" fine. "

He spotted the knife. "Also, don't let yourself get stabbed by her."

She heads back to Ethan's room.

" ill...try. "

By that time, the Ethan imposter had closed and locked his door.

He nodded. "Good. Also, don't say I didn't warn you." He grinned, and the gleam in his eyes grew brighter. "First things first. We have to find an entrance to the Nevernever. That's Faeryland to you. It's not a place you can just walk to, and the doors are usually very well hidden. Fortunately, I have a good idea of where one is lurking." He grinned, turned away, and pounded on Ethan's bedroom door. "Knock, knock!" he called in a high, singsong voice.

For a moment, silence. Then came a thud and a crash, as if something heavy had been hurled at the door. "Go away!" snarled the voice from within.

"Ah, no. That's not how the joke goes," called Rob. "I say 'knock, knock,' and you're supposed to answer with 'whos there?'"

"F--- off!"

"Nope, that's still wrong." Robbie seemed unperturbed. "Here," continued Rob in an amiable voice, "I'll go through the whole thing, so you'll know how to answer next time." He cleared his throat and pounded the door again. "Knock, knock!" he bellowed. "Who's there? Puck! Puck who? Puck, who will turn you into a squealing pig and stuff you in the oven if you dont get out of our way!" And with that, he banged open the door.

The thing that looked like Ethan stood on the bed, a book in each hand. With a hiss, he hurled them at the doorway. Robbie dodged. "Please," he muttered, and a ripple went through the air. Suddenly, all the books in the room flapped their covers, rose off the floor and shelves, and began dive-bombing Ethan like a flock of enraged seagulls. The fake Ethan hissed and snarled, swatting at the books as they buzzed around him until one hit him smack in the face and tumbled him off the mattress. Spitting in fury, he darted under the bed. They could hear claws scrabbling against the wood as his feet vanished into the crawl space. Curses and growls drifted out from the darkness.

Robbie shook his head. "Amateurs." He sighed as the books swooping around the room froze mid-flight and rained to the floor with echoing thuds. "Lets go."

She watched the scene with wide eyes. " O...okay. " she followed Robbie out, sending a final glance back into the bedroom.

"Are you going to be this annoying the whole time?" Isiea huffs. "Because if you're going to be, the changeling won't be the only one getting stabbed."

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try," he said to Isiea. "And trust me, many have and I'm still here, so..." He went over to open the closet door. A tall, emaciated figure with a narrow face and sunken eyes stared at them as the door swung open. A black suit clung to its rail-thin body, and a bowler hat perched atop its pointed head. It blinked wide, staring at them, and bloodless lips pulled back in a grimace, revealing thin, pointed teeth.

She sighs. "The fae place has time-warping features, correct?"

" ...Robbie, what is that? " she asked him