Baarish has had three wives, four—well, now three—brothers, five sons, fourteen grandsons, and one granddaughter. None of his family members have a lot of magic, but all of them believe they are entitled to large amounts of it. As the only magic user in his family, the patriarch holds tightly to power and has not yet chosen his heir, though his grandsons are all hopeful.

“A lot of the middle worlders complained about the gradual decrease of the magic in places that used to be full of it,” Kamboja says. “It seems that the rivers and lakes that Baarish is in charge of yield far less magic now than they used to.”

Eulalie has a dark look on her face. “He is not the only one facing this problem,” she says. “I attended a meeting today regarding the very same thing. The level of magic in New Orleans is decreasing at a significant rate, and we don’t know why or how to fix it.

“So perhaps this is the reason his pursuit of the keeper and you girls is so fierce.” Eulalie shoots Taraana a look. “The stars are pure magic, even purer than the Between diamonds. One will fuel a middle worlder for decades.” She turns to Paheli. “Let me see it again.”

Paheli holds out her palm, but Taraana catches her hand with his and holds it. It seems he is still suspicious of Eulalie. Paheli glances at Eulalie, who shrugs and doesn’t insist.

“First of all, let’s address the issue of safety,” Eulalie says. “Baarish won’t easily attack you here. This is not his territory, and appearing here without explicit permission from the ruler of this region will be seen as an act of war. I’m assuming this is a risk he won’t take lightly. However, Baarish isn’t the only middle worlder to be wary of. Anyone who knows about Taraana’s stars will want to acquire them… him. Fortunately, not many people are aware of the Keeper of the Between. I will draw up a spell to mask Taraana’s eyes—”

“Magic doesn’t work on me, either,” Taraana interrupts Eulalie.

“Oh.” Eulalie seems stumped. “In that case, I recommend sunglasses.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Ghufran says, and we thrill again. Every time she speaks is a victory for us. “We know very little about the Keeper of the Between. Do you know if there have been any before Taraana? What do they do?” We look at Eulalie for answers. She is part of the middle world, after all. She will have some answers.

“I’m afraid I have to disappoint you,” she says, looking apologetic. “What I know about the Keeper of the Between is only enough to fill a thimble. I do know that there has always been one… and that’s about it.”

“The thimble is almost empty, Lalie,” Paheli says.