The room was divided into two distinct halves. One half was brightened by a low chandelier of candles, and the other half was darkened by a translucent veil of darkness. May wiped her tears and approached the strange curtain-like veil that divided the room. The curtains were partially see-through and swirled with black patterns, but the darkness they provided was too thick to go any further. Not to mention, the veil was impossible to push aside.

“Oh mummy,” May muttered to herself. “What have I gotten myself into?”

Suddenly, a woman’s muffled voice came through the veil. “Mmmphmmm Mmmph.”

The voice sounded like a grown woman. It also sounded gagged. “Uhm, who is that?” May asked.

The voice grew higher and more agitated “MMMMMPH MMMMPH.”

May pressed her fingers together and floated backwards in her Magi-chair. “My mummy told me not to talk to strangers who won’t tell me their name. Especially when they’re behind evil veils of shadow.”

Another noise came from behind May, and it startled her even more. The door clicked. “Oh no,” May whispered to the door. “If that’s the guards. It’s curtains for me.”

“MMMMMPH,” came the woman’s voice behind the veil.

“No offense,” May said, looking behind her. The voice behind the curtains seemed irate at her inconsiderate pun. May proceeded to bite her nails in terror. Who could it be?

The door opened and two friendly faces entered: It was Mena and Janus.

“Mena? Janus?” May eyes widened from behind her wire frame glasses.

“Oh my magicaps, “Mena exclaimed and she ran towards May to give her a hug. “We saw that super big embarrassment-to-the-max that Penwell had you go through, and we couldn’t sit idly by.”

May took one look at her friends and like a newborn infant, she burst into tears. “It was terrible,” May sobbed. “It was like I was completely naked in front of the whole class back in Nightdream. Like I had no skin.”

“Now you know how I feel,” Janus said wryly as she leaned in for a hug.

May took solace in her friends squeezing her so tight and when they pulled away. She told her friends exactly how she was feeling.

“I was so ashamed of myself for my dreadful, dirty thoughts,” May said, shaking her head in dismay. “Mummy would put me to bed with no supper if she knew I had dreams like that.”

“What for?” Mena asked, titling her head with a wide grin. “So what if you want to grow up to be Ms. Electra from the all-boys school. She’s foxy.”

“Yes,” Janus added, closing her eyes with a pleasant smile. “As a mamamatrix, you might be able to scare more men into submission than I could, and I’m a known horror.”

“You guys don’t think it’s weird?” May asked with a slight whine as she straightened herself in her magi-chair.

“Of course not,” Mena and Janus said together. “That’s what makes you our May.”

May’s cheeks turned bright red, and she gave a low giggle. “Aw thanks guys. Maybe I can go back and face Penwell after all.”

“Mmmmmmph…. Mhhhhmmm,” the muffled woman’s voice rose up from behind the curtain, drawing the three girls’ attention. “Uh, guys,” Mena asked, her eyebrows rising, “Who or what is behind this curtain?”

“I don’t know,” May responded, floating her chair over to it. She gave it another tug. The veil was thicker than a sheet of steel and did not budge, no matter how hard her pulled. “I’ve never heard of shadow curtains before. Are they some kind of evil décor?”

Janus’ normally high and squeaky voice lowered as she ran her bony hand down it. “That’s because this is a Veil of Darkness. Its normally used in the Nightmare Void as an impenetrable barrier.”

“T-the Nightmare void,” Mena and May both gulped. Nothing was scarier than something that came from the land of evil dreams.

“Yes,” Janus nodded, and touched the Veil of Darkness. It simmered like a rippling pool of water before settling. “Only the most elite fiends can use it. I knew there was something funny about this place. This also explains that strange presence you felt before Mena.”

Mena’s eyes went wide. “Oh nosies, guys, I’m not liking the sound of this. Could that mean that SHE is here?”

“Anguish?” Janus asked, stepping away from the veil and walking across the room to the door. “I thought they had a barrier to guard against her. I’m not sure what’s going on but there’s a chill deep inside my bones. And it’s even colder than usual.”

Mena quickly ran over to May and hid behind her magi-chair. May petted her friend on the head. May wasn’t the only one who had to face her fears.

“Either way,” Janus said, walking over to her friends. “It’s best if May continues to dig deeper with Penwell and we continue to watch over her. I had Nick guard the upstairs to make sure that nobody comes in.”

A gulp slid down May’s throat, but she puffed out her cheeks in a sudden show of confidence. “I’ll do it for my friends.”

“That’s the spirit,” Janus said, a skeletal smile on her face. Mena rose up from behind May’s magi-chair and said with another smile. “I’m in too.”

There was one more helpless cry from the woman behind the Veil of Darkness and Mena’s ear twitched in response. “Why does that voice sound so familiar?” the basic witch asked.

She turned to walk away but smacked face-first into a floating piece of paper that was hovering in front of the door. “What the hey?” Mena asked, stumbling backwards.

Janus snatched up the piece of paper. “Hmm,” she said, her hollow eyes scanning it. “It seems like a letter. From someone named X/O.”

“X/O?” Mena and May both gasped.

“I remember that name,” May said, bouncing excitedly in her magi-chair. “Remember, that was the person who sent Mena a cryptic letter when her avatar was in the Write-Your-Own-Copy of Love In The Days of Magic.”

“Oh yeah,” Mena said, scratching her head. “That plotline was never resolved…in or outside of the Love Book.”

“Enough with the fourth wall-breaking,” Janus smiled, and tucked the note away. “Let’s let May get back to Penwell, and we’ll read it as soon as we get outta here. Are you good with that, May?”

“I am indeed,” May said, with a big, dimpled smile. A consolation from her friends was all she needed to handle a cantankerous old writer witch.