Manuwhiri

A hefty snowstorm brings Zania more than snow...

Zania and her familiar, Fluki, are weathering a snowstorm when a bang on the porch alerts them. Upon opening the door, instead of the expected fallen branch, Zania finds a man who is near death.

Aidan wakes in front of a fireplace to find a beautiful young woman tending him.

Zania heals her unexpected guest, her manuwhiri, only for them to be led into the adventure of a lifetime. And to discover a love that spans the universe.

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Manuwhiri

Copyright © 2020 Gabriella Bradley

ISBN: 978-1-4874-2981-2

Cover art by Martine Jardin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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Smashwords Edition

Manuwhiri

By

Gabriella Bradley

Chapter One

Zania added enough logs to the glowing embers in the fireplace to last through the night and waited for them to ignite. The wind gusted around her cabin. A shiver ran down her spine at the sound that resembled that of distant howling wolves, a song of power and passion, her mountain nemesis, the wolves that never came near. She’d seen them from afar. They were beautiful, huge, and completely white, and very protective of their territory. Her grandmother had warned her from when she was very young to beware of them and never to go near those mountains.

Fluki, her familiar, flapped her wings and flew off Zania’s shoulder to the floor to huddle closer to the fire. The flickering flames resembled fiery tongues as they began to lick at the wood. You should have listened to me, Zania.

Shrugging, Zania picked up the crocheted afghan, an heirloom from her grandmother, and wrapped it around herself. The storm will pass. We have enough food to last us a few days.

But not enough wood. This storm will blow over, but the snow will continue for a few days, Fluki predicted.

Zania looked at the tiny elf, no bigger than her hand. Thanks for that snippet of information. You didn’t tell me about that when you warned me of the coming storm. We’ve weathered many a blizzard. Why would this snow last more than a few days?

Because of a disruption in the planet’s rotation.

And that happened how?

The gods didn’t tell me, but they did tell me that we’ll have an unexpected manuwhiri and to beware.

A what?

A guest, a visitor.

Stop using weird words that are not in my vocabulary. Nothing or no one would dare to be out in this weather. Not if they want to live. Even the wolves won’t be out in this. You’re wrong this time. No one will come seeking healing until the tempest has passed.

Not your regular customers, no, but this manuwhiri is not one of your clients.

Fluki, go to sleep. You’re speaking in riddles. If a mountain wolf comes knocking on the door, I’ll tread with caution.

Fluki giggled, her mirth sounding like little tinkling bells. As if the mountain wolves or the forest wolves would seek you out of their own volition.

You know very well I’ve healed a few of the forest wolves when we found them wounded in the woods. That’s why they leave me alone when I go hunting. They know I won’t harm them. And the mountain wolves stay well away from the forest wolves’ territory and from us. Now let’s try and get some sleep.

Who can sleep with that wind whistling through the eaves, Fluki muttered, but grabbing a corner of the blanket, she curled up at Zania’s feet. Even Stethia is restless. Do you hear her whinnying?

Zania smiled down at her little friend. Thanks for reminding me. I should go and check on her before we get snowed in, make sure she’s warm enough and has enough food.

The snow won’t stop you, and you should have thought of that before, Fluki grumbled.

You’re right, as always. Stay here. That wind will blow you away in a heartbeat. Zania went to the door, pulled on her boots, then opened the door just wide enough to slip through. She had to hang on to the door for dear life and pull hard to shut it.

Her ponytail whipped around as she struggled against the force of the gale and headed for the barn. Fluki was right in that she should have checked on her horse sooner, right after Fluki had warned her. But Zania had not expected the storm to roll in so fast.

The barn doors slammed open and closed, the lock clearly missing. Poor Stethia had to be freezing cold. Zania plowed through the snow toward the opening and had to struggle to close and latch the doors once inside. With a wave of her hand, she lit the lantern.

Stethia lay in the corner on her bed of straw. The mare lifted her head when Zania sat beside her and whinnied softly.

Your belly is sure huge. Won’t be long now, Zania whispered close to the horse’s ear. But wait to deliver your foal until after the storm. Okay? She stroked Stethia’s nose, then planted a kiss on it. Waving her hands back and forth over Stethia, she created a warming field.

Zania wondered what color the foal would be. Stethia was a pure white mare, and she had no clue which stallion the mare had mated with. She wished the horse could talk. Was it an ordinary stallion? Just under a year ago, Stethia had disappeared for three days. Had the mare found another winged horse? Zania had always thought Stethia to be the only winged magical horse on the planet. If Stethia mated with an ordinary horse, what would her foal be?

Zania sighed and wished her grandmother was still around to ask, but Gran had crossed the eternal bridge five years ago, leaving Zania alone to run the clinic. She had tried so hard to talk her grandmother out of her choice. But Gran had said it was time, that she was long overdue in joining her mate, and she had taught Zania everything she knew.

Zania’s grandmother had stayed behind when her mate crossed the eternal bridge to raise her granddaughter after Zania’s parents had mysteriously disappeared. Her mother and father had been space explorers.

Gran had begged her daughter, after she had her baby, to stop working for The Federation. But Lavita had not been interested in taking over her mother’s clinic or to stay grounded. Neither could she take Zania with her on their missions, so she left the baby with her parents while away.

Zania was just two years old when her mother and father didn’t return from one of those missions, leaving her orphaned. Though search parties were sent to their last known position and to several planets in the vicinity, no sign of them or their spaceship was ever found. It was a mystery, especially given the fact that her parents were immortals.

Her father had been a mortal, just like her grandfather and great-grandfather and all her forefathers. But upon mating with a sorceress, the gods had granted them immortality and limited powers. Nothing but fire could have destroyed her parents. The powers that be for The Federation had finally declared them dead, and Gran had come to believe that their spaceship had exploded. That her daughter and son-in-law had indeed succumbed to fire. It was the only possible explanation.

Stethia had fallen asleep. Zania stood carefully in order not to wake her and quickly fetched a blanket that was hanging on a hook on the wall. She covered the mare and then checked to make sure she had enough hay and water. She shoveled manure away from the sleeping horse, then headed for the doors.

After grabbing a rope, she struggled to close the barn doors and tied them firmly with a secure knot. She opened the gate to the chicken coop and went in. The chickens were inside their shelter, safely tucked away on their straw beds. She felt for eggs and found five. Holding them carefully, she left the coop, closed the gate, and headed back to the house.

The snow was almost up to her knees. Having the wind at her back made it easier to make her way back to her cottage, but it was still hard going through the deep snow.

Stethia okay? Fluki asked as Zania literally fell through the door, clutching the eggs to her stomach so as not to break them.

She scrambled up, set the eggs on the table, and fought to close the