As bright as the white light had been, Jezzie, now somewhat dizzy and decidely disoriented,  found she had to shield her eyes from sudden sunlight. Her feet, which moments before had been firmly planted on the hard, cold floor in the back room of the bookstore, seemed to sink now into slightly sodden grass. The sensation was too much for her. She fell backward, letting a gasp escape her lips. Her heart raced and she felt for a moment as though she might faint.

Closing her eyes against the impossible landscape before her, she attempted to steady her breathing and will her heart to slow down.

"My lady, are you ill?"

Her eyes flashed open and she backed up, crablike, up the hill. In front of her stood a slim, sun-tanned man with waves of brown hair curling around obviously concerned features.

"Please, my lady, allow me to help you." He took a careful step forward, one hand outstretched toward her. He was dressed in skin-tight pants -- more like leggings, really, a worn cotton shirt of pale blue, and a golden vest fastened snugly against his frame. Around his waist, a leather belt which looked hand-sewn, held a small gilt dagger.

She blinked and shook her head slightly. What was happening?

"Please," he said again. His voice was calm and suggested a slight accent she couldn't place. "I mean you no harm."

She lifted herself unsteadily on her own hands and looked wildly around. On the ground, lay the leather-bound book and her Ipod. The earbuds were, remarkably, still in her ears. She removed them with a tug of the wire  and inched backward a little more.

The man dropped his hand to his side and tilted his head slightly as if in question. The look of concern never left his eyes.

"Are you ill, my lady?" he asked again.

"No," Jezzie said, finding her voice a squeak. She cleared her throat and tried again. "No, I mean... I don't think so... what happened?"

"I could well ask the same of you," the man said. "I fear I may have been in the sun too long, but I'd swear you just appeared here on this hill out of nowhere. Perhaps it is I who is ill."

"Where am I?" she asked, stooping now to pick up the book and her Ipod.

"You are in the Kingdom of Calera," he replied, concern deepening in his eyes. "What a strange query."

"Calera?" Jezzie asked, trying to recall where she'd heard the name. "The book! From the book!"

"Book, my lady? I take it you refer to the book you now hold?"

"I don't feel so good," she said at last. "Maybe I am ill, after all."

"Come," he said, holding his hand out again. "My horse is just beyond this hill. I have water there. My home is not far. If you would permit me, I would take you there and see you rested and fed. Forgive me for saying so, but you do look a little pale."

Not knowing what else to do, she took his hand and allowed him to lead her gently down the hill to his horse.