Mixcatl's people are descended from the Olmec Jaguar Gods and she is fated for great things-both wonderful and dangerous. She can, unexpectedly and without warning, turn into a living, wild Jaguar, just as her ancestors have done since time immemorial. Once stolen into slavery, she must struggle ...
Ratha's Creature has an interesting premise. There are prehistoric cats divided up into two tribes so to speak - The Named and Un-Named. The Named are a tribe that has developed a system to herd animals and keep for food. The tribe trains cats to be herders and keep the tribe alive. Females are t...
As Ratha struggles to reconcile with Thistle-chaser, the daughter she once tried to kill, the Named are locked in another struggle when they confront a strange clan of hunter cats who are driven by and completely dependent on the telepathic song of their leader, True-of-voice. When an accident le...
Because she has shown her mastery of the red tongue, ratha now leads the Named. She oversees the Firekeepers, members of the clan with a special charge, and the rituals, herding, and governance; but she often wonders if the power of fire has corrupted them all. When Orange-Eyes, a politically ast...
In this third installment of the Named Series, it's hard to tell whether Ratha is the heroine or the villain.I've always thought Ratha could easily be both. She is rash, uncompromising and ruthless in her enforcement of the Named laws. However, the genuine heroine of the book is Ratha's daughter,...
Wise Coyote peered out from behind the hangings of his litter, then clutched the side rails to keep from sliding as a bearer stumbled on the muddy trail. Ahead he could see the palanquin of Ilhuicamina, larger and grander than his own, but clumsier and bulkier. It lurched as the men who carried i...
She was glad she would not have to make the trip around the inlet. Her jaws already ached from carrying the cub by the scruff, and her conscience hurt her almost as badly. The bridge would save her some travel, but she didn’t like the way it shifted and strained against the cords that anchored it...
He felt his own heart pound in his chest. He hated seeing this happen to her. He hated it even more when there were others around to witness her helplessness. Luckily, this time, no one was. He had taken her to a little hollow where they could be alone, where she could practice slipping into the ...
She spent much time in her den, her head resting on her paws, her eyes staring ahead at nothing. “It would have been no easier for me if Shongshar had taken his cubs out and abandoned them,” she muttered in response to Thakur’s gentle questioning. “It was I who allowed him into the clan to sire t...
The Firekeepers reared and plunged, swinging their brands down on raider backs and thrusting them into faces. However badly singed or blistered, the enemy held their ground, commanded by the intense power of the song coming from their leader. Ratha knew that the effort was costing the Named too m...
The rushes beside the shore withered, turning brittle. Their crisp green odor turned dry and nutty. The mornings became cold and drizzly; the afternoons gray. Only once in a while did the sun seep through the clouds hanging above the lake. Everything smelled dank and rotten. Ratha shed her summer...
The worst thing to do after a bad experience, as she had learned from the many unpredictable aircraft she’d flown, was to shy away from the thing or situation that caused it. She knew if she didn’t get back on the aronan at once, the fall would magnify itself in her mind until it grew to disablin...