THE SIXTH REALM: INDIGO

A thick mist drifted among the shapes of the landscape. Skyblue tilted her head to look around one side of it, and the mist shifted that way. She tried the other side. The same thing happened. It was like a creature determined to stand between her eyes and the world.

She could make out only shadows. Some moved; others looked like tree trunks, rocks, or columns, but dissolved as soon as she tried to touch them. She walked with her forepaws stretched out, feeling for the ground before taking each step. When she tried to fly, she collided with something that might have been a tree. Or a column. Or neither.

“It gets dark early here,” she remarked. “I hope I can see a bit better in the daytime.”

“It’s noon,” Helio replied.

Skyblue froze with one paw still in the air.

“Then I’d better rest.”