As the portal drew them in further, the area around them darkened. Instead of finding themselves in the past, they now seemed to be floating along on their feet. Seth reached for her hand again. "I feel like we're in some weird kinda sci-fi novel."

They suddenly passed through a thick cool ripple of air, then –

"Ow!" Isabella shouted as what felt like an invisible hand punched her in the gut.

"What the—" Seth doubled over.

Thankfully, the sensation dissolved soon after it surfaced. It seemed there was more to time traveling than just taking a portal to your chosen destination. A detail both wished the time witch had told them. But then again maybe the rules didn't allow her to say that either.

"You okay?" Seth asked her, worry etched in his brow.

"Yeah. You?"

He nodded as their feet planted on a more solid surface. "Sweet. That's much better," Seth quipped as they found themselves walking down a hall. Candles lined the walls but did not appear to be fastened to them. Paintings of people throughout time appeared in the same fashion.

"This is weird."

"Yeah. All the paintings look like they're in the hotel."

"That's true," said Isabella. She'd been too focused on the fact that they weren't stuck to the wall. But Seth was right. The pictures behind them had been of a time before The Foxworthy existed, but as they stepped further down the hall, they seemed to depict familiar locations – the Violet Ballroom, the theater, and of course, the grand lobby. Movie premieres, smiling and laughing faces, from the 1920s, 30s, 40s, filled the canvases. She recognized Renee, Sinclair, Beatrice, and her grandfather Mitchell, the latter growing from children to young adults.

"This kind of reminds of Alice in Wonderland," said Seth. "I hope we don't have to jump over some weird egg-sized men in propeller beanies to get to where we need to be."

"I hope not."

Seth scowled as he looked around, sticking close to her side. "I don't like this place. We need to get to where we're supposed to be. I'm not sure how well I can protect you in this weird dimension. What if a crazy wizard jumps out?"

"A crazy wizard, Seth? Someone's been watching too many fantasy movies...aahh!"

A growl rippled through Isabella's ears when out of nowhere, a tall thin creature covered in what looked like purple spikes and holding an ever-shifting lance appeared in front of them. Eyes like burning fireplaces glared into Isabella's terrified ones. Whatever this creature was, she could tell he was not happy they were there. Its emotions seemed cold and structured but those eyes...the eyes were angry.

Seth pulled her back and formed a shield. Isabella felt his guardian instincts overwhelm her.

"Don't look at him directly," Isabella warned in a hot whisper, hoping only Seth heard. "We were sent by a time witch and ended up here. What is this place?"

"You are not welcome here, empaths. I would advise you to go back. The Necromancer guard does not tolerate intruders and interlopers," the creature spoke, and it sounded like many voices booming as one. "Look into my eyes, empath children, and face the truth of your folly."

"No way," Seth refused, "we are not leaving until we go back in time. I don't know what you are but we were sent by the time witch. Just like Serena Silver. We know you let her through."

The creature laughed as the corridor they'd been in changed into a large room with black walls.. Isabella froze, her body filling up with what felt like icy liquid "Seth," she croaked out. Seth's shield remained and but the creature seemed to be able to penetrate her senses regardless.

"Oh. Uh-uh. No! You take off whatever creepy juju you placed on my friend, Isabella. Now. She's done nothing to you, stop messing with her!" Since the creature had not launched a physical attack despite its size, had to be something more to its anger and desire than just chasing them off.

The ice in her veins turned to fire. "Seth!" Then Isabella was still lost in the fury of the Necromancer guard. No matter how hard she tried it seemed that her emotions kept going to the worst places. Blaming her for every bad thing that had happened or was yet to happen. Her head felt like it was breaking apart as she tried to stay afloat. She had a destiny to fulfill. This was not how things would end. "Stop it."

"Let her go!" Seth raged. She could feel his anger mixing in with the Necromancer's torment but it was more like a shield.

The Necromancer guard snarled over at his prey. "She is a fighter, a few more years, and I won't be able to touch her. Okay boy, I'll release her. But she has to complete three quizzes of my design. That Serena," the creature spat, "was able to weasel her way into a hopscotch contest with one of the inhabitants. When that pitiful fool failed me, I was not merciful to him. Fail this challenge and you both will suffer along with the other failures and remain to guard this realm forever."

Seth gulped. "All right, what do I have to do?"

"This girl is a diadem child. A young one," he said, sniffing the air. "You, her guardian, will have to watch as she works. No powers, tricky boy."

Seth lifted his chest. "I believe in Isabella. Now let her go!"

Like water sucking through a drain, the evil dissolved from Isabella's body. She gulped for air, needing a moment to process. Everything seemed like quicksand, and she could feel Seth's arms around her waist steadying her. "I'm fine Seth, I think. Can I look at you now Necromancer bully?" she said, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin.

"Your pitiful whining won't save you, tiny one. Now step forward and face me," the creature roared.

Isabella stepped forward and suddenly the ground around her changed again. Warmth left her side as Seth cursed and found himself trapped in a birdcage floating mid-air. She called out to him, but the more she tried to run at him, the smaller the cage got. "Let him go, you monster! Stop this!"

"He will be fine. He must not help you."

"Not everyone who comes through here is a diadem. Why are the rules different for us?"

"There are no steadfast rules. Whatever I like. And this I like. Now stare at your feet, girl, and solve the first puzzle."

Seth had to stay on his knees in order not to get crushed by the top of the cage though it had stopped shrinking the moment she'd stopped inching toward it. "You can do it, Izzy. Kick his ass!"

Isabella looked up at her friend, feeling his faith, trust, and something else she did not want to name beat from his heart into hers. "I will, Seth. I promise. Let's go." She looked down at her feet to see a several squares jutting out in front of her, to her side and behind her in what looked like a giant crossword puzzle filled with clues that came from both her world but mostly the Alice books like Seth had joked about. There were only three chances of getting anything wrong. After that, she would lose. But she'd loved the Alice books growing up and the questions about tea parties and red queens were no match for her puzzling mind. The words appeared as she said them out loud, and she soon found her groove and defeated the simple game.

"Onto the next one then?"

Seth cheered as the ground beneath Isabella changed yet again. But suddenly the tall boy was muted and sending the snarling Necromancer a heated glare.

The Necromancer guard sighed. "He was annoying me. It was either silence or death."

Isabella gulped and decided not to argue. This creature was not to be trifled with. The next puzzle was a combination between a fill-in-the-blanks child's story and hangman. Except every wrong answer had a body part of hers disappear. First her arm went when she did not know where Peter and Polly were supposed to jump into. She could still feel the appendage attached to her but it was not visible. "You disappear, you're gone forever. In case you were fuzzy on the rules," sneered the Necromancer.

Isabella was a master puzzler, and this one seemed so incredibly simple, but yet, the words didn't come to her as quickly as they did with the crossword puzzle. Still, she kept going. By the time she filled in the last box of the story, she was just a head. The fury on the guard's face proved he had hoped she'd disappear forever. As her body reformed, Isabella let out a hearty breath and gave Seth a thumbs up as soon as she was able.

"All right, diadem girl, you've done well."

"Why did Serena get away with hopscotch and me this?"

"It is because you asked to return to the same place. The same time. There are consequences for breeching the same hole in time more than once."

"Now you tell us," Isabella muttered. "Why can't you just let us through?"

"I may select the puzzles, but these are not my rules. I am a creature twisted with souls who did not make it."

Isabella shuddered. She wanted to say something else, but she had to think about Seth. She had to get them out of there. "All right, I'm ready for the next one."

"You impress me, diadem girl. You are more than strong. You are clever. But let's see how clever. You have one chance."

The final challenge was a riddle about shadows and other things. Isabella liked riddles, but her head was throbbing, and the words danced in front of her, each line moving back and forth as if on a pendulum. Finally, she was able to make out:

At the end of the bridge

The shadow looms

Behind the one

Named by an object

Third in four

Son of a son forgotten

Shadow of a queen not made

Knight of the dawn before it rises

There was only one guess. Isabella repeated each line in her mind, shutting her eyes against their dizzying dance in front of her. "At the end of the bridge... third in four... son of a son... shadow of a queen." Her eyes widened in horror. "Seth."

The angry growl of the Necromancer proved she was right. "You're lucky girl. I had my eye on turning him into a crow, who'd live his days cawing at the memory of your death after you failed."

"But I didn't fail."

"No, you did not," said the creature.

"Ha! That's my girl," said Seth. "All right then. We about done here?" Seth wanted to know.

It was very crafty of this riddler guard to think up such a nuanced clue. How had he known so much about Seth?

"Ms. Foxworthy, from this day forward, the outer edges of the time realm, where you pass from one moment to another are yours and your guardian's."

"But we still can't return to any point during the last decade of our lives?"

"No. It is a rule I know nothing of and do not care to understand. You may use a time witch to open a portal for you if you cannot find one on your own. Good luck. The rules of death your time witch gave still apply."

"Great. Now, uh, my friend," Isabella said.

Seth was back on the ground in seconds and a new portal opened up. The guard disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. "Oh, shiz. You did it, Iz. Oh, shiz," Seth chanted, doing a little dorky dance like he was wont to do in high stress situations. When Isabella did not react but instead continued to stare at him, chin shaking, his voice softened, "Like I knew you could."

Finally, Isabella linked her arms around Seth, providing him with a near bone-crushing hug. He groaned but didn't complain. "I thought I might lose you. You are not just my cohort or guardian, you're my... my... one of my best friends."

Seth rested his head on hers. "Same here. I'm by your side no matter what happens, 'kay?"

She nodded, the knocking of her heart subsiding. They turned to look at the portal before them. It was a tall red door frame that sat at the end of the hall they'd been in before the guard appeared. There was no telling where they'd end up next. But as long as they were together, nothing could stop them.

They took a deep breath and stepped through. "Yes!" Isabella cried out. The world before them was not another weird place outside the laws of reality. As long as her eyes weren't deceiving her, they were back at the Foxworthy hotel – but a very different Foxworthy hotel.

A woman with a small dog tucked beneath her arm, and a little hat with lace pinned to the top of her pinned up hair in an outfit that made her look like she stepped out of an episode of I Love Lucy, nearly knocked into them. "I beg your pardon," she said, whipping by.

"Welcome to 1954," Seth said with a grin, "we made it."