Mallory couldn’t believe that she was standing here again, staring at the metal six tacked to the door. She didn’t want to be here, wanted to avoid this so much that she felt as though she were having an out of body experience, watching a stranger, a much braver stranger, standing at Eliza’s shoulder. The rusting car sat in the parking lot right outside the door, indicating the presence of Isaac and the Sams. Mallory was assuming they were in the same room, but a part of her hoped that when Eliza knocked, a stranger would answer. Hoped that the embarrassment would change Eliza’s mind and send them away before they could be noticed.

Eliza knocked on the door.

Mallory tensed, the seconds crawling as they waited. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears and swallowed hard.

The door opened, and Sampson appeared. He looked first at Eliza, and then at Mallory, his eyes only slightly widening with his surprise. “Well, hello,” he greeted. “We didn’t see you in school today.” He spoke to Eliza, but Mallory felt threatened somehow by the idea that they had been looking for her there.

“We need to talk,” Eliza said.

Sampson nodded, stepping back to give them space to enter. Before Mallory could stop her or say anything, Eliza entered the room. Mallory hesitated a moment, causing Sampson to smirk slightly. Annoyed, she narrowed her eyes at him, then straightened her posture and marched in behind Eliza.

Inside, Samanda was on the bed closer to the door, and Isaac was on the farther bed. It appeared they were watching TV, but had muted it at some point, maybe when Eliza had knocked on the door. Seeing Mallory, Samanda smiled and sat up, shifting her feet to the floor. She leaned forward, flashing an almost predatory smile that gave Mallory the chills. Isaac also sat up straight, his eyes immediately on Eliza. He looked confused, worried, and elated all at once to see her. His eyes flashed to Mallory briefly, and then back to Eliza. “I take it this isn’t an ordinary social call?” he asked, sounding wary. Eliza shook her head. “So, why are you here?”

Eliza drew in a deep breath and then blurted out, “What are you?”

There were a few seconds of silence. “Oh, uuuuh,” Isaac managed into the silence, which caused Sampson to chuckle.

“You’re not human,” Eliza persisted.

Isaac took a slow step toward Eliza. “I’m not.”

Mallory tensed again at the plainly stated admission. She could hear Eliza release her breath slowly, as though she had been holding it. Looking around the room, she could see that Sampson still looked amused, but Samanda was watching them very carefully.

Finally, after swallowing hard, Eliza asked, “Then what are you?”

“That’s a little hard to explain,” Isaac began.

But nearly in the same breath, Samanda stood and spoke. Her voice came out strong and clear as the ringing of a church bell. “Standing before you is Isaac, eldest son of Monroen, second sister of the Queens of Annuven, also known as Avalon to many of you modern mortals.” It was a strange proclamation to make in a dingy motel room, and it caught both Mallory and Eliza off guard. For a moment, Mallory wanted to laugh, especially seeing how off kilter Isaac looked as he stared at Samanda in bemusement. But Samanda was all seriousness, and with the slightly otherworldly pixie-like features of her face… her golden eyes almost seemed to glow as she stared challengingly at both Eliza and Mallory.

“In fairness, that doesn’t sound like a full explanation,” Isaac said into the silence.

“So… you’re like… a prince?” Eliza said.

“A fairy prince,” Mallory added. She wanted to burst out laughing, but something about the serious tone of the room stopped her, so she sighed again, running a hand through her hair. “We went back to the Miller house to look at the damage to the stairs.”

Both Isaac and Sampson swiveled their heads to her, looking alarmed. “Just the two of you? Alone?” Sampson said, his voice sharp.

Mallory frowned at him. “Yeah.” Sampson exchanged a look with Isaac, but they didn’t elaborate. “Why would that be bad?”

“It’s just… not safe,” Sampson said.

“Because of that other one?” Mallory ventured. She relished the look of surprise that crossed their faces for a moment. “Who is he?”

“Not something you need to worry about,” Sampson said.

Mallory crossed her arms. “Really? Because I think there’s something to worry about if he’s been following us all summer.”

“Following you?” Isaac spoke now. He looked a little alarmed at this news. “Have you seen him before?”

“No,” Mallory admitted. “But Eliza has felt him watching her for a few months now.”

Isaac turned his gaze back to Eliza, looking thoughtful.

“How did you save us? It looked like we should have been crushed by the debris,” Eliza asked. Mallory felt a little annoyed that her friend was steering the conversation away from the stranger that had been following them. After all, that seemed to be a more pressing matter to her, but she didn’t interrupt.

“Magic,” Isaac said.

“Magic,” Mallory repeated, deadpan. If what they were saying was remotely true, then magic was the obvious answer, but it was also a difficult answer to swallow. “I mean, of course. Magic.” An overwhelming pain seared through the nerve endings of her hand suddenly, causing her to shout. She nearly dropped to her knees from the pain and gripped the hand with her other hand, rubbing it. Her hand prickled, like it was waking from a numbness, and she was suddenly reminded of the sensation, when she had pulled the knife in the basement… Mallory turned to glare at Sampson, who smiled calmly at her.

Eliza stared wide eyed, her face pale. She gripped Mallory’s arm, finally looking suitably alarmed for the first time. “What’s the matter, Mallory? Are you okay?”

“Magic,” Mallory repeated, still glaring at Sampson.

“A blade is a very poor thank you,” Sampson reminded her with a smirk. Eliza looked at the both of them, her head twisting back and forth and a slight frown creasing her features as she tried to understand what was happening.

Mallory placed the hand on Eliza’s shoulder. “I’m fine, Eliza,” she said, smiling reassuringly at her friend despite the tingling that persisted.

“That was perhaps not the nicest demonstration,” Isaac said curtly. And then suddenly he disappeared. Eliza gasped. A heartbeat later he reappeared, standing closer to her. “I believe that’s what your friend witnessed the other day,” he said, his voice low as he smiled down at Eliza.

“Yes,” she said, her voice also low and breathy as she stared straight back into his eyes. “What did you do?”

“I entered another world. A… tangential space. You can see this world, but you can’t interact with it, and the rules of physics don’t really apply…” he trailed off as Eliza and Mallory stared at him. A smile played across his lips. “It might be easier to show you.” He reached out his hands, palm up, offering them to Eliza. She stared down into them for the briefest moment before taking them.

And they disappeared.

“Eliza!” Mallory gasped.