You have helped us all, Eva replied. She pushed down the rising tide of her tears. I will miss you, but you need to find the others like you. That is what I am doing too.

Little one. Safe?

Eva peered out at the great lake. The reflection of the village lights was swallowed up in its inky undulating surface. She glanced over at Muthr, who was asking Rovender more questions about Lacus. Rovender seemed fidgety, perhaps even a bit nervous, as he pulled a threadbare tattered brown wrap from his rucksack.

Am I safe here? she thought to Otto.

Not. Sure.

Then can you stay a little longer? Eva thought. Hide. If I need you, I’ll call you.

Little one. Protect.

I’ll protect you, too.

Eva sniffled loudly as she walked over to join her companions. “Otto says he’s going to rest for the night. He’ll leave at dawn,” she said to them in a glum tone.

“Good. Otto has been a tremendous help. Please tell him he has my utmost respect,” Rovender said, handing Eva and Muthr fabric wraps of their own. “Cover yourselves in these.”

“What for?” Muthr asked, taking the wrap.

“As I said, they get occasional travelers here,” Rovender replied, “but it may be best to keep you both hidden until we find out if Besteel has also been coming here.” He draped his loose cloak over himself, shrouding his head in a baggy hood.

“Very well,” Muthr said. Eva helped Muthr cloak herself in the coarse fabric, then did the same.

Rovender then pointed ahead along the shoreline with his walking stick. “Okay. We shall go this way.”

Eva and Muthr followed the lanky creature along the beach to a wide, swaying footbridge that stretched out over the water’s surface. As they started to cross, Eva realized that the town was not on an island at all but was suspended somehow over the lake’s depths.

As lightning danced through the sky, she turned back and saw Otto entering the lake, slipping silently under the mist-covered surf. Distant thunder rumbled.

Eva felt jittery, clammy, and giddy all at once. As they continued across the bridge, now far out over the water, patches of fog dissipated, revealing the utter expanse of the inland sea. She held Muthr’s hand tightly, feeling the climatefibers in her tunic constrict to warm her from the crisp, briny air.