"It's that one isn't it?" Dustfinger asked Ember as they edged their way along the strange street. The little girl nodded, holding tight onto his hand as she huddled close to him. If she could have gotten any closer to him, she would have. He nodded, staring at the building, it wasn't different in any way, it wasn't odd, it didn't stand out - but it was that house, there was no mistaking it. They approached the house and Ember cowered behind Dustfinger, frightened of the man that she knew had somehow taken her from her home, from safety, from all that she loved. They sneaked round to the back of the house and silently Dustfinger tried to back door. It was open. Cautiously he stepped inside, Ember close behind him, "Hello? Is anyone here?" he called, pulling the young girl closer to him.

There were heavy footsteps from the stairs, the the strange man appeared, "You came back?", he looked shocked, and slightly relieved. He appeared tired, stressed, upset - there was a bloodied bandage around his arm.

Dustfinger dampened his lips, swallowed down a lump in his throat then asked, "W-what did you do to us?" Dustfinger asked, trying to seem confident as he tried to keep Ember tucked behind him.

The man shook his head, "I'm sorry, I really am - I didn't mean for it to happen"

Ember stared up at him, her eyes were wide but her body was full of tension, "Why did you take us here?" she asked quietly, staring up at the man.

He looked down at her, full of pity, and a burning guilt - when he spoke he sounded almost like he was pleading with her, "I didn't mean to, I swear"

"Take us home." she begged, stepping out of Dustfinger's shadow "Please"

"I- I can't"

"Why not?" she asked, panic clear on her face, "You brought us here didn't you?"

"...yes"

"Then take us back!" Ember took another step forward, and stood confidently in front of Dustfinger, fists clenched as she confronted the stranger before her.

"Ember come back here" Dustfinger whispered urgently, trying to take her hand and pull her back to his side.

"No - he has to take us back, he has to!" she cried, her voice and lip trembling. Dustfinger gently pulled Ember to him, lifting the tiny girl into his arms. She clung onto him, staring furiously back at the other man.

"How- How did you... How did you bring us here? I don't know where this even is, nothing's right here - it's like some kind of nightmare" the other man looked almost upset as Dustfinger spoke.

"I... this is going to be hard to understand..." so he explain everything, who he was, his ability, the book - 'Inkheart', where we were, how things were different here than at home... and how we couldn't go home again. How we could never go home again. When he stopped explaining, Mortimer reached across to put his hand on Ember's shoulder, but she flinched away, muttering under her breath how he was a 'silvertongued demon'.

"Is there... Is there anything you can do?" Dustfinger asked. Ember pressed her face against his coat, her tears dampening the coarse material.

Mortimer shook his head, "No, I'm sorry - I can give you some money, some food, you can stay here for a while-"

"No" Ember growled, turning her head to look back at him, "'m not staying here"

"Ember" Dustfinger said softly, "it's warm here, it's safe, there's food - we'd be better to stay here for a little while at least"

"I don't want to" she whispered, "he- he..." her bottom lip began to tremble.

"He didn't mean it" he told her softly, looking over at Mortimer with an emptiness that seemed to dull his words and turn his tone from logical to hostile. "We need somewhere safe to sleep, Ember, for just now." She looked up at him with big eyes, but nodded her head, cuddling in tighter to him.

"Right, um, okay - have you had anything to eat?" Dustfinger shook his head, "follow me"

Mortimer led him to the kitchen, "What, um, what do you usually eat? I mean, it's just that our worlds are so different...?"

"Um, bread, cheese, any kind of meat, fruit"

He nodded, "I'll see what I've got" Mortimer made up half a dozen sandwiches, cheese, ham and chicken, and set out all the fruit in the house for them. Ember was still hesitant, staring at the fruits that she'd never seen before with suspicion. Dustfinger gently encouraged her to eat something.

From upstairs there was suddenly the sound of a baby crying. Both Dustfinger and Ember immediately looked in the direction of the sound as Mortimer stood up, muttering he'd be back soon. Once he'd left the room Ember grabbed the first sandwich in reach and began eating it as quickly as possible. "Hey, hey, slow down" Dustfinger said softly. Ember finished the sandwich quickly and reached for another. Dustfinger smiled, running a hand over her hair as he slowly ate a sandwich himself.

Mortimer returned with a baby in his arms, the little girl that they'd seen before. She'd stopped crying now and was staring in awe at the two strangers in the kitchen. Ember sat up straighter to get a better look at her; despite having been away from home for much longer before, Ember was already missing the girls. "What's her name?" she asked.

"Meggie"

"Meggie" she repeated. "... I miss Brianna and Rosanna" she mumbled to Dustfinger.

"Me too" he answered softly.

"And Roxanne"

"Yes, and Roxanne"

"A-and Marriatt, and everyone..." Ember shifted over to wrap her arms around Dustfinger, the food forgotten. Mortimer looked at the floor, guilt and loss mingling in his soul. I should have known better. I should have known this would happen one day. Mortimer rubbed his face and sighed quietly, bouncing Meggie in his arm.

"Do you... Do you want to get some sleep now?" Mortimer asked timidly, trying to adjust the bandage on his arm while holding his daughter.

Dustfinger looked up at him with a weariness in his eyes and nodded. One man led the other upstairs, both carrying their child in their arms. Mortimer showed Dustfinger to the spare room and let him and Ember get settled. The room was small, tight, cramped, books stacked in every corner. Dustfinger shed his shirt and boots, while Ember pulled at her laces until she could wiggle her boots off. He helped her pull off her jacket, folding it along with his shirt and placing them by the side of the bed along with their boots.

Dustfinger sat on the bed uncertainly - it was thick and spongy, he felt like he was going to sink into it. It was nothing like his bed at home. Ember crawled up onto the bed and curled in against him, trying to get comfortable in such a strange place. Dustfinger found himself drifting off rather quickly, later he'd put it down to the lack of sleep from the night before, the exhaustion from panic and fear. Ember took longer to find sleep that night, she didn't want to move and wake Dustfinger, so she lay as still as the dead, trying to breathe slowly and go to sleep, but her eyes darted around the room, to the strange pictures on the wall, to the weird looking toys in the corner, to the blinking light coming from something she didn't know or understand, to the orange, angry glow coming from behind the curtain. Ember was convinced immediately - this new world, this place she was trapped in, it would be her own Hell.