my heel and return to my bedroom, double-check that the fur is secured around my body, and open the door. On the street, the cold breeze makes the leaves dance in the air. A pair of males are walking up to me. They don’t approach, but they stop and stare. One of them scratches his head. The other scratches his beard.
“Good evening,” I say.
They nod in unison.
“I’m looking for Stephanie.”
They keep staring. Two more males appear from around Nar’s house and stop dead in their tracks. From up the street, a group of them walks my way, slowing down as they reach the house where I stand at the door not knowing what to do. The safest thing to do would be to get back inside the house and close the door and lock it. But I can’t do that when something in my chest, almost like instinct, tells me I have to tell Stephanie, or actually Nar’s brother, that Nar disappeared. If I’m an idiot for doing it, Hart will tell me or at least reassure me everything is fine.
“I’m looking for Stephanie,” I repeat.
The males mumble, whispering among themselves.
“Damn it!” I stomp my foot.
The sky opens, and lightning strikes the door behind me. I scream and jump away as rain starts pouring as if someone opened a faucet. The males start shouting, and I think they’re calling someone. A minute later, a figure dressed in an ominous black cloak limps down the street. He’s leaning heavily on his staff, and as he walks, a bolt of lightning strikes the roof of the hut across from me. Fire ignites the roof. Oh my God. I cover my mouth as the males’ shouting intensifies.
The black-clad male removes the hood of the cloak and stares up at this sky, then starts chanting and hitting his staff on the ground. I recognize my name, or rather the name Aoa, goddess of thunder and pain.
The lightning strikes the staff in an explosion of light and heat. The older male jerks and drops it, then staggers a few feet away from it. The staff turns black at the bottom, and sparks twinkle, then die under the pouring rain. I don’t believe in their goddesses, but I admit, this is odd. Surely there’s a perfectly scientific explanation for all this. The weather is unpredictable after all.
“Aoa, what has Nar done to wrong you?” the old male says.
“I’m just trying to locate Stephanie.”
“Amti, Amti, Amti.” He shakes his head vigorously.
“Yes, Amti. Where is she?”
The older male points at the tower down the street. I walk back inside and grab another pelt to hold over my head and then proceed down the street. Mud coats my feet and reminds me of Gur’s camp and how he dragged me through it on a leash, celebrating the upcoming games. Fear makes me run faster toward the tower, and by the time I get to the bridge, I’m sprinting to get inside.
But the doors are closed. I pound on them. “Stephanie!” I call several times. The lights in the city are coming back on, air traffic stirring up. I had no idea they had air traffic. Various vehicles of strange shapes and sizes circle the tower while I keep banging on the door.
Something hard and warm meets my palm.
It’s Hart’s chest.
“Shit,” I say. “I’m sorry. I was watching the traffic.”
Clearly, Hart has just rolled out of bed, his hair everywhere besides tightly braided on his head. “What did he do this time?” he asks.
“I don’t know, but he’s not in the room. He went into another room. Maybe he went to his secret lover or maybe not.”
“Not,” Hart deadpans.
“Then I think he’s in trouble.”
Hart’s lips pinch. “Show me.” He marches down to the bridge, and I run to catch up to him and keep running because he starts jogging to Nar’s house. The entire city is up, and males line the streets, strapping on their weapons. Hart pauses at Nar’s door. While he barks orders at the males, I go inside.
He enters and closes the door. The second the door slams closed, Hart’s nostrils flare. He shakes his hair and body like a dog might to get the water off, then walks across the room and right through the portal. I follow him into the other person’s room.
“Whose place is this?” I ask.
“Mas’s room in the tower.”
Gaze on the shimmering open portal on the wall, Hart narrows his eyes.
“It’s the portal in the forest we came through, isn’t it?” I