I was out in the river bathing with Datha when it began.

  Brother wants to go to Earth but will I fit in such a culture?

  “Of course you will, Datha, “ I said.

  “Of course, I will what?” she asked

  I paused. “Didn’t you say how you were worried you wouldn’t fit on Earth?” I asked

  She shook her head, eyes wide. “Can you read thoughts?”

  “Apparently,” I muttered, slipping underwater to rub off the soap in my hair. I surfaced and exited the water. I dried myself with my fire and put on my new clothes. A silver tunic and black leggings. The same thing Datha would wear. The boys were wearing tunics in their element’s color and black pants. It was the cheapest stuff we could find that was of good make. Surprisingly it was Ruckus who shopped for us. Niran didn’t have the patience, Nero wasn’t interested, and Jonah was good at it. Too good. He’d swindle the poor sellers. Datha was known and Atesh was,,, excitable and had terrible tastes. I shivered at the zebra print monstrosities he wanted to buy for clothes. I didn’t know if they came from Zebras or a cousin but it was hideous. I would have looked like a striped cow in it.

  Benny: Moo!

  Jessica: Why do you have to be a fatty

  Siren: Not everyone is born beautiful

  Mark: Maybe more exercise would benefit us

  Roy: It’s not like we’re trying to impress someone

  Jack: Maybe you should just disappear

  Strength: Don’t listen to em. They’re out of whack

  Maryanne: We look fine as we are!

  Sympathy: Hi! But you do hoard the last piece of cake, don't you?

  What’s wrong with them?

  Maryanne: Sympathy has thrown everything into chaos and unbalance and the last voice is soon to appear as well. There are far too many of us now. About to be eleven of us now.

  I shuddered and walked back to camp where Sympathy’s power went haywire. I passed Atesh by the fire and greeted him.

  She looks like a goddess. I wonder if I should build her a shrine?

  I smiled and excused myself as fast as I could. That was too weird! I didn’t want a shrine or anything or a stalker! I walked to Ruckus who was studying his clothes.

  So that’s how they made this tunic! A triple loop! I wonder if Niran wouldn’t mind me borrowing some of his silk. He has so much!

  Ruckus likes fashion? It makes sense now with how he shopped for us. I walked past Niran who was drawing runes on a parchment.

  Nice and steady Niran. This is the second step to mastering firewriting. Crap! This is hard!

  I noticed the beads of sweat on his forehead as he held still in the air with his brush. Fire sparked from it and he began to write runes into the parchment with a satisfied smile until he began to burn it to cinders. He patted the parchment and sighed.

  “Nuts,” he muttered.

  I smiled and went on to find Jonah. I passed Nero.

  It is possible that Father could be as corrupt as everyone else on the council. If so I’ll have to clean his mess as the next watcher. Opollomei forgive me. I hope for all our sakes he isn’t and is playing his role well.

  I wondered who Nero meant. Could he mean Thorn? If so, that was one messed up family and it wasn’t the only one, as I remembered the two small necklaces I kept hidden in a piece of silk I wore around my waist. Niran gave it to me before bathing to hold my new things. He gave a piece to everyone and still had enough to wrap birthday presents. I found Jonah by the fire writing in the journal he’d bought. He looked up and smirked.

  Katilia better watch out for her queen bee spot. I so owe both of those jerks too!

  I smiled. Same old Jonah. Planning on who to torture next. He hadn’t changed that much.

  “Hey, why don’t you take a picture of her underwear or something,” I said, smirking.

  “Huh?” He said.

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  “Getting back at Katilia. Sorry, your thoughts came to me again,” I said, shrugging.

  He chuckled. “You are turning into a bully Myra,” he said, grinning.

  “After my ordeal, I grew a backbone. That’s all,” I muttered, and he laughed.

  God, I’m glad she’s back. I missed her.

  ”I missed you too,” I said and he stopped laughing but kept grinning.

  “Come on, I want to show you the seal array I made in case we are separated again,” he said smiling and I sat down and chatted with him, occasionally hearing his thoughts and smiling. We went to sleep and I curled up. My voices were vicious to me and I had little rest.

  The next day I woke up and began breakfast. Datha joined me and we chatted amicably about Earth. I tried to soothe her worries but by her thoughts it was only making things worse for her. There was nothing I could do. Unless she lived it she probably wouldn’t believe it but I started wondering if she really would like it there. Earth was full of hustle and bustle. She was used to a calmer pace. She wasn’t a twenty-first-century girl. Would it be too much for her?

  Sympathy: Maybe she would be happier here?

  But she’s a hybrid! She’ll be enslaved!

  Maryanne: The oracle can take care of her after all she too is an oracle.

  Right! But Jonah would be forced to leave his only relative in a different realm.

  Sympathy: We all have to make sacrifices don’t we?

  Would Jonah make such a sacrifice? He had changed but this was something else entirely. A selfless sacrifice. Could he make it?

  After everyone had breakfast and used the bathroom, we sat down and argued. We still weren’t in agreement about where to go. While I wanted to go home, something was pulling me to Ice Temple. Jonah was surprisingly in agreement and Nero wanted to follow us but the rest wanted to go back to the oracle.

  “She’s going to send us to Ice Temple! That was our real journey,” said Jonah.

  “I thought it was to rescue Myra,” said Atesh.

  “That was my journey. The oracle wanted me to go to Ice Temple originally and if a deity wants Myra to go there then we should,” said Jonah.

  “How do we know it wasn’t the council playing their tricks?” asked Niran, raising a brow.

  I stood up. “Look, I know it sounds crazy but what I saw wasn’t a mirage and those poor people are suffering down there! If no one will do a thing for them then I will!” I said stomping down the trail and starting to walk down the small incline we were on.

  “Hold up Myra!” called Jonah as he raced after me. I stopped at the foot of the incline and waited for him. He appeared a few minutes later.

  “Hold up,” he said.

  Don’t disappear again!

  I looked at him. He seemed composed but his thoughts were anything but.

  “I was given a lot of power so I could help Sapherine, Jonah and I intend to. I’ll free those slaves and I’ll free the children,” I said.

  “Children?”

  “Yes, children. The council is using children to excavate the mines for Saphron. It’s why we didn’t see any children in Saphiros. More and more are vanishing to special schools when in fact they are worse than slaves to the mines,” I said.

  Has my uncle really gone so far as to enslave the kids?

  “What about Earth? This could take years to do, My,” he said, sighing and crossing his arms.

  “I know but I can’t leave innocents to suffer like that,” I said.

  “We should have stayed with the alliance,” he murmured before sighing again, “Are you sure about this?” he asked, staring at me.

  I’ll follow her into hell if I have to!

  “Yes,” I said blushing at his comment.

  “Well then I’ll huh where did you go?”

  “What do you mean? I’m right here,” I said.

  “I can hear you but I can’t see you, My!”

  “Huh? I’m right here!”

  He smirked and grabbed me by the arms, hands sliding to hold my own. He walked me over to the lake.

  “What do you see?” he asked.

  I looked down and sighed. “My reflection!”

  He looked down and hmmed. “Reflections show who and where you are but you’re invisible right now,” he said.

  “What are you…”

  Maryanne: Incoming! New voice and he’s not well!

  Strength: Why is he wearing a pink sundress and a bonnet?

  Mark: Why don’t you just shut up? He’s fine, dufus.

  Jessica: You are such a dork, it's tiny penis man remember?

  Siren: I pity the tiny penis man

  Roy: fight! Fight! Fight!

  Benny: Really tiny?

  Jack: Just Shut it already! God! Annoying asswipes! Just go and kill yourself already, Geeze!

  I winced. As I thought. Jack was really volatile

  Sympathy: he’s fine as he is. Give him time to acclimate, please.

  Strength: Why is he hiking his dress?

  Jessica: Hey a lady doesn’t do that!

  Siren: Oh My God!

  Mark: My word!

  Roy: That ain’t right man! Stop showing that!

  Jack: Do you want me to ease your pain?

  Benny: Ouch!

  Maryanne: See, it's not fully formed!

  Sympathy: We accept you with open arms but can you make Myra visible?

  Leslie: Hello! Hello! Hello! Hi!

  “You’re visible again,” said Jonah and I sighed, "What a mess! My new voice was half-formed, neither woman nor man. A hermaphrodite and it was slightly slow of thinking as far as I could guess.

  “I guess this is where we tell the others,” I sighed and he nodded.

  “No use keeping them in the dark about your true intentions. You know this beats school,” he said smirking and I smiled nodding.

  “Better than math anyway,” I said.

  “Way better than French,” he said. “You’re going invisible again.”

  This time I saw the transformation spread from my hands to my arms and shoulders and down my torso until covering my neck and head. Great. Another super power. My voices on renegade mode and a quest that might cost me my happiness with my family on Earth.