The trio set off after the illuminated footsteps and they were led toward the large bridge Anna had crossed earlier.

  “These footsteps lead to the main gate,” Jin spoke up.

  Eastwei quickened his steps and they arrived at the impressive structure. The two guards stood at the ready and Eastwei stopped in the middle of them.

  “Have either of you seen Lady Roberts?” he questioned them.

  One of the men nodded. “We did, sir. She passed through here with Lady Shian and Lady Bidao only a few minutes ago.”

  Speak of the devil and they will come. Two figures materialized on the other side of the gate close to the edge of the island. They were Bidao and Shian, and one look at the worried company made Bidao blanch.

  Arian pushed through the other men and moved to the forefront of their group. “Where is Anna?”

  Shian lifted a delicate eyebrow. “Anna?”

  “Lady Roberts!” Arian’s voice was in a higher pitch and she wrung her hands together in front of her. “She is supposed to be with you! The guards told us you had left with her!”

  The imperious lady of the palaces closed her eyes and shook her head. “Then I fear I bring bad tidings for you. Lady Roberts has escaped.”

  “Escaped?” Jin repeated as he stepped up to Arian’s side. “Was she a prisoner?”

  “She was a guest of His Highness but she did not have his permission to leave,” Shian answered him.

  Jin’s thoughts were troubled by her words. “Then why did you go with her to the land realms?”

  Shian drew her hands into her sleeves and paced the ground in front of them. “I fear we are the victims of her lies. She told us she was allowed to go to the land realm and only needed help to walk through the portal.” She stopped and abruptly turned to the group, her eyes ablaze with fury and disgust. “She lied to us but we did not learn of her treachery until she vanished over the bridge. By that time we could not stop her and the last we saw she was headed south.”

  Arian’s eyes widened and a hand flew to her mouth. “It. . .she would not-” Visions of Anna leaving her danced in her head. She shut her eyes and shook her head. “This cannot be! She would not leave so suddenly without a good reason!”

  Shian turned her nose up and scoffed. “She needed no other reason than to appease her selfish desire to leave this paradise and return to her mortal people.”

  Jin pursed his lips as he grasped Arian’s upper arms. “We must try to find her and hear her explanation for these events.”

  Eastwei raised one hand and a faint reddish hue emanated from his palm. “I need only my magic to find her.”

  A brief look of panic flashed across Shian’s eyes but she kept her composure. “That will be impossible, will it not, Lady Bidao?” she warned him as she half-turned to her friend. “You used your magic to try to capture her, did you not?”

  Bidao bobbed her head. “Y-yes, I fear so. I used my magic to try to grab her and missed.”

  “Then the trail is no doubt muddied by Lady Bidao’s magic and cannot be followed with any reliability,” Shian pointed out. A heavy sigh escaped her and she shook her head. “The fiend is no doubt following the river bank to avoid any detection.”

  “But she would not do any of what you say!” Arian argued. She trembled in Jin’s grasp and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Something must have happened to her! We must find her!”

  Shian scowled at the distraught young woman. “You dare doubt our words?”

  Jin leaned down and lowered his voice to a whisper. “She’s right. There’s nothing more you can do. I will report this to His Majesty immediately.” She strode past them and Bidao was only too eager to follow.

  Arian broke down into sobs and Jin was forced to hold her up. She clutched onto the front of his shirt and balled into his attire. “It cannot be! Something is wrong!”

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  Jin noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and lifted his head to watch Eastwei approach the edge of the island. “Where are you going, My Lord?”

  Eastwei paused on the threshold but didn’t turn. “I will be back shortly.” He walked forward and vanished in a reddish cloud.

  Jin pursed his lips but the wet stains on the front of his shirt were more pressing. “Come on,” he whispered as he leaned Arian against him. “We will wait at the nearest bench for his return.”

  While they moved over to their seat, Eastwei strode through the gate and into the huge realm of the land gods. He paused a few steps away from the gate and looked about him. All was quiet and calm.

  Eastwei swept his arm out in front of him and red footprints appeared. He followed them to the highest point of the bridge where they vanished. The lord inspected his surroundings but didn’t see any hint of her whereabouts anywhere.

  A faint expression of disappointment marred his handsome features. He set a hand on the railing and leaned out over it. His reflection stared back at him from the flowing surface of the river. It looked more than worried.

  There was fear in his eyes.

  Eastwei shook himself and straightened. He turned and strode down the curve of the bridge.

  But not toward the gate.

  He reached the end of the bridge and his handsome visage vanished in a soft cloud of red shimmering light.

  Cold. So cold.

  I stirred from such a slumber as I never recalled having. Every bone in my body felt heavy and numb. I was weighted down with more than just worries, but with an icy chill that sank into my very soul. Fear rode on its coattails, fear of some unknown darkness that lay just beyond my vision.

  Then it came. A gentle caressing warmth. It lit up my whole being and left me with a sensation of comfort and love. I breathed out, content for the moment.

  That peaceful period was interrupted by the distinct odor of wet fur. I wrinkled my nose and something brushed against my cheek. It was sharp and thin like a needle.

  My slumber was permanently disturbed by these mysteries and my eyes fluttered open. I found myself staring at the bank of an unfamiliar river. A thick forest stood only ten feet away, its floor a mess of brambles and wild grass. The breeze carried with it unfamiliar smells and sounds.

  It also tickled my body. I wrinkled my nose again and again felt the strange sensation of something brushing against my cheek. Something forced my butt to move behind me. I twisted around and my mouth fell open.

  A silver-furred tail wagged behind me. My tail.

  I screamed and the sound came out in a loud yowl. The cry startled me ten-fold and I jumped into the air, crashing down atop the cold surface on which I’d been laying. It was a dwindling hunk of ice and my crash landing broke the platform into a few pieces. Half floated off down the river and the rest threatened to do the same.

  I lifted my head and stared down at the ice beneath me. The cold liquid reflected my face. My round, bewhiskered face. Short silver fur covered my body from the tips of my pink-padded toes to the top of my sharply pointed ears. My fingers were adorable round digits and my eyes were a brilliant yellow that stared back at me in wide shock.

  What the hell happened?

  I meant to scream that aloud but the words came out in a hideous yowl.

  A sudden jerk beneath me brought me back around to the rest of reality. The ice block upon which I lay shifted as the river’s current tugged at its rear edges. I had to get off or I was about to go for another ride.

  I stood but only for a moment. My untrained paws couldn’t manage the icy surface and I danced about before I fell chin-first back onto the platform. The icy cracked and parts broke away to drift down the river. The remaining part shuddered and slid backward.

  I tensed my leg muscles and leaped forward, crashing down a few feet onto solid ground. The last of the ice broke away and drifted onto the river where it soon vanished around a bend.

  I lifted my head and looked around me. All was quiet and calm, but that only made the hairs on my back stand on end.

  Stop panicking and think!

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The last thing I remembered was Shian and Bidao tossing me into the river. Shian was an ice user so she must have shoved me downstream. That meant I only had to follow the river to find my way back.

  But how long had I been unconscious?

  I opened my eyes and lifted myself onto my unsteady four legs. The tail instinctively helped me balance myself and I took one gingerly step forward. My opposite rear leg dragged along and tripped over the uneven bank. I yowled as I toppled forward. A cloud of dust puffed up at my crash and I sneezed. The sound was adorable.

  This was going to be a hell of a long hike. There had to be some other way to get back.

  My heart quickened as I thought about a rescue party. The guards had seen me leave! They would know I didn’t come back!

  But who would miss you?

  My ears fell flat and my tail drooped. That damned inner voice was right. There was nobody to miss me but my two friends and what could they do to find me? Shian had this planned from the beginning so she undoubtedly had a story to concocted about why I didn’t come back with them.

  I had to get back on my own, so I stiffened my furry jaw and stood. I flexed my legs and noticed how the opposite limbs moved together. It was just a simple matter of expecting one more leg to move at the same time.

  I stepped forward and my back leg followed. There was no tripping this time. One small step for me, one giant leap for getting back and explaining everything. Except for how I became a cat. That I couldn’t even explain to myself. Still, hope was kindled within me and I sauntered up the river bank toward the gate.

  Little did I know I would have one hell of a diversion before I reached familiar lands.