Dekstakheiq (Deiq) is a human-hakrethe crossbreed called a hakrakha. He is worshiped as a demigod, immune to human laws, largely indifferent to human wants and needs. He seeks only to amuse himself-usually by stirring up trouble amongst the humans. But being all-powerful is boring, and spending so much time around the humans has changed Deiq's view on the insignificance of these frail, short-lived creatures. Ignoring the disapproval of his hakrethe kin, Deiq pursues a new challenge: to breed a stronger, more telepathically sensitive line of humans that can bear his children without dying. He...