You call that a soccer riot?!

Okay, let’s see.

Mike’s taken a blow to the ego. Happens to the best of us after this kind of injury, escpecially when seeing your planned future going up in flames, particularly for a kid who's still trying to get his dad to like him.

Like I said, it’s a kick in the head. He’ll get over it. He’ll get back to normal, or as close as he can, maybe a little angrier, little more desperate to prove himself, maybe a shorter fuse, but he’ll get back to himself. The real question, is how many friends will he have left when he does?

Katherine is big on gentle, short on forgiveness, and Shauna’s getting maternal… which is bizarre after the watergirl bit.

What’s truly terrifying is that after a look in Mike’s head, there’s a chance that some of it might be stuck in Shauna’s now too, and if that don’t scare the Odi outta you…

Now, onto the big picture.

Quote:

EndQuote.

Okay, with this new information, I retract what I said before.

Shauna, tell him. Tell Jareth, tell him now. Tell him what you did, throw yourself on the mercy of the court, then pack a bag and run like hell.

Waking Mike up sent a flare that the bad guys would see, and you sent it up, of all places at Zana’s. That’s your only bit of Real Estate in Londi, lose that spot and you’re stuffed.

Plus, Jareth would be much more forgiving if you told him than if the ‘Red Circle’ told him.

But the Legion and the Circle aren’t the ones you have to worry about.

Fesmer said, that there’s no way he could have brought them here. He said, that somebody else would have to have the power to do it. Shauna said that the evil sounding chanting started their Shift, which likely means that somebody of unspeakable power targeted them. Maybe them, likely her. Shauna is the only one who can cast the Second Shift Spell, so whoever cast the first one would be remarkably interested in her.

Fesmer said, that his call for help must have interrupted a different, more powerful spell, meaning wherever the first Shift was taking them got diverted to where they landed. Whoever cast the spell would know that they arrived, but maybe not where. I flat out guarantee you that whoever it was, is somebody with a great deal of influence over the bad guys here, meaning that he will be looking for his escaped prey, and now Shauna has sent up a magic flashing neon sign that says “HERE I AM AND I CAN DO MAGIC!”

Shauna, tell him. Tell Jareth, tell him now. Tell him what you did, throw yourself on the mercy of the court, then pack a bag and run like hell.

I said it before. Finding your way home is the goal, finding the one who can teach you Shift is the Quest.

Unless of course the one who can do Shift finds you first.

You can read more of Matt's work at mattstephens.me