A Viking seeress encounters the magic of Native America. Read the first two chapters of People of the Songtrail, the latest novel by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, publishing on May 26th.
CHAPTER 1
Firelight fills the room. I hear murmuring echoes that seem to come from great distances, voices I almost recognize. One voice is velvet soft: “Thyra, you must let them go. You’ll hurt them.”
I don’t know where I am. England maybe. But I think I’m two or three. Mother’s beautiful face swims out of the night, smiling down at me. She appears annoyed, as though I’ve failed some test of humanity. Behind her, firelight dances over the log walls, and I remember that all morning I’ve been crawling around, gathering the fluttering orange wings on the floor and trying to scoop them up. They’ve been talking to me, scolding me for trying to catch them. I don’t understand why I can’t grasp the half-transparent butterflies in my hands.
“Here.” Mother reaches up to clutch her silver pendant. “Hold my hand and help me release them.”