though. The people had always found us and brought us back home, to a trembling mother and a white-faced father. After a while, our parents had adjusted, learning not to panic anymore when they didn’t see us around the house.
“Mom had made a list of people to call in case they couldn’t find us,” I said.
Tristan smiled. “She had … what, two hundred names in there?”
I nodded proudly. “One time, she went through all of them before she found us.”
“You were devils. Absolute devils,” Nethissis replied, a grin stretching her lips. “I like you now, more than ever.”
“I’ll be honest. It’s their thirst for adventure that really sealed the deal for me regarding this mission,” Derek said, looking at us. “I know you’ll take it as a great challenge, given your expertise.”
“You’re both anthropologists, right?” Amal asked. “You study history, cultures, in general. Different civilizations.”
“Yes. Though to be honest we learned more from our travels than we did from our studies,” Tristan said.
“Being here is an honor,” I added, smiling at Derek and Sofia. “We’re both grateful to you. Extending this invitation was like making a wild dream come true. I’ve always wondered what else we’d find in the Earthly Dimension. I guess we’re getting our answers, soon enough.”
“I know your heritage plays a part in this as well,” Derek replied, sadness briefly shadowing his blue eyes. “Anna and Kyle were amazing people. I know she would’ve wanted to become a vampire as well, so she could enjoy you both for as long as she could.”
“Not to mention your cousins, your parents and uncles,” Sofia added. “They left a wonderful family behind.”
I sighed deeply, having wished for the same more than once while growing up. “I guess, in a way, we’re honoring them like this.”
“They’d be proud of you,” Derek replied.
All Tristan and I had to do was rise to the occasion. The challenge had been laid out before us. We were headed toward an unknown civilization, who had something we badly wanted. Like Derek had said, it put all of our skills into play, including diplomacy and resourcefulness. We just needed to gear up and give it our best.
Tristan
The voyage was extraordinary. The trips Esme and I had taken into the Supernatural Dimension and the In-Between had mostly been done through the portals or the interplanetary travel spell, so this was our first time literally out in space.
My blood rushed frantically as I soaked in every minute of the ride, trying to remember as much as I could from what I was seeing. I felt tiny. Like a minuscule blip in the universe.
The Earthly Dimension was truly astonishing, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the view through the windshield. Thousands of planets and stars lingered against the blackness. Comets and asteroids wandered across the empty space. I remembered photos I’d seen from interplanetary travels through the In-Between and the Supernatural Dimension. I’d been dazed by the swirling streams of pink and orange stardust, the spectacular purple asteroid fields, the amber and yellow and bright orange planets that circled massive, reddish stars…
By comparison, the Earthly Dimension was less dazzling and sparkling, but it was gorgeous in its brutal simplicity. From where we were, it all looked suspended in the void of time and space—perfectly polished marbles with white streaks, revealing a multitude of muted greens and blues as they turned; twinkling stars that grew into blazing white suns as we approached them; asteroid clusters that were dark gray and lumpy, weird and dangerous and extraordinary at the same time.
No, this was truly a sight to behold.
These were planets hurled through space at ridiculous speeds, wandering comets with fiery green tails, stars imploding and collapsing in on themselves… black holes powering entire galaxies! The universe here was wild and untamed, subject to violence, clashes, and explosions the likes of which many people wouldn’t even see in their lifetimes.
Compared to the ethereal colors of Eritopia, for example, our Milky Way was savage. Like a lioness prowling in the darkness, roaring and slashing at everything within its reach. I was floored and speechless, having completely tuned out of the conversation. I didn’t even hear my sister calling out to me.
“Tristan. Tristan!”
Finally, I reacted, my head snapping back to her. “Yes. Sorry. This is all just… mesmerizing.”
“I know. You’re entranced.” She giggled. “We’re getting close.”
“Close to where?”
My mind was a hilarious blank. I’d basically forgotten where we were going. It made her laugh. “Trexus-2, nimrod. Look over there!”
She pointed at a solar system