For the past two days we’ve been discussing Andrew Peterson’s On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, a wonderful adventure into a brand new world full of imaginative characters and clever wordings. As my dear friend and “mom in the writing world,” Donita K. Paul, put is, “a rip-roaring fantasy tale,” and “Totally fun!”

If you haven’t yet had a chance to browse through any of Andrew’s sites or visit his book on Amazon (including his other book pictured below), I encourage you to do so. As I mentioned briefly at the end of yesterday’s post, he is not only a marvelous storyteller and writer, but also a very accomplished musician, something I obviously appreciate (I feel a kindred spirit here!). With inklings of Paul Simon to Rich Mullins, his easy going melodies and creative lyrics are palatable to almost any listener. But as I hate comparisons–seeing them as a unnecessary evil–it must be said that he is unique with a sound unto himself.

I’d like to close out this edition of the CSFF Blog Tour with a concept mentioned on the back-matter of Andrew’s new book, one that, I think, presents a marvelous case for the ingredients that makes for a legacy. It’s at least thought provoking.

Andrew surely gets much of his feedback from his children who he reads to nightly (certainly his test grounds for a rare art that won him a prized Audie Award). Likewise, his new book has made its way onto my children’s bed-time story reading shelf (well, not quite yet). Chapters aren’t too long, intense or negative images aren’t overly graphic, and the themes are…well–universal. Which brings up the next point.

Not only is On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness as great kids book, full of imaginative characters, distant lands and wrapped in an epic saga, but it has real-life parallels for us dad and moms, too. And I never realized how important that was to me until recently. I was back on the Fantasy Fiction Blog tour, somewhere in Maryland me thinks, and picked up a secular writer’s kid’s fantasy novel. It looked like a wonderful read, great images and interior design, so I dug in with a few hours to kill. But after skimming a number of chapters, despite the books whimsical flow, I was left feeling, well, empty.

I think that in order for a work to truly be noteworthy, it must have a taste of the everlasting.This goes for any genre of art. And the easiest way to tell is to look at the audience it attracts.

A perfect point and case about this can be seen in the movie industry. If you look at what genre of movies constitute the largest combined grossing films, you’ll find kids movies. The Lion King. Finding Nemo. The Little Mermaid. Sure we love Die Hard 26 and Rambo 30. But the truth is, we love children’s movies better. Because, as they say, everyone can enjoy it.

But that’s not just good marketing. You and I both know the real beats the ideal every day of the week and twice on Tuesdays. No, no. This is beyond just making a buck; this is about stories that change our lives.

I wholeheartedly agree with the back-matter of his book, the last portion reading as follows: “Families can read this saga aloud, and readers’ groups are sure to discuss it for layers of meaning about life’s tangle of the beautiful and horrible, temporal and eternal, good and bad.” But will it be around 5 year from now? Ten? Beyond? Only time will tell.

Q: Do think that a book’s ability to span generations is essential to it’s longevity and ultimate success? Give examples supporting your opinion.

Regardless of its longterm shelf-life, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! And big blessings upon you and your little clan, Andrew.

Thanks for reading.

CH

Sally Apokedak, Brandon Barr, Jim Black, Justin Boyer, Jackie Castle, Valerie Comer, CSFF Blog Tour, Gene Curtis, D. G. D. Davidson, Janey DeMeo, Jeff Draper, April Erwin, Beth Goddard , Marcus Goodyear, Todd Green, Jill Hart, Katie Hart, Michael Heald, Timothy Hicks, Christopher Hopper, Jason Joyner, Kait, Carol Keen, Mike Lynch, Margaret, Rachel Marks, Shannon McNear, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Pamela Morrisson, John W. Otte, Deena Peterson, Rachelle, Steve Rice, Cheryl Russel, Ashley Rutherford, Chawna Schroeder, James Somers, Donna Swanson, Steve Trower, Speculative Faith, Robert Treskillard, Jason Waguespac, Laura Williams, Timothy Wise

Yesterday I officially and publicly repented of shelving Andrew Peterson’s On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, simply due to what I assumed was a nasty vanity press attempt to be “epic.” Today, I’d like to redeem a bit of my pride by expounding briefly on a few of the more charming examples of Andrew’s genius.

Upon opening the book you’re immediately greeted by a few gruelish but altogether cuddly pencil drawn monsters (well, at least the little hairy one is cuddly). Mad props to Justin Gerard (Portland Studios) for his additions to Andrew’s work.

Before you get into the chaptered sections of the table of contents, you’ll find three preface portions entitled as follows:

A Brief Introduction of the World of Aerwiar

A Slightly Less Brief Introduction to the Land of Skree

An Introduction to the Igiby Cottage (Very Brief)

This sort of playful word smithing and redundancy is strewn throughout the book, keeping the reader thoroughly entertained, not just by the beautiful characters and plot development, but laughing by the sheer cunning of the author. Perhaps I over analyze things. But I suppose that because I’m an author myself, I always put myself in the author’s shoes when they were writing. With Andrew, I just shake my head and laugh, saying (out loud at times), “What was he thinking?” and “How did he come up with that?” The Fangs of Dang? Making Maggotloaf? Books and Crannies?

The most intriguing element of Andrew’s new book, in my opinion, I’ll get into on tomorrow’s post. For now, commenters up to bat:

Q: Assuming you haven’t yet read Andrew’s new book, I want your thoughts on how the World of Aerwiar was named. How do you even pronounce that? and where did it originate? I want your best story!

While you’re checking out his book on Amazon, visit his personal site to listen to Andrew’s music! (Man, this guy is talented!). You can also find a link to his blog, the Rabbit Room, by clicking on this post’s header above.

Thanks for reading!

CH

PS – Check out what my esteemed CSFF Blog Tour Compatriots have to say:

Sally Apokedak, Brandon Barr, Jim Black, Justin Boyer, Jackie Castle, Valerie Comer, CSFF Blog Tour, Gene Curtis, D. G. D. Davidson, Janey DeMeo, Jeff Draper, April Erwin, Beth Goddard , Marcus Goodyear, Todd Green, Jill Hart, Katie Hart, Michael Heald, Timothy Hicks, Christopher Hopper, Jason Joyner, Kait, Carol Keen, Mike Lynch, Margaret, Rachel Marks, Shannon McNear, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Pamela Morrisson, John W. Otte, Deena Peterson, Rachelle, Steve Rice, Cheryl Russel, Ashley Rutherford, Chawna Schroeder, James Somers, Donna Swanson, Steve Trower, Speculative Faith, Robert Treskillard, Jason Waguespac, Laura Williams, Timothy Wise

Huh?

It’s time for another round with the Christian Scienec Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour. This month we’re highlighting Andrew Peterson’s On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, first in the Wingfeather Saga.

So why the quirky post title? Because this book really threw me for a loop. Let me explain.

One of the joys of being on the tour is getting advanced copies of books; often times you won’t receive the final version, but what we call an ARC in the industry, or Advance Reading Copy. They are usually not as elaborate as the final edition, sent only to reviewers to keep costs down, and often times are worth big bucks if the book does well.

Andrew’s publisher was gracious enough to send a number of us ARCs. With the amount of manuscripts, books and ARCs I receive now, I more often than not judge a book by its cover. Sad, but true. And while Andrew’s ARC wasn’t necessarily a bad looking cover (quite the contrary; usually they’re just black and white as opposed to his full color one), I immediately shelved it for a few weeks because of a major assumption on my end–one that I eventually would be quite embarrassed of (and am heretofore repenting of).

After a quick glance at the cover and taking in the title, I immediately thought, “Oh, gosh–another stinking Lord of The Rings wanna’ be, and with a completely redundant title at that. Who missed this in the editing?” Seriously. Glance at the cover below and say to yourself, “On the edge of the dark sea of darkness.” You’d shelve it, too!

A few weeks later as the blog tour was drawing near, I decided I best get educated about this Andrew fellow and research his web presence. His personal site’s splash page had a beautiful graphic of his final book cover design. And that’s when I noticed the byline:

“Adventure, Peril, Lost Jewels and the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree.”

It was the last line that caught my attention. And tickled me. Suddenly I ran to my book shelf and flipped open my copy. And then I felt dumb. This was not some editor’s mistake, or some vanity press attempt to be Tolkien-esque.

This was brilliant.

I immediately started in , captured by even the first chapter titles (which I’ll get into tomorrow). And it was then I realized I was holding genius in my hands. Andrew, an avid storyteller to his children as well as a fellow musician living in Nashville (of course), had created his own unique and beautiful world and style to communicate it. One which I could only classify as Winnie The Pooh and The Princess Bride meeting Monty Python and LOTR. From the dreaded Fire Swamp that I fell in love with in the 80′s to the air speed velocity of a coconut laden swallow (African), Andrew has written a captivating story in the same vain. I’m sure to some it will be terribly annoying, but I have been laying awake in bed laughing out loud (much to the annoyance of my wife, who–by the way–still doesn’t “get” Monty Python).

Q: For those who are comment prone: Have you ever judged a book by it’s cover, only to have been shocked by what you had been missing? Any particular works or instances come to mind?

More to come a demain. In the mean time, please check out his book on Amazon, visit his personal site and the blog he moderates. And click on the plethora of links below to see what the rest of the CSFF gang is saying!

Thanks for reading!

CH

Sally Apokedak, Brandon Barr, Jim Black, Justin Boyer, Jackie Castle, Valerie Comer, CSFF Blog Tour, Gene Curtis, D. G. D. Davidson, Janey DeMeo, Jeff Draper, April Erwin, Beth Goddard , Marcus Goodyear, Todd Green, Jill Hart, Katie Hart, Michael Heald, Timothy Hicks, Christopher Hopper, Jason Joyner, Kait, Carol Keen, Mike Lynch, Margaret, Rachel Marks, Shannon McNear, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Pamela Morrisson, John W. Otte, Deena Peterson, Rachelle, Steve Rice, Cheryl Russel, Ashley Rutherford, Chawna Schroeder, James Somers, Donna Swanson, Steve Trower, Speculative Faith, Robert Treskillard, Jason Waguespac, Laura Williams, Timothy Wise

To all those who attended the Winter Blast at Delta Lake, NY this past weekend, this is a quick shout-out to say thank you; Jennifer and I were really blessed to be with you and share in what God is doing in our generation. I suppose that now I owe pics and a re-cap of both Watson and Winter Blast! And tomorrow I’m leaving to speak at yet another school in Rochester, so I desperately need to catch up so everyone doesn’t start throwing blog stones at me.

I recently joined a cool online Christian blog community called FIRST where, on the first of each month, everyone posts the first chapter of a new book. I thought it was a pretty cool concept and a great way to spread the word about other authors. So I joined. I’m slightly late in posting, but as this month’s book happens to be of a wonderful dear friend of mine, I thought I’d still post it regardless of my tardiness (plus, the tour still pumped her to the top spots on Technorati).

If you’d like to participate with your own blog, just click on the link above. This month’s feature is Sharon Hinck and her book The Restorer’s Journey (Navpress Publishing Group, February 7, 2008). Most of you will remember Sharon from the Fantasy Fiction Tour last summer. I had the honor of reading her book back in the fall and was delighted to find out that the publisher chose to use my endorsement, the full version is here:

“Sharon Hinck weaves a magnificent tale, a collision of every day life with the fantastical realms of the unknown. She masterfully portrays characters of no uncommon standing pitted in an epic fight to save all they hold dear. And in this is her great strength: To bring out the universal flaws of humanity while revealing that even the simplest of individuals has the innate ability to be heroic. I commend her for a series well written and well timed. Highly recommended. Such a force is to promoted and treasured for generations to come. Man needs not know who he is nearly as much as who he can be.”

We’ll start with a brief bio on Sharon and then give you the entire first chapter of her new book. If nothing else, please stop by her site and tell her I sent you!

Blessings!

CH

- – -

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sharon Hinck holds a BA in education, and she earned an MA in communication from Regent University in 1986. She spent ten years as the artistic director of a Christian performing arts group, CrossCurrent. That ministry included three short-term mission trips to Hong Kong. She has been a church youth worker, a choreographer and ballet teacher, a homeschool mom, a church organist, and a bookstore clerk. One day she’ll figure out what to be when she grows up, but in the meantime, she’s pouring her imagination into writing. Her stories focus on characters who confront the challenges of a life of faith. She’s published dozens of articles in magazines and book compilations, and released her first novel, The Secret Life of Becky Miller (Bethany House), in 2006. In April 2007, she was named “Writer of the Year” at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. When she isn’t wrestling with words, Sharon enjoys speaking at conferences and retreats. She and her family make their home in Minnesota. She loves to hear from readers, so send a message through the portal into her writing attic on the “Contact Sharon” page of her website, http://www.sharonhinck.com/. She is also an avid blogger…visit Stories for the Hero in All of Us.

The first and second books in The Sword of Lyric series are The Restorer and The Restorer’s Son. The FIRST chapter shown here is from the third book, The Restorer’s Journey. Enjoy!

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Chapter One – JAKE

My mom was freaking out.

She stared out the dining room window as if major-league monsters were hiding in the darkness beyond the glass. Give me a break. Our neighborhood was as boring as they came. Ridgeview Drive’s square lawns and generic houses held nothing more menacing than basketball hoops and tire swings. Still, Mom’s back was tight, and in the shadowed reflection on the pane, I could see her biting her lip. I didn’t know what to say to make her feel better.

I ducked back into the kitchen and used a wet rag to wipe off the counters. Clumps of flour turned to paste and smeared in gunky white arcs across the surface. I shook the rag over the garbage can, the mess raining down on the other debris we’d swept up. Broken jars of pasta and rice filled the bag. I stomped it down, twist-tied the bag and jogged it out to the trashcan by the garage. Usually, I hated the chore of taking out the trash. Not tonight. Maybe if I erased the signs of our intruders, Mom would relax a little.

So Cameron and Medea dropped a few things when they were looking for supplies. No biggie. Why did my folks have such a problem with those two anyway? They’d been great to me. I trudged back into the house, rubbing my forehead. Wait. That wasn’t right. A shiver snaked through my spine. Never mind. They were probably long gone by now.

“Kitchen’s done.” I carried the broom into the dining room, hoping Mom had finished in there. But she was still hugging her arms and staring out the window.

She turned and looked at the china cabinet, then squeezed her eyes shut as if they were hurting. “Why?” she whispered.

Glass shards jutted from one cabinet door, and the other hung crooked with wood splinters poking out. Broken china covered the floor. Mom and Dad had been collecting those goofy teacups ever since they got married.

I pushed the broom against the edge of the fragments, but the chinking sound made her wince, so I stopped.

Dad strode past with an empty garbage bag from the hall closet and stopped to give my mom a squeeze. He nodded toward me. “Honey, Jake’s alive. Nothing else matters. We all got back safe.” He leaned his head against hers, and I edged toward the kitchen in case they started kissing. For an old married couple, they were a little too free with their public displays of affection. No guy wants to watch his parents act mushy.

But my mom didn’t look like she was in a kissing mood. She pressed her lips together. I had a sneaking suspicion that she was more freaked out about what had happened to my hand than our house. Like when I had cancer as a kid. She’d gotten really stressed about the details of a church fundraiser and cranky about everything that went wrong—stuff that wasn’t even important. It gave her a place to be angry when she was trying to be brave about a bigger problem.

“It’s only a piece of furniture.” Dad was doing his soothing voice. When would he catch on that only made things worse?

“Only a piece of furniture we bought as a wedding gift to each other.” She swiped at some wet spots on her face. “Only twenty years’ worth of poking around garage sales and thrift stores together. Don’t tell me what it’s only! Okay?”

“Okay.” Dad backed away from her prickles.

I made another ineffectual push with the broom. My folks didn’t argue much, but when they did, it grated like a clutch struggling to find third gear. Typical over-responsible firstborn, I wanted to fix it but didn’t know how.

Mom picked up a Delft saucer, smashed beyond repair, and laid the pieces gently into the garbage bag. Dad folded his arms and leaned against the high back of one of the chairs. “I can fix the cabinet. That splintered door will need to be replaced, but the other one just needs new hinges. I can put in new glass.” His eyes always lit up when he talked about a woodworking project. The man loved his tools.

Mom smiled at him. Her tension faded, and she got all moony-eyed, so I ducked into the kitchen just as the doorbell rang. Thank heaven. “Pizza’s here!” I yelled.

Dad paid the delivery guy, and I carried the cartons into the living room. Flopping onto one end of the couch, I pried open the lid. “Hey, who ordered green peppers? Mom, you’ve gotta quit ruining good pizza with veggies.”

That made her laugh. “We’d better save a few pieces for the other kids.” She cleared the Legos off the coffee table and handed me a napkin.

I gladly surrendered the top pizza box, along with its green pepper, and dove into the pepperoni below. “Where is everyone?”

“Karen’s spending the night at Amanda’s—trying out her new driver’s license. Jon and Anne are at Grandma’s. But if they see the pizza boxes when they get home tomorrow . . . ”

I nodded. “Yep. Pure outrage. I can hear it now. ‘It’s not fair. Jake always gets to have extra fun.’” I did a pretty good impression of the rug rats. What would the kids think if they found out what else they had missed? This had been the strangest Saturday the Mitchell family had ever seen.

I popped open a can of Dr. Pepper. My third. Hey, I’d earned some extra caffeine. “So, what do we tell the kids?”

Mom smiled and looked me up and down, probably thinking I was one of the kids. When would it sink in that I was an adult now? I guzzled a third of my pop and set it down with a thump. “We could tell them there was a burglar, but then they’d want to help the police solve the case, and they’d never stop asking questions.”

“Good point.” Mom licked sauce from her finger. “Jon and Anne would break out the detective kit you gave them for Christmas.”

Dad tore a piece of crust from his slice of pepperoni. “If we finish cleaning everything, I don’t think they’ll pay much attention. The cabinet is the only obvious damage. If they ask, we’ll just say it got bumped and fell.”

Dad wanted us to lie? So not like him. Then again, when Kieran told me Dad wasn’t originally from our world, I realized there were a lot of things he’d never been honest about. Now I was part of the family secret, too.

He rested his piece of pizza on the cardboard box and looked at Mom. “Do we need to warn them?”

“Warn them?” She mumbled around a mouth full of melted cheese.

“In case Cameron and Medea come back.” His voice was calm, but I suddenly had a hard time swallowing. Something cold twisted in me when he said their names. The same cold that had numbed my bones when I’d woken up in the attic. Why? They’d taken care of me. No, they’d threatened me. Confusing images warred inside my brain.

“You think they’ll come back?” My baritone went up in pitch, and I quickly took another sip of pop.

Dad didn’t answer for a moment. “It depends on why they came. If they plan to stay in our world, we need to find them—stop them. But my guess is that Cameron wants to return to Lyric with something from our world that he can use there. That means they’ll be back to go through the portal.”

Mom sank deeper into the couch and looked out the living room windows. At the curb, our family van shimmered beneath a streetlight.

They might be out there, too. They could be watching us right this second.

“Maybe we should call the police.” Mom’s voice sounded thin. I’d suggested that earlier. After all, someone had broken in—well, broken out.

Dad snorted. “And tell them what?”

He had a point, but it’s not like there was a rulebook for dealing with visitors from other universes. Unless you attended Star Trek conventions. “So what’s your plan?” I asked.

“I’ll get extra locks tomorrow. Maybe look into an alarm system.” Dad believed every problem could be solved with his Home Depot credit card. He turned to me. “Can you remember more about your conversations with Cameron? What did he ask you about? What did he seem interested in?”

A shudder moved through me, and pain began pulsing behind my eyes.

Mom gave Dad a worried glance, then rested a hand on my arm. “It’s okay, honey. We don’t have to talk about it right now.” She smoothed my hair back from my face.

“No problem.” I brushed her hand away, sprawled back on the couch, and studied the ceiling. “It just seems like it was all a dream.”

“What’s the last thing you remember clearly?” Dad pulled his chair closer and watched me.

“Braide Wood.” I closed my eyes and smiled. “It reminded me of summer camp. And I was so tired of running and hiding in caves. I finally felt safe. Tara fussed over me, and I taught Dustin and Aubrey how to play soccer. It felt like home.”

I struggled to remember the rest. For some reason my memories were tangled up, like the time I had a major fever and took too much Nyquil. Mom and Dad waited.

“I went to see Morsal Plains with Tara. Brutal. The grain was all black and it smelled weird. Tara told me about the attack. How Hazor poisoned it on purpose and how Susan the Restorer led the army to protect Braide Wood.” I squinted my eyes open and looked sideways at my mom. They’d told me she had ridden into battle with a sword. “Unbelievable.”

Even though she was watching me with a worried pinch to her eyes, she smiled. “I know. I lived it, and it’s hard for me to believe.”

“Anyway, I hiked back to Tara’s house, and some guys came to take me to Cameron. He made a big fuss over me. Said it was his job to welcome guests to the clans. Said I’d run into bad company but he’d make it up to me. He gave me something to drink, and there was this lady. She was amazing.” No matter how fuzzy my memories were, Medea was easy to remember. The long curly hair, the sparkling eyes, the dress that clung to all the right places. My cheeks heated. “I can’t remember everything we talked about. She made me feel important, like I wasn’t just some teenage kid. It was . . . ” I sat taller and angled away from my parents, my jaw tightening. “She helped me realize that no one else had ever really understood me. I wanted to become a guardian. I had an important job to do.”

“Jake.” Dad’s voice was sharp, and I flinched. “The woman you met was a Rhusican. They poison minds. Don’t trust everything you’re feeling right now.”

A pulsing ache grabbed the base of my neck. I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes. Mom’s hand settled on my shoulder, and I stiffened. Weird static was messing with my head.

“Jake, they used you to find the portal. She doesn’t really understand you.” Mom’s voice was quiet and sounded far away. I felt like I was falling away inside myself. She squeezed my shoulder. “Remember my favorite psalm?”

I managed a tight smile. “How could I forget? You made us learn the whole thing one summer. ‘O Lord, you have searched me and you know me…’ blah, blah, blah.”

Despite my smart aleck tone, the words took hold and some of the static in my brain quieted.

“What’s the rest?” Dad pressed me.

What was he trying to prove? That I couldn’t think straight? I could have told him that. I struggled to form the words.

“‘You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.’” Once I got started, I rattled off the verses by rote. In some strange way, the words actually stopped the sensation of falling away inside myself.

“Sounds like there’s someone who understands you a lot better than Cameron and Medea. Remember that.” Dad stood up and tousled my hair. Then he yawned. “Let’s get some sleep.”

Mom didn’t move. She was still watching me. “How’s the hand?”

I rubbed my palm. “Still fine. Weird, huh?” I held it out.

A scar, faint as a white thread, marked the skin where broken glass had cut a deep gash an hour earlier. My lungs tightened. What did it mean?

Dad shook his head. “Come on. Bedtime.”

Mom hesitated, but then stood and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “Good night, Jake. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

Oh, great. She sure loved talking. I looked at Dad. His mouth twitched. “I’ll get us signed up for some practice space at the fencing club.”

Good. He hadn’t forgotten his promise. I couldn’t make sense of my trip through the portal, or the sudden-healing thing, but I knew I wanted to learn to use a sword.

My parents gathered up the pizza stuff and carried it to the kitchen, out of sight, but not out of earshot.

“If we hide the portal stones Cameron and Medea won’t be able to go back,” Dad said over the crinkling of a sheet of aluminum foil.

Someone slammed the fridge door shut hard enough to make the salad dressing bottles rattle. “We don’t want them running around our world. They don’t belong here.” Mom sounded tense.

“I know. We have to send them back. But on our terms. Without anything that would hurt the People of the Verses. And what about Jake?”

Silence crackled, and I leaned forward from my spot on the couch.

When Mom refused to answer, Dad spoke again, so quiet I almost couldn’t hear. “We need to keep the portal available in case he’s needed there. But how will we know?”

Needed there? Did he really think . . .?

I waited for them to head back to their bedroom, then slipped down the steps from the kitchen to the basement. Most of the basement was still unfinished – except for my corner bedroom and Dad’s workbench.

I hurried into my room and shut out the world behind me. Tonight everything looked different. The movie posters, the bookshelves, the soccer team trophy. Smaller, foreign, unfamiliar.

I pulled a thumbtack from my bulletin board and scratched it across my thumb. A line of blood appeared, but in a microsecond the tiny scrape healed completely. I had assumed the healing power was some heebie-jeebie thing that Medea had given me, or that had transferred over from my interactions with Kieran.

But now that my head had stopped throbbing, I could put the pieces together. Excitement stronger than caffeine zipped around my nerve endings. My folks thought this was more than a weird effect left over from my travels through the portal. They thought I might be the next Restorer.