Trail of Lightning

Maggie’s ability to trust in relationships, which is interfered with at various points in the novel by the betrayals of others, is a major theme in Trail of Lightning. Throughout the novel, Maggie’s relationships with both Neizghání and Kai affect her ability to trust in others and herself, although one relationship is far more toxic than the other. The rise and fall of Maggie’s relationship with Neizghání serves as the backdrop of the beginning of the novel. When Maggie first met Neizghání, she was a 16-year-old girl, traumatized after witnessing the murder of her grandmother and after killing her grandmother’s killers. Neizghání, an immortal and winged man, found Maggie in the aftermath and promised to take care of her. He served as Maggie’s teacher, showing her how to harness her clan powers and use them for monster hunting. At this point, Maggie idolized the man and came to love him. She eventually admits this to Kai, saying, “I loved him” (253). However, Neizghání dislikes the very skill in killing that he fosters in Maggie, and he eventually abandons her. This abandonment represents an enormous betrayal to Maggie, who trusted her mentor to guide her, especially after she lost her only family.