>>Don’t you worry about me. I can blend in when I need to.

I grimace. “Yeah, right.”

>>I can! But in the meantime, I think you’re going to need this…

He flicks his tail, this time in the direction of the television screen, and a picture of the dome pops up on the screen. Both Zora and River lean back in their chairs. “Whoa,” they say, at the same time.

>>I know, I’m brilliant.

Jinx, why didn’t you show this to us earlier?

>>I quite enjoyed watching you all try to explain it.

I stick my tongue out at my annoying friend.

“So it is real,” says River, rubbing his hands together. “Now we can get to work on figuring out a way into that place.”

“You weren’t joking after all,” says Zora. “It’s exactly like you said. It’s huge.”

“Looks like there’s a door here of some kind…” River says, manipulating the image.

“What, where?” asks Kai. I look up sharply too. We definitely didn’t see a door when we were on the ground.

But River zooms in on the edge of the photograph Jinx has taken. There’s a very thin line down the edge of the dome, almost like a distortion.

>>Ah, good. If we get close enough I’ll be able to access the security and shut it down for a few minutes while you pass through. It’s not too sophisticated.

“How can you do that if you’re disconnected from the Moncha cloud?” I ask Jinx.

But it seems like Zora’s way ahead of me. “If none of the satellites are able to see it, and the maps and GPS and everything go all skewwy, and you say there’s some kind of illusion barrier on it, that must mean they’re blocking any sort of signal from entering.”

“That sounds right,” I say.

“Well, that will also mean they’re blocking any signals from coming out too.”

“Okay…” I say, not following Zora’s logic.

But River does. “Oh right! If there are no signals going out, then that means it will be difficult to have some sort of alarm. All the security will probably be hard-wired somehow.”

“And hard-wiring can be hacked.”

>>Exactly, says Jinx.

Not for the first time, I’m glad there are much smarter people in the room than me. There’s no way I’d be able to do this on my own.

“How did I not know about this?” Tobias’s eyes are wide, his voice quiet. He’s said very little since we returned from Lake Baku. “I’ve been along that trail more times than I can remember. I thought I’d explored all around here. But we never went that direction. It was always impassable. Blocked off. I never thought…”