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And with that, and a terrific outpouring of e moth fluttered where her head had been I walked forward, ers, its wings of brown and dun--with splashes of white, red, and indigo--brushing ers as it found purchase on ain at the constant violation of every physical law I’d grown up with that wasaway hted fros There it hovered, for a handful of seconds, beforeits way to the other tunnel, and then the other Finally, it returned to theits way a few feet inward Then with another wash of , in place of theBlondie’s clothes, I rushed the so hard, however, that I had to help her

"Flying’s h-h-hard," she said through chattering teeth, as I pulled her shirt over her head, carefully avoiding touching her naked fras winked at me in the darkness

"I bet," I said "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I just need a e of power as Blondie drew strength frouess you’d call us--I could feel their ele them as water answered to e that said "Alfar," but there was e I felt around Nell or Terk, Capitola’s little brownie, who both used old ht, my senses unable to pin down exactly what I’d just felt Whatever it is, though, it’s strong

Blondie, meanwhile, looked decidedly healthier She stretched her lithe fore of jealousy I always feel when already-long people er--then looked atdown this way that’s calling tothat’s warning me away But in this case--"

"We’ll consider that an invite," I said, drily, wondering when I’d becooes inside the obviously haunted house--despite the house whispering, "Stay out! Stay out!"

Together, we set off down the winding tunnel Luckily, the ceiling was high and I didn’t feel very hean to slope doard, as if the ceiling was struggling to , the tunnel continually narrowing as we pushed forward

"Keep breathing, Jane," Blondie warned "This is just the first test"

"Test?" I asked, adht of the walls around ive up and go hoh it"

There isdom in her words, but they didn’t ot worse when the tunnel suddenly grew even narrower and we had to crawl The dirt beneath h, felt soft and cool and clean, and I focused on that feeling rather than the darkness behindskittered out froht on it

Shuddering, I an a series of "ews"

"Al…"

And sure enough, soon ere pushing through a ridiculously narrow hole into a larger cavern As I pushedto extricate myself, I kne a newborn baby ot ht on my bottom half And I shall henceforth be known as Hips-Got-Stuck

Blondie grabbedht I was so distracted by the cavern ere in that I let her hts to float around the dark space

Unlike the crystal cave from earlier, this one was made up of unadorned rock But it was no less iranite arched above us, jutting craggily, as if carved by rough hands

Or rougharound the cavern for evidence of anything untoward

"There," Blondie hissed, nudgingwith her chin Sure enough, embedded in the stone to our very far left, we could see in the wavering light of our y siestured, and one of h to reveal the mirror’s smooth surface

Just like the one I’d found before, this il But instead of full gli in and out, this one snaked A serpentlike dark line traced around sinuously to create new for--it read

Blondie and I approached the h to sense anything lurking but not enough, hopefully, to trip any booby traps When ere finally standing in front of it, I was confronted with the exact same mystery froerous our fiddling could be

"Well, obviously we shouldn’t blast at it," I said