THE ELF CHILD exerpt...

CHAPTER 1 (excerpt):

ASTAN Hawk stood on the mountain ridge overlooking the city of Missoula and took a deep breath of the chill October air, crisp and clear at this altitude, free from human pollution and smog. The maples below had faded from their brassy gold and orange to a duller brown as the days passed. Soon the vision of Missoula would almost blend into the earth.
     His feet firmly on the soil, Astan stood connected with his past and his clan.
     Strength came to the clan through these lands, not through the cold concrete and stone of the city. The fact that the clan returned here after the exile of Bartolomey showed the value of the sacrifice made by his father Daven Talvi and the other sleepers, their devotion to duty well rewarded. The elves had come home.
     Not only had the elf clan left the city for the Bitterroot, but it once again had a queen. Jelani Marsh had followed her mother Linnea to rule the clan, as tradition dictated.
     Even Astan had to admit this queen challenged tradition.
     Raised in the human world, ignorant of her past and her heritage, Jelani had not been prepared to deal with the schism of the elf factions and their reunification. Likewise, hidden from the evil Bartolomey in the human city of Missoula, Astan and the other youngers had not been privy to the intrigue that had left the former queen trapped inside a Douglas fir.
     So it was just as well that he and Jelani had gravitated together out of need, understanding, and a mutual attraction that had grown into a deep love.
     The former barista had changed in her months with the clan, finding her peace within. And why shouldn't she? She had come to the land her mother had called home. How could one of elven blood have survived in the city among so much that was unnatural and not be torn?
     In Astan's years with his grandmother Djana and the Circle on the outskirts of Missoula, if he hadn't been able to escape into the mountains whenever he wanted he might have been a little crazy, too. Despite what logic and plans might determine, one's heart always knew the truth of things.
     He took another deep breath as he studied the hillside below him. Everything seemed secure. The faint sun warmed his face. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. In the days to come, the temperature would drop steadily and the real snow would fall. Not the light flakes that swirled around him now, but a cold cover, deep and protective. Then every trace of warmth would be cherished.
     He sighed and moved off along the ridge, his eyes scanning for danger....