It didn’t take long for the warrior women to gather up the remains of the bear. After Kellen finished speaking to Nokom, they returned to the group, where the women were carefully pouring the electric blue sand into pouches and wrapping the remaining claws and teeth in hides before placing them in bags. Busy with their task, most of the group ignored Kellen, who had nothing better to do than stand and watch while feelings of invisibility arose.

He wasn’t the only one not working, though. While the six warriors packed away the bear’s remains under Nokom’s guidance, Chief Tama and Shani were engaged in a fierce conversation only a short distance away. From the sound of it, the chief was angry at Shani, who’d apparently left the group in pursuit of the bear against her orders. Not wanting to stare but with nothing else to do, Kellen watched out of the corner of his eye.

“You endangered us all,” the chief said. “For your own selfishness.”

“Selfish?” Shani said, “The remains of the bear will strengthen us before we fight the slavers. We are wealthier than we have been in years.”

“Don’t pretend you went after the bear alone for the benefit of the Gray Dawn,” the chief said. “Your actions were for you alone.”

“I endangered no one, and the band benefited from my risk,” Shani said. From the way she talked, Kellen got the impression that she thought she’d done the right thing.

“You would be dead if not for the Beastcaller,” the chief said.

“She has a point there,” Vex said. The little fox had been sniffing around the ground at Kellen’s feet but, like Kellen, must have found more interest in the conversation “We’re heroes!”

Kellen shushed the Mana Beast just in time to catch Shani’s parting words. “I am already dead.”

Done with the conversation, Shani turned away from the chief toward the odd horses with the rhino-like horns. Wondering what Shani could have meant, Kellen found a sudden interest in his feet as Chief Tama’s attention fell to him. A moment later, Ira padded up to him and Vex. “We’re leaving soon. Nokom found you a spare Storm Horse.”

His family hadn’t owned horses for years, but Kellen knew how to ride. That did little to ease his apprehension as they approached one of the rhino-horse hybrids. The Storm Horse, as Ira called it, looked even stranger up close. It was about the same build as a regular quarter horse, but had a stiff black tail and mane like a zebra or a donkey. Its short hair was almost the same blue-gray color as the Gray Dawn band’s skin tone. Instead of hooves, it had cloven feet like a cow.

The most noticeable feature by far was obviously the horn growing just above its nose. It was about as long as Kellen’s forearm and curved slightly back toward the horse’s long forehead. Without feeling it, Kellen could tell it was a razor sharp. Its dark black color matched the animal’s mane and looked like solid bone as opposed to the keratin a rhino’s horn was made of. When they approached the storm horse, it snorted and flicked an ear to bat away a buzzing fly.

“Are these Mana Beasts too?” Kellen asked the coyote.

Vex broke into giggles of laughter, rolling on the ground at Kellen’s feet. Ira was much more composed. He gave Vex a weary sidelong look before explaining. “No. All Mana Beasts can speak just as Vex and I. These horses are a unique breed raised by the Storm Horse Tribes. It is from these creatures they took their name.”

“What about the bear, then?” Kellen asked. “Vex said it was a guardian Mana Beast but it didn’t talk.”

Kellen couldn’t explain how Ira managed so many facial expressions on his canine face, but sure enough, the coyote gave him a wry look. “How often have you stopped to have a pleasant conversation in the middle of a fight?”

Kellen wouldn’t tell Ira, but he hadn’t been in many fights. Still, he supposed it made sense.

“And besides, does this thing look smart enough to be a Mana Beast?” Vex bounced in front of the storm horse, so close to the sickle-like horn Kellen felt a twist of nervousness in his stomach. In response, the horse flipped its head. Forced to swerve in mid-flight to avoid the horn, Vex transformed into his flying bat form with a cry of alarm.

A low growl came from Kellen’s side. He looked down and saw Ira, teeth bared and hackles raised. “What?” Kellen asked. “What’s wrong?”

“That isn’t natural,” Ira said, still studying Vex carefully, like the fluffy creature would suddenly attack at any moment.

“Him changing shape?” Kellen said. “Can’t all Mana Beasts do that?” He moved around the storm horse, and plucked a fluttering Vex out of the air. In his arms, Vex resumed his fox form with another pop.

“No.” Kellen heard Nokom behind him and took a step backward. Suddenly, he no longer felt safe in the company of the old woman and the coyote. Nokom stared at Kellen and Vex with folded arms and a deep frown creasing her brow. “A Mana Beast only changes form when it advances and becomes stronger. Not on a whim like that.”

Kellen looked down at Vex, who gave his version of a shrug. “Don’t ask me.”

“Is there something wrong with Vex?” Kellen asked.

“Wrong? No. Strange — yes,” Nokom said without taking her eyes off Vex.

“I told you they had the scent of Coyote Lady on them,” Ira said. “I have never seen anything like it.”

“Who’s Coyote Lady?”

Before either could answer Kellen, Chief Tama rode up to them, her storm horse tossing its head impatiently in the air. Beside them, Kellen’s mount stomped and pawed at the ground in response. “There is no time for talk now,” the chief said. “We cannot stay here any longer.”

Without waiting for a response, she nudged her horse in the sides and rode toward the rest of the group, who were all mounted as well.

“Mouthy girl,” Nokom muttered. “A daughter should have more respect for her mother and a chief for her Beastcaller.”

Kellen found his questions unanswered as Nokom left him, Vex and the storm horse alone. He looked at the horse again uncertainly. Unlike the saddles on the other horses he’d rode, this one had no stirrups. And it was just tall enough that Kellen doubted he could swing his leg over its back unless he was on an uphill side of the horse. The animal snorted and shook its head, reaching down to pull out a mouthful of grass.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Vex asked. “Because it feels like you’re hesitating.”

“No — I mean yes!” Annoyed, Kellen took a step toward the horse. He could do this. He’d ridden horses plenty of times. But none of those horses had a bone horn as long as his arm jutting out of their nose, either.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Still irritated, Nokom rode up beside him on her own storm horse and gestured to the rest of the band, which was already moving down the river. Apparently they thought Kellen’s chances of escape so unlikely the chief hadn’t bothered to have anyone else watch him. “Don’t think you’ll get left behind that easily. Don’t you know how to ride?”

“I… yes,” Kellen said. “It’s just… saddles are different where I come from. Is there some kind of trick to get on?” He didn’t want to reveal how lacking his experience was, but thought it best not to take chances with an animal that could skewer him like a toothpick through a Little Smokie.

Nokom grunted in irritation. “How do you get around in this place you call home?” She dismounted in a single motion from her storm horse’s back and, with agility surprising in a woman her age, vaulted back onto the animal with a little bounce use of momentum to throw her leg over the horse.

Kellen looked around for a rock or something to give him a boost. Jumping wasn’t his strong suit. When he’d had to do High Jump in P.E. class, he’d been lucky not to get clothes-lined by the bar.

“Do you want a boost?” Vex asked.

Kellen gave him a flat look. “Pretty sure I’d pop you like a balloon.” He approached the left side of the storm horse and reached a tentative hand out to grasp its mane. When Kellen’s fingers tightened on the mane, the horse gave another snort but otherwise ignored him.

“The sun is setting faster than you getting on that horse,” Nokom said behind Kellen. Ignoring her, he took a deep breath and hopped. The half-hearted attempt barely got his knee up to the horse’s belly.

“For the sake of the Mother, jump boy!” This time, it was Ira barking at him. Kellen felt their eyes on his back and his face flushed again. He told himself this was no different from one of the dairy cows he worked with every day on the farm. You couldn’t let them sense they intimidated you.

Tightening his grip on the storm horse’s mane, Kellen lurched upward like a sack of potatoes tossed over a shoulder. In the same instant he realized he’d done it, his heel struck the horse in the side. Before Kellen realized what was happening, the horse charged toward the rest of the herd and Kellen he found himself at a full gallop.

Too worried about letting go to find the reins, Kellen’s hands held a death grip on the storm horse’s mane. As the animal thundered through the trees, Kellen ducked low, narrowly avoiding branches blurring by.

Somewhere behind him, he heard Nokom shouting. Kellen was too preoccupied holding on for dear life to pay much attention. Risking a glance ahead, Kellen saw them fast approaching the other riders. All the things he knew to do to slow down a horse didn’t apply without reins or stirrups. Each stride of the horse unseated him more and more until he bounced like the same sack of potatoes he’d felt like when he mounted.

“You’re doing great I think!”

Kellen risked a glance over and saw Vex flying at eye level beside him. He opened his mouth to shout for help, although Vex was all but useless against the speed and strength of the storm horse. Out of the corner of his eye, Kellen realized they were fast approaching the rest of the group, which had reined in their mounts to watch his mad charge. Kellen’s storm horse veered straight for them.

“Whoa! Whoa!”

The horse ignored him and the yards between them and the other riders shrank from yards to feet. Kellen squeezed as tight as he could against the chaotic movement of the horse beneath him and brace for impact.

All at once, the horse stopped. Kellen found himself airborne, thrown over the horse’s head on a crash course for the stream. In mid air, he thrust his hands out in front of him to save his head.

His hands glowed, and an oval of golden light appeared just above the water. Before Kellen realized what it was, he struck his own magical shield. The glittering force fieldwater, absorbed his impact like a mini trampoline, flinging Kellen up into the air and across the water like an Olympic gymnast.

Kellen, who could barely handle a somersault and got dizzy just thinking about handstands, failed to stick the landing. A large clump of sagebrush caught his fall, crumpling under his weight.

Coughing and sneezing from the pungent pollen and leaves, Kellen flailed to kick free of the crushed bush. Laughter rose above the sound of the water and when he sat up, all the women stared back at him. Each seemed amused by his crash landing, except Shani, who glared like Kellen had done the whole thing on purpose.

“Are you okay?” Still in his bat form, Vex fluttered in front of Kellen, a look of concern crossing his stuffed animal-like features. “That looked like it hurt.”

Sneezing in response, Kellen wiggled his hands and toes and turned his neck. Aside from a dozen scrapes and bruises, nothing seemed broken.

“I’m okay.” His pride had suffered a harder fall than his body. The laughter of the women still stung but would fade in time like all of his other past embarrassments. Apparently, the same bad luck had hitchhiked with him from Earth to Oras.

“If it helps, I’m embarrassed for you,” Vex said, apparently sensing Kellen’s emotions again.

Chief Tama didn’t look angry like Shani, but she also wasn’t amused by Kellen’s horsemanship. “Are you sure you don’t want to leave him here?” she asked Nokom.

Nokom studied him over a long pause to the point Kellen thought she might say yes and leave him and Vex stranded again.

“Hmm, no,” she said at last. “I think I can work with what we’ve got.”