I wasn't eager to learn the Wise Arts. I was just a girl, more interested in running wild with my brothers than developing what my mother called the Gift.

Then the werewolves came, shattering the peaceful nights in our village of Sun Return. They took five of ours -- including two babies and my big brother Dolph, before my parents agreed to give me up. They called in Cousin Cory, Aunt Marta, all the known practitioners. The ones who could teach me how to hide in a leaf, "dip" into minds and find the secret herbs that heal.

My childhood was over. It was my turn to straddle the worlds and face the Dark on the other side....