"He can't see us," Lasidious chuckled. "I should've told you he was here. I wanted him to experience the sense of falling for a bit longer. He deserved the experience of an awful fright."

Lasidious mocked the look on George's face and then turned back to his lover. "As soon as you leave, I'll implement the next part of my plan. I'm going to tell George about a map that was lost by the Serpent King, Sotter."

"Oh my," Celestria responded. "Sotter was a favorite of mine." The G.o.ddess turned and waved her hand across the room. Flowers filling the vases vanished and were replaced with fresh flora. Satisfied, she continued. "I helped Sotter realize the opportunity to go after the throne of the Serpent King. His heart was almost as dark as your own.

"When Sotter took the throne, I knew he would make me proud. When he died, his death bothered me. That poor snake lost all his memories before he pa.s.sed. That wonderful mind went to waste."

Lasidious circled behind Celestria and kissed the nape of her neck. "It's always hard to lose the children who make us most proud. I'm sorry for the pain Sotter's death caused you."

Celestria turned to look at her heart's desire. Her sorrow for Sotter vanished as quickly as it appeared. "I know of this map. Wasn't the reward it promised created for the dwarves on Trollcom? Wasn't it Lictina who created these items over 4,000 seasons ago? I was told the map was supposed to lead a group of dwarves to a staff. Lictina must have been exceedingly bored if she expected to be entertained by such a meaningless journey."

Lasidious' excitement grew. "Sotter killed the dwarves and took the map ... but the snake lost it."

Celestria's brows furrowed, "Really? That doesn't make sense. Why would Sotter want a map that led to a staff? It's not like he could hold it and speak the commands to control whatever power it possessed."

The G.o.ddess giggled. "Can you imagine, my pet? To watch a Serpent King mumble the words with the staff tucked behind his fangs? How ridiculous."

Lasidious drummed his hands along the table. "I was the one who told Sotter about the map. Don't you see? Who do you think gave Sotter the idea that the map's treasure would grant him power? I never told him it was a staff he couldn't use. If I had, he would not have gone for it. It was greed, and his desire to force all serpents into his service that made him go. All I did was suggest he go alone ... especially since his advisors often conspired to take his throne from him. I told him he deserved power without compet.i.tion.

"Celestria, you of all the G.o.ds should know everything about Sotter. What was the main weakness of the Serpent Lord? I know you remember. What was the one truth his bloodline kept from the rest of the Serpent Kingdom ... the one thing that had to be kept secret to prevent an uprising? You mentioned it a moment ago."

Celestria thought a bit. "Ahhhh ... his memory failed him, and he forgot all things short-term when he slept. I think I understand what you did, my sweet." She grinned, closed the gap between them and then pinched his cheek. As the G.o.ddess continued to speak, her hands wandered. "You counted on that fact, didn't you? You knew his short-term memory would cause him to hide the map and forget what he did with it. That was clever, my love. So where's the map?" She pinched the Mischievous One's behind. "Your devious mind is so conniving."

Lasidious enjoyed the G.o.ddess' pleasure. "I'm the only member of the Collective who knows the map's location. Sotter was exhausted after killing the dwarves. I kept him awake for over 3 Peaks prior to the attack. I wanted to ensure that he slept."

Lasidious spun around and flopped into a chair. "After the bloodshed, Sotter slithered to the Pool of Sorrow, removed a large boulder from the base of a tree and then put the map into the hole.

"From a distance, I watched the serpent slither up the tree and fall asleep. When the Serpent King awoke in the morning, he couldn't remember why he was there, or that he ever had the map. It's still there today, and after all these seasons, the others have forgotten about it as well ... except me."

Celestria leaned over and kissed Lasidious on the tip of his nose. "How great are you, my pet?" she purred as her hand cupped the backside of his head to play with his hair.

Lasidious enjoyed the moment, and then he looked past Celestria at George. "Are you going to suggest to the demon-cat that traveling with George will be key to the life he desires?"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, my love. I think Kepler would make a wonderful travel companion." Celestria grinned. "If he doesn't devour him first, of course. I worry Kepler will test him."

Taking a seat on Lasidious' lap, the G.o.ddess leaned in and bit the top of his ear. "Nonetheless, I shall work on the suggestion and see that Kepler is influenced. Let's manipulate them to meet at the pool 3 Peaks from now."

Lasidious nodded. "If the cat kills George, then so be it. We still have another mind to influence, but we should do what we can to save this one. When the moment is right, George will be our best option for success."

The Mischievous One rubbed his hand across Celestria's stomach. "Just make sure you stay out of sight from the others. You're beginning to show."

Celestria pushed Lasidious' head back. She responded only after a kiss followed. "I knew I chose you for a reason. You're the smartest of all the G.o.ds." She kissed him again, but during this moment, she added a taste of her tongue. "I'll leave you now, my sweet. You should get the mortal underway."

The G.o.ddess chuckled. "George is going to have a heart attack when he meets his first undead demon-jaguar. I hope the poor guy gareshes his pants."

Celestria leaned into Lasidious again and brushed her cheek against his. She whispered into his ear, using her s.e.xiest voice, "Goodbye, my most desirable devil-G.o.d." With that, the G.o.ddess vanished, leaving behind the echoes of her laughter reverberating throughout the room.

Lasidious marveled at the sensuality of her departure before he turned his attention back to George. "Let the games begin. You're about to start the adventure that will be your new life."

The G.o.d of Mischief reached into the pocket inside his tunic and produced a picture. Holding it up, he added, "Well, Abbie, I hope your daddy is ready for this. I can't wait until he learns about the prize hidden inside the staff ... a.s.suming he isn't dead before he gets the chance."

CHAPTER 4.

Mental Breakdown Back Inside the Temple of the G.o.ds Southern Grayham SHALEE SLEPT OFF THE effects from bonding with her new staff, and then Mosley led the Earthlings toward the exit of the temple. According to her watch, She had only slept for a couple of hours, but she awoke rejuvenated.

"This temple was built by the Collective as a reminder of the importance of the Crystal Moon, not only to this world, but the others as well," Mosley said. "It doesn't matter which deity a being serves, this is a place for all to worship and thank the G.o.ds for their bounteous gifts. The strongest leaders of many grand packs have walked these hallowed halls."

Mosley stopped speaking and redirected his attention to the base of one of the pillars. After sniffing its circ.u.mference, he shook his head and snorted. "Unacceptable."

This piqued Sam's curiosity. "What's wrong? You look irritated."

Mosley continued to sniff, but during this series of moments he explored the base of two other pillars while Sam and Shalee watched. "It's aggravating. The pillars within this temple are unmarked. I want to claim this territory, but to do so would be disrespectful."

Shalee rolled her eyes. "Are you saying you want to pee on everything? Am I understanding you right?"

Mosley growled. "I'm saying this territory has been unclaimed. It calls to me to make it mine."

"Goodness-gracious, Mosley, who's going to know? If it's that big a deal, just give one of them a squirt and get it over with. We aren't going to tell anybody." She nudged Sam with her elbow, "Isn't that right?"

Sam looked at the wolf and shrugged. "If you feel the need to urinate on stuff, then have at it. It's not my house."

It was easy to see Mosley's emotional struggle as he stood there for a long series of moments, quietly debating. He lifted his head, looked in all directions, then turned sideways against the pillar. Once he was sure no one was watching, he lifted his leg and released a quick stream. Then, like a child, the wolf darted down the great hall and waited for Sam and Shalee to catch up.

It was easy to hear Mosley's excitement. "How exhilarating! I've never done anything so mischievous. My father would have been proud of me. To claim a territory as coveted as this would be the talk of the pack. I can't wait to see my brothers. Their cubs' cubs will forever howl the tale of my bravery and conquest."

Shalee raised her free hand to her mouth and spoke just over the top of her fingers as she pressed them against her lower lip. "You'd make a good Texan, Mosley. You've got a little rebel in you."

After enjoying the compliment, Mosley turned his attention back to more pertinent matters. "As I was about to say, this particular temple is for the beings of Grayham. There are similar temples on the other worlds, though they hold only replicas of the Crystal Moon. All temples are protected by the power of the G.o.ds in every direction for a half-Peak's journey. This protection gives the inhabitants of each world a safe place to commune with their deity."

As the night terror wolf finished speaking, two 50-foot long, sinister-looking serpents with large fangs and cobra hoods slithered past. Shalee grabbed Sam's arm as they undulated past and whispered, "Mosley, psst, Mosley. Hey! Those are some big snakes. Are they really allowed to pray like other folks? Isn't it some sorta health risk?"

She turned to watch as the serpents slid farther away, then a new thought popped out of her mouth. "Oh, my lord in Heaven, can you imagine how many purses a girl could make with all that skin?" With a wave, she snapped her fingers. "It's all about the accessories, Mosley."

The wolf chuckled. "I can only a.s.sume you're referring to a type of bag. If so, you might want to wait until the serpent sheds." The wolf lowered his nose to the floor and sniffed. "The serpents leave an awful smell."

Sam cut in, "What other kinds of beasts come here?"

Mosley shook his head. "All kinds, of course. Have you not listened to anything I've said?"

Sam grunted. "Your answer fails to narrow the scope. Thanks for nothing, Mosley."

The wolf ignored the sarcasm. "The G.o.ds agreed, placing you in this temple would be the safest starting point for your journey. The temple is located many Peaks northwest of the city of Brandor. Your paws will be sore before we arrive." Mosley used his snout to point to a map resting on the west wall to show the humans how far Brandor was from their current location.

Shalee studied the gold frame that the map had been placed inside. "Sam, can you believe the beauty of this place? Sure, big snakes slithering everywhere is kind of creepy, but if you look past that, this place is incredible. There isn't anything on Earth that comes close. I've never seen such detail. Everything is so ornate. I'd love to study the blueprints."

Mosley interrupted. "The temple is an exception. Many dens on Southern Grayham are not as exquisite. Ba.s.sorine felt that many locations throughout the kingdoms should remind you of your old homeworld. The Collective wished for your transition to be as smooth as possible. If you ever see the other worlds, their look and feel will not be like Southern Grayham. Because of my service to Ba.s.sorine, my eyes have seen these differences."

Sam and Shalee looked at each other and shrugged, unable to imagine the concept of another world being so accessible. Sam's mind churned with questions, but the temple doors leading to the outside world opened. The doors were enormous and required a slow, steady pace to accomplish the task. Numerous hinges, almost as long as Sam's Mustang convertible and about as wide, supported weight equal to 30 elephants. At 40 paces tall, the doors arched toward each other at the top.

Sam studied the doors and thought, They must be two meters thick. They can't be gold. Gold would be too heavy. "Shalee, can you imagine the sound they would make if they slammed into the wall? This place had to cost an arm and a leg to build."

Mosley tilted his head. "Sam, I can a.s.sure you the G.o.ds accepted no arms or legs as payment for the temple's construction."

"Don't be silly, Mosley," Shalee quipped. "He didn't mean it literally." She chuckled. "I look forward to seeing more of Grayham."

"I'm sure you will enjoy yourself, Shalee," Mosley replied. "I find Sam's comment to be curious." The wolf thought a moment and then shook off the awkwardness. "The temple is unlike any other den on this world. Grayham does, however, have many wondrous destinations."

Once outside, the humans were at a loss for words. The view was breathtaking-a moment where the soul had to stop and absorb the magnificence. The temple was built on a large plateau. The structure sat quite a ways from the edge of a steep drop called Griffin Cliffs. It was more than 7,000 feet to the bottom, and all around the expansive steppe were natural springs that surfaced and pooled together before flowing over the edge. Many types of exotic flowers, as well as other species they had never seen, bloomed around the pools. The sight was glorious-beyond glorious-and Shalee could have stayed forever.

Sam studied his surroundings and figured there had to be at least a few hundred of these natural springs that fed peacefully into one another. The sound the water made as it rippled toward a large pooling area was soothing to his ears.

Moving closer to the edge of the cliffs, the group peered over. Sam could see and feel the energy of the falls. I wonder what the volume of water is that is released into the lands below. I can't fathom how many gallons it would take to create a natural wonder of this magnitude.

The trio watched in silence as a cloud of mist billowed in all directions. The water from the falls. .h.i.t the rocks below with such tremendous force that the mist covered an expansive area.

Mosley spoke. "Sam, the springs generate enough water to supply three kingdoms. The territories of Southern Grayham slope away from the temple."

"I've never seen anything like it," Sam responded. Taking a deep breath, he thought, This place makes Niagara Falls insignificant.

They worked their way clear of the precipice and toward a large platform made of wood. Its perimeter was encircled by a railing that offered a pretense of safety, and as they walked up the steps, Sam turned to Mosley and spit out a list of questions. "Okay, okay. I can see this is clearly not Earth." Sam pointed to the south and then to the north at a colorful planet on each horizon. The world to the south radiated many purple hues while the other radiated a spectrum of orange which sp.a.w.ned more questions. "Where are we?"

Mosley looked confused. "I've already told you. Your paws have found their footing on Grayham. More specifically, Southern Grayham, on top of Griffin Cliffs. You saw the map inside the temple."

Temple of the G.o.ds Southern Grayham "No, no, no! I mean ... yes, I saw the map, but what I meant was, where in the galaxy are we? There are no large purple and orange worlds visible from Earth with the naked eye."

Mosley tilted his head as a dog would when confused. "I'm not sure what you mean. All that is, or ever was, since the end of The Great Destruction of Everything Known is where you are. You're on one of the five planets that revolve around the sun. This planet, as I told you before, is Grayham. The two worlds above are Luvelles and Harvestom. Dragonia and Trollcom cannot be seen for now, since they travel on the far side of the glowing sun. Nothing else exists, other than the hidden G.o.d world, Ancients Sovereign, but the beings on the worlds do not know of its existence or how to get there. Only those of us who live in service to a member of the Collective are privy to this sacred information. You would not know, but Ba.s.sorine instructed that I share it with you."

Again, Mosley became sidetracked. He sniffed the edges of the wooden platform until he found the perfect spot. After marking it, he rejoiced and then rejoined the conversation. "What a wondrous day!"

Sam smiled. "Are you going to answer my questions ... or not?"

"I apologize. Most of what I know is limited to this world. Anything more, I cannot reveal in depth." The wolf paused. "I'm not sure what a galaxy is, but it is, indeed, an amazing name."

Sam and Shalee looked at each other before Sam responded. "Okay, okay. So ... you don't know where Earth is. That, I can accept. Obviously, if all the worlds are able to support life and you have only one sun, judging by the position of the other two worlds, the planets must be on different orbits. Your solar system is kind of a logistical nightmare, isn't it? It must look like a giant atom. The sun acts as the nucleus while the planets move around as equal ma.s.s electrons. Granted, this is a crude a.n.a.logy, but-"

Mosley interrupted Sam's thoughtful rant. "What are you talking about? What's an atom?"

Sam shook his head. "Oh, nothing. Forget it. I suppose I'll just have to accept most of this for now, since you clearly have no idea what I'm talking about. At least answer this if you can." Sam looked toward the sun. "How many hours are in one of your Peaks?"

Mosley gave Sam a blank stare. It was clear the wolf knew nothing of hours. He hesitated, "I don't know what an hour is. I can tell you, we consider a Peak to be from when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky until the next moment it does it again. Does this help?"

"Heck, no, it doesn't help. Of course a day is easy to figure out. Don't you have clocks or watches?" he asked, pointing at Shalee's wrist. "Don't you understand the concept of time?"

Mosley looked at the watch and asked Sam to explain its function. Once the beast understood how the timepiece worked and the words Sam used to measure time, the wolf responded. "We have no words to represent your concept of time. We understand moments pa.s.s, but we don't define the pa.s.sage of our moments as you do. We don't use words like minutes, seconds or hours. Our worlds are much simpler than yours."

Shalee fumbled with the pink band of her watch. "Well, it may be good for nothing now, but at least it's still pretty. b.u.mmer."

Looking up in the direction of the sun, Mosley continued. "Sam, we plan around specific positions of the sun. For example, you can see the sun has just risen, and it's only a quarter of the way toward its highest point in the sky. We call this Early Bailem. When the sun is at its highest point, we call it the Peak of Bailem, and when it has pa.s.sed the Peak and it is once again midway to the horizon, we refer to this as Late Bailem. These terms honor the G.o.d of the Sun, Bailem."

The wolf lowered to his haunches. "Just before the sun disappears behind the horizon, we call this dusk, or evening. When we can no longer see, we call the darkness, night. In the middle of the night, there is an estimated series of moments we call midnight."

Sam interrupted. "How do you possibly call 'an estimated series of moments' by one name? Shouldn't midnight be a single moment?"

Mosley thought a while. "I suppose if our world understood your names for designated moments, it would be easy to call a single moment midnight. But since we don't, let's move on, shall we?"

Shalee and Sam shook their heads as Mosley continued. "When the sun is about to rise, we call this dawn, or morning. It was the Collective who named the moments of dusk, evening, dawn, morning, night, and midnight."

Sam grabbed the hair on his head, looked at Shalee, back at Mosley and then spun around with his hands in the air. He laughed. "The people are so primitive. I wonder where these "so-called" G.o.ds got some of those names, Earth maybe? How in the heck do you live without clocks?" he asked, motioning to Mosley. "Hasn't anyone ever thought to ... ummm ... I don't know, maybe create a sundial or something?"

Mosley tilted his head. Once Sam realized the wolf had no idea what he was talking about, he turned and adjusted his att.i.tude. He knew his tone would get him nowhere, and Shalee was giving him a look. "Okay, okay," he sighed. "I'll explain what a sundial is later. Shalee, let me have your watch. I'd like to get an accurate account of how long a Peak is here." Sam turned to Mosley. "How many Peaks are there in a year?"

Again, Mosley looked puzzled and waited for Sam to explain. The fighter rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. I'm 23 years old, and where I'm from, it takes 365 Peaks to make one year of my life." He pointed to Mosley. "Do you understand?"

The wolf thought he understood. "I'm old. Many seasons have come and gone since my Peaks as a cub."

"What do you mean by 'seasons?'" Sam replied. "I've heard that expression more than once."

Mosley grinned in his wolfish way. "The season we're experiencing is called summer. We determine our age by the seasons. I was born in the winter and became one season old when the next winter arrived. The next winter I became two seasons old. This continued each winter until I arrived at the age I am now, which is none of your business. Sam, you said you were 23?"

"I did."

"In what season were you born?"

"I was born in the spring," Sam replied, knowing full well what the wolf was going to say next.

"We also have a spring, and a fall. The seasons go in the order of winter, spring, summer, and fall and then back to winter again. This would make you 23 spring seasons old."

Sam laughed. "I understand, but that doesn't tell me how long a year is on Grayham. It does tell me how you figure out your ages, so for that, I thank you. I'll have to figure out the rest on my own. At least the names of the seasons are the same. Sounds like your G.o.ds were too lazy to think of their own labels for what they created. I swear, I feel like I'm in a nightmare. How can any of this be real? I need to pinch myself."

Shalee nodded. "I totally agree."

Mosley shrugged as he responded. (Fellow soul ... I hope you can imagine how it looks when a wolf shrugs.) "I told you the G.o.ds wanted to make your transition into this world as easy as possible. This is good, is it not ... considering you feel you were brought here against your will? Perhaps the seasons were named the same for this reason. I don't know why you would want to pinch yourself, Sam. I'm sorry I'm not more helpful. If I knew more, I would answer to your satisfaction. However, I'm sure Ba.s.sorine will know the answers you seek."

"Okay, okay. You said Brandor is many Peaks from here. I'm a.s.suming since you don't have clocks, then you probably don't have cars either. Are we riding horses, walking, or ... I don't know, river rafting or something? Give it to me straight. How many Peaks from here is Brandor?"

While he waited for Mosley's response, Sam studied the countryside. Everything he could see was fascinating. It was all green. The valleys and mountain ranges stretched far beyond his view. He marveled at how clean the air was. It had not been poisoned like it had been on Earth. It was crisp, fresh, and pleasant. He took a deep breath.

Shalee jumped in before Mosley could speak. "Yeah, exactly how far are we going? And by the way, I'm starving. I'm not going anywhere else in my PJs, nor am I going on an empty stomach. After all, a woman needs to look her best when leaving home, and I'd say this definitely qualifies as leaving home."

She pulled at the hem of her pajama top. "Please tell me you have something else for us to wear. Mine best be cute. They could've at least grabbed my wardrobe when they s.n.a.t.c.hed me up." Shalee frowned. "I don't take kindly to being taken away from my life ... especially my closet."

Shalee lifted her new staff, twirled it above her head, and continued, "Hey! And another thing. How do I make this staff thingy whip up something fab? Will I be able to turn a prince into a frog and stuff like that?"