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lion! The strength, the speed, the alertness. He could spend his whole life like this. Perhaps this was his destiny.
    â€œDon’t forget Jenna,” Dalton said. “Don’t forget our friends. We have to find them and get home.”
    Cole blinked.
    Jenna!
    Of course, she was lost, a slave. He had to help her! That was why he had run through the wilderness—to get to Zeropolis in the hope of finding her. And to help Mira find her sister Constance.
    Why was he waiting? He couldn’t remain a mountain lion. People needed him. He had a greater purpose.
    Not without some regret, Cole reached up and pulled off the mask. He reared back, giddily whirled, and abruptly stood on two feet with the mask in his hand.
    As the leonine instincts lost their grip, he realized howclose he had been to losing himself in the mask. Even now, restored to his true form, he felt tempted to put it back on.
    The rest of the group stood in a semicircle, staring at him.
    â€œYou okay?” Dalton asked.
    Cole swallowed. It was good to focus on his best friend. His mind felt clearer. He really had been at the brink of running away for a moment. He held out the mask toward Hina. “I’m better now.”
    Hina came to him and accepted his mask. In the sunlight, her silvery hair looked almost metallic. Her beauty was so flawless that it looked crafted. Maybe it was, Cole realized. Changings? Seemings? Who knew?
    â€œThis is where I leave you,” Hina said. “We’re at the border near your desired outpost.”
    â€œI saw Post 121 from the air,” Joe confirmed. “When I tried to fly that way, I bumped against a barrier. Felt hard as stone.”
    â€œYou can’t leave Elloweer with these masks on,” Hina said.
    Staring at the stacked masks in her hands, Cole frowned slightly. He had used his power to make the Jumping Sword and Jace’s golden rope work here in Elloweer. Did his power have the potential to make the masks work elsewhere? There might be an unseen boundary, but what if he took off the mask, crossed the border, recharged it, and put it back on? Cole felt for his power, even just a hint of it, but came up empty. Since he couldn’t access his ability, there was no way to experiment with the masks.
    Cole considered the hold the mask had started to have onhim. He had felt so content as a mountain lion that he hadn’t wanted to return to his real life. It seemed sort of silly now, but just a few moments ago, he had been ready to run off into the wilderness. Callista had warned that the more they used the masks, the greater power the animal forms would exert over the wearers. Maybe not having the masks anymore was a good thing.
    â€œI ranged widely across this area and saw no enemy activity on the Elloweer side,” Joe said. “We seem to have given the Enforcers the slip for now. I’m sure the Zeropolis side will have the standard patrolmen to deal with.”
    â€œWould you like me to wait here a day with the masks?” Hina asked. “In case you need to retreat?”
    â€œI don’t know how much longer I can wear the mask without staying a wolf forever,” Jace said. “I can tell Cole was feeling the pull too.”
    â€œWe all were,” Mira said. “But if it’s between getting caught and using the masks again, I’d find a way to fight off my sheep instincts.”
    â€œWe’d appreciate knowing you were here for a day,” Joe told Hina. “I have no plans to come back this way, but if we get discovered, retreat might become our only lifeline.”
    â€œThis time tomorrow?” Hina asked.
    Shading his eyes, Joe squinted at the sky. “Could we say sundown tomorrow? By then I should know if we can get transportation into the city.”
    â€œI will wait until sundown tomorrow,” Hina affirmed. “If I do not hear from you by then, I will assume you’ve gotten safe passage into the