“No, I was at the palace with Master Thero and the others, looking for where Alec went into here. We couldn’t find it, not even Alec. I was with Micum, around the corner, and all of a sudden I was in this plane, out in the countryside.”

“Wait, Alec came here?”

“Yes. Right after you left the camp to go back to Deep Harbor. He got in by accident, like me, and got chased and bitten by dogs.”

“But he got out? By himself?”

“Yes. He got chased away from this town and went upriver.”

Phania had steered her away from that direction. Had it been on purpose or just bad odds that they’d gone the wrong way?

“That’s where I was trying to go when Queen Rhazat found me,” Mika explained.

“You mustn’t call her that, Mika. She’s no queen. She’s a—” What to tell a child? “She’s a very wicked necromancer, the worst kind. Don’t let her manner fool you; she’s not your friend.”

“I know. She’s a liar.”

“Yes, she is. Now tell me more about how you came here. Did you feel pulled when you came here?”

Mika shook his head. “I didn’t feel anything. I think I sort of fell through into this plane like Alec did.”

“What did you mean by ‘plane’?”

“That’s what Master Thero said.” He held up his hands, palms facing. “He said they’re two different worlds, close together like this, and sometimes they touch. He thinks that’s how Alec got here, when they touched. Is that how you got here, Klia?”

“She brought me.” Klia left it at that. The boy was scared enough as it was, without tales of dra’gorgos. “Do you still have the amulet you and Thero made?”

He pulled it from the neck of his jacket and showed it to her.

Klia closed her hand around his. “Don’t lose this, Mika, but I have some bad news. These don’t work here.”

“I thought so,” Mika said, surprising her. “Alec had a lightstone with him and said it didn’t work here. And when I tried to show Rhazat some spells, they wouldn’t work, either.”

“I see,” she said, impressed with the boy’s insight. “Then we’ll have to be extra careful.”

“Will she let us leave this place?”

“No, but she thinks we can’t get out. I tried and couldn’t, but if Alec did, then hopefully we can escape the same way he did.”

“Can we go now?”

“Let’s wait a little while. We’ll need food. Do you know how far upriver Alec had to go?”

“Not very far, I think.”