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 “Okay,” I replied, thoroughly uninterested in my sister’s “spirit”. “Enlighten me about this whole secret-room thing,” I said, finishing my fairy water treatment.

Ariza’s face darkened briefly and she avoided the subject. “Not at the moment. I’ll tell you everything once we’re on the road. For now, we just need to go quickly, if this is as urgent as you say.”

I sighed, but had to content myself with the fact of soon knowing. I untied the horses, handed Sunwhisper’s reins to Ariza, and swung myself onto Coraldance. Ariza pointed to a sliding door in the wall, which opened to permit them. We nudged our horses through the gateway, and Ariza closed the door behind us. Both horses snorted impatiently, anxious to get going. 

Ariza and I followed a rarely traveled woodland path, so as not to be seen by the camp, especially Ezrin. Wild thorn plants scratched their soles and tore at their ankles as they carefully guided Coral and Sunny along the rough trail. After about an hour, the path became more worn and smoother. Something whizzed past Ariza’s ear.

“Raiders!” I cried. “Go!” I spurred Coraldance into a fast run, hoping Ariza was close behind. I dodged arrows as I fled and protected my horse as best I could. I soon reached a break in the trees, where I slowed my pace to wait for Ariza. The attackers seemed to have given up their volley and retreated. It was several minutes before Ariza appeared. She was still mounted, but looked windblown and pale. An arrow shaft protruded from her left leg; blood dripped freely from the tear in her breeches. I rushed to my sister, but before I could speak, Ariza said quietly, “Four drops green liquid, two drops purple. Quickly.”

I obliged, digging in the large pack for the potion bottles. I dribbled four drops of the green and two drops of the purple onto the gash, and watched the result in amazement. A spicy-smelling smoke swirled up from the wound, clearing it of blood and sealing new skin over it. The arrow shaft was pushed out and it fell to the ground. Where a bleeding hack had been seconds before, a star-shaped scar glowed golden. Ariza retrieved the arrow from the grass and eyed it warily. She pulled out a crimson mixture in another glass phial and let a single droplet seep onto the arrowhead. “Black dragon blood,” she stated, sniffing the aroma that wafted lazily before her face. “Oh, and it look like there's a little bit of griffin breath, thank Rhenn for that. Hmm… And some Storm temper in here, too. Whoever mixed this poison was a real master; they had a talent for make someone suffer without dying immediately. Nicely done.”

I shook my head, still completely bewildered at this new side of my sister. This was certainly unexpected. Where did she learn all this? I thought. Why hasn’t she said anything before? Thoughts raced through my mind; I was bursting with questions. I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Tell me,” I almost shouted. “Tell me everything, now. About that room, about how you know all this, and mostly, about why you haven’t told me anything! I’m your sister, your best friend! There’s no secrets between us, remember?”

Ariza looked slightly guilty. “Okay, I’ll get straight to the point. I’ve been in contact with the fairy world for a while now, and there’s this one girl who’s been teaching me things. You were always busy with the war, and I needed someone to connect with. A friend who didn’t have such important responsibilities. Anyways, I was messing around one day with some spells from this little booklet I found, and a circle appeared in the air. It started spinning and making musical noises, and it got bigger and bigger. It was like a sort of window into somewhere else, but I didn’t know where. There was a person on the other side, a girl. She looked surprised, but she talked to me. She told me a little about herself, and told me what I had done. She said it was really advanced magic, that a portal was difficult for most. I said I had no idea what I was doing, and that I was no mage. I was curious,