“Who’s here?” Will’s mother said. “Can’t say for sure,” Credic had begun to remove his own tin of binders. “Is it Murden?” The words burst from Bet’s mouth. Credic looked quickly to her, surprised she had interrupted. “No,” he said. “At least that’s not who contacted...

Irene Gladmen stood beside the enormous toad. Her hair was pulled up and pinned away from her face. Still, a few flyaways brushed down her pink cheeks and toward her thinning lips. She wore dark pants and sturdy black work boots caked with a bit of mud. A slate gray...

“So Will,” Credic said. “What’s it gonna be?” Will quickly looked at Bet and Ezra then back to Credic. “Yes,” he said finally. “I’ll go.” Credic only smiled and turned toward the wall. “Greggin,” he said. The shaggy dog loped along to Credic’s side and took...

As Will fumbled open his Binder bottle, he noticed that he’d run out of small pieces. Quickly, he got to his knees and looked for some place to lay them. “What’s wrong?” said Bet. “Well, nothing, but I need to divide a few more Binders. I used two more pieces when I...

Will unsnapped the lid of his pill bottle and withdrew another glassy piece of Binder. He would have to divide more soon and make another count. Come to think of it, Ezra and Bet likely needed a few more as well. They’d each spent several when they’d escaped the...

“I’ll pay with information,” Will said. The man nodded appreciatively. “I accept,” he said. “Let’s have a few answers then. Consider it a down payment on your first lessons.” “Okay,” Will said. He started to get nervous for what the man might think to ask. “How’d you...

Will didn’t really know how to answer the man’s question. The Voidside had been fascinating, but it only made him think of new questions. What really occupied Will’s mind, was what was going on with Bet and Ezra. Without using the Voidside, it seemed as if he was...

“I’m going inside,” Will said. “I have to follow him.” “Do we go too?” Bet said. Will had to make the decision fast. He didn’t know how long the pocket would stay open. “No, stay here. I’ll talk to him alone,” he said. Then, before Bet or Ezra could argue, he stepped...

“Hmm,” Ezra said. “It looks strange.” “Why? What do you mean?” Will tried to see what was wrong with it. “There’s no doors… no windows either.” “Oh.” Bet was suddenly surprised. He was right. The house was strange. It had a nice appearance, though there were nothing...

“Ezra!” Bet yelled. She ran to the rockfall and began to shove away the pieces that she found easy enough to muscle. “We’re going to get you out of there. Hold on.” Will heard no answer from Ezra, so he decided to follow Bet’s lead and do the same. They were lucky...