Hana first saw the Ghost on Tuesday, after the rain slowed. The weak morning sun broke through the silver and lilac streaks of clouds, turning the sky and earth soft oranges and vibrant yellows. The grass sparkled, the river flowing past nearly white as Hana pressed her nose against the chill glass and peered outside. ...

Hana stared in disbelief. “The… what?” she asked.   The woman gave a huff as if Hana should know. She stood about the same height as Hana, looking human, aside from an indigo-blue tint on her wrinkled skin. With her arms on her hips, she shuffled closer. Hana gulped, aware she was in some sort ...

Sayrin dashed over the worn dirt paths faster than Hana expected. Hana followed, her arm aching by how hard Sayrin gripped it. Every few minutes another horn sounded, wailing through the trees. “These paths aren’t used very often,” huffed Sayrin, “I know them in and out. As long as we can keep them off our ...

“That’s not possible,” said Sayrin, unable to keep her eyes off the shore, “They’ve never—” “Wait, it’s slowing down!” Hana pointed as the Joondin struggled to take another step. Every second it slowed, pain smeared across its face as if it walked through fire instead of water. “As well as it should,” snapped Sayrin, though ...

As Hana bolted to her feet, she gasped in the heavy, sticky air. The burning sand covered her arms and legs. She shaded her eyes, blinking the sweat away, and scanned the horizon under the golden sun beating down on her. The sky was a deep teal blue, almost as dark as night against the ...

Time slowed down. Everyone else disappeared around her as Hana stared at Marcus, who looked the same as she remembered. He had the same large brown eyes and wide smile, but an unfamiliar essence passed over his face that she couldn’t recognize. “I knew you would return,” he said, his tone soft. He tripped over ...

In a split second, Hana wrenched herself away while the Captain remained frozen, the last light in his eyes glazing over. Brigdu readied a glistening spear, the ends of his fingers shaking. “Watch him!” Hana held her hand up out of instinct. Sayrin gasped behind her. Ino leaped through the crowd again, past the Posdin, ...

A swelling, growing mass of indigo and violet swirled up toward the ceiling. Thick waves of mist slithered across the slick floors, and as they curled around Hana’s legs, the damp clouds kissed her skin. Deep blue settled over the hall until everyone at the table disappeared. Hana blinked. She checked her hand but couldn’t ...

Hana didn’t notice when the blue sky turned gray and light raindrops pattered against the glass walls. She wandered the corridors for a few minutes, and her mind raced. How was she supposed to preserve an entire world? Where would she travel to first? Hana hadn’t mastered any aspect of her new abilities. She wished ...