Hilda had been trapped in this world for centuries, cast out of her realm by a rival queen.

Before the exile spell was cast, her servants had managed to bring her a single, crucial item. As long as she had it, she only had to wait until the next solar eclipse during a summer solstice. With a wind from the north. Blowing at exactly 12 kilometers per hour. Also, maybe a human sacrifice. Her servants had been hazy on that point.

So Hilda had settled into her new home in the mortal realm. She married a local farmer and inherited his land. And then she waited.

Now, after 300 years, the conditions were perfect.

As the sun approached a total eclipse, she went out to her barn. She had sold off the horses weeks before, so it was deserted except for Tyler, her neighbor’s boy.

Chosen for the sacrifice, the child sat on the straw floor. He stared at his phone while devouring a chocolate bar. Hilda hadn’t even needed to tie him up. A dagger rested on a nearby crate. Just in case.

At the barn’s center, Hilda cleared a patch of straw from the dirt, lifted a sheet of plywood, and retrieved a burlap sack from a small hole. Reaching inside, she withdrew a crystal ball the size of a grapefruit. It sharply reflected the waning sunlight, making a bright pinpoint on the far wall.

Tyler glanced up and saw his neighbor murmuring in a language he didn’t recognize. He shrugged and went back to his game.

Hilda’s chant reached its crescendo as the moon centered in front of the sun. On the far wall, the pinpoint grew into a glowing panel the size and shape of a door.

The door opened…

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