The sun was low in the afternoon sky by the time Lauren decided that they were ready to follow the path. Ric had rested all day and although very pale and easily tired, he seemed finally ready to make the unusual journey. Lauren had kept Diana busy all day buying food and camping equipment and packing their belongings to keep her from dwelling morbidly on the unknown fate of Mark and Lisa.

Ric dragged himself about making his own preparations. Lauren kept a watchful eye on his arm throughout the day. Although the blood had slowed to a trickle, Lauren feared that the accumulated loss of blood and the chance of infection would lessen Ric's ability to withstand the stress of path-walking. Inwardly she cursed herself for not being empowered with a stronger skill, like healing or translocation. Her only alternative was to keep Ric from exerting himself too much before departure. Between Diana's anxiety and her own worry over Ric's weakness, Lauren found her own state of mind beginning to fray by the time they were ready to depart Earth.

Near sundown, almost the same time that Mark and Lisa were sucked into the maelstrom the day before, Diana came out of her house and met Lauren in the backyard. Lauren was pleased to see that the younger woman was dressed appropriately for the possibly-rough journey that lie ahead. Diana wore a tank top, with a long sleeved shirt over it, tucked into sturdy jeans. She was carrying a jacket, a backpack, and a flashlight.

"Almost ready? Are you frightened?" Lauren smiled and put a comforting arm around her.

Diana nodded. "A bit. I’m not terribly imaginative sometimes. I used to regret it, but now I think I like the idea. This way I can't imagine what's going to happen.” She chuckled softly, but then somberly asked, "Do you think they're all right?”

"I really do and Alaeric thinks so as well.”

"Alaeric. You mentioned that before. That's Ric's actual name?"

"His full first name, yes. It does not sound all that edge-like so he shortened it. So did I actually. My full first name is Laurenthalia. But since I was a little girl, I was always called Lauren." She grinned widely. "If anyone called me by my full name, I usually found a reason to give them a black eye.”

"How are you guys related? I mean, we always thought you were married when you first moved here, but you don't share a room. Are you siblings?”

"Cousins, actually. At first we pretended to be married, but that never worked since Alaeric is already married, so we reverted to making people guess if we were siblings or lovers or whatever. That has been one of the few pleasures we have had in the past five years.” She winked. "Keeping people guessing."

"Oh.” Diana paused, taking this in, then asked, "You also mentioned about being exiled?” She was intensely curious. Part of her wanted to know if she was going off into space with homicidal maniacs or not.

"Well, as we told you, for some reason, there are fewer natural paths leading to this edgeworld.”

"What's an edgeworld?"

"It is a technical term used to describe the worlds on the fringes of the universes, mostly devoid of operational sorcery and not subject to the same laws and philosophies as are the coreworlds or even the otherworlds.”

"And...Otherworlds?"

"Places we cannot reach, that have no known paths to them, but that we suspect exist. We think that these are where the Creator has placed his other life forms and….” She shook her head. "Look, we have very little time for me to go into detail. I promise to explain fully when we get there, or at least find a qualified sorcerer to do it, okay?”

"Okay, but...why were you exiled?" Diana persisted, returning to her original question.

Lauren sighed, "Because our fathers betrayed the King. They effectively ruined our lives...”

So engrossed in their conversation, neither woman heard Alaeric arrive with a set of luggage until he plopped them down from behind with a thump and said in his deep, soft baritone voice, "Are we ready?”

Both women jumped. "Do not do that!" Lauren exclaimed. "You could take years off a person's life! Yes, we are ready.”

Alaeric bent to the collected luggage, found his sword, picked it up, and unsheathed it. "Do your tricks, oh Princess of the Mountains.”

“Stop that! Do not call me that!” Lauren snapped back, obviously disheveled,  "I am nervous enough. It has been five years since I have done anything like this.” She drew her sword and pointed the tip towards the ground.

As Diana listened to the cousins talking, she realized something else was odd. Their accents were more pronounced than before and their English more formal. But before she could inquire further, Alaeric interrupted her thoughts.

"Diana, please come here. Pick up a couple of the packs. Then make certain that all the rest are touching each other and then touching you. Once you have done that, grab my belt and hold on. When Lauren is ready, she and I will touch swords and we will begin moving onto the path.”

"What about the wind?" Diana asked nervously, remembering the cyclone from the night before.

"There will be only a slight breeze. Last night was an aberration, a deliberate spell. Lauren possesses a skill we call pathfinding. She has the ability to open ways that are marked, as we did with my blood, and follow them. She can also take people and things with her. The other advantage is that once she has been to a place, she can always find the path back.”

"You mean like a bookmark or something, like on a web browser?"

"Yes, although I really do not venture much there. Your internet is quite puzzling and...weird."

Diana couldn't help but chuckle. "It can be. I've often referred to it as the largest high school in the universe."

Alaeric looked at her in confusion for a moment but then shook his head. "Anyway, let us be off." He motioned for Diana to come near him. Quickly the girl shouldered two packs and situated the others between her legs and Alaeric's so that they all touched. Both the exiles had equipped themselves with black harnesses to carry everything. She then grabbed onto Alaeric's belt and anxiously awaited the transition. Once Lauren saw that her companions were prepared, she focused on the spot her sword touched.

Unlike the wild winds of the night before, only a gentle breeze swirled about them as Lauren spoke a short chant, more like a poem. In a fluid movement she held up her sword. In her other hand, a small undulating beam of silver light came from a small green crystal ring. As the light reached intensity, Alaeric brought up his great sword to clang against hers. Lauren tossed the light into the center of the breeze and shouted one word.

Twenty-first century earth vanished; the houses, the trees, even the comfortable sun were gone and only a gaping dark path lay before them. Lauren took a step forward and the others glided along behind her. She followed a small trail of crimson as other paths forked away from the one on which they traveled. Distant stars and nebulae swirled around them.

Diana found herself gripping Alaeric's belt with both hands and screaming as they vanished into the void.

***

Then it was over and the three were standing on a carpet of high grass. Day had instantly turned to gloaming. Diana let go and sank to her knees as dizziness washed over her.

Alaeric and Lauren immediately unlocked their swords and Lauren inspected his arm carefully.

"Lauren, it got us here." Alaeric winced, "See? The bleeding is stopping.”

"I will put on a fresh bandage, just in case. Diana, are you alright?"

The young woman swallowed hard and then shook her head to clear it. "I-I think so. Wow, that was..." She stopped talking as the full realization hit her. Her friends had been speaking the truth and this wasn't some fairy story at all, and she was no longer in the fields she'd always known. She was over them, beyond them. Her thoughts jumbled and her head swam as she sat down in the grass. "I'm not...sure..."

Lauren reached over for a small bag and took out a cream-filled donut to hand to her. "Here, get something in you. it will help. I rather like these sticks of cream."

Diana shakily reached for it and took a big bite. After a few moments, her vision seemed to be less blurry and her head was clearer.

As Lauren set to work on his wounds, Alaeric looked around them. "So, do you have any idea where we are, cousin?"

"It seems familiar, but I am not sure. I do not think I have ever been here before, but if nothing else, it does have the feel of a core world. I sense many paths here. But somehow this place seems...empty..." Lauren's voice trailed off in confusion.

"Empty?"

"Well, uninhabited then." Lauren felt a sense of disquiet she found hard to put into words. "It is late. We should set up here and you should get some rest. I will check out the place a bit.”

“What about—“ Diana asked, still shaky from the odd journey.

Lauren smiled reassuringly. “And if we do not find Mark and Lisa at once, we will begin to search in earnest once Alaeric has rested. They should not be too far.”

Reluctantly Diana agreed. She helped Lauren set up the tent and camp stove, and got out a sleeping bag for Alaeric to rest on. The big man was frighteningly pale and Diana could see why Lauren wanted him to rest before they began to walk around this strange, new world.

Lauren spent most of the rest of the day scouting the perimeter and calling out for the missing pair, but was not able to locate them. She returned as the sun had fully set and it was preternaturally dark, with a sky filled with purple clouds.

"They have probably gone to look for help,” she told Diana. "We will look for them in the morning.”

Diana, staring at the alien night sky, agreed. There was no point in trying to search now. Lauren made a quick dinner, changed Alaeric's bandages, and tried to comfort Diana as best she could. She was exhausted too, but knew neither the worried young woman nor the wounded man was able to keep watch. She found a rock and sat on it before the camp stove's dying fire.

As Diana fell asleep under a strange purple sky, she saw Lauren silhouetted against the night, keeping watch.

Somehow, she felt strangely comforted.