Author:
Alex McGilvery has been reading since before he can remember, and writing almost that long. He has published 18 books and is author and editor at his imprint Celticfrog Publishing. He lives in Kamloops with his dog and the stories clawing their way out of his head.

Ten year old Justine has lived with the loss of her mother for two years. Even while she misses her Mom, she is discovering the gifts they share. When bullying at school makes Justine’s life miserable, she befriends a tree she calls Drasil. It isn’t fair that life causes so much pain for Justine, so her father is happy when she makes a friend, even when that friend is a tree.

She tells stories of visiting a land where peace is valued above all else and hospitality is the primary virtue. Her father listens to her stories and marvels at how she changes, even as he wonders if her stories are true, or the fantasy of a lonely young girl. When the stories get darker and more dangerous, he worries that she is being hurt, even in this land of peace.

He has no idea how much they will both be changed as they get caught up in the struggle between a people who believe in peace, and those who trust in war.

Playing on Yggdrasil

Patrick woke to the sound of the wind howling through the ropes of the tent. He could see his breath in the air. Justine was curled up against him. He got up and gently tucked the blanket around her. He dug around in the bag until he found his sweater. He thought about putting it on, then wrapped it around her too.


Marisha had a tiny fire going in a corner of the tent. The smoke that refused to go out the gap between wall and ceiling stung his eyes, but the warmth of the tea was welcome. 


"Morning, Patrick," Davvad said. "I fear that if the army doesn't destroy us, that this weather will. Most of my people are not prepared for such cold."


"Not common, but not unheard of either."


They drank their tea in silence. Justine crawled out of their corner wearing Patrick's sweater. It was almost long enough to be a dress on her. She had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.


"Tea's on," Patrick said. Marisha handed her a cup.


Chapter 66