"Del!" Chandra waited by the room's far wall, opposite our life-changing window. "Quit dilly-dallying! We don't have time!"

Del and I had been peering out the window to see if the cops were still looking for us. Why he got in trouble, and I didn't, wasn't fair.

"Chandra, he didn't do – " I protested, but Chandra held up a single claw, and I shut up right away. Her violet fur glowed brighter when she was visibly upset.

"Only one of you fell into a pit of raw Element, and the other is tagging along with nothing better to do." Chandra waved a paw at the wall, and a giant hole opened up where particle board and spackle used to be. "I don't need to tell you who's trying my patience right now."

"Element?" I asked but didn't expect an answer just yet. Chandra was in a mood – or maybe just worried we were about to get dragged to jail. "Sorry. We're coming."

"Good. I have to introduce you to your trainer, and if we don't get there soon, we'll miss our window," Chandra said. "So now would be a very good time to leave."

"Why the rush?" Del asked. He finally peeled away from the window and joined us at the hole.

"Tomorrow night is Vernox," Chandra said.

"Do we have to buy anyone presents?" Del asked. "Is there turkey involved?"

"Del." I shook my head.

"What? It's a legit question! I don't want to be caught with my pants down if we're taken to some giant, Saturnalian fae feast. You want to tell a minotaur you're his secret Santa, and you didn't get him anything?"

"It's not that kind of holiday," Chandra said. "It's not a holiday at all. It's the only night of the year where Element shifts the perspectives, and if anyone knew what they were looking for might be able to find our city. We miss that, you're stuck with a toxic level of Element inside of you and nothing to do with it. We're talking nightmares, phantom pain, fireballs at random times, and all that only worsens with every passing day. I don't know you yet, Mac, but I have a feeling I'm going to like you, so I'd prefer it if we avoided that fate for you."

I nodded. "Yeah, me too. So what do we do?"

"We walk through town with me on your shoulder. You're open to the Layers now—both of you. You're going to see things that others won't. This is the point of no return. You want out, now's the time."

Del and I didn't blink. We'd both played too many games and watched too many movies not to want this to be real. If we woke up and this had all been a dream, I'd have been seriously pissed.

"Excellent." Chandra scrambled up onto my shoulder. She barely weighed a thing, but her sharp little claws dug through my hoodie. I tried not to wince, but they were like eight wicked needles jabbing into my skin. "Don't be such a baby, Mac. If you're acting like I shot you from my claws, you'll shit yourself when you see what's in store."

"Sorry," I said. "I've just never had a squirrel on my shoulder before."

"Violet or otherwise," Del said.

"Buckle up, bitches," Chandra said. "You're in my world now."

I took a deep breath and stepped through the hole. Every fibre in my being knew I was leaving everything behind – except Del. My bridge between worlds, the only other person in my life that felt beyond a doubt society was fucked and everything was built on total bullshit – he was right there beside me. Maybe I wasn't ready to take on the world, but with Del there, I could step through a magic hole.

Our first steps into a larger world felt pretty normal as steps go. They were one foot in front of the other, don't trip over your shoelaces kind of steps. The air was charged, like it expected something to happen. We were back in the city, down the darkened alleys behind my sketchy neighbourhood – the few stars not blurred out by light pollution still twinkling away from their impossible distances.

Something hurtled past us at top speed, bounding and sprinting like the hounds of hell themselves were nipping at their heels. Ripples of pinks and sunset yellows followed in its wake, and I knew what I thought it was before Del opened his mouth.

"Is that a unicorn?" he asked.

"Yeah, but don't get too excited," Chandra said. "They're about as friendly as a punch in the testicles and damn near impossible to kill."

"Why would anyone want to kill a unicorn?" I asked. "Every fairy tale I've ever read said unicorns are sweet, loving creatures that grant wishes and have healing powers."

Chandra burst out laughing and wouldn't stop for a good long time. We'd made it all the way to the end of the alley before she finally leaned against my head and caught her breath.

"Please...tell...me...you didn't just claim fairy tales as a reliable news source," Chandra wheezed. She had to pause every few words between giggles.

"Not news, I don't think." I wasn't sure what I thought anymore, seeing as how my entire world had been flipped upside down. I'd just found out magic was real, squirrels could talk, and unicorns existed. "It's just kind of crazy all those stories they told us and how hard I wanted to believe in them as a kid – it's all real. All of it."

"No," Chandra said. "Not all of it. Turn right here. Watch your feet."

I glanced down at the sidewalk and only just avoided stepping on a family of toadstools as they strutted by. The biggest one turned and flipped me an obscene gesture.

"Hey!" Del wailed. "That's just rude, man!"

"Just be glad his kids are with him," Chandra said. "They'll kick your ass eight ways from Sunday if you step on them."

"What the hell are they?" Del asked.

"Del! Those aren't just mushrooms lying around in some forest somewhere! These are...well...they're..." I was trying to be tactful and keep Del from shoving his foot any further down his throat. I didn't want to be the first humans with magical contact in a thousand years and offend everyone in the first five minutes.

"Pignons," Chandra said. "They're called pignons. Don't worry, Mac. You two are new here. Don't go acting like a couple of dicks, but you're allowed to ask a few questions."

"Pig nons?" Del asked. "Like that good-ass bread you have with Indian food?"

"No, you idiot, that's naan," Chandra said. "And it is a sacred and glorious dish not to be taken lightly."

"I wouldn't think squirrels ate bread," I said.

"Naan knows no boundaries, or barriers, and will not be held to your human standards of segregation."

I couldn't tell if Chandra was genuinely offended or just passionate about bread, so I decided to drop the issue for now. I turned and watched the pignons waddle around the corner before I focused on the sidewalk ahead once more.

"So, you were saying about fairy tales?" I prodded. Chandra seemed to like talking about her world, so I figured the best way to break this potentially awkward tension was to get her going again.

"Oh yes," Chandra said. "Only that you must not let anything you've read or watched about magic define what's actually going on. There is a vast chasm between the two. Fairy tales hardly scratch the surface, and don't forget who wrote them all."

"I thought humans did," I said.

"Exactly. And who do you think bribed those writers to paint them in a good light, just so they could go around being shits to everyone and still maintain a good rap?"

Del shook his head. "No, no, no, I don't believe that. Why would they all lie, even if they were bribed? I don't buy it."

"When's the last time you read a fairy tale about a unicorn that'll beat the shit out of you just for kicks?"

Naturally, Del nor I could think of one.

"I rest my case. Watch yourself around unicorns. Here. Knock on this door." Chandra leaped down off my shoulder and stood at my feet. "What? I can't have him think I'm some stupid pet."

We stared at the most non-descript door in the history of entryways - a blank slab of grey metal that could have easily been mistaken for just another section of boring-ass wall.

"Who?" I asked.

"Just wait," Chandra said as the door swung open.