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"Yes." The gorgon pauses before adding,"The Rakshana."
I don't know what to say to this."The Rakshana and the Order were lovers?"
The gorgon's voice sounds far away."Once."
Felicity gives a shout. "Look at that!" She points to the horizon, where a heavy mist falls from the sky like shavings of gold, obscuring our view of what lies ahead. It roars like a waterfall.
"Are we going through there?" Ann asks, worried.
Pippa pulls Ann close. "Don't fret so. It will be all right, I'm sure, else the gorgon wouldn't bring us through it. Isn't that right, Gemma?"
"Yes, of course," I say, trying not to seem as truly terrified as I feel. For I've no idea what will become of us."Gorgon, you are bound to do us no harm. Is that so?"
But my question is drowned out by the relentless pounding of the golden waterfall. We huddle together on the floor of the ship. Ann closes her eyes tightly. As we push forward, I shut my eyes too, afraid to know what's going to happen next. With the roar thick in our ears, we pass through this damp curtain and emerge on the other side, where the river becomes like an ocean with no land in sight, save for a verdant island in the distance. "We're alive," Ann says, both surprised and relieved.
"Ann," Pippa says,"look--now you are a golden girl!"
It's true. Golden flakes coat our skin. Felicity turns her hands this way and that, laughing joyfully as she watches them shimmer."Oh, we're fine, aren't we? No trouble at all!"
Pippa laughs."I told you not to be afraid."
"The magic is strong," the gorgon says. Whether it's a statement or a caution I cannot tell.
"Gemma," Pippa asks,"why must we bind the magic?"
"What do you mean? Because it is loose inside the realms."
"What if that's not such a terrible thing? Why shouldn't anyone be allowed to use this power?"
I do not like where this is going."Because they could use it to come into our world and create havoc. There'd be no sense of order or control upon it."
"You don't know that the inhabitants of the realms would use it unwisely."
She hasn't heard the gorgon's story, else she might think otherwise."Don't we? Do you remember that creature that enslaved my mother?"
"But it was joined to Circe. Perhaps they're not all like that," Pippa muses.
"And how would I decide who should have it, who can be trusted?"
No one has an answer to this.
I shake my head. "It is out of the question. The longer the magic is loose, the greater the danger that those spirits here can become corrupted. We must find the Temple and bind the magic once again. Then we shall reform the Order and maintain the balance of the realms."
Pippa pouts. She has the irritating good fortune of looking beautiful while she does this."Very well. We're almost there anyway."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE RIVER HAS NARROWED AGAIN. WE'RE ENTERING a spot where the trees grow tall, thick, and green. Thousands of lanterns hang from their branches. It reminds me of Diwali, the festival of lights in India, when Mother and I would stay up late to watch the
streets bloom with candles and lanterns.
The ship comes to rest in the soft, wet sand of the island. "The Forest of Lights,'' the gorgon says. "Be on your guard. State your business to Philon and Philon only."
The winged plank lowers and we step off into a soft carpet of grass and sand that disappears into thick brush dotted by fat white double lotuses. The trees are so tall they disappear into a ceiling of dark green. Looking up at them makes me feel dizzy. The lights sway and move. One darts across my face, making me gasp.
"What was that?" Ann whispers, eyes wide.
"What's happening?" It's Felicity. Several of the lights have descended on her head. Her rapturous face is illuminated by the glowing crown.
