Illa's fist came smashing up before she even realized what she was doing. Her mind still fogged with sleep, she blinked her way into adrenaline laden consciousness. She had been sleeping long enough for her night vision to adjust and when her eyes fully opened she saw a troll, dripping blood from his nose, but still coming for her.

Illa had to dispatch her attacker immediately. There was no telling whether or not there were others within the dorm. She had to get to Myra. Even in her sleep-addled state, Illa's throat grew tight with fear for her friend and charge.

The creature had made no effort to disguise himself. He was a mid-sized troll, only about seven and a half feet tall, and he wore a simple tunic and breeches. His stench assaulted Illa's senses, making her want to heave.

Instead she tensed her abdomen, swept up with her legs and kicked her attacker away. The troll wouldn't be deterred by such a relatively weak attack, but the couple seconds it bought her was more than enough time to ready a kinetic working. The ball of energy formed into green light in her right hand. She waited a second to get the timing right and threw it right at where she judged the troll's center of balance was.

The troll fell back, knocking into Illa's dresser. Several objects fell to the floor, a few breaking. He let out a snarl of pain and surprise. Even though Illa's lineage let her magic blast through the troll's defenses, she knew he wasn't down yet. She readied another blast, this time to force the troll back to Faery when she heard a crash from the other side of the dorm.

Myra! Was she OK?

Illa screamed, sprang from her bed and landed a drop kick on the troll so brutal that the troll fell to the floor, motionless for a few seconds. Illa focused her thoughts and let a gate to Faery open in the floor. She used another blast of energy to shove the troll into it.

He wasn't unconscious for long. He came to just as his legs slipped into the gate and a gnarled hand groped for her. She kicked him away contemptuously. His bawl of rage pounded against her chest, but she ignored him. He sank into the floor as she ran out to Myra's room.

Summer was already there by Myra's room and Nathan was sprinting down the hall from Illa's side of the dorm. Summer's face was a picture of horror.

"Summer, where's Myra?" Illa asked, her voice shaking with adrenaline and fear.

Summer didn't answer.

Illa and Nathan pushed past Summer into the room. Myra's room was destroyed. Everything on her nightstand and dresser had fallen to the floor. Her lamp was broken and her sheets torn. Even some of her blood was smeared on the inside of the door.

Myra had put up one hell of a fight.

"We have to follow her," Illa demanded. "However we can. " She turned on the light and let herself see the flow of magic in the room.

Streaks of energy came bounding through the space, angry, scared and determined. They ran into each other, slicing through everything in their path on their way to escape. Every one of them led into the living room.

They must have ran right over the gate Myra's captor had used in their haste to make it here. Illa turned back.

"Illa, there's nothing we can do." Nathan said quietly. "I'm sorry, but she's gone."

"Gone? She's gone?" Illa demanded as she slowly paced over the streak that Myra must have left. "No, she might not be here, but she's not lost. If you're not going to help me, don't interfere. If you want to redeem yourself, look for Myra here just in case. I was attacked by a troll. I don't know if you two were as well, but-"

"We were," Nathan interjected, anger coloring his features.

Illa continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I was and I bet that Myra was, too." Illa looked up. "Myra was taken over right here. She's in another dimension and is probably terrified. We all know this has to be that child from the club. She's the only one from Faery besides her father who had access to her to manage to track her. Nathan-"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Summer interrupted. "Look, if you really want to help, then you can stay here and make sure this isn't a trick. Illa and I are going to find our friend." She emphasized the last word subtly.

Nathan glared hot fire at the two girls.

Illa put the other two out her mind as best she could for a moment. She focused on Myra, on her magic signature, on her emotions and felt the energies subtly shifting from the human realm to Faery. This was a particularly weak spot. That was why the troll had to drag her out here. If only Illa had been faster, stronger, smarter, her friend would be safe.

Nathan's voice drifted back to Illa. "Believe it or not, I actually care about Myra, too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have told her the things I did about Faery and magic. Those are probably going to be the things that save her life if she comes out of this. Even if you try to follow her now, you probably won't go to the same place she did."

"You're going to just leave her, then? If you hadn't gotten involved, she wouldn't be in this mess. You should have left well enough alone." Summer accused.

"If you had told her to begin with, she wouldn't have come to me." Nathan retorted.

"We were under obligation not to." Summer said, stepping forward.

"Apparently you could have figured a way around that."

"And-"

"We are going. Now." Illa interrupted, her tone dreamy and vague. She concentrated on energy flows, grabbed blindly for Summer's hand and let the flow take them.

Crushing pressure encased Illa and Summer together for a millisecond until they popped into existence in Faery.

An icy stillness began to grow in Illa almost immediately. Tiny, but growing. It wasn't quite happy, but it was content, it was whole. As she hadn't been her entire time in the human world. Her eyes fluttered and she rocked backward.

Summer's hand tightened on Illa's with a sharp, magic shock.

Illa shook, closed her eyes, and raised her head to face the moon. When she opened her eyes again, the will of the queen was once again locked away.

"Are you ok?" Summer asked.

Illa took a moment before answering. "Yes, but we shouldn't be here long."

The two girls found themselves in rolling hills dotted with trees.

"Maef's demesne." Summer observed.

Illa looked around, still dreamy. "Why here? That doesn't make sense."

"No, it doesn't." Summer sent out her senses for other presences. She felt no one except for Maef in the immediate area. Further off were several others, but Summer didn't think Amoria would have taken Myra to a group. No, she felt like a loner. The troll wouldn't have counted as a member of the group to her. If it was Amoria. All signs pointed that way, but that didn't mean it was the only possibility.

Illa was still following the trail of magic the troll had left. For him to have left a trail that still continued, he would have been leaking magic. Illa slowly furrowed her brows and frowned. That didn't make sense. Only a youth wouldn't have the experience to contain their magic.

Speaking slowly, Illa told Summer what she had discovered.

“I agree. I don't think Amoria would find comfort in large groups."

"But a youth doesn't make sense."

"Yes, it does. Amoria showed too much bravado. She was covering up a weakness. Yes, that sounds right. She could only get a youth to follow her."

"But then what do you think she wants with Myra? I get taking her out, but-"

"She wants Myra's influence. The halfling daughter of a lord? Not many of those running around. If the halflings win their position, Amoria would be in the proper place to use Myra to elevate her own position." Summer said, still looking over the area. "That is if she can win over Myra. Amoria wouldn't take Myra to others. She would have to be sure of Myra's loyalty for things to turn out the way she wishes."

"And they're not here. The trail vanishes over there." Illa pointed to a spot a hundred yards away. "Might we see what Maef saw?"

"If anything," Summer frowned. "He rarely leaves the underground."

Illa drifted towards the end of the trail and found the beginning of another. The energies here still cut into each other, an after effect of their owners throwing their will at an opponent.

Illa looked up, surprised. "It seems Maef intervened."

Summer blinked and shivered. Illa knew what Summer must have been thinking. The two fae girls looked towards the maze of tunnels and caverns that made up Maef’s living quarters. Even in his own demesne, a pocket of space within Faery of own design and making, he still didn’t come to the surface, Not unless things were changing. The last time Maef had left his underground, the fae had divided into Seelie and Unseelie. Had he helped Myra into something bigger?

“We must talk to him.”

Summer nodded. As the girls headed over, Illa continued to track the magic.