I reach into my linen duffle bag and pull out the last of my shells. That means I'll need to take a trip to the coast in the next month or two, something I dread. But it's necessary to ensure the plants in the garden have enough nutrients to grow strong and healthy and make good vegetables and fruits.

I take out my pocket-sized book and open it to the Conversion Circle for dissolversi. "Disoluendo," I say with the shells held over the Circle, and the Code Word activates my Kundalini, bringing it up my spine with a rush of bliss as it passes through each of my seven Chakras. The sensation is no longer new to me, but when my Spirit reaches my Crown Chakra, the rush of euphoria still takes my breath away. I fling my head back and knock my hat off. My Kundalini funnels into the Symbol in my book, and with a pulse of red light, the shells turn into milky white liquid in my palm.

With my other hand, I trace a Symbol in the soil, and then I direct my Kundalini into the new Conversion Circle. "Infundo!" The lines in the dirt glow red, and then the melted shells in my hand infuse themselves into the soil. My Kundalini retreats down my back and coils at the base of my spine with a tingle.

I reach to grab my hat and stand up, brushing the soil and the last of the liquid shells from my hands. The shade of the oak trees shifted off to my left a long while ago, and the sun has been beating down on me. I turn to head back to the gildacasa for a drink of water, but I stop when I hear a faint noise coming from the direction of Rivodutri.

I hear it as well, Omero says, his voice like a chirp between my ears, echoing in my head. The noise rings out again, and I recognize screaming far off in the village. Omero, my bird Chimaera, flies down from the nearby oak tree and lands on my shoulder. Should we alert Dante? It could be Ghibellines in the village.

Yes, go Omero!

What about you? Omero dances on my shoulder, unwilling to leave my side.

I'll head there a la nube and meet up with you and my brother. You must go! Alert him quickly! There's no time to wait for me.

Of course! Be safe! Omero says and he takes off and flies in the direction of the gildacasa. In just a moment, the little brown bird is long gone from my sights.

I tear off my linen duffle and hide it in the grass near the fallen tree beside the garden. Then I grab my canottiera and stand as I pull it on. The shrill screams call up from Rivodutri as I fumble around my canottiera for my pocket of dust.

I take a pinch of dust and sit on the ground. With a flurry of pages, I open my book to the vaporizzare Conversion. "Evaporo!" My Kundalini takes a moment to respond. Whenever I get on edge, the Alchemy is always harder to control. My Spirit just doesn't respond well in tense moments. Finally, after I force myself to breathe calmly while I silently chant the Code Word, my Spirit leaves my body with a rush, and the Circle in my book flares red as the air and moisture is drawn from my mouth. A cloud billows up around me.

"Solidum!" I say before my Kundalini can retreat down my spine, and another Sigil on the next page of my book activates with a flash of red light. The cloud solidifies with a snap as my breath is once again pulled out of my mouth, and I climb on as my Kundalini flutters about the cloud, holding it suspended above the ground. I focus hard and take off toward Rivodutri. I hold on tightly to my cloud as I hurtle through the air. Omero and Dante and Peppino will surely catch up to me before I reach the village.

As I shoot through the air, I keep watch for a break in the canopy of oak trees. At first sight of an opening, I ascend and burst through the leaves to fly out into the open above the tree growth. My heart shudders as I speed forward, the cries of the women of the village clawing at my heart.

By the time I reach the outskirts of the village, the flight has drained me of nearly all my Energy. I had already expended so much working in the garden. The thought that I cannot even fight to protect anyone brings tears to my eyes. I land with an unsteady leap off my cloud and wave my hand to disperse the nube into a puff of white. My Kundalini circles around my head and retreats back down my spine with a tingle. I hide behind a tree and peek around to try and glimpse what is happening from a safe distance.

What I see catches my breath in my throat. Women have been tied up and laid out near the edge of the village. They lie there unmoving, but I am hopeful they are still alive, or else why tie them up. Here and there, men fight with the flurry of swords and flashes of fire. It is as Omero feared. Ghibellines have invaded Rivodutri. The Guelphs are doing their best to fight back, but not everyone can Conjure fire. The women will not be rescued so easily. Perhaps I can sneak up from behind and untie them unnoticed.

I turn the pages on my book and pluck a vial of water from my waist pocket. "Visui!" My Kundalini jolts in response; it won't obey me. I put my back against the tree and breathe. "Come on, Tana," I tell myself. "Visui! You've got this! Visui!"

Finally, after cajoling my Kundalini for a minute or two, my Spirit flutters about my head, and the water in my hand spreads around me with a flash of green light from my little book. A shimmering orb surrounds me, concealing me from view. 

I slide the small book into the largest pocket on my canottiera and turn back to look up the hill into the village. Everywhere, men trade blows with swords and fire, shouting Code Words and challenges at each other as they run through the streets and duck behind the buildings. I should be able to go unnoticed. Even still, my heart thuds in my chest as I climb the hill slowly until I reach the line of three unconscious women. How I will save them, I do not know, but I must try! Oh, where is my brother Dante when the people need him?

Omero, are you almost here? I cry silently, but my Chimaera is too far away to hear me.

I begin untying the nearest woman, but the rope is too tightly tied. Without a tool to help me, I cannot undo the rope. There has to be something close by I can use. I look around the area and spot a sword of a fallen man lying in the dirt twenty paces away. I hurry over and spot a knife near the sword. I bend down and pick it up with a flurry of ripples.

I quickly return to the women and begin sawing at the ropes around the ankles of the first woman. The knife feels awkward in my hand, and it is not meant for this type of use, so I toil for a long moment, feeling like I am getting nowhere. Finally, the knife starts to cut the rope and I continue sawing with renewed hope. This will work!

Omero? Are you coming? I call silently.

Yes! We are almost there! my Chimaera answers, his voice resonating inside my head, and I breathe a sigh of relief. 

I cut through the rope with a jerk, and I let out a hopeful gasp. I unravel the rest of the rope as quickly as I can. Then I stand up to go kneel by the next woman, but I glimpse someone running up from behind me. A man in a dark red cape and a scowl on his ugly face. He must have seen my rippling Vision Conversion. I try to move out of the way, but he barrels right into me, and amid a flurry of ripples in the air, he grabs a hold of my shoulders awkwardly. The ripples disperse in ashimmery rainbow of water droplets. With my Vision Conversion canceled he can clearly see me, and he grabs a hold of me tighter.

"No!" I shout in a shrill voice. "Help!"

Gaetana! Omero calls out to me. I'm coming!

I drop the knife and grip the ropes tied around the ankles of the woman in front of me, my knuckles white. My arms begin to tremble and my heart explodes in my chest. I nearly collapse from the shakiness in my legs, but the man holds me up. Then he throws me down, ripping my hands away from the rope, and I finally get a good look at him. He wears a brown felt hat with a scar on his forehead and the olive skin of a Ghibelline; he grimaces at me, showing yellowing crooked teeth.

He points at me and says, "Minuo!" I notice the water in one hand while the other hand reaches out to me and glows orange. It's too late. Before I can so much as leap to my feet, the Conversion catches me. Suddenly everything starts to grow around me. Then I realize it's not that everything is growing. It's that I'm shrinking.

As the Conversion ends, and I find myself small enough to fit in the man's hand, I let out a shrill scream. The man reaches for me, and I collapse as the world goes dark around me.