Anna is a fugitive from the heaven king's wrath and a guest of the leader of the bear clan. She finds solace in the slow and steady flow of life practiced by the bear shifters and focuses on trying to control her unruly magic.
Unfortunately, Anna's reprieve turns out to be very brief after she catches the eye of the rival wolf clan leader. Tensions run high between the two realms as she finds herself in the middle of a rekindled ancient feud. A desire to unite the clans and to see the lovely Arian bring Prince Yushir and Eastwei to the land realms where they fall into the trouble. The two gods try to quell the fighting, not realizing they're about to discover a truth that will shock even the stoic lord.
Confronted by Anna's secret, Eastwei must now save her from another ancient god intent on extracting her secrets for himself, even if that means killing her to find the answers. His journey will take him from one realm to another in search of a way to break the ancient god's powerful barrier and rescue Anna before it's too late.
“What would you like to see first?”
The question came from my local guide, Arian, from where she sat at the end of my new bed. It was the next morning after our arrival and a bright sunny day awaited our pleasure. I stood near the fire with my hands stretched toward the warm flames.
“Maybe the bathhouse,” I teased as I twisted my head around to glimpse the white-tipped mountains behind the lodge. “Is it always this cold around here?”
“Only when the clouds are bringing in a storm,” she revealed as she set her clasped hands in her lap. “We could stay inside if you wish.”
I rubbed my hands together one last time before I turned to her. “Oh no. I didn’t come all this way just to stare at the lovely craftsmanship of the floorboards.”
“Then we might explore the caves, or perhaps see what is at the market today,” she suggested.
I cupped my chin in my hand and furrowed my brow. "
There was that ancient wall we passed on the way in. I kind of want to look that over before we go see something new.”
My friend smiled and jumped to her feet. “An excellent idea, but you will have to follow my steps until we get outside.”
I rubbed my butt cheeks in front of the fire and lifted an eyebrow. “Why is that?”
“My father will not wish to be awoken after last night and some of the boards are particularly loud,” she pointed out.
I paused in my warming and my face drooped. “I made the acquaintance of one of them last night. You’d better lead the way.”
We slipped into the hall and tiptoed across the floorboards. It was like playing a game of hopscotch but the lines were all invisible. And crooked. And sometimes very tiny.
“Step just here,” Arian whispered as she pointed down at her left foot. She stood on her tiptoes with the arch suspended high in the air.
She removed her foot and I took her place. Unfortunately, I was a little more flat-footed than her and my foot pressed down on the back of the board. A horrible creaking noise echoed up and down the hall. We both shrank away from the noise and awaited our doom.
“Quiet down out there!” a great bellowing voice boomed from a room on the right-hand side of the hall. The words were slightly garbled due to both drink and drowsiness.
The rumbling disturbed other rooms in the grand house and mumbled complaints floated through the doors. Arian grabbed my hand and jerked her head at the front door. “Hurry!”
We rushed down the hall unheeding the many squeaks and groans we left in our wake, along with some less than appreciative applause.
“Stop that!”
“What in all the realms is going on?”
“Who’s doing that?”
“I’m trying to sleep here!”
“QUIET!” The last voice was the first one and all others quailed beneath the booming roar.
We reached the front doors, out of breath and with sheepish smiles on our faces. A few giggles escaped us as we slipped out into the chilly morning air.
The results of last night’s homecoming party were everywhere. Alcohol bottles littered the area around the cold campfire like shells on a seashore. A dozen empty, and some overturned, barrels stood to one side, fallen soldiers from a great battle. The remains of last night’s meal, too, were scattered about, with the place resembling a boneyard. A few dogs sauntered about chewing on what little remained of the meat.
I kept my feet low on the ground and kicked around bottles like they were leaves in the fall. “How many people joined in on the fun?”
“I believe most of the city,” she mused as her eyes twinkled with the remembrance. “Though I fear I have few memories after night fell.”
“So do I, but I was asleep,” I teased as I looked her over. “I don’t even know how you’re standing while everyone else is still in bed.”
She winked at me. “I have a secret recipe for waking myself from such nights.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Like a hangover juice?”
“Hangover?” she repeated with a furrowed brow. “Is that what you call the pain after a night of drinking?”
“Yeah because what you did yesterday hangs over you today,” I pointed out.
She smiled and nodded. “I like that term and your name. I shall call my spirit ‘hangover juice.’”
“What did you call it before?” I asked her.
My friend sheepishly smiled at me. “Merely ‘my juice.’”
I laughed and clapped a hand on her shoulder. “We really have to liven up that imagination of yours.”
We sauntered through the open gates of the compound and down the road. A few people strolled through the streets, mostly men with carts delivering the morning milk. One of them smiled and tipped his plain brown cap to us. “Good morning, Arian. Lady Roberts.”
I lifted an eyebrow but kept my question to myself until we were well out of earshot. “Does everyone already know my name?”
“It is not often we have a guest from the heavens arrive,” she reminded me.
I winced at the descriptor. “Should we really be advertising that? I mean, I know you told me that your people don’t get much news from above but what if some traveling merchant heard about me?”
“Merchants rarely come and when they do it is often only for the Fur Festival,” she assured me.
“Fur festival?” I inquired. Arian opened her mouth but I held up a finger. “And before you try it again, I’m not going to take ‘mystery’ for an answer. You already hid that you were the daughter of the clan leader. That’s enough secrets between us.”
She bowed her head and blushed. “I am truly sorry about that. I did not wish for you to treat me any different.”
“And do you think I would have?” I countered.
A bright smile slipped onto her lips as she raised her dancing eyes to me. “No, but I. . .I must admit your surprise was somewhat amusing.”
I laughed and playfully punched her arm. “What did I tell you about me rubbing off on you? You’re not supposed to be that good a student!”
“It is difficult not to be a good student when you have a good master,” she countered.
I threw up my hands. “You got me. I’m just that fantastic, and you are fantastic at not answering my question, like what this fur fair is about.”
“Long ago merchants from all the other realms gathered together to sell and trade furs. Now they come and sell many more items, but the furs are still the centerpiece of the affair.”
“And when does the fair happen?” I inquired.
A sheepish smile returned to her face. “In a week.”
I snorted. “Is that why you were so eager for me to visit your home? So you could show me the festival?”
Arian hung her head. “My sincerest apologies. I did not mean to deceive you.” She paused and furrowed her brow. “Again?”
“I don’t think keeping a nice surprise like that from me is deceit,” I countered as I playfully nudged her arm with my elbow. “You just want me to see all the sights, right?”
Her head shot up and she furiously bobbed it. “Oh yes! You witnessed the festival in the heavens and I thought you might like to see one in the land realm!”
I patted her shoulder. “And you’re right. I would like to see your clan’s festival, merchants or no merchants.”
Arian’s face beamed with glee. “I am so glad!” She grasped my hands and pulled me faster down the road. “Now let us see the ruins and then I shall show you everything else there is to see!”
I laughed as she dragged me along behind her. “All in one day?”
“No, but we shall see what we can!”
We traveled through the city and out into the quiet forest beyond the lodge houses. Birds sang their morning songs and animals scurried hither and thither. I glimpsed something akin to a squirrel but with a skunk trail down its back and a few rabbits scurried away at our coming.
We soon reached the wall and I stopped to admire its simplicity. “Where did your ancestors get the stones to build this?”
“They were mined from new caves during an expansion of homes,” she explained as she traced her fingers down a trio of shallow grooves. My eyes widened when I realized they were claw marks. “My grandfather believed they would make a better fortification than a foundation for a road and so enlisted my people to build the wall.”
I dropped my eyes to the dirt road beneath our feet. “So these stones were supposed to be made into rubble?”
“Yes, which is why my father objected to their being used in walls,” she replied as she drew a fisted hand back. I jumped when she slammed her fist into the stone. The rock crumbled beneath her strength and the bits dropped into a neat pile on the ground. “The walls will not be able to sustain a heavy attack if the foe is determined enough.”
“Or if they manage to burrow through the bottom layer,” I added as I recalled her short story the last time we stood beside the wall.
Arian’s shoulders drooped and she sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. Though the wolves are much weaker than we bears, their strength and determination were enough to defeat the weak stones.”
I leaned back and examined the length of the wall. Neither end was visible from where we stood but I did see something. “What about that arch we passed yesterday? What was that for?”
Her cheeks blushed and her hands fidgeted together against her front. “My grandfather thought the wolves may surrender at the mere sight of the wall and so he had a gateway made for a procession.”
I snorted. “Your grandfather sounds like he had a lot of, um, interesting ideas.”
She turned her face away and a downcast expression marred her looks. “Unfortunately, he did, and his mistakes cost him his life during the war.”
My heart fell and I bit my lower lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
She shook her head. “None of what happened is your fault and what you said about my grandfather was true. He was a poor leader but my father learned much from his mistakes and became a better leader for them.”
“That’s the way to look at it,” I encouraged as I strolled down the road. “Now let’s go admire what your grandfather built.”
