"The woods surrounding my tower are a haven for those who need my help. None of them will harm you if you explore the woods. If you venture into the village, you’ll find everyone is curious about you and will probably ask all sorts of questions. You might want to avoid the village for now."

"I will. I have no idea how to answer any questions." Mala had no plan to satisfy any nosy stranger’s curiosity about her. Especially since she didn’t know what the hell was going on anyway.

Ivory studied her quietly for a long moment before he said anything. "I believe someone has played with your memories, Mala. But we’ll get to the bottom of all this. Magic had to have been involved on some level, it may just take me a while longer to discover how."

Frowning, Mala blinked at him. "My memories are perfectly fine. I just don’t know how I got here, or even what the hell this place is. I‘m from New York City, and where I come from this is all fantasy."

Just from the look on his face, Mala could tell Ivory thought she was talking crazy. Oh, good Lord, what had she done to deserve this? She knew exactly who she was, and where she belonged. And this place wasn’t it.

Instead of outright arguing with her, Ivory tried to reason with her. "There is no such place, Mala. I have been to every kingdom, and there is no New York City. There is a perfectly good reason why you are in the state you are in, I just haven‘t found it yet."

If anything, the words only frustrated her more. A man in her fantasy world thought she was nuts. She couldn’t have come up with this one in her wildest dreams. Mala tried to explain as patiently as she could. "Look, Ivory, I don’t belong here. I don’t know why I’m here, but I know I don’t belong here."

"And what you are saying is impossible, Mala."

Before he could say more, she snapped, "And so is this place. Phoenixes, magic and I don’t know what else. None of it exists."

"You can see with your own eyes that it does. And I’m sure before all of this happened, you knew it did. But someone has played with your mind."

Lifting her hand, her fingers rubbed at her temple as she closed her eyes tightly. What in the hell did she have to say to make him understand none of this was normal to her and never had been? She had to be going crazy because this couldn’t be happening. Drawing in a deep breath, Mala tried again.

"Ivory, this place can’t be real. In the world I come from there is no magic, no mythical creatures, nothing like this. There’s cars and skyscrapers, airplanes and computers. This world isn‘t real."

The dismay he felt showed in his features, and Mala could see no recognition of the things she’d listed. Gesturing to Mary for a pen and paper, he said, "Draw me what you are talking about."

When Mary set a sheet of paper and a pen in front of her, Mala quickly drew a few crude sketches. As she spoke, she pointed to each one. "See, this is an airplane. People fly in them and go all around the world. This is a car. People drive in cars to go to work, to go to a restaurant, wherever they want to go."

Pausing for breath, she looked earnestly at him, praying for some recognition of what she’d drawn.

"There are no such things here, Mala."

"Yeah, I’m figuring that one out. So where is here, and why am I here when I don’t belong here?"

"These things can’t be real, Mala. They are no more than something placed in your mind, and I will find out how and why." Unperturbed, he smiled reassuringly at her.

Her hand clenched in a first around the pen as she stared at him. "You’re not seeing the clear picture, are you?"

She threw the pen down then got up from the table and stalked out of the room. Mary’s gaze followed her with a great deal of concern before she glanced back at Ivory. "What could have happened to the poor girl?"

"I don’t know, Mary. I fear very much for her sanity. I must search deeper for the damage to her mind. This is far more complicated than I had originally thought."

Mala heard them and wanted to scream in her frustration. Instead she yelled, "My mind is not damaged!"