The rebels made their new camp on another deserted island. By sunrise the next morning, a city of tents crowded a small parcel of land rising from the placid sea. Thol stood on the beach, staring at the horizon. Lola found him in the tranquil dusk.

They had traveled all night. By tunnel, by sea monster and finally by foot. Soleis and Flev had taken turns flying her to the surface for air when she needed it. Exhaustion settled heavy in her bones, but she couldn’t sleep. There were things that needed to be discussed.

“I don’t feel comfortable going behind his back,” she murmured.

Thol nodded without looking at her. “Tell me what you can.”

“You should talk to him.”

“A little more than that,” he chuckled. The breeze tugged at his color-streaked hair, and the rising sun turned his eyes a burnished gold.

Lola wrung her hands, wondering how much to tell him. Half of what she knew was circumstantial, but she was pretty sure she was right. And, if she was right, then she couldn’t wait for Soleis to decide he was ready to share the news. Worlds were at stake.

“I think something happened to the Heart of the Dragon,” she blurted out. “He never would’ve been injured if he still had the stone. He told me Belzaan is after the ring because he needs the diamond whole. He also told me he fears for my life and wants to send me home with you and Flev as protection.”

“I can imagine what you said to that.”

Lola blushed, remembering everything else she had said and done yesterday. Scratches and teeth marks still burned her skin. Thol didn’t miss her secretive smile, and he nudged her playfully. “Let’s just say I’m still here for a reason,” she tried not to smile.

“Well, congratulations. I’m glad to see the two of you settled your differences. Maybe you can convince him to meet with me and the rest of the elders at noon. My scouts should return by then with a report on what Belzaan has been up to since we broke into his castle complex. It’s time we planned our attack.”

“I’ll try my best, but this is the last favor. I don’t want to give Soleis the wrong impression about us.” She watched a starling coast higher and higher into the sky until she noticed Thol giving her a sideways glance. “What?”

“There is no us,” he said with a laugh. “There’s only a war that must be won to free my people and to prevent the dragons from facing the same destruction…which brings me to my next request.”

“Which part of no more favors—?”

“Last one. I promise.” He grinned wryly. “I need you to use your ring to make me like him.”

“What? Absolutely not! Even if I knew how to do it, I wouldn’t risk alienating Soleis by giving you that kind of power. There’s only one Water Dragon. Let’s keep it that way. Besides, I intend to destroy this thing just as soon as I figure out how.”

Thol frowned. “Don’t do anything hasty. That talisman is the only thing that can turn the tide against Belzaan. Without it, we lose protection and the ability to travel the realms.”

“If he gets his hands on it, he gains all-power.”

“Then, we make sure he doesn’t get his hands on it, don’t we?” he said. “The Mad King can only leave this world in spirit. I believe that’s true, even with the Heart of the Dragon. He can’t do much damage without a body, though his armies may well be capable. So, we must warn Soleis’ people of the impending danger before Belzaan gets any stronger. Leaping to the Fire Realm requires using that ring.”

“You have a point.”

“I know. Think on my proposal. You heard Flev, yourself. The number of dragons is dwindling. Having one more would be an advantage. While the Heart might lend protection to Belzaan, his armies will remain vulnerable, and they’re not used to battling winged creatures from the sky. If we can recruit enough dragons on our trip to deliver the message, we might even be able to wipe out the entire battalion of living soldiers.”

“Living as opposed to…?” She quirked a brow.

“In case you didn’t notice, the ones who attacked us the other night weren’t exactly all there.”

“And, here, I was hoping I hadn’t seen what I thought I saw,” she replied uneasily. “How do we kill the undead?”

Thol casually draped an arm over her shoulders and led her toward the makeshift camp. “That, I haven’t figured out, yet. However, with your lover’s passion for heroism and my head for strategy, I’m sure we’ll find a solution. The important thing is to shore up our numbers and, if we’re lucky, discover the king’s weakness.”

“With Belzaan protected by the stone, I don’t think he has a weakness. In fact, as long as he has the Heart of the Dragon, he’ll remain a parasite in this world. People will keep getting sick, even as we try to fight him.”

“That’s where you come in.” Thol gestured to a larger tent set away from the rest. He lifted the door-flap, and Lola peered inside. A tawny head popped up, yawning, and another child stuck a thumb in his mouth and grinned. She couldn’t help but smile back. “Dr. Lola Cambridge, meet the Healers of the Sea Realm, your new charges. Kids, say hello to your teacher.”

* * *

Lola had a role in the revolution. The very idea was humbling. In her realm, she had never aspired to be anything more than a great doctor. Here, she held the fate of an entire world in her hands. But, for a change, she wasn’t reticent to be the center of attention. She welcomed the challenge. Her biggest fear was that they wouldn’t defeat Belzaan; her second biggest fear was that they would, but the people of this realm would still suffer the plague he left behind. She was willing to do whatever she had to, to give them a fighting chance.

“I can’t do this without you,” she said to her charges.

Ten freshly-scrubbed faces beamed at her. They had abandoned the dim, dreary tent. They sat in a circle in the sun, enjoying the tropical landscape. The forest on this island was sparser than the one they had left behind, and she could see the makeshift housing beyond the thinly packed trees. The rest of the rebel families were falling back into their normal rhythms.

Occasionally the sound of the rebel army training somewhere on the other side of the camp. Lola tried to ignore it. Soleis and Flev were with them. There were hundreds of men and women preparing for war, but her job was to prepare to save lives.

“I’m convinced you guys probably have more to teach me than I have to teach you,” she laughed. “I just learned how to use my talents.”

A lavender-eyed youth spoke up, “What are the Healers like in your world?”

“Well, they’re not quite as gifted as you. We’re called doctors, and we train for years to treat diseases using modern medicine and technology. Sometimes we can help, but sometimes we can’t. There is no laying of hands. I wish it was that easy,” she said with a grin.

“Maybe that’s for the best,” a shy preteen with freckles replied. “That way, no one knows you’re different.”

“Oh, honey,” Lola murmured sympathetically. “I know that all of you have lived harrowing lives, praying no one discovered your abilities. You may be far more used to concealing your gifts than showing them, and training with me might scare you.

“I just want you to know that I’m not here to hurt you or expose you. I’m here to try to strengthen your natural gifts however I can, even if we stumble our way through this together. Now, who wants to start first? Can any of you display for me how to heal…this?”

She nervously unsheathed her knife and made a jagged cut in her forearm. Wincing from the pain, she held up the injury.

Little voices chattered excitedly as several of the children and teens leapt forward to heal her. Lola could see by their faces their empathy was hard to suppress. She wondered how they had managed to hide it. They couldn’t bear to see anyone in pain. She submitted to six pairs of hands eagerly probing her arm, and within seconds the wound was gone.

She smiled in appreciation. “Wonderful! How did you do it?”

One of the boys who hadn’t helped muttered, “They ignored the fact they know you’re a stranger feeding them false hope, and they concentrated on seeing the best in you.” He poked at the ground with a stick without looking at her as her smile faded. He had shaggy brown hair and the start of a beard. His voice was deeper than the rest. She assumed he was the oldest.

She forced herself to brighten. “Well…that’s one way of looking at it. And, what’s your name?”

“We call him Kelp Breath,” one child giggled.

Lola frowned disapproval. “Not here we don’t. We call him by his given name here, which is?”

“Vardom,” he answered for himself.

“Vardom, would you care to tell me how you would’ve handled the injury?” She arched a brow when he threw the stick aside and rose to his feet. He dusted his hands on his trousers and sighed.

“I would’ve let you bleed out.”

“Why?” she challenged.

“Because we’re all going to die anyway. Everyone knows the sickness can’t be cured unless we bleed for it. If you want to help the scumbags who keep us on the run, then kill yourself.”

“You have a lot of anger inside, Vardom. I can understand that. There’s just one problem with your assessment. Disease—even magical disease, I assume—doesn’t respect boundaries or politics, religion or class. If we can find a cure, we’ll save more than the ‘scumbags who keep us on the run.’ We’ll save you, your family…”

He backed away from the circle with a shake of his head. “I’d rather fight the war. I’m out of here.”

“Suit yourself. If you change your mind, you know where to find us.” Lola ignored the niggling sense of failure as he limped off, dragging a leg. She hadn’t even lasted a full day before losing a student. Her lips twitched upward, and she focused on the remaining children. “Where were we?”

“You said something about finding a cure,” said the freckled girl.

“Is there really a way to do that? How do you do it in your world?” a younger child asked.

Lola’s brows came together at the question. The child was onto something. How did they find cures for diseases in the Blue Sky Realm? “We create vaccines using an inactive part of the virus,” she said slowly. “Quickly, children, do you know anyone who had the disease but recovered from it? Anyone?”

“Yeah,” said the boy with purple eyes. “He just left. Vardom is the only Healer we know who got sick. We think it’s because his father worked as a guard for the president. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”

“Fantastic!” Lola exclaimed with genuine excitement.

She knew it would take time and patience to break down the young man’s walls, but she had to get Vardom to cooperate. Using what she knew, it was possible she could create a vaccine. She wanted to run after him. However, her class stared at her with inquisitive eyes, and she filed away her idea for later.

“Today, we’ll practice using our Healing talents not just to make someone whole but to figure out what’s making them sick in the first place. It’ll help us expend less energy rejuvenating the whole body when whatever ails the patient s localized to one system,” she said.

“And, how do we do that?”

“Here’s where the training from my world comes in. I’m going to teach you the basics of diagnostics.”

* * *

Lola stepped from the clearing where she had taught class for the day. She worked the kinks from her neck and stretched, yawning. It was almost dusk. The peaceful cadence of the rebel village winding down for the day beckoned to her, and she trailed through the woods to reach the campfires. Behind her, someone called her name.

“What is it?” she asked, turning to find Flev.

“I have a message from Thol. He wants us to meet him at the far end of the island. Just me, you and Soleis.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Let’s hope so. I’m not sure I can stand another surprise from this crazy realm.”

With a laugh of agreement, she followed him to Soleis. Both men looked drained from a day of hard training, and it occurred to her Lola had never seen Soleis look tired. She casually tucked her arms through theirs as she walked between them. All the while, she thought of them rested from a good night’s sleep, with full bellies from a delicious meal. Expending her gift was a small price to pay for two people who had come to mean so much to her.

Soleis and Flev chatted about the training over her head, but after a moment, Soleis stopped walking. He eyed her speculatively. “Are you doing that?”

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he chuckled, continuing on.

She smiled to herself. They met Thol on a craggy bluff fifteen minutes later. The rebel leader clasped Flev and Soleis’ forearms in comradery. “Sorry to pull you away from rest, but this couldn’t wait,” he said. “One of my scouts just returned.”

“What kind of news?” Soleis groaned.

“Weird news. A source in the castle complex tells him Belzaan went on a trip after he found you missing. He was livid! When he returned, he ordered the undead army to go back to their barracks, while the living army continued training. What do you think that means?” Thol asked.

Lola snapped her fingers. “Maybe he discovered the undead face the same realm travel limitations as he does in the spirit form.”

“I bet you’re right,” Soleis rejoined. “In his lab, he told me he can only observe in other worlds. He can’t interact.”

“If that’s the case, it makes sense to have the undead army stand down. They’d be useless in the Fire Realm. But, this heavy training of his living forces makes me think he’s preparing to move forward with his plan of attack, sooner rather than later.”

“We have to warn the dragons,” Lola replied.

“How? We don’t have the stone,” said Soleis. She held up her ring, and Flev stepped forward. Soleis lifted his chin, understanding. “Of course. We send you back to deliver news of what’s coming to my father. Have him prepare the rest of the warriors. Have him search our histories for clues on how we defeated Sengenis the first time. Most importantly, tell him about the stone.”

“Aside from being the bearer of bad news, I’m looking forward to home,” Flev grinned.

“Lola, reach into the air in front of you and concentrate on a door,” Soleis instructed.

“It’s that easy?”

“To send something through or get something back, yes.” He turned to his best friend with a resigned sigh but smiled. “Flev, I’m afraid this is the last time I’ll see you for a while. I’m not sure how to do goodbyes.”

“Then, let’s not do goodbyes. I’ll see you in the Fire Realm when your get there. I’m sure your mother and father will be happy to have you back. We’ve been gone longer than ever.”

“Tell my parents I love them.”

Flev nodded and stepped toward the door Lola had concentrated on opening for him. He hesitated at the threshold, glancing back at Soleis and Thol. Without a word, he rushed to hug Lola, as well as each of the men.

“Take care of each other,” he said earnestly.

Soleis clasped his neck and touched their heads together. The brotherly moment channeled undercurrents that only they understood. Then, Flev returned to the door and stepped through, and Lola dropped her hand. The door disappeared. The wind on the bluff rushed into the void left by the changing pressure. Everything returned to normal.

“What now?” she asked.

“We keep up what we’re doing,” said the rebel leader. “We continue training while we wait for Belzaan to show his hand.”

“And, he will. He’s too arrogant to conceal his strategy. His hubris makes him believe that every move he makes is the right one. Fortunately, the very thing that links us makes him easier for me to figure out, much as I regret it,” Soleis sighed and took her hand. “If we’re all done here, let’s get some sleep. Dawn comes early.”

“You go ahead. I need to talk to Thol about something first.”

He nodded and released her without protest. “Get her home safely, Thol.”

“Of course.”

With a pleased smile tickling her lips, she watched Soleis descend the bluff and head in the direction of the rebel village. She wondered if they had turned a corner in their relationship. Not only was he showing hisi affection, he was showing that he trusted her. It suffused her with a warm glow. Turning back to Thol, she exhaled dreamily and forced herself to focus on why she needed to talk to him.

“I think I’ve made a breakthrough with the disease. There could be a way to create a vaccine. It’s, uh, a cure. However, I need the help of someone who’s survived the infection, and my prime candidate doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

Thol’s look of bewilderment twisted into a wry grin. “And, here, I thought you were calling this clandestine meeting to do that favor I requested.”

“His name is Vardom. He’s one of my students. Can you get him to talk to me?”

“Vardom? Well, that might be difficult. I’d have to get him to talk to me, first. That source in the castle complex happens to be his father…and mine.”

“Are you serious? I should’ve seen the family resemblance.”

“This seems a prime opportunity to point out you’re asking me to do something for you.”

She quirked her lips. “Technically, I’m asking you to do something for you. Because of your father’s proximity to the president, he infected Vardom with the disease. Using a miniscule sample of your brother’s blood to find a cure will prevent that from happening to anyone else you care about.”

“Argh! You drive a hard bargain. Something for nothing, eh?” Thol chuckled good-naturedly and draped an arm over her shoulder as he led her down the path. “I’ll see what I can do, no strings attached.”

“I knew I could count on you!” She hugged him impulsively. He tensed. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

He shrugged and casually walked a few steps ahead of her to put space between them. “Not a problem, Blue Sky Woman. Let’s get you home.”

Home, she thought. It used to mean an empty apartment, the hospital where she worked, her busy father. She missed John Cambridge, and she wanted to see him again soon. But, home no longer meant Louisiana. It was wherever Soleis was.