Anthony was the first to speak. “Is she…dead?” There was a slight quaver in his voice.

Sarah nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off Verasa’s still form.

After a long pause, she said in a trembling voice, “You two...you two should go back. Now. I’ll fix the portal to take you home.”

“We can’t just leave you here!” Anthony protested. “It’s dangerous. Whoever killed her could just as easily kill you.”

“And they could even more easily kill either or both of you.” Sarah’s voice had become firmer, and she turned away from Verasa at last. “Don’t you realize how vulnerable you are here? You can’t use magic. You can’t even speak the language. Killing a gatekeeper is no small thing. Anyone who’s powerful—and heartless—enough to have done this would barely have to lift a finger to kill you.”

“But what about Kirchel?” Erin asked. She was shivering and had to fight hard to not start crying, but she was as determined to stay as Anthony was. “It might have been Teral who did this, and now he’s got Kirchel! We can’t leave without trying to help her.”

“I’m going to do everything I can to help her,” Sarah said. “But I know she wouldn’t want you in danger any more than I do.”

“She wouldn’t want you in danger either,” Anthony said stubbornly.

“Look, we don’t have time to stand here and argue,” Sarah said impatiently. She started toward the portal. “Just let me send you back so that I know you’re safe, and then I can—”

She broke off suddenly and turned her head sharply toward the tunnel out of the cave, her ears pricked up. She'd obviously just heard something.

Erin listened, but she couldn’t hear anything except the soft moan of the wind across the cave entrance.

“What is it?” she whispered after a short silence.

“Hoofbeats,” Sarah breathed, still staring at the tunnel. “Just outside the cave.”

The three of them all stood still, watching and listening. A long moment passed in tense silence.

Then, finally, Erin heard something other than the wind. But it wasn’t hooves. It was footsteps—coming in through the tunnel. Glancing uneasily at the others, Erin could tell from their expressions that they heard it, too.

She looked back at the tunnel. Now she could see the person coming toward them, just visible in the faint green light cast by the flames into the tunnel.

“I thought I might find you here,” said a soft voice.

Erin’s heart leapt. She recognized that voice. And she had understood what it said, even though it was speaking in Silmarith.

“Jechrin!”

Almost before she realized what she was doing, Erin was rushing forward. Sarah made a move as though to stop her, but Erin was already past her.

She reached the mouth of the tunnel at the same time Jechrin did, and without pausing to think or feel embarrassed, she threw her arms around him.

He didn’t act startled or embarrassed either. He simply put a comforting arm around her while she pressed her face against his shoulder, trying to hold back her tears.

She felt a powerful wave of relief at the sight of him, though she couldn’t have explained exactly why. There was no reason why he should be any more capable of dealing with a murder or a kidnapping than they were, especially since his own father seemed to be involved.

But she was still glad he was there.

“Jechrin, your father....” Erin looked up at him, finally getting her feelings under control enough to speak. “We think he came through to the other world, and...and he brought Kirchel back with him...and....”

Jechrin placed his fingers lightly over Erin’s mouth to stop her stammering explanation.

“I know,” he said quietly. “I’ve been following him. He and Kirchel are back at the palace already. He’s trying to force her to marry him. She’s putting up a good fight, from what I overheard, but she won’t be able to hold out forever. We need to get there soon.”

He let go of her and stepped further into the cave, turning to look at Sarah and Anthony. They stared back at him warily. Sarah's ears were partially flattened.

“Friends of yours?” Jechrin asked, glancing back at Erin.

She nodded. “Sarah and Anthony. They work in Kirchel’s shop, and Sarah’s the gatekeeper at the portal by Kirchel’s house.”

“And you’re Jechrin Sil-Talinde?” Sarah asked him. “Crown Prince of Aner?”

“I am,” Jechrin said, inclining his head.

Then his gaze slid down to the pitiful heap that had been Verasa. He walked over to her and studied her crumpled figure with a grim expression.

“We found her just a few minutes ago,” Erin said. “After we followed Kirchel and your father here. Someone had hidden her up in that hollowed out place in the wall.”

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She hesitated, watching Jechrin’s face uncertainly.

“You don’t think…? I mean, surely your father wouldn’t have….” She trailed off as Jechrin looked up at her.

“Yes,” he said, very quietly. “I’m afraid he would have.” He looked back down at the motionless gatekeeper. His voice was very calm, but his face was unusually hard. “He killed my mother, after all.”

Erin stared at him, her mouth open in horror. “He killed…? No…. He can’t have….”

“He could. And he did. I watched him do it.”

“So why didn’t you tell anyone?” Sarah asked. She was regarding Jechrin with a look of deep suspicion.

“I did.” A hint of anger crept into Jechrin’s voice, mixed with something almost like desperation. “But no one would believe me. No one would listen. And then my father found out, and he threatened to kill me, too, if I didn’t keep quiet.” He shook his head slightly as though trying to clear away the memory. “But that’s over and done. It’s Kirchel we need to worry about now. And we need to get moving if we want to help her.”

He turned away from Verasa and started back toward the entrance to the tunnel.

“Fine,” Sarah said, though she still didn't look like she really believed him. “I’ll come with you. But I need to send Erin and Anthony back home first. This is too dangerous for them.”

“I’m not going to go sit back at the shop while you go off and get yourself killed!” Anthony said stubbornly. He was still speaking in English, although he seemed to be able to understand what they were saying in Silmarith. “How do you know you can trust him?” He gestured at Jechrin, who had paused and was looking back at them. “His father is the one that’s behind all this, isn't he?”

Sarah looked exasperated. “Why do you think I want you two to go home?” she said, switching back to English as well. “I have no idea what it is we’ve landed in the middle of. He could be here to stop us or lead us into a trap, for all we know.”

“He’s not!” Erin said angrily, jumping to Jechrin’s defense. “It’s not his fault what his father does. I trust him. He’s my friend.”

Jechrin gave her a small, appreciative smile. Erin was fairly sure he had understood everything they said, even though they had been speaking in English. But he didn't seem bothered by Sarah’s and Anthony’s doubts.

“Don’t underestimate them,” he said to Sarah. He nodded at Erin. “Especially not her.”

Sarah looked like she was ready to keep arguing, but Jechrin had already turned around and was heading for the tunnel again. He paused briefly as he passed Erin and held out his hand to her. She took it and followed him through the tunnel and out of the cave.

It was very dark outside. There was no moon, and the green firelight from inside the cave was blocked by a curve in the tunnel, so the landscape was lit only by starlight.

"Hey, do you have a light or something?" Erin asked, tightening her grip on Jechrin's hand a little. "I can barely see anything...."

"It's better not to use a light. Too conspicuous. But don't worry, I can see. Just follow my lead, and you should be fine."

Could he see in the dark using magic? Erin felt a little nervous walking out into the unknown blackness, but she obediently followed the pull of Jechrin's hand. Fortunately, there seemed to be some kind of paved road under their feet, so she could walk without much trouble.

As her eyes began to adjust, she could make out the shapes of trees not far away on either side of them. Some distance in front and below them was a large patch of lights that must be Eloril, the capital of Aner.

“The road will start slanting down soon," Jechrin warned her. "When we get to the bottom of the hill, we'll be right in front of the city gate. It's not far."

“Didn’t you come on a paskjy?” Erin asked, looking around for some sign of an animal. “Sarah said she heard hooves out here just before you came into the cave.”

“No, I came on foot. Getting a paskjy from the palace stables would have attracted too much attention. I didn’t want my father to know I was following him.”

“It didn’t sound like paskjy hooves, anyway,” came Sarah’s irritated voice from somewhere behind them. She had apparently given up on trying to force Erin and Anthony back through the portal, but she wasn't happy about it. “It sounded more like a horse. But I don’t know what a horse would have been doing out here. They’re not native to this world, and I haven’t seen very many here. I definitely heard hooves, though. You didn’t see any sign of an animal before you came in?”

“No, I didn’t,” Jechrin said.

“That’s weird. I wonder what it could have been.” Erin shivered a little.

The idea of an unknown creature running around in the dark forest with them was quite disturbing. Though most of the hooved animals she knew of ought to be afraid to come near a large, winged wolf, so she was glad that Sarah was still there.

“Don’t worry,” Jechrin said, giving her hand a squeeze. “I’m sure it’s nothing dangerous.”

Erin didn’t see how he could know that, but she felt reassured all the same. Jechrin frequently had that effect on her.

“Do you mind if I ask what language everyone is speaking?” Anthony said. He was speaking in Silmarith now, though hesitantly. “And why I seem to speak it too all of a sudden?”

“It’s called ‘language projection’,” Jechrin said. “It’s a kind of magic that allows me to project the knowledge of a language into your mind. And at the moment, that language is Silmarith.”

“Oh.” Anthony seemed to consider this for a moment. “I guess Erin said something about that. But I didn’t realize you could do it with me, too, since I can't do any magic stuff.”

“Theoretically, I can do it with almost anyone. Some people are easier than others, though. It depends on how compatible a person is with my magic.” He gave Erin’s hand another light squeeze. “I can do projection more easily with you than with anyone else I’ve ever tried, Erin. Our magic compatibility is...quite remarkable."

"Is it? Oh." Erin didn’t quite know how to respond to that. She wasn't even sure exactly what 'magic compatibility' meant.

Was that why she felt so comfortable around Jechrin? Because her magic was especially compatible with his?

She was definitely going to have to ask him to explain the whole thing to her later....

They were nearing the city wall now. There was enough light coming from the large lamps hanging at regular intervals along it that Erin could finally see the stone-paved road beneath her feet and the others walking alongside her.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Sarah had changed out of her wolfish form, though she still wasn’t quite back to normal. Her blond hair was much longer than it had been before, and Erin thought she could see a pointed Silmarith ear when Sarah turned her head.

Erin was afraid that the guards posted at the gate into the city would be suspicious when they saw the four of them walking out of the darkness and might ask awkward questions or stop them from going in.

And what about Jechrin? Wouldn't the city guards recognize the crown prince?

But the guards were inside an open gatehouse next to the city entrance and seemed to be absorbed in some kind of game that they were playing at a small round table. A couple of them glanced over at the group as they passed through the arched gate, but otherwise, they ignored them.