They passed five doors on either side before Meri ducked into a room on the right, the door held open by a large book. Senara glanced around the room quickly to assess for threats. When none were found, she looked back down at the book. How had the artist made it so perfect, so colorful? She definitely wasn’t in Uthoria. She was beginning to doubt she was anywhere in the whole of Arnath. Which could actually be a good thing. Once she found a way to get this bracelet off, she could find somewhere to start a real life. Somewhere far away from the portal she’d somehow fallen through.

“Hey, Sandra,” Meri said to a girl sitting over on a bed, leaning up against a pillow. Senara had seen her in her brief look around the room, but had dismissed her as no threat.

“Hey,” the girl answered, not looking up.

Meri walked over to a desk by the wall, took something out of her pocket and connected it to a small black cord. She waited a moment and then pushed on the side of it. The front lit up.

Senara leaned closer.

“Just give it a second, my phone needs to charge,” Meri said.

Meri glanced back over her shoulder at her, but didn’t say anything more. After waiting another moment, a painting of her with a boy came up. It wasn’t a painting exactly, but she didn’t know what else to call it. After pushing on the screen Meri held it up for Senara to see.

“Looks like the closest thing to a blacksmith is a farrier, and the closest one is fifty miles from here.”

“A blacksmith?” The girl on the bed looked up for the first time and did a double take when she saw Senara. “What do you need a blacksmith for?”

Fifty miles? In unknown terrain? That could take days. “Is there a metalsmith of some type closer?” One that also knew something about magic. Otherwise it would be impossible to remove the bracelet. But here, the magic felt different. It was possible, not probable, but at least possible, that it was different enough that the bracelet could not resist and would allow itself to be removed.

The girls glanced at each other, then Meri went back to what she had called her phone. “Nothing comes up.”

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Senara leaned back against the wall. Now what? She had to find a horse. The blacksmith was the only option. A wave of dizziness hit her and she put more of her weight against the wall.

Meri noticed and took a step forward.

“Are you okay?”

Senara nodded. The portal must have taken more out of her than she had thought.

“Is this blacksmith along the waterway?” If so, fifty miles would still be long, but much easier. And it was less likely a pursuer coming through the portal could find her. If anyone but an Orcus could use the portal.

“No,” Meri said, crushing that plan. The girl would be able to keep her boat then. Meri grabbed her arm and tugged her over to a chair. “Sit down, you don’t look so good.”

Sandra pushed herself off the bed and came over. She leaned in close. Senara shifted her gaze from one set of watchful eyes to the other. If she had been at home she would have slapped both of them for their insolence. No one got this close to an Orcus. If she was at home and she felt better. What was happening to her? She closed her eyes and after a moment the feeling passed, leaving her tired but not as dizzy. Strange.

“When’s the last time you ate?” Meri’s friend asked. Sandra? Yes, Sandra. She thought for a moment. How long ago had breakfast been?

“It isn’t that,” she said. She’d gone much longer without eating before. It was these accursed ribs, whatever was wrong with them. She put a hand to her side and let her eyes close. She needed this bracelet off so she could heal herself.

She would betray herself by asking, but she must. There must be other types of magic users that created slavery bracelets, here of all places. All Swarians had some magic, didn’t they? By the time anyone found out she was an Orcus, she would be far away. “Where is the closest spell caster?” Even at home there were a few that still used the old Swarian techniques. It was one of them who had forged this bracelet. Surely someone here could remove it.

“Spellcaster? That’s taking this a little too far, don’t you think?” Sandra asked.

“We don’t have any spellcasters here,” Meri said, looking concerned.

“None in this city? And no blacksmith? How small is this place?”

“No, not the city. The world. Like, maybe there is someone who thinks they can somewhere in the world, but none that I know.”

None in the world? Where was she? Another wave of dizziness hit her. She fought it for a moment and it faded. She needed to sleep. Nowhere was truly safe here, since she knew nothing about this place. She eyed the two girls in the room. Neither of them were the type that could force themselves to hurt another, even if they wanted to. It was possible they would turn her in, but as long as they didn’t figure out what she was, she didn’t see that being a problem.

“May I use one of these beds?” she asked.

“Sure.” Meri bustled over to the one on the left side of the room and began tossing stuff off it. “You do look tired. Use mine.”

Senara nodded her thanks and stumbled over to the bed. She hardly had time to shrug her cloak off before slipping into a welcome, mind-numbingly deep, sleep.