The climate apocalypse has come and gone. When the ice caps finally melted, untold numbers of people died. Supernatural powers worked with humans to build walls between the four sacred mountains and Dinétah (the Navajo nation) was reborn. Gods and heroes from the distant past walk among the Diné once again. There were wars and famine as the great waters shaped the land outside Dinétah; no family was spared from the tragedy. “Everyone has a sob story,” as Maggie Hoskie says. And she should know.
Maggie’s own story is horrific, and the trauma she suffered awakened clan powers within her. She can run fast enough to keep up with gods and heroes, and she has a preternatural talent for killing. Mostly monsters. And it freaks people out. Not that they don’t call on her when they need a monster taken care of. For, although people in Dinétah are safe from the outside world “sometimes the worst monsters are the ones within.”
There’s a witch, somewhere in Dinétah, who is creating monsters. At first they’re popping up here and there, uncanny voiceless creatures hungry for human flesh. But then things get out of hand and whole towns are overrun. It’s up to Maggie to figure out who is doing this, and end the plague of monsters for good. She has help: Kai Arviso. Kai has returned to Dinétah from the city that used to be Albuquerque to learn medicine from his gandpa. Coyote, shows up to help as well, though the advice he gives is of questionable reliability.
Maggie would like help from Neizghání, her mentor and one of the hero twins of old. He’s been slaying monsters since time began. He helped Maggie perfect her skills when her powers manifested. But Neizghání abandoned Maggie a year ago at Black Mesa. Black Mesa, that vortex of controversy between Diné, Hopi, and outside coal companies, not to mention dark futuristic video games on Steam. Maggie’s keeping the flame burning for him, and wallowing in self-hatred. She may have gotten a little confused and a little too enthusiastic about the killing. Bad men? Monsters? Aren’t they all the same?
“Words matter,” Neizghání said. “The name you give things, it forms them when you speak. You must always be careful with your words.”
Badass that Maggie is, she is still mortal. Coyote and Neizghání are not. They travel by lightning bolt for one thing, and they are definitely not mortal. Immortal/mortal romances fair no better in Dinétah then they do in any other fantastical world. Immortals from Coyote, to Zeus, to Dr. Who, have a different set of priorities. Besides the trauma, Maggie’s commitment to an abusive partner skews her vision and has her seeing betrayal and tricksters at every turn. There are many candidates for the title of “monster,” and Maggie sees what she’s looking for. Kai is the voice of caution in her ear:
“You know people who love you don’t hurt you like that,” he says, “Love’s not supposed to try to kill you.”
Love and beauty are not qualities of monsters, but love and beauty are just what Maggie needs. “Trail of Lightning” is a powerful and riveting introduction to the sixth world and the land of Dinétah. Maggie’s story continues in “Storm of Locusts,” and two more planned book in The Sixth World Series.
Excerpted from “Celebrating Native American Heritage Month” w/co-contributors Theodore McCombs, Lisa Mahoney, and Mark Springer. To read more please visit FictionUnbound.com