As Henry approached, the horse reared up on his hind legs and kicked out in fury. Searing heat interrupted the vision. It faltered and Henry panicked. He felt himself falling and was afraid of crushing one of the horses. Or worse, getting trampled by the herd. But just before he touched the ground, something lightly brushed his shoulder and the cavern came back into focus.

The young girl stood back and smiled. Henry swallowed, hard. Despite all he had just seen, the only thought in his head was how pretty she was. He felt the heat returning, but this time it was from blushing.

Joseph made a few soft noises that erupted into laughter. And suddenly everyone was laughing. Henry’s initial reaction was anger, but one look into the face of the girl and it dissipated as quickly as it appeared. “What just happened?” he asked her.

The laughter died and the assembly rose up.

“You have just seen the past and the future,” the girl said.

Henry had no experience with describing such things, but from the way authors described things like this, he’d say her voice was the color of the rainbow and the scent of wild flowers. “Who are you?” he managed to ask.

“I am your dream girl … figuratively speaking, of course.”

“Of course,” he answered, though her answer made no sense to him.

“My name is Serena.”

Henry could not think of a more appropriate name. With no effort at all, he saw her aura. It was … peaceful. The most beautiful arrangement of light and color he could imagine. He wanted to ask if she was a goddess, but realized how absurd that would sound.

“Never be afraid to ask a question, Henry.” It was Joseph’s voice this time.

Henry looked from Joseph to Coralis. “I wish you two would stop doing that.”

Serena giggled, and the lightness of it made him happy. She reached for his hand. “Come with me. We can get better acquainted on the journey, but there is no time to waste.”

She led them through the throng of people, who parted for them. Grandma Gailene had joined their ranks. “I will see you when you return, Henry.”

Still in somewhat of a fog, he walked with Serena, vaguely aware of Joseph and Coralis following behind. And from the fold of his jacket, the voice of Brianna sang softly, “Henry has a girlfriend.”

At the far end of the cavern they entered another tunnel, also lined with torches, and much shorter than the previous one. They traveled in silence. Serena never let go of his hand. Henry didn’t object. But on the list of things he never saw coming, this was close to the top. The longer she held his hand, the more confident he felt—as if their combined energy could defeat anything.