Vulcan's Kittens (Children of Myth Book 1) by Cedar Sanderson Page A

of power from both men, extended from them to the sword in her hands. Her eyes widened. They stepped back and she held it by herself, still glowing slightly. It was warm now, she realized.
    “She is bonded to you,” Grampa Heff told her quietly. “Your weapon. There is enough power in it to injure even a god. Carry her always. Sleep with her, even. You understand?”
    Linn nodded, speechless. She was scared, and excited. A tumble of emotions flooded through her. Her grandfather looked as grim as she had ever seen him. She opened her mouth, and then shut it again, unsure what to say.
    Bes broke the silence. “Sure, and she needs a name.”
    Linn looked at the leaf-bladed sword blankly. She recognized the style from swords Grampa had made in the past. The smaller size would make it possible for her to wield. A two-handed broadsword like you often saw in movies would have been ridiculous for her. Power still flickered along the edges of the blade.
    “She is Lambent,” The voice wasn’t hers, although it came from her mouth. Linn felt funny, and swayed as she stood. Grampa stepped quickly to her side and took Lambent from her hands, sliding an arm around her shoulders.
    Linn staggered and felt her vision graying out again. “Not again!” she cried as her knees went out from under her. This time, she was glad to hear, it was her own voice. Bes caught her. She couldn’t move, but could still see and hear as he carried her to the couch with surprising ease considering that he was shorter than she was by a full inch.
    She could hear them talking as they stood over her. Lambent was on the table. Linn was aware of where the sword was, like it was part of her body. She lost track of reality for a minute, and stood in a swirling, misty grayness. Fog, damp on her skin. Lambent was in her hand, and a softly-furred skull was pressed into the palm of the other hand. She raised Lambent, glowing like a torch, and screamed hoarsely as the kitten... Blackie, she realized... roared his defiance with her. Then she lay on the couch in Grampa’s living room, gasping for breath and crying out.
    Grampa Heff held her. “Shhh... it’s all right. You’re OK. Relax. Let it go.”
    Linn shuddered, leaning back on the couch. She still couldn’t move. Bes lifted her legs onto the arm like Grampa had done before. She felt the blood coming back to her brain.
    “You feeling better?” Grampa asked. She nodded, afraid to speak again. “All right. Just rest a bit.”
    Both of them went onto the porch, apparently leaving the door open so they could check on her. Her head was swimming, and after one attempt to sit up she let that go until later. She heard them talking, although they were trying to keep their voices down.
    “Same thing as happened with the first Sight?”
    “Yes, she fainted then, too.”
    “She’s developing fast. Sight, now Foresight.”
    Grampa Heff huffed out a short breath. “It worries me more that with each manifestation, she does this. It makes her vulnerable.”
    “I have her back, Heff. You have to go.”
    “You have her back? You are her Protector!” her grandfather protested.
    “Lower your voice, Heff.” Linn heard a touch of humor in Bes’s voice. “Yes, her back. I let few know how much of the Second Sight I have. You know where I come from.”
    “You’re one of the oldest.”
    “So I am. Which may explain my madness.”
    Heff laughed.
    Bes continued, his voice deep and quiet. Linn felt it ripple through her like a pebble thrown in a pond. “Linnaea, go to sleep, child.”
    Linn felt her mind’s eyes close, and she sighed as sleep took her. She felt a slight sense of indignation that he’d put her to sleep, thus unable to eavesdrop.
    She awakened in the night, vaguely aware that her grandfather was leaning over her. She opened her eyes, and he smiled at her and kissed her forehead. Then her eyes were so heavy and she closed them again.
    She came fully awake as Bes shook her shoulder. He grinned down at