Chapter I

Cenedl- Kindred

"Where's Dad?"

"The agents took him away."

"Where, Brett? Where did they take him?"

"I don't know, Gwladys. Maybe the same place my dad is."

"Where's Aunt Nancy? Why are we in this place? What time is it? Is it day or night?"

"Gwladys, we're here because Dad knew where Uncle Frank is. Remember when he and Mom were together with Paul and their friends from when they were kids? They were trying to figure out where Uncle Frank was. I had to help them a few times."

"I remember Paul called you a Jedi. You got plenty mad at him for that."

"Yeah, because all I can do is sense things, and then it's not often accurate."

"Do you know where we are now?"

"Sorry, Brett. Wish I did, though. Good against the living, that's something else. Remember?"

"Do either of you know where the boys are? They're good at getting lost."

"Mom! What happened?"

"In good time, kiddo. First thing we need to figure out is how to get out of this sinkhole."

"I'm cold, Aunt Nancy. It's October. We're in a stone building. Where are we?"

"I don't know, Gwladys. Honest. Good grief, girl, what did you do to your hair? Did you let the bwca tangle it again?"

"Honestly, Mom, you and your obsession with mythology."

"Is Uncle Frank really dead?"

--"No, Gwladys. He's not. You need to promise me you won't ever tell anyone this, okay?"

"I promise, Aunt Nancy."

"Good, because this is important. He's not dead. He's in a place called The Village, which is where people like him go after they retire."

"I knew it! All this time, I couldn't get an image out of my head. It was a green dome and he was in it in a steel room!"

"Is Dad with him?"

"Yes, he is." I hope Frank and Joe are together. Dios, I hope they are.

---

The smell of frying egg woke Joe, now Number 36, out of a deep slumber. For a moment he wondered why he was so tense and why his shoulder blades were still so tight. Oh, yeah. Iola's copy saw me last night. She wanted to know why I hadn't gone after her all these years. I didn't tell her I knew she was a fraud.

---

"Couldn't sleep again?" he asked Frank as he stumbled into the kitchen, yawning.
Frank glanced over at Joe. "Would you be able to, given the circumstances?" he retorted.

Joe grinned wryly. "I can sleep anytime, anywhere." He yawned. "Of course, it may take about ten hours of tossing and turning to achieve it." He dug a mug out of the cupboard—it was a replica of Elen's STAR TREK mug that had some sort of heat-activated glaze on it, because the painted figures of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy "beamed down" when it had hot liquid in it—and realized just how much he missed his girls. Not to mention wishing that Vanessa hadn't remarried a complete lunatic.

He poured himself coffee from the blue camp kettle on the stove and sat down at the table, wrapping his hands around the chunky mug. He was still amazed at how accurately Frank and Nancy's flat had been furnished, right down to the 1980's Star Wars Christmas record that was still in its original packaging. It must have cost Number 2 a pretty penny, finding that.

"You want toast with your eggs?" Frank asked.

"Sure, why not." Joe sipped at his coffee. "Do you think that Hughes and the Grey Man took Nancy and the kids with them? Or would they still be at home?"

Frank tensed as he transferred eggs to plates, and Joe realized he'd touched a sensitive nerve. Well, hey, he wanted to know what happened to them, too.

"Okay, we don't have to discuss that right now. But we both know that as soon as we get out of here we're gonna want to know where they are, and more importantly, how we're going to get to them. And how we're going to get back home, if ever."

---

"Mom, what's going to happen now?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know."