Chapter 23
On Saturday morning, Esme, Daniel, and Lillian met up with Meera in Burner Lane. A new piece of street art dominated the alleyway: a square-metre recreation of Solister’s villa, looking three-dimensional thanks to Meera’s magic. The portal’s filmy surface rippled as if that part of the wall were made of water.
‘You must have stayed up all night to finish this,’ said Esme. ‘I can’t thank you enough.’
‘Oh, it only took a couple of hours. Anyway, I hope you’ve all put on enough layers. It’s freezing on the other side. I popped through before, to test it.’
Everyone was wearing warm jackets except for Meera. ‘You’re not coming with us?’ Esme asked.
‘If I do, the portal will close in an hour or so. I need to stay here to hold it open … and make sure no one else goes through.’
Wi
