Flickers appeared in front of Celiath, but she couldn't figure out what any of them were. A few colors imprinted themselves on her memory: her own turquoise, Stelakar's purple, Riensi's red violet, and Yialun's dark green. There were also two other colors: pink and lilac.

What…oh. Kimtaya and Elenqui, I think.

The colors disappeared, and she saw Kimtaya and Elenqui in the attic, looking at the book. I wish I could be there, but I can't, not right now. I can get home with the charm bracelet, but there are other things. Like Stelakar. What happened to her?

Elenqui looked up from Chapter Twenty-two of the book. "That's it. The next chapter is about…" She flipped a page. "It's called 'Treasure in Larkani,' and it looks like it's about what happened after Larkani fell." Elenqui kept flipping. "Then there's 'Lantaia's Quest' and 'The Founding of Kilinti.'"

"So how do you think this is going to help Celiath and Stelakar?" Kimtaya asked. "Wait a minute. They're here, I know."

Elenqui narrowed her eyebrows, then raised them again. Stelakar's here too? Celiath thought. She didn't see her twin. And Stelakar didn't speak, like she probably would have if she had been there.

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Kimtaya said, going down the stairs. "I don't think Crescent's in the mood to answer the door."

"It's probably reporters," Elenqui said with a yawn.

"I'm getting good at dealing with them. Besides, that's why we have a peephole on our door." Kimtaya left the room. Celiath looked around to see if she could find Stelakar, but didn't. Looking down, she saw that the charm bracelet was gone, but that the markings were still there. Was the charm bracelet there in my dreams last night? I don't think I was looking for it.

There was another knock on the door. "I'm not a reporter!" Celiath could hear a voice saying. "It's Lilynris. I'm Kia Luan's sister."

She heard the door opening and looked back at Elenqui, who was studying the book. "I dreamed that they were here, so it must be true," the Kougra was saying. "They would probably make their way to Ral Mirean. All roads go through the capital in places like this. I suppose that they would run into this Yialun character. Maybe they're actually looking for him…"

Celiath thought she saw red violet sparks, but they disappeared. She heard Kimtaya's voice. "We're in the attic, trying to figure it out. Elenqui had a dream about it and we're working from there, since her dreams are true."

Then there was a voice she didn't know, probably Lilynris. "Well, I was hoping I could help. I mean, some pretty weird things have happened to me." There was a pause. "Kia Luan's probably told Stelakar, who might have told you. I've been to the past."

"You have?" Kimtaya sounded impressed. Celiath heard their footsteps as they entered the attic. Lilynris was a calm-looking desert Aisha who looked older than she was.

The Aisha's gaze fell on the book. "That book looks familiar," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Is it A History of Larkani, Cairhel, and Kilinti?" Elenqui nodded. "What chapter are you on?"

"The twenty-second," Elenqui said. "Oh, and I'm Elenqui, the youngest of the family and the one with the true dreams." She extended a paw.

"Lilynris n'ri Shirnyn, expert on anything having to do with the past." They shook hands. "I know the time period that's in the end of the book best, since that's where I was. What does that chapter cover?"

"The fall of Larkani," Elenqui said. "There's an odd passage in the end about how their capital city was transformed when the kingdom fell, and how it's spoken about in the legends of the people who lived there later. I think Celiath and Stelakar might be involved with that."

"They might be trying to save the kingdom," Lilynris mused. "I'll make sure that when they get back, they know that Larkani had to fall. When you get back," she said, looking up slightly. "I can see them here. They're dreaming."

"Dreaming?" Kimtaya looked puzzled. "It's afternoon."

"Time runs differently when you're in other places." Lilynris paused for a moment. "Generally it runs faster when you go to the past and slower when you go to the future. Several days might have passed for Celiath and Stelakar."

"Hi, Lilynris," Celiath heard Stelakar's voice say. She looked around for the voice and located her twin standing near one of the bookshelves opposite her.

"Stelakar."

"How did you get here?" Celiath asked. "How did I get here?"

Lilynris had a thoughtful look on her face. "I don't know. Technically, neither one of you have true dreams…maybe those markings on your hand are doing it for you, Celiath. Or maybe it's just being in Larkani."

"The dreams probably are true," Elenqui said, looking up from the book. "They just won't remember them."

Celiath looked at Elenqui for a moment, then at Lilynris's eyes. It looked like the Aisha was gazing at something…else. She had one eye on Celiath and the other on where Stelakar probably was, and she looked like she was trying to hold on against something. Celiath caught a glimpse of another color around Lilynris, a silvery color that contained momentary flashes of several other colors. Maybe that's her magic. What does she see?

Lilynris blinked and looked away. The strange silver color disappeared. "Celiath, Stelakar," she spoke quickly. "I saw you, and I think I understand. You're in Ral Mirean, the capital. You're both being carried through the castle. There were two other people with you: a red Lenny and a purple Techo."

"That rascal," Celiath muttered. "I knew he was working for Yialun."

"I got a little snatch of conversation," Lilynris continued. "The Techo proposed that they turn you over to the Queen, because you're under arrest, Celiath, and…you're Luryans? Where do they get…what's your last name?"

"Mianre'll."

"Oh. I see."

"Well, I don't," Stelakar said. "What does our last name have to do with anything?"

Lilynris put her head on the back of her hand. "Celiath, you've been there longer than Stelakar. Have you noticed that everyone's last name kind of…sounds the same?"

"They all have 'la' on the end," Celiath responded. It had taken her a while to work it out, but she had eventually gotten it.

"Different kingdoms have different markings like that, and your name has the Luryan marking. Anyway, the Lenny said that they wouldn't be able to gain your confidence if you were behind bars. You're to be treated well. Stelakar, you're flickering. You're probably about to wake up." Lilynris looked around. "If you don't remember what happened here, you will when you see where you are. And…she woke up."

"So she won't be able to come back here," Elenqui said. "I think I might have gotten something out of the book."

Celiath saw Kimtaya go over to the book and Lilynris move over to her. "Celiath…" she said. "When you wake up, your charms are going to be gone. Don't panic. You've been wearing the bracelet long enough that you don't need it anymore, and you also have the help of the marks. You're from here and not there, so maybe that'll make it easier to trust in what might be. Wishes are more powerful than you might think. And one of the charms has the power to help you defend yourself. You should probably remember this when you see the markings on your wrist. One other thing before you wake up: You don't have to save the kingdom. It's gone past that. Just take care of Yialun."

"NeoQuest II…?" Celiath started to ask.

"It's already happened, Celiath. It's in…"

Celiath opened her eyes to darkness. No…it was a room of some sort. Probably somewhere in the castle. Where's this? I remember surprising Yialun in the South Tower, and then I got here. No. I was dreaming. Kimtaya, Elenqui, and Lilynris. Who's Lilynris?

She looked around the room, where a few shapes were starting to appear. Stelakar looked like she was sleeping. The eye still isn't shining.

Then Celiath remembered that Lilynris had been to the past and had said a few things that had sounded helpful. As she rubbed her wrist, words came into her head: You've been wearing the bracelet long enough that you don't need it anymore. If that's true, I should be able to do a light, like the eye. Celiath closed her eyes again and imagined the eye shining into the water the night before when she had come to Ral Mirean, the reflection of the turquoise light in the ocean…

She opened her eyes and saw the entire room bathed in the peculiar light. Even though it made Celiath think she was underwater, she preferred it to the darkness. She was sitting in a large, comfortable chair, and Stelakar slept in another chair next to hers. Celiath couldn't make out colors very well, but noticed several different ones on the walls. There was also something that looked like a map hanging on the wall opposite her. It certainly wasn't a dungeon, but Celiath remembered something else from her dream and wasn't very surprised.

Nervous, she scratched the marks on her left wrist, and startled at the realization that there was no charm bracelet. Well, of course not. If your enemy is unconscious, the smart thing to do is to disarm the person. And it happened to me.

Something rustled, and Celiath looked up and then in the direction of the noise. Stelakar sat up. "Faeries, it looks weird in here…Celiath!" She sounded surprised. "What happened to your eyes? They're…glowing."

"They are?" Celiath raised her eyebrows. "Do you remember your second dream?"

Stelakar made an odd face. "It was a weird dream. Riensi, Yialun, and Lilynris were all there." She shook her head. "I don't really remember what they were saying; I'm not Elenqui. Celiath, you are really creeping me out."

"I'll drop it in a little while," she said. "I'm just going to find out where the door is." Celiath stood up and looked around the room for a door. There was the map of Larkani, so the door probably wasn't there. She turned her head and saw a part of the wall creeping in…

It was the door, being opened very slowly. Celiath closed her eyes. If they were glowing like Stelakar said, she didn't want other people to see. Stop. The eye didn't light up during the day, did it? Only during times of danger. Well, I'll be okay, and I can see.

Celiath opened her eyes again and blinked several times, getting used to the darkness again. The person entering the room seemed to be familiar enough with it to know where everything was. As she made out most of the things in the room and returned to her old seat, the figure struck a match and lit a candle, illuminating the doorway. He immediately moved into the darkness and lit a second candle near an empty chair, a third near Stelakar, and a fourth near Celiath before sitting in the empty chair. The door swung open again to reveal the purple Techo standing there with someone else that Celiath could not see.

"Excuse me?" the Techo said diffidently. The figure, which Celiath had recognized as Yialun, turned his head. "There's someone here who would like to speak to you concerning her daughter, Tikanie Kirmila."

"Tell her I'll be there in just a minute," Yialun said, his eyes half closed.

There was another voice: "…my daughter was found unconscious in the South Tower, and the first thing she said to me was that it was all because of you! I want answers, and I want them now!"

"Would that happen to be the crazed noblewoman you ran into?" Stelakar whispered.

"I believe that it is." Celiath coughed and looked down at her wrist. "Oh. Right." Should I do something in case she sees me? No, he'll notice. Then another possibility jumped into her head: He can read thoughts! He's already noticed! Crescent…no. Riensi, why did your stupid key choose me?

"I am doing some very important business—"
"Oh, before dawn? I don't think so!" Briata poked her head in through the door, pushing past the Techo. "Tikanie said that you had stolen property from a new friend of hers and…" She saw Celiath, who simply stared at Briata for a moment before the Shoyru broke away and glared at Yialun. "Arrest her!"

"What has she done?"

"In the name of the Queen, I declare that this Celiath Mianre'll has committed treason—"

"Treason?" Yialun looked like he was about to laugh. "She is plainly not Larkan. She has committed no treason against Queen Fierrey. Stay where you are," he added, turning to Stelakar.

"The Yin Kador have been exiled from Ral Mirean! She has broken the law!" Briata's voice was getting steadily louder.

"But she is not Yin Kador. She has broken none of our laws."

"Then why is she in your rooms before dawn?" Briata thundered.

There was silence for a moment. Then Yialun countered, "I told you I am doing some very important business. More important than the business you are doing."

"This is a matter of the safety of my daughter!"

"No. This is a matter of the safety of Larkani that you are disturbing."

"The Luryan is a danger to the safety of Larkani and should be taken into the Queen's hands immediately!" Briata stamped her foot.

"Actually," Stelakar said with a smirk on her face, "I think I know who the dangers to Larkani are in this room. Everyone but my sister and me. We're trying to save this kingdom, and you're all too stupid to see what's happening!" She turned to Yialun and clacked her beak. "Except for you."

At the same time, Briata screamed, "What did you do with my daughter? Did you convince her to run away? You were all involved in it! You were—" Briata stopped for a breath and fainted.

Celiath raised her eyebrows in surprise and blinked her eyes a few times. She thought she saw fading light when she blinked but wasn't sure. Whoa. At least she's not going to go put me in the dungeon. She turned her head to Stelakar, who was laughing quietly, and then to Yialun for a second before darting away. But I think that what's coming might be worse.

"Take her to the healers," Yialun said to the Techo. "You know the drill."

"Yes, sir." He picked up Briata and dragged her out of the room, closing the door behind him.

After the door closed, the three of them still did not move. Celiath and Stelakar both stared at Yialun, and Yialun switched his focus between them, blinking rapidly. Someone would have to break the silence, but Celiath didn't want to do it.

"What?" Stelakar asked.

Yialun raised his eyebrows. "Hmmm?"

"I said—" Stelakar began, one eye narrowed and the other opened especially wide.

"You said that you know who the dangers to Larkani are, but you got it wrong. You are the dangers to Larkani. Both of you."

Stelakar narrowed her left eye even further. "What?" she repeated.

"You don't know what you're doing with the powers Riensi gave you. They're too much for you to handle. Especially yours," he said, turning to Celiath. "It's very dangerous to trust anyone with what might be, even Yin Kador or enchanters. In the hands of someone who isn't powerful enough to handle them, like a dreamer, an elemental, or a healer…disastrous."

Was there a tiny smile on Yialun's face? It wasn't there anymore. Part of Celiath asked, What was Riensi thinking? Stelakar knew…it's only an illusion. An illusion! From that, Celiath saw the second charm, the mask, and closed her eyes for a moment. She didn't think about what she had done or whether it would work. At the same time, she dropped the illusion on Stelakar and smiled to see her twin looking perfectly normal.

"What…" Yialun stared at Stelakar, who stared at Celiath. Celiath didn't respond, but only took a few deep breaths. It felt like she had gone up to Faerieland without popping her ears. In fact, she felt like she was trapped in a bubble. Good. That should shield my thoughts.

"Riensi's work," Yialun said slowly. "Illusions are hard to maintain. He would want to disguise you, so that you would fit in for long enough that the powers you carried with you would fly out of your control and destroy us. I am very glad that we came across each other yesterday, Celiath, Stelakar."

What if…"My name is—" Celiath began.

"You are Celiath Mianre'll."

"But I prefer to be called Seleika," Celiath said quickly.

"All right then." He looked Celiath in the eyes again.

"So what are you doing here? I'm not really understanding this," Stelakar said. "I haven't understood anything about what's been going on since I got here."

"Again, a good thing we came across each other."

"Why?"

"I already told you. The magic that both of you carried would destroy you, in time." He switched his gaze to Celiath. "I fear that you have already absorbed the powers that Riensi gave you. Keeping something like the charm bracelet you carried that close to you…any magic object will leave its mark on you even after mere hours. I expect he told you to look for me, so that hopefully I would be destroyed along with the rest of Ral Mirean. Then, with the destruction of Ral Mirean, Larkani would collapse."

"That doesn't make sense," Stelakar broke in. "Why would Riensi turn on his own? I got the impression that he cared about Queen Fierrey and the kingdom of Larkani. Why go to the trouble of snatching two people from…Lurya, like us, if he didn't?" Stelakar growled quietly as she realized her logic was useless.

Yialun shrugged. "Perhaps he was hunting for the legendary treasure too. Treasure can drive many mad."

"What is this treasure that everybody wants? The Cairhellin say that it's in Larkani, the Larkans have no idea where it is or what it is, or if it even exists. And what's your take on all this?"

Stelakar, Celiath thought, he might have actually answered the question about the treasure if you hadn't asked a second question. But maybe it's better this way.

"I am from Gisend," Yialun began. Celiath stared him in the eye, searching for signs that he was lying, but couldn't find them. He's probably been telling this story for months. And Gisend's near the border, so it's close enough. Or maybe he actually is Larkan. "Living near the borders of all three countries, I experienced the tension building among Larkani, Cairhel, and Minyarad. When I learned my gift for magic, my parents sent me to study in Chalidor, the capital of Cairhel."

"Why not with the Yin Kador?"

"A lot of people in the area of Gisend are part Larkan and part Cairhellin. And most of us don't trust the Yin Kador. They were greatly involved in the earlier war between the two kingdoms, and the common Cairhellin opinion is that the Yin Kador started the war. In any case, after learning the use of my gift, I returned to Larkani to inherit my title as Duke of Gisend. And a few months ago, the Queen summoned me to Ral Mirean for my advice about Cairhel. The people in the Court soon gave me all the information I needed about Riensi and the Yin Kador. It is true that they want Larkani for themselves so that they can find the treasure. I simply helped the Queen see this, so that I could try to rescue Larkani from the mire it was falling into."

This makes no sense, Celiath thought. So Riensi and Yialun pretty much cancel each other out, I suppose. Then there's Kierre. And what does NeoQuest II have to say about this?

Stelakar had narrowed her eyes at Yialun, obviously trying to make out something about what was going on. "These spellcasters," the Eyrie muttered. "You can't make any sense out of a single thing they say." Celiath saw purple light stirring some of the objects in the room. "So we've heard the Larkans. We've heard the Cairhellin. What do we do about it?"

"…destroyed Lemirka—Larkani--and will destroy Caeridyl—Cairhel," Rimor had said…

"Use your knowledge of both sides to help the kingdom in whichever way you choose." Yialun rose to exit the room.

…glows with a wish…that Larkani would heal itself somehow…the fate of two kingdoms is at stake…you don't need the bracelet anymore…it's gone past that. Just take care of Yialun…

Celiath let her eyes flick to her wrist, and she imagined the silver bracelet there. Charm six. Summoning. Everything that belongs to us. The entire room suddenly flared purple, and Celiath sensed a locking. Nothing could leave this room by ordinary means. Stelakar had made sure to cover all the doors and any possible trapdoors.

"Thanks," she whispered to Stelakar.

The Eyrie responded: "Whose side are we on? I'm not sure which way to go."

"Larkani. Stelakar, catch!"

The wand appeared in her right paw, and the charm bracelet appeared around Celiath's left wrist. The pack that Celiath had carried from Thora Mountain appeared next to her on the couch, with the final two pages of NeoQuest II notes on top of it. Celiath read the last thing she had taken down, about Irefen, as she put the notes in the pack again.

Yialun turned away from the door and glared at Celiath and Stelakar. Stelakar innocently met his gaze for a moment before pointing the wand, but Celiath immediately dropped her eyes to the charms. She saw a bolt of purple lightning out of her right eye as she took the circle in her right hand. "…I wish that Larkani would heal itself somehow!" Celiath screamed in her mind as she lifted the circle so that the image in it, of the castle flying the Larkan banner, was visible to Yialun.

Turquoise light sparkled out from the charm and from Celiath. She felt the power burning all through her, using everything she had to mold that vision of what might be. Celiath tried to drop the shield on her thoughts, but found there wasn't anything else she could do. The rainbow Zafara, who now appeared mostly as a Zafara-shaped rage of turquoise, took a deep breath. "Stelakar!" she cried as she fumbled for the charms both on her hand and in her mind. "Take our things…drop the…locking…"

"Celiath! What's happening?"

"Do it!" Celiath forced out in a croak. She moved her paw to try to find the key charm that would take them home, but could only see turquoise. Closing her eyes, Celiath still saw nothing but the color of her magic. She imagined the charm bracelet again, the silver key on it. We need to go home.

"Stelakar!…Take the charm…the key…it's the way…" Celiath's voice gave out. She felt separated from her body, the light of magic burning everything she had. With her last bit of energy, Celiath tried to open her eyes again and saw a brief glimpse of turquoise before that was gone too…