Excerpt: Heir Incarnate

He lay with his head against the hard ground looking up at the stars, searching for constellations that he would recognize.

“Here,” he glanced over at Minh and found the boy pushing his pillow toward him. “The ground is not good for your neck.”

“I took it from you last time,” he said. He turned his focus back to the stars, thinking the discussion done until Minh was pushing his blankets up close to Jae’s.

“We’ll be doing everything else together,” he said pushing the pillow toward him.

Surprised, Jae lifted his head and put it down on the soft surface next to his friend’s.

They lay in silence for a while until again Minh shifted so that he was on his side, facing Jae.

“What do you think it means?” he asked.

Jae glanced at him and shook his head.

“Maybe it means that you’ll be the one who finds the child—or that you will take us to him....” He trailed off. “I guess that it could mean many things.”

Minh snuggled into the covers and sighed sleepily.

“I just hope that it happens soon,” he said.

Jae shut his eyes, letting his muscles relax as sleep began to take him.

“Me too,” he said.