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“Dang it!”

Ripley landed on her bottom with a frustrated grunt. Dirt sprayed up into her face and she sputtered with indignation as she threw away the clump of weeds clutched in her fist. She pulled herself back up onto her knees to glare at the colorful orange and yellow flowers waving at her in the gentle breeze.

A gentle laugh made her turn to where Corrie and Margie knelt a few feet away, pulling their own weeds. “You’d think you’d be better at this,” Margie teased with a smile. “Didn’t you want to move to Alaska and live off the land?”

Corrie’s face darkened and she elbowed her mother’s ribs before lowering her head to whisper angry words into Margie’s ear. Ripley turned away from it, unwilling to let the careless remark build into an argument, even though her stomach churned with grief and anger. She took up her trowel and stabbed it into the dirt at the roots of a fresh patch of weeds.

“That was a long time ago,” Ripley told her mother over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Rip.” Margie looked contrite. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories. That was insensitive of me.”

Ripley sat back on her haunches and blew a chunk of brown hair out of her face. “It’s fine.” She tossed her trowel to the ground. “I think I’ve messed up your peonies.”

Margie laughed. “They’re marigolds.”

Ripley gave the flowers a closer look. “Oh, you’re right, they are marigolds.”

Ripley pushed herself to her feet. The garden spread out around her in a riot of blazing color. Climbing roses crawled up trellises and large purple flowers dangled down from the overhead pergola. Flowers of all different colors and sizes lined the various pathways that meandered through the garden and large bushes hid benches and hammocks. At the very heart of it all Ripley knew there was a firepit and lounge chairs but damned if she could see it from here.

“You know, when you guys said you wanted a garden, I didn’t think you meant a crazy witch in the woods type garden.” Ripley softened the words with a grin over at her mother and sister, the masterminds of this monstrosity.

“It’s coming in good.” Corrie stood and stretched out her back with a groan. “Been a real pain in the ass but I’m happy with it.”

“We’re lucky Mildred let her elementals test out their new skills here.” Margie held out her hand and Corrie helped her to her feet. “If it weren’t for their spell, all this would be dead already.”

Ripley had almost forgotten. Just outside this bubble, it was nearly freezing cold. Winter had come with a fury, though it didn’t seem as though it would be as bad as the last winter, thank the gods above. They’d nearly frozen and starved to death last year, reduced to eating nothing but a thin gruel and sleeping together in the main hall of Samūha.

Corrie shivered as though she remembered the stinging cold, too. “Last year was rough but at least we made it through to come here to Rājadhānī. We have food and cattle, all the houses have been fixed up. The Scythians have stocked up on potions in case people start getting sick like they did last year.”

“It’s always shocking how fast disease spreads when people are all cramped together.” Margie pulled on her cloak and tucked it around her chin before draping the hood over her head. “I don’t think it’ll be this bad this year. We’re ready this time.”

Ripley picked up her own cloak, as did Corrie. The three bundled themselves in their warm clothes and took a deep breath. Ripley looked at them and grinned. “Ready?”

They nodded. She stepped out of the garden. That was it, just one step, and suddenly she was freezing. The wind hit her like a slap in the face and she sucked in a breath that burned her nostrils with cold.

“Jesus Christ.” Corrie huddled close to Ripley so that their shoulders brushed. “Damn, it’s so warm in the garden you always forget how cold it is outside.”

“Well at least you don’t have to power up the spell every time.”

Ripley pulled her hand out from beneath her cloak. Her fingertips tingled with cold but she concentrated on that place inside her, just below her heart, where her power laid. The Light sprung up into her unreal hands, eager and warm, and she gathered it into the palm of her hand. It danced against her skin, taunting her pain receptors, but the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as it had once been. Maybe she’d gotten used to by now. She laid her hand flat against a small amulet that hung suspended in midair and pushed the Light into it.

The amulet pulsed beneath her palm, then warmed and turned a pleasant golden color. Corrie watched as Ripley sighed and tucked her hand back into her cloak. “It doesn’t seem like it hurts you as much as it used to. The Light, I mean.”

“Yeah.” Ripley huddled deeper into her cloak and set off toward the main keep with her sister and mother trailing along. “I think when I absorbed Ikuutayuq, I mean, really absorbed it, I got some of its cold in with the Light. It balanced it out a little.”

“Lyudmila tells me you’re working at accessing that part of the demon.” Margie paused for a moment as a gust of wind blasted across them before subsiding. “She says you’re trying to find a mixture of the Light and the demon’s power.”

“It’s already happening.” Ripley reached the door and grabbed the handle. “Might as well train myself how to use it properly.”

She pushed open the door. Margie didn’t respond and Ripley winced as she tromped into the foyer, knocking snow from her boots. “I know you don’t approve, Mom. It’s just what I have to do.”

“I know.” Margie shucked her cloak and hung it from a peg on the wall before turning to give her daughter a concerned look. “I just worry about your soul.”

Ripley turned away. It was a common argument, one she and her mother had had many times over the past months. She had begun to disengage, to simply ignore the conversation at its beginning and thus avoid the pointless confrontation. Margie had learned not to press the point, though, and now she headed away toward the kitchen.

The door opened again and let in a gust of freezing wind. Ripley stepped away as Maddox, Hedril, Elexis, and Leo pushed their way into the foyer and stood soaking in the warmth. Maddox was the first to move, wrapping his arms around Ripley and pressing a kiss to her lips.

“Hey!” Ripley kissed him back and laughed. “You’re freezing! Get the hell off me!”

“Ah, your warm welcome always brightens my day, wife,” Maddox replied with a teasing grin. He released her to unwind his cloak from around his shoulders and hang it on a hook before wrapping his arm around Ripley’s shoulders. “You were in the garden?” he asked, noting the dirt under her fingernails.

“Yeah, with Corrie and Mom. It looks nice in there. We should have another bonfire soon.”

“We have news first,” Hedril broke in. The tall, brawny knight shed her cloak and stood dressed in heavy leggings and a sweater. The blonde stubble on her head had begun to grow out with the promise of curl and her dark brown skin looked damp with melted snow.

“Let us sit down first,” Elexis told them with a smile.

Pantea’s little sister, Elexis, once a flighty, shallow girl who only cared about fashion and gossip, had grown by leaps and bounds. While she still loved fashion and gossip, she was also now a skilled, combat proven knight with the muscle and attitude to back her up. Ripley spared a thought for Pantea, Elexis’ fallen sister, and hoped she was in the Beyond, watching her sister grow up with pride and love.

“Let’s go sit down. I think Mom’s making us some hot chocolate.” Ripley took Maddox’s hand and led the group through the cabin toward the kitchen.

Their home had grown from a cottage to a decent sized house. There seemed to be no end to the projects Maddox wanted to do; he spent most days immersed in architectural plans. It suited Ripley just fine. She’d always wanted to learn carpentry and this was the perfect opportunity. She learned and worked at Maddox’s side and they had grown ever closer.

They made their way through the hall. Ripley and Maddox’s bedroom, an enormous suite, came first, then Bo’s room, which was hardly any smaller. Last were the guest rooms built for their regular visitors. Once past those, they finally came out into the living room and its large, comfortable chairs.

Elexis and Hedril flopped down onto the couch and immediately cuddled together without pause. Leo took a hardbacked chair and slouched back with his hand over his chin. Ripley and Maddox sat on two love seats close enough for them to hold hands. For a moment, they all sat in silence, enjoying the warmth from the blazing fire at the back of the room.

A large orange cat ran into the room. Without hesitation, he leapt up into Maddox’s lap and headbutted the man’s hand. Ripley grinned as Maddox stroked the soft orange cat and murmured to him a baby voice. Discord followed close on Nemesis’ heels in its beast form and it crawled up the side of Ripley’s chair to cuddle against her chest.

“Discord is still in beast form?” Elexis asked with a curious glance at the tiny black kitten.

“I think it likes being a cat.” Ripley grunted as Discord climbed up her chest and lay draped over her shoulder. “There’s no real need for it to be in orb form.”

“How is everyone adjusting to the new animals?” Maddox asked. He smiled as R2, the tortoiseshell calico with wobbly cat syndrome, waddled into the room.

Elexis smiled and picked up R2. “They absolutely adore the little critters.”

Ripley smiled as she thought back to the last time she had visited Earth. She had taken Maddox, Hedril, Margie, Leia, and Corrie. Together they had visited five shelters; broken in, really, since it had been the middle of the night when they had arrived and taken all of the animals held within. Dozens of cats, dogs, and rabbits had poured out of the Immaterium to the field of Rājadhānī and the capital’s residents had reacted with sheer glee.

There had been a few incidents with newfound allergies but the Sisters had concocted a potion that had counteracted those effects. Nearly everyone in Rājadhānī now had a whole passel of pets and merchants had begun to stock specialized animal food along with their usual wares.

Ripley had thought that her family would have wanted to stay on Earth. To her shock, they had decided to stay in Rājadhānī. Barely a month had passed on Earth after all, and they had all told their jobs that they were taking a long leave of absence. There was no reason to leave Erde, and besides, they were enjoying the novelty and wanted to watch Cēna Barēkara rebuild.

Having them here had been a deep comfort to Ripley. Her life here was nearly idyllic; family, friends, a man she loved deeply, and all nine of her new cats: Nyxie, Erebus, Moros, Nemesis, Leia, Luke, Han Solo, R2, and the one-eyed Fury Odinson. It was perfect, though Arawelo’s war still threatened on the horizon.

It was a problem she was glad to face with her friends by her side. Ripley took a sip from her mug and leaned forward.

“Alright, guys. Let’s get to it.”