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of existence five years ago. May she find peace beyond the void,” she recited the ritual.
    Quinnault followed her with petitions for a long string of deceased relatives.
    Together they bowed to the altar and returned to their places.
    Then Nimbulan, Myri, and the rest of the congregation followed suit.
    “Who is that woman?” Katie asked, nodding toward the flamboyant woman with a cloud of dark hair and clear ivory skin that her brother had noticed. The two men who placed flowers on the altar immediately after her could only be Liam Francis and Sean Michael. Where was Jamie Patrick hiding? And Kinnsell? She was surprised her father hadn’t found the exotically beautiful woman yet.
    “Her name is Maia. She came out of Hanassa last year with Nimbulan,” Quinnault replied quietly. “She has some claim on him. We shelter her here in this sanctuary with magical armor all around so that others of her kind cannot spy on us through her without her knowledge or consent.”
    “She does not seem happy. What if she decides to leave?”
    “I do not know. I only hope that if she chooses to leave, she will return to her clan and not remain to be manipulated by the Rovers who wish us ill.”
    A wave of distorted images washed over Katie. Her sense of now and then, up and down, real and unreal, swirled around her in a tornado of bright colors and broken images. Her father, Maia, a shuttlecraft from the mother ship. Dragons, dragons everywhere. And a purple cloud so dark it seemed almost black engulfing them all.
    She swayed dizzily.
    “Katie!” Quinnault wrapped both arms around her, holding her upright.
    “Scarecrow. I see trouble. I’ve never had a premonition before, but I see trouble surrounding that woman. Disaster cloaks her aura and it centers around my family somehow.”

    Saawheen Evening, in the home of Myrilandel, Ambassador for the Dragon Nimbus to Coronnan, Coronnan City
     
    Powwell searched Yaala’s eyes for support, compassion, anything but the fear that lingered there.
    “This is very dangerous, Powwell,” Bessel said quietly from the desk in Nimbulan’s study. “Neither of us has much experience with the void. The spell is illegal. I’m not prepared to sacrifice everything to help you find your sister.”
    “You don’t have to work the spell, only monitor me and bring me back if I get into trouble. You’re the only magician I trust, Bessel.”
    “I’ll monitor you, Powwell,” Yaala said quietly from her window seat. The autumnal sunset backlit her fair hair and skin giving her the illusion of ethereal fragility. Her heavy brocade gown nearly overwhelmed her slight figure. It reflected the current fashion of muted Kardia tones. Bronze and green flecked the gold fabric. Those colors looked wonderful on Queen Katie with her red hair and green eyes, so everyone at court wore them.
    Yaala needed light blues and pinks to flatter her. She also needed a warmer climate. Desert born and bred, she shivered in the drafty window seat. And yet she clung to the light filtering through the oiled parchment pane.
    Powwell vowed to take her home again. As soon as he found Kalen. Yaala deserved the best. More than he could give her.
    “You don’t have the magic to drag me out of the void, Yaala,” Powwell replied. He clasped her hand in reassurance. “I’ll be all right. I’ve researched this extensively.”
    “Shouldn’t we wait for Master Nimbulan to return from temple?” Bessel fiddled with one of the master’s pens. “He’d be able to monitor you. He knows what you are up against.”
    “But he has no magic either.”
    “What if Scarface finds out what we’re doing? This spell requires rogue magic. The whole thing is illegal.” Bessel began tapping the pen against Nimbulan’s desk.
    “That’s why we’re doing it in Myrilandel’s house. She’s the ambassador for the dragons. This house, the embassy, is foreign territory. We aren’t in Coronnan, so the spell isn’t illegal here.”
    Neither