The little maid watched the sun dip below the horizon leaving whisks of pinks and orange swirls in its wake.  A distant memory of sunsets with her father rose within her and she pushed it down.  Best not to let her mind wander.  It would be better to stay vigilant to her immediate problems.  She had stayed in the shadows of the entrance, dutifully scrubbing stone.  The mindless chore gave her ample time to study her surroundings, such as they were.  In the distance she could see what looked like a group of islands.  They appeared green and she imagined them to be dense with trees.   If she craned her head far to the right around the jutting edge of the stone she saw what looked like mountains.  If there were mountains, there might just be people.  As the day fought and lost to the dark, the little maid noticed the tide rising.  What was a sheer drop for the poor children ea

Meanwhile back on the Island.    The few trees on the island that boasted autumn colors had finally given up and released the last leaves of summer.  The trees were winter bare, empty but for the promise of spring.   “As empty as my heart,” thought Katalea. They had not made any progress on locating Dakari and the strain was evident throughout the Pride.  Petty arguments broke out and silly squirmishes could turn lethal in a blink of an eye.  Katalea doubted her leadership as did many of the group.  Grandfather told her that he could do no more in her place, but she was not to be placated.  She was the alpha now, it was up to her. Maggie had heard from her brother a few times.  He was getting weaker by the day as they rarely fed him.  His messages were getting less clear as

    The thud shook the cave and Lainey knew it wouldn’t be long until reinforcements came.  Essam no doubt had summoned his best warriors and Lainey could imagine the chaos that was about to erupt.  As fast as she could she raced back to the entrance of the alcove.  The food was gone!  She had left it here only minutes before.  The food was to sustain her on her escape and now she had none.  It would be too dangerous to go back to the kitchen to get more.      Disheartened, she climbed in.  She wiggled in her normal fashion but found she couldn’t move back.  Using her hands she felt for the obstacle that blocked her way.  She felt the warmth of skin and realized what she touched was a foot.  Dakari was here!  

    Dakari opened his eyes and saw Lainey’s concerned face.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to zone out on you.  Werecats can send mental messages to each other even when we’re not in feline form.  I was letting my sister know everything you have told me so far.”     “Will they come for us?” Lainey asked as they began to make their way down the passageway.  It was so much easier with Dakari’s light. What had taken her half an hour now only took a few minutes.     “They can’t pinpoint where we are by the descriptions just yet.  They are on alert, awaiting any more news from us.”  

    Brilliant reds faded through pinks and oranges to an almost eerie golden yellow as the sun let its grasp of the day weaken and die.  The glorious cover of night spread and the last of the water receded.  Waves again raged war with the cliffs and on a night like thousands before, the cliffs stood firm.  Before he conked out for good Dakari had broken off a stalactite and charmed it into a magic flashlight.  It’s light was enough for Lainey to see and placing it between her teeth she began to climb.         Higher and higher she climbed until she reached the location she thought she had seen the large crevice.  The darkness was too dense even with the light to see the size of the breaks between the rocks of the cliff and she found herself feeling her way.  The roar of an incoming wave sounded like a stampede of horses and she held on tightly as t