"I wish you free reign of this Land -- and nowhere else!" The table caught Glora across her metallic waist and the thrown book struck her arm, dislodging her grip around the stone. The stone flew from between her hands like a bar of soap, landing on the floor between the upturned table legs. Jon and Karyn dived for it as Glora staggered.
Jon reached it first and snatched it up, saying, "I wish --" The nature of Glora's wish confused him, and in that moment a silver hand crushed his furred wrist and another took the stone.
Jon dropped to one knee, holding his throbbing but unbroken wrist. Karyn slashed her claws at Glora but she swatted the otter-girl aside.
Glora looked at them through the cage made by her fingers around the hovering, gold-glowing stone. "I won't hurt you. You two have the courage to survive in the Land of Things That Disappear; all I did was make sure you won't leave to interfere with me. I'm grateful, really. In fact..." She mumbled a few words, and two silver pendants appeared on necklaces at Jon and Karyn's feet. "If you need my help, or if you decide you'd like to help me, use these to ask. The pendants can do a few other things, just as a surprise gift for you."
Jon and Karyn had risen and flanked Glora, ready for one last strike. Glora backed away out of the cabin and stood on the boat's deck with the morning light in her golden metal hair. She climbed the rail.
Jon and Karyn exchanged a look. They roared and leapt.
"Thank you again," Glora said, and stepped backwards off the rail to vanish without falling.
The two kids from Earth, the heirs to the stone, the were-otters, the discoverers of the Land of Things That Disappear, crashed in the water and rose to stare at the sky and their boat.
"So we're stuck here," Jon said.
"Jon?" asked Karyn. "If your wishes against 'that villain' kept her from touching the stone, why didn't she change too?"
"Maybe she did change," said Jon, letting his claws fade and his shape change towards human again. "In fact, she may not even have noticed."
