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Great. Another one of my awesome landings. I groaned, wiped the dirt from my mouth with the back of my sleeve and rubbed my eyes. Two sets of boots?

"You can lower your weapons officer. We're simply on our way to retrieve our healer," Astra said.

"Looks more like an invasion to me," said a man with a deep baritone voice. The toe of his boot shoved my ribs. "What do we have here?"

Nebula was standing so close her skirts draped over my outstretched hand. My palms pressed into the dirt, and I started to push up. When I forced my arms to straighten, my hair hung in my face blocking my view.

A sharp pain slammed into the top of my hand, and I screamed. The heel of Nebula's shoe dug into my skin. I collapsed to the ground eating another face of dirt. But before I could yank my hand back she shifted her foot and dug in her heel a second time.

I hollered out again in pain. "Nebula! Stop—"

I was thankful my cloak's hood hid the tears smearing my face. If my hand wasn't flaring in pain, I probably would have punched her.

"Poor dear. It's worse than I thought," Nebula said, kneeling down next to me. Then she placed a firm hand on my shoulder preventing me from getting up. "Stay down," she whispered.

"What's she screaming about?" the man asked, backing up.

"Drelobie pox," Nebula said, giving me a nudge with her knee. She lifted my hand and ran a finger against the area she'd stomped on. "See the welts starting to form?" We have to find our Guild healer before we all started showing symptoms."

The man's feet disappeared from view as I heard him take a step backward. "Drelobie pox? You're making that up."

Another man with frayed boot laces interrupted and said, "The death pox? If those welts turn into blisters and rupture, the puss will eat away at anything it touches. People die from those."

Playing it up for all it was worth, I groaned, curled into a fetal position and started to shiver.

Frayed laces dude took a couple more steps backward and his feet disappeared from what I could see as well. "I don't get paid enough to go near her. I've got a family to feed."

"You're being a wuss," the man with the baritone voice said.

Then a man I couldn't see spoke up. "No sir, he's not. My sister died from those things."

It sounded like the last guy backed up a couple of paces and then took off running in the opposite direction.

"I'm with him," said the frayed laces guy, then I heard him run to catch up with his buddy.

How many of these guys are there? Having been staring at the ground the whole time, the only clue I had were the feet I could see beyond the hood of my cloak.

"Uh-huh. If those things are so dangerous, then why are you touching her hand?" said the man with the baritone voice again. He adjusted his stance and took another step forward to where I could see his boots again.

A woman's scream pierced the air, followed by a whimper.

"Josie..." Astra said. Her voice drifted on the night breeze like something wasn't quite right. "Don't worry dear. We'll find Krystal. She'll be able to treat you."

Nebula helped me to my feet. "Keep your hood down," she whispered.

I stared at the man's legs not wanting to lift my head and reveal my face beneath my hood. His pants were covered in a layer of dirt, but even through the grime, I knew he was a Fire Circle guard.

The guard backed up a couple of paces. "Is that welt on her neck one of those Dreblie things too?"

"Yes, it is. Now, if you don't mind, we need to find our healer. But if you'd like to detain us longer and get—" Rygar answered.

"Nope—go." He shooed us off with his hand. "But stay out of Fire Circle territory. I don't need my men covered in those things. Guild land is about a half plain that way," he said, pointing.

I couldn't help smirk, knowing that if Jaxon's father knew this guard not only let me go but gave us directions, he'd lose it.

The guard turned, and stopped for a moment when he faced me, then walked away in the direction of where the other two guards had run off to.

"Come on." Astra put an arm around Josie who was holding the side of her neck. "We'll make camp at the lake tonight."

It wasn't long before we had hiked our way to the to the water's edge. Nebula must have apologized for stepping on my hand ten times in our short walk. There were two raised swollen marks starting to turn a purple hue marring my skin. I opened and closed my fist trying to get an assessment of the injuries as I sat on a log next to the fire.

"How's the hand?" Rygar asked.

I jerked my head in his direction, not realizing anyone had been watching me. "Sore, but it will be all right." I glanced over at his bandaged finger. "You?"

He grimaced, then he scraped last bit of gruel out of his bowl. "It only hurts when I move it."

Given that he set up the two tents, built a fire and hauled water from the lake, I was sure that was an understatement.

"Sage said she'd fix it if you let her."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, she did, did she?" He lowered his bowl to his side and licked his spoon. "I'm sure she only agreed to that at your request."

There wasn't getting anything past him. "Well..."

"I thought so." He put his bowl on the ground, and lifted the pot of boiling water from the fire, then dumped some water into the bowl. "What's her deal anyway?"

"Her deal?"

He gave the dish a swirl and used his spoon to try to scrape the bottom to get it clean. "Yeah, you know, Sage's deal about hating me."

I smirked and pulled my cloak around me. "What? Every girl loves being kidnapped and tossed into a portal. I can't imagine what might have set her off."

"Rescuing, not kidnapping. Besides, you're not angry with me." Rygar tossed the water from his bowl into a bush. "And she doesn't seem to be mad at Vega, Astra or Josie—just me."

The way he said that made me believe he genuinely wanted to know. Listening to him speak, and with Acklemarian's living for thousands of years, I found myself wondering how old he was.

"Wren?"

"Sorry. Lost in thought," I said, rubbing the back of my hand. "You know, I asked Sage why she acts the way she does around you."

He was about to put the pot back on the fire but stopped short. "You did?"

"Uh-huh. She said you reminded her of someone, but she never said why."

"Oh—" He nodded and placed the pot on the fire. "That doesn't sound good. An ex?"

An ex? I tilted my head and looked at him. I guess I never noticed until now, but he was fairly good looking. Possibly someone Sage might even date if she didn't hate him and wasn't infatuated with Robin. "I don't know, maybe, she never said."

He sat down next to me and took a sip of a drink Astra had passed around to us earlier. I'd sniffed mine and decided against drinking it. It smelled like something a yak might spit up and had white clumps floating in it that definitely weren't marshmallows.

"Do mind if I ask how old you are?"

He chuckled, then said, "Why? Don't you have enough guy problems?"

"What? I don't want to date you!" I swatted him with the back of my hand. "I'm taken." I went to punch him in the shoulder, but he maneuvered out of the way.

"Yeah, but the question is by whom?" he said with a big smirk plastered across his face.

I gave him a dirty look. "Hey... Not nice."

"Sorry." He drank back the rest of his drink. "Had to say it, after your comment on not wanting to date me. I'd say I was wounded, but there's someone else I'd like to have in my life." He shook his cup over the fire, and the white lumps slid from the rim and dripped into the flames. "No offense."

"None taken." He was right. I already had enough guy problems to last me a lifetime.

"But to answer your question, twenty-two."

"Josie and I can share this tent," Astra said from behind us. "You, Wren and Rygar can share the other."

Nebula slipped her shoes back on and was staring back at the green door flap of the tent Astra was sticking her head out of.

"Are you sure? I can stay with Josie," Nebula answered.

Astra shook her head. "We'll see Krystal tomorrow anyway. If any of us are showing symptoms, she can treat us all then."

I looked at the canvas tent with dread. Great. Apparently, two more people got to see my freakish dream traveling talent first hand. The only time I managed to sleep an entire night in my bed was when Kellan spent the night. Somehow I doubted tonight would be the second time.

"Come on. The tent's not going to bite," Nebula said holding out her hand to me.

That's what she thought. With my dreams, I'd be lucky only to end up with teeth marks. I pulled myself to standing. With Rygar following me, I dragged my feet over to the tent.

"What? Worried you'll meet up with Jaxon again?" Rygar whispered behind me.

I groaned. "You weren't even there when I told Astra that."

"Didn't need to be. It's my business to know everything that happens inside the guild." He pulled the flap of the tent and held it open for me. "Yours is the middle bag. That way, Nebula and I can keep an eye on you."

"Joke's on you then. Even if you stay up all night, I'm pretty sure it won't matter."

"Nothin' gets by me, Birdie."

Birdie? That nickname sounded familiar like I had heard it hundreds of times before. "Well trust me, this bird doesn't need wings to fly." I crawled inside leaving my shoes at the entrance and started to unzip my sleeping bag. "So stand guard all you like, it's not like you'll be able to stop me."

"Don't be so sure," Rygar said sitting to the right of my head.

"I'll be entertained if you can," I mumbled through the covers I had just zipped over my head.

"Can what?" Nebula asked kicking off her shoes.

Rygar patted the top of my sleeping bag. "Stop Birdie here, from dream traveling."

"I don't know if that's possible. But she might be able to bring one of us along."

I unzipped the bag and looked at Nebula. "Now, that I can do." Recalling my adventure with Sage swimming in the creepy glowing lake. "But I'm not exactly sure how I did it." I folded my arms over the top of the covers. "From what I've managed to figure out from my past adventures is if I'm asleep when I travel, I'll end up back where I've fallen asleep by morning."

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Nebula slid her feet into the sleeping bag and tucked an arm under her head. "Any luck with your memories?"

"No, not really." I propped my head up on an elbow. "My dad left a note saying Astra, could help. But if you have any suggestions..."

"Part of Astra's talent is the ability to peer into the past, among other things. While I can see past happenings, my ability to see multiple outcomes for the future is what most intrigues the circle's leaders."

That's a scary talent. I'm not sure I'd want to to know the answer before being given a chance to figure it out for myself.

"Astra's ability to work with memories is stronger than mine. But who knows, maybe we could tug something lose if you're willing to try." She reached out an open palm like she expected me to place my hand in hers.

"Okay." I gave her my hand. "What do I do?"

"Hmm." When she looked up, her eyes shone a soft turquoise, and a lilac colored stone glowed on her necklace. "Let's try something that's closer to the surface, something familiar to you, but you can't explain why."

There were a few things that came to mind, but the most recent was Rygar's nickname of Birdie for me.

"Okay, I've got one."

She nodded. "Now, ask to see the story behind the trigger."

She let go of my hand and placed two fingers on either side of my temple and tapped a finger.

"Ask again," she said softly, rubbing a small circle with her fingers against my skin.

I pulled the thought forward and demanded to see the story once more. Then Nebula tapped her finger, and the scene shoved into play like a video.

I watched myself stand behind the barrier in the Guild arena where two members were finishing up around of training in the ring.

"Oh look, Rygar. You have an admirer," the teenaged boy said, tossing his head in the direction of my younger-self.

Rygar glanced up at and gave my ten-year-old self a smile. "Wren? She's harmless. She just wants to train."

"Train?" The teenager laughed. "Her? You've got to be kidding me." He walked toward the rail pointing his finger at me.

Just watching him taunt my younger-self made me want to go over and teach him a lesson. That's when I noticed my-little-self unclench her fist and start climbing the rail.

The boy had already turned back to face Rygar and was still laughing. "Girls can't fight. Especially, ones a little as—"

My eyes widened as I watched my younger-self leap off the rail, launch into the air like a bird, and land on the boy flattening him to the ground. He was lying with his face in the dirt, while my tiny flailing arms pummelled him over and over until Rygar plucked me off.

The boy stood up and wiped the blood from his ear with the side of his hand. His eyes narrowed when he saw the crimson staining his fingers. Then he stepped forward like he was going to retaliate.

Rygar took a step between us. "Lay a hand on her, and I'll make sure everyone knows a 10-year-old girl beat you."

"You wouldn't."

Rygar folded his hands across his chest, not lifting an eye off of the boy. "Try me."

The boy paused, then threw his hands in the air and walked away. "Ah, she's not worth it anyway."

Once the teen disappeared outside, Rygar turned to see me still huffing and puffing, from exerting everything my little body had.

"That was some jump, little bird," he said bending down to talk to me. "The training master, might not teach girls—but I will. Be here tomorrow after the guys leave, okay?"

My tiny face lit up, and I squealed jumping into the air. "I will!" I said with more excitement than I'd ever recalled exerting.

"Okay, Birdie," he said with a chuckle as he walked away. "See you tomorrow."

Then the memory faded, and Nebula lifted her fingers from my temples. I looked over my shoulder at Rygar and then back at Nebula.

"So that's how I got the nickname, Birdie," my voice cracked. "I remember..."

"Nothing else ever held you back." Rygar messed up my hair. "Why should someone messing with your head?"

For the first time in three years, I actually believed I might get my memories back.

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