Chapter Twenty

Suddenly free of his dark cell, the Shattered Soul of Ardong flew through the air. Where before everything had been black and colorless, the world was now so bright a blue that it hurt his eyes. Everywhere he looked, there were rainbows of color from the green of the world below to the bright golden sun above his head.

He soared through the sky, flew through tree tops, spreading and stretching his wings and whipping his tail side to side as he yelled and screamed his jubilation. He shot himself high up into the blue sky and zipped across the heavens.

After a time, he just spun around and around like a whirling tornado. He was free. Freedom. The taste of it was intoxicating. There was so much he wanted to do, so much time to make up. What first?

He dropped out of the heavens, ready to let the world know that Ardong, son of Dragon, was back. He opened his mouth and roared. Pleased by the stream of fire, he whirled and danced with glee.

First, he’d start a fire. Before being imprisoned, he’d loved watching the earth burn. Then he’d fly through it and watch the helpless humans run. He slowed, dipped his head, and searched for the perfect grove of trees, but the trees he’d just flown through were gone.

Puzzled, he flew in a circle. Where were the trees? Was he flying upside down? He whirled, flipped, and turned.

Nothing above. Nothing below.

The world had suddenly turned colorless and empty. There were no trees to burn, no mountains to stand upon so he could survey his kingdom, and no volcanos to cause to erupt.

Nothing.

He spotted the woman and her warrior standing in a bubble of color. Furious, he flew at them. “Where are we?” He bounced off the bubble and flew around them. The only color he could see was trapped within that bubble or shimmering on his own body.

Movement below drew his attention. A man and woman stood below him, looking as confused and bewildered as he felt.

“What does it matter? You are free,” Kangee said, smiling. She lifted her hands. “This is your new world, the one you freely agreed to come to.”

Kangee was no longer afraid. The warmth from the amulet she wore seeped into her, and she allowed an inner wisdom to guide her.

The son of Dragon flapped his wings. His talons clicked angrily. “This isn’t the place you brought me to. Where are the trees, the sky? Where are the humans and other beasts created by the gods?”

She studied the long reptilian body that shimmered with faded color in the dream world she and Night Warrior created. The beast’s yellow, snake-like eyes with their red slits no longer frightened her. “You flew out of the world I created and entered the world you now call home willingly. Free will. You chose to leave this world.”

Ardong shrieked with fury and flew at the woman but couldn’t burst the bubble filled with color and life. Everything he’d wanted, everything that he believed to be his right was there, with the woman.

“This isn’t real,” he screamed.

“It is real, because you believed it to be,” Night Warrior said. “You accepted it as real, and now you will live within it.”

Kangee pulled the amulet from around her neck and held it out, then took the one Night Warrior handed her. “Father Dragon and Mother Dragon, your parents, sacrificed their lives to protect the world from your evil. We honor their love for each other and this world in that we condemn you to this place forever. We are Guardians of the Past. This is our judgment. So be it.”

She held up both amulets. A flash of bright light flew across the colorless sky, pulled all the colors out of Ardong and spread them across the heavens where they hung in a ribbon of color.

She stared at the dragon’s gray body. “Each time you look up, you will be reminded of all that you had and all that you lost. This is the price you pay for choosing evil.”

Ardong tossed ball after ball of fire at them, but the flames fizzled, sending their colors high above.

From below, Red Flower let out a screech. “I didn’t choose this.”

Kangee glanced down. “You made your choice years ago.”

She stared into her father’s stunned gaze. “Shadowed Souls, you were given a second chance at life. You chose to walk your dark path. I condemn your souls to this place. You will never leave, never cause pain or harm to another living creature. Your bodies will be destroyed, just as you destroyed your souls.”

Above them, a flash of light drew her attention. It was a signal from her grandmother and that had to mean her mother was safe. As was Skye.

Night Warrior put his arms around Kangee’s shoulders. “It is time for us to go.”

She turned to Night Warrior and placed his amulet back around his neck. “Take me home, warrior of the night. Take us home.”

As soon as they returned to their bodies on the ridge of land above the lake, they silently hurried down the mountain. Talk would come later. With only the light of the moon to guide them, the climb down was difficult. Though she wanted to hurry and even rush off, Kangee patiently waited for her mate. In part, because she was afraid.

What if the dream world they left had simply been just that—another dream? What if nothing had changed?

“They are safe,” Night Warrior said behind her as they hurried into the forest.

“What if—”

He stopped, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her tenderly. “Trust and believe. You did it. You saved your mother.”

She leaned her forehead on his chest and breathed in deep, calming breaths. “No. We saved her. I know we did. But—”

“—you need to see for yourself,” he finished for her.

“Yes,” Kangee lifted her head to look at him.

“Then let us return.” Night Warrior took her by the hand.

A loud screech broke the eerie silence of the night world.

Kangee whirled around and cried out when an owl flew toward them with a small rat clutched in its talons. “Skye!”

She ran toward the owl, hands held out. The owl slowed, flared its wings, and let go of the rodent. She caught tiny black rat and cupped it gently. The wings of the owl brushed the top of her head as the bird soared back into the trees.

“Skye.” It had to be Skye. She couldn’t have dreamed this. Carefully, Kangee knelt and set the rodent down. “Return to me, Mithan.”

In the darkness, the rat blurred, blending for a moment with the shadows of the night. Kangee blinked, and there she was. Skye.

“Oh, my lovely, sweet sister. You are truly gifted,” she said to the little girl who just sat there, staring up at her calmly, as though nothing had happened to her.

The child held up her arms. “Story, Kangee. Story.”

Laughing and crying, Kangee pulled Skye into her arms and hugged her tight. “I told a story, Little One. A good story, too! Let’s go. Let’s get back to our family.”

“To Ina.” Skye put her head down on Kangee’s shoulder.

Night Warrior held them both. “Now do you believe?”

“Now I believe

****

Night Warrior watched Kangee pace. Her family had not yet returned with her mother. “They’ll be here soon enough. Come rest.”

Kangee shook her head. “I can’t.”

He didn’t blame her. He too was restless. They were outside his lodge. Skye and her sisters were inside, with his family and Kangee’s. Leaning against one of the lodge poles, he folded his arms across his chest and lifted his brow when he realized he’d done so with no pain. Testing his body, he put his full weight on his injured leg. Very little pain.

He smiled, satisfied with the knowledge that he’d soon be pain free and whole. A short while ago, that was all he’d wanted. To be whole. To be the warrior he’d always been.

Now? It wasn’t so important. Yes, he wanted to be whole—male pride dictated that it was his job to care for his woman—but more than providing, he wanted to be whole so he could embrace his new path in life. It was time to start asking questions and finding answers. Time to let answers come to him and figure out the questions to ask. Time, most of all, to discover the new world he was now part of.

He drew in a deep breath, taking his time to identify the different scents. His gaze pierced the darkness, saw much of what had previously been hidden to him.

“You’re very quiet,” Kangee said, coming to him.

He pulled her close. “Exploring a world I’ve lived in all my life and finding so much more than I ever thought possible.”

She smiled. “You are a SpiritWalker.”

Grinning, Night Warrior nodded. “Yes. Not so frightening now. I’d still like to know how it happened. The healer saved my life. How did she make me a SpiritWalker? No one else she saved became a SpiritWalker.”

“It is in your blood,” a voice said from the doorway of the lodge.

Night Warrior shifted and even in the darkness, clearly saw his aunt. “Explain.”

Wise Owl joined them. “It is something your uncle never talked about, yet it is why he knew why Blaze was different.”

Kangee tipped her head to one side. “He was a SpiritWalker?”

“He carried the blood of a SpiritWalker, yet did not have the outward signs of being one.”

“But our blood runs though the females. I do not share blood with my uncle.”

Wise Owl grinned. “Do you forget that your father was cousin to my husband?”

“My father was not a SpiritWalker.” Night Warrior glanced at Kangee, who smiled.

“But he carried within him the blood of our People and weak as it was, he passed that blood to you. When the healer saved your life, she awakened those traits.”

Night Warrior looked stunned.

“You were always powerful,” Wise Owl added. “The ability was there. My husband saw that and tried to teach you.”

A soft hoot above drew Night Warrior’s gaze. “He still is teaching me,” he said, feeling a bit overwhelmed as he stared into the gaze of the owl, the gaze of his uncle.

Wise Owl sighed. “You have made him proud, thoska.”

The owl fly out of the trees and past them, with a loud screech.

Night Warrior scented the air and grinned at Kangee. “I think your family has arrived.

Kangee whirled around and scanned the trees and the dark sky. Several large birds flew out of the trees at the same time wolves darted from the shadows. In moments, chatter broke the quiet of the night as wolves and birds shifted.

Running to her family, she searched for her father and mother. “Where are they?”

One of her uncles pointed. “There.”

With Night Warrior’s hands on her shoulders, she spotted a lone owl soaring much slower overhead. As he dropped lower, Kangee noticed the tiny, white owl on his back.

“Ina!”

The owl land on the arm of her uncle. She gently scooped the slumped owl off her father’s back.

“Ina.” Tears blinded her. She felt the beating heart of the bird, but the bird was unresponsive.

“Here, daughter. Let me.” Conrad held the bird tenderly. “Now, my love.”

With help from Conrad, the white owl shimmered and blurred, then Eagle Woman appeared in her father’s arms.

“Is she all right?” Kangee ran her fingers down the side of her mother’s face.

“I am fine, chunksi. Thanks to you.” Eagle Woman turned her head. She tried to lift her hand, but it fell weakly.

Kangee took her mother’s hand in her own and pressed it to the side of her face. She couldn’t speak past the lump in her throat and could barely see through the curtain of tears.

Blaze and her grandmother came forward.

“Take her inside,” Grandmother ordered.

Blaze took Conrad by the arm and led him to the longhouse. Grandmother, leaning on her walking stick, looked from Kangee to Night Warrior. “You returned my daughter to me,” she said to Kangee, squeezing her hand. Then she turned to Night Warrior and nodded. “You’ll do.”

The old woman hobbled back to the lodge.

“She’s safe. She’s alive,” Kangee whispered, overcome. “It’s over. It’s really over.”

Night Warrior glanced down at her. “No, it’s just beginning.” He scooped her up into his arms and strode through the growing crowd of people.

Kangee wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes. A new beginning. For us.”