“You have the marks of the Chosen; were they absent, I do not believe you would have seen them at all. Even with the marks, you did not see what rose from the ancient mirror at the heart of the Imperial Palace.” Helen fell silent for a moment, and then said, “Perhaps they could not hear you; perhaps it is not that she could hear them, but that they were aware of her.

“Once aware, they panicked.”

“That...didn’t seem like panic, to me.”

“No. But they were afraid when they arrived.”

“And now?”

“Cautious. Possibly hopeful; I sense no rage, no malice. But I cannot hear their thoughts as I hear yours or the cohorts’. I cannot speak to them the way I speak with any of you. It is, I admit, a challenge.”

Kaylin wondered if it was safe. If they could possess Sanabalis, what could they do if they could possess Helen?

“It is not without risk,” Helen admitted. “But it is a risk I choose to take. It is...a challenge to my hospitality. If they cannot speak to me as you do, they speak to some part of me—it is why things are taking shape in this room. I believe Terrano might have some chance of actual communication should he choose to try—but I also believe he would be at the most risk. He made choices in his captivity in the Hallionne that allowed him, in the end, to escape what the Ancients built—but he has difficulty at times retaining his form. His connection with the cohort helps in this regard—Teela is the anchor, there. She spent most of her life as the Barrani you now know.

“But I believe it is time to leave.”

“Why?”

“Because they are waking fully, and I am uncertain that I will be able to keep enough of a separation between you and whatever it is they are or were. You may be safe, regardless; the marks of the Chosen may protect you. But I am unwilling to risk your safety until I have learned how to listen, to hear, and to speak with them.”

Kaylin nodded; the landscape was now shifting constantly, and she found it hard to watch as up became down and down turned sideways. Closing her eyes helped, but not enough.

“This way, dear,” Helen said, her voice coming from Kaylin’s right.

Kaylin nodded, which was a mistake. “Helen—is this a portal?”

“Not in the traditional sense, no. Does it feel like that to you?”

Kaylin didn’t answer; she was trying to hold on to her last meal.

“I’m terribly sorry,” Helen then said, in the softest of her voices. “We will be out of the room soon. You didn’t feel this way when you entered?”

“No.”

“When did it start?”

Later, Helen. Just—get us out of here first.