12. Broken
The Witches' Isle, AndarHellen watched Smoke on the Water bob in the distance on the shining Silverwater. Two swans flew in low, wide circles, never quite catching each other, their white so brilliant they glowed.
She pulled her gaze away. She had work to do. She'd tried and failed for a day to see across the aether into the other world.
She closed her eyes and reached out, once more, to seek Jaiin. Still Hellen found no sign of her. She ignored the obvious reason. It must be the troubled aether, that and the draining effect of the other world. For reasons they didn't understand, working magic there was hard, required more effort, brought with it more pain. Even talking between the worlds involved great effort on both sides. It felt always like a tarnished pane of glass lay b
