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eBook Category: Young Adult
eBook Description: An ancient Indian legend comes to fruition when Zeke Villa, Native American and high school basketball player extraordinaire, becomes the Chosen One for his tribe.

eBook Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc., Published: 2006, 2006
Fictionwise Release Date: December 2006

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"This adventure is more than a Night Whisper. It is a standing ovation for young people who overcome odds. The conversation sparkles; the mystical thread is superb!"--Phil Mandel, English Chair, Phoenix schools

"This book has a mystical voice with its lyrical style that weaves a strong mood."--The Jokker's Lair Studios, literary component

"Southwest flavor unleashes adventure. What a great sports story about teens ... but it is much, much more."--Jamie Cundiff, agent

Quickly and with purpose he moved through the shadows. The moon's rising changed the pattern of patchwork that his supple body negotiated, the same changing pattern of the slithering diamondbacks that soon would leave hibernation and begin hunting the thickets, lying in wait under a desert moon.

The slick-haired dog followed well behind the boy--a needle threading the black shadowy patchwork. Through the ages the calloused feet of unnumbered natives, all hoping to see the Chosen One, had journeyed this course leaving a hard, packed trail--a template of time-worn animal paths pressed into the terrain. But as legend derives from myth, myth from imagination, and imagination from man's creative link with the universe, only history's special few would ever witness this ancient transformation on such a hallowed night.

A racing heart filled the boy's chest as he approached the clearing. When he came to the black ceremonial rocks, his brothers sang. They were ready to share in his spiritual excursion. Yes, they had become the beckoning circle below the towering desert night.

Beneath the peaks, when the moon hangs full and heavy and the myriad stars struggle to exist, when hopes and dreams give way to reality, when doubt changes to acceptance, purpose is fulfilled.

High above the mountains the lemon moon dripped light.

Sniffs and licks greeted him. First came the coyote. Then the bobcat jumped and frolicked, as did his relative, the ringtail. The skunk and the beaver, the desert deer and the rabbit, the badger and the peccary took their turns in the circle, all but the slick haired dog and the great cat--not the puma that nudged him forward or the lynx that nipped his calf but the great cat, mistress of the land long before the coming of those who tamed the fire.

She lay on the high cliff overlooking the clearing, a shadowed figure as part of the night--giant head and the black coat that only showed its rosettes in the bright of day when sunrays glared clear and hot. She was the one who had relented, who had lain in the cage, the one called by the greater gods to wait for this moment. And though thousands had passed her confinement, observing in awe, none could imagine that it was by choice; none knew that she had been called when primordial notions set the foundation for this night.

The tall boy had prepared. The old one from the mountain had instilled in him ancient ways, taught him the ancient code, and guided him through the secrets of the night whispers. Those secrets lay guarded in the black stones. His spirit knew of them; his humanness knew not, yet he had reached resignation--no question, no doubt, or hesitation. The why was clear; the choice had been his. All the indecisions of this new and unknown journey had been resolved. The boy warrior entered the circle while the lemon light fought the night.

High above the council the hawk sailed and cawed and swooped, painting a surreal portrait on the face of the moon. The night belonged to the boy, and the owl sent a warning. When the moon grew milky and comfortable, the big cat talked. From her pinnacle, the great cat sent an ancient sound rumbling across the desert night. The moment had come.