The Half-Giant's Guide to Seeing the Future

The Day I Called Home

Mimi led me into a room that looked like a combination of Redwood's sitting room and the commander's office. Halfants of varying ages were crammed on big leather couches, and someone had even brought in folding chairs, so everyone had a place to sit. The room was full, and I spotted the members of Redwood on the far side watching a presentation.

At the front of the room, Commander Lyssa Johnson was pointing at a map of the surrounding compound. Her white hair was braided back and there was a dangerous gleam in her eyes similar to the one Alana got when she was angry. She pulled a leather ball from her belt and bounced it off the floor and into her hand.

"According to our tunnel schematics, the giants should come out here," she pointed at the map. "We want to mount defenses here and here."

Lyssa rattled off a bunch of numbers and coordinates that meant little to me. From what I could tell, they were trying to cut the giants off from where they would exit the tunnels rather than defend the portal itself.

Every halfant looked battle ready. Each was decked in gear and carried varying weapons. All the half-giants from Pacifica wore the same shade of blue somewhere on them. Some had bandanas while others wore it in their jewelry or armbands. It was a nice sign of solidarity—like they were a real family.

A lot of them looked very similar, and I remembered how a lot of halfants were actually related. My late great aunt Alastra had lived here, and some of her family, like Ashton, still worked and fought here. Being a halfant was a family business because this was the only place we truly belonged.

I understood that now. The halfants had my back. They protected their own. Guarding the borders was their way of life. It was a place of acceptance they'd carved for themselves against societies that hated them. My mother's rebels threatened their very purpose and existence. We had to make sure she couldn't wreak any more havoc.

"Is there anything else we should know?"

After several beats of silence, I realized Lyssa was staring at me with her frosty eyes. I shook my head and blinked in shock. She was asking my opinion?

I realized that was silly after a moment. I was Terri Oakeley. My job was to see the future. I'd arrived at their compound, passed out in a vision.

"I don't..." I tried to think. "My mom wants to have a conversation with me. Maybe there's a slim chance I can talk her down. Or at least slow her down."

"Against Eccentric Ellenora?" A halfant I didn't know called. "Fat chance in the void."

"Peace, Ron," Lyssa said. "You know your defense stances. You have your orders. Make it happen. To battle stations, everyone."

The halfants all scattered. I stood aside as most of the Pacifica and Redwood members walked out the door. Lyssa stood speaking with Alana and Ashton. The one halfant who'd spoken up earlier leaned against the wall.

He stood a full head taller than me, and was roughly my father's age. His inky dark hair was speckled with dark blue strands. His face seemed familiar and his almond-shaped blue eyes looked at me with a piercing gaze.

"So you're my cousin's little girl," he said. "He never stops talking about you and your siblings."

"Father," Ashton broke away from her conversation with Lyssa. "Don't scare Terri off just when we've got her here."

I raised an eyebrow. So this was Tres and Ashton's father. He was Alastra and Daleron's son and my father's cousin. Ron twisted a black ring on his finger and stared at me with his dark blue eyes.

"You know your father and I used to run wild back in the day," Ron said. "Before that mess with your mother. Honestly, I wish I hadn't asked him to meet me in the bar that night."