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ten-foot tall figure in silver opened the door to her cell. Mandy stood. Beckoning her to follow, her bidder started towards the exit at the other end of the room. She risked a look at the others. Most prisoners were placed in collars or shackles and led away.
    Mandy hurried after the man who freed her, unwilling to wind up back in a cage.
    He led her into the ship, through a hallway that glowed with bright, filtered light from tall panels lining the walls. Her footsteps made no sound on the smooth floor. She looked around for intersections with other halls or doorways but saw nothing, just the seemingly endless corridor. The creature she trailed passed through one of the lighted panels. Mandy hesitated then followed, bracing herself to run into a wall.
    She walked through it. It seemed to be a mirage; there was nothing there.  
    He waited for her on the other side in a small room with two bright walls and two the same shade of the very solid floor. He pointed to a spot on the floor near a solid wall. She went, too shocked to run.
    When he didn’t return after a few minutes, she sat down on the floor. Was being thrown out into space a better fate than what awaited her now? How did she get back down to the Earth and Urik? Why did a river of chemicals and poisonous sands sound appealing right about now?
    She sat for what felt like an hour before growing restless. She stood, needing to find a way out of the small room and afraid this was a cell of some sort. Hesitating only a moment, she closed her eyes and stepped through the lighted wall they’d come through, only to smack into someone on the other side. This hooded figure also wore silver and backed her into the room. Mandy scrambled out of his way, heart pounding.
    The figure motioned for her to follow. He went through one of the other lighted walls. She looked towards the hallway again then trailed him, surprised at what lay beyond. She had been so close to this room, and it was far more pleasant than anywhere she’d been yet. The spacious quarters reminded her of a penthouse apartment. The walls wrapping around the room were windows into space and the floor plan divided into four spaces by a thick, central block.
    The figure disappeared into the block.
    Drawn by the image of Earth, Mandy went to the windows. They were so clear, she wasn’t sure there was anything between her and the universe. She put her hands on the windows to reassure herself and gazed at the world that was hers. The images of the earth she’d seen on the television showed a planet that glowed blue and brown. The Earth she saw out the windows was black and brown.
    Her attention was caught by the movement of sleek spacecraft moving between the planet and the space station she was on. She watched it, astounded at the idea this was real. She heard clothing rustle as someone approach her and stop a short distance away.
    “What happened to Earth?” she asked, dismayed. “It used to be so beautiful.”
    “You no longer believe this to be a dream.”
    Mandy turned at the familiar voice, heart quickening. Akkadi stood near her, his chiseled features emotionless. Dark blue eyes were on her. He wore a plainer gray uniform without the sashes this time, though the orange medallion still glowed from his chest. The less flashy clothing only seemed to emphasize his quiet strength. She’d remembered him being lean and tall, but he seemed more so without the different color sashes distracting her.
    Twenty feet tall. Fangs as long as her arm. Why on earth had Pinal thought this about Akkadi?
    “It’s a nightmare,” she replied.
    She felt it again, the sense of being anchored in this world. With Akkadi, she didn’t have to question what was real. It all seemed real. Far too real.
    “I won’t tell you how much it cost me to save you this time,” he said. He moved without hesitation into her personal space this time but didn’t touch her, instead studying her. His scent – of warm spices – reached her.