I was dragged down the road, and more evidence of Arian’s clan popped up, along with another mountain a mile away on our left. The uneven surface of the new mountain was dotted with dozens of caves all over the rocky surface, and old wooden rope ladders and stone stairs led to the levels above the ground. It was like a crazy apartment building crafted by an engineer whose skills hadn’t gone beyond making doodles on the margins of his textbook.

  The forest that once abutted the cliffs had been cleared, and all the trees used to make the hulking frames of hundreds of small lodges. The designs were relatively the same, with single-gabled roofs and one or two floors. Some of them had wraparound porches, and others had outbuildings separated by a dogtrot. The homes had huge stone chimneys from rocks pulled out of the river and mudded together to make skyscrapers of heating. Smoke puffed out of many of the chimneys, and people walked to and fro on errands and visits.

  I was excited to see fresh faces and many had Arian’s physical traits. They had brown hair, with the women wearing theirs long and the men sporting beards, and most were of the burly variety though a few were as slim as Jin.

  “Is Jin from your clan?” I wondered.

  She shook her head. “No. That is, there were once two bear clans, but one was nearly wiped out during the last war. They joined our clan in mutual protection.”

  The road led us up the ascending and narrowing valley, and I glimpsed an end to our journey. The path led up to an enclosure of wooden stakes some twenty feet high and surrounding twenty acres. A huge lodge with a wing on either side of the main hall towered over all the buildings and even many of the penthouse caves.

  The natural formation of the valley was such that the two opposing mountains veered inward and nearly met where the grand lodge stood. The roaring river was less tempestuous with irrigation needs and meandered around the right side of the enclosure. Nature thus created two impenetrable boundaries on either side of the fortification, and the wooden fence took care of the front. I couldn’t see what lay beyond the imposing lodge, but a few large pine trees towered behind its high roofs.

  The gates that led into the compound were open and allowed me to see a huge spit in the center of the courtyard. A roaring fire was cooking a huge slab of meat and a dozen people chatted and made merry with help from a nearby barrel. A few chickens roamed loose and a small paddock housed a few cows and sheep.

  I noticed my companion’s feet dragged the closer we came to the dwelling. She stared at the imposing home with trepidation mixed with excitement. “What is that place?” I asked her.

  Her voice was scant above a whisper. “That is the home of our clan leader.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “So your dad works for him?”

  “Arian!”

  One of the men from the group shoved his mug into the hands of a companion and hurried toward us. He looked about fifty with a broad smile and a deep scar across his left cheek. The man wore a heavy coat of gray fur and wore his long hair in a ponytail down his back. His shoulders were so broad he could have carried a dozen of me on his back without a problem.

  Arian shrank beneath the man’s gleeful attentions. “Good morning, Lord Lujun.”

  He stopped in front of us and clapped his rough hands on her shoulders. “Let me get a good look at you.” The corners of his eyes crinkled up as his smile broadened. “Even lovelier than you were before you left, and you have your mother’s beautiful face.”

  She blushed. “T-thank you, Lord Lujun. You are too kind.”

  “I only speak the truth, little Arian!” he countered as he set his eyes on me. “And who is your friend here? One of the heaven goddesses we hear about but don’t have the pleasure of seeing much of?”

  “This is Anna. She’s my friend who wanted to see where I grew up,” Arian explained to him, leaving out a few minor details here and there.

  He held out his hand to me. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Anna.”

  “The pleasure is all mine, Lord Lujun,” I countered as I grasped his hand. I let out an involuntary squeak as he squeezed my digits in his powerful grip.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  He released me and jerked his hand back. “Sorry about that! I’m so often around my men that I forget how to treat a lady.” He returned his attention to my friend. “Did you send a letter to your father? He hadn’t mentioned you were coming home.”

  “It was a rather hasty decision,” she answered as she leaned to one side to look past our broad greeter. “Is Father home?”

  “Yep. Just got back from training,” Lujun told her as he stepped to one side. “You should go see him. He doesn’t say it, but I think he’s missed you these last few years.”

  A smile brightened Arian’s face, and she grabbed my hand. “Thank you, Lord Lujun. We will see you later.”

  She pulled us past him and through the gate. Lujun’s eagerness had attracted the attention of a couple of dozen people out in the yard, some of them women in aprons bearing eggs and firewood. Their eyes widened at the sight of Arian, and a cheer rose from many of them.

  “Arian is back!”

  “You’re back!”

  “Alert the king!”

  “Welcome back, my lady!”

  I lifted an eyebrow as I was tugged through the growing crowd. “My lady?”

  “Arian!”

  A lithe young man of eighteen pushed his way through the crowd and bounded at Arian. He wrapped her in a tight hug that saw him lift her off her feet and spin her around.

  “Put me down, Fundian!” she scolded him.

  He set her on her feet and grinned at her. “I’ve missed you scolding me! And you’ve gotten so pretty!”

  She leaned back and studied him with wide eyes. “And my goodness, how you have grown!”

  Fundian stretched to his full height and puffed his chest out. “Do you think so?”

  Lujun came up to our little group and slapped the back of his hand against Fundian’s stomach. The young man let out a puff of air and deflated, making the whole crowd laugh. “I think you need a little more lifting on the trees before you go showing off. Besides, you’re keeping your sister from seeing your father, and he won’t like that one bit.”

  “I was going to take her to him myself,” Fundian insisted as he snatched one of Arian’s hands. “I know just where he is.”

  Arian had just enough time to grab one of my hands as the young man tugged us through the crowd. Many people gaped at me with curious brown eyes, and a few children tried to feel the cloth of my silken cloak. I shrank beneath such attention and was glad when we made it out and up the hillside to the lodge.

  Fundian didn’t lead us up the steps to the wrap-around porch but skirted the building and followed a stone path along the right-hand side that abutted the river. The trail led close to the house and within twenty feet of the fast waters. A faint chill and shadow hung over everything, but there was light at the end of the path. Light and a well-cared-for forest with spacious separation between the trees.

  “Dian, will you let me catch my breath?” Arian pleaded.

  Dian stopped us halfway down the path and released her. He turned to face us and scratched the back of his head while a sheepish smile played across his lips. “Sorry, sis. I guess I just got carried away.”

  “Too carried away to notice I have a guest,” she scolded him as her eyes fell on me.

  Dian looked me over for the first time and lifted his eyebrows. “Well, I’ll be a ferret’s tail.” He caught his sister’s gaze and pointed at me. “Is she a heaven goddess?”

  Arian set her hand on his wrist and lowered his hand. “Yes, and you need not point.”

  A crooked smile slipped onto his lips as his eyes rolled over his sibling. “You have a fancy way of talking now, sis.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a disapproving tap of her foot against the hard-packed ground. “I had to learn to talk this way, or I would not have been allowed in the heaven realm as a servant.”

  He shrank beneath her scolding and sheepishly smiled at her. “It’s been so long since you left that I, well, I kind of forgot about that part.” He popped his head up, and his eyes twinkled. “But you’re back now to stay, aren’t you? I mean, that’s why you didn’t tell Father about not returning, right? To surprise him with your staying?”

  “I am staying for the present time,” she answered him as she looked me over with a hint of worry. “My friend here needs a comfortable place to rest and relax.”

  Dian cocked his head to one side and studied me. “She does? Is she hurt or something?”

  “Something, now you were going to show us where Father was?” she reminded him.

  His eyes lit up. “Right! He’s back here practicing his throws. I’ll show you.” He spun around and strolled quickly down the path.

  Arian and I had no choice but to hurry after him even as questions popped into my mind about their father and his ‘throws.’