Mistress Jane walked through the darkening woods, enjoying the smells of the forest and fresh air more than she thought she would. She’d rarely ventured out of the Lemon Fortress since losing her Barrier Wand to the Realitants, too busy working and planning. Too busy thinking.

A bird cawed in the distance, a shriek that sounded like someone being tortured. She faltered a moment, then stepped over a log and continued walking. There you go again, she thought. You can take anything and see the worst in it. Why couldn’t she just hear the sound of a bird and appreciate the beauty in it—the joy of nature? When had she become so dark and morbid? How had it gotten this bad?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, loving the strong scent of pine. Such simple things used to please her, make her happy. Until her mission to find the Utopian Reality consumed her and turned her into what she’d become. Someone feared and hated. When it came down to it, Jane didn’t like herself very much. Not one bit.

She reached a sudden break in the trees, the place Frazier had described to her. He’d wanted to come with her, insisted on it with more bravery than usual. Jane had finally ordered him to clean the kitchens for being obstinate. If anyone could take care of themselves in the Thirteenth Reality, it was Mistress Jane.

The sun had fallen behind the line of trees on the other side of the huge clearing, a random twinkle shining through the leaves as she kept walking. She’d believed Frazier’s report, but she still felt a thrill of shock at seeing it for herself.

The gap in the forest was at least a quarter-mile in diameter, almost perfectly circular. She saw no signs or tracks of heavy machinery that had mowed down hundreds of trees overnight. She saw only a few footprints, and they looked to be those of the hunters and Frazier’s investigating party.

Who did this? And how?

As she neared the center of the clearing, she tried to come up with possibilities. It certainly wasn’t a natural phenomenon—especially considering the felled tree trunks spelled out words in massive letters. From this low vantage point, she couldn’t make out the words, of course, only a general sense of the individual letters—even though they were almost too big to recognize. But she had no doubt as to what it said, trusting Frazier implicitly.

Mistress Jane, you are a coward. Come and find me.

She continued on, knowing exactly where she wanted to end up. The message had a hidden meaning, a literal clue. Come and find me. That’s exactly what she was doing, counting on her budding powers to help her if she ran into any trouble.