《Island Paradise (Grashien Chronicles Book 1)》 Prologue We are the Grashien people who live on the island of Gras inside Mt. Marina. The humans ¨C we call them Anacogi, which means outsiders ¨C have completely forgotten our existence outside of history books and fairy tales. They¡¯ve tried to kill us every time our existence has become known, so we hide. Contrary to what their science claims, magic does exist, and it¡¯s the reason that none of their technology can find us. We have the occasional off-course boat find us, but the animals always guide them away before they can see us. All they would see anyway is a few feet of land sloping toward a hole in the middle. At low tide they might see six feet of rock, if that; at high tide, our island all but disappears. Thankfully, we don¡¯t actually live on the surface. It might sound a little odd when I say we live in a volcano, but we do. Mt. Marina is an extinct volcano with a deep caldera, which is dry, solid, and as cool as if you were in a cave, although sunlight comes down through the hole in the top. The sides come up at such an angle that the opening of the caldera is much smaller than the floor. Despite being surrounded by the ocean, the river that trickles in through the rocks near the top of the wall is fresh and clean, and forms a lake further down (the lake apparently drains by magic, as there¡¯s no current). If you were to come, unsuspecting, to our island, and look down from the mouth of the caldera, you would find exactly what you would expect to find ¨C glowing, bubbling lava; shimmering heat waves emanating from the churning liquid rock; sulfurous steam emitted from multiple sources inside the bowl; the charring, burning sensation of standing over something hot for too long ¨C but if you were to then lean back and examine yourself, you would find yourself unharmed. Perhaps you might become suspicious ¨C but I doubt you would be willing to jump into what looks like a lava pit to test those doubts. In this manner, we are protected from uninvited guests. If, on the other hand, you were already aware of our presence, and looked down from the same vantage point, you would be able to see the entire island. You would be amazed at the variety: forests of every kind, with every type of tree imaginable; fields of grains and grass; a lake with sandy shores, fed by a deep, clear river with rocky banks and a sandbank in the center flowing from a crack in the rocks; a small, crystalline stream trickling into several shallow pools in a meadow bursting with flowers of more variety than you can dream of; places in shadow with perpetual snow, despite our position directly on the equator; dark cave entrances ¨C the only climate we don¡¯t get to experience is desert, but no one misses it anyway. If you looked closer, you would see simple, clearly hand-built houses near the river and beside the lake. You might notice the old-style farm tools near the grain fields, or the small boats on the sand by the lake. If you looked closer still, you could see the wash stations on one side of the sandbank in the river; on the opposite bank and upriver a little is a first-aid station, situated so that the soap spuds don¡¯t get in the wounds. If you were extremely observant, you might even notice the small gazebos lining the stream in the meadow. Gras is a place where creatures thought not to exist can hide from the prying eyes of the Anacogi. As such, if you explore the caves, you¡¯ll find thunderbirds and firebirds hiding in the dark tunnels; if you walk to the snowy regions, you might spot a yeti; if you wander through the forest, you¡¯ll see unicorns and pegasi; and no matter where you look, you¡¯ll see fairies, griffins, and evidence of magic. If you were to walk among us, presumably unnoticed, you might think we¡¯re elves. Our ears are slightly pointed, our eyes are odd colors ¨C but if you just glanced at us, we would pass for human. This is how we get through Amoran, visiting time when we¡¯re teens to explore the mainland and human society. While we could blend with humans in looks, though, our culture would never fit in.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Grashiens mature unusually young. Girls tend to be fully developed by age eight and boys by nine; while marriages aren¡¯t arranged, kids usually get married when they¡¯re eleven or twelve, and it¡¯s not unusual to have kids before fifteen. We start training at age three; we¡¯re allowed to start hunting at five. Grashiens are also unusual in that we have, to a human at least, extraordinary powers. We are telepathic and can read minds; we have some control over the elements, including nature; we are shifters (each person has a specific animal category ¨C like felines or canines or reptiles ¨C that they can morph into); we can breathe underwater; we are impervious to fire; we have ¡°magic,¡± to a degree; we are extremely fast; and we can understand and speak any language spoken to us. On Gras, we have fairly limited options for materials, so everyone has basically the same thing. Even when there¡¯s a difference between one person¡¯s house and the next, it¡¯s because they built it themselves and this is what they wanted their house to look like. We are a matriarchal society. We have an Aklumna (former Sumna, advises her daughter; there is always an Aklumna); a Sumna (chieftainess); and a Kli Sumna (literally translating as Daughter Sumna, it basically means Heir to the Throne ¨C if there was a throne). Their husbands and brothers do pretty much nothing political. The Sumna herself is mostly a figurehead: the Chaklo (council) makes most of the minor decisions, allowing her time to do other things to keep the people happy and the society running. Major decisions, like to reveal ourselves to humans (a quinquennial debate) or who¡¯s going to take the place of a council member who just died, are given to the people to come together and decide on. When everyone (or most people, at least) is happy, the decision is implemented. In the end, the people control the island. If they don¡¯t like the current Sumna, they will march to her house and request that she step down. Since all Grashiens are connected mentally, if the people are agreed on something, she can¡¯t go against the basis of our society ¨C we stand together, so she will be forced to do as the people wish. Her daughter will take over; if the people dislike her as well, they will come together and choose a new woman to assume the title. We have no war, because we have no reason for war. Jealousy, religion, and power ¨C the three main reasons humans fight ¨C have no place here. We all have the same choices for materials; we don¡¯t use money or even trade (everything anyone makes gets put into a communal building, so if you need something ¨C food, clothes, etc. ¨C you go get it); our ¡°religion¡± is proven fact, which is hard to refute; and everyone has equal power, since the council takes into consideration the opinions of the people when making decisions. Despite our lack of conflict, we¡¯re taught every method of fighting known to humans, as well as how to use our abilities to aid our fights. Each of us can use any weapon available to us in any situation and know how to fight against any sort of opponent. Even without using our powers, we can out run most vehicles, out swim the fastest ships; if one of us entered the Olympics, we could put even the most talented athletes to shame in any area. Most of the time, if we aren¡¯t doing something productive, we¡¯re training. Since we¡¯re taught dancing and gymnastics as part of our fight training, we have a unique style that incorporates the flowing movements of dance into the powerful hits of fighting and the acrobatics and gymnastics into dodging techniques for evasion. We only have one city on the island ¨C Schlighterscromben (Shifterhaven) ¨C which is split in half by the river, forming two villages ¨C Schlighter (Shifter) and Scromben (Haven). Schlighter is where all the training equipment is and Scromben is where the farms are. Most of the time, our island is protected by the animals who live around it. Sea creatures and storms are really good at pushing ships off course; if that doesn¡¯t work, the same magical shield that protects us from the ocean guards us against most visitors. No human has ever set foot on our island. Until now. Chapter 1: Storm I¡¯m strolling the six feet of visible sand left by low tide when Maila, our loyal whale shark watchdog, swims up to the edge to alert me to a nearby vessel. I thank her and head to the edge, climbing so that my eyes are just above the level of the island. I love to watch the storms that come to drive the ships away; they¡¯re exciting. In our hidden paradise, we get rain, but never the violent thunderstorms that happen aboveground. I smile a little as I see the clouds begin to gather. I gasp when the ship I was warned about comes into view. It¡¯s the biggest one yet: a cargo ship that looks like it holds a lot. As the storm gathers, I find myself hoping the ship doesn¡¯t get ripped apart like the last one ¨C this monster looks like it might hold oil, which is a pain to clean up. The clouds begin to spin and I think they¡¯re forming a hurricane this time. Darn. Hurricanes are no fun to be in, even when you¡¯re in the eye. I duck back into the mountain and climb down the wall. My youngest sister, Kitten, runs towards me. She stops a couple feet away, looking like she¡¯s about to cry. She hates these storms ¨C the wind and thunder scare her ¨C so I start singing. I quickly draw a crowd of young kids, all hoping I¡¯ll offer them comfort while their parents work. ¡°Now you¡¯ve got a house That¡¯ll keep you warm, Right here with me, Safe from harm.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry ¡®bout the thunder, Don¡¯t worry ¡®bout the rain, Right here with me There is no pain.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, It¡¯ll be alright, Right here with me, Throughout the night.¡± They calm down quickly and start dancing in the rain. I smile slightly and step away to talk to my brother. ¡°We might have a mess to deal with. That ship looked like it might have held oil.¡± He nods. ¡°We¡¯ll go up to check once the storm dies down. I suspect we¡¯ll have a pretty big wreck to clean up either way.¡± We work together, rounding up everyone under the age of four and herding them into the nearest training gym. We work them through fighting sets and gymnastics maneuvers until word comes that the sky is clearing. Taylor, one of my sisters, comes in to help them cool down from the exercise. Ethan and I climb up to the surface and look around. The clouds are indeed dispersing, leaving an absurdly blue sky in their place. We scan the surrounding water until we find all the debris floating away from the same heap of rapidly sinking metal. Ethan curses under his breath as we see the decidedly black sheen on the surface of the water. ¡°We¡¯re gonna have fun cleaning this one up. That¡¯s a lot of oil.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± One of the nearing pieces of litter has someone laying on it, seemingly unconscious. I scan the wreckage again and see no one else, but we slip back into safety anyway, alerting the village to the situation and warning everyone to stay down here until we know who this person is and whether it¡¯s safe. Then Ethan volunteers us to keep an eye on the person and Mom assigns Taylor to oversee the cleaning of the waters. The next day, we climb up to the entrance again, just as the human wakes up. We¡¯re both startled to see that it¡¯s a girl, no older than about eight. Strangely, she seems to be developed the way she would if she were Grashien. She groans and sits up, still clinging to the piece of metal that saved her life as she looks around. ¡°Where am I?¡± She asks herself, sounding scared. ¡°Oh no,¡± she gasps, ¡°I¡¯m stranded! Where¡¯s my backpack?¡± Just then, Maila swims by, gently nudging a certain cloth bag toward her. She doesn¡¯t seem to notice the massive shark, instead just snatching the bag out of the water to check if the contents are salvageable. ¡°Thank goodness my bag is waterproof,¡± she mutters. ¡°At least I¡¯ll have something to eat and maybe even water if I remembered to pack it the other day.¡± She finally looks around and sighs. ¡°Nothing to eat here, I guess,¡± she says, sounding resigned. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s through that hole?¡± She crawls over and Ethan and I move out of sight. She gasps. ¡°I¡¯m on a volcano!¡± Then she pauses. ¡°Wait a second¡­¡± she sticks her face over the opening again and cringes at the (imagined) heat. Then she leans back and pats herself down, noting that she is entirely unharmed. ¡°Strange.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Two days of constant watching later and we¡¯re a little worried. She¡¯s done pretty well living out of her backpack, but she¡¯s running out of food. Based on the way Maila and the other animals have reacted to her, I¡¯m willing to bet she¡¯s at least half Grashien, but I¡¯m pretty sure both her parents were from Gras because her body is too developed for an eight-year-old of half parentage. Today, she seems to be growing desperate. She¡¯s crawled over to the entrance five times already and keeps trying to convince herself (out loud) that the heat isn¡¯t real and can¡¯t actually hurt her. Her next comment, though, worries us more than any ¨C ¡°Well, burning to death in a volcano is at least better, and faster, than sitting out here slowly starving to death.¡± I shoot Ethan an uh-oh look and scramble down the wall to warn Mom. ¡°Alright,¡± she says. ¡°Cat, what¡¯s your opinion?¡± I pause and try to decide what to say. My mom, the Sumna, is probably the most respected person in the whole village, and if either of us makes the wrong decision, the whole village may suffer. ¡°Mom, she¡¯s at least half Grashien, but based on her physical development, neither of her parents are human. She¡¯s young, no older than eight or nine, and looks like she¡¯s got no one back home. I think if she actually does jump, and survives the fall, we should take care of her; if she doesn¡¯t jump, I¡¯d bring her down tomorrow night at the latest.¡± She nods. ¡°I will watch with you for the rest of the night, try to gauge her. Unless I see something that proves you wrong, we will do as you have suggested.¡± I nod and we climb to the top. Ethan raises an eyebrow at Mom. What¡¯s going on? Why are you here? His telepathic voice sounds surprised. Mom shrugs, not an easy thing to do when your arms are helping hold you up. I decided to trade off with you tonight. I want to get a feel for who this girl is. Have you tried to read her mind yet? We both shake our heads. We didn¡¯t feel like we should. She seems sweet, innocent, and harmless enough, Ethan says, looking a little embarrassed. Plus humans have this thing about privacy, and we didn¡¯t think we should violate that. She considers this. Probably smart. If she doesn¡¯t jump by tomorrow night, we will take her in anyway. Mom smiles. And she really is cute, you know. Ethan blushes at Mom¡¯s hidden suggestion and climbs down. The next morning, the girl groans when she opens her eyes. She crawls over to the edge (Mom and I make sure we¡¯re fully hidden), then returns to her bag to assess her food supply and sighs. She stands up and makes her way to the edge of the water, which she stares at moodily. Three hours later, Mom turns to me. Go get your brother. I need to make preparations. She gives me a stern look. And I¡¯m expecting you to be her Gralentra. I nod. I was planning to be anyway, but I¡¯ll find Ethan. Wait, no, actually, Ethan should be sleeping. Is it okay if I get Lea instead? She smiles and nods, so I climb down and get my identical twin sister, Alitra, who goes by the nickname of Lea. ¡°Lea! Come on, I need you,¡± I say when I find her, practicing her staff work. ¡°What? Oh, hey Cat. Sure, I¡¯m coming.¡± She follows me up the wall and trades out with Mom. Okay, so we¡¯re just waiting for what? Sundown? Or do you think she¡¯ll jump? I don¡¯t know. I know she was considering it yesterday, But whether she will or not before sundown is up to timing, I say. We just have to wait. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on; quit asking questions you already know the answer to. She smiles and we wait. An hour and a half before sundown, the girl walks up to the edge and looks like she¡¯s about to jump when she suddenly stops, groans, and mutters, ¡°I¡¯m just not ready, apparently. I¡¯ll do it later.¡± I shoot Lea a look, but she¡¯s already scrambling down the wall to tell Mom. She comes back only minutes later. Remind me again why we aren¡¯t allowed to just fly back and forth to the floor, she groans. I assess her scrapes. You¡¯re fine. Besides, the reason for that particular stipulation is standing right in front of you, I remind her. Now, what does Mom say? That it¡¯s time, Lea says. Go tell her. I¡¯m right behind you. I take a deep breath, then vault myself out. Chapter 2: Visitor She¡¯s standing a few feet away with her back to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the sea creatures that have been watching over her come near the surface and wait. Eventually, she turns around. ¡°Omigod! Who are you?¡± she asks, peering at me carefully. I resist a smile and respond simply, ¡°I¡¯m Cat.¡± She looks wary, but holds out her hand. ¡°I¡¯m Sareena. Where did you come from?¡± I shake her hand a little awkwardly ¨C it¡¯s not something Grashiens usually do, but if it makes her feel better, I¡¯ll do it. ¡°How about you find out for yourself?¡± I offer. ¡°Wait, do you mean go with you?¡± She asks, sounding scared. ¡°But, I don¡¯t even know you!¡± ¡°Well, if you stay up here any longer, you¡¯ll run out of food. We¡¯ve decided to take you in,¡± Lea says, coming up behind me. ¡°I¡¯m Lea. Nice to meet you, Sareena,¡± my sister says, attempting to hold out her hand to shake. The girl shakes my twin¡¯s hand and looks around us like she¡¯s trying to see someone else. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re the only ones up here,¡± I assure her. She nods. ¡°Okay, so where are we supposed to be going?¡± We smile. ¡°You were so close to finding us earlier,¡± Lea says. ¡°We were lucky you didn¡¯t go through with your plan, because we weren¡¯t ready yet,¡± I add, and we walk over to the mouth of the volcano. She looks shocked. ¡°We¡¯re jumping in there!?¡± She pauses and shrugs. ¡°Oh, what the heck. I was gonna do it earlier anyway, might as well do it now.¡± She walks up to the edge to join us. ¡°What can I expect at the bottom? Burning lava?¡± We try not to laugh. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s water where we¡¯ll land,¡± Lea says. ¡°Go in like a knife,¡± I tell her. ¡°Straight and smooth, or it¡¯ll hurt.¡± My sister adds, ¡°Pretend the goal is to not make a single ripple, and you¡¯ll be on the right track.¡± Sareena nods and stuffs her shaking hands in her pockets. ¡°So just sort of slip off the edge, right?¡± We nod and jump. She casts one last look around, tightens her backpack straps, and follows us. We hurtle downwards, slipping into the water without a splash and barely a ripple. Lea wasn¡¯t joking when she said that was the goal. A moment later, Sareena¡¯s plummet stops when she enters with only a small splash and a surprisingly small amount of ripple. We take a moment to exchange a surprised glance before diving under to pull her up. She gasps and splutters. ¡°How¡¯d I do?¡± she asks weakly. My lips twitch toward I smile, but I hide it. ¡°You did pretty well actually. Even your backpack is intact.¡± ¡°Oh good. I couldn¡¯t bear to lose that,¡± she says, clutching it tightly. Lea and I each wrap an arm around her. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get to land,¡± Lea says, and we swim back. ¡°What is this place?¡± Sareena asks, sounding awed. ¡°This, little one, is Gras,¡± Lea says. ¡°But I can¡¯t tell you more until you meet the Sumna.¡± ¡°The soom-nuh?¡± she says. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Who, not what,¡± I correct. ¡°She¡¯s our chieftain.¡± ¡°Oh. Okay,¡± and she doesn¡¯t say another word as we guide her to our leader. When we reach the vine arch that we use as a gate, I turn to her. ¡°All right, Pixie, we have to split off now. We¡¯ll leave you with Rosie for the moment and meet you in there.¡± ¡°Pixie?¡± she sounds like she¡¯s considering whether she likes it or not. ¡°Okay. Who¡¯s Rosie?¡± Rosie steps out, her black hair shimmering even in its bun. ¡°That would be me.¡± She smiles at Sareena. ¡°I¡¯m her twin sister. I¡¯ll guide you through what to do while you¡¯re in there.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Sareena says, like she¡¯s trying to sound stronger than she feels. She turns to us. ¡°See you there?¡± We nod and vanish through a side door. In the back, we quickly take off our dripping wet street clothes, meant for Amoran, and into our armor ¨C black material as hard as diamond but as flexible as a gymnast¡¯s leotard. We undo our hair and dry it off, braiding it and tying it up into a bun. We place our little circlets in our hair and pad into the ¡®throne room.¡¯ We take our places at either side of Mom, our siblings spread out in a semi-circle behind us. Rosie enters, escorting a now-dry Sareena, who looks around with eyes the size of marela flowers (which have dark red blossoms up to eighteen inches wide). Rosie whispers in Sareena¡¯s ear and she drops her eyes from where they were staring at the purple flowers in the ceiling. I again resist a smile as Rosie shows Sareena how to do a proper Grashien bow, with her left hand covering her eyes and her right arm extended to the side as if for a hug. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. My mother responds by inclining her head. My siblings and I follow suit; one of my sisters, Serpent, wonders internally why we¡¯re showing respect to this wisp of a girl from outside the tribes. I mentally chastise her. She¡¯s stronger than she looks. And one or both of her parents were Grashien. This causes Serp¡¯s eyes to widen and her head to drop. My mother has studiously ignored what¡¯s going on behind her and now addresses Sareena. ¡°What is your full name, little one?¡± She asks. Sareena ducks her head to avoid eye contact and says, ¡°Sareena Melk.¡± She sounds like she wants to follow it up with ¡®your majesty¡¯ or something so my mom lets it slide. ¡°Please, relax a little. We don¡¯t bite, I promise.¡± Mom¡¯s smile is gentle, her eyes kind as Sareena finally looks directly at her and nods. Mom¡¯s voice is gentle too as she asks, ¡°What are your parents¡¯ names?¡± Sareena tries not to flinch. ¡°I never knew my parents, but I¡¯m told their names were Arienne and Samuel Melk.¡± She pauses and looks like she¡¯s holding back tears, but continues to stand straight. ¡°They died in car crash not long after I was born. I ran away from my first foster home when I was two and a half. I¡¯ve been on the run since.¡± Serp¡¯s face is priceless as she realizes there might be more to this girl than she originally thought. ¡°Hmmm,¡± Mom says. ¡°You have a sad tale, but you tell it with strength. If you¡¯re willing to learn, we will teach you how to be Grashien.¡± Mom strokes Sareena¡¯s shimmering golden hair. ¡°And I will tell you now, one or both your parents were Grashien. Your physical development says as much.¡± Sareena blushes. ¡°I always thought it was weird. I mean, what eight-year old wears a B cup and has a period?¡± She looks embarrassed to have mentioned it, but stands her ground. My mom smiles. ¡°A Grashien does.¡± She turns to me and Lea. ¡°I want you two to be her Gralentras.¡± We exchange a weird look. ¡°Two Gralentras? That¡¯s nearly unheard of,¡± Lea points out. Mom considers this. ¡°Okay, then Cat, you¡¯re her official mentor and Lea, you and Rosie are going to help Cat wherever you can.¡± Lea, Rosie and I nod our acquiescence. ¡°Great. Now, can we drop the formalities and just get to chatting with her?¡± This comes from Annamaria, usually known as Doe, one of the twins that are only two years younger than me. (I have a big family. Each generation of kids is two years apart ¨C my older brother included) Mom smiles again. ¡°Of course. We should all go for a swim, I think,¡± and we cheer. As we make our way out of the room, I grab Sareena¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I should warn you ahead of time,¡± I meet her eyes, ¡°things like modesty and privacy don¡¯t really exist here. I¡¯ll explain more later, but don¡¯t be surprised when you see people walking around anywhere from fully dressed to buck-naked. Also, we don¡¯t wear bathing suits.¡± Her face is bright red. ¡°Okay,¡± she squeaks. ¡°So what, I just drop my clothes?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± I say and begin shedding. She gasps but follows suit, starting like me with her hairpins. We¡¯re almost fully naked by the time we get to the shore, where everyone else is waiting. ¡°What are you guys waiting on us for?¡± I ask. Andrew, my older brother, says, ¡°We¡¯re having a competition of who can create the least ripples without manipulating the water and didn¡¯t feel it would be right to leave you out.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I say, ¡°but you guys first. I¡¯ve got to keep an eye on someone.¡± Each of my siblings climb the rock (it¡¯s like fifteen feet high) and jumps or dives in. No one manages the no-ripple goal. Soon, the only ones left are me and Lea, who flashes me a grin as she climbs. When she enters the water, her ripple barely makes it two inches and there¡¯s no splash. I smirk. ¡°Would you like to try?¡± I ask Sareena. She looks at me. ¡°Should I?¡± I smile. ¡°Sure, go ahead. I¡¯ll climb with you.¡± We climb the rock, Sareena slipping occasionally. She faces the drop-off and takes a breath. Then she jumps. You can practically touch the surprise in the air as her ripples aren¡¯t much bigger than Lea¡¯s, with only a small splash. I grin and send a telepathic message to my siblings. And that¡¯s why I wanted her to compete. She surfaces and I jump, a perfect dive that makes no splash and creates no ripples. She stares at me in shock as I surface and my siblings grin. ¡°Darn it,¡± Doe says, ¡°I knew we shouldn¡¯t have let her compete!¡± Everyone laughs. ¡°Hey, not my fault I can do it,¡± I tease. ¡°It¡¯s you all who haven¡¯t practiced enough and still scare the fish who decided to challenge me.¡± Even so, I can¡¯t help the tiny grin on my face. Sareena swims up to me. ¡°Why is everyone so blank-faced?¡± she whispers. ¡°It¡¯s like they don¡¯t know how to have emotions.¡± I chuckle quietly. ¡°Pixie, Grashiens are taught to hide all emotion. Facial expressions, body language, vocal inflections, anything that could give away what we¡¯re thinking or feeling we are taught to hide and fake. ¡®Course, that doesn¡¯t do much here since¡­ I¡¯ll tell you later, now¡¯s not a good time. All right?¡± She nods. ¡°However, we aren¡¯t perfect and little bits slip through the cracks. A smile might not even crinkle the sides of our eyes, but if you look hard enough, you can still see it. If you keep an eye out, you¡¯ll get used to our micro-expressions and will be able to tell the difference. Okay?¡± She nods again, swims over to Rosie, and starts chatting. I notice her carefully observing my sister¡¯s expressions. Of course, so does Rosie, but she keeps moving her face the same way. I try not to smile as I swim over to Andrew, who¡¯s looking at Sareena distrustfully. ¡°She¡¯s a good person,¡± I say. He turns around. ¡°She¡¯s got a good heart and learns quickly.¡± He nods. ¡°Anyone with any sense could see that without even touching her mind. That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about.¡± He squints at her slightly. ¡°What I¡¯m worried about is whether she¡¯s strong enough not to need an insane asylum once you¡¯re done telling her stuff.¡± ¡°I think so,¡± I answer carefully. ¡°I haven¡¯t gone inside her head, but she was being honest earlier when she spoke of her childhood. I got the feeling she doesn¡¯t really have anyone at home, and she had to be strong to speak of it at all.¡± ¡°I know. But still, how can we be sure?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose we can, can we? I mean, sometimes, you just have to put a little faith and trust in someone else.¡± Chapter 3: Family? A few hours of splashing around later, we climb out of the water. While my siblings and I stand there unaffected, Sareena immediately starts shaking from the breeze on her skin. I look around, calculating the distance between here and the house. But when Doe offers her the only thing she has ¨C a shawl ¨C Sareena shakes her head. We all raise an eyebrow at her. ¡°I said I¡¯d learn to be like you, and apparently to do that, I have to be able to withstand the cold long enough to get to clothes.¡± She speaks with strength despite looking embarrassed at her own defiance. We all exchange various looks. She¡¯s strong. This comes from Anasofia (usually called Elly), Annamaria¡¯s twin sister. Doe gives a tiny smile and the barest of nods. Stronger than she knows. We should respect her decision, but get her to the house as fast as possible. We all turn to Sareena, who seems to know she¡¯s been left out of something. Despite her shivering she flashes us a grin and asks, ¡°So what¡¯s going on? What are we doing next?¡± I see Mom raising an admiring eyebrow and I resist another smile. ¡°Now, Pixie, we¡¯re getting you some clothes.¡± We all slip through the village as quietly as cats on carpet. Even Sareena has picked up that ability ¨C she doesn¡¯t make a sound as she pads along next to me. We make it all the way to the house before Sareena asks, ¡°You guys don¡¯t live in the palace?¡± We all turn to her and I can see her struggling to contain her blush at the attention. ¡°Palace?¡± Andrew asks. ¡°You mean the courtroom? The Sumna¡¯s office is in the center of the island, made out of plants, and considerably more grand than the rest of the buildings, but it¡¯s not a palace. No one lives there; we live in the same house our family has lived in for generations.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± Sareena says. She seems to have missed Andrew¡¯s affronted tone ¨C either that or she¡¯s just ignoring it. ¡°I didn¡¯t know. So which one¡¯s yours?¡± She asks, flashing him a smile. Damn, she¡¯s good. She just totally took the wind out of your offended grumbling, I send at Andrew. He glares at me, then sighs internally. Yeah, I guess she did. Apparently she knows how to get people to leave her alone. I turn to Sareena, who seems totally oblivious to Andrew¡¯s exasperation. ¡°We should go in. I¡¯m sure Grandma will be happy to meet you.¡± I¡¯m proven right the second we open the door. My grandmother, Anne, the current Aklumna, rushes right up and looks her over. ¡°My, you¡¯re pretty. Come in, come in. Let¡¯s get you a towel and some clothes.¡± Turning to us, she adds, ¡°You all know where your rooms are, go on. I¡¯ve put an extra bed in your room¡± she looks straight at me ¡°and some spare clothes that ought to be about the right size for her. You should come with; you are her Gralentra after all.¡± I nod and follow them down the hall. Grandma leads her to the shower room. ¡°Any injuries you had should have been fixed up by the stream, but I take it Cat forgot that you needed a shower.¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Sorry. It wasn¡¯t shower time anyway.¡± I look at Sareena. ¡°Usually, we bathe in the river. There are some plants that grow along the banks that serve as shampoo and conditioner. However, since I forgot, you¡¯ll be bathing here today.¡± Granma nods and sets about helping Sareena untangle her hair. ¡°My goodness, child! When was the last time you brushed your hair?¡± Sareena reddens slightly. ¡°Before the storm.¡± Her eyes shimmer slightly. ¡°Please don¡¯t cut it. I¡¯ve never had it cut.¡± Grandma meets Sareena¡¯s eyes in surprise. ¡°Most girls here follow the traditions and don¡¯t cut their hair until marriage or after. Typically, they only cut their hair if it¡¯s damaged or uneven in some way. I didn¡¯t expect anyone to live that long in the outside world and not cut their hair.¡± Sareena tries to laugh. ¡°I usually keep it in a braid, but right now even that¡¯s a mess.¡± She swallows. ¡°Do you think you can get the knots out?¡± ¡°Of course, sweetheart.¡± Granma smiles at Sareena. ¡°Just hold still.¡± Half an hour later, Sareena is untangled, clean, and dry. Grandma escorts us to my room and holds up one of the training uniforms. ¡°They may be a bit big on you, little one. I¡¯ll see if I can get you something a little more fitting. Until then, wear the robes and try not to get into any fights.¡± Sareena chuckles a little nervously. ¡°Is that likely?¡± she whispers anxiously in my ear. I shake my head. ¡°All right Granma, I¡¯ll take it from here. Go get some rest.¡± ¡°She was nice,¡± Sareena remarks. She wiggles into the loose-fitting shirt, pants, and robe and looks at me expectantly. I¡¯m already dressed in my armor. ¡°So what now?¡± she asks, sounding excited. I look at Lea. How about a birds¡¯ eye view of the island? she suggests. I mean, she couldn¡¯t see it from the top earlier, so what if we show her now? I frown and ask silently, But she doesn¡¯t know about our abilities yet. If we freak her out too fast, Andrew will be right and she¡¯ll need an insane asylum. Andrew predicted that? Wait, of course he did. Her lips twitch. We can¡¯t hide it from her. You¡¯re right, we¡¯ll have to start slow, but maybe freaking her out is the only thing that will work. I suppress a sigh. Unfortunately, you¡¯re probably right. Thankfully, she¡¯s pretty strong. She might be okay. I turn to Sareena, who doesn¡¯t seem to have noticed our silent conversation. ¡°All right, Pixie. Are you prepared to be thoroughly freaked out?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. She laughs nervously. ¡°I didn¡¯t know I could get any more scared than I already am, but okay.¡± Lea and I share a smirk and we each grab one of her arms. Then we slowly levitate off the ground. She doesn¡¯t notice at first, but it¡¯s pretty obvious when she does. ¡°Holy crap! How are you guys doing that?!¡± she exclaims with a gasp. We laugh under our breath and I tease her gently, ¡°I thought you said you were at your scared limit.¡± She doesn¡¯t respond, but her face says she¡¯s terrified. We take her up to a ledge a few feet below the hole in the roof and let her catch her breath before she looks at the ground. ¡°Wow, we¡¯re really far up,¡± she remarks calmly. Then her eyes light up as they shift away from the lake and examine the rest of the island. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful! How are there so many different climates in one place?¡± ¡°Some areas are heated by the earth, others cooled by the sea,¡± Lea informs her. ¡°Some get less daylight than others. But mostly it¡¯s because of magic.¡± ¡°Magic?¡± Sareena sounds a bit skeptical, but her face says she knows we¡¯re right. ¡°I thought magic didn¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what the Anacogi say,¡± Lea starts. ¡°They think their science can explain everything, but there are still phenomena they don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Like where the subjects of popular folk myths went,¡± I say. ¡°Or how people made up stories about things they couldn¡¯t have ever seen because nothing like them has ever been found on the planet, even in fossils.¡± ¡°Or why any ship that comes near here is met with a storm that, according to satellites, came out of nowhere; also, of the nine places on the map where an anomaly interrupts most signals and kills nearly all Anacogi technology, only two of them are natural,¡± Lea continues. ¡°The rest correspond with the locations of the seven Grashien tribes.¡± ¡°Okay, wait a second.¡± Sareena sounds like she¡¯s on information overload. ¡°There are seven tribes? And who are the Anacogi?¡± I try not to laugh. ¡°Yes, there are seven tribes. We split up so we could more easily monitor the doings of the Anacogi, who ¨C I thought you would¡¯ve guessed this already ¨C are human beings; you know, the ones you grew up with.¡± Lea adds, ¡°The other six tribes don¡¯t really matter at the moment. The point is, yes, magic exists. You might do well to think of those movies where the people tap into the balance in nature to move things or sense things with their minds.¡± ¡°Star Wars,¡± Sareena says. ¡°Right. Okay. So you guys are¡­ what? How do you do magic?¡± I exchange a look with Lea. ¡°Pixie, we¡¯ll come back to this later; I think if you hear any more right now, you¡¯ll go into overload shock. Let us tell you about the island instead.¡± She nods without speaking. It takes us half an hour just to describe all of the different ecosystems here. She watches carefully as we point out different places and make sure she knows where not to go, though the general rule is ¡°don¡¯t wander off on your own.¡± By the time we finish explaining that part, the sun is rising. I don¡¯t know how she¡¯s gone this long without sleep ¨C maybe it¡¯s because she slept ¡®til noon yesterday ¨C but now she¡¯s yawning. I look at her with concern. ¡°Should we end this for now and talk more later?¡± I ask. ¡°I think you need some rest.¡± She seems to consider this for a moment. ¡°Okay,¡± she relents. ¡°Some sleep would probably do me good.¡± She looks down at the ground. ¡°Two questions: One, if I¡¯m like you guys, could I fly down? And Two, if not (or not yet), is there a climbing path?¡± Lea and I think about that for a moment. Lea answers carefully, ¡°In theory you could do everything we can do, but we usually start small with our training.¡± She sighs. ¡°And yes, there is a climbing path; if you look to the left, you¡¯ll see it.¡± Sareena looks around and spots it before Lea continues with, ¡°But I don¡¯t know why you won¡¯t let us carry you down. That path is kinda rough.¡± Lea whispers in my mind, No, really. Why won¡¯t she? It¡¯s a human thing, I respond. They have this thing called pride that stops them from accepting help. Sareena looks at the lake far below. ¡°What¡¯s the worst that could happen, I land in the lake? I jumped from higher earlier.¡± We sigh and relent. She looks a little worried. ¡°Okay, is there a trick to this? Visualization, perhaps?¡± ¡°Hmmm. Maybe¡­¡± I mutter. ¡°Okay. When we control the wind ¨C that¡¯s not the same as flying, by the way ¨C we¡¯re told to picture it doing what we want it to do. Flying, however¡­ Do you want to levitate or actually fly?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°When you levitate, you hover a little above the ground. Most of us rarely touch the floor; we actually stand about an inch and a half over it. Flying, on the other hand, is actually floating around.¡± I demonstrate. ¡°I think you actually want to fly, so picture yourself with wings, soaring on a breeze or something. It¡¯s usually instinctual for us, but you¡¯ve repressed your Grashien side for so long, you might have trouble channeling it.¡± She focuses. A moment later, her feet leave the ground. She squeals and does a flip in midair, then dives toward the lake. She stops mere inches from its surface and waves us down, flipping back over to stand, no, hover on her feet above the water. I share a conspiratorial half-smirk with Lea and we pull the pins out of our hair. We jump, seeming to float down instead of falling, gliding down with our hair fluttering behind us, one leg bent, the other extended, both feet with their toes pointed. Our toes make contact with the surface of the water and it hardens to hold us up. We gracefully set our other feet down and stroll towards the beach, Sareena following with an awed and dazed expression. Thankfully, no one else is up yet. We head back to our house and crash in bed, accidentally waking Rosie as we do. ¡°Hey guys,¡± she says sleepily. ¡°Is it time to get up?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± I inform her. ¡°Go back to sleep, Rosie.¡± I drift off quickly. Later that day, when we get up, it¡¯s about three in the afternoon. We take her around to show her the workshops and the fields. We¡¯re just showing her the first aid station on the island in the middle of the river when a woman gasps. ¡°Arien? Arien, is that you?¡± Sareena looks confused. The woman pauses then shakes her head. ¡°Sorry, sweetheart. You just reminded me of my sister, is all. She went to the mainland almost a decade ago and decided not to return.¡± She pauses. ¡°Come to think of it, you look like both her and her husband, Saleum. Are you their daughter?¡± Sareena blinks ¨C my aunt is a fast talker ¨C and gathers herself a little before responding. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know, ma¡¯am. I was told that my parents were Arienne and Samuel Melk and they were hit by a car not long after I was born. I¡¯m eight now.¡± ¡°Arienne and Samuel were their false names to fit in on the mainland, and Melk is the last name we¡¯ve always used. Oh, sweetheart, you¡¯re my niece!¡± ¡°And my cousin,¡± I remark. ¡°Sareena, this is my aunt, Brianne Melika. She is my father¡¯s sister.¡± Sareena stares at me in shock. ¡°I have¡­ family? Like, real, live, family?¡± I nod, trying (with considerable success) to hide the giant smile blooming across my face. Sareena¡¯s eyes catch it, though, and she grins. As we head out to explore the rest of the island, I can tell she¡¯s comforted by the knowledge that she actually does belong here, with us, no matter where she grew up. Chapter 4: Trouble! Two weeks of intense training later, she¡¯s improved monumentally. Anyone who¡¯s ever been to the mainland can¡¯t believe it ¨C who¡¯s ever heard of an Anacogi being so dedicated? But when they hear that her last name is actually Melika and she¡¯s really my cousin, they completely understand. Everyone here respects her for the amount of determination she¡¯s put into her studying and training. ¡®Course, it doesn¡¯t hurt that her cousin is the Kli Sumna, but it doesn¡¯t really help either ¨C people give her hereditary respect, but she also has some big shoes to fill. Her mother was a great warrior and her father garnered respect for his people skills. It suddenly starts to rain and Sareena begins to dive for cover, but I raise an eyebrow at her. She grins mischievously and parts the rain over her head to create an umbrella. I give her an approving nod. She walks over, being careful not to lose her umbrella. ¡°Will we keep training in the rain? I would really like to go see the storm.¡± I consider her. ¡°We usually keep training, but I¡¯ll make an exception. You¡¯re used to seeing more sky than that little circle we get.¡± She smiles and we climb our way up the wall. ¡°Why can¡¯t we just fly up?¡± She asks, sounding genuinely curious and not griping. I chuckle, enjoying the exertion. ¡°We climb because of the possibility of someone ending up stranded up top and potentially seeing us if we aren¡¯t careful.¡± I poke her gently. ¡°Like you, Pixie.¡± She has various names now ¨C Pixie, Mermaid, Flutterby ¨C because of her size, her prowess at swimming, and the joy she takes in training, respectively. She nods. ¡°Okay. Wow, that¡¯s a big storm,¡± she remarks as we poke our heads out. ¡°Stay here.¡± I climb over the edge and my body flickers in and out of view. It¡¯s another of our abilities ¨C we can go invisible. Animals can still smell and sense us, though, unless we make a concerted effort to hide. Maila swims up to me and informs me that this storm is natural, for once, not because of a ship. I nod and stick my head back in. ¡°It¡¯s safe,¡± I tell Sareena. ¡°Maila told me this storm is natural.¡± She swings herself out and I admire the way the training has helped her physique. She looks much better now, and happy, too. She looks around and just starts dancing in the rain. She catches my expression of shock and quickly composes herself. ¡°Ah come on, let a girl dance for once,¡± she says with a happy, contented smile. I just shake my head and dive into the ocean, beckoning her to join me. She looks worried. ¡°What about sharks?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed? We can commune with animals, so they respect and protect us, as well as helping us whenever they can. They won¡¯t hurt us.¡± She nods and swims out to me. ¡°Okay. What are we doing?¡± ¡°You wanted to know if we would keep training, so I¡¯m going to do something with you that you might actually enjoy, but still counts as studying. We¡¯re going to dive.¡± We go under. ¡°Don¡¯t panic; remember, you can breathe underwater. We¡¯re going to swim around and meet the animals.¡± She has to force herself to breathe ¨C it¡¯s still hard for her to get over the Anacogi instinct that she¡¯s going to drown ¨C but she follows me with ease. I can almost sense her manipulating the water around her to swim faster and with more surety, but I¡¯m not entirely sure she knows she¡¯s doing it. I have to resist the urge to jump in her head to check, since when she found out about our abilities she asked us to give her some privacy for the moment until she works out all the stuff in her head. We acquiesced, but it¡¯s a strange feeling for us not to know someone¡¯s thoughts. I swim directly to Maila, who nudges me gently. I turn to Sareena. Speaking underwater is hard, so I put a bubble of air around my mouth to keep the water out, since she doesn¡¯t want me to speak in her head. ¡°This is Maila. She is a whale shark and is completely harmless. She often warns us if there are ships nearby.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ I can¡¯t exactly shake her hand,¡± Sareena says. I can tell she likes Maila already, but then, most people do. Maila swims up to Sareena and turns sideways to proffer her right fin. Hello, sweetheart. Are you doing okay? You didn¡¯t look so good a couple weeks ago. The look of shock on Sareena¡¯s face is nearly comical as she shakes Maila¡¯s fin. ¡°Uhhh, yeah. I¡¯m fine. How¡­ do you know me?¡± I laugh. ¡°Pixie, Maila was the one who nudged your backpack to you.¡± Maila wiggles her dorsal fin in her version of a nod. I also tried to send you fruits, but I¡¯m not sure they made it. How do you like your training? Sareena smiles, relaxing for the first time since diving under. ¡°Thank you for the fruits. Some of them were very good, but coconuts are a little hard to break without tools. Training is fun, and I think I¡¯m doing pretty well. How about you?¡± I mentally inform Maila, She¡¯s doing better than most Grashiens would at training, but then again she has an advantage on them in years and size. She¡¯s impressed most of the island with her abilities and determination. Maila responds to both of us. I¡¯m glad, dear. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re doing wonderfully. As for me, I¡¯m doing excellent ¨C my next brood should be ready in a week or two. Sareena squeals. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant?! I¡¯ve never seen a pregnant shark before.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Pixie, sharks don¡¯t get pregnant the way humans do. They lay eggs, remember?¡± I remind her. She nods. ¡°But where do they lay them? There¡¯s no place for them to rest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why Maila stays close to our island,¡± I say. ¡°She lays her eggs in the shallower parts of our shores and acts as a warning system for us ¨C in part, to protect her eggs.¡± Maila nudges me gently. Also, I¡¯ve become quite fond of many of your people. Cat here is one of my favorites ¨C she has always cared for me if I am ill or wounded. Sareena smiles again, but says nothing. She seems to be enjoying the moment, sitting weightless in the water. Then she jerks upright, looking terrified. ¡°Is that¡­ a school of sharks?!¡± I spin and laugh quietly. A dozen hammerheads, eight great whites, half a dozen blacktip reef sharks, three megamouths, and a variety of other sharks are swimming at us from the north. I swim toward them and, to Sareena¡¯s horror, start gently stroking the biggest great white¡¯s snout. Some of the others brush up against me like cats asking for attention. Soon, I¡¯ve practically disappeared into a whirling mass of large fish. Eventually, I stick my head out and wave to Sareena. ¡°Are you coming?¡± She gapes. ¡°You expect me to willingly swim into a mass of sharks? Are you crazy?¡± ¡°Probably,¡± I admit. ¡°But not for the reasons you think. They look dangerous, but they won¡¯t hurt you,¡± I reassure her. ¡°They are harmless, at least to Grashiens. Part of your training is getting to know the animals that leave on and around Gras. They are an extension of our family and should not be feared or ignored.¡± Sareena hesitantly swims closer. One of the megamouths detaches from the group and slowly swims toward her. She squeaks in fear. I chuckle under my breath. ¡°Come on. Megamouth sharks have three-foot-wide mouths, yes, but they only eat plankton. You¡¯re safe. Sharks are a lot like cats ¨C they love to be stroked and will rub up against you if you¡¯re not giving them enough attention.¡± She hesitantly reaches out and, true to my words, he pushes his snout into her hand. She smiles and strokes him. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± She asks him. He rubs the side of her head with a fin. My name is Melvin. I¡¯m the only shark here who is willing to eat jellyfish for breakfast. She snickers at the way he introduces himself. ¡°I¡¯m Sareena. I¡¯m the only Grashien born outside the tribes¡± she glances at me for confirmation ¡°and happen to think jellyfish are useless. They don¡¯t even have brains!¡± I hear Melvin laugh in our heads, but I¡¯m busy asking Maila if the storm has abated yet to catch his answer. She swims up and says, The storm has finished and the tribe is wondering where you are. I informed your brother you were meeting us, but they¡¯re still worried. There have been a lot of jellyfish and Portuguese Men-of-War around here lately and we don¡¯t want you to get stung. I¡¯m not sure, even with your armor, that you could survive their poison. I nod. I understand, but there are others we need to meet as well. I¡¯ll call the dolphins once she¡¯s finished meeting all of you; I¡¯m sure you all can guard us against brainless jellies. She wiggles her dorsal fin again in understanding. I turn to Sareena. ¡°Hey Flutterby, have you finished meeting all of the sharks yet?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°There are two more to meet,¡± she informs me. ¡°I¡¯ll try to do this quickly; I heard what Maila said.¡± She turns to the two remaining hammerheads and smiles as she talks to them. ¡°Hello, what¡¯re your names?¡± I shake my head and turn around before letting out a high-pitched squeal to call the cetaceans. It only takes a couple minutes for them to appear and surround me in a whirlwind of dolphins and whales. I laugh out loud as I join in their fast, excited, watery dance. They always manage to elicit a laugh from me, no matter how bad of a day I¡¯ve had. Sareena, wondering what could possibly make me laugh, swims over and grins. ¡°Ooh, something made Cat laugh,¡± she smirks at me but can¡¯t help laughing herself. The dolphins are swirling around me with the kind of enthusiasm you would expect if they were meeting a long-lost relation or something. I¡¯m spinning with them and laughing my head off. I reach out and snatch her hand, pulling her into the dance as we tumble through the water. When the dolphins finally calm down ¨C it always takes a while ¨C Coral, the leader of this pod of dolphins, swims up and introduces herself. Hello! Cat, it¡¯s been a while. Who¡¯ve you brought this time? Without waiting for the answer, she continues. We saw the wreckage. Did anything exciting happen? We thought we saw someone get stranded on the island, but we were too busy taking advantage of the waves caused by the storm to look too hard. Sareena looks a bit overwhelmed, so I do the talking. ¡°Hi Coral, it¡¯s nice to see you again. Yes, it has been a while since I was down here; this little one I brought is named Sareena. She was stranded on our island after the storm and happens to actually be a Grashien. I¡¯m glad you enjoyed the waves.¡± Pixie asks me under her breath, ¡°Do they always talk that fast?¡± I chuckle again. ¡°Actually, only the younger ones do that. Coral is the youngest pod leader they¡¯ve ever had. Go meet the others; I need to ask her something.¡± I swim up to Coral. Hi Coral, I have a question. You seem to be a few members short. What happened? Coral seems sad when she responds. A recent shark attack claimed some of our eldest while we protected the young. Also, our strongest males are currently stranded on Fiji. I sadden. I could help with that, I say. She brightens immediately. Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!!! She shouts in my head, spinning around to show her excitement. I can¡¯t help but laugh. Alright, alright, calm down a little. You¡¯ll give poor Sareena a heart attack. She settles almost immediately and I swim to my cousin. ¡°Come on,¡± I say. ¡°Did you finish meeting them?¡± She¡¯s grinning more than I¡¯ve ever seen her grin before. ¡°Yep! They¡¯re very enthusiastic.¡± I smile at that understatement. ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s go meet the whales.¡± Her face is priceless as the dolphins back off and join the perimeter of sharks surrounding us to make room for the whales. The first one to swim in is the largest, a gray whale named Amazila, who ducks down so that she can see Sareena. Just then, an orca named Orilon streaks in. Cat, Cat! There¡¯s a problem. Orilon sounds panicked. Sareena is on a missing persons list. She needs to get back RIGHT NOW if you don¡¯t want investigations into this area of the globe to commence! I spin around to look at Sareena, who looks shocked. ¡°Who would have thought to put me on that list?¡± She asks, sounding confused. ¡°I don¡¯t have any family on the mainland, and I lost touch with my only friends a couple years ago, when I escaped my last foster home.¡± I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know. What I do know is, we¡¯re in trouble.¡± Chapter 5: Hidden We apologize to the dolphins, whales, and sharks for our abrupt departure and flee back into the island. I take her straight to my mother and we spend half an hour trying to figure out what to do. The end decision is that Lea, Ethan, Rosie, and I will take Sareena back to the mainland to find her friends and tell them to take the notices down. We¡¯ll find every one of her foster families ¨C they all live around the California area ¨C and make sure they weren¡¯t the ones to put out the call. We begin packing immediately. Grandma finds armor that she thinks will fit Sareena. As soon as she puts it on, Rosie cracks up ¨C it¡¯s at least five inches too long in the leg and three in the arm. At five foot three, she¡¯s taller than most of my family, so Granma apparently overcompensated. (If you¡¯re wondering why we call her Pixie with her height, you should know that it has more to do with how she carried herself when she first came to the island. She seemed to shrivel and shrink, like she wanted to be smaller. Also, it¡¯s kind of a sarcastic or ironic way of saying ¡®giant person¡¯ without offending anyone.) I walk over and begin singing softly. The fabric shrinks down to fit her, becoming the right size as she watches in amazement. I resist the urge to smile ¨C I¡¯m going to have to become more diligent about my expressions and emotions if I want to survive this trip to the mainland ¨C and explain, ¡°Songalira is a powerful form of magic. It harnesses the energy and emotion flowing through the words and music of a song, allowing those who use it to do almost anything they want ¨C provided they have a pure heart. Songalira draws upon your intentions more than your words; you must have a clear notion of what you¡¯re trying to do, be able to picture it happening, and know your reasons to be the right ones.¡± ¡°So if someone with bad intentions tried to use it, it wouldn¡¯t work?¡± Sareena sounds curious but somehow cautious at the same time. ¡°What did you call it? Song-what?¡± ¡°Songalira,¡± I say. ¡°Correct. Because it relies on emotions, your feelings have to be kind and pure to be able to harness it.¡± She nods. ¡°Okay. Will you teach me how to use it?¡± I shake my head. ¡°It¡¯s not something we teach anyone until they have passed their testing.¡± She looks a bit disappointed, but simply says, ¡°Are we ready to go?¡± I pause to survey the room and gasp. ¡°Oh! I nearly forgot.¡± I walk over to the cabinet on the end of my bed and fish something out. Walking to Sareena, I announce, ¡°This will declare you as one of us if you run into another Grashien. We each have one. Wear it inside your armor so that those we do not wish to learn of our identity don¡¯t find out. It should also give you a way to sense, control, and channel your powers; for some of us, it also boosts them slightly.¡± I check my bags one last time and make sure I have my seeds. ¡°We will not be stopping in any of the other tribes at this time; however, if needed, the Prairie tribe can lend us assistance. Hopefully that won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Sareena nods to me and we begin the flight to the surface. Sareena usually revels in this experience, but today she flies alongside us in a solemn silence. Just as we¡¯re reaching the top, I hear, ¡°Hey! We¡¯re coming too!¡± I turn around in time to see Ryan, Taylor, and Aidan flying up behind us. ¡°There is no way in Skolbremir that you are leaving us behind.¡± My twins are adamant. (Mom, being a cat shifter, speaks in terms of litters; the six of us are her first litter.) ¡°And you should expect Andrew to be here in a moment.¡± True to Taylor¡¯s prediction, my eldest brother appears. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m not here to tag along. I just want to see you off.¡± Breaking my fa?ade, I fly at him and squeeze him in a hug. ¡°We¡¯ll be back. I promise.¡± He grins. ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it.¡± I turn to the three latecomers. ¡°Are you all coming with us? Because if not, you¡¯d better go. Our transportation is here.¡± Unfortunately, we aren¡¯t allowed to just teleport to the mainland. It would cause too much potential to be seen and has a high risk of us landing in the ocean. Instead, some good whale friends of ours will be giving us a ride. They grin at us. ¡°Of course we¡¯re coming. Why did you think you could leave without the other half of your group?¡± The eight of us climb aboard Amazila, who seems genuinely happy to see us again, and I wave to Andrew. ¡°Oh, wait! I was supposed to tell you that the dolphins need help. Several members of Coral¡¯s pod are stranded in Fiji. Do what you can, okay? It¡¯s only been a few hours, and the tide is just going out right now. They should be fine, but I don¡¯t want to wait any longer.¡± He nods. ¡°I¡¯ll go, and I¡¯ll take our cousins with me.¡± He glances at Sareena. ¡°Our other cousins, of course; Cooper, Sarah, Connor, Mary, and Carter.¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ll want to help after being excluded from this mission,¡± I almost laugh. ¡°We need to go. Have fun!¡± I yell. Then, on habit, I add, ¡°Can lompen coron sal askan le casaroon!¡± Sareena gives me a funny look but repeats the farewell. ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Happy times until I see you again,¡± I say. ¡°Quite literally, that is the direct translation. It¡¯s custom to say it in farewell; it¡¯s just polite.¡± She sighs. ¡°You have got to teach me this language.¡± I sigh too and lay back, getting comfortable for the ride. ¡°I will. I taught you the basic stuff before; when we get back, I¡¯ll delve a little deeper into the dictionary.¡± She nods and is silent for a long time. I¡¯m almost beginning to believe that she¡¯s asleep when she says, ¡°It¡¯s kind of funny. I¡¯m actually beginning to regard the island as home.¡± I smile to myself. ¡°That¡¯s because it is. Humans think they originated in Africa; actually, that¡¯s not true at all.¡± She shifts to face me abruptly. ¡°Oooh, history lesson!¡± Taylor ¨C better known as Falcon ¨C snorts. ¡°You are the only person I know who gets all excited about boring stuff like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not boring,¡± Sareena defends. ¡°Just because you¡¯ve known it for your whole life and I haven¡¯t does not mean that it isn¡¯t worth revisiting.¡± Taylor snorts but falls silent. I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Are you two done? I¡¯d like to explain.¡± They share a glance but nod. ¡°We¡¯re listening, too,¡± my other siblings chime in. Rosie in particular looks eager to hear it. I nod and begin the story. ¡°When humankind first evolved, there was one group who evolved more quickly than the others. They didn¡¯t try to take control or anything like that; they just tried to live peacefully with the others on the island.¡± Sareena gasps and inhales like she¡¯s going to speak but I stop her with a hand. ¡°Those who could not live peacefully were sent to what is now known as Africa, where they established civilizations of their own. However, the peace couldn¡¯t last. Eventually, human nature overrode their desire to live in harmony, and the ones without powers, who hadn¡¯t evolved as far, confessed to being afraid of the stronger ones.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Humans destroy what they do not understand; it scares them.¡± Sareena nods sadly but doesn¡¯t speak. ¡°In the end, the solution was to transplant them to different areas of the globe: the Neanderthals to the northern Mediterranean, Homo Sapiens to Africa where the others were, so that they wouldn¡¯t die; and the Denisovans to Indonesia and Australia. A few, who had left of their own accord, settled the Polynesian islands. Others, also of their own free will, colonized North and South America. When we kicked the rebels off of Gras, we wiped their memory so that they would not come after us again; we had as much to fear as they did, since a scared, angry, or determined human can do just as much damage as a calm Grashien. ¡°We also split ourselves into seven tribes, positioned strategically to watch over those that we had once called kin; although we separated from them, we still cared. The Anacogi remained blissfully ignorant of our existence until the 16th century, when we tried to come out and show them what ¨C and who ¨C we were. That resulted in what is now known as the medieval witch hunts, which persisted until the 18th century, and, to a lesser degree, the early nineteen-hundreds. We have not revealed ourselves since the early 17th century, when it became clear that they would not listen to reason. ¡°The reason Anacogi scientists believe that humans originated in Africa is because that was where we put them. It is almost directly opposite Gras on the globe, and could provide for their needs. The fact that humans are actually from an island in the middle of nowhere is also why they can¡¯t find the missing link between apes and humans.¡± Sareena stares at me. And stares. And stares some more. Then she bursts out laughing so hard, I think she¡¯s going to fall off the whale. We all gaze at her in confusion. What did I say that was so funny? I ask the others mentally. I get shrugs from all sides. Eventually, Sareena sits up straight again. ¡°So you¡¯re telling me¡± ¨C she takes a heaving breath that says she still isn¡¯t quite over her fit of amusement ¨C ¡°that science has everything wrong? Humans aren¡¯t from Africa?¡± She giggles again. ¡°I think that with modern weaponry, it¡¯s probably good that you all are still hidden, but that you might have better luck if you try to come out now¡­ without telling them where the tribes are located.¡± I sigh. ¡°We¡¯ve thought of that, but we have no reason to leave Gras or tell humanity that we exist. Science doesn¡¯t have everything wrong ¨C evolution is real, Pangaea was real, etc. ¨C but they are wrong about the origins of humans. Yes, we come from monkeys, but Gras used to be attached to the tip of Africa, back when the volcano first died out. We stayed there when it split off; another reason we sent everyone to Africa was that they had ancestral memories of it and could survive there more easily than they could anywhere else, as indicated by the fact that the groups who went elsewhere didn¡¯t fare as well.¡± Sareena nods. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m going to take a nap; all of this new information ¨C and having to actually think about it ¨C is making me tired.¡± She yawns. ¡°Wake me when I can actually get up and move around without worrying about falling off.¡± When we reach land, I shake Sareena¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come on,¡± I hiss. ¡°We need to find shelter for the night; we¡¯ll begin our search in the morning. There ought to be a Grashien guide waiting on the shore ¨C the Prairie tribe said they¡¯d send someone from their nearest safe house to show us the way. Whoever it is will stay with us for the duration of the trip, no matter where we go.¡± We climb off onto the pier. I¡¯m surprised when Ryan grabs Sareena¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Look at me,¡± he commands. She flinches slightly but does as he says. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to trust us enough to let us in your head,¡± he says. ¡°We may need to communicate without being heard, and we can¡¯t do that if you¡¯re stubbornly refusing to accept our ¨C and your ¨C abilities.¡± When she still refuses to cave, he sighs. ¡°What is it you¡¯re so desperate to protect, anyway? A crush on someone? A hidden memory?¡± Sighing, I step forward. I¡¯ve actually wanted to have this talk with her for a while now, but it felt too cruel to force her to just drop everything she regards as proper because we don¡¯t do it. Ryan shoots me a look that says don¡¯t interfere, but I speak up anyway. ¡°Sareena, do you know how Grashiens regulate what others do or do not see?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°There¡¯s an honor code in place. We don¡¯t go snooping around in each other¡¯s heads looking for stuff unless we have permission or a reason. We speak into each other¡¯s minds.¡± Seeing that she still doesn¡¯t fully understand the difference, I try to find an analogy that she¡¯ll understand. ¡°It¡¯s like the difference between looking through your friend¡¯s possessions and giving her a toy. You don¡¯t have to know what she has ¨C or in this case, what she¡¯s thinking ¨C to give her something else, like a new thought to play with.¡± A look of understanding dawns on her face. ¡°So I can open my mind to you, and you won¡¯t go looking through it?¡± Ryan gives me an approving look. Nice analogy. I never would¡¯ve thought of that. We all agree. ¡°Exactly. Unless you give us permission, and anyways, you¡¯d feel it if we were in your head. It¡¯s one of the good things about being Grashien; those without their own set of abilities can¡¯t sense when others mess with their heads unless they train themselves to recognize it.¡± She sighs in relief at Lea¡¯s confirmation. I know. I can¡¯t keep all of the pride out of my voice, but it quickly melts to concern. Were we too harsh? I¡¯m always a little scared I¡¯m going to break her in some way. Lea joins in. No, Cat. Anything less and she would have just kept being stubborn. She¡¯s a strong girl. I nod. Just in case, make sure she can access your mind as well. Why? I hear the others ask. Because it¡¯ll give her a sense of confidence and security, knowing that the trust goes both ways. Anticipating Ryan¡¯s next comment, I add, And if you didn¡¯t want her going through your head, you shouldn¡¯t have encouraged her to open her mind. We¡¯re all somewhat startled to hear Sareena speak to us mentally. I can hear you, you know. Quit talking about me like I¡¯m not here. Turning to the shore, we see a man in jeans and a T-shirt, looking a little bored. I narrow my eyes at him and he slowly pulls out a Grashien necklace. I reach out to contact him with my mind and find¡­ nothing. He doesn¡¯t seem to exist. My eyes widen almost imperceptibly as the others begin to head his way. Wait! They all turn, startled by my mental shout. Why? He must be the Grashien guide we¡¯re looking for. No, I insist. He must have stolen the necklace. Reach out, try to contact him; he¡¯s not Grashien. I can see the panic flitting over each of their faces as they try and get no result. It¡¯s a trap! Taylor¡¯s mind-splitting yell says what we¡¯ve all been thinking. Then she adds, An owl confirmed it! He¡¯s no Grashien. In fact, he killed one recently! We need to run! Can your owl friend guide us to the safe house? Not at the risk of endangering the Grashiens inside. This guy is a well-decorated Grashien hunter. Our only options are fight or run. I thought no one knew about Grashiens! Sareena sounds panicked. Guys, I-I don¡¯t know if I can fight someone who knows who to defend against us. Can we run instead? When the humans left, apparently some of the ones who went peaceably and of their own accord still harbored negative feelings about us. They trained themselves and their children to hunt Grashiens whenever we would come around. Unfortunately for them, they¡¯ve never managed to get one of us to reveal the whereabouts of the island, since we teleport away or commit suicide before they can torture us to that extreme. I pause, then continue, But yes, we¡¯ll run. We don¡¯t want to cause a scene. I would say jump into the water, but there¡¯s no animals down there to guarantee our safety; run into the forest instead. I direct my thoughts at Taylor next. Can that owl show us where to hide? She nods and we take off running, following the brown-and-white spotted creature through the trees. Finally, we stop in the hollow of an old Redwood, confirming that we really are in northern California. The tree shudders in response to our fear and, once we¡¯re inside, closes the entrance. We are hidden, yes, but we are also trapped. Chapter 6: Suspicious The next morning, Taylor contacts her owl friend, who warns us that the man is still tromping around. While we wait, Sareena asks, So who is this guy really? I know you said he¡¯s a Grashien-hunter but without powers, how does he defend himself? Magic, I respond. He doesn¡¯t have abilities like we do, but they have a version¡­ a dark kind of Songalira, except you don¡¯t sing, you chant. Do you remember how Songalira works? It only works if you have a pure heart and good intentions, she says. You sing, usually in Grashien, to declare your intentions to Songalira and cause the magic to do what you want. Yes? Yes, I confirm. Songalira is similar to but the opposite of Chalinta, the magic they use. In truth, they can¡¯t access the magic themselves; they learned Chalinta from Chaliran himself. Anticipating her question, I continue, Chaliran and Songalori were two Grashiens. They lived all the way back in the beginning, when Gras had just split from Africa and humans were still our friends. Songalori liked to sing, and one day, began weaving magic into her songs, imbuing them with power and increasing the strength of her magic tenfold. But she always used that magic for good ¨C helping plants grow, protecting young children, making things fit so that people wouldn¡¯t trip over their clothes or snag their garments on things ¨C and her heart was always pure, full of love and light and laughter, so her magic is inherently good, pure magic, because even after her death, it continues to fulfill her desires. We believe that she sang herself into the energy, preserving herself and her magic by making them one and the same. Chaliran was a man who reveled in the hunt ¨C the watching, the waiting, and finally, the action. He fell in love with Songalori, and because he could not sing, learned to chant. He mixed his magic into the words like she did, increasing his magic much the same way. The difference, though, was that Chaliran had a dark heart. All of his chants were dark, causing pain, injury, or death to someone or something every time. When Songalori used a song to take away his power ¨C her magic allowed it because while it harmed him, it saved many others, so her heart and intentions were good ¨C Chaliran killed her, his own wife, and freed himself from the song. He was eventually subdued by several Grashiens working together to overpower him. This was before we had the mind-link and everyone always had access to everyone else, and has not happened since. One of the things Chaliran managed to do before he died was teach the magic of Chalinta to the Grashien-hunters, in order to allow them more success in killing us. There are methods, ways to stop them, but it requires a focus and purpose that few Grashiens possess. Facing one alone, or even with some backup, is nearly always a suicide mission. Another big problem is that they look exactly like Grashiens, so it can be hard to tell who¡¯s who. Thankfully, they have a weakness ¨C their minds are so carefully walled off, to keep us from discerning their intentions, that it¡¯s like they aren¡¯t there. So if you ever reach out to feel someone¡¯s mind and can¡¯t find them, run away as fast as possible. They can sense it when somebody touches their barriers, so they will know you¡¯re Grashien. Your only options will be fight or run, or if there aren¡¯t any other people around, teleport. Sareena looks shocked. O-okay, she mentally squeaks. Shouldn¡¯t we be teleporting out of here right now? We thought about it, remember? Lea says. We decided to wait because we can¡¯t risk being seen appearing out of thin air. Ooh, I have an idea! Sareena exclaims. We need to know where we¡¯re going to teleport there, right? So if your owl friend could show us what the safe house looks like, could we jump straight in? We all gasp slightly. Maybe, Falcon admits. I¡¯ll ask. Her eyes go unfocused as the owl shows her something. Okay, let¡¯s do it, she says. Wait! Aiden (usually called Monkey) interrupts. What about the owl? We can¡¯t get to him to take him with us, so how will he catch up? I know you, Fal. Once you get attached to a creature, you never want to leave it behind. Falcon looks kind of sad. He could meet us at the safe house, I suppose, she says gloomily. But you¡¯re right, there¡¯s no way to take him with us without alerting the Hunter to our location. Well, maybe there is, I interject. If we teleport him into the tree, and then pull all of us out of the tree and to the safe house, we should be fine. They all nod, except Falcon, whose eyes are once again unfocused.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She snaps back into the tree with a jerk and mentally cries out. No! Quick, pull him in now, before the Hunter kills him! Somehow, that foul creature figured out that the owl was helping us, and is now trying to kill him. Quickly! I begin to sing quietly. What are you doing? Falcon demands. Teleport him into the tree! Wait, sis, Aidan says, watch. She is pulling him in, but using a song to save him, instead of teleportation. Remember, jumping has harmful effects on injured bodies; she is trying to make sure he lives. Falcon calms at his words. You¡¯re right. Sorry Cat. I shrug and keep singing. A moment later, the owl appears on Falcon¡¯s lap, injured. She gasps and starts healing him. When he seems back to normal, we all focus and teleport ourselves straight into the safe house, leaving the inside of the tree bare and hollow in our absence. We reappear in a small room, surrounded by chattering people. We can immediately sense it ¨C every one of them is Grashien. They turn to look at us. The first one to move is an older lady that I¡¯ve met before, Melona Kapernickel. She comes up to us and smiles. ¡°Oh, you must be the group we were expecting,¡± she says, ¡°though we thought you¡¯d come in through the door, not by teleporting. Where is the guide we sent?¡± In a gentle voice, I say, ¡°We don¡¯t know for sure, Melona, but we were greeted by a Grashien-hunter who, according to this owl here, had recently killed one of us. We took it to mean that our guide was dead, and fled as fast as we could. We spent the night in an old, hollow redwood not too far from where we landed.¡± Her eyes widen and she sits down. ¡°Oh, no,¡± she says. ¡°If the Hunters have gotten near again, it¡¯s time to move. I¡¯ll send Grelin, my son, with you in place of your guide.¡± Sareena touches my mind. How is she so calm about the death of the guide? I reach out. There will be time to discover the truth and grieve later. For now, she is setting everything up so that she doesn¡¯t have to deal with it another time. I pause, then add, And Melona¡¯s too nice to mention it, but she can hear everything we¡¯re saying. It¡¯s rude to discuss someone mentally without including them in the conversation. Sareena turns red. Sorry. Melona smiles. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem,¡± she says. ¡°You didn¡¯t know. But Cat is right, I will find out about the whereabouts of my nephew later, after you all are settled in and get a good night¡¯s sleep.¡± Sareena swallows hard at the thought that the guide who was killed had been her nephew. ¡°Oh, okay,¡± she says, a bit hesitantly. ¡°Where will we sleep?¡± ¡°The dorm rooms are through there,¡± one of the men says. ¡°We set aside one of them for your group, I¡¯m sure you can find it.¡± As we slip out of the room, Sareena hisses in my ear, ¡°Wait a second, we¡¯re sharing a room with the boys?!¡± I laugh, just slightly. ¡°Of course we are. I¡¯ll never figure out this whole problem Americans have with stuff like that. It¡¯s perfectly natural, and I assure you, the boys won¡¯t try anything. Privacy may not exist, but manners, chivalry, and some aspects of decency still do. Besides, you¡¯re our cousin. It would just be weird.¡± Behind me, the boys first look affronted, then chuckle under their breaths. Pausing, I add, ¡°And the boys will respect your decisions, if it comes to that, though I would think you¡¯d be used to it by now.¡± She smiles a little. ¡°All right. When will we leave?¡± ¡°I would expect we¡¯ll depart in the morning,¡± I say. ¡°We need to start our mission as soon as possible.¡± The next morning, we wake up to find the safe house under attack. ¡°What in skolbremir is going on?¡± I demand somewhat grumpily. Melona dashes into the room. ¡°They found us! Come on, we need to get you out of here.¡± ¡°Even though it¡¯s probably our fault for accidentally leading them to you?¡± Sareena asks. ¡°Yes. By the way, the punishment for purposefully leading Hunters to a safe house is banishment to Skolbremir, or if that isn¡¯t possible, death; but you guys didn¡¯t do it on purpose, so you¡¯re safe.¡± Sareena gulps and says quietly under her breath, ¡°Where will we go?¡± ¡°Anywhere,¡± I respond. ¡°Will Grelin still be accompanying us, or is he needed here?¡± Melona sends me a look. ¡°Yes.¡± Sareena looks confused, so I whisper, ¡°She means, they need him, but they¡¯re sending him anyway.¡± Louder, I say, ¡°Got it. You sure about this?¡± ¡°No,¡± she admits. ¡°But I¡¯d rather send him with my Kli Sumna than keep him here. He was getting restless anyway.¡± I nod. ¡°Oh, Melona,¡± I say, ¡°keep an eye on those men. At least one of them is a traitor.¡± She gasps. ¡°Okay.¡± We walk out into the street to find Grelin waiting for us. ¡°Go on, quickly now,¡± Melona urges. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us. We have other ways of getting away.¡± I nod. We¡¯re following Grelin when I realize that something is wrong. He¡¯s wearing multiple necklaces. I reach out for his mind and find it blocked. Guys! I yell mentally. Back off, now! It¡¯s a trap! The entire group swings around to look at me¡­ except Grelin. Hah, I mutter. Got you.