Someone else also saw the pink pup when she started running, because a moment later several yelps sounded, and warriors appeared from all around. They must have been lurking nearby, watching the ‘visitors’ unobtrusively, probably thoroughly bored by the human’s lack of activity. Given something to do, they sprang into action, and six males nearly tripped over each other diving through the tunnel opening after the pup.

Kaz, too, was drawn to the chase, and found his paws moving before he had actually decided what he was going to do. He heard Lianhua’s gasp of surprise as he darted away, moving faster than any normal kobold could have, and then the sound of Raff’s hard boots thudded after him.

When he emerged into the tunnel, Kaz immediately recognized this as the way he and the others had entered the den. It was relatively wide and well-lit, with a few firemoss torches fixed to the walls, and another of the yellow leather-over-kobold-skull totems. Some twenty feet or so along, directly in the center of the tunnel, lay a thrashing pile of fur. A series of muffled but angry barks came from the bottom, and then a bright pink tail emerged from between a green-furred leg and a yellow-furred arm.

The tail wiggled, swayed, then somehow managed to slip out as the warriors on top each tried to grab hold of the much-smaller puppy. Two paws were followed by a narrow waist and chest, but there she seemed to stick. Loud whining and the ‘li li li’ of a puppy crying sounded, and the mound of warriors froze, then slowly separated.

What they revealed were two triumphant males, each with one hand gripping the upper arm of the pink-furred puppy. Her paws dangled above the ground, toes scrabbling for purchase, and her already-wild fur was even more thoroughly mussed. She looked furious, sharp white teeth snapping at the hands holding her, but somehow the teeth never quite connected, and in spite of the bright core burning at her center, she didn’t try to use power to escape.

“What’s going on out here?” a voice demanded, and Kaz turned to see Berin and Dat making their way out of the den. A bemused-looking Lianhua stepped out of the pair’s path, and Raff, who looked like he wanted to laugh but wasn’t sure if it would get him in trouble, took one long stride forward to create more space.

“I just wanted to explore, that’s all!” The little female wriggled again, and this time the gray warrior to her right let go, allowing her claws to touch the ground. The yellow-furred male on her left hung on, however, and as his jaw set, Kaz thought he saw a resemblance between him, Berin, and Senge.

Berin sighed, gesturing to the yellow male, who let go with clear reluctance. The puppy immediately began brushing at her fur with both hands, trying to get it to settle into place, without notable success.

“Kyla, you can’t go to the mid-levels right now,” Berin said patiently. “It’s too dangerous.”

Kyla glared, golden eyes showing frustration and some embarrassment. “It’s time for my spirit hunt. You just don’t want to let me through because I’m a Magmablade. No one likes us, so you all make things as hard for us as you can.”

Berin rubbed her muzzle tiredly. Much of the humor that Kaz had seen in her earlier had drained away, leaving her looking even more like her sister than before. “You’re my uncle’s pup, Kyla, and as much a Goldcoat as you are a Magmablade. We wouldn’t stop you if it wasn’t important. But there are monsters and fulan in the mid-levels, so no one is allowed to go up without permission from the great chiefs.”

“My mother-” Kyla started, then snapped her jaw together, gritting her teeth. After a moment, her shoulders slumped, and she stared at the ground.

“Fine,” she muttered. “I’ll go home.” She started to shove past Berin, but the Goldcoat female grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. Berin wasn’t a particularly large female, but she wasn’t small either, and the puppy hadn’t reached her full growth yet, so Berin was easily able to stop the younger kobold.

“That’s what you said last time,” Berin said, and now a spark of humor lit her eyes, which were nearly the exact same shade of yellow-gold as Kyla’s. “But Uncle Rudu told Mother you were missing for almost a day. And how long did you spend skulking around our den today? We’re all really on edge with everything that’s going on, so it’s a good thing everyone recognizes you by now, or you could have been hurt.”

Kyla’s claws scratched at the ground, and her ears folded back. “I left with the gatherers this morning,” she mumbled. “Mother says that as long as I’m still a puppy, I should act like one.” She looked up, eyes blazing. “She let Ija start learning to use power properly when she was still a puppy, but not me. She only taught me the basic shield and bolt, and that’s not-”

“Fair?” Berin asked. Her tone was mild, but her expression was cold. “The world isn’t fair, puppy. Your sister will be chief, and you will support her. You two are different, and the sooner you recognize it, the better. Be glad you won’t be responsible for the lives and happiness of your entire tribe.”

Pink fists balled at Kyla’s sides, and her lips pulled back from her teeth, but she didn’t speak or challenge the older female. When it became clear that she wasn’t going to say anything else, Berin sighed, looking back at Dat. In the process, her gaze fell on Kaz and the others. She stilled, tilting her head as her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

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“We already sent a message to Idla, letting her know that humans have finally come. Perhaps we should just contact Vega as well,” Berin said.

Behind her, Dat looked startled, then slightly worried. “Mate,” he said, “do you think that’s-”

“Entertaining?” Berin interrupted. “Yes, I do.” She grinned broadly, then gestured for the yellow male who had been holding Kyla to come toward her. Lowering her voice, she began speaking to him, but Kaz’s attention was on the pink female puppy who stood, all but forgotten, in the midst of the Goldcoat warriors.

Truthfully, now that Kaz was near enough to see her properly, she looked little like Katri, other than the color of their fur. Katri’s silvery eyes were the same as Ghazt’s, and her fur was smooth and a little long, just like Oda’s. She had Ghazt’s broad, sturdy build, as well, while this puppy had a slim, rangy look about her, and her paws were too large for her body, showing that she still had some growing to do.

Still, there was something about her, and as Kaz looked more closely, his eyes widened. The ki spinning in her belly was mostly red and yellow, but mingled through the two brighter colors was a faint thread of blue. This was the first time Kaz had seen blue ki in anyone besides Li and himself, and it shocked him, especially after hearing the story about how the Woodblades had been wiped out. How could they be gone when this female stood right in front of him, bearing their power?

Unless Kaz’s understanding of ki and kobold power was wrong, or it took more than a tiny trickle of ki to allow a kobold to use the ancient tools provided by the mountain? Kaz had enough blue ki to use the Wood knife, but Kyla didn’t have as much as he did. Her red and yellow ki were in near-perfect balance, all but drowning out the blue in their brilliance.

Someone stepped up beside him, and he glanced over to see Lianhua, who held up her hand, the rune there and the bright curiosity in her eyes indicating that she had something she wanted to say. Quietly, she asked, “If this puppy is a Magmablade, and her sister is going to be the next chief, does that mean she’s related to you?”

Kaz and Li both turned to stare at the gloomy puppy, who was tugging fitfully at a fluffy tuft of fur near her ear. Memory splashed through their minds, of Berin saying that ‘One of Oda’s remaining sisters betrayed her, in exchange for command of whatever was left of the Magmablade tribe’. If this puppy was the daughter of the Magmablade chief, who was also Kaz’s mother’s sister, that meant Kyla was Kaz’s cousin.

Was that treacherous sister still chief, or had she, like Oda, returned to the ancestors, leaving her daughter to lead the tribe? Would that make Kyla Kaz’s niece instead? Neither Rega nor any of his uncles had had puppies while they were part of the tribe, so he wasn’t sure how it worked, but he thought ‘cousin’ would still be correct, even if they were a generation apart.

Looking back at Lianhua, Kaz felt as if his world had just been tilted slightly on its axis. It was still the same as it had always been, but he was looking at it from a new perspective, which made it seem strange and mysterious.

He rubbed his own hands together meaningfully, and Lianhua’s brows rose, but she wiped away her rune. When the muffled pressure of her power fell away, Kaz stepped toward Berin.

“We’d like to meet the Magmablade chief while we’re here,” he said boldly. “We’re interested in gold, but also mithril and adamantium tools. If only the Magmablades can heat the forges enough to melt the rare metals, then we must deal with them as well.”

Berin looked startled. “They’re not a great tribe any more, so the other tribes will speak for them. I don’t-”

Lianhua stepped up beside Kaz, placing her hand on his shoulder. Li shifted away, but didn’t audibly protest the gesture.

“Kaz is right,” Lianhua said. “My clan is willing to trade with the kobolds, bringing many items that you couldn’t otherwise get here. But we need to be certain that what we’ll receive is worth the effort and expense, especially now that we must risk traveling from the top of the mountain.”

Her hand fell away, and she reached into her pouch. When she pulled it out, she held a glorious piece of fabric. Its rich, heavy purple folds fell away from the pouch with an audible slither, gleaming like the surface of water where it caught the light. Embroidered around the edges were some kind of animal, with delicate black and white wings, and a long yellow nose and legs.

Berin gasped, her hand reaching out as if to touch the fabric, before pulling back sharply without making contact. Her gaze lingered on the material with clear avarice, but Lianhua simply began folding it back up, tucking it back into her bag, fold by fold.

“The Goldblades can trade for everything you need, I’m sure,” Berin said hoarsely, gaze locked on the last few inches of glistening fabric.

Lianhua’s eyes flickered to Kaz, and she shook her head firmly. “I need to speak to everyone involved. If any part of the process fails, nothing can be made. You yourself told us that without the Magmablades, the forges don’t work.”

Now it was Kyla’s turn to speak, but when they all turned to look at her, they found that she wasn’t watching Lianhua, but Kaz, or, more precisely, Li. “My tribe will be pleased to welcome humans back to the Deep,” the puppy said, throwing her shoulders back proudly. “You’re right. They do need us to run the forges. My sister can even bring the adamantium forge up to heat, which only the most powerful among us can do.”

As she spoke, the tilt of her head and the way she set her shoulders reminded Kaz so strongly of his sister that for a moment, his throat closed. He had thought he was done with his family, his history, and even his people, but it seemed that wasn’t true. He wanted to meet this aunt who had dealt the final blow that brought down Oda Magmablade, and someday, he needed to talk to Katri again, as well.

This time, he was going to find out the truth, no matter who tried to stop him.