THE PROBLEM WITH getting to whatever Serena had left under the Guardian statue was that, according to Nick, Erik, and Cristine, Doffish had kicked them out of Wormwood Creek after I'd left. He had not, Erik admitted, said anything about me, but "after such an outburst, I should not expect that he would welcome you back with open arms".

We were back outside of the village, trying to figure out what to do. The sun was back behind the mountains out west, so the village was dark and everyone was heading for bed. I knew from experience that Wormwood Creekers weren't night owls.

"I'll go alone," I said finally, interrupting a debate over whether or not we could go in through the gate. "No, I'm serious. I know this place; I know where the Guardian statue is, along with any and all good hidin' places. It'll take me less than five minutes. Okay?"

It was a simple answer. Everyone agreed – well, except for Stella, who insisted upon going with me. I just rolled my eyes and decided it was lucky no one in the village could hear her.

I clambered over the fence by the Guardian statue and crouched down to study it.

"So this overgrown lump of rock is the Guardian statue that ghostly girl was on about?" Stella wondered aloud. "Let's have a look, then…"

She fluttered around in the least thorough search I'd ever seen while I studied the base. "I can't see anything… Oi, Tammy, don't just stand there twirling your thumbs! Help me look."

"What's it look like I'm doing?" I snapped. "Shut it, Stella! I'm doin' a better job of looking than you, anyway."

She grumbled quietly while I continue to search the statue. When I'd circled all the way round without finding anything but the illegible carving of the Guardian's name, she said, "See, I told you: squiddly-dot! Do you think she's been leading us up the Guardian path? Well, obviously, I suppose, but…"

I shook my head. "We must have missed it," I said. "She wasn't lying – I could tell. I'll look closer. You can leave if you like. As a matter of fact, please do."

Stella opened her mouth to reply, but she stopped and I froze, my heart beating at a million kilometres an hour, as we realized there were footsteps coming towards us.

I lunged for the fence, praying desperately that whoever it was wouldn't see me. Then I stopped as I heard Wallace call, Tammy?"

"Wallace!" I breathed, turning. "You scared me half to death!" I kept my voice to a whisper, worried that one of the other villagers would overhear.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, bringing his voice down. "What are you up to? What's so interesting about the Guardian statue? …Ooh! Does it hide some sort of super secret or something!?"

I laughed quietly. "Maybe," I said. "I'm looking for something, something that's supposed to be hidden by the foot of the statue. The only problem is, I can't find it."

Wallace pursed his lips, looking at the base of the statue intently. "Hm… I'll tell you what I think." He looked up at me. "Back where I come from, the Guardian statue has the top spot in town, you know. And everyone looks after it." He walked over to join me by the statue. "But in this village, it's shoved back here and left to rot. It's rather odd, don't you think? If you ask me, I'd say it used to be somewhere else. You know, somewhere a little more central, where people could admire it."

Slowly, I grinned. "Wallace, you are a genius." I'd never have thought of that. This was where the Guardian statue had always stood, as far as I knew. Its having been someplace else before would explain a lot.

Wallace beamed. Then his eyes went wide, and he said, "Oh no! I forgot! I'm supposed to be doing some shopping for Uncle – I mean Mayor Doffish! What was it he wanted me to get again…?" He bit his lip. "Oh no… I'll have to go back and ask him. He'll go through the roof!" Then he turned and ran off.

"Good luck," I called quietly, wincing in sympathy. I knew that dealing with an angry Doffish was not going to be fun.

Stella stared after him as he ran off. "Strange boy…" She sighed and looked at me. "But, you know… The little squirt might be onto something. Maybe this statue was somewhere else before. Either way, it's not here, so we might as well go have a goose somewhere else."

I nodded slowly, thinking. Then I nodded again, more sharply. "Right," I said. "Follow me. I think I know where to go. And don't make me talk!"

I slipped between shadows towards the doors of the church. Candles were going out in houses around town, but there were still lights burning inside the sanctuary. I wasn't worried, though. The priest and nun were the only two in town who wouldn't care about foreigners or our having been kicked out.

Mother Terri gave me a sympathetic smile when she saw me. I waved at her and hurried on past the pews and up the corridor to the right of the altar.

"What's this, then?" Stella asked, looking at the stone at the end of the corridor.

I flickered a glare in her direction. "Read the inscription," I muttered through still lips, and knelt down in front of the stone to start searching.

"'This stone stands in place of the abomination that brought disaster on our village,'" Stella read. "'Trust outsiders at your own peril. Fellowship starts and ends at home.' Well, flap," she said then. "They put this in instead of their Guardian statue? No wonder this place is so messed up!"

I smiled grimly. "For once, we agree," I said. "Gotcha!" My fingers had closed around something small, cold, hard, and coated with dust. I pulled it out, shook the dust off my arm, and wiped off the thing I'd pulled out. "A necklace…" I stood up, examining it. "Why would she leave this here?"

"Doesn't matter really," Stella said. "Come on, let's get back!" We slipped out of town and back to the others.

"Did you get it?" Cristine asked.

I nodded and held out the necklace. "Right here."

They moved in to examine it. When Erik got close, thought, the pendant suddenly gleamed, making us all jump. Erik's eyes went wide. "A serene necklace!" he exclaimed. "But that is impossible…"

"What d'you mean?"

"There are only two in existence," he said. "And the both of them are locked away in the Observatory's treasury."

I blinked.

"Well," Nick said, "Serena is a ghost. Maybe when she was alive to leave it under the statue, there were more necklaces."

"Perhaps," Erik said doubtfully. "Though how she gained possession of it, I should like to know."

Cristine shrugged. "We can ask her tomorrow," she said.

"Good idea," I said. "Then afterwards we can work out a way to Upover. If we can figure out a way into the Bowhole, we should be golden."

"The Bowhole?" Nick asked.

I nodded. "It's this place a ways west of town," I said. "There's loads of lore about gettin' to Upover from here, and all of it traces back to the Bowhole. Only problem is, it's all sealed up. Has been for ages. So it's gonna be tough to get in."

Erik frowned. "That is unhelpful."

"We'll deal with it tomorrow," Cristine said. "Right now, though, we should make camp. It's getting late."

"Good idea," I said. "I'll take first watch."

We made camp in a clearing about half a kilometre away from the village. After we built up a small fire to ward off the area's monsters, Nick, Erik, and Cristine lay down to go to sleep. I sat down by the fire.

A half an hour passed, and then an hour. I piled extra sticks onto the fire and sharpened the edges of my sword. For some reason, I wasn't tired. I figured I'd wait longer than usual to wake Nick for his watch.

Sighing, I poked at the fire with one of the sticks from the pile of firewood beside me. Then I stopped, looking round, as I heard a gasping sob from my right.

Erik was laying there, fast asleep, his expression pained and his face covered with a sheen of sweat. A phantom pain passed across my back, and I jumped. Then a terrifying sense of falling came over me, and I realised what was going on. Erik sobbed again, sounding frightened, and he rolled over.

"Erik," I hissed," standing up. "Erik, wake up!"

His breathing grew more ragged and he shifted again, but he didn't wake and the sense of falling didn't leave.

"Erik!"

He started, eyes snapping open and sitting halfway up. I sighed in relief as the falling sensation disappeared. Erik looked round, panicked. Finally, his gaze settled on me.

I bit my lip. "…You were havin' a nightmare…" I told him quietly.

He sat up properly, drawing his knees up to his chest. "I…" he murmured, "yes. I suppose I was." He looked down.

Hesitantly, I crossed the patch of grass between us and sat down next to him. "D'you want to talk about it?"

Erik looked away sharply. "No," he said huskily.

I looked at him for a moment, but he'd turned so far that I couldn't really see his face. So I sighed inaudibly and looked at the ground. After a minute, I plucked several blades of grass and started plaiting them together around a small twig. It was a pattern I knew well; I'd done it hundreds of times over the years.

We sat there in silence until finally Erik asked, "What are you making?"

"A dreamguard," I said, showing it to him. "It keeps nightmares away – they get caught, but the good dreams can slip through." I pointed out the small gaps in the pattern. "See? Doffish said that Mum made one for me the day before she died. It lasted for years – must've had some sort of Faerie magic about it. By the time it finally disintegrated, I knew the pattern well enough to make new ones. Every time one would break, I'd make another."

"Do they work?" Erik asked.

I smiled. "I think so," I said, starting to plait again. "I've had my share of nightmares, but when I've got a dreamguard, they're more distant. There have been nights when one's broken and I don't make a new one… I mean, it doesn't happen every time, but if I have a nightmare without a dreamguard, it's much worse. Here," I said then, holding out the now-finished dreamguard. "This is yours. You need it, I think."

He shook his head. "No, I am fine."

"All right," I said. "Have your nightmare. See if I care. Oh, and while we're on the topic of gifts you're gonna try to refuse…" I reached into my bag and pulled out the dragon claws. "I already bought these, so you can't say no. I noticed the handrills seemed too heavy for your style."

Erik blinked. "Oh," he said. "I… Thank you, Tammy." He took the claws.

I nodded. "No problem," I said. "Go back to sleep if you like; I was just wakin' you up to make sure you were okay."

He glanced up, measuring the positions of the stars. "No, I do not think I shall," he said. "I am no longer tired."

"Well, I'm not tired, either," I said. "So I s'pose we'll just both annoy Nick when we don't wake him up for his shift."

Erik snorted softly.

We sat there for a while longer, keeping watch. At some point, I started tapping out a beat on the ground without noticing it; I only realised what was going on when I started humming. Then I smiled a little and decided I might as well sing.

"March, my comrades, to battle here today

"We fight for the freedom of all!

"Hark, you Gitts, to the sound of marchin' beats,

"For we are your downfall!

"We march to battle with Greygnarl by our side,

"He who struck the first blow!

"Our songs rise up to turn the rebel tide

"Our hearts, our spirits glow!

"We march for freedom, our souls sing aloud,

"Our fight is the fight of all!

"Aye, hark, you Gitts, to the sound of freedom's song,

"For we are your downfall!"

I leaned back, grinning. Erik stared at me blankly. "What," he said finally, "was that?"

I looked at him incredulously. "You've never heard any of the Battle Cries of the Revolution?"

He blinked. "I must say, I have not."

"Ohh," I moaned. "You uncultured little swine!"

"'Swine'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. "What kind of person doesn't know them?" I wondered aloud. "They're the songs sung by the army that marched against the Gittish Empire all those years ago. Battle songs. They say that when the people of the army sang together, they sounded like a roaring dragon, and nothin' but Greygnarl winding his horn could match the volume. It struck terror into the hearts of the Gitts and inspired the people to keep fightin'."

He raised his eyebrows doubtfully "That is quite powerful music."

I laughed. "Well, stories get a bit exaggerated over the years," I admitted. "Minstrels know that better than anyone. Doesn't stop us from telling them in the exaggerated form, of course."

Erik rolled his eyes.

"Come on," I said. "If you're goin' to be here for any length of time, you ought to learn at least one of the battle cries. I'll teach it to you."

"No," he said quickly. "Believe you me, you do not wish to hear me sing. All the milk in Wormwood Creek will go sour."

I snickered. "It's probably sour already from all those grouches inside the village gates," I said. "I don't care. Everyone else is asleep."

"You would care," Erik argued. "The people of Angel Falls believed me to be a minstrel until they heard me attempt to sing. After that, they assumed I was simply a strange boy with a dreadful singing voice."

"Well, you are a strange boy," I pointed out. "You don't have to sing. But really, it's somethin' you ought to know. There's hardly a person I've met who doesn't have at least one of the Battle Cries memorised."

He sighed. "Is there any point in arguing with you, Tammy?"

I shook my head.

"Very well, then," he said. "I suppose I shall comply."

"Excellent!"

He complained good-naturedly, but he went along with it. And when, after about half an hour, he recited the whole song back at me, I grinned. "You're good at memorising," I told him. "Are you sure you can't sing? I mean, even if you can't, we can still use you as a minstrel, but it would be great if you could!"

"I am not a minstrel," he said sharply. "Performing ability or no, I cannot stand flamboyantness. That alone is likely enough to end my career."

I snorted. "Come on," I said. "Neither Cristine nor I are too flamboyant. There's nothin' to worry about there. Let's hear you sing."

Erik rolled his eyes. "Do you enjoy being in pain, Tammy? That is the only reason I can think of for your desire to hear my singing voice."

"That bad?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Yes," he insisted. "Go to sleep, Tammy; you have been up longer than your watch." He almost smiled. "And I would not like to test out your dreamguard tonight. I assure you, my singing would give you nightmares."

I chuckled. "All right, then. Keep the fire going – it'll keep the monsters from showin' up and eating you for a midnight snack. Have fun, O Tuneless One!"

He snorted softly. I moved away to curl up to sleep, my bag as a pillow. And soon enough, I was asleep.


Erik stared into the fire for some time after Tammy left, trying to banish the memory of the nightmare. The pain…the sensation of falling…and falling…knowing he would hit solid ground at any moment, and yet…continuing to fall…

He shivered and shook his head sharply, struggling to dispel the feeling. Glancing down, he noticed the dreamguard Tammy had made. He picked it up and passed it from hand to hand, looking at it absently.

Tammy had fallen asleep. Erik looked over at her. Truly, he could never quite predict what the half-Fae would do. Some days she loathed him; others, like today, she would behave as though they were the closest of companions. A closed book indeed, he thought, although I suppose I cannot blame her if all she said in that outburst was true.

He sighed and looked away from the sleeping Tammy. It was fortunate he was on watch, he decided. His head was far too full of things to settle down.

And not all of them were as painless as the thought of Tammy.


It was about dawn when I woke up the next morning. Cristine was finishing up her watch, and she smiled at me. I smiled back and moved over to the remainder of the fire.

"Didn't want to keep it goin'?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I let it go out when it started to get light," she told me. "I assumed there was less to worry about."

"You were probably right," I said. "Want to help me get some food ready? I'd like to head back to the cave as soon as possible."

"Okay," she said. "Let's see when we've got."

We rifled through our bags and got together whatever we could scavenge for breakfast. I got the fire going again and set a big rock in the flames. After we got out some bread and dried fruits, I went searching for eggs.

A few minutes later, I came back with four, all taken from different nests so I didn't completely mess with some poor mama bird's feathery brain. I fished the rock out of the fire and cracked the eggs open on top to fry them.

Erik was stirring soon, and Nick as well. They joined us by the fire just as I was taking the eggs of the makeshift frying pan.

"Well," Erik said. "You have been busy."

I grinned. "Fresh out of the pan," I said. "It's the best way to eat 'em."

We passed the food round and had a quick breakfast. I wanted to ask if Erik had had another nightmare, but I figured it was probably better not to do that in front of everyone. I'd wait until later, if there was time.

After breakfast, we gathered up our things, smothered the last of the flames, and headed north towards the cave.

When Serena saw the necklace, her eyes lit up. "You found it for me!" she exclaimed. I smiled and held it out so she could examine it. "He gave me that necklace, you know. It means the world to me."

Erik edged closer, and suddenly the necklace gleamed again.

Serena blinked. "He told me that it shines whenever there's a Celestrian nearby," she said. "I didn't think it possible, but you're one too, aren't you? A Celestrian, I mean…" She sighed. "But he's the only Celestrian in my heart… The one who gave me that necklace… Could I have it now, please?"

I swallowed, blinking back the tears that weren't mine, and handed it to her. She laid her hand on top of it and closed her eyes. "Haah…" she sighed. "Yes… It brings it all back…"

Her hand closed around the pendant, and the ghostly coldness of her fingers made contact with my hand. Instantly my view of the cave disappeared, replaced by the image of a halo-less but winged Celestrian with shoulder-length blonde hair. He was lying on the ground, apparently unconscious.

Serena's eyes went wide when she saw him, and she hurried over. "Are, are you okay?" she asked, kneeling down beside him. "Are… Are those wings!? Are you a…?"

The vision faded away, replaced by another one in what looked like my house in Wormwood Creek. The Celestrian sat on a bed, in the same place as mine, with a bandage around his forehead. Serena was facing him; an older man stood at the foot of the bed.

"So…" Serena said, "you're a Celestrian? Really?"

The Celestrian nodded once.

Serena broke into a fascinated smile. "I knew there was something special about you, the way you survived those terrible injuries," she said. "And your wings…"

She looked out the window. "Ever since I was a little girl, I was told tales about Corvus, the Guardian of Wormwood Creek. But I never really believed you existed. …And I never imagined I'd actually meet you!" She looked back at Corvus, excited, but Corvus looked away silently.

And the scene changed again. This time, Serena and the older man stood outside, facing a group of soldiers.

"Who the devil are you?" asked the man angrily. "There's nothing of interest here. Get lost!"

The soldier in the front, one with a plume on his helmet, said, "Sorry, old fellow, that's rather out of the question. This is part of the Gittish Empire now. Even a backwards backwood like this must recognise the Empire's sovereignty."

I went cold. This was bad. Very bad...

"We're a poor community," replied the older man shortly. "We don't have anything to give you."

"Really?" asked the guy with the plumed helmet. "I wouldn't say that." His tone made me shudder, and he turned his gaze to Serena. "There are other ways of paying tribute to your masters. That young lady would make one of us a fine wife, for example."

The older man's eyes practically popped out of his head. "You want me to give you my daughter?" he asked, outraged.

"Very good!" said Plume. "You do catch on quickly!"

Serena stumbled back, but Plume caught hold of her wrist. "Get off!" Serena snapped, struggling away. "Get off of me!"

"Come along now, there's a dear," said Plume icily. "I don't think you'll like what will happen to this cesspool of a village if you resist…"

Serena's father was struggling to get past a soldier who was blocking his path with a spear. "Stop!" he yelled. "Let her go!"

"Get back, old man!" snarled the soldier blocking him. He pulled back his fist to punch Serena's father – and then a current ran through the air, setting my hair on end. A bolt of blinding electricity arced through the air, hitting the soldier square on the helm.

Everyone's heads whipped round, searching for the source of the attack. Our vision landed on Corvus, who was standing outside the house, crackling with energy. I didn't need empathy to tell what he was feeling – the snarl on his face said it all.

Another bolt of energy hit Plume, knocking him to the ground and forcing him to release his grip on Serena. The girl stumbled back, her eyes wide.

More electricity sparked round the village, hitting the soldiers and making the air practically white with light.

"Huuurgh!"

"Wh-What the blazes!?"

"That power! Only a…"

"No one defies the Gittish Empire!" roared Plume. "You shall live to rue this day! Fall back, men! Fall back!"

The blinding light disappeared, and it took me a long moment of blinking to realise that I was back in the cave and that Serena had removed her hand from mine. The others were staring at me. I went hot all over as I realised that I must have just done the exact same thing I had in the graveyard behind Marion's house.

Serena had turned back towards the water. "It was all my fault that he… That's why I have to find him… Why I can never stop searching…" She
turned to face us then. "I want to thank you for finding my necklace, so… If there's anything I can do for you, I will."

Stella popped up. "Too flapping right there is!" she said. "You're from Wormwood, aren't you? Do you know how to get into the… What was it? The Bowhole?"

I nodded.

Serena, apparently, was distracted by Stella's appearance. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed, examining her. "What a pretty little thing! Are you a faerie?"

"Talk about stating the obvious!" Stella said, preening. "And as for being a faerie, I'm –"

I snorted, and she glared at me. "Never mind! Do you know how to get inside this Bowhole place or not?"

"If you mean you want to know how to break the seal there," Serena said, "then yes… I can help you. I'll meet you there then, shall I?"

We nodded, and she turned and walked off.

Stella was inordinately pleased with herself. "Stellar!" she cheered. "See, I'm not just an outrageously beautiful face! This should mean we can get to that Upover place at last! Come on, then! Follow that spook! This Bowhole place is off to the west, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "Let's get going."

As we walked, I moved over to Cristine. "I did it again, didn't I?" I asked.

She smiled a little. "If you mean you started talking and it wasn't actually you, then yes, you did."

I sighed. "Yeah, I figured." I shoved my hands in my pockets. "Bloody hell, that's annoying."

"Well, it's not your fault," Cristine reasoned. "And I suppose it was a little less weird this time. We'd seen it before, and this time we could see why you did it."

"That's another thing," I said. "You could see her, couldn't you? You and Nick."

Cristine nodded. "I think it was being on the Starflight," she said. "Before all this started, I couldn't see any of what you see. After Erik showed up, I could make out a little bit, but nothing concrete. It wasn't til I got on that weird old train that I could actually see, if you know what I mean."

"I do," I said. "That's…interesting."

"Yeah," she said. "Strange, but interesting."

I snorted. "Is anything that's happened recently not strange?"

She giggled. "I suppose you're right about that."

The walk from the cave to the Bowhole was a long one, and the morning was almost halfway gone by the time we'd made our way through the little wood to the cliffs behind. Serena was waiting there.

"This is the place you meant, isn't it?" she asked. "I know the spell you need to bread this magic seal." She turned to the entrance, a black opening covered with a latticework of darkness and electricity. "Heed the word of one Wyrmward-born: open the path of light for they who seek the way to Upover. Answer my prayers!"

The barrier evaporated into nothingness. I stared.

"When he who seeks the way to Upover appears, open the gates of Wormwood with the light guarded by the sentry statue"… And then "When Wyrmward, long sealed, is opened at last, the path of light, shining shall appear, firm and fast. A wyrmlight bow's arrow, let loose to the skies, shall point out the path to the blindest of eyes"… "The wyrmward will open with the light of the statue's sanctuary, and the way to Upover will appear at last"… This…this is the stuff of legends!

Serena nodded, seeming pleased. "Well, that's my work here done. You're on your own from here on in."

"Thank you," Erik said.

The others headed inside, but a chill on my arm made me pause. "Serena?"

She had laid a hand on my arm. "Listen to me," she said quietly. "Perhaps I don't have your gifts, but I know enough about you. A connection like that one in the cave goes both ways." She smiled sadly. "We are sisters through time, Tammy… We have the same responsibilities towards Wormwood, towards Upover, towards our Celestrians. Let me give you advice."

I nodded. What else was I supposed to do?

Serena glanced inside the Bowhole, where I could see the others, seeming perplexed. "Don't lose him," she said, her sad voice suddenly full of passion. "Whatever you do… I've had three hundred years to know what it feels like when something like that's taken away."

"Somethin' like what?" I asked. "I don't understand. Erik and I don't even like each other half the time!" I knew somehow that she was talking about Erik, even if I didn't understand what she meant by the rest of it.

She smiled sadly. "Then you see something different than I do," she said. "Please. Just promise me that you won't let him slip away!"

She was desperate. I couldn't argue with her. So I just nodded mutely.

She sighed, relieved. "Thank you," she said. Then she turned. "I must be on my way. I can't rest. Not until I finally find my Corvus." She walked away, and I stared after her even after she'd dematerialised.

Then Cristine called from inside, and I started. I shook my head like a dog ridding itself of flies and headed inside.

There wasn't time to try to puzzle out what Serena had said. We had a village to get to.