"Please, I can't take this anymore. Your little energy bursts aren't good enough. If you're not going to kill me, at least let me sleep." The sun was rising now, the black of night was fading to a gray dawn. Silva didn't stop though, and she wouldn't let Marcella stop either.

"Damn it! Let me sit down at least." Marcella threw herself to the ground and Silva clamped her jaws onto the collar of her shirt. "Hey! Let me go!" Silva dragged Marcella along as the girl kicked and punched at the ground. Her strength ebbed away from her and her struggle lessened. The world became dark again as her eyes slipped closed.

She thought she heard a woman's voice, but everything disappeared -- she was asleep.

---

Warm water surrounded Marcella like she was floating in a huge bath. She delighted in the way it relaxed her muscles. Inhaled deep breaths of steam.

The waves around her were a song.

She felt peace.

Slowly, though, the feeling lifted and she began to separate her dream from reality. There was a gentle hand on one side of her face, the other side was being wiped clean by a warm cloth. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw a dark face hovering close to her own, singing the lullaby of the waves.

The early morning fog of sleepiness quickly gave way to an afternoon burn of clarity and Marcella pushed away from her care taker. The woman smiled and tossed her braids over her shoulder.

"Awake are ya?" She smiled and her teeth were like a bright light. "S'about time, bin out for hours, ya have."

"Who are you?"

"Narri." The woman straightened her back and put her hands on her hips. "The border guard!"

"Where are we?"

"That's not such an easy ansah, is it?"

"What does that mean?"

"It means I can't tell ya where ya are lessen ya tell me how ya got here." She rolled her eyes. "Silva may be the brightest guide, but she's still just a wolf. I can only hear so many t'ings she's sayin'."

"So . . . you can't tell me where I am, unless you know how I got here? That's kind of dumb."

"You gotta lot to learn about t'ings, girlie." The woman wiped her hands on the rags and layers of burlap and linen which adorned her body, then turned to the open fire on her right. She stirred a pot and whistled at it, then hummed to herself as she sniffed it's vapours. Marcella didn't have to be beside it to enjoy the aroma. It was so strong it took over every other smell in the near vicinity and it made her stomach roar.

"What's . . . what's that?"

"Soup."

"Can . . . I have some?"

"Course ya can! It's bin made for ya, hasn't it?" The woman lifted a wooden bowl and ladled some of the soup into it. As she passed it to Marcella, the girl squirmed with anticipation.

"I'm so hungry! You have no idea!"

"It's bin a while since ya ate?"

"Man, it was . . ." Marcella thought about it as she sipped the savoury broth. "Yesterday, I had some berries."

"Berries, ya say?"

"Yeah, I don't know what they were, but they were red. And delicious!"

"Happy little berries? On a short bush?"

"Yeah, how'd you know."

"Vespertine berries." The woman smiled. "Now we're gettin' somewhere."

"What?"

"You ate the fruit of the vespertine bush, at sunset I'd say."

"What does that mean?"

"The vespertine's berries can only be eaten at sunset. If you wanna live to see dawn at least. They're very hard tah find, without Silva ya probably never woulda. After that did ya find an old boot, a stag, or a singin' fish lady? If I'da guessed I'd say . . . well you were dry enough when you got here . . . and you came with Silva so I'd say she probably called in a favour from Wilhelm."

"Wilhelm?"

"Great big stag, antlers like a drag queen's crown?" Narri chuckled. "He's the Totem guard of the ravine. Nobody gets to the other side without his say so. And the only way to reach the ravine is under the influence of the vespertine fruit."

"Stop, stop it!" Marcella put the bowl down and covered her ears. "This doesn't make any sense! None of those things are real. They can't be." Or could they?

"Real, not real, what's the difference?"

"I'd say there's a great big difference, actually."

"Well, the place your in don't see it, that's for sure."

"So where am I? After Wilhelm, we just walked and walked and walked until the sun started coming up and I got so tired. Then the last thing I remember is your voice."

"Yes, yes, the only time to find me is at dawn, you miss that and --" Narri made a noise with her tongue which indicated there was very little hope otherwise. "But where you are now ain't nearly as important as where ya gonna be. Every route is different, and yours is heading for Lemuria, a place where . . . well . . . it's best you find out on your own -- carefully!" She emphasized the last bit.

"Lemuria?"

"Yes, headin' home I suppose? For the first time, too."

"Home?" Marcella was beginning to feel sick. She trusted Narri, even though they'd just met. "You haven't lied to me once."

Narri laughed. "Why would I lie to ya? No sense in those childhood games. We're more highly evolved, as they say."

"You don't make a lot of sense."

"Why should I?"

"Never mind. What do I do now? Is Silva still here?"

"She's just waitin' outside. Probably got somethin' for ya tah do after ya rested up."

"Where is she taking me?"

"Dat's not for me tah say. She's got her reasons, no doubt, but not even I get tah know 'em."

"So what you're telling me is that I'm heading . . . home." Marcella shook her head, not wanting to believe. "And Silva's helping me get there?"

"What else would she be doin'"

"Taking me to die."

Narri stared at Marcella and chewed her lip. "You shouldn't leave a totem like Silva waitin'."

"Why did you change the subject?"

"I told ya, girl, I don' know what the she-wolf does. She's entitled to her secrets." Narri began playing with a string of bones which hung around her neck, lost in her voluminous clothing. "But I do know that Silva's interests are rarely just her own. She's got backing, ya see. That's how she gets to roam free while other totems are stuck. HE helps her."

"Who is he? I saw him one time . . . I was told to make sure he doesn't get me . . ."

"Oh, that's foolish. There most likely ain't nothin' to be afraid of, not from him. He's supposed to be a friend to people like you and me."

"But my grandmother said --"

"Ha! Dirty ol' Rowena, she's full o' lies. Always has been, always will be."

The statement stung Marcella and she said, "you won't hear anymore lies from her, I guess."

"Whatcha mean?"

"Silva . . . she killed my grandmother." Marcella's fists clenched, she was suddenly more angry than ever that she was forced to travel with the creature who killed her grandparents.

"Silva never kills lightly." Narri nodded. "If she killed Rowena, she had good reason."

"Why, though? If she's working with him, and he's my friend, why would he have her kill my family?"

Narri laughed, it was a cackle like that of a wicked witch. "He's got his reasons, and it's best you figure them out. Nobody learned a t'ing from bein' told it."

Marcella was sick of all of the secrecy. She wanted to know everything, she wanted to understand what was happening, but she knew Narri wouldn't tell her anything else.

"Now, go on, get outta here. Silva's waiting."

"One more thing."

"What would that be, sweetie?"

"How do you know Rowena? And how did you know she was my grandmother."

Narri smiled her North Star smile. "That's two t'ings."

Marcella crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Okay, okay. Notta single Lemurian don't know ya granny. She chose her lies a long time ago, went off to a mortal plane where she could actually convince the people round her of her deceptions."

"Wait . . . you're from Lemuria."

"No more questions now, girlie, git out dah door!" Narri started to push Marcella.

"Please! What did you mean by 'mortal plane'?"

"Out, out, Silva's waiting."

"But I wanna know more!" Marcella was being pushed out the door by her host now. She shot up her arms and pressed against the door frame.

"Like I said, nobody learns a t'ing from bein' told! Only way to learn is through experience."

Marcella's strength gave way as she was forced out of Narri's hut. The world she was thrust into was similar to her own but . . . darker. Trees were withered and rotting, where there should have been grass there was nothing but dirt, rocks and the remains of long dead animals. She turned back to the hut and noticed Silva sitting vigil by the doorway, waiting patiently to continue their journey.

"Don't forget this." Narri was hidden from view inside her hut, but her slender arm extended into the frightening landscape, holding a canvas bag. The bag fell to the ground and Narri's hut disappeared.

Watching Silva from the corner of her eyes, Marcella stepped toward the bag. There was a loaf of bread, and a hunk of old cheese wrapped in a sweet smelling leaf, but most importantly of all there was a leather canteen filled with clean water.

"We got a long way to go, huh?" Marcella said, looking at the supplies. Of course, Silva's only response was to get to her feet and prod the girl onward.