“What are you doing here with Jonah?” she asked. For her, the best-looking girl should always be with the best-looking guy, but not everything in life worked out as you planned it, something Katilia had yet to learn.

  “Um...eating ice cream?” I answered, shrugging and licking my cone. It was melting in my hands.

  “Both of you, hanging out! Are you two dating? I didn’t believe Ralph, but now…I mean Jonah left us for a behemoth!”

  I licked my cone leisurely before glaring, as images of a red-haired snot-nosed Arianna flew through my mind.

  Maryanne: We really didn’t need those memories resurfacing.

  Strength: Why don’t ya pull on her hair in case she’s wearing dye? That sounded way too familiar.

  Mark: I concur. Do we really need the ice cream?

  Jack: What! Hell no! Keep eating, but do yank on her hair in case. We don’t know how we’re getting back to Narnia.

  Maryanne: Sapherine, Jack.

  “I really hate that nickname, Katilia. Jonah’s just learned to pick good friends.” I shrugged and turned, watching Jonah with my youngest brother.

  “Wow, Mige! You ate that pretty fast!” Jonah said as Mige bit into his cone and smiled. Juaquin cleaned his mouth and passed a napkin to Mige to do the same. He was one sticky mess.

  “I love ice cream,” said Mige, smiling and eyeing Jonah’s cone, who was halfway through his.

  “You ever had birthday cake flavored ice cream?” he asked, and Mige shook his head.

  “Alright, you can have some of mine.”

  Mige took the half that was left in a bite.

  Jonah glared. “Not all!”

  “Oops!” giggled Mige, smiling with a mouth full of ice cream.

  I smiled and pointed. “Looks like Mige’s the one on the date,” I joked, while Katilia almost fainted.

  As I walked back to the table, I heard it. The strange human bird cry I’d never forget. I turned around in time to knock Katilia out of the Morgan’s claws.

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  I had no time to react as it winged back and outstretched its massive claws as if to rend flesh from bone. I ducked, but it grabbed Katilia in its beak, hoisted her off the ground, and into the air.

  She screamed.

  Jonah was over the table and beside me in an instant.

  “How did that thing get here?” I screamed.

  No one else could see the bird but they could see Katilia dangling and screaming up high. Gasps of wonder and screams of panic arose from the customers. Some pointed at Katilia floating in the air. I wondered what the mists was showing them?

  “It must have found a space rip somewhere,” replied Jonah, taking out some ink and a brush and handing it to me.

  “Make a barrier array. I’ll lead the bird towards the barrier, and we can snatch Katilia away from it. Then I’ll use my Ether and summon a space rift.”

  I glanced at him. “You aren’t very good with those yet!” wincing as Katilia hit the domed ceiling and whacked into one of the many chandeliers on it. She began to fall but the Morgan hung her like a star on a Christmas tree on the chandelier, by her jacket. “That should knock her out for quite a while.”

  “At least it shut her up,” he murmured, as he headed for the bird.

  I headed for our table. It was round enough for a barrier array.

  “Mige, can you clear the table for me?” I asked my transfixed brother.

  “Is that pterodactyl gonna eat the scary girl?” he asked, and I almost got whiplash as I turned to him.

  “You can see it?” I squealed, excited and afraid at once.

  He nodded and pointed to where the bird had finally shown itself, yet no one else had noticed the monster, just the screaming girl. I wondered what they were seeing.

  Mige, however, saw everything and was probably filled with the wonder and fear of any ten-year-old.

  What did it mean if he could see things from Sapherine? Was he destined for there too? Or did it mean something else?

  “I need to...paint symbols on the table. Will you help me clear it?” I asked, and he nodded.

  I took a look at Juaquin, who was blinking rapidly, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. So he could see the Morgan, too? I hopped up on the table, catching their attention, and dipped the brush into the ink. I made the first rune, then the next, before Juaquin cleared his throat.

  I kept drawing symbols, knowing time was of the essence. He cleared his throat again as I finished the rune array.

  “Myra, I am not paying for this table,” he said.

  “You’ll be paying with something worse if I don’t do this,” I muttered, glancing up and watching Jonah shoot Ether at the Morgan leading it my way. A bit away, slept Katilia.

  I shook my head.

  Maryanne: SUITS MS. PRINCESS RIGHT!

  Strength: I’LL SAY!

  Mark: I CONCUR.

  Jack: WE STILL GOT THE DINO TO HANDLE!

  Mige shook, and I went to hold him.

  “You’re about to see real magic, “ I told him, and that caught his attention. Jonah kicked the bird into the circle and chanted.

  “As light destroys the Dark, lock this mutated creature away,” I heard, and the barrier came to life, trapping the bird. It banged into the glowing walls but was shocked back into the circle. Jonah raised his hand, and a ball of violet light collected behind the bird. It began to whirl slightly and make a grinding noise before a tear in the realms was seen.

  “Myra! You need some practice with your roundhouse, right?” he asked, smirking, and I smiled.

  “Sure,” I said, letting Mige go and stepping up, as Jonah let the barrier drop around the bird. I roundhoused it into the space rift, sending it through the tear and straight to another realm. Hopefully, it wouldn’t cause too much trouble there. Jonah didn’t have enough control to send us back to Sapherine, so whoever that was probably ended up in a different realm. Jonah pulled the rip closed like you would a drawstring bag.

  “That was cool!” Mige yelled and suddenly the shop burst into applause and whistles.

  I stood awkwardly and I could tell Jonah was also uncomfortable. He was fidgeting from side to side as if he had the heebie jeebies or something.

  “Way to go!”

  “Awesome show!”

  “How did you do the pterodactyl?” asked a lady. She got strange looks from some of the customers, while others nodded.

  Jonah smirked. “Computer graphics and a really talented actress,” he said, pointing to Katilia, who was waking up. At least she was down from the chandelier. I smiled. Let her have all the thunder. Misdirection. Nice!

  Juaquin stood and dragged me off the table. “Show’s over, we’re leaving.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was angry or shocked or both.