From the cheers that echoed throughout the Iruedian cargo bay, Camellia would have thought they had defeated Ul’thetos a second time over.

Both ships – Fauchard and Ischyros – had reached the end of their first superliminal path and now waited outside the obstacles that made this area of space a hard road to travel. Rooks and Alban decided to have a get together and maybe test what meager progress they’d made in their language lessons.

But, the Scaldin had a surprise for Rooks’ crew. All of them could speak Volanter. Even the lowliest ensign could speak Volanter, with perfect syntax and cadence. Camellia thought they did even better than her.

It turned out that Pan had a spellbook to rival all spellbooks. She had a Volanter creation, full of the kinds of things that had been in Iruedim’s Volanter temple. In fact, the book was better than the temple. The book had the original symbols and circles. The book probably had Camellia’s Obsidian mirror in it. It would be an understatement to say that she wanted to see it. She’d tried to ask Pan for a peek at the mysterious book, but the cheers blotted out her request.

Pan just smiled at Camellia, looking quite satisfied. She had saved the Iruedian crew hours of study, and Pan had performed the spell on all the crew, gathered in the bay. Camellia was in shock.

After everyone recovered from the intense spell, they understood the Scaldin. It wasn’t hard to determine what had happened.

Camellia sidled close to Pan, and Pan pushed past a cheering Meladee to meet her. Meladee hugged Benham, and the both seemed about ready to cry or to turn around and squeeze Pan. Pan escaped to Camellia’s side just in time.

“I wanted to ask you if I might see that book,” Camellia said.

“My secret book of Volanter circles?” Pan asked, a hint of a smile on her lips.

Camellia sighed, but she doubted Pan heard her. “Yes, that would be the one.”

“You may see it,” Pan said. “Bring a magnifying glass.”

“I usually have one on me.”

Pan gave Camellia a sidelong glance. “Did the circle improve your understanding of Volanter?”

Camellia had already known Volanter, but Cernunnos had really known it. Camellia could not compare. She’d studied Volanter further over the past year but hadn’t surpassed Cernunnos. Thanks to Pan’s spell, Camellia’s knowledge of the Volanter language moved far behind that of Cernunnos.

Camellia drew a deep breath. “I would say yes. I do feel improved.”

Panphila smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Camellia hadn’t thanked her, but she probably should have. She nodded her head in belated thanks. “It’s a very useful spell. I wonder what Meladee is going to say about it.”

“I should credit Meladee for inspiring me to learn the spell.” Pan looked behind her and found Meladee staring back.

Meladee grinned. “Oh my god. That was a good spell. You’re probably the single most powerful mage I’ve ever met.” Tears of joy hung in Meladee’s eyes.

Pan’s smile fell off her face. “Oh, not me.” She shook her head.

“Yeah you.” Meladee pointed at Pan. “You are on a whole other level. It’s those Volanter spells. There’s something about them. Hey, I’ve got to see that book.” Meladee set an intense stare on Pan.

Pan looked at Camellia, with pleading in her eyes.

Camellia said, “Get in line.”

“Aw shit. If I’m behind you, I’ll never get to see it. You’ll take forever. I just want to try one of these spells.” Meladee searched the room. “I wonder if Inez and Eder could pull it off. These Volanter spells are really something. It’s like that weird dream puzzle spell, that thing was unreal.”

Camellia stared into space. “It was.” All of the hours she spent in the mirror flit by, like ghosts of memories.

When Camellia came back to the present, she found Meladee in search of Inez and Eder. She was alone with Pan, and Pan stared at her.

“What dream puzzle spell?” Pan asked.

“I’ll see if I can find it in your book.” Camellia tried to put on a lighthearted smile. She didn’t think she managed.

Pan had never been cheered like that before. With a single cast, Pan had become their hero. It had been so easy. She felt gold.

An unfortunate side effect of her golden action was that Camellia, Meladee, Inez, Eder, and everyone else in the damn bay wanted to see her secret book. She didn’t mind Camellia looking at it. If Camellia was a Volanter spy, she already knew everything in the book anyway. Besides, the woman was an archaeologist and would handle the book with reverence. The rest of them just looked like too many extra hands. Pan decided at that moment she would let Camellia see the book – albeit supervised at all times. She would even let Camellia copy some pages. And Pan would give the copied pages right into the hands of Meladee.

Pan had to have the book copied for the rest of Scaldigir, so she might as well have the copy sent to Iruedim. Then again, if she sent the copy to Iruedim, wouldn’t everyone know her awesome spells? Meladee could learn them faster than Pan for sure. It left a sour taste in Pan’s mouth.

“Some regret?” Aria asked at Pan’s side.

Pan looked at Aria. Aria’s eyes remained closed.

“Too bright in here?” Pan asked.

“This is the most yellow I’ve ever since. You have made them so happy.” Aria reached for Pan’s arm. She mis-grabbed a couple of times.

Pan grabbed Aria’s hand and took Aria’s arm. She didn’t want Aria to accidentally grab a stranger’s body.

“Thanks,” Aria said. “I almost couldn’t find you in this crowd, but Gavain got me pointed in the right direction. I was guided by all that gold in your aura, and then, your gold suddenly disappeared.”

Pan sighed. “I guess I just don’t like the idea of all these Iruedian mages learning the spells before I do. That’s my special book.” Pan pointed at her own chest, even though she knew Aria couldn’t see the gesture.

“Let’s…” Aria’s request trailed off as she squinted into the light. “I’ve got to leave. Can you get me out of here?”

Pan started to steer Aria away. They found themselves trapped on the Iruedian ship. Pan thought she might find some relief for Aria in the shuttle, away from the celebration.

She almost broke free of the crowd, but Curator Rooks stood before her.

“If I may thank you before you disappear,” the Curator began.

Pan gestured to Aria. “I just need to get her back to the shuttle, but you’re welcome.”

“Just a minute.” Curator Rooks held up a single finger.

The room of Iruedians went quiet. Pan’s head whipped around. Everyone looked their way.

Curator Rooks continued, “I hope that now we share a language, we can begin to trust each other.” She shot a sidelong look at Alban. “We have another month at least, and we can make the trip faster and better if we share our magic and technology. We’re hoping to have a relationship beyond this little voyage, so let’s start it right.” Rooks stepped out of Pan’s way. “That’s it. Please.” She gestured for Pan and Aria to go ahead.

Pan pulled Aria away, but her gaze lingered on Rooks a little longer.

Rooks let the celebration continue. She felt suddenly that their paltry offering of snacks might not last the engagement. She had never seen her crew so jubilant. She wondered how everyone in the upper decks would react when they got exposed to the spell. Parties would abound. Work less so.

Alban brushed Rooks’ arm. “Can I talk to you for a minute? A serious discussion, but don’t make it look obvious.” Alban was a bit taller than Rooks, but only by three or four inches. Since he was so close to her height, he could stare, with severe intent, straight into her eyes.

Rooks gave him her full attention, glancing around the bay with feigned comfort. “Yes?”

“I have a fortune teller among my arcanes…mages.” Alban nodded to one of his crew, as the man walked by. Alban wore a somewhat forced smile. “He thinks we’re near the Volanter and believes we could encounter them. That’s not a good thing.”

Rooks felt her veneer of serene slip. “Did he say where we would encounter Volanters?”

“Possibly in the shortcut. He’s looking into it more.”

Rooks felt her eyes drift around the cargo bay. Everyone celebrated, leaving her in a weird state of lonely unease, shared only by Alban of the Ischyros and the other Scaldin guests.

Rooks drew a small breath. “The shortcut is important to us. We need to get home.”

“Why is that?” Alban asked. “Why the rush? Weren’t you prepared for your little experiment to go so wrong?”

Rooks felt her eyes narrow. “No, actually, but that isn’t on me. What are you trying to imply?”

“Did someone among your number make the experiment go awry? Is it possible you have a Volanter spy?” Alban looked at her, dead serious.

Rooks shook her head. “No. I know these people. We’ve been through a lot together. If there was going to be a spy for a terrifying entity among my crew, it wouldn’t be for Volanters. It’s my understanding that Volanters haven’t been to Iruedim in eight-thousand years.” Rooks glanced side to side. “You can trust us.”

“Well, if my fortune teller says we shouldn’t use the shortcut, what are you going to say?”

Rooks looked him in the eye and stood tall. “If he thinks we’ll encounter too much trouble, we won’t use the shortcut.”

Alban nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Rooks was glad to see him placated, but she could almost smell the prejudice wafting off him.

The Scaldin and the Volanter had some dark history, but the Scaldin would tell her and the other Iruedians nothing of it. Camellia was fond of saying that there were always two sides to a conflict. Camellia had seen the good in Ah’nee’thit and Ul’thetos, and though Rooks couldn’t see it, she gave at least Ah’nee’thit the benefit of the doubt. The Scaldin might see the Volanter as a problem, but it might not be so black and white.