Wander and Jack were already inside. Jack had fetched some chairs from the house, along with a card table. He was seated with his reading glasses on, paging through a textbook called Introduction to Internet Basics. He was still working on getting up-to-date on modern life. Wander was standing at the rear of the room, where a round mirror looked out over an ever-shifting landscape. When the trio entered, she turned toward them with her usual dreamy smile.

“You’re back,” she said in delighted surprise, as if she’d had no idea they were coming. Jack stifled a sigh as he set his book down and tucked his glasses into his shirt pocket.

“Yeah, we’re back, and we’ve got problems,” Pip said. She set her tray of snacks down on the card table and flopped into the chair. Eleanor and Otto took seats as well, helping themselves to crackers.

“What sort of problems?” Wander asked, concern creasing her brow.

“Today on the way to school there was a road that wasn’t there yesterday, and at school there was a hallway that didn’t exist, and I think it might have tried to eat me,” Eleanor said.

“We think maybe that’s the third sibling’s plan,” Otto said. “Trap us on a road somehow.”

Wander tapped her finger against her lips, considering. “It’s also possible that a predatory pathway followed me. Some roads are hungrier than others. If anyone ever tells you they can show you the way to Ys, trust me, run the other way.”

“That’s not all,” Eleanor said. “It turns out there’s an eclipse on Saturday. A total eclipse.”

“I can’t believe I missed it,” Otto said, looking dejected.

“We’ve had a lot to keep track of,” Pip reassured him, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “And I’m still not convinced. It’s not a day, like the others. It’s more of an . . . an event. Didn’t Mr. Crouch say it only lasts a few minutes?”

“That could be a good thing,” Eleanor said. “Only a few minutes of danger.”

“Or a very bad thing. Only a few minutes to get out of danger,” Otto countered. He looked at the adults. “What do you think? Eclipse, or solstice?”

Wander pursed her lips. “Were I to pick the one more suited to the mistress of the Wending, I would say the eclipse. But it is impossible to be certain.”

“We’ll be wary, regardless,” Jack pledged.

“Yeah, don’t go down any weird roads,” Pip suggested. “And we should all meet up that morning. Make sure we’re all together in case something goes down.”

“I’ll have to ditch my lab partner first,” Otto said. “She sort of invited herself over to my house already.”

“I already told mine I was doing it with you guys,” Pip said with a shrug.