Alison roused from the shallow doze that was about the best she'd been able to do ever since they'd been brought here and changed. More nights than she'd kept track of, judging by that info JC had brought them the previous day.

That was Theo curled up on one side of her, right in the middle of the group as usual; that was Zach leaning on her, lean body with little body fat, not so unlike how her own had been—though that felt like a million years ago, or another lifetime. It was so far away she could hardly recall what it had felt like to be built like that, or to get tired or sore, or for her knee to provoke half-suppressed fear by its increasing pain and weakness. For that matter, she could hardly recall how to talk freely and frequently, but after her youth, that felt much too familiar for other reasons. Tireless strength and emphatic curves and silence felt like they'd been the way of things forever.

She wasn't sure that being silent was having the intended effect, though. Lacking words, they simply drew closer together, focused that much more intently on each other, became more deeply aware of each other.

That might be the source of her sudden certainty that something was wrong.

This room was the darkest of their four, and she could see very little, but she carefully wriggled out from under Zach anyway—he shifted a couple of inches, up against Suzi on his far side.

Were male pronouns still relevant for Zach and Des and JC and Theo? she wondered, not for the first time. How did one decide that kind of thing, anyway? She was fairly sure all four still considered themselves male, despite being in distinctly female bodies at the moment and with no reason to believe that was going to change anytime soon. She'd never looked into the subject but was fairly sure it was complicated even in the real world.

Erica was past Theo, and past her was the bright-on-dark that was Des. JC was hard to see in this lighting, skin and hair and clothes all dark enough to blend in without being a patch of blackness that stood out, but she was sure that he'd been beside Des when she'd fallen asleep.

Why was she so sure that JC wasn't here?

She squirmed free, got her feet under her, and moved around Theo and Erica and Des.

No JC.

Alarmed, she checked the other side, to see if she was misremembering or he had moved and he was past Suzi.

No JC.

The others stirred, and began to sit up partway, giving her puzzled looks. This would be a useful time to be able to talk, but as she and her sister had learned when they were small and had been commanded to be seen-but-not-heard under threat of punishment, there were always ways around.

She pointed to herself, held up one finger, and went through the other five, counting, then stopped, and looked around pointedly.

As the realization that JC wasn't there hit home, she could see—as far as she could see at all—her own apprehension mirrored in her friends. All six got up, scattering to check the bathroom and shower room and the outer room; Des jerked on the outer door, which as usual refused to budge.

No sign of JC anywhere they could reach. Surely if Isabel had come while they were sleeping, one or more would have woken up, even though they'd always been sure to pretend to be asleep when she did her surprise visits. Or would they? They all knew the wizards had a way to force them to sleep, it had been used on them once before. Was this some bizarre follow-up to the questioning at suppertime?

In the somewhat brighter, or at least less dim, outer room, the six of them gathered again, trading looks of dismay.

Abruptly, Alison found herself certain that JC was safe and was out by his own choice, not by the doing of their captors. She shook her head, tried to clear it of what must be wishful thinking, but the conviction remained steady and adamant: all was well, or at least as well as it could be. And when she looked at the others, she saw the same perplexity and the same sureness.

Well, she'd thought more than once in the past couple of days that it was almost like they were reading each others' minds, how well they were understanding each other without words, and there'd been that odd moment of connection just after Isabel had left earlier. Could they really know about JC right now?

Now, if she could only ask the one enormous question... *But how did you get out?*

That was, unmistakably, her own slightly altered voice that echoed in her head, though with a faintly distant quality to it.

And she somehow felt JC react to it, as clearly as eye contact.

*Wait, you just heard that. I just said that. How? What the hell?*

*I think the bread must have been numbing things she didn't mention and might not know about.* That was, beyond any doubt, JC's voice, or at least JC's voice as it now sounded rather than JC's voice before they'd changed, all warm velvet. *The fucking collars have definitely given us motivation. There was something in her journal about her worrying we had a deep connection of some sort that could make trouble, something to do with us looking sort-of alike. I don't know, I haven't gotten as far as fae abilities yet. Still working on what wizards are. Can everyone talk, or just us?*

*Um... I don't know.* She caught Theo's eyes, since he was closest, and tried her best to reach to him the way she was reaching to JC. There was a weird kind of mental trick to it, a sort of concentration and receptiveness at the same time—not unlike the mindset she was generally in when doing yoga by herself, actually. *Theo? Can you hear me?*

Bright blue eyes blinked and widened, the dark lining them and blue-and-green shading over them making it all the more pronounced. *Yes. Whoa, and I'm talking back. Were you just talking to Jace? I could sort of hear something but not make it out.*

*Yeah. He's okay. In the library, I think. See if you can talk to anyone else.* She closed a hand around Erica's, and met her eyes. *Erica? Can you hear me?*

*Ali?* Theo said, a moment later, while she was establishing contact with Des. *Doesn't work for me, can't reach Suze. I think this might be just you.*

*Okay, weird. Let me get Zach and come back to Suze.* She laid a hand on Zach's cheek to make him look at her, gazed directly into that rich lavender, and called his name, then repeated it with Suzi. *Can everyone hear me, once we've started?*

All six answered affirmatively.

*That's really bizarre. That means I can talk to everyone and everyone can talk to me but no one else can reach each other.*

*I'm still getting a sort of vague feeling,* Theo said. *Like before. But only words with you.*

*Okay, general universal feelings of connection but talking's just with me.*

*We obviously have some individual abilities,* JC said. *No one else can see the threads of light on the locked doors, I think.*

*The what now? Threads of light on locked doors? Anybody else see those, or just Jace?*

The five physically with Alison all expressed confusion—not always in words, but she understood it anyway, which felt very strange in her head.

I've always been big on the idea of seeing things from the other person's point of view, but this is ridiculous.

*Just you, Jace,* she reported. *That have something to do with how you got out?*

*Yes. I'll show you when I get back. Instead of me writing notes, think you can repeat things so everyone can hear directly? Less chance I'll get caught. Or that they'll figure out what I'm doing if I do.*

*Oh, please, please, Jace, don't get caught. Yes, tell me what you find, I'll repeat it. Just go slow so I don't miss anything, since I'm going to have to listen and talk at the same time.*

She had the distinct sense that JC was reading to her from notes already made, stopping after each sentence or so to let her catch up. She could feel the intensely focused attention of the other five, absorbing every word. Hands on her shoulders urged her to sit down, and one of the flat cushions was under her; she was aware of the others close around her, but couldn't spare the attention.

*Wizards are extremely uncommon. There are generally less than a thousand on the entire planet at any one time, and some are more powerful than others. They tend not to be very social. They'd rather be alone to research whatever interests them. Mostly that seems to be answers-to-the-universe or how-things-work sorts of questions. Wizard magic seems to involve gestures and verbalization and sometimes material objects or drawn symbols, just like the verbal-somatic-material components in Dungeons and Dragons but without the bit about memorizing daily spells, but I haven't found much about it yet. And apparently wizards are all male and all castrated, it has something to do with actually becoming a wizard.*

*Oh, good,* Alison said, after repeating that last bit. *Two less males around here to worry about being raped by.*

*Yeah. It's very common for them to create what they call islands, basically little bubble universes of their own that are embedded in the real one but not part of it. This is really, really big: part of what keeps the bubbles from just popping and rejoining the main reality is that they do something called timeslipping. Which apparently means that they can either double or halve how fast time is moving, and double or halve it again, multiple times. This says average is three to five times. Five times requires more of an energy investment and more frequent pushes to keep it at that level, but it says there are several advantages, including being harder to find from outside for those who value privacy.*

*Oh my god. That means back at home... hang on, what, Des?* She listened to him for a moment, then passed it on. *We pray like hell that it's running fast, not slow. At most one day has passed at home, if it's been doubled three times. Possibly only half, and if it's doubled five times, then it's barely even morning there. They might not even know we're gone yet! But if it runs the other way, it would be at a minimum a couple of months at home. Oh, no, oh please not that.* She felt a more or less unanimous ripple of horror so strong it was nauseating.

*There was stuff I saw in Isabel's journal about asking Phrixos to drop it to four to make it easier to spy on us, and then about him bumping it back to five after he had time to rest the night we were kidnapped. There was something like four months between the date she first mentions us and the date they kidnapped us.*

*Isabel wanted Phrixos to make it four to spy on us, and there were four months from noticing us to grabbing us, then back to five after. Sorry, Des? Des says that confirms that it's running faster here, if it was multipled by sixteen for about eight or nine days that should be around four months give or take. But if it's been at five since we were grabbed, then thirty-two days to a day would mean we've only been here a few hours in the real world. That's an enormous relief.* Trying to be the communications centre for six other people was going to give her a headache, she was sure of that. Or at least, it would have before; she seriously doubted that it was possible to get a headache now. One more aspect of the perfect health that profoundly complicated feelings about the change in shape—and she didn't think she was alone in that.

*She had something in her journal about it helping to hide them from wizards who don't understand what they're doing, and having to keep it fast. So that makes sense.*

Alison repeated that so the other five could hear it. *Holy crap, what a concept. They really don't know at home that we're missing for real, for all they know we just got sidetracked or stayed out late or something.* A pause, Zach and Suzi and Theo all speaking at once. She missed bits of it, but caught enough to make some sense of each. *Okay, so, Heather's freaking out by now that Zach didn't come home from a quick run to the store... and Levi's freaking because either the dogs came home alone or none of them came back at all. Wade is probably home from work and worried but there are explanations, and Max and Kayla might just think Theo forgot to message them about going to someone's place after work, and Des and Jace and Erica, no one's even missed for sure yet. Jace says Niko's expecting him for lunch, but it's not even that late.*

*However,* Zach said. *It does mean that when we find a way to get the hell off this island and get home, at least the people we love won't have spent weeks or months wondering what happened to us. They might toss us out as freaks, but at least they won't be stuck in limbo all that long, relatively.*

*Good point.* Alison relayed that, more or less.

*Ask Jace if there's anything more in that about wizards being male and castrated?* Theo requested, and Alison did.

*If I see anything, I'll let you know,* JC said. *This is all just very general beginner-level stuff. I had to go through pretty much a whole book on wizard history to get that much. I get the sense, though, that there's a very touchy balance of power among the most powerful wizards, and the few laws they have mostly involve non-interference and also not getting wizards as a group into another war with the fae. It looks like they've had a few. The fae outnumber them many times over and are quite willing to hold all wizards responsible for the actions of one.*

A bit at a time, Alison repeated that. *Hang on, what, 'Rica? Jace, anything in there about how fae feel about humans with fae blood being kidnapped and used as lab rats?*

*Nothing so far. It does look like mediums are people who normally try to keep the peace between wizards and fae and regular people, and there are a few rather patronizing remarks about the little tricks and skills they pick up from all over that help them do that. The stuff I read in Isabel's journal doesn't sound like she has keeping the peace in mind. It sounds more like she's expecting a fae war any day now, and thinks that trying so hard to avoid one is a mistake, and that they should be looking for ways to protect themselves from fae.*

Alison relayed that. Actually, she was starting to get into the rhythm of it, though if JC were less patient about giving her info one piece at a time or if they were all yelling for her attention at once, she'd have been swamped. Still, listen and immediately repeat what any of the others said, as close to word for word as she could or at least try to nail all the actual information, and listen for anyone else... not so bad. *Oh good god. And we're test subjects. Not fae enough for fae to come looking for us, like I suppose they might for each other or something, but fae enough to use us to figure out what to do if there's a war. Fae enough to be easily dehumanized to justify bad things. That's a freaking terrifying idea.*

*Tell me about it. I didn't get the sense that they're planning to test out ways to torture or kill us, but the whole bit about erasing our memories and keeping us here doesn't sound so good for us. I can't figure out what research they are doing, or how—just observation, maybe? But if so, they're doing a really poor job of observing even the seven of us right in and next to the house. And if we aren't the first, where are the ones before us?*

*The longer Jace is out there,* Des said, *the greater the chance that she's going to get caught. She needs to get back here and show us how she got out and then get some sleep. We don't need mistakes tomorrow making them start to wonder if something's afoot.*

*Yeah, you're right. Jace, c'mon back, okay?* She told him what Des had said. *Wait. Des, did you just call Jace 'she'?*

*Did I? Oops.*

*So?* Theo said, at the same time. *Under other circumstances, if someone looks or is obviously trying to look female, it's polite to use female pronouns. Slipping under these circumstances isn't much of a surprise, mostly just that it wasn't me who did it.*

Alison repeated that.

*Tell Theo to chill,* Des said, with a sigh. *It's a stupid secret to bother with now anyway.*

Alison complied. *Jace, you moving yet?*

*But we need to know...*

*Theo says, yes, we do, but we need you intact more than we need all available info at once. Des says, stealth and patience catch the prey.*

JC sighed in turn. *Okay, you're right. I'll put the books away and come back now. See you in a few minutes.*

*Good. Now. Des. What secret? What's wrong? Obviously Theo knows, but then, Theo knows everybody's deep dark secrets.* She was conscious of a general undertone of shared worry.

*Remember the last high school Hallowe'en dance?* Des said. *Karen and I swapped clothes. I had way too much fun. I'm completely straight and completely happy male. But I've been cross-dressing at home, and when I'm out of town overnight, ever since. You want freaky? Look in a mirror and see exactly what you've been trying to create for twenty-odd years but better than you ever could but not your choice and it doesn't wash off. Trust me, that isn't making this any easier, other than odd moments when I can actually make myself switch mentally to being Desirée for a while, but I can't hold onto it. The pronoun slip is exactly what Theo said. If someone's clearly presenting as female, and hasn't told you they always prefer 'they' or something, you generally use female pronouns, and I've met enough people that I've seen as both that my brain skipped for a second.* He paused frequently to let her relay it. *Although I oopsed another way, really, because if you aren't a hundred percent sure what pronoun someone wants you to use, you really should ask. And this isn't exactly a straightforward context.*

Alison finished, then said, *Is that what Emily's pissed off about, Des?*

*In a big way.*

*Then screw her, it's her loss. Suzi just said that a guy actually understanding what girls go through to look good should be a bonus, not something to freak out over. Jesus, you're smart and you're funny and you're patient and you listen. If you weren't more like my brother I'd've pounced on you ages ago.*

*Hear, hear,* Erica said promptly. *Emily's an idiot.*

*Kay's had bad vibes from her since they met,* Theo said. *And Kay's usually right about people. Actually, Kay's always right.*

*That would definitely mess with your mind,* JC observed. *Is that what made you cry a few mornings back?*

*Yes,* Des said. Under it, Alison could hear surprise and relief and gratitude, strong enough to make her want to smack everyone Des had ever told who had reacted badly.

*If she can't see you for who you are, then you can do better,* Zach said, for which Alison felt proud of him as she repeated it—she'd wondered, just for an instant, whether he'd be less accepting.

Of course, current circumstances could change anyone's perspective.

*So, can we just assume pronouns aren't a big deal?* Theo said. *Don't say it, Zach, we'll try to remember but, y'know, we have bigger things to worry about.*

*Agreed,* JC said.

Zach heaved a sigh, but conceded. *Try hard. But yeah.*

The six still confined waited, rather twitchily, in the outer room. No longer distracted by this odd way of talking, the others piled on Des for hugs—including Zach.

*Right outside the door,* JC said. *It's me, not Isabel.*

The door opening still made all six start a bit, but the warning helped. As soon as JC was inside with the door closed behind him, Erica grabbed him for a fierce hug, and that only started a repetition of a few minutes previously, but with JC as the focus instead.

*'Rica says, you scared us,* Alison said. *But don't apologize, you were doing something incredible. Now, how did you get out?*

Just to prove the point, Suzi reached for the door-handle and pulled. Of course, it didn't open.

*There are threads made out of light all over the door,* JC said. *Some of them end on the wall around it. Sort of like a spiderweb but the pattern is more complex and less regular. If I go slow, I can move them, and if they're moved the right way, they come loose. When I let go, they go back where they were. Isabel doesn't seem to notice. That's how I got in her rooms to read her journal.* He turned to the door and showed them. Alison, like the others, watched intently, but couldn't see what it was JC was so carefully gathering up and manipulating.

Whatever he was doing, it worked: he freed one hand to open the door, just enough to show that he could, then let it close again and carefully released whatever invisible thing he was holding in the other.

Which got him grabbed for more hugs again, relief and hope and enthusiasm that needed no words.

Funny how being deprived of speech and under extreme stress for over a week had made even the previously contact-reticent so much more inclined to express themselves via touch.

*Zach says, so Ali can do some weird mental telepathy thing, Jace can open doors, let's hope the rest of us turn up some useful abilities before Isabel catches on. Theo says, yeah, those are both incredibly useful talents to have and they're going to be seriously helpful in finding a way to beat them after all. Des says, next time you take someone to be a lookout. And Suze says, we need to sleep or we're screwed tomorrow.*

It was hard to fall asleep, in their now-usual tangle, knowing that they actually had advantages that their captors were unaware of—beyond just that they'd been avoiding the tainted food and still remembered who they were.

*Remember high school?* Alison said softly. *That was the last time we were all together a lot. Remember in Grade Eleven, there was a dance, and Rod talked Erica into going with him. Figured our bookworm would be so grateful or so easily intimidated or both that he could get whatever he wanted from her.*

Alison had asked Zach to go with her because it made her parents happy when she did 'normal' social things, and he'd agreed because they understood each other, both too interested in running and basketball respectively for relationship games. JC had been there, not with a girlfriend, but with Des and another member of the Dungeons and Dragons group JC had been game-master for even then. Suzi had been there as part of the committee that had organized the dance. Where there were people, Theo was—though not DJing this time, to let someone else do it for once. And, more unusually, Erica had been asked and accepted.

Rod hadn't been expecting Erica to protest when his hands had wandered on the dance floor. He'd been expecting even less for Zach, always ready to be the knight in shining armour for any damsel in distress, to step in and face him down. Rod, finally, strode out of the gymnasium entirely, muttering about privileged bullies on the school teams, but everyone present knew it was only a thin cover for fleeing with his tail between his legs.

Theo had driven Erica home—which, Alison had heard later, her older brother Adam and their parents had thought was just asking for trouble, but Erica had never doubted that she was perfectly safe with Theo. All the girls, always, felt safe with Theo.

The following week, Suzi had put her full authority as class president behind a ringing and no-holds-barred denouncement of such behaviour. There'd been little choice for the boys to do anything but agree, since the exceptions found themselves sternly cold-shouldered by the girls—Alison's own idea and organization. Many hadn't needed the additional motivation, however, either already believing the same, or following Zach's lead and Theo's in emphatically supporting it. The support from JC and Des had less influence, outside of a limited clique, but they'd backed it too. Alison had had words with Rod himself, in the middle of a crowded corridor, and Rod had been terrified of her from then on.

Alison had learned afterwards that Theo had brought Erica to JC's after-school gaming session that week; she knew JC and Des already, though not the players from a year or two behind or ahead. From that point on, she was an acknowledged core member of the group.

*Guys, we all went different paths, but we have a shared history that goes very deep, all tangled into each other's lives practically right back to the beginning. We're together. We're going to stay together, and we're going to get out of here together, and we're going to figure out how to fix our lives together. For the moment we're safe and there's nothing we can do. So think about high school, when everything always seemed like the end of the world but now we know better, and go to sleep.*

They did.