WOO! A Chapter? I know...sorry all. I run events for a living and every once and a while I have to focus on my job. (Although, it kills me not to be writing.) Hope you like the latest installment. Cheers!

My freaky real dreams, I thought. I bet half of the Traveler's Guild knew about them by now. Astra wouldn't let us leave until I told her the whole story about Jaxon and the knife. I sighed, flopped onto my bed, and grabbed the wooden box my mother had given me off the nightstand.

"Sorry about the welts," I said glancing over at Sage as she propped a pillow behind her trying to get comfortable.

"It is what it is." She shrugged. "Actually, I think you're getting the worst punishment out of the three of us."

"Oh—?" I was surprised to hear she thought scratching welts was better than retrieving a healer.

"Well, yeah." She put down the medical list Josie had given her onto the bed. "By the time you get back, both Kellan and Jax could be here."

"No way, Jax told me, we had to wait for some portal to open just before my birthday for us to complete the trip back to Acklemar."

"Way," she said like was stating a fact. "If you have money, there are always other options and last time I checked..."

"Jax has the funds."

She cringed and nodded.

"Great." I sighed and shook the box. "If there's anything in this that can help, I'd sure like to see it."

Something bounced off the inside compartment making a rattling noise. I placed my palm over the stained wood sections and felt a path warm against my skin.

"Hey, I think I might be able to open it again."

I traced the darker section of wood this time, forming three loops. When my finger closed the design, the box popped open.

"Woo! What did mama give ya this time?" Sage said clamoring onto my bed peering into the box.

"Don't you have to go administer medical attention or something?" I asked, clutching the wooden chest in my hands.

"No-one's showed me where to go yet, and I'm not about to ask." She smirked, then pulled one of my pillows into her lap. "Besides, what are they going to do? Kick me out? They're kind of desperate for the medical help."

"Don't look at me. It's not like I'm going to tell them where you are."

I dumped the box onto the bed, and a single black stone landed among the flowers on the bedspread.

Sage plucked the gem between two fingers and took a closer look. "It's a black star sapphire. See how the light reflects a six-pointed star on the stone." She pointed to where the center of the gem.

"So?"

"A sapphire like this is rare. Most people would mistake it for a black star diopside that only reflects a four-pointed star. They aren't all that special." She paused, flipped the stone over in her fingers then passed it back. "My brother, Terrill was always trying to hunt one of these down. If I remember correctly, it has protection properties or safety."

"Protection?" I asked, running my chain through the stone's hole.

"Well..." When she peered at the stone around my neck, her forehead wrinkled and creased. "I think that's why he wanted it. You'll have to test it to find out for sure."

That was easier said than done, considering I had no idea how any of the stones on my necklace worked. The few times I made any of the gems glow, it seemed more accidental that me tapping into them.

A rap at the door alerted our attention to the turning handle, then it swung open, and Vega stepped into view holding a leather pack.

"Hey, this is for you," she said, offering the bag to me.

"Thanks." I opened it up, stuffed the grimoire and extra change of clothes we picked up earlier into it. I decided to leave box behind and placed it back on the nightstand.

"Don't forget this," Sage tossed the sack of currency stones to me.

"Good idea, who knows where we're going." I buckled the bag shut. "I guess I should get going."

"I'll walk you there," Vega said holding the door open for me to pass. "On the way, we can drop Sage at the medical rooms."

"And here I thought Astra might forget about me." Sage wiped her hands down the front of her pants, then rolled her eyes. "Fine," she grumbled. "I'm coming."

"Sorry, it wasn't my idea to escort you," Vega replied. "Just following orders. 'Ensure Sage finds her way,'" she said mimicking Astra's voice.

I shouldered the bag and looked at Vega. "Hey, maybe you can give me a few tips on pulling from the Astral plane on the way. I'm tired of landing on my face."

"Sure," Vega laughed.

A quarter turn later, Vega left me facing the library doors, stating there was no way she wanted to meet Astra another time today. She gave me a hug, then disappeared through the portal that led outside.

The hall smelt like the back entrance to school where the everyone stood around smoking before the bell. My closed fist hovered over the wooden door as I wondered if I should knock, or go in but before I had a chance to decide, Rygar opened the door.

"Wren," he said in a cold voice.

Crap-tabuolus. What was I suppose to say to him? I looked at his hand and cringed at his bandaged forefinger. "Sorry about Sage."

His eyes narrowed, and he pursed his lips. "That girl has impulse issues."

"Yeah, well, that's Sage I'm afraid. But she makes up for it with her fierce loyalty."

"She sure does," said a woman Rygar was blocking from view.

I brushed past him to see who had spoken and stopped short at the sight of her standing next to the oracle table. "Nebula!"

Her eyes shone despite the weariness her slumped posture showed. She gave a slight smile and nodded.

"You're here? But how—?" I looked around half expecting Jaxon to pop up from behind her.

She chuckled, waved me forward and folded her arms around me in a hug. "It's good to see you home again. I assume you've had a chance to get reacquainted with my sister, Astra," she said releasing me from her embrace.

I lowered my voice and whispered so Astra couldn't hear, "I don't think I'm her favorite person right now."

"That makes two of us," Nebula whispered back. "She's been mad at me for years."

"You? Why is she mad at you?"

"With your mother in the Keep, someone had to help keep you out of trouble." She picked up her cloak from the back of a chair and folded it over her arm. "Astra didn't want me to go and leave her with all the duties of running the Guild. Not that she had any say in the matter."

"You two can stop whispering, I know you're talking about me," Astra's voice echoed from the far side of the room.

Nebula waved a hand at her, then said in a loud enough voice to carry throughout the room, "Not everything's about you, you know."

I let out a short laugh and bit my lip trying to restrain myself. I was in enough trouble with Astra already. I glanced around the room another time.

"Looking for someone?" she said, dusting her cloak with the back of her hand.

I could tell she knew what I was wondering by the way the corners of her mouth turned up.

"Jaxon isn't here too, is he?" It would be like Jaxon to hire the best person he could find, and for some reason, I knew that would be Nebula.

"No— He'll be here soon enough, though."

Puzzled by her speedy return to Acklemar, I scrunched my brows like I always did when I was deep in thought. When I realized I was doing it, I half expected to hear Gran tell me to stop thinking so hard, or I'd age before my time, just like she always did when I was pondering something.

"But how did you get here so quick? I thought it took more than four days to get to here."

"Don't believe what everyone tells you." She put her arm around my shoulders, and we started walking toward Astra's desk. "Besides, you're not the only one with a few secrets," she said, giving me a nudge.

Maybe it was her name or her quirky mannerisms, but something told me she held a galaxy of secrets behind those crystal blue eyes of hers.

"Are you two finished?" Astra said, drawing our attention back to her. She was standing behind her desk arranging papers into a neat pile. Josie stood off to her side holding a bag.

Nebula reached over a plucked a round glass paperweight from the desk. Cradling it in one hand, she circled her other over its smooth surface.

"Relax. We can talk and listen at the same time," Nebula answered staring into the transparent glass ball.

The orb looked like a snow globe with a drop of fuchsia dye swirling in its contained waters. Pink tendrils reached out from the center of it. Within seconds, the growing inky mass darkened to blood red. Astra's eyes widened, then she reached over her desk and snatched the ball from Nebula's grasp.

"You can't leave things alone, can you?" Astra said, placing the orb back on her desk.

Nebula smiled and slid her cloak over her shoulders and fastened the clasp. "Nope, not in my nature."

She glanced at the crimson ball, raised an eyebrow and looked back at Astra. "We should leave if we are going to make camp before nightfall."

"We?" Astra said sounding surprised. "What are you talking about? You're not coming," Astra said, pulling on her cloak. "Someone needs to watch things around here."

Rygar walked over and stood next to me. He leaned a shoulder against the bookshelf and crossed his arms.

"Vega can handle it for a couple of days." Nebula rested her hand on the top of the ball. "You need me—even if you don't want to admit it."

"I've handled things just fine since you've been away."

My eyes were fixed on the ball while the two of them bickered back and forth in the background. Given Astra's reaction to it, I couldn't help feeling the red color was some kind of omen or warning of things to come.

"No offence—but if I get a vote, I want Nebula to come." She had already proven her skills as a seer were more than helpful. If she said she was needed, I wasn't leaving without her.

Rygar looked over at me and nodded. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Wren. Nebula should come."

"You too?" Astra asked.

Rygar peeled himself off the bookcase and rubbed the back of his neck. "With the fire circle looking for Wren, Nebula's ability to see the future could be helpful. Just saying—"

"If we didn't have six more cases of Drelobie pox reported in the past couple of hours, I might just call off the whole trip." She looked at the orb.

"It wouldn't hurt to have an extra person to help manage the portals," Josie said breaking her silence. "It would help us make a quick retreat if we came across any Fire guards near our border."

"Good point." Astra shouldered her bag. "It's probably best for the safety of everyone to have another experienced person on this trip—even if it is my meddling sister."

"Hey, I only nudge things along in the right direction," Nebula said, putting her arm over my shoulder giving it a squeeze.

Astra started walking toward the stairs, with the rest of us trailing behind her. "Just because it's your direction doesn't mean it's the right one."

She climbed the stairs until we stood in front of the tapestry near the landing on the third floor.

"We're going to go through the rug?" Confused I turned to Nebula. "Vega told me not even to touch it."

"Too many variables to control for one person," she whispered. "A Traveler must have a skill above an eight to even access the first control and a nine for the next."

Josie leaned over and said, "That why we have to travel in at least a group of three, so we don't end up lost."

"Josie, will you control our destination?" Astra voiced over the three of us whispering.

"Sure."

"Nebula can you manage to keep us in the current?" Astra said, taking a cursory look at her.

"The current? What's that supposed to mean?" I said to Nebula.

"We don't want to land hundreds of years in the past, someone in the group has to focus on keep us in the correct year," she answered.

Nebula took both my hand and Astra's. Then the rest of the group followed along until we were all holding hands in long line. Then Astra stepped forward and disappeared into the glittering rainbow of colors. One by one the rest of us followed.

Blazing colors soared around us as we pulled through their current. The controls Nebula was talking about weren't visible like a control panel filled with knobs, but more like I could sense the ability to change our course, year, or speed of travel if I thought about it.

"Rygar, be ready!" Nebula hollered.

While still hanging on to Nebula's hand, Rygar unsheathed his sword.

Our final destination was getting closer, opening up into a wooded area. Our speed whipped my hair against my face. Aren't they going to slow down?

"Get ready to jump!" Astra yelled.

"Jump? Are you crazy?" That's like jumping from a speeding train and hoping to survive. 

But before I could think another thought, Nebula let go of my hand and jumped. One after another they all jumped through the hole leaving me behind. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and leaped. After falling for what seemed like forever, I landed with a thud. Lying with my face practically kissing a pair of men's boots, I'd never seen before.

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