Book excerpt: Special Extended Edition of the original Down a Lost Road novel. When her father disappeared unexpectedly four years ago, sixteen-year-old Merelin could never shake the feeling that everyone stopped looking for him much too quickly. Then she receives a curious medallion that once belonged to him, and her whole world changes—literally. She finds herself swept into a harsh but beautiful world, where an ancient civilization stands on the brink of annihilation at the hands of an enemy they have no weapons to fight. Some fear she will be their ruin. Some believe she will save them all. And one of them makes her imagine she could. Yatol has been training all his life as a Guardian of the star road, but it has been four years since anyone came across from the world on the other side. Then, without warning, the portal opens and leaves a girl at his feet. She has no knowledge of her role in his world, or the meaning of the object she carries, but Yatol cannot help feeling drawn to her stubborn strength and spirit. And if she is who she says she is, then Yatol has a promise to fulfill. This special extended edition is the same core story as the newly-revised novel, but the addition of Yatol’s point of view brings to life the people and struggles of Arah Byen in a way that has never been seen before.