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Chapter 1

You know those spastic full-body twitches you get sometimes when you’re almost asleep and your muscles want to play a practical joke on your brain? You startle wide awake and i what the hell that was all about I’ve caughtto it before: "Damn it, Dude"--yes, I call my nervous system Dude, and the Dude abides--"I was alonna count"

What I felt as I walked on the Kaibab Plateau was kind of like that, except it was Gaia doing the spastic full-body twitch It was h e in winter and your niles pucker up But, as with those nervous ot irritated about it and wondered what the hell was going on And while I wasn’t about to go to sleep, I was about to enjoy the cul an apprentice--and, save for the first few h, I’d conducted it all in peace Granuaile was finally ready to beco for a place to bind her to the earth when I felt the tremor I shot a question to the elees they use instead of language:

came the reply That chilled me I’d never heard confusion from an elemental before The fear, on the other hand, was perfectly normal: Despite their aweso, from placer mines to land developers to bark beetles They can be real scaredy-cats so on with Gaia Stopping inGranuaile and Oberon to turn and look at me quizzically, I asked Kaibab what there was to fear

Well, that confusedabout an airplane He or she, if Granuaile had been the one talking to the elemental) meant an entire plane of existence, a plane that was tied to earth solobe

The answer to that would tellwhich ti’s up with Kaibab Hold on" They knew better than to interrupt, and they took this news as an invitation to be on their guard, which ise Anything worrisome to the avatar of the environment you currently occupy should rouse you to a caffeinated state of paranoia

Almost unconsciously, I sent in reply, because it was truly , perhaps even dead? How? Why? I hoped Perun would have the answers If he sought me in hopes that I had them, we’d both be disappointed

I’d also like to kno Perun even knew to ask for o? There was another pause, during which I filled in Granuaile and Oberon Thanks to Ied any uy you told le?" Oberon asked

Yep, that’s the one

"I’ve alondered why he doesn’t shill for shaving crea blades He’d sure move a buttload of product"

I don’t knohy, but perhaps you’ll get a chance to ask hi what, Atticus?" Granuaile asked

"Incoet ready to shift away to Tír na nÓg if necessary And get the fulgurites out" Fulgurites would protect us froiven the, but we hadn’t worn theht I was dead

"You think Perun is going to take a shot at us?" Granuaile asked She shrugged off her red backpack and unzipped the pouch containing the fulgurites

"Well, no, but …on, really When in doubt, know your way out, I always say"

"I thought you always said, ‘When in doubt, blame the dark elves’ "

"Well, yeah, that too"

"I don’t think those are very practical solutions to doubt," Oberon said "They don’t leave you feeling satisfied "When in doubt, eat your neighbor’s lunch" is better, because then you would at least be full"

We stood in a rass and clover The sky washed us in cerulean blue, and the sun kissed Granuaile’s red hair with gold-- our hair black because no one was looking for two redheads any clean-shaven--uishable and da my new beard Oberon looked as if he wanted to plop down and bask in the light for a while Our backpacks eighted doith castaff, but after Granuaile retrieved the fulgurites, we jogged over as best we could to the nearest stand of Ponderosa pine trees I confir tether to Tír na nÓg there and then looked up for signs of Perun’s arrival

Granuaile noticed and craned her neck upward "What’s up there, sensei?" she wondered aloud "I don’t see anything but sky"

"I’ to fly in There, see?" I pointed to a dark streak in the northwestern sky trailed by lightning bolts And, behind that, at a distance of perhaps five to ten e ball of fire

Granuaile squinted "What’s that thing that looks like the Phoenix Suns logo? Is that hi"

"Oh, so what is it? AIt doesn’t look friendly That’s not a warather ’round with your friends to read sofellohile you toast s’mores That’s more like napalm with a heart of phosphorus and a side of hell sauce" The lightning and the fireball were turning in the sky and heading directly our way

"Um Hey, Atticus, think we should try that escape route just to make sure it works?" Oberon said