Race to the Sun

Not part of Riordanverse This book or series is published under Rick Riordan Presents and its contents are not considered canon to the Riordanverse.

Race to the Sun
Attribution
Author	Rebecca Roanhorse
Cover artist	Dale Defrost
Publication Information
Publisher	Rick Riordan Presents
Release date	January 14, 2020
Pages	298
Chronology
Preceded by	None
Followed by	None

Race to the Sun is a stand-alone book written by Rebecca Roanhorse and published under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint that will focus on Navajo, or Diné, myths.

It tells the story of a seventh-grade girl named Nizhoni Begay and her brother who, aided by various Navajo gods disguised as relatives, must stay one step ahead of a shape-shifting monster as they follow in the footsteps of the legendary Hero Twins to save their family.

Synopsis

Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he’s a threat, but her father won't believe her. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Diné Holy People, all disguised as quirky characters. Their aid will come at a price: the kids must pass a series of trials in which it seems like nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the House of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be . . . Timeless themes such as the importance of family and respect for the land resonate in this funny, fast-paced, and exciting quest adventure set in the American Southwest.

Development

According to ReadRiordan, this book takes place in the American Southwest.

Plot

The Basketball Game

Nizhoni Begay.

Nizhoni Begay is a seventh-grade girl that can see monsters. She had transferred from a public school to Intertribal Community Charter School (ICCS) where every student was Native American like her. She was hoping she would become popular with many friends but nothing changed after two years.

Right now, she was playing in a basketball game on the team of the Isotopes against the Beavers. However, she noticed one of the spectators was wearing a suit as opposed to everyone else, so Nizhoni suspected him to be a monster as they often disguised themselves as humans, she'd seen it twice before. Coach told Nizhoni to focus on her, she was a little short probably due to being a descendant of the Hopi tribe. A timeout was called with five seconds of the game left, confident Nizhoni offered to take the last shot when Davery Descheny, her best and only friend since preschool, passes her the ball. As no one else volunteered, Coach reluctantly allowed it.

However, Nizhoni noticed the man in the suit moving about and as soon as she spotted him again, she screamed and got hit between the eyes with the basketball Davery threw. This resulted in the Isotopes losing the game, Coach gave Nizhoni an ice pack as she was bleeding. Coach failed to call Mr. Begay, he's always busy unlike Davery's parents, Nizhoni was now banned from the gym. She really wanted to have school fame, she was thinking about lacrosse but the Haudenosaunee girls wouldn't take kindly to her. Nizhoni hasn't seen her mother since she was a toddler, the only thing she has left of her was a pendant she kept under her shirt with a picture of her family inside. She decided not to tell Davery about the man, they left for froyo and soda pop, but not before Nizhoni saw the man in the suit staring at her.

Meeting the Monster and Receiving a Call

Nizhoni and Davery find her father parked out front, much to her surprise, and asks if they can go out for frozen yogurt, but he says his new boss, Mr. Charles from Landrush Oil and Gas, is in town and wants to treat them to dinner before he starts his new job in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the summer. She goes to get into the passenger seat but finds her brother Mac Begay already sitting there. She pushes back some boxes in the back seat and her father drives off. She tells Mac, the only person she told about her abilities, she saw a monster and he is impressed and asks questions. She notices he has a black eye and he talks about his latest run-in with Adrian Cuttlebush. When they arrive at their house they find a black Cadillac and see two bodyguards, an African American man and a Native American woman in white suits and gun holsters get out before their boss, Mr. Charles, exits the car and Nizhoni realizes it is the monster from the basketball game and the siblings rush out to stop their father from going up to him. The siblings debate about getting out of the car or not and decide to get out, allowing their father to finally notice their injuries and he asks them to shake Mr. Charles's hand, Nizhoni makes the excuse of still having dried blood on her hands but he takes Mac's iPad and forces his son to shake hands with Mr. Charles and his body guards and nothing happens. Mr. Begay orders Nizhoni to go inside to clean up and get changed as they are going to Pasta Palace, her favorite restaurant.

She changes into clean clothing and as she gets out of her room, finds Mr. Charles stealing a picture of her entire family and calls him out. He turns his attention to her and explains why he's really in Albuquerque. He explains that her maternal lineage is interesting to him and that through that lineage she is descended from Changing Woman. He explains that he knows of her abilities and sensed them at the game, he states that he has spent a long time building up power and he was foretold a descendant of the Hero Twins, the Changing Woman's sons, would undo his plans. He pulls out a knife and states that he sensed something dormant in Mac and plans to kill her and take her brother to use his abilities. Nizhoni, who has been trembling in fear, becomes enraged and attacks Mr. Charles. She disarms and attacks Mr. Charles, before the others come in. Her father stares at her in a mix of anger and horror and helps up and apologizes to his potential new boss. He scolds Nizhoni for attacking him and Mr. Charles, who acts like it is nothing, makes up a story of him going inside to use the bathroom, that he was admiring the family picture, and that Nizhoni asked for an autograph. She states he has a knife but Mr. Rock, one of the bodyguards, picks up a mechanical pencil. Her father forces her to stay behind and Mac snickers at her. She goes to her room and her father takes away her phone. Ms. Bird, the other bodyguard, stays behind while the others go out to dinner. Nizhoni stays in her room and cries.

Mr. Yazzie.

As Nizhoni tries to sleep, she thinks about what Mr. Charles said to her. Soon she hears a voice comping from her collection of stuffed animals on her bookcase and find that her stuffed horned toad, Mr. Yazzie, has become real and started talking to her. He states that she must go to the House of the Sun to get the weapons she needs to fight Mr. Charles, if she does not then she and her family will die. But she must find Na'ashó'ii Asdzáá She agrees and he tells her to wake up as he jumps on her face. She wakes up and feels her face to find nothing out of place and checks to find Mr. Yazzie still being a stuffed animal. She hears Knockping at her door and finds her father at her door with a dish of Spaghettini Macaravioli, her favorite dish from Pasta Palace consisting of spaghetti, macaroni, and ravioli, and she eats it. He asks her why she attacked Mr. Charles and she tells him what he told her, but her father still does not believe her. He then tells her that her mother was creative and claimed to see monsters, this shocks Nizhoni and she asks him to tell her more about it but he ignores her, gives his daughter her phone back, and leaves her room, taking her leftovers with him.

Research and Abductions

As Mac and Nizhoni walk to school, Mac talks about last night's dinner outing and feels his sister is wrong about Mr. Charles. Nizhoni explains that he is only trying to see what Mac's powers are, but she does not press further and Mac leaves as they pass his school. When she reaches ICCS she finds Davery in the library and tells him she can see monsters, he believes her and they head the computers to find out more. At first they only find tabloid articles but as they look into Mr. Charles and find photos of him shaking hands with the president and that he ignores tribal treaties to frack on their land. They look up the name Mr. Yazzie told her and find the name "Spider Woman". Just then the bell rings and students start to swarm the library. To get more information, Davery suggests she join the Ancestor Club, that he founded and is president of, to learn more and she accepts.

As lunch approaches Nizhoni realizes she left her lunch at home as sneaks off campus to find it. As she arrives at her house, she sees an SUV parked out front with Mr. Charles and his bodyguards coming out of the house, pushing a trunk into the car’s trunk. Nizhoni hides behind her neighbor's bush and overhears him telling the others about his plan to use Mr. Begay as bait to lure his children into their trap and drive off with her narrowly avoiding being seen. Nizhoni goes inside to find everything in order and goes to her room to talk with Mr. Yazzie, but he remains silent and she puts him in her backpack. She gets her lunch and finds an apple next to the bag with "run" carved into it. Soon Mr. Charles returns to get the photo, but Nizhoni takes it and runs back to school. Nizhoni runs into the library and pulls Davery aside to tell him everything when she mentions she left the apple behind Davery thinks Mr. Charles will come for her now that she knows. Soon the principal asks Nizhoni and Mac to come to her office over the loudspeakers due to a family emergency. The two head to the computers and find out Spider Woman lives at Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly near Chinle, Arizona on the Navajo Nation. Davery says she can take the train to Gallup, New Mexico, but she would have to find another way to reach Spider Woman once she gets there. He buys three train tickets for Nizhoni, Mac, and himself before Principal Peterson repeats herself and Nizhoni heads to the office.

Mac Begay.

As Nizhoni walks to the office she wonders if Mac is in Mr. Charles's clutches yet, but she hears another announcement and sighs in relief. After wondering where he could be and she finds him at the baseball field surrounded by Adrien Cuttlebush and his lackeys. When Nizhoni tries to punch him, he moves away and she lands in the dirt. As Adrien insults the siblings and snaps one of Mac's colored pencils, Mac snaps and slams his hand on the ground, causing Adrien and his friends to be attacked by the sprinklers as they run back to the school building. Mac calms down and realizes what he did. He states that he made the water in the bathtub move a few times in the past, but thought he was only imagining it. Nizhoni tells him Mr. Charles has their father and he told them to run. She says she has train tickets for them to get to Gallup and find someone who can help them. She says Mr. Charles wants to use him to help with his fracking and kill her. As they get up, Davery texts her to warn her school secretary is looking for her.

Going on the Quest

Nizhoni and Mac pool their money together to take the city bus to the Alvarado Transportation Center twenty minutes before their train arrives. Mac complains about being hungry but Nizhoni reminds him that they spent all their money on the bus, but still tries to find something for them to eat. She finds a woman pushing a food cart and leaves it unattended, she fights her urges not to steal. However, she is caught by a Navajo woman in an Amtrak uniform who gives her three meals off bologna sandwiches, hot Cheetos, and two cartons of chocolate milk with a can of grape soda. She tells her the extra meal is for her friend and buds her goodbye by her name. By the time Nizhoni realizes this, the woman is gone and she asks another Amtrak worker about her but he says no one like that is at the station. When she goes back to Mac she finds him missing but he pops up behind her saying he was in the bathroom.

They board the train and avoid the conductor's suspicions when another passenger asks him to help her figure out if she is on the right train or not. Nizhoni wonders where Davery is as the train starts to move and sees him jump on the train as he is being chased by Cuttlebush, who Nizhoni realizes is a monster in disguise. Davery makes his way to the Begay siblings and tells them he ran into Cuttlebush at the bus stop and he tried to ask him where he and the Begays were going. He theorizes that Mr. Charles and his bodyguards are probably some kind of shapeshifters. As they eat Nizhoni reads a not the woman put in with their lunch and reads it to the others. After she is finished Davery realizes it is some kind of message that will help them. As Mac and Davery talk she falls asleep. Nizhoni dreams she is at her grandparent’s house on the Navajo Nation, playing with a little group of puppies when her grandmother calls her in. When she enters the kitchen she sees Mac watching football with their father and grandfather, her grandmother scolds her for not wearing a coat and says she is like her mother. As Nizhoni reaches for her necklace, she realizes she is wearing a coat. As her grandmother keeps saying how alike Nizhoni and her mother are, coats keep appearing on herald she starts to sweat.

Nizhoni wakes up to Mac punching her awake to tell her that the train is now traveling up the side of a snowy mountain and they are alone on the train. Soon after Mr. Yazzie comes alive again, who can be seen and understood by Mac and Davery, and tells the Begays they are descendants of one of Changing Woman's sons, one of the Hero Twins, Monsterslayer and Born for Water. He states that the holy people are aware of their quest and have redirected their train to Canyon de Chelly to speed them up. He reveals that one of the holy people was the woman who gave them their lunch. He then gets serious and talks about Mr. Charles, he calls the oil tycoon and his bodyguards Bináá' yee aghání, shapeshifting bird creatures that the original hero twins fought who are imprisoned at Shiprock. Mr. Yazzie explains that he is trying to free his kin so that they could destroy the world by stealing the earth and water. He says there is a chance they will fail and die in the process, but they do not care and take up the challenge anyway. The train then stops.

Finding the Perfect White Shell

The four exit the train car and Mr. Yazzie announces they have reached Sisnaajiní, the mountain of dawn marking the easternmost boundaries of the Navajo homeland. He explains that they are they are to find perfect white shell before heading to the other three mountains- Tsoodzil (the mountain of day and the southern most mountain), Dook'o'oosłiid (the mountain of the afternoon and the western most mountain), and Dibé Nitsaa (the mountain of night and the northern most mountain), to find a piece of turquoise, an abalone shell, and a jet black nugget respectively. Mr. Yazzie, due to being a reptile, starts to go into hibernation and Nizhoni puts him in her sweatshirt to warm him up. Davery realizes this is in the song they were given and Mac starts to have second thoughts. As Nizhoni gives a pep talk an arrow lands close to them.

Davery Descheny.

They put their hands up in surrender and a voice asks them why they are there. Soon a teenage boy made of crystals appears out of nowhere and repeats his question. When Nizhoni tells them a talking horned toad is with them, he becomes friendly and asks for Mr. Yazzie. Once the lizard warms up he takes the group back to his hogan to warm up where he introduces himself as Rock Crystal Boy, the guardian of the mountain. When they introduce themselves by their names and clans, they tell him they are looking for a perfect white shell for Spider Woman. Rock Crystal Boy says he will point them in the right direction and when they finish their tea, he takes them to a pile of shells. After taking a moment to realize the size of the pile, the four search for the perfect white shell. Mac, Davery, and Mr. Yazzie climb the pile with ease, but Nizhoni struggles. She then focuses on finding the shell, visualizing it in her head and it appears in her hand. As she calls the others down in triumph, she realizes half a day has passed. Soon a giant bird lands by them and Mr. Yazzie introduces her as Łizhin, a herald of Dibé Nitsaa. Łizhin informs them that Black Jet Girl, the mountain's guardian, is missing and the mountain is at risk of coming under attack. Mr. Yazzie explains that if one of the guardians falls or goes missing, the entire homeland is in danger. Łizhin says Nizhoni must come with her the the northernmost mountain and she calls the heralds of Tsoodzil and Dook'o'oosłiid to take Mac and Davery respectively to the mountains to find the offerings. The children protest but Mr. Yazzie agrees it is the best option now that Jet Girl is missing. Łizhin then tells Nizhoni to get on her back. The other two guardian birds, Dólii of Tsoodzil and Tsídii of Dook’o’oosłiid arrive to take Mac and Davery to their respective mountains with Mr. Yazzie going with Mac. As the boys fly off, Nizhoni tells Łizhin she thinks she is not right for this quest. When Łizhin informs her she does not have to act as a hero, rather to act as herself, they set off.

Finding Black Jet Girl

As they approach the northern mountain, strong winds try to keep Łizhin from landing but she succeeded. As Nizhoni looks around she finds a door hidden in the mountainside. Łizhin then informs her she must leave as her presence is attracting monsters. Nizhoni tries to protest but Łizhin insists she must go on alone. The herald gives her a feather that can turn into anything she needs and tells her that she will be back by sunset and if Black Jet Girl is not found by then, it will be to late. She then flies off.

She enters the door to find a hogan like interior with a pair of disturbing looking humanoid vultures, Bináá' yee aghání in their true form, eating something. She finds Black Jet Girl paralyzed on the opposite side of the room and uses the feather to tickle her nose. The guardian sneezes and the vultures become alert. When they call out Nizhoni introduces herself as the Monsterslayer. The vultures tell her to look into their bulging eyes, as only a Monsterslayer is immune to their petrification gaze. As they get closer, Black Jet Girl tells Nishone to throw the feather into the nearby fire. When she does it explodes into a shower of salt that blinds the vultures. One of them stumbles into the fire and the other flies into the ceiling. Nizhoni pulls Black Jet Girl to her feet and they make a break for it. They make it out just as an avalanche chases after them and they hide behind a rock. Nizhoni gives Black Jet Girl some of Davery's vegan cookies and her water. When she tells Black Jet Girl why she is on her mountain, Nizhoni tells her she is looking for a piece of jet for Spider Woman. The guardian tells the girl she must find the perfect jet for the Holy Person. Black Jet Girl reveals she is still weak for the Bináá' yee aghání's attack but will be fine by morning. When the guardian falls asleep Nizhoni, knowing she only has until sundown before Łizhin returns, reluctantly agrees to stand watch over her as she sleeps. Before she falls asleep, Black Jet Girl calls Nizhoni a true Monsterslayer before they both fall asleep.

Nizhoni wakes up in the morning to find herself alone on the mountain. She panics and finds Black Jet Girl and Łizhin walking out of a nearby cluster of trees. The herald, who shrank herself down to the size of a crow, grows to her normal size and tells Nizhoni they will be at Canyon de Chelly shortly. Black Jet Girl gives Nizhoni a peace of jet from her earring and hopes to see her again. As they fly off Łizhin tells Nizhoni their has been an accident.

She meets up with Mac and Davery, the later has the abalone shell from the shoulder of Dook'o'oosłiid’s guardian Abalone Shell Boy while the former is moping and causing the current of the nearby river to speed up. Mr. Yazzie explains they had trouble find Turquoise Boy and when they did a storm arrived. As Dólii turned, Mr. Yazzie lost his grip and Mac, holding the turquoise in one hand, had to drop it to save Mr. Yazzie. The blue herald and horned toad tell the boy not to blame himself and Nizhoni offers her necklace as compensation. When Mac calms down they fly to Spider Woman.

Meeting Spider Woman and Taking the Trials

Spider Woman.

The three come across a trailer with a lawn and a truck. They hear a television from inside and Nizhoni knocks on the door. A woman answers and asks if they want to buy a rug. They enter and, after a brief moment of hesitation, tell her they are their for her map of the glistening world. They give her the gifts and her mother's necklace and Spider Woman reveals she met with her mother in the past and that she does not have the map. They are upset and ask how are they supposed to get the Glittering World. Spider Woman tells them they are already in the Glittering World and take them outside to prove it. They find the world to be mesmerizing and Spider Woman tells them she will take them to the rainbow road in the morning, due to the passage being to dangerous during the night, where they will take part in four trials. When they go inside Nizhoni sees a blanket that Spider Woman says her mother liked, who visited her ten years ago. They make dinner and the three get ready for bed As they drift off to sleep, Nizhoni tells Mac their father been taken by Mr. Charles, but he is fine. Davery tells Nizhoni he thinks the line about them have four days to find they are not alone means they are backed by the Holy People. As she drifts to sleep she thinks that the reason her mother never came back is because she died.

Spider Woman wakes them up before sunrise and walks them to the rainbow road in the rain, they leave a sleeping Mr. Yazzie behind. When they arrive the three do not see it at first, but after a second they see it. Spider Woman wishes them luck and leaves them to complete the trials. They look at the song lyrics and find a line describing the trials. As they set off, Nizhoni walks off a cliff. She lands in a puddle of mud in a canyon and the boys slide down after her. They look up to find the rainbow road has vanished and the wind from some nearby rocks sounds like it’s calling them. Mac wishes Mr. Yazzie was with them and the horned toad suddenly appears, he runs over to him but Nizhoni realizes it's a fake but warns her brother to late. Mac vanishes into the rocks and the canyon closes in on Nizhoni and Davery. Nizhoni thinks quick and breaks a branch off of a nearby tree and sticks it between the rocks, it works at first before snapping under the pressure. As the walls close in around them they jump into a cave where the walls continue to close in. Despite being dark, Nizhoni can see almost clearly runs at a high speed. She finds Mac crying and tries to comfort him and get him to move, however he is revealed to be a monster who attacks her, but she fights back. The false Mac changes into Mr. Yazzie and then a cockroach before scurrying away. When Davery arrives she tells him Mr. Charles has Mac before he pulls her along.

They exit the cave just as the walls close in and find the rainbow road. As Nizhoni mourns the lose of Mac, Davery reassures her that he will be okay due to his ancestral powers and that if Mr. Charles has him, then he is with their dad. They move on to the next trial, a field of knives, as they wade through the marsh and reeds, they notice the reeds are getting sharper and realize the reeds are the knives. Nizhoni covers herself in mud to protect herself and has Davery do the same. However it starts to rain and they make it out cover in cuts and scratches. After checking the song again for the next trial, a prom of thorns, they hear music and see the rainbow road leading them to what looks like a school gym. They go over and enter the gym to find dozens of teenagers in formal wear at a dance. At first they try to get out as quickly as they can with out talking to anyone or drinking eating anything. However they soon give in and have snacks, punch, and dance with the party goers. However as time goes on they forget why they came their until a song jogs Nizhoni's memories and she drags Davery away. The prom goers try to stop them but Nizhoni pulls the fire alarm and they escape the building just as it vanishes behind them. They notice that several hours have passed and Nizhoni worries they will fail is they don't make it to the last trial, but Davery says the last trial has come to them.

They turn around to find a field of assorted mirrors. Davery theorizes that, before the prom when Nizhoni wished for no more nature trials and they went to a dance, that the trials react differently to those who take them. As they look into the mirrors Nizhoni sees a woman in her thirties with jeans and a leather jacket in her reflection with her. After fishing out the family picture, she realizes the woman is her mother. Nizhoni gets pulled into the mirror and sees a memory of her mother and herself at age two on a snowy mountain. Her mother unwraps her from her blankets and gent flips her in the snow before bundling her up again. Nizhoni’s mother tells her she must be brave and strong as she won't be around much longer. She hears a sound and hurries back to the house. She closes the door and her husband calls out to her. She kisses Nizhoni one last time before taking out a bow and leaving her daughter behind so she can fight the monster. Her father finds her and picks her up, not hearing his wife fighting outside. Nizhoni then leaves the memory and Davery comes over to her, who tells her she vanished for a minute. When she realizes she is out of the memory she smashes the mirror and blames her mother for choosing fighting monsters over her family and she is probably dead. Davery tells her her mother probably had no choice but to fight the monster for her family's sake. When Nizhoni calms down they walk over to another mirror and close their eyes before looking in it, but when Nizhoni opens her eyes Davery is gone. Nizhoni searches frantically for her friend but finds nothing of Davery. She curls up into a ball and cries. Soon a doe walks up to her and stop a few feet away, wondering if this is a holy person or not she decides to talk to the deer. After a one sided conversation she chooses to keep going for the sake of her family and Davery.

Reaching the House of the Sun

When Nizhoni reaches the house of the sun, she is stopped by a pair of bear statues outside who ask her to state who she is and take a number. When she does they say Jóhonaa'éí is busily and to turn around. After a brief argument with the statue she mentions the Bináá' yee aghání and they quickly take her to the holy person. As they walk one of the statues mentions her friend is already their and she is confused until she sees Mr. Yazzie and happily greets him. She then comes face to face with Jóhonaa'éí and says she has completed her trials. He asks her to prove it and she describes each trial, what she learned from each of them, and what happened to her companions. When he asks Nizhoni is she thinks she is a monster slayer, she says yes. Jóhonaa'éí accepts this response and takes Nizhoni to get her weapon. Before they leave she tells Mr. Yazzie about Mac and Davery and the horned toad gives his condolences, but Jóhonaa'éí informs her sacrifices has to be made and that if they were lost on the rainbow road they are probably in the lost and found. Nizhoni asks to see them but the others say she must ready to fight Mr. Charles. She keeps insisting and they agree to take her to them after she gets her weapon.

They head to the weapons room and find lightning coming from the ceiling. Jóhonaa'éí tells her he uses the lighting to create weapons. He asks her what weapons she and her friends need and when she tells him of their abilities he creates the ideal weapons. He makes a book on how to defeat enemies for Davery, a bottle of liquid lightning for Mac, and a bow and four arrows for Nizhoni. Mr. Yazzie complains about most of the weapons and pulls Nizhoni out of the forge as Jóhonaa'éí creates one last weapon. When they reach the lost and found she does not find Mac and Davery, but rather her mother. She walks in and sees her mother and other heroes from different ages, along with Mac and Davery, encased in amber. Mr. Yazzie tells her they are their because they failed the trials. Jóhonaa'éí enters and says that she has a choice, to go out and achieve glory on her own, or step aside and let others perform the task for her. Nizhoni chooses the latter and the others are freed. She hugs Mac and Davery and introduces them to Bethany. Bethany hugs her son while her daughter is more restrained. She apologizes to Nizhoni and explains she went after the monsters so that she wouldn’t have to. Davery interrupts and tells them they have company, they go outside to find the guardians of the sacred mountains and the heralds outside. Black Jet Girl tells Nizhoni that the monsters are freed.

Battling the Monsters

As Jóhonaa'éí leaves to raise the sun, the newly freed monster slayers ready for battle. They learn the monsters are converging at Shiprock. Mac, Davery, and Bethany mount the heralds while the others fight from the ground. As Mac begs Nizhoni to come with them, she says she can't due to giving up the opportunity to free them, however Mr. Yazzie says she can still fight as she had to be willing to stand aside, and they need her due to the amount of monsters. She boards Łizhin and the four set off.

As they reach the Chuska Mountains, they see a swarm of Bináá' yee aghání around Shiprock and the buzzards attacks them. All but Nizhoni and Bethany hide their gaze and they attack, riders blinding the monsters and heralds finishing them off. Dave has not yet found what he needs to defeat the monsters as Nizhoni is attacked by two of the buzzards, she takes one out and Mac takes out the other. Dólii is slammed by a Bináá' yee agháni and Mac is thrown off and plummets to the ground. However he is wrapped in webbing and Spider Woman reveals herself. She points up and Nizhoni sees the biggest Bináá' yee agháni she has ever seen being controlled by Mr. Charles. As he goes from Mac Łizhin tries to intervene by two more buzzards controlled by Mr. Rock and Ms. Bird block them and injure Łizhin’s wing. Davery comes over to her and tells Nizhoni that she has to jump to defeat Mr. Charles. Nizhoni steels herself for the jump and leeps off the black mountain herald. She lands on Łigai and helps her mother with the blockade. She shoots the buzzard with Ms. Bird on it and she plummets to the ground below while he mother slices off Mr. Rock's hand as she takes aim with his gun. Bethany jumps off the white herald and lands on the yellow herald. Nizhoni sees Mr. Charles cutting Mac free. She fires her last arrow at him, but he catches it and sends it back at her. Hitting her in the chest and sending her plummeting to the ground.

Nizhoni wakes up on the ground with Mr. Charles standing over her. He taunts the girl as a warm sensation builds up in her body. He says she is alone and he will soon have Mac working for him in Oklahoma, like the others with ancestral powers he has collected over the years. He tells Nizhoni she is alone but she says he is wrong, she has her friend, family, guardians, heralds, and ancestors on her side. Mr. Charles keeps taunting her until she mentions she has the lightning on her side and blasts him with a bolt, blowing him up.

Reunions

Davery and Bethany land and congratulate Nizhoni on defeating Mr. Charles as the other Bináá' yee agáhní turn to ash and fall to the earth. When they realize Mac is no where to be found, Spider Woman walks over to him and they embrace the boy. When they talk about finding their dad, Spider Woman reveals she found him tied up in an SUV on the other side of the mountain. He walks out from behind the holy person and apologizes to his children for not believing them. When he sees his wife, he walks over to Bethany and the two kiss. Seconds later an old fashioned green pickup truck drives around the corner and Nizhoni's grandmother emerges from the truck. She congratulates the children and welcomes her daughter back and sheds a tear when she hears her brother Eugene has returned. She offers to give them a ride to Spider Woman's trailer and they accept. Her daughter and son-in-law sit with her while the others ride in the bed. As they pull out Davery asks Nizhoni if she is okay with no one at school knowing what she did, and she says yes as the most important people know.

Chapter list

1. I Can See Monsters
2. Blood Everywhere
3. The Opposite of Rainbow Sprinkles
4. Remain Calm
5. A Very Interesting Family
6. No Spaghettini Macaravioli for You!
7. Mr. Yazzie
8. It Helps to Be a Sensitive Artist
9. Aliens and Bigfoot and Monsters, Oh My!
10. Operation Break Some Rules
11. The Ancestor Club Meeting Is Indefinitely Postponed Due to Reasons
12. Like that Time at the Water Park but Way Better
13. Hot Cheeto Kryptonite
14. All Aboard
15. Too Many Coats
16. The Sleeper Won't Awaken
17. The White Mountain
18. A Cold Welcome
19. An Impossibility!
20. Warning: May Cause Screaming
21. Black Mountain
22. The Buzzard Bozos
23. A Sawdust Cookie between Friends
24. The Earring
25. On Top of Ole Spider Rock
26. Spider Woman and Dr. Thunder
27. The Glittering World
28. The Rainbow Road
29. Rock Concert
30. The Coolest Moment Ever
31. Avoid the Pointy End
32. Last Night a DJ Saved My Life
33. Sandcastles
34. Snow
35. Worst-Case Scenario
36. The House of the Sun
37. Sacrifices
38. Made-to-Order Weapons
39. Lost and Found
40. One Step at a Time
41. Rise
42. Sky Wars
43. Out of the Frying Pan
44. The Last Arrow
45. Dead, Dead, Dead
46. Reunion

Characters

• Nizhoni Begay
• Mac Begay
• Davery Descheny
• Mr. Charles
• Coach
• Mr. Begay
• Mr. Rock
• Ms. Bird
• Spider Woman
• Mr. Yazzie
• Adrien Cuttlebush
• Mrs. Peterson
• Maya
• Darcy
• Rock Crystal Boy
• Łizhin
• Dólii
• Tsídii
• Black Jet Girl
• Bethany Begay
• Jóhonaa'éí
• Turquoise Boy
• Yellow Corn Girl
• Łigai
• Eugene

Prophecy

Ancient Powers lurk in your bones.

Four mountains bind you to your home.

Four days you have to find you are not alone.

White shell, blue turquoise, abalone, and jet,

Two to remember, one to forget

The last, take from the progenitor’d debt.

The spider reveals the rainbow road.

Two will pay what once was owed.

Beware, beware the friendly toad.

A talking stone, a field of knives, a prom of thorns, a seethe of sand.

Thoughts take form, form becomes true.

To defeat the trials, you must know you.

Who will pay the lost one’s price?

Blood and flesh must be the sacrifice.

A dream must be the sacrifice.

The Merciless Ones keeps vigil true.

Heir of lightning, overdue.

What once was old is now brand-new

Only then will you be you.

Unraveling the Prophecy

1. The ancient abilities of the Hero Twins now resides within the Begay siblings.
2. The four mountains that boarder the traditional Navajo homeland.
3. The group has four days to complete their quest.
4. The three must gather an offering from each of the four mountains.
5. Unknown
6. Unknown
7. Spider Woman shows Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery, the way to the House of the Sun.
8. Unknown, but Spider Woman tells Nizhoni and Mac their mother owes her something.
9. Unknown, but Nizhoni feels she should not trust Mr. Yazzie to much. During their first trial they run into a monster disguised as a Mr. Yazzie.
10. The trials the three have to face to get to the sun. Rocks that sound like they are calling them, a field of razor sharp reeds, a school dance where the students seduce them to stay, and a field of mirrors (which are made of glass, which is made by superheating sand).
11. Unknown
12. Unknown
13. Nizhoni must make a choice that redeems those who came before her and failed.
14. Mac and Davery must be sacrificed for Nizhoni to continue the trials.
15. Nizhoni must sacrifice her dream of becoming a hero to save her companions and predecessors.
16. Unknown
17. Nizhoni has completed a task most of her predecessors could not.
18. Unknown
19. Nizhoni realizes what is actually important to her and learns to be herself and give up being who she isn't.

Trivia

• The book was originally released going to be released October 15th, 2019 but it was pushed back and had the release date switched with Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky.