They fell over each other onto a wooden floor.

Dazed and afraid, Hormiz looked around.

It was an alien place. The lights were brighter. The colors were saturated. The air tasted sharp like ironberry nettles. The little dwelling they arrived in was messy and lived-in. Mysterious and threatening objects covered the walls.

But Hormiz absorbed it as through a dense fog. He couldn’t fully believe it.

He was out. Hormiz was free.

Zeke smashed the mirror into pieces with a scream, breaking Hormiz out of his daze.

At first, Hormiz didn’t understand why Zeke was screaming. Then he remembered he was holding their mother’s molten heartstone. And Samaal was dead.

‘It’s all my fault,’ Hormiz thought. ‘I led the attack that took Samaal. I tortured Samaal for days. Rowan died because she was talking to me. I killed them both. Rowan will never have her revenge because of me.’

Hormiz wanted to cry tears of grief and scream like Zeke, but all he could summon were tears of self-loathing. He sat quietly as they ran down his face, watching Zeke mourn his parents.

Hearing a scream, three nearly naked strangers came rushing into the room. They saw Zeke on the floor and rushed to comfort him. It was like nothing Hormiz had ever seen before. They didn’t beat him or tell him to stop being weak. They surrounded him with a hug and told him he was loved and safe now.

Then one of them noticed him and asked, “Hormiz? Is that you?” There was a swell of emotion in their voice.

“You know me?” he asked.

“I’m Hinata. I’m… I was with your mom when you were born.”

Hormiz looked Hinata up and down. They had androgynous features and long wavy black hair.

Hinata looked at the ingot in Hormiz’s hands and sobbed, then pulled Hormiz into the hug. “You brought her home,” Hinata said.

Zeke grabbed hold of Hormiz and held him tight, and for the first time in his life, Hormiz was comforted. The drip of Hormiz’s tears broke like a dam, and he sobbed.

They stayed huddled together on the kitchen floor for a long time.

Hinata quickly fetched a kit to clean and bandage Zeke’s hand.

As the sunlight dimmed, the one with the braids left the room. Hinata began preparing some kind of food. The third one was a tall, muscular woman with silvery threads in her black hair. She called herself Morgan. She took a seat at the kitchen table and invited Hormiz and Zeke to join her.

“I don’t want to burden you, but I need to know some things,” Morgan said. “Samaal is dead?”

Zeke nodded.

“Those are what I think they are?” Morgan indicated to the Bone Gauntlet and Rowan’s ingot.

Again, Zeke nodded.

Hormiz was still too dazed and raw to do or say much of anything.

“Then the question is, what do we do with them?” she asked.

What to do with Rowan’s ingot? It was still hot in Hormiz’s hands. What were kitsune death rituals? He had no idea. His ancestor’s history died with Rowan. He would never know his people’s ways in this strange land.

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Zeke spoke, “I don’t know what to do with Mama yet, but I intend to free the Ikon in the gauntlet.”

Morgan was pensive. “I don’t know how Rowan freed you and put you into… your body, but Drya might. Go deep in the woods and seek out the forest spirit Drya. She may know what to do with Rowan’s ingot and the gauntlet.”

A pressing thought came to Hormiz like a sudden, passionate obsession. “We should use the Bone Gauntlet to kill Adam. It’s what Rowan would have wanted. Take him by surprise.”

Zeke looked betrayed. “That thing isn’t a tool or a weapon. It’s a cage for a person, like I was caged, and I will set them free.”

“With your powers and this combined, you could assassinate Adam in a blink of an eye!”

“And if I miss, he could get us both,” Zeke said softly.

“So you’re afraid!” Hormiz bellowed. He was angry and didn’t know why. “You’re soft and afraid!”

Zeke flushed and looked hurt. “It’s not about that. There’s a person trapped in that gauntlet. I won’t be party to their torment.”

Hormiz was about to call Zeke a coward and worse, but suddenly a blinding flash lit the room. Hormiz blinked the stars out of his vision and then noticed a young girl in pajamas at the foot of the stairs. She looked like a kid, but her hair was shock white. Her face was set in a determined frown.

She ran up to Hormiz and gave him a hug, like she already knew him.

Hormiz was stiff and tried to pry her arms off his waist, but the girl was surprisingly strong.

Morgan explained, “This is Lyn. She’s deaf. You must remind her of Rowan. She loved your mother.” She said this while moving her hands a lot.

Hormiz was overwhelmed and exhausted by all the unsettling new emotions he was experiencing. Yet this little girl hugging him was oddly comforting. But how could this child know and love his mother, when he barely met her? What was he supposed to do now that she was gone, and he was alone in an alien world?

As if reading his mind, Morgan said, “You’re not alone anymore, Hormiz. I’m sorry we weren’t there for you when you were growing up, but we are here now, to love and support you. Please hear me. You’re angry and scared now, and that’s normal, but don’t let that guide you. Hear what Drya has to say. She’ll know how to honor your mother.”

Hormiz was conflicted. His upbringing compelled him to follow orders, but he was on high alert and emotionally agitated. He wanted to yell at Zeke and order him to kill Adam. He didn’t know this Morgan person or anyone else on this planet. He barely knew Zeke, and they were already arguing.

It suddenly occurred to Hormiz that he had no allies on this planet but the people in this room. They said they wanted to help him. They didn’t mention their help was conditional. But Hormiz knew.

But he needed allies. There was no way around it. He didn’t know how to survive in this world, and Zeke had offered to help Hormiz survive. He needed them. He needed their help. That was a sobering realization. So Hormiz gave a subdued, acquiescent nod. He would do as Morgan advised. Lyn released Hormiz and sat at the table.

Morgan sighed in relief. Then she got up to open a cupboard. She pulled out a small box, carried it to the table, and opened it. Inside was a chrysalis roughly the size of a fist. It was dark brown and resembled a large bean. Morgan gave the chrysalis to Zeke and said, “Rowan gave this to me for safekeeping. You might not need this, but bring it anyway. Drya may need the extra energy.”

Zeke took the chrysalis and asked, “Where do we go?”

Morgan said, “Deep in the woods. Drya will watch you, test you, and if she decides you pass, you will be summoned for an audience.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Zeke asked.

Morgan shook her head. “This is your journey. I have work here on the coinnigh.”

Hinata came over carrying two small bags full of savory-filled buns. “There will be time for family meals later. You can eat these while you walk.” Hinata handed a bag to Zeke and another to Hormiz. “Go. Find Drya. Honor your mother. And then come back home.”

Hinata put a loving hand on Zeke’s face. Lingering, they stepped back.

Zeke picked up the Bone Gauntlet and Hormiz followed him outside.

Hormiz had never seen a starry night sky before. He had never seen the moon. His breath stopped and he froze mid-step to stare at the stars.

Zeke waited patiently. Then, smiling, he took Hormiz’s hand and led him toward the forest.

Hormiz slapped Zeke’s hand away.

“I am not your pet to be led or summoned at your whim!”

Zeke looked surprised and hurt. “I’m sorry.”

Hormiz suddenly felt bad and couldn’t say why. He set those feelings aside and summoned a blue flame light. He condensed it to the size of a candle flame, but it was bright as a torch. The forest looked alien and sinister, even brightly lit as it was. He imagined monstrous, strange, and dangerous beasts stalking the forest, hiding among the branches.

Hormiz remembered his brutal training. He pushed his fears aside and said, “I’ll lead. Follow me.”