The urge to protect himself was almost overwhelming, and his struggle to master that instinctive alarm was a fierce inner battle. In the end all he could do was reach a truce with the primitive emotions Serena had awakened inside him-a momentary peace, but no resolution.

It was enough, he thought as he heard Serena's light step on the stairs. It would have to be enough.

"It doesn't look like a gate," Serena said, contemplating one corner of Merlin's study.

The corner did indeed look quite innocent on this Friday morning, with nothing to mark its importance except for a very slight shimmer in the air-like heat radiating off pavement on a summer's day-which seemed to hold the shape of an arch.

"Why that corner?" she asked. "I mean, why not one of the other corners?"

Merlin leaned back against his desk, one hand resting lightly on the box containing his staff, and shook his head. "We're about to journey back in time to a lost continent-a lost world-and you're worried about why I chose a particular corner among four of them in which to build the gate?"

Serena sighed. "Okay, so I'm nervous. I've never traveled through time before. What do I expect?"

"It won't be like stepping through a doorway," he told her. "There will be a period of… unusual sensation. Darkness probably, and sounds."

She didn't have the nerve to question him for more specifics. "Oh."

Merlin smiled slightly, but went on in the same matter-of-fact tone. "I've set the gate to help us blend into our surroundings once we reach Atlantis. We'll hear the people there speak in English, and they'll hear us respond to them in their own language; that way, if the language is completely unfamiliar to us, we won't be at a disadvantage. And our clothing will be whatever is suitable."

Serena looked down at her sweater and jeans. "Suitable? What if they're nudists?"

"Then we'll be naked."

She wasn't particularly shy, but found that idea appalling. "I hope you aren't serious."

Still smiling faintly, Merlin said, "Serena, communal nudity isn't at all likely. In feet, you'll no doubt think they wear far too many clothes-especially since you'll presumably be in some kind of skirt."

She winced. "Great. Something guaranteed to get in my way for sure. Can't I keep my jeans and call it a new style?"

"No."

She watched him pick up the box containing his staff and tuck it underneath one arm, and felt a wave of panic. They were going. They were really going, right now. "Um… are you sure I'm ready for this?"

"Certain. Your mask of powerlessness is perfect, Serena. No wizard we encounter will be able to sense anything else."

"Maybe, but I could always use another lesson. For instance, I'm not quite sure-"

"Serena."

She looked at him, then drew a breath. "All right. I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

He held out his free hand to her, and when she took it, twined their fingers together securely. "Hold on," he instructed.

That was something Serena didn't need to be told. She wasn't about to let go of him. The reality of what they were about to do had hit her only last night when she was supposed to be resting for the trip, and now only her trust in Merlin enabled her to walk to the gate beside him.

They paused for an instant, their glances meeting briefly, green eyes and black both holding glimmers of wariness and uncertainty-and then stepped through the gate together.

She knew the village men had finally left her even though there was no respite from the pain they had inflicted. It washed over her in glittering white-hot waves, causing her muscles to jerk feebly in a response far beyond her control. But her mind was clear and calm, her thoughts almost peaceful and detached from the pain of her poor, tortured body.

She was dying. Roxanne knew that, but it didn't seem to matter very much to her. She wished idly that they hadn't left her naked, but the coldness of doe ground beneath her no longer disturbed her, and she fancied she could feel the first warmth of the rising sun and sense its light.

She heard a faint sound and, untroubled and vaguely curious, considered what it might be. Footsteps? Perhaps. Coming toward her, she thought. It was morning now, and the village men wouldn't hurt her anymore. Couldn't hurt her anymore.

No one in Atlantia could hurt her now.

It was like stepping into total darkness with no idea if you would find solid ground beneath your feet or only miles of air. Serena could feel Merlin's hand gripping hers, but nothing else. There was a whistling sound like wind rushing by, yet she felt no sensation of its passing, and there were colors she couldn't see. It seemed to last a long time, or maybe it was only seconds. Then, with jarring abruptness, her foot touched something hard, night sounds flooded her ears, and there was light.

She realized that she was breathing in a jerky rhythm, that her heart was pounding. "You didn't warn me," she muttered, blinking because her eyes were tearing.

"I've never gone this far before," Merlin replied, his own voice a little breathless.

Neither of them moved for several moments, both concentrating on catching breath and balance, adjusting to an atmosphere that felt thickened, humid, and chilly and held a faint smell like sulfur. Their body weight seemed greater, and they had the skin-prickling perception of energy in the very air around them.

"God, it's like an alien planet," Serena murmured as her senses began coping. "Are you sure it isn't?"

"I'm sure," Merlin replied. "We're in Atlantis."

They were standing on a rocky slope above an enormous valley. Mountains, like the one they stood upon, encircled the valley completely, their high peaks jagged and inhospitable in the gray light just after dawn. The trees Serena could see nearby were peculiar, usually tall and spindly with sparse growth; in the valley below, the distant trees appeared to be squat and gnarled, with scant but very large leaves that seemed to glow dully.

There were two visible lakes, the larger one toward the northeast part of the valley and the smaller one at the west end, and half a dozen streams. There were numerous ravines and gullies cutting jagged rips in the valley floor, and there were ridges of raw earth like the hideous scars of lethal wounds twisting among the forests and fields.

An odd, mistlike haze hung over the valley, but the fog was unlike any she had ever seen in her life. It was dynamic, shifting and swirling with threads of luminescence like something pulsing with life. It was alive; she could feel the energy of it.

Even as she stared, enthralled and intuitively wary of it, the first rays of the sun found their way between the peaks to the east, and the mist seemed to thin and begin dispersing as soon as the light hit it. Even its energy appeared to diminish, as if stolen by the sun.

"What is that?" she asked Merlin nervously.

"I don't know. It is-or was-made up of energy, but I've never seen or felt anything like it."

"Me, neither." Serena realized she was still clinging to his hand, and hastily released it. That was when she noticed that they were in clothing quite different from what they normally wore in their time.

Merlin's outfit suited him rather well, she thought. Black trousers tucked into knee-high black boots and a black shirt with a laced and open neckline made him look even taller and more powerful than he was, as well as explicitly masculine. The long, robelike coat with its standup collar and full sleeves was a light brown, almost gold color, worn open and unbelted, and gave him a regal air.