Back at the castle, Tareth was infuriated. He pulled out a map he made to cast desperation spells to find out where something he was looking for was located. It was something he'd made in the weeks before he lured Willow to him. He painted the map with human blood, and made a pointer for it out of human bone.

"Are you sure that is going to work? It hasn't worked to find the location of either Princess Christabel or Willow," Desdemona said.

"Remember that my magic doesn't work on Willow. As for Christabel, I don't know why it isn't finding her," Tareth replied. He placed his fingers on the pointer. "Show me the location of my latest journal!" He lifted his fingers off the pointer. It slid right to Shimmerwater.

"That's strange. It's at the place where Dr. Smith taught. How did it get there?" Desdemona asked.

"Well, let's go to Shimmerwater and find out!" Tareth growled. He tied the pointer on a string and tied the string around his neck. When they got to Shimmerwater, he could use it to point them in the direction where the book was. He got his sword out of the closet. They all grabbed hands. Tareth recited the transporter spell. Seconds later, they were all standing in the university town. He remembered where Dr. Smith's house was, but it was nighttime, and the pointer was not pointing in the direction of the house.

Back at the house, Angelina wondered why Tareth had wanted to leave his world. "Why did Tareth come to Ethermoor?"

"No one knows. Only the wicked fairy who brought him here knows the answer, and he took the secret to his grave," Riordan replied. "Not all fairies were kind. There are all kinds of stories about evil fairies, ones who drug people to the Dead Realms through the fairy rings. It wasn't just humans who were followers of Tareth, and that's what makes his kind of magic all the more dangerous."

Suddenly, Christabel jerked violently, and her eyes rolled back into her head.

"Christabel?" Riordan asked.

She walked back to Dr. Smith's bedroom with her arms outstretched. "This is where it happened! Right here!" she wailed.

"Where what happened?" Riordan asked.

Then Christabel started screaming. Her face returned to normal. She sat on the bed and started sobbing violently.

"What just happened?" Riordan asked.

"Don't send me back to the asylum! Please don't send me back!" Christabel begged.

"We won't send you back to the asylum, I promise," Riordan said.

"I saw Halvor kill Professor Smith! The fairy tried her hardest to stop him, but he was immortal! Edward let her go as a fairy helper as he was bleeding to death because he didn't want her to go to a murderer!" Christabel sobbed. There was silence.

"We should be going. We have Professor Smith's notebook," Willow mumbled.

They decided to get a room at an inn because they needed a place to stay for the night, and the house terrified Christabel. They ate at a restaurant and rented rooms at one of the inns. Angelina and Willow slept on the third floor, and Christabel and Riordan rented rooms on the fourth floor because those were the only available rooms.

Riordan decided to confront Christabel about what he had discovered about her magical abilities. He knocked on her door, and she opened it. "Hey, I need to talk to you."

"Okay, come in," she said. He walked inside the room, and she shut the door.

"Last night, when everyone went to sleep, I tested one of your hairs for magic with a potion that I got from Tareth that he invented for detecting magic in the apothecaries' medicine. It glowed brightly, which is a sign that you have fairy magic in you," Riordan said.

Christabel grinned, folded her arms, and said, "Come on! Prove it! There's no way I can have any kind of magic."

"All right, I will," Riordan said. He took out the bottle of Tareth's potion. "Give me one of your stray hairs."

Christabel pulled one hair out of her head and handed it to Riordan. He opened the vial, dipped the hair in, and the vial glowed brightly. "How is that possible?" Christabel gasped.

"You said you had a vision of Tareth killing the professor. You also told us that you, your father, and another person had strange visions the night of the full moon that began to make more sense after magic returned, and that you have a knack for solving crimes. Dream Sorcerers, who were the descendants of Luna Fairies, had those abilities."

"I sure do hope you're right. It makes me feel better to know I'm probably really not a lunatic."

"Luna means moon, actually,"

Christabel laughed. "My family was never really liked among the nobility. Father always had a knack for knowing just what to do to help the people. So did my grandmother."

"Do you know if there were fairies in your family?" Riordan asked.

"Well, my great-great-great-great-grandmother was a peasant, and she had no living family. We don't know anything about her ancestors," Christabel said.

"Well, good night, Christabel," Riordan said as he stood up from the bed. He pulled out her hair and threw it in the trash can by the door. The liquid turned clear again.

Angelina fell into a deep, deep sleep. She dreamed that she was walking through a forest. The air around her was ice cold, and she heard the voice of a young man calling her name. The sound of his voice entranced her, and she could not think of anything else. A handsome young man with pale white skin and dark eyes suddenly appeared right in front of her. He opened his mouth, and suddenly, she felt her magic and her soul drain from her body. A blue mist flowed from her body into his mouth.

Then, she suddenly went into a trance, and all of her memories came flooding back to her as if she were watching a movie. An image of her performing a disappearing money trick at a child's birthday party flashed before her eyes. All of a sudden, there was a flash of bright light, and the young man hurtled backward. He stood doubled over and vomited out the strange blue cloud.

It surrounded Angelina, and she saw it absorb into her skin. She felt her magical abilities and her soul return to her. The young man looked up at her, and she saw a kind of humanity in his face that she had not seen before.

"Go! Go back to Ethermoor City and perform the magic you learned in America in front of Tareth! You are the only one who can defeat him with your knowledge of magic!" the young man said.

"What?" Angelina hollered, shocked.

"He is immortal, but immortality comes with a price for humans. They can be killed by their greatest fear, no matter how silly that fear might be. His greatest weakness and fear is not knowing all forms of magic! I know this because he controls me with the belt he used to store my magic in, and I can sense his thoughts and feelings! Go to the palace and perform the kind of magic you performed at that party for him! I am Tristan, and the rings that Desdemona and Ambrosia are using to control the inhabitants and the travelers through the Azodar Forest were the rings that were stolen from the vault!"

An image of Tareth sapping the powers out of Tristan in his vault flashed before Angelina's eyes. She instantly recognized Tristan's face. It was the same as the face of the specter standing right in front of her. Then, she saw Desdemona and Ambrosia take the rings. Tristan seemed to be projecting his memories into her mind, and she felt the profound sadness he was feeling. She sensed he did not have much time left before he lost his soul.

"Wait! Did the stealing of the rings have anything to do with Princess Christabel's carriage attack?" she asked.

"Yes, Princess Desdemona of Nimudor used the attack to try to start a war between Kalnoreth and Oloredian. She was in my cavern at the time, but she knew that Christabel was traveling through the Azodar Forest that day. She has total control over all who venture in the forest, even when she is not there! This is the information I get from Tareth's thoughts. Your knowledge of magic from outside this realm is what broke his power over me. Others who have already lost their souls are coming for you. They always follow him to do his bidding. Keep your ring out," Tristan said.

"Which others?" Angelina asked. The sound of a deafening shriek suddenly wakened her.

Willow was sleeping soundly that night when all of a sudden, she was awakened by a sudden jolt of cold air that chilled her right to her bones. She looked around and saw nothing but pitch darkness. Curious about the cold air, she lit her hand up to see if she could find out why it was happening. It was so cold, she could see her breath in the light.

This coldness is odd. I should ask the others about it, Willow thought. Willow got up out of bed and walked to the doorway. An eerie feeling came over her as she walked to the door. She saw a faint blue glow coming from underneath the door to Angelina's room. What is that? Curious, she walked down to the room, opened the door, and peered inside.

A terrifying sight met her eyes. A blueish-white glowing ghost figure was standing over Angelina with its hand on her forehead. A Faeblood Wraith! Willow thought. She screamed so loud that the noise jolted Angelina awake.

Angelina saw the wraith with her own eyes, standing at the foot of her bed, and fear shot through her. "Remember what I told you," Tristan said. His mouth didn't move, but she heard his thoughts.

She could see the pain in his eyes, knowing he did not have long before he lost his soul and could not return to his former self. He disappeared, leaving Willow and Angelina alone in the room. It was at that moment that Angelina realized that the blanket on the bed had been covering her ring, and Tristan could not have seen it when he attacked her.

Angelina was still trying to regain her strength after having been attacked by him. "This one. I think . . ." Angelina's voice trailed off, believing Tristan to be a sincere creature. She had felt his feelings when he got inside her head.

"He attacked me, but something happened that stopped him. He said he was Tristan," Angelina whispered.

"What happened?" Willow asked.

"Shut the door and I will tell you!" She didn't want to risk anyone hearing what she was going to say to Willow. Willow closed the door.

"When I was in my country, America, I was a trick magician. My real passion was performing magic tricks for people. Before I came here to Ethermoor, I owned a joke and magic shop. However, my business venture didn't work out. My business flopped, and I ran out of money to pay rent on my apartment. I was flying back home to live with my parents until I found another job, and somehow, the plane passed through a magical forcefield. That is how I got to Ethermoor," Angelina said.

Willow listened, hanging on to every word Angelina said. "When the Faeblood Wraith attacked me, I saw my memories flash before my eyes. The memory of my time as a magician came up, and it broke the spell that Tareth has over him for the time being. He told me that my knowledge of illusion magic could kill Tareth because it is a type of magic he is unfamiliar with."

"That's crazy," Willow whispered.

"I know," Angelina said.

"Well, let's go back to bed and tell Christabel and Riordan in the morning," she replied.

"Shhh!" Willow hissed. They heard footsteps in the stairwell and got quiet at once in hopes that no one overheard their conversation. The footsteps grew louder and louder. Willow cracked the door open. To her horror, she saw Desdemona and Ambrosia walking down the hall!

"There you are, Willow!" Ambrosia shouted with a smile that sent a chill down Willow's spine.

"Ambrosia. How did you find us?" Willow stammered.

"Ambrosia? You mean Rosaria!" Ambrosia said.

Willow turned red with fury and snapped, "No! You're Princess Ambrosia! You lied to me! Your name isn't Rosaria!"

Some of the other patrons of the hotel began opening their doors to see what was going on outside.

"Everyone! I found the king's killer!" Ambrosia shouted loud enough to wake everyone up.

A man opened the door to his room and yelled, "Won't y'all shut up? It's 3 a.m.!" He slammed the door hard.

Angelina jumped out of her bed. "You are not taking my friend anywhere!" she shouted. She suddenly felt herself transform into a large wolf, and charged at the two women. Angelina felt a piece of metal being rammed through her body. Blood gushed out everywhere, and as soon as the blade was pulled out of her body, everything around her went dark.

Willow heard a third voice coming from the stairwell whisper, "Agomoth! Valgoterh—" She felt as if her soul was being yanked right out of her body. The whispering was interrupted by the sound of something large and heavy being thrown against a wall. Willow suddenly felt her soul return to her body.

She heard Desdemona and Ambrosia screaming and saw a blinding light coming from the stairwell. "No!" a man's voice screamed. She recognized the voice as Tareth's.

The light flew into the hallway, and she could see the silhouette of a blonde woman with wings in the bright light. She grabbed Willow around the waist and said, "We are taking you and your friends to safety."

"My bag!" Willow hollered.

Another light-creature flew into Willow's room and picked up her bag. Willow felt herself and the light-being shrink down very small. They flew out the window.

"My friends!" Willow said.

"We are rescuing them too," the light-being replied.

Willow saw butterfly wings silhouetted in the bright light. "What are you?" she asked.

"We are fairies who have come to rescue you and your friends!" the light-being replied.

Fairies! They are returning to Ethermoor! Willow thought excitedly.

She looked back and gasped when she saw Angelina lying either dead or unconscious in another fairy's arms. "Please hand me my bag! I have a healing potion that heals lethal injuries if ingested in time!" Willow pleaded. The fairy holding Willow's bag brought it to her.

She frantically searched through her bag to find the healing potion that she had given to Desdemona when she severely injured her during sword-fighting practice. She found it, opened it, and poured the contents into Angelina's mouth. Angelina coughed and blinked her eyes. Willow let out a shriek of excitement.

"How did you know we were here?" Willow asked. She saw two other fairies approaching with Christabel and Riordan in their arms. Willow noticed that they were sleeping.

The fairy grinned. "A lost fairy named Tristan, who is currently being controlled by Tareth, saw us dancing in the woods after he accidentally attacked Angelina. He brought us to you. He told us that he was not yet under the total control of Tareth, and is controlled by the object Tareth attached him to. We are taking the four of you to a place guarded by a fairy protection spell. Tareth will never find you there."

"What is a 'lost fairy'?" Willow asked.

"A lost fairy is what we call fairies whose magic was stolen from them," the fairy replied.

The other fairy sprinkled some kind of dust on Angelina, and she went limp. "What did she just sprinkle on Angelina?" Willow asked.

"Sandman dust. She must sleep and regain her strength after her ordeal. The other fairies put sleeping dust on your friends so they wouldn't scream and expose themselves to Desdemona and Ambrosia as we were flying out of the inn." At that moment, Willow saw dawn begin to break through the trees. "You probably need some sleep too."

Willow smelled the scent of lavender and saw a pink cloud come over her. Then, she went to sleep.

Desdemona and Ambrosia scrambled to their feet, terrified of how Tareth would react to the ordeal with the fairies. They looked inside the room that Angelina and Willow had walked out of and searched for Tareth's books. Tareth stumbled to his feet in the stairwell. His pendant spun in all directions, which was what happened when it couldn't find something. The fairies must have cast some kind of protection spell on Willow and the journal, he thought.

He ran into the hallway. Desdemona and Ambrosia stood in the hallway, looking at the ground in shame. "We're sorry, sir, but the fairies must have taken the journal and the book," Desdemona said.

"How in the world did they find her?" Tareth wondered aloud.

"We don't know, sir," Ambrosia said.

He held the pendant and tried to cast the desperation spell again, but it just spun in circles. Rage filled Tareth. "Let's go! We have to find the journal!"

They walked around the forest the next day, searching for the books, but they didn't find them.

When Willow awoke, she saw that they were sleeping in a cavern in the middle of the forest. Willow saw the fairy who rescued her sitting on the cave floor. She smelled freshly baked bread and hot coffee.

"Good morning, sunshine!" the fairy said. Her voice sounded like music to Willow's ears. The light around the woman had faded. She was a beautiful woman with wings that looked like those of a monarch butterfly.

Willow looked around and saw the others beginning to wake up. There was a large buffet of bread, fruits, pancakes, waffles, eggs, and bagels laid out on a rock with a flat surface.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"You are in a cave in the middle of a forest," the fairy said. The explanation did not give Willow comfort that she was safe from Tareth.

"A cave . . . in the middle of a forest?" she asked with audible trepidation in her voice.

"Oh, yes! We cast a spell of protection at the cave entrance so that Tareth can't find you! You will be safe here if you don't venture out of the cave!" the fairy said.

Christabel and the others began waking up. "Where in the world are we?" Christabel asked. She shrieked when she saw the fairy. "And . . . what are you?"

Willow stifled a laugh at Christabel's response. The fairy giggled. "My name is Zara, and I am a fairy." Christabel's eyes grew so wide that they looked as if they were going to pop out of her head.

Willow and the others each walked up to the buffet to fill their breakfast plates. "Did you prepare this for us?" Riordan asked.

"We sure did," Zara replied.

"Thank you very much!" Willow said as she filled her plate with pancakes. She was suddenly aware that something small and hard was hanging on a string around her neck. Willow looked down and saw a bottle-shaped object hanging underneath her clothes. She pulled on a leather cord hanging around her neck, and the bottle came out of the top of her shirt.

"Be careful with that! That is fairy dust that will allow you to travel through the fairy rings without a full fairy helping you," Zara warned.

Willow unscrewed the top, and the light that was emitted by the fairy dust was so bright that it temporarily blinded her. She screwed the cap back on the bottle and tucked it back in her dress. "We gave one to each of you. Remember, fairy ring magic only works at night, and if it's a mushroom ring, the magic only lasts as long as the mushrooms are living." Zara said.

Willow said, "We know a transporter spell to get ourselves from one place to another." She then remembered what Melvil had told her about using Tareth's spells.

Zara's face became very grave. "You must never use any of his spells."

"I know." Willow sighed.

"You're a fairy?" Christabel asked.

"Yes! We were dancing in the forest, and your friend Tristan, the lost fairy, came and told us you were in trouble."

Riordan asked, "How was he able to find you if Tareth was controlling him?"

Angelina said, "He found me and started draining my magic from me. As he was doing this, a memory from my life in America came up. I was an illusionist magician back home, and I performed magic for birthday parties. A memory of a trick I performed at one came up in my mind, and he said it could kill Tareth! When the memory of that event came into my mind, it temporarily broke Tareth's power over him."

Riordan looked horrified. "You performed magic for birthday parties?"

Angelina burst into laughter at his reaction. Riordan just stared at her. "Why are you so horrified by that?" she asked.

"I just can't imagine . . . performing magic like it's some kind of stunt . . . for a show!" he said as his face twisted in disgust.

Angelina said, "Well, we have something called illusion magic back home where people perform disappearing tricks and things like that for an audience. Nobody possesses any magic in my world, and that kind of magic is what we call a magic trick. Magic that can be done by someone who can't do any real magic is very confusing to Tareth!" Angelina said.

Willow suddenly sat bolt upright. "Wait! What about our horses?"

"They are in the pasture out here. We cast a protection spell around the horses to keep them safe from Tareth," Zara said.

"How did you know which ones were ours?" Willow asked.

"We didn't. Two of the horses opened their stables and the stables of two others when they saw us taking you out of the building. They galloped behind us the whole way here, and they haven't left the entrance of this cave the whole time!" Zara said, smiling. Willow walked to the mouth of the cave and saw Starfire and the other horses eating from a pile of oats.

Angelina asked, "How did you fairies heal me?"

"We weren't the ones who healed you!" Zara cocked her head toward Willow.

"I always carry a potion to heal traumatic injuries with me at all times," Willow said.

"Thank you so much! Oh, how will I ever repay you?" Angelina sobbed as she threw her arms around Willow's neck.

"You're welcome, and you don't have to repay me."

"Where are the other fairies?" Willow asked Zara.

"They are keeping watch over the forest and distracting anyone who comes near the cave. There is a protection spell around the area, but we have reinforcements just in case.

Willow reflected on their trip yesterday and wondered what kind of damage Tareth had been doing to Ethermoor during the time that they had been away from the capitol. "What happened to the two women we were fighting?" Willow asked.

"Dovethorn, the fairy carrying Angelina, said that when she flew back to the inn after bringing her here, she did not see either of the two women," Zara said.

"Speaking of those women, Tristan revealed to me that Desdemona used the ring to make Prince Gregory's soldiers attack Christabel's carriage. The ring allows her to have total control over every creature in the forest even when she isn't there. She wanted to start a war between Oloredian and Kalnoreth," Angelina said.

"So that's why the soldiers attacked me?" Christabel gasped.

"Yes," Angelina replied.

Tareth, still angry about having lost his journal, decided to go back to Ethermoor City to get to work on subjugating the people of Ethermoor to his control. He could not do it through dominance, control, and coercion, oh no. That wouldn't work. He knew that joblessness and a lack of education were keeping the peasants poor and starving.

No, it was much easier to control people with money. He could just conjure it up for people now with Tristan's powers. Businesses that were previously struggling would prosper, thus being able to hire more people. Schools would be able to provide better education for the students, and money would be no object in medical research. Making people prosperous would make them more likely to turn a blind eye to the atrocities happening around them. Atrocities such as him killing the sorcerers.

Giving them the delusion they were free was the most ingenious idea he'd ever had. The people would believe they were free while being completely dependent on him.

Willow and her friends talked all day about fairy magic, sorcery, and all the different kinds of fairies and magical creatures that used to live in Ethermoor. After the sunset that evening, Zara led them out of the cave and through the forest. "Now, when we jump into the ring, we should hold hands to ensure that we all get to the same place in Faemoor. I know how to get to The Station," Zara said.

Angelina asked, "What's 'The Station'?"

T"he Station is where the rings in the fairy world are that lead to the permanent and dying mushroom rings in the other worlds. That is where we go to get to the other rings."

"Tell me, is there a ring that can lead to Ethermoor City?".

"We will have to see once we get to The Station. There are lists of all open rings in the seven magical realms."

Willow sure did not want to risk getting Tareth's attention again, and she knew it would take weeks to travel back to Ethermoor City on foot.

By that time, night had fallen. Willow looked forward to traveling to the fairy world for the first time. "I hooked bottles of fairy dust to your horses' reins so that they can travel through the rings too," Zara said. They all grabbed the reins of their horses and followed her through the forest.

Off in the distance, Willow saw a faint blue light glowing through the trees. As they walked closer, she could see that the light was coming from a spot on the ground. Several fairies were singing and dancing around it. "Is that where the ring is?" Willow asked.

Zara smiled and said, "That's where the ring is. We would have taken you inside of it as soon as we found you, but morning broke and the magic doesn't work in the daytime." They approached the ring, and the other fairies scattered away at the sight of the strangers.

Willow wanted to meet them, but she knew they needed to get back to Ethermoor City. Willow, Zara, Cristabel, Angelina, and Riordan stood on the edge of the ring and held hands. Willow held her breath in anticipation for her first attempt at ring jumping.

Starfire and Jinx Lightning whinnied, and the other two horses tried to back away from the ring. Starfire whinnied and shook her mane.

"Now, on the count of three, jump. One, two . . . three!" Zara shouted. When she said three, all of them leaped off the ground. They felt a strong force pulling them into the ring, and their horses were pulled in along with them.

Willow landed on the ground with a force that nearly knocked the wind out of her. The horses all shrieked in fright as they hit the ground. Willow looked around and saw that she was lying in the middle of the greenest forest she had ever seen. The grass was so soft that one could sleep in it as a bed, and the scents of flowers wafted through her nostrils. She saw a strange ethereal glow illuminating the forest. Willow wondered if it was ever nighttime there.

"Where are we?" Christabel asked.

"This is the Tangorian Forest. We call it The Terminal because it is the forest in Faemoor that connects all the fairy rings in all the worlds that have magic." Willow looked up and saw hundreds of tiny lights floating through the treetops.

"The rings are this way," Zara said. The others followed her through the forest. As they approached the rings, Willow could see thousands of fairies floating and walking through the forest in the same direction that they were going.

They walked until they came to the place in the forest where the rings were. Willow was thunderstruck by the thousands of fairies crowding around the seven rings that led to the magical realms. Massive trees circled each ring. Words that glowed brightly were written on the trunks of them. As Willow looked at the trunks, she noticed that some words appeared on the trunks, and others disappeared.

Zara flew up to the top of one of the trunks and then returned to them. She said, "The ring that leads to Ethermoor City is still active." Willow felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"Are those the names of the places where the rings are active?" Angelina asked, pointing at one of the trees with the lighted words on it.

"Yes, they are," Zara replied.

S"o how do the rings from the other worlds to here work?" Riordan asked.

"The rings in the other worlds lead to this forest, just like the one we jumped through. These are the rings that lead out of Faemoor to the rings in the other worlds. A mortal can't go to the Dead Realms. It is illegal, and fairy dust is not able to take you there."

They approached the edge of the Ethermoorian realm ring. "Now, just say the name of the place you want to go, and if there is an open ring there, a light will appear in the ring. Jump into the ring, and it will take you there.

"Okay," Willow said with audible uncertainty in her voice.

"Watch me. I will tell you how to do it." Zara shouted, "Ethermoor City!" A strange wormhole with swirling red clouds appeared in the center of the ring. Zara stepped into the ring and jumped into the wormhole as if it were nothing to her. It closed up.

Willow decided to be brave and said, "Ethermoor City!" The wormhole opened up again in the same spot. "Come on, Starfire, let's jump in!" she said. Starfire followed her into the ring. Willow jumped into the wormhole, and Starfire followed.

There was a flash of light. Willow saw that she, Starfire, and Zara were standing beside a small pile of dirt in the middle of an alleyway. Willow saw a tiny circle of mushrooms in the dirt that was only about five inches in diameter. The mushrooms were only about an inch tall and half an inch wide. Willow saw a wormhole open up in the center of the ring.

"Watch out!" Zara shouted. Willow was knocked into a trash bin by a heavy force hitting her. "You need to stand out of the way of the portal!" Zara said as she reached down and helped Willow to her feet.

Willow looked up and saw Riordan and his horse standing in the spot that she had been standing in. Riordan stepped out of the way of the wormhole. Angelina came through the wormhole next, followed by Christabel.

Willow asked, "How is it possible that we all traveled through that tiny ring there?" She pointed to the ring of mushrooms. Zara smiled and said, "Oh, size does not matter when traveling through the fairy rings. If a part of your body enters a ring, even if it is just a tiny piece of your skin, you automatically can travel through it."

Willow remembered the stories that Tareth hated fairies. "Do you know how to hide your wings?" Willow asked Zara.

"I do, but I cannot stay in this world since this is the last day for the Ethermoor City ring. I must go now and leave you three. Dawn will be breaking at any moment."

They bade goodbye, and Zara went through the ring. Willow noticed something strange about the city as they were walking through the street. Signs that read "We're hiring!" "JOBS," and "Help Wanted" hung in the windows of shops. There were also people talking to the homeless on the street and handing them bags. Willow saw them picking up trash and smiling. She walked up to a man handing out the bags and asked, "What is going on here?"

The man replied, "Last night, the city council voted to hire the homeless to help clean up the street."

Under normal circumstances, Willow would have been thrilled that the needy people were able to work now, but she had an odd feeling that there was something very off about it. They picked up newspapers from newsstands as they walked through the street. "JOBS! UNEMPLOYMENT RATE LOWEST IN 50 YEARS" and "ECONOMY HAS BEST DAY IN 200 YEARS!" were the headlines.

"Let's go to my grandparents' house while we formulate a plan to get into the castle," Riordan said.

They walked until they arrived at Marian's house. They knocked on the door. Marian opened the door and smiled.

"You are all just in time for breakfast!" she said. They walked inside.

Riordan asked, "Do you mind if I put these papers on the table? We are trying to figure out what happened in this city during the time we were gone."

After breakfast, they all sat in the living room, eager to find out what the newspaper articles said. Riordan poured the firepants soot on the headlines. Little sparks flew up from the places that the soot hit the paper, but nothing happened. "That's strange. That's very rare," Riordan mumbled. He furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean?" Angelina asked.

"It means that there is a truth caused by something dishonest," Riordan said.

"Meaning?" Willow asked.

"Meaning that while yes, there are more jobs and people are happier, there is something dishonest lurking beneath the surface. Something that is not immediately apparent," Riordan said.

"How can happiness be caused by something dishonest?" Willow asked.

Angelina said, "Sometimes when people are more fortunate, they do not notice evil things happening because it is not affecting them. They don't notice the evil."

Riordan asked, "What do you mean?"

"It happened in my world all the time. When people have money and a job, people are less likely to be unhappy with their leaders and are not as likely to question their leadership. It is the best tool that Tareth could use to conquer the country. And now that he has Tristan's abilities, who knows what he can do!"

"Keeping people paid and healthy is one surefire way to stop a rebellion. That . . . and not allowing newspapers to tell the truth," Christabel said.

Riordan remembered that was what Banderon had commanded the newspapers to do when he started suspecting that the Faeblood Wraiths were murdering people. "I can't tell you how many times Banderon threatened us if we told the truth about the Faeblood Wraiths. The government told us to say that the people died of natural causes, and the police did whatever they could to silence the people who saw them."

Willow pondered what Tareth could be planning that he needed to keep people happy on such a massive scale. And how would they convince the townspeople that he was evil if he was helping them so much?