The baby curled his small hand around his father’s forefinger and smiled up at him, but the intense ache in the man’s heart brought a frown in return. Immediately, the infant’s joy was replaced by a trembling cry.

  Fumbling inside his cloak, the man pulled out a small stone hammer, and laid it on the infant’s bare chest. As the baby’s fingers wrapped around the smooth handle, a soft light flowed from the base and over the infant’s face. The cries ceased and the child fell into a peaceful sleep.

  The man held the boy closer. If only he could be as calm. The thought of returning home without his son was tying him in knots. The plan seemed sensible at first; leaving the hammer here with his son until he was old enough to return and lead the people. Now, however, he found himself fighting the urge to retreat through the portal door and close it forever behind him.

  He pushed the idea aside. Giving in to his fears would only lead to disaster for both worlds. There was no choice but to leave his son behind in this strange world, with its wide-open spaces and searing heat.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  He scanned the vast plain toward the ridge of hills on the horizon. Somehow the people his son was to stay with had removed the pointed homes of their settlement from the base of the hill, leaving only circles of stones behind. Where had they gone, and would their leader even arrive in time for their meeting? The last visit, he had observed the man astride a four-legged beast that shook the ground as it ran. Surely that creature was able to bring the leader back to fulfill their arrangement.

  The baby stirred and the man rocked him gently in his arms. Turning his infant son over to a people he had observed only from a distance did not bother him, for the hammer had assured him their leader was a man of honor.

  The first harsh rays of a new day glinted off the polished stone hammer and bit at his face.

  His plan had failed. Disappointment mixed in with relief as he hugged the child to his chest and stepped into the circle of rocks.

  As he moved toward the open door, he heard the drum of distant hoof beats.