There’s a rush of heat like I’m standing too close to a bonfire, and then we’re on the other side of the waterfall. I can see Ondine and Jenny, huddled close as they walk away. They’re blurred around the edges, like I’m looking at them through water. Elena told me to stay close, but my feet refuse to move, as though my shoes are stuck in the sand. I look down to see it’s not sand I’m standing on but springy, mossy ground. Brightly coloured flowers as tall as my thighs lilt from side to side in the breeze.

I call out to Ondine but she keeps walking forward with Jenny, never once looking back. I raise my arms, trying to shift whatever invisible curtain is holding me back. Nothing happens. I try again, and again, grunting with the effort, but I only succeed in tiring my muscles.

Why could I pass through the portal with Ondine, only to be prevented from going any further? If I really am a sentinel of the portal, does it mean I’m bound to this place and, if so, what is my purpose? If it was to guarantee safe passage for Ondine through the portal, I don’t know how I achieved it. One minute we were in the cave, then there was a rush of golden light, and we arrived here. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Once I accept that I’m bound to this spot, for whatever reason, my ears pick up the muffled sound of voices. Guessing that it’s Ondine and Jenny, I try to tune into the conversation, but my attempt is about as effective as pressing my ear to a wall. The meadow is a long, flat expanse, and I watch as the women’s heads become two dark points on the horizon as they move further away from me.

Then they disappear completely.

I close my eyes, frustrated by the limitations of whatever power this is I’ve been given. And that’s when I hear it – the sound of Ondine’s voice, not as loud and clear as if we were sitting next to each other, but clear enough that I can make out what she’s saying.

“-corrupted.”

A soft voice I’ve never heard before says, “The line between us disconnects if the journal falls into the hands of someone not handed the power.”

“I am sorry, Jenny. I shouldn’t have given it up.”

“I am not without fault. I hoped that by showing you what I had learned, as a girl and later, as Eliza’s apprentice, you would understand that the plants are sacred to me. Healing is sacred.”

“Again, I’m sorry. When the evidence became irrefutable, I panicked. I thought you were taking pride in what you’d done.”

“I do – I’ve always done so.”

“No, what I mean is that I read malicious intent into what you did.”

“I see. Well, that is not true. Choosing to end another living being’s life is not an easy decision, if compassion is the main motivation.”

There’s a pause in the conversation, and I hear the soft rush of wind through tall stems.

“Jenny, why am I here?”

“The portal brought you here, my dear.”

“Why are you here?”

“The portal brought me here, also.” I hear what I’m sure is a snort of frustration coming from Ondine, and then Jenny says, “I came here after the deaths. I knew how it looked, being the only survivor, and a healer at that. I knew I couldn’t evade punishment.”

“You knew about the portal, before it happened?”

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“I did. I had travelled to this island before, with Eliza.”

“Jenny, I have to ask – what are you? How can I see you? Are you a ghost?”

After a pause, Jenny says, “In the sense that ghosts choose to reveal themselves only to those they choose, you could say that. My physical body is gone – I can no longer walk on the living lands and be seen as I once was. But here – and in the liminal spaces – those I have named as my seers can walk with me.”

“Can I ask – who else have you named as your seer?”

“Just you, and one before you. But she asked me to release her, long ago.”

“Does anyone else live here, on the island?”

“Eliza did, once. We’re like vapours, living out our after-time here until, finally, we disappear completely.”

The space all around me erupts with a deafening ripping noise, and my arms shoot out from my sides before I know what’s happening, grabbing onto bone and sinew that is writhing and squirming in my hands. Whatever it is I’m holding fast to emits a piercing shriek, which nearly causes me to lose my grip, until my eardrums pop and after that split-second of sharp pain, I recover and tighten my hold on the creature.

Eyes still closed, I don’t realize that Ondine and Jenny have come back, until I hear Ondine’s voice. “Thom! Thom – what’s happening? What is that noise?”

The thing I’m holding wriggles like something possessed, as Jenny says, “It’s been sent to find you. If we let it live, it will pass back through the curtain and report your whereabouts.”

Jenny’s words provoke another hideous shriek from the creature, which opens its jaw so wide that the thing looks to be made completely of mouth. Using force I didn’t know I had – most likely didn’t actually have until a few days ago – I squeeze the thing as hard as I can, trying to quash whatever life force exists in its body. The noise it makes is pathetic, like a faulty accordion, until finally it grows limp, and quiet.

“What was that?” Ondine asks.

“A leperby. One of the doomed creatures, sent to these liminal places to do the Frizzen's bidding.”

“How did it get here?”

“Any time the curtain is opened – the portal, as you call it – the fabric becomes thinner for a time, and a leperby tries to squeeze through.”

“Why did you say it was sent to find me?”

“The Frizzen know I’m here alone. They know I’ve named a new seer, so they’ve been watching, likely for decades.” For the first time, Jenny looks straight at me. “Thank you, for saving her.”

I look down at the limp thing in my arms. It’s formless, like all of the muscles and bones have disappeared completely.

“It’s no more than a soft shell now,” Jenny says. “They do that so that we can’t recognize them when another one comes, seeking.” She takes it from my arms and cradles it like it’s a baby, or a cat. “I’ll bury it, later. But now, you have to leave. It’s not safe here. When the leperby doesn’t return, it will be as good as a report that the new seer is here.”

“But when should I come back?” Ondine asks, her voice tinged with sadness.

“I will tell you when.” Jenny’s eyes are glassy, and I realize that she must be very lonely here. “For now, continue with your studies. When I need you, I will call you.” Jenny turns to me and says, “It’s time to take her back.”

Ondine’s face is full of sadness and something else I imagine to be regret that she didn’t have time to learn the full truth from Jenny. I turn back towards the waterfall, and this time it is so much easier than before; the water pulls away like it’s nothing more than a light slip of fabric. Still looking at Jenny, Ondine steps forward, into the water, and then we’re both engulfed in the heat for a mere instant, before standing back on the beach at Ballaig.

Elena is standing in the same spot as when we left. She smiles at us and welcomes us back.

“How long were we gone for?” Ondine asks her.

“Not even long enough to worry about when you’d be back,” Elena says, still smiling. “Less than five minutes.”

Ondine tells her about the leperby, and Jenny sending us back.

“Quite right, too,” Elena says. “When it doesn’t return, they’ll send more.”

“Will they be able to find me here?” I’m surprised to hear a quiver of fear in Ondine’s voice.

“Only in liminal spaces. They aren’t able to travel through portals to this-world places.”

Ondine shakes her head, and gives me a wry smile. “What the hell have we got ourselves into here?”

I smile back at her, thinking that this all seems much less strange than it did even two days ago. I’ve just travelled through a portal to an island that doesn’t exist, strictly speaking, guarding my friend who has powers I still don’t understand. I killed a leperby to protect her, and it doesn’t make me feel much of anything.

“Jenny told me to go back to my studies, and stay away from Hallowtide.”

“That’s excellent advice,” Elena says, nodding.

Looking at me she says, “I think it might be time for us to return to Skye. Robbo awaits, and he’s got things to teach you, apparently.”