Amanda screamed as the tepid water hit her skin. “IT’S COLD, IT’S SO COLD!”

“Shh, relax, Amanda. The water is not cold, your body temperature is running high, and we need to cool you down,” Luna Cynthia soothed.

Amanda was hyperventilating as she tried to adapt to the cold water.

“She’s burning up even more,” warned Rachel, a midwife for the pack. Amanda’s eyes started to flutter, and she passed out.

Amanda fell deep and didn’t know where her mind was taking her. She found herself lying on the floor in a dark room when she woke up. Amanda got up and saw a coffin in the center of the room. She looked around, confused. What was this place? The last thing Amanda remembered was that she was in a bathtub and in heat. She reached up and felt her head; it was no longer hot to the touch.

“Amanda,” she heard a voice whisper to her.

Amanda looked at the coffin. There was something that was pulling her to move toward it. She stepped slowly, taking each step carefully as she moved closer. Amanda reached out and laid her hand on the coffin. She felt a rush of air push past her and was transported to the woods. Amanda looked around. What was happening to her?

In the distance, she saw a shadow cross over the trees and heard a laugh. It was soft and innocent. She followed the shadow as it moved past the trees.

“Help me,” she heard through the breeze against the leaves.

Amanda stopped and circled, trying to figure out which way to go.

“Please, help me,” she heard again before she saw a woman pass by and followed her.

The woman traipsed through the woods and headed for the clearing that was ahead of them. She finally stopped under a large willow tree next to a large lake.

Amanda caught up to the woman; there was something familiar about her, but her back was turned. “Who are you?” Amanda asked.

“Please, help me,” the woman whispered.

Amanda inched forward as she tried to get a glimpse of the lady; the woman turned and faced Amanda. She looked almost identical to Vita, but with longer hair. Amanda’s eyes widened, and called out, “Vita?”

The woman shook her head.

“Then who are you?” Amanda asked again.

The woman brought her finger to her lips.

Amanda’s shoulders fell as she sighed and asked, “How can I help you if I don’t know who you are?”

“Look to the book,” she whispered.

“The book?”

“The one in the dream,” the woman suggested.

Amanda’s dream, but how did she know about her dream?

“Look for the pendant.”

“What kind of pendant?” Amanda asked.

The woman pointed to the necklace that she and Vita wore. “It resembles the one you wear, except it’s red and larger.”

“Do you know where it is?”

“Look to the hidden space beyond the room.” she confided to Amanda.

“How will all this help you?”

“Once you’ve read from the book, you will know what you have to do.” The woman turned away and looked out at the lake.

Amanda was transported back to the coffin and quickly pulled back her hand. Then she bolted up right from the tub, water splashing everywhere.

“Amanda, are you alright? You were only under for just a moment,” Luna Cynthia explained.

Amanda looked at her strangely and then remembered the dream. She got up from the tub. “I have to look for something.” she told them.

“Amanda, what about your heat?” Luna asked, her voice filled with concern.

Amanda reached out and grabbed the towel that was handed to her to dry herself off and her clothes. She felt her head, and the fever was gone. “I guess the water worked,” she said as she shrugged. Amanda walked out of the bathroom and headed back toward the library.

Luna Cynthia followed behind her quickly, confused by what had just happened. “Amanda, what’s going on?”

Amanda turned and looked at the other woman that had followed them into the room. She looked back at the Luna and shook her head slightly.

“Leave us, ladies, head outside, and I will call you back when we need you,” Luna ordered.

The ladies bowed as they exited the room.

Once the house was quiet, Amanda started to explain. “I had a dream when I passed out. A room held a coffin; it was calling to me; when I touched it, I was transported to a weird place in the woods. A woman was asking me for help.”

“Do you know who she is?” Luna asked.

Amanda shook her head. “She told me to look for the book and a pendant.”

“Did she tell you where to look?”

“I’m assuming here since this is where she contacted me.”

“Do you think you can trust her?”

Amanda walked over to the bookshelves and heard voices coming from the books. “I’m not sure, but if the book can answer certain questions. Maybe, it can help us with some others,” she said with a bit of hope in her voice.

Amanda ran her fingers along the binds of each book as she passed by them. They were all calling to her to read them. She could feel the pull of magic from each book she passed, the next one stronger than the last one.

“I can’t believe how much power I can feel from these books,” Amanda whispered.

“What kind of book are you looking for?” Luna asked.

“In my dream, it was a black leatherbound book with a detailed binding.” she described.

“Did she tell you where you would find it?” Luna asked.

Amanda tried to remember what the woman had told her. “She talked about a hidden space beyond the room.”

Luna turned toward the wall where she had found Amanda behind. “You mean the room that you were hiding in?”

Amanda looked to the same spot Luna was facing and walked over to the shelf. She sighed as she raised her hand and slowly passed her hands along the books, hoping to find the lever that allowed her to enter the room. When her fingers grasped the correct handle, she pressed against it, and the secret door opened before her.

Amanda walked into the hidden space and hoped it would hold what she sought. The area seemed small at first, but as she looked at the withered bookcase, she realized the room in front of her wasn’t what it seemed. In fact, it was a mirage as she walked toward the bookcase, and it began to change in front of her. Amanda gasped as she looked farther and realized the hidden space was more extensive than she anticipated it to be.

The Luna stepped up behind her and awed over the space. “Is it me, or does this look like a labyrinth?”

Amanda sighed and announced, “Looks like we get to take a trip down the rabbit hole.”