Chapter 3.5

Chapter 3.5

Skyler met me at the mouth of the cavern with what I assumed was the pack he had when he left to come here. I had gotten the ok from Grandma, who seem resigned to the fact that I was actually considering going to meet Le` Than. She seemed kind of off anytime I mentioned him but I couldn’t place why. It was almost like she knew him somehow, but that would be impossible so I just wrote it off as her dislike of the Kier side altogether.
I shrugged it off and went in. We spent the day setting up the small cave in the back so that both of us would have a place to sleep instead of just me. It was pretty roomy for one person and with both of us there it was actually kind of cozy. We wound up carrying the couch over to one corner and using the extra sheets and blankets to curtain off two rooms so that we both had a private space.
The break from our regular routine was nice, but by the time we finished eating I was starting to feel a bit antsy. I was glad when Skyler finally decided that it was time to go through our forms. Rather then jumping into the most recent form I had learned he went to the weapon racks and got a pair of all the one-handed weapons as well as one of each of the two-handed ones then told me to do the same. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I assumed he would let me know eventually so I followed suit then laid them out in front of where I would be doing my forms like he had done.
He nodded then said, “We are going to go through all of the forms tonight at a slow pace. While we go through them I am going to tell you a little bit about what it means to be Kier Sona. I want you to pay close attention to each one of the weapons as we go through the forms. One or more of them will resonate with you and the style of fighting you prefer better then the rest. Remember which ones you like the best because they will be used for the next part of your training. Ready?”
I nodded and asked, “Which ones do you fight with?”
He laughed, “Let’s begin.” He started with the first hand-to-hand form as he told me about our race, “According to legends a long time ago there were only three races of Kier named for three sisters who gave birth to them. Lana was the graceful one despite the bulky wings she could never retract into herself. Tanya was a shape shifter, able to go from one appearance to the next on a whim. Sanya was the only one who could never have wings, but she made up for it with her ability to adapt to any given situation through the use of the Elements.
“The sisters and their children lived in relative peace but they had an unknown enemy that wanted to destroy them. One day the enemy came and killed most of Kier before they were finally driven off by all three races fighting together. The sisters knew that the enemy would return and that if they didn’t do something they would all be killed so they made the first Kier Sona. Blessed with Lana’s grace, Tanya’s shape shifting, and Sanya’s gift of the Elements the first of our kind was given one purpose, defend the Kier.
“When the enemy returned to finish off the Kier the First, whose name we have lost to the ages, was able to fight them to a standstill. Not able to gain any ground the enemy withdrew to let the remaining Kier live out their days in peace. We don’t remember who the enemy was or where these battles took place. All we know is that our purpose still holds true. When the enemy returns we will be ready to defend the Kier. It is for this battle we train and train our children.
“The War of the Clans destroyed a lot of our history and split our people. I think it happened because we forgot our way. We had become so focused on the training that we forgot the reason we trained in the first place. This division of the Clans will one day come back to haunt us when the enemy returns and finds us unprepared to fight them. Le` Than has done everything he can to make sure that the Clans under him are ready, but I don’t know if it will be enough. If we are to stand a chance I think we need to find a way to bring all of the Clans back together as they should be. There you have our race. What do you say Yarianna? Will you stand with us on the day the enemy returns?”
I wanted to say that I was still thinking about it but in truth I had already made up my mind, instead I nodded and said, “I will.”
I’m not sure how it happened but my answer came as we finished the last form. With the even tone of the story I almost felt like I was there fighting with the First against an unknown enemy. Everything from the hand-to-hand all the way to the bladed staff was a reenactment of the First’s fight with the enemy. Skyler had told me to pay attention to what weapons resonated with me, but I had gotten so caught up in his story that I had forgotten to.
Skyler looked at me and smiled, “Excellent choices. Now the real work can begin.”
I looked at him and said, “Huh?”
He laughed, “Don’t worry about it. Have you noticed any extra weight?”
I shook my head and asked, “Why?”
All he did was laugh so I looked down to see what was so funny and just stared. Strapped to my waist were twin keris style blades that I had no idea how they got there. Even more surprising was the bladed staff I was holding in my hand. How the hell does a staff just show up in your hand without you even knowing it was there? How do swords show up around your waist? How did I not notice any of it? I was about to ask the questions out loud when the answer came to me. I did notice the blades. They were the same ones I had envisioned when Skyler was telling me about the First.
I looked back at Skyler and asked, “How?”
“We aren’t really sure how old it is or where it originated from, but the story is a three-fold spell. It is designed to tell young Kier Sona about our history, find which blades resonate with them, and answer from the truth of their heart. Each one of us has felt like we were fighting along with the First, and each of us saw it slightly different based on the style of weapon we use. We train in the use of every type of weapon we can, but we specialize in the ones that resonate with us because those are the ones we can call out of the elements. You should feel good about yourself. Not very many of us can call in more then two and even fewer of those that can are able to call in a war bow.”
Now I was really confused so I looked around me without seeing it. I finally felt it when it bumped against my leg when I turned to see if it was behind me. The staff vanished as soon as I tried to set it down so that I could pull the bow out to look at it. Soon after that the rest of the weapons, including the bow, also vanished.
I looked back at Skyler and asked, “How do I get them back?”
He smiled, “They aren’t gone, just waiting for you to call them to your hands again. We will work on calling and dismissing them later. For now we are going to work on your movement in the air. If you want to be named as Le` Than’s heir you will have to be able to fight and move around the field without touching the ground. Every so often a tournament is held and the winner is named second in command. It is designed to weed out those who don’t have the strength or stamina to lead us when we face the enemy again. The winner also has the option of challenging Le` Than himself and a few have. So far there has only been one who got close, but finally lost when he fell out of the sky from exhaustion. It will be a while longer before you have to worry about that though. For now lets see how long you can keep yourself off the ground.”
It sounded simple enough so I launched myself up to the roof of the cavern and glided toward the far end. Circling back was a bit more of a challenge because of a small current of air that I never realized was there pushed against me but I was able to make it all the way back before turning around and doing it all again. Each time I circled back it became a little bit harder to lift myself to the roof and by the fifth time my wings hurt from the constant use. I finally landed half way through my sixth pass and walked the rest of the way back to where Skyler was waiting.
He nodded, “Not bad for your first time. Learn to use the current to lift you back up instead of fighting against it though. Proper use of the currents will be the difference between winning and losing. Knowing how the current moves is half the struggle for long duration flight. Strength and manipulation of your wings is the other half. Go again, but this time adjust the angle of your wings so that the current lifts you back up instead of dragging you down.”
Up I went with my wings crying in protest. Gliding helped relieve some of the stress on them, but when I turned back into the current I could feel the strain. I tried to angle my wings to catch more of the current but dropped a few heart wrenching feet before I caught enough air to keep myself from hitting the ground. I stumbled a bit when I landed and shortly afterward Skyler glided down next to me.
He held out his hand and asked, “Are you ok?”
I took it to pull myself up and shook my head, “I think I felt something pop. Gods, that drop hurt.”
He started running his hands along my wings and said, “You were lucky that you were able to catch yourself. I think we are done with flying for tonight. Nothing feels out of place, but I don’t want to take any chances. Go ahead and retract them so that they can heal properly and we will work on calling in your weapons instead.”
I nodded then pulled my wings in. Tension instantly flared through my back and made me clinch my teeth. I must have made a sound because the next thing I knew Skyler had his arm around me to help me walk to the sleeping area. He helped me to my bed then had me lay on my stomach so that he could help ease the pain. Fingers dug into the knotted muscles and for a brief moment hurt more then it did before he started, but that soon melted away. I’m not sure how long he massaged my back because I fell asleep soon after he started.
The next day Skyler told me was going to be a ground day and to keep my wings pulled in. It almost felt like punishment for hurting myself, but I went along with it. He led me to the middle of the cavern and had me sit in front of him. I sank into the sand with the feeling that I had somehow messed up bad enough that he wouldn’t even let me work the forms.
Skyler looked at me and said, “I know how you are feeling right now and I promise that I am not doing this as punishment. As I told you last night, we are going to give your wings a chance to heal properly and work on calling in your weapons. This lesson usually doesn’t happen until after you have a good feel for the air currents, but I am hoping that by you getting in touch with the energy inside of you the air will become easier for you to feel.
“The first part to calling in any of your weapons at will is your connection to your personal energy. The weapons themselves are just as much a part of you as your wings and claws. The ones that resonate with you will always be the quickest to respond to your call, but any weapon can be called. It takes a lot of time and work with each one you want to be able to call on and that will come later.
“Enter in a waking meditative state and reach for your personal energy. For the most part it will feel formless or like it is waiting for you to learn how to use it. It is up to you to give it form. Start with the Keris blades. You have to know them in every detail. Know how much they weigh, how the grip feels in your hand, the wave pattern of the blade, the length, the width, every flaw and blemish that makes the sword unique to you.
“Once you know the blade in every detail reach in and pull it from your energy. Feel your hand wrap around the grip and draw it out as if taking it from it’s sheath. When you have that one draw the other one. It will be similar, but slightly different. This blade is meant for your off hand. Weight, grip, length, even the pattern will be slightly off from your main hand weapon. Once you know it in every detail draw it from your energy in the same way.
“Always remember that these blades are directly connected to your personal energy. For them to be effective weapons you have to maintain a strong focus on them being substantial. If you lose focus on maintaining them they will fail you. I don’t think you will have too much of a problem with your focus though. The war bow is proof enough of that. It wouldn’t have responded to you if you didn’t have the capacity of maintaining focus over extended periods of time. Ready? Begin.”
I tried to focus like he told me to, but I didn’t have much luck. Every time I thought I had it I would lose focus and the blades would be gone. Over and over again I reached into my energy and tried to pull them out without success. It seemed the harder I tried to call them the harder they were to hold on to.
I went back in to my meditative state determined to try one more time before I gave up for the night and I was met by Nicole. She was sitting by the fountain of energy haphazardly pulling the blades and putting them back as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I sat down next to her and glared at the fountain.
She laughed and said, “It’s not the fountain’s fault that you can’t remember the first instructions Sk` Yler gave you.”
I turned my glare on her and demanded, “What do you mean by that?”
She looked at me and smiled, “Didn’t he tell you that these weapons are as much a part of you as your wings? You are trying to force something into existence that is already there. Forget yourself for a moment and just let the blades be.”
I blinked and said to myself, “Really?”
Skyler gave me a curious look and asked, “Really what?”
I just looked down at my hands and saw myself holding the blades in my minds eye. Instantaneously the weight registered as if I had been holding them the entire time. I blinked again, expecting them to vanish like they had been, but they were still in my hands when I looked up to Skyler’s surprised face.
He shook his head and said, “It took me two weeks to get anything substantial and you do it in an hour. How did you manage to do it?”
I shrugged and said, “Nicole told me that they were already here, I just needed to let them exist. Seems to have worked out pretty good.”
He shook his head, “Well, since you got the easy part over with I guess we can start sparing tonight. It may, or may not considering how fast you pick up some things, get a bit difficult to keep your focus while sparing so we will start slow and pick up speed as you get more comfortable.”
I stood up and nodded then took a ready stance with my blades. He squared up with me and called in a pair of black Gladius style short swords. As soon as he nodded that he was ready we started sparing. I had thought it might be difficult to keep my focus with the blades, but it was like Nicole said, they were just as much a part of me as my wings. We gradually picked up speed until we were going full force and I got to see just how good Skyler really was.
Sometime in the middle of fighting we had gone from twin swords to staves while keeping the same pace. It took most of what I had to keep him from hitting me and I found myself smiling as we danced with our weapons. He nearly got me once and without thinking about it I unfurled my wings and threw myself backward to avoid the hit.
The force of it took me into the air and Skyler followed close behind. The dance became even more intricate as we timed our strikes with the beating of our wings, neither one of us being able to strike the other. We reached the roof of the cavern and turned to grappling to try and at least get a punch in, but even that we were evenly matched.
As we neared the ground I shoved off him and used to space to fire off a couple of arrows before he closed the distance and we went back to swords. I moved through the air like it was second nature and didn’t give myself time to think about it. Logically I knew that I was fighting well above what I should be able to do, but logic didn’t have a place in our dance.
My mind registered the slight change in current that told me where his next strike would be, allowing me to block and counter without my conscious mind filtering the reaction first. Ever since I discovered my wings I had been going through the motions, but it wasn’t until this fight that I finally grasped what it was to be Kier Sona. We were born to fight and it was amazing how free I felt.
I felt myself starting to get tired so I decided that I needed to change things up if I wanted to win. He still had a lot left in him from spending most of his life in the air and I knew that if I ran he would have to chase me so I launched myself toward the roof of the cavern again. True to form, he was right behind me but just before he caught up to me I pulled my wings all the way in and let myself free fall as he shot past me.
I threw my wings back out before I had fallen too far and shot back up the other direction. Pulling my wings back in let me flip around in the air and gave me a clear view of his back as he started pulling himself out of the dive. I didn’t give him a chance to recover. My dive landed me square on his back with enough force to push him to the ground. He rolled to absorb the impact and came to a stop on his back.
I landed next to him and asked, “Are you ok?”
He laughed and said, “I haven’t had that much fun since the last time I spared with Le` Than. If you fight like that when we go before the Kier there will be few who will be able to match you. Help me up and we will work on that being less instinct and more intentional.”
The rest of the summer passed fairly fast. After the fight it was like I had finally woken up and let myself be Kier. I realized that I had been holding myself back because I was afraid of no longer being me. Nicole had been everything about me that was Kier and I had kept her separate because I thought that to accept her was to lose what made me human. It turned out that even though I did grow fangs and claws I was still myself, just more. I could actually feel the changes in the current rather then just letting the wind blow against me.
One of the best days was when Skyler taught me to speak mind to mind. He explained that when we fly to the Kier city we wouldn’t be able to shout to each other very easily so it was more practical to just use mental communication. Along with the explanation came the warning that it was ok to use mental communication while flying and for long distance, but that it was considered rude to use it among a group within earshot because it was too easy to exclude someone from the conversation.
There were also rules of mental etiquette that I had to learn. Before I could start a conversation I had to learn how to send just enough energy to nudge Skyler’s mental defense without seeming like I was attacking him. After that I had to learn exactly how much energy it took to change the volume on my mental voice. Too much energy it would feel like a shout and too little wouldn’t be heard. We had to rope Grandma into helping me distinguish between a single person and a group of people, but I think she secretly enjoyed being involved even if she did complain about it.
With everything else that was going on Skyler also insisted that I learn the Kier language. He said that it wouldn’t do me any good at all to win if I wasn’t able to understand anybody afterward. The days became a blur of sparing, working on forms, language lessons, flying, eating, and sleeping. I was comfortable with the routine and I was disappointed a little when Skyler finally told me that the next day we would be leaving to the Kier city to meet Le` Than.

Book 1 Prologue-Chapter 3 rewrite

Prologue
The Queen sat in her throne carefully reading the document that would turn her proud kingdom into a province of the newly forming empire. Her heart-felt agony was plain as she read the document that she knew would consign her kingdom to the Emperor and would put her name in the history as the monarch that would betray her people.
The Emperor’s General sat in the chair across the table watching her read the document again. “I promise not a word of the contract has changed since the last time you read it two hours ago. Sign it so I can deliver it to the Emperor and get back to my people.”
The Queen looked up from her reading. “I want to be perfectly clear so that you will know exactly what you will be getting when I sign this paper. I may be the monarch, but it is only at the sufferance of the people I rule. There is a very good chance that before the ink dries on this page I will be dead and my head on the way to a pike as a symbol of what will happen to the next monarch who betrays her people. If I am lucky they won't put preservation spells on it. If I am very lucky they will let my name be forgotten. I think I am entitled to a few extra moments of existence.”
“I have already told you that once you sign you will have the Emperor’s protection. No weapon in the kingdom will be able to touch you. Of course, if you don’t sign I will take you head and put it on the same pike you fear as an example to your people. It really is up to you.”
The Queen sat the paper down and reached for her quill. She picked it up and was interrupted by the twelve-foot tall, two-foot thick, six-foot wide door being reduced to splinters by a blast of energy. A single leather-winged man walked into the throne room. Blood was splattered on his face and ran freely from his left shoulder down his bare chest. His bloodstained pants were shredded on the right side and more blood ran down his leg.
As he walked forward he drew twin short scimitars. He twisted them so that they pointed behind him. With a flick of both wrists, dagger length blades slid out of the hilt of both blades and locked into place. As he got closer visible power radiated around him and death danced in his eyes. The Emperor’s General stood as the Queen began to sign her name.
The winged man pleaded, “Your Majesty, don’t do this. It is not too late.”
The General smiled and looked at the Queen. “You know the cost of refusal. Decide who you are going to listen to. It does not matter to me. If I die the Emperor will just send another. That contract is bonded to a similar one sitting in front of the Emperor. All it requires is your signature on this one to seal the contract. Choose now.”
The Queen looked at the winged man. “I am truly sorry Le` Than. This is for the best.”
The Queen finished her signature and the document flashed with power. The General rolled the document up and walked by the winged man. “You lose Le` Than. Your Queen has betrayed your people.”  The General laughed and started walking toward the doorway.
There was a dangerous edge to Le` Than’s voice when he said, “She is no longer my Queen, General Khoman. My people are no longer bound to hers.”
Le` Than struck faster than the General could react. With barely any movement he spun his blades and was past the General. His blades were in their sheathes before the General’s head stopped rolling. He slowly walked up the Queen. His voice still had that edge  when he said, “Return it or I will take it back.”
“Please Le` Than, listen to the reason. I am begging you.”
“You could have called on our people in stead of betraying them. Return it. This is your last chance.”
“Please listen.”
“No, Valora. You had your chance. You betrayed us to them. I will not have my people bound to you any longer.”
Le` Than placed a claw on the front of the Queen’s dress and slowly sliced down. He slipped his finger inside of the dress and lifted a black pendant out and over her head.
She sank to her knees in front of him and whispered, “Please…” Le` Than turned away from her and left the room. The Queen sat on her knees with tears rolling down her cheeks. “Le` Than I didn’t have a choice,” she whispered as her hands settled on her stomach. “He was going to kill our child. I had to protect our child Le` Than. Please forgive me.”
The Queen sat on the floor for a while. She wasn’t sure how long it was, but she looked up when the court wizard walked into the throne room.
“Why are you still here your Majesty? You know they are going to kill you if they find you.”
“Does it matter any more?”
 Her vision went white and it took a few moments for her to realize the wizard had slapped her.
“What…”
“Do I think I am doing? I getting you off your rear and out of here before you get yourself killed. I can stage your death to satisfy the mob, but you can’t be here or it won’t work.”
The Queen stood up and wiped her eyes. She was almost at the doorway when she stopped. She turned back toward the wizard, “My memory stones…”
“I will get them to you. There is a bag and a dress in the next room. Change and go. Now.”
The Queen changed into a plain dress, grabbed the bag, and was on the road when the mob was going into the castle. One of them stopped and walked up to her.
“Miss? It isn’t safe here anymore. You need to leave.”
The Queen looked up with tears still threatening to fall.
“Oh sir, it’s awful. The Queen, she’s dead. Killed with that general right there in the throne room.”
“It’s ok miss. You get out of here now. Ok?”
“Ok. Thank you, sir.”
The Queen walked the rest of that day and well into the night before she finally stopped and looked in the bag. She found another dress, a large bag of gold, silver, and copper pieces, and another smaller bag. She opened the smaller bag and found her crown, seal, and scepter. She took a few pieces of silver out and put the rest back in the larger bag.
She made sure no one was looking then focused her energy and opened a hole in the ground about six feet deep. She crystallized the bottom and lowered the small bag into the hole. She recovered it and traced a symbol over the hole.
When she was done she placed her hand over her stomach and said quietly, “We’re going to be ok now. I promise.”

Chapter 1
I sat on my bed looking at the small box my grandma had given me last night for my sixteenth birthday. According to her this box had stones in it that used magic to record someone’s life. She said that everything I would see in the stones would be true. Of course I didn’t believe her. How could a box of rocks hold memories of dead people?
I opened the box and saw a bunch of what looked like quartz crystals sitting in slots. About half of them had a name in front of them. There was metal tube strapped to the inside of the lid. I pulled it off and felt a tingle go through my hands. I dropped the tube and rubbed my hands. The tingle stopped and I heard a small hiss from the tube.
I looked at it and one end was opened. I hesitantly picked it back up and saw that a piece of thin leather was in it. I pulled it out and found writing covering the entire roll. I know that I have never even seen the language it was written in, but for some reason I was able to read it.
It was instructions on how see what was in the memory stones and how to make one of my own. I still had some time before I had to start getting ready for school, so I picked up the next blank one and followed the instructions on the piece of leather. Holding the crystal, I read the words out loud three times then waited. I thought I had done something wrong so I looked back down at the piece of leather and accidentally cut my finger on the edge on the crystal.
I looked down at the crystal and saw my blood running down it, but not dripping off of it. The stone was soaking it in. I felt a slight tug as the crystal pulled the blood out faster. When it was completely red I saw my name appear on the label that was in front of the crystal I was holding. The crystal went clear again then turned cloudy.
I didn’t really know what to think but according to what I read everything went exactly as it was supposed to. As I was reading the words on the page started to move. I set the piece of leather down and watched the words shift to give the instructions on how to view the memory stones. I picked one that was labeled Valora and started watching.
I put the memory stone down and picked up a different one. After several stones I decided that if the Emperor ever found out this box existed it would be very bad for my family. According to the official history Le` Than’s people had been hunted to extinction for the assassination of the General and the Queen. The brave Queen knew she was going to die so she quickly signed the contract to surrender her kingdom to the Empire before she could be killed. In the history that signature freed her people from the slavery Le` Than’s people had forced them into.
This box of memory stones tells a completely different story of the birth of the Empire. Le` Than’s people were not killed, they just went into hiding. Queen Valora was not assassinated in the throne room that day. She disappeared after giving birth in a barn two provinces away from her home.
Her daughter, my great-great-great-grandmother, was given this wooden box by a man claiming to be a wizard. The wizard told her to pass the stones down to her daughter and to her daughter after until Le` Than’s people returned. The wizard wrote the instructions for making and viewing the memory stones then told her she was to only reveal the information to her own daughter and giver her the same instructions.
I decided to try an experiment to see if Le` Than’s blood still flows strong in my family. I took off my jacket and looked in the mirror at the open-back shirt my mother had always insisted I wear before she died. With a little effort and a bit of focus I watched as leathery wings emerged from my back. The shock of the wings caused me to lose focus and they disappeared again.
I put the box in my stash spot behind a loose panel in the wall and whispered to myself, “Gods, what am I going to do now? I’m a freak.”
Grandma started shouting at me to get moving so I grabbed my bag and headed down stairs. I stopped to check my reflection in the mirror before I went down stairs. 5’4” tall and skinny. Not anorexic skinny, there is no way I could starve myself like that, it’s just weird. I’m not involved in sports at school, but I like to keep in shape. The track coach keeps trying to get me to try out for the team, but I always tell him I wouldn’t want to embarrass the rest of his team.
The real reason is that I’m just not all that interested in the sports they have to offer. I don’t know what sport I would like, I’ll figure it out when I see it. My black hair comes to the middle of my back when I let it hang loose. Most of the time, like today, I keep it in a braid. My emerald-green eyes tilt slightly up at the corners. Up until this morning I had wondered where I had gotten the tilt to my eyes, but now I know they came from Le` Than’s people. I guess I should start calling them my people since I do have their blood running through my veins.
“Yarianna Nicole if you don’t get down here this instant I am going to drag you by your hair all the way to school! Now get moving!”
“I’ll be down in a moment Grandma!” I smiled, revealing slightly pointed teeth, and kissed my fingers then touched them to a picture of my mom I keep over my mirror. “Bye, mom. I’ll see you after school.”
I ran down stairs and smiled at grandma as she was tapping her foot. “Sorry grandma. I was looking at the birthday present you gave me. I guess I lost track of time.”
The foot stopped tapping and her jaw opened slightly. She quickly closed her mouth and pretended like nothing had happened. “Were you able to see anything?”
“Yeah.”
“My dear child, I am sorry.  I had hoped, but I wasn’t sure. How do you feel?”
 I gave her a puzzled look. “I feel fine. Why? Should I feel different?”
“No back pain? Eyes don’t hurt? No body aches?”
“No. What’s going on grandma? Your starting to scare me.”
“Maybe the blood is weak enough for the curse to skip you. Did you try to call the wings yet?”
“Yeah.  They were beautiful, even if they do make me a freak now. Grandma, what is going on?”
“They didn’t hurt?”
“No. Can we go to school now? Your starting to freak me out.”
“Child, you are not going to go to school today. You and I are going to take a drive and I am going to tell you about who you are. How far did you get with the memory stones?”
“I was watching Valora cry in her throne room just after Le` Than left. Other then that, just bits and pieces. I did see what really happened to Le` Than’s people.”
“Did you see any of the other’s call their wings?”
“Yeah. That’s what made me think to try it myself. I was watching a bit of her daughter’s life.”
“Did you get to see what happened afterward?”
“No, you kind of sounded like you were going to start coming upstairs any moment.”
“Then you didn’t get to see the curse. Yari, from now on you are going to have to be very careful with your temper until you learn how to master it. Go change into some cloths to hike in. There are some things I need to teach you. Gods, I wish your mother was here. She should be the one to teach you. I am getting too old for this. Go on now, I am going to call your school.”
I gave her another look and went upstairs to change. I grabbed the box of memory stones on my way down. I have no idea why I did, it just seemed like the thing to do. It turned out that if I wouldn’t have grabbed it then grandma would have sent me back upstairs to get it, so it was a good thing I thought ahead.
I got in the car and looked at grandma. “So, what did you tell Mr. Stensen? He usually won't excuse anybody unless they have the plague.”
“I told him that it was a family emergency and that if he didn’t like it I could go down there and explain it to him in person.”
I laughed. The last time grandma went to the school to ‘explain’ things to Mr. Stensen she had threatened to gut him with her fingernails if he ever questioned her again. “So I take it he wants you to visit?”
“Ha! That twit started stuttering so bad I could barely understand him when he said it was ok and I didn’t need to go there. I want you to remember how to get to the place we are going. It is one of the only place you can go to learn how to use that other side. I was really hoping the curse would pass you by Yari.”
“Why do you keep calling it a curse? It doesn’t feel wrong or bad or anything. If anything it feels more natural then anything else I have ever felt.”
“It has caused our family nothing but heartache. Every generation has had to go through no end of trouble to hide what we are and the contents of that box you carry. I do not believe Le` Than’s people are ever going to come out of hiding. Sometimes I wonder if the Empire actually managed to kill them all. I have never seen any other outside of our family, not even in passing. It is also the reason your mother died. That is why I call it a curse.”
“How did she die? I know you must have told me when I was younger, but I don’t remember the reason.”
“Actually, I never did give you a reason. Your mother was stubborn. I told her that she should never tell anyone about that other side. You were asleep when your mother and father went for a drive. She had decided to tell him about what we are. They were up on the bluffs when she told him. He demanded proof and she showed him her wings. He reached up like he was going to touch them and broke them broke them instead. He didn’t count on her grip and they both fell over the edge. It was ruled an accident. Two people who got too close to the edge in the dark. If she would have just listened to me she would still be here.” Grandma wiped the tears out of her eyes and turned off on a dirt road that led past the bluffs. “I hate this place, but it is, unfortunately, the only place no one will be able to see you.”
We drove for a few minutes in silence and took another road that looked like it wasn’t driven on very much. I saw several ‘private property’ and ‘keep out’ signs along the road. We drove up to a gate that grandma gave me a key to open it. I locked it behind us and we drove for another ten minutes.
When we got there I could see why no one would be able to see us. She parked on the side of a ravine and we climbed down some hand holds carved into the rock. We walked up the ravine for a while. I was just about to ask her how much further it was when we turned a sharp corner and I saw it. In front of me was the mouth of a cave completely hidden unless you happened to be traveling the direction we had been. Somehow I knew that it opened up into a cavern large enough that several people could fly without running into each other.
“When you learn how to use your wings better it won't take as long to get here, but until then we have to take the long way. Go on in. I need to catch my breath.”
I knew she wasn’t telling me the truth, but I went in anyway. The floor gradually sloped down to form the cavern. The ground was covered in sand and at the back there was a smaller cave that had a bed, food, and water. I wasn’t very good at judging how long food should last, but it looked like someone could live down here for at least six months before they had to worry about food or water.
There was a pool that had water continuously running into it from the wall of the cave. Grandma walked in behind me. “Amazing isn’t it?” She took a cup, dipped it into the pool and took a drink. “I forgot how good the water from this spring tasted. Help yourself, after we eat I am going to teach you the basics of what you are.”
“What is this place Grandma?”
“This is what is left of an underground city. Your great-great-grandma found the entrance when she was a young girl. She used to come here to get away from everybody. An earthquake closed off the rest of the city some time back and she bought the land. I try to keep it stocked just in case something happens. Before you ask what I think might happen, don’t. I don’t plan on anything actually happening, but I have lived through some hard times and want to be prepared.”
“There is a fine line between prepared and paranoid, Grandma. I think you might be dancing on it.”
She raised her eyebrow at me with a smile on her face. “Live a few more years Yari, you will see. The first thing I want you to get used to is the added weight of the wings. Just standing with them is one thing. Walking with them is something else altogether. While you are in this cavern I want you to have your wings out all the time. Expect the first few weeks to be hard to get used to. You will most likely find it difficult to judge exactly where your wings are at, but as you move around it does get easier.”
“Ok…how long are we going to be down here? It is getting close to lunch time.”
“You are going to be here at least through the end of the week. I wish there was another way, but I want you to spend the time getting used to your wings and studying those memory stones. When the curse first awakens it is hard to control. There are times that your wings will emerge on their own if you do not have proper control over them. They are just like every other muscle on you body. You have to properly develop them for them to be any use to you. One thing I am going to ask you is that you do not try to fly on your own until I say it is ok. I know that you will want to, but it can be dangerous for you if there is no one there to catch you if you fall.”
“You mean you aren’t going to be down here with me?”
“No, I am going to go back to the house. You will be fine here. I can almost guarantee you will be better then you think you will be. Le` Than’s people are tied to the elements. That is one of the reasons they are hated so much by the Empire. You will be ok here. As for school, you won't get too far behind. I will make sure to bring your homework to you when I come back.”
“But grandma…”
“No buts. Keep your own schedule, study when you want to. Get used to your wings. The next few days you will experience mood swings that, frankly, I don’t want to be here see. There are some clothes here for you to change into. I am going to leave now and see you tomorrow. Ok?”
“Ok grandma. I love you.”
“I love you too Yari. Stay safe.”
“I will. You too.”

Chapter 2
I watched grandma walk across the cavern and leave. Grandma had told me to get used to the weight of my wings so I took my jacket off and focused on them. They emerged and folded on my back. Sitting down took a bit to figure out and when I stopped focusing on the wings they vanished.
I didn’t realize that I was angry until I heard a soup can hit the far wall. My arm was a bit sore from throwing it and, to my surprise my fingernails had changed shape and very closely resembled three inch claws. I knew without looking that my pointed teeth were longer and sharper.
Suddenly I understood what grandma meant by mood swings and why she called it a curse. I thought about what would have happened if I had been at school and lost control of my temper like that. I shuddered at the image of my claws buried in one of my friend’s neck. Some lady at a fair once said that meditation was the key to happiness so I sat down to give it a try.
After several hours of sitting quietly trying to clear my mind, it was probably closer to seconds but time drug on, I gave up. Who could possibly clear their mind with all the sound echoing around the empty cavern? I got up to walk off my frustration and look around at the place I was going to be staying in for the foreseeable future.
On one wall of the cavern were several sets of weapons that caught my eye. I walked over to them and saw that they were all arranged by type of weapon and weight. I chuckled when I thought about how the modern world had rendered most of these weapons useless unless you were staring in a martial arts movie. Neglect was starting to show so I looked around and found several tables that looked like they were used for that purpose.
I had never spent much time around any kind of weapon because Grandma didn’t allow them in the house, but I had always been a quick study. It also helped that I was fascinated with martial arts movies and picked up a couple of things on how to care for a blade. I focused on my wings to bring them out and started with the quarter weight daggers. For some reason I didn’t get as frustrated when I lost focus while cleaning and sharpening the blades. The rasp of the sharpening stone actually felt quite soothing and helped me maintain focus.
When it got too dark to see what I was doing I lit a fire and warmed up a can of soup. While I was eating I pulled out the memory stones again. Since Grandma had mentioned the curse I decided to watch the life of Valora’s daughter. I saw how hard it was for her to learn on her own. Somehow I even felt the pain of breaking a wing because it wasn’t strong enough to support her weight. When I got tired I put the stones away and went to the closet.
There were several open-backed shirts and sweats so I let my wings go just long enough to change and get ready for bed. As soon as I was ready I called them again and laid down to sleep. I thought I was going to have a hard time falling asleep, but with the sound of the water running into the spring I was asleep soon after my head hit the pillow.
I woke up with a strange feeling on my back. It took me a few moments to realize the feeling was my wings. As soon as I realized it they vanished. I suppressed the flash of rage and got up. As soon as I was dressed I called my wings in again and ate breakfast then went back to the weapons on the wall.
I was done with the daggers and half way through the short swords when I realized that I was being watched. I turned toward the entrance of the cavern and saw my grandma sitting on one of the other benches.
She smiled at me. “Hard at work I see. Your mother used to work with that same focus. I have already made lunch. Come and sit with me for a bit.”
I smiled back and followed her into the kitchen. She must have been there for a while before I noticed her because lunch turned out to be more then just a can of soup. I sat down to a full meal with grandma. It took me most of the meal to realize my wings were still out and, thankfully, this time they didn’t vanish as soon as I realized it.
Grandma grinned at me. “Fast learner. How many cans of soup did you go through before you could keep focused?”
“Just one. It would have been more if it weren’t for the work that needs to be done on those weapons. They have a calming effect that surprised me.”
“It doesn’t surprise me. When you start training with them you will find that you will learn them as if you were just remembering how to use them.”
“What makes you think I will want to learn how to use them? What if I just try to forget about all of this as soon as you tell me I can control myself?”
Grandma gave me a sad smile. “I know you will because you are your mother’s daughter and you, unfortunately, did inherit the family curse. Those two reasons are why I know that you won’t want to stop yourself from learning. I know that once you taste the air with your wings spread it will take all I have to get back on the ground. I know this because your mother was the same way and you have always been so much like her. You should be ok on your own for a bit so I probably won’t be back until next week. As soon as we finish lunch I am going to leave. I left some of your clothes and your school work in the room.”
“I understand. I would hate myself if I lost control with you here and I hurt you. I think I will be ok by next week, but my temper is still too close to the edge. I can feel it just below the surface even now. Part of me is getting mad that you are here now. I don’t know why.”
“That is actually quite normal. The other side of you has claimed this place as hers and  right now I am invading your territory. I could stop her, but then you would have to find another place to learn. When your wings are fully developed we will both be able to be in the same area without having to control our tempers, but until then I will let you get more control.”
“How will I know when they are fully developed?”
“You will know.”
For some reason being near Grandma was starting to piss me off so I said, “I think you should go now grandma.”
She heard the change in my voice and stood up. “I think you are right. I will see you next week.”
I watched her back out the door and walk to the opening of the cavern. My anger didn’t start to cool down until I was finished eating and back working on the short swords. The rest of the week was a blur of weapons, memory stones, and anger. Every time I thought about missing grandma I also thought about her being near me. When I thought about being near her I would get really mad. It didn’t make any sense to be me because I really liked her. After some careful thought I decided that it wasn’t me that was getting mad, it was the other side of me that the wings belonged to. I couldn’t really think of anything else to do so I forced my other side to deal with thoughts of my grandma.
After a couple of days I learned to separate my other side’s emotions from my own. As her rage would flare I would silence it with my own. I started to think I was going crazy because I would yell at myself a lot, but her rage slowly died down to a quiet rumble by the time grandma showed back up.
I knew she arrived when I felt my other side grumble. I quickly silenced her and turned around. Grandma smiled, “Since I am looking at you without fangs and claws I am going to assume you have managed to control your other side.”
I smiled back, “Yeah, it took a bit, but all she does now is grumble. I know I’m going to have to sit down with her and work out who is more dominate before I even try to fly, but I think we have made excellent progress. I was just about to stop for something to eat. Care to join me?”
“I would love to.”
Grandma and I walked back into the living area and I started getting cans out to make supper. “I think I will be ready to go back to school at the start of the next school week. I still need a bit of work quieting her when thinking about other people. Are you going to be staying the night or are you leaving after we eat?”
“I can stay for a little while, but I do need to go home tonight. I will be staying all next week though. We will be working on flying and we will need all the time we can get to make sure you will be able to at least work on your own.”
“Do you really think I am ready?”
“I do. You are learning at an incredible rate. I can see in your eyes that you are starting to yearn for the feel of the wind. You are more then ready to get a taste of the air. I was thinking we could start tonight, if you want to.”
“I would love it. Can we start after we eat?”
“Yes. I will tell you now it is best if you don’t eat a lot just before and just after you fly a long distance. It is better if you eat a light snack.”
“I will keep that in mind. Food is ready, lets eat.”
We ate quickly and walked back out to the cavern. Grandma’s wings unfolded like giant kites. Light tan leather stretched out to full span and I swear I could pick out veins of golden scales. The look completely transformed the way I perceived her. Before I had seen her as a slightly stern but loving grandmother who had raised me, but now I could see the predator behind her eyes. Looking in her eyes I could almost see Queen Valora but I wrote it off as her being a descendant.
Grandma had me stretch my wings to full span a few times to make sure they wouldn’t cramp before she let me try to get off the ground with them. Hours later she was still yelling at me to use them to cup the air for lift and not just fan the air in the cavern. Controlling my temper became problematic at best and by the time we stopped I couldn’t even maintain enough control to keep my wings out.
That night after grandma left I sat down with a sharpening stone and let the quiet rasp fill my ears. I didn’t realize I was meditating until I found myself in a clearing of an old forest. The trees reached up for hundreds of feet and were far enough apart that you could easily fly between them. I stood at one end of the clearing and invited my other side to join me.
I felt her as she walked up. She looked like a feral version of me. Her eyes were wild and her skin was covered in small scales. Her hands were slightly longer and ended in claws instead of fingernails. She moved with the grace of a wild animal, both beautiful and dangerous.
I walked to the center of the clearing and met her there. I knew her to be all of my instinct and raw emotion. We studied each other without speaking for a long time. Our eyes met and I felt the raw power that was always just below the surface. Her anger rose at the challenge, so I let mine go. She quickly rose to the killing edge so I let go of all restraint. I knew that if I wasn’t able to match her step for step she would destroy that part of me that made me who I was.
My body started changing on its own so I let it. I was more aware of my wings and small scales grew out of my skin. My hands lengthened and my fingernails grew into claws. I felt my eyes shift to vertical slits and my teeth lengthened to fangs. I stepped forward  with the intention to attack and she broke eye contact.
My rage lessened on it’s own and I changed back until I looked like myself again. She didn’t look up until I was completely back to being me. Without meeting my eyes directly she stepped toward me until we touched and blended into one being. I felt all of who she was settle in me and fill the holes in me that I didn’t know existed. It was just like my wings. I didn’t know I was missing them until they were there and I finally felt whole in a way I never knew possible.
I opened my eyes and looked at the world with heightened scenes. I notices the small crystals in the stone and noticed how they caught the fire light and reflected it out in a rainbow. Suddenly the entire cavern was bathed in a wonderland of light and color. I was too tired to enjoy it fully, and was asleep before I made it to the bed.
I woke up feeling better then I had ever felt in my life and had breakfast ready by the time grandma showed up. We ate quickly then worked on flying. Yesterday I struggled to lift myself off the ground and I could see why the other side had gotten so frustrated. Up until last night I still hadn’t thought of the wings as a part of my body. They were there, but I didn’t really know what to do with them. They were part of the other me.
I flexed the small muscles throughout my wings and was surprised by how many there actually were. Each one of them attached in a different way to make small adjustments that would allow me to fly without going broken umbrella status and falling out of the sky. I cupped my wings like Grandma had been trying to explain and launched myself into the air in a cloud of sand.
In jerks and stalls I managed to lift myself nearly to the top of the cavern. Each time it got a little smoother as I worked out the timing needed to balance out when to thrust down and when to fold them to get over the air to thrust again.
I had just about worked it out when Grandma said, “Slow down Yari. You don’t want to hurt yourself.”
“I know, grandma. It’s just so hard to when I feel this good.”
“You had that little talk with yourself last night didn’t you?”
“I did. All the memory stones that I have looked through and none of them told me about this. Why is that?”
“Can you describe how it feels? Can you put in to words the pure joy of being whole? I couldn’t the first time I flew. It was all my mother could do to get my feet back on the ground. I know you want to push yourself, but lets build your wing strength first, ok?”
“Ok, grandma.”
We spent the rest of the morning doing what I like to call wing sprints. Grandma had me launch as high as I could with one beat then glide to the ground. Then I would immediately launch back up and continue the process until I reached one end of the cavern. Going back up hill was harder because I couldn’t glide as far and when we broke for lunch I was sore in places I didn’t know I could be sore in. After lunch was more wing sprints until supper then it was work on the weapons. The rest of the week was the same thing and by the end of it I was pretty exhausted.
The night we left grandma told me that I had to go back home, but that I could come back out here after school to continue working on wing strength. I helped pack up all of my stuff and restock the food that I had eaten while I was there. Grandma had to remind me at least three times that my wings were out on the way back to the car before I made a conscious effort to keep them in.
We drove most of the way home in silence and when we got there I saw another car sitting in the driveway. I looked at grandma, “Were you expecting company?”
“No.”
“Then who is here?”
“Just you and me.”
“Then who’s car is that?”
“Yours.”
“Mine?”
“Yep.”
“Your joking. Right?”
“No. Think of it as incentive.”
“For what?”
“For passing your Driver’s Ed class. I signed you up for the class. They are going to call sometime this week to let me know when the classes are.”
“You have got to be the coolest grandma in the world.”
“I know. Now get inside. You have school in the morning and I am not going to accept any excuse for you missing even more class. I don’t care if you sprout horns. You are going to be there.”
“Can that happen?”
Grandma looked at me with a strait face. “Yes it can. Don’t worry about it though. I bought a new grinder just in case.”
I stared at her in shock for a few minutes.
Grandma put the car in park and started laughing. “You should see the look on your face.”
It took me a bit to realize she was joking. “Grandma!”
She laughed harder.
“Not nice. I thought old people didn’t have a sense of humor.”
“I may be old, but I still love a good prank. Come on. Get a shower and I’ll get supper ready. You are going to bed early so you will wake up on time.”
I got out of the car and grabbed my stuff. Grandma was still chuckling when we walked through the door. I dropped my stuff in my room and got in the shower. After I washed all the dirt off I filled up the tub and fell asleep in the bath. Grandma woke me up so I could eat. I laid down on my bed and tried to sleep, but I couldn’t get comfortable. It wasn’t until I let my wings out that I finally got comfortable.
Grandma must have come in during the night because I had a blanket tossed over me when I woke up. I got up and looked at the clock. I still had another hour before I needed to wake up, but I got up anyway. Grandma was already up and in the kitchen. I sat down at the table and she sat a plate of pancakes, sausage, and eggs in front of me. “Why is it that no matter what time I wake up, you are already up and have breakfast ready?”
“Because I am a grandma.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s your excuse for everything.”
“That’s because it works. Eat then go into the basement. I went to the cavern last night and picked up a few things for you.”
I gave her a curious look and started eating.
She just smiled. “You’ll see.”
I finished eating and went down stairs to the basement. I stopped when I got to the bottom step and looked around. One set of each weapon that was in the cavern were on the walls of the basement and a work bench was set up in the back corner. I slowly walked around the room and brushed my hand on each weapon.
“So, you like?”
I turned and looked at grandma. “I love it. Thank you.”
“I left room in the middle so that when you get up to training with them you won’t have to rearrange anything. Driver’s Ed is going to be early mornings. They just called to let me know. Come on. It’s time to go to school.”
“But I got up an hour early. How can it already be time to go?”
“You’ve been down here for an hour. Now get dressed unless you are going to go to school in your pajamas.”
I ran upstairs and changed into my normal open-back shirt and jeans then ran back down stairs and pulled my shoes on. I grabbed my backpack and met grandma in her car. We drove to the high school and I looked at grandma. “It’s not too late to detour to the cavern.”
“Yes it is. Go on, it will be fine.”
“But what if I lose control because some stupid person decided to piss me off?”
“Then you will have to learn how to hide the body. Go.”
I got out of the car, grabbed my bag, and walked into the campus to face high school again. I was almost immediately assaulted by a pack of girls more commonly referred to as my friends.
Over the din of questions about where I had been and if I was ok I heard the voice of my best friend Skyler. “Back off devil spawn or I will cut you faces off and sew them into the lining of my duster.”
They cleared a path and Skyler walked forward. He is five feet seven inches tall with black hair pulled into a ponytail that hangs down to the bottom of his shoulder blades. Pale complexion, ice blue eyes, and a toned build make girls drool over him. The black t-shirt, black pants, black boots, and black duster made those same girls avoid him.
I smiled and took his offered arm, telling my friends I would catch up with them later. “Thanks for the rescue Sky.”
“Anytime Yari. You’ve changed. Want to talk about it?”
“Not right now. I will later, but right now I just need some quiet time. A lot has happened since the last time I was here. What are you doing after school?”
“Catching up with you. Your place or mine?”
“Mine. I have some things I need to show you.”
He nodded and we walked to our tree and sat down. I call it our tree, but we don’t really own it. It used to be his tree, not that he owned it, of course, until I refused to be ignored by him. The first day of school I saw him sitting under the tree avoiding people, so I sat next to him and ignored him. Everyday for the first week this went on until he asked me, “Why are you here?” To which I replied, “Why are you?” We’ve been best friends ever since.
We tried the whole dating thing for a little bit, but it didn’t work out. We both agreed to be friends with benefits. The friends part was his idea and the benefits was mine. Now whenever we need a place to just sit we go to our tree.
Someone tried to take it once. Skyler looked at the poor kid and said, “Move.” The kid tripped over himself trying to get away.
I laid my head on his shoulder and held his arm until the bell rang. He kissed the top of my head and we got up. “See you after school. Is your grandma going to pick you up?” “Yeah. You want a ride?”
“If she doesn’t mind.”
“I’m sure she won’t. She never has before. See you later.”
“Bye.”
I felt a lot better as I walked to first hour. I sat through History, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing, as the teacher droned on about the glories of the early days of the empire. History passed without any outbursts and I went to Geometry. Luckily I was ahead in my math before I left, so I was still up to date with the rest of the class. P.E. was kind of boring. We had a sub, so all we did was play dodge ball.
At lunch I was assaulted by my pack of friends again, so I told them I was out of town visiting a cousin on my dad’s side that was in the military. They asked what had happened and I told them that I would have to kill them if I told them. They all laughed at the joke, but I kept a strait face. Granted I just barley kept it, but it did stop the questions. The rest of the day was a blur of Language Study, High Imperialism, and Study Hall. I used Study Hall to get caught up on the classes I had gotten behind in. I met Skyler outside of Study Hall and took his arm.
Grandma was waiting in the parking lot and took us both to her house. “So, what is this mystery that you won’t tell me at school.”
I smiled at him. “You’ll see.”
“I hope your not planning on telling him anything you learned while you were visiting your cousin Yarianna.”
“Why can’t I?”
“You know the reasons.”
“I trust Skyler. If I can’t trust him then I can’t trust anyone.”
“That is the point Yari. You can’t trust anyone. Your mother trusted and look where it got her.”
Skyler looker at me then back at Grandma and asked, “I’m intruding aren’t I?”
Grandma wouldn‘t take her eyes off me, “Yes! You are.”
“No! Grandma. I am going to show him. It will either be here or the other place. You get to choose.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Wouldn’t I? Ask yourself that question. One way or another I am going to show him.” I could feel my anger starting to build along with grandma’s. We locked eyes and I could feel both of us rising to the killing edge.
Skyler must have felt it too because he suddenly slammed his fist down on the table. “Both of you stop! Why are you fighting like this? By the Gods the both of you are blood! You would dare to shame your ancestors by spilling the blood of your own?”
“And what would you know of shame, boy? What would you know of anything?” Grandma took a step toward him and I lost what was left of my control and changed. My wings snapped out then folded half way back to my body. My scales slid out as my teeth elongated. I stepped in front of Skyler and let my claws lengthen. My eyes went to slits and narrowed all in the space of a single heartbeat. I felt a growl rumble deep in my throat and grandma took a step back.
Skyler stepped around and stood next to me. “Yari, She did not mean the threat. Fold your wings back and breathe. She is blood.”
 My eyes refused to look anywhere else but at grandma’s. I went to take another step forward and Skyler stepped in front of me.
In the blink of an eye I felt his power unfold and watched the change ripple across his flesh. His wings extended enough to block out my view of Grandma then slowly wrapped around me. “Peace, Yari. No harm was done. Breathe, it will pass.”
My anger drained out of me almost as soon as eye contact was broken with grandma. I changed back into my usual appearance and felt very weak. I collapsed against Skyler as his wings folded around me.
“What did I almost do?”
“It’s over now. It was a misunderstanding. Are you ok now? Can you control yourself?” “Yes. Thank you.”
His wings folded and vanished and I saw grandma sitting at the table. “I’m sorry grandma. I should have asked you first.”
“No Yari, I’m the one who should apologize. I knew better then to look you in the eye so soon after your change. Can you forgive an old woman for her mistakes?”
“There is nothing to forgive grandma. I knew better then to try show him in your house. You were just protecting your lair. Can you forgive a foolish young girl?”
“There is nothing to forgive. You, however, have some explaining to do. Who are you?”
I sat down and looked at him.
He closed his eyes for a moment the looked at both of us with silted eyes. “I wasn’t supposed to let you know what I am. I blew my cover, but it was all I could think of that wouldn’t end in bloodshed. I am Sk` Yler De` Cain, one of Le` Than’s people. One of your people. I was sent by Le` Than himself to watch over you both, but more specifically you, Yari. He told me that I was not to ever make contact with you beyond a passing acquaintance, never reveal to you what I am, and never reveal to you the reason I was sent. That being said, I am going to go three for three. Yari, Le` Than wants to talk to you before he dies. He wants to name you his heir.”

Chapter 3
It was a good thing I was already sitting down, otherwise I would have fallen. Grandma’s mouth was flapping like a fish and I know I had a deer-in-the-headlights look. Grandma finally found words. “He wants what? After centuries of not even knowing if any of his people were even still alive and now all of the sudden he wants Yari to be his heir? What’s wrong with his own people that he can’t pick one of them? Why now, after all this time?”
Skyler sighed, “There are some not so good reasons as to why he has waited until now. I’m sure he will tell Yari what they are when he talks to her. As far as why he chose her as opposed to one of his own people, as you so eloquently put it, you and Yari are his only living blood descendants. I am supposed to quietly guide you to some sources where you can learn more about your other side, but since I have already broken every rule I was given, I am willing to teach you myself.”
“What makes you think there is anything you can teach either Yarianna or I that we cannot learn on our own?”
“If you had already learned it on your own this house wouldn’t be standing right now with the amount of energy you both were putting off.”
“What if she doesn’t want to be his heir? He sure hasn’t done anything to deserve her. He has never shown any trace of caring about our family before. In fact he even abandoned us. Why should we…”
I couldn‘t take it anymore so I looked at Grandma and said, “Grandma, shut up.” Grandma’s mouth did the fish thing again and I looked at Skyler. “Grandma does raise a good point, but if you are willing to teach me what I need to know I will learn. It will take me a bit to process what has happened today and when I do I am sure I am going to be pissed at you. In the mean time, Grandma, can I take him to the cavern now? It’s not like we have anything else to hide.”
Grandma looked from him to me and back. I looked at her, waiting for her to answer. She finally sighed, “I guess, but it is too late tonight to drive out there and you are going to have to get up early tomorrow for Driver’s Ed. I will take you out there after school tomorrow. You still need to work on your wing strength and maybe he will know a better way then what I was taught. As for the other part, Sk` Yler De` Cain, are you willing to teach Yarianna about fighting? If she has to go see Le` Than then I would rather she know how to defend herself.”
Skyler nodded, “I will be happy to. I didn’t bring any of my training weapons with me though so I will have to find some.”
She nodded toward the basement door, “There are several down in the basement. Whatever is lacking down there can be found in the cavern. I have no taste for the violence so I will not be joining you for that part.”
Skyler gave her a slight bow, “Thank you. I do apologize for the trouble I caused you both tonight. I really didn’t expect this to happen so soon. I can make my own way home so you don’t have to worry about giving me a ride. See you tomorrow.”
I smiled and said, “See you tomorrow Sky.”
I didn’t sleep very good and really didn’t want to go to Drivers Ed the next morning, but Grandma wouldn’t let me out of it. I know I should have been excited about getting my license and being able to drive myself around, but after the bomb Skyler dropped on me last night it just seemed so petty. What was the point of learning how to drive a car when the single biggest enemy the Empire has ever faced was not only alive, but wanted you to be his heir?
I met Skyler after school and Grandma drove us out to the cavern. Skyler actually approved of Grandmas strength training so he used it as an opportunity to teach me about the true history or our people. It turned out that the Empire actually didn’t know anything about it’s greatest enemy.
When our kind, were born we were always given two names. One for ourselves and the other for our feral side. Traditionally we were only referred to by our Clan name until we completed our Coming of Age Ritual where the men had their two names shortened into one by taking the first two letters of the first name and the last four of the middle name. This was done to signify the joining of the Self with the Feral Self. Women, however didn’t shorten their name. They just chose which one the would like to be called and went with it. I asked him why and the only answer he gave was because women were already feral and they didn’t need a name to prove it.
He told us that originally there were thirteen clans of our race, named for the thirteen elders who settled this planet, but there were only seven that they knew where they were because of a civil war that erupted between the Clans. At first Sa` Tain refused to fight, but when he saw that the war would eventually destroy all of his people he put the full force of his clan in the middle of the two armies. Since his clan was the biggest clan descended from the Kier Sona, the warrior race of the Kier, a truce was reached between the two armies. The two groups were so opposed to each other that the only way for them to keep the peace was for one to leave. The other army agreed that Sa` Tain and his Clan would be the ruling Clan of the remaining six.
He also said that there were three other races of the Kier. The Kier Lan, the Dancers, the Kier Tan, the Walkers, and the Kier San, the Adepts. The Dancers were known for their grace and beauty, but were unable to retract their wings. The Walkers were known for ability to become part of their element and were able to retract their wings. The Adepts were known for their ability to fit in with any environment, but were born without any wings.
Evening was spent in the basement learning how to fight. He explained that to properly learn how to fight you have to start as close to your opponent as you could then work your way back. In an actual battle you can always draw you enemy in closer, but if you don’t know how to grapple you are dead if he closes the distance. The last thing we did every night before we left the basement was meditate. It didn’t make sense to me and more then once I caught myself nodding off, but Skyler insisted that I spend at least an hour every night in actual meditation.
Each night I would find myself in the same clearing and struggle to stay there. I kept losing focus because I was worried about if it had been an hour yet, if I had gotten all of my homework done, if I remembered the right form we had been working on, and why it was so important to him that I do this in the first place. I didn’t see the point in it, but I didn’t want to tell him that I thought it was a complete waste of time.
A couple of weeks into it I was pacing around the clearing and was just about to stop the meditation and tell Skyler that it was a waste of time when my other side stepped into the clearing. She still moved with the grace of a predator and I was momentarily jealous that at least she knew what she was. I didn’t even know that much.
She stopped a few feet in front of me and said, “You are letting your mind think about this too much Yarianna. You are who you are, just let yourself be that.”
I sighed, “How? I’m trying to play catch-up to a race that was born know exactly what they are while still trying to fit into the human world that I thought I belonged to my entire life. How do I become both Kier and myself?”
She shook her head, “You are asking the wrong question. What you should be asking yourself is how to let yourself be what you were born to be. Are you Kier or human? The answer is yes. You have taken me into yourself, but you still haven’t accepted me. You already know that you are a Kier born to the world of the humans. Let yourself be that and you will find what Sk` Yler sends you here to find.”
I gave her a questioning look and asked, “What am I supposed to find here?”
She smiled and pointed at the center of the clearing. “You will see it when you accept yourself for who you are. You worry far too much about what will happen when you meet Le` Than. Stop. What happens then is a worry for then, not now. Now all you have to worry about is meditating.”
She started to walk away but I had another question, “Nicole, wait. What would have happened if you had been more dominate?”
She looked back and smiled, “We wouldn’t be having this conversation. I know what I am and I do not fear it just as I know what you are. There may come a time when I will be the dominate one and then you will see what we would have been. For now I am content to see what we will become in your world. I will do you one more favor. Please use it wisely.”
As she passed by the middle of the clearing a fountain appeared. I know it wasn’t an actual fountain, but that is the best translation my mind could come up with for the pool of energy that suddenly appeared. Before I could get closer to it I felt a hand on my shoulder and my focus was broken. I came back to myself with Skyler standing in front of me asking if I was alright.
I waved him off and asked, “Why did you interrupt? You said I was supposed to go for at least an hour.”
He laughed and said, “Its been two. I take it you finally started getting somewhere?’
I sighed, “Yes. Nicole showed me this fountain, or pool, or whatever it was of energy. I was just about to go to it when you pulled me out.”
Skyler raised an eyebrow, “First, you call her Nicole? Second, why is something that is supposed to be a part of you showing you things about yourself that should be as natural as breathing?”
I looked up at him and said, “I call her by her name. It’s like you said, one name for me and another for the other side. Also, for you it may be as natural as breathing, but I am new to this world. Up until two weeks ago I didn’t even know my other side existed so please forgive me for being a bit slower then you would like in learning about all of this. Imaging what your life would be like if tomorrow you woke up in a mental hospital only to discover the life you thought you had lived since birth was all just a pretty dream and you never had wings. All you had was a vivid imagination and a bad temper. How would you react?”
For a moment Skyler was speechless. After a couple of false starts he finally said, “I can’t even imagine life like that. I think it would drive me insane, but if I already was insane it would just drive me deeper.”
I nodded, “Now you know how I feel right now. Every day I have to ask myself if I’m going to wake up in a hospital somewhere with a nurse reminding me that I need to take my meds.”
Skyler knelt next to me and wrapped his arms around me. I didn’t even realize I had started crying and for some reason I couldn’t make myself stop. Everything that I had been pushing to the back of my mind since my birthday came pouring out in a flood and all I could do was hold onto my best friend until it stopped. I was exhausted all the way to my soul by the time he helped me up to my bedroom. Somehow I managed to change into pajamas and crawl into bed. It wasn’t until after I was drifting into sleep that I even wondered if Skyler was still in the room when I changed but I was too far gone to keep the thought past that.
Am I human or Kier? The answer is yes. I opened my eyes to a new day and folded my wing back so I could see what the world had in store for me. As I made my way through my morning routine I paid attention to how much had changed since my birthday. The wings were the biggest visible change. Even those came and went as I showered and got dressed for the day.
I took a critical analysis of everything I did. Had I always preferred the open back shirts or did I start wearing them in a subconscious way of preparing for my other side? Did I always sit at the table with the chair backwards so that it wouldn’t get in the way or was that recent? Did I actually like to keep in shape or did I know that I would need all the help I could get? That one I actually had to think about. It was exhausting building wing strength. I would hate to think of how I would feel if I hadn’t already been in shape. Which begs the question, are there any overweight Kier?
School was no different. I met Skyler under our tree and had to ask, what was it about him that I had been drawn to the first day we met? Was it me that wanted to go talk to him or was it Nicole recognizing one of our own and pushing me to seek him out? Did I always find our High Imperialism teacher so boring and brainwashed or was that recent? Looking around the class at the other students nodding off made that question easy to answer. The biggest question I had I still couldn’t answer. Can I still trust Skyler as my friend or is he just my teacher now?
I tabled my questions for another time as we made our way into the cavern. The slight tension that I carried with me through the day melted away as soon as I was underground. I think the only reason I noticed it at all was because I had spent the day taking a second look at everything. Ever since I had come down here to learn about my other side I carried the slightest bit of tension out in the rest of the world because I was afraid I would lose control and hurt someone.
I stopped so suddenly that Skyler had to sidestep to avoid running into me. I looked at him and asked, “Why am I so worried about losing control when I am out there but not when I am here?”
Skyler looked really confused and asked, “Where is this coming from?”
I shrugged and asked, “Are you afraid of losing your temper and hurting someone?”
He shook his head, “No. I had to learn how to deal with my temper a while ago and there really isn’t anyone here that can get me mad enough to make me loose it. You might feel more comfortable here then you do out there so you can actually relax and that could be why you don’t worry about it here, but that’s just my guess. Did that answer your question good enough to get to work or do you need to ponder it a bit more?”
It probably wouldn’t have happened if we were anywhere else, but his tone reeked of condescension and really pissed me off. How dare he take that tone with me while we were in my place! My mind quickly flashed to the fountain Nicole had shown me and I reached for it without a second thought. Pleasure and pain, sorrow and joy, good, bad, happiness, sadness, death, and life flooded me with euphoric power. I pulled the energy to my as if I were putting on a warm coat and met Skyler’s eyes.
Every word was laced with a knife edge of power, “You will never take that tone with me again, do you understand me?”
Every thing inside of him wanted to fight and I was ready for it. He may have been a better swordsman, but I was on my own ground. I took a step forward and slammed my hand into his chest, raising him into the air and holding him by force of will. His anger turned to surprise then with a slight tint of fear settled into resignation. I knew that he was fully prepared to give his life just because I had decided to take it and that scared me.
All of the energy that was flooding through me just a moment ago vanished and I dropped him then whispered, “Sky, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean.”
He cut me off, “Never apologize for doing what you feel must be done. You are descended from the closest thing our kind has to a king, and since he wants to name you his heir that makes you the closest thing we have to a princess. The standards you hold yourself to should be much higher then the standards the rest of us hold ourselves to. If you see fit to reprimand or punish someone then stick to it but make damn sure you have a reason to do so.
“I was in the wrong for taking a mocking tone when I knew you were already on edge from last night. For that I apologize, but you are severely behind where you should be for one of our people. It is my job to make sure you are ready when Le` Than calls you to his side. I think you can be there by the end of summer and I will do everything in my power to see it done. I know you haven’t decided or even had a chance to decide if you even want this, but I have too much respect for Le` Than and too much care for you to let you be anything but your best when you stand before our people. What do you say Yarianna Nicole Sorenson De Sa` Tain? Will you do all that’s in your power to shut the mouths of a proud race when they say that no outsider will rule over them?”
His intensity scared me a little bit. In all of the time I had known him he had never shown this much passion for anything and it made me look at him in a new light. Before he had been the easy-going-I’m-a-good-friend that was never really rattled but this Skyler was, quite frankly, hot. Everything about himself that he had suppressed to blend in with my world roared to the surface and I kind of felt my knees go weak.
I nearly forgot the question, but after reminding myself that he was just Skyler I was able to respond, “Sk` Yler De` Cain, Sky, will you help me bring pride to the Sa` Tain name?”
I thought he was pushing me before, but after that things really got intense. He started waking me up an hour before I had to be at Driver’s Ed to work on fighting forms then after school we would go to the cavern until it got dark. He changed up my flight training as well. Rather then just doing wing sprints he would hade me start toward the front of the cavern and launch straight up as smoothly as I could until I reached the roof. After that I glided to the lower end and did wing sprints back to the front. When we got back to my house it was more fighting then an hour of meditation. He wouldn’t even let me skip out on homework. He told me that it was just as important that I maintain my grades as it was for me to learn about my other side.
The meditation became the part that I looked forward to the most. Ever since I had used the energy to lift Skyler off the ground it seemed like it was always there, just waiting for me to learn how to use it. Every night I would find myself in the clearing reaching for the energy that came from the fountain. The more I reached for it the quicker it responded to my call until it would begin to fill me as I sank into meditation. Peace would always come with it. It eased sore muscles and cleared the fog that had settled over my mind through the day. I found that I actually felt more rested with less sleep when I would let the energy flow through me. I even started going into a waking meditation during the school day so that I could keep from falling asleep in my classes.
The waking meditation helped with everything. I was able to remember the forms Skyler taught me easier rather then thinking of them as a jumbled mess of moves that didn’t make sense. Each form seemed like a specific fight that happened a long time ago and was used to teach how the moves flowed together. The weapons felt different in my hands. Before they were just tools to be used, but with my new perspective they became more alive. Using the energy I could feel each blemish and flaw in the metal as if it were part of my skin.
One day flowed into the next with the only break in the routine being the weekends. The first day of the weekend was spent in the cavern for the first half of the day and in the basement sparing the second half. It was his way of testing to see if I had been paying attention to the forms that he had taught that week. The second day was spent on language study. He said that knowing the language was just as important as knowing how to fight.
As the end of school came closer I started counting down the days. I knew that as soon as summer started we could just stay in the cavern to train and wouldn’t have to worry about driving back and forth. My friends at school assumed that Skyler and I had started dating from all the time we spent together and we didn’t see any reason to correct them because it kept them from wondering what else we could be doing with the time. I kind of felt bad for pretty much ignoring them but at the same time I didn’t really have a lot of spare time to hang out with them. Even getting my license didn’t excite me like it should have. All it meant to me was that Grandma no longer had to drive us around. On the last day of school I packed a bag of necessities and drove out to the cavern to meet Skyler.

Prologue - Chapter 5

Prologue

My name is Princess Yarianna Nicole Silverstone Sorenson Sa` Tain Dr` Ekar, Knight of the Thirteenth Order of the Order of Saleen, Heir of Le` Than Sa` Tain who is Clan Head of Clan Sa` Tain Current Ruling Clan of the United Clans of the Kier, Heir to Queen Valora Sorenson who is the Reigning Monarch of the Kingdom of Solstice. I dare you to say it ten times fast.

My life lately has been interesting, to say the least. To start off with, on my sixteenth birthday my grandma, who had been raising me since my parents died when I was young, gave me a box of rocks. Great present, I know. Only these weren’t just any rocks. They were a particular type of crystal called Memory Stones.

I wound up creating my own Memory Stone and found out that I am Kier, a genetically engineered race created to save a world that wound up getting destroyed anyway. The survivors wound up getting scattered throughout the universe and some of them, my ancestors, wound up on this world.

Shortly afterward I found out that my best friend Skyler was also Kier and had been sent to watch over me by my ancestor Le` Than. Skyler was supposed to just watch from a distance, but kind of flat out ignored the order so for his punishment he was assigned to be my Captain of the Guard, which neither one of us minded.

I went to this huge crater in the Eastern Wastes where most of the Kier had gone to after the Kingdom of Solstice fell to the Empire, which was ruled by my ancestor Valora Sorensen, who was engaged to Le` Than. Valora signed her kingdom over to the Emperor in order to keep her unborn daughter alive. Le` Than broke off the engagement and left, not knowing that Valora was carrying his child. Valora managed to get out of the castle with the help of her Court Wizard and died in child birth.

Anyway, I went to the crater and had to fight with other potential heirs in order to take my place. See, the Kier, especially the Kier Sona, which is what I am, believe that the strongest are the ones who rule. I guess I should explain a little bit about the Kier while I am on the subject.

There are four types of Kier. The Kier Lan are covered in fine scales and born with leathery wings. They have an instinctual grace that lets them maneuver through the skies better then almost anything else that flies. The Kier Tan are shape shifters. They can mold their bodies to be pretty much whatever they want to be, though most of them stick to going from human appearance to looking like the Kier Lan, which they call their Kier form. The Kier San look like humans with few exceptions. First they have microscopic scales rather then skin, second their eyes go to slits like a cat when they get mad, and third they can channel all six elements.

Most of the Kier can channel at least one Element, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Spirit, and Time. Some can even channel two with a degree of strength. The Kier San can channel all six, but usually only one at a time, or with any degree of strength. The thing that sets the Kier San apart the most is they can adapt to their surroundings. If they live in a hot place they usually channel Fire. If they move to a rather wet place they change to channel Water.

The three races were created by what was left of the human population on their world. They had nearly destroyed their world so the Gods of the world made the Guardians, of the Children of Dr` Agon. The Guardians were able to bring the world back to livable again so the humans went back to what had destroyed the world in the first place and started experimenting. This time they did it on the Guardians. Being a race created to save by destruction, sounds a bit off but it makes sense if you have ever met on, the Guardians took exception to this and stopped protecting the humans. The humans created the three races of the Kier as a result.

The guardians finally got sick of being experimented on so the wiped out what was left of the humans and started on the Kier because they saw them as a mockery and an abomination. The Kier grew desperate and turned to the genetic experiments that had given them birth.

Now we get to my race, the Kier Sona. The three races of the Kier needed something that could fight against the Guardians so they worked into the DNA of their creation an instinctual knowledge of how to fight. They also took the best traits of the three races and combined them to make my race. We were given the grace of the Kier Lan, the shape-shifting of the Kier Tan, and the adaptability of the Kier San.

With that we were able to fight off the Guardians long enough that we finally had an uneasy truce. That lasted about as long as it took the other three races to decided they didn’t need us anymore so they tried to kill us off. Most of our kind left the world and the Guardians attacked. In a desperate move to save the rest of the Kier a group of Kier Sona that belonged to the Order of Saleen, and order made up of Kier that can channel all six elements all the time, power was used to drive the Guardians off.

Unfortunately they used way too much and wound up destroying the planet instead. It didn’t happen all at once so most of the Kier and the Guardians were able to get off the world before it blew up and a few of them wound up here, as I said before.

To continue with my life, I became Heir of Clan Sa` Tain and started up a city at the edge of the Eastern Wastes in an underground city that was outside of the town I had grown up in. During this time I discovered that my grandma wasn’t actually my grandma, but Queen Valora, who had only died long enough to stop her Memory Stone from recording. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.

One thing led to another and the Empire discovered my city. This was a problem because there was a law that said we weren’t supposed to exist. The Empire attacked my city and we fought them off and forced the Emperor to sign a treaty that gave Solstice back to Valora. I also discovered that the man I thought was my father, who had killed my mother, wasn’t and that my actual father was Valora’s Court Wizard, who also happened to be part of the Order of Saleen.

During the fight I was injured and offered a chance at an accelerated rehab that would get me back in the fight. I took it not knowing that it was really an entrance exam into the Order of Saleen. My Instructor, Anna Marie, had about as much mercy as rusted blade to the gut. She was also my personal healer.

I trained with the Order to learn the basics of each element so that I could go on to learn more complex moves at the Order Grounds. During my training I was learning from one of the Guardians named Sy` Kahn. After I passed the basic exams I challenged Sy` Kahn to a fight. During it he shot Dragon’s Fire at me and I jumped through it and hit him in the jaw.

I also drew on the energy and it made my pupils start glowing the color of molten rock. After the fight was my eighteenth birthday, and one of my other good friends, Mary Ann, fell off a platform that was raised into the air. It was then that we discovered that she was also Kier Sona and could channel all six of the elements. I should say that while I was still learning the basics Mary Ann started dating Skyler’s Second in Command Ja` Lynn, who was also one of the potential Heirs I had to fight. Skyler and I started dating also and things had gotten very serious.

I started getting really cranky and kept trying to pick fights with everybody and found out that I was pregnant with twins. Anna Marie made the mistake of asking if I was going to do anything to harm the unborn children and I overreacted. That really pissed off Ja` Sair, who was my father, so he took me to this place where the feral Kier lived.

When we got back I found out that not only was Anna Marie my mother, but Sy` Kahn was my great-grandfather. I still haven’t gotten up the courage to tell Sy` Kahn about that yet. Mary Ann decided that she wanted to train with the Order and we both came here where I gave birth to two beautiful children. Aliana Nicole was born first and named for my actual grandmother and Raymond Martain followed her by a few minutes.

For the most part the students here have tried to make my life at the school a living hell because I didn’t have to really do anything to pass the first year and I was a mother, but my two hellions, who just turned one a few weeks ago, and Mary Ann have made it bearable. It helps that most of the instructors, including my father Ja` Sair, absolutely love my children.

Valora and Le` Than have been fighting for going on two years trying to reclaim her throne from the Emperor’s Steward and the last I had heard it looked as if they would reclaim the capital soon. Then last night I had a really messed up dream.

In it Valora and Le` Than wound up dieing. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it didn’t come with a sinking feeling that it was less of a dream and more of a vision. Needless to say, I wasn’t able to fall asleep the rest of the night. Which, I believe, is why the rest of the day was so messed up.

Chapter 1

Yarianna

I know that technically I don’t really need the sleep, but it is still sucks when you get used to sleeping everyday and your schedule gets interrupted. Mary Ann was sitting up with my kids, who had been woken up by my dream. I washed my face off then took Aliana and sat down in the other chair that was in the room.

I looked at Mary Ann, “If you want you can go back to bed. I’m up for the rest of the night anyway.”

She smiled, “That’s ok. I don’t mind. Besides, There’s no way that either Ray or Ally would let me sleep. The moment I closed my eyes they would both start screaming for me like they always do.”

I laughed, “You would think that you were their mom the way they act sometimes. Luckily they do the same thing to me or I might have to get jealous.”

She snorted, “You have nothing to be jealous about. If anything I’m the jealous one. I’m still trying for one of my own every chance I get with Ja` Lynn.”

I shook my head, “The Gods only know why.” I looked down at Aliana, who was just starting to fall back to sleep, and smiled. “How can anyone want one of these?”

Mary Ann laughed, “Gee I wonder.”

It took a while before my children finally got back to sleep. Which kind of sucked because by the time I got them both to sleep I had to start getting ready for class. I showered and gently levitated my children into their travel beds. I don’t want to call it their car seats because they don’t go in cars, but it is pretty much the same thing. I wrapped air around them so that the noise of the hall didn’t disturb them and headed off to class with Mary Ann.

You would think that for a race of magically inclined, predatory, beings most of us would be a bit more mature, especially those who can channel all six of the elements. Unfortunately that isn’t the case. If anything the people here are even less mature then most high school students. That’s saying something considering that at the age of nineteen Mary Ann and I are two of the youngest students here.

It was a maze-like walk to class trying to dodge pit traps and pranks set by the other students. I’m not conceited enough to think they were all set for me, I will admit that one or two of them may have been set for Mary Ann. We were both fairly used to it and had left for class early just for that reason.

The older students had learned early on that I was fair game as long as they didn’t mess with my babies. We passed by a section of the wall that had the imprint of the first, and last, idiot that tried to sever my levitation spell on their beds and take my children from me as a prank. I smiled, remembering when I slammed him into the was with enough heat and force that the wall started to melt and flow around him. He had been in the infirmary for two weeks as the healers tried to get his wings to grow back.

We made it to class without any problems and waited as the rest of class filed in. This year in each of the Elemental classes we were studying the bind runes associated with the other elements. The first half of the day was all paper study and the second half was the forms. We were working on combining each one of the Elements with one other element. It’s easier and harder then it sounds.

We have to put just enough of the base element into it to be dominant with just enough of the secondary so that the bind rune holds to the parchment without setting off until the designated time. It gets tricky because some of the combinations work completely different depending on the base Element.

For example, Ashen-Inok combinations might form a heating stone of warm metal, but Inok-Ashen combinations might melt a stone wall around a particularly annoying idiot. Especially if one uses a particular combination of Inok runes known as Dragon’s Fire as the base. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything.

This year was more exciting then last year because we were actually doing something that involved more then basic channeling. Last year was all about how to work with all six Elements at once and individually.

Lady Ca` Fain’s voice broke through my train of thought, “Knight Dr` Ekar, since you seem to be so good at the Ashen Runes that you do not need to pay attention in my class, show me the rune to warm obsidian to it’s liquid form and hand me a sphere three inches in diameter.”

Ah hell, she was serious. I tried to remember the rune combination for obsidian. I was about to give up when Alasena, my crystalline bladed staff that I made when fighting with one of the feral Kier, whispered it to me. I wrote out the rune combination sequence that would do what she had asked and handed the sphere and paper to Lady Ca` Fain. I sent a thanks to Alasena and set back down.

Lady Ca` Fain looked it over then said, “Next time pull it from your own memory rather then relying on that staff of yours or I will speak to Sy` Kahn about removing it from your possession. If you would pay attention now so that I can get on with my lesson.”

I bowed my head slightly, “Yes, Lady Ca` Fain.”

“Good, now that we have everybody’s attention, we were talking about the Ashen-Ethas Rune combinations. This next one uses the first, fourth, and ninth steps of the Fourth Form of the Ashentok as it’s base with the seventh and tenth steps of the Eighth form of the Ethasain. Can anybody tell me what it does? Knight Ga` Sain, go ahead.”

Knight Ga` Sain, one of the Imperial Clans, stood up and said, “It would allow you to breath through the stone for a short time Lady Ca` Fain.”

“What specific type of stone?”

“Granite Lady Ca` Fain.”

“Very good, you may sit down. To draw this Bind Rune properly you must study the properties of granite so that you know how much energy to put into the rune. Everybody draw up a block of granite and have it sitting on your desk. Granite Knight Le` Sean, not marble.”

Mary Ann blushed slightly, “Yes Lady Ca` Fain.”

She released the marble before it could fully form and drew up a small chunk of granite. We spent the rest of class probing the granite that we drew up so that we were aware of it’s properties. The chime to change classes went off. I checked on my children while Mary Ann went up to Lady Ca` Fain.

Mary Ann stood at her desk and asked, “Lady Ca` Fain, were you able to find out anything about what I asked you last week?”

Lady Ca` Fain looked up from the papers in front of her, “You will have to refresh my memory, Knight Le` Sean.”

“My Le` Sean ancestor was in the same Quad as Knight Dr` Ekar’s ancestor. After they came to this world my ancestor left the Order of Saleen and chose to raise his children as if they were human. I asked you if you knew a reason why or if you could direct me to the proper place to find out any further information on this.”

“Ah. I haven’t had the time to even check on it yet. I would tell you to check back with me next week, but I doubt I will have the time then. I think you would get a faster answer from Sir Dr` Ekar, as he is the descendant of the man you speak of. Is there anything else Knight Le` Sean?”

“No Lady Ca` Fain. Thank you.”

“Good, then get going. You don’t want to be late for your next class.”

Mary Ann gave her a slight nod of respect then started walking out of class. My children were still asleep so I levitated them again and walked out with her. As we walked I could tell that Mary Ann wanted to vent so I waited until she couldn’t hold it in any more.

She nearly spit the words out, “That’s total bull. ‘I haven’t had time to check on it yet.’ Bloody flying snake has had time to coddle her Imperial vermin, but can’t seem to find time to help one of the ‘oath-breaker’ descendants. She could at least tell me what oath was supposedly broken. Sometimes I just want to… Crap, Good Morning Lord Re` Sona.”

I looked forward to see the Head Master leaning against the wall in the hallway in front of us. Lord Re` Sona was one of those people that, no matter how hard you tried you just couldn’t put an age to him. Physically he looked somewhere around thirty or forty. When you looked into his eyes though, it was as if time suddenly stopped and the centuries started rolling backward. Rumor had it he was one of the first Kier born on this world. He constantly kept more containment wards up then almost everybody at the Order and even Sy` Kahn gave him a nod of respect. Just seeing him made me forget everything except my children for a few moments.

He nodded, “Good Morning Knight Le` Sean. Knight Dr` Ekar. How are you ladies this morning?”

Mary Ann and I both said, “Fine, Lord Re` Sona.”

He looked at Mary Ann, “Please, continue with what you were going to say. Sometimes you want to…”

She sighed, “Sometimes I want to strangle that self-righteous prig.”

He raised an eyebrow, “I am assuming this is Lady Ca` Fain you are speaking of?”

Mary Ann nodded, “Yes, Lord Re` Sona.”

He looked at her, “I see. And is Lady Ca` Fain aware of these hostile intentions you have?”

Mary Ann shook her head, “Pardon my phrasing on this, Lord Re` Sona, but if she was do you think I would be alive to tell you about it?”

He laughed, “No I suppose not. Very well, I need to see both of you in my office. I have already spoken with your Ethas instructor and I will be giving you today’s lesson. If you would follow me?”

He started walking toward his office. Mary Ann and I exchanged a look of shock before we followed him. The crowd flowed around us as we made our way through the halls to his office. He directed us to sit down then walked around his desk and sat in his chair.

He looked at us, “I called you into my office today because I felt a peculiar pull on the Lay Lines surrounding the island early this morning that originated. Would you care to explain it?”

Mary Ann and I looked at each other then back at him. I shrugged, “I have no idea Lord Re` Sona. The only thing that happened in our room early this morning was a nightmare I had that woke me up.”

“Tell me about it.”

“You want me to tell you my nightmare?”

“Yes.”

“Ok. Well, it was about my Clan Head Le` Than and Queen Valora…” I started speaking and suddenly I was back in the dream, reliving the entire thing. I don’t know if I was still talking or not, but every detail of the entire dream seemed to burn itself into my mind.

I saw the court room scene again as Queen Valora tried, and failed to reason with the Steward then spoke with the Second to the Steward. I heard her conversation with Le` Than again and heard him swear off Clan and Name to propose to her. I heard her accept then embrace him. It ended with the arrow locking them in a final embrace and I came back shaking and laying on the floor.

My babies were crying again so I crawled to them and picked them up out of their beds. Mary Ann and I got them settled back down and back into their beds. They weren’t asleep, but at least they weren’t crying still.

I had completely spaced out where I was until Lord Re` Sona spoke, “There is someone I need you to see, Knight Dr` Ekar. Knight Le` Sean, Will her children let you watch them for a few minutes?”

Mary Ann nodded, “Yes. I watch them all the time. What’s going on, Lord Re` Sona?”

“It seems as though Knight Dr` Ekar might be showing an aptitude for Seeing. I will know more in a few moments. Come on Yarianna, I need you to walk on your own.”

I think it was Lord Re` Sona using my first name that finally broke whatever stupor I was in. I stood up and hesitantly followed him to the other side of his office. He traced a single bind rune on a smooth surface on the wall and a doorway appeared. We walked down a hallway to another smooth wall. He traced another bind rune and waited.

The wall shimmered and vanished. I walked into a room that looked over the entire island. I could feel the energy of the Lay Lines coursing up the walls and flowing into this room. In the center of the room was a small fountain with a shimmering liquid. I’m not sure what color it was because it looked different every time my eyes drifted to it, which was quite often.

A quiet voice drew my attention to the other side of the room, “It is a sad day when the Fountain of Alana draws more attention then one old woman.”

I looked up and saw her sitting on the other side of the fountain. She was sitting in a chair that was turned slightly so that she could see out side without having to turn too far. I walked around the fountain.

She had white hair that was looped so that it wouldn’t touch the ground, though it could have touched the ground, been pulled back up to the top of her head, and still reached the ground again. She was wearing traditional Kier clothing and looked very old. She spread frail looking wings and used them to help her stand up and walk toward me.

It was then that I noticed Lord Re` Sona was not in the room with me. She held out her hand and said, “Come here, Yarianna. Let me get a good look at you.”

I could feel the raw power of her command. Even though it wasn’t meant to be, she still had the power that I couldn’t have stood there even if I wanted to. I took a few hesitant steps closer until she could touch me. She reached a shaking hand towards me so I reached out and took her hand.

The world dissolved around me. I was pulled out of body and into another realm of existence. I could feel the tether going back to my body and tried to follow it, but she held me there. I looked back at her and saw her as she was when she was my age.

It was eerie how similar she looked to me. For a moment I thought she was my other side, but there were enough differences that I knew it was the old woman. She gave me time to take it all in and stop fighting her before she released my hand.

She smiled at me, “Hello Yarianna. I am Nicole Alise Dr` Ekar. My husband was Dramed Raekar, the founder of Clan Dr` Ekar. I am one of the last remaining Kier from our Home World, one of the Founders of the Order of Saleen, and a Seer of the Order of Saleen. I have been waiting for you to come here for a very long time.”

“Why have you been waiting for me? I’m just…”

“Before you finish that statement and down play yourself, keep in mind that you will be insulting me and your entire Clan if you do so. You are far more then what you think you are, as are your children. As to why I have been waiting for you it is quite simple. You will make the decision to either save or destroy this world.”

“I’m going to do what?”

“Yarianna, you were born to decide the fate of this world and our people on it, just as I was born to decide the fate of our home world. I had to make the hard decision to save our people or our world. I’m still not sure that I made the right decision, but I live with the consequences of that choice.

“There is so much I need to tell you so that you will make the best choice, but I fear there may be too much and I won’t have the time to tell you all of it. Therefore I will start with the most important thing.

“The writings that the Order of Saleen have do not tell the full story. They say that the followers of Lucian brought the world to the brink of destruction, and in a way they did. During their experiments they crated a Darkness that was made from anti-matter. They didn’t realize what they made until it became sentient.

“The Darkness escaped into the world and everything it consumed it corrupted. It grew as it devoured the world and turned the life into it’s own kind. The Children of Dr` Agon were able to fight against the corruption, but the people didn’t realize the danger until the Children of Dr` Agon stopped fighting and the humans had to build domes over their cities in order to live.

“They created our cousins in desperation and the Darkness was driven to the far reaches of our home world. The rest of the story follows close to what you should already know. Our cousins and the Children of Dr` Agon fought and died until our kind was created. The Darkness wasn’t done yet though and began to spread again.

“I had a vision in which I saw two possibilities of the future. In one our world was destroyed and our people scattered throughout the universe. In the other the Darkness consumed everything and spread unchecked throughout the universe.

“I made the choices that would destroy our world to stop the spread of the Darkness. I became known as the First Oath Breaker by the Order of Saleen because I was the General that led the Energy Channel that destroyed our world. My great-grandson and his friend Na` Tain Le` Sean were in my Quad with Lord Re` Sona’s grandfather.

“I tell you this because you need to know what you face. The four of us were called Oath Breakers and removed form the Order of Saleen. It took the Order more then a century to forgive us for doing what we had to do and by that time the Le` Sean Clan was lost in humanity.

“Sometime in the near future you will have a choice placed before you that will determine the flow of events which will lead to either the end or salvation of the world. I cannot See what that choice will be because it is your destiny and not mine. All I can do is guide you along your path.”

I had a sick feeling and didn’t want to ask, but the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, “It has to do with Le` Than and Valora’s death doesn’t it.”

“I am afraid so, child.”

“I’m not strong enough to do this.”

“None of us are. Not alone. You must find those who will stand by you even when they think you are wrong. This path you are on wasn’t meant to be easy, Yarianna. You will hurt far more then you can imagine if you walk it.”

“If I walk it? You mean that I don’t have to do this?”

“Yes. However, you are my descendant. I have the feeling that you will walk it anyway.”

I bowed my head, “You’re right. I have never been able to just walk away when others need me.”

“Neither was I. I would love to continue this conversation, but I am an old woman and tire easily. We will speak again soon.”

We returned to our bodies and I helped her back to her chair. She met my eyes and said, “What I have told you cannot be told to anyone else except Lord Re` Sona. Not even your friend or your children. Do I have your word on this?”

I nodded, “You have it.”

“Good. Now get out of here. I need to rest.”

I bowed to her and walked back out of the room. The wall solidified behind me and I looked at Lord Re` Sona, “Thank you, Lord Re` Sona. I need to get to class now, if you would take me back.”

We got back to the Head Master’s office where Mary Ann was waiting. She tried to ask me what had happened but I told her that I would tell her later. I wasn’t able to focus through the rest of the day and when I finally got back to my room all I could do was get the kids settled and go to bed.

Chapter 2

Yarianna

I woke up the next morning to Mary Ann staring at me. I raised my head and she walked over and sat down. I sighed, “Yes?”

“So spill, what the hell was that all about?”

I dropped my head back on my pillow, “What was what all about?”

She glared, “Don’t make me strangle you.”

I smiled, “Promise that you will?”

“Oh, come on, Yari. Please?”

“Oh, fine. He took me to a back room where he promised to torture me until I danced a jig and sang a raunchy tavern song.”

Sarcasm was thick in her voice when she responded, “Wow, sweet, who would have guessed. How about the truth now.”

“Oh, bloody hell. He took me to a room where this really old Seer lived. Apparently I am descended from a Seer and have it in me to be one. Most likely I am going to have to go back there and learn how to be one because they are really rare, which only means that I will have even more on my already full plate.”

“Well if that’s all what are you complaining about? Oh, don’t glare like that. I’m only joking.”

I glared a bit longer then sat up. I could feel that my children were awake also so I levitated them to me. Mary Ann helped me get them ready for the day and didn’t press the issue of my meeting with the Seer.

In my first class I received a note to go to the Head Master’s office after my classes were over and to leave my children with Mary Ann. I sighed and showed the note to her, which got us both in trouble because Lady Ca` Fain happened to look at the same time I handed the note to Mary Ann.

Lady Ca` Fain snatched the note from my hand and read it then looked at me, “You will report to my office when Lord Re` Sona is done with you. As for you, Knight Le` Sean, you will report to my office when classes are out.”

I looked at her, “Lady Ca` Fain, I take full responsibility for this incident. Knight Le` Sean shouldn’t have to be punished for my transgressions. It would be the same as me hitting Knight Ga` Sain in the jaw for being a know-it-all and him getting punished for getting hit.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Are you telling me how to run my class, Knight Dr` Ekar?”

I don’t know what possessed me to say it, but I had a sudden spark of insanity and said, “Not at all, Lady Ca` Fain. I was merely trying to spare my children your continued presence. You see, they are allergic to Imperial spine-less twits on an ego trip.”

The entire class went silent. Cold hostility radiated from Lady Ca` Fain. She said, “Then I will remove them from my classroom.”

She started walking toward them. I stood up and my bladed staff appeared in my hand. Blue fire spread along the length of the staff. My voice sounded more like one of the feral Kier as I said, “If you touch them you die.”

Every magical alarm on the island went off, but I was beyond caring. Nobody in the class moved, which was a good thing for them because I probably would have killed them. Lady Ca` Fain looked at me and took another step toward my children.

Everything happened at once. Fury exploded and I shifted to her, swinging my staff for a kill shot. Ja` Lynn appeared, grabbed both of my children and disappeared. Lady Ca` Fain had her claymore in hand and was going for a kill shot on me. Lord Re` Sona appeared in front of her and blocked her blade and Sy` Kahn appeared in front of me to block mine. Several other instructors appeared and were barely able to contain the explosion of power that resulted from the blocked hits.

My eyes met Sy` Kahn’s and the rage slowly began to bleed away. I wanted to step around him and kill Lady Ca` Fain, but Sy` Kahn wouldn’t let me. I could barely hear his voice through what was left of my fury when he whispered, “Not yet, Child. We will have our time soon.”

Lady Ca` Fain was shouting at Lord Re` Sona, demanding he expel me from the Order. I heard him say, “Sy` Kahn, when your charge has burned off her temper to a controllable level bring her to my office. Lady Ca` Fain, you will come with me to my office now and tell me exactly what happened.”

Sy` Kahn looked down at me, “My training ground. Now.”

I nodded, “Yes, Sy` Kahn.” My words still hissed out, but they sounded far closer to normal then they did before.

I let Inok carry me there rather then using time. Sy` Kahn appeared in a jet of flame just after I did. He didn’t say anything. He just smiled and a crystalline weapon appeared in his hands. It kind of looked like a large war axe. The blade sort of looked like a fire had erupted from it in a half moon shape and was burning toward the top with a smaller flame coming out the other side. The but of it looked like a smaller version of the top.

He stood ready to fight and said, “If you don’t give it your all I will kill you.”

I glared and let the rage resurface. I held my bladed staff ready. We both attacked at the same time. I didn’t hold anything back. I was actually trying to kill him. All it did was make him smile, which pissed me off even more.

We fought until I didn’t have the strength to lift my arms. I rested the but of my bladed staff on the ground and glared. He laughed, “Well fought, Child. I think you may have even scored a hit or two. Can you control yourself yet?”

I nodded, “Yes. I won’t kill her, yet.”

“Good. Let’s go see your Head Master then.”

He let me draw on a bit of his flame as he took both of us to the Head Master’s office. Lady Ca` Fain was leaning over the Lord Re` Sona’s desk as if she had been yelling at him again. She saw me and her claymore appeared in her hands.

Sy` Kahn put a hand on my shoulder as if to stop me then took a step forward, “Unless you wish to dance with me, I suggest you put your toy away. My great-grand daughter is done dancing today.”

Lord Re` Sona looked at the two of us then at Lady Ca` Fain. He stood up, “Lady Ca` Fain, you will behave according to your Rank and Title.”

She spit the words, “The children of Oath-Breakers don’t deserve the respect that would demand.”

Lord Re` Sona’s voice became cold and quiet, “Careful your phrasing Lady Ca` Fain. I am one such child.”

She turned her hatred on him and spit on the floor, “Yes, the tainted blood shines through. How can you demand I show respect for that creature when it provoked me in my own class then attacked me?”

His eyes narrowed, “Once more I ask you to behave according to your Rank and Title or it will be stripped from you. If you will not respect me then respect you position or you are no better then the Feral Kin.”

Sy` Kahn chuckled, “I would love to dance with her Na` Sean.”

Lord Re` Sona shook his head, “That won’t be necessary Sy` Kahn. Thank you for the offer though. Lady Ca` Fain was just about to walk out of my office and cool her temper so that she can behave like a rational adult.”

Sy` Kahn laughed, “There is such a thing?”

Lady Ca` Fain slammed her fist on the desk, cracking it, then stormed out of the office. Lord Re` Sona sighed then knitted the desk back together with energy before he sat back down.

He looked at me, “Sit down and tell me why I shouldn’t expel you from the Order for attacking a Lady of the Order and an Instructor.”

I sat down and looked up at him, “She threatened my children, Sir.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He slowly released it and opened his eyes, “Tell me everything that happened.”

“I received your note to come to your office after today’s classes while I was in Lady Ca` Fain’s class. I showed the note to Mary Ann so that she would know I was going to need her to take care of my children. Lady Ca` Fain saw the note and attempted to discipline Mary Ann. I pointed out that it would be like disciplining Knight Ga` Sain if I decided to hit him. It must have hit a sore spot because she asked if I was trying to tell her how to run her class. I told her that I wasn’t. I went on to say that my children were allergic to spineless Imperial twits on an ego trip and I was trying to spare them from being in her presence any more then they had to be. She then approached my children, threatening to remove them. I told her that if she touched them she would die. She took another step toward them and you know the rest. Sir.”

“And why would you say that about an instructor?”

“Because she is a bigot and favors those of Imperial descent to the detriment of all others.”

“Explain you reasoning.”

“Last year when you were gone for a month Lady Ca` Fain filled in as acting Head Master. During that time five sixth year Knights of Imperial descent attacked a first year Kier San girl. When Mary Ann and I attempted to help the girl Lady Ca` Fain prevented us from doing so. The sixth year Knights proceeded to rip the clothing from the girl and when she defended herself with her energy Lady Ca` Fain expelled her from the Order, claiming that she had witnessed the girl’s ambush of the sixth year Knights. She then told us that if we contradicted her we would also be expelled as accomplices. She publicly congratulated the sixth year students for defending themselves with out the use of magic. That is why I called her a spineless Imperial twit on an ego trip. Sir.”

“Do you have proof of this action?”

“I would if my memory stone wasn’t held in suspension in order to keep the secrets of the Order, or whatever lame reason y’all have for not letting me record my life here. As it is, no. I don’t have any proof other then Mary Ann’s word. With the exception of Lady Ca` Fain all others involved are no longer within the Order’s grounds.”

Sy` Kahn looked at Lord Re` Sona, “That’s reason enough for me to put her on a pyre.”

Lord Re` Sona shook his head, “Unfortunately without more proof then the word of two students, the rest of the Order would stand by Lady Ca` Fain. I do not doubt the word of your great-grand daughter Sy` Kahn, so you can pull your hand away from that blade.”

He stood up and paced. Sy` Kahn folded his arms, “So what are you going to do, Na` Sean.”

Lord Re` Sona sighed, “What I have to do. I can’t see any way around this matter other then putting Yarianna on trial for attacking a Lady of the Order. She would have to stand before a council where they would do a Viewing of the incident. Most likely they would rule in Yarianna’s favor since Lady Ca` Fain threatened her children. At the worst they would expel her from the Order. Most likely though they would just suspend her for the rest of the term and let her come back next year.”

Sy` Kahn shook his head, “Then she would have to be on the same small island with a spineless twit that already doesn’t like her. Why don’t you just expel her from the Order now so that I can take her to where she belongs? She is Blood of Dr` Agon, after all.”

Lord Re` Sona sighed, “If it wouldn’t cause more problems then it would fix I would gladly do that. If I do it will be the same thing as giving Lady Ca` Fain permission to do this again.”

Sy` Kahn took a step forward, “I don’t really care what will happen. If the Child stays here and something happens to her because you were more concerned about politics I will rain a hell on this place like you are not capable of imagining.”

I felt a slight shift in the balance of the world. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it felt as if all of existence suddenly took a breath and held it, waiting for an answer. I knew in my soul that this was the moment the Seer had been talking about that would set events into motion that would either save or destroy the world.

I whispered, “Gods, let me make the right decision.” Louder I said, “The Child is still sitting here Sy` Kahn.”

They both looked at me. I sighed and stood up. I looked at both of them and shook my head, “I think that I should have a say in this matter. Do you agree?”

Sy` Kahn’s lip twitched but he held his tongue. Lord Re` Sona shrugged, “Technically you don’t, but since Sy` Kahn has claimed you to be one of the Children of Dr` Agon I suppose you do have a say.”

I rolled my eyes, “If you have to justify to yourself why I should get a chance to voice my opinion regarding my own trial you’ve been playing politics too long. Even in the human world the criminals get a chance to plead guilty if they want to and skip the trial.”

“Is that what you are going to do then? Skip the trial?”

“No. I will stand before this council and accept whatever ruling they decide to make. Sy` Kahn, I know you don’t like this decision, but you have claimed my as a Child of Dr` Agon. If I leave now Lady Ca` Fain will call all of the Children dishonorable cowards and I won’t stand for that. If they expel me from the Order then I will go with you to learn from the Children of Dr` Agon. If they only suspend me for the duration of the term then you can ask one of the Children if they would come up here to teach me what I will refuse to learn from Lady Ca` Fain. If that won’t work then I will find another instructor. I will not run from the likes of Lady Ca` Fain.”

Sy` Kahn grunted, “Fine. But I will hold Na` Sean responsible if anything happens to you.”

I glared at him, “No you won’t. Hold the Order responsible, not Lord Re` Sona. It is their duty to provide me with adequate protection to ensure I stand trial. Lord Re` Sona’s responsibility ends when he turns me over to them.”

Sy` Kahn looked like he was going to argue so I folded my arms and tapped my foot. He laughed, “Very well Daughter of Dr` Agon. I will not deny you your Honor. Know this though, if that abomination harms you in any way I will hold your Order of Saleen responsible. If they do not put her down I will bring the Children of Dr` Agon to this land and any who stand between us and her will die.”

I looked at Lord Re` Sona, “Anything to add, Sir?”

He shook his head, “No, I think you just about covered it.”

“Good. Then do me a favor and tell Mary Ann to take my children back to my city. I would hate to have to start a war because Lady Ca` Cain decided to hurt my children or my friend.”

He nodded, “Consider it done.”

Sy` Kahn looked at me, “Kier be with you and Alana guide your steps.”

I bowed my head to him, “And with you. I will see you when this is over.”

He left Re` Sona’s office. Re` Sona looked at me, “Last chance to change your mind.”

I shook my head, “No.”

Existence let it’s breath out and I knew the decision had been made. I could only hope that it had been the right one. Lord Re` Sona sighed, “Very well then.”

He sent a wave of energy out and a shot time later there was a knock on his office door. He opened the door and a Knight of the First Order walked in. I could see twelve more waiting outside of the office. The Knight nodded to Lord Re` Sona then looked at me, “Knight of the Thirteenth Order Yarianna De` Ekar, you have been charged with attacking a Lady of the Order of Saleen. If you will not come peacefully you will be taken forcefully.”

I took a step toward him, “I go peacefully.”

He nodded, “Very well. Follow me.”

I followed him out of the office and they formed a circle around me. They each touched their energy to me and the fourteen of us shifted to another place. I don’t even know where it was because it was so warded that all attempts I made to find out just made me sick to my stomach and gave me a headache. They led me to a cell and had me go inside. The door closed and I felt cut off from all of the elements.

I turned and looked at them, “Is it really necessary to cut me off? I came peacefully.”

The Knight that had gone into the office for me said, “It is a precaution we take with everybody. We let you out for a hour each day so that you don’t go insane and we leave a guard by your cell to keep an eye on you.”

I sighed, “Fine then. I guess I’ll just make myself as comfortable as I can.”

“Do that. One other thing though. I know you will try, everybody does, but it isn’t a good idea to meditate in the cell. It is set to monitor all energy and shock you if you make any attempt to draw on your energy. It considers meditation an attempt to draw energy.”

The thirteen of them walked away. A short time later a younger looking Kier walked by with the rank of Third Order on his shoulder. He looked at me, “Knight Dr` Ekar?”

I nodded, “Yes.”

He smiled, “I have blankets and a sleeping pad for you. If you would stand by the wall I will set them inside of your cell.”

I stood by the wall and he opened the door long enough to set the stuff down and closed the door again. I thanked him then picked the stuff up and made a bed for myself against the wall.

I laid down and was just about to doze off when I heard the door to the cell opening again. I opened my eyes to see what was going on and saw Lady Ca` Fain standing at my cell door with a smile on her face.

She spit on me and said, “You are a disgrace to the Order. I should kill you and be done with it, but I have a better idea. I’m going to strip you of your control. You will be nothing more then a voice shouting in a feral body.”

I tried to get up but cords of energy were holding me down. I tried reaching for my own energy but the cell shocked me until it hurt to even blink. I felt myself slipping into oblivion and remember hearing Lady Ca` Fain’s laughter before I blacked out.

I came to laying on the edge of a cliff that look vaguely familiar. A Kier woman was sitting near me. I sat up and looked at her. For some reason I felt like I should know her.

She stood up and spoke to me. Her voice hissed as she said, “Do you know who you are yet?” I sat up and shook my head. She smiled, “You were once called Yarianna, when we firsst met. Do you sstill wish to be called by that name?”

I looked around, “How did I get here?”

“Your Ssire brought you. He ssaid that your old life wass gone.”

“If my old life is gone then I want to be called by a new name.”

“What name do you want?”

I tried to think and said the only other name that came to my mind, “Nicole.”

She smiled again and said, “My name iss Alana and I am your Matriarch. Welcome, Nicole, to the landss of the True Kier.”

Chapter 3

Yarianna

I spread my wings and drifted over the edge of the cliff. Alana guided me to a clearing deep in the forest. We landed and I couldn’t stop myself from feeling like I was being watched by several somethings that would rather eat me, but when I turned to look all I could see were animals.

I looked back at Alana and saw a man walk out of the forest. He looked nothing like either me or Alana. For one I didn’t see even a trace of wings. His skin wasn’t scaled at all. His eyes were round like he was… human was the only word that came to my mind. As soon as I thought it I knew it must be true.

Alana spoke quietly with the human for a short time then looked back at me. She sighed then kissed the human with a look on her face that spoke of longing and desire. The human walked back into the trees and Alana walked up to me.

She shook her head and said, “Shayna will show you where you may stay for your time here. I will come back to make sure you have the learning you will need to survive. You are forbidden to return to the top of the cliff until I give you permission and it would be wise for you to learn the boundaries of the other Kiers’ territory.”

She turned to leave and I looked around for another Kier. I didn’t see anybody so I said, “Wait, How do I find Shayna?”

She looked over her shoulder and said, “Look behind you.”

She launched herself into the air and flew in the direction the human went. I turned around and all I saw was a panther sitting behind me. I sighed and sat down to wait for this Shayna that was supposed to come get me.

The panther flicked its tail in annoyance and huffed. A voice in my head said, “Are you going to follow me or not? I still have hunting to do and I don’t feel like sitting in this clearing all day.”

I looked at the panther slightly startled and asked, “Shayna?”

The panther huffed again and stood up. The voice in my head asked, “Who else would I be? Now are you going to follow or not?”

I got up and followed the panther into the forest. There was something odd about that, but I couldn’t quite place why. After a short time the panther stopped and the voice in my head said, “This territory is unclaimed at the moment. You can take whatever form you choose and mark it however you want. The middle of the creek is the boundary on my side and the cliff wall is the boundary the rest of the way. The clearing and the grounds that surround it are neutral. Happy hunting.”

With that the panther disappeared into the forest. I was kind of at a loss as to what to do so I climbed up a tree to see what the panther was talking about. I looked over the forest and saw the cliff she must have been talking about. I made my way toward it and saw a creek flowing below me that ran down from the cliff face.

I didn’t want to piss off the panther by crossing onto her territory so I stayed on my side of the creek. As I got closer to the cliff I saw a space set about half way up into the cliff itself that looked like it had enough room for me to land comfortably. I landed and looked around.

The space was fairly flat and went into the cliff far enough that there was a small pool of water that I could swim in without worrying about if anybody could see me. It was protected from above by the rest of the cliff and had a ledge that stuck out far enough I could get a good jump away from the cliff wall when I took off. I also noticed from the ledge I could see all the way to the clearing, the rest of the cliff face, and the creek that marked the edges of my new territory. The pool was set back in a small cave so that it was hidden from sight of the ledge.

I was completely at a loss as to what I should be doing so I sat down on the ledge and tried to remember who I was. It bothered me that I couldn’t remember anything about my life before I saw Alana at the top of the cliff. I was distracted enough that I didn’t see her crossing my new territory until she landed on the ledge next to me.

She looked at me and said, “If I had been almost any other Kier you would be dead right now. You need to guard your territory more closely.”

I looked up at her and shrugged, “By that same logic if I were any other Kier you would be dead by now since you entered my territory without first receiving an invitation.”

She smiled and sat down next to me. She looked in the direction I was staring then back at me and asked, “Why are you staring at the clearing?”

I shrugged again and said, “It just happens to be in the direction I am facing. I was trying to remember who I was. I have this feeling like I should be remembering something really important.”

She shrugged and said, “If it is important enough you will remember it.”

I looked at her and asked, “Why did you stop exaggerating the his in your voice when you got down here?”

She smiled, “I have to put on a show for the Lesser Kier. All they expect to see are creatures only slightly more intelligent then animals. If they knew the truth of who we are they would shun us even more then they already do because they would see that they are just as uncivilized as we are. Those who call themselves civil don’t like to be reminded that they are really just talking animals.”

I smiled and said, “Speaking of animals, I was expecting a Kier to show me to my territory. Can all of the animals down here speak mind to mind or is Shayna a special case?”

Alana smiled and said, “That, Nicole, is the great secret of our kind. All of the meat eaters down here are Kier.”

I gave her a confused look and asked, “How can that be? I thought that Kier looked like us.”

She nodded, “We do.”

I asked, “Then how is Shayna Kier if she doesn’t look like us?”

She smiled again and said, “Shayna is Kier because that is how she was born. Did you see the man that was with me earlier? He is also Kier. Do not assume that our kind is limited in what form we are able to take. This is one of the gifts of the Kier Sona that most of the Lesser Kier have forgotten.

“They call us feral because we do not conform to what they have come to believe society must look like. I call them Lesser because they have forgotten most of what makes them Kier Sona in the first place. Most of them are no better then Kier Tan in what they can do and even the Kier Tan remember more then the so called ‘civilized’ Kier Sona.”

I looked back out toward the clearing and said, “I can’t remember any of my life before I woke up on that cliff. Will you teach me what it means to be Kier Sona so that I may start a new life here?”

She nodded, “I will ensure that you are taught. That is the main reason I came here tonight. I will tell you that it may be difficult for you to learn our way because you were taught the way of the civilized ones. Your mind may reject our way at first.”

I nodded, “I will do my best to learn your way.”

She smiled, “Good. Lets go into your home where we will both be more comfortable.”

She got up and started walking back toward the pool. I got up and followed, slightly confused because I had been back there and didn’t see anything that could be called a home back there.

She walked past the pool and into the rock as if it weren’t there. I walked up to it and put my hand on the solid rock. I tried to push my hand through, but it was just as solid as it looked. After a few moments Alana stepped back through and shook her head then grabbed my arm and pulled me through.

To say that the place blew my mind would be an understatement. We were standing on a rock balcony over looking a large open area. The balcony was large enough that Alana and I could both land on it at the same time if we chose to. The open area looked a lot like a living room the size of an average two story house. There were stairs leading up to the balcony and more that led down to another floor.

Alana spread her wings and drifted down to the living room area so I followed her down. I noticed that the living room area also had a balcony so that I could fly to and from that floor as well.

We landed on the upper floor and I followed Alana to some couches that were designed to accommodate our wings. We set down and Alana looked at the floor in front of us for a moment. A small fountain rose out of the ground, sprouted cups, then water started filling up the middle of it.

Alana broke off a cup and dipped it in the water and took a drink. She looked at me and said, “The water is fine. Go ahead and break off a cup and drink.”

I hesitated a moment then broke off a cup. I dipped it in the fountain and took a drink. My mind told me that this was some of the best water that I have had even though I had nothing in my memory to compare it to.

I looked at Alana and said, “Thank you. I didn’t even realize I was thirsty until I took a drink. How did you make the water and such appear?”

She looked at me and sighed, “This would be easier if you could remember at least some of what you knew before. I guess the first lesson you are going to learn is how to channel your personal energy. I usually start with communication, but that won’t help you get into your home.”

I leaned back and said, “Ok. So how do I use my energy?”

She shrugged, “That you will have to figure out. Each one of us is a little different. What I will do is show you how to find it and channel it, which is not the same as actually using it. Channeling your energy is more like bringing the energy into being. It is up to you to figure out how you will use it.”

It still didn’t make much sense to me but I nodded anyway and said, “Ok. So how do I channel my energy?”

Alana leaned back and said, “Close your eyes. It helps the first few times. Reach inside of yourself and feel for a warmth or a pulse of life. When you feel it follow it to it’s source. When you reach the source feel it surround you. Let it engulf you and fill you. After that slowly bring yourself back and take that energy with you. Feel it form a new connection. Creating this new connection is what I call Channeling your energy. If you start to loose the energy then stop and pull more of it to you until the connection feels strong again. You may have to do this several times. The goal is to do this so often that the energy is always there and ready to be used. Go ahead and begin.”

I closed my eyes and started reaching inside of myself. At first I didn’t feel anything and I almost stopped and asked what I was doing wrong. Finally I felt the slightest feeling of warmth that didn’t feel like normal warmth. I started following it, feeling it getting stronger.

I could tell that I was getting close to the source of it so I went faster. I slammed into a wall of pain and fear. I could see glimpses of a woman’s face twisted by rage and hatred and could remember the feeling of a dungeon floor. I could see myself screaming and writhing in pain on the floor.

Something touched me and my eyes shot open. The animal side of me took over and I launched myself at whatever it was that had touched me. There was a brief struggle before I couldn’t move. I slowly came back to myself to see Alana picking herself off the ground.

I worked on slowing down my breathing and looked to see what was holding me. Both of my arms were buried in the wall up to my forearms along with my entire lower body from my waist down. I watched as Alana blurred slightly and her body repaired the damage that should have been fatal.

She walked up to me and asked, “Are you here again?”

I nodded and said, “Yes. I’m sorry. I just reacted. I don’t really want to kill you.”

She chuckled and said, “Luckily for me you don’t remember how to use your energy. This may have ended much worse. It was my fault that you attacked. I should have known better then touching you when you weren’t yourself. So what happened that caused you to scream in pain? Of all the Kier I have guided you are the first that was injured by the experience.”

I shook my head and said, “I don’t know what it was. I was getting close to the source when suddenly I was surrounded by pain and fear. I think I saw a lady and a dungeon. I think the lady may be the one who did this to me.”

Alana narrowed her eyes and said, “This kind of thing has happened before. It has not been done for a long time though. I am going to have to leave for a few days so I can figure out what to do about this problem. I will open the upper entrance for you so that you don’t have to sleep outside. I think I may know a way to help you, but I need to check on it to make sure. For your sake don’t leave your territory until I return.”

She got up and flew to the upper balcony. The inside of the tunnel lit up with sunlight indicating that she had opened up the wall. I flew up to the bath and washed the lingering feeling off then soaked in the water. I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes it was fully dark out side.

I couldn’t think of anything else to do so I decided to explore my territory. Most of the trees were huge. Almost all of them had limbs large enough that I could land on them and have enough room to take off again. One of the larger ones had a hollowed out section by one of those limbs that was large enough for me to walk in comfortably.

There was a section of the hollow that looked like it had been carved into a bed and had a thick layer of moss growing on it so I laid down and found it to be rather comfortable. I didn’t feel tired but I closed my eyes anyway and decided that this tree was as good of a place to fall asleep as any other place.

The feeling that I was being watched woke me up just after sunrise. I opened my eyes and saw a panther cub sitting in the middle of the hollow staring at me. I sat up and looked down at it.

It cocked its head to the side and a voice in my head said, “Who are you?”

I smiled and said, “I am Nicole. Who are you?”

The voice in my head said, “I am Anna. Why are you sleeping in a tree? Is it because you are hiding from someone?”

I shook my head and said, “No. This just happened to be where I decided to go to sleep. Why are you in a tree? Are you hiding from someone?”

The cub nodded and the voice said, “My mother. She says I am too little to leave the den, but I disagree. I come here to hide because she never looks for me here. Do you have any cubs?”

A wave of dizziness washed over me. It felt like part of my memory was trying to peel it’s way out of my skull. I put my hand up to my head to try and steady myself. I could feel Anna getting scared and trying to ask if I was ok. I tried to answer her, but my vision kept going blurry and the hollow seemed to spin sideways.

The wall of pain hit me and images flew past faster then I could register them. Anna’s panic only amplified the pain. I felt my body start to tense up until I started to shake uncontrollably. A large panther that I briefly registered as being Shayna came in through the doorway and blurred slightly until a woman was kneeling over me.

The shaking slowly started to lessen until it stopped. I realized that Shayna was singing as my body slipped further into relaxation. I briefly noticed that Anna was also relaxing and was soon asleep.

Shayna stopped singing and looked at me, “Someone did a number on you didn’t they? What did my daughter ask you that caused you to shake like that? All I got was a panicked voice telling me that she broke her new friend.”

I struggled to sit up and had to rely on Shayna’s help to get back on the moss bed. As soon as my head stopped spinning I said, “She asked if I had any cubs. I tried to remember if I did and got really dizzy before I started shaking.”

Shayna shook her head and said, “You are rather lucky that I am less aggressive then most. There are quite a few of our kind that would have just killed you for being weak. Does Alana know of your problem?”

I shook my head, “Not this part of it. She said that she was going to be back in a few days. She said something about needing to check on something.”

Shayna sighed and asked, “Mind if I take a look? I am quite good with healing.”

I shrugged and said, “Why not? It’s not like you could do any more damage.”

Shayna smiled and said, “Oh, I could do a lot more damage, but I will try not to. You will need to hold still though.”

I nodded and tried to hold still. Shayna straddled and put both hands on my head. She slowly leaned down until our foreheads were touching. Our eyes met and I could feel myself getting angry enough to want to hurt her. She leaned closer until her lips touched mine and the anger was replaced almost instantly by another feeling that was just as strong.

My mind told me that I had only felt this way about members of the opposite sex. I tried to lean into her, but she held me where I was at. Her eyes shifted to a deep gold color and I felt her energy slide into me through our mouths.

I felt her voice like a caress across my mind say, “Show me where the problem is.”

Without breaking eye contact I fell back into myself. I felt her energy embrace me as I led her to the wall of pain and fear. She moved us close to it and a whimper escaped me. She soothed my fears and gently led me up to the wall.

Together we moved all around the wall, looking for a place we might be able to get through. When that didn’t work she led me deeper into myself then I had ever been. As she led me deeper I could feel her body press against mine and she turned our slight kiss into a deeper one.

My arms wrapped around her body as we sank into my core. A part of me split away with a part of her and we moved back up then into her core. Somehow our clothes vanished as physically I moved on top of her.

The part of me that was in her sank into the core of her energy as the part of her that was in me found the core of my energy. She moved on top of me as our bodies intertwined. She gently started pulling the energy from my core up. I moved with her and pulled energy from her core with me.

We continued to move together, spiritually and physically until our energies merged back together. I sank back into my core, pulling her energy with me and felt her do the same with my energy. Separate energies blended together as we both moved back up.

My vision started clearing and her eyes came into focus. She slowly broke the kiss and leaned back into the moss. We were both glowing slightly. A slow smile spread across both our lips and I felt a connection to her that I couldn’t remember feeling with anybody else.

I leaned down and kissed her then rolled us both to our side. I draped a wing over her, remembering that Anna was still sleeping in the hollow. I peaked over Shayna’s shoulder to make sure that Anna was still sleeping. Shayna looked over her shoulder to see what I was looking at and saw Anna.

She looked back at me and blushed, “Oops. I didn’t expect that to happen. Do you think we should get dressed before she wakes up?”

I smiled, “Probably. Do I want to? No.”

She grinned and kissed me, “Neither do I but Anna will ask all kinds of questions that I really don’t feel like answering just yet.”

I grinned back, “I can imagine exactly what those questions would be.”

Shayna smiled and said, “Well don’t voice them.”

She sat up and I could feel her energy form the elements into clothing. I looked at her and back at the clothes and said, “I felt that. Was I supposed to feel that?”

She looked at me, “Really? That is strange. I don’t know if it is normal or not. I’ve never bonded to someone like this before.”

We reluctantly got dressed and snuggled back down on the moss bed. As we drifted back to sleep I felt like I had found a piece of myself that I never knew I had been missing. I put my arm and wing around her and pulled her close to me and let sleep claim me again.

　

Chapter 4

Sasha

I woke up to the sound of sirens outside of my window. I cracked open the blinds and saw Imperial Guard gathering outside of my apartment complex. I swore to myself and jumped out of bed. I slipped my boots on and ran for the closet. I moved my shirts out of the way and grabbed my ‘right now’ bag.

I call it a ‘right now’ bag because I packed it with everything I would need to survive anywhere and kept it ready for situations where I needed to leave right now, such as this one. I put it on and headed to the living room.

A sleepy voice in my head asked, “What is all the fuss? You never get up this early.”

I sent back, “Imperials on the way Sela. Time to get gone.”

I grabbed my duffle bag of other random survival gear out of the hall closet and slung it over my shoulder. My drekana, a smaller version of what people call a dragon, Sela jumped off of her perch and landed almost delicately on my pack.

I opened the kitchen window and told Sela, “Go see if it is clear out the back way please.”

She puffed out a small flame and said in my mind, “Go see yourself. I just woke up.”

I rolled my eyes and said, “Get over yourself Sela. If the find me they find you too and you know that they will take you away and put you in a cage where some fat rich kid will poke you with a stick until you try to eat him and they put you down.”

She puffed out another small flame and launched off my pack toward the kitchen window. I grabbed the rope ladder out of the cupboard and hooked the ends to the window seal. Sela told me it was clear for now so I dropped the ladder out the window and started down.

I could hear the Imperials knocking on the door to my apartment, demanding I open up in the name of the Emperor. I climbed faster and hit the street at a run. I rounded the corner and strapped my duffle bag to the back of my bike. I pulled my helmet on and started it up. Sela landed on the duffel and folded her wings close to her body. She gripped the bag with the short claws on her wings and I shot down the alley until I could see a clear path not guarded by Imperials.

I hit the main street and heard Sela say, “We may have to leave the city for a while after this one.”

I laughed in my mind and told her, “You blow up one little building that didn’t even have anybody in it and they swarm your home like you brought the Jinnkar down on them.”

She snorted, “Well, it was a communication relay tower. They have been kind of sensitive about things like that ever since the Outlanders started targeting them.”

I smiled, “Well they should learn to just keep their communications intercity. Gods and Man alike don’t want them to be able to use those bloody towers to talk to other cities. Any resistance to them would crumble if they ever got a tower operational.”

I could feel her mentally sigh, “You could always not resist.”

I laughed, “Fat chance of that. Resistance is too much fun. Can you imagine how boring life would get if we didn’t have to make a mad dash out of any given place because the Imperials are getting too close again?”

Her sarcasm was thick in her reply, “Who would want to actually stay in a place for more then a week with a nice comfy nest and a good perch? I can’t imagine anybody crazy enough to want that.”

I gave her a mental wink and said, “Exactly.”

I made it into the slums that even the Imperials weren’t brave enough to go down too often. I stopped long enough to take my helmet off so that the watchers could see who I was. Sela crawled up my pack and got comfortable on top of it. She was a dead giveaway as to who I was because she was the only know black drekana in the entire city, but it didn’t hurt to be careful.

Sela has been with me ever since I was a little girl. I had gone on a camping trip with my parents and wound up falling down into a cave system. I had heard of the Drekana and had even seen one from a distance once. My family wasn’t rich enough to even enter Inner City where you could buy one, for the right price.

I remember that I was crying when a voice in my head asking why I was crying. I looked around, shocked out of my tears, and saw her sitting a few feet in front of me. I told her that I fell down and couldn’t get back out to my family. She showed me the way out and politely told me that I now belonged to her because she had always wanted to know what it was like to own one of my kind.

Sela interrupted my thoughts with a snort, “I do regret that desire some days. Nobody told me that your kind had such high maintenance costs.”

I looked at her, “You don’t have to pay for anything. What are you talking about?”

She sighed dramatically and said, “Comfort my dear. Comfort.”

I laughed at her, “Priss.”

She flicked her tongue against my cheek, “You had better believe it.”

I pulled up to an old warehouse and knocked on the service door. A small panel opened up and a grungy face poked out, “What do you want?”

I flashed a smile and said, “Sasha Alana Currington here to see Papa Joe.”

The eyes on the face narrowed, “I don’t know no Sasha nor no Papa Joe.”

I rolled my eyes and raised my left hand so that the face could see the mark on the inside of my wrist. The twin blades crossed under the dragon skull had been Papa Joe’s mark for as long as I could remember. The eyes on the face widened and blinked several times before it swore and apologized and closed the small panel.

The door opened and I pushed my bike through into what used to be a shop area. The man connected to the face closed the door and gave me a slight bow. I rolled my eyes again and looked around. I smiled when I saw a familiar face.

I walked up to him and said, “Hi Scrunch. Is Papa Joe in?”

Scrunch looked up and smiled, “Good afternoon Lady Sundance. Lord Brightblade is seeing someone at the moment. He should be free in a moment.”

I nodded, “He seems to do that a lot when I need to talk to him. I’m going to put my bike up. Come get me when he is free.”

Scrunch gave me a bow and headed off to Papa Joe’s office. I rolled my bike to the back of the shop area and locked it to one of the racks. I grabbed my duffle bag off the back and started toward the mess hall.

The man with the face that had opened the door came up to me and said, “Lord Brightblade said he will see you now. Please follow me.”

I followed him to Papa Joe’s office. I walked through the door and said, “Thanks Face. You can go now.”

The man with the face had an involuntary twitch on his mouth before he walked away. I smiled at Papa Joe and said, “Hi Papa Joe. How’s it going?”

He shook his head and asked, “Face?”

I nodded, “When I first saw him all I could see was his face.”

Papa Joe laughed, “The way you come up with the names you give people defies logic.”

I gave him a mock offended look, “It is perfectly logical. Scrunch looks like he is always sucking on a lemon. You remind me of this mobster I read about that everybody called Papa Joe. It makes perfect sense in my world.”

He shook his head, “Only you could get away with that kind of logic. What can I do for you? Heard about the explosion by the way. Good work on that.”

I smiled, “It was, wasn’t it? I need a place to crash until the heat blows over. It seems that by blowing up that building I bought myself a place on the Imps Most Wanted list.”

He grinned, “Isn’t it nice to be wanted? Word is they want your head on a spike yesterday. I think your head is just fine where it is now. I can give you a bunk here tonight and open the tunnels in the morning. I have a safe house up near Dragonreach you can use until things cool off here.”

I nodded, “That will work for me. I was thinking about taking a vacation anyway. My usual bunk still open?”

He checked a book and nodded, “Yeah. I’ll put you down for it.”

I smiled, “Thanks Papa Joe. I’m going to head there now. Send me something edible and a raw steak? Sela thinks she needs to eat too.”

He shook his head with a smile on his face, “Most people are grateful when one of the drekana chooses to remain with them. You act more like you can’t get rid of her.”

I raised an eyebrow, “I can’t. According to her I belong to her, not the other way around.”

He laughed, “I’ll have the food on it’s way. I’ll stop by later tonight to give you the keys to the safe house.”

I smiled, “See you then.”

I started to walk out when Papa Joe said, “Hold on one moment. This is for you.”

He tossed me a messenger bag. It was kind of heavy and clinked when I caught it. I opened it up and saw a small fortune in Imperial gold and gemstones. I gave him a confused look and asked, “What is this for?”

He smiled, “Blowing up the tower. I gad a contract come through for it half an hour before the explosion went off. They paid double for such speedy service. I figured I may as well give you your cut.”

I shrugged, “Bonus. See you later, unless you want to throw any more money at me.”

He chuckled, “Maybe later and for entirely different reasons.”

I played shy and said, “But Papa Joe, you know I’m too young for that.”

He turned ten shades of red and stuttered, “Not that!”

I laughed, “Nice look. Where do you buy your blush? I could make a fortune on selling it.”

He shook his head, “Get out of here before I decide to throw you out.”

I walked out laughing and saw Face waiting for me to show me to my bunk. I sent him away and made my own way to the bunk. I call it a bunk, but it is more like a small apartment. There is sitting room, a bedroom, and a bathroom with a working shower. I know a few people in the slums that would kill for a place like this.

Papa Joe takes care of his own people. As long as they have his mark they will always have a place to stay. He doesn’t encourage laziness though. Everybody that has his mark is required to have a real job to support themselves and can use one of his rooms only if they are on the run or hiding out from the Imps. Papa Joe also ran a crime organization. People would send him contracts for whatever and he would make sure they got done.

I walked into the room and tossed my duffel bag on one of the chairs and set the messenger bag down on the table. Sela jumped off my shoulder and landed on her perch. I took my pack off and tossed it next to the duffle bag.

Sela looked down on me and said, “Now this is what I’m talking about. A good perch, food delivered to you, no body trying to kill you. Why would you want to leave?”

I looked up at her and brushed my finger down her cheek, “Because I don’t like relying on other people. All they do is let you down when you need them the most.”

There was a knock on the door so I went to answer it. Face was leading two younger girls that had trays of food. He had them put the trays on the table. I sent them all out and looked up at Sela, “What do you think. Face seems to be awfully helpful for some reason.”

Sela buffed out a small flame and said, “He can’t help himself. You have that effect on everybody.”

I raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

She chuckled, “That is the best part of it. You don’t even realize that you do it. I will try to explain it to you. You have what the Mundane call Dragon’s Charm. They can’t help the attraction they feel for you especially,” she bared her fangs in a grin, “when you are in season.”

I thought about it, “In seas… oh. Ew. How do I turn it off?”

She laughed and said, “You don’t. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, unless a Mundane takes too much interest. They tend to be clingy.”

I gave her a disgusted look then sat down to eat. I looked up at her, “I’m not going to feed you. If you want to eat you are going to have to drift your butt down here.”

She flexed her wings and said, “I am waiting for you to finish. You know you stop eating shortly after I start.”

I smiled, “How considerate of you.”

I finished my food then headed for the bathroom. I checked myself in the mirror. I couldn’t see what people, the Mundane as Sela calls them, would find so attractive. I am fifteen and stood at five foot nothing. I weigh just under a hundred pounds. My hair is black with crimson streaks in it. I don’t dye it, it just grows like that. I keep it short in the back and my bangs come down to my chin.

My chest isn’t all that much, but I don’t look like most girls my size where their shoulder blades stick out farther then their breasts. My complexion is slightly pale and I have freckles across my nose. My eyes are the color of storm clouds and I have yet to meet anybody with my color of eyes.

I shrugged and striped down so I could shower. If people wanted to drool over me that was their business. As long as they didn’t try to touch me they could keep their hands. I showered and changed my clothes. Then set the stack of dirty dishes outside of the door for the cleaning crew to take care of.

I emptied the messenger bag on the table and sifted through the coins and gems. I got into my duffle bag and pulled out several small sacks. I put one of each gem and an equal stack of coins in each sack then divided the between my pack and my duffel bag.

I stuffed the messenger bag in my pack just incase I needed it later and repacked both bags so that the weight would be even. When I was done I laid down on the bed stared at the ceiling. I let myself drift back through time to recount how I wound up in this situation.

I had been found on the doorstep of an adoption center shortly after I was born with a note that said I was to be placed in a good home or the center would be burnt to the ground. I still have the note in my pack.

My adoptive parents picked me up a month later. Their own daughter, that was born about the same time as me, had died when their home was raided by the Imperial Guard. The Imps had suspected them of harboring rebel forces and kept them in interrogation for two weeks.

They have hated the Imperials ever since then and started actively working against them. I’m not sure exactly how they fought against the Imperials or what their relationship with Papa Joe was, but when they were gunned down just after my tenth birthday Papa Joe took me in. I earned the mark on my wrist a little after that.

I started doing my own things to annoy the Imperials when I was twelve and had saved up enough money from contracts and legitimate jobs to get my own place by the time I was thirteen. In Imperial City thirteen was the minimum age to become emancipated as long as you had legal paperwork on it.

Luckily Papa Joe knew a few lawyers that got the paperwork pushed through. After that I only used Papa Joe’s place when I needed to hide out. Thinking back I could see how people really started paying attention to me after I hit puberty. I never really thought anything of it until today when Sela mentioned that Dragon’s Charm thing.

A knock on my door let me know some one was there so I got up to answer it. Papa Joe smiled at me and I let him it. He sat down on one of the chairs and pulled out his pipe. He packed it and soon the sweet smell of whatever herb he was smoking filled the air.

I watched him smoke for a bit then asked, “When are you going to let me have a drag of that?”

He puffed out a smoke ring and said, “When you reach chin high.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and said, “That’s not fair.”

He puffed out another smoke ring and said, “Neither is life.”

I crossed my arms and turned my nose up at him. He chuckled at me and kept smoking. After a few more minutes went by I said, “Papa Joe, I have a question for you.”

He looked at me and said, “No, you can’t have a drag.”

I shook my head, “Not about that. It’s about something Sela said.”

He leaned forward and said, “Ok. What?”

I couldn’t think of how to ask it delicately so I blurted out, “Do you find me attractive.”

I could tell he was confused by the question, “You mean like do I thing you are pretty? Yeah.”

I shook my head, “No, I mean sexually.”

He choked on the drag he had just taken and started coughing. He put his pipe out and gave me a look and said, “What did you say?”

I repeated, “Do you find me sexually attractive?”

He looked at me and asked, “What brought that question on?”

I shrugged, “Well, the way Face was acting earlier and something Sela said about me having a Dragon’s Charm, or something like that. I thought I would ask.”

He took in a deep breath and looked at me, “Of all the questions to ask it had to be that one. Ok. Um, how do I answer this? Yes I find you sexually attractive, but I am not sexually attracted to you.”

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head to the side, “Huh?”

He sighed, “It has to do with what you are and what you will eventually become.”

I gave him a look and said, “Okay. Explain?”

He sighed and said, “I have tried to think of how this conversation was going to go for a long time. This is not how I pictured it starting. First of all, I never knew your birth parents, but I knew of them. In order to understand completely you have to understand what you are.

“You are three quarters Kier Tan and one quarter Child of Dr` Agon. Your father was called the Halfbreed and was shunned by most of the Kier Tan for something beyond either his or his mother’s control. She had been raped by one of the Dr` Agon and, rather then aborting the child, she gave birth to your father. Your mother was one of the few Kier Tan that did not shun him.

“She fell in love with him and they found their way to Imperial City. Somehow the Imperials found out about what they were. I still think it was one of the Kier Tan that reported them but I have no proof. They knew that they wouldn’t be able to escape because the city had been placed on Lockdown. They gave you up to the adoption center so that you could be raised in a good home.

“It just so happened that the daughter of one of my old friends and her husband had lost their little girl shortly after so I pointed them in your direction.”

I leaned back and said, “Ok. Um still doesn’t quite answer my question.”

He continued, “I was getting to that. So, the Dr` Agon that raped your grandmother was, a long time ago, one of the rulers of Dragonreach. Their stories about how the Children of Dr` Agon ruled them are true. The other Children of Dr` Agon had sentenced him to death for the assault, back when they still cared enough about this continent to do something about it.

“Just before his execution your grandfather claimed your father as a legitimate child, making your father and his descendants Children of Dr` Agon with a claim to Dragonreach. It also gave your father and his descendants most of the abilities of his particular line.

“One of those abilities is the power to charm any of the what the Dr` Agon considered the lesser species. They include the humans, most of the Kier, and the drekana. I fall into this group so, yes, I find you sexually attractive.

“After your father left your grandmother was allowed back into Kier Tan society. On this side of Fireflow Mountains the Kier Tan despise the Children of Dr` Agon with a near manic hatred so she had been kicked out as long as she was near one of their spawn. She married a Kier Tan and I was born. That is why I am not sexually attracted to you. Does that answer your question?”

I sat and stared at him for a while, letting his story sink in. Finally I asked, “So, you’re, like, my half uncle. Right?”

He nodded, “Yeah. Your father was my half brother. My mom had told me about him. I set out to find him. By the time I did he had already been picked up by the Imperials.”

I thought about it for a bit then said, “Ok, so let me see if I have this straight. A king turned into a bastard of a king, raped a girl and had a bastard. The bastard king’s people decided to kill him so he claimed his bastard, making the bastard a prince without knowing it. The bastard prince left and his mom had you.

“The bastard prince became king when the bastard that made him died and then he had me, making me a princess without knowing it. I was sent away to be raised without the knowledge of the Empire and the king and his wife were killed, making me a queen without knowing it. My adopted family died and I was unknowingly raised by my half uncle. Does that sum it up?”

He nodded, “Yeah. That about sums it up.”

I thought about it then said, “Huh. Can I have a drag of that herb now?”

He laughed and said, “Why not.”

I relit his pipe and handed it to me. I took a drag off it and smiled, “So this is what it tastes like when it’s not second hand.”

He shook his head with a smile, “Only you. I expected a bit more freaking out then this.”

I grinned, “Oh, don’t worry. I plan on doing plenty of freaking out later. Right now I just want to go numb for a bit. I have a feeling that I am not going to get much of a chance to do that when I leave the city.”

I took another drag and handed his pipe back to him. He sighed and said, “I suppose not. I don’t plan on seeing you again for a while, but if you ever need anything look me up.”

I nodded, “I will Papa Joe.”

I grinned and he shook his head. He tossed me a good sized pouch and a spare pipe. I opened it and saw it was full of the herb he was smoking. I looked at him and he said, “For the road.”

I couldn’t help but say, “I thought you said I had to be chin high first.”

He shrugged, “It could just be my eyes going bad, but it looks to me as if you are eye level right now.” He got up and set the keys to his safe house on the table. He smiled and said, “Take care of yourself Sasha.”

I got up and hugged him, “You too. Thank you for telling me.”

He hugged me back and said, “Your welcome. Get some sleep. You have a long day tomorrow.”

I let go and he left the room. I looked at Sela and said, “Huh. That was entirely unexpected.”

She raised her head, “Well at least now we know why you are such a royal pain in my neck.”

I stuck my tongue out at her then laid back down. The conversation kept running through my head until I eventually drifted off to sleep. Papa Joe was right when he said that tomorrow was going to be a long day. Tomorrow I was going to go to Dragonreach where my bastard of a grandfather used to rule.

Chapter 5

Shadow Walker

I sat very still in the top of the tree, trying to blend in with the bark and leaves while the Imperial Patrol passed underneath. I almost breathed a sigh of relief until I noticed that they were setting up camp for the night about ten feet away. I swore to myself because that would mean they would find the pack I hid in the hollow roots of the old oak tree they were setting up their camp under. When they found my pack they would know that there was someone nearby and start looking. When they started looking they would find me, they always find what they are looking for.

I looked back toward the Fire Flow Mountains to see if I would be able to make a run for it and sighed. Even if everything went right I wouldn’t be able o make it deep enough into the mountains to keep the Patrol from following. Bloody Empire. They always meddle where they aren’t wanted.

Just before I decided to drop down and make a run for it I heard a noise that filled me with both hope and dread. It sounded like the hiss and pop a fire makes when it gets going really good. I slowed my breathing down as much as I could as two of the creatures walked into the clearing the Patrol was setting up camp in.

Although I had never seen one, not many still living have, I guessed that the creatures were Jinnkar. The shorter one look to be about seven feet tall and the other one was at least two feet taller then that. They were both covered in strange symbols that glowed a deep red color and didn’t seem to notice that they had walked into the middle of the Patrol yet.

The Patrol and the Jinnkar seemed to become aware of each other about the same time. There were a few moments of stunned silence before the shorter Jinnkar pointed a clawed finger at the Patrol and hissed. I noticed that the glowing symbols on the Jinnkar shifted to form distinct patterns that it seemed like I should be able to recognize. There was a scramble of weapons and claws then the fight started.

I guess I shouldn’t call it a fight though. The Patrol rushed the Jinnkar and all thirteen of them were slaughtered within a few moments. The two creatures looked over the charred bodies of the Patrol as their symbols moved back to where they were before the fight. The taller one hissed something at the shorter one and the two continued walking as if nothing had happened.

I’m not sure how long I stayed up in the tree before I finally worked up the courage to climb down, but it was almost too dark to see. I dug my pack out and started to leave when something in one of the Imperial’s packs caught my eye.

I carefully opened the pack and pulled out a sealed messenger case. I chuckled at the case. For all of the technology the Empire had they still were forced to use the Messengers to communicate across their lands. They had the ability to communicate within each city, but going from city to city they hadn’t quite figured out.

Part of that is due to the efforts of my people and others like us. I am one of the Clanless. We are Kier Sona that are descended from a group of Kier that where kicked out of their Clans sometime after the Clan Wars. I am sure the Elders know the reason they were kicked out, but it isn’t really any of my concern so I don’t worry about it.

I broke the seal on the messenger tube and pulled out several bags of gold pieces and an envelope. I opened the envelope and found a note written in cipher. I looked around and saw that there wasn’t anybody near so I focused my energy and whispered, “Tsynoch. Kahn Tso.”

The letters on the page shifted and moved on the page to form the hidden message. I smiled and silently thanked the old man I had met in the capital that sold me the decryption spell for the Emperor’s personal messages. I read along the page as the words formed into sentences.

When I got to the bottom of the page I had to reread it just to make sure it still said the same thing. I sat down on my bag and stared at the paper. The message was advanced payment for the assassination of four people, the note called them anarchists. I read the names again, Valora Sorensen, Le` Than Sa` Tain, Sk` Yler De` Cain, and Yarianna Nicole Sa` Tain. I didn’t recognize the names, but I had heard of some trouble the Emperor had on the Eastern side of the empire involving an uprising of some kind.

I decided to check through the other packs and found that each one of the Patrol was carrying a similar message, each addressed to a different assassin. I looked at the bags of gold and gave a low whistle. Whoever these people were the Emperor really wanted them dead.

I put all the gold in my pack and focused my energy into the notes to light them on fire. When there was nothing left of the pages I grabbed everything else of value in the packs and headed back to my village.

I got into the Foothills and sent my Elder a message to let him know I was still alive. The sun was just coming up when I walked through the gate. One of the wall guards shook his head, “Elder Sun Glade wants to see you, Shadow Walker. He had me hold the gate until dark. He wasn’t very happy when you never checked in.”

I shrugged, “Yeah, had a bit of a problem and got caught in a tree for most of the night. Bloody Imperial Patrols.”

He laughed, “That would do it. He is in the Community House.”

“Thanks Death Stalker. We still on for tonight?”

“Only if you are still alive.”

I laughed and made my way to the Community House. I walked into the main entrance and walked back toward his office. I heard his voice in my head telling me he was in the court room so I detoured that direction. I walked in and saw him sitting in the Judge’s Chair and felt a moment of panic until I saw the man kneeling on the floor with two guards standing over him.

I took a seat and waited for Elder Sun Glade to pass judgment on the man before I spoke with him. Elder Sun Glade saw me and called a break in the hearing which made the panic return in full force. The Elders never call for a break in a hearing unless it is something that absolutely cannot wait. Like an execution.

The guards escorted the man out of the room and I was left alone with Elder Sun Glade. He motioned for me to walk forward. I walked slowly and stopped a few feet from him. It was then that I realized that I was no longer the only person in the room with the Elder.

The sun caught the sun at just the right spot to light up a small area where she materialized. She was old, which is saying something for my race. I couldn’t help staring at her because she did look so old. I had heard rumors of the Seeress, but until today they had just been rumors.

I think I must have sworn out loud because she chuckled and said, “It is good to see you too, Shadow Walker. Why don’t we begin by you telling your Elder what you found in the Fireflow Mountains.”

I looked from her to the Elder then sighed and took my pack off. I looked at her again and she nodded then I dumped my bag on the Clerk’s Table. One of the bags of gold came open, spilling the coins across the table toward the Elder. His eyes almost popped out of his head and he looked at me with his mouth hanging open. He sat down and looked at me expectantly.

I sighed again and began explaining. “I went into the Mountains early yesterday morning to search for more diamonds we could sell to get food for the village like you asked me to. I had no luck finding the diamonds and since it was getting toward midday I started back.

“I heard a Patrol heading my direction so I stashed my pack and hid in the branches of a tree to wait for them to pass. They decide that they were going to set up camp under the tree where I had stashed my pack and I started to get nervous.

“Just before I was going to risk making a run for it two Jinnkar came through the Imperial’s camp. After a few moments of surprise the Jinnkar killed the Patrol and continued on their way. I waited until well after dark just incase they came back then climbed down.

One of the Imperial’s packs was open and I saw a messenger tube. I opened it and found advanced payment to an assassin for the deaths of four people back east. I opened the rest of the packs and found similar notes. The only difference between the notes was the name of the assassin. All of the payments were the same. I took the valuables, destroyed the papers, and came back here.”

The Seeress looked at the Elder and said, “I do not like to meddle in the affairs of the Clanless Ones, however events have been set into motion that will echo throughout time. Not even I can see what the outcome will be, but young Shadow Walker here will play a vital role in the days to come. That is unless he chooses to ignore this calling, but I think curiosity will beckon him if nothing else.”

She looked at me with a slight grin on her face and, is that a glint of mischief in her eye? I looked at her and said, “So what happens if I decide not to go?”

“Then you will never know what kind of impact you might have had on the world.”

I swore and looked at Elder Sun Glade, “If I’m going to have to travel across the bloody empire then I’m going to need this gold.”

The Seeress laughed and looked at the Elder, “Pay up.”

Elder Sun Glade muttered, “Should have known better then to bet against a Seeress.”

He pulled a leather cord over his head and took a pendent out of his shirt. He handed it to her before I could get a good look at it, but for some reason the moment I saw it I wanted to shout that it was mine and had to keep myself from snatching it out of her hand.

She looked at the Elder, “That will be all, I have a few things to tell Shadow Walker before he leaves that you really don’t want to know.” Elder Sun Glade walked out and the Seeress turned to me holding the pendent out, “This has always been yours. Elder Sun Glade had no right to keep it from you. I do need to tell you that you can save either one or two people on that list, but you cannot save all four. Also, choose carefully which you decide to save. By you choice you can provide salvation or destruction to this world and your people.”

I rolled my eyes, “No pressure or anything, just the fate of the world. No biggie. I’ll get right on that. Can I ask a question?”

“You may.”

“WHICH ONE DO I PICK TO SAVE THE BLOODY WORLD?!?!?” I shouted at her.

She smiled and faded into the ray of light, “You will know when you get there young Shadow Walker.”

I swore and threw one of my daggers through the ray. “Bloody Seers. Bloody tell you to save the bloody world then bloody tell you that you could destroy it, but won’t tell you how to do either. Bloody bastards probably set the world on a collision course with destruction just because they get bored and want to see us regular folk run around like bloody chickens with our bloody heads cut off.”

A girl’s voice behind me said, “Well, bloody hell.”

I turned around to see my best friend standing in the doorway. I smiled, “Hey you. Haven’t seen you for a few days. How’ve you been?”

She smiled and shook her head, “You saw me yesterday before you went to the Mountains. I’ve been good. I heard you shout so I thought I would see if you were ok.”

I shook my head, “Can I tell you after you give me a hug?” She laughed and walked up to me. We wrapped our arms around each other and I sighed, “I’m better now.”

“Good. Now tell me what is going on. It feels like the Seeress was here.”

One thing about Shade Dancer, she always could feel more then anybody thought she should be able to. I couldn’t think of any reason why she shouldn’t know so I told her the full story of what had happened. She didn’t interrupt and looked up at me when I finished.

She leaned forward and gently kissed me then said, “So now you leave to try and save the world. Somehow I expected this. My stuff is packed. I can leave whenever you are ready.”

I looked down at her, “Um, the Seeress didn’t say anything about having anybody go with me.”

“She also didn’t say anything about you not having someone go with you and you will need my help. Don’t try to tell me I can’t go because I will just follow you.”

I smiled, “You would too.”

“Damn right. Go get your stuff packed I’ll be waiting by the gate. I know a few people in the next town that can set us up with a ride across the Mountains so that we don’t have to walk and fly the whole way there and risk running into the Jinnkar.”

“Ok. I will see you in a bit.”

I kissed her forehead, put the crap back into my pack, retrieved my dagger, and headed to my apartment. I repacked everything and loaded my survival gear into my pack. I took two of the twenty-six bags of gold and scattered the coins throughout different pockets in my shirt, pants, boots, and jacket. I put the rest in a box at the bottom of my pack.

I shook my head again when I thought about how much gold I was carrying with me. Just one of those bags would feed the entire village good for half the year. Thinking about that I took two of the bags out and tied them to my belt. I double checked all of my stuff, shouldered my pack, and headed out of my village to the Gods only knew what.

Shade Dancer was waiting for me by the gate like she said she would be. I handed the two bags to Death Stalker and told him to give them to Elder Sun Glade. He said he would and Shade Dancer and I left. It took us the rest of the day to get to the next town and I had just enough time to get some of the gold pieces broken down into silver and copper pieces before the banks closed.

We got a hotel room for the night and went to bed so that we could get an early start the next day. We woke up and I gave Shade Dancer two of the bags of gold for just in case. She rolled her eyes and put them in her pack then led me to a shadier part of town.

As we walked through I looked at her, “So, how do you know these people?”

She looked at me and smiled, “I got rid of some bodies for them a while back. They owe me a favor or two.”

I shook my head, “Only you, Shade. Only you.”

She laughed and said, “By the way, they know me as Sarah. Let me do the talking and I will signal you to step up with the money when I am ready.”

“Fine by me.”

We walked into a chop shop and made our way to the back. We picked up an escort of several armed men by the time we got there. One of them knocked on a door to an office and a few moments later an older gentleman opened it.

His eyes fell on Shade Dancer and he smiled, “Sarah, it has been too long. Come in and sit for a spell.”

She grinned back, “Nice try Aaron. I know better then that.”

Aaron laughed, “That you do. Well, come in anyway. I have tea ready. I give my word that you will walk out of here in the same frame of mind that you walked in. The friend with you as well, whom you have yet to introduce me to.”

Shade Dancer looked at me and said, “How remiss of me. Aaron, you may call my friend Jonathan. Jonathan, this is Aaron. He is the one that we came here to see.”

Aaron held out his hand for me to shake, “Pleased to meet you Jonathan. I noticed that she did not use your given name. Do you wish to share it?”

I shook his hand and smiled, “It is better for the both of us if I refrain. Such a gift would require one in kind from you.”

A smile flashed across Aaron’s face, “Smart boy. Do come in. You came here to talk business, not exchange pleasantries. Have a seat and tell me what I can do for you today.”

We walked into his office and Shade Dancer explained to him that we needed a vehicle that could get us across the empire, or at the very least across the Fireflow Mountains. Aaron listened patently and let us know that he had a few cars that could get us across the mountains, but the rest of the empire would be another matter altogether. After haggling the price Shade and Aaron agreed on a price and I paid him for the car.

We said our good byes to Aaron and left in the car. I was surprised the bloody thing even made it out of town. You would think that the Emperor would upgrade the civilian roads once in a while so that the average people could travel in ease from one town to the next, but no. all of our taxes go into keeping the military’s road updated. It was a death sentence for anyone to travel on it without a pass.

The car finally gave out on the other side of Fireflow mountains in a small town called Edge City in the northern part of the Evenglade Province. Shade Dancer and I left the car there and walked to a hotel. Luckily the Emperor’s coin was standard throughout the empire. We got a room and crashed for the night, not really knowing where to go from here.

I woke up earlier then I was used to and made my way down stairs with Shade Dancer still sleeping in the other bed. The hotel had a small restaurant in it so I went in and ordered some breakfast. I was watching people and waiting for my food when an older looking man walked up to the table.

He smiled and said, “You look like you could use some direction. Mind if I sit down?”

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head, “Hat to put it this way, but I don’t know you from Adam. I would prefer if you didn’t.”

The man laughed and said, “It just so happens that my name is Adam.” He help out his hand, “My name is Adam Raou. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?”

I looked down at his hand and sighed. I shook his hand, “Shadow Walker. Please have a seat.”

Adam sat down and laid a leather-bound book on the table. The thing looked ancient. I looked up at Adam and saw that he was studying me as much as I was him. He didn’t look much older then forty, but he had a feeling of age surrounding him that I have only felt around the really old Kier, like the Seeress. I figured he must be Kier, but he didn’t have a Kier name and he didn’t have the distinct feel of the Clanless.

I started to ask him what he wanted but he cut me off before I could, “We should probably wait for your friend to wake up before I tell you. She is going to need to be a part of this conversation as well.”

“Who are you?”

He grinned, “I thought we already covered introductions.”

I shook my head, “You told me a name. That’s not what I am asking and you damn well know it.”

“You’re too young to be that crotchety. Relax a few more moments. The Gods know we all are going to get precious few moments to do that in the days ahead.”

“Are you a Seer?”

“Me? No. I know one or two of them though. Ah there she is.”

I looked behind me to see Shade Dancer walk into the restaurant. I waved to her and she joined us. She sat down next to me and looked Adam up and down. She looked back at me expectantly.

I motioned to Adam, “Shade, meet Adam Raou. Adam, Shade Dancer.”

Adam gave a slight bow, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Shade Dancer.”

She gave a half shrug, “You too.” She looked at me, “Why is he sitting at the table with you?”

I looked at Adam, “That is a good question Shade. Why is he here?”

Adam smiled, “I am here because the two of you were set on the impossible task of saving the world. I have, not only the means, but the desire to assist you.”

Shade Dancer and I looked at each other then back at Adam. I nodded, “Ok. So now that you have our attention why don’t you tell us what is going on.”

“Why don’t we eat first so that we will at least have a full stomach when we start this conversation.”

I was going to argue but the waitress came out with the breakfast I had ordered as well as a setting for Adam and Shade Dancer. We ate in relative silence, mostly just having polite conversation to pass the time while we waited for the meal to be done with.

When breakfast was finished we waited for Adam to start talking. Finally he started, “To start off with, I am was asked to speak to you by an old friend of mine. A Seeress by the name Nicole Alise Dr` Ekar. She was the same one that sent you out this direction. I was asked to give you a direction to follow and that is what I plan on doing. You were told by her that you would only be able to save either one or two of the four people the fate has decided to claim.

“I do not share the same opinion. It is my opinion that we can save all of them if we play our cards right. The current catastrophe was set into motion by a lady known as Lady Aliana Louise Ca` Fain. She is a member of the Imperial Order of Saleen. Do the two of you know what the Order of Saleen is?”

I was about to say no, but Shade surprised be by saying, “It is a secret order the consists of only those Kier that can channel all six elements. Though not all Kier that can channel the six elements belong to the order.”

Adam nodded, “Very good. The Order today is a pale mockery of what it used to be. Saleen herself would disband the entire Order if she saw what it has become. Re` Sona would denounce his blood if he saw what we have become.

“That’s neither here nor there and has little to do with the point so I will get back on topic. Lady Ca` Fain is the granddaughter of our current Emperor’s second cousin. What she did she was doing to get rid of a stumbling block for the Emperor, but the end result was far worse.

“She pushed Yarianna into her Feral state. That act pissed off the one being that was holding the Children of Dr` Agon back from making the attempt of wiping our kind off the face of this world. It also split the loyalty of the Order of Saleen and started the sparks of what will eventually turn into a second Clan War. The Clan War will kick off about the same time the Children of Dr` Agon attack us. We won’t stand a chance.

“There are a few beings in this world that can stop this from happening. One is Feral, one is becoming of her true nature, and the other three are sitting at this table. I fear that it will take all of us to stop this. Now, do you have any questions?”