Mirab’s smile lasted barely more than an instant. Then, her expression grew serious. "Do you have conditions?" she asked.

  "What conditions could I have for saving lives?" Eluvie asked. "I could ask you to forgo this ridiculous plot to imprison me. But if you refuse, will I let your subjects die?"

  Eluvie was not as high-minded as that. She simply knew that there was no point in negotiating with them. The only thing she wanted was her freedom. But if she dared to ask for it, they could simply fall back to torturing her.

  "Show me this gate I need to open," she said. "Who knows if I can even open it?"

  Mirab looked suspicious, but she chose to accept the gift as it was given.

  "It’s this way," Mirab pointed in a direction that seemed as empty as the rest.

  Eluvie let Mirab lead the way while she walked slightly behind. She did not know how she would protect the boy and herself at the same time. Her life felt like a deadly maze. She knew to avoid the flaming walls, but not which of the openings led to safety.

  When they finally reached the gate, almost a half hour later, she had not found a plan she could trust.

  Unlike the previous gate, this one was made of stone. That made it the only stone structure on the entire plain. It was essentially an archway, but the arch had also been filled in with plain stone.

  "It opens much like the previous one," Mirab said, her eyes filled with anticipation. "Except that there is no code. As long as every Illrum wishes it to open, it will open."

  Eluvie turned to the gate and stared at it for a long time. No one bothered her. They waited in silence while she pondered how to explain her failure. Finally, when she had thought for too long, she addressed the arch.

  Open, she said.

  The required number of wardens has not been met, it said. One warden is absent. Would you like to override this requirement?

  Eluvie’s breath caught.

  I can override it?

  Overriding the requirements for every doorway is within your power, it replied.

  Why? she asked.

  Overriding the requirements for every doorway is permitted for every Illrum ranked Isei and above.

  Eluvie felt like her hands were trembling, but she looked down and found them steady.

  What is my rank? she asked.

  Isei, it replied.

  What other ranks are there?

  The first ten ranks are Ilu, Eram, Guira, Eyi, Chi, Gree, Isei, Rauw, Ber, and Ishem. The ranks beyond that have not been named.

  It was answering her questions without inhibitions. That was odd.

  Are you conscious? she asked.

  I exist to guard the doorway to Sanctuary, it said. I respond to commands given by those with the appropriate authority. I cannot think or act of my own volition.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  That explained it, Eluvie thought. She wondered how much information she could retrieve from it, but she was keenly aware of the amount of time she had already wasted. The rulers were waiting behind her. If she turned around now, they would ask if she could open the doorway. And she could not lie to them.

  As usual, there was a path forward and no guarantee that it was the right path. She only knew that it would postpone danger.

  Override the requirements, she said.

  The stone filling the archway melted away to reveal a pitch-black, water-like surface.

  Silence filled the air for what seemed like an eternity.

  "She did it," someone said, his breathing filled with disbelief.

  Eluvie did not turn to them. She kept her face towards the archway as their sounds of joy and relief grew less restrained. When someone touched her shoulder - Mirab by the direction of the touch - she wriggled out of reach. Instead, she busied herself by sticking an arm into the doorway's blackness. The arm encountered neither texture nor obstruction. When she retrieved it, it felt unchanged.

  "Why did you do that?" Amu said. "You shouldn't stick your arm into unknown places."

  She ignored him too. Her mind was full of churning thoughts.

  Eluvie's captors began arguing over the next steps. They wanted to send guards through to examine the other side, but they could not decide whose guards to send. The rulers insisted on sending the foreign guards since there were more of them. The foreigners seemed to suspect some form of subterfuge. After several minutes of increasing voices and ridiculous accusations, Eluvie was ready to strangle someone.

  Instead, she stepped through the gateway.

  She stepped out onto the other side almost the instant she stepped through. Two steps into the new world, she stumbled to a halt.

  She blinked, over and over again. Then, she pinched herself several times, blinked some more, and pinched herself even harder.

  She did not seem to be dreaming, but the scene before her was as dream-like as talking horses and candy-coated mountains.

  She walked forward, slowly, her head swiveling from side to side as she tried to take in the entire scene.

  It was a riverbank - as mundane a setting as anyone could find. But every detail of it was wrong. The water was blue, but not a normal blue. It was blue like the shimmering magic of a mage's spell, a blue that did not exist in nature. The sand coming up to her ankles was wet, gritty, and made of the most perfect crystals she had ever seen. Every single grain could have been a diamond, carefully selected, cut, and painted by a master.

  The sky was a faint, golden yellow. The breeze carried a fragrance so wonderful that it seemed new every moment. The sound of the wind on the river's surface sounded like music.

  If she was not dreaming, then she had walked into a place far more dangerous than her captivity.

  During her inspection, she had heard the others come through the archway. Every one of them had stopped within seconds as she had. Some had bumped into her, pushing her further away from the gateway. Now, they all stood in a jagged line, staring at the landscape with amazed and terrified expressions.

  Actually, everyone seemed terrified except Amu. She could not interpret his expression, but there was less surprise in it than there should have been. He knew of this place.

  He caught her staring at him and started guiltily.

  "That was dangerous," he said. "You risk your life too easily."Eluvie cast her gaze over his entire body, picking apart his attire and posture. But if he held secrets, she could not discern them.

  Mirab, the rulers, and their foreign companions moved further from the group. Some guards went with them, but most remained with Amu and Eluvie.

  "What do you think of this place?" Amu said.

  Eluvie wanted to respond, but she could not find the words to do so.

  "It's like a dream," one of the guards said. "Exactly like a dream. I swear, I dreamt about a lake full of wine once, and it wasn't nearly as strange as this."

  Another guard agreed, adding that no one would believe him when he told this story. They started discussing the other features that could be different in this place - animals, plants, the occupants.

  Eluvie broke away from them and approached the river. She moved slowly so that the paranoid guards would not suspect her of plotting an escape. As she moved, she let her legs dig into the sand.

  She had almost reached the river when she sensed something odd. The guards, ever her shadows, had ceased their talking. She could not hear their footsteps either, and they were always so loud. She spun around, alert and fearful.

  Every person in the company was passed out on the ground. The guards lay in awkward poses, as if they collapsed without warning. Some lay atop their weapons. One had his face half-buried in the sand. Amu lay partially on one of the more bulky guards while the rulers were passed out in their cluster.