Ajei's Destiny Read online

  Ajei’s Destiny

  By

  Rori Bleu

  © 2019, Winter Moon Publishing House, LLC

  All rights reserved.

  In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976,

  no part of this publication may be reproduced,

  stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form

  or by any means without the prior written permission

  of the Author.

  This book is a work of fiction.

  Names, characters, places, and incidents

  within are purely fictional.

  Any resemblance to

  actual events, locales, and persons,

  living or dead,

  is purely

  coincidental.

  Acknowledgement

  I’d like to send out a special thanks to all those who helped bring this story to life.

  Gabriella Messina for her awesome talent in developing the beautiful cover and teases.

  M Hashmi for her critiquing prowess.

  Marcy Barth for her editing persistence in making sure the story made sense.

  Sheri Lee Meece for agreeing to continue beta reading for us.

  and

  Jo Anne Vesledahl for being forced to read multiple versions of the story.

  Table of Content

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Author Page

  Prologue

  Watching the sun set past the horizon, she thought about the seven years which had passed since her father’s death. “Murder was more like it,” Ajei grumbled. At 23, the anger of losing him still consumed her.

  As she sat brooding, the nagging realization she should be the one leading her realm caught her once more. She was the daughter of the Skin-Walker’s greatest Chieftain, Sani. Even with his death, there should have been no challenge to his word. But the betrayal she had suffered took that future from her.

  This was why she had ultimately taken refuge here in the remains of their beloved campground, the place her childhood abruptly ended. It was now the sanctuary they all would come to when they sought to escape from the troubles of their own realms.

  Ajei was happy none of the others had arrived yet. She was dreading sitting through yet another joyous story of how one of the others had regained control over, not only their throne, but their life as well.

  It made her feel like a failure to sit amongst them. But...it was something she had to do...brave face and all.

  Taking in a deep breath to sigh, the wolf-spirit within her somehow managed to catch the scent of ash and smoke from the fire that had claimed this land so long ago.

  The vegetation had since made its return, covering the scars of the night so long ago. Still, the scent of charred wood...and flesh...curled through her nostrils with each breath.

  Guilt had a way of making it feel like it was yesterday.

  After all, she could never be sure it had not been her fault for what had happened. Had it indeed been her own self-pity which had led the destruction of the once beautiful forest that had provided a shield for the camp? It was a topic she could never talk about with the others. Instead, she swore to carry the grief to her grave.

  As always, Ajei tried to suppress those memories. The other women, who had become like sisters to her, would be here soon, and she had to prepare herself for the night. Not only did it mean painting on a happy face, but for Ajei, it also meant coming up with something concrete this time to answer the dreaded question of How did she plan on reclaiming her home?

  A sigh slipped from her. Tears bubbled forth as her thoughts drifted to her home...to Yá’ąąsh. It broke her heart more to know how far from heaven it actually was.

  “Oh, Father, how did life ever come to this?” Ajei whispered through the tears, but it was a story she was all too familiar with.

  Chapter 1

  Eight years earlier

  Ajei sat perched on top of a cliff next to her father. The colony of rabbits scurried below them continued to feed on the grass, seemingly oblivious to them. While she had wanted to hunt something larger...a deer or, better yet, an antelope...for her first hunt, her father wanted to start small.

  Caution was his way. It was a trait he hoped he could pass on to his boisterous daughter, but she was too much like her mother. Wildness filled the two, which was why he loved them both.

  “Are you ready?” His words filled her mind without the Chieftain having to open his mouth.

  She responded in kind, “When have I not been prepared to hunt?”

  Sani couldn’t help but chuckle. He had raised his only child, as he would have with any male child, in the ways of hunting and shifting. Failure in any lesson was met with the same discipline he would have given if he had a son.

  To Ajei, being the daughter of the Chieftain meant working doubly hard to avoid disappointing him. Especially this…

  “NOW!” was the only word Ajei heard as she was shoved off the ledge.

  He had taught her how to shift and kept a watchful eye on her as she transformed into smaller birds at the lower levels. However, those were mainly sparrows and jays. Today was different. All of his training had brought them to this cliff for her final exam. He needed to know if she could handle one of the hardest of transformations.

  Like any young bird being pushed from the nest for its first flight, Ajei flailed about as the ground quickly approached her. If she did not focus and transform not only would the lesson, but her life too, would end in an instant on the jagged rocks below.

  Closing her eyes, she spread her arms wide, the wind sweeping her upwards. She felt her body transform.

  With a sweep of her arms, they had become strong, nimble wings. Ajei’s transformation into an eagle had been successful. The wind rustled through her feathers as she soared upwards.

  With the passage of eons since her people had first received the gift of transformation, the once painful experience of shifting into another creature had become almost second nature to them. Gone was the crushing pain of bones rearranging in the heat of the moment. Instead, it was replaced with a euphoric rush of endorphins as the transformation occurred.

  ‘I did it!’ she thought to herself. ‘Father’s got to be happy with me!’ A flap of her wings propelled her even higher.

  She couldn’t help but let out a screech of pure pleasure. For a moment, she forgot about her hunting lesson. Instead, Ajei just enjoyed the new creature she’d acquired, swooping and rolling with each stroke of her wings. The gracefulness of this flight made her heart race.

  How the gods had neglected to give her people wings when they were first created, had always left Ajei feeling it had been done out of spite. The excitement in her belly at being able to glide and swoop about intensified the moment Ajei was able to shift into this magnificent creature.

  Savoring the warmth of the sun on her wings, Ajei pushed upwards. She would have flown to the sun if she could. Even as Ajei continued to climb, her hearing grew more acute as well. She heard the voice of her impatient parent, ordering her to “Concentrate!” as clearly as if he had been standing next to her. It took her by surprise he had not spoken to her as they usually did. Ajei could only guess either he was testing her ability to hear…or his anger was mounting.

  Her vision was now keener than before. Ajei easily picked out the figure of her father from the surrounding boulders. The expression on his face was the usual stern look
he would give her when she dared to take a step too far. It spoke of the wrath she would catch when she landed. But he had to understand, this was her first eagle flight! It was not like she was a little sparrow struggling to flutter from one branch to another. Ajei was an eagle, the mightiest of all birds!

  Instead of sharing her enthusiasm for not falling to her death, Sani was trying to get Ajei to refocus on her lessons. Not the least, included making sure she could pick out even the smallest of details amongst the canyon walls from those heights, such as his now insistent motioning to his daughter to get back on track. Sani loved his daughter’s free spirit. However, teaching her control and responsibility was proving more difficult than he had expected.

  Sighing to herself, Ajei leveled out her flight and began to circle. She peered down once more at the rabbits.

  They had scurried off, having not only heard, but seen the massive bird circling above them. ‘Father is definitely going to scold me for letting this happen,’ she thought to herself.

  Picking the plumpest and slowest of the colony, she launched herself downward. Her talons opened wide as she came screaming down at the furry target. This was going to be easier than she thought. Within inches of the fluffy, little morsel, she snapped her talons closed, sure she had him in her grasp. But, she was too late.

  He had dropped into his burrow and she was empty handed. Worse yet, she had come in too steep and too fast to pull up.

  The only thought running through Ajei’s mind was ‘OH, SHIT!’

  The ground pummeled her as she skidded across it. Ajei lost the ability to hold her cherished eagle form, reverting back to the form of a young girl, and tumbled head over ass along the dirt.

  Coming to an abrupt halt against the spines of a cactus, she screamed out in pain. Bruises and scrapes tattooed her body. Sure death was imminent, Ajei wailed to the gods, “Please spare me! I’m not ready to face my ancestors, yet!”

  Her father’s laughter told another story. She was not going to die. Death would eventually reach her, but not from the violent lessons she’d just learned of gravity or the solidity of the ground.

  No, Ajei had unfortunately survived, though she was about to endure an even greater pain. The humiliation she felt at disappointing her father was already swelling inside her injured ego. If that weren't enough, she would now have to face his constant reminders about her impetuous behavior. There was no healing ointment for that. The thought made her injuries sting even more.

  The earth moved slightly as he approached. She had never noticed having the ability to sense movement like this before, and she wasn’t quite sure where it came from. As her father approached her, life around her moved in slow motion. Ajei rolled over to see Sani standing over her. His hand was outstretched to her, a mixture of mirth and concern sparkled in his eyes.

  “You missed him, Little Eagle.” Sani tried to console his daughter, but there were still lessons needing to be learned about failure. “I hope you are not too hungry, for only water will be filling your belly tonight. Only successful hunters feast on their prey.”

  Swatting his hand away, Ajei slowly pushed herself up from her jumbled heap. “Bah,” she spat, “I could go days without food, Father!”

  “I pray to the gods I have sired a better hunter than that,” he smiled at her.

  “I will prove to you I am worthy to be Chieftain of the tribe and able to feed everyone single-handedly!”

  It took Sani back a bit at how Ajei, even at her young age, was concerned with proving her worth to inherit his position. He was positive she would be as great a warrior as any of the men in their village— in time.

  “Let’s start with getting you something to eat first,” he chuckled. “We will try again tomorrow.”

  As the pair walked back to the village, Sani tried to give his daughter advice to use for the next hunt. He saw she was only partially listening, more fixed on thoughts of her failure.

  Nudging her, Sani whispered, “My first flight, I broke my leg landing. I thought your grandfather would laugh himself to death.”

  Ajei stopped in her tracks and blinked at her father.

  Sani shrugged and kept walking, tossing over his shoulder, “Why do you think he always called me the gods’ accident?”

  Running to catch up to him, she slid her hand in his, his massive fingers closing around hers.

  They continued to walk and talk as they reached the edge of the village. The two spoke of the ease of Ajei’s transformation...once she concentrated, of how she soared through the sky, and of her graceful attack. The pride Sani had for what she had accomplished was tempered by the disappointment in himself for failing to adequately train his daughter.

  Sani stopped to speak with some of the warriors who had just returned from a successful hunt. He congratulated them as he inventoried what they had brought in, happy to see the tribe would have plenty of food for the coming winter. Each was promised an additional share of the bounty as a reward for their skill and diligence.

  It took Ajei all of thirty seconds to become bored with the conversation. While this was part of her father’s responsibilities as tribal Chieftain, and an art Ajei herself would have to learn, it did not make standing there listening to it any more exciting. To her, it was like hearing the old women in camp gossip. Glancing toward the center of camp, she saw her mother busily stirring something in the suspended pot.

  While Iina was not the actual tribal healer, that honor currently belonged to Hashkeh Naabah—a man Ajei could not stand—she was a skilled conjurer of nature’s magic and healing powers. Ajei wandered over to her mother to see what she was brewing. Her mother greeted Ajei with a smile.

  “Mother! You should have seen me flying today, it was...it was...unbelievable!” Ajei chatted away, as she leaned close to examine the liquid in the pot.

  Iina only shrugged and continued to stare at her brew. The paddle she was using was covered with a thick liquid. “I’d rather hear about your landing. Though by the looks of your face and hands, it doesn’t require much of a description,” Iina teased her daughter.

  They both laughed.

  Crinkling her nose, Ajei asked her mother, “What in the name of the gods are you brewing? It smells terrible!”

  “Oh, this? It’s yours and your father’s laundry. Somebody has to work. And since you are here, and I don’t see a rabbit in hand,” Iina handed the paddle to her daughter, “have fun!” She leaned over and kissed Ajei’s forehead.

  Wandering off to join her husband, Iina glanced over her shoulder to see her daughter glumly stir the pot. Smacking at the water with the paddle was more like it, but either way, it made her laugh. She also believed one day her daughter would grow into a great Chieftain...just not yet.

  Ajei stood over the pot grumbling to herself. Sure, she had been over-confident in her pursuit. All the same, she’d only missed the damn rabbit by mere—

  “Ah, this is how I like seeing the girls in the camp.” His light-hearted mockery took Ajei by surprise. She had been too lost in thought to hear him approach. “Busily cleaning for us warriors.”

  She looked up from the laundry to see the smiling face of Atsa...complete with a freshly killed bighorn sheep in tow. Forcing a cheerful smile to her face, she gave Atsa an over-exaggerated bow.

  “Oh, mighty hunter, you honor me with your presence. Please allow this lowly girl to clean your successful hunt.” Ajei rolled her eyes.

  “By all means, girl. You do not think I would waste my time on something so menial, do you?” He haughtily told her. “You will make a good wife...someday.”

  “Not at all,” Ajei smirked. Taking the paddle, she slapped it against the surface of the water, sending a shower over Atsa, soaking him.

  “HEY! Watch it!” Atsa sputtered.

  “There, mighty warrior, now you are both clean! And any man in camp would thank the gods to be my husband,” she sweetly smiled.

  “You are such a pain in the ass, Ajei,” he growled.

  “Maybe so,
but you keep coming back for more,” she sweetly smiled.

  Even as he derisively rolled his eyes, Atsa could not help but admit to himself she was right.

  The pair were only a few months apart in age and had grown up together. While most of their youth had been spent laughing and fighting as childhood friends and virtual siblings, Atsa had begun to see Ajei in a new light. She might not have noticed the changes in her body, but they had not escaped his eye.

  He did not know how to act on it though. Her friendship meant too much to him to lose. So, Atsa was forced to wait and hope she saw the changes in him too.

  “So, where’s your kill?” Atsa prodded her. “Is it in the pot already?”

  “No!” Ajei said, stirring the pot a bit faster at the indignation of the question. “Besides, Father was busy teaching me other skills today.”

  “Is that so?” Atsa grinned, “Was he teaching you how to fall off of the rocks?”