First thing in the morning, I walked up the stairs and went to Vitaly Malinov's house. Vitaly was one of the few people who had used to their advantage our new cold peace with the humans and had decided to buy a house near Brighton, outside of the city, the only place where it was legal for Enchanters to live.

I knew that living with him there was also Brady Doyle. I expected their house to look just like it did --- a breathtaking 19th century manor, with a huge garden --- but what I did not expect was to find a silvery haired woman opening up the door for me.

I tried, with a struggle, to remember Edgar's words. "You're... Silver McQueen's manager, aren't you?"

The woman smiled. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Severina Soprano and my husband is in there somewhere," she gestured towards the villa, and stuck her head inside the door. "Danny?!"

I was wondering just how many people did Vitaly and Brady shared their house with, when Severina came back, this time followed by a shorter man with black moustaches and short dark hair.

"Daniel Ignacio," the man said, holding out his hand. 

I must have looked terribly confused, because Severina smiled at me. "I know my name isn't typical, not even for an Italian woman," she said. "But what can I say? My parents were eccentric. I suppose it rubbed off on me. It's good to be eccentric."

"When you say things like that, you make me want to kiss you, right now, in front of everyone," Danny said. I couldn't help but think of Brady having unrequited feelings for the woman, and feeling second hand embarrassment.

A few minutes later, I found myself sitting at a wooden table and trying to explain my plan to Vitaly, Brady, and this odd foreign couple.

"So," I cleared my throat. "I was thinking, I'm the Hierophant. Brady is a Jurist, Vitaly is an Aeon... and truly I did not know who could act as the Enlightener, but I see I'm in luck, because I wasn't expecting you to be here, and maybe one of you is."

"I'm an Enlightener," Severina smiled charmingly.

"I'm a Earth Hierophant. And also a hybrid. Just like her former partner, Brady Doyle," Danny winked at me. "My wife's got a thing for hybrids."

Vitaly looked so green in the face, I couldn't help but think that we might look identical at the moment. Not only I took after him in my looks, I was sure I was making that exact same expression.

"I don't see," Vitaly added melodiously. "Why I should help you with your bad ideas every time we meet, young cousin."

"The last quest I went on was your own bad idea," I reminded them. "I just followed you blindly. And it did turn out well, so now it's your turn to trust me, I suppose."

Vitaly sighed. "If only trust worked like that... But I imagine I cannot fault you for taking after me. I just wish you weren't doing this alone. When you went on KI you had your friends with you, and I could give you advice. This world you want to journey to, none of us has seen it before. It might as well be dangerous. You might not know what to take from it, or how to have a safe passage."

However, Vitaly was already starting to write a circle with a piece of chalk on the floor of the living room. At the moment, I couldn't find words to show how grateful I was.

"Just promise me that if anything happens, you will go back," Vitaly said, tossing me the piece of chalk. "The last time, it was us who brought you back to our dimension. This time, you should probably create another circle. And do not be mad if, for however reason, we see fit to send someone after you."

"Do not worry," Brady added, when he caught the look on my face. "We wouldn't endanger one of your friends. We'd probably take the chance to send an adult to look after you."

"You don't know how important it is, for me," I tried to say. "You don't feel how my powers are shifting... they're out of control."

I'm getting crazy, I thought. I hear voices. I accuse myself of lying.

"Ryan," Brady announced. "Step on the symbol for air. I will take balance, while Severina takes rebirth and Vitaly takes death."

I stood on the symbol Vitaly drew, and silently hoped Luna would proceed to help me. Even if she didn't, though, at least now I had Brady and Vitaly on my side.

As usual, the world around me felt as if it was splitting in two. This time, though, I had trouble understanding which was the good part and which was the bad. I didn't feel drawn by only the positive one, anymore, and none beckoned to me.

I panicked. It was one of the most important parts of the process, and the reason Vitaly had taught me black magic in the first place. If I didn't know which was the evil part of the aether, no one knew what I was going to bring over to the other dimension.

I visualized where I wanted to go. I knew nothing about it, but I knew it was the place where the wine had come from. The place where the thief had been infected, the place from which the purple blood on the wall of our school belonged.

I didn't have to wait long. Suddenly, I felt everything go dark just like the sea had swallowed me.

I woke up in the new realm. I was on the outskirts of a town, that looked slightly medieval. There were rows of little houses, and the ground was covered in sand, like a beach made of dunes. But what striked me as peculiar was the sky --- it was red.

I stood up from the ground. In front of me, I saw a knight. He had come to my aid, and not a second too late. He was wearing warrior attire and he was mounting an animal that looked almost like a horse, but not quite. I decided to focus on the details later. Behind him, there was a trail of other knights.

"My, what do we have here," the knight said. Judging from the voice, it was a woman.

"I don't understand... how...?" I gasped.

"I know you've been away too long, young Summer, but that doesn't mean we expected to find you here, in the dunes," the woman said. "Naked and confused."

"Naked?"

I looked down at my body. I was only wearing my underwear.

"You appeared amongst the dunes in an explosion of light that singed away your clothes from your body," the knight said in a dull tone. "Do not worry --- I am not interested in taking a peek."

"Yes, but how?" I asked. I was feeling a little light-headed. "How can you possibly know who I am?"

"Ha!" the knight scoffed. She didn't clarify which part of my question she found amusing."First, I need to take you to the dungeons of the palace, where the criminals are."

She ordered two of her knights to seize me and tied my hands in two flowery ropes. They were much stronger than they looked. I tried to break free, but couldn't.

My heart sank into my chest. Maybe I shouldn't have trusted these people. I should have hidden behind the dunes, should have found out the rules of this strange, new world.

 "You don't have to tie me, by the way," I added conversationally. "I wouldn't run away. I plan to stay in this realm."

"What are you even talking about?" the knight asked rudely.

We rode til we began to see a castle in the distance. It was black and shimmering. I guessed that when the sky wasn't red, the stone the castle was made of would reflect the rainbow lights in the sky. It shimmered red instead, and it was a little eery.

"Tell me when I can see someone in power and explain everything," I whispered to the knight. "I might have had better plans than to be kidnapped by an arrogant knight."

As a reply, the knight just pushed me gently into the hall of the castle. But some of her men looked at me like they were sorry, and they remained outside. It struck me as a good sign.

"Tell me," the woman looked down on me. She removed her helmet, and a good-looking face framed by wild black hair came into view. "Is the other one here, too?"

"The other one?"

"The other guy your age from your world. The first time, there was the two of you here, though you did not arrive together."

"Listen, lady, is that your idea of fun? Are you playing a trick on me, just now?" I gestured at the flowery bonds that were keeping my hands tied.

"I do not reply to the name 'lady'," the woman's lips curled into a smile. "Everyone calls me the Tamed Lion."

She finally seemed to understand that she had to untie my bonds. My hands did not ache much, which I found strange and reassuring at the same time.

"Now," she added. "I'll write a decree where I say that you have come back. Mind you, we were not expecting you today. After the decree, you'll be treated fairly by all the people, and we'll find you a place to stay."

I was stunned. Not only I wasn't expecting all that kindness, but the Tamed Lion looked much more mature when she was taking decisions. She looked more like a general of war than a bratty, arrogant knight. I was impressed to say the least.

Just when I was about to thank her, I felt something softly scratching my leg. I looked down. It was a dragon. It looked like the ones I had seen in paintings at the Arcane Trade, the Enchanters' famous library, but it looked considerably smaller.

I took a deep breath. "Is that...?" I asked.

"Yes," the woman said. "It's a teacup dragon."

"A what?"

I looked down at the dragon again. It was what humans commonly called Chinese dragon, but that those who went to the Arcane Trade knew that in fact it was the only dragon that had ever existed. It was scaly and feathery, and yellow in colour.

But when I looked down at it, I remembered with great embarrassment that I was wearing only my underwear.

"Find me something to wear," I yelled, embarrassed.

"I'm sure you've noticed everyone here wear tunics," the woman said. She made a red tunic appear from nowhere, and tossed it to me.

I felt a little better --- than, these people were Enchanters. Not that I previously harboured doubts --- she'd called me Summer, after all --- but with different dimensions, you simply never knew.

I tried it on. I didn't even care how I looked. What was important was that I had something to wear.

"Red, because it's the colour of the banner of the Summer family," she explained. 

I took the little dragon in my hands. It didn't look dangerous, and if my guesses were right, then I was not afraid of it.

"Are dragons really the animal of the Summer family?" I asked, while conscious I'd never seen one in the Aether realm.

"Those surnames weren't in use until a few decades ago," she said, which made me think we were back to times that were older than I first thought. "But yes, I suppose, we all know which clans we come from and where we got our powers."

"Where did we get our powers?" I asked. Secretely, I hoped the story could be a key to understand just how different this world was.

Not that I knew how the Ancient Families came to be, in our dimension.

"Do you really wish to hear it?" the woman looked bored. "You've grown wiser, I suppose."

"Yes, tell me," I said. I enjoyed stories, especially those I could learn from.

"It happened when the humans started hunting us, and the Aether realm was created," the knight began. "In England, six Enchanters that were powerful, rich and had the powers of the Hierophants came together. Their names were Eadmund, Godric, Wulfric, Godiva, Cyneburga and Aebbe.
During that time, the people still lived in the kingdom that was ruled by the Torres. But the king had gone mad, started killing innocents and using his power for evil things. The people grew quite scared, and decided to ask the most powerful Enchanters for help. 
Wulfric decided that he didn't want to help the people. The king, before he had gone mad, was a resourceful political ally. Wulfric knew that, if he wanted to slowly take over the kingdom, he should have licked the boots of the current King and shut up. He had spent years honing a friendship with the man, and he thought it would serve him well. For that reason, Wulfric did not want the King to be killed or dethroned.
Aebbe, Eadmund, Cyneburga and Godiva decided not to take a side. Only Godric spoke up, and said they should help the people. However, it was not enough. Together, the other five decided it was not worth to lose their lives just to help the people. They branded Godric as a mad fool."

"That's horrible," I said. 

"Indeed," the woman agreed. "Especially if you consider that the King went even madder at the idea his own advisors had conspired against him. He killed almost all of the commoners that were involved in the conspiracy. But right then, something happened. The King suddenly died, and, when his heir, milder in personality, took the throne, the six powerful Enchanters met up once more. They conspired between them that they needed powers to defend themselves against people like the Torres family in case a mad king arrived again. Wulfric said he regretted not standing up for the people, and suggested the families found the Stone."

"The Everto Stone? The stone that breaks the curses?" I asked.

"I don't know where you heard that --- it mostly gives blessings."

I couldn't help but feel a little confused, but I tried to smile at the knight.

"It would take incredibly long to say how they found the stone," she added. "Though it is a story worth hearing, and perhaps, one day you will. But found it they did. This stone is rumored to give more power to people in need, and apparently the Enchanters of that time where considered needy. Only, the five split it between each of them. Eadmund asked for protection, the possibility to find safe refuge for his descendents, and so he was given the power of placing protecting spells over other people. Godiva family wanted to evolve, become something more than human, so she was given the power to change into animals. Wulfric, burning with passion and ambition, wanted the power of the sun and so it was assured that his family was the only, amongst the Hierophant families, that would always pass the gene of the fire power to every descendant. Aebbe wanted to be able to disappear, but since it was a black magic spell, she was given the power to merge with water itself. But the stone required a sacrifice --- a human life in exchange of those powers. So, Cyneburga gave her life so that her friends could get what they were asking for."

"It wasn't fair," I said.

"No, it wasn't, and so, she was spared. She was given the power of bringing people back to the dead, for she won over death once already. As for Godric, he paid the price of the stone. A human life, or a rebound in power would have done. Godric never collaborated with the others, he never showed up, but he was indeed right. He'd seen what was coming. So, he was blessed with the power of divination.

But in the universe, it is not considered fair that six should have more power than the others. So, it was decided that those Enchanters should have powers only during a season. Eadmund was cursed to have power only during Winter, Godric in the Summer, Godiva in Spring and Wulfric in Autumn. As for Aebbe, her powers could be used only in the water, for she was named Rivers when surname became a thing. And Godiva, who couldn't stand the weight of her new powers, left and never returned. She remains, to this day, nowhere to be seen, and it's unclear whether she can possibly die. Her family was called Ember, for people hope to see her as a last hope, like embers burning in a fire."

"But the descendants of the Ancient Families do not have powers only during a season," I pointed out. "Nor the Rivers can only do spells in water."

The Tamed Lion shrugged. "It's what having children with other families does --- it strengthens the blood. Besides, it makes sense as they're not more powerful than the other families, now. As for their strange powers, I have yet to meet someone who inherited them."

I decided not to tell her anything about me.

The hours passed, and the knight left me alone in the room I'd never seen before. I was gathering some ideas about this new world, all of them too bizzarre to be true. And in the meantime, I couldn't help but think about Luna, and about the way I trusted her even if she never gave me reason to.

The reason was simple. I understood some bits and pieces of her story from the way she told it. She seemed to rule over the Circle only because, back in our dimension, her ancestors had been the last royals.

I wondered if she even liked her job. I knew what it was like to feel like you're a bird in a cage, suffocated. To feel like there's no way out of your life, no matter how hard you try. To be so desperate you'd do anything to make it stop. To feel like your life was some sort of punishment somebody was inflicting on you, and in my case, it was.

"Are you all right?" the Tamed Lion asked me when she came to check on me. I wondered if she could read my mind. Then again, it didn't take a genius to see I was not okay.

"The other boy from the world..." I tried to smile at her, so my next words wouldn't scare her. "What was his name again?"

The knight looked a little puzzled. "Edgar, I think," she replied. "Yes, his name was Edgar."

Edgar.

I thought about Edgar's plan to sacrifice himself, and how I could never live with myself if I let him do it. I had to find a way to save him.

"How would that look if I brought someone else here? Maybe my friend Edgar?" I asked.

"Go on, please, bring your whole group of friends while you're at it," the knight rolled her eyes sarcastically. "The answer is, and will always be, no."

"But..." I started saying.

"What?"

"You know why I'm here, right?"

She studied me carefully. "You came back. After your journey."

"There's a reason," I said, trying not to think about this other life she thought I'd been living. "My powers are out of control. I'm afraid that it has something to do with the balance of the world. You see, I come from a different realm. I think the balance is a little different in here."

The knight looked at me as if I was crazy, but then she laughed. "Oh! I suppose this explains things. Well, I wasn't expecting this turn of events, but it's not weird at all."

"Try to go over it again," I was losing my patience. "How could it not be weird? Not that I'm not grateful you believe me..."

"We knew a Summer was coming, and we would recognise you from miles away. We can smell powers, here. Since you come from a different dimensions, I will explain everything in due time. But as to you being here, we only met the once. And then you went on a journey."

"Wait," I tried to make sense of it. "What do you mean... I've never... Edgar has never..."

I stopped, confused. I couldn't even find words to describe just how much I'd been thrown off course.

"And why would you want to bring Edgar here?"

"To help him," I replied. "You see, he's about to die, and I think I can save him."

It was the truth --- I was doing all of this so Edgar wouldn't have to.

I was doing it because it was the right thing to do, and I had proof that he would do the same for me.

I just needed time to make sure everything would work out, and I hoped with time he would understand.