“How are you feeling today?”

The questioner was my dear friend Arian and was presented to me as she sat down on the edge of the bed with a breakfast tray in her hands.

I eased myself into a seated position and winced when my side complained. “I was hoping I’d be a little better than this after three days. Don’t you tell me gods have a magical gift for naturally healing themselves really fast?”

She set the tray on the bed between us and nodded. “They do but your wound was very grievous. Your healing ability prevented you from bleeding to death but it could not quickly repair the hole and the damage within.”

I wrinkled my nose. “So if I had been mortal I would have died?”

“Undoubtedly,” she confirmed as she slid the tray closer to me. Her eyes shimmered as she offered up food and a smile. “But I am very glad you are not mortal and that you survived.”

“For once so am I,” I mused as I took up the tray in my lap. “So is there any news about me from outside these four walls? Or about what attacked me?”

She shook her head. “I have heard nothing definite though rumors have arisen regarding a commotion in Lord Eastwei’s gardens. Someone passed close to the walls around the time the attack occurred and heard a faint commotion but thought nothing of it.”

I paused midbite and lifted an eyebrow at her. “Why would that start a rumor about something bad in Dadan-I mean, Eastwai’s garden?”

“Dadan?” she repeated with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “I have heard Prince Yushir refer to Lord Eastwei with that name.”

I shrugged and resumed my eating. “I picked up some habits while I was in there, but you didn’t answer my question.” She bit her lower lip and turned her face to one side to avoid my gaze. I set down my half-finished piece of toast and frowned at her. “What’s wrong?”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “The. . .the rumors of the disturbance in the garden arose because many people have learned that Lord Eastwei’s pet died very suddenly.”

My hand trembled and I grasped the front of my robe to get it to stop. “Dead?”

She nodded. “Yes. At least, that is the rumor being spread.”

My heart felt as though it was being squeezed by a merciless hand. “Then Eastwei thinks I’m dead?”

“I fear so, but is that not for the best?” she wondered as she set a hand on my shoulder. “He will not be searching for you and possibly discover you as you are now.”

I closed my eyes and nodded. “Y-yeah, I guess so.” No! That’s not it at all! He thinks I’m dead! How could I just lay here all these days letting him think such a horrible thought?

But what if he doesn’t miss you?

The color, dismissive words sprung tears in my eyes. My inner voice had a point. I’d been his pet for such a short time and he lived so long. He might have already forgotten about me.

“Are you feeling well?” Arian asked me.

I managed a shaky smile and wiped the back of my hand against my eyes. “I’m fine. I was just remembering the attack, that’s all.”

Arian’s pursed lips and eyes that flitted between my bleary ones told me she didn’t believe me. “I see. Well, eat your food and we shall see how you move after I perform some chores.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I picked up my half-eaten toast and Arian slipped away to take care of the chores. I waited until I heard her moving about at the far end of the house before I lowered my bread back onto the plate.

He thinks I’m dead. . .

My sorrowful mantra ate away at me as I stared down at the plate. All those wonderful memories, all that fun I’d had with him, even the harrowing adventures, they all just seemed so. . .pointless. My cat form had been yanked from me by that horrible creature so I couldn’t even console him.

Or maybe I could.

I glanced over at the vanity on the opposite side of the room. The cloak Arian had brought lay folded on the top. What had she told me? That not even the great Lord Eastwei could see through its magic?

The pressure on my heart lifted and I picked up my piece of bread. I’d do it. I’d make sure I left him a parting gift that showed his little cat may have been gone but she hoped she wouldn’t be forgotten.

“How are you doing?” Arian spoke up as she peeked her head into the room.

I stuffed the bread into my mouth and nearly choked to death on my hasty action. Crumbs flew out when I spoke and splattered across the bedsheet. “Great!”

Arian smiled as she slipped into the room. “You have hardly touched anything since I left.”

“I was just, um, thinking about something,” I replied as I picked up my glass of milk and munched on the piece of bread. I followed the bread with a heavy splash of milk which caused me to choke.

“Careful!” Arian scolded me as she took my glass before my choking fit caused me to spill milk all over me. “You need to mind your health. As the old saying goes, ‘a healthy life is a healthy crystal.’”

Crystal. My blood ran cold as I thought about that little episode in Lady Wuhel’s house. Dadan’s crystal had been as broken as the barrier over the mountain. “What’s that about a crystal?” I asked her.

She leaned back and blinked at me. “Have I not told you about the crystals each god possesses?”

“Not that I remember,” I replied as I tried to tamp down my curiosity. “What are those about?”

“The lives and powers of every god are represented by a crystal inside of us,” she explained as she pressed her splayed fingers of one hand against her chest. “The crystal is generally of a color akin to one’s powers. Mine would be brown due to my bear clan heritage. I would guess yours would be silver.”

“So these things are really important? Important enough that breaking one would be bad?” I guessed.

She set her hands in her lap and grasped the glass between them. “It would mean the death of the god.” The color drained from my face. Arian’s eyes widened and she shot off the bed. “What is the matter? Are you well?”

I swallowed the rising tide of dread and managed a smile. “I’m fine. I was just, um, well, your mentioning being a bear got me thinking about the trip to your home.” I adjusted my seated position and wagged my piece of toast at my friend. “You haven’t even told me what your home looks like. Is it like the area around the gate?”

A faraway look slipped into Arian’s eyes as she recalled her homeland. “Not quite. The trees have bristles rather than leaves and there are more mountains and hills.”

“And you told me something about your ancestors living in caves?” I reminded her.

She laughed and nodded. “Oh yes. The mountains have many caves which my ancestors inhabited before establishing Banhar as their home.”

I cocked my head to one side. “Banhar?”

“The name of the capital town of my clan. It abuts the Kofa Mountains where many large caverns sheltered my ancestors,” she explained.

I sheepishly grinned at her. “I hope there won’t be a test about all this when I get there.”

A horrified look slipped onto her face and she furiously shook her head. “Oh no! My people are very forgiving of little mistakes!”

My face drooped. “And big ones?”

Arian pressed a finger to her lips and the worried look in her eyes didn’t give me comfort. “Well, my people place a great deal of importance on speaking the truth and those who deceive them are never forgiven.”

Some of the color drained from my face. “So if they ask who I am what do I tell them?”

“You may tell them who you are. The affairs of the heavens have very little bearing on their own lives,” she assured me as she patted my shoulder. “They’re not as mean as they appear and if they like you then you will have no friend as loyal as they.”

“If?”

She laughed and handed me my glass of milk. “I am sure they will love you as dearly as I do. Now eat your food and we will see how well you can move about.”

She slipped out of the room like a spook, leaving behind a heavy and haunting cloud over my head. Our brief discussion about the crystals didn’t do my heart and mind any good, either.

Broken I thought to myself as I recalled the horrible condition of Eastwei’s crystal. Wuhel had been really worried about it.

All the more that you should go see him one last time! my mischievous voice insisted.

I sank lower into the sheets and cradled my cup of milk in my hands like it was a teddy bear. I would go see him one last time and then I’d go with Arian to her home. The tidings of an adventure loomed on the horizon like a coming storm. A storm I wasn’t at all prepared to weather.