Bobby Pendragon slipped the heavy ring onto his finger, where it belonged. But no sooner was it back in place when surprisingly, it began to twitch.

“What’s the matter?” Mark Dimond asked.

“It… it’s activating,” Bobby said with surprise.

“Really? You mean there’s a gate around here?” Courtney Chetwynde asked.

The gray stone in the center of the ring began to glow, then sparkle. A second later a sharp beam of light shot from its center. With a flash, the light blossomed into an image that hovered in front of the group.

Mark and Courtney took a surprised step backward. Gunny Van Dyke stepped protectively in front of them. But Bobby held his ground. Of the four of them standing on the empty lot at 2 Linden Place, Second Earth, Bobby was the only one who had seen this particular phenomenon before.

Floating before them was the image of a girl. Actually, it was a girl’s head. Just a head. It was bigger than life, but definitely a girl. She had blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore small, yellow-tinted glasses.

“Whoa,” said Courtney in awe.

“Yeah, whoa” added Mark.

“Aja Killian,” whispered Bobby.

“Who?” Gunny asked.

“The Traveler from Veelox.”

“Where have you been?” the floating head demanded angrily. “I’ve been trying to contact you for ages!” “Long story” Bobby answered.

“I don’t want to hear it, Pendragon,” Aja’s head shot back. “You’d better get back to Veelox.” “Why?” Bobby asked.

Aja-head hesitated. She looked nervous. Or at least as nervous as a 3-D floating head could look. “I’m not saying I made a mistake,” she explained with a touch of embarrassment. “This may be a total false alarm, but-“

“Just say it!” Bobby shouted.

“All right!” Aja snapped. “Saint Dane may have slipped through my security system. He is here on Veelox.”