Excerpt.
CREDIT: From Moon Chosen by PC Cast. Copyright © 2016 by the authors and
reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Griffin.
Mari braced herself, and as she had so many times
before, felt her mother stiffen while energy surged through Leda and into Mari,
sizzling through her palm, down her arm to swirl around and around inside her,
growing in power with each second that passed. Mari’s heartbeat began to hammer and her
breathing suddenly increased until she was panting as hard as was the pup. In her arms, Rigel whined uncertainly.
“Focus.” Her
mother’s voice was only a whisper, but Mari could feel it through her whole
body. “You can do this. The power is not yours to keep – your body is
merely its channel. Borrow serenity from
the image of the Earth Mother. Though
you may be surrounded by chaos or sickness or injuries, find the true you
within. Release that which belongs to the world –fears, worry, sadness, so that
the silver stream may wash unimpeded through you. It is a waterfall at night.
Rigel is the basin that must hold it.”
Mari stared at the beautiful image of the Earth Mother
that Leda pruned and cared for so lovingly.
But, as always, the figure was only foliage and art to Mari. She couldn’t feel the divine presence her
mother revered. She could not find her
true self – her center. “Mama, I
c-can’t. It’s s-so c-cold. It- it hurts.” Mari stuttered through
chattering teeth.
“Only because the healing power is not meant for
you. Release the fears of your body,
Mari. Focus! Find your grounding and become a channel for
the moon’s energy. Tonight you must
succeed. If you do not, your Rigel will
surely die.”
Her mother’s words exploded through Mari’s body. “No!
He can’t die. I won’t let
him.” She gritted her teeth against the
cold and tried to focus past the pain – to release the cacophony of emotions
that swirled through her body unimpeded – and to be the channel for the
moonfall of water. Yet, still the power
was a whirlpool within her. It terrified
Mari and threatened to suck her down to drown in its freezing depths.
This was when she usually failed. This was when she dropped her mother’s hand
and allowed sickness to claim her so that she vomited, dry heaving misery and
moonlight while Leda stroked her back, consoling her with calm, loving words
that reminded Mari there would be a next time – she would do better the next
time.
But there was no next time for Rigel, and Mari refused
to lose him. Think! Focus!
“Mari, slow your breathing. Calm your heart. This is no longer practice. You either heal Rigel, or fail and he dies
from shock and blood loss. This is your reality.”
“That’s it, Mama!
I need to make this my reality!”
Mari squeezed her eyes closed. Could that be the answer? Could it really be that simple? Mari imagined that she was in their
burrow, alone, sitting at her desk preparing to create a sketch. Her gulping breath slowed. Her hammering heart quieted. Mari found her grounding as she envisioned a
blank sheet of paper. On that paper her
imagination began to quickly, easily, sketch an image of herself, sitting crossed-legged
with Rigel spread across her lap. From
above her silver light cascaded into her lifted palm, washing through her body
in a glistening wave to spout from her other palm, which was pressed against
the pup’s bloody chest. Eyes still
tightly shut Mari worked on the scene, creating a picture of Rigel’s body that
was washed clean of blood by the liquid light, leaving behind wounds that were
neatly closed and already healing.
Suddenly the cold tide within Mari was
controllable. Instead of drowning her,
it used her as a conduit, passing through her harmlessly as she let go of the
energy. I’m doing it! I’m doing it! And just that quickly her concentration
shattered. The picture she’d been
creating disappeared along with the tide of power within her.
“No! No! Get it back!
I was doing it – it was working,” Mari gasped, gripping her mother’s
hand like a lifeline.
“It’s too late.
The sun is fully risen. Even with
your help I cannot call the moon back to me,” Leda knelt beside Mari, gently
disentangling her daughter’s hand from hers.
“But it was enough. You did it,
sweet girl. I knew you could. Praise the Earth Mother and the blessed
Moon! You have saved him.”
Feeling dizzy and disconnected, Mari looked down at
Rigel. The pup wagged his tail
animatedly and sat up, licking her face.
Even though she felt light-headed, she laughed weakly and put her arms
around him. He nested there, curled
against her body and, sending her waves of contentment, Rigel fell sound to
sleep in her arms. With a trembling hand, Mari brushed aside the blood-matted
fur on his chest. What had only moments
before been deep, seeping, whip-like lacerations were now pink lines of newly
joined flesh that had ceased bleeding.
“I knew it was true.
You do have my powers and more.”
Mari is an Earth Walker, heir to the unique healing powers of her Clan; but she has cast her duties aside, until she is chosen by a special animal ally, altering her destiny forever. When a deadly attack tears her world apart, Mari reveals the strength of her powers and the forbidden secret of her dual nature as she embarks on a mission to save her people. It is not until Nik, the son of the leader from a rival, dominating clan strays across her path, that Mari experiences something she has never felt before…
Now, darkness is coming, and with it, a force, more terrible and destructive than the world has ever seen, leaving Mari to cast the shadows from the earth. By forming a tumultuous alliance with Nik, she must make herself ready. Ready to save her people. Ready to save herself and Nik. Ready to embrace her true destiny…and obliterate the forces that threaten to destroy them all.
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You can read the first five chapters here.
You can read the first five chapters here.
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