Nola was glad there weren’t mosquitoes, biting flies or other obnoxious insects here. Maybe there were, but there were spells to protect people from such attacks. Spells? Did that mean—? As they woke, their first sight was that of a pair of huge black fetlocks blowing in the breeze. They struggled to their feet, rubbing their eyes. They were back in Kafka, standing before Spirit. They were beside the river at the exact spot they had fallen in. Spirit’s huge, black head towered over them. He lowered it to look Nola over. Heat was nowhere around, but Snort attended to Mich, worrying over him as if Mich were his cub. Tina stared, disbelieving, into Spirit’s sparkling green orbs. She saw her own image reflected back. “AAAAAAHHHHH!” she screamed, stumbling backward. “What the hell is that thing?!” She pointed the gun at him. Nola immediately slapped the gun from Tina’s grasp. “I wouldn’t,” she said. “W-what the—” Tina stammered. Nola drew her aside. “Look, I asked you if you wanted to leave Earth and you said yes, so that’s what we did.”
