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herself. That’s what had kept her traveling ever forward rather than lying down and letting the forest claim her. Even standing there inside the walls with air as her only companion, Alesia found herself wishing for him to ride up and rescue her. He’s not away for the day, he doesn’t exist. Bonnie was right; there are no heroes for the likes of us.
    The climb to the top of the tower proved grueling, even for someone accustomed to hard work. She lost count of the steps somewhere around 150, but the reward was well worth the effort. The little windows in the top of the tower overlooked the forest she called home. While she had always known the forest encompassed a vast territory, viewing it from above gave her a new perspective. It stretched on as far as she could see, apparently extending beyond the horizon. Her village was minuscule by comparison. The lake she had swum in all her life was positively huge. The extent of its deep blue waters wasn’t fully visible even from her current perch.
    The windows were easily large enough for her to fit, so she stepped through to the outer edge and stood gazing down at the piles of jagged boulders lying below. The fall would surely kill her, but the day was much too beautiful to die. A clear blue sky stretched from horizon to horizon. Fragrant scents of midsummer floated on the breeze. The happy songs of a dozen types of birds echoed through the forest. An abundance of life was simply everywhere. To ruin it with the shrill scream of terror that would surely peal from her throat as she fell and the blunt thud of her body impacting the rocks would be a crime against the world.
    She climbed back inside from the window, descended the guard tower steps, and continued her exploration. A grand ballroom with a huge balcony lay just off the main corridor. She could imagine dancing the evening away in the arms of some handsome gentleman, then accompanying him to his bedchamber for a night of passionate lovemaking. But there was only vacant space inside the castle walls. Everywhere she went was more of the same. Empty room after empty room. After so many centuries, it wouldn’t be logical to expect to find anything inside. Still, something of interest would have been nice: ancient wooden furniture, an iron door pull, a hinge, a bolt, anything. But absolutely everything had either been taken or deteriorated to dust and floated away on the wind.
    The immense beauty and cold emptiness of the castle stood in stark contrast to each other. Alesia’s spine suddenly twinged between her shoulder blades, sending shivers throughout her body. She hugged herself, longing for the presence of another human being. No place so wonderful should be so completely devoid of life. If the castle had ever been inhabited by spirits, they had all surely fled to escape the unbearable loneliness inside the stone walls.
    As the flame of her lamp began to burn down, she made her way toward the main entrance, not sure what her next move would be. She had come to be taken or die and not planned to stay until night. She stopped in a corridor and sat on the floor to consider her next move. Tears that she had refused to loose escaped her hold and spilled down her cheeks. Death and the baron were her only options, but both were the same, save the fact that one would be quick and painless and the other slow and torturous. The castle spirits hadn’t been riled by her presence, not that she truly believed in their existence any longer. The heaviness of her eyelids became too great to bear, and they fell slowly shut.
    ***
    The Window to the third site was buzzing with interference so strongly that Gil nearly convinced himself he could hear it. He could absolutely feel it, but this was a completely different sensation from when it was pulsating. It registered as a tingling sensation between his shoulder blades, the sort of chill up the spine one gets when someone is approaching stealthily from behind. The Alternate-Reality