The woman waved for her companions to put down the guards they were carrying. Then, the three huddled into a circle and began to converse. Eluvie heard their words, but it was in a high-pitched, flowing language that she could not understand.

  The conversation went on for a while. One of the men grew agitated and began gesturing in a way that indicated frustration. The woman’s tone grew similarly sharp.

  Eluvie turned her attention from them and considered her options. She did not know who these three were, but she was certain that she would not best them in a fight. Her fighting experience was limited to dreams. Truthfully, she was surprised that they had not immediately rushed over, manhandled her, and thrown her back through the portal. She needed to make a decision before they realized that they could do that.

  Her hands trembled with the knowledge of her situation. She was one poor decision away from permanent freedom or the return of her nightmares. One of those options was unacceptable while the other would be challenging to manifest.

  The knife in her hand felt warmer than a knife should be.

  I should kill them.

  That option was simple, permanent, and the solution to all her problems. She didn’t even need to consider it for long. Held side by side with the memory of her prison, the thought of letting them live seemed ludicrous. Not even the maker, if he had any interest in his creation, could fault her for this decision. If she walked by a group of people on the road and saw them doing to someone what had been done to her, she would kill everyone there without the slightest burden of guilt. Why would it be hard to execute justice for herself?

  The entire thought from conception to acceptance took less than ten seconds.

  She walked, because her feet were more silent than her wings. Once the decision was made, her mind was so focused on it that, other than her targets, the world disappeared from her sight. She headed straight for Mirab, her steps so smooth she might as well have been floating. At the ruler’s side, she knelt in the sand and took in the face she had hated above all else.

  She pressed the knife to Mirab’s throat and saw the next moment so vividly that she seemed to live in the future.

  Then, the knife was snatched from her hand with a backward force. At the same time, something wrapped itself around her and pulled her away from Mirab.

  She came back to her senses to find herself floating several feet in the air with a golden cord tied around her like a snake would coil around its victims.

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  She struggled violently, but the cord would not budge. Instead, it turned her around so that she could see that its other end was attached to one of the newcomers, growing from the end of his arm like an extraordinarily long hand.

  His eyes were wide with both horror and terror. From his other arm, grew another golden cord, which was wrapped around Eluvie’s stolen knife.The other man and the woman were frozen as well, their bodies positioned as if poised to sprint, both watching her as if she had suddenly sprouted four thousand venomous fangs.

  Eluvie decided that she would not be stopped. She transformed again, this time into an invisible mist. In an instant, she was out of the man’s grip and climbing the air currents, headed towards her target. If she couldn’t cut the witch’s throat, she could still strangle her.

  She slammed into a barrier. Terrible memories triggered panic in her and she switched directions, only to run into another barrier.

  “Please, calm yourself,” the man said. “Calm yourself and listen.”

  Eluvie did so, but only with supreme effort. When she did, she found that the man had transformed his rope into a glass box half as large as a person. That was what had trapped her.

  “Do not try to break free,” he said. "If you transform into something too large for that box, you’ll hurt yourself.”

  Eluvie was tempted to do so anyway, but her reason was a little bit stronger than her emotions.

  The man waited several more seconds, then let the box float to the ground. There was still a golden cord linking it to his arm and it did not appear that he would release it soon.

  He made the box larger until she could transform into her human form without harming herself. Then, she spoke with the infinite patience with which one addresses madmen and distraught children.

  “I apologize,” he said. “We did not properly consider the gravity of your situation. Of course, you do not want your assailants released. We cannot let you harm them, but, for now, we will not permit them to harm you.”

  He paused as if waiting to see if she understood him. Eluvie gave him no response.

  “My colleague will leave to fetch our supervisor. While she is gone, I regret that I must keep you restrained. It will not be more than a few minutes. Once we have consulted with our superiors, we will discuss the next steps. Is that acceptable to you?”

  Eluvie remained silent.

  He, too, remained silent.

  When it grew clear that he would not speak unless she did, she forced herself to answer him.

  “If you do not revive them or send them through the portal, I will not do anything drastic,” she said. “If you attempt to do either of those things, I will consider you my enemy, on par with them, and do whatever I must.”

  “Understood,” he said.

  He nodded to the other man, who subsequently sprouted wings, took to the air, and flew off in the direction of the river. Then, the remaining pair proceeded to stand in still and utter silence. Eluvie rewarded them with the same silence. No introductions or explanations were offered. They watched her like one would watch a hissing snake, deliberately, unblinking, as if she could strike at any moment.

  And as they waited, Eluvie caught a glimpse of the pity she had previously seen on their faces. It was mixed with sadness and concern, but it shone through. And, for no reason that she could discern, it angered her.