Drums of the Makai
A Youth Adventure Novelette
by Linda Rigsbee
At fifteen summers, Taye is making the most of his last chance to become a senior warrior. He has been living in the shadow of his father, the greatest Pyean hunter in their village. He is willing to risk his life to become a worthy person in his father's eyes.
But Taye takes on more than he bargained for when he enters the territory of the bloodthirsty Zackets to catch a matiki.
Only when Taye is captured, does he begin to understand that he may have another calling. Can he escape to fill his newest dream?
Excerpt from "Drums of the Makai"
Taye swung around, searching frantically for another way out. But the Zackets had them trapped. A lance whistled by, reminding him of the certain death that stalked them. Their only chance lay in the water below.
He took a step toward the edge of the mesa, and for a brief instant he gazed down into Niki's eyes. Her face was pale, her eyes unusually large. She nodded almost imperceptibly.
Together, hand in hand, they leaped. Another lance plucked at Taye's arm as they cleared the mesa top -- and then they were falling. The sickening feeling of weightlessness engulfed him as he struggled to remain upright -- and then Niki let go of his hand. They were on their own now.
