When the ferry finally docked, and the all-clear was given to disembark, Alistair raced for the shore, practically dragging Kismet behind him. Their sneakers pounded on the wooden planks as they ran, weaving in and out of frustrated pedestrians. Some cursed him by name.

She barely had a moment to take in her new surroundings. Most of the people they ran through looked disgruntled, but average enough. Others had horns, scales or even wings. They glared at them with red, yellow or purple eyes and pupils in the shape of slits or rectangles. Someone whacked her with a thick lizard tail.

"Watch where you're going!" The lizardman called after them.

When they finally reached the shore, Alistair let go of her hand and she had a moment to absorb the view and catch her breath. The air was lighter here; fewer thoughts were floating on the wind compared to the heart of the city. It didn't strain her as much to shut them out.

The small terminal was a squat wooden structure no bigger than a house. The parking-lot was packed full with the vehicles of workers and travelers alike. Trucks lined up expectantly near the mouth of the dock Kismet had just sprinted away from, their tarps rolled down from the top to allow crates to be stacked inside.

Forklifts delivered pallets teeming with wooden crates and barrels while workers steadily unloaded them, taking them to the trucks. Some were able to carry the large boxes with apparent ease. One person even levitated a crate a few feet ahead of them as they walked.

"Ok," said Alistair, still huffing for a full breath. "If he's not here, there's one spot I'd like to check first. I'm really sorry about dragging you all around like this."

"I understand," Kismet said. "This is more important."

He lamented letting his sister Cassie borrow the car. Now they'd have to walk. Kismet never learned to drive and was much more accustomed to going by foot than Alistair seemed to be.

The journey wasn't far. After leaving the port, they wove through a warren of residential lots with neat little homes splashed with vibrant colours. It seemed no one here ever mowed their lawns. They were all completely overgrown, allowing bees and butterflies to hover around the blooming wild flowers. Some kept more manicured garden beds tucked amongst the long grass and weeds, but they were few and far between.

The community gardens seemed to be more common, with one at the end of every few blocks. Each was filled to bursting with plants.

A young woman stooped, examining a cluster of tomatoes. Kismet almost didn't see her through the mass of rich foliage. Her gentle fingers grazed the flesh of a green tomato and it ripened at her touch. A crown of small pink and white flowers rested on her head, complimenting her flowing brown and white dress. Dark brown hair fell freely over her shoulders and down her back. Even her energy seemed to be as warm and soft as summer top-soil.

"Hi," she smiled at Alistair. "You're in an awful hurry."

"Hey Blossom, have you seen Angel around?" he asked.

"Not since last night," she said. "But I heard -"

"And?" Alistair asked.

"Cassie told me he's ok. After the fight I was certain -" Blossom took a breath. Magenta sparks flashed through her olive-green aura.

Mauve pulses of relief rippled from Alistair. "What happened?"

"I was fire-spinning with Cass," she explained. "I didn't see much -"

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As Blossom began to explain, images of a crowded space strobed in Kismet's mind. Some sort of warehouse... no... a barn. The music was loud, but so was the cheering. Exhilaration. Her eyes tracked nothing but fire as it twirled on the end of the staff in her hands. A loud punch. The crowd erupted. Then silence. Blood. Screaming. Her dance partner stopped spinning beside her, then jumped off the edge of the stage, rushing for the ring of hay bales... A man being lifted by two women, one being her dance partner... The man was awash in blood...

"You ok?" Blossom asked, concern in her grey eyes. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," Kismet said and cleared her throat.

"I'm Blossom by the way," she said and Kismet shook her hand. Hot cocoa and almonds. She smelled freshly ground coffee.

"Kismet."

"Sorry your introduction to the island is a little bit unconventional," said Blossom.

"I'm just glad everything is ok," said Kismet. Her voice was flat and distant. Exhausted. The black bags under her eyes almost had a physical weight. The world pushed backward, and she went with it.

Both Alistair and Blossom blurred into a blob of colour. Alistair shifted into a golden haze, while Blossom turned the shade of unripe grapes. The world erupted into a network of ribbons weaving a maze between each other.

She struggled to understand anything they said. The tone of their muffled words lilted in concerned discussion. Nausea made her vision swim and Kismet put herself on the ground before her body did it for her.

The world erupted into a burst of neon colour. Kismet looked to the sky, through the knitted ropes of emotion, squinting to avoid the sunlight.

A human shaped figure passed beneath it, momentarily casting her in the shadow of their outstretched wings. They swooped, and neared the earth. Their colour was navy blue, with wings like massive flames.

She couldn't speak or move. Completely frozen. Thoughts raced so fast, they became a blur of nothing, and her body became lead. So panic stricken, her mind retreated, simply observing the events around her while her chest heaved rapid breaths.

The blue blob landed, tucking in their wings. They were taller than the Blossom-blob but shorter than the Alistair-blob. They burbled between Alistair and Blossom, then reached for her.

Kismet fought the urge to scream, to tell them this would pass if she could just sleep for a moment or even get a granola bar - The blue-blob lifted her. She braced herself for the onslaught of memories and thoughts, but none came.

The blob held her close.

The sudden silence in her head was a shock. For the first time in her life, the constant low drone of white noise clicked completely off. Relief was nearly as overwhelming as any psychic onslaught.

In a flourish, two large wings erupted from the blue-blob in a burst of whisping blue flame. They enveloped her, flapping, ripping through the astral ribbons in a burst of colour like flicking the end of a paint brush. The grip the blob held on her tightened as they jumped, the wings stroked the air, lifting them both higher.

I must be dreaming. Real life can't feel this good. This... empty. Maybe I didn't leave Kevin after all and I'll wake up in my own bed.

There was a routine back home. Out here was uncertainty. The ground shrunk below her as the blue-blob carried her into the sky on their wings made of smoke.

Yes. I'll wake up in my own bed and go to work like nothing happened. There wouldn't even be a need to confront Kevin. What do I know? I'm a little crazy sometimes.

The blob's edges crisped and took the shape of a man. His eyes were like the sky above them. So sharp - clear ice over the ocean. Though his long black hair was tied back in a pony-tail, the front pieces had come loose, blowing around his face.

Only now could she feel him, and even then, Kismet had to admit it wasn't without actually trying. His aura was like heavy ozone before thunder. She struggled to reestablish her thin barriers to no success. Her head pounded. It was like standing beside the sea after a storm, there was something magnetic pulling at her own essence. A dark tint lurked beneath the water, the way the shadow of a shark slips under the waves.

Without thinking, she withdrew. The sudden shift caused him to falter and he angled his black wings accordingly. Kismet gawked up at them as they beat the sky.

"Settle down lady, I don't want to drop ya," he said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Where are you taking me?" she asked. A thousand other questions ripped through her mind. For once, her own thoughts were the only ones occupying her skull.

"To Daisy," he said. "Alistair said you're a telepath. We don't have any on the island, so Daisy is the next best thing. She'll sort you out."

"Why - Why can't I read your mind?"

"You can't?" He seemed slightly surprised, or perhaps amused. It was difficult to distinguish which.

Kismet furrowed her brow, suddenly realizing how little she understood of facial expressions and body language. It had never occurred to her how reliant she had been on her ability to read energy instead.

"No, I don't think so. Not unless I try."

He grinned. "That's better than most can pull off."