“Fine,” Ezra said. “We’ll follow you, Will.” He looked resolved and ready to go with whatever decision was made. Will didn’t really know why, but he just didn’t think that they should reenter the cave. For one, he was worried about getting separated from his mother, and also, he really had a weird feeling about the girl that had left him alone. There was something strange about her. It was as if she didn’t really want to be there in the first place.

“Will, whatever we’re doing we need to do it soon,” Bet had begun to fidget nervously. The Sarat twisted back and forth looking for targets in the open field before them, its long neck far more maneuverable than Will had first thought.

“Swoop,” Will said. “We’re going into a pocket.”

He fed Swoop a piece of Binder, and the three of them made their way into the Voidside. Tenebrim didn’t want to, but eventually he followed. The pocket sealed itself behind them, and they watched as the Sarat thrashed, twined and chased the other Link Masters away. It all appeared wound-down, and it made Will think of the sort of slow-motion action scenes he’d seen in tons of movies.

Irene Gladmen realized what had happened, and in seconds, she was entering the Voidside with Hubrin. Once inside, she walked steadily toward them. She checked back and forth for something, but she didn’t seem all that concerned about what was going on outside.

“Is the other Darkhand gone?” she said.

“I really think so,” Will said across the purple-hued landscape of the Voidside. His mother only nodded and continued to make her way closer. “What do we do now?” Will said. “Do you think we’re safe?”

Irene waited to answer until she wa

“That depends on if we’re really alone. If so, we’re safe for now.” Again she looked around. “At this point we need to get to your father and get you home.”

“How? That’s why I came here in the first place.”

“There is a way, but it isn’t easy,” she said. “It’s not something we can do multiple times. We need to find your father. He was looking for you too, he just went another way.”

“Dad? He’s here too?”

“Yes, Will. When you ran away, we had to find you. What else could we have done? The Neptinox portal was going to close. If we weren’t through in time, we would have had to wait.”

“Oh…”

“Will.” Irene paused and slipped her eyes across the features of his face. “What made you leave? Why did you go through?”

“I… I found the bottle of Binders at your store, er, the pharmacy, and when I took one it brought Swoop to my window.”

“Wait, wait,” Ezra said. “You got the Binders from the other world, the world through the Neptinox portal? The place where your from?”

Will didn’t answer. It was as if he had said something he shouldn’t have.

“How many of them are there? How many bottles?”

“Listen,” Irene interrupted. “I appreciate everything you and your sister have done for Will, but we don’t need to answer these questions. In fact, the less you know the better.”

“You’re Binder smugglers,” Ezra said. “Except, you’re not hiding them here. You found a place no one would look.”

Irene didn’t argue. Ezra was right.