You're welcome, @Rora! Yes, this ski lodge will last, although I've been a little late putting out the parts lately.

Day 6, Part 2

The golden-haired woman's smile didn't leave her face as she looked at the newcomer.

"Ah, Signor Russeli!" How charming to see you," she exclaimed. "You will have come to see Signor Claudio, of course? Well then, I'll leave you to it while I have a word with my daughters." She motioned to Lyric and Midnight Phantom. They followed her into the hall, where a girl, about eighteen years old, stood watching them.

"Quick," whispered the golden-haired woman. "There isn't much time." She pressed a folded, silky piece of paper into Midnight Phantom's hand. "This will tell you all you need to know. Hide it in your dress pocket. When you have a chance, read it and remember what it says."

"If it's okay to ask... who are you?" asked Lyric as Midnight Phantom slipped the paper into her pocket.

"My name is Elaine, and this is Peter. This is Reuby Moonnight. YOu'll probably be seeing us again at the Time Travel Inn. Until then, remember what I've told you. And the most important thing of al is - don't trust -"

But at that very moment Signor Russeli appeared.

"Signora," he said with a touch of impatience, "the artist is waiting and I must have a talk myself with the young ladies."

Elaine nodded. "OF course. Goodbye, children. Don't forget we eat in an hour." And she skimmed away.

There followed an interminable time of sitting before the open window while the artist sketched "the preliminary lines" on his easel. It was hot by now. Flies buzzed outside the window, their sharp, irritating noise mixed with the soft, gentle calling of the doves on the rooftops. Signor Russeli sat in a corner, making small talk.

At last Claudio laid down his pencil. "That is enough for today," he announced. "We will continue tomorrow."

Lyric and Midnight Phantom got up and moved toward the door, murmuring thank-yous. But Signor Russeli followed them.

"Well, well. Lyric and Midnight Phantom!" he said jovially. "What a pleasure to meet you at last. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jeff Kiss, the head and CEO of the Nile Corporation, and your primary host on this time-travel journey. It was such a joy for us at the Inn when we realized we had room for the two of you. We arranged for you to come to this villa first, as an immersive and interesting experience, and now I shall escort you to the Inn." He pulled two brochures out of his roomy pockets and gave them one each, all the while leading them down a staircase and into the hall. "Come along. If we hurry, we'll be just in time for..."

Lyric stopped listening. The house they had just left was set among rolling hills and olive groves, with endless vineyards stretching out of sight. Cypress trees were everywhere, swaying in a slight breeze. It was still hot, but when they entered the shade of a grove of trees, right away it felt cooler.

Then Lyric saw the Inn. She knew it must be the Inn - it looked like any modern hotel, and besides, it had the words THE TIME TRAVEL INN written across the front.

Jeff Kiss showed both girls to their rooms, which were next to each other, and left them alone.

Instantly Midnight Phantom slipped her hand into her pocket and closed her fingers over the silky-feeling paper. 

Once it was unfolded, she saw it was handwritten, in simple, legible printing. As she read, her eyes grew wider and wider and she felt half-disbelieving, half-afraid. Was it all a trap? Did Jeff Kiss really just want her to betray the other CBers? And what would happen to her if she didn't?

Then she saw the last paragraph.

The most important thing is that Jeff Kiss must not suspect that you are not in league with him. When he or one of his employees asks you to spy on the CBers for him, agree and pretend to start spying. Keep him unsuspecting for as long as you can, until help arrives. Signed - Elaine Karr.

Midnight Phantom rushed into Lyric's room and showed her the paper.

"Oh, the poor CBers!" whispered Lyric. "I wish we could really help them!"

"Maybe we can," replied Midnight Phantom comfortingly. "And now, let's go and see them."

Day  6, Part 3

Having gathered with the other CBers in Hex's room before breakfast, listening to her plan of what to do, Silver Crystal felt that the day was off to a good start. Hex's plan was wonderful. It would be impossible for the CBers to fight the Nile Corporation on their own - so the solution  was to turn the corporation against itself.

"If we can make Jeff Kiss distrust all his employees, and his employees distrust him, and so on, each will start taking measures against the others," Hex had explaiend quickly. "Eventually, perhaps they'll actually battle each other instead of us. We, meanwhile, will wait and watch. And eventually, take over."

"The only thing is," said Luna Silvermoon, "how do we make them distrust each other?"

"Well, there are a million ways, but I thought maybe your magic would help," said Hex.

"Of course it will," said Nightly haughtily.

"Let's work out a schedule," said Wolfy, bouncing up and down.

But just then, there was a knock on the dor, and Madame Agalier's voice called - "Breakfast!"

"Oh well, we can work it out later," said Darkvine. "Right now I'm hungry!"

"A new guest has just arrived," Madame Agalier told the CBers as they went downstairs.

"A new guest? But there were only spots for 13," pangolin objected.

"Yes, but it turns out that this CBer submitted her form at the exact same moment as... who was it? - oh yes, Flamarestii - so both of them were accepted. But she asked to skip the part of the trip up to the Renaissance, as she was busy earlier with a family trip to her grandmother's house. So she's just arrived today. Her name is Nut le Squirrel, but she prefers to be called Rora."

Inside the dining room stood a girl who appeared to be about eleven years old. She had a pretty, pointed face and long dark hair that fell loosely over her forehead and shoulders. She was standing next to the waiter (who Wolfy vaguely remembered from her first day at the inn) and talking in a quick, merry voice.

"So you just arrived an hour ago, Miss?" said the waiter.

"Yes. I got a message yesterday, just before I went to bed, saying that I would arrive here by the time I woke up in the morning - and it turned out to be true!" Then she caught sight of the other CBers.

"Hi," said Amethyst, smiling. "Are you Rora?"

The girl nodded. "Yes! What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Amethyst." Soon all the CBers were getting to know Rora as they ate their breakfast.

"What are we going to see today?" asked Silver Crystal once they were finished.

"A tour of the country estate nearby," Madame Agalier replied.

By the time the CBers got back from their tour, it was mid-afternoon. They were sitting in the library of the hotel, chatting or reading, when the door opened and two people came in.

Darkling jumped up and made an exaggerated bow.

"Doctor Livingstone, I presume?" he inquired satirically.

The girls looked taken aback. "Um, no. Lyric and Midnight Phantom. We're new guests."

"More new guests?" Artemis raised an eyebrow.  Darkling fell into a chair with mock surprise.

"You see," explained Flamarestii shyly, "we just had a new guest join us this morning, and we thought there wouldn't be room for anyone else. But we're glad you've come," she added politely.

"Let me introduce everyone," said Darkling, getting up again. "I am Sir Darkling, the seasoned time-traveler -"

"Seasoned?" interrupted Darkvine playfully.

"Yes. With salt and pepper," continued Darkling, not in the least thrown off his balance. "These are Artemis, Luna Silvermoon, Silver Crystal..."

This is pretty odd, Eclipse found herself thinking. More CBers? It must be some new trick of the Nile's. I wonder what it means.

"... and Eclipse the Very Very Thoughtful," Darkling finished up.

"Darkling!" 

He grinned. "Just joking."

Eclipse got up and stared out the window at the countryside, bathed in late afternoon sunlight. The chatter behind her faded away. She found herself thinking about her parents. She missed them so much... She wished her mother were here with her right now, smoothing her hair with a gentle hand, or her father, ready with a joke or a story to cheer her up. They always knew what to do. But they weren't here, and she must carry on their work for them.

She felt a hand on her arm and glanced up to see Rora.

"Are you okay?" the other girl asked softly.

"Yes." She let her gaze slide back to the hills and the blue, cool sky behind them. "Just... lonely, I guess."

"Well - would you like to play Monopoly with us? There are several sets here, and we're going to play in groups."

Eclipse nodded. "Okay." As she turned back to the lamplit room lined with bookshelves, full of laughing people, she felt a wave of comfort rush through her. There was no way Jeff Kiss could stand against this band of united CBers, she thought. Together, they'd get the better of him. Tomorrow, she promised herself, their campaign would finally - finally! - start.