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THE SMALL FIRE THAT SHE had built earlier in the day for her papa’s comfort was now all but dead, with only a few live coals glowing red beneath the soft gray ash. Raven was judiciously adding a handful of twigs and bark she’d gathered from the forest to rekindle the blaze. Bending close, she blew gently on the embers, and before long a thin yellow tongue of flame shot up to curl around the dry wood. Then, almost as quickly, it died back a bit, and Raven bent very close to try again.
“Persistence does pay off, mademoiselle, but do take care. It would be a terrible shame to spoil those pretty, dark locks.”
She managed somehow not to start at the voice sounding directly behind her, and turned to shoot him an evil glare, at the same time catching a whiff of burning hair. Jerking back in alarm, she banged her head on the chimney ledge, sat down abruptly, and rubbed the injured spot. “You clumsy, bumbling hulk of a man. What are you doing, snea
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Rejected Luna 100
“Persistence does pay off, mademoiselle, but do take care. It would be a terrible shame to spoil those pretty, dark locks.”She managed somehow not to start at the voice sounding directly behind her, and turned to shoot him an evil glare, at the same time catching a whiff of burning hair. Jerking back in alarm, she banged her head on the chimney ledge, sat down abruptly, and rubbed the injured spot. “You clumsy, bumbling hulk of a man. What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?”He snorted, half-laughter, half-derision. “Call me bumbling if you will, I am not the one who banged my noggin. Have you always been a clumsy little wench, or is it my nearness that makes you nervous?” Bending slightly, he touched the knot which had raised on her scalp. “It’s a wonder you’ve survived out here so long. Lucky for you that I came along when I did. Otherwise you’d likely manage to maim yourself for life
Rejected Luna 101
The fucking coca leaves. Perfectly legal in Peru, useful for calming nausea and helping you get through the night shift. Really quite benign. You stick a couple in your cheek, they slowly dissolve, and you’re set. Almost impossible to refine cocaine from the leaves in their dried form and completely impossible with the tiny amount I had left in my backpack. But even so, most western governments had declared them illegal controlled substances.The dog stopped barking.“I’d loike ye ta come wit me, sur,” the customs agent said. I hadn’t heard that hardcore North Dublin accent in a long time and I could barely understand the man. The words were there but it was like hearing Anglo-Saxon or being aurally dyslexic. It took me a while to process what he’d said.“Of course,” I said after a long pause.I accompanied him into an antechamber.“Look, I know why the dog is going crazy, I’ve got t
Rejected Luna 102
ONE WEEK LATER, I stood in the back room of a restaurant in Hyde Park. The room was filled with birthday balloons. A cake half the size of a wedding cake stood on a pedestal in the middle of a long serving table. Already-cut pieces of a marble sheet cake sat on paper plates. Round tables covered in paper cloths filled the room, and in the center of each, a smallcenterpiece made out of Matchbox cars surrounded pitchers filled with Kool-Aid.Laura had rented the place and planned this whole thing the moment she realized that I had no idea how to do it, andAlthea was too overwhelmed with Lacey to give a party any thought. Laura, of course, had given it too much thought, but the kids didn’t seem to know that.Jimmy and his friends sat on the floor on the far side of the room, playing some kind of game that I didn’t understand.Laura and Althea were running it. It involved a lot of shouting and laughing and prizes. Althea had already warne
Rejected Luna 103
STREAKS OF ROSE AND GOLDENROD adorned themorning sky when Raven woke. Everything was peaceful and still, hushed into silence by the breathtaking dawn. Yet, despite the gentle quiet, she sensed that she and Eben were no longer alone. He lay on the ground nearby, asleep and shivering.Behind him in a semi-circle were six Indians, silently observing the campsite. Remembering what he had said, Raven grabbed for the rifle behind her and came away with empty air.She’d ignored Eben’s advice, and she suspected the warrior who’d claimed it would be unwilling to give it back. He was greatly pleased with his prize, and brandished it proudly before his companions, saying something in a dialect Raven didn’t understand. She wished that Eben were awake and lucid so that he could tell her what to do. But then, had Eben been in control of this situation, this never would have happened. She didn’t like to think about his reaction to the news she&rs
Rejected Luna 104
STREAKS OF ROSE AND GOLDENROD adorned themorning sky when Raven woke. Everything was peaceful and still, hushed into silence by the breathtaking dawn. Yet, despite the gentle quiet, she sensed that she and Eben were no longer alone. He lay on the ground nearby, asleep and shivering.Behind him in a semi-circle were six Indians, silently observing the campsite. Remembering what he had said, Raven grabbed for the rifle behind her and came away with empty air.She’d ignored Eben’s advice, and she suspected the warrior who’d claimed it would be unwilling to give it back. He was greatly pleased with his prize, and brandished it proudly before his companions, saying something in a dialect Raven didn’t understand. She wished that Eben were awake and lucid so that he could tell her what to do. But then, had Eben been in control of this situation, this never would have happened. She didn’t like to think about his reaction to the news she&rs
Rejected Luna 105
front of the convenience store. The chill of the late-fall night made his cheeks red, and he wanted something hot to drink.To say his halmeoni was upset would be an understatement. But she’d needed to run the restaurant, so it had fallen to Jihoon to retrieve the scooter from the mechanic. The errand gave him a short reprieve from her wrath.Jihoon lingered at the case that warmed individual cans of coffee, his thoughts on things other than the toasty drinks inside. Turning toward the cold drinks, he caught a glimpse of movement outside.Like a vision called forth by force of will, Miyoung sat at one of the plastic tables. Her head hung low so her hair covered her face.Jihoon walked out and settled into the chair across from Mi
Rejected Luna 106
Ellie laughed. “Come on, Monarch. You can totally do this.”Monarch, a blonde-haired woman just under six feet tall, examined the vacuum with disgust. “It’s too loud and I’m afraid it’s going to suck up my toes.”Ellie lifted her hand to cover her mouth, trying to hide her amusement. “We all think that. Trust me. I promise you, though, if you point it away from you, that won’t happen. You’ve mastered the washing machine and your cooking skills with a microwave are wonderful. You can handle this beast.”Monarch sighed. “Fine, but it hurts my ears.”Destiny, a black-haired woman, cheered her on. Monarch flipped on the vacuum and pushed it around the living room
Rejected Luna 106
Darkness growled. “That’s it?” Almost-black eyes glared at Moon. “How did you leave? I’ve spent the past ninety minutes reviewing the camera footage along the walls and at both gates. You were not caught on any of them.”“Easy,” Fury warned. “We’ll get to that“If he could get out, someone could sneak in the same way,” Darkness protested. “We could be breached at any moment. My team needs to know how he did it“I exited from the hidden gate we recently constructed. I knew cameras hadn’t been installed there yet.” Moon took a deep breath. “It’s not True’s fault. He’s new and I’m higher ranking. I told him I was going on patrol on my motorcycle and used my authority, believing he wouldn’t question it if I lied by stating it was something I occasionally do.” He closed his mouth, not admit
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