“Who the fuck are you?” said Kate.

  “Direct and to the point.” I said, “But I echo her concerns.”

  The woman nodded her head and gestured toward the table.

  “After you,” said Kate. She had her attention focused on the man. Her left hand was curled into a fist, and her right hand opened like a blade.

  The woman nodded and walked over to the table. The man scowled and stood his ground. She looked at him and jerked her head impatiently, pointing to one of the chairs. He undid a buckle on his chest, loosened the sword, and leaned it against the table still in its sheath. He sat down slowly, staring at me. I had difficulty figuring out his age. He had an unlined face and moved like a young man in his twenties, but his eyes were old and creased.

  I walked over to the table and sat down opposite the woman. Kate walked over, pulled out her chair but remained standing, leaning her elbows on its back. She had not stopped looking at the man.

  “I am Elandra”, the woman said. “I was the one who called you here.”

  “A little more explanation would be helpful,” I said.

  She interlaced her fingers, rested her elbows on the table, and lowered her chin to the back of her hands. "What do you recall before arriving here?" she asked.

  "Burning to death," said Kate.

  The woman winced slightly. For the first time, I saw a small smile crook the corner of the man's mouth.

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  “Yes, well.” Elandra hesitated. "I petitioned my Goddess for heroes, and she sent you."

  There was a pause while Kate and I digested the last statement.

  Kate shook her head and stared at Elandra. "Where exactly is ‘here’ and whose bodies do we have?"

  “‘Here’ is 200 stads south of Vandoran, close by a village called Lenoch.” Elandra said. “And your forms were given to you by your Goddesses.”

  “Let me be clear.” I said, "We didn't take over somebody else's bodies."

  Elandra looked horrified, "By no means. That would be the darkest of all sorceries.”

  “Well,” said Kate, "You screwed up."

  “In what way?” asked Elandra.

  "We're not heroes," I said, "Just a couple of ordinary people."

  “But you saved the lives of children.”, said Elandra, "We watched it happen before you came over."

  "I think you're confusing necessity with heroism," I said. “We just did what had to be done.”

  “You had a choice,” she said. “You could have run from the fire.”

  “That wasn’t a choice,” said Kate.

  The man grunted.

  “Who’s Blabbermouth, here?” I asked, pointing at him. He scowled at me.

  “This is Rory,” said Elandra. “He is a Blade. And your mentor.” She pointed at me.

  Kate tapped her finger on the table twice. “And what are you?”

  “A Mage,” said Elandra. “Your mentor.”

  Kate face-palmed and then shook her head. “Any chance we can just wake up and go home?” she asked.

  “Kate,” I said. “We might want to step outside for a moment.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of the light.”

  Kate frowned and looked at the wall, where the sunlight was brightest. “What about it?”.

  “It’s yellow and blue,” I said.

  “You can’t have two colours of sunlight.”

  I nodded and rose to my feet. Kate hesitated and then followed me towards the door. We stepped outside, took a few steps, and froze.

  There were two suns. One was yellow and sat just above the horizon. I could feel its warmth on my body. Higher up and to my right was a second sun, much smaller and blue in color. Arcing between them was a sparkling band that faded where it passed close to both stars. I followed its course with my eyes towards the darkening sky away from the suns, until it dipped below the opposite horizon. In that direction, the tips of distant mountains shone, seeming to float above the earth, illuminated in shades of gold and violet.

  “Well, Toto,” I said. “We ain’t in Ontario anymore.”