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The Inheritance: Chapter 6 Part 3

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It is a holiday in US, so we are taking it easy and the installment is on the short side. Happy Memorial Day.

Something wet my hand. My eyes snapped open. Sometime between the waves of shivers and searing pain, my will had given out and I’d fallen asleep.

Bear lay next to me, licking the dry stalker blood off my hand. Her eyes were bright, and when she saw me stir, she sat up and panted.

My back ached, but the suffocating fatigue was gone. I felt strong again.

I flexed. No glitter. In her or in me. We had beaten the flowers.

For a few moments I just sat there, happy to be alive.

Bear danced from paw to paw, looking at my face as if expecting something.

“Are you thirsty?” I took off my helmet and poured some water into it from the canteen. She lapped it up.

The gashes on her shoulder and back had closed. I parted her fur to check. There was a narrow, pink scar, but even that was fading.

What was it Elena said about the stalkers? They soak up bullets like they’re nothing and keep coming.

I still had one stalker heart left. I focused on it, pushing as deep as my talent would let me go. The heart unfurled before me, not just glowing, but splitting into layers of different properties, each with its own color, as it had done when I panicked trying to diagnose Bear. It felt like the most natural thing now, as if my talent always worked this way.

I studied the layers. The toxicity was first, an electric blue. I used to see it as a simple glow. Occasionally I got swirls of color varying in saturation and vibrancy, which my brain somehow interpreted into data, but what I saw now was nothing like it.

My father used to collect topographic maps, detailed reliefs of mountain terrain in different parts of the world, with contour lines and color-coded heights: lighter color for the greater elevation, medium for the mid-lying areas, darker for the valleys. This was exactly like that, except I knew that the valleys were a healthy baseline, and the peaks indicated how much toxins affected a particular body system. Nervous and integumentary systems were barely influenced, the digestive and respiratory were moderately impacted, but the poison wreaked havoc on the endocrine, exocrine, muscular, and circulatory systems.

And I somehow knew that the integumentary system was comprised of skin, hair, nails, sweat, and oil glands. Yesterday I had no idea what that word stood for.

There was no point in puzzling over that. The more pressing issue was that the stalker hearts should’ve killed us. They didn’t. Why?

I focused on the next layer, the one glowing with pale pink under the blue. There was that unsettling feeling of falling through the glass floor again. Another relief, in red this time. It took me a moment to figure it out.

Regeneration.

I hadn’t seen it before, maybe because I was too focused on countering the poison. The stalkers were damn near indestructible. We’ve been targeting the glands in their neck, but given time, they would regenerate those. You had to deal enough damage to cause actual clinical death, otherwise no matter how badly they were wounded, they would bounce back. Good to know.

But the regeneration on its own couldn’t counter that shocking toxicity. More, that was not the way biology functioned. Eating cobra meat didn’t magically give you the ability to produce snake venom. Eating the stalker hearts should’ve just poisoned us, but instead both I and Bear healed our wounds and purged the poison.

On the other hand, regular biology couldn’t account for the emergence of the Talents, compound fractures healing in 7 hours, or a glowing gem passing through solid bone. We were in Arthur C. Clarke territory. Any sufficiently advanced technology was indistinguishable from magic, and this was magic.

I sorted through my environment until I found some pollen traces and split that into layers as well. The toxicity was off the charts. I tried to look at the two of them together, the heart and the pollen, by superimposing one on to the other, but the picture was too complex. After a few seconds, both sets of layers collapsed, and I saw white again. This time I was blind for at least a minute. I had to be careful not to push myself too far.

The best I could figure out was that mixing the pollen and the stalker blood somehow negated their mutual harm while boosting the regenerative properties of the stalker’s heart.

It was a miracle that we survived. A roll of cosmic dice.

Once my vision returned, I flexed again. A quick scan of Bear and my body showed if not outright immunity, then a high resistance to both poisons. We could likely stroll through the flowers now, not that I would risk it unless we absolutely had to, and eating the stalker meat should be safe. At least in theory.

The memory of the horrible battery acid taste sliding down my throat made me shudder.

I checked my shoulder. The bite had knitted closed. The gashes on my legs from the claws had healed too. I had escaped death. Again. I couldn’t tell if it was the magical gem or my newly acquired regeneration. Possibly both.

Bear licked the hat clean and looked at me.

“More?”

I poured a bit more water out. She lapped it up.

My mouth was dry, too. I tipped the canteen and finished what was left. We would need to find a water source soon. Also, I was hungry. So very hungry. I’d taken my watch off because it broke, so I had no idea how much time had passed. I should’ve checked the bodies for a watch, but I didn’t think of it at the time.

 It felt like I hadn’t eaten in days. The stalker heart weighed about 2 pounds, and I had eaten a whole one just like it. I should’ve been full, but instead I was starving.  Water, food, exit. I needed to find all three.

There was something on the opposite wall. Some sort of shapes…

I picked up the hard hat and flicked the light on. 

Cave drawings, depicted in rust red and blue. A procession of some kind of beings, resembling raccoons or foxes, maybe? They were leading weird looking donkeys.

Danger.

A vision unfolded in my mind. A caravan of fluffy creatures departing, some being wrapped in rags begging on the street, and a feeling of alarm. Not deadly danger exactly but ruin. Financial ruin.

The vision faded.

“What do you think this is all about, Bear?”

The shepherd wagged her tail.

“Yes, I don’t know either.”

The woman who called me her daughter, the four-armed killers, and now the foxes, all distinct and morphologically different. Three separate species. Representatives of three civilizations? Or was it one complex society?

What the hell was on the other side of the breaches?

I had no answers and more pressing things to worry about. We had one canteen of water left, so we needed to get a move on. If we found a water source, I would need to wash up. My coveralls were drenched in stalker blood. My hair was bloody too and it stuck to my face and neck. I hooked the empty canteen back to the loop on my coveralls, put the hard hat back on my head, and nodded to my dog.

“Once more into the breach. Living the dream.”

Bear wagged her tail, and we started across the stone bridge.

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Comments

  14. so glad they are ok – looking forward to Friday hopefully an update from the outside world … and her kids?

    Reply

  22. A great instalment. Happy memorial day for those celebrating/remembering?

    went is it that fox like creatures leading donkeys make me think of the Lees? Hmmmm.

    Reply

  26. Thank you for not leaving us on the cliffhanger from Friday.

    Fluffy fox creatures with their donkeys…yep definitely Lees vibes. Danger among the cuteness…maybe a lost clan or something. Let the speculation begin!

    To be continued Friday. 😀

    Reply

    • Ikr! Since Bear’s original person was killed(I think), then it seems right she belongs w Ada now. Also, anyone who wants to take Bear away from Ada will find it inadvisable to attempt. I think Ada holds strongly to those who are hers. And clearly that includes the dog named Bear. I imagine her kids will b overjoyed. And Bear will help keep the kids safe.

      I feel like while Ada would b very happy to see a ‘rescue’ party, she will never again trust her safety to another without thought. Reassurance like London gave her will b met with skepticism.(uh huh, that’s what the last guy said. 30 minutes before he threw a grenade at me and left me for dead. Let’s see how it goes.)

      Reply

  32. During college orientation, my class had a speaker who told us, very sincerely to live the dream. Like, a whole ten minute speech about it. Of course, “livin’ the dream” very quickly became code for “my day is an absolute disaster”. People regularly answered “how are you doing?” or “what’s up?” with a deadpan “living the dream.”

    Seeing it here was very funny.

    Reply

    • I’m used to hearing it, and using it, that way as well. And I really loved seeing it added to the classic call to return to battle.

      Reply

  33. I put off reading since I enjoy the comments.
    Great minds think alike or the horde sure does; Lees and Innkeeper thoughts abound.

    Reply

  37. Lovely illustrations too. As soon as I saw that, I was happy bc obviously, if Bear is up and bouncing at the drawings, she made it. Yay!

    Reply

  40. happy memorial day. glad you are taking it easy. thank you for the part.

    the breaches have made me think of the innkeeper doors to other worlds .

    have any ever been a threat to humanity?

    Reply

  44. Love where this is going! I definitely see series potential. Book 2 – Beyond The Breach. Yes, please!

    Reply

  46. Thank you for working on a holiday – reading this installment on a relaxed Monday feels so awesome.

    Thanks to all veterans and those currently currently serving.

    Reply

  48. Hmm. foxes and money. Is it one of the parallels earth in innkeeper universe ? It’s looks like not am invasion but some kind of cosmic catastrophe unfolding .

    Reply

  49. Is it Bahar-Char? Is the intergalactic market on the other side of the breaches? Is it all connected? *conspiracy theories intensify*

    Reply

    • Yeah, that was my first thought after reading about the blue foxes with donkeys. what if this is Bahar-Char’s origin story? Dina said that the first door an Inn makes is to Bahar-Char. Also when the inn makes a new door, it sits for a while before actually opening from the inn side. what if that’s why the portals show up but the monsters aren’t released till later? the pathway from their end hasn’t formed yet? but that would mean the anchors are the heart of inns and talents have been destroying them

      Reply

  50. Well, that might explain the Lees poison expertise if they came from this particular world/dimensional area…OTH, if we are going in Innkeeper territory what’s to stop her from being sent back to Earth NOT via the breech entrance, LOL but spat out by an Inn? That would surprise many many many people… probably scare the living pants off them too, as in there’s MORE besides the breeches? And hello I’m back did you miss me? Reports of my demise were greatly exaggerated. 🙂 While nailing the culprits / plotters / cohort that doomed her and the others to a horrible death due to nothing more than GREED. 🙂

    Reply

  51. Hmmm…wondering if the stalkers are the same as the ones Dina add md Sean fought. The lees and donkeys are tantalizing peek into crossover universe.

    Reply

    • Are these stalkers the same as Dina’s stalkers in Clean Sweep? Dina’s stalkers most distinctly bled white. They have small, bony plates in their flesh. Ada’s stalkers spit acidic bile, which Dina’s stalkers never do. Dina’s stalkers also have bony plates in their flesh. When Dina fights her first stalker on page 23, she spears it through the heart, with little effect, and then through the throat, which does not incapacitate the stalker. If these are the same stalkers, she may have missed the secondary motor cortex, but it could also be a different animal altogether. Both stalker types hunt in packs and are furry. IA also compares both stalkers’ size to a Great Dane (often the biggest Great Dane). Both stalkers have talons, both are described as a minimum of 100 pounds. Both are described as having muzzles. Both have remarkable regeneration. When Dina pulls up her Creature Guide, we learn that her stalkers are a part of the “Ma’avi Stalker Family” which implies that there are other taxonomical “families” of stalkers. I don’t think these are the same stalkers, but it is possible that they could be related. Or they are completely unrelated. My big takeaway from this exercise is that while Dina is very detailed oriented, Ada is mostly concerned with getting home. The narration is perfectly following the character’s own needs and traits.

      Reply

  53. Gaah! It’s “unto” not “into”. I expected better of Ada.

    “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
    Or close the wall up with our English dead.”
    – King Henry, Henry V

    But it does sound like what Ada is going through…

    ” But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
    Then imitate the action of the tiger;
    Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
    Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;”

    Reply

      • I restrained myself after Hotchkins misquoted it. There’s a limit.

        Obviously, saying this doesn’t mean you will come back from the breach. I’d like to think the Universe withholds big scores after doing so is the penalty for butchering the Bard.

        Reply

    • This is called evolution through oral tradition. People do not always recall quotes verbatim and they tend to simplify things.

      The original quote uses language now considered archaic: nobody says “unto the breach” anymore. People heard someone quote the original during one of the gate dives, perhaps someone who had done it repeatedly, and as they also picked up the habit, they naturally modernized the language, and the quote became “once more into the breach.”

      One of the more interesting examples of this is “Let the cobbler stick to his last”, where last is a specific cobbler tool. The proverb is passed on as “shoemaker, stick to thy last” and “cobbler, keep to your last,” and most of us have no idea what last means.

      Reply

      • I have a three size iron last propping my gate open. It’s shape is like one corner of an outline cube, with the three lasts at right-angles to each other. I guess it was clamped to a bench with the required size up.

        Reply

      • And yet, in the original context, Shakespeare’s language is not archaic at all:

        A breach was a hole made in the wall of a fortification by the attackers’ siege weapons. To capture the fortification itself, the attacking soldiers then had to charge across the ground dominated by the defenders’ ranged weapons (arrows, spears and large stones or musket balls and cannon canister shells) and then quite possibly cross over a wet or dry moat — and only then could they fight the defenders hand-to-hand to try to force their way over the rubble of the wall itself to get inside the fortification.

        So first they charge “unto” (up to) the breach … and only then can they try to go “into” and then “through” the breach.

        Mind you, when the breach is not a hole in a wall but a tear between dimensions that is kilometres deep, the gate divers’ “into” probably works better for them.

        Reply

        • “Unto” the breach, meaning to fight their way up to it, before they had their chance to fight “into” it? I didn’t know that or know the exact wording, but I always had a sense that it was militarily inexact to say soldiers could go straight into a single hole in a castle wall and yet be stopped right there, again and again for hours and never be pushed through it or back out. It wouldn’t be some big long tunnel.

          But of course, that sense of “unto” isn’t a word we use much anymore, and “into” is close enough until we break down the tactics. And when this Breach, the “Gate,” actually is a tunnel system it works even better. (Of course Ada and Bear are already inside and trying to get out, so…)

          What’s better than a HA story? An HA story with some extra linguistic and military side dishes, and more story to come. Tasty!

          Reply

          • I love reading everyone’s comments.

            However, WOW, I currently feel like a grade schooler accidentally walking into a PhD lecture.

            My eyes are like saucers right now. BDH, we should be proud!!!!

            Reply

      • That is such a cool tidbit of linguistical trivia! I know at least one other Germanic language that uses the exact same idiomatic expression and I had no idea it existed in English too! Thanks for that 😊 (I’m assuming the meaning of the saying would also be the same, so along the lines of “stick to what you know” with a strong undertone of “butt out if you don’t know what you’re doing/talking about”?)

        Reply

      • Thanks; my alleged memory had the new version, and missed how this came into the world of the breachers.
        My bad.

        Reply

    • I was thinking the same. Ada certainly deserves a nice relaxing stay at an inn, once she’s rescued herself!

      Reply

    • Okay Orro, will you be hanging them for a few days in a airy spot in GH, or perhaps there is a specific toxin producing gland that can be carefully extracted or…our favorite chef will figure it out (waste not want not).

      BTW, when is Orro getting his new, well-deservedhigher cleaver rating??

      Reply

  56. With evidence of the Lees, I predict that “this” Earth is another pocket universe like “The Edge” Earth and what is bleeding thru in the breaches is the “Innkeeper” universe. Maybe we’ll get a Jack sighting!

    Reply

  57. Thank you, it’s a Bank Holiday in UK too so was not really expecting the next part.

    Hope you enjoy your Memorial Day xxx

    Reply

    • ARGHGH! We had our Victoria Day Monday last week so today is a work dayin Canada. But I am watching Charles and Camilla meeting our PM Mark before the Speech from the Throne.

      Reply

  60. Thank you. I can’t talk anymore because I’m walking with Ada and Bear ( to boldly go where no man/woman/dog has gone before.)

    Reply

    • Maybe with immunity to stalker poison now stalkers taste delicious?
      Or she can flex and find an ugly delicious mushroom or lichen.
      Maybe Bear can sniff out a rockworm…

      Reply

  66. Excellent as always. I love how you intertwine the underlying biology/science/rules of our (known) world and then create magic out of it. Also, as a healthcare professional, I love that any medical information is well presented and generally pretty accurate. Thank you for sharing!!

    Reply

  67. 😊 onward! Love the speculation about the Lees. Lol I missed that.

    Peaceful day to all. Happy reading.📖

    Reply

  68. Excuse me while I put my pedantic hat on. The quote is “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more” Not “into” From Shakespeare’s Henry V. The question I have, is that a lot of people misquote it as “…into the breach” so was Ada’s misquote recognition that Ada is one of those people who (incorrectly) use “into”? It must be, because I find it hard to believe that Ilona would not know that little fact about a Shakespeare play. Okay, I freely admitted it, that was pedantic, but I couldn’t pass it up as I read that particular fact in a book, and it’s stuck with me. So hopefully it will stick with other readers in these comments.

    Reply

    • The explanation for oral evolution was already provided higher up in the comments.
      This is a quote the gate divers made their own. It has become part of their jargon and a breach superstition of this particular subgroup.

      Reply

    • Okay, I made my comment BEFORE I read into the rest of the comments, it appears that I’m not the only pedant who has a inkling of Shakespeare. I no longer feel smug and superior flaunting my knowledge to the uneducated. Although I DID postulate that Ada’s usage might have an unspoken reasoning behind it. I hope that gives me a small amount of credit. I’ll sit down and shut up now. 😞

      Reply

  69. The Creatures that attacked the Alien Lady also remained me of the Innkeeper who was once the friend of Dina‘s Brother. There also was something left, After he died.
    The shroud of the attackers remained me of it.

    Thank you for the installment. Today is difficult, because we lost a family member 10 years ago to cancer.

    Reply

    • The bloody hair sticking to her face and neck will b especially alluring as it dries /starts to smell. Although picturing the looks on ppl’s faces when she pops out of the breech looking totally bad*ss should b fun. Also, I’m pretty sure Elias finds competent women sexy. What do u think he’ll say? Hmm…

      Reply

      • “Don’t worry Ada, we have your children safe.”
        At least I think Elias is smart enough to recognize Ada’s greatest concern.
        Thank you for continuing to share your stories even during challenging times.

        Reply

  72. This is so very cool! I was not expecting a new chapter and I am really enjoying the adventure. Reading it this a
    way reminds me of watching K-Dramas rather than devouring a book in one go. You get all the feels!

    Reply

  73. I learned a new word today: integumentary. Thank you.

    (I note with amusement that it is a new word for the comment server, too; the server thinks that it is a misspelling. 🙂 )

    Reply

  74. A sexy gate diving outfit?!! Lost. I missed that one 🙂 But, all humor aside, it is entirely possible if these worlds cross (Innkeeper earth etc etc) That Ada might find her way back to Earth by another route… that is … tricksey yes indeed it is! Now assuming that, she might become another innkeeper (Alien Lady might have been an innkeeper of sorts?) OR she might just be passed back through by a friendly Inn (they’ve got their own minds/will) to Earth, and then pop up to bedevil not only the rescue ‘crew’ but confront the culprits never having emerged from the ‘breach’ enterance… and of course, secure her children’s safety… and Bears. 🙂 That’s a neat and very unexpected solution!

    Reply

  75. Thank you! Hope everyone is feeling better and recovering from last week.

    Ok, so my theory is that this is how Inns maybe became connected, the Ad-hals cleared the caverns and the Innkeepers mitigated the dangers of them by growing benevolent Inns that reach into everywhere safely.

    It’s a holiday so my brain is doing happy fantasies.

    Reply

  76. missed, it.

    heard some good news and bad news today.
    this story helped me. rushing to the hospital to visit my aunt.

    Reply

  79. I did a happy wiggle when I saw there was an installment today. Thank you! I am not a fan of installment stories, I want to the whole thing to devour as close to at once as I can, but Inn Keeper and now the Inheritance, only two installment stories I’ve read and only because it’s House Andrews! I read no other. Twice weekly posts, bonus!! Thanks so very much! Loving it.

    Reply

  81. I literally sat up straighter when I saw the part about the furry, financial foxes, and I think a lot of other people did too. One could theorize that if this is evidence of the lees, then perhaps the breaches are the result of the corrupted Innkeeper. Perhaps Ada is from a pocket dimension that is bleeding into the Innkeeper universe (thank you Nanci, posted at 10:15 am). Perhaps the aliens attacking the blue lady are corrupted adhal (thank you MJ, posted at 11:48 am), though if that is the case, it is very sad that the corrupted Innkeeper has caused the deaths of four more people. It changes those dead aliens from “enemy” to “victim”. In support of this theory, Ada does describe the grey shroud of the dead aliens as being a hybrid of plant and animal matter. I feel like Dina at one point described the corrupted ad-hal or something as a hybrid of plant and animal matter, but I couldn’t find a specific reference.

    In reading Clean Sweep for details on Dina’s stalkers, I also noticed that IA references Arthur C. Clarke’s law about advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic in that book (page 76), which is mostly just fun. I don’t think it means anything.

    On a more grounded note, I am so glad that Ada and Bear are alright! And that they seem to have gotten a power-up. Hopefully it can save them again, though best case scenario they spend the rest of the book walking out of the breach with no trouble. I would read it!

    Reply

  87. Lady Mod, if you get a moment, would you please consider an unrelated question? I’m re-reading Emerald Blaze, and it made me wonder: was the reunion of little Maya and Rosebud the service monkey ever written? A snippet or a deleted scene? I’m probably just wishfully imagining, not remembering, but I want it enough to ask. I did search the free fiction and whisper in Dina’s ear, really I did!

    Thank you for all you do as the Den Mother of the BDH!

    Reply

  89. Thank you! An unexpected bounty. ……..I have learned to check daily just in case insanity happens and a blog appears….because I am hooked! Can’t wait for next chapter! Again, thank you and have a restful holiday.

    Reply

  90. Foxes = Lees? If there is a fox-like being who would lead you to finanacial ruin it would be the Lees. I clearly spend too much time in books… 😁

    Reply

  91. Great snippet! Glad to see Ada and Bear are both doing better!

    Ah the theories of the BDH….so much fun!

    Reply

  93. I saved up to read at the end of my Memorial Day! Thanks to Author Lords, Mod R, and to the amazing BHD for sussing out so many nuances when I was clueless and missed them all (although I did guess the Wordle in 2 tries today).

    Reply

  95. Thank you, this was awesome!

    Let’s see, what do we have here?

    * Ada and Bear are better (yay!)

    * Lees and their donkey made an appearance (maybe)

    * Stalkers seen in Innkeeper are related to stalkers in Inheritance (maybe?!)

    * Same big baddies in dark cloaks are causing problems here and in Innkeeper (maybe???!!!!!)

    * Conspiracy theories about an Innkeeper crossover have been launched(WOO-HOO!!!!!!Count me in!!!!!!!!!)

    * Oh, and let’s throw in some new words and Shakespeare quotes for good measure! 😁

    (Okay, maybe this can all just be chalked up to a normal Monday for the BDH.) 😂

    Whatever, who cares whether any of this is true or not: this right here (the story and the BDH’s resulting comments) are what keeps me coming back! I so love IA and the BDH!!!! Best authors and fan base EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  100. Thanks so much for today’s post! So nice to leave Ada and Bear doing better.

    I wonder if anyone has ever found the other end of the breech? Is there a portal to somewhere else? Might need a full reread now that we know more.

    I hope everyone’s medical stuff is doing better! Thanks again!

    Reply

  101. In the picture, upper right – is that a way, maybe a map? Can’t see it properly and maybe wishful thinking. But someone has gone to the effort to paint it. In such a dangerous environment it must have a purpose. And I’m wondering if Bear too is changed and developing strange talents. Isn’t it unusual for a trained Dog to stick to other person?
    Thanks to HA for a fine new adventure. And now I have another book to wait for – this is a bit of torture. 😟😟

    Reply

  103. Adding a little bit to the B.D. Horde’s Ph.D. most classic work and making sums like this: 2 + 2 = 5

    (2) Clan Nuan were clanless, isn’t that the premise of why they were on Nexus? (+ 2) They are the masters of poisons because they were the smallest of creatures on their original home planet (= 5); therefore, the breach leads to their home planet.

    Reply

    • Almost remembering correctly. Nuan Cee’s father was part of the Kuan Lees, the cast-outs, who lost their clan and connection to ancestry through memorial statues (Sweep in Peace chapter 14) due to criminal activity (Nuan Cee’s dad and paternal grandparents). That branch of his family tree had no home and were unwelcome amongst the merchants. That’s why Nuan Cee asked permission from the Clans Assemblies to re-forge the clan and went after the rights to settle on Nexus.

      Reply

  105. I love all the speculation and comments and appreciate that HA aka Ilona gets involved with them.

    I am a serial reader; if I truly enjoy an author I will read nearly everything that author puts out and for all-time favorites will purchase hard copy books. I have noticed that the authors that do reply and get involved with their readers aka BDH’s tend to keep their writing alive rather than turn into boiler plates where the spark seems to have gone out of writing and they are simply fulfilling contract for X number of books. I must admit to owning nearly everything put out by HA in hard copies.

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  107. This was wonderful, thank you! I kept forgetting yesterday was Monday, so one fewer days until the next installment!

    That said, I hope Gordon’s shoulder recovery is going well & your poor wrist is holding steady. I hope y’all have the accommodations you need to be able to pursue your vocation, and your hobbies, relatively pain free.

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  110. Yay! Bear and Ada are up and ready to move on! (No doubt about it)
    Loved Ada’s talent seeing thru the heart. Wonderful description.

    I never get my installment until like 2:30am the next day. It’s fun to read the comments! So many good comments and speculations! Lees and Stalkers and pondering their significance….Innkeeper!! Great discussion on Shakespeare!

    Happy post Memorial Day! Thank you for writing!

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  111. *Squints suspiciously* A caravan of fluffy creatures, huh? They wouldn’t happen to be foxlike, would they?

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  114. Smiles and thank you, and the new artwork is fun, clever and attractive, and yet retains an adult aspect that lends support to the story’s currently dire setting. A nice balance of take-a-breath and oh-god-what’s-next flavor to the artwork that balances with the storyline.

    Hope your weekend was fun, the watermelon was sweet, the potato salad luscious, and the burgers just right.

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  115. To add to the Innkeeper crossover speculations: this quote from Friday’s (May 23) post, when Ada is describing the first appearance of the breaches on *her* Earth:

    “This high-rise-sized, massive hole in the middle of the city, swirling with orange sparks, strange roots and branches twisting along its boundary, just out of reach.”

    roots and branches, hello?!? Gotta be an inn thing. Would absolutely explain the variety of biomes seen in different breaches as Inns literally open into different worlds.

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  117. Looking closer at the cave wall painting, it looks like a fox is riding the first camel/donkey creature, which reminds me of the Lees venerable grandmother, “may your feet never touch the ground.”

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  119. Thanks for the nod to A. C. Clarke. In a sentence my childhood library excursions came running at me. Happy memories.

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  120. I’d like to know where the woman in the other cloak (who bled to death) – where she came from, what was her mission – are y’all forgetting her? She gave something from her head! to Ada.

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  121. The Bear Fan Club is now launching a petition for Bear to be given lots of tasty jerky for being such a good dog. Also, suggesting that Ada should be rescued by philosophical space chickens….for being a good jerky provider to Bear!

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  123. I was not expecting an Innkeeper crossover but what the heck, the Inns are multidimensional so anything’s possible. Heh.

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  124. I see your Lees (and I totally agree), and I raise you a drifen! I think the giver of the gem just passed on her region (?) to Ada. Wasn’t Adira referred to as the daughter of the Drifen whose mountain she rules now? Sorry for any spelling mistakes.

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    • Ooh good theory! Lees and a Drifen! Lees were the first thing that popped into my head with the wall paintings, hehe.

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  125. I’m glad the lee’s thread is rampant. It deadens my eye worm of the mortally wounded Spider eating Varnard Duboise’s heart in Bayou Moon and saving his life. Varnard was Lark’s Big Monster and grandfather.

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  126. Cool Easter egg! Not that it matters but I’m all-for an “Ilona-verse” where each story is a variation of a larger collective multiverse!

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