The ledge dropped sharply into the canyon below as the full moon rose above the cliffs and created shadows against the landscape. Adelsik wedged her otherself between a boulder and a massive tree to keep from falling, her back pressed against wet dirt. Rancid smells from nearby putrid root plants caused her to gag, so she envisioned a scarf, and when it appeared, carefully tied it around her nose and mouth. If that didn’t keep her stomach under control, she would secure yet another across her face. It worked and the smell no longer made her gut heave. Distant howls filled the stagnant night air and she shivered. More illusions to frighten her, make her submit.

This isn’t real. It’s just the Netherworld. I’m slumbering.

The ground gave a sudden shake and she lost her footing. One hand managed to grip a large branch that cut into her otherself’s skin, and she struggled to keep from plunging into the canyon below. She still harnessed the Energy from previous attempts at changing this nightmare the stranger had created and put all her fear and strength into altering the landscape once again. The quake stopped and the canyon began to turn into the sandy beach she was so familiar with here in the Netherworld. But the image didn’t last. Sweat slicked the skin of her otherself from failed attempts to change the landscape, and she clung desperately to the jutting branch as her feet dangled off the edge of the cliff.

How did the woman keep her here, hold her in this nightmare? She felt as though she stood in a real place, not just one of the stranger’s imagined dreamlands, and would think long and hard about arguing with the woman in the future. Although Adelsik’s pride no doubt got her into this predicament, she wasn’t ready to submit to the woman’s tutelage. This stranger wasn’t a Gypsy and had no right to teach her. And she certainly had no right to treat Adelsik as an idiotic child.

There had to be a way to stop this. If the woman insisted on teaching her then perhaps Adelsik should put some of those forced lessons to practice. She swung her leg up and managed to pull herself back onto the ledge. With her back pressed into the cliff, she managed to slow her breathing and concentrate, focusing her mind on altering the terrain. Nothing.

“You can’t win against me,” the woman’s voice boomed from all around.

She couldn’t see the stranger but that didn’t matter. Adelsik held the Energy. She had power here. She concentrated again, this time pushing anger and frustration into her thoughts. Something pushed back, kept her Energy from working, and she fought harder. Her body trembled with effort but she held on to her thoughts. The easiest memory image for her to create was the beach where she’d received the calling. She fought to create it, to change this nightmare into that peaceful place.

Then, just above the moon, blue sky began to roil through the darkness. She was doing it. Light began to spread and her heart thudded in her ears. Thank the Goddess! Blue sky grew larger than the swollen moon and stretched to wipe out the night. Hold on. Just a little longer. The image suddenly crashed in on itself. She tried again to create it but nothing happened.

The ground shook and she grabbed onto another branch for support and pressed her back into the dirt. This time the cliff began to crumble and fall away beneath her. Panic overwhelmed her as she clawed the dirt behind her in a vain attempt to keep from plummeting into the canyon.

“You know how to stop this,” the stranger’s disembodied voice said. “You know what to do, youngling.”

“I’m new-oathed!” How often did she have to remind the awful woman? She could see her nowhere. Strength drained out and she could no longer fight. This was only a dream, a nightmare. She should be able to change it. Or at least wake up. She could do neither.

“You are a youngling. My Energy will hold out much longer than yours.”

The ledge beneath Adelsik’s legs crumbled and she hung there, like fruit on a vine, just waiting to plunge to the ground. “All right! Please! I’ll obey you! Just don’t let me fall!”

At once, she found herself standing on a quiet beach, her beach, and she gazed out at the water. Sea birds called overhead in the sweet warmth of the morning sun. Ancient ruins dotted the cliffs behind her. Tears stung her eyes and she swiped at them.

A tall woman with bright red hair appeared before her, a pleased look on her face, and the freckles on her nose seemed to move on their own. She hooked thumbs into her belt.

Adelsik couldn’t make out this woman’s footprint, the transparent image just above a Gypsy’s head that hinted at power. Footprints always appeared in the Netherworld. This woman had to be an errant Gypsy, one who had learned to harness the Goddess Energy on her own. But Adelsik had never heard of anyone, even the strongest Gypsy, who could hide a footprint in the Netherworld.

Could this be one of the women who had beaten Haranda and Thad’s otherselves and sent them back to their bodies weeping and bloodied? She studied the red-haired woman as her heart banged against her ribs like an angry drummer. Do I really want the answer to that?

“Shall we continue your lessons, youngling?” The woman offered a calm gaze this time.

Adelsik nodded with false obedience as a new fear settled in her gut.