“Skali, get your friends. This is your new home! Come and stay,” he called to them, then he turned the protruding porch.

Skali was stunned!

The blue that signified his terror quickly receded, and his face became blacker with extreme happiness. His voice was choked when he called to his friends, then he bounded up the steps with great leaps.

The young indigenes who had spent most of their lives out of shelter now squealed with happiness and roared up the steps after Skali, and they disappeared through the newly-created doorway.

Sena was greatly surprised by what lay beyond the doorway.

It was a huge, beautiful, circular space filled with splendour. There were shell-like objects in the roof that radiated glorious light into the dome. There were many bed-like structures against the wall in the far end, replete with a large, round table. Other doors opened out along the walls, leading to gardens, fruit-foods, clothe materials and a host of other grand stuff that made living in the Desolates a cream.

One door was a chute-like exhilarating drop to a playground, and a gentle climb up again, and many of the young ones began to drop down with screams and cries of joy.

Sena watched them, and it gave him great satisfaction to see them so happy. As he relaxed on one of the beds waiting for the excitement to die down, they finally came together in a group, most of them looking fresh and neat from swimming in the pool, and wearing new materials around their waists.

They came towards him, led by Skali, and they fell to their right knees and put their right hands across their heart areas. Sena assumed this was a position of respect in their culture.

“Great Traveller!” Skali said with his head raised as the others bowed their heads. “We thank you for a day of delights, a day we have never experienced before. Is this doorway truly for us?”

“I leave the Desolates as soon as I get Tatita. Yes, this is yours.”

They all raised their hands then and began to thank and praise him.

As Sena was trying to make them stop, the rich curtains in front of the main doorway was pushed to one side, and Hangit entered. His face was normal now, but it still had a faint tint of blue, indicating that his fear was still simmering just below his skin.

He stood short with wonder as he looked around, and his hand trembled as he looked at Sena.

“May I approach, Traveller?” he asked in an unsteady voice.

Sena, now sitting at the head of the great table with a fruit-food in front of him, nodded and indicated the foot of the table.

“Approach, Hangit,” he said, his face impassive.

Hangit approached carefully until he was standing at the foot of the table with Skali and his friends looking ominously at him. Hangit rubbed his black nose.

“I wanted to ask, perchance, if you would be crossing over,” he asked carefully. “Only one of us can help you cross over, and I own her.”

“You don’t own her!” Sena said darkly as he looked at Hangit with grim eyes. “I have heard how you kidnapped Tatita’s brother and use him as a hostage to force her to do your will. Everybody here is equal, Hangit, and you have no right to force her to do your will.”

Slowly, Hangit’s head turned an unhealthy blue when he saw the mean look on Sena’s face, and heard the threat in his voice. He took a step back.

“I…I ju-ju…” his voice trailed off, and he turned to flee when Sena got to his feet.

“Stop, Hangit!” Sena said darkly, and the bad indigen stopped and turned around slowly.

Sena walked around the table and stood glaring down at Hangit.

“If I want, I can tear down your doorway and kill you!” he said grimly. “But I don’t want to. I can see you want one of these doorways, don’t you?”

Hangit, still blue-headed, nodded frantically.

“Good,” Sena said. “I will create one of them for you, on condition that you release Tatita and her brother, and bring them to me. Secondly, you will promise to protect her, and my brothers here!”

Sena extended an arm to encompass Skali and the little indigens.

“If you so as touch the finger of one of them, I will come back, and I will break every bone in your body, Hangit. Do you understand?”

Hangit fell on his right knee, clamped his fist to his heart, and nodded enthusiastically, causing Skali and his friends to laugh.

“I understand, Traveller, and I promise.”

Sena clamped his hands on Hangit’s shoulders, lifted him off his feet, and glared fiercely at him, intending to put terror into the creature. He succeeded because Hangit had turned so blue that his head looked purple now.

“You better!” Sena said.

He pushed the creature away because Hangit’s heart was beating irrationally with terror.

He took Hangit outside, and in another explosive display of sheer raw power, Sena broke a doorway down the line for Hangit, who was so elated that he ran almost on invisible legs, and a moment later, delivered Tatita and her brother to Sena.