Cal bit her lip, not even bothering to ask what a seret was. Ever since she’d woken up in Lorraine’s body she’d been called by a dozen odd names in what sounded like a completely different language. The deities didn’t like for mortals to use their names, she knew – but on back on Xara they were usually just given respectful titles like your highness, your mightiness, great god… which, to be honest, sounded a whole lot better than calling someone seba-icky.

What was she supposed to do? Judging by his wide eyes and backpeddling, Danny didn’t recognise her at all. She’d already tried to identify herself by name and association with Flynn and had failed fantastically. Her thin shoulders dropped and she twisted her fingers with her hand. What if she was stuck like this forever and no one ever knew who she was?

Danny’s words did at least snap her out of her crushing hopelessness.

“Don’t call me ‘Caldera’!” She scolded him automatically, narrowing her sea-blue eyes. The only person who got away with that was her mother, and only then because the latter insisted.

She released her fingers and pushed them back through her hair, closing her eyes against the world and inhaling deeply. This was no good. She needed Danny’s help. She wasn’t going to get that if he ran off screaming just because she gave him a funny look, like the janitor in the barracks. She pinched the brow of her nose and sighed.

“Listen, mate, will you just help me find him?” She pleaded. She removed her hand from her face and started to reach towards him to take his shoulder, but thought better of it. “I guarantee you won’t find Cal.”

Unless Lorraine was parading around somewhere in Cal’s body. The thought made her queasy.

CALDERA