The Sorcerer's old body had been thin and frail, his joints aching with pain. His clothing had hung on him like sails without wind drooping from their riggings. His once long, vibrant red hair had turned mostly gray and brittle many, many years ago.

Now what he dressed in fit him well and showed the physical power of his new form. Magic remained in his gaze, even though his eyes were now the color of ironwood. The eyes of his old body had been the shade of the early morning sky, somewhere between gray and blue.

A low murmur of countless voices was like an oncoming storm. Amory strode from his bedroom suite in the manor and up the sweeping staircase. The sound of a mass number of voices grew louder.

He and his people had left Kerra behind over twenty years ago to take over this Doran Otherworld. No matter its beauty, Doran had turned out to be as cruel to them as their homeworld.

As he took the steps at a jog, Amory felt a confidence and power within him that he had not felt since the old days when Kerra was still home and his rule encompassed millions.

When Kerra started to die, so did his people. He had been forced to search for options. Ways to save and preserve his people while at the same time looking for a new homeworld.

He'd started with the original Otherworld. The one that fathered all of the others.

It did not take Amory and his advisors long to discover that it was not the place for him or his people. Doran had seemed the better choice at the time so they'd abandoned their assault.

He'd been wrong though. Doran ultimately was not compatible for them.

Amory gritted his teeth as he took the third flight of stairs. Twenty-two years- twenty-two years-and he had finally found the right place for himself and his people. The perfect environment, the perfect Hosts.

Earth Otherworld.

The bodies from the Earth Otherworld were strong, healthy, the world hospitable to his people.

Amory reached the highest floor of the manor. Thousands and thousands of voices were louder now. A low roar of people gathered together.

To see him. To hear his voice. To know that they were saved.

Amory cloaked himself with magic as he strode from the stairs. He crossed the open room toward the glass-paned, arched double doors that were between him and the balcony, and his people.

He didn't pause. He gave a slight flick of his fingers and the doors swung open, thumping hard against the walls to either side of the archway. Loud, expectant gasps came from those who waited.

The gloriously almost clear sky was blue with a hint of lavender. It was the element that created the lavender in the atmosphere that was so deadly to his people. Faint clouds streaked the sky like a brush had painted a few opaque strokes of white.

He looked from the sky endlessly stretched out above to the thousands of his people below.

The Sorcerer dropped his cloak of magic.

More gasps and murmurs. Most had not seen him since he had traded his old body for this one.

But even with this different face, they would know it was him.

The Sorcerer raised his hands and shouted out great words of magic, strong words, powerful words, words that no one but he and other Sorcerers could understand.

Once-clear lavender-streaked skies turned dark and black thunderheads rolled in, forming from what had been misty threads of white. The smell of rain and sulfur rode the winds that now pressed his tunic against his body, outlining every muscle from his broad chest to his tapered waist and strong thighs and legs.

His people gave cries of shock and fear as lightning crashed to the ground from the clouds.

Thunder pounded the air, the sound as loud as if the shafts of lightning were living stakes being driven by great hammers into the ground.

Men and women, their bodies in different stages of deterioration, cowed as he lowered his hands.

"It is I, the Sorcerer Amory, Lord of the Kerra and Doran Otherworlds." The roar of his voice carried over the sound of thunder. "You do not recognize this body as it is new, but you recognize me." When he felt he had adequately proven himself to be the Sorcerer Amory, he let the clouds drift away, allowing the sky to lighten to its deadly lavender tint as it had been.

Every person in the crowd was quiet and he nodded his approval. "Good. You have come as expected. Those who continue to follow my rule will be rewarded well." Silence continued to reign when he was not speaking. "As I told you the last time we gathered, we have discovered an Otherworld that suits our needs and more.

"We sent in our reconnaissance teams, then began our experiments." His gaze roved over the throng of people. "It is working." He let his words ring out so that they could be heard by every male and female standing before him.

Hope lit their features at his statement, but still they made no sound.

"I alone know what must be done," Amory continued. "I have perfected it.

"Each of you must now begin your preparation as you did when we left Kerra for Doran." The Sorcerer let urgency fill his command. "We must speed up the exchange, must step up more quickly." Men and women looked from one to another and a slow murmur began to travel throughout the crowd. A murmur of excitement filled with hope for better days to come.

"Our plan is coming together." The Sorcerer leaned forward and gripped the rough stone surface of the balcony. "The people of the Earth Otherworld will not understand until it is too late for them. It will no longer be their world ... it will be ours."

SEVENTEEN.

Monday, December 27.

Cold sunlight and crisp air felt good on my face as I arrived via the transference to Central Park.

The chill helped keep my mind off the queasiness that I always felt when I traveled that way.

My head swam a little and my eyes unfocused and focused again. Even when my father handled the transference, I wasn't crazy about it. As I traveled, my head had felt like the pressure would make it pop and my stomach curdled and cramped. But when he did it, I didn't throw up or pass out.

I rubbed my face with my chilled palm. Once my head stopped whirling, the first thing I planned to do was call Rodan and ask if there were any new developments in the Zombie case and to find out if Lawan had returned or been tracked down-and I prayed that she would be safe and well.

Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day in Otherworld with my parents was enjoyable. We had exchanged presents Christmas night. My father had always tried to keep some Earth Otherworld traditions for my mother and for me.

I gave my mother a digital camera and my father a digital frame with a few pictures of New York City and of me. I knew Mother would have fun with the camera and the laptop I'd given her for her birthday. The frame was a wonder to my father, king of a medieval world.

My father gave me a heavy ring with a very large diamond that he'd had specially crafted for me. I'd get mugged for wearing it in the streets of the city, but I could take care of myself. It was a little on the big side, but it was from my father so I loved it.

From my mother I received a leather-bound journal with blank parchment pages. The pages were made by hand and real flowers were infused in the parchment. It was almost too beautiful to use.

The ring and the journal were both in my bag until I got home.

I waited until Monday, two days after Christmas, to leave, and the day here was beautiful. It was nice to be aboveground again, nice to be in the place I now considered home.

A combination of reasons sent me back this morning rather than waiting until the evening. I was too worried about Lawan and there was also my concern over what was happening here in the Earth Otherworld. I missed Adam too, and hoped that he would make it back to the city today.

Then there was the fact that the longer I stayed in Otherworld, the more my father thought he could control me, the more he demanded I should stay. Especially now that he knew what was happening with the Zombies.

I hitched my pack up on my shoulder and glanced at the Alice in Wonderland unbirthday party a few feet away from me. Snow topped Alice and her friends like helmets of icing.

Father hadn't believed it was possible for me to do the transference accurately since I was "only twenty-seven" and I should have been at least a century old before I could even start learning it, much less perform it.

Before I left, I told him, to his dismay, that I'd done the transference twice on my own-recently. He shouted that I could have killed myself, but I'd insisted that I'd done just fine.

Puking and then blacking out afterward didn't count-of course I didn't mention that part of my experience.

I had never done it on my own from Otherworld to Otherworld. I also didn't want to end up in the middle of a snowdrift or in a dumpster somewhere in the city. So I let my father do the transference for me with no complaints.

While I drew out my cell phone, I absently kicked the snow so that it fanned out in a white spray. I leaned up against Alice's backside and the mushroom she was sitting on.

As usual, Father had sent me from the transference chamber in Otherworld to Alice's party. It was built over the Paranorm Center and the magically hidden entrance to the PC was beneath the largest mushroom, close to my feet.

My cell phone felt cool in my palm as I pressed the speed dial number for Rodan.

He answered on the first ring. "Welcome back."

"Hi, Rodan." I clenched the phone in my hand. "Did anyone find Lawan? Is she okay?"

"Lawan appears to be fine." Rodan's voice was neutral, which seemed odd. "She showed up to track Thursday night."

Thank you, I prayed and tension in my muscles relaxed. "Where was she?"

"Lawan's twin sister, Malee, was ill," Rodan said. "Apparently Malee recently arrived from Thailand and was sick upon arrival."

I hadn't known Lawan had a twin sister. I suddenly felt like I hadn't spent nearly enough time with my friend if I didn't know an important detail like that. A twin, no less.

It was strange for Lawan to just take a couple of days off without telling anyone. "Why didn't she let you know?"

"Lawan said she left a voice mail for me," Rodan said. "I suppose it could be a case of technology not cooperating with the paranorm world."

I nodded. Many times that was the case. Paranorms and technology don't always mix.

"It's an understatement to say I'm glad she's back and that she's okay." But tension came back into my muscles and my voice when I asked the next question. "What about Zombies? Anything new?"

"A couple of attacks," Rodan said. "No clues. We have much to do to solve this case."

"Are you available?" I thought about what was in my pocket. "I have something I need to show you."

"Yes," Rodan said. "I'll be here."

"Great, I'll be by in a bit," I said before I pushed the OFF button.

Next I pressed the speed dial number for Adam and smiled, looking forward to hearing his voice.

It was easy to imagine being in his arms, feeling his hugs all the way to the core of my being.

Memories from his sister's wedding reception came to me in a rush as his number began to ring.

I had the urge to hang up, although I wasn't sure why.

Maybe because I felt embarrassed over how things had gone. What if Laura had talked to Jennifer who had attended the Chateau and she had said she'd never heard of me? What if his family hadn't liked me?

The fact that I'd had to run outside and hide in the SUV in my Drow form made my stomach clench. I don't know if I'd ever felt so out of place in my life as I had that night.

Stop it, Nyx.

"Hi." Adam's voice came over smooth and warm and it gave me a thrill low in my belly, relaxing the tension I'd just been feeling. "I don't suppose you're still in Otherworld since you're calling."

"Father was driving me crazy so I decided not to wait until tonight." I hugged myself with my free arm and looked out at the snowy park and the kids playing. A pretty intense snowball fight was in the works. "I love being with my parents but three days are more than enough when it comes to my father."

"I'll be back late night." Adam sounded a little distracted and I heard voices in the background. "I have to be in a meeting with Wysocki first thing and a couple of cases to work on, so I probably won't be around tomorrow until later in the day."

"I was hoping you'd stop by after you got home tonight," I said. I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

"It'll be late when I get in," he said. "Some cousins are dropping in this afternoon so I won't be able to leave until I get a chance to spend a little time with them."

"Have fun." I wanted to say I love you, but something held me back. "Can't wait."

"Same here," Adam said. "See you."

"Bye," I said and brought the phone away from my ear. The conversation left me a little empty rather than with the bubbly excited feeling I usually got when I talked with him.

When I started to walk away from the sculpture, something hit the back of my head. I caught my breath in surprise as snow covered my hair and slid inside my sweater and down my spine. I whirled to face my attacker.

The devious face of a well-bundled kid, who couldn't have been more than twelve, peered out from the other side of Alice and her friends. I wondered if he'd seen me arrive then decided it wasn't important.

What was important was a little playful revenge.

For fun I used my water elemental to form a snowball at my feet. Without touching the snowball with my hands, I used my air elemental and shot a snowball straight at the boy. It smacked his hooded face.

Heh.

The kid wiped off the caked snow with his gloves and his eyes were wide as he looked at me. I smiled. He turned and ran. For a moment I wondered if I'd shifted and my hair was blue. But no, it was daylight, my skin wasn't amethyst, and I was perfectly human.

Smiling, I tromped in the direction of the Pit, my bag over my shoulder. The snow was up to my calves and I was glad I was wearing my jeans tucked into my Elvin boots.

When I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets, I felt cold stone against the fingers of my right hand. My heart started to beat a little faster as the chill from the stone traveled through my arm straight to my chest. I swallowed and wrapped my hand around the stone and felt an even greater chill.

After checking to make sure no one was close enough to see, I stopped beneath a leafless maple and drew the stone out of my pocket. The flat side rested on my palm and tingled where it touched my skin. Holding it in both hands, I eased it over so that I could look at it again.

The stone's flat side looked different. It was still like looking into another world as my father said ... but there was a glimmer of lavender inside it. I looked at the sky above me which was gray dusted with darker gray clouds.

It wasn't a reflection. What was it? The pounding of my heart increased as the lavender grew brighter, like a pinpoint of light at the center of the stone. A terrible feeling of wrongness overcame me.

For a moment I was five again, hidden in the bushes as a Zombie followed my brother, feeling that same sense of horrible wrongness.

My breath came in short gasps. My body jerked and trembled. I wanted to throw the stone to the ground. To run away.