CHAPTER 1

15 years later

Adam’s hands crashed over his ears, and he ducked his head intuitively as the deafening sounds of destruction surrounded Zera, his village. Homes and buildings had been set on fire, walls and beams crashing to the ground beneath them. He raced through the devastation as cries from women, men, and children pierced his soul. Zev, his soul-sealed great white wolf, bounded in his footsteps, his penetrating melted-caramel eyes menacing, as if he might dismantle anyone who stood in their way. Others threaded through the village with a similarly furrowed brow, wandering in sheer panic as they searched for their families and friends.

Adam forced himself to carry on until he turned down the familiar path his feet had carried him down countless times before. He slowed, and Zev nearly toppled over him, sliding to slow behind him. On the left corner was the olive tree that had once towered over Adam but now didn’t look quite so tall, the village well on the right, reddish-brown dirt beneath them. The sky was fraught with falling cinders and glowing with the fury of the flames. Time ceased to exist as he beheld his home, alight. Adam’s limbs fought his every step, seeming to sink in quicksand, knowing what might await him. The door to his home was ajar, and though it was sure to fall at any moment, he dashed through it, pulling up the tail of his handmade white shirt to cover his mouth.

“Stay back, Zev. I don’t want you getting hurt!” Adam shouted behind him in vain, as Zev warily followed, never having allowed Adam to face any potential danger alone.

Their home was so small, his eyes fell on his mother immediately, her body still, blanketed in ash, aglow in the embers. He jumped into action, seizing her under the arms and quickly dragging her outside.

“Mother! Please, Mother, I can’t lose you. Don’t leave me alone.” Adam choked back sobs as he surveyed her; she hadn’t even twitched. He prayed to El it was not too late, even if he felt that praying to El hadn’t gotten him anywhere before. Rachel’s eyes fluttered briefly, and somehow, her face was still full of warmth.

“Mother, I’m right here. Please come back to me. Keep fighting!” Adam cried as a well of tears sprang from his eyes and splashed across her face, leaving streaks in the ash and on what he knew was her favorite dress. Zev sat back on his haunches and let out a deep whine, nuzzling Adam’s shoulder.

“Adam, listen carefully, my son.” Rachel peeled one eye open and whispered with gravel in her voice, wincing; the smoke had clearly done its damage. She strained to grasp Adam’s hand that lay on her shoulder and squeezed with the little that was left of her surprisingly vast might for her small frame. Adam snapped to attention, brimming with hope, with fear, and he listened raptly, pushing her salt-and-pepper hair out of her face.

“When it is safe again, you must enter what is left of our home and retrieve a wooden box I buried under the head of your bed when you were small. I have written you a letter that explains everything you need for your future. I hoped it would not come to this and I would be able to tell you everything myself; alas, that is not our fate, my love. Know that I will always be with you . . .” Rachel’s final words faded out as she lost consciousness once again, for good, dropping Adam’s hand as hers fell limp by her side.

“Mother, no. Please . . . What does that mean? I can’t do this without you. Please, I love you,” Adam pleaded as he placed his head on her chest, where he had found so much comfort and love from his mother’s kind heart. No more, as her heartbeat fell further behind until it beat no more. The vessel that held Adam’s mother, his world, felt suddenly hollow and empty as her soul ascended. He shuddered as body-wracking sobs took him over; he felt every agonizing moment of the process.

“Nooooo!” Adam released a guttural scream, which was echoed by an unearthly howl from deep in the hollow of Zev, where their souls connected.

Pleas and sobs and mourning sounded throughout the village as more lives reached their untimely end. He continued to lie his head there on her chest, incapacitated by his grief. Zev lay beside him with one enormous paw over Rachel’s leg. Adam didn’t know how much time had passed, but the moon rose over the burning ruins, and the sky bled from thick, gray smoke to black.

Adam lifted his head slowly from his mother’s body, finding himself momentarily out of tears. He noticed that while he had lain there with his mother, the roof of their home had caved in and the walls had burned to the ground, leaving nothing but soot in the aftermath.

The only thing