#1 The Storm

The morning was cool and damp and the sky brightened with the promised of a warm day. It was early enough that dawn was still dressed in her gown of dove gray and pink and dew sparkled like diamonds scattered among the grasses in the pale light. Kirra led her black mare, Fate, from the barn and took a deep breath of the fresh air before whistling for her dog. The huge, shaggy wolfhound mix came after a minute's pause. He barreled toward the girl and stopped just before bowling her over. The mare snorted in annoyance, but Kirra just laughed.

"Oh Finn, you are an animal." She said adoringly and scratched him behind the ears as he leaned against her. "You ready to go out?"

The dog pricked his floppy ears at her tone and wiggled like a puppy in his excitement. Even the stoic Fate stomped and chewed her bit in anticipation. It had been a long, cold winter and the animals were ready for the warmth and freedom of summer.

"Well," said Kirra pulling herself into the saddle, "let's go then."

Finn paused, completely still for a second, then galloped off in the direction of the gate and the path that led to the gently rolling hills of acreage that made up Kirra's father's property.

As she nudged Fate to follow Finn, Kirra studied her surroundings. She knew every rock and tree and stream throughout the entire property. It was all beautiful and comforting as only home could be, but this day she didn't notice the beauty or take comfort in it. Her lips were set in a thin line and her silvery gray eyes were as dark and far away as her thoughts. There were so many things to think about and at seventeen and just graduated, the land was the last thing that Kirra wanted to think about.

It was a huge tract and all of it had been in her family for generations, since the first of their family had settled it at the founding of the country. Great-great-grandparents had fought to keep it and so it was passed from father to son and from mother to daughter, with only the promise that it would never be sold or divided. And so it hadn't been.

During various decades, when the upkeep had cost almost more then the family could afford, it had been a temptation to sell a bit here or a bit there to the different development companies or the oil or natural gas companies that made more then generous offers, but all held on and fifty years ago Kirra's grandmother, and avid bird watcher, had noticed a small owl hanging out in the trees and had gotten in touch with a nearby park ranger in order to inquire as to what type of bird it was. Turns out, it was an almost extinct species of owl found only in that region. As result, the government now paid the family handsomely to care for the land and make reports on the bird's progress.

Kirra's father and his older brother were the sons that stayed behind to fulfill the promise after their other siblings left to live in the city. Both were men of some prominence in the nearby town and were known to be men of integrity and honesty, most everyone trusted them implicitly. Kirra's father was a doctor and her uncle a dentist. They each held seats on the town council and had been urged, more the once, to run for some political office or another, but they declined claiming that their families and their land needed all the spare time they had.

The two families lived on the land as neighbors. Kirra's uncle and his family lived on the northern border of the land while Kirra and her parents lived on the far southern border. As it was a huge amount of land, one could ride nearly all day and not even catch a glimpse of other family members. But Kirra had spent a happy childhood tagging along after her cousins and sharing in their adventures.

Kirra was the youngest of the cousins and the only one still living at home. All the others had opted to leave and go to college and train for anything that would take them far from home. Not one had a love for the land that had so long been theirs and certainly no one desired to be tied down with the constant care of it. Because of it, there was worry between the brothers that none of them would ever return and that they would be forced to turn the land over to the government. Kirra was their last hope and she never forgot it.

She was an only child, adopted only after many years of trying to conceive. When at last Kirra's parents had given up the dream of ever having their own child they contacted many different orphanages and children's homes throughout the world in hopes of finding a child. Photos and stories had been sent to the couple and Kirra had stood out from the beginning because she had resembled Scott. It was an easy decision to make to choose her.

The adoption had been easy, much easier then Scott and Lil had first thought it would be. The only difficulty had been getting to Kirra. The orphanage was in Romania, but everyone there was pretty sure that Kirra was not Romanian. In fact, no one was exactly sure where she came from at all. Surprisingly, that fact had been a major contributor to her parents wanting her and no other.

So, they had boarded the plane for the long journey to get her and brought her home to be raised on the beautiful family land as one who was their family and now she was the only one left to care for it when her father and uncle were too old to do so.

Kirra sighed as she thought of that. That was years away. Both James and Scott were young still and strong. They would be caring for the land for many years to come. But it was time now for Kirra to make a decision. In the fall, she would begin college. Did she want to stay here and attend the community college and study the land husbandry classes she needed to in order to be able to take over for her father, or did she want to follow her cousins and leave to study in some school far away?

It was her decision to make. Her parents had been adamant about that and had stopped her uncle James from pressuring her to stay on. After all, if he couldn't force his own children, then why should he be allowed to force theirs? Still, Kirra felt the pressure.

She loved the land, every tree and hill. She felt gratitude and the need to somehow repay her parents for adopting her, something they stressed was not necessary because she was theirs as much as if she had the same blood. But could she make that decision now, being so young and inexperienced with the world? There were things that she wanted to see and do in her life and she knew from watching her parents that the land was as much a burden as it was a blessing. Scott and Lil were on vacation for the first time since they had left to get her, some twelve years earlier.

There had been no time for them to go before and it was too much to leave on the shoulders of one man alone, so they had put off their personal life. Sometimes, like today, Kirra thought the sacrifice was too great, but her parents never complained. It was a good thing that they had other occupations to keep them busy at the same time, though.

Absently, Kirra noted where they were and pulled Fate to a stop beside a little stream at the foot of a heavily wooded hill. It was clear here and few trees grew creating a little green valley. At this time of year, the wildflowers were blooming and added splashes of bright color that broke up the greening monotony.

As Kirra removed the mare's saddle to let the mare wander and graze freely, she made up her mind to enjoy the day. She didn't want anything to interrupt her first day of freedom. She would decide later. Heck, with her parents gone, she had an entire month to decide. Feeling better at the thought, she willed the tension in her shoulders to leave and retrieved Finn's tennis ball.

They played a combined game of fetch and tag. Finn would race after the ball when Kirra threw it then gallop back to her, but pass her by, causing her to chase him. He didn't try very hard to get away and dropped the ball when she slapped his rump. He would lazily chase her back, nipping at her heels until he got close enough to trip her. When that happened she would throw the ball again and they would start over. It was a game they both enjoyed and would play for hours until Kirra got tired. It seemed that nothing could tire the big dog out, but when Kirra lay in the grass to rest, Finn stretched out beside her, a big silly grin on his face and tongue lolling.

As they rested, Kirra fashioned a crown of wildflowers and placed on Finn's head. "There, now you are beautiful, Mucky Finn."

The big dog looked pleased, but became even more so when Kirra got to her feet and mentioned lunch. He jumped to his feet, uncaring that her handiwork fell to the meadow floor, and wagged his brush of a tail excitedly. Kirra whistled for Fate, who came immediately, and opened her saddle bags. There were apples and carrots for her and Fate to share and turkey on wheat for her and Finn to share. They finished everything in record time and Fate meandered off to continue her feasting while Finn watched Kirra forlornly as she finished her meal off with a couple of chocolate cookies.

"These are not for you, boy. Why don't you go scare up a couple of rabbits? I," she lay back in the long, warm grass and stretched, "plan on taking a nap."

Finn muttered a bit and sniffed about the saddle bag, finally gaving up when he realized that lunch was truly over and there was nothing left for him. He wandered to Kirra and dropped his ball on her face, hoping for another game of fetch-tag, but Kirra ignored him and lay quietly with her eyes closed until he left and disappeared into the trees. She chuckled and tucked her arms under her head to watch the clouds sail across the sky, for the moment at ease, until her eyes grew heavy and drifted shut.

Hours later, Kirra jolted awake to find she was still lying on the green grass. Her heart pounded in her chest as she swallowed hot tears. It was a dream that had wakened her. A dream that she often had, but never remembered in any more detail then the flash of flame, the glimmer of sunlight on water, and the shadow of dark curls…or was it wisps of smoke from a fire? She didn't know. It didn't seem a very threatening dream, but she always woke in the same manner; her heart pounding in fear and the sting of tears starting in her eyes.

When her heart had settled down and her breathing had returned to normal, Kirra noticed that the sun was beginning to set and whistled for her animals. The black mare came at once, knowing that they were headed home and ready to return to her warm stall and the company of Jin, Kirra's little black and white paint mare, but Finn didn't come. Kirra huffed in frustration, she had told him to go and catch a rabbit. Calling once again, she saddled Fate, collected all her belongings, and waited impatiently, but still the fool dog didn't respond.

Just as she was calling a third time, the threat of a leash heavy in her voice, the sky went abruptly dark. She looked up at rolling clouds as the wind started battering her. It was bizarre; out of a perfectly clear afternoon, huge, black ominous clouds blew in and almost immediately it started raining. Not just raining, but deluging. Within seconds both girl and horse were drenched to the skin. The wind howled and began to whip the pouring rain into a froth. The combination of rain and dark made seeing difficult and Fate's side-stepping and head tossing only made matters worse.

Kirra tucked her chin against the onslaught and ducked her head. The storm was crazy and she had never experienced anything like it. It was too violent, too soon and she had to force herself to be calm, for Fate's sake, she kept telling herself. The mare was panicky enough without having to worry about her mistress falling apart and further compounding the problem by freaking out herself.

This is great! The shivering and soaked girl thought as she heaved herself onto the horse's back, so, this is where the perfect day's gone—a bad dream and a crazy storm and my fool dog lost and poor Fate is freaking out. This is so not fair. She tried one last time to call Finn, though she knew there was no way he would hear her over the din of the storm.

"Fi…, ugh."

Kirra fought for balance as Fate surprised her and suddenly reared. Her hands tightened automatically on the reins and she brought the mare's head down just in time to avoid slipping overboard. Patting the nervous horse, she made some soothing sounds she hoped the mare could hear over the cacophony of the raging storm. The Friesian danced and tossed her head frantically, pulling at her bit. The crashing thunder and blazing lightening was making the usually calm horse more then a little anxious and she wanted nothing more then to be in the stable, safe in her stall.

Kirra had just made up her mind to leave Finn to find his own way home when a bolt of lightening flared up from the ground and split the tree nearest her and Fate. The horse squealed, eyes rolling, and Kirra felt her gathering herself to rear again or make a break for home. She tightened her iron grip on the reins and prayed she had enough strength to keep the mare under control. Kirra had never seen Fate like this. This storm was making her crazy.

The scent of ozone was heavy in the air and the rain was coming down in sheets, vertical sheets. The tree that had been struck was sizzling, too, giving out just enough light from the fast dying embers that she could just make the tree line. Something was moving towards them, but it was hard to tell what it was with her wet hair dripping in her eyes. It didn't look dog, though, and Kirra sat up a little taller and leaned out concentrating hard enough to forget about Fate's little plan to get the heck out of there. The dancing mare, feeling Kirra's distraction, threw herself back one final time and just as Fate tipped her and she hit the ground, the something collapsed at her feet. Strange, she thought oddly calm as she hit the ground with a teeth jarring splash, it was someone, not something.