder gods! You’ve done it! You’ve actually done it! Master Dar will be so pleased! So pleased! Heroes!” He scrambled to his feet and rushed forward, hands outstretched, but Victor pulled the egg close, snugly in the crook of his arm. “D-don’t you intend to uphold our bargain?”

“Oh, I do. I just need to make sure we’re clear on the terms.”

“You bring me the egg, and I get you an audience with my mentor, Ranish Dar!” Erd’s face had begun to flush with frustration and perceived insult.

“Relax, Erd. Listen; sit down.” Victor nodded to the couch nearby. Erd scowled at him, but he complied, and Victor knew the guy was afraid of him. If it hadn’t been obvious when he’d fallen to his knees before his Quinametzin anger, Victor would have figured it out when he sent them on what was basically a suicide mission. “Let’s start being very honest with each other, yeah? You expected us to fail, right?”

Something in his eyes or voice must have cautioned Erd because he didn’t try very hard to deny the statement. “I had high hopes for the alchemical perfume, but I’ve had so many failures over the years, I didn’t think there was much chance you’d be able to retrieve the egg.” He shrugged.

“You sent us to die?” Valla growled, the stupor brought on by the exposure of the egg rapidly fading.

“No!” Erd cried, then more quietly, “No, no, no. I gave you tokens of recall, did I not? I spent a great deal of money in that regard, ensuring you had a way out. I simply thought the task would prove too much. None of my earlier questors ever even laid eyes on the eggs.”

“Okay, so, as you felt, this thing’s very damn powerful. I don’t want to get an audience with this master of yours only to discover he has a laundry list of requirements before he helps us. If you want this egg, if you want what it promises, you need to impress upon him that we’ve earned his help.”

“Ah,” Erd held up a single finger and clicked his tongue, almost wincing as he continued, “Ah, I may have misled you slightly. The egg is, um, as you say, powerful and valuable, but it’s beyond me. No, that egg is for my master. Still, I believe he will be very grateful for it. I’m not the only student who’s been trying to get something of this caliber for him; I believe it’s instrumental for his next breakthrough. Even so, I’m unsure that he’ll grant me what I need in addition to helping you. The best I will promise is that I will ensure that he sees you and hears of your friend’s plight.”

Victor growled, but Valla put her hand on his wrist, gently squeezing, and he knew she was trying to remind him to be reasonable. He was just so damn tired of playing games. “I’m not fucking around, Erd. If this egg is for your master, then we’ll go with you. I don’t want you to take it to him and then get some line about how your master is busy and he’ll see us in a month or a year or some other bullshit. Yeah. When are you going?”

“I . . .” he looked both panicked and excited. “I will go now! He’ll surely see us if we have the egg, even before my assigned meeting time.”

Victor nodded. “That’s the spirit. Let’s go pick up our friend, and we’ll all go together. I told you I’d give you this egg, and I will, but I want to be standing in front of the guy who can help us before I hand it over. Fair?”

To his surprise, Valla spoke before Erd, “I think it sounds fair. Come, Erd. You can still claim credit for sending us after it.”

“Well,” he stood up from the couch, his eyes darting around, clearly searching for a suitable response. Finally, he nodded and said, “Very well. It’s enough.” As though to reassure himself, he repeated. “It’s enough. He’ll be pleased. Yes.” He continued nodding as he walked over to his front door and clicked the locks shut. “Yes, this will be fine. We’ll take my coach. Come, it’s in the back alley.”