Once Rowan woke from the vision, she raced to Morgan’s coinnigh. The moon was high and Gwen was playing with the goats while Morgan watched from the patio, but when Rowan stepped over the fence separating the woods, Gwen ran over and jumped into Rowan’s arms like she used to when she was very young.

Gwen was, in truth, thirty-eight years old, but since the day that mad doctor infused her with cainkin blood, she hadn’t aged a day. Gwen still looked eight years old, but now she was acting like it. She wasn’t using any language. She tried to swing from Rowan’s arm. And she threw a tantrum when Rowan asked Morgan to bring her to the selkies.

Suddenly, Gwen became dangerous. She found the words for, “Where is Apple?” and repeated them furiously at Rowan. Everything went dark, even the moon. The only light was shining off Gwen’s eyes. And she kept repeating, “Where is Apple?”

Rowan wouldn’t answer. Apple was the name of Gwen’s long-dead pet, the one Rowan put down. Somehow, Gwen was remembering the little shit. Her memories were flashing by as they slipped away, and now Gwen was furious. She leapt at Rowan’s throat with incredible speed and ferocity for such a small creature.

Quick as light, Morgan held Gwen in a barrier so Rowan could charm Gwen to sleep.

“Now you see what we meant earlier. If you weren’t here to charm her, a tantrum like that would have gone on for hours,” Morgan said wearily. She was a strong woman approaching fifty, but carrying Gwen’s burden and containing her threat was exhausting.

They carried Gwen into bed. Rowan didn’t speak until they left Gwen’s room, “Jack believes the visions are not the cause of Gwen’s illness. He believes she is losing her memories to make space for a new life cycle. She’s reverting to a child and needs to be taught everything again.”

Morgan looked crushed. “So she’s never coming back?”

Rowan sighed. “Perhaps one day, if we do everything right. But she will cycle again. She must prepare journals, documenting her memories for her future selves.”

Morgan nodded solemnly. Then she led Rowan to the slaughterhouse, where a beautifully sculpted man with long braids was bleeding a goat. Morgan explained his name was Plenty. He and some other selkies helped on the farm in exchange for privileges, and preparing Gwen’s dinner was this one’s task. Plenty could be trusted and relied on. So Rowan begged Plenty to take a team to Nohu Mangrove and bring Zeke here. Rowan explained the vision and told him to take some hoodwinks, just in case.

Plenty assembled a team and left that night.

And then all Rowan could do was go through the motions; waiting, hoping it wasn’t too late, that she wouldn’t lose her second son. Hormiz! How could she have been so stupid? How did Lilith do it? It shouldn’t even be possible. Rowan woke to find the crib covered in blood and the window open. She searched the woods and found only scraps of bloody clothes, and a pack of wolves gnawing on little bones. How did Lilith do it? How could Rowan be so easily tricked?

Rowan fell into an uneasy sleep. Dreamriding was harder with an unsettled mind.

She dreamed she was searching for her sons, but they were already lost. She was frantic and alone in the dense mist. Rowan called out but there was no answer. Soon she came upon a dark tunnel. It was oddly familiar though she’d never seen it before. The tunnel beckoned her.

She was aware enough to know this was dangerous. Someone was inviting her into their dream. They would control the setting. Could it be Hormiz? Who else?

It had to be Hormiz.

Still frantically searching for her sons, Rowan ran into the tunnel high on hope. She turned a bend and stepped outside onto a large stage in a courtyard. There was no sun or stars in the sky; but instead, a great line of fiery light shined from one horizon to the opposite. The rest was darkness.

And he stood center stage. Hormiz looked like a kitsune in every way, with pointy ears, claws, and a furry tail, except he had his father's shading. His fur was dark grey dressed in black silk. He betrayed no emotion as Rowan entered, but she cried tears of relief, joy, and sorrow.

She ran forward to embrace him, but Hormiz held up his hand, and Rowan found herself sitting in a comfortable chair.

Hormiz was not a hugger, it seemed. Rowan realized her reaction had been overhasty. She didn’t know her son. He didn’t trust her.

“I apologize for my presumption,” Rowan said. “I’m overjoyed to see you’re alive.”

Hormiz frowned. “So you’re holding to this lie, as well? You claim ignorance?”

Rowan saw the hurt and anger in his eyes. She answered passionately, “If I had known, I would have done anything, given anything, to get you back.”

His facade cracked and Rowan saw fear beneath the rage. He was torn. Despite a lifetime of brainwashing, she was still his mother, and she was breaking through to him.

“I don’t believe you,” he lied unconvincingly. “Even if I wanted to believe you, it wouldn’t matter. It’s too late.” His voice broke with shame and defeat.

Rowan wanted to run and comfort him, but she held her seat and respected his distance. “Whatever it is, we can fix it. I just want you to come home.”

“I can’t! Lilith won’t let me go! And she has Samaal. I… I hurt him.”

“Listen to me, Hormiz. That is not your fault. None of this is your fault. I will find a way. I will come for you. I swear it.”

Hormiz nodded and tears fell from his face. “What will you do?” he asked.

“I’m working on a plan. Believe me. I will never give up on you,” Rowan pleaded.

-8-

Hormiz woke up in his bunk on the loci’s ship. Everything was built of their plant/insect physiology: the floors, walls, doors, and technology. The bright light keeping Samaal powerless was redirected from starlight absorbed by the leaf walls of the ship. Starlight powered the entire miserable contraption.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Hormiz wiped the tears from his face. It was lonely in space. He was never a happy boy, but trapped in this pod, he felt worse than ever before. He hadn’t spoken to Samaal in many cycles. Hormiz had been meditating to find Rowan.

Part of him wanted to believe their story. It was a sad and beautiful story. But it would mean everything he knew before was a lie. His life, his loyalty to his Queen Mother, what would it mean if their story were true?

It would mean nothing. Hormiz was weak. He was powerless against Lilith. She was his grandmother and the Queen of Nod. She had every right to rescue the baby of two traitors. Serving Lilith gave meaning to Hormiz’s miserable existence.

But what if he could get away?

No, it’s stupid. Even if Rowan were telling the truth, she wouldn’t win. Lilith was too powerful. Besides, it was too late. He couldn’t change course now.

The ship was already being pulled into the gravity of an enormous black hole, around which orbited the dwarf planet Nod.

-8-

Rowan woke up and went through the motions. They ate a breakfast of goat meat curry and toast. Gwen drank her breakfast. She was well-behaved and seemed to have forgotten her tantrum. After breakfast, Morgan took Rowan on a walk around the coinnigh.

Most of Gwen’s illusions were fading. She hadn’t refilled the crystals housing the illusion spells in months. As a result, Piasa the thunderbird’s cave opening was nearly visible. Rowan had to climb the rock wall and pour her heartfire into the housing crystal. From inside Piasa’s rocky nest, Rowan could see most of Safo. But with the spell in place, Safo couldn’t see him. Piasa was the reason for the near-constant thunderstorms on the island. He only hunted in dark and heavy clouds.

The selkies could access the barn and slaughter one goat a week provided the goat was bled for Gwen’s consumption. They enjoyed the beach and only transformed beneath areas Gwen had covered in illusions. Those areas, too, had housing crystals that needed to be refilled.

By the end of the day, Rowan was exhausted. But before bed, she gave Gwen a writing lesson and told her to keep a journal and write in it every morning before bed. Hinata and Morgan observed and were told to repeat the lesson every morning until Gwen did it herself.

That’s when Plenty and Maeve returned.

The news wasn’t good. Zeke had refused to leave and was committed to protecting Nohu Mangrove. A selkie and the hoodwinks had been left behind, preparing for the unlikely event he succeeded. Rowan was angry, scared, and proud all at once. But she already did everything she could do. There was only the waiting left. So Rowan thanked the selkies, promising to return the favor one day, and went to bed to dream lonely dreams. At least the vision didn’t return.

The next day’s wait was excruciating. Rowan tried to busy herself with farmwork. She harvested grain and crushed it to make flour. She gardened. She churned goat milk into butter. She even sat with the chickens. But all she could think about was Zeke, and was he alive? And did he succeed? And would he stay at Nohu Mangrove even after? And could they rescue Hormiz and Sam together?

It was a moonlit night when Zeke and his entourage arrived, led by a selkie. Rowan heard the seals barking in celebration and guessed what it meant. She jumped out of bed and raced down to the shore to greet her son. Her brave, clever, heroic son.

He seemed different, older, serious, and more aloof. He hugged her but his hug felt further away than it used to. Zeke introduced his friends: the selkie Kayla, a massive cthulian named Raf, and twenty otters he called the kush people.

“I’m sorry, wait. Your name is Raf?” Rowan interrupted.

Cthulian faces are impossible to read, but this one seemed almost expressive. Raf lowered themself to Rowan’s height and said, “It’s me, Rowan. It’s Raf.”

It was impossible! All of it! An impossible miracle! Rowan cried and put her hands on Raf’s bizarre body. “Wait here a moment,” she said, and then she ran back to the house to fetch Gwen, Morgan, and Hinata. Together again, they stayed up all night, crying, telling stories, and celebrating. It was weird having Raf back as a sea monster, but they were glad to have him back.

At sunrise, Rowan and Zeke stepped aside privately.

“I’m glad you’re all reunited, but we have a lot to discuss,” Zeke said.

“Yes,” Rowan agreed but she let him lead the meeting. Zeke had already proven himself simply by arriving here. She wanted to hear his thoughts and plans regarding their next step.

“The kush aren’t just refugees. They’re garden keepers, and they have Haven’s seed with them. He said it was your penance to find the kush a home. If you accept, Haven and the kush will forgive your involvement in Crescent’s destruction.”

It was not what Rowan expected, but it was welcome news. Another tree spirit seed was a blessing in any circumstance. Drya would be thrilled. Rowan wondered if Drya and Titia might be of assistance in finding the otters a new home. She was so happy.

Until Zeke continued, “Also, Lilith found me.”

Rowan stood petrified.

“She has Papa, and she said if I don’t go to her and pledge myself, she’ll kill him.” All of Zeke’s prior confidence was gone. Now Rowan saw only a scared boy who wanted to be told what to do.

So she told him, “Let’s give her what she wants. And then we’ll kill her.”

They talked and planned a while longer, but Zeke was visibly exhausted, so Rowan led him to her bed in the farm. He fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

Then Rowan collected the twenty kush refugees and led them into the woods.

They hopped cutely behind her like she was their piper, but they were the ones whistling a song of adventure and rebirth. A pack of wolves thought to make a meal of Rowan’s guests, but she snapped her fingers and fire burned their whiskers, and they ran off yelping. By midday, the kush arrived at Drya’s waterfall glade.

Drya was thrilled, as Rowan knew she would be.

“Of course, the kush can stay here,” Drya exclaimed, holding Haven’s seed in her hand. It was the size of a small apple. “A bonded pair! I know just what form to give you, my little darling!” Drya floated to a nearby branch with a spider on it and beckoned the spider into a tiny opening in the seed. Once inside, Drya dropped the seed into the lake. “He will grow up with Nya. They will protect and comfort each other.”

The kush were also thrilled. They ran around exploring their new home.

“There’s something else,” Rowan said as she unwrapped the twine and banana leaves, revealing the Ivory Blade. “Zeke can summon this from anywhere but he can only hide it in one place. He asks you to hold this for safekeeping.”

Queen Titia answered, “We are greatly honored, and vow to protect it with our lives.”

Drya took the sword and then floated away to hide it somewhere.

Queen Titia continued, “You’ve exceeded your reputation, Rowan. We wish to reward your outstanding conduct.” Titia raised her hand and six pixies flew forward. “Three of these are drone spies, our eyes, and our gift to you to deploy wherever you deem worthy. The other three are juvenile queens. We still reign and their lives are forfeit. They will die before they can be a threat to us. We would do it ourself, but first, we invite you to feed until you are full.”

Pixie society was dark and savage. But it was not Rowan’s way to judge another species. And dark as it was, she hadn’t been fully fed in a long time. She was tired, and she was about to do something dangerous and reckless.

So one after the other, the little pixie princesses landed on Rowan’s open hand, and she breathed in their short, magical lives, and they dropped to the forest floor dead. After it was done, Rowan was appalled and horrified by her actions, but she felt full, alive, and powerful.

“One last gift,” Titia motioned, and one of the drones flew to Rowan’s open hand and dropped into it something like a large bean. “That is a pixie queen grub. She could be the seed of a new hive. If she stays here, we will probably eat her, but in your hands, she has great potential.”

Rowan understood the implication. Magic was based on potential. The greater the potential, the more powerful the spell cast. Titia was giving her a little battery to drain.

Rowan tucked the grub into a pocket on her belt. Then she said, “You honor me, Queen Titania, the Eighth. Thank you for your generous gifts. I promise to put them to good use.”

With the matters of the kush and the Ivory Blade settled, and with three pixie spy drones following her, Rowan hurried back to the coinnigh.