Chapter 2

She listened to the Head and the Heart as they told her the same things that Stefan had. The planet’s magical pathways were pristine and useable, and there was only one race present, and they didn’t seem to be using the magic for anything that they could tell. It was all very strange.

“Open the dimensional door and bring the house through.” Carina prayed to the Mother that she wasn’t taking the Flight into danger, that she was making a sound decision. “I will speak to the race and beg sanctuary for the Flight.”

The Head protested immediately. “You cannot expose yourself, My Soul.” The Head was an older man as was right for the leader of the scholars and the Lyceum. “Allow the Arms to travel there first, let them bring back an idea of the nature of this race.”

“We do not have time, My Head.” Carina replied steadily, looking the man directly in the eye. “The enemy may find us any day and we cannot be in inter-dimensional space when they find us. We must have access to the magic of a planet to defend ourselves.”

The Heart rose next, a lost look in her eyes. “My Soul, I agree with the Head. Your Protector is no match for an entire planet.”

“Do you have a better idea, My Heart.” Carina settled into a seat next to the table and stared at the gently spinning pearl of the planet. “Do the priests have a solution to this dilemma?”

“Yes, My Soul.” The Heart stepped down and pressed a small glowing orb into her hands. “Send an orb instead. Imprint it with your message and the priesthood will see it delivered to the leading Body of this place.”

“What if there is more than one?” Carina asked, feeling the warmth and pulse of the orb in her hands. “Will the message carry to all of them?”

The Heart came and stood in front of her, they didn’t touch her though. No one touched her except for her Protector. “Do not fret, My Soul. If there is more than one the orb will split and carry the message to all of the Bodies.”

“Very well,” Carina knew that with all of the rest of the Body stacked against her she had no chance of following through on her original plans. “I will send the message this way.”

The Heart and the Head nodded and sat back down with relief all over their respective faces. The Left Arm came over and offered her hands for the orb. Carina held in the frustrated sigh and handed over the orb, placing it in the callused hands. The Heart waved a hand and the orb expanded to match Carina’s size and contours, mimicking her features. Carina sighed as her face emerged from the orb, she always felt awkward speaking into an orb since as it took on her imprint it looked more and more like she was talking to herself.

The heart-shaped contours of her face emerged as she spoke to the orb. She spoke to a ruling Body requesting a meeting with their Soul, requesting a few minutes to present a proposal to them as an equal. By the time she was done speaking the orb had taken on everything that was hers. Right down to the silvery color of her skin and the jet black of her hair. Right down to the looping markings that advertised her maturity. Right down to her stature and posture and expression.

When she nodded to the Heart, the woman flicked her hand and the orb collapsed back into the small glowing form that it had been in at first. The orb zipped through the air and hovered over the Heart’s palm. “I will send this immediately, My Soul.” The Heart stepped to the wall and pressed the orb into and through it, sending it on its way to wherever it was going to end up.